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IK Enemkpali

IK Enemkpali Suspended Four Games

September 11th, 2015 at 5:44pm CST by Luke Adams

FRIDAY, 5:44 pm: The league could have suspended Enemkpali for six games, but it was reduced to four and Enemkpali then opted against an appeal, Rapoport tweeted. Enemkpali’s reps issued a statement Friday (Twitter link comes courtesy of Fox Sports’ Mike Garafolo):

“Upon learning of the NFL’s originally proposed suspension, we contacted them and requested a conference. As a result of the conference, the suspension was reduced to 4 games which will commence immediately. We have discussed all of IK’s options with him and he has decided not to appeal the 4 game suspension. IK wants to put this matter behind him as quickly as possible and focus on playing football. He is very appreciative of the confidence that the Bills and Coach Ryan have shown him and does not want this matter to be a further distraction for him or his teammates. He just signed to the Bills 53 man roster and can’t wait to become a productive member of the team.”

THURSDAY, 5:53pm: Enemkpali will be suspended for the first four games of the season, according to The Associated Press.

THURSDAY, 10:50am: The NFL is leaning toward suspending outside linebacker IK Enemkpali for at least four games, and up to six games, for breaking Geno Smith’s jaw in the locker room when he was with the Jets, says Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links). According to Rapoport, Enemkpali is appealing the suspension, which will be for a violation of the league’s personal conduct policy.

After being cut by the Jets and claimed off waivers by the Bills, Enemkpali was cut by Buffalo during the team’s reduction to 53 players. However, he landed back on the Bills’ practice squad, and continues to practice with the team this week while his suspension is under appeal.

Enemkpali only saw the field sparingly in his rookie season, playing 40 defensive snaps and contributing a little on special teams as well. Rex Ryan, heading into his first season as the head coach in Buffalo, held the same position in New York a year ago when the Jets used a sixth-round pick to draft Enemkpali out of Louisiana Tech. Ryan cited Enemkapli’s character and took responsibility for the roster move when he and the Bills claimed the 24-year-old off waivers.

Bills Promote IK Enemkpali, Release Andre Fluellen

September 11th, 2015 at 4:39pm CST by Luke Adams

4:39pm: The Bills have officially added Enemkpali to their 53-man roster, tweets The Buffalo News’ Vic Carucci. To make room, they released defensive tackle Andre Fluellen.

3:30pm: The Bills will activate edge defender IK Enemkapli, placing him back on their 53-man roster, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Enemkpali was on Buffalo’s roster a week ago, was waived during the cutdown to 53 players, and then landed back on the team’s practice squad earlier in the week.

By promoting Enemkpali to their practice squad, the Bills will have the opportunity to move Enemkpali to the reserve/suspended list when his suspension is officially confirmed and announced by the NFL. That means he wouldn’t count toward the Bills’ 53 players, and rival teams wouldn’t be able to poach him from Buffalo’s practice squad. A report yesterday indicated that Enemkpali’s suspension will likely be for four games.

Enemkpali only saw the field sparingly in his rookie season, playing 40 defensive snaps and contributing a little on special teams as well. His roster spot in New York disappeared after the punched quarterback Geno Smith in the locker room, breaking his jaw. That incident, of course, is the one for which Enemkpali will serve his looming suspension.

AFC Notes: Bills, Henery, Geno Smith

September 7th, 2015 at 9:42pm CST by Zachary Links

Here’s a quick look at the AFC..

  • Bills coach Rex Ryan has expressed frustration about kicker Dan Carpenter and it sounds like Buffalo is going to look into replacing him. The Bills auditioned both Billy Cundiff and Alex Henery on Monday, as Mike Rodak of ESPN.com writes. Carpenter missed three field goals and one extra point in three preseason games.
  • Jets quarterback Geno Smith said that he will not press charges against IK Enemkpali, as Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News tweets. Smith also mentioned that the league is still looking into the incident and inferred that more details on the altercation will emerge, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com tweets. Meanwhile, coach Todd Bowles says it still looks like Smith will miss about four games, Mehta tweets.
  • Former Eagles wide receiver Rasheed Bailey is scheduled to work out for the Jaguars this week, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets.

