HEADLINES

Jordan Rigsbee

Panthers Cut Tre Boston

May 2nd, 2017 at 10:47am CST by Zachary Links

The Panthers announced that they have released safety Tre Boston. Fullback Devon Johnson, cornerback Lou Young, and tackles Jack Rodgers and Jordan Rigsbee have also been shown the door. "<strong

Less than two months ago, it was reported that “at least one team” had reached out to the Panthers to inquire about Boston. His release at this juncture of the offseason comes as a bit of a surprise since the Panthers did not draft a safety last week. Boston appeared in 15 games (10 starts) last season and was projected to return as the team’s starting free safety in 2017.

Boston graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 46 safety last season, putting him in a three-way tie with Jairus Byrd and George Iloka. Boston’s coverage grades were not as strong as Byrd or Iloka, but he made up ground with a better showing in terms of pass rush. Boston’s 78.1 overall score stands as a career high, though he was roughly on the same plane in 2014 and 2015.

The Panthers currently have 86 players on the roster. After dropping Boston, they still have eight safeties on the roster: Mike Adams, Kurt Coleman, Colin Jones, Dean Marlowe, Travell Dixon, Dezmen Southward, Brian Blechen, and L.J. McCray.

Panthers Bring Roster To 53

September 3rd, 2016 at 5:30pm CST by Zachary Links

The Panthers have moved their roster all the way down to 53 by making several cuts, and the NFL announced that guard Chris Scott had been suspended four games for violating the league’s PED policy.

Placed on IR:

Suspended:

  • G Chris Scott

Garrett, a wide receiver out of Tulsa, went undrafted, but he believes that he is the best at his position in the 2016 class.

“I say that all the time,” Garrett told David Newton of ESPN.com earlier this year. “That’s just how I feel. I had the best numbers out of any of the receivers. My numbers don’t lie. “That’s why I felt like I was the best wide receiver.”

Last year, Garrett racked up a nation-leading 1,588 receiving yards off of 96 catches.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/16/16

May 16th, 2016 at 6:36pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

Earlier Updates:

  • The Broncos have signed linebacker Dekoda Watson to a one-year deal, Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com tweets. Watson appeared in three games for the Patriots last year as he was yo-yo’d on and off of the team’s roster.
  • Eagles guard/tackle Matt Tobin has signed a two-year deal with the team, a source tells Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Tobin was previously set to play out this year on his one-year restricted free agent tender. Now, his new deal will lower his base salary for this season.
  • Washington waived linebacker Reggie Northrup, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Interestingly, Northrup is represented by rapper Lil Wayne.
  • More Washington signings via the team’s website: tackle Al Bond, guard Nila Kasitati, linebacker Mike Wakefield and running back Kelsey Young. Guard Dominick Jackson was waived.
  • The Seahawks have waived/injured linebacker Christian French and signed fellow linebacker Khairi Fortt to take his place on the 90-man roster, Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times tweets.
  • The Bengals are set to sign former University of Buffalo quarterback Joe Licata, as Tyler Dunne of The Buffalo News tweets. To make room, rookie quarterback Matt Johnson has been waived.
  • The Browns signed defensive back Eric Patterson, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets. The 23-year-old entered the NFL last year as a UDFA with New England. The Ball State product appeared in two games for Indianapolis and one with St. Louis.
  • The Bears announced they have signed Donovan Williams, an offensive lineman from Louisiana-Lafayette (Twitter link via Brad Biggs of The Chicago Tribune). The Bears have also released center Dan Buchholz, wide receiver/tight end Marcus Lucas, and wide receiver Nathan Palmer (link).
  • The Bears waived defensive end Bruce Gaston, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com writes. Demovsky suggests that Gaston, who made Green Bay’s opening day roster last season, could get another look from the Packers.
  • The Chargers have signed former Arizona State guard Vi Teofilo to a three-year deal, a source tells Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego. The 6’3″, 205-pound lineman will look to compete for a practice squad spot. The Chargers waived guard Sebastian Johansson, an undrafted rookie guard from Marshall, in a corresponding move. They also waived-injured linebacker Brock Hekking.
  • The Saints waived safety Michael Caputo and quarterback Griffin Neal after this weekend’s rookie minicamp, Evan Woodbery of The Times-Picayune tweets. According to Wilson (on Twitter), the team has also cut receiver Shane Wynn.
  • In a related move, the Saints inked linebacker Tony Steward (Twitter link via Woodbery). Steward played at Clemson and was a fifth-round pick of Buffalo in 2015.
  • The Saints signed Jake Lampman, Wilson tweets. The Ferris State product caught 52 passes for 731 yards and eight touchdowns last season.

Ben Levine contributed to this post.

Panthers Cut Brandon Boykin

May 16th, 2016 at 8:36am CST by Zachary Links

The Panthers have released cornerback Brandon Boykin, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Boykin signed with Carolina in March and received an $80K signing bonus for his two months of employment. As a vested veteran, Boykin is not subject to waivers and is free to sign with any team.Brandon Boykin

Boykin, 25, was one of the more intriguing cornerbacks to linger on the free agent market in late March. After a visit to Carolina, the two sides shook hands on a low-guarantee, one-year deal. Two months later, he’s once again a free agent.

In 2015, Boykin joined the Steelers, having been sent to Pittsburgh by the Eagles in a trade for a fifth-round pick. However, Boykin played primarily on special teams until the final few weeks of the season — he logged 252 of his 274 regular-season defensive snaps in the Steelers’ last five games.

Despite not seeing significant playing time in Pittsburgh, Boykin ranked as a top-40 cornerback in 2015 (out of 111 qualified players), per Pro Football Focus. The Georgia product has always shown flashes of upside, particularly in his six-interception 2013 campaign, but has never really gotten the opportunity to be a full-time player — he has just seven career starts. He’ll now look elsewhere for his chance to shine.

While Boykin didn’t earn a spot on PFR’s top 50 free agent list, we placed him sixth among free agent cornerbacks when we broke down 2016’s top defensive free agents, placing him ahead of veterans like Leon Hall and Patrick Robinson due to his relative youth and upside.

In addition to Boykin, the Panthers have also waived cornerback Ras-I Dowling and wide receiver Jenson Stoshak , as Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. In related news, the team has inked the following tryout players (per David Newton of ESPN.com): tight end Braxton Deaver, running back Jalen Simmons, wide receiver Miles Shuler, offensive tackle Jordan Rigsbee, linebacker Jared Barber, and cornerback Shaquille Richardson.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.