HEADLINES

Josh Mauro

Cardinals Re-Sign DL Josh Mauro

January 12th, 2017 at 4:34pm CST by Sam Robinson

Set for restricted free agency, Josh Mauro will be staying in the desert. The Cardinals re-signed the defensive lineman to a two-year deal, Mike Jurecki of Fox Sports reports (on Twitter).

The 6-foot-6 defensive lineman started in 13 games for the Cardinals this season, seeing his first extended look in Arizona’s lineup since arriving as a UDFA in 2014. Mauro ascended onto the first unit despite the Cardinals using a first-round pick on Robert Nkemdiche.

Mauro played in 389 snaps for the Cardinals this season and held his own as a run defender, despite providing little as a pass-rusher. The former Stanford cog has one sack in three seasons, and it came during the 2015 campaign. This gives the Cardinals another option at end, a position that could be influx this offseason considering the UFA statuses of Calais Campbell and Frostee Rucker.

The new full-time starter made a career-high 32 tackles in 2016. He forced two fumbles in 2015 and recovered one.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/11/16

March 11th, 2016 at 6:02pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are the minor moves on Day 3 of free agency.

  • Defensive tackle Josh Mauro signed his exclusive-rights free agent tender with the Cardinals, ArizonaCardinals.com’s Darren Urban tweets.
  • The Chargers are set to re-sign defensive lineman Damion Square on a one-year, per Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune (on Twitter). Square was a restricted free agent San Diego elected not to tender, but re-signed him anyway, per Gehlken (on Twitter). The 27-year-old Square played in six games, starting in one, for the Chargers last season after being promoted from the practice squad in November.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/3/16

March 3rd, 2016 at 7:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Today’s round of minor transactions around the NFL is dominated by exclusive-rights free agents. ERFAs are players with less than three years of NFL experience, who don’t have a contract for 2016.

While these players are technically considered free agents, they don’t have any real freedom when it comes to picking their destinations — if their current teams want them back, all those clubs have to do is submit an ERFA tender (typically worth the minimum salary), which precludes those players from negotiating with any other teams.

Here are the latest minor moves from around the league:

  • The Bears have tendered a contract offer to ERFA wide receiver Josh Bellamy, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Bellamy saw a decent amount of playing time on offense, catching 19 passes for 224 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and was also one of the club’s top contributors on special teams.
  • The Cardinals have assigned ERFA tenders to defensive tackle Josh Mauro and tight end Ifeanyi Momah, signaling that they want to bring back those players, the team announced today on its website. Momah missed the 2015 campaign with a knee injury, while Mauro was a depth piece on Arizona’s defensive line.
  • The Titans have re-signed ERFA running back Antonio Andrews, the club announced in a press release. The move is classified as a re-signing rather than a simple contract tender because Andrews has already signed the offer. He figures to compete for a roster spot in Tennessee in 2016.
  • The Buccaneers have assigned an ERFA tender to long snapper Andrew DePaola, agent Sean Stellato tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). DePaola has been Tampa Bay’s full-time long snapper since the start of the 2014 season.

Cardinals Sign Josh Mauro

November 14th, 2014 at 2:32pm CST by Zachary Links

FRIDAY, 2:32pm: The Cardinals have officially added Mauro to their roster, cutting linebacker Thomas Keiser to clear room on the squad, per Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com (via Twitter).

THURSDAY, 4:54pm: The Cardinals will pluck defensive end Josh Mauro from the Steelers’ practice squad and add him to their 53-man roster, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).

Mauro, 24 in February, offers tremendous size at 6’6″ and 271 pounds. With a frame reminiscent of Texans star J.J. Watt, the Steelers actually put a No. 99 jersey on Mauro in practices leading up to their October showdown with Houston. The Stanford product played mostly defensive end in college but is said to also have the ability to play on the interior.

Mauro could have made the Steelers’ final cut in August, particularly with question marks surrounding their defensive line, but he had to settle for a practice squad slot after he didn’t make the 53-man roster. Now, he’ll have his NFL opportunity elsewhere.

Sunday Transactions: AFC North

August 31st, 2014 at 7:10pm CST by Luke Adams

Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four AFC North 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 are noted below.

Additionally, as of 11:00am CT today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. For the 2014 and 2015 seasons, changes were made to practice squad rules that allow teams to carry eight players instead of 10, and the eligibility requirements for those extra two spots were also loosened. 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 AFC North transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:

Baltimore Ravens:

Cincinnati Bengals:

Cleveland Browns:

Pittsburgh Steelers:

Steelers Reduce Roster To 53 Players

August 30th, 2014 at 2:15pm CST by Luke Adams

The Steelers have become the latest team to reduce their roster count to 53 players in advance of this afternoon’s deadline. Here are the 22 players cut from the club’s active roster today, per a press release:

Steelers To Sign Nine Undrafted FAs

May 12th, 2014 at 10:30am CST by Luke Adams

MONDAY, 10:30am: Carrington will now be coming to camp on a tryout rather than as a player under contract, tweets Lauten. That means the Steelers will have exactly 90 players on their roster and won’t need to make a corresponding move to clear room for their UDFAs.