AFC Practice Squad Updates: 9/7/15

September 7th, 2015 at 6:54pm CST by Luke Adams

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 AFC 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:

Baltimore Ravens

  • Signed (press release):

    • WR Daniel Brown
    • TE Dominique Jones
    • WR Jeremy Ross

Buffalo Bills

  • Signed (press release):
    • OLB IK Enemkpali
    • T Chris Martin
    • DE Cedric Reed
    • QB Alex Tanney

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

  • Signed (press release):
    • RB Kapri Bibbs
    • TE Arthur Lynch
    • T Kyle Roberts
    • DE George Uko

Jacksonville Jaguars

  • Signed:

Kansas City Chiefs

  • Signed (press release):
    • DT Hebron Fangupo
    • T Laurence Gibson
    • CB Jeremy Harris
    • DL David Irving
    • TE Ross Travis
    • FB Spencer Ware

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

  • Signed (Twitter links):
    • OL Chris Barker
    • T Blaine Clausell
    • OL Cameron Fleming (Twitter link via Jeff Howe)
    • LB Darius Fleming
    • LB Brandon King
    • WR Nathan Palmer
    • DB Daxton Swanson
    • DT Jimmy Staten
  • Signed and subsequently released:

New York Jets

  • To be signed:

Oakland Raiders

  • Signed:
    • George Atkinson III, RB
    • Mitch Bell, G
    • SaQwan Edwards, CB
    • Shelby Harris, DE
    • Dan Kistler, T
    • Tevin McDonald, S
    • Josh Shirley, LB

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Signed (Twitter link via Burt Lauten + team transactions page):
    • WR Isaiah Burse
    • LB Anthony Chickillo
    • T Matt Feiler
    • CB Doran Grant
    • TE Xavier Grimble
    • OL Barrett Jones
    • RB Fitzgerald Toussaint
  • Released:
    • RB Dominique Brown
    • OL Reese Dismukes
    • LB Shayon Green
    • DE Ethan Hemer
    • OL Antonio Johnson
    • TE Harold Spears
    • WR Jarrod West

San Diego Chargers

  • Signed:
    • OL Michael Ola (link via Michael Gehlken)

Tennessee Titans

Bills Release 16 Players, Waive Meeks

September 4th, 2015 at 5:04pm CST by Zachary Links

5:04pm: In addition to their moves earlier today, the Bills have waived safety Jonathan Meeks, ESPN’s Mike Rodak tweets. The Bills attempted to trade Meeks, per Rodak, but were unable to find any takers. Rodak writes that Meeks is a candidate to end up on the Bills’ practice squad if he goes unclaimed on waivers. According to Fox Sports’ Alex Marvez, the Bills tried – and failed – to trade a receiver in order to keep Meeks on their 53-man roster (Twitter link).

1:07pm: The Bills announced that they have cut 16 players, including defensive end IK Enemkpali, as a part of their effort to get down to a 53-man roster. The full list of transactions is below:

Released:

  • OL William Campbell
  • FB John Conner
  • WR Andre Davis
  • DE IK Enemkpali
  • DT Andre Fluellen
  • LB Quentin Groves
  • RB Bronson Hill
  • OL Darryl Johnson
  • OL Alex Kupper
  • DE B.J. Larsen
  • WR Dezmin Lewis
  • CB Merrill Noel
  • WR Tobais Palmer
  • G Cyril Richardson
  • QB Matt Simms (as reported earlier today)
  • RB Cierre Wood

Reserve/NFI List:

  • CB Leodis McKelvin

Waived/Injured:

  • WR Deonte Thompson

Enemkpali is now (and perhaps, forever) best known as the player who punched Jets quarterback Geno Smith, causing him a broken jaw and many weeks on the sidelines. Immediately after the incident, the Jets waived the linebacker/defensive end and old pal Rex Ryan wasted little time in claiming him. Enemkpali only saw the field sparingly in his rookie season, playing 40 defensive snaps and contributing a little on special teams as well.

Groves, 31, appeared in all 16 regular season games for the Titans last season, including three starts. The linebacker, a former second round pick by the Jaguars, has bounced around a bit over the years and despite signing with Buffalo in August, he’ll be looking for a new NFL home once again in 2015.

Fluellen, 30, spent nearly all of his career with the Lions since being drafted by the team in the third round back in 2008. However, he has never played a significant role in Detroit, acting as a part-time contributor over the course of 77 career games (75 with Detroit). In 2014, Fluellen recorded 10 tackles, two sacks, and a fumble recovery in 183 defensive snaps. In June, he hooked on with Buffalo, but his stay in Western New York was brief.

