HEADLINES

Kenneth Boatright

Cowboys Down To 75-Man Roster

September 1st, 2015 at 2:22pm CST by Zachary Links

The Cowboys made a number of moves on Tuesday afternoon to get down to a 75-man roster. The full list is presented below, courtesy of DallasCowboys.com’s David Helman (Twitter links):

Waived:

  • Brandon Barden, TE
  • Jonathan Brown, LB
  • Antwan Goodley, WR
  • David Porter, WR

Waived/Injured:

  • Ken Boatright, DE
  • R.J Dill, OT
  • Michael Hill, RB

Placed on IR:

  • Orlando Scandrick, CB

NFI List:

  • Mark Nzeocha, LB

Scandrick tore his ACL in late August, ruling him out for the 2015 season. It was a big loss for Dallas as he ranked as the 10th-best cornerback in the NFL in 2014 out of 108 qualified players, according to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required). According to PFF’s data, quarterbacks completed 74.3% of their passes into Scandrick’s coverage, but those completions averaged just 9.9 yards, and the Cowboys’ corner didn’t allow a touchdown in his 14 games. For the year, he recorded 63 tackles and grabbed a pair of interceptions.

 

Minor Moves: Wednesday

December 10th, 2014 at 7:15pm CST by Luke Adams

As NFL teams get their 53-man rosters in order for Week 15’s slate of games, we’ll round up Wednesday’s minor transactions in this space, with the latest moves added to the top of the list throughout the day:

  • The Seahawks have signed defensive end David King from the Bengals practice squad, tweets Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times. The defensive end, who was drafted by the Eagles in the seventh round of the 2013 draft, was signed by Cincinnati in August.

Earlier updates:

  • The Cowboys continue to shuffle pieces to and from their roster and practice squad, with team executive Stephen Jones indicating that defensive end Kenneth Boatright is the latest taxi squad player to receive a promotion, tweets Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Dallas now has a full 53-man squad.
  • The Panthers have released quarterback Matt Blanchard from their injured reserve list, now that he’s been deemed healthy, tweets Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer. As Person adds in a second tweet, Blanchard sustained a severe concussion during a preseason game and wasn’t cleared for more than two months.
  • Having waived defensive back Roc Carmichael yesterday, the Eagles filled the opening on their roster today by adding another player to their secondary. The team announced (via Twitter) that it has signed safety Jerome Couplin from off the Lions‘ practice squad. Couplin originally signed with Detroit back in May as an undrafted free agent out of William and Mary.
  • Like the Eagles, the Vikings have also poached a player from another club’s practice squad, plucking offensive tackle Carter Bykowski away from the 49ers, per a team release. To make room for the incoming signee, Minnesota has placed linebacker Michael Mauti on the injured reserve list.
  • Washington completed a series of roster moves on Tuesday that left the team with an open spot on its 53-man roster, and the club has now signed cornerback Justin Rogers to once again max out the squad (Twitter link). Rogers was one of several players to work out for Washington earlier this week.

NFC Mailbags: Lions, Saints, Cowboys

October 11th, 2014 at 9:51am CST by Ben Levine

It’s Saturday morning, and you know what that means – new mailbags from ESPN’s NFL writers. Let’s check out some of the notes from the NFC…

  • At the moment, Michael Rothstein doesn’t believe that Lions general manager Martin Mayhew or coach Jim Caldwell are on the hot seat.
  • Following the release of Saints fourth-rounder Khairi Fortt this past week, many fans asked Mike Triplett about the team’s inability to develop linebackers. The writer acknowledges that the team’s last real success was Mark Fields in 1995, but he adds that the team hasn’t invested high draft picks into the position.
  • If the Cowboys season continues on a similar path, Todd Archer could envision the team bringing back Dez Bryant, DeMarco Murray and Rolando McClain. If there were to be one odd man out, however, the writer leans towards McClain.
  • Even if the Cowboys were looking to promote a defensive lineman from the practice squad, Archer says that rookie Michael Sam wouldn’t be the team’s first choice. Instead, the Cowboys would likely bring up Kenneth Boatright.
  • David Newton envisions the Panthers transitioning to their next group of running backs once DeAngelo Williams‘ contract expires following the season.
  • Rom Demovsky says it’s likely that the Packers and representatives for Randall Cobb have already started discussing a new contract. The writer suggests that the wideout could be delaying the process until he begins compiling statistics that would warrant a larger payday.

