HEADLINES

Joe Rankin

Browns Keep West, Pryor On 53-Man Roster

September 5th, 2015 at 3:54pm CST by Luke Adams

The Browns have announced their roster moves for the day, and two offensive players who were viewed as potential release – or trade – candidates have made the cut — running back Terrance West and quarterback-turned-wide-receiver Terrelle Pryor are still members of the Browns.

Cleveland has also confirmed that quarterbacks Thad Lewis and Pat Devlin have been cut, meaning Johnny Manziel looks poised to enter the year healthy enough to be Josh McCown‘s backup.

Here’s the Browns’ full list of moves, via a team release:

Waived:

  • OL Karim Barton
  • RB Shaun Draughn
  • DB Landon Feichter
  • RB Tim Flanders
  • DB Kendall James
  • WR Darius Jennings
  • OL Erle Ladson
  • WR Josh Lenz
  • WR Vince Mayle
  • DL Jacobbi McDaniel
  • OL Andrew McDonald
  • OL Darrian Miller
  • DB Robert Nelson
  • OL Vinston Painter
  • LB Hayes Pullard III
  • DB Joe Rankin
  • LB Mike Reilly
  • DB De’Ante Saunders
  • DL Dylan Wynn

Released:

  • OL Eric Olsen

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/9/15

August 9th, 2015 at 7:12pm CST by Rory Parks

Here are Sunday’s minor signings, cuts, and other transactions from around the NFL:

  • The Bills re-signed defensive Erik Williams and waived/injured receiver Justin Brown, ESPN’s Mike Rodak tweeted.
  • The Colts have signed former Ball State cornerback Eric Patterson, according to Indy PR man Matt Conti (Twitter link). Patterson, who went undrafted earlier this year, was cut by the Patriots in June.
  • The Browns signed CB Joe Rankin yesterday, and according to Nate Ulrich of The Akron Beacon Journal, the team has also signed TE Manasseh Garner. To make room for the new additions, Cleveland has cut LB Darius Eubanks and TE Kevin Haplea.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/8/15

August 8th, 2015 at 8:55pm CST by Ben Levine

Here are Saturday’s minor signings, cuts, and other transactions from around the NFL:

  • The Colts made several moves along their offensive line today, adding guard Dionte Savage while waiving guard Kitt O’Brien and tackle Matt Hall (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle). O’Brien lost his roster spot quickly, as he was just signed yesterday.
  • In Kansas City, the Chiefs have also been busy, signing offensive tackle Anthony Dima and receiver Adam Drake, and waiving linebacker Sage Harold and receiver Armon Binns, writes Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star.
  • The Rams have signed defensive tackle Marcus Forston, who has spent the past few years with the Patriots, tweets Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. In order to create a roster spot, the team waived running back Terrence Franks, a 2015 undrafted rookie free agent (Twitter link).
  • The Cowboys have removed linebacker Justin Anderson from their injured reserve list, according to Wilson (Twitter link), who reports Dallas reached an injury settlement with Anderson. The Cowboys also cut fellow linebacker Will Smith, who, like Anderson, had been on the club’s IR.

Earlier updates:

  • The Browns signed former Ravens tryout cornerback Joe Rankin, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). A 2014 undrafted player from Division I-FCS Morgan State, Rankin worked as an overnight forklift operator to save enough money to train for another NFL opportunity.
  • Former Arena League and CFL cog Shawn Lemon signed with the 49ers, according to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee (on Twitter). The Steelers waived the 26-year-old outside linebacker last week.
  • The Steelers have placed safety Isaiah Lewis on the waived/injured list, and they’ve signed safety Jordan Dangerfield to take his spot, the team announced (via Twitter). Lewis, a former undrafted rookie, was signed to a futures contract at the end of last season. The Michigan State product had been battling a hamstring injury for most of camp. Dangerfield has previously been with the Steelers, participating in their 2014 camp and practice squad before being signed to a futures contract. He was waived last month when Pittsburgh added offensive lineman Kelvin Palmer.
  • The Lions have waived cornerback Ethan Davis, tweets ESPN.com’s Michael Rothstein. The undrafted rookie had joined Detroit earlier this week.

AFC Notes: Browns, Haden, Bills, Fins, Colts

May 1st, 2014 at 2:37pm CST by Luke Adams

With this weekend’s deadline looming, head coach Mike Pettine says the Browns have yet to make a decision on whether or not to exercise the fifth-year option for defensive tackle Phil Taylor (Twitter link via Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal). For his part, Taylor expressed a desire to have that option picked up, but says he won’t let it affect his play if the team decides to turn it down (all Twitter links).

