HEADLINES

Cody Latimer

Vic Beasley, Martavis Bryant, Josh Gordon, Marquette King On XFL Rosters

February 9th, 2023 at 3:46pm CST by Sam Robinson

The XFL will begin its third try next week. The rebooting league’s latest season will begin Feb. 18, nearly two months before USFL 2.0’s second season is scheduled to start.

This setup will make for a strange winter-spring period in which two minor leagues of sorts will be in operation. Considering the short tenures of XFL 2.0 (2020) and the Alliance of American Football (2019), this will be one of the more interesting years for non-NFL football.

Numerous former NFLers line the XFL’s season-opening rosters. Here are some of the players who will be part the league’s latest eight-team configuration. The full rosters can be found here.

Arlington Renegades

King has not punted since the 2018 season, when the Broncos waived him not long after signing the veteran specialist to a multiyear deal. King, 34, punted for the Raiders for five seasons.

D.C. Defenders

Armstead received workout opportunities and landed with multiple teams, but the former Jaguars backup has been unable to regain his footing since missing all of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 complications. A former Packers second-round pick, Murphy has six NFL seasons under his belt. Reid, 31, played eight NFL seasons — most recently suiting up in 2021 — and was a regular for the Lions early in his career. Brice started 10 games for the Packers in 2018; he has not played since.

Houston Roughnecks

Davis started 42 games for the Steelers from 2017-19; he played with three teams during the 2021 season. A

Orlando Guardians

Elam logged 26 starts for the Ravens, but his NFL run stopped after the 2016 season. A former Broncos second-round pick, Latimer played six NFL seasons and ended up a 10-game starter for the Giants in 2019. Lynch was part of the 2016 and ’17 Broncos squads along with Latimer but, despite his first-round status, flamed out of the league after two seasons. He has since spent time in the CFL and USFL.

San Antonio Brahmas

Ballage did not play in the NFL this season but saw action in 17 games for the Steelers in 2021. Wing served as the Giants’ punter for three seasons. Sinnett was with the Dolphins this season, joining the team following Tua Tagovailoa‘s Week 4 concussion.

Seattle Sea Dragons

The biggest name in this XFL edition, Gordon became a journeyman in recent years. He was most recently with the Titans, catching on with Tennessee this year before being released in October. The former All-Pro spent the 2021 season with the Chiefs. Suspensions hijacked the 31-year-old pass catcher’s career. The Cowboys cut DiNucci just before this season, and while workout opportunities came, the former emergency Dallas starter will try his hand in the XFL.

St. Louis BattleHawks

Although McCarron’s most recent action came with the Texans, he was on the 2021 Falcons. A path toward being Matt Ryan‘s final backup in Atlanta closed after a preseason ACL tear. Workouts in 2022 did not lead to a signing.

Vegas Vipers

A former top-10 pick and NFL sack leader, Beasley has been out of the league since the 2020 season. The ex-Super Bowl starter’s one-year, $9.5MM deal did not work out for the Titans, who cut the edge rusher during the ’20 campaign. Bryant has been out of the league longer, with suspensions altering his path. The talented ex-Steeler spent time in Canada recently. Hundley was on the Ravens’ practice squad until season’s end this year, signing with the team after Lamar Jackson‘s ankle injury.

Washington Cuts WR Cody Latimer

August 23rd, 2020 at 3:09pm CST by Zachary Links

The Washington Football Team has officially parted ways with Cody Latimer, per a club announcement. The move comes months after the wide receiver’s troubling incident in Colorado. 

[RELATED: Washington To Sign Garnett, Waive Moss]

Authorities say that a May poker game turned ugly when Latimer got into a “heated argument” with someone else at the table. Latimer stormed out and returned 30 minutes later with a handgun. Latimer, they say, waved the gun around and threatened to kill everybody in the room. He later “emptied the magazine and cleared the chamber of his gun,” per the police report, but not before firing two shots in someone’s direction.

Latimer joined Washington after posting career-highs in catches (24) and receiving yards (300) with the Giants. Instead of jostling with fourth-round wideout Antonio Gandy-Golden for his spot in the pecking order, Latimer now finds himself out of a job.

Latest On Redskins WR Cody Latimer

May 19th, 2020 at 9:05am CST by Ben Levine

Following his arrest in Colorado on Saturday morning, Redskins wideout Cody Latimer appeared at a court hearing yesterday morning, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter and John Keim. Latimer was ordered to return for a July 24 court date. He’s facing five individual charges, including assault in the second degree, menacing, illegal discharge of a firearm, prohibited use of weapons, and reckless endangerment. Latimer was initially released from the Douglas County Jail on $25,000 bond on Saturday.

The police report states that Latimer was participating in a poker game at the home of one of his best friends, Roderick English. During that game, the NFL player got into a “heated argument” with another participant, at which point English ordered everyone to leave his apartment.

Latimer returned to the apartment about 30 minutes later and was “agitated and angry.” It was at this point that the 27-year-old pulled out a handgun, waved it around, and threatened to kill everybody in the residence. Latimer eventually “emptied the magazine and cleared the chamber of his gun,” but that was after he fired a pair of shots near English. The two also engaged in a physical confrontation, and English required medical attention after being hit in the head with the gun.

