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Carl Davis

Browns Re-Sign Carl Davis

March 12th, 2019 at 4:58pm CST by Rory Parks

The Browns have re-signed defensive lineman Carl Davis, the team announced. Davis appeared in just five games for Cleveland last year and recorded one assisted tackle.

Davis has generally disappointed in his brief NFL career. The Ravens drafted him out of Iowa in the third round of the 2015 draft, which seemed like a steal at the time. He performed reasonably well in his rookie campaign but missed all of the 2016 season with an ankle injury. In 2017, he started nine games for Baltimore, but he did not show enough to prevent the Ravens from waiving him during final roster cuts last season.

Still, four teams submitted a waiver claim on him, and he was awarded to the Browns, who had No. 1 waiver priority. He could not crack Cleveland’s D-line rotation, but his draft pedigree and raw ability have earned him another shot with the club.

North Notes: Steelers, Dobbs, Lions, Browns

September 3rd, 2018 at 12:56pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

When the Steelers took Mason Rudolph in the third round of this year’s draft, many assumed it was the beginning of the end for Josh Dobbs. Since it’s extremely rare for a team to carry four quarterbacks, the conventional wisdom was that Pittsburgh would keep Landry Jones as a veteran backup, Rudolph as the developmental rookie, and that Dobbs would either be traded or cut.

Despite facing questions about his future all summer, Dobbs was focused and showed tangible improvement this preseason. His performance in the fourth preseason game in particular was very strong, and it was enough to convince the Steelers to cut Jones instead.

While Dobbs will enter the season as Ben Roethlisberger‘s backup, the Steelers apparently did have opportunities to trade him, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN (Twitter link). Fowler reports that both the Texans and Raiders were interested in Dobbs, but that the Steelers ultimately decided to keep the second-year signal caller from Tennessee.

Here’s more from the league’s northern divisions:

  • The Lions had a group of running backs in for workouts, including recently released Donnel Pumphrey, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN (Twitter link). Pumphrey, a 2017 fourth round pick of the Eagles, received a lot of hype his rookie year, but injuries derailed his stay in Philadelphia.
  • The Browns got defensive lineman Carl Davis and LB Tanner Vallejo on waivers, but only because they picked first. Four teams in total submitted claims on Davis, and three on Vallejo, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link), showing that the Browns had plenty of competition for their services.
  • Linebacker Nigel Harris, cut by the Buccaneers on Saturday, will work out for the Browns on Tuesday, according to Greg Auman of The Athletic (Twitter link). Harris has spent time with the Chargers, Giants, and Bucs since entering the league as an UDFA in 2017. He started a game for the Chargers in 2017, but was waived just a few weeks into the season.

Sunday NFL Transactions: AFC North

September 2nd, 2018 at 3:02pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four AFC 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 for the Ravens, Bengals, Browns, and Steelers 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 North transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:

Baltimore Ravens

Practice squad:

Cincinnati Bengals

Signed:

Practice squad:

Cleveland Browns

Claimed:

Cut:

Pittsburgh Steelers

Practice squad:

* = international player
** = practice squad exception

Ravens Reveal Final Cuts

September 1st, 2018 at 3:47pm CST by Sam Robinson

Two prominent 2015 Ravens draft picks were informed they won’t be on this season’s initial 53-man roster. Breshad Perriman and defensive lineman Carl Davis, a third-round draft choice three years ago, did not make the cut.

Davis started nine games for Baltimore last season but has just 30 career tackles. He missed the entire 2016 season.

The Ravens will also cut guard Nico Siragusa, a 2017 fourth-rounder who saw an injury end his rookie season before it started. Recently coming off suspension, tight end Darren Waller also won’t be part of the Ravens’ season-opening roster.

Here is the full list of Baltimore’s cuts, the first group including the players who will head to the waiver wire:

Released:

Placed on Reserve/NFI list:

North Notes: Vikes, Browns, Ravens, Sutton

May 26th, 2018 at 7:53pm CST by Sam Robinson

At Vikings OTAs this week, they placed Mike Remmers back at right tackle, per Michael Rand of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Remmers finished last season playing guard, and the Vikings used a second-round pick on tackle Brian O’Neill out of Pittsburgh. Minnesota had UFA signee Tom Compton working as its first-string right guard during OTAs, per Rand. Compton has never been a full-time starter in his six-year career, coming closest with the 2014 Redskins, who used him as a nine-game starter. Last season, the Bears started Compton in five of the 11 games he played. Minnesota lost its most effective blocker, Joe Berger, to retirement and did not make any notable additions beyond Compton at the guard spot.

Here’s more from the north:

  • The Browns have made some adjustments to their front office and scouting department, and Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com expects that to continue. She targets the VP of player personnel decision as a possible turnover spot. Alonzo Highsmith, Ken Kovash and Andrew Berry currently reside in that role. John Dorsey just hired Highsmith, and Cabot reports Berry is safe from a change despite being an integral part of the previous regime. The Browns promoted Kovash shortly after the Sashi Brown regime took over in 2016 after he’d previously worked as the franchise’s director of football research.
  • Converted cornerback Damarious Randall will be the Browns’ starter at free safety this season, relocating Jabrill Peppers to strong safety, per Cabot. Gregg Williams‘ deep placement of Peppers, sometimes more than 25 yards off the ball, became a constant source of discussion and derision among Browns fans, and Peppers himself may be a bit tired of the jokes. But the Browns will now place him closer to the line of scrimmage, which is similar to the role he had at Michigan.
  • Optimism exists around Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith, who saw a strong season end early in 2017 because of a torn Achilles, but Jeff Zreibec of the Baltimore Sun notes the veteran may not be ready for the start of training camp. The career-long Raven is going into his age-30 season.
  • Additional Ravens’ timelines are coming into focus as well. Defensive lineman Carl Davis, who started nine games last season, underwent surgery to repair a tear in his shoulder earlier this offseason, Zreibec reports. The former third-round pick is questionable to participate in minicamp. Offensive lineman Nico Siragusa also had an operation this offseason. The 2017 fourth-round pick missed all of last season because of ACL, MCL and PCL tears and required an additional knee surgery this year. Zreibec reports the goal for him is a training camp return. As for Alex Lewis, Baltimore’s projected guard starter opposite Marshal Yanda, he’s fully recovered from the shoulder injury that nixed all of his 2017 season, Zreibec notes.
  • The Steelers aren’t sure where to station Cameron Sutton. The 2017 third-round pick played 117 snaps as a rookie after an injury delayed his NFL debut. Pittsburgh may be planning to use him at outside or slot cornerback, or as a safety alongside Morgan Burnett, Tim Benz of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes. But he notes that Artie Burns and Sean Davis will still have first crack at their respective jobs, outside cornerback and the non-Burnett safety starter, with the Steelers still hoping for the high draft picks’ upside to show. Mike Hilton remains the frontrunner to be the Steelers’ slot corner, where the former UDFA fared well in 2017.

Ravens Place Carl Davis, Matt Elam on IR

September 5th, 2016 at 1:52pm CST by Ben Levine

The Ravens placed a pair of defenders on the injured reserve this afternoon. Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun tweets that the team has placed defensive tackle Carl Davis and safety Matt Elam on the injured reserve list. Zrebiec notes that the team will use the open roster spots on return man Devin Hester and running back Justin Forsett.

Matt ElamDavis, 24, suffered an ankle injury during his team’s final preseason game. The former third-rounder played in 13 games (three starts) as a rookie, compiling 11 tackles and two passes defended. Roster Resource projected Davis to serve as the team’s top reserve nose tackle.

Elam, 24, was the Ravens’ first-round pick back in 2013. The safety showed plenty of promise through his first two years in the league, compiling 127 tackles, seven passes defended, and an interception in 32 games. Elam missed all of 2015 with a biceps injury, and he was battling a knee injury throughout this preseason.

AFC Notes: Folk, Gilbert, Pryor, Ravens

September 12th, 2015 at 2:39pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Jets entered the day with the second-least amount of cap space in the league, but an adjustment to their kicker’s salary will give them some breathing room.

Nick Folk agreed to convert $1.78MM of his $2.5MM base salary into a signing bonus, freeing up more than $1.18MM in cap space, Field Yates of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). This leaves the Jets with just more than $2.17MM worth of space heading into the season; they previously had just $985K, which was ahead of only the Saints’ $465K +, according to OverTheCap.

Folk enters the season with a $1.46MM cap number.

Here is some news from around the AFC, with Week 1 approaching for 30 teams.

