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Brandon Wegher

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/3/17

May 3rd, 2017 at 7:43pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s minor moves:

  • The 49ers are the first team to sign a 2017 draft pick, as they’ve agreed to terms with fourth-round running back Joe Williams, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today (Twitter link). Williams, a Utah product, will compete for playing time behind Carlos Hyde during his rookie season. He should be in line for a four-year deal worth roughly $3.029MM and a signing bonus of about $329K.
  • The Jets have claimed offensive lineman Alex Balducci off waivers from San Francisco, per the league’s transaction wire. Balducci, 23, played defensive line at Oregon, but shifted to offense under his collegiate head coach Chip Kelly with the 49ers. In 2016, Balducci appeared in two games, but played on only six total snaps (three on offense, three on special teams).
  • Defensive lineman Zach Moore was the third former 49er (joining Balducci and Mike Purcell, who landed with the Rams) to land with a new club today, as the Panthers claimed the 26-year-old off waivers today. Moore is a former sixth-round pick of the Patriots who’s bounced around during three seasons in the NFL, as he’s also spent time with the Vikings and Cowboys. He’ll add depth in Carolina, but seems unlikely to make a roster that is relatively deep at defensive end.
  • The Chiefs have signed free agent cornerback De’Vante Bausby, the club announced today. Bausby, 23, was waived by Chicago on Monday. The former undrafted free agent bounced on and off the Bears’ active roster in 2016, ultimately starting four games for Chicago and posting 11 tackles while playing on roughly 10% of the team’s defensive snaps. Kansas City currently has seven cornerbacks on its roster, but didn’t select one in last week’s draft, so Bausby may have a shot to make the squad. He’ll likely need to pick up special teams duty, something he didn’t do last season.
  • The Colts announced today that they’ve waived guard Isiah Cage. Cage, 23, signed with Indianapolis last spring after going undrafted out of Division III Wisconsin Eau-Claire. Less than a month after inking a deal with the Colts, Cage suffered was waived/injured and reverted to the club’s injured reserve list, where he spent the entirety of his rookie campaign. This time around, Cage will become a free agent if he passes through waivers unclaimed.
  • The Seahawks have re-signed fullback/tight end Brandon Cottom, according to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. Cottom, 24, originally signed with Seattle as an undrafted free agent in 2015. He’s spent time on the Seahawks’ active roster and practice squad, but landed on injured reserve in 2016 after tearing his Achilles.
  • The Rams announced that they’ve waived defensive back Jerome Couplin, long snapper Andrew East, running back Brandon Wegher, and tight end Bryce Williams. Couplin and Wegher both have NFL experience, but neither has appeared in a game since 2015.
  • The Vikings have waived safety Cedric Thompson, tweets Courtney Fallon NFL.com. Thompson, a fifth-round pick in 2015, has bounced between Miami, New England, and Minnesota, but has yet to appear in an NFL game.

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/4/17

January 4th, 2017 at 6:24pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Here are the latest reserve/futures contract signings from around the NFL. These deals will go into effect on the first day of the 2017 league year, with players joining their respective clubs’ offseason 90-man rosters.

Los Angeles Rams

  • DB Jerome Couplin
  • LB Cassanova McKinzy
  • LB Reggie Northrup
  • DB Kevin Peterson
  • WR Brandon Shippen
  • DB Kevin Short
  • RB Brandon Wegher
  • TE Bryce Williams

New Orleans Saints

  • LB Adam Bighill
  • DB Forrest Hightower

New York Jets

  • K Ross Martin

Philadelphia Eagles

  • WR Rasheed Bailey

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • TE Kivon Cartwright
  • K John Lunsford

Workout Notes: Pack, Vikes, Chiefs, Giants

November 8th, 2016 at 7:50pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

In addition to the previously reported Joique Bell, the running back-needy Packers worked out fellow rushers James Wilder Jr. and Brandon Wegher on Tuesday, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. Defensive end Arthur Miley and defensive back Brandon Dixon also tried out.

More of the latest workouts (courtesy of Howard Balzer, unless otherwise noted):

Workout Notes: 9/13/16

September 13th, 2016 at 7:59pm CST by Ben Levine

The latest workouts from around the NFL.

  • The Bears worked out former New England defensive end Rufus Johnson today, as Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets. The former sixth-rounder has one career appearance under his belt. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter) adds three more players to the list of workouts: linebackers Deiontrez Mount and Jermauria Rasco and defensive end Jimmy Bean.
  • The Colts worked out running back Brandon Wegher this week, according to his reps at Enter Sports Management (on Twitter). The former Morningside standout made one appearance for the Panthers in 2015. The team also worked out former Seahawks running back Zac Brooks, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
  • Safety Elijah Shumate worked out for the Raiders this week, as Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets. The undrafted rookie out of Notre Dame spent time with the Buccaneers this summer.
  • The Patriots worked out four players today, according to ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss (via Twitter): WR Anthony Dable, DE Ryan Russell, OL Ian Silberman, DE Davis Tull. Dable is an interesting inclusion, as the 27-year-old has spent much of his professional career playing in the German Football League.
  • The Lions worked out a trio of defensive backs, according to ESPN’s Adam Caplan (via Twitter): safety Jimmy Wilson and cornerbacks Blidi Wreh-Wilson and Demetrius McCray. The three players each have extensive NFL experience, with 12 combined starts in 2015.
  • The Packers worked out running back Storm Johnson, tweets Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. The former seventh-rounder last played in the NFL in 2o14, when he played six games for the Jaguars.
  • The Buccaneers worked out a trio of players today, according to Caplan on Twitter: defensive tackle Kyle Love, defensive end Kroy Biermann and guard Josh LeRibeus. Biermann is the most veteran of the bunch, with the 31-year-old compiling 331 career tackles in eight NFL seasons.
  • Former Eagles offensive lineman Andrew Gardner worked out for the Seahawks today, tweets Caplan. The former sixth-rounder has started 11 NFL games since entering the league in 2009.

Panthers Cut Fifth-Round CB Zack Sanchez

September 3rd, 2016 at 7:59am CST by Zachary Links

After the Panthers effectively cut Josh Norman loose, they drafted multiple cornerbacks to help fill the void. Unfortunately, it sounds like one of the Panthers’ three freshman corners wasn’t as sharp as they anticipated. Fifth-round pick Zack Sanchez will be waived today as the team cuts down to 53, according to Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer (on Twitter). Zack Sanchez (vertical)

If Sanchez goes unclaimed on waivers, he could theoretically be a practice squad candidate for Carolina. However, by exposing Sanchez to waivers, the Panthers are effectively saying that they are not afraid to lose him. Sanchez, the 141st overall pick in the draft, received what was supposed to be a four-year contract worth $2.612MM with a signing bonus of about $272K.

Here’s our running list of the Panthers’ cuts so far today, via Joseph Person and Jonathan Jones of the Charlotte Observer, unless noted otherwise:

  • RB Brandon Wegher
  • CB Zack Sanchez
  • DT Eric Crume 
  • TE Eric Wallace
  • TE Marcus Lucas
  • DE Arthur Miley
  • S Stevie Brown (story)

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Panthers, 10 UDFAs Reach Deals

May 4th, 2015 at 11:11am CST by Rory Parks

MONDAY, 11:11am: The Panthers have officially agred to terms with 10 undrafted free agents, the team announced today in a press release. Of the eight names reported yesterday, seven are included in the team release — Blitch’s name isn’t in there, so it appears he’ll just be a rookie minicamp invitee for now. Here are the other three players signed by Carolina:

  • Steve Miller, DE, Ohio State
  • Brandon Wegher, RB, Morningside
  • Matt Wile, P, Michigan

SUNDAY, 9:14am: The Panthers have agreed to sign eight undrafted free agents thus far. Jonathan Jones of The Charlotte Observer provides the list:

  • Brian Blechen, OLB, Utah
  • Daniel Blitch, OT, Charlotte
  • Damiere Byrd, WR, South Carolina
  • Darious Cummings, DT, Florida
  • Dean Marlowe, S, James Madison
  • Arthur Miley, DT, Southern ($15K bonus, per Aaron Wilson)
  • Garry Peters, CB, Clemson
  • Terry Redden, DT, Memphis