Kevin Graf

Workout Notes: 9/23/15

Teams around the NFL are bringing in players for workouts, surveying the free agent landscape for possible practice squad additions or 53-man roster players, either for the near future or down the road. Here are a few of the latest auditions from across the league, via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (all links go to Twitter):

AFC:

NFC:

Eagles Cut 12 Players

We learned earlier today that the Eagles had cut four players: offensive lineman Mike Coccia, WR Mike Johnson, DL Alfy Hill, and DT Jeremy Towns. Per the team’s official website, Philadelphia has also waived the following eight players, bringing its roster down to 78:

  • CB Marc Anthony
  • S Brandan Bishop
  • T Kevin Graf
  • WR G.J. Kinne
  • LB Dasman McCullum
  • WR Josh Reese
  • TE Justin Tukes
  • OL Jared Wheeler

 

Eagles Sign Nine To Reserve Contracts

The Eagles have agreed to terms with nine players from their practice squad on reserve/futures contracts, the team announced today. Here’s the list of players who are now locked up for the coming offseason, according to the club (Twitter links):

Of the 10 players on the Eagles’ practice squad, only linebacker Brandon Hepburn wasn’t among the players whose futures contracts were announced today.

For a refresher on how reserve/futures deals work, be sure to check out our glossary entry.

Minor Moves: Monday

We’ll keep tabs on Monday’s minor transactions from around the NFL right here, with the latest moves added to the top of the list throughout the day….

  • The Colts placed Mario Harvey on injured reserve, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (on Twitter).
  • Defensive end Chase Vaughn has been cut from the Broncos‘ injured reserve list, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
  • The Panthers have waived running back Tauren Poole, according to Brian McIntyre (via Twitter). Carolina is still short-handed at the position, but is expected to explore adding a more veteran back this week.
  • To make room for Chris Owusu, whose signing is noted below, the Jets are waiving cornerback LeQuan Lewis, per Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter). As Cimini notes, Lewis committed two penalties on special teams in Sunday’s game.
  • The Chargers have swapped one defender for another on their practice squad, re-signing safety Adrian Phillips and cutting defensive lineman Chas Alecxih, the team announced today in a press release.
  • Defensive end Frank Alexander (Panthers), safety Jakar Hamilton (Cowboys), wideout Ace Sanders (Jaguars), and safety Reshad Jones (Dolphins) have all been reinstated from their suspensions, tweets Howard Balzer of The SportsXchange. Their respective teams won’t have to make corresponding moves immediately, since all four clubs will have roster exemptions that last until next Monday (Twitter link).

Earlier updates:

  • The Eagles‘ beat-up offensive line will receive a little help this week, as Lane Johnson has been activated after serving his four-game suspension (Twitter link). To make room on the 53-man roster, the club has waived offensive lineman Kevin Graf.
  • After adding T.J. Graham to the roster earlier today, the Jets will sign another wideout, according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, who reports that former Buccaneer Chris Owusu is set to join the club (Twitter links).
  • The Colts have waived wide receiver Da’Rick Rogers on the heels of his arrest for DUI, according to a team release. Head coach Chuck Pagano confirmed to reporters, including Mike Chappell of RTV6 (Twitter link), that Rogers was cut for conduct detrimental to the team. Indianapolis also promoted safety Dewey McDonald from the practice squad to the 53-man roster, and moved Robert Mathis from the reserve/suspended list to the reserve/non-football injury list.
  • With a short week ahead of them and Teddy Bridgewater recovering from an ankle injury, the Vikings have added another quarterback to their practice quad, signing Chandler Harnish and cutting wideout Donte Foster (Twitter link).
  • Wide receiver Tommy Streeter has signed to the Jaguars‘ practice squad, tweets Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports. Jacksonville currently has a full 10-man unit, so someone will have to be dropped – or promoted – to make room for Streeter.
  • The Redskins have signed outside linebacker Gabe Miller to fill the final opening on their practice squad, per agent Brett Tessler (Twitter link).

Eagles Sign Wade Smith

WEDNESDAY, 7:59am: In addition to confirming the signing of Smith, the Eagles also announced that offensive lineman Kevin Graf and linebacker Emmanuel Acho have been promoted to the 53-man roster from the practice squad (Twitter links). Evan Mathis, Allen Barbre, and Najee Goode head to injured reserve to make room on the roster, with Mathis designated to return.

TUESDAY, 3:16pm: The Eagles have begun attempting to repair an offensive line that has been decimated in the early going by injuries and a suspension. According to Alex Marvez of FOX Sports (via Twitter), the team has agreed to terms with veteran guard Wade Smith, who was recently cut by the Seahawks.

Smith, 33, was among the players who visited the Eagles today, along with tackle Eric Winston, who left Philadelphia without a deal. Smith has appeared in 138 games over the course of his 11-year NFL career for the Dolphins, Jets, Chiefs, and Texans, starting 98 of those contests. Most recently, he spent several seasons in Houston as the club’s full-time left guard, earning a Pro Bowl nod in 2012.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Smith earn some playing time right away with the Eagles, who were already without the suspended Lane Johnson for four weeks coming into the season and have since seen Evan Mathis and Allen Barbre go down with potentially significant injuries.

The Eagles will have to make a corresponding roster move before the signing of Smith can become official. With reports this afternoon suggesting that Barbre’s ankle injury could be season-ending, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the club places him on the injured reserve list.

Sunday/Monday Transactions: NFC East

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:

Eagles Reduce Roster To 53 Players

The Eagles have officially finalized their 53-man roster, according to the team. In a press release, the Eagles announced the roster moves they made to get down to the regular-season limit. They are as follows:

The Eagles’ other eight roster-trimming moves were reported yesterday.

Eagles Sign 15 Undrafted Free Agents

The Eagles have added 15 undrafted free agents to their roster, the team announced today (all Twitter links). Here’s the complete list of players Philadelphia agreed to sign following the draft:

  • Josh Andrews, G, Oregon State ($10K bonus, per Aaron Wilson)
  • Blake Annen, TE, Cincinnati
  • Karim Barton, G, Morgan State
  • Kadron Boone, WR, LSU
  • Trey Burton, TE, Florida ($7.5K bonus and $12.5K in other guarantees, per Wilson)
  • David Fluellen, RB, Toledo
  • John Fulton, CB, Alabama
  • Kevin Graf, OT, USC
  • Donald Hawkins, G, Texas
  • Henry Josey, RB, Missouri ($10K bonus and $10K in other guarantees, per Wilson)
  • Wade Keliikipi, DT, Oregon
  • Daytawion Lowe, S, Oklahoma State
  • Frank Mays, DE, Florida A&M
  • Quron Pratt, WR, Rutgers
  • Carey Spear, K, Vanderbilt