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Chris Faulk

AFC Notes: L.A., Dolphins, Workouts

December 17th, 2014 at 3:47pm CST by Luke Adams

The Chargers announced last night that the franchise would be remaining in San Diego for at least one more year, and that doesn’t appear to bode well for an NFL team landing in Los Angeles for the 2015 season, writes Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times. As Farmer writes, it’s “almost inconceivable” that Chargers owner Dean Spanos would make such an announcement so much earlier than necessary if he weren’t fairly confident that neither the Raiders nor the Rams would be moving to L.A. for 2015 either.

As we wait to see whether that’s indeed the case, let’s round up a few more notes from across the AFC….

  • If the Dolphins finish strong and end up with a 9-7 record, the head coaching picture for the team is murky, writes Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. As Salguero explains, owner Stephen Ross won’t necessarily replace Joe Philbin for 2015 if he surveys the market and doesn’t identify anyone who would be a clear upgrade on Philbin.
  • According to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter), the Colts worked out a handful of players this week, including offensive lineman Terrael Williams, defensive back Demond Washington, and wide receivers Dan DePalma and John Chiles.
  • Wilson also passes along the names of the players who auditioned for the Raiders this week (Twitter link): defensive back Malcolm Bronson, offensive tackle Chris Faulk, defensive back David Van Dyke, and offensive tackle Tyler Hoover, who signed with the Colts’ practice squad today.
  • Defensive end Travis Chappelear tried out for the Chiefs yesterday, a source tells Wilson (Twitter link).
  • Bucky Gleason of the Buffalo News looks into whether the Bills might take a shot at Bears quarterback Jay Cutler at some point, if the underachieving signal-caller becomes available via trade or free agency.

East Notes: Pryor, Jets, Patriots, Pierre-Paul

November 4th, 2014 at 8:51pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Earlier today, Washington became the latest team to have free agent quarterback Terrelle Pryor in for a workout, according to Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. The club now has a fully healthy group of signal-callers in Robert Griffin III, Colt McCoy, and Kirk Cousins, so it appears to be an unlikely landing spot for Pryor. Running backs Tim Hightower and Jeff Demps were also among the free agents whom Washington auditioned today, per John Keim of ESPN.com (Twitter links). The club worked out nine more players, and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk provides a full list: tight end Chase Dixon, tight end D.C. Jefferson, safety Ahmad Black, defensive tackle Lanier Coleman, tackle Chris Faulk, tight end Tyler George, defensive end Donte Paige-Moss, defensive tackle Justin Renfrow, and safety Nickoe Whitley. Here’s more from the NFL’s two East divisions.

  • The Jets’ plan to rely on second-year player Dee Milliner, rookie Dexter McDougle, and mediocre free agent Dimitri Patterson as their primary corners was flawed from the beginning, writes Brian Costello of the New York Post. Milliner and McDougle both suffered serious injuries, while Patterson went AWOL during the preseason and was released.
  • The Jets worked out linebacker Shayne Skov today, tweets Costello. Skov, a 2014 undrafted free agent, has worked out for the Chargers and Texans in recent days after spending time with the 49ers and Buccaneers earlier this year.
  • The Patriots also brought in several players for tryouts today, writes Mike Reiss of ESPN.com, who identifies kickers Dave Teggart and Zach Hocker, long snappers Charley Hughlett and Patrick Scales, punter Cody Mandell, and quarterback Garrett Gilbert as having auditioned for New England.
  • Responding to a reader’s Twitter question, Jordan Raanan of the Star-Ledger gave defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul a 55% chance of returning to the Giants next season. Pierre-Paul is having a solid season as he approaches free agency — though he has only 3.5 sacks, he’s graded as the league’s third-best 4-3 defensive end among 54 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). PFF’s metrics rate the 25-year-old as the best run defender at his position by far; his +17.1 grade against the run is nearly double that of Derek Wolfe, the No. 2 finisher.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

NFC East Notes: Jackson, Giants, Cowboys

September 17th, 2014 at 10:30am CST by Luke Adams

With the Eagles and Redskins set to meet for the first time this season in Week 3, Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer revisits the Eagles’ decision to cut wideout DeSean Jackson in the offseason. As McLane writes, Jackson’s former Philadelphia teammates still aren’t entirely sure why the explosive receiver was cut.

“I didn’t see it coming at all,” linebacker Mychal Kendricks said last week. “It’s really none of my business, but I still ask the same question a lot – ‘Why? Why would that happen?'”

Here’s more from around the NFC East:

  • Several linebackers auditioned for the Giants this week, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link), who identifies Stephen Nicholas, Kion Wilson, Moise Fokou, and James Davidson as free agents to work out for the club.
  • The Cowboys are also eyeing free agent options on the defensive side of the ball, having worked out linebacker Paul Hazel this week, along with defensive ends Steven Means and T.J. Fatinikun, tweets Wilson.
  • Offensive tackle Chris Faulk tried out for the Redskins this week, per Wilson (via Twitter).

Minor Moves: Monday

July 28th, 2014 at 8:40pm CST by Luke Adams

We’ll round up the day’s minor transactions from around the NFL right here, with additional moves listed at the top of the page throughout the afternoon and evening:

  • The Colts have waived WR Aaron Burks, tweets Craig Kelley of Colts.com.

Earlier updates:

  • Guard Cody White and receiver Alan Bonner have been placed on the Texans’ injured reserve list after being waived/injured, tweets Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post.
  • The Bills have removed linebacker Darrin Kitchens from their injured reserve list with an injury settlement, reports Wilson (Twitter link).
  • Rookie defensive lineman Kalonji Kashama has been waived by the Lions, according to Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com (via Twitter).
  • The Giants have replaced one offensive lineman with another, according to Jordan Raanan of NJ.com, tweeting that the team claimed Mark Asper off waivers from the Bills and dropped Demarcus Love.
  • The Browns have waived kicker Jake Rogers, tweets Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal.
  • The Broncos now have three open roster spots after waiving tackle Aslam Sterling with a left squad designation, per Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
  • In addition to their move noted below, the Dolphins have also signed offensive tackle Tony Hills and waived wideout Gerald Ford, the club confirmed today (via Twitter).
  • The Chiefs have signed South Alabama cornerback Damond Smith, the team announced today (via Twitter). By our count, Kansas City was already carrying 90 players, so a corresponding move figures to be made at some point today.
  • The Raiders have filled the open spot on the roster by signing safety Jeremy Deering, who also returned kicks at Rutgers, says Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter).
  • Former Buccaneers defensive back Anthony Gaitor has re-signed with the club, joining Michigan defensive tackle Jibreel Black as Tampa Bay’s new additions, tweets Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune. Per Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com (via Twitter), undrafted rookies Brendan Bigelow (RB) and Quintin Payton (WR) have been waived to make room for the incoming players.
  • The Browns have waived offensive lineman Chris Faulk, who was coming off a major ACL injury, according to Jeff Schudel of the News-Herald (via Twitter).
  • Offensive lineman Michael Philipp, who signed with the Dolphins two months ago, has been cut by the club, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.