Derek Akunne

Saints Work Out Handful Of LB/DEs

The Saints auditioned a crop of front seven players today, including one — former first-round pick Bjoern Werner — that was already reported earlier today. The full list is below, all courtesy of Mike Triplett and Field Yates of ESPN.com unless otherwise noted:Danny Lansanah (vertical)

Lansanah, 31, had spent the last two seasons and change with Tampa Bay before spending a week with the Dolphins in August. Over the last two years, Lansanah appeared in every regular season game for the Bucs, making 22 total starts. In 2014, Lansanah recorded three interceptions, eight pass breakups, 1.5 sacks, and 81 total tackles. His production tailed off last season, though he still notched 47 tackles, one sack, and four pass breakups.

Horton, Lotulelei, Moses, and Mulamba also have prior NFL experience, and Moses leads the pack, as he’s appeared in 45 games with the Packers and Chiefs (mostly on special teams duty). Horton, meanwhile, started 15 games for the Panthers as recently as 2014.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Cowboys Trim Roster To 53

The Cowboys have made the following moves in order to cut their roster down to 53:

Cut:

Waived/Injured:

  • DE Mike McAdoo

Reserve/Suspended:

NFI:

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/2/16

To cap off a transaction-packed Friday, here are the latest minor moves from around the NFL:

  • The Steelers released former Virginia Tech offensive lineman Wade Hansen, agent Brett Tessler tweets, and waived quarterback Dustin Vaughan with an injury settlement (Twitter link via Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review).
  • The Colts waived defensive back D’Joun Smith with an injury designation, as Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. Smith was a third-round pick in 2015.
  • The Lions cut center Gabe Ikard, per Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
  • The Jets waived safety Dion Bailey off IR with an injury settlement, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets.
  • The Cowboys are releasing linebacker Derek Akunne, according to his agent David Canter (on Twitter). They’ve also waived defensive ends Gerald Dixon and Shaneil Jenkins off IR with injury settlements, Caplan tweets.
  • The Saints waived linebacker Dillon Lee, as Nick Underhill of The Advocate tweets.
  • The Falcons will work out an injury settlement with fullback Will Ratelle, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com tweets.
  • The Buccaneers reached an injury settlement with receiver Donteea Dye, as Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times tweets.
  • The Seahawks signed long snapper Tyler Ott, according to a source who spoke with Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle (on Twitter).

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/4/16

Now that the 2015 regular season is in the books, teams can begin signing players to reserve/futures contracts, adding those players to their 90-man offseason rosters. Generally, these players finished the season on a team’s practice squad, though some were free agents at season’s end.

Here are today’s reserve/futures deals:

Atlanta Falcons signed four players (Twitter link via Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com)

Baltimore Ravens signed seven players (Twitter link via Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun):

  • Brennen Beyer, LB
  • Leon Brown, G
  • Nordly Capi, DE
  • Blaine Clausell, T
  • Chuck Jacobs, WR
  • Nick Perry, S
  • Harold Spears, TE

Buffalo Bills signed seven players (Twitter link via Mike Rodak of ESPN.com)

Chicago Bears signed nine players (Twitter link via Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune):

Cleveland Browns signed six players (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle)

Dallas Cowboys signed eight players (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle)

Denver Broncos signed four players (Twitter link via Mike Klis of 9NEWS)

Detroit Lions signed five players (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle)

Jacksonville Jaguars signed nine players (Twitter link via Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union):

Miami Dolphins signed one player (link)

  • Tyler Davis, WR

New Orleans Saints signed five players (link via Evan Woodbery of the Times-Picayune):

New York Giants signed six players (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle)

Philadelphia Eagles signed seven players (Twitter link via team):

San Diego Chargers signed six players (Twitter link via Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego)

Seattle Seahawks signed three players (Twitter link via Wilson)

  • Andrew East, LS
  • Ronnie Shields, TE
  • Phillip Sims, QB

Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed nine players (link via Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times):

  • Josh Allen, G
  • Andre Davis, WR
  • Antoine Everett, G
  • Ben Gottschalk, C
  • Gerod Holliman, S
  • Martin Ifedi, DE
  • Derrick Lott, DT
  • C.J. Roberts, CB
  • Joel Ross, CB

Tennessee Titans signed five players (Twitter link via Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com):

  • David Fluellen, RB
  • Kevin Greene, TE
  • Nick Harwell, WR
  • Josue Matias, G
  • Will Poehls, T

Washington signs three players (link via team):

Practice Squad Updates: 10/27/15

Today’s practice squad moves from around the NFL:

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

Oakland Raiders

Pittsburgh Steelers

St. Louis Rams

  • Signed: DE Gerald Rivers, LB/DE Zach Hodges (Twitter link via Jim Thomas of the Post-Dispatch)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

NFC Practice Squad Updates: 9/7/15

While many teams filled up their 10-man practice squads on Sunday, plenty of teams didn’t confirm their moves right away, or kept a few spots open on those units. On top of that, at least one club that signed 10 players to its taxi squad on Sunday has already made several changes, bringing in new players and jettisoning players who didn’t even spend 24 hours on the squad.

