HEADLINES

Antoine McClain

Bills Sign Colton Schmidt, Cut T.J. Graham, Others

August 30th, 2014 at 4:18pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Bills have signed punter Colton Schmidt, reports Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). Schmidt, a California-Davis product, has also spent time with the 49ers. Additionally, the team announced it has trimmed its roster to 53 by cutting the following 10 players:

Minor Moves: Bills, Lions, Jaguars, 49ers

April 22nd, 2014 at 4:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Within this post, we’ll round up all of Tuesday’s minor transactions — players accepting exclusive rights contract tenders, teams signing players without real NFL experience, minor contract restructures, and so on. Any new minor transactions that pop up during the rest of the afternoon and evening will be added to the top of the page throughout the day:

  • The Dolphins have signed punter Matt Szymanski to a contract, according to Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (via Twitter). Given the presence of Pro Bowl punter Brandon Fields on the Dolphins’ roster, Szymanski will likely just be an extra camp leg for the team.

Earlier updates:

  • Exclusive rights free agents Chris Hogan, Antoine McClain, and Frank Summers have re-signed with the Bills, according to ESPN.com’s Mike Rodak (via Twitter). Of the three players, Summers played the most for the club in 2013, appearing in 232 offensive snaps and scoring a pair of touchdowns. Hogan also caught 10 balls and recorded nine special teams tackles.
  • Cory Greenwood, who previously had two years remaining on his contract with the Lions, has eliminated the 2015 season and reduced his 2014 salary and cap number to the minimum ($645K), says Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter). The renegotiation also eliminates a $20K workout bonus for this year, according to Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap.
  • Jaguars fullback Will Ta’ufo’ou has signed his ERFA tender to return to the team, tweets Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com. Ta’ufo’ou, who had 10 carries and a single reception for Jacksonville in 2013, will be eligible for restricted free agency after the 2014 season.
  • The 49ers have waived fullback Alex Debniak, who spent his rookie season on IR with a torn Achilles, the team announced today in a press release.

Contract Updates: Jets, Bills, Ratliff, Titans

March 6th, 2014 at 11:59am CST by Luke Adams

Restricted free agent cornerback Darrin Walls agreed to a new deal with the Jets last night, and agent Jordan Woy tweets that it’s a two-year contract. Ellis Lankster, who also agreed on a new deal with the Jets, will be on a two-year, $1.63MM contract, according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (Twitter link). Lankster’s pact appears to be worth slightly more than the minimum.

With free agency looming and several players having already signed new contracts or reworked old ones, we have plenty more contract and cap updates to pass along, so let’s dive right in….

  • The Bills extended contract tenders to all four of their exclusive rights free agents, and cornerback Brandon Smith has accepted his, according to Joe Buscaglia of WGR550 (Twitter links). With Smith set to return to the team on a one-year, minimum-salary deal, offensive guard Antoine McClain, fullback Frank Summers, and wide receiver Chris Hogan will also be back in Buffalo if and when they sign their tenders.
  • Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link) has the details on Jeremiah Ratliff‘s new two-year contract with the Bears. It’s worth a total of $4MM, with $600K guaranteed.
  • The cap figures on Troy Polamalu‘s new three-year contract with the Steelers are $6.387MM (2014), $8.25MM (2015), and $8MM (2016), with respective base salaries of $1.5MM, $6MM, and $5.75MM, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link).
  • The Browns have extended a contract tender to inside linebacker Craig Robertson, according to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal. Robertson, who was an exclusive rights free agent, will be in line for a minimum salary of $570K for 2014.
  • New one-year deals for running backs Jackie Battle (Titans) and Bobby Rainey (Bucs) are both worth the minimum, according to Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean and Tom Pelissero of USA Today, respectively (Twitter links). Battle’s minimum salary ($855K) is a little more substantial than Rainey’s ($570K) due to his extra years of service time.
  • Wyatt also shares (via Twitter) a few more specifics on Bernard Pollard‘s two-year deal with the Titans, which has base salaries of $1.65MM in 2014 and $3.1MM in 2015.