Jaguars Sign LB Jonathan Freeny
The Jaguars have signed linebacker Jonathan Freeny, according to a team announcement. To make room, the team released defensive back Lafayette Pitts. 
Freeny started five games for the Patriots over the last two seasons and signed a two-year extension with the team prior to the start of the 2016 season. Despite that, he was cut during final cutdowns this September. He hooked on with the Ravens soon after, but was released in October. In three games with Baltimore, he did not record an official statistic.
Freeny, a five-year NFL veteran, started his career as a special teams player in Miami. With the Pats, he made himself more of a known quantity with 18 appearances and eleven starts.
The Jaguars are on their bye this week. They’ll look to improve on their 4-3 record when they face the Bengals on Nov. 5.
NFL Workout Updates: 10/23/17
Today’s workout updates:
Jacksonville Jaguars
LBs Sean Spence and Jonathan Freeny (Twitter link via Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union)
Ravens Sign LB Steven Johnson
The Ravens have made a change at linebacker, as they’ve signed free agent Steven Johnson and released Jonathan Freeny, the club announced today.
Johnson should be familiar to Baltimore not only because he’s worked out for the club twice in the past month, but because he’s spent the past year-plus with the division rival Steelers. The 29-year-old Johnson, who’s also played for the Titans and Broncos during a six-year NFL career, has bounced on and off the Pittsburgh roster this season. He’s been active for only seven games over the past two years, and he’s played exclusively on special teams thus far in 2017.
The same can be said of Freeny, whose 35 total snaps this year have all come on special teams duty. Freeny, a five-year NFL veteran, started his career as a special teams player in Miami, but his most notable time came with the Patriots from 2015-16. During that time, Freeny appeared in 18 games and started 11 contests before going down with a shoulder injury last October.
NFL Workout Updates: 9/27/17
Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account:
Arizona Cardinals
- TE Alex Ellis; DE Jonathan Woodard (link)
Atlanta Falcons
- CB Alex Carter (link)
Baltimore Ravens
- LB Steven Johnson (link)
Buffalo Bills
- OLs Josh James and G Nate Theaker; WRs Amba Etta-Tawo and Tavarres King; S Justin Currie (link)
Detroit Lions
- OLs Willie Beavers, John Greco, and Kraig Urbik; DE Sterling Bailey (link)
Indianapolis Colts
- WRs Kolby Listenbee and Jordan Williams; LBs Richie Brown, Austin Calitro, and Jayrone Elliott (Twitter links)
Jacksonville Jaguars
- RB LeShun Daniels; LBs Frank Beltre and Cassanova McKinzy (link)
Los Angeles Chargers
- WR Michael Rector; LB Jonathan Freeny (Twitter links)
Los Angeles Rams
- WR Jordan Payton (link)
New York Jets
- WR Rashad Ross; TE Greg Scruggs; DE Jhaustin Thomas; LBs Gabe Martin and Brandon Watts; CB Makinton Dorleant; S Ironhead Gallon (all Twitter links)
Philadelphia Eagles
- C Anthony Fabiano; T Givens Price; CBs D.J. Killings and Damian Swann (link)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- LBs Carl Bradford and Austin Calitro; CB Taurean Nixon (link)
Tennessee Titans
- LSs Andrew East and Anthony Kukwa (link)
Washington Redskins
- LB Otha Peters; DBs Antone Exum Jr., James Sample, and B.J. Sanders (link)
Ravens Sign LB Jonathan Freeny
The Ravens have signed former Patriots linebacker Jonathan Freeny. He’ll take the roster spot of defensive end Brent Urban, who was formally placed on injured reserve.
Freeny started five games for the Patriots over the last two seasons and signed a two-year extension with the team prior to the start of the 2016 season. Despite that, he was cut during final cutdowns this September. Since then, the Giants, Bears, and Texans worked him out, but none of those auditions resulted in a contract.
The Ravens have signed Freeny to add some needed depth at inside linebacker. They lost a supporting piece recently when UDFA Bam Bradley was placed on IR with an ACL injury. Freeny could see some snaps behind starters C.J. Mosley and Kamalei Correa while also contributing on special teams.
Freeny, a five-year NFL veteran, amassed 60 tackles and one sack for the Pats over the last two years.
Texans Audition LB Jonathan Freeny
The Texans worked out free agent linebacker Jonathan Freeny on Tuesday, reports Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.
Freeny, a five-year NFL veteran, started his career as a special teams player in Miami, but his most notable time came with the Patriots from 2015-16. During that time, Freeny appeared in 18 games and started 11 contests before going down with a shoulder injury last October.
Despite agreeing to a two-year extension prior to last season, Freeny was released during final cutdowns earlier this month. He’s generated interest around the NFL, however, as the Giants and Bears have also worked out Freeny over the past several weeks.
On the hunt for linebacker depth following Brian Cushing‘s 10-game PED suspension, the Texans also auditioned former Vikings linebacker Audie Cole today. Houston is currently starting Benardrick McKinney and second-round rookie Zach Cunningham at inside linebacker, while Brian Peters and undrafted rookie Dylan Cole are the club’s backups.
The Texans also took at look at linebacker Josh Mauga and cornerbacks Johnthan Banks, Stanley Jean-Baptiste, Josh Thornton, Corey White, and B.W. Webb, as Wilson writes in a separate piece.
