HEADLINES

Josh Adams

Cardinals Sign LB Joe Walker

September 18th, 2018 at 11:22am CST by Zachary Links

The Cardinals are signing linebacker Joe Walker to their 53-man roster off of the Eagles’ practice squad, a source tells Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (on Twitter). The Eagles, meanwhile, have filled Walker’s roster spot by promoting running back Josh Adams to the active roster. 

Walker, 25, appeared in 12 games for the Eagles last year and started in three games. He didn’t see a ton of action on defense, however, and finished out with eight total tackles.

The Cardinals can use all of the defensive help they can get after surrendering 34 unanswered points to the Rams on Sunday. Walker won’t be a starting option, but he could see some snaps behind middle linebacker Josh Bynes.

Sunday NFL Transactions: NFC East

September 2nd, 2018 at 3:21pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four NFC East 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 for the Cowboys, Giants, Eagles, and Redskins are noted below.

Additionally, as of 12:00pm CT today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. 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 NFC East transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:

Dallas Cowboys

Claimed:

Cut:

Practice squad:

New York Giants

Claimed:

Cut:

Practice squad:

Philadelphia Eagles

Claimed:

Cut:

Practice squad:

Washington Redskins

Practice squad:

Eagles Cut Down To 53

September 1st, 2018 at 3:38pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Eagles’ receiving corps became a bit younger on Saturday. Two veterans brought in as possible depth pieces — Markus Wheaton and Kamar Aiken — were informed they will be released.

So was potential secondary cog De’Vante Bausby and rookie UDFA running back Josh Adams, given one of this year’s largest guarantees among the undrafted contingent. Philadelphia also placed safety Chris Maragos on its Reserve/PUP list, shelving him for at least six weeks.

Here are the players the Eagles will not be including on their initial 2018 53-man roster:

Released:

Waived:

Waived with an injury designation:

Placed on Reserve/NFI list:

Placed on Reserve/PUP list

NFC East Notes: Redskins, Beckham, Eagles

August 11th, 2018 at 4:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

Derrius Guice‘s injury delivers a considerable setback to the Redskins‘ running back corps, to the point they may have to consider adding a veteran to the mix. But Jay Gruden did not confirm the team will go in this direction, pointing to the second-round Guice selection being a best-player-available move rather than a need pick.

“We have guys here that can play,” Gruden said Saturday. “We drafted Derrius because he was the best player, we thought, at the time of the draft … not because we weren’t satisfied with the backs we have.”

The primary Redskins starters the past two years, Rob Kelley and Samaje Perine, remain on the team and are now set to be the team’s early-down backs. Passing-down specialist Chris Thompson, though he’s not yet fully recovered from the broken leg he suffered midway through last season, will reprise his role in 2018. Neither Kelley nor Perine surpassed 3.5 yards per carry last season, but Washington’s offensive line became significantly limited by injuries as the season progressed. Kelley fared much better in 2016.

Here’s the latest from the rest of the NFC East:

  • A day after Guice’s injury severity became known, the Redskins are concerned about 2017 sixth-round pick Robert Davis. The team fears its second-year wide receiver suffered a torn ACL, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. Davis will head in for an MRI later today, per Garafolo. The Georgia State alum was expected to play a bigger role in Year 2 after playing in just one game as a rookie.
  • The Giants‘ reasoning behind sitting Odell Beckham Jr. in the preseason opener stemmed from his injury recovery, not his contract situation, per Pat Shurmur. “I want to be smart with his recovery coming back [from ankle surgery],” Shurmur said, via Tom Rock of Newsday. “I never intended to play him in this game. I didn’t reveal that to [the public], but I never intended to.” Beckham has not experienced a known setback in his recovery from last season’s ankle injury. He encountered ankle trouble during the preseason against the Browns last year, spraining his left ankle barely a month prior to fracturing it.
  • The subject of Rasul Douglas moving to safety surfaced at Eagles practice, but the coaching staff shot that down, Sheil Kapadia of The Athletic notes (subscription required). Philly lost Patrick Robinson and has Ronald Darby going into a contract year, so it would make sense Douglas stays at corner. Philadelphia’s staff still believes Douglas can have a quality career as a corner, although Kapadia adds he has not progressed like the team was hoping going into his second season.
  • Donnel Pumphrey may be in his final days as an Eagle, with Kapadia pointing out the “lower body” injury he suffered in the defending Super Bowl champions’ preseason opener may put him too far behind the other combatants in a hotly contested race to make the 53-man roster as the No. 4 running back. Wendell Smallwood, Matt Jones and rookie UDFA Josh Adams comprise the rest of that race, and Kapadia adds that Jones may be behind the other two after the Eagles’ first preseason game. The Eagles gave Adams a sizable guarantee to sign after the draft.

NFC Notes: Peterson, Eagles, Thomas, Lions

July 4th, 2018 at 3:03pm CST by Sam Robinson

Long regarded as one of this era’s best cornerbacks, Patrick Peterson has not been challenged to the degree of some of his peers in recent years. The Cardinals‘ top defender has just six interceptions over the past three seasons, and this has likely had some impact on his All-Pro status. Despite being viewed as a top-tier corner and having never missed a game, Peterson has made just one of the past three All-Pro first teams. The soon-to-be 28-year-old defender, though, sounds encouraged to be in the defensive system Steve Wilks and Al Holcomb have installed.

“Very excited, ’cause I’m gonna be doing a lot of new things that I haven’t done in my career – in my NFL career,” Peterson said, via Katherine Fitzgerald of the Arizona Republic. “I’m just looking forward to getting back to my play-making ways because I believe over the last two and a half, three years, I’ve been kind of handcuffed in doing that, because obviously teams try to stay away from me. But now, coach Holcomb and coach Wilks are going do a great job of finding ways to install me into the game.”

Peterson still expects to follow receivers in the new scheme, but the Cardinals continue to feature a sizable talent gap between their No. 1 corner and his sidekicks. They traded for Jamar Taylor, who is now the favorite to start opposite Peterson, and employ third-year man Brandon Williams and former Panthers cog Bene Benwikere. But this cast might not be enough to deter quarterbacks from continuing to largely avoid Peterson.

Here’s the latest from the NFC:

  • Apparently, Earl Thomas‘ Cowboys fandom did not stop once he joined the Seahawks. The east Texas native has been connected to the Cowboys via trade throughout the offseason, and he seemed to light that fuse after the Seahawks’ Week 16 win in Dallas last season. Cliff Avril observed Thomas discuss watching Cowboys games as a fan while with the Seahawks, but it’s not like the since-released defensive end saw that affect the three-time All-Pro’s game. “Everyone in (the Seahawks’) locker room knows Earl loves the Cowboys,” Avril said during a Sirius XM Radio interview (Twitter link). “He’d leave immediately after work just to catch them play Monday Night Football. We didn’t take it too serious. Whatever team he dresses up for he’s gonna do his thing.” Thomas and the Seahawks remain at an impasse as the last remaining Legion of Boom bastion continues his holdout.
  • The Eagles will almost certainly waive seventh-round pick/rugby convert Jordan Mailata, Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com notes, before attempting to develop him on their practice squad. This figures to be a lengthy process attempting to convert the mammoth prospect into someone worthy of seeing time on Sundays.
  • Two of Mailata’s rookie peers have less certainty. Although Josh Sweat has looked the part of a future contributor, Shorr-Parks wonders if the Eagles’ depth at defensive end will induce a wink-wink IR stay that will allow the fourth-round pick to develop while off the 53-man roster. UDFA running back Josh Adams received one of the largest signing bonuses of any undrafted player this year at $25K, but he missed all of OTAs and minicamp with a foot injury and looks like a long shot to make the roster. Shorr-Parks expects an IR stay for Adams.
  • The additions of LeGarrette Blount and Kerryon Johnson will force either Zach Zenner or Dwayne Washington off the Lions‘ roster, barring an injury to a higher-regarded back, but Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com expects neither to be on the team come Week 1. Rothstein, though, views Ameer Abdullah as possible trade bait that would give either Zenner or Washington a way back onto the roster.

