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Joel Wilkinson

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/4/16

May 4th, 2016 at 4:35pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Wednesday’s minor transactions from across the NFL:

  • The Cardinals have formally waived four players, including former Australian Rules Football player Joel Wilkinson, the club announced today. Along with Wilkerson, who had been attempting to break into the NFL as a cornerback, center Valerian Ume-Ezeoke, cornerback Kevin White, and cornerback Tyrequek Zimmerman were also cut by Arizona.
  • The Broncos announced today in a press release that they’ve cut veteran tight end Richard Gordon, a little over two months after re-signing him to a new contract. It’s the third time Denver has released Gordon since last October.
  • The Seahawks have parted ways with five players from their 90-roster, according to Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com, who writes that offensive lineman Drew Nowak, running back Cameron Marshall, tight end Ronnie Shields, defensive end Josh Shirley and wide receiver Tyler Slavin have been cut. Nowak is probably the most notable name in the group, having started seven games at center last year for Seattle.
  • The Lions have waived center Braxston Cave and tight end Casey Pierce, as Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com writes. Cave’s was likely bumped by the team’s selection of Graham Glasgow in the draft. Pierce, meanwhile, was a practice squad tight end who had been expected to compete for the No. 3 tight end spot in Detroit.
  • Clearing room for their undrafted free agent class, the Rams have waived cornerback Eric Patterson, tweets Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com. A Ball State product, Patterson saw the field briefly last season for the Rams and Colts.
  • The Lions waived tight end Jordan Thompson with a failed physical designation, as Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com writes. The Ohio product was once expected to be the team’s next long-snapper.
  • The Chiefs cut wide receiver Fred Williams, as Wilson tweets. Williams, 28, has been on and off of KC’s taxi squad since September of 2014. In January, the Chiefs signed Williams to a future/reserve deal.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Minor NFL Transactions: 2/16/16

February 16th, 2016 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are the latest minor signings, cuts, and other transactions from around the NFL:

  • The Cardinals announced a pair of signings today in a press release, confirming that they’ve re-signed safety Chris Clemons and added Australian Rules Football player Joel Wilkinson. A former starter in the Dolphins’ secondary, Clemons hasn’t seen much playing time since joining the Cardinals in 2014, but the team likes him enough to bring him back for a third season. As for Wilkinson, he’ll try to follow in the footsteps of Jarryd Hayne, who earned a spot on the 49ers’ roster last year after coming over from Australia. Wilkinson will play cornerback.
  • The Steelers signed long snapper Matt Dooley and defensive tackle Lavon Hooks while cutting tight end Rob Blanchflower and offensive tackles Kelvin Palmer and Mitchell Van Dyk, as Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets.
  • The Falcons announced on Monday that they have waived cornerback Travis Howard and fullback Collin Mooney, two players who spent the 2015 season on the injured reserve list. Mooney last saw the field during a regular-season contest in 2013, when he appeared in 12 games for the Titans. Howard has spent time with the Patriots and Giants, but has never seen regular-season action.
  • Cornerback Chance Casey, who spent more than half of the 2015 season on the Browns’ practice squad, has signed with the Jaguars, per team PR rep Tad Dickman (Twitter link). Casey was on the Colts’ roster last summer before being waived during roster cutdowns in September.

NFC West Notes: Rams, Boldin, Cardinals

January 27th, 2016 at 12:17pm CST by Luke Adams

Before he threw a single regular-season pass for the Rams, Nick Foles signed a two-year extension that ensured he wouldn’t be eligible for free agency this winter. Although Foles is sticking around, he won’t be handed the starting quarterback job in 2016, according to Rams general manager Les Snead.

Appearing on SiriusXM NFL Radio from the Senior Bowl, Snead told Mark Dominik and Alex Marvez that he expects Foles, Case Keenum, Sean Mannion, and any other offseason QB additions to battle for the No. 1 job this summer (link via Marvez at FOX Sports). “If I learned one thing last year, we should have let the quarterbacks have a competition from the start and the best man win instead of just passing the torch to Nick,” Snead said.

The Rams are paying Foles like the starter, as the former Eagles will count for $8.75MM against the cap in ’16. By comparison, Mannion will have a cap hit under $1MM, while Keenum – a restricted free agent – likely won’t make more than $2-3MM. Still, it sounds like Foles’ higher price tag won’t guarantee him anything.

Let’s round up a few more items from around the NFC West…

  • 49ers wideout Anquan Boldin, who is eligible for free agency this winter, spoke briefly to Chip Kelly after the new head coach joined the team, but said today that he has yet to engage in negotiations with anyone from the Niners’ front office about a new contract. Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle has the details, along with Boldin’s quotes.
  • Former Missouri edge defender Michael Sam plans to take “one more shot” at making an NFL roster this year, he tweeted on Tuesday. Sam became the first openly gay player to be drafted when he was selected by the Rams in 2014.
  • After bringing him in for a workout last month, the Cardinals have tried out defensive back Joel Wilkinson again, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.
  • Earlier today, veteran Cardinals long snapper Mike Leach announced his retirement. Our full story can be found right here.