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Braxton Deaver

Panthers’ Roster Now At 79

August 28th, 2016 at 2:36pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Panthers have begun the process of trimming their roster down to 75 players, an undertaking that must be completed by 3pm CT Tuesday. Carolina has cut the following 11 players, the club announced:

Hill, a former second-round pick of the Jets, is the most notable name among those released/waived. The 25-year-old, who spent the 2014 campaign on the Panthers’ practice squad, looked poised to claim a roster spot last season before suffering a season-ending injury. Smith, for his part, also has significant NFL experience, as he’s appeared 29 career games.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/16/16

May 16th, 2016 at 6:36pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

Earlier Updates:

  • The Broncos have signed linebacker Dekoda Watson to a one-year deal, Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com tweets. Watson appeared in three games for the Patriots last year as he was yo-yo’d on and off of the team’s roster.
  • Eagles guard/tackle Matt Tobin has signed a two-year deal with the team, a source tells Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Tobin was previously set to play out this year on his one-year restricted free agent tender. Now, his new deal will lower his base salary for this season.
  • Washington waived linebacker Reggie Northrup, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Interestingly, Northrup is represented by rapper Lil Wayne.
  • More Washington signings via the team’s website: tackle Al Bond, guard Nila Kasitati, linebacker Mike Wakefield and running back Kelsey Young. Guard Dominick Jackson was waived.
  • The Seahawks have waived/injured linebacker Christian French and signed fellow linebacker Khairi Fortt to take his place on the 90-man roster, Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times tweets.
  • The Bengals are set to sign former University of Buffalo quarterback Joe Licata, as Tyler Dunne of The Buffalo News tweets. To make room, rookie quarterback Matt Johnson has been waived.
  • The Browns signed defensive back Eric Patterson, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets. The 23-year-old entered the NFL last year as a UDFA with New England. The Ball State product appeared in two games for Indianapolis and one with St. Louis.
  • The Bears announced they have signed Donovan Williams, an offensive lineman from Louisiana-Lafayette (Twitter link via Brad Biggs of The Chicago Tribune). The Bears have also released center Dan Buchholz, wide receiver/tight end Marcus Lucas, and wide receiver Nathan Palmer (link).
  • The Bears waived defensive end Bruce Gaston, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com writes. Demovsky suggests that Gaston, who made Green Bay’s opening day roster last season, could get another look from the Packers.
  • The Chargers have signed former Arizona State guard Vi Teofilo to a three-year deal, a source tells Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego. The 6’3″, 205-pound lineman will look to compete for a practice squad spot. The Chargers waived guard Sebastian Johansson, an undrafted rookie guard from Marshall, in a corresponding move. They also waived-injured linebacker Brock Hekking.
  • The Saints waived safety Michael Caputo and quarterback Griffin Neal after this weekend’s rookie minicamp, Evan Woodbery of The Times-Picayune tweets. According to Wilson (on Twitter), the team has also cut receiver Shane Wynn.
  • In a related move, the Saints inked linebacker Tony Steward (Twitter link via Woodbery). Steward played at Clemson and was a fifth-round pick of Buffalo in 2015.
  • The Saints signed Jake Lampman, Wilson tweets. The Ferris State product caught 52 passes for 731 yards and eight touchdowns last season.

Ben Levine contributed to this post.

Panthers Cut Brandon Boykin

May 16th, 2016 at 8:36am CST by Zachary Links

The Panthers have released cornerback Brandon Boykin, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Boykin signed with Carolina in March and received an $80K signing bonus for his two months of employment. As a vested veteran, Boykin is not subject to waivers and is free to sign with any team.Brandon Boykin

Boykin, 25, was one of the more intriguing cornerbacks to linger on the free agent market in late March. After a visit to Carolina, the two sides shook hands on a low-guarantee, one-year deal. Two months later, he’s once again a free agent.

In 2015, Boykin joined the Steelers, having been sent to Pittsburgh by the Eagles in a trade for a fifth-round pick. However, Boykin played primarily on special teams until the final few weeks of the season — he logged 252 of his 274 regular-season defensive snaps in the Steelers’ last five games.

Despite not seeing significant playing time in Pittsburgh, Boykin ranked as a top-40 cornerback in 2015 (out of 111 qualified players), per Pro Football Focus. The Georgia product has always shown flashes of upside, particularly in his six-interception 2013 campaign, but has never really gotten the opportunity to be a full-time player — he has just seven career starts. He’ll now look elsewhere for his chance to shine.

While Boykin didn’t earn a spot on PFR’s top 50 free agent list, we placed him sixth among free agent cornerbacks when we broke down 2016’s top defensive free agents, placing him ahead of veterans like Leon Hall and Patrick Robinson due to his relative youth and upside.

In addition to Boykin, the Panthers have also waived cornerback Ras-I Dowling and wide receiver Jenson Stoshak , as Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. In related news, the team has inked the following tryout players (per David Newton of ESPN.com): tight end Braxton Deaver, running back Jalen Simmons, wide receiver Miles Shuler, offensive tackle Jordan Rigsbee, linebacker Jared Barber, and cornerback Shaquille Richardson.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/15/16

May 15th, 2016 at 6:49pm CST by Dallas Robinson

We’ll round up the day’s minor moves here:

  • The Saints are signing undrafted rookie cornerback Jimmy Pruitt, according to the player’s agency (on Twitter). Pruitt, a four-year starter at San Jose State, racked up four interceptions over the course of his collegiate career.
  • The Bears agreed to sign defensive lineman Kenton Adeyemi and wide receiver Kieren Duncan, Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets. Both players participated in the Bears’ weekend tryouts and both players are getting three-year pacts, per Brad Biggs of The Chicago Tribune (via Twitter).
  • Air Force tight end/long snapper Garrett Griffin has signed with the Saints, according to Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).

Earlier Updates:

  • After trying out for the club at this weekend’s rookie camp, former Duke tight end Braxton Deaver has signed with the Panthers, according to David Newton of ESPN.com. The 6’5”, 245-pound Deaver racked up 75 receptions and six touchdowns during his time with the Blue Devils, and he’ll now compete for time behind Greg Olsen, Ed Dickson, and 2016 seventh-rounder Beau Sandland.
  • The Saints have signed offensive lineman Tyrus Thompson, per a tweet from his agent Ken Sarnoff. Selected by the Vikings in the sixth round of the 2015 draft, Thompson, who can play both tackle positions, spent time on the practice squad rosters of both the Jaguars and Lions last season.
  • Carson Wentz is the most high-profile North Dakota State player to land on an NFL roster this offseason, but he won’t be the only one, as former Bison punter Ben LeCompte announced (Twitter link) that he’s agreed to terms with the Bears after working at the team’s rookie camp over the weekend.