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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.

NFC East Notes: Thurmond, Eagles, Cowboys

August 9th, 2014 at 10:19am CST by Matt Feminis

When asked about the most impressive player he’s seen in Giants camp, ESPN’s Dan Graziano identified cornerback Walter Thurmond, saying the free-agent acquisition has been “making life miserable for slot receiver Victor Cruz in practice. Thurmond could be a difference-maker at that nickel corner position for the Giants this year.” Thurmond, 26, signed a one-year, $3MM deal in March, at which time ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, a former director of pro personnel for the Eagles, lauded the signing as a potential steal: “If he can stay healthy and out of trouble, it’s a tremendous value signing. . .He’s a dynamite press corner, who is as good with his technique as [Seattle’s] Byron Maxwell, as [Seattle’s] Richard Sherman. Walter is very good. He can play in the nickel because he’s big enough, because he can tackle, because he’s a good blitzer. And he can play on the outside. Not only can he press, he can play them all.”

The numbers back up Riddick’s assessment. Despite starting just three of 12 games played last season for the Super Bowl champion Seahawks, Thurmond tallied 24 tackles, six pass breakups, an interception (29-yard TD) and a forced fumble. Additionally, his 5.7 coverage rating was higher than teammate Brandon Browner, who signed for three years and $16.8MM in New England.

So why did the Giants land such a good player at such an affordable deal? He’s been plagued by injuries since entering the league, and was popped for a four-game suspension last season for violating the substance-abuse policy. Nevertheless, he brings supreme confidence to the Giants secondary. In April Thurmond proclaimed himself the best slot corner in the league. By July, he was drawing praise from teammates and coaches, including head man Tom Coughlin, who likes Thurmond’s attitude. Now, a week into August, he’s established himself as the ‘Quiet Assassin.”

Here’s a few more NFC East links:

Patriots Notes: Revis, Edelman, Anderson

June 7th, 2014 at 3:28pm CST by Peter Sowards

Defense was the cornerstone of the Patriots’ three Super Bowl victories between 2001 and 2004, and stellar play from the secondary had much to do with it. Now, with the addition of Darrelle Revis, arguably the best defensive back in football, coach Bill Belichick has more flexibility than ever to implement his defensive strategy, opines ESPN.com’s Jeffri Chadiha.

Revis’ inclusion to the team means good things for the rest of his defensive counterparts, per Chadiha. Safety Devin McCourty can take more chances, defensive end Chandler Jones could add to his 11.5 sacks last season, and the defense could regain the swagger last seen in the Romeo Crennel days of yesteryear.

More from the defending AFC East champs below…

AFC East Notes: Stadium, Tannehill, Pryor

June 6th, 2014 at 9:50pm CST by Rob DiRe

The Dolphins‘ are reportedly very close to landing a $400MM upgrade to Sun Life Stadium, reports Patricia Mazzei and Andres Vaglucci of the Miami Herald. Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Giminez will attempt to secure the deal over the weekend.

Giminez stated that the stadium will be funded by tourist’s taxes.

Here are some other notes from around the AFC East:

  • With Colin Kaepernick‘s new extension, the Dolphins can start to consider their own quarterback’s next contract, writes James Walker of ESPN.com. Walker looks at other $100MM quarterbacks such as Matthew Stafford, Jay Cutler, and Joe Flacco and how they compare to Ryan Tannehill so far.
  • Jets‘ first-round pick Calvin Pryor is fitting right in with the team’s mentality, already taking his shots at the team’s biggest rivals, and their arch-nemesis Tom Brady, writes of Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. “We don’t like Tom at all,” Pryor said. “When I first came here, that was one of the first things I heard about: We hate the Patriots and we hate the Giants. So we hate those guys and I look forward to playing them this season.”
  • Patriots‘ new corner tandem of Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner are bullying the team’s receivers in OTAs, writes Nick Underhill of MassLive.com. The receivers are frustrated by their lack of opportunities against the pair, but are impressed by what their teammates will be unleashing when they first play together in week five. Browner is suspended for the first four games.

NFC Notes: Cousins, Robinson, Davis, Brown, Dotson, Maxwell, Washington

May 30th, 2014 at 7:00pm CST by Matt Feminis

Redskins backup quarterback Kirk Cousins was regarded as a prospect with starter-caliber potential coming out of Michigan State in 2012, and despite posting lackluster numbers in eight career games (four starts), his name surfaced in trade rumors earlier in the offseason. In an article by Mark Maske in the Washington Post, Cousins acknowledges he was aware of the speculation, but “never really got a whole lot of information.” Said Cousins: “I didn’t know what was truth and what was rumors, what was speculation. So it was hard for me to really read into anything because you didn’t know how true it was. So I think for the most part it was smart for me just to stay out of it.”

In other NFC notes. . .

