HEADLINES

Jon Condo

Texans Work Out Jon Condo, Kevin Bowen

May 16th, 2018 at 9:17pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Texans auditioned long snapper Jon Condo and offensive lineman Kevin Bowen on Tuesday, as Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle writes in a pair of articles.

Houston already employs Jon Weeks — who made the Pro Bowl as recently as 2015 — so it’s unclear if the club is seeking to replace Weeks, or simply taking a look at Condo for possible depth down the line. Weeks, who has been with the Texans since 2010, signed a four-year, $3.9MM extension in 2015 that will keep him under contract through 2019. Houston could conceivably release Weeks, as it would only incur a $100K dead money charge for doing so.

Condo, for his part, reached free agency in March after spending 11 seasons with the Raiders. Oakland opted to sign Andrew DePaola to replace Condo, who ranked just 28th among 33 qualified long snappers in accuracy, per Austin Gayle of Pro Football Focus (Twitter link). Condo has earned two Pro Bowl nods during his career, although the most recent came back in 2011.

Bowen, meanwhile, was an undrafted free agent out of Division II East Central in 2016. While Bowen was with the Redskins from 2016-17, he never actually saw the field, as health issues forced to him injured reserve in each season. Clearly, an injury-prone UDFA lineman from a small school is a long shot, but the Texans have little depth at offensive tackle.

Extra Points: Chiefs, Lions, Eagles, Raiders

March 7th, 2018 at 9:37pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Before Alec Ogletree was traded to the Giants earlier today, the Rams also offered the veteran linebacker to the Chiefs, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Los Angeles recently completed a Marcus Peters-centered trade with Kansas City, but it’s clear if Ogletree was part of those talks, or discussed in a separate deal. The Chiefs have already announced that team icon Derrick Johnson will not be re-signed, but Kansas City could still use another inside linebacker to play opposite Reggie Ragland in its 3-4 scheme. However, the Chiefs are one of the more-cap strapped teams in the NFL, so it’s unlikely they could have taken on Ogletree’s $10MM guarantee in 2018.

  • While the Lions now have until mid-July to work out an extension with recently franchise-tagged defensive end Ezekiel Ansah, a long-term could be a risky proposition for Detroit, argues Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com. Ansah will already be 29 years old when the 2018 campaign gets underway, and he’s dealt with nagging injuries and inconsistent play over the course of his five-year career. Additionally, Ansah will now earn $17.143MM in 2018, meaning he’s likely looking for a guarantee of $38MM (the value of two consecutive franchise tags). As Rothstein writes, Lions general manager Bob Quinn has shown a willingness to pay up for stars in the past, but it’s unclear if Detroit is willing to go all-in for Ansah.
  • In addition to confirming Mike Groh‘s previously-reported promotion to offensive coordinator, the Eagles have announced a series of staff moves. Offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland had had “run game coordinator” added to his title, Carson Walch was promoted to assistant wide receivers coach, and Trent Miles was promoted to offensive quality control/running backs.
  • The Lions have hired former NFL defensive back Steve Gregory as a defensive assistant, the club announced today. Gregory played under Detroit head coach Matt Patricia when both were in New England, and had spent the past several seasons as a special teams quality control coach at Syracuse, his alma mater. Per Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald (Twitter link), Gregory has long wanted to coach in the NFL, and many of his former teammates were high on his future coaching potential.
  • Long snapper Jon Condo will not be re-signed by the Raiders, as Condo himself announced on his Twitter account. This was the expected result after Oakland inked two long snappers to futures deals this winter, tweets Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. A two-time Pro Bowler, Condo had spent all but one season of his dozen-year career in Oakland.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/20/17

March 20th, 2017 at 8:16pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are today’s minor moves.

