Brandon Dunn

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/3/15

Here are today’s minor signings, cuts and other transactions from around the NFL as 28 teams are making their final preparations for Week 4.

  • A fixture in this space, defensive end Frank Kearse once again received notice of his being cut by Washington, Mike Jones of the Washington Post reports (on Twitter), to make room for cornerback Deshazor Everett‘s promotion from the practice squad. Initially, Washington waived Everett, an undrafted player out of Texas A&M who signed with the Bucs initially, last month. But now with Chris Culliver questionable for Sunday’s game with a knee injury, per Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter), cornerback depth is needed. Kearse has played in 31 games since 2011, including 15 with Washington in 2014, but has been yo-yoing on and off the Washington roster this season.
  • The Packers activated suspended defensive tackle Letroy Guion, who will take injured tight end Andrew Quarless‘ place on the 53-man roster, according to Jason Wilde of ESPNWisconsin.com (on Twitter). Guion missed three games due to a substance abuse-induced suspension. Green Bay placed Quarless on short-term IR with an MCL sprain.
  • The Packers also made a move to fortify their ailing receiving corps, promoting Jared Abbrederis from their practice squad, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com reports. To make room for the second-year receiver from Wisconsin, Green Bay cut defensive lineman Bruce Gaston. The Packers downgraded Davante Adams from questionable to doubtful, creating a void at the position. Abbrederis has reportedly excelled as a practice-squadder thus far this season, according to the Milwauke Journal Sentinel’s Tom Silverstein (Twitter link).
  • After punting 10 times against the Seahawks last weekend, Pat O’Donnell will miss the Bears‘ game against the Raiders with a knee injury. As a result, the Bears signed Spencer Lanning, per Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times. The Browns’ punter in 2013-14 before their trade for Andy Lee, Lanning spent time with the Broncos this summer before being a preseason cut. The Bears waived defensive tackle Brandon Dunn to make room, but Finley adds he could be a practice squad candidate.
  • The Buccaneers promoted cornerback Jude Adjei-Barimah to their 53-man roster and cut tackle Reid Fragel, Jenna Laine of SportsTalkFlorida.com reports (on Twitter). The longtime Bucs scribe indicates that the promotion of the undrafted rookie provides an indication as to whether regular right corner Johnthan Banks, who left the Bucs’ Week 3 game with a knee malady, will play Sunday.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/19/15

Here are the latest minor moves from across the NFL:

  • The Patriots released wide receiver Jonathan Krause, who was on injured reserve, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. Krause went undrafted out of Vanderbilt and has spent time with both the Cleveland and New England organizations.
  • The Eagles reached an injury settlement with defensive end Brian Mihalik, per Wilson (Twitter link). Mihalik, formerly of Boston College, was a seventh-round pick of the Eagles in this year’s draft.
  • The Raiders signed safety Tevin McDonald from their practice squad, according to their website. McDonald is an undrafted rookie from Eastern Washington.
  • Washington cut defensive end Frank Kearse and signed linebacker Terrance Plummer from its practice squad, per Mike Jones of the Washington Post (Twitter link). Kearse amassed career highs in games (15), tackles (12) and sacks (three) as a member of Washington’s defense in 2014. He appeared in 16 games from 2011-13 with the Panthers and Cowboys. Plummer is an undrafted rookie from Central Florida.
  • The Bears cut defensive back Demontre Hurst and promoted defensive lineman Brandon Dunn from their practice squad, according to ESPN’s Jeff Dickerson (Twitter link). Hurst totaled 39 tackles and an interception as an undrafted rookie last year, and added a tackle in the Bears’ loss to Green Bay last week. Dunn, also in his second year, spent most of last season on the Bears’ practice squad. He appeared in three games and made one tackle.

Earlier updates:

  • In order to make room for Phillips, San Diego cut wide receiver Tyrell Williams, per Gehlken (on Twitter). Williams, who will traverse the waivers process, had a standout preseason as a rookie. This cut leaves the Chargers thinner at receiver. Gehlken estimates only four dressing Sunday, with Dontrelle Inman residing as the Bolts’ only backup.
  • The Chargers added Adrian Phillips from their practice squad, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Michael Gehlken (on Twitter). They will make a corresponding move later today, per Gehlken. An undrafted rookie safety in 2014, Phillips suited up for three games last year for the Chargers.
  • The Jaguars moved cornerback Peyton Thompson to their active roster and cut wideout Bryan Walters to make room, Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union reports (on Twitter). A fourth-year veteran, Thompson played two games for the Jags last season after spending 2012 in Atlanta and 2013 with Washington. Walters, 28, played one game in Jacksonville last season while playing the previous two with the Seahawks. He booked a start for the 2013 Super Bowl champion Seahawks after starting his career in San Diego two years prior.
  • The Panthers also swapped out a wide receiver for another position in cutting Damiere Byrd, an undrafted rookie from South Carolina, from their practice squad to make room for offensive tackle Pierce Burton on their 10-man unit, David Newton of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). The Falcons released Burton from their practice squad last week.
  • Rookie UDFA wide receiver Javess Blue received an injury settlement from the Packers, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). Due to the settlement, Blue cannot re-sign with Green Bay for at least six weeks.
  • The Vikings reached an injury settlement with 2015 sixth-round offensive lineman Tyrus Thompson, per Wilson (on Twitter). The 23-year-old from Oklahoma took first-team reps with the Vikings at right guard this summer before the team moved tackle Mike Harris inside, where he starts now.

NFC Practice Squad Updates: 9/7/15

While many teams filled up their 10-man practice squads on Sunday, plenty of teams didn’t confirm their moves right away, or kept a few spots open on those units. On top of that, at least one club that signed 10 players to its taxi squad on Sunday has already made several changes, bringing in new players and jettisoning players who didn’t even spend 24 hours on the squad.

We’ll have updates on Monday’s NFC practice squad signings and cuts in this space, with teams listed in alphabetical order. When new moves occur, we’ll bump this post back to the top of the page. Here’s a round-up of today’s moves:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Signed (link via Josh Weinfuss):
    • CB Cariel Brooks
    • T Rob Crisp
    • LB Gabe Martin
    • G Antoine McClain
    • WR Jaxon Shipley
    • RB Kerwynn Williams
    • CB Leon McFadden

Atlanta Falcons

  • Signed (press release):
    • LB Derek Akunne
    • T Pierce Burton
    • CB Akeem King
    • QB Matt Simms
    • LB Tyler Starr

Chicago Bears

  • Signed (Twitter links):
    • LB Lamin Barrow
    • T Nick Becton
    • DL Brandon Dunn
    • CB Jacoby Glenn
    • WR Jalen Saunders

Dallas Cowboys

  • Signed (Twitter link via Todd Archer):
    • OT John Wetzel
    • Tim Scott
    • LB Dakorey Johnson
  • To be signed:

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed (press release):
    • RB John Crockett
    • CB Robertson Daniel
    • DT Christian Ringo

New Orleans Saints

  • Signed (via Evan Woodbery on Twitter):
    • TE Blake Annen
    • CB Don Jones

New York Giants

San Francisco 49ers

  • Signed:

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Signed (press release):
    • T Edawn Coughman
    • T Terren Jones
    • WR Rannell Hall
    • TE Cameron Brate

Washington:

Minor Moves: Wednesday

In addition to tracking Wednesday’s practice squad signings and cuts, we’ll also be keeping tabs on minor transactions involving teams’ 53-man rosters. Here’s the latest:

  • The Saints have promoted defensive tackle Lawrence Virgil to the 53-man roster in the wake of Brodrick Bunkley‘s injury, according to Ramon Antonio Vargas of The Advocate (via Twitter).
  • A day after being cut by the Buccaneers, wide receiver and kick returner Marcus Thigpen has been claimed off waivers by the Bills, says Mike Rodak of ESPN.com, adding that Buffalo has released defensive end Bryan Johnson in the corresponding move (Twitter links). Presumably the Bills are eyeing Thigpen as a return specialist, despite the fact that he muffed a couple punts in recent weeks for the Bucs.
  • After injuring his foot more than a month ago, tight end David Ausberry has finally been moved to the injured reserve list by the Raiders, with the team promoting defensive tackle Ricky Lumpkin from the practice squad to take Ausberry’s place on the roster. Oakland announced the pair of transactions today in a press release.

Earlier updates:

  • The Bears have placed veteran offensive lineman Brian De La Puente on their injured reserve list due to an ankle injury, the team announced today (Twitter link). The former Saint played both center and guard for Chicago this season, earning more than 500 overall snaps. He’ll be replaced on the 53-man roster by defensive tackle Brandon Dunn, who was promoted from the practice squad.
  • Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com (Twitter link) confirms that the Cowboys have indeed placed Jack Crawford on season-ending IR, as was speculated below.
  • The Titans have plucked a player from their head coach’s old team, signing outside linebacker Kaelin Burnett from off the Cardinals‘ practice squad, the club announced today (via Twitter). Tight end Richard Gordon has been cut from Tennessee’s active roster to make room for Burnett.
  • In advance of tomorrow’s game against the Eagles, the Cowboys will call up linebacker Keith Smith from their practice squad to the 53-man roster, tweets Todd Archer of ESPN Dallas. Archer doesn’t have the corresponding move for us yet, but speculates that defensive end Jack Crawford could be placed on injured reserve due to a broken thumb.
  • Defensive lineman Nick Williams has signed with the Chiefs, taking the active roster spot vacated by Eric Berry, who is on the non-football illness list.

Sunday/Monday Transactions: NFC North

Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four NFC North 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 are noted below.

Additionally, as of 11:00am CT today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. For the 2014 and 2015 seasons, changes were made to practice squad rules that allow teams to carry eight players instead of 10, and the eligibility requirements for those extra two spots were also loosened. 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 NFC North transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:

Chicago Bears:

Detroit Lions:

Green Bay Packers:

Minnesota Vikings:

Bears Cut Eben Britton, Others

4:41pm: The Bears have officially announced all their cuts, so we can add the following names to the list of players no longer on the team’s active roster:

1:35pm: The Bears have also cut a duo of young defenders:

11:12am: The Bears cut down on their offensive line depth this morning, as Brad Biggs of The Chicago Tribune reports that Eben Britton will be released. The 26-year-old started four games for Chicago in 2013, seeing action on 235 snaps.

As Biggs notes, the only Bears backup lineman with any NFL experience is Brian De La Puente. The team appears ready to roll with rookies Charles Leno Jr. and Michael Ola.

The rest of the Bears moves are listed below:

Bears Sign 11 Undrafted Free Agents

MAY 18: The Bears continue to add to their UDFA crop, signing former Louisville running back Senorise Perry (per Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (on Twitter) and cornerback Marcus Trice, formerly of North Texas (per Grice’s agent Josh Thomas (via Twitter). Both attended the Bears’ rookie minicamp on a tryout basis.

MAY 11: The Bears have signed nine undrafted free agents, according to a series of tweets from the team. The list of players headed to Chicago is as follows:

  • Cody Booth, T, Temple ($1K bonus, per Brad Biggs)
  • James Dunbar, G, TCU ($1.5K bonus)
  • Brandon Dunn, DT, Louisville ($8K bonus)
  • Ryan Groy, G, Wisconsin ($8K bonus)
  • Christian Jones, LB, Florida State ($7K bonus)
  • DeDe Lattimore, LB, South Florida ($1.5K bonus)
  • Jordan Lynch, RB, Northern Illinois ($3K bonus)
  • Tana Patrick, LB, Alabama ($750 bonus)
  • Lee Pegues, DT, East Carolina ($3.5K bonus)