We’ll have updates on Monday’s NFC practice squad signings and cuts in this space, with teams listed in alphabetical order. When new moves occur, we’ll bump this post back to the top of the page. Here’s a round-up of today’s moves:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Signed (link via Josh Weinfuss):
    • CB Cariel Brooks
    • T Rob Crisp
    • LB Gabe Martin
    • G Antoine McClain
    • WR Jaxon Shipley
    • RB Kerwynn Williams
    • CB Leon McFadden

Atlanta Falcons

  • Signed (press release):
    • LB Derek Akunne
    • T Pierce Burton
    • CB Akeem King
    • QB Matt Simms
    • LB Tyler Starr

Chicago Bears

  • Signed (Twitter links):
    • LB Lamin Barrow
    • T Nick Becton
    • DL Brandon Dunn
    • CB Jacoby Glenn
    • WR Jalen Saunders

Dallas Cowboys

  • Signed (Twitter link via Todd Archer):
    • OT John Wetzel
    • Tim Scott
    • LB Dakorey Johnson
  • To be signed:

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed (press release):
    • RB John Crockett
    • CB Robertson Daniel
    • DT Christian Ringo

New Orleans Saints

  • Signed (via Evan Woodbery on Twitter):
    • TE Blake Annen
    • CB Don Jones

New York Giants

San Francisco 49ers

  • Signed:

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Signed (press release):
    • T Edawn Coughman
    • T Terren Jones
    • WR Rannell Hall
    • TE Cameron Brate

Washington:

Falcons Mince Roster Down To 52 Players

The Falcons are among the final teams to unveil their regular-season roster, and they did so by leaving one spot open.

Atlanta’s roster now sits at 52 players, one below the limit of 53, according to AtlantaFalcons.com.

The team parted ways with Antone Smith, who reached an injury settlement with the team. Out since the Falcons’ preseason opener with a hamstring injury, the 29-year-old backup did not suit up for the team again and will now avoid injured reserve due to this settlement.

Also rehabbing from a broken leg sustained last November, Smith signed a one-year, $1.4MM deal in March to stay in Atlanta.

Injury-plagued veteran tight end Tony Moeaki also couldn’t make the roster. The 28-year-old spent last season with the Seahawks before signing on with the Falcons in March. Atlanta will go with Jacob Tamme and Levine Toilolo as its top two tight ends.

The Falcons placed Jon Asamoah, fullback Collin Mooney and cornerback Travis Howard on injured reserve. Asamoah, a high-priced signing in 2014, suffered a hip injury during preseason workouts.

Those also cut are as follows:

  • LB Derek Akunne
  • OL Pierce Burton
  • CB Akeem King
  • OL Eric Lefeld
  • LB Stansly Maponga
  • NT Joey Mbu
  • WR Carlton Mitchell
  • OL Adam Replogle (waived/injured)
  • RB Jerome Smith
  • TE D.J. Tialavea
  • LB Tyler Starr

Falcons To Sign 19 Undrafted FAs

The Falcons announced today in a press release that they’ve agreed to terms with 19 undrafted free agents, the largest UDFA class yet among those that have been officially confirmed.

The full list of the newest additions to the Atlanta roster is below. Players whose signing bonuses have been reported are noted:

  • Derek Akunne, LB, North Texas ($2K bonus, per Vaughn McClure)
  • Chris Brown, DT, Tarleton State
  • Marquez Clark, WR, Central Oklahoma ($3.5K bonus, per McClure)
  • Cody Clay, OL, Azusa Pacific University
  • Terell Floyd, S, Louisville
  • Beau Gardner, TE, Northern Arizona
  • Warren Herring, DT, Wisconsin
  • Mike Lee, CB, Fort Valley State ($1K bonus, per Aaron Wilson)
  • Eric Lefeld, T, Cincinnati
  • Derrick Malone, LB, Oregon
  • Joey Mbu, DT, Houston ($5K bonus, per McClure)
  • Jordan Ozerities, CB, Central Florida ($1K bonus, per McClure)
  • Damian Parms, S, Florida Atlantic ($3K bonus, per Wilson)
  • Joshua Stangby, WR, Ottawa University ($1K, per McClure)
  • Robenson Therezie, S, Auburn
  • Valerian Ume-Ezeoke, C, New Mexico State ($3K bonus, per Wilson)
  • Terron Ward, RB, Oregon State
  • Kevin White, CB, Texas Christian
  • Shane Wynn, WR, Indiana ($2K, per McClure)