HEADLINES

Garrett Hartley

Steelers’ Hartley Could Miss Opener

August 29th, 2015 at 7:34pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Earlier this month, the Steelers lost kicker Shaun Suisham to a season-ending knee injury and subsequently signed Garrett Hartley as his replacement. Hartley might not be the solution, however, as he left Saturday’s loss to Buffalo with a hamstring injury. That could cost him at least the opener, according to head coach Mike Tomlin.

“It didn’t look good. We have to MRI him but it didn’t look positive in terms of the opener,” Tomlin said, per Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh-Tribune Review (Twitter link).

With Hartley ailing, the Steelers could once again turn to the free agent market to find a kicker. At the time of Suisham’s injury, the Steelers worked out Alex Henery, formerly of the Eagles and Lions, and journeyman free agent Jay Feely before settling on Hartley to take Suisham’s spot. It stands to reason that Henery or Feely could again be candidates to end up in Pittsburgh.

Steelers Sign Garrett Hartley

August 11th, 2015 at 12:15pm CST by Luke Adams

A day after learning that kicker Shaun Suisham suffered a torn ACL, the Steelers have found their new kicker. According to agent Erik Burkhardt (via Twitter), Pittsburgh has signed veteran free agent Garrett Hartley to a contract.

Hartley was one of a handful of kickers who were reportedly set to audition for the Steelers today, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Rapoport named former Eagles kicker Alex Henery and journeyman free agent Jay Feely as other candidates expected to get a look from Pittsburgh.

Hartley, 29, served as the Saints’ kicker for parts of five seasons between 2008 and 2013, making a total of 82 field goals in 101 attempts (81.2%). He struggled in his last year with the club in 2013, making just 73.3% of his 30 attempts, and missing four field goals from inside 40 yards. Hartley’s last NFL stint came in 2014 with the Browns.

A source tells Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that Hartley’s deal is for one year, so he’ll be a stopgap solution while Suisham recovers. I would expect Hartley’s contract features little to no guaranteed money, so the Steelers would have the option of finding a replacement if he struggles.

Browns Sign Nine, Waive Four

May 11th, 2015 at 11:46am CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Browns have signed sixth-round cornerback Charles Gaines and eight players who tried out for them at their recent rookie camp, reports ESPN’s Pat McManamon (via Twitter). The list of tryout signings comes courtesy of Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link):

  • E.J. Bibbs, tight end, Iowa
  • Paul Browning, wide receiver, Colorado State-Pueblo
  • Landon Feichter, defensive back, Purdue
  • Kevin Haplea, tight end, Florida State
  • Darius Jennings, wide receiver, Virginia
  • Luke Lundy, running back, Ottawa
  • Rodman Noel, linebacker, North Carolina State
  • Brandon Stephens, defensive back, Miami (Ohio)

To make room for their newest players, the Browns cut kicker Garrett Hartley, wideout Phil Bates, cornerback Varmah Sonie, and defensive end Christian Tupou, per Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link).

Minor Moves: Saturday

December 13th, 2014 at 5:10pm CST by Rob DiRe

Here are Saturday’s minor moves, with the most recent transactions added to the top of the list:

  • The Packers have placed backup linebacker Jamari Lattimore on the injured reserve, tweets Fox Sports’ Mike Garafolo. The team will promote safety Chris Banjo from the practice squad to take the open roster space (also via Garafolo).
  • The Dolphins have promoted defensive back T.J. Heath, tweets Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald. The former Jacksonville State standout previously spent time with the Jaguars, Bengals, Bills and Browns.
  • The Seahawks have released cornerback Kennard Cox from their practice squad, tweets The Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta. Taking his place will be linebacker Allen Bradford, who was cut from the team’s active roster earlier this week.

