Brandon Doughty

Cardinals Cut Two QBs

The Cardinals have trimmed two quarterbacks from the roster. Signal callers Brandon Doughty and Alek Torgersen were handed their pink slips on Monday afternoon, the team announced.

Arizona claimed Doughty and Torgersen off waivers April 5 when they were cut by the Dolphins and Lions, respectively. The It appears the team likes what it has seen from Princeton quarterback Chad Kanoff – a UDFA signing – leading to the release of both players after just one month on the roster.

After the selection of Josh Rosen in April, it seemed very unlikely that either Doughty or Torgersen would make the final cut. The Cardinals plan to start Sam Bradford in Week 1 with Rosen and Mike Glennon in support, giving them the standard three QBs. Kanoff is now positioned to serve as a camp arm for Arizona and appears more likely to be a practice squad signee than a main roster addition.

Torgersen played his college football at Penn before hooking on with the Falcons as a UDFA in 2017. He missed the final cut and hooked on with the Redskins’ taxi squad before finishing out the year in Detroit.

Doughty, a seventh-round pick of Miami in 2016, re-upped with the team on a reserve/futures deal in January before he was cut by the Fins this year. In his final year at Western Kentucky, Doughty completed 71.9% of his passes for 5,055 yards with 48 touchdowns against just nine interceptions.

Cardinals Claim 2 QBs Off Waivers

The Cardinals have added not just one, but two quarterbacks off of the waiver wire. On Thursday, Arizona was awarded QB Brandon Doughty from the Dolphins and QB Alek Torgersen from the Lions, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

The signal callers join starter Sam Bradford and primary backup Mike Glennon on the Cards’ QB depth chart. Of course, the Cardinals will not carry more than three QBs on the final roster, so Doughty and Torgersen will be competing for one spot. There could also be additional veterans or rookies (both drafted and undrafted) thrown into the mix.

Torgersen played his college football at Penn before hooking on with the Falcons as a UDFA in 2017. He missed the final cut and hooked on with the Redskins’ taxi squad before finishing out the year in Detroit.

Doughty, a seventh-round pick of Miami in 2016, re-upped with the team on a reserve/futures deal in January before being handed a pink slip this week. In his final year at Western Kentucky, Doughty completed 71.9% of his passes for 5,055 yards with 48 touchdowns against just nine interceptions.

Minor NFL Transactions: 4/4/18

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

  • Signed: K/P Brett Maher
  • Waived: WR Brian Brown

Detroit Lions

  • Waived: QB Alek Torgersen

Indianapolis Colts

Miami Dolphins

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/2/18

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:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

  • WR Jake Kumerow
  • WR Colby Pearson
  • TE Robert Tonyan
  • LS Zach Triner
  • WR DeAngelo Yancey

Read more

East Notes: Giants, McAdoo, McDaniels, Dolphins

Has Ben McAdoo lost control of the Giants? Two unnamed players told Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that McAdoo is no longer the right coach in New York.

McAdoo has lost this team,” one of the anonymous players said. “He’s got going 80 percent on Saturdays before we get on a plane to play a game, it’s wild. Changed our off day. He’s dishing out fines like crazy. Suspended two of our stars when we need them most. Throws us under the bus all the time. He’s ran us into the ground and people wonder why we’ve been getting got.”

The Giants are 1-7 heading into Sunday’s game against San Francisco.

Here’s more from the East divisions:

  • If the Giants fire McAdoo, Ralph Vacchiano of SNY speculates that Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels will be among those considered for the job. If GM Jerry Reese is also canned, the Giants could move to put together an ex-Pats tandem of Scott Pioli and McDaniels. Of course, it will take a lot to lure McDaniels away from New England where he might be the eventual successor to Bill Belichick. Besides McDaniels, Vacchiano lists Bucs defensive coordinator Mike Smith, Alabama coach Nick Saban, Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley, Eagles OC Frank Reich, Stanford coach David Shaw, and Lions DC Teryl Austin as other names to keep in mind.
  • The Jay Ajayi trade was puzzling to some within the Dolphins organization, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald hears. One Dolphins person who in the locker room frequently said he never saw malcontent behavior from Ajayi.
  • Practice squad quarterback Brandon Doughty was passed over for a promotion a couple of weeks ago when the Dolphins signed David Fales as a backup. But, the team made it up by giving him a raise from $7,200/week to $15,200/week, Jackson writes. “It was a good raise,” Doughty said, adding he appreciated it. “He put his money where his mouth is. He said he wanted a veteran backup with experience. At the end of the day, you want to be on the 53.” Doughty is in his second year with Miami.
  • Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has threatened to sue the NFL over Roger Goodell‘s pending extension.

