HEADLINES

Kellen Moore

Sunday NFL Transactions: NFC East

September 6th, 2015 at 4:28pm CST by Luke Adams

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 Washington 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 NFC East transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:

Dallas Cowboys

  • Acquired via trade:
    • RB Christine Michael, from Seahawks (link)
  • Cut:
  • Signed to practice squad:

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Claimed off waivers:
    • QB Stephen Morris (link)
  • Signed to practice squad (via press release)

    • T Brett Boyko (Twitter link via Adam Caplan)
    • G Malcolm Bunche
    • CB Randall Evans (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson)
    • WR Freddie Martino
    • DE Brian Mihalik
    • RB Raheem Mostert (Twitter link via Brett Tessler)
    • TE Chris Pantale
    • WR Quron Pratt
    • S Ed Reynolds (Twitter link via Caplan)
    • LB Deontae Skinner (Twitter link via Tony Pauline)

Washington

Lions Reach 53-Man Roster

September 5th, 2015 at 6:25pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Lions slashed their roster to the 53-man regular-season limit and included a couple of notable names in their cuts.

Veteran defensive lineman Corey Wootton did not make the roster after joining the Lions this offseason. The 28-year-old made 22 starts for the Bears in 2012-13 before serving as a Vikings backup last season.

To make room for Zach Zenner and Tim Wright, respectively, Detroit waived George Winn and Joseph Fauria. After releasing former Boise State star Kellen Moore, the Lions also will go into a season with just two quarterbacks for the first time since 2009.

The remainder of Detroit’s cuts are as follows:

  • Al Bond, OL
  • Crezdon Butler, DB
  • Braxston Cave, OL
  • Jermelle Cudjo, DL
  • Kerry Hyder, DL
  • Emil Igwenagu, RB
  • Isaiah Johnson, DB
  • Joe Madsen, OL
  • Nate Ness, DB
  • Casey Pierce, TE
  • Xavier Proctor, OL
  • Jeremy Ross, WR
  • Greg Salas, WR (placed on IR)
  • Julian Stanford, LB
  • Brian Suite, DB
  • Larry Webster, DL
  • Torrian Wilson, OL
  • Jerel Worthy, DL

Lions Release Kellen Moore, Joseph Fauria

September 5th, 2015 at 11:53am CST by Ben Levine

The Lions will release quarterback Kellen Moore and tight end Joseph Fauria, reports ESPN.com’s Field Yates (via Twitter).

Moore, 25, re-signed with the Lions for two years this past offseason. The three-year veteran has yet to make an appearance in the NFL. The move will save the Lions close to $490K, but they’ll also be stuck with $340K in dead money. The move leaves the team with Matthew Stafford and Dan Orlovsky as the lone quarterbacks on the roster.

Fauria, undrafted out of UCLA in 2013, has compiled 24 catches for 281 yards and eight touchdowns during his career. Last year, a late-season ankle injury landed the 25-year-old on the injured reserve. The move will save the team $585, and they’ll only have about $4K in dead money.

North Notes: A.J. Green, K. Moore, Broyles

August 30th, 2015 at 12:08pm CST by Rory Parks

Four elite wide receivers–Dez Bryant, Demaryius Thomas, Julio Jones, and A.J. Green–entered this offseason hoping to sign lucrative extensions with their respective clubs. After Jones inked a five-year extension with Atlanta yesterday, Green is the only member of that group still looking for a long-term deal that will guarantee him $40-50MM and allow him to avoid the possibility of the franchise tag next year. Green didn’t have much to say on how the Jones deal will impact him personally, but per Paul Dehner, Jr. of The Cincinnati Enquirer, Green just got one step closer to his own big payday from the Bengals.

“We will see,” Green said. “If it happens, it happens. If it don’t I’ll go out there and play. We’ll see. All the receivers are getting bank so we will see if I get there.”

Now for some more links from the league’s north divisions:

  • In a pair of tweets, Dehner openly wonders how the Bengals will resolve their defensive line situation. At the moment, Cincinnati has 14 defensive linemen on the roster, and Dehner wonders if the team will keep as many as 10–which would be an extraordinarily high number–and if someone like Margus Hunt could get cut. The Bengals could also seek to trade some of their D-line depth.
  • The Ravens entered training camp looking for someone to step up and seize the return specialist job after the team parted ways with Jacoby Jones this offseason. Asa Jackson has gotten the most opportunities to do so, but as Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun writes, Jackson had an uneven game against Washington last night, returning a kickoff 103 yards to the Washington 2-yard line but also fumbling away a punt he had no business fielding. Head coach John Harbaugh said he still can’t handicap the return man competition.
  • With injuries to promising young players Breshad Perriman and Michael Campanaro keeping them out of action, Bo Smolka of CSNBaltimore.com writes that the Ravens are still looking for someone to grab the No. 2 receiver spot behind Steve Smith, Sr. Players like Kamar Aiken and Marlon Brown have not been especially impressive in the preseason, which probably explains why the team was linked to veteran wideouts last week.
  • Brad Biggs of The Chicago Tribune writes that last night’s preseason debacle against Cleveland proves just how thin the Bears‘ roster really is. He notes that the team will be flush with salary cap room after the 2015 season but will have too many holes to fill to rely on free agency. Biggs says the Bears’ only option is to draft their way out of their current predicament, and that it will take two or three strong draft classes to do so.
  • When the Lions signed quarterback Kellen Moore to a two-year extension this offseason, they hoped he would take another step forward in his development, challenging for and potentially winning the backup quarterback job. Instead, as Justin Rogers of MLive.com writes, Moore has been outplayed by veteran Dan Orlovsky and is now in danger of being cut.
  • Kyle Meinke of MLive.com believes Ryan Broyles is one of the tough cuts the Lions will be forced to make this week.

 

Lions Re-Sign Kellen Moore

March 6th, 2015 at 12:11pm CST by Luke Adams

A few days after finalizing a deal to bring back one of Matthew Stafford‘s backups, the Lions have officially locked up the other one. Per Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com, the club has re-signed third-string quarterback Kellen Moore to a two-year contract.

Moore, 25, didn’t come close to appearing in a regular-season game for the Lions in 2014, and has yet to appear in a game during his three-year NFL career. However, the team was likely impressed by his performance during the preseason last year — Moore completed 35 of 51 passes for 361 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions during those exhibition games, with a passer rating of 108.4.

If Stafford were to go down with an injury, Dan Orlovsky, who inked a new deal with the Lions earlier this week, would likely be first in line to replace him. However, the club was willing to carry three quarterbacks for the entire 2014 season, so there’s no reason to think Moore doesn’t have a good chance to make the roster once again in 2015.

Moore had been eligible for restricted free agency.

NFC Updates: Beckham, Romo, Moore

February 22nd, 2015 at 1:04pm CST by Sam Robinson

After the Pro Bowl, offensive rookie of the year Odell Beckham attempted to elevate his already-astounding rookie season in NFL lore by saying he played with two torn hamstrings. But Giants GM Jerry Reese debates the validity of Beckham’s diagnosis, Newsday’s Tom Rock reports.

“I don’t know about that,” Reese told Newsday. “I think he’s trying to be a hero. I don’t think you can play with two [tears in your] hamstring and run fast like that. … I think our doctors would’ve caught that.”

Reese said Beckham would not have been permitted to play in the Pro Bowl with two torn hamstrings.

Despite playing on the outside at 5-foot-11, 198 pounds, Beckham managed to catch 12 touchdowns in 12 games while averaging more than 100 yards per contest. The LSU product did miss the first four games of the season due to hamstring issues, re-injuring himself multiple times before making his debut in Week 5. Obviously, everyone heals at their own rate, but Beckham being able to accomplish anything resembling what he did in his debut season doesn’t depict a torn hamstring. Seahawks defensive tackle Brandon Mebane tore his hamstring in November and missed the rest of last season. Then-Buccaneers wideout Mike Williams tore his in October 2013 and missed the rest of that campaign.

