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NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/1/18

January 1st, 2018 at 7:17pm CST by Micah Powell

Here are the latest reserve/futures contract signings from around the NFL. These deals will go into effect on the first day of the 2018 league year, with players joining their respective clubs’ offseason 90-man rosters:

Baltimore Ravens

  • QB Josh Woodrum
  • RB John Crockett
  • FB Ricky Ortiz
  • OT Steven Moore

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

  • LB Carl Bradford
  • K Jon Brown
  • LB Connor Harris
  • OT Javarius Leamon
  • OG Oni Omoile
  • TE Scott Orndoff
  • CB Sojourn Shelton
  • SS Robenson Therezie
  • WR Kermit Whitfield

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

  • TE Mo Alie-Cox
  • WR Dres Anderson
  • DT Johnathan Calvin
  • WR Kolby Listenbee
  • LB Arthur Miley
  • LB Josh Perry
  • QB Phillip Walker
  • G Isaiah Williams

New York Giants

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Redskins

 

Lions Sign DE George Johnson

September 20th, 2017 at 1:22pm CST by Zachary Links

The Lions have signed defensive end George Johnson. To make room, Detroit has waived fellow defensive lineman Alex Barrett. George Johnson (vertical)

Johnson spent the 2014 season with the Lions, a campaign sandwiched by his two stints with the Buccaneers. He was quietly effective in that season, appearing in all 16 games and earning a positive grade from Pro Football Focus. The Lions are hoping that he can still be an effective pass rusher in 2017.

Johnson’s second stint with the Bucs came to an end earlier this month when he missed the 53-man cutdown. Tampa Bay saved $2.25MM by terminating his deal in advance of Week 1.

In the process, the Bucs get themselves off the hook for his $2.25MM salary, which would have become guaranteed if he was on the roster for Week 1.

Unfortunately, Johnson hasn’t seen the field since the 2015 season. Last August, an ACL tear shut him down for the year.

Lions Sign LB Jarrad Davis

May 12th, 2017 at 1:24pm CST by Zachary Links

The Lions announced that they have signed eight of their nine draft picks, plus 14 undrafted free agents. The complete list:

Draft Signings:

UDFAs:

As far as draft picks go, Northern Illinois wide receiver Kenny Golladay is the only player that has yet to put pen to paper. The reason for the delay is not known, but third round picks often take longer to sign than other picks as things are less rigid in those slots.

Davis was said to be a target of the Dolphins at No. 22, so it’s a good thing that the Lions were up at No. 21. Davis impressed scouts at his Pro Day when he posted a 4.56 40-yard dash and 38.5 inch vertical jump. As shown on Roster Resource, Davis may be in for a starting role in 2017.

Tabor fell to the Lions at No. 53 but some draft analysts, like NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah, felt that he should have gone much higher. The Florida product suffered a hamstring injury during his workout with Detroit and was unable to audition for other teams, so that might explain why he was still available. Then again, we’ve seen “pretend injuries” before, so it’s possible there was a wink-wink deal between Tabor’s team and the Lions.

Kaaya was said to have one of the highest football IQs of any quarterback in this year’s class. It remains to be seen whether he has the arm to make it as an NFL quarterback, but the Lions believe that he can be a solid backup QB, at minimum.

According to Tom Pelissero of USA Today (on Twitter), Valoaga got $22K guaranteed ($12K bonus, $10K base) to sign with Detroit. Typically, UDFAs get around $5K, so that’s a sign that Valoaga had at least a few teams interested in adding him to the 90-man roster.