Kapri Bibbs

NFL Workout Updates: 11/9/17

Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account:

New England Patriots

Los Angeles Rams

  • LB Zach Vigil (Friday) (link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle)

San Francisco 49ers

Washington Redskins

NFL Workout Updates: 10/10/17

Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account unless otherwise noted:

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Oakland Raiders

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFL Workout Updates: 10/3/17

Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account unless otherwise noted:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Cleveland Browns

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Rams

  • P Brock Miller (link)

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Redskins

49ers Release Tim Hightower, Kapri Bibbs

The 49ers have released running back Tim Hightower, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com. The team also cut fellow RB Kapri Bibbs, per Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee.

Hightower signed with the 49ers in April after spending the previous two seasons serving as Mark Ingram‘s backup on the Saints. 2016 was a bounce-back season for Hightower, who appeared in all 16 games for the first time since 2010 and totaled 748 yards (548 rushing, 200 receiving) and five touchdowns (four on the ground, one through the air). Prior to that, Hightower was effectively out of the NFL from 2012-2015, which represented a notable fall from grace for someone who had been a dependable rusher for the Cardinals early in his career.

San Francisco sent the 177th pick in this year’s draft to Denver for Bibbs and a fourth-rounder in 2018 during the spring, but the ball carrier failed to make his mark in the Bay Area. Bibbs wasn’t much of a factor as a rusher as a member of the Broncos, as he only totaled 29 carries, but he was a reliable special teamer with the club.

Thanks to the cuts of Hightower and Bibbs, the 49ers are set to lean on Matt Breida, Raheem Mostert and rookie Joe Williams behind Carlos Hyde.

49ers Acquire 177th Pick From Broncos

The 49ers have made yet another draft trade. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter), San Francisco has acquired pick #177 from the Broncos. Running back Kapri Bibbs will also be headed to the 49ers. In return, Denver will be receiving a 2018 fourth-rounder from the 49ers.

Bibbs, a former undrafted free agent out of Colorado State, spent the past three seasons in Denver. In 13 career games, the running back rushed for 129 yards on 29 carries. He also added another two receptions for 75 yards and one touchdown.

Minor NFL Transactions: 4/6/17

Here are today’s minor moves.

  • The Jets signed tight end Brian Parker, per a team announcement. This will be Parker’s second stint with the Jets, who initially employed him for two days last year before cutting him because of a failed physical. Parker entered the league in 2015 as a Chargers UDFA addition.
  • The Redskins signed former Bears offensive tackle John Kling, according to a source who spoke with Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle (on Twitter).
  • Swing tackle Chris Hubbard signed his Steelers RFA tender, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). He will make $1.8MM as the Steelers’ presumptive No. 3 tackle in 2017 behind Alejandro Villanueva and Marcus Gilbert. Hubbard will enter his fourth season with the Steelers. He started the first four games of his career last season.
  • Broncos contributors Bennie Fowler and Kabri Bibbs signed their ERFA tenders, Cameron Wolfe of the Denver Post tweets. A fourth-year running back, Bibbs will continue to vie for a backfield job after seeing some time last season after C.J. Anderson went down. A third-year wide receiver, Fowler resides in the glut of auxiliary pass-catchers that sits beneath Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders in Denver’s aerial hierarchy.

RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/7/17

Unrestricted free agent news will obviously dominate the day, but several clubs also had to make decisions on whether to offer tenders to restricted and exclusive rights free agents. All RFA tenders listed are original round/right of first refusal (worth $1.797MM), and all links go to Twitter:

RFAs:

Tendered:

Non-Tendered:

ERFAs:

Tendered:

Non-Tendered:

Broncos Place Kapri Bibbs On IR

As expected, the Broncos have placed Kapri Bibbs on injured reserve. The team’s signing of Justin Forsett earlier today was a pretty good indication that Bibbs was done for the year. Kapri Bibbs (vertical)

[RELATED: Broncos Add RB Justin Forsett]

Bibbs’ left ankle was actually diagnosed as 2-to-4 week injury, Mike Klis of 9News tweets. However, the team needed his roster spot. Ultimately, the team needed to have at least three running backs available and they could not afford to wait for Bibbs return. Now, they have the newly-acquired Justin Forsett to back up Devontae Booker and Juwan Thompson.

Bibbs, a Colorado State product, appeared in 12 games for Denver this year. In his reserve role, the tailback had 29 carries for 129 yards. He also added two catches for 75 yards and one score.

Broncos Claim RB Justin Forsett Off Waivers

The Broncos have claimed running back Justin Forsett off waivers, according to a source who spoke with Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The move once again reunited Forsett with coach Gary Kubiak.Justin Forsett (vertical)

The Broncos were in the market for a running back after losing Kapri Bibbs to injury. Now, Forsett will provide veteran help behind Devontae Booker and Juwan Thompson. Bibbs suffered a high ankle sprain this weekend and the Forsett deal is probably an indication that he’s facing a multi-game absence.

Forsett, 31, was dropped by Detroit over the weekend. Forsett had not played in a game since October and has just 136 rushing yards (on 3.1 per carry) this season. A journeyman for most of his career, Forsett broke out in 2014 with 1,266 yards, eight rushing touchdowns, and 44 receptions (all career highs) in 2014. Unfortunately, he has been unable to replicate those numbers ever since.

Needless to say, expectations have been scaled down for Forsett. If he can be a solid change-of-pace back for the Broncos down the stretch and help guide the team’s younger tailbacks, the Broncos will be happy with the acquisition.

Ronnie Hillman Might Not Make Broncos

Running back Ronnie Hillman has been a productive member of the Broncos’ offense during his four-year career – particularly over the previous two seasons – but he’s currently fighting for a roster spot, according to Mike Klis of 9News. With C.J. Anderson entrenched as the Broncos’ go-to rusher, the speedy Hillman is left to vie for playing time with fourth-round rookie Devontae Booker and third-year man Kapri Bibbs. Booker seems like a lock to make the team, which could force one of Hillman or Bibbs out of Denver.

Ronnie Hillman

“He’s in a hell of a battle with Kapri and Booker right now,” head coach Gary Kubiak said of Hillman. “There’s no way around that. I’m just being honest with you.”

How Hillman fares on special teams during the preseason, including in their upcoming tilt against the 49ers, could determine whether he sticks in Denver.

“Special teams will be really important,” stated Kubiak. “Ronnie is going to play a lot this week and he’s going to play some special teams, so it’s a very competitive situation.”

That will represent a new challenge for Hillman, who was only on the field for two of the Broncos’ special teams snaps last year and none in 2014. On the other hand, the 2012 third-round pick paced their running backs in offensive snaps (524) during the 2015 regular season (notably, Bibbs finished with zero). He also led the team’s rushers in starts (11), attempts (207), yards (863) and touchdowns (seven). Hillman wasn’t exactly integral during the Broncos’ Super Bowl-winning playoff run, though, as he rushed for 54 yards on 32 carries in their three victories. Anderson had as many carries (54) in that stretch as Hillman did yards, and the former racked up between 72 and 90 yards in all three games.

In the offseason, Anderson signed a four-year, $18MM offer sheet with the Dolphins as a restricted free agent, but the Broncos matched it. A month later, they re-upped Hillman on a one-year, $2MM deal with $600K in guarantees. That modest contract won’t be remotely difficult for the Broncos to escape if they want to, and it appears that could happen in the coming weeks.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.