Alani Fua

Cardinals To Promote LB Scooby Wright

In the wake of Markus Golden‘s ACL tear, the Cardinals are calling up fellow edge rusher Scooby Wright from the practice squad, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). In related moves, the Cardinals have signed guard/tackle Earl Watford, released guard/tackle Vinston Painter, and released wide receiver Aaron Dobson, linebacker Alani Fua, and defensive end Ed Stinson from IR. Scooby Wright (vertical)

[RELATED: Markus Golden Done For Year]

Wright, 23, missed the Cardinals’ final cut in September but signed on with the practice squad the following day. Since then, he has been cycled through the NFL’s usual process for fringe players (promoted, cut, re-signed to practice squad, repeat). Through four weeks, he has dressed for three games.

Wright has yet to make a major impact at the NFL level, but he is well known in the area for his work at the University of Arizona. In 2014, Wright tallied an eye-popping 163 tackles, 29 tackles for loss, 14 sacks, and six forced fumbles. Unfortunately, he was slowed by injuries in 2015 and his draft stock suffered as a result. The Browns took him with one of the final picks in the draft, but he found his way to the Cardinals late last year.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/31/17

A roundup of today’s minor transactions:

  • The Cardinals signed cornerback Jarell Carter and waived/injured linebacker Alani Fua (knee) and cornerback Ronald Zamort (knee). Zamort appeared to be ahead of Brandon Williams on the Cardinals’ depth chart at the time of his season-ending ACL tear.
  • The Bengals waived kicker Jonathan Brown, which means the team’s kicking competition is down to Jake Elliott and Randy Bullock. To fill his roster spot, the Bengals signed safety Cedric Thompson.
  • The Colts claimed former Denver tight end Henry Krieger-Coble on waivers. To make room, the Colts waived tight end Colin Jeter.
  • The Eagles signed cornerback Tay Glover-Wright to a one-year contract, per a club announcement. Glover-Wright is an undrafted free agent with Utah State with just two games of NFL experience on his resume.
  • Wide receiver K.J. Maye, who played in college at Minnesota, has been signed to the Patriots‘ 90-man roster.
  • The 49ers announced that they’ve claimed wide receiver Tim Patrick off waivers from Baltimore and waived/injured fellow wideout B.J. Johnson.
  • The Chiefs have signed free agent wide receivers Corey Washington and Rob Wheelwright, and waived wide receiver Antwan Goodley and tight end Emanuel Byrd.
  • The Saints have signed former South Carolina linebacker Jonathan Walton, tweets Nick Underhill of the Advocate.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/28/16

Here are today’s minor moves.

  • The Saints moved defensive end Obum Gwacham to IR to make room for Khalif Barnes, whom they signed earlier today, Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com reports. It’s unclear, per Katzenstein, what injury forced Gwacham to IR. But the defender debuted Monday night and played seven special teams plays.
  • The Raiders promoted rookie offensive lineman Denver Kirkland from their practice squad to move their roster to 53 players, Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com. As Bair notes, Kirkland can play both tackle and guard. The Raiders may need him more at the former spot, considering Menelik Watson and Austin Howard are battling injuries this season. Oakland played the first three games of the season at 52 players, choosing not to fill Mario Edwards‘ spot — the defensive end sits on IR until he’s expected back by midseason — until today.
  • To make room on their roster for Marqui Christian, the Rams cut defensive back Isaiah Johnson, Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com reports. The Rams claimed Christian off waivers from the Cardinals earlier today. A second-year UDFA out of Georgia Tech, Johnson’s played in seven games thus far, including one this season, in his short career. He still has practice squad eligibility, if the Rams so choose to relocate him there.
  • The Cardinals signed punter Ryan Quigley and placed linebacker Alani Fua (knee) on IR, as Mike Jurecki of FOX Sports 910 tweets.

Cardinals Add 14 UDFAs, Cut Two Players

John Carlson‘s retirement announcement was the big news out of Arizona today, but the roster is undergoing plenty of other changes as well. As Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com tweets, the team has let go of running back Zach Bauman and cornerback Roc Carmichael, and has agreed to terms with 14 undrafted free agents.

Here are the 14 newest Cardinals, per Urban, along with bonus info via Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic:

  • Cariel Brooks, CB, Adams State ($4K bonus)
  • Rob Crisp, T, North Carolina State ($15K bonus)
  • Alani Fua, LB, BYU ($17K bonus)
  • Trevor Harman, WR, Shippensburg
  • Edwin Jackson, LB, Georgia Southern ($1.5K bonus)
  • Andrae Kirk, LB, Florida Atlantic ($3K bonus)
  • Paul Lasike, RB, BYU ($500 bonus)
  • Gabe Martin, LB, Bowling Green ($4.5K bonus)
  • Damond Powell, WR, Iowa ($500 bonus)
  • C.J. Roberts, CB, Colorado State-Pueblo ($8K bonus)
  • Jaxon Shipley, WR, Texas ($9K bonus)
  • Gannon Sinclair, TE, Missouri State ($5K bonus)
  • Zack Wagenmann, LB, Montana ($8K bonus)
  • Xavier Williams, NT, Northern Iowa ($8K bonus)

Draft Visits: Strong, Steelers, Lions, Langford

With draft night just eight days away, several teams who are doing research and due diligence on Marcus Mariota are also intrigued by Bryce Petty, tweets Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. While Petty may not be a first-round pick, he could very well be the third signal-caller off the board after Jameis Winston and Mariota, says La Canfora.

The fact that the draft is now right around the corner also means that today is the final day for teams to host pre-draft visits for prospects. While clubs can still conduct private workouts over the next several days, visits have to be completed by tonight. Here are a few updates on the final visits happening around the NFL:

  • Jaelen Strong, WR (Arizona State): Visiting the Texans today, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). The team will get a chance to look at his injured wrist.
  • Landon Collins, S (Alabama); Preston Smith, DE (Mississippi State); Dexter McDonald, CB (Kansas); Davis Tull, OLB (UT-Chattanooga): All visiting the Steelers today, per Scott Brown of ESPN.com (Twitter links).
  • Danny Shelton, DT (Washington): Visiting the Lions today, writes Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.
  • La’el Collins, T (LSU); Jamon Brown, T (Louisville): Also visiting the Lions today, tweets Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com.
  • Jeremy Langford, RB (Michigan State): Has had visits with the Colts and Buccaneers in addition to previously-reported visit with Broncos, tweets Josh Katzenstein of the Detroit News.
  • Paul Dawson, LB (TCU): Recently visited the Falcons, after previously having worked out for the club, per Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
  • John Miller, G (Louisville): Visiting the Saints today, according to Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).
  • Alani Fua, OLB (BYU): Visiting the Eagles today, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.