  • ESPN’s Redskins reporter John Keim did an interview on 890 AM in which he said receiver Leonard Hankerson, who is recovering from a torn ACL/LCL injury, is questionable for the start of training camp. After witnessing Hankerson barely going half-speed in minicamp, Keim said he wouldn’t be surprised if Hankerson begins the season on the PUP list.
  • Keim also singled out third-year linebacker Keenan Robinson, whose speed and range were on display during minicamp. According to Keim, the team has been high on Robinson for two years, envisioning him as London Fletcher‘s replacement at middle linebacker. However, torn pectoral muscles landed Robinson on IR 11 games into his 2012 rookie season and sidelined him for all of 2013. Robinson’s time might be now, adds the Washington Post’s Mike Jones, who says Robinson “has done well in classroom sessions and on-field workouts this offseason” and “appeared at ease on Thursday as he made the defensive calls, and matched the tempo of the returning starters…”
  • Vernon Davis, who is seeking a new contract, was coy when asked if he’ll be at the 49ers’ involuntary minicamp, according to Eric Branch at sfgate.com: “I might be there,” [Davis] said, smiling. “I might not. It’s mandatory. I probably should be there. We’ll see.”
  • Through a series of unforeseen events, Stevie Brown is once again working as one of the Giants’ first-team safeties alongside Antrel Rolle, writes ESPN’s Dan Graziano. Brown, who missed last season because of a torn ACL, is on a one-year, $2.75MM deal.
  • The Buccaneers’ offensive line struggled last season, but college basketball player-turned-defensive lineman-turned-practice squad flier-turned-offensive tackle starter Demar Dotson could be developing into a star, according to Michael Renner at Pro Football Focus. Dotson, playing on a three-year, $4.5MM deal that runs out after 2016, “is far and away one of the best values at his position,” believes Renner.
  • Despite losing Brandon Browner and Walter Thurmond in free agency, the Seahawks vaunted secondary “shouldn’t skip a beat” in the estimation of Pro Football Focus’ Pete Damilatis, who believes third-year cornerback Byron Maxwell is the team’s “Secret Superstar.”
  • In the wake of Cardinals star linebacker Daryl Washington‘s one-year suspension, Darren Urban of azcardinals.com explains why it doesn’t make sense to cut Washington.

AFC Notes: Beckham, Dolphins, Chiefs

April 19th, 2014 at 8:45pm CST by Peter Sowards

A source confirmed to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald today that the Dolphins will host LSU wide receiver Odell Beckham, using one one of the team’s 30 allotted non-local visits.

Beckham caught 59 passes for 1,152 yards and eight touchdowns in 2013 for the Tigers and is projected as a first-round pick.

Does Beckham’s visit mean Miami is souring on Mike Wallace just one year into his contract? That’s the logic argued by Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith, noting that Wallace wasn’t signed by current GM Dennis Hickey and that Hickey “probably” doesn’t have any intentions with Wallace beyond this season. Or, the Dolphins are just doing their due diligence and trying to find out as much about as many worthy draft-eligible prospects as possible.

More news and notes from the American Football Conference…

  • A position-by-position look at the Chiefs‘ cap situation by Terez A. Paylor of The Kansas City Star, as well as each player’s base salary, cap number, Pro Football Focus grade and contract expiration date.
  • The Chiefs may need to be prepared to draft a quarterback with the No. 23 pick, Paylor writes.
  • Four Patriots — Brandon Browner, Rob Gronkowski, Logan Mankins and Jerod Mayo — have an offseason workout bonus of $250K, and the team begins its offseason workouts on Monday, writes Field Yates of ESPNBoston.com. 15 players are eligible to receive offseason workout bonuses if they participate in at least 80-90% of the workouts with a total possible payout of $1.74MM.

Mark Dominik Talks Darrelle Revis

March 29th, 2014 at 12:09pm CST by Peter Sowards

The general manager who traded first- and fourth-round picks a year ago for Darrelle Revis, as well as signing him to a six-year, $96MM contract, is no longer a general manager. Mark Dominik lost his job with the Buccaneers after a tumultuous 4-12 season and is now an NFL insider for ESPN, but he has first-hand knowledge of Revis, who signed with the Patriots after his release from Tampa Bay. Field Yates of ESPN.com spoke with Dominik to glean insight on the All-Pro cornerback, as well as fellow Patriots defensive backs Brandon Browner and Logan Ryan.

On Revis’ greatness:

“Revis to me, in spending time around him, has unique anticipation. Elite anticipation is probably the right way to use it. He has a way of feeling it, understanding routes, reading the hops of players, reading the eyes, [the] general feel and he’s exceptional with ball skills. He knows how to break on the ball, where to use his hands to avoid penalties, and he obviously has soft hands for interceptions. His ball awareness and ball skills, and then again anticipation, are what make him an elite corner.”

On Revis the person: 

“Darrelle is very low maintenance, very down to earth. Not full of himself, a really good dude, soft spoken, but will speak when he feels like he needs to. He’s a great teammate that way. And really, he’s a good man. He comes from a good family, his mother is a wonderful lady, and Darrelle’s a unique person, and I think he doesn’t usually talk much unless he’s provoked. And Darrelle just lets his play talk.”

