HEADLINES

Glover Quin

Glover Quin, Lions Restructure Contract

May 13th, 2015 at 8:16am CST by Luke Adams

After restructuring his contract to provide some flexibility for the Lions last September, safety Glover Quin has tweaked his deal again, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com. The move will create some additional breathing room for Detroit, allowing the team to work toward signing the rest of its rookie class.

As Yates details, it’s a simple restructure for Quin, which means he’s simply converting a portion of his base salary into a signing bonus. By reducing his base salary for 2015 from $4MM to the minimum ($745K), and turning that $3.255MM into a signing bonus, Quin will have only a third of that bonus count toward ’15, with the rest being prorated for the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

In total, the restructure will create $2.17MM in immediate cap savings for the Lions, while increasing Quin’s cap numbers in 2016 and 2017 by an extra $1.085MM per year. The team may eventually have to adjust the 29-year-old’s contract again, since those ’16 and ’17 cap hits now exceed $7.5MM, but for now, it’s a move that benefits a Lions club that had the least amount of cap room in the NFL heading into today, according to Over the Cap‘s data.

Minor Moves: Tuesday

September 2nd, 2014 at 5:17pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are the latest minor transactions from around the NFL:

5:17pm:

  • The Browns have cut offensive lineman Caylin Hauptmann with a failed physical designation, according to Brian McIntyre (via Twitter). That clears a roster spot for Vinston Painter, whose signing was noted below.
  • The following players have been removed from their teams’ respective IR lists with injury settlements, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (all Twitter links): Ryan McKee (Chiefs), Larry Asante (Raiders), Greg Jenkins (Raiders), and Eric Ward (Titans). C.J. Davis (Seahawks) has also been removed from IR with a settlement, tweets Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times.

4:44pm:

  • The Jets have signed linebacker Jeremiah George and wideout Quincy Enunwa to their practice squad, the team announced today (via Twitter). New York selected the duo in the fifth and sixth rounds of this year’s draft, respectively.

4:13pm:

  • The Panthers have signed former Jets wideout Stephen Hill to their practice squad, cutting linebacker D.J. Smith, the team announced today (Twitter link). According to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter), the Redskins will also interested in bringing Hill in for a workout, but Carolina offered him a deal.
  • The Cardinals have added wideout Kevin Cone, defensive tackle Christian Tupou, and running back Dominique Williams to their practice squad, per Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com (via Twitter).
  • Tight end Jerome Cunningham has signed with the Giants‘ practice squad, according to agent Howard Shatsky (via Twitter).
  • The Chargers filled their practice squad by adding running back Marion Grice, who cleared waivers after being cut yesterday, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
  • The Cowboys have also filled their 10-man squad, adding offensive lineman John Wetzel and defensive back Jemea Thomas, according to Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (via Twitter). Presumably, one of the 10 players on the unit will be cut tomorrow if the team intends to bring Michael Sam aboard.
  • A.J. Jefferson of the Seahawks and Justice Cunningham of the Rams have both been removed from injured reserve lists with settlements, according to Caplan and Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter links).

3:28pm:

  • According to Mike Klis of the Denver Post (via Twitter), the Browns are signing offensive lineman Vinston Painter off the Broncos‘ practice squad, which will open up a spot on the 10-man unit for long snapper Kevin McDermott, whose signing was noted below. Cleveland will need to make a corresponding roster move to clear room for Painter.
  • The Redskins made a series of changes to their practice squad today, signing offensive lineman Braxston Cave and linebacker Jackson Jeffcoat. Linebacker Chaz Sutton and offensive lineman Tevita Stevens were cut.
  • Offensive lineman Matt Patchan has been removed from the Buccaneers‘ injured reserve list with a settlement, says Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune (via Twitter).

1:23pm:

  • A number of teams have filled their 10-man practice squads by adding a player. The Jaguars signed tight end Marcel Jensen, per John Oehser of Jaguars.com (via Twitter); the Bills signed tight end D.J. Tialavea, tweets Mike Rodak of ESPN.com; the Bengals signed wide receiver Cobi Hamilton, according to Coley Harvey of ESPN.com (via Twitter); and the Browns officially announced the signing of fullback Kiero Small, which had been previously reported by Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
  • A pair of clubs also swapped in one player for another on their practice squads. The Dolphins signed defensive end Gerald Rivers and dropped defensive end D’Aundre Reed, according to Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (via Twitter). And the Vikings signed offensive lineman Austin Wentworth to their squad to replace cornerback Kendall James, the team announced (via Twitter).
  • The Broncos are also making an addition to their practice squad, in long snapper Kevin McDermott, according to Mike Klis of the Denver Post (via Twitter). But Denver already had a full 10-man unit, so we’ll have to wait to hear about the corresponding move.
  • Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap and Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link) provide the respective details for Ray McDonald‘s contract restructure with the 49ers and Glover Quin‘s reworked deal with the Lions.
  • The Buccaneers intend to open up a roster spot by placing running back Charles Sims on their injured reserve list with the designation to return, reports Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). Teams can begin to use that IR spot as of 3:00pm central time today.
  • Cornerback Bobby Felder has been removed from the Bills‘ injured reserve list after reaching a settlement with the team, tweets Joe Buscaglia of WGR 550.

