HEADLINES

Jacquies Smith

Buccaneers Place Jacquies Smith On IR

September 12th, 2016 at 5:23pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Buccaneers have placed defensive end Jacquies Smith on injured reserve after he suffered a torn ACL in Sunday’s opener against the Falcons, the club announced today. Smith will miss the entirety of the season and will not be candidate to return from IR.Jacquies Smith (Vertical)

[RELATED: Bucs Work Out Jacquizz Rodgers]

Smith, 26, was the only Tampa Bay defensive end with more than five sacks in 2015. Over the past two seasons, Smith had posted 13.5 quarterback takedowns while appearing in 23 games (18 starts). Although he’s more of a rotational player, Smith’s absence is a blow to the Buccaneers’ depth, and the club will now have to more heavily rely on second-round pick Noah Spence.

“He’s a guy who’s a starter in our nickel package and a key contributor,” said head coach Dirk Koetter. “It’s going to be tough. We’ve got to pick up the slack in other areas. Some guys have to play more snaps than they might have played before. We’re going to be tested on our depth. Any time you lose a key guy like that it’s going to be some mixing and matching.”

The Bucs now have an open spot on their 53-man roster, but the team has yet to announce how it will fill the vacancy. Notably, Tampa does not currently have a defensive lineman on its practice squad.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor NFL Transactions: 4/11/16

April 11th, 2016 at 6:58pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

  • The Patriots cut running back Tyler Gaffney, as Jeff Howe of The Boston Herald tweets. Gaffney was injured throughout his two seasons with New England, though he was not waived with an injury designation today.
  • Buccaneers ERFA defensive end Jacquies Smith and restricted free agent wide receiver Russell Shepard signed their tenders, as Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com writes. Shepard came to Tampa Bay as a waiver claim from Philadelphia just before the start of the 2013 regular season. Smith, meanwhile, came to the Bucs off waivers from Buffalo in September 2014. Smith, 26, cracked the starting lineup in 2014 and ultimately amassed 6.5 sacks that season. In 2015, Smith missed four games, but he still finished the season with 7.0 sacks.
  • The Giants have signed tackle Byron Stingily, as Michael Eisen of Giants.com writes. Stingily played in 20 games with nine starts for Tennessee from 2012-14 but was waived at the end of training camp in 2015. He landed with Pittsburgh in October, but he did not appear in a game for them.
  • Dolphins‘ exclusive-rights free agents Matt Hazel and Tyler Patmon signed their tenders today, as Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets.

ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/9/16

March 9th, 2016 at 7:25pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Unrestricted free agent news will obviously dominate the day, but several clubs also had to make decisions on whether to offer tenders to exclusive-rights free agents. We’ll round up those decisions here:

Tendered

Non-Tendered

Charles Johnson To Visit Buccaneers

March 6th, 2016 at 8:41pm CST by Dallas Robinson

8:41pm: Johnson’s visit with the Giants is expected to continue into Monday, but the free agent end will fly to Tampa soon after on Monday to visit with the Bucs, ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson reports (on Twitter). Johnson’s dinner with Giants representatives Sunday night reportedly went well, per Anderson (via Twitter).

1:24pm: After being released by the Panthers last week, veteran defensive end Charles Johnson is already drawing interest from pass rush-needy clubs around the league. As we learned yesterday, Johnson is set to meet with the Giants today, and according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link), Johnson will follow that trip with a visit to the Buccaneers.

[RELATED: Free agent RB Doug Martin likely to hit the open market]Charles Johnson (Vertical)

Tampa Bay ranked in the middle of the pack in terms of getting after the quarterback in 2015, finishing 14th in sacks and 16th in adjusted sack rate. A lot of the Buccaneers’ pressure came from the interior, namely Pro Bowl defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, as Jacquies Smith was the only Tampa end with more than five sacks. Smith is an exclusive-rights free agent (and expected to be offered a tender, tweets Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times), but other players along the Bucs’ front four — Henry Melton and Da’Quan Bowers, for example — are headed for unrestricted free agency.

Johnson, then, would be a nice fit for a club that needs to generate more pressure, and he comes with the added bonus of knowing his way around the NFC South. Though he played in only nine games in 2015 and posted only a single sack, Johnson was also hampered by injury, so his performance can be somewhat excused. Johnson isn’t exactly washed up, either, as he’s still under 30 years old, and averaged 11 sacks per season from 2012-14.

Because he was released, Johnson is free to sign with any club at any time — he doesn’t have to wait until Wednesday like the majority of NFL free agents.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor Moves: Tuesday

September 9th, 2014 at 6:45pm CST by Zachary Links

Here are today’s minor moves..