Sunday/Monday Transactions: NFC East

September 1st, 2014 at 10:20am CST by Dallas Robinson

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

Dallas Cowboys:

New York Giants:

Philadelphia Eagles:

Washington Redskins:

Cowboys Make Cuts, Reduce Roster To 53

August 30th, 2014 at 4:31pm CST by Luke Adams

Only two Cowboys’ cuts surfaced yesterday, and the team added Lavar Edwards in a trade with the Titans earlier today, meaning 21 players had to be removed from the team’s active roster today. Among those roster casualties were a few notable names, including veteran guard Uche Nwaneri and running backs Phillip Tanner and Ryan Williams. Here’s the complete list of Cowboys roster moves, via a press release:

Released:

Waived:

Waived-injured:

Placed on reserve-suspended list:

East Notes: Philbin, Bills, Donnell

August 10th, 2014 at 9:00am CST by Rory Parks

Following the recent suspension of starting safety Reshad Jones–the second significant Dolphins defender to test positive for a banned substance this summer–head coach Joe Philbin broke character and was visibly frustrated with the poor choices made by certain members of his club, writes Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald. Philbin will now be without Jones and Dion Jordan for the first four games of the season, which thins out Philbin’s defensive rotations in the secondary and defensive line and further destabilizes a defense that looked shaky in the team’s first preseason game against Atlanta even with Jones and Jordan on the field. Look for Jimmy Wilson, who performed well as Miami’s nickel corner last season, to replace Jones and for Jamar Taylor to temporarily become the team’s No. 3 corner.

Now some more notes from the league’s east divisions:

  • Despite earlier reports to the contrary, Mike Ozanian of Forbes.com writes that all bids to buy the Bills have been below $1 billion, which Ozanian calls an “embarrassment” for the NFL and the investment bank hired to sell the club.
  • Although Jets‘ head coach Rex Ryan did not dismiss the possibility of using Michael Vick in a change-of-pace (read: Wildcat) role, Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com believes Ryan was merely engaging in some gamesmanship. The risk of injury to Vick, Cimini believes, would be too great.
  • After his strong performance in the Cowboys‘ first preseason game against San Diego, Kenneth Boatright might be working his way onto the team’s 53-man roster, writes Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com.
  • Larry Donnell, who took was on the field for 25 of the Giants‘ 26 first-half offensive snaps in Saturday’s preseason contest against Pittsburgh, appears to be leading New York’s tight end competition, says Dan Graziano of ESPN.com.
  • Giants‘ quarterback Eli Manning threw just two passes in the team’s four offensive drives on Saturday–completing neither–because New York’s offensive line has not yet earned the trust of new offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo, writes Jordan Raanan of NJ.com. In a separate piece, Raanan points out that the starting offensive line, which was retooled after a disappointing 2013, stayed on the field after Manning was removed from the game.
  • Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes that Eagles‘ rookie receiver Jordan Matthews disappointed in Friday’s preseason opener against Chicago, while backup QB Mark Sanchez impressed. Sheil Kapadia of PhillyMag.com concurs and provides a position-by-position breakdown of the team’s offensive performance.

Minor Moves: Friday

August 1st, 2014 at 4:28pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here..

  • The Seahawks removed Taylor Price from injured reserve with an injury settlement, Wilson tweets. The Seahawks put the wide receiver on the IR earlier this week.
  • The Chiefs cut linebacker Ben Johnson and the Giants waived-injured defensive back Travis Howard, Wilson tweets.
  • The Dolphins announced that they have signed linebacker Ryan Rau, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.com. To make room for Rau on the 90-man roster, Miami waived/injured Tariq Edwards, tweets Bryan McIntyre.
  • Former Buccaneers running back Michael Smith is signing with the Jets today, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter).
  • The Cardinals signed linebacker Derrell Johnson, according to Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com (on Twitter). Johnson, a UDFA out of East Carolina, was cut by the Dolphins just days ago.
  • The Giants signed cornerback Chandler Fenner, according to Paul Schwartz of the New York Post (on Twitter). Fenner was waived by the Seahawks when they signed ex-Giants corner Terrell Thomas.
  • The Cowboys signed defensive end Kenneth Boatright to a two-year contract this afternoon, according to agent Brett Tessler (on Twitter). Boatright was previously a member of the Seahawks.
  • The Falcons signed defensive tackle Theo Agnew, tweets Wilson.
  • After practice today, Texans defensive coordinator Romeo Crenell announced that the team has released Trevardo Williams, according to ESPN.com’s Tania Gangull. Williams, a fourth-round outside linebacker from last season, never saw a regular season snap.
  • The Chargers have signed cornerback Lowell Rose, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. The Jets cut Rose late last month when they signed free agent Jason Babin.
  • The Giants signed rookie free agent Adam Gress after placing tackle Troy Kropog on injured reserve, tweets Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News.
  • The Seahawks announced that they have released wide receiver Randall Carroll and signed linebacker Marcus Dowtin, according to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (on Twitter). Dowtin saw three games of action with the Giants in 2013 before being released in March.
  • The Cardinals announced that they have signed offensive tackle Max Starks, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. The 6’8″, 345 lineman spent time with the Rams and Chargers in 2013 after playing for Pittsburgh from 2004-2012. To make room for Starks, the Cardinals cut tackle Cory Brandon and kicker Danny Hrapmann, tweets Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com. 
  • The Texans signed wide receiver Joe Adams and offensive tackle Brice Schwab, writes John McClain of the Houston Chronicle. Adams, 24, played at Arkansas and was drafted in the fourth round by Carolina in 2012. Schwab, 24, played at Arizona State. He signed with Tampa Bay as an undrafted free agent last year. The Texans waived-injured Bryan Witzmann to make room for Adams, Wilson tweets.

Seahawks Sign Kevin Williams

June 18th, 2014 at 9:00am CST by Luke Adams

WEDNESDAY, 9:00am: Tom Pelissero of USA Today (Twitter links) has the details on Williams’ contract, which includes a $250K signing bonus and a $1.5MM base salary ($250K guaranteed). The pact also includes $350K in per-game roster bonuses, making it worth up to $2.1MM.

MONDAY, 4:03pm: The Seahawks have formally announced the signing of Williams in a press release. In addition to Williams, the team also signed former Eastern Washington running back Demitrius Bronson, cutting quarterback Keith Price and defensive end Kenneth Boatright to clear room on the roster.

THURSDAY, 4:52pm: Williams’ one-year deal with the Seahawks will be worth in excess of $2MM, according to Werder (via Twitter).

4:44pm: The Seahawks have reached an agreement on a contract with free agent defensive tackle Kevin Williams, reports Ed Werder of ESPN.com (Twitter link via Adam Schefter). While terms of the deal weren’t immediately known, it’s a one-year pact for the longtime Viking.

Appearing on SiriusXM NFL Radio earlier this week, Williams suggested talks had been “picking up” for him lately and that he anticipated signing somewhere in time for training camp. The veteran defensive lineman, who will turn 34 later this summer, also visited the Patriots and Giants before signing with the Seahawks, and had been in talks about a return to the Vikings as well.

Although Williams is no longer the force he was in his prime, his durability has been remarkable — over the course of his 11-year career, the former ninth overall pick has only missed five regular-season contests. In 2013, Williams ranked as the 27th-best defensive tackle in the NFL among 69 qualified players at the position, according to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required). He logged 29 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and even an interception.

For Seattle, it’s the latest move to help fortify a defensive line that lost multiple key contributors this offseason in Chris Clemons, Red Bryant, and Clinton McDonald, but retained free agents Michael Bennett and Tony McDaniel.