HEADLINES

Christian French

Colts Try Out Keenan Lewis, Jacquies Smith

June 13th, 2018 at 10:35am CST by Zachary Links

The Colts have eight tryout players on hand this week, including cornerback Keenan Lewis and defensive end Jacquies Smith (Twitter link via George Bremer of The Herald Bulletin). Wide receiver Paul McRoberts, cornerback Juante Baldwin, running back Jordan Huff, safety Tim Scott, defensive end Evan Panfil, and defensive end Christian French are also among those looking to hook on in Indy. 

Lewis, 32, has not played since the 2015 season when he suffered a leg injury. In 2016, the Saints released him as he was slow to recover from a hip malady. He nearly rejoined the Steelers in 2017, but a medical red flag kept him from signing. Pittsburgh doctors reportedly found that Lewis had undergone a “failed surgery” and he filed a grievance against the Saints this year to recoup some of his lost salary.

Lewis, a 2009 third-round pick of the Steelers, spent the first four seasons of his career in Pittsburgh. After serving as a reserve through his first few seasons, he started all 16 games for the Steelers in 2012, compiling 71 tackles and one forced fumble. He ended up signing a five-year, $26.3MM deal with New Orleans during the 2013 offseason, and he started all 32 games for the Saints in 2013 and 2014. However, he suited up just six times in 2015.

Smith, 28, established himself as a serviceable edge rusher for the Bucs (13.5 sacks from 2014-15) before a torn ACL ended his 2016 campaign after only one game. After working his way back to full health, Smith had played in his first contest of the year during Week 4 last year, but saw action on only seven snaps. Smith wound up signing with the Lions during their bye week in 2017, but did not play in any games for them. A second stint with Detroit later in the year resulted in two appearances for Smith, but he recorded only one tackle.

Seahawks Now At 53

September 2nd, 2017 at 7:57pm CST by Zachary Links

The Seahawks made some moves to get down to 53, including the release of last year’s backup quarterback. Here’s the full rundown:

Waived:

Waived/Injured:

Released:

Boykin has lost the backup QB job to Austin Davis and that’s not a huge surprise after Davis’ performance in the preseason. Coach Pete Carroll indicated recently that he would have liked to keep three signal callers, but it just wasn’t realistic.

“It’s a good idea if you can do it,” Carroll said. “They’re so important. It just depends on the rest of the roster.”

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/10/17

August 10th, 2017 at 8:24pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Oakland Raiders

Seattle Seahawks

Packers Work Out TE Rob Housler

October 4th, 2016 at 8:30pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Packers are in need of tight end depth as Jared Cook continues to deal with a high ankle sprain, so the club worked out veteran Rob Housler today, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. Cook left Green Bay’s Week 3 contest against Lions, and is expected to be sidelined through at least Week 5.Rob Housler (Vertical)

[RELATED: Green Bay Packers Depth Chart]

With Cook out, the Packers are down to Richard Rodgers and Justin Perillo at tight end. While that duo can probably get the job done, Housler would add a bit more to the back end of the roster. Housler, 28, is a former third-round pick who averaged 42 receptions per year for the Cardinals from 2012-13. Thing have gone downhill since then, however, as Housler saw only seven combined targets in 2015 with the Browns and Bears.

In addition to Housler, Green Bay also auditioned rookie tight end J.P. Holtz and linebacker Christian French, reports Demovsky.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/11/16

August 11th, 2016 at 4:24pm CST by Zachary Links

Thursday’s minor moves from around the NFL:

  • The Seahawks have waived two players from injured reserve, linebacker Christian French and tight end Cooper Helfet, according to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (Twitter link). The team reached an injury settlement with Helfet.
  • The Bills announced the release of linebacker Kevin Reddick from the reserve/injured list with an injury settlement.
  • The Colts signed running back Chase Price and linebacker Anthony Sarao, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets.
  • The Seahawks are signing defensive tackle Tylor Harris, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. Harris is a UDFA out of Wake Forest. To make room for Harris, they’ve waived linebacker Montese Overton to make room for Harris, per Condotta (Twitter link).
  • The Texans reached an injury settlement with Richard Leonard (hamstring surgery), removing him from IR, Wilson tweets.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/16/16

May 16th, 2016 at 6:36pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

Earlier Updates:

  • The Broncos have signed linebacker Dekoda Watson to a one-year deal, Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com tweets. Watson appeared in three games for the Patriots last year as he was yo-yo’d on and off of the team’s roster.
  • Eagles guard/tackle Matt Tobin has signed a two-year deal with the team, a source tells Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Tobin was previously set to play out this year on his one-year restricted free agent tender. Now, his new deal will lower his base salary for this season.
  • Washington waived linebacker Reggie Northrup, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Interestingly, Northrup is represented by rapper Lil Wayne.
  • More Washington signings via the team’s website: tackle Al Bond, guard Nila Kasitati, linebacker Mike Wakefield and running back Kelsey Young. Guard Dominick Jackson was waived.
  • The Seahawks have waived/injured linebacker Christian French and signed fellow linebacker Khairi Fortt to take his place on the 90-man roster, Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times tweets.
  • The Bengals are set to sign former University of Buffalo quarterback Joe Licata, as Tyler Dunne of The Buffalo News tweets. To make room, rookie quarterback Matt Johnson has been waived.
  • The Browns signed defensive back Eric Patterson, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets. The 23-year-old entered the NFL last year as a UDFA with New England. The Ball State product appeared in two games for Indianapolis and one with St. Louis.
  • The Bears announced they have signed Donovan Williams, an offensive lineman from Louisiana-Lafayette (Twitter link via Brad Biggs of The Chicago Tribune). The Bears have also released center Dan Buchholz, wide receiver/tight end Marcus Lucas, and wide receiver Nathan Palmer (link).
  • The Bears waived defensive end Bruce Gaston, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com writes. Demovsky suggests that Gaston, who made Green Bay’s opening day roster last season, could get another look from the Packers.
  • The Chargers have signed former Arizona State guard Vi Teofilo to a three-year deal, a source tells Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego. The 6’3″, 205-pound lineman will look to compete for a practice squad spot. The Chargers waived guard Sebastian Johansson, an undrafted rookie guard from Marshall, in a corresponding move. They also waived-injured linebacker Brock Hekking.
  • The Saints waived safety Michael Caputo and quarterback Griffin Neal after this weekend’s rookie minicamp, Evan Woodbery of The Times-Picayune tweets. According to Wilson (on Twitter), the team has also cut receiver Shane Wynn.
  • In a related move, the Saints inked linebacker Tony Steward (Twitter link via Woodbery). Steward played at Clemson and was a fifth-round pick of Buffalo in 2015.
  • The Saints signed Jake Lampman, Wilson tweets. The Ferris State product caught 52 passes for 731 yards and eight touchdowns last season.

Ben Levine contributed to this post.

Seahawks Sign Four Draft Picks, 13 UDFAs

May 6th, 2016 at 4:42pm CST by Luke Adams

The Seahawks are the latest NFL team to announce a series of draft pick signings and undrafted free agent additions, indicating in a press release that nine of their 10 draftees have been locked up, and 13 rookie free agents have joined the roster.

We heard earlier today that first-round offensive lineman Germain Ifedi had agreed to terms with his new club, and the Seahawks had also secured second-round defensive tackle Jarran Reed, third-round tight end Nick Vannett, third-round offensive lineman Rees Odhiambo, and fifth-round running back Alex Collins at that point. Seattle has since signed the following four draft picks as well, leaving only seventh-round running back Zac Brooks unsigned:

To supplement their draft class, the Seahawks have signed the following 13 UDFAs: