HEADLINES

John Simon

Minor NFL Transactions: 4/6/16

April 6th, 2016 at 4:35pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

  • The Ravens announced that running back Terrance West has signed his exclusive rights tender, as Clifton Brown of CSNBaltimore.com tweets. West, 25, was the Browns’ leading rusher in his rookie season, accumulating 673 yards and four touchdowns on the ground, on 171 carries. However, the 2014 third-round pick was sent to the Titans prior to the 2015 season, and he didn’t have much of a role in Tennessee. The Ravens scooped him up in November and quickly promoted him from the taxi squad to the varsity team.
  • The Buccaneers announced that ERFA linebacker Jeremiah George has inked his qualifying offer. George was claimed off waivers from Jacksonville prior to the start of the 2015 season and mostly appeared on special teams for the Bucs. Between the two teams, George has appeared in 21 regular season games total.
  • The Ravens announced (on Twitter) that wide receiver Daniel Brown has signed his exclusive rights tender.
  • Seantavius Jones, a wide receiver who never actually played or practiced with the Eagles, has been released with a non-football injury, Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News tweets.
  • Texans linebacker John Simon has signed his restricted free agent tender, as Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets.

RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/8/16

March 8th, 2016 at 10:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Tuesday’s minor tender decisions from around the NFL on potential restricted and exclusive-rights free agents:

  • The Texans have assigned the low tender to both cornerback A.J. Bouye and linebacker John Simon, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter links). Both players will earn a $1.671MM non-guaranteed base salary next year.

Earlier updates:

  • The Buccaneers have assigned the low-end tender to RFA wide receiver Russell Shepard, tweets Tom Pelissero of USA Today. Shepard, 25, hasn’t been a major part of the offense since joining the team in 2013, catching just seven total passes, but he has been a key contributor on special teams.
  • The Texans will not tender an offer to running back Jonathan Grimes, nor will they re-sign him to a lesser deal, as Rand Getlin of NFL.com tweets.
  • The Ravens have begun extending contract tenders to their ERFAs, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun (all Twitter links), who reports that wide receiver Daniel Brown, running back Terrance West, and cornerback Sheldon Price all received offers from the team. Cornerback Jumal Rolle — another ERFA — also received a tender, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
  • The Packers have issued a tender to safety Chris Banjo, who was an exclusive rights free agent, Weston Hodkiewicz of the Press Gazette tweets.

AFC Notes: Browns, Ravens, Jets, Texans

October 3rd, 2015 at 12:14pm CST by Ben Levine

Some assorted notes from around the AFC…

  • Wideout Dwayne Bowe has yet to take the field after having joined the Browns this offseason, but the veteran is confident that he’s ready to make an impact. “People in this building know in practice from watching every day the plays I make, and I’m just waiting for it to be called in the game,” Bowe told Nate Ulrich of Ohio.com. “I’m getting back to where I need to get, and it’s going to happen. Just have patience.”
  • The Browns worked out a handful of players yesterday, reports Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). The attendees included defensive tackle Davon Coleman, offensive linemen Reese Dismukes, Vince Kowalski, Ron Patrick and Aundrey Walker, and defensive ends Joe Kruger and Julius Warmsley.
  • Former USF wideout Andre Davis told Jenna Laine of Sports Talk 1040 The Team that he has a workout with the Ravens this week. The receiver spent this past preseason with the Bills.
  • Jets linebacker Demario Davis was fined $8,681 for his hit on running back Darren Sproles last weekend, reports Dom Cosentino of NJ.com.
  • A pair of Texans linebackers were fined for their actions during last weekend’s game against the Buccaneers, reports Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle: John Simon ($17,363) and Akeem Dent ($8,681).

Texans Sign John Simon, Put Sapp On IR

October 7th, 2014 at 3:22pm CST by Luke Adams

3:22pm: The Texans have confirmed the moves noted below in a press release, adding that fullback Toben Opurum has been cut to clear space on the practice squad for Ankrah.

8:36am: Ricky Sapp will be placed on injured reserve to make room on the Texans’ roster for Simon, according to Jayson Braddock, who reports (via Twitter) that the team is also signing outside linebacker Jason Ankrah to the practice squad.

8:13am: The Texans are set to snatch a player off the Ravens’ practice squad, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun, who reports (via Twitter) that Houston will sign outside linebacker John Simon to its 53-man roster. As Wilson observes (via Twitter), the move reunites Simon with Texans linebackers coach Mike Vrabel, after the two spent time together at Ohio State.

Simon, 24, was selected in the fourth round of the 2013 draft by the Ravens, and spent some time on the club’s active roster last season, contributing primarily on special teams. After failing to earn a spot on the 53-man roster this year, Simon re-signed to Baltimore’s practice squad, and had some incentive to do so — his $10K weekly salary was more than most taxi squad players earn, though he’ll still be in line for a nice raise now that he’s making the move to an active roster.

The Texans don’t currently have an opening on their 53-man roster, so a player will have to be cut or placed on injured reserve in order to clear room to officially sign Simon.

11 PS Players Earning More Than The Minimum

September 5th, 2014 at 5:13pm CST by Luke Adams

Players on NFL practice squads are eligible to receive a minimum salary of $6,300 per week, which works out to a 17-week salary of about $107K if a player remains on his team’s practice squad for the entire season. In most cases, teams don’t pay more than the minimum to fill those practice squad spots, since clubs have much more leverage than the players vying for those 320 total openings.

In some cases though, if a team really likes a player, or if he’s drawing interest from several teams for their practice squads, a club will increase that weekly rate. So far this year, with all 32 teams having filled up their 10-man squads, at least 11 players are known to be receiving salaries worth more than the minimum. NFL writer Brian McIntyre rounded up all those players and their salaries for us in a series of tweets, so let’s check out the full list, sorted by weekly salary:

Magee’s practice-squad salary is the most notable on this list — his weekly figure adds up to just below $495K for the full season, which is the minimum salary for a second-year player on an active roster. In other words, if he spends the entire season on the practice squad, Magee could still earn more money than some players on active rosters, which is a sign of how much the Bucs want to keep him around.

Sunday Transactions: AFC North

August 31st, 2014 at 7:10pm CST by Luke Adams

Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four AFC North teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions are noted below.

Additionally, as of 11:00am CT today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. For the 2014 and 2015 seasons, changes were made to practice squad rules that allow teams to carry eight players instead of 10, and the eligibility requirements for those extra two spots were also loosened. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.

Here are Sunday’s AFC North transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:

Baltimore Ravens:

Cincinnati Bengals:

Cleveland Browns:

Pittsburgh Steelers:

Ravens Cut Derek Cox, Dominique Franks

August 30th, 2014 at 3:56pm CST by Ben Levine

3:56pm: The Ravens have announced their last few moves, which are as follows:

Cut:

Placed on reserve-PUP list:

Placed on reserve-suspended list:

1:15pm: The Ravens have waived two more players:

9:37am: After letting go of offensive lineman Reggie Stephens yesterday, the Ravens have cut two more offensive lineman this morning. Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun reports (via Twitter) that lineman A.Q. Shipley has been released while NFL.com’s Aditi Kinkhabwala tweets that Ryan Jensen has been released. Below is a running list of the team’s moves: