Chris Clemons (S) - Pro Football Rumors

Possible Legal Trouble For Cardinals’ Clemons

July 20th, 2016 at 1:40pm CST by Zachary Links

The Scottsdale Police Department is recommending that prosecutors charge Cardinals safety Chris Clemons for an alleged assault in May, Yihyun Jeong of The Arizona Republic writes. On May 8th, police say Clemons assaulted a 25-year-old woman outside a downtown Scottsdale nightclub.

The alleged victim was knocked unconscious outside of the nightclub, though authorities received varying accounts of what happened from witnesses. The local police department is pushing for Clemons, 30, to be charged with assault with reckless injury and disorderly conduct. For his part, Clemons repeatedly denied that he assaulted the victim when talking to police.

Clemons hasn’t seen much playing time since joining the Cardinals in 2014, but he was re-signed by the team in February to a non-guaranteed deal. As the Cardinals’ page on Roster Resource shows, Clemons is battling Tony Jefferson, rookie Marqui Christian, and Durell Eskridge for a spot behind starters Tyrann Mathieu and D.J. Swearinger. If these allegations prove to have merit, Clemons may not get to take the field for a third season in Arizona.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor NFL Transactions: 2/16/16

February 16th, 2016 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are the latest minor signings, cuts, and other transactions from around the NFL:

The Cardinals announced a pair of signings today in a press release, confirming that they’ve re-signed safety Chris Clemons and added Australian Rules Football player Joel Wilkinson. A former starter in the Dolphins’ secondary, Clemons hasn’t seen much playing time since joining the Cardinals in 2014, but the team likes him enough to bring him back for a third season. As for Wilkinson, he’ll try to follow in the footsteps of Jarryd Hayne, who earned a spot on the 49ers’ roster last year after coming over from Australia. Wilkinson will play cornerback.
The Steelers signed long snapper Matt Dooley and defensive tackle Lavon Hooks while cutting tight end Rob Blanchflower and offensive tackles Kelvin Palmer and Mitchell Van Dyk, as Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets.
The Falcons announced on Monday that they have waived cornerback Travis Howard and fullback Collin Mooney, two players who spent the 2015 season on the injured reserve list. Mooney last saw the field during a regular-season contest in 2013, when he appeared in 12 games for the Titans. Howard has spent time with the Patriots and Giants, but has never seen regular-season action.
Cornerback Chance Casey, who spent more than half of the 2015 season on the Browns’ practice squad, has signed with the Jaguars, per team PR rep Tad Dickman (Twitter link). Casey was on the Colts’ roster last summer before being waived during roster cutdowns in September.

Cardinals Place Tyrann Mathieu On IR

December 22nd, 2015 at 12:50pm CST by Luke Adams

TUESDAY, 12:50pm: The Cardinals have placed Mathieu on the injured reserve list, officially ending his season. As expected, the club has added a safety to the 53-man roster to provide some depth, re-signing veteran free agent Chris Clemons, who was cut by Arizona from IR earlier this season (Twitter link link via Urban).

MONDAY, 1:26pm: The Cardinals clinched the NFC West with their victory Sunday night over the Eagles, but that win came at a cost. Head coach Bruce Arians announced today that standout defensive back Tyrann Mathieu will miss the rest of the 2015 season – and postseason – after suffering a torn ACL (Twitter link via Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com).

Mathieu, 23, started all 14 games for the Cardinals this season, spending time at both cornerback and safety. Having already established new career highs in tackles (89), interceptions (5), and passes defended (16), the former third-round pick was one of the key players on defense for Arizona, so his loss will be a crushing one for the team.

Pro Football Focus had Mathieu ranked as the top cornerback in the NFL this season, grading him as the best in the league both in coverage and against the run. Defensive coordinator James Bettcher recently told Albert Breer of the NFL Network that he believed Mathieu should receive consideration for the league’s defensive player of the year award.

The Cardinals were also without Rashad Johnson during Sunday’s win over Philadelphia, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the club add another safety to the 53-man roster this week — Tony Jefferson and D.J. Swearinger could see increased roles, with Mathieu headed to IR.

