HEADLINES

Ishmaa’ily Kitchen

Workout Notes: Bears, Broncos, Packers

October 7th, 2015 at 9:00pm CST by Zachary Links

Here’s a roundup of today’s auditions from around the NFL. All links go to Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle on Twitter), unless noted otherwise..

Extra Points: Foster, Kitchen, Gregory

September 16th, 2015 at 10:03am CST by Luke Adams

Texans running back Arian Foster said Tuesday while promoting a charity fundraiser that he’d like to finish his career in Houston, according to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter links). “I don’t want to put on another uniform,” Foster said. “It’s a business though. I’m a cog in a wheel.” The 29-year-old’s current contract expires after next season, so he’d have to re-sign with the Texans if he plans to play beyond age 30 in Houston.

Here’s more from around the NFL..

  • After bringing him in on Tuesday for a visit, the Texans aren’t immediately signing former Browns defensive tackle Ishmaa’ily Kitchen, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). Wilson adds that Kitchen had a strong workout and that the team could always revisit the possibility of signing him.
  • While Dez Bryant‘s foot injury is dominating the headlines in Dallas this week, the Cowboys received more bad news on the injury front, according to Ed Werder of ESPN.com, who tweets that promising rookie pass rusher Randy Gregory sustained a high ankle sprain and will be sidelined for four to six weeks.
  • Former Cleveland wide receiver Josh Lenz, who was waived during the Browns’ cutdown to 53 players this month, worked out for the Giants on Tuesday, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
  • The Cowboys liked what they saw in workouts with Nick Toon and Clyde Gates, but the staff felt better about going after Brice Butler, Clarence Hill of the Star-Telegram tweets. Dallas acquired Butler from Oakland on Tuesday.

AFC Notes: Kitchen, Texans, Workouts, Fluker

September 15th, 2015 at 12:43pm CST by Luke Adams

Former Browns nose tackle Ishmaa’ily Kitchen, who was cut by Cleveland earlier this month, will pay a visit to the Texans this week, a source tells Zac Jackson of Pro Football Talk. With 2014 third-rounder Louis Nix no longer on their roster, and sixth-round rookie Christian Covington backing up Vince Wilfork, the Texans may be seeking some veteran depth to help complement J.J. Watt on their defensive line.

As we wait to see if anything materializes between Kitchen and the Texans, let’s check in on a few other items from across the AFC….

  • Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post passes along some workout updates, reporting (via Twitter) that the Jets are auditioning former Broncos defensive end Quanterus Smith today, and that linebackers Troy Davis, Quayshawn Nealy, and Nick Moody recently worked out for the Chiefs. Moody has since signed to Seattle’s practice squad.
  • Chargers offensive lineman D.J. Fluker is expected to miss “considerable time” due to an ankle injury, writes Bernie Wilson of The Associated Press. Johnnie Troutman would likely be the next man up to replace Fluker as San Diego’s right guard.
  • The trial for Titans wide receiver Justin Hunter, who was charged with assault and battery following a July bar brawl, is set to begin today in Virginia Beach, according to an Associated Press report.
  • Examining A.J. Green‘s new extension with the Bengals, Bryce Johnston of Over the Cap observes that even though Green’s second-year base salary isn’t fully guaranteed at the time of his signing and he trails other star wideouts in terms of fully guaranteed money, his contract looks just as strong as those other deals.

Browns Release Phil Taylor

September 1st, 2015 at 3:20pm CST by Zachary Links

The Browns have made the surprising decision to release Phil Taylor as a part of today’s moves, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal tweets. Taylor, a former first-round draft pick, is coming off of two knee surgeries.

Taylor was set to enter his option year and his $5.477MM salary is fully guaranteed. Even if he’s not worth that kind of money to Cleveland, it seems likely that he will be able to find another NFL home. The Browns are set to install 2015 first-rounder Danny Shelton in the starting role and they’re hoping that another club will pick up a good portion of Taylor’s tab. Taylor was the Browns’ last remaining player from the Julio Jones trade with the Falcons four years ago. Now, the Browns have nothing to show for that deal.

