Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account:
Carolina Panthers
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
Indianapolis Colts
New Orleans Saints
Philadelphia Eagles
The Titans have announced their final 53-man roster, moving from the 90-man limit down to the regular-season standard on Saturday. Here’s who Tennessee cut to get down to 53 (via Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com).
Cut:
Waived/injured:
Placed on IR:
Today’s minor moves:
Given that the Saints first-round rookie Sheldon Rankins will be out for six-to-eight weeks after suffering a broken fibula, New Orleans could look to the free agent market to augment a defensive line interior that currently includes John Jenkins, Nick Fairley, C.J. Wilson, and Tyeler Davison. One potential replacement — Tony McDaniel — came off the board this weekend when he signed a deal with the Seahawks, but Cullen Jenkins, Henry Melton, C.J. Mosley, and Sammie Lee Hill are among the veteran options that could be on the Saints’ radar, as Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com suggests. One other candidate, from my vantage point, might be former Brown Randy Starks, whom Pro Football Focus assigned the highest grade among unsigned interior defenders.
Here’s more from the NFL’s South divisions:
Now that the 2015 regular season is in the books, teams can begin signing players to reserve/futures contracts, adding those players to their 90-man offseason rosters. Generally, these players finished the season on a team’s practice squad, though some were free agents at season’s end.
Here are today’s reserve/futures deals:
Atlanta Falcons signed four players (Twitter link via Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com)
Baltimore Ravens signed seven players (Twitter link via Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun):
Buffalo Bills signed seven players (Twitter link via Mike Rodak of ESPN.com)
Chicago Bears signed nine players (Twitter link via Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune):
Cleveland Browns signed six players (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle)
Dallas Cowboys signed eight players (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle)
Denver Broncos signed four players (Twitter link via Mike Klis of 9NEWS)
Detroit Lions signed five players (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle)
Jacksonville Jaguars signed nine players (Twitter link via Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union):
Miami Dolphins signed one player (link)
New Orleans Saints signed five players (link via Evan Woodbery of the Times-Picayune):
New York Giants signed six players (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle)
Philadelphia Eagles signed seven players (Twitter link via team):
San Diego Chargers signed six players (Twitter link via Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego)
Seattle Seahawks signed three players (Twitter link via Wilson)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed nine players (link via Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times):
Tennessee Titans signed five players (Twitter link via Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com):
Washington signs three players (link via team):
Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four AFC South 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 Texans, Colts, Jaguars, and Titans are noted below.
Additionally, as of 11:00am 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 South transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:
The Titans have confirmed the previously-reported releases of wide receiver Hakeem Nicks and offensive tackle Byron Stingily, and have announced 10 more moves, which reduce their roster count to 53 players.
Here are Tennessee’s roster moves, per a team release:
Waived:
Placed on injured reserve:
With Nicks, Ford, McBride, and Richardson no longer on the roster, Tennessee will start the year with just four wide receivers, barring further moves.
SUNDAY, 4:19pm: The Titans have also signed Middle Tennessee State University running back Reggie Whatley, per Wyatt (Twitter link).
SATURDAY, 9:09pm: The Titans have reached agreements with a dozen undrafted free agents, according to Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean. Here’s the full list:
Peter King of The MMQB doesn’t believe in mock drafts, but today he gave us his “best guess” draft. Going by “the look in coach Ken Whisenhunt’s eyes when he talked about the pick last week at the league meetings,” King projects that the Titans will take Marcus Mariota at No. 2 after Jameis Winston is taken with the top pick. After that, he rounds out the top five with the Jaguars taking Florida outside linebacker Dante Fowler at No. 3, the Raiders selecting USC defensive tackle Leonard Williams at No. 4, and Washington taking West Virginia wide receiver Kevin White at No. 5, before trading him to the Rams for the No. 10 and 72 picks. Here’s a look at today’s draft news..