HEADLINES

Ben Bass

East Notes: Revis, Washington, Jets, Giants

December 4th, 2014 at 9:02am CST by Luke Adams

There were times last season in Tampa Bay when Darrelle Revis didn’t necessarily look like one of the league’s best cornerbacks, but the veteran corner has re-established himself this year in New England, according to ESPN.com’s Mike Sando (Insider link), who calls Revis the year’s No. 1 free agent or trade acquisition. The East’s two division leaders get nods in Sando’s piece, with the Patriots being recognized for their signing of Revis and the Eagles lauded for their trade for Darren Sproles, who ranks seventh on the list.

Here’s more from around the NFC and AFC East divisions:

  • Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com expects quarterback Colt McCoy to return to Washington next season, but notes that McCoy is eligible for free agency, and if he reaches the open market, he’ll likely get offers from other teams after holding his own as a starter this year.
  • 35-year-old Washington safety Ryan Clark is focused on finishing this season strong, and isn’t thinking about his NFL future, writes Liz Clarke of the Washington Post. Still, while Clark stopped short of saying he’ll retire, he indicated that this season could be his last.
  • The Jets brought in several players for tryouts this week, focusing on the defensive line and special teams, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). Wilson reports that the club worked out defensive linemen Ben Bass, Kona Schwenke, and Zach Thompson, punters Kasey Redfern and Jacob Schum, and long snapper Patrick Scales.
  • In addition to working out cornerback Keith Lewis, whose audition was previously reported, Washington also took a look at running back Terrance Cobb and offensive lineman Rishaw Johnson earlier this week, tweets Wilson. Johnson has since signed with the division-rival Giants‘ practice squad.
  • Those Giants worked out several players of their own this week, per Wilson, who provides the list of participants (Twitter link): D.J. Bryant (OLB), Mike Golic Jr. (OL), Dion Lewis (RB), Jordan McCray (OL), and Uani Unga (LB).

Workout Notes: Thursday

November 20th, 2014 at 12:46pm CST by Luke Adams

The Panthers, still somehow right in the thick of things in the NFC South race, took advantage of their bye week to bring in a number of players for auditions yesterday. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports that Carolina worked out the following players: Austin Pettis (WR), Uzoma Nwachukwu (WR), Zach Bauman (RB), Toben Opurum (RB), Brad Sorensen (QB), M.D. Jennings (DB), Kimario McFadden (DB), Anthony Walters (DB), and Lou Young (DB). Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun adds one more name to the list, tweeting that wide receiver Michael Preston also visited the team.

Wilson has details on several more tryouts for free agent players this week, so let’s round up his updates (all links go to Twitter):

Practice Squad Updates: Thursday

October 30th, 2014 at 4:48pm CST by Luke Adams

We’ll track today’s practice squad signings and cuts, in this space. Here’s the latest:

  • According to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (Twitter link), the Seahawks‘ practice squad is full again at 10 players after the team signed tight end Brett Brackett and wide receiver Chris Matthews, cutting tight end Rashaun Allen to make room.
  • The Patriots have formally confirmed the signing of offensive lineman Chris Barker to their practice squad, a move which was reported yesterday. To make room for Barker, New England has cut defensive lineman Ben Bass.

Earlier updates:

  • The Browns have signed former Seahawks wideout Phil Bates to their practice squad, cutting defensive back Marcus Cromartie to make room, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. Danny O’Neil of 710 ESPN in Seattle first reported yesterday (via Twitter) that Bates, who was cut this week by Seattle, had cleared waivers and was headed to Cleveland.
  • After waiving him earlier this week to sign veteran safety Charles Godfrey, the Falcons have re-signed safety Sean Baker to their practice squad, the team announced today in a press release. Baker, who was on Atlanta’s taxi squad for nearly all of September, takes the spot vacated by safety Kimario McFadden, who has been cut.