SATURDAY, 8:23pm: The Steelers have agreed to sign 10 undrafted free agents, according to the team’s PR rep, Burt Lauten. In a series of tweets, Lauten listed the following UDFAs, who are set to head to Pittsburgh:

  • Devon Carrington, DB, Stanford
  • Chris Elkins, OL, Youngstown State
  • Ethan Hemer, DE, Wisconsin
  • Kaycee Ike, OT, UAB
  • Howard Jones, LB, Shepherd
  • Brendon Kay, QB, Cincinnati
  • Josh Mauro, DE, Stanford
  • Roy Philon, DT, Louisville
  • Will Simmons, G, East Carolina
  • Eric Waters, TE, Missouri

AFC North Notes: Steelers, Ravens, Jones

May 11th, 2014 at 9:49pm CST by Ben Levine

Many recent Steelers draftees have found themselves buried on the depth chart, but a handful from this year’s class will have an opportunity to start, writes Ed Bouchette of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Fourth-rounder Martavis Bryant has a good chance of starting, with wide receivers coach Richard Mann telling Bouchette that they “feel like (they) got a guy to put opposite of Antonio Brown.”

Bouchette adds that the team’s two big holes, inside linebacker and defensive end, could adequately be filled by their first two picks, Ryan Shazier and Stephon Tuitt.

Let’s take a look at some more notes out of the AFC North…

  • The Steelers announced the signing of 10 undrafted free agents yesterday, and ESPN.com’s Scott Brown focuses on five who could make a difference. Brown lists Howard Jones, Josh Mauro, Ethan Hemer, Eric Waters and Devon Carrington as the most likely to stick around.
  • San Jose State offensive lineman Ryan Jones didn’t pass his physical with the Ravens, tweets Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun. Wilson adds that the undrafted player had foot surgery last year.
  • Michigan running back Fitz Toussaint will join the Ravens for rookie minicamp on a tryout basis, tweets Wilson.
  • The Ravens didn’t address their need at offensive tackle in the draft and now need to look at help internally or in free agency, writes Ryan Mink of BaltimoreRavens.com. Mink suggests veteran Eric Winston, who played for Raven Offensive Coordinator Gary Kubiak in Houston.

Draft Notes: Bortles, Askew, Mauro, Ward

April 29th, 2014 at 8:55am CST by Luke Adams

As we saw last month, a handful of the more successful and shrewder NFL franchises approach free agency with the draft in mind, writes Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. As La Canfora writes, many clubs are more inclined to pursue free agents like Darrelle Revis, DeMarcus Ware, Steve Smith, and Julius Peppers, who were released by their previous teams, since those players aren’t linked to compensatory draft picks.

This approach also explains why the Ravens, who signed Smith after he was cut by the Panthers, were willing to give up a fifth-round pick to acquire Jeremy Zuttah — given how many compensatory picks Baltimore typically lands (a league-high 41 since 1996), the team should easily replace that fifth-rounder after letting notable free agents like Arthur Jones and Michael Oher depart.

Here’s a little more from La Canfora’s piece, as well as a few other draft notes from around the league:

  • La Canfora makes a couple draft-related predictions, forecasting a cornerback run in the first round (sometime in the 20s), and suggesting that drafted players may sign contracts more quickly this year than usual, since teams will be eager to address that business after waiting an extra two weeks for the draft.
  • Peter King of TheMMQB.com doesn’t expect Blake Bortles to still be available when the Vikings pick at No. 8 next week, but he sees Bortles as an ideal fit for Minnesota and offensive coordinator Norv Turner. King identifies the Texans and Browns as a couple teams that could snatch up the UCF signal-caller before the Vikings are on the clock.
  • Speedy Texas A&M linebacker Nate Askew, a converted receiver, has drawn “steady interest from NFL teams,” according to Aaron Wilson of the National Post, who reports that Askew visited the Panthers and Buccaneers. Wilson adds that the linebacker, who recorded a 4.46 time in the 40-yard dash, also worked out privately for the Falcons, Eagles, and the Texans.
  • Wilson also provides an update on Stanford defensive lineman Josh Mauro, who visited the Giants and worked out privately for the Cowboys, Raiders, and Falcons.
  • We heard earlier in the month that Northern Illinois’ Jimmie Ward paid a pre-draft visit to the Ravens, but according to ESPN.com’s Adam Caplan (Twitter link), Baltimore was just one of 12 teams to host the safety. The Falcons, Panthers, and Cowboys were among the other teams Ward visited.
  • Arizona State defensive back Alden Darby has worked out for the Patriots, Falcons, and Chargers, and still has a workout with the Raiders on the docket, tweets Doug Haller of AZCentral.com.