During Monday’s hearing, attorney Harvey Steinberg told the court that he had been contacted by law enforcement regarding “an investigation of a sexual assault of Latimer’s 4-year-old son that was allegedly perpetrated by one of the individuals at that poker game.” The shooting incident took place “at about the same time and location as the alleged sexual assault.”

Following a 2019 campaign that saw him compile career-highs in receptions (24) and receiving yards (300) with the Giants, Latimer joined the Redskins this offseason. While the veteran was expected to contribute on offense and special teams, ESPN notes that Latimer could end up losing his gig to fourth-round wideout Antonio Gandy-Golden.

Redskins’ Cody Latimer Arrested, Charged With Felonies 

May 16th, 2020 at 1:16pm CST by Zachary Links

Redskins wide receiver Cody Latimer was arrested in Colorado on Saturday morning, as Ryan O’Halloran of The Denver Post writes. He faces five charges, including three felonies and two misdemeanors. 

[RELATED: Giants’ Baker Surrenders To Police]

Police in Douglas County responded to a call of shots being fired inside an apartment. No injuries were reported, but they believe Latimer was the shooter. He’s facing charges of assault in the second degree, menacing, illegal discharge of a firearm, prohibited use of a weapon, and reckless endangerment.

Latimer’s arrest comes on the heels of another troubling event in Florida, said to involve Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar and Giants cornerback Deandre Baker. Like Dunbar and Baker, Latimer is subject to fines, suspensions, and other discipline from the league office, even if this ultimately does not result in a court case or a conviction.

Latimer, 27, was a second round pick of the Broncos in 2014. In Denver, they waited and waited for his big breakout season, but that never came. After four years with the Broncos, he moved on to the Giants in 2017. Last year, Latimer had 24 receptions for 300 yards and two touchdowns. For his career, he has a grand total of 70 catches for 835 receiving yards and six scores. He may, or may not, have an opportunity to build on those totals with the Redskins in 2020.

In addition to Latimer, the Redskins have Terry McLaurin, Kelvin Harmon, Trey Quinn near the top of their WR depth chart. They also replenished the group by drafting Liberty’s Antonio Gandy-Golden in the fourth round last month.

Contract Details: Texans, Seahawks, Redskins

April 11th, 2020 at 9:15am CST by Ben Levine

Some assorted contract details from around the NFL:

  • Bradley Roby, CB (Texans): Three years, $36MM. Includes $19MM guaranteed. Base value of $31.5MM, with $4.5MM in annual playing time incentives. $3MM signing bonus, $3.5MM roster bonus (2020). Via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.
  • Vernon Hargreaves, CB (Texans): One year. Deal is worth $1.325MM, including $250K signing bonus, $825K base salary, up to $250K in per-game roster bonuses. Via Wilson on Twitter.
  • Benson Mayowa, DE (Seahawks): Signed. One-year, $3.05MM deal. Includes $1.5MM signing bonus, $1.05MM base salary (fully guaranteed). $2.55MM in total guarantees, $500K in per-game roster bonuses. Via ESPN’s Brady Henderson on Twitter.
  • Cody Latimer, WR (Redskins): Signed. One-year deal, $137.5K guaranteed signing bonus. Cap hit of $887.5K. Via ESPN’s John Keim on Twitter.

We also thought this would be a good opportunity to pass along a tidbit from ESPN’s Field Yates (via Twitter), who listed the largest dead-money cap charges in 2020:

  1. Brandin Cooks: $20.8M (Rams)
  2. Nick Foles: $18.75M (Jaguars)
  3. Joe Flacco: $13.6M (Broncos)
  4. Tom Brady: $13.5M (Patriots)
  5. Todd Gurley: $11.75M (Rams)
  6. Matt Kalil: $9.8M (Panthers)
  7. Trai Turner: $9.592M (Panthers)
  8. Stefon Diggs: $9M (Vikings)
  9. Reshad Jones: $8.14M (Dolphins)
  10. Eric Berry: $8M (Chiefs)

Redskins To Sign WR Cody Latimer

March 25th, 2020 at 8:08pm CST by Rory Parks

The Redskins have agreed to sign wide receiver Cody Latimer, as Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network reports (via Twitter). Latimer spent the last two years with the division-rival Giants.

Latimer was selected by the Broncos in the second round of the 2014 draft, and to say that he failed to live up to Denver’s expectations would be an understatement. Though he finally started to show some signs of life as a receiver in 2017, his last year in Denver — a year in which he averaged a healthy 15.1 yards per catch — he mostly stuck around because of his excellent work on special teams.

He hooked on with the Giants in 2018, but he missed 10 games that year due to injury. Still, he managed 17.3 yards per catch in limited action and had impressed Big Blue’s coaching staff during his first training camp with the team, so New York brought him back for another look in 2019.

