Brelan Chancellor

Bears Claim CB Johnthan Banks

The Bears have claimed cornerback Johnthan Banks off waivers from the Lions, as Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. He’ll take the roster spot of Jay Cutler, who has been officially placed on injured reserve. Cutler learned late last week that he has been ruled out for the year. The Bears also waived linebacker Lamin Barrow from injured reserve.Johnthan Banks (vertical)

Banks was cut by the Lions over the weekend, a move that was overshadowed because Justin Forsett was cut at the same time. Banks, a former second round pick, was traded from the Buccaneers to the Lions in early November. The change of scenery didn’t change much for the 27-year-old, but the Bears are curious enough to take a look at him. With a 3-9 record, Chicago has nothing to lose.

In other Bears news, the team also brought in three wide receivers for tryouts: Jared Abbrederis, Bralon Addison, and Brelan Chancellor (Twitter link via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune). All three players have experience as returners.

Minor Moves: Monday

Here are Monday’s minor transactions from around the NFL, with the latest minor moves added to the top of the list throughout the day:

  • The Lions signed three tryout players – safety Nathan Lindsey and receivers Erik Lora and Jarred Haggins – and released wideout Desmond Lawrence, Tim Twentyman of the team’s website writes.
  • Washington has signed undrafted receiver Quinton Dunbar, formerly of Florida, tweets Tarik El-Bashir of CSNWashington.com.
  • The Dolphins signed one tight end – Tim Semisch, undrafted out of Northern Illinois – and released another in Ryan Taylor, writes Mike Wilkening of Pro Football Talk. Taylor, a Packers seventh-round pick in 2011, has eight career catches.
  • The Cardinals have signed three tryout players – a quarterback (Phillip Sims) and two safeties (Brandon Person and Harold Jones-Quartey) – per their official website. To make room, they released tackle Kelvin Palmer, wide receiver Travis Harvey, and cornerback Ross Weaver.
  • The Bears signed quarterback Pat Devlin, defensive tackle Terry Williams, and linebacker Kyle Woestmann, tweets Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune. They also waived linebacker Khaseem Greene and cut fellow LB Austen Lane.
  • The Buccaneers have cut safety Shelton Johnson, wide receivers Chandler Jones and Josh Reese, offensive lineman Matt Patchan, and linebacker Michael Reynolds (Twitter: Roy Cummings, Tampa Tribune).
  • The Packers will release defensive lineman Luther Robinson, according to Bill Huber of Packer Report. Robinson appeared in five games last year.
  • The Bills signed undrafted free agent safety Wes Miller, formerly of UTEP, according to Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News (Twitter link).
  • The Raiders signed ex-Auburn running back Michael Dyer, who tried out for them over the weekend, tweets Richard Davenport of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Twitter link). They also signed Emporia state wideout Austin Willis, the player told Rick Peterson Jr. of the Topeka Capital-Journal. Additionally, running back Terrance Cobb wrote on Instagram that the team released him.
  • The Vikings waived wide receiver Kain Colter and guard Jesse Somsel, writes Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune. Colter was on the Vikings’ practice squad last year, while they recently signed Somsel as an undrafted free agent.
  • The Giants released three players – running back Chris Ogbonnaya, linebacker James Davidson, and defensive back Thomas Gordon – according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano (Twitter link).
  • The Buccaneers signed linebacker Jared Koster, who tried out at their rookie minicamp, tweets Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune.
  • The Steelers signed tryout players Cameron Stingily (running back) and Mike Thornton (defensive line) to their 90-man roster, reports Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Twitter link). To make room, they cut punter Richie Leone, defensive tackle Nigel Crawford-Kinney, defensive end Brandon Prate, long snapper Brandon Hartson, wide receiver Brelan Chancellor, and guard Collin Rahrig (Twitter).
  • The Broncos waived guard Jon Halapio, whom they signed to their practice squad last December, tweets Mike Klis of 9News. Additionally, the team waived wide receiver Matt Miller after signing him as an undrafted free agent earlier this month (Twitter link via Troy Renck of the Denver Post).
  • The Buccaneers have signed three tryout players from rookie camp, tweets Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune. The team agreed to deals with wide receivers Donteea Dye and Adam Humphries and offensive tackle Edawn Coughman.
  • Offensive tackle Antonio Richardson, whom the Vikings waived last week, has retired because of knee issues, per Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press. Richardson signed with the Vikings last year as an undrafted free agent from Tennessee and saw some action in the preseason.
  • The Panthers have cut defensive tackle Darious Cummings, reports ESPN’s Joe Person (via Twitter). Cummings signed with the Panthers last week as an undrafted free agent from Florida.
  • The Buccaneers will cut return man Solomon Patton today, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. Patton, who went undrafted out of Florida last year, appeared in seven games for the Bucs as a rookie. He has had two stints with Tampa and one with the Cardinals during his short career.
  • Former Wisconsin offensive lineman Andy Phillips signed with the Packers, the player tweeted. Phillips earned a spot with the Pack after impressing team brass as a tryout player at rookie minicamp over the weekend.