 

Bills To Cut IK Enemkpali

September 4th, 2015 at 11:16am CST by Luke Adams

Less than a month after claiming him off waivers from the Jets, the Bills have waived defensive end IK Enemkpali, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). Enemkpali, of course, was initially cut by the Jets following an altercation with Geno Smith.

Enemkpali only saw the field sparingly in his rookie season, playing 40 defensive snaps and contributing a little on special teams as well. The young pass rusher may eventually face NFL discipline for punching Smith, as the league confirmed it’s reviewing the August locker-room incident that left the quarterback with a broken jaw.

Rex Ryan, heading into his first season as the head coach in Buffalo, held the same position in New York a year ago when the Jets used a sixth-round pick to draft Enemkpali out of Louisiana Tech. Ryan cited Enemkapli’s character and took responsibility for the roster move when he and the Bills claimed the 24-year-old off waivers, but it doesn’t appear they saw enough from him over the last few weeks to keep him on the roster.

Enemkpali will have to pass through waivers again before becoming a free agent.

Extra Points: Osweiler, Seahawks, Bills

August 17th, 2015 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

As Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link) explains, the Broncos have a pair of questions to answer in regard to Brock Osweiler. The first is whether the quarterback is capable of replacing Peyton Manning when the future Hall-of-Famer retires, and the second is whether the club will be able to retain Osweiler beyond the 2015 season.

According to Cole, John Elway and the Broncos decide they want to keep the young signal-caller around, they may try to work out a deal that’s heavy on incentives, meaning Osweiler would earn those bonuses if he eventually lands the starting job. However, it’s not clear yet if Denver would try to get something done with Osweiler in the next few weeks, or if the club is more inclined to wait until after the season to make its decision.

Let’s check out a few more Monday odds and ends from around the NFL….

  • With Tarvaris Jackson dealing with a sprained ankle, the Seahawks may add another quarterback to their roster, tweets Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. Per Condotta, the club worked out a QB today, though that player has yet to be identified.
  • Having seen multiple players in their front seven go down injuries over the last few days, the Bills are bringing in several free agent defenders for workouts, according to Mike Rodak and Adam Caplan of ESPN.com. Per the ESPN report, defensive lineman Red Bryant and edge defenders Marcus Benard and Quentin Groves are auditioning for Buffalo.
  • Free agent running back Joe McKnight, who is recovering from a torn Achilles, has been fully cleared for all activities by foot/ankle specialist Dr. Robert Anderson, tweets Caplan. McKnight worked out for the Texans recently, but didn’t sign with the team.
  • Peter King of TheMMQB.com covers a number of topics in his latest piece, listing Ahmad Bradshaw atop his list of the best available free agent running backs, and suggesting that new Bills DE IK Enemkpali will likely face at least a two-game suspension.
  • Colts head coach Chuck Pagano refuses to let his contract status be a distraction as he enters the final year of his deal, telling ESPN’s Mike Wells that he has “the best job in the entire world right now,” and his focus is on getting the most out of his team.
  • There were rumblings that the Falcons might consider re-signing linebacker Prince Shembo after his legal case was resolved, but D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that the team decided to pass on bringing back the former fourth-round pick.

Extra Points: Rivers, L.A., Enemkpali, Tabb

August 12th, 2015 at 10:25pm CST by Luke Adams

Sources continue to tell Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune that they don’t expect Philip Rivers and the Chargers to agree to terms on an extension before the season, though it’s not unfathomable that the two sides will reach a compromise. According to Acee, the Chargers and Rivers both eventually want to work out an agreement that will allow the quarterback to retire with the team, but disbursement of guaranteed money in the third year of any deal is among the current sticking points in negotiations.

Eric Williams of ESPN.com (Twitter link) hears from a league source that San Diego is willing to guarantee the third year of Rivers’ new contract, which is common for franchise quarterbacks, and Acee acknowledges that such a detail is unlikely to be a long-term roadblock. But if the two sides don’t agree on the structure of the extension soon, they may wait until 2016 to get something done.