On Revis’ surgically repaired knee:

“Coming off an ACL as a cornerback, a lot of guys have made that transition, and sometimes it takes more than a year. I think Darrelle still played at a very high level, we put him in some tough spots in terms of coverage, but at the end of the day he still was what I thought was the elite corner that we traded for. That’s why I think it’s a great acquisition for the New England Patriots.”

On Browner: 

“Browner is a huge corner. Just really long from his ankle to knee and then his knee to his arms. I mean that’s what his advantage is. He’s going to be a little bit tighter in space, short-area quickness, [those are] the things he’s going to struggle with. He’s going to come up and maul you at the line of scrimmage, beat you up, and he’ll tackle you. They have big corners, thick corners, and that’s obviously what coach Belichick is looking for.”

On Ryan:

“Very smart football player, extremely smart. Understands angle, good positioning. Again, good with his hands, and he has enough speed. His big thing that everybody talks about is the top-end speed, but again, if you get a pass rush and you get a guy who understands early stuff and uses his hands well, you can eliminate some of that speed deficiency, and I think Logan can do that.”

AFC Notes: Titans, Browner, Clowney, Chiefs

March 25th, 2014 at 4:10pm CST by Luke Adams

The Eagles are considered the favorites to land Mark Sanchez, and it’s hard to determine which other teams may be a threat to Philadelphia for the signal-caller. The Seahawks have been ruled out as a destination, and reported interest from the Rams and Giants has been significantly downplayed. Now, Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com suggests that another rumored suitor isn’t seriously in the mix, tweeting that the Titans don’t have interest in bringing Sanchez aboard. As we wait to see where the former Jet lands, let’s check out a few more notes from around the AFC….

  • Chris Johnson‘s future with the Titans remains in limbo, as Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean writes.
  • In a series of four tweets, Tom Pelissero of USA Today explains how Brandon Browner‘s contract with the Patriots works, complete with financial specifics.
  • Field Yates of ESPN Boston (Twitter link) has the details on the playing-time incentives in Michael Vick‘s new deal with the Jets. As Yates outlines, Vick can earn bonuses up to $1MM depending on whether he appears in 50% ($100K), 60% ($300K), 70% ($550K), 80% ($900K), or 90% ($1MM) of the Jets’ snaps.
  • Texans head coach Bill O’Brien plans to attend Jadeveon Clowney‘s Pro Day next week, and is looking forward to continuing the “good talk” he had with Clowney at the combine, tweets James Palmer of CSNHouston.com.
  • Chiefs head coach Andy Reid confirmed that he spoke to free agent receiver Jason Avant, but suggested there’s nothing there when it comes to the team’s interest in the former Eagle. Reid instead hinted that he and Avant may work together down the road, according to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter links).
  • Chris Owens‘ one-year contract with the Chiefs is worth $800K, which includes a $730K base salary and a $70K workout bonus, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. $80K of Owens’ base salary is guaranteed.
  • Fullback Jamize Olawale has signed his exclusive rights tender to remain with the Raiders, the team announced today (Twitter link).

AFC Notes: Ravens, Pats, Chargers, Moreno

March 22nd, 2014 at 10:25am CST by Matt Feminis

The Ravens’ free agent activity has been characterized by value signings, writes ESPN.com’s Jamison Hensley. The team was able to sign four starters and their top kick returner without breaking the bank. Additionally, the Ravens will actually be paying Steve Smith less ($4.5MM) than the Panthers ($5MM) are on the hook for this season.

Other AFC news and notes:

East Notes: Jackson, Browner, Giants, Dolphins

March 17th, 2014 at 12:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier this month, Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer shot down rumors suggesting the Eagles could trade or release DeSean Jackson this offseason, but that didn’t stop the wide receiver from reading those earlier reports himself. According to Tim McManus of PhillyMag.com, Jackson is “troubled” by what has been written about him and is unsure about his standing on the team, while the Eagles have yet to contact him to offer him assurance. While it may not be a significant issue at this point, it has become “a bit of a distraction,” one of Jackson’s confidantes tells McManus.

Here’s more from the NFL’s two East divisions:

  • Brandon Browner‘s three-year deal with the Patriots has a base value of $12.35MM, but can be worth up to $16.8MM. Field Yates and Mike Reiss of ESPN.com break down exactly what the cornerback’s contract looks like, and how he can reach those incentives.
  • The Giants had, and may still have, some interest in free agent defensive end Robert Ayers, tweets Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News. Ayers is visiting the Bengals tomorrow.
  • The Dolphins haven’t ruled out the possibility of re-signing offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie, who is willing to move over to right tackle for his next team, as he said on WQAM (link via Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun Sentinel). The veteran lineman also suggested he may wait until after May’s draft to sign.
  • Cortland Finnegan‘s two-year contract with the Dolphins includes a $2MM signing bonus, a $3.5MM guaranteed base salary in 2014, and a $5.45MM non-guaranteed base in 2015, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
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