Thanks to a thin and injury-ravaged WR corps, Latimer set career highs in starts (10), receptions (24), and yards (300). He may find similar opportunities with the Redskins, who have second-year pros Terry McLaurin and Kelvin Harmon at the top of their depth chart. McLaurin enjoyed an excellent rookie campaign, and Harmon showed some promise down the stretch, but Latimer could carve out a role for himself.

Giants WR Golden Tate Out With Concussion

November 29th, 2019 at 10:16am CST by Marc Delucchi

Giants wide receiver Golden Tate will not practice today and is out for New York’s upcoming matchup against the Packers while he deals with a concussion, according to Ryan Dunleavy of The New York Post. Tate sustained a concussion in last week’s 19-14 loss to the Bears on a touchdown reception and has been in the league’s protocol since.

Tate, signed this offseason by the Giants, has hauled in 36 receptions for 450 yards and 4 touchdowns over seven games this season. With Tate out and tight end Evan Ingram dealing with an injury of his own, expect New York to rely heavily on running back Saquon Barkley against the Packers.

According to the Giants depth chart, Cody Latimer is next in line to take Tate’s starting spot, but Darius Slayton started in place of Sterling Shepard while he was out with a concussion of his own. Regardless, this season’s revolving door of receivers has not made adjusting to the NFL any easier for rookie quarterback Daniel Jones, who has struggled mightily since a strong start to the season.

 

East Notes: Belichick, Patriots, Jets, Giants

August 8th, 2019 at 5:36pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Patriots coach Bill Belichick is known for finding diamonds in the rough. He’s turned MAC quarterback Julian Edelman into a star receiver, and made numerous other brilliant discoveries. The draft apparently isn’t the only place he looks for these unheralded gems, as Zach Cox of NESN.com pointed out in a recent interesting piece. The Patriots are holding joint practices with the Lions right now, and Cox points out that Belichick always uses these joint practices to scout the opposing team’s players for guys he might want to pick up when they’re later cut.

“From 2012 to 2017, New England participated in 11 rounds of joint practices with seven different opponents. In all 11 cases, at least one member of the opposing team went on to sign with the Patriots,” Cox writes. That’s a pretty incredible streak, and it shows that the Patriots are paying extremely close attention during these joint sessions. It’ll be interesting to see which current member of the Lions ends up signing with New England later this year.

Here’s more from the league’s eastern divisions:

  • We’ve got the full details on Ryan Kalil‘s contract with the Jets, courtesy of Rich Cimini of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The one-year, $8.4MM pact includes a $3MM signing bonus, 2.4MM in base non-guaranteed salary, and a $3.4MM roster bonus. The total guarantee is just the $3MM signing bonus. Kalil recently came out of retirement, and the veteran center’s presence should be a huge boost to the rest of the offensive line and Sam Darnold‘s protection. Even though the majority of his money is non-guaranteed, it would take something truly shocking for him not to end up collecting it all.
  • The Giants have had a brutal stretch of luck with their receivers. Just in the past few weeks, Corey Coleman tore his ACL, Sterling Shepard suffered a broken thumb, and Golden Tate was suspended for the first four games of the season. Shepard will likely be back for Week 1, but the options after him aren’t too appealing. As of right now it looks like Cody Latimer will be the second receiver to open the season, while Bennie Fowler will be the third, according to Matt Lombardo of NJ.com. Latimer is a former second-round pick of the Broncos who is looking to reinvent himself with the Giants. He spent last year in New York, catching 11 passes for 190 yards in only six games. Fowler is also a former Bronco who caught 16 balls for 199 yards in his first season with the Giants last year. Eli Manning (or Daniel Jones) won’t be in an easy situation when the season opens.
  • In case you missed it, the Dolphins signed former Cardinals first-round pick Robert Nkemdiche

Giants To Re-Sign WR Cody Latimer

March 17th, 2019 at 10:33pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Giants’ receiving corps will look quite different in 2019, but part of the previous group looks to be staying in the fold.

Cody Latimer revealed (via Instagram) he will be back with the Giants next season. Residing as a free agent after inking a one-year deal to join the Giants last season, Latimer is now in line to be part of the post-Odell Beckham Jr. Giants receiving corps.

This is likely another low-cost agreement for the Giants, who are thin on answers beyond Sterling Shepard and Golden Tate. Both Russell Shepard and Bennie Fowler previously joined Latimer as free agents. The Giants are bringing back RFA Corey Coleman, however. Latimer figures to join Coleman as depth.

A hamstring injury limited Latimer to six games last season, but despite the Giants being out of playoff contention during the season’s second half, they made him an IR-return candidate. Primarily known for his special teams work with the Broncos, the physically imposing target caught 11 passes for 190 yards and a touchdown during his Giants debut — which also came under former Broncos wideouts coach Tyke Tolbert.

A former second-round pick, Latimer has not panned out as a pass-catcher, having hauled in just 46 receptions for 635 yards in five seasons. This deal may not guarantee he makes the Giants’ roster, but it’s clear the organization likes what it saw during a limited sample last season.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/19/18

December 19th, 2018 at 6:17pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers 

Miami Dolphins

New York Giants

Tennessee Titans

Washington Redskins

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