  • Justin Gilbert‘s road-rage incident won’t affect his status for Sunday, but the strained hip flexor the second-year Browns cornerback suffered Aug. 18 might, notes Mary Kay Kabot of Cleveland.com.
  • Recently cut from the Browns after initially making the roster out of the preseason, Terrelle Pryor will work out for two teams this week, according to Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. The former Ohio State and Raiders quarterback will do so as a receiver for both teams, who were not named in the report.
  • Ravens rookie defensive tackle Carl Davis will replace Timmy Jernigan in the starting lineup against the Broncos due to Jernigan’s doubtful status due to a right knee injury, Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com reports. Hensley rates Davis, a third-round pick, as the team’s most impressive rookie thus far.
  • Baltimore has also ruled out Breshad Perriman and Lorenzo Taliaferro, per Hensley.

Draft Signings: Falcons, Cowboys, Ravens

May 8th, 2015 at 8:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are some of the signings of players selected between the third and seventh round of the draft that took place today.

  • Third-round pick Carl Davis agreed to a contract with the Ravens, Wilson reports. The defensive tackle’s deal is for four years and worth $2.95MM with a 625K signing bonus. First-rounder Breshad Perriman is the team’s only unsigned player from this year’s class.
  • The Cowboys inked linebacker Mark Nzeocha and defensive end Ryan Russell to deals, reports ESPN.com’s Todd Archer. A fifth-round selection, Russell will receive a signing bonus of nearly $203K. Nzeocha, taken in the seventh round, claimed a $64K bonus.
  • The Falcons have signed fifth-round defensive tackle Grady Jarrett to his four-year rookie deal, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. As Over the Cap’s data shows, Jarrett’s contract will be worth about $2.528MM in total, including a $248K signing bonus.
  • Washington continues to agree to terms with its rookies, reaching a deal with sixth-round safety Kyshoen Jarrett today, according to John Keim of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Jarrett will formally sign his contract when he gets into town on Sunday.
  • The Steelers have started locking up their draft picks, signing sixth-round defensive tackle L.T. Walton to his rookie contract, the club announced today (Twitter link). The first of two players drafted in the sixth round by the Steelers, Walton is in line for a signing bonus worth nearly $117K.

Draft Notes: Cooper, Lions, Collins

April 28th, 2015 at 9:11pm CST by Zachary Links

In his latest mock draft, Peter King of The MMQB sees the first two picks going as most of us suspect they will: Jameis Winston to the Buccaneers and Marcus Mariota to the Titans. However, he cautions that if a team offers something ludicrous like three first-round picks, the Titans would consider dealing the No. 2 selection. At No. 3, King projects that the Jaguars will take Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper, though it’s tough to forecast what Jacksonville will do. Here’s a look at the latest draft news:

  • The Lions among the teams making lots of calls about possibly moving down in the draft in order to get more picks and they’re not alone in that, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com tweets.
  • Police are seeking to question La’el Collins following the shooting death of a pregnant woman last week, but the former LSU offensive lineman is not considered a suspect, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com writes. Collins is not being looked at as the shooter but he could potentially be the father of the infant who was delivered after the woman’s death. The former LSU standout is projected to be a first-round pick.
  • Iowa defensive tackle Carl Davis has visited the Cowboys, Dolphins, 49ers, Bills, and Bears, according to Josh Katzenstein of The Detroit News (on Twitter).
  • The Saints worked out Central Arkansas wide receiver Dezmin Lewis, according to Kristian Garic of WWL 870am (on Twitter).

Draft Visits: Jets, Jags, Steelers, Lions

April 20th, 2015 at 1:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Draft day is only a week and a half away, but teams are still bringing in prospects for visits and working them out, as they try to compile as much information as possible on this year’s draft class. Here are a few Monday updates on the latest visits and workouts:

  • Leonard Williams, DL (USC); Dante Fowler Jr., DE/OLB (Florida): Making their previously-reported visits to the Jets this week, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
  • Denzel Perryman, LB (Miami): Visiting the Jaguars today, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post.
  • Darryl Roberts, CB (Marshall); Bryce Callahan, CB (Rice); Steven Nelson, CB (Oregon State): All visiting the Steelers today, according to Wilson (Twitter link).
  • Jamison Crowder, WR (Duke): Has had private workouts with Panthers, Buccaneers, and Texans, per Wilson.
  • Carl Davis, DT (Iowa): Visiting the Lions today, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter).
  • David Johnson, RB (Northern Iowa): Visiting the Falcons today, according to Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
  • Marcus Hardison, DL (Arizona State): Visiting the Bengals today and generating a lot of interest around the league, per Gil Brandt of NFL.com (Twitter link).
  • Bud Sasser, WR (Missouri): Visiting the Broncos today, according to Mike Klis of the Denver Post.
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