HEADLINES

Adam Podlesh

Workout Notes: Jets, Brown, Chargers, Lions

September 29th, 2015 at 6:29pm CST by Zachary Links

The Jets auditioned running back Bryce Brown on Tuesday, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter). Brown has showed flashes of promise in the past, but he was unable to stick with the Bills in 2015. The Bills traded a 2015 fourth-round pick to the Eagles to acquire Brown before the start of last season and that’s a deal that GM Doug Whaley probably wouldn’t make again. In 2014, Brown ran for a grand total of 126 yards off of 36 carries.

Here’s a rundown of other notable workouts from around the NFL..

Minor Moves: Tuesday

September 30th, 2014 at 5:34pm CST by Luke Adams

In addition to making changes to their practice squads, teams around the NFL are also tweaking the backs of their 53-man rosters today. We’ll round up the day’s minor transactions involving active rosters right here:

  • To make room for Winn, the Lions have placed running back Montell Owens on injured reserve, tweets Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com. Owens’ contract expires after this season.
  • After he tore ruptured Achilles last week, running back Joe McKnight has been placed on the Chiefs’ injured reserve list, according to Adam Teicher of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Offensive lineman Donald Stephenson‘s four-game suspension is up, so he takes McKnight’s roster spot, per Howard Balzer (Twitter link).
  • The Bears have waived linebacker Terrell Manning, reports Brian McIntyre (Twitter link). Chicago had promoted Manning from its practice squad just over a week ago.
  • Patriots Brandon Browner and Brian Tyms four-game bans are over, and both have received a roster exemption that lasts until October 6, says Balzer (on Twitter).
  • Cornerback Deion Belue was waived from the Jaguars’ injured reserve with a failure to disclose physical condition designation, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.

Earlier updates:

  • The Lions are promoting running back George Winn from their practice squad to their 53-man roster, according to Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (Twitter link). As Garafolo notes, the move could suggest that the team expects Joique Bell to miss this weekend’s game, but Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press points out that Bell isn’t Detroit’s only ailing running back, tweeting that Montell Owens is expected to miss several weeks due to his latest hamstring injury.
  • Linebacker Victor Butler has been dropped by the Cardinals, says Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com (via Twitter). Butler had been added to the roster when John Abraham was sidelined, but didn’t play a snap for the team.
  • The Bears‘ practice squad/53-man roster shuffle continues this week, with the team promoting wideout Chris Williams to take the place of fellow receiver Rashad Ross (Twitter link). Two weeks ago, it was Ross being promoted and Williams being cut.
  • The Steelers have terminated the contract of punter Adam Podlesh, who had been on the team’s reserve/did not report list, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.com.

Minor Moves: Tuesday

August 12th, 2014 at 8:22pm CST by Luke Adams

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

  • The Dolphins signed tight end Evan Wilson, according to Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (on Twitter).
  • Less than two weeks after signing tight end Raymond Webber, the Dolphins have waived him, a source tells ESPN.com’s Field Yates (Twitter link).
  • Tight end Dorin Dickerson has been removed from the Titans‘ injured reserve list with an injury settlement, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
  • With the open spot on their 90-man roster, the Buccaneers have signed former Toledo defensive end T.J. Fatinikun, who participated in the club’s minicamp in June, tweets Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com.

Earlier updates:

  • The Steelers placed veteran punter Adam Podlesh on their reserve/did not report list, tweets Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Podlesh isn’t in attendance at Pittsburgh’s camp after his wife underwent a complicated – but successful – delivery of their child. He can be reinstated when he reports, but for now the Steelers are also free to sign someone else to take his roster spot.
  • Offensive lineman Stephen Goodin has signed with the Cowboys, taking the roster spot of guard Andre Cureton, reports Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com (Twitter links). Goodin, a former Giant, was waived earlier in the offseason by New York with an injury settlement.
  • The Jets have swapped one defender for another, according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, who tweets that the club signed defensive back LeQuan Lewis and cut linebacker Tim Fugger. Per Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter), Lewis, who ran a 4.36 40-yard dash during his tryout, received a two-year contract from the Jets.

Steelers Sign Adam Podlesh

April 15th, 2014 at 2:33pm CST by Luke Adams

The Steelers have signed free agent punter Adam Podlesh to a one-year contract, according to the team’s PR man, Burt Lauten (via Twitter). Podlesh himself broke word of the agreement this afternoon, tweeting: “Very excited to be part of the storied franchise that is #Steelernation, time to get to work in the black and gold!!”

Podlesh had been the Bears’ starting punter since the 2011 season, but had arguably his worst year as a pro in 2013 and was cut by Chicago in March. Last season, Podlesh averaged 40.6 yards per punt in 68 tries, the worst mark of his seven-year career, and his net average of 37.9 was the worst since his rookie season. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), the 30-year-old ranked dead last out of 41 qualified punters in 2013.

Although Podlesh is coming off a down year, he may still end up being an improvement over the Steelers’ 2013 options. Zoltan Mesko and Mat McBriar handled punting duties for the team last season, and both placed near the bottom of PFF’s rankings, recording negative grades. Mesko and McBriar are currently unrestricted free agents.

Podlesh is expected to compete with Brad Wing, who signed a futures contract with Pittsburgh in January, for a roster spot.

Bears Release Adam Podlesh

March 5th, 2014 at 12:17pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bears have terminated the contract of veteran punter Adam Podlesh, the team announced today (Twitter link). Podlesh had two years remaining on his contract, which carried a cap number of $1.825MM for 2014. By cutting him, Chicago will take on $800K in dead money for the coming season, creating just over $1MM in cap savings.

Podlesh, 30, has been the Bears’ starting punter since the 2011 season, but is coming off arguably his worst year as a pro. Podlesh averaged 40.6 yards per punt in 68 tries, the worst mark of his seven-year career, and his net average of 37.9 was the worst since his rookie season. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), the former Jaguar ranked dead last out of 41 qualified punters in 2013.

With Podlesh out of the picture, either Drew Butler or Tress Way could end up winning Chicago’s starting punter job for 2014. Discussing the team’s three punters at last month’s combine, GM Phil Emery said, “It’s a wide open competition.”