HEADLINES

Justin Staples

Minor Moves: Thursday

November 20th, 2014 at 4:10pm CST by Luke Adams

We’ll keep tabs on Thursday’s minor transactions, including practice squad signings and cuts, in this post, with the latest updates added to the top of the list throughout the day:

  • The Bills have made a change to their 53-man roster, claiming tight end MarQueis Gray off waivers and cutting running back Phillip Tanner to make room, tweets Mike Rodak of ESPN.com. Gray was cut yesterday by the Vikings to accommodate the team’s waiver claim of Ben Tate.

Earlier updates:

  • A pair of players recently cut from their respective teams’ active rosters have re-signed to those clubs’ practice squads. Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times reports (via Twitter) that safety Steven Terrell is back with the Seahawks‘ taxi squad, while Mike Triplett of ESPN.com tweets that running back Edwin Baker has rejoined the Saints‘ unit. Tauren Poole was cut from the Saints’ practice squad in a corresponding move.
  • After carrying an empty spot on their 53-man roster for a couple days, the Titans have filled it by promoting linebacker Justin Staples from their practice squad, the team announced today (Twitter link). Staples, who was cut by the Browns prior to Week 1, had been on the Titans’ practice squad since mid-September. The team has signed linebacker Yawin Smallwood, who was selected by the Falcons in May’s draft, to replace Staples on the taxi squad.

Titans Sign James Anderson; Brown To IR

September 16th, 2014 at 4:13pm CST by Luke Adams

The Titans have agreed to terms with free agent linebacker James Anderson, the team announced today (via Twitter). Anderson takes the 53-man roster spot vacated by fellow linebacker Zach Brown, who has been placed on injured reserve, ending his season.

Anderson, 30, was one of the more notable veteran linebackers on the market, having started all 16 games last season for the Bears. While Pro Football Focus’ metrics (subscription required) ranked Anderson 33rd out of 35 qualified 4-3 outside linebackers in 2013, his poor grade was due in large part to subpar performance against the run — he was one of the league’s more effective linebackers in pass coverage.

Anderson, a former third-round pick who also accumulated 102 tackles and four quarterback sacks, signed with the Pats in the offseason, but was cut during the preseason, and was one of several linebackers who worked out last week for the Titans. As for Brown, he suffered a torn pectoral muscle during Tennessee’s Week 1 game against the Chiefs.

Besides swapping in one linebacker for another on the 53-man roster, the Titans did the same on their practice squad. According to the club (via Twitter), Justin Staples has been added to the taxi squad, replacing Brandon Copeland.

Audition Notes: Titans, Giants

September 14th, 2014 at 4:41pm CST by Dallas Robinson

As we approach halftime of the late afternoon contests, we have a couple audition notes to pass along:

Rory Parks contributed to this post.

AFC Notes: Spiller, Brown, Patterson

September 10th, 2014 at 9:15pm CST by Luke Adams

Heading into Week 2, Raiders coach Dennis Allen is expecting to see a significant step forward from rookie quarterback Derek Carr, writes Nate Stuhlbarg of CSNBayArea.com. “He’s got a tremendous skill set,” Allen said. “And he’s going to do nothing but get better the more opportunity he gets.” Last week, Carr threw for two touchdowns on 20-of-32 passing accuracy against the Jets. Here’s more from the AFC..

  • We heard yesterday that the Bills and C.J. Spiller‘s reps have discussed a new contract for the running back, but a source tells Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (TwitLonger link) that those talks were just “introductory and preliminary” in nature, with no actual numbers exchanged. Still, the club would like to get something done with Spiller before the end of the league year in March.
  • While there had been some hope that linebacker Zach Brown could be placed on injured reserve with the designation to return, it appears he’ll head straight to IR, ending his season, Titans head coach Ken Whisenhunt said today (Twitter link via Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com). With Brown no longer in the mix for this year, the Titans are working out free agent linebacker Justin Staples this Friday, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
  • An explosive wide receiver like Cordarrelle Patterson would look good on the Patriots‘ roster, and New England had an opportunity to draft him in 2013, but ultimately traded the first-round pick for four lower selections. With a matchup against the Vikings on this weekend’s slate, Pats head coach Bill Belichick said today that he has no regrets about the trade that landed Patterson in Minnesota, as Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune details.

Browns Sign Gerell Robinson, Cut Two Players

September 9th, 2014 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

The Browns have added a pair of players to their 53-man roster, announcing today that they’ve signed tight end Gerell Robinson and activated wideout Marlon Moore from the reserve-suspended list (Twitter link). To make room for the incoming players, Cleveland has waived offensive lineman Ryan Seymour and released cornerback Aaron Berry.

Robinson had been on the Broncos’ practice squad, making him the latest player to make the move from Denver’s practice squad to Cleveland’s active roster. Offensive lineman Vinston Painter made the same jump a week ago. As for Moore, he has served his one-game suspension, but it’s hard to tell where he’ll fit in even on a Browns receiving corps that’s missing Josh Gordon. The 27-year-old has caught just 19 passes in four NFL seasons.

In addition to the changes made to their 53-man roster, the Browns also shuffled their practice squad, according to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal, who tweets that linebacker Justin Staples was cut to make room for wideout Ifeanyi Momah.

Practice Squad Updates: Monday

September 1st, 2014 at 6:33pm CST by Luke Adams

We rounded up the first wave of practice squad additions in a series of posts by division yesterday, which you can check out on our Transactions page. Several more teams have announced new practice squad players today, or made slight changes to their units, so we’ll round up that news right here:

6:33pm:

  • The 49ers have filled out their practice squad by adding cornerback Chance Casey and running back Kendall Gaskins, the team announced in a press release.

4:37pm:

  • The Browns have added wide receiver Charles Johnson and offensive lineman Karim Barton to their practice squad, according to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal (via Twitter).
  • Cornerback Khalid Wooten will be the 10th man on the Titans‘ practice squad, tweets Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean.

4:07pm:

  • The Seahawks have added defensive end Julius Warmsley and defensive back Josh Aubrey to their practice squad, tweets Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times.
  • The Redskins have finalized their practice squad by adding safety Akeem Davis and linebacker Chaz Sutton, the club announced today (Twitter link).
  • Cornerback LeQuan Lewis has been added to the Jets‘ practice squad, according to the team (via Twitter).

2:46pm:

  • The Rams have finalized their practice squad by adding linebacker Denicos Allen, wideout Emory Blake, safety Christian Bryant, and quarterback Garrett Gilbert, per Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter). That means Michael Sam isn’t among the 10 players on St. Louis’ squad.
  • The addition of Henry Josey to the Jaguars‘ practice squad has officially been announced by the team in a press release. We had noted below that although his signing had been previously reported, Josey wasn’t among the first list of names released by the club.
  • The Ravens have announced the signing of offensive lineman Marcel Jones to their practice squad, tweets Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun.

1:31pm:

  • The following players are now on the Browns‘ practice squad: James Brown, OL; Jacobbi McDaniel, DL; Emmanuel Ogbuehi, TE; Keith Pough, LB; Justin Staples, LB; and Patrick Lewis, C. The first five names are listed on the team’s official site, while the addition of Lewis was reported by Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
  • Alex Gillett‘s time on the Packers‘ practice squad didn’t last long — he was replaced today by cornerback Jumal Rolle, tweets Pete Dougherty of the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
  • The Buccaneers have signed safety Kimario McFadden, cornerback Derrius Brooks, and linebacker Carlos Fields to their practice squad, according to the team’s official site.
  • Katherine Terrell of the New Orleans Times-Picayune provides the last few names to be added to the Saints‘ practice squad: safety Pierre Warren, guard Antoine McClain, nose tackle Lawrence Virgil, and tight end Nic Jacobs.
  • The Eagles have signed quarterback G.J. Kinne for their practice squad, per the team’s official site.
  • Fullback Nikita Whitlock is the latest addition to the Cowboys‘ practice squad, the team announced today.
  • The Vikings filled the final spot on their practice squad by adding cornerback Chris Greenwood, says Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
  • Defensive end Zach Thompson is now on the Broncos‘ practice squad, according to the club.
  • The Chiefs filled the final opening on their practice squad by signing defensive tackle Hebron Fangupo, reports Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star (via Twitter).
  • Wide receiver Freddie Martino and tight end Kyle Miller have joined the Falcons‘ practice squad, per the team’s official site.
  • One more housekeeping note: Yesterday, running back Henry Josey and fullback Kiero Small were reported as having joined the Jaguars‘ and Browns‘ practice squads, respectively. However, when those teams announced their PS rosters, those players weren’t included. There haven’t been any reports indicating those agreements fell through, so we’ll keep an eye on both situations. For now though, we won’t be including those players in our master list of practice squad rosters, which will be published this afternoon.

Browns Cut Nate Burleson, Others

August 30th, 2014 at 5:31pm CST by Ben Levine

5:31pm: The Browns have confirmed the previous roster moves noted below in this post, and have announced their other 14 moves to reach the 53-man roster limit. Here’s the list of players cut from the active roster:

Additionally, Josh Gordon and Marlon Moore have been placed on the reserve-suspended list.

1:20pm: The Browns have also let go of their third-round pick from last season, among other players:

10:00am: The Browns have released veteran wide receiver Nate Burleson, Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot reports on Twitter. The 33-year-old signed with Cleveland in April after having spent the past four seasons with the Lions.

It wasn’t a sure thing that the veteran would make the roster, considering he’s only appeared in 15 games over the past two years. Burleson also hinted that he was considering retiring following the 2014 season. However, at the very least, Burleson was expected to be a veteran leader to the team’s group of young wideouts. As Brian McIntyre tweets, $285K of Burleson’s base salary is full guaranteed.

The Browns will also let go of running back Chris Ogbonnaya, according to Cabot (via Twitter). The 28-year-old has compiled 130 carries since joining the Browns in 2011.

The rest of the Browns moves will be listed below: