HEADLINES

Chris Manhertz

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/17/16

October 17th, 2016 at 5:32pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s minor moves:

  • The Panthers have claimed tight end Chris Manhertz off waivers from the Saints, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. A basketball player turned tight end, Manhertz was cut loose by New Orleans late last week to make room for the promotion of a wide receiver. He’ll slot in behind Greg Olsen and Ed Dickson on the Carolina roster. To clear a spot on the 53, the Panthers waived cornerback Lou Young, per Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).
  • The Broncos waived reserve guard Darrion Weems, reports Cameron Wolfe of The Denver Post (Twitter link). Weems, 28, had played on roughly a third of Denver’s offensive snaps, but graded as one of the worst interior lineman in the league, according to Pro Football Focus.
  • The Colts have waived cornerback Frankie Williams, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Williams was promoted from the practice squad prior to Sunday night’s game against Houston.

Saints Promote WR Jake Lampman

October 15th, 2016 at 9:01pm CST by Zachary Links

The Saints announced that they have promoted wide receiver Jake Lampman. To make room on the roster, the team has waived tight end Chris Manhertz. Saints general helmet (Featured)

Lampman, 23, joined the Saints as a UDFA out of Ferris State this offseason. When he didn’t make the team’s final cut, he signed on with the practice squad. In his final collegiate season, the wide receiver hauled in 52 passes for 731 yards and eight touchdowns.

Manhertz became expendable this week when Josh Hill returned to practice after dealing with a high ankle sprain. Manhertz was on the field for 43 snaps this year while Hill was sidelined but drew zero targets.

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/5/16

January 5th, 2016 at 5:33pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are today’s reserve/futures contract signings from around the league. These deals will go into effect on the first day of the 2016 league year, with players joining their respective clubs’ 90-man rosters.

Arizona Cardinals

  • Taylor Boggs, C (Twitter link via Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com)
  • Valerian Ume-Ezeoke, C
  • Mike Reilly, OLB
  • Tyrequek Zimmerman, S

Baltimore Ravens

  • Jerod Johnson, QB (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle)

Cincinnati Bengals

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

  • Burton Pierce, OT
  • Ben Heenan, G
  • Edwin Jackson, LB
  • Kitt O’Brien, G
  • Dezmen Southward, DB
  • Joshua Stangby. WR

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Oakland Raiders

  • Garrett Gilbert, QB (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle)
  • Giorgio Tavecchio, K

San Diego Chargers

San Francisco 49ers

  • Corey Acosta, K (link via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle)

St. Louis Rams

Sunday NFL Transactions: NFC South

September 6th, 2015 at 5:52pm CST by Luke Adams

Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four NFC South 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 Falcons, Panthers, Saints, and Buccaneers are noted below.

Additionally, as of 11:00am today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. For the 2014 and 2015 seasons, changes were made to practice squad rules that allow teams to carry eight players instead of 10, and the eligibility requirements for those extra two spots were also loosened. 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 NFC South transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

New Orleans Saints

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Saints Slim Down Roster To 53

September 5th, 2015 at 7:32pm CST by Sam Robinson

One season and two training camps proved sufficient for the Saints to determine whether Stanley Jean-Baptiste was capable of making an impact for them.

They determined the 2014 second-round pick wasn’t good enough for their roster, notes Katherine Terrell of NOLA.com. Jean-Baptiste only played eight snaps last year and as a result of this move, Brandin Cooks is the only player remaining on the team from last year’s draft class.

The Saints instead kept 2014 undrafted free agent Brian Dixon, who played 166 snaps as a rookie, among their seven-cornerback contingent.

New Orleans did not keep veteran receiver Josh Morgan, either, and will go with a mostly young receiving stable, excepting Marques Colston.

Jairus Byrd also avoided having to start the season on the PUP list, per Terrell.