In addition to Taylor, the Browns have waived nose tackle Ishmaa’ily Kitchen, fullback Luke Lundy, and kicker Carey Spear, Ulrich tweets.

Browns Cut Ishmaa’ily Kitchen, Put Shaw On IR

September 1st, 2015 at 8:53am CST by Luke Adams

The Browns have announced several more roster moves today, but perhaps the most notable transaction of the bunch has yet to be confirmed by the team. According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com (via Twitter), the club has waived defensive lineman Ishmaa’ily Kitchen.

Kitchen, who turns 27 next month, earned 279 defensive snaps for the Browns in 2014, making 27 tackles. While his play in the middle was unspectacular, the Kent State product was solid enough in his three years in Cleveland that the team felt comfortable tendering him a one-year contract offer worth $1.542MM when he hit restricted free agency. However, that contract was non-guaranteed.

Here are the rest of the Browns roster moves, which the team officially announced in a press release:

Placed on injured reserve:

  • OL Michael Bowie
  • QB Connor Shaw

Placed on reserve/non-football injury list:

  • DB Ifo Ekpre-Olomu
  • TE Randall Telfer
  • RB Glenn Winston

The players who landed on IR won’t return for the Browns this year, while the NFI players will be eligible to practice and play starting after Week 6. The club’s announcement indicates that the roster is now down to 79 players, though that number will dip to 78 when Kitchen’s release becomes official. After that, Cleveland will have to make three more moves to get down to the 75-man roster limit.

Browns Re-Sign Ishmaa’ily Kitchen

May 28th, 2015 at 1:46pm CST by Luke Adams

Defensive tackle Ishmaa’ily Kitchen has signed his restricted free agent tender from the Browns, meaning he is now officially under contract, tweets Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. Kitchen’s signing means that only one RFA – Browns safety Tashaun Gipson – has yet to ink his deal.

Kitchen, who turns 27 next month, earned 279 defensive snaps for the Browns in 2014, making 27 tackles. While his play in the middle was unspectacular, the Kent State product was solid enough in his three years in Cleveland that the team felt comfortable tendering him a one-year contract offer worth $1.542MM. Kitchen will now be eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2016.

When I provided an update on the remaining unsigned restricted free agents earlier this month, I noted that there was no indication that Kitchen was unhappy with his contract situation, and that he would likely sign his tender soon. The same can’t be said for Gipson, who isn’t at Cleveland’s OTAs and wants a long-term deal.

Update On Restricted Free Agents

May 6th, 2015 at 8:57am CST by Luke Adams

Most of the league’s notable unrestricted free agents come off the board in mid-March, within days – or hours – of officially hitting the open market. However, the process for restricted free agents can often drag out a little longer.

Over the last several weeks, players who received restricted free agent tenders from their respective teams have, for the most part, simply signed them. Players like Ravens safety Will Hill, Jets defensive tackle Damon Harrison, Colts linebacker Jerrell Freeman, Ravens kicker Justin Tucker, and – most recently – Seahawks wideout Jermaine Kearse will return to their clubs for at least one more season, earning either $1.542MM (the low-end tender) or $2.356MM (the second-round tender). Then, if they don’t work out a longer-term deal, they’ll be unrestricted free agents in 2016.

Not every restricted free agent has simply signed his tender. Lions defensive end George Johnson signed an offer sheet with the Buccaneers, and Packers safety Sean Richardson inked one with the Raiders. After disputing the terms of his offer sheet with the Bucs, the Lions eventually let Johnson go to Tampa Bay, getting a draft pick in the deal for their troubles. Green Bay, meanwhile, matched Oakland’s offer for Richardson, bringing him back to the team.

One restricted free agent, Eagles running back Chris Polk, had his RFA tender rescinded by the team, allowing him the freedom to sign with another team — Polk and his new club then wouldn’t have to worry about Philadelphia matching an offer sheet. The running back quickly found a new home with the Texans, just a couple days after the Eagles withdrew their one-year offer.

