HEADLINES

A.J. Derby

Patriots Eye QB Signing As Last Resort

September 25th, 2016 at 6:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

Riding high after a dominant Week 3 win despite the involvement of a rookie third-string quarterback, the Patriots do not plan to deviate from how they’ve approached their most important position this season. Well, if they can help it.

The Patriots will sign a quarterback before Week 4 only as a last-resort measure, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports. They view the roster spot as valuable and don’t want to send a player to waivers or free agency, depending on service time, unless it’s absolutely necessary.

New England’s already vanquished two 2015 playoff teams without Tom Brady and has used both Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett to do so. Respective shoulder and thumb injuries leave Garoppolo and Brissett questionable to be ready for the Pats’ Week 4 Bills tilt — the team’s final game before Brady is eligible to return from his suspension.

Conflicting reports have emerged about the respective availability of Brady’s backups, with one indicating the team expects both to be able to suit up and another suggesting the team is hopeful at least one will.

Florio notes if word comes in Monday that gives a firm indication neither player will be ready to play by next weekend, the team could look to sign a quarterback. The Patriots brought in T.J. Yates and Sean Renfree last week but opted to sign neither. With it being unlikely the Pats would rule out either passer that early in the week, the team could again look to take its chances with Julian Edelman as a possible emergency quarterback.

Although, the former Kent State passer isn’t the only non-quarterback on New England’s roster with high-level signal-calling experience, as Florio points out. Second-year tight end A.J. Derby played quarterback at three schools — Iowa, Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College, and Arkansas — before being moved to tight end later during his Razorbacks stay. Edelman, though, has been in this system for eight seasons, and Derby threw just 42 passes in Division I competition. Despite his standing as a running quarterback, Edelman threw 706 in three seasons with the Golden Flashes.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/6/15

August 6th, 2015 at 1:16pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Thursday’s minor transactions from around the NFL, with the latest moves added to the top of the page throughout the day:

  • The Broncos have re-signed nose tackle Sione Fua for another stint in Denver, per Troy Renck of the Denver Post (Twitter link). The former third-round pick, who played for Cleveland last season, last spent time with the Broncos in 2013. Denver waived punter Karl Schmitz in a corresponding move. The Broncos have also reached an injury settlement with rookie offensive tackle Connor Rains, removing him from their IR, tweets Mike Klis of 9News.
  • The Buccaneers have signed former Arena League quarterback Sammuel Lamur, the team announced today in a press release. Lamur, the brother of Bengals linebacker Emmanuel Lamur, will be moved to linebacker in Bucs camp.
  • The Titans have made a change in their secondary, signing safety Josh Aubrey and waiving safety Cody Prewitt with an injured designation, per a team release.
  • The Cowboys swapped one tight end for another this week, signing Brandon Barden and cutting Ray Hamilton, tweets Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. As Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post tweets, the club also moved linebacker Justin Anderson and offensive lineman Reshod Fortenberry to its injured reserve list.
  • Patriots tight end A.J. Derby and Eagles outside linebacker Travis Long landed on their respective teams’ injured reserve lists after going unclaimed on waivers, according to Wilson (via Twitter).
  • The Panthers have moved retired offensive tackle Jonathan Martin from the reserve/retired list to the reserve/did not report list, tweets Wilson.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/4/15

August 4th, 2015 at 9:41pm CST by Zachary Links

Tonight’s minor moves..

  • The Eagles waived/injured linebacker Travis Long, who tore his ACL yesterday, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. If unclaimed, he’ll revert to the team’s IR list.
  • The Patriots waived A.J. Derby, a sixth-round pick out of Arkansas, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets.
  • The Jets signed receiver Arthur Williams and waived receiver Jarrod West, as Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News tweets.
  • The Dolphins were awarded wide receiver Kevin Cone off waivers from the Browns, James Walker of ESPN.com tweets. They also cut guard Dionte Savage.
  • The Patriots announced that they have signed linebacker L.J. Fort, linebacker Cameron Gordon, fullback Eric Kettani, and defensive lineman A.J. Pataiali’I.
  • Panthers wide receiver Stephen Hill officially cleared waivers and has been placed on the team’s IR, Jonathan Jones of The Observer tweets.
  • The Lions have filled their last roster spot with the signing of cornerback Ethan Davis out of Troy, Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com tweets.
  • The Cardinals cut cornerback Damond Smith while signing cornerback Jonte Green, Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com tweets.
  • The Chargers announced that they signed corner Jordan Mabin and released receiver Demetrius Wilson.
  • The Eagles announced that they released wide receiver Devante Davis while signing fellow wideout Josh Reese.
  • The Lions cut Jerell Harris, Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com tweets.

Pats Sign Seven Draftees, Seven UDFAs

May 8th, 2015 at 2:22pm CST by Luke Adams

The Patriots announced the signings of a number of rookies today, announcing in a press release that they’ve signed eight of their 11 draft picks, and another seven undrafted free agents. Two of those draft picks – fourth-rounder Tre’ Jackson and seventh-rounder Xzavier Dickson – had their deals previously reported, but six of the names are new, and Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun tweets that a ninth draftee has signed his contract as well.

The following picks have signed their contracts, per the team and Wilson:

  • Jordan Richards, DB (second round)
  • Geneo Grissom, DE (third round)
  • Trey Flowers, DE (fourth round)
  • Shaq Mason, OL (fourth round)
  • Matthew Wells, OLB (sixth round)
  • A.J. Derby, TE (sixth round)
  • Darryl Roberts, CB (seventh round)

Of New England’s 11 draft picks, only first-rounder Malcom Brown and fifth-round long snapper Joe Cardona remain unsigned. In addition to locking up most of their draft class, the Pats have formally inked seven undrafted free agents to deals. Here are those players:

  • David Andrews, C, Georgia
  • Devin Gardner, WR, Michigan ($5K bonus, plus $10K guaranteed salary, per Dave Birkett)
  • Chris Harper, WR, California ($15K bonus, plus $5K guaranteed salary, per Aaron Wilson)
  • Jimmy Jean, DB, Alabama-Birmingham
  • Brandon King, DB, Auburn
  • Eric Patterson, DB, Ball State
  • Vince Taylor, DL, Vanderbilt ($2.5K bonus, per Jeff Howe)