The Saints’ other cuts are as follows:

  • Justin Anderson, LB
  • Edwin Baker, RB
  • Nick Becton, OL
  • Orson Charles, TE
  • Henry Coley, LB
  • Jerry Franklin, LB
  • Mike Golic Jr., OL
  • Ryan Griffin, QB
  • Bryce Harris, T
  • Sean Hickey, OL
  • Seantavius Jones, WR
  • Dustin Hopkins, K
  • Cyril Lemon, OL
  • Chris Manhertz, TE
  • Joseph Morgan, WR
  • Toben Opurum, FB
  • Sammy Seamster, CB
  • Alex Smith, TE
  • Pierre Warren, S

NFC Notes: RGIII, Packers, Saints

August 29th, 2015 at 11:46am CST by Ben Levine

The Packers will have some work to do in the next couple of weeks as they look to reduce their current 88-man roster to 53. Even though they need to trim a third of their preseason roster, general manager Ted Thompson told Jason Wilde of ESPNWisconsin.com that he’ll still be eyeing the waiver wire prior to the regular season.

“We look, like everybody else,” Thompson said. “We do a lot of that work and we do it every week, so it’s non-stop because games are played on Monday and Thursday and Friday and Saturday, so it’s non-stop. We’re always trying to catch up.”

“It could be guys that you would potential consider trading for or putting in a claim for or that sort of thing. It runs the gamut because you’re kind of guessing what the home team, so to speak, wants to do with a player. The home team might love this player and you know you’re not going to get your hands on him, so you move on. At the same time, you find guys from time to time where the teams aren’t quite as attached to.”

Let’s check out some more notes from the NFC…

  • Washington general manager Scot McCloughan is “determined to change [the] team culture,” reports ESPN.com’s Ed Werder (via Twitter). Those changes would include moving on from quarterback Robert Griffin III.
  • Kirk Cousins may not only be starting this evening’s preseason game for Washington, as ESPN’s Dianna Marie Russini tweets that the plan is to have the former fourth-rounder start Week 1.
  • Evan Woodbury of NOLA.com writes that wideout Willie Snead‘s strong preseason has put the player in a position to make the Saints. “I think he’s done well. He’s very competitive. He’s got some real good football instincts,” said coach Sean Payton. “He’s right there in the thick of it, competing for playing time, competing for a roster spot. He made a couple of plays tonight. He’s doing a good job.”
  • Drew Brees‘ role as the Saints number-one quarterback is obviously safe, and rookie Garrett Grayson seems to have a solid hold on the number-three spot. That leaves Luke McCown and Ryan Griffin competing for the backup spot, and Woodbury writes that McCown appears to be leading the competition.
  • Former Canisius power forward Chris Manhertz is trying to catch on with the Saints as a tight end, and Brett Martel of the Associated Press writes that the former Bills project is using Jimmy Graham (a former basketball player) as inspiration. “Absolutely,” Manhertz said. “It’s really amazing to see how smoothly (Graham) made the transition and where he’s at now, and playing at a high level.”

Bills Sign Red Bryant

August 19th, 2015 at 9:50am CST by Luke Adams

The Bills have announced a series of transactions, according to Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News, who tweets that the team has signed veteran defensive lineman Red Bryant. In addition to signing Bryant, the Bills also added running back Cierre Wood, cutting tight end Chris Manhertz and cornerback Rod Sweeting.

Bryant, who was among the defensive players to work out for the Bills earlier this week, saw time in all 16 games in his first and only season for the Jaguars in 2014. In total, he racked up 23 tackles to go with one pass deflection and one sack. The 31-year-old graded out as a slightly below-average contributor, according to Pro Football Focus‘ (subscription required) metrics, coming in with a -1.6 grade. Overall, that placed him 31st out of 59 qualified 4-3 defensive ends.

Before his season in Jacksonville, Bryant spent six years with the Seahawks, starting all but one regular-season contest for the team from 2011 to 2013. Although Bryant has been a starter for the last four years, one GM tells Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that the veteran defender is best used in a rotation at this point in his career, perhaps for 20-30 plays per game. That shouldn’t be a problem in Buffalo, where the Bills have plenty of talent on the defensive line, even after taking a few injury hits.

The addition of Wood should help provide depth at another injury-plagued position for the Bills, though it’s not clear if his signing means the team has decided not to sign a veteran like Ray Rice. As I outlined earlier today, Buffalo had been discussing a possible pursuit of Rice, with LeSean McCoy (hamstring), Fred Jackson (hamstring), Anthony Dixon (calf), and Karlos Williams (illness) all battling health issues.