AFC Notes: Jackson, Luck, Novak, Dolphins

Hue Jackson‘s record with the Browns is now 1-22, and that has naturally led to questions regarding the head coach’s job security. While Jackson might not have the support of the team’s brass, one of his fellow NFL head coaches believes the team is in good shape.

“Hue is a heck of a football coach,” said Vikings coach Mike Zimmer (via Nate Ulrich of Ohio.com). “He’s tough. He’s smart. He’s a great competitor. I know that it’s taking him a little bit longer than what he has anticipated, but he’s going to get that thing turned around. That’s the kind of guy he is. He will never stop or relax until he gets it all right.

“Really, they are not that far away. They are really good on defense, and they just turn the ball over offensively.”

Jackson and Zimmer previously coached together in Cincinnati, and they served as the coordinators for the 2007 Falcons. The Browns will be seeking their first win of the season when they play the Vikings tomorrow in London.

Let’s take a look at some more notes from around the AFC…

  • If Andrew Luck is ultimately cleared to play, he should be taking the field for the Colts, opines Stephen Holder of the Indy Star. The writer understands that there’s some risk to playing a previously-injured franchise quarterback when the team is already out of the playoff hunt. However, Holder believes there are several benefits to having Luck take over under center. If the quarterback misses the entire season, he’ll end up going 20 months without playing in an NFL game. Inserting Luck into the lineup would also allow him to get “reacclimated” with the system and his teammates, which could be instrumental if the team hopes to compete in 2018.
  • Nick Novak is currently dealing with an ankle injury, and the Chargers worked out three kickers yesterday. However, ESPN.com’s Eric Williams tweets that the veteran is expected to play this weekend. The 36-year-old has appeared in three games this season, converting three of his four field goal attempts.
  • Dolphins practice squad quarterback Brandon Doughty wasn’t promoted to the active roster this week. However, ESPN.com’s Field Yates tweets that the former seventh-rounder did get a pay raise, as his weekly salary was bumped from $7,200 to $15,200.

Sunday NFL Transactions: AFC East

Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four AFC East teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions for the BillsDolphinsPatriots, and Jets are noted below.

Additionally, as of 12:00pm CT today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.

Here are Sunday’s AFC East transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:

Buffalo Bills

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New York Jets

Dolphins Reach 53-Man Max

The Dolphins reached the 53-man roster maximum. Here’s how:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Released:

Placed on IR:

PUP List:

Williams played in ten games between the Chiefs and Dolphins last season, finishing with eight tackles. He restructured his deal in March, but it wasn’t enough to keep his spot in Miami.

Young was slated to make $1.2MM in 2017 per the terms of the extension he signed in the winter.

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/10/17

Today’s minor moves:

Reserve/Futures Contracts

Miami Dolphins

San Diego Chargers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Practice Squad

Dallas Cowboys

Dolphins Shut Mike Pouncey Down For Season

Mike Pouncey‘s season is over. After wrestling with how to handle their injured center, the Dolphins will place Pouncey on IR following his meeting with a specialist early Tuesday morning, Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald writes. Mike Pouncey (Vertical)

The Dolphins feared that Pouncey would do further damage to his surgically-repaired hip if he continued to play this year. And, if they left the decision up to him, he probably would have let his competitive nature overrule the long-term view. Miami took the decision out of the Pro Bowler’s hands, which will hopefully allow him to return pain-free in 2017. Right now, the belief is that his injury is not career-threatening, despite previous reports to the contrary.

Now that the Dolphins have an open roster spot, they are likely to use that room to sign a quarterback. With Ryan Tannehill likely out of action this weekend, Miami will need a backup QB behind Matt Moore. In theory, the team could promote seventh-round rookie Brandon Doughty from the practice squad to fill that role, but Salguero hears that they are more likely to go out-of-house.

The Dolphins are taking the long view with Pouncey, but their season is far from over. According to Five Thirty Eight, the 8-5 Dolphins have a 27% chance of making the playoffs.