Minor Moves: Friday Night

August 29th, 2014 at 10:54pm CST by Luke Adams

As our transactions log shows, it’s been a busy day for roster moves around the NFL, and tomorrow will be even more hectic, as teams cut their rosters down to 53 active players in advance of the 3:00pm CT deadline. As we look forward to what should be a fun Saturday, let’s round up a few more odds and ends from Friday’s transactions wire….

  • Kicker John Potter (Dolphins) and defensive back Devin Smith (Steelers) have been removed from their team’s respective injured lists with injury settlements, tweets Wilson.
  • Two Raiders have posted the news of their own waiving via social media: DE Jack Crawford (via Instagram) and TE Jake Murphy (via Twitter) each indicated they had been cut by Oakland.

Earlier Updates:

  • According to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter links), the Cowboys waived a pair of players today, parting ways with wide receiver Jamar Newsome and running back D.J. Adams.
  • The Dolphins began trimming their roster from 75 players to 53 today, informing tight end Kyle Miller that he’s being cut, reports Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald.
  • Packers tackle Aaron Adams has suffered a torn ACL and MCL, and will be placed on injured reserve, tweets Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. Adams would have been in contention for a spot at the back end of the 53-man roster had he remained healthy.
  • The Lions and 49ers both freed up some cap space by restructuring the contracts of safety Glover Quin and defensive lineman Ray McDonald, respectively, per reports by Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com and Tom Pelissero of USA Today (Twitter link). We don’t have the specific details yet on either move, but they were likely simple restructures, converting a portion of the players’ base salaries into signing bonuses.
  • The following players were cut off their respective teams’ injured reserve lists with injury settlements, according to reports from John Oesher of Jaguars.com, Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com, and Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (all Twitter links): Defensive end David Carter (Jaguars), linebacker Jamar Chaney (Broncos), and safety DeJon Gomes (Lions).

Extra Points: Suh, Hester, Talib

March 9th, 2014 at 9:15am CST by Peter Sowards

Ndamukong Suh‘s cap number in 2014 is $22.4MM — that’s nearly 17% of the $133MM salary cap.

However, DetroitLions.com Senior Writer Tim Twentyman said this should not hamstring the team’s efforts to be active in free agency. With less cap space last year entering free agency than they have this year, Twentyman writes that Detroit was still able to land Reggie Bush, Glover Quin and Jason Jones on free agency’s opening day.

“The fact we won’t have an extension done with Ndamukong before free agency begins doesn’t affect that plan one bit,” Lions team president Tom Lewand said. “It doesn’t affect our valuation of the free agents, it doesn’t affect what our projection of our cap situation is going forward, and it doesn’t affect how we project eventually working an extension with Ndamukong out at some point in time.”

Twentyman doesn’t expect a re-done deal by the start of free agency, despite Suh’s recent signing of CAA Sports agent Jimmy Sexton.

More notes from the second day of the legal tampering period…

NFC Notes: Wharton, Panthers, Lions, Saints

February 27th, 2014 at 10:47am CST by Luke Adams

The Panthers have already lost one starting lineman to retirement this week, when longtime left tackle Jordan Gross called it a career. Now, left guard Travelle Wharton tells Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer that he’s not 100% sure about his future either. However, it sounds like if he keeps playing, the free agent lineman wants to do so in Carolina.

“I love it here in Charlotte. This is where we want to live,” Wharton said. “If there’s going to be a next year, we have to sit down and talk about it.”

Here’s more on the Panthers and a couple other NFC teams:

  • Steve Smith‘s age (35 in May) and contract ($9MM in dead money, three years remaining) make him a tricky case for the Panthers, as Jason Fitzgerald explores in his latest piece at OverTheCap.com. Fitzgerald thinks it makes sense for the two sides to continue their relationship, but makes some suggestions for how to make the veteran receiver’s contract more tenable for the club.
  • When the Lions inked Matthew Stafford to his long-term contract extension last summer, the team agreed to defer the payment of $17.5MM of his $27.5MM signing bonus. That bill has come due, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, who says the team will pay Stafford the remainder of the bonus this Friday. Glover Quin, Reggie Bush, and Jason Jones will also receive deferred bonus money within the next few weeks, but the lump-sum payments won’t alter the team’s cap outlook.
  • Running back Mikel Leshoure expressed a desire for a bigger role, either in Detroit or elsewhere, and it looks like he may receive that opportunity with the Lions, writes Kyle Meinke of MLive.com.
  • Add linebacker and special teams player Ramon Humber to the growing list of pending Saints free agents who have had early discussions with the club about a new deal, writes Ramon Antonio Vargas of The Advocate.