  • The Redskins are planning on using the short term IR designation for Barry Cofield, which coach Jay Gruden mentioned was a possibility, according to Chris Russell of ESPN 980 (on Twitter). The Redskins have since made the move official. The Redskins promoted safety Akeem Davis to the 53-man roster to fill Cofield’s roster spot, according to Mike Jones of the Washington Post (on Twitter). The Redskins also added tight end Je’Ron Hamm and wide receiver Marvin McNutt to fill the void of their taxi squad cuts from earlier today, Jones tweets.
  • The Ravens re-signed Fitzgerald Toussaint to practice squad after he cleared waivers, according to Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun (on Twitter). Toussaint was let go to make room for defensive tackle Christo Bilukidi.
  • The Patriots announced that they have signed defensive end Cam Henderson to the practice squad and released quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson from the practice squad to make room. Henderson, 24, originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent out of UCF with the Falcons in April of 2013, He has since had stints with the Falcons’ and Browns’ practice squads. Bethel-Thompson, 26, is a Sacramento State product who has been with the Dolphins (2011), Vikings (2012-2013) and 49ers (2013).
  • The Panthers waived former Rutgers tight end and one-time quarterback D.C. Jefferson from injured reserve, less than a week after he was suspended four games for violating the league’s substance abuse policy, according to Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer (on Twitter).
  • The Titans have reached an injury settlement with defensive lineman Antonio Johnson and have released him, tweets Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com.
  • The Seahawks re-signed wide receiver Phil Bates to the practice squad and released linebacker Allen Bradford, according to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (on Twitter).
  • The Saints waived Ty Nsekhe from the injured reserve today, according to Kat Terrell of The Times-Picayune (on Twitter).
  • Former Bills defensive end Jacquies Smith was claimed by the Buccaneers, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (on Twitter). Smith was let go yesterday by Buffalo.
  • The Titans have signed tight end Brett Brackett to the practice squad and released TE Orson Charles, according to McCormick (on Twitter).
  • Evan Mathis has been sent to the IR by the Eagles but is designated to return, according to Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer (on Twitter). He’ll be eligible to face the Panthers on November 10th.

Minor Moves: Monday

September 8th, 2014 at 7:02pm CST by Luke Adams

With the season’s first Sunday in the books, a handful of teams are shuffling their rosters in preparation for next week’s games. Here are the latest minor transactions from around the NFL, with the latest moves added to the top of the page throughout the day:

  • The Bears have added receiver Greg Herd to the practice squad, reports Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). Herd spent time with the team during training camp before he was cut on August 23.
  • The Seahawks have signed cornerback Josh Thomas to take the place of the injured Jeremy Lane, reports ESPN’s Terry Blount (via Twitter). They’ve also made some changes to their practice squad, adding guard Nate Isles and safety Terrance Parks in place of guard David Arkin and safety Josh Aubrey, the club announced today (Twitter link).
  • With Dave Zastudil being bothered by a groin injury, the Cardinals have signed punter Drew Butler, according to Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com (via Twitter).
  • Defensive tackle Christo Bilukidi has been claimed off waivers by the Ravens, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Bilukidi was cut over the weekend by the Bengals.
  • When the Bengals cut Bilukidi, they signed Onterio McCalebb to their active roster, but he lasted just two days — he has been waived, according to Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer, who adds (via Twitter) that the club has also terminated wide receiver Cobi Hamilton from the exempt list of the practice squad.
  • To make room for Bilukidi, the Ravens waived running back Fitz Toussaint, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
  • The Broncos have cut long snapper Kevin McDermott from their practice squad, tweets Mike Klis of the Denver Post. His spot will be taken by tight end Dominique Davis, per Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
  • Tight end Emmanuel Ogbuehi has been replaced on the Browns‘ practice squad by defensive lineman Calvin Barnett, says Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link).

Earlier updates:

  • The Bears have signed safety Ahmad Dixon from the Vikings‘ practice squad, cutting cornerback Demontre Hurst to open up a spot on their roster, the team announced today (via Twitter). Dixon was drafted by the Cowboys but was waived by Dallas during preseason roster cutdowns.
  • Offensive tackle Andrew McDonald is also making the move from one team’s practice squad to another club’s 53-man roster, according to agent Brett Tessler, who tweets that his client has a deal with the Seahawks. McDonald had previously been one of the 10 players on the Panthers‘ practice squad.
  • The Bills have cut defensive end Jacquies Smith to make room for Nigel Bradham, who is returning this week from his one-game suspension, tweets ESPN.com’s Mike Rodak.
  • The Seahawks have placed cornerback Jeremy Lane, who is suffering from a groin injury, on their injured reserve list with the designation to return, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
  • Defensive back Jamarca Sanford, who had been on the Vikings‘ injured reserve list, has been released with a settlement, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link).
  • The Chiefs have signed wideout Armon Binns to their practice squad and removed cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke from their IR with an injury settlement, per Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter links).