NFL Workout Updates: 9/13/17
Today’s workout updates, with nearly all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account:
Buffalo Bills
- QB Joel Stave; WRs Chris Brown, Marlon Brown; G Oni Omoile; T Brad Seaton; CB Makinton Dorleant (Twitter links)
Chicago Bears
- DE Praise Martin-Oguike; LBs Akeem Ayers, Chris Casher, Vontarrius Dora, Jonathan Freeny; LS Andrew East (Twitter links)
Green Bay Packers
- WR Jesse Kroll; LBs Donnie Baggs, Brooks Ellis, Christian Kuntz (Twitter links)
Indianapolis Colts
- WRs K.J. Brent, Devin Lucien, KeVonn Mabon; OTs Andreas Knappe, Javarius Leamon, Jah Reid, Brad Seaton; DEs Logan Ingle, Branden Jackson (all Twitter links)
Jacksonville Jaguars
- DT Darius Kilgo (link)
Kansas City Chiefs
- CBs Alex Carter, Josh Thornton (link)
New England Patriots
- QB Mitch Leidner; WRs Daniel Braverman, Tevaun Smith, Jahad Thomas, Bryan Walters; LS Taybor Pepper; P Austin Rehkow (link here)
New Orleans Saints
- WRs Corey Brown, Josh Huff, Seantavius Jones, Anthony Nash, Myles White; Gs Dallas Thomas, Andrew Tiller, Earl Watford, Cody Wichmann; LBs Akeem Ayers, Sio Moore; OT Eric Winston; CB Jumal Rolle; S Jordan Moore (all Twitter links here)
New York Jets
- RB Lorenzo Taliaferro; WRs Jaydon Mickens, Anthony Nash, Michael Rector; TE Scott Orndoff (link)
Philadelphia Eagles
- LBs Carl Bradford, Tre’von Johnson, Joseph Jones, Antwione Williams; Ks Marshall Koehn, Josh Lambo, Mike Nugent (Twitter links)
Tennessee Titans
- G Kaleb Johnson (link)
Washington Redskins
- RBs Jonathan Grimes, Daryl Richardson; G Greg Pyke; (link)
Giants To Work Out LB Jonathan Freeny
Even after setting their 53-man roster, the Giants are still looking for ways to improve. In the next few days, they’ll audition former Patriots linebacker Jonathan Freeny, a source tells Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
Freeny, 28, appeared in 18 games with eleven starts for the Pats over the last two years. He amassed 60 tackles and one sack during that span. He signed an extension with the Pats prior to the 2016 season that was supposed to carry him through 2018. He was let go before the contract kicked in, however.
The Giants currently project to start Devon Kennard, B.J. Goodson, and Jonathan Casillas at linebacker. Reserves include outside linebackers J.T. Thomas and Deontae Skinner and middle linebacker Keenan Robinson.
Patriots Reach 53-Man Max
The Patriots made a massive amount of cuts on Saturday to reach the 53-man limit. Most of the cuts were expected, but there were a few surprises in the bunch.
Released:
- OL Jamil Douglas
- OL James Ferentz
- RB D.J. Foster
- LB Jonathan Freeny
- DL Geneo Grissom
- DL Woodrow Hamilton
- OL Ted Karras
- DL Darius Kilgo
- TE James O’Shaughnessy
- WR Tony Washington
Waived:
- LB Trevor Bates
- FB Glenn Gronkowski
- WR Devin Lucien
- WR K.J. Maye
- DL Josh Augusta
- DL Michael Bart
- WR Austin Carr
- TE Sam Cotton
- RB LeShun Daniels
- LB Brooks Ellis
- WR Cody Hollister
- DB David Jones
- DB D.J. Killings
- OL Jason King
- DB Will Likely
- OL Conor McDermott
- DB Kenny Moore II
- OL Max Rich
- DB Jason Thompson
- DB Damarius Travis
- LB Nick Usher
Karras was widely projected to be the team’s top backup on the interior line, so his release comes as a surprise. The 24-year-old was drafted by the Pats in the sixth round of the 2016 draft and played in all 16 regular season games last year. He also appeared in all three playoff games as a reserve.
O’Shaughnessy, acquired via trade in April, was competing for the third tight end spot. The 6-foot-4, 245-pounder has played in 23 NFL games with six starts.
Pats LB Jonathan Freeny Won’t Return From IR
Patriots linebacker Jonathan Freeny was placed on injured reserve two weeks ago, and he won’t be healthy enough to be designated to return, according to Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald (Twitter link). Per the NFL’s IR rules, Freeny could have come back after eight weeks and helped out New England during the stretch run, but his shoulder injury will keep him out for the rest of the year.
[RELATED: Jamie Collins Turned Down $11MM/Year]
The Patriots could conceivably be in the market for linebacker depth after making the surprising decision to trade Jamie Collins to the Browns, but Freeny won’t be part of any cavalry that comes along. New England already made a move to acquire a linebacker last week, picking up former second-round pick Kyle Van Noy from the Lions by swapping late-round picks. Meanwhile, rookie Elandon Roberts and Barkevious Mingo figure to form a duo to replace Collins’ production, as Doug Kyed of NESN reported earlier today.
Freeny, who agreed to a two-year extension before the season began, played in five games (four starts) before getting injured. The 26-year-old had managed six tackles and a forced fumble, and was also a factor on special teams.