Extra Points: Packers, UDFAs, Panthers, T.O.

June 19th, 2018 at 10:03pm CST by Ben Levine

After having been fired as the Browns head coach back in 2016, Mike Pettine is back in the NFL as the Packers defensive coordinator. While the 51-year-old acknowledged that he’ll appreciate the brief break prior to training camp, he also admitted that he’ll soon be itching to return to the field.

“That will last about a week, and then I’ll start thinking about football,” Pettine told Jason Wilde of SouthernMinn.com. “I have my own list of things to do, but I’ll be smart with it. I’ll do a little bit at a time. But it’s hard to completely detach from it. [But] that’s what’s great about that time — you can get around friends and families and take you away from it. But it’s always there, and by 10-12 days into July, I’ll be ready to start camp.”

Pettine’s defenses have generally been productive, as the coach has had previous success with the Ravens, Jets, and Bills. The Packers are hoping he can turn around a defense that finished 26th in points allowed last season.

Let’s take a look at some more notes from around the NFL…

  • NFL.com’s Gil Brandt observes (on Twitter) that there were 32 undrafted rookies to make bonuses of $15K or more. The top earners were Eagles running back Josh Adams, Giants cornerback Grant Haley, and Raiders kicker Eddy Pineiro, with the trio each making $25K. Generally, it’s assumed that the highest-paid undrafted free agents have the best shot of making the regular season roster.
  • The Panthers will not renew the contract of senior executive scout Don Gregory, reports Joe Person (via Twitter). Gregory had previously served as the organization’s college scouting director for more than a decade, but he served in more of a consulting role between Marty Hurney‘s two stints with the team.
  • Terrell Owens, who is set to be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame, believes he can still play football. Well, the 44-year-old could have his chance…in the Canadian Football League. David William Naylor of TSN tweets that the Edmonton Eskimos have added the receiver to their negotiation list. Teams are allowed to claim exclusive rights on players by placing them on the list, but players can easily be removed at anytime. It’s unlikely that Owens will stay on the list for very long, as the wideout hasn’t played professionally since 2012 (and he hasn’t appeared in an NFL game since 2010).
  • Speaking of the CFL, former NFL Ricky Stanzi has been released by the Calgary Stampeders (via Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com). The 30-year-old had a standout performance during the 2017 Spring League, and he ended up earning a contract with the Canadian team. The 2011 fifth-round pick had stints with the Chiefs, Jaguars, Texans, Giants, and Lions during his NFL career, although he never managed to take the field for a regular season game.

Eagles Sign 15 UDFAs

May 12th, 2018 at 8:21pm CST by Sam Robinson

One of the last teams to reveal their UDFA class, the Eagles announced 15 players comprise this group that will try to earn roster spots this year. Here’s the full rundown:

Representing a sizable portion of this class, four safeties will join the Eagles’ other three backup safeties — two 2017 UDFAs and veteran special-teamer Chris Maragos — in competing for roles behind Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod. However, Neal, Roberts and Reaves played cornerback as well. Roberts manned the slot at South Alabama, while Reaves earned Sun Belt defensive player of the year acclaim last season. Sanders, however, logged the most experience in being a Georgia starter for four years. He finished with 16 career interceptions. Brown also spent time at both safety and cornerback, despite being listed as a linebacker.

The Eagles also turned to smaller schools extensively here, with mid-major Division I-FBS or non-Division I programs producing eight of these 15 players. Rumors connected the Eagles to running backs in this draft. Instead, the team re-signed Darren Sproles and is bringing in a player who is coming off a 1,430-yard, nine-touchdown season with the Fighting Irish. The 213-pound Adams averaged 6.9 yards per carry as well as a true junior in 2017.

Hector received the highest base salary guarantee of this group, with the team giving him $55K guaranteed along with a $5K signing bonus. Adams received a $30K base guarantee and $25K to sign, and Sullivan a $35K base guarantee and $16K to sign (Twitter link via Ben Volin of the Boston Globe). Volin adds will see a $20K base guarantee and a $10K signing bonus. Ostman will also see $20K guaranteed, per Volin (on Twitter).