Minor Moves: Friday

September 26th, 2014 at 4:57pm CST by Luke Adams

We’ll track Friday’s minor transactions from around the NFL right here, as teams gear up for Week 4’s games. The latest moves will be added to the top of the list throughout the day….

  • The Patriots have replaced offensive lineman Chris Martin on their practice squad, re-adding defensive tackle Ben Bass to take his place, as Phil Perry of CSNNE.com writes.
  • Giants cornerback Jayron Hosley has been reinstated from suspension following the Giants’ fourth game of the season last night, tweets Howard Balzer of The SportsXchange. The team will receive a roster exemption for Hosley, meaning New York will have until Monday to decide whether to cut the cornerback or someone else in order to get down to 53 players.

Earlier updates:

  • According to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter), the Ravens have cut defensive tackle A.J. Pataiali’i from their practice squad. With Fitzgerald Toussaint and Deonte Thompson returning to the squad after being waived from the active roster, the team is now carrying the maximum 10 players.
  • Safety Chris Prosinski, who was recently placed on injured reserve by the Jaguars, has been removed from the team’s IR list with an injury settlement, tweets John Oesher of Jaguars.com. I touched on how injury settlements work earlier today in my PFR Glossary post explaining the injured reserve list.

Pats Cut Six Players, Place Two On IR

August 26th, 2014 at 3:45pm CST by Luke Adams

3:45pm: The Pats are now down to 75 players, after officially announcing their last few roster moves of the day. According to a press release, New England also cut defensive lineman Ben Bass and defensive back Jemea Thomas, and placed linebacker Cameron Gordon on injured reserve.

12:14pm: Defensive back Travis Hawkins will also be waived by the Pats, according to Howe (via Twitter).

12:12pm: The Patriots continue to reduce their roster count on their way to getting down to 75 players by this afternoon’s deadline. While the team has yet to officially announce its latest transactions, Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald reports (via Twitter) that rookie receiver Wilson Van Hooser has been waived and that the team will place running back Tyler Gaffney on injured reserve. Additionally, wideout Derrick Johnson and linebacker Deontae Skinner will be among the Pats’ cuts, according to reports from Christopher Price of WEEI.com and Shalise Manza Young of the Boston Globe (Twitter link).

According to Howe (via Twitter), Van Hooser has already received some interest from a couple other NFL teams, and looks like a candidate to land on a practice squad somewhere. The wideout could technically still end up signing with New England’s practice squad, though typically a player waived during the first wave of cuts won’t be among a team’s top choices.

As for Gaffney, the Pats originally claimed him off waivers from Carolina, when the Panthers tried to sneak him through to their own injured reserve list. However, by hanging on to him until roster cutdowns, New England will no longer have to put Gaffney through waivers to place him on IR.

By our count, New England will still have 79 active players on its roster after these four moves, so four more transactions will be necessary this afternoon.

Cowboys Acquire Justin Green From Patriots

August 12th, 2014 at 5:55pm CST by Zachary Links

The Cowboys have acquired cornerback Justin Green from the Patriots in exchange for defensive tackle Ben Bass, according to Nick Eatman of DallasCowboys.com. The Cowboys, of course, recently lost starting cornerback Orlando Scandrick to a four game suspension.

Green, who stands at 5’10” and 200 pounds, came to the Pats as a UDFA and was mainly on the practice squad but also enjoyed a two-game stint on the active roster. Green will join stable of cornerbacks including Brandon Carr, Morris Claiborne, Sterling Moore, B.W. Webb, and Terrance Mitchell, until Scandrick returns in Week 5. Claiborne and Carr are the presumptive starters at the two primary cornerback spots. The 23-year-old began his collegiate career as a running back before coaches asked him to apply his speed to the cornerback position starting in his sophomore year.

Bass, 25 in October, has been hobbled with hamstring issues and hasn’t practiced much in training camp with the Cowboys this season. The defensive tackle/end first made the Cowboys’ roster in 2012 as an undrafted free agent from Texas A&M who played two games as a rookie. Last year, injuries cost him his entire season and he spent all year on the injured reserve.