The deadline for restricted free agents to sign an offer sheet with another team came and went last month (April 24), but two players appear to still be unsigned, and both of them are Browns — safety Tashaun Gipson, who received a second-round tender, and defensive tackle Ishmaa’ily Kitchen, who got a low-end tender, have yet to sign their contracts for 2015.

There’s no indication that Kitchen is unhappy with his situation. In fact, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reported two weeks ago (via Twitter) that the defensive lineman intended to sign his tender. No confirmation has come from the team or Kitchen’s camp since then, but it’s possible he signed his tender and it has yet to be announced — it’s also possible he’ll make it official any day now.

Gipson’s case isn’t quite so simple. The 24-year-old has started 26 games for the Browns in the last two seasons, racking up 146 tackles during that stretch and showing a knack for coming up with big plays — he has grabbed 11 interceptions during the last two seasons, returning two of them for touchdowns. Despite playing just 11 games in 2014, Gipson earned a Pro Bowl nod.

After an impressive first three seasons, Gipson was reportedly less than thrilled to receive a second-round tender from the Browns, and didn’t report to the club’s voluntary offseason program last month. Head coach Mike Pettine indicated that the club is “very optimistic” about working something out with Gipson, but the team has most of the leverage here, at least for the 2015 season.

Since the deadline has passed for Gipson to negotiate with other teams, if he wants to play in ’15 and earn his $2.356MM, he’ll have to sign his tender with the Browns at some point. In Philadelphia, Polk was expendable after the Eagles signed a pair of running backs in free agency; for the Browns, Gipson is a key contributor, so they’re not about to withdraw his RFA tender.

A longer-term deal is also a possibility for Gipson and the Browns, but the team isn’t under any pressure to work something out with the safety. According to Matt Miller of Bleacher Report, Browns sources don’t expect Gipson to be on the roster is 2016, believing that he has priced himself out of the team’s range. That asking price could eventually come down, but for now it appears Cleveland is simply satisfied to welcome Gipson back to the roster for 2015 if and when he signs his RFA tender, with no guarantees beyond this season.

Minor Moves: Monday

March 9th, 2015 at 4:06pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves around the NFL:

  • The Packers have informed running back DuJuan Harris they will not extend him an exclusive rights tender, Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel tweets.
  • The Ravens are expected to assign an exclusive-rights free agent tender to running back Fitzgerald Toussaint, Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun tweets.
  • The Steelers have offered one-year deals to restricted free agents Antwon Blake, Will Johnson, and Robert Golden, Scott Brown of ESPN tweets. All three will get the lower tender, according to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (on Twitter).
  • The Cardinals announced they’ve re-signed Alameda Ta’amu to a one-year contract, as Mike Jurecki of FOX Sports tweets. The Cards decided not to tender him but they have retained him at a lower salary.
  • The 49ers will restructure their deal with safety Craig Dahl, according to Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun (on Twitter). It’s now a one-year, $1.3MM deal with a $200K signing bonus, a $175K roster bonus, and a $50K workout bonus.
  • The Buccaneers announced that they have re-signed defensive ends Larry English and Lawrence Sidbury, tight end Luke Stocker and linebacker Jason Williams.
  • The Ravens have assigned a $510K exclusive rights tender to offensive lineman Ryan Jensen, a source tells Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun (on Twitter). Wilson (link) also hears that the Ravens have given wide receiver Kamar Aiken a $585K exclusive rights tender.
  • The Ravens gave cornerback Tramain Jacobs a $510K tender, per Wilson (link).