Here are a few more Wednesday night odds and ends from around the NFL:

  • During the owners’ meeting in Chicago this week to discuss possible relocation to Los Angeles, both the Carson and Inglewood groups made strong presentations, and both projects have their share of supporters, says Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). According to Cole, a large group of owners supports the Raiders and Chargers‘ joint Carson proposal, since it would solve the “California dilemma” in one fell swoop. On the other hand, a vocal contingent of owners – including Cowboys owner Jerry Jones – support Stan Kroenke‘s Inglewood proposal, since they feel the Rams owner’s deep pockets would make the project work.
  • Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times also has a recap of this week’s meeting regarding L.A., and touches on several of the same points as Cole. According to Farmer, many owners believe Kroenke has the best location and stadium plan, but he’s less popular among his peers than Chargers owner Dean Spanos, and St. Louis has done more than San Diego and Oakland to keep its franchise.
  • Explaining his decision to claim IK Enemkpali off waivers today from the Jets, Bills head coach Rex Ryan told reporters that Enemkpali “was a good teammate” last year in New York, adding that there’s no guarantee the former sixth-round pick will make Buffalo’s regular season roster (Twitter links via Tyler Dunne of the Buffalo News and ESPN.com’s Mike Rodak).
  • According to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, Ryan remains a fan of the player who Enemkpali cold-cocked — Mehta writes that, after landing the Bills‘ coaching job this winter, Ryan wondered aloud to friends if the Jets would trade Geno Smith to Buffalo.
  • Saints rookie tight end Jack Tabb underwent surgery this week to repair a torn ACL, a source tells Katherine Terrell of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Waived last Friday by the team, Tabb is currently on New Orleans’ injured reserve list and will miss the 2015 season.

Bills Claim IK Enemkpali Off Waivers

August 12th, 2015 at 3:27pm CST by Luke Adams

A day after he was cut by the Jets following his altercation with quarterback Geno Smith, IK Enemkpali has a new NFL home. In a surprising twist, Enemkpali was claimed off waivers today by the team led by his old head coach — according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter), the Bills have claimed the former Jets defensive end.

Rex Ryan, heading into his first season as the head coach in Buffalo, held the same position in New York a year ago when the Jets used a sixth-round pick to draft Enemkpali out of Louisiana Tech. It makes sense that Ryan would recognize the 24-year-old’s value on the field, having seen him first-hand in 2014 — Gil Brandt of NFL.com tweeted today that people around the NFL thought Enemkpali would play again in the league, since he has some talent.

Still, after Enemkpali punched his quarterback in the locker room, it appeared unlikely that another team would take a flier on him right away. Albert Breer of the NFL Network noted today (via Twitter) that more than one team left Enemkpali off its draft board in 2014 due to concerns about his anger issues.

Enemkpali only saw the field sparingly in his rookie season, playing 40 defensive snaps and contributing a little on special teams as well. The young pass rusher could face NFL discipline and even criminal charges for punching Smith, according to an ESPN.com report, as the league confirmed it’s reviewing the Tuesday skirmish that left the quarterback with a broken jaw.

The addition of Enemkpali is the latest in a string of eyebrow-raising acquisitions for Buffalo, whose locker room will also feature Richie Incognito and Percy Harvin. Of course, Ryan said earlier this year, after being hired by the Bills, that he wanted to “build a bully” in Buffalo.

Latest On Geno Smith, IK Enemkpali

August 11th, 2015 at 4:32pm CST by Zachary Links

Details on the fight that resulted in Geno Smith‘s jaw being broken..

  • The root of the problem between Geno Smith and the Jets linebacker came from a charity event hosted by IK Enemkpali in July, a source tells Brian Costello of the New York Post (on Twitter). Geno was scheduled to appear but had to back out at last minute when he had a death of someone close to him (link). The linebacker asked Smith to reimburse him for his flight and limousine and while the quarterback agreed to do it, he apparently wasn’t quick enough with the payment in the eyes of Enemkpali (link).
  • Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis said there was a “miscommunication” that led to the incident between Smith and Enemkpali, Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com tweets.
  • Enemkpali, meanwhile, issued a statement on the matter (via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com on Twitter). “I apologize to the Jets organization, coaches, teammates, and fans. Geno and I let our frustration get the best of us..I should have just walked away from the situation. It was never my intention to harm anyone,” the linebacker said, while adding that he regrets his actions.
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