If Reese’s judgment is closer to correct than Beckham’s, the slight hit to the young receiver’s credibility will be offset by a healthier superstar in a corps dealing with a rehabilitating Victor Cruz (knee).

  • Cowboys owner Jerry Jones provided an expanded indication to how long Tony Romo‘s time leading the franchise will be, according to the DallasCowboys.com. Despite Romo entering his age-35 season, Jones is planning moves around the thought his quarterback will play until the end of the decade. “I feel very comfortable … with a five-year time frame,” Jones said via the team website. “When I say comfortable: I’m ready to make decisions based on him being our quarterback that far into the future.” Last year’s leader in QBR, Romo is now the league’s fifth-oldest starting quarterback, behind Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Carson Palmer.
  • Jones also told the Cowboys site Romo he’s open to restructuring Romo’s contract, which has a $27MM cap hit this season. It more than doubles the Cowboys’ second-highest figure of left tackle Tyron Smith. “We haven’t ruled it out,” Jones told DallasCowboys.com about the possibility of restructuring. “When we did his contract, we thought at some point and time that we would be going to it.”
  • A much younger quarterback won’t be offered a restricted free agent tender, putting his future in question. But Kellen Moore may have a chance to return to the Lions and be their backup quarterback, GM Martin Mayhew told the Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett. Veteran Dan Orlovsky is a free agent, and Moore, a 25-year-old undrafted free agent out of Boise State in 2012, completed 68.6% of his preseason passes in 2014.

Lions Notes: RFAs, Suh, Jones, Prater, Mathis

February 20th, 2015 at 8:05am CST by Luke Adams

The Lions have four free agents who are set to be either restricted or exclusive rights FAs this offseason, and general manager Martin Mayhew addressed the club’s plans for all four players today in a conversation with Detroit reporters. According to Mayhew, the Lions will tender RFA defensive end George Johnson a contract, but won’t tender offers to Kellen Moore and Josh Bynes, though the team would like to re-sign Moore at a lesser rate. As for the lone ERFA on the roster, Mayhew said that Jeremy Ross will return to the club for 2015 (Twitter links via Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com).

Here are a few more Lions-related tidbits:

  • A league source told Rand Getlin of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link) that the Lions are optimistic that they’ll be able to keep defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh in Detroit. Of course, that has been the club’s public stance for some time now, but it sounds like the team is privately confident as well.
  • Defensive end Jason Jones, who will count for nearly $4MM against the cap in 2015, will return to the Lions and his contract won’t be adjusted, according to Mayhew (Twitter link via Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com).
  • Mayhew is meeting with the agent for prospective free agent Matt Prater tonight in Indianapolis and hopes to figure something out, as he believes Prater can be a Pro Bowl kicker (Twitter link via Twentyman).
  • The general manager added that he hopes to bring back cornerback Rashean Mathis for the 2015 season, and praised Mathis’ “position versatility” (Twitter link via Twentyman).

FA Notes: Welker, Panthers, Lions, Eagles

January 12th, 2015 at 10:48pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Let’s look at some news regarding free-agents-to-be…

  • Broncos wide receiver Wes Welker told reporters, including Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post (on Twitter), that he’s not sure if he wants to return to the Broncos next season. “I don’t know. There’s a lot of things I need to figure out,” the veteran said. Back in November it was reported that several former teammates would like to see him walk away from the game altogether for the sake of his long-term health.
  • Assuming the Panthers don’t pursue Greg Hardy after the completion of his Feb. 9th domestic violence trial, their biggest decision will be whether to re-sign left tackle Byron Bell, writes ESPN.com’s David Newton. Bell has had an up-and-down season, but odds are Carolina won’t find a high-level left tackle in the draft at pick No. 25. Besides, the Panthers have other needs they might want to address with their first round selection. Carolina could use a speed receiver, a return specialist, a cover corner, and a defensive lineman.
  • Stephen Hill says he’d like to return to the Panthers next year, per Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter) Based on coach Ron Rivera‘s comments last week, it sounds like the team wants him back as well.
  • The Lions have several free agents to address, including backup quarterback Kellen Moore, who tells Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com that he’d like to return to the Motor City next season. Moore, 25, has yet to take an NFL snap.
  • The Eagles have a lot of decisions to make about their upcoming free agents. In part one of a six part series, Reuben Frank and Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com look at a handful of the Eagles – from Emmanuel Acho to Matt Barkley – who can leave this offseason.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

NFC Links: Giants, Lions, Packers

June 30th, 2014 at 2:28pm CST by Ben Levine

Eli Manning was the most overpaid NFL player during the 2013 season, at least according to Nathan Jahnke of Pro Football Focus (ESPN Insider subscription required). The Giants’ 57.5 accuracy percentage was the second-worst in the league (behind the Raiders‘ Matt McGloin), and his 27 interceptions were the most by a quarterback in nearly ten years. The writer utilized the “Jahnke Valuation Model” – a formula that measures a player’s potential salary based on production – and came to the conclusion that Manning deserved about $5.4MM. That’s a far cry from his 2013 cap hit of $20.8MM.

Second on the list also came from the NFC, albeit on the defensive side of the ball. Rams linebacker James Laurinaitis earned this honor, even though he compiled 116 tackles last season. Jahnke points to the player’s 13 missed tackles and estimates he should have earned about $1.3MM – a more than $11MM difference from his $12.4MM cap hit.

Three other NFC players – Falcons wideout Roddy White, Buccaneers safety Dashon Goldson and Vikings running back Adrian Peterson – made this list. For the AFC, Jets linebacker David Harris led the way, followed by Raiders quarterback Matt Schaub, Texans cornerback Johnathan Joseph, Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor and Bills defensive end Mario Williams.

Let’s see what else is going on around the NFC…

  • Giants wideout Odell Beckham Jr. and Bears defensive tackle Ego Ferguson were previously represented by the Morgan Advisory Group’s Ryan Morgan & Zeke Sandhu. However, as Sports Business Journal’s Liz Mullen points out (via Twitter), the two players are now unaffiliated with MAG and are only represented by Sandhu.
  • History suggests that Lions head coach Jim Caldwell will only carry two quarterbacks, writes Justin Rogers of MLive.com. In his ten seasons with the Colts, Caldwell carried a trio of quarterbacks four times, including the 2011 season when he held on to an injured Peyton Manning. The competition is likely between veterans Dan Orlovsky and Kellen Moore, as well as rookie James Franklin. As Rogers notes, Franklin could stick around on the practice squad.
  • 12 linebackers were taken ahead of Packers rookie Carl Bradford, and Tyler Dunne of the Journal Sentinel writes that the player won’t forget about those taken in front of him. “I keep track of it, man,” Bradford said. “And I use that as motivation…We’ll see where I land at the end of all this.”

North Notes: Browns, West, Lions, Steelers

June 11th, 2014 at 3:26pm CST by Luke Adams

We rounded up a few notes on the Bengals earlier today, but there’s plenty more happening within Cincinnati’s division, and across the way in the NFC North. Let’s check in on the NFL’s two North divisions and round up the latest…

  • Half of the NFL’s 32 teams have locked up all their 2014 draft picks to rookie contracts, but coming into today, the Browns had only signed two of their six draftees. However, third-rounder Terrance West appears to have become the third player to put pen to paper for Cleveland — the former Towson running back posted a photo on Instagram today that shows him signing his deal, with the caption announcing he’s “officially a Cleveland Brown.”
  • Kellen Moore says he’s “certainly” ready to be the Lions’ No. 2 quarterback if given the opportunity, but the team’s offseason search for an alternative option clouds Moore’s future in Detroit, writes Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.
  • Before addressing a few questions from readers, Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette discusses Jason Worilds, Maurkice Pouncey, and the Steelers‘ remaining unsigned draft picks. It may take some time for the club to sign second- and third-round picks Stephon Tuitt and Dri Archer, says Bouchette, though he adds that there’s no concern about either player.
Load More Posts