Workout Notes: 12/8/15

December 8th, 2015 at 6:42pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

There were a plethora of workouts around the NFL today. Here they are:

The Broncos worked out 17 players, all defenders. The full list comes courtesy of Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio:
- DB Stevie Brown
- LB Deron Bruce
- DB Deveron Carr
- DB Chris Clemons
- DT Davon Coleman
- LB Henry Coley
- LB Aaron Davis
- DE Ray Drew
- LB Adrian Hubbard
- DT Kamal Johnson
- DB Antoine Lewis
- DB B.J. Lowery
- DB Mike McMillan
- DB Jeromy Miles
- LB Kevin Snyder
- DB Schon Thomas
- DB Tyrequek Zimmerman
In addition to receiver Danario Alexander, the Bears worked out quarterback Zac Dysert, wideouts Issac Blakeney, Miles Gooch, Jeremy Kelley and J.J. Worton, and running back Trey Millard (Twitter links via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune).
The Texans worked out linebackers Eric Martin and Tony Washington, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).
The Colts auditioned wideout DeAndre Carter, defensive tackle Ricky Lumpkin, and running back LaDarius Perkins and Daryl Richardson, Wilson tweets.
The Jaguars worked out linebackers Jo-Lonn Dunbar, Mike Mohamed and Sean Porter, and running backs Jerome Smith and Jahwan Edwards (Twitter links via Wilson and Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union)
The Packers worked out running backs Bronson HIll and Ross Scheuerman (Twitter link via Wilson).
The Jets tried out linebacker Glenn Carson, offensive tackle Sean Hickey, tight end Marcel Jensen, guard Cole Manhardt and defensive back Robert Nelson, ESPN’s Rich Cimini reports (on Twitter).
The Giants worked out long snappers Andrew East and Tyler Ott before signing Danny Aiken, per Howard Balzer (Twitter link).

Cards Place Clemons On IR, Promote Brooks

October 14th, 2015 at 10:22am CST by Luke Adams

The Cardinals have made a roster change on the defensive side of the ball, placing veteran safety Chris Clemons on the injured reserve list and promoting cornerback Cariel Brooks to their 53-man roster, per Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com (Twitter link).

Clemons, 30, started every game in the Dolphins’ secondary during the 2012 and 2013 seasons, but hasn’t seen much action since then. After being signed by the Cardinals last December, Clemons acted as a backup safety in Arizona for the first five weeks of 2015. However, a hamstring injury resulted in his being moved to IR.

While the Cardinals were forced to place Clemons on their IR, the team got some good news on linebacker Alex Okafor, who is only expected to be sidelined for two to four weeks. That was the first recovery timeline we heard this week, though a subsequent report suggested the injury could be worse, with Okafor potentially missing about six weeks.

Extra Points: Lions, Mexico, Titans, Ravens

October 11th, 2015 at 9:13pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

A look around the NFL as the fifth Sunday of the season draws to a close:

The Lions dropped to 0-5 with their 42-17 loss to Arizona, but head coach Jim Caldwell said afterward that there won’t be any changes to his staff (Twitter link via Josh Katzenstein of the Detroit News).
A regular-season game in Mexico in 2016 is a strong possibility, CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora reports. “It’s going to happen next year,” one high-ranking club official said. “We just don’t know which teams it’s going to be yet.” The Raiders are candidates to play there, per La Canfora, who writes that those in league circles believe a series of games in Mexico would be highly successful from a financial standpoint.
Titans receiver Kendall Wright caught three passes for 29 yards in the team’s 14-13 loss to Buffalo. After the game, the fourth-year man was indignant about his role in the Titans’ offense. “I’m beyond frustrated,” Wright stated, per John Glennon of the Tennessean. “I don’t feel like I’m being able to do what I can do until late in games. I feel like I’m a good receiver and I feel like I’ve been open and I can beat the DBs or whoever is (covering) me, but I haven’t really been given the opportunity I’ve been looking for.”
The Ravens fell to 1-4 after losing to Cleveland and Clifton Brown of CSNMidAtlantic provided reasons as to why it’ll be too much for them to overcome. Among them: the difficulty of the AFC North and the Ravens’ lack of home-field advantage.
Three injured Cardinals – linebackers Alex Okafor and Kenny Demens and defensive back Chris Clemons – will get MRIs during the upcoming week. Head coach Bruce Arians isn’t optimistic about their statuses. “I do not feel good,” he said, according to Darren Urban of the team’s website (via Twitter).

Cardinals Sign Chris Clemons; Ellington To IR

December 8th, 2014 at 1:17pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cardinals have officially ended the season of starting running back Andre Ellington, placing him on the injured reserve list due to hernia surgery, tweets Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com. Using the newly-opened roster spot, the team signed veteran free agent safety Chris Clemons.

Clemons signed a two-year deal with Houston in the offseason that contained $450K in guaranteed money, but was cut by the Texans at the end of the preseason. Despite auditions with the Bills, Bengals, Falcons, and Lions since then, the 29-year-old didn’t find a new home until now. Clemons had spent the first five seasons of his career with the Dolphins, starting 48 games, racking up 207 tackles and four interceptions. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) graded Clemons as the 19th-best safety in the league last season.

