HEADLINES

Chris Jones (Bowling Green)

Dolphins Move Roster To 53

September 3rd, 2016 at 3:45pm CST by Zachary Links

The Dolphins have trimmed their roster to 53:

This offseason, Thomas hooked on with the Dolphins for what was to be his third stint with the team. Thomas had a path to making the 53-man roster, but his chances were hurt when the team added Arian Foster late in the offseason. In four seasons with Miami, Thomas ran for 1,480 yards off of 409 attempts, good for just 3.6 yards per carry. In 2014, he saw time in 12 games, rushing for 168 yards off of 44 carries, good for a 3.8 yard average on each try. At one point in time, Thomas was looked at as a significant piece of the Dolphins offense, but he fell out of favor in Miami and has been yo-yoed on and off the roster.

Chekwa at one point was in the mix to win a starting job with Miami. However, for one reason or another, he couldn’t make the final cut. The Dolphins now have rookie Xavien Howard back on the field and free agent addition Chris Culliver, so they have enough bodies at cornerback.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Dolphins Claim Chris Jones Off Waivers

April 18th, 2016 at 4:26pm CST by Luke Adams

The Dolphins have claimed a player from a division rival, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com, who tweets that Miami was awarded defensive tackle Chris Jones off waivers. Jones was cut by the Patriots on Friday.Chris Jones (Bowling Green)

Jones, 25, missed the entire 2015 campaign, spending it on the PUP list, but was solid in his first two seasons in New England, recording nine total sacks in 28 games. He started 22 regular-season contests during those two years, and also started two of his four playoff games with the team, recording one postseason sack.

Because of his play during the 2013 and 2014 seasons, Jones was in line for an increased salary of $1.671MM in 2016, having been a recipient of a proven performance escalator. While those pay bumps are meant to be rewards for young players who have outperformed their draft slot, the raise may have actually contributed to Jones’ release, since the Pats likely deemed the $1.671MM non-guaranteed salary too rich for a player coming off a lost year.

For the Dolphins, rolling the dice on Jones makes some sense — because his salary is non-guaranteed, the team has nothing to lose if it turns out that he doesn’t earn a spot on Miami’s 53-man roster.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Patriots Cut Ishmaa’ily Kitchen, Chris Jones

April 15th, 2016 at 4:02pm CST by Luke Adams

The Patriots continue to overhaul their defensive line, waiving two more defensive tackles today, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com. Yates reports (via Twitter) that New England has cut Ishmaa’ily Kitchen and Chris Jones from the roster. The team has since confirmed the two moves.Chris Jones (Bowling Green)

Kitchen, who spent the first three years of his NFL career with Cleveland, spent some time with the Lions and Pats in 2015, but didn’t play a real role for Bill Belichick‘s team. As for Jones, he missed the entire 2015 campaign, spending it on the PUP list, but was solid in his first two seasons in New England, recording nine total sacks in 28 games.

Because of his play during the 2013 and 2014 seasons, Jones was in line for an increased salary of $1.671MM in 2016, having been a recipient of a proven performance escalator. While those pay bumps are meant to be rewards for young players who have outperformed their draft slot, the raise may have actually contributed to Jones’ release, since the Pats likely deemed the $1.671MM non-guaranteed salary too rich for a player coming off a lost year.

The Patriots have added Terrance Knighton and Markus Kuhn in free agency this offseason, but have seen many defensive tackles depart New England. In addition to Kitchen and Jones, the team also cut Dominique Easley this week, and had Akiem Hicks and Sealver Siliga sign elsewhere as free agents.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

2016 Proven Performance Escalators

February 12th, 2016 at 5:53pm CST by Dallas Robinson

According to the NFL’s contractual bargaining agreement, players drafted in rounds three though seven are entitled to raises during the fourth year of their respective rookie contracts. The pay bumps are tied to playing time — a player must have played in 35% of his team’s offensive or defensive snaps in two of his first three seasons, or averaged 35% playing time cumulatively during that period.

If one of these thresholds is met, the player’s salary is elevated to the level of that year’s lowest restricted free agent tender — that figure is projected to be $1.696MM in 2016. Players selected in the first or second round, undrafted free agents, and kickers/punters are ineligible for the proven performance escalator.

Here are the players who will see their salary rise in 2016 courtesy of the proven performance escalator:Keenan Allen (Vertical)

49ers: Gerald Hodges, LB

Bears: Marquess Wilson, WR

Buccaneers: William Gholston, DE; Mike Glennon, QB; Akeem Spence, DT

Cardinals: Andre Ellington, RB; Tyrann Mathieu, CB/S; Alex Okafor, LB

Chargers: Keenan Allen, WR

Colts: Sio Moore, LB; Hugh Thornton, G

Cowboys: J.J. Wilcox, S; Terrance Williams, WR

Dolphins: Jelani Jenkins, LB; Dallas Thomas, T; Dion Sims, TE; Kenny Stills, WR

Eagles: Bennie Logan, DT

Falcons: Kemal Ishmael, S; Levine Toilolo, TE

Jaguars: Josh Evans, S; Dwayne Gratz, CB

Jets: Brian Winters, G

Lions: Larry Warford, G

Packers: David Bakhtiari, T; Micah Hyde, S

Patriots: Duron Harmon, S; Chris Jones, DT; Logan Ryan, CB

Raiders: Mychal Rivera, TE

Rams: T.J. McDonald, S

Ravens: Ricky Wagner, T; Brandon Williams, DT

Saints: Terron Armstead, T; John Jenkins, DT

Seahawks: Luke Willson, TE

Steelers: Markus Wheaton, WR

Titans: Brian Schwenke, C

Washington: Jordan Reed, TE

AFC East Notes: Dolphins, Payton, Pats

November 24th, 2015 at 9:54pm CST by Luke Adams

After losing Julian Edelman for several weeks, the Patriots appear to have dodged a bullet with fellow receiver Danny Amendola. Tom E. Curran of CSNNE.com writes that Amendola has a knee sprain that will limit his ability to practice this week, but he’s not expected to miss much action, and could play in Week 12 vs. the Broncos. The same can’t be said for Aaron Dobson, who is expected to miss that Denver game, and perhaps more than that, so the Pats will be hoping for a quick recovery from Amendola.

Here’s more from around the AFC East:

  • There will be a wide field of worthy candidates for the Dolphins to consider when they search for a permanent head coach this winter, but “none look as attractive or experienced” as Sean Payton, according to Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports, who says Dolphins owner Stephen Ross needs to go hard after the Saints’ head coach.
  • Ryan Fitzpatrick is the best option right now for a Jets organization that has been searching for a strong young quarterback for years, Manish Mehta of the Daily News writes. Fitzpatrick might be flawed, but he gives Gang Green the best chance to make the postseason. Geno Smith, he feels, is is a far inferior option.
  • The Patriots opted to keep defensive tackle Chris Jones and linebacker Dane Fletcher on the PUP list rather than activating them, as Rich Garven of The Providence Journal writes. The two veterans both seem to be healthy, but the Pats just couldn’t carve out space for them.
  • The Dolphins worked out defensive backs Dax Swanson, Brandon McGee, Dewey McDonald, and Jeremy Harris, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets.

AFC Notes: D. Brown, Pats, Whisenhunt

November 3rd, 2015 at 11:39am CST by Luke Adams

Chargers running back Donald Brown had been viewed as a potential trade candidate heading into this week, and according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link), teams had been calling about the veteran back. However, with Branden Oliver nursing an injury, Brown figures to remain in San Diego, per Rapoport.

Here are a few more items from around the AFC, with the trade deadline just hours away:

  • The Patriots are welcoming back two players – linebacker Dane Fletcher and defensive tackle Chris Jones – to practice today after they spent the first eight weeks of the season on the PUP list, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com (Twitter links). New England will now have three weeks to either activate Fletcher and Jones or to rule them out for the rest of the season. The Pats had a league-high three players on PUP to start the year, with Fletcher and Jones joining wideout Brandon LaFell.
  • While most reports have pegged the value of Ken Whisenhunt‘s five-year contract with the Titans at $5MM annually, ESPN’s Ed Werder tweets that it’s actually worth closer to $30MM, or $6MM per year. Tennessee parted ways with Whisenhunt today despite the fact that he had more than three years remaining on that deal, so the club still owes him a significant chunk of money.
  • Although Le’Veon Bell‘s knee injury has ended his 2015 season, his ACL remains intact, and Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said today that his running back should be ready for the start of the 2016 campaign (Twitter link via Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review).
  • Dolphins rookie running back Jay Ajayi is hoping to be activated this week after spending eight weeks on IR with the designation to return, as James Walker of ESPN.com writes.

PUP, NFI Players Soon Eligible To Practice

October 19th, 2015 at 10:30am CST by Luke Adams

Week 6 of the NFL season will come to an end after Monday night’s game between the Giants and Eagles, and when teams begin preparing for Week 7, many clubs could be welcoming injured players back to practice. Six weeks into the NFL season, players who were placed on the physically unable to perform list or the non-football injury list prior to Week 1’s games will be eligible to return to the practice field.

Of course, just because those players are able to return to practice doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be healthy enough to do so. Players on the PUP list have a five-week window to begin practicing. Once they return to practice, they have three weeks to be added to their respective teams’ active rosters. In other words, a player currently on the PUP list could return to the field for his team’s Week 7 game, or could return as late as for his team’s Week 15 contest.

The rules for NFI players are similar to those for PUP players. If a player on either reserve list doesn’t return to practice or game action in time, his 2015 season will officially be over.

Here are the players currently on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list who can begin practicing as soon as this Tuesday:

And here are the players currently on their teams’ non-football injury or illness lists, who are also eligible to begin practicing this Tuesday:

  • Arizona Cardinals: WR Damond Powell
  • Buffalo Bills: CB Leodis McKelvin
  • Cincinnati Bengals: T Cedric Ogbuehi
  • Cleveland Browns: DB Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, TE Randall Telfer, RB Glenn Winston
  • Dallas Cowboys: LB Mark Nzeocha
  • Houston Texans: T David Quessenberry
  • Kansas City Chiefs: QB Tyler Bray
  • San Francisco 49ers: WR DeAndre Smelter
  • Seattle Seahawks: DT Jesse Williams

In addition to monitoring players on the PUP and NFI lists, it’s worth keeping an eye on players who have been placed on the injured reserve list with the designation to return. Teams can use this IR-DTR spot on one player per season, placing him on the injured reserve list without necessarily ruling him out for the season. As we explained in an earlier post, players given this designation can begin practicing after six weeks and can return after eight weeks.

That means that a player who was placed on IR-DTR prior to Week 1 can begin practicing on Tuesday, though he won’t be eligible to return to game action until Week 9. A player who was placed on IR-DTR after Week 1 will have to wait until next Tuesday – October 27 – to return to practice, while other IR-DTR players will have to wait until November to practice.

Here’s the list of players currently on IR-DTR who can begin practicing as soon as Tuesday:

Patriots Claim DaVaris Daniels Off Waivers

September 1st, 2015 at 5:30pm CST by Zachary Links

The Patriots announced several roster moves to get down to the 75-man limit today, including one addition to the roster. Here’s the full list:

Claimed off waivers:

  • DaVaris Daniels, WR (waived by Vikings)

Waived:

  • Chris Barker, G
  • D.J. Lynch, LB

Placed on IR:

  • James Develin, FB
  • Darryl Roberts, CB

PUP list:

  • Dane Fletcher, LB
  • Chris Jones, DT