Minor Moves: Tuesday

December 30th, 2014 at 10:10pm CST by Luke Adams

We’ll round up Tuesday’s minor moves from around the NFL right here, including transactions by teams still in the playoffs as well as clubs looking ahead to next year:

10:10pm:

  • The Lions have signed TE Ifeanyi Momah to a 2015 reserve/future contract, according to Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com (on Twitter).

3:57pm:

  • The Chiefs signed former Seahawks tailback Spencer Ware, according to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (via Twitter).
  • Jets quarterback Matt Simms reworked his contract today to avoid becoming an exclusive rights free agent in 2015, according to a team release. The club also added kicker Andrew Furney and running back Daryl Richardson on reserve/futures deals, in addition to the six players whose reserve contracts we heard about yesterday.
  • In addition to confirming reserve/futures contracts for Garrison Smith and Chris Martin, as was reported yesterday, the 49ers announced in a press release that they’ve signed running back Kendall Gaskins, tight end Xavier Grimble, wide receiver Lance Lewis. All five players finished the season on San Francisco’s practice squad.
  • Running back Terrance Cobb announced (via Twitter) that he has signed a futures deal with the Raiders. Cobb initially signed with the Jaguars as an undrafted rookie in May, and was cut in the preseason.
  • The Bears may not have a head coach or GM, but they’re still adding players to their roster — Chicago signed defensive end Jamil Merrell to a reserve/futures contract, the team announced today (via Twitter).
  • Former Canisius College basketball player Chris Manhertz announced (via Instagram) that he has signed a contract with the Bills. According to Joe Buscaglia of WGR550 (via Twitter), the ex-hoopster projects as a tight end. The Bills have since confirmed the signing of Manhertz, and announced a deal for fullback Corey Knox as well.

2:19pm:

  • Offensive tackle Justin Renfrow has been released from the Packers‘ practice squad, creating an opening on the unit, according to the team.
  • The Steelers have also made a change to their taxi squad, signing wide receiver Tim Benford and releasing cornerback Jordan Sullen, per Burt Lauten (via Twitter). The addition of Benford provides some insurance for the receiving corps, after the team cut wideout Justin Brown from its active roster today.
  • The Browns signed a pair of kickers, Travis Coons and Carey Spear, to reserve/futures contracts, the club announced today, according to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link). The two kickers join seven other players who signed futures deals yesterday with Cleveland.
  • The Jaguars have signed offensive lineman Cody Booth, tight end Marcel Jensen, defensive back Peyton Thompson, and wide receiver Tony Washington to reserve/futures contracts, tweets Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com. All four players spent time on the club’s practice squad this season.
  • The Saints signed five more players to reserve/futures deals, according to Evan Woodbery of the Times-Picayune, who lists running back Edwin Baker, kicker Dustin Hopkins, tight end Orson Charles, and offensive linemen Mike Brewster and Andrew Miller as the latest recepients. We learned yesterday that the club also signed wideout Willie Snead and fullback Toben Opurum to futures contracts.

AFC Draft Notes: Texans, Chargers, Titans

April 14th, 2014 at 1:30pm CST by Ben Levine

We explored some NFC draft notes earlier today. Now, let’s take a look around the AFC…

  • The Texans will be hosting the top quarterback prospects this week, tweets John McClain of the Houston Chronicle. In addition to Blake Bortles, Johnny Manziel and Teddy Bridgewater, the Texans will also be bringing in defensive end Jadeveon Clowney.
  • Having already visited the Chargers, as well as the Patriots, Middle Tennessee State defensive lineman Jimmy Staten will have a private workout with San Diego today, tweets Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean.
  • The Titans will privately work out LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger later this month, tweets Wyatt. In a separate tweet, Wyatt adds that the team will also be working out Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray.
  • Mike Klis of the Denver Post identifies middle linebacker, cornerback, and the interior offensive line as three areas the Broncos should be looking to address in the draft.
  • Williams & Mary safety Jerome Couplin participated in the Ravens‘ local prospect day, reports Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
  • Northern Illinois defensive tackle Ken Bishop will visit the Jaguars on Thursday, tweets Wilson.
  • The Bills will bring in an unconventional prospect for a workout. The team reportedly has interest in Canisius basketball player Chris Manhertz, according to WKBW-TV in Buffalo. The 6’6″ senior has never played football, writes Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.