Earlier updates:

AFC Links: Jaguars, Ravens, Clowney, Browns

December 10th, 2014 at 8:30pm CST by Ben Levine

Jaguars wide receiver Cecil Shorts will be a free agent at the end of the season, but the four-year veteran claims he’s only focused on his team’s final three games. However, when asked about the future, the 26-year-old gave some hints about where he’d like to play next year (via Ryan O’Halloran of The Florida Times-Union):

“Do I want to be here? Yeah. We’ll deal with that when the off-season comes. But right now, we have three games left so I’m trying to focus on Baltimore.

“I really like what’s going on here. I like how [general manager] Dave [Caldwell] is building the team, I like what [owner] Shad [Khan] is putting into the team and I’m a huge fan of [coach] Gus [Bradley] and the coaching staff. This is a team I feel is going in the right direction and I would feel terrible if I end up somewhere else and this team [goes], ‘Boom [and gets better],’ because I’ve been through the rough times.”

Let’s take a look at some more notes from the AFC…

  • Ravens linebacker Daryl Smith, who has spent the last two seasons in Baltimore, briefly reflected on his time with the Jaguars, where he spent the first nine seasons of his career. “I had a good nine years down there, and I’m in Baltimore now,” Smith said (via Wilson). “I’m definitely thankful I got an opportunity and I love being here. I’m happy here. At the end of the day, we’re here to win games. I’m just happy to have these games mean something at this time of the year.”
  • Ravens president Dick Cass clarified his initial statement to Ray Rice following the early reports of domestic abuse. “I never suggested to Ray that he soften or tone down his description of what happened,” Cass said (via Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun on Twitter). The president added that he told Rice to do three things: “tell the truth… don’t sugarcoat it…assume the league saw all the video.”
  • Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole says there is “grave concern” within the Texans organization regarding rookie Jadeveon Clowney‘s injury. Cole estimates that the first-overall pick could be a productive defensive end for four to six years, but a long career at the position is “highly unlikely.”
  • Browns defensive end John Hughes returned to practice today, but Wilson tweets that he hasn’t been activated from the injured reserve-designated to return list.
  • The Saints weren’t the only team working out a trio of kickers today. According to Howard Balzer on Twitter, the Browns worked out Garrett Hartley, Zach Hocker and Nate Freese.

Saints Work Out Three Kickers

December 10th, 2014 at 6:36pm CST by Ben Levine

The Saints were busy yesterday, waiving wide receiver Joe Morgan and demoting safety Kenny Vaccaro. Their efforts to turn around the season continued today, as the team worked out a trio of kickers: Garrett Hartley (via Adam Schefter), Zach Hocker (via Ramon Antonio Vargas) and Derek Dimke (via Mike Triplett). The team ultimately decided to stick with incumbent Shayne Graham, but Triplett notes that the situation could easily change.

Graham has been solid for the Saints this season, successfully converting 18 of his 20 field goal attempts and 37 of his 38 extra point opportunities. However, the 12-year veteran is not rated favorably by Pro Football Focus’ advanced statistics (subscription required), as he ranks 42nd among 52 candidates. The 37-year-old was a model of consistency during his tenure with the Bengals, but he’s on pace to make 16 appearances for only the second time since 2009.

Hartley, who played for the Saints from 2008-2013, was replaced by Graham late last season. The 28-year-old, who won a Super Bowl as New Orleans’ kicker, converted 22 of his 30 field goal attempts in 2013. Hocker, a seventh-round pick in this past year’s draft, was cut by Washington during the team’s final roster cuts. Dimke, an undrafted free agent in 2012, spent time with the Saints during the preseason.

While Graham has been consistent kicking field goals of less than 50 yards (he’s connected on 64 of 69 chances since 2010), his longer attempts have been more erratic (five of 10 over that same span). Meanwhile, the three other kickers have converted 13 of their 17 attempts since 2010 (including college), perhaps indicating that the organization is seeking someone they could rely on from further out.

Lions Worked Out Kickers, Beauharnais

September 16th, 2014 at 3:13pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lions conducted workouts with several veteran players today, including a handful of kickers, according to various reports. Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter) that Rob Bironas, Alex Henery, and Garrett Hartley all auditioned for the club, while Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun tweets that former Patriots linebacker Steve Beauharnais was also in Detroit for a tryout.

While Beauharnais’ workout looks fairly standard, the fact that Detroit brought in multiple veteran kickers is notable. Rookie Nate Freese won the job in the preseason, but he has struggled out of the gate for the Lions — he has made just two of five field goal attempts so far, with both converted tries coming from inside 30 yards.

Birons, Henery, and Hartley were the starting kickers for the Titans, Eagles, and Saints respectively for most or all of last season, and could prove to be more reliable than Freese. I’d expect the Lions to give their seventh-round pick at least one more chance to straighten things out, but his leash may not be much longer than that.

Extra Points: Redskins, Titans, Mankins

August 27th, 2014 at 9:50pm CST by Zachary Links

In an interview with CSN Washington, Redskins owner Dan Snyder said that he’s looking into a new home for his team. “Whether it’s Washington, D.C., whether it’s another stadium in Maryland, whether it’s a stadium in Virginia, we’ve started the process,” Snyder said. The new stadium, he says, could be built with RFK Stadium’s design in mind. Before the opening of FedEx Field in 1997, the Skins played at RFK, which opened in 1961. Here’s more from around the NFL..

  • Former Saints kicker Garrett Hartley worked out for the Titans today, tweets Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean. The Titans are also reportedly looking at ex-Cardinals kicker Jay Feely as well as Rian Lindell. Maikon Bonani currently sits at the top of the team’s depth chart, but he has yet to attempt a regular-season NFL kick. Despite working out three veteran kickers today, Wyatt (on Twitter) still believes the Titans would rather keep Bonani or Travis Coons.
  • The Bucs initially called the Patriots with an eye on acquiring a backup guard, tweets Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network. The Pats followed up by expressing their interest in tight end Tim Wright and soon after, the two sides started discussing Logan Mankins. While Mankins is obviously the bigger name of the two, Wright is expected by some to play a key role in the Pats’ offense this season.
  • Seahawks coach Pete Carroll is disappointed that his team has been penalized for excessive physical contact in a June minicamp, writes The Associated Press. “We don’t want to do things wrong,” Carroll said following practice Wednesday. “We want to do things right. I’d like to show exactly how to do it. When you’re competing like we do, we’re trying to do things the best you can possibly do it. Unfortunately, this incident makes it look otherwise.”

Panthers Tops In “Dead Money”

February 18th, 2014 at 8:36pm CST by Matt Feminis

Thanks in large part to last season’s trade of Jon Beason, the Panthers have $17.8MM in “dead money,” more than any team in the league, according to ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert (full chart here). “Dead money” is defined as cap space consumed by players no longer on the roster, whether they retired, were released or traded. The numbers will fluctuate as rosters continue to evolve, but listed below are the five teams with at least $10MM worth of “dead money” at present time, including the players accounting for most of the sunk costs:

At the other end of the spectrum, six teams have less than $1MM in “dead money”: Jets, Rams, Buccaneers, Colts, Seahawks and Bengals.

Saints Re-Sign Shayne Graham, Bryce Harris

February 14th, 2014 at 11:12pm CST by Matt Feminis

In addition to the re-signing of exclusive rights free agent Trevin Wade, the Saints have re-signed placekicker Shayne Graham and offensive tackle Bryce Harris, according to Sheldon Mickles of The Advocate.

Graham signed a one-year deal for $955K. The 36-year-old replaced Garrett Hartley in December, going 6-for-6 on field goals in the final two regular season games and wild-card win over Philadelphia before missing from 45 and 47 yards in a divisional round loss to Seattle.

Harris, an ERFA like Wade, signed a one-year, $570K tender after playing in all 16 regular season games, including one start at right tackle. Harris provides depth as a swing tackle, “jumbo” blocker and special-teams contributor.