Let’s round up a couple more Browns items and check in on a few other AFC clubs…

  • Cornerback Joe Haden confirmed that extension talks with the Browns are ongoing, as Ulrich tweets. “I’d like to get it done as soon as possible, but we’re still working on it,” Haden said.
  • More from Ulrich (Twitter link): Pettine confirmed today that the Browns‘ phone has been ringing and that trade talks are happening for virtually all the teams in the top 10 of the draft.
  • Gil Brandt of NFL.com tweets that he’s hearing “a lot of chatter” about the Bills wanting to move up from the No. 9 pick, and the Dolphins wanting to trade down from No. 19, which is consistent with other whispers we’ve heard in the last week or so.
  • Free agent offensive lineman Steve Vallos had a tryout with the Colts yesterday, according to Howard Balzer of The SportsXchange (via Twitter). Vallos, who spent the 2013 season with the Broncos, left the audition without a contract.
  • The Colts, who don’t have a first-round pick in this year’s draft, are keeping their options open when it comes to moving up, GM Ryan Grigson said today (link via Mike Chappell of the Indianapolis Star). However, as Grigson acknowledges, with just five picks in hand, the Colts don’t have a ton of ammunition for trades.
  • Morgan State cornerback Joe Rankin is drawing interest from the Chargers, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link).

AFC Notes: Mike Williams, Raiders, Texans

April 14th, 2014 at 4:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Shortly after acquiring him in a trade with the Buccaneers, the Bills have made some minor adjustments to Mike Williams‘ contract, according to Joel Corry of CBSSports.com. Corry tweets that the deal is still worth $1.8MM for 2014, but that the base salary is now $1.6MM (from $1.2MM), while the workout bonus is now just $200K (from $600K). Since that ’14 base salary is guaranteed, the move looks like a vote of confidence from the Bills to their newest receiver.

Here’s more from around the AFC, with a focus on the draft:

  • UCF quarterback Blake Bortles is in Oakland today meeting with the Raiders, and will move on to Houston after that visit to meet with the Texas tomorrow, tweets Albert Breer of the NFL Network. Oakland is also hosting Vanderbilt receiver Jordan Matthews today, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter).
  • Buffalo linebacker Khalil Mack will also be visiting the Texans next week, as Houston explores all potential avenues for the first overall pick, says Rapoport (via Twitter).
  • TCU cornerback Jason Verrett, who we noted earlier visited the Steelers today, also has visits lined up for next week with the Bengals and Jets, according to Gil Brandt of NFL.com (via Twitter).
  • Another cornerback, Oregon’s Terrance Mitchell, is also drawing interest from AFC teams, having staged a workout for the Colts and Raiders, writes Ross Jones of Fox Sports, who adds that Mitchell ran a 4.43 in the 40-yard dash.
  • Former Indiana State running back Shakir Bell will take part in the Colts‘ local prospect day on Wednesday, tweets Tom James of the Terre Haute Tribune-Star.
  • The Ravens have expressed interest in Morgan State cornerback Joe Rankin and were complimentary about his performance at their local prospect day, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.

Ravens Links: Clinton-Dix, Rankin, RBs

April 10th, 2014 at 10:54am CST by Luke Adams

As the Ravens continue to weigh their options for the No. 17 pick, the team recently hosted Alabama safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix on a pre-draft visit, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. Wilson adds that Clinton-Dix has also visited the Lions and met with the Titans. As Wilson writes, the young safety would be an excellent addition to Baltimore’s secondary, allowing the club to shift Matt Elam over to strong safety. However, considering Clinton-Dix is viewed as arguably the top defensive back in the draft, there are no guarantees he’ll be available when the Ravens pick 17th overall.

Here’s more out of Baltimore:

  • Add Morgan State cornerback Joe Rankin to the list of prospects participating in the Ravens’ local Pro Day, tweets Wilson. Among the other players expected to be in attendance: Wake Forest wideout Michael Campanaro, Towson running back Terrance West, Towson cornerback Jordan Love, and Arkansas fullback Kiero Small.
  • The Ravens’ No. 3 running backs last season totaled just 16 rushing yards on eight carries, and the team is looking to improve on those totals this season, writes Bo Smolka of CSNBaltimore.com. With Ray Rice dealing with legal troubles and Bernard Pierce coming off shoulder surgery, that position will be of extra importance. For now, Justin Forsett is penciled into that No. 3 spot, though there’s still time for the team to add more competition to the roster, either in free agency or the draft.
  • Picking just two spots apart in the draft, the Ravens and Steelers may be targeting similar players, says Clifton Brown of CSNBaltimore.com. Brown singles out safety Calvin Pryor and offensive tackle Taylor Lewan as prospects who seem to be generating interest from the pair of AFC North rivals.