  • The Patriots released running back Tyler Gaffney, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Gaffney has an extensive history with the Patriots but hasn’t played in a game. He spent the past three summers with the team, failing to make New England’s 53-man roster out of camp in each. He vacillated between the Pats’ active roster and practice squad last year, so if history is any indication, a reunion at could ensue at some point later this year.
  • The Chargers re-signed previously non-tendered defensive end Tenny Palepoi, according to a team announcement. Palepoi missed the entire 2015 season with a foot injury but returned to action in 2016. He had 13 tackles in 13 games but wound up missing the last three contests due to a PED suspension. He still has to finish out that ban by sitting out one game in 2017.
  • Another Bolts move: ERFA wide receiver Geremy Davis signed his tender.
  • The Panthers announce they’ve re-signed cornerback Teddy Williams to a one-year extension. Mainly utilized in a special teams role, Williams played in only three games last year due to a knee injury. In 2015, he appeared in all 16 regular-season contests for the NFC champions.
  • Long snapper Jon Condo re-signed with the Raiders. Condo’s been the Silver and Black’s long snapper since the 2007 season after breaking into the NFL with the 2005 Cowboys. Given that long snappers have a precise salary range — 14 of them earn between $1MM and $1.15MM per year — it’s fairly easy to project Condo’s next contract’s AAV. The 36-year-old is the Raiders’ second-longest-tenured player behind Sebastian Janikowski.
  • Cody Parkey will have some competition with the Browns this summer. Cleveland added CFL kicker Brett Maher from the CFL. The 27-year-old hasn’t appeared in an NFL game yet. He’s kicked in Canada for the past three seasons, spending 2016 with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Maher made 41 of 50 field goal tries for Hamilton. Parkey, 24, hit 20 of his 25 attempts and made 20 of 21 PATs.
  • The Redskins announced the re-signing of left tackle Ty Nsekhe. Washington placed an ERFA tender on Nsekhe, who at 31 is much older than players normally involved in these transactions. Nsekhe spent the past two seasons with Washington, starting in six games in that span. Four of those starts came last season while Trent Williams was serving a substance-abuse suspension.
  • After the Nick Folk signing created a stacked Buccaneers kicker depth chart, the team released John Lunsford, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. Folk and Roberto Aguayo will battle for the Bucs’ kicker job, leaving Lunsford without a role.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/15/15

December 15th, 2015 at 5:37pm CST by Zachary Links

Tuesday’s minor moves from around the NFL:

  • The Dolphins announced (Twitter link) that they have claimed defensive end Damontre Moore off waivers from the Giants. To make room, center/guard Jacques McClendon has been waived.
  • The Bengals are expected to promote practice squad quarterback Keith Wenning to the 53-man roster as a backup to A.J. McCarron, per Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer (on Twitter).
  • The Bears announced (via Twitter) that they have promoted rookie linebacker John Timu from the taxi squad while waiving veteran defensive lineman Ziggy Hood.
  • The Seahawks waived receiver B.J. Daniels and safety Akeem Davis while activating linebacker Brock Coyle from IR, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times writes.
  • Adrian Phillips will be promoted off of the Chargers‘ practice squad and on to the 53-man roster, Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego writes.
  • The Saints waived veteran defensive end Phillip Hunt on Tuesday, as Evan Woodbery of the Times-Picayune writes.
  • The Raiders have signed long snapper Thomas Gafford, according to Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). In a related move, long snapper Jon Condo has been placed on IR.
  • The Bengals (on Twitter) announced that they have waived linebacker Chris Carter.
  • Tight end Chase Coffman has re-signed with the Seahawks, a source tells Rand Getlin of NFL.com (on Twitter).
  • Washington announced the signing of veteran tight end Alex Smith (not to be confused with the quarterback of the same name). Smith, 33, is an 11-year veteran who has had previous stints in the NFL with the Bucs, Pats, Eagles, Browns, and Saints. In other roster moves Tuesday, the team waived safety Trenton Robinson from IR with an injury settlement.
  • The Cowboys have released cornerback Tyler Patmon, according to a source who spoke with Charean Williams of The Star-Telegram (on Twitter). Terrance Mitchell will now be called up from the taxi squad and given an opportunity to play at nickel.
  • The Rams waived kicker Zach Hocker and signed defensive tackle Louis Trinca-Pasat from the taxi squad, Howard Balzer of USA Today tweets.