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Workout Notes: Patriots, Texans, Bucs, Eagles

October 12th, 2015 at 6:22pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier today we learned that the Patriots worked out wide receiver Hakeem Nicks. As it turns out, they also auditioned two other players: running back Isaiah Pead and tight end Nick Kasa (via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle on Twitter).

Pead, 26 in December, was once expected to become a leading rusher for the Rams as the heir apparent to Steven Jackson. Things never worked out that way for the 2012 second-round pick, but he did spent three years and change with the club, playing in 27 games with one start. This year, Pead appeared in just two games and notched two carries for three yards before he was released.

Here’s a rundown of today’s workouts and auditions from around the NFL..

Bills Sign Billy Cundiff, Denarius Moore

October 7th, 2015 at 8:27am CST by Luke Adams

The Bills have signed a pair of noteworthy players to their 53-man roster, the team announced today in a press release, confirming deals for kicker Billy Cundiff and wide receiver Denarius Moore. To make room for the incoming players, Buffalo has cut kicker Jordan Gay and wide receiver and return man Marcus Thigpen.

Swapping Gay for Cundiff is an interesting move for the Bills, who have seen their regular kicker, Dan Carpenter, struggle a little with his accuracy in the early going — Carpenter has missed an extra point and two field goals in four games. However, the fact that he remains on the roster, while the team cuts Gay, the kickoff specialist, suggests that Cundiff will only be taking over kickoff duties for the time being.

Of course, if Carpenter continues to struggle, I imagine his job will be in danger, especially since having Cundiff handle all the team’s kicking duties would free up a roster spot to add depth to another part of the roster. Cundiff has seen regular season action for five different teams in his NFL career, most recently converting 22 of 29 field goal attempts (75.9%) last season for the Browns.

As for Moore, the 26-year-old had a couple promising seasons with the Raiders early in his NFL career, notably racking up 741 yards and seven touchdowns on 51 receptions in 2012. He has been inconsistent since then, however, catching just 12 balls in 2014, and being released by the Bengals in August.

Thigpen had been handling the Bills’ punt return duties, so it’ll be interesting to see whether Moore gets a shot at that role, with 42 career punt returns on his résumé. Percy Harvin and Robert Woods would also be candidates for the job.

Minor Moves: Monday

March 9th, 2015 at 4:06pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves around the NFL:

  • The Packers have informed running back DuJuan Harris they will not extend him an exclusive rights tender, Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel tweets.
  • The Ravens are expected to assign an exclusive-rights free agent tender to running back Fitzgerald Toussaint, Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun tweets.
  • The Steelers have offered one-year deals to restricted free agents Antwon Blake, Will Johnson, and Robert Golden, Scott Brown of ESPN tweets. All three will get the lower tender, according to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (on Twitter).
  • The Cardinals announced they’ve re-signed Alameda Ta’amu to a one-year contract, as Mike Jurecki of FOX Sports tweets. The Cards decided not to tender him but they have retained him at a lower salary.
  • The 49ers will restructure their deal with safety Craig Dahl, according to Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun (on Twitter). It’s now a one-year, $1.3MM deal with a $200K signing bonus, a $175K roster bonus, and a $50K workout bonus.
  • The Buccaneers announced that they have re-signed defensive ends Larry English and Lawrence Sidbury, tight end Luke Stocker and linebacker Jason Williams.
  • The Ravens have assigned a $510K exclusive rights tender to offensive lineman Ryan Jensen, a source tells Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun (on Twitter). Wilson (link) also hears that the Ravens have given wide receiver Kamar Aiken a $585K exclusive rights tender.
  • The Ravens gave cornerback Tramain Jacobs a $510K tender, per Wilson (link).

Earlier updates:

  • The Bills announced that they have extended the contract of kicker Jordan Gay, according to ESPN.com’s Mike Rodak (via Twitter).
  • The Browns announced that they have tendered qualifying offers to four of their restricted free agents: free safety Tashaun Gipson, defensive back Johnson Bademosi, defensive lineman Ishmaa’ily Kitchen, and linebacker Craig Robertson, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal tweets. It’s a second-round tender for Robertson, according to Mary Kay Cabot of The Plain Dealer (on Twitter). Gipson also gets the second-round tender, according to Ulrich (link).
  • The Ravens have sent a second-round restricted tender $2.356MM to Pro Bowl kicker Justin Tucker, a source tells Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun (on Twitter).
  • The Steelers announced that they have agreed to terms with veteran tight end Matt Spaeth on a two-year deal. The 31-year-old appeared in 15 regular-season games in 2014 (eight starts) and caught three passes for 46 yards and a touchdown, and also started the Steelers’ playoff game against Baltimore.
  • The Buccaneers are not expected to tender an offer to fullback Jorvorskie Lane, Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. They could bring Lane, an ERFA, back on a different deal later, however. Lane had a tough year in 2014. He was hit with a two-game suspension for violating the league’s policy on performance enhancing substances in October and his season ended in November after he underwent surgery on his injured right leg.
  • The Broncos have placed the low-level contract tender on restricted free agent defensive back Tony Carter, extending him a one-year offer worth $1.542MM, per Mike Klis of the Denver Post. The move gives Denver the right to match any offer sheet Carter signs with another team, and according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link), there may be strong outside interest.
  • The Cowboys have placed one-year tenders of $1.542MM each on restricted free agent punter Chris Jones and restricted free agent running back Lance Dunbar, sources tell Brandon George of The Dallas Morning News. Dunbar is the Cowboys’ third running back and tendering him gives Dallas some insurance if DeMarco Murray signs with another team in free agency. He also gives them a reserve back in the event that they have to cut ties with Joseph Randle.
  • The Browns announced that they have re-signed offensive lineman Ryan Seymour. Seymour, 25, appeared in 11 games during the 2014 season, starting three at center. Nick McDonald was originally the team’s choice at center after Alex Mack went down with a broken leg, but Seymour eventually got his chance at the job.
  • The Panthers have re-signed wide receiver/kick returner Brenton Bersin to a one-year deal, a source tells Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter). Bersin was an exclusive rights free agent.
  • The Panthers announced that they re-signed Fozzy Whittaker on a two-year deal, according to Person (on Twitter). The tailback had 32 carries for 145 yards last season and also contributed on kick returns. Linebacker Ben Jacobs and center Brian Folkerts got one-year deals to remain in Carolina (link). Tackle Kevin Hughes is the only Panthers ERFA who wasn’t tendered an offer (link).

RFA Decisions: Thursday

March 5th, 2015 at 5:46pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Unrestricted free agency will get most of the publicity, but UFAs aren’t the only players impacted by the beginning of the new league year on March 10. By 3pm CT on that date, clubs must decide whether to tender offers to restricted free agents — players who have exactly three years of service time. We’ll round up those decisions here, with the latest updates being added to the top…

  • The Colts made several moves today, announcing they’ve tendered restricted free agent linebacker Jerrell Freeman, as well as three exclusive rights free agents: running back Dan Herron, and linebackers Daniel Adongo and Cam Johnson. Freeman and Herron are the biggest names here — despite missing four games, Freeman finished with the fifth-most snaps on Indy’s defense, while Herron took over as the club’s starting running back by the end of the season.
  • On the other hand, the Colts won’t tender an offer to RFA center A.Q. Shipley, writes Mike Wells of ESPN.com. Shipley was the club’s Week 1 starter at center, and received positive marks from Pro Football Focus (subscription required), so he should find some interest on the open market.
  • Following their trade of LeSean McCoy, the Eagles don’t have much depth at running back, and while they plan to offer an RFA tender to RB Chris Polk, it will only be at the “right of first refusal” level, per Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com. Therefore, Philadelphia will only commit about $1.5MM to Polk, and won’t receive any compensation if another club signs him away.
  • The Bills have decided to bring back three ERFAs, tendering offers to receivers Justin Brown and Chris Hogan, as well as defensive tackle Corbin Bryant, tweets Mike Rodak of ESPN.com. Hogan, who saw the most snaps of the three, was a prominent feature of the Dolphins’ Hard Knocks season on HBO in 2012. Additionally, Buffalo did not tender an offer to ERFA kicker Jordan Gay, per Rodak (Twitter link).
  • The Giants have tendered exclusive rights free agent corner Chandler Fenner, tweets Ebenezer Samuel of the New York Daily News. Fenner, 24, saw action in 11 games for New York last season.