As for Ellington, he’ll return to the Cardinals in 2015, and it will be interesting to see how his role in the offense is affected by his performance this season. After being deployed a change-of-place back in his rookie season, Ellington was leaned on heavily as the club’s feature back this year, and saw his yards per carry average dip from 5.5 to 3.3. In his absence, Kerwynn Williams and Stepfan Taylor figure to carry the bulk of the load out of the backfield.

In addition to signing Clemons and placing Ellington on IR, the Cardinals also added a couple players to their practice squad, signing wide receiver Travis Harvey and guard John Fullington to the unit, according to Urban. By our count, the Cards previously had nine players on their taxi squad, so we’ll have to wait for word on which player is being removed or signing elsewhere.

Workout Notes: 49ers, Bills, Saints, Eagles

November 18th, 2014 at 10:09am CST by Luke Adams

As usual, NFL teams are keeping a close eye on the free agent market, bringing in players for visits and tryouts as they prepare contingency plans in the event that they need to replace injured players or add depth. Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun has the details on several of the latest workouts and auditions from around the league, so let’s round up the highlights (all links go to Twitter)….

In the wake of Jimmie Ward‘s season-ending injury, the 49ers worked out a handful of defensive backs, including Dominique Franks, Drayton Florence, and Marcus Cromartie.
Before they decided to sign safety Bacarri Rambo, the Bills eyed several other defensive backs as possible replacements in the secondary for injured cornerback Leodis McKelvin. Chris Clemons, Brandon Taylor, Stephon Morris, and Josh Bush also auditioned for the club.
A trio of linebackers – Moise Fokou, L.J. Fort, and Jerry Franklin – worked out for the Saints.
We heard previously that the Eagles took a look at a couple former starting quarterbacks, but that wasn’t the only position at which the team auditioned players. Philadelphia also tried out wide receiver Uzoma Nwachukwu and defensive back Roc Carmichael.
In addition to bringing in Allen Reisner, who signed with the team’s practice squad, the Ravens worked out fellow tight end Ike Ariguzo.

Workout Notes: Tuesday Night

October 14th, 2014 at 9:11pm CST by Zachary Links

Luke Adams rounded up the latest auditions earlier today and we’ll keep track of the newest ones right here..

The Dolphins auditioned tight end Ted Bolser, Balzer tweets.
The Bengals auditioned safeties Chris Clemons, M.D. Jennings, and Shiloh Keo as well as wide receiver Da’Rick Rogers, according to Howard Balzer of USA Today (on Twitter).
The Dolphins took a look at a few free agent long snappers today, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun, who reports (via Twitter) that the club worked out Brandon Hartson, Kevin McDermott, and Patrick Scales. Miami long snapper John Denney was banged up in Sunday’s contest against the Packers, but didn’t have to leave the game, so this may just be precautionary.
The Lions worked out a whole bunch of people today, as Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com (via Twitter links) writes. The auditions included running backs Terrance Cobb, Ben Malena, and Jordan Lynch, wide receivers Patrick Edwards (signed), Skye Dawson, L’Damian Washington, and Erik Lora, nose tackle David Carter, and defensive end Roy Philon.
The Vikings tried out veteran tight end Ben Hartsock, a source tells Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Howard Balzer of USA Today (on Twitter) adds tight ends Michael Egnew, Matthew Mulligan, and Zach Potter to the list.

Workout Notes: Jennings, Clemons, Winston

September 30th, 2014 at 7:42pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier today, we learned that the Titans brought in cornerbacks Derek Cox, Brandon Ghee, and Curtis Marsh for auditions. Here’s a look at the latest workouts from around the NFL..

The Falcons worked out free agent safeties M.D. Jennings and Chris Clemons, according to Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com (on Twitter). McClure reported last night that the Falcons were looking into veteran safeties in the wake of William Moore‘s injury. Unfortunately for Jennings, who is only 26, the Falcons informed him that they wanted to go a little younger (link). One has to assume that doesn’t bode well for Clemons either.
NFLPA president Eric Winston was among the offensive linemen working out for the Falcons today, according to Ed Werder of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Atlanta inked guard Harland Gunn and tackle Cameron Bradfield earlier today, so he probably isn’t a fit right now.
The Dolphins checked out linebacker Desmond Bishop, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Meanwhile, the Lions hosted running backs Alex Green and Tashard Choice and wide receivers Ramses Barden and Damian Williams.
Free agent defensive linemen Nate Collins and Jermelle Cudjo worked out for the Bears this week, according to Jeff Dickerson of ESPNChicago.com (on Twitter).