Earlier updates:

  • The Bills announced that they have extended the contract of kicker Jordan Gay, according to ESPN.com’s Mike Rodak (via Twitter).
  • The Browns announced that they have tendered qualifying offers to four of their restricted free agents: free safety Tashaun Gipson, defensive back Johnson Bademosi, defensive lineman Ishmaa’ily Kitchen, and linebacker Craig Robertson, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal tweets. It’s a second-round tender for Robertson, according to Mary Kay Cabot of The Plain Dealer (on Twitter). Gipson also gets the second-round tender, according to Ulrich (link).
  • The Ravens have sent a second-round restricted tender $2.356MM to Pro Bowl kicker Justin Tucker, a source tells Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun (on Twitter).
  • The Steelers announced that they have agreed to terms with veteran tight end Matt Spaeth on a two-year deal. The 31-year-old appeared in 15 regular-season games in 2014 (eight starts) and caught three passes for 46 yards and a touchdown, and also started the Steelers’ playoff game against Baltimore.
  • The Buccaneers are not expected to tender an offer to fullback Jorvorskie Lane, Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. They could bring Lane, an ERFA, back on a different deal later, however. Lane had a tough year in 2014. He was hit with a two-game suspension for violating the league’s policy on performance enhancing substances in October and his season ended in November after he underwent surgery on his injured right leg.
  • The Broncos have placed the low-level contract tender on restricted free agent defensive back Tony Carter, extending him a one-year offer worth $1.542MM, per Mike Klis of the Denver Post. The move gives Denver the right to match any offer sheet Carter signs with another team, and according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link), there may be strong outside interest.
  • The Cowboys have placed one-year tenders of $1.542MM each on restricted free agent punter Chris Jones and restricted free agent running back Lance Dunbar, sources tell Brandon George of The Dallas Morning News. Dunbar is the Cowboys’ third running back and tendering him gives Dallas some insurance if DeMarco Murray signs with another team in free agency. He also gives them a reserve back in the event that they have to cut ties with Joseph Randle.
  • The Browns announced that they have re-signed offensive lineman Ryan Seymour. Seymour, 25, appeared in 11 games during the 2014 season, starting three at center. Nick McDonald was originally the team’s choice at center after Alex Mack went down with a broken leg, but Seymour eventually got his chance at the job.
  • The Panthers have re-signed wide receiver/kick returner Brenton Bersin to a one-year deal, a source tells Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter). Bersin was an exclusive rights free agent.
  • The Panthers announced that they re-signed Fozzy Whittaker on a two-year deal, according to Person (on Twitter). The tailback had 32 carries for 145 yards last season and also contributed on kick returns. Linebacker Ben Jacobs and center Brian Folkerts got one-year deals to remain in Carolina (link). Tackle Kevin Hughes is the only Panthers ERFA who wasn’t tendered an offer (link).

Browns Place Johnny Manziel On IR

December 24th, 2014 at 10:38am CST by Rob DiRe

WEDNESDAY, 10:38am: The Browns have officially placed Manziel on IR, along with defensive lineman Ishmaa’ily Kitchen, the team announced today (via Twitter). The two moves accommodate the previously reported roster additions of long snapper Charley Hughlett and defensive lineman John Hughes.

MONDAY, 3:56pm: Browns rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel will not be available for the last game of the season against the Ravens, according to Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com (via Twitter). Manziel injured his hamstring in last week’s loss to the Panthers, and the injury would have reportedly forced him to miss a few weeks had this not been the last game of the year.

The team’s other quarterback option with experience is Brian Hoyer, who started for most of the season before being benched for Manziel. His status for Sunday’s game is uncertain due to a shoulder injury as well, which could leave the Browns without their two top quarterbacks.

The next option is undrafted rookie Connor Shaw, who the team signed after the draft this season. The former University of South Carolina quarterback is expected to get the lion’s share of the reps with the first team in practice this week in anticipation of the matchup with Baltimore (via Twitter).

According to Grossi, the team is also considering bringing in a quarterback from outside the organization, to serve as a backup under the circumstance where Hoyer cannot dress for the game. Grossi expects that the team will bring Rex Grossman in as an emergency option for Week 17 (via Twitter).

Grossman played under Kyle Shanahan for years, first with the Texans as a backup and also during their time together in Washington. Grossman was also with the team for a few weeks this August, and should have some comfort level, if not familiarity, with the offense.

Browns coach Mike Pettine was asked about the prospect of bringing in Grossman, and was noncommittal but noted that the team was exploring their options, according to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal (via Twitter). Pettine said he would get together with general manager Ray Farmer and they would look into how to proceed.