Minor Moves: Friday

Here are Friday’s minor transactions from around the NFL, including a new deal for a would-be exclusive right free agent, a few reserve/futures signings, and a practice squad change….

  • Washington has signed fullback Jordan Campbell to a reserve/futures contract, tweets Tarik El-Bashir of CSNWashington.com. Campbell spent some time on the Chiefs’ practice squad earlier in the season and worked out for Washington last month.

Earlier updates:

  • The Bengals have re-signed tight end Kevin Brock to a new contract, the team announced today (via Twitter). Brock, who joined the team in September after injuries to Tyler Eifert and Alex Smith, had been on track to become an exclusive rights free agent.
  • Since being eliminated from the postseason, the Steelers have been adding to their offseason roster, inking seven players to reserve/futures contracts on Monday and signing a couple more yesterday. Pittsburgh continued to bring players aboard today, per PR man Burt Lauten, who tweets that the team has signed linebacker Terence Garvin, wide receiver Brelan Chancellor, defensive end Matt Conrath, safety Alden Darby, tight end Michael Egnew, and linebacker Roosevelt Nix.
  • The 49ers are re-signing linebacker Shayne Skov, who finished the season on the team’s practice squad, to a reserve/futures deal, a source tells Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee (Twitter link). The team has now locked up everyone who finished the season on the taxi squad.
  • The Lions signed defensive tackle Jermelle Cudjo to a futures contract today, tweets Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. When it appeared last week that Detroit might be without Ndamukong Suh for Sunday’s playoff game, the team brought Cudjo in for a workout.
  • The Seahawks made a small change to their taxi squad today, re-signing defensive tackle Jimmy Staten and releasing linebacker Mike Zimmer, per Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (via Twitter). As Condotta points out in a second tweet, Seattle had signed Zimmer and cut Staten just yesterday, so the club is frequently shuffling the two players on and off the unit at this point.

Chargers Waive 11 Players

The Chargers have waived 11 players, the team announced a press release. San Diego must get rid of four more players by 3pm tomorrow in order to be within the 75-man roster limit.

Chargers To Sign 17 Undrafted FAs

The Chargers have become the latest team to announce the undrafted free agents they’ll add to their 90-man roster. Here’s the list of players headed to San Diego, courtesy of a team release:

  • D.J. Adams, RB, Portland State
  • Torrence Allen, WR, West Texas A&M
  • Brelan Chancellor, WR, North Texas
  • Alden Darby, S, Arizona State
  • Chris Davis, CB, Auburn
  • Greg Ducre, CB, Washington
  • Michael Flacco, TE, New Haven
  • Micah Hatfield, WR, Oregon State
  • Javontee Herndon, WR, Arkansas
  • D.J. Johnson, G, New Mexico
  • Tenny Palepoi, DL, Utah
  • Alvin Scioneaux, LB, Wofford
  • Jeremiah Sirles, OT, Nebraska
  • Chase Tenpenny, P, Nevada
  • Ricky Tjong-A-Tjoe, DL, Boise St.
  • Colton Underwood, LB, Illinois St.
  • Ian White, OT, Boston College