Minor Moves: Tuesday

August 26th, 2014 at 8:03pm CST by Zachary Links

Tonight’s minor moves..

  • The Raiders announced that they have claimed kicker Giorgio Tavecchio via waivers from the Lions. In a corresponding move, Oakland waived kicker Kevin Goessling. Tavecchio will likely serve as insurance in the event that Sebastian Janikowski isn’t ready to go in Week 1.
  • The Bills have claimed punter/kicker Jordan Gay off waivers from the Panthers, according to Mike Rodak of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
  • According to the NFL transactions wire, the Seahawks have waived linebacker Marcus Dowtin and claimed center Patrick Lewis off waivers from the Jaguars, tweets Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. Dowtin saw three games of action with the Giants in 2013 before being released in March.
  • Safety Ty Zimmerman, receiver Andy Tanner, and tackle Ty Nsekhe were added to the Saints‘ injured reserve amidst today’s roster moves, tweets Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post.
  • Rams linebacker Pat Schiller reverted to the club’s injured reserve after clearing waivers, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter).

Panthers Cut Marvin McNutt, Seven Others

August 24th, 2014 at 1:32pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Having already released receivers Tiquan Underwood and Toney Clemons, the Panthers have cut eight more players, the team announced in a press release:

Each of the players listed above was waived, since none has accrued more than four NFL seasons. The most notable name here is probably McNutt — a sixth-round pick by the Eagles in 2012, he was expected to compete for playing time in Carolina’s depleted receiving corps.

Minor Moves: Bowanko, Broncos, Rice Jr.

May 19th, 2014 at 12:57pm CST by Ben Levine

Here are an assortment of moves on this Monday afternoon…

Giants Sign 10 UDFAs, Cut Five Players

May 15th, 2014 at 4:26pm CST by Luke Adams

THURSDAY, 4:26pm: USC tight end Xavier Grimble has also joined the Giants’ rookie free agent class, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.

TUESDAY, 1:54pm: The Giants have cut defensive back Chaz Powell and announced another four UDFA additions, according to a team release. Here are the newest Giants’ signings:

  • Charles Barnett, S, Ohio State
  • Emmanuel Dieke, DE, Georgia Tech ($7.5K bonus and $7.5K in other guarantees, per Aaron Wilson)
  • Dan Fox, LB, Notre Dame
  • Jordan Stanton, DE, James Madison

MONDAY, 4:47pm: The Giants have announced a series of roster moves, including a first step toward paring down the excess of quarterbacks on the depth chart. According to a press release, the team has released QB Rusty Smith and waived linebacker Allen Bradford, cornerback Junior Mertile and punter Jordan Gay. New York also signed five undrafted free agents.

Smith, a former Titan, inked a deal with the Giants last month shortly after the team added Josh Freeman to the roster to complement Eli Manning, Ryan Nassib, and Curtis Painter. He’ll immediately become an unrestricted free agent, while the other players will have to pass through waivers.

Here are the Giants’ five UDFA signings:

  • Justin Anderson, LB, Louisiana-Lafayette
  • Thomas Gordon, S, Michigan
  • Eathyn Manumaleuna, DT BYU
  • Kelcy Quarles, DT, South Carolina
  • Kerry Wynn, DE, Richmond