HEADLINES

Kevin Smith

Seahawks Cut Terrell Thomas, Seven Others

August 25th, 2014 at 11:54am CST by Rob DiRe

MONDAY, 11:54am: The Seahawks have cut six more players, per Brian McIntyre (Twitter link):

SUNDAY, 7:27PM: The Seahawks have cut cornerback Terrell Thomas, on their way to trimming the roster to 75 players by Tuesday, reports Tom Pellissero of USA Today (via Twitter). They also waived defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat.

Thomas was signed earlier this offseason to provide depth in the secondary. The former Giant was a second-round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft. Thomas is also a former Trojan, playing for Seahawks’ head coach Pete Carroll at USC. He suffered a torn ACL in both the 2011 and 2012 preseasons, forcing him to miss both campaigns.

The injuries proved to be too much, as the Giants elected not to retain his services. Reuniting with Carroll could have rejuvenated his career, but he joined one of the youngest and deepest secondaries in the NFL in Seattle.

NFC West Notes: Peterson, Seahawks, 49ers

June 25th, 2014 at 11:44am CST by Luke Adams

The league’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement, which features fifth-year options for first-round picks, is ensuring that 2011 first-rounders will have a hard time securing contract extensions this year, writes Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic. As Somers notes, agent Joel Segal has discussed a new deal for Patrick Peterson with the Cardinals, but the two sides haven’t made significant progress. With two years still remaining on their rookie contracts thanks to those 2015 options, Peterson and his fellow 2011 first-rounders have little leverage at the moment, as teams aren’t feeling the pressure to offer anything but discounted deals.

Here’s more from around the NFC West:

  • The Seahawks have signed former University of Washington receiver Kevin Smith to fill the last spot on their 90-man roster, reports Adam Jude of the Seattle Times (via Twitter). Smith has bounced around among several teams over the last few weeks, having spent time with the Cardinals and Jaguars as well. He was cut by Jacksonville last week.
  • Bill Williamson of ESPN.com wasn’t surprised to hear the 49ers had Brandon Flowers in for a visit but he also wasn’t surprised that they couldn’t do enough to drag him away from the Chargers. Williamson thinks San Francisco will be fine going into the season with its current group of cornerbacks, but if another established CB becomes available, the team will investigate.
  • Former 49ers coach Mike Singletary wants Vernon Davis to talk it out with San Francisco brass, writes Cam Inman of the Mercury News. “I think one of the most important things for Vernon is to make sure that right now with all of the things that are out there – the negative media, however it is – the most important thing in any holdout is the communication,” Singletary said Tuesday on NFL Network’s Total Access.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Minor Moves: Jets, Dolphins, Falcons, Giants

June 19th, 2014 at 4:08pm CST by Luke Adams

Plenty of teams around the league are making transactions today as minicamps wrap up and clubs look to finalize their rosters in advance of next month’s training camp. Let’s dive right in and check out the latest minor roster moves, with any additional transactions added to the top of the page throughout the afternoon and evening….

  • Undrafted rookie tight end Terrence Miller has been cut by the Jets, creating a second available roster spot after yesterday’s release of Mike Goodson. As the team reveals in a press release, kicker Andrew Furney and punter Jacob Schum will fill those openings.
  • The Dolphins have replaced one defensive back with another, announcing today (via Twitter) that they’ve signed Kevin Fogg and parted ways with Anthony Gaitor.

Earlier updates:

  • The Falcons have waived quarterback Dominique Davis, the team announced today (via Twitter). Davis saw a little playing time last season in relief of starter Matt Ryan, but his grip on a roster spot was tenuous after Atlanta acquired T.J. Yates in a trade with the Texans yesterday. Davis will have to clear waivers before officially becoming a free agent.
  • In a series of three tweets, Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News passes along word of a series of signings and cuts for the Giants, who have added offensive tackle Demarcus Love and defensive lineman Everett Dawkins, parting ways with defensive tackle Eathyn Manumaleuna and offensive lineman Steven Baker to make room on the 90-man roster.
  • Long snapper Charley Hughlett, punter Kasey Redfern, and wide receiver Nathan Slaughter, who auditioned for the Jaguars earlier this week, have been signed by the club, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. In addition to Jason Babin, wide receivers Kevin Smith and Brandon Wimberly were cut by Jacksonville to create roster space.
  • The Chiefs have waived defensive lineman Chas Alecxih, according to the club (Twitter link).
  • For the third straight summer, defensive lineman Brandon McKinney will try to earn a roster spot with the Colts, who inked him to a deal today, tweets Craig Kelley of Colts.com.
  • The Bears have informed tight end Fendi Onobun of his release, reports Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link).
  • The Patriots have cut wide receiver Reggie Dunn, the team confirmed in a press release.

AFC Links: Williams, Chiefs, Bengals, Jags

June 5th, 2014 at 3:38pm CST by Ben Levine

Veteran defensive tackle Kevin Williams is visiting with the Patriots today, reports CSNNE.com’s Tom Curran (via Twitter). The six-time Pro Bowler previously met with the Giants and Seahawks, but warned that he may retire if he didn’t receive an offer he liked. Yesterday, Williams jokingly asked for USA Today’s Tom Pelissero’s assistance in connecting him with New England.

Let’s take a look at some more notes and minor moves from the AFC…

NFC Notes: Zimmer, Newton, Kaepernick

June 4th, 2014 at 9:04pm CST by Zachary Links

A report yesterday quoted Vikings coach Mike Zimmer as saying that he almost didn’t show up for his second interview for the job. Today he clarified that story for reporters, including Michael Rand of the Star Tribune. The coach didn’t consider bailing on the Vikings interview because he wasn’t enthused for the position; he says he was just disappointed about not getting the Titans’ gig and didn’t think he had a great chance anywhere else. Here’s more out of the NFC..

  • A lot of people are surprised by Colin Kaepernick‘s hefty new contract, but Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk argues that salary cap spikes could drive the quarterback market even higher. Because of that, he says that the Panthers need to move quickly on a new deal for QB Cam Newton. Soon, he says, the high-water mark for an elite QB will be $25MM per year and, eventually, $30MM per season. With another strong year or two, Newton could push the ceiling sky-high.
  • The 49ers spent 15 hours straight negotiating with Kaepernick’s representatives, tweets Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. The 49ers knew that the QB would play out his rookie deal rather than accepting anything with an average annual value under $20MM.
  • The Falcons are counting on free agent pickup Dwight Lowery to fill their free safety hole, writes Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. After starting eight of 27 games for the Jets in 2009 and 2010, Lowery was a full-time starter for the Jaguars over the past three seasons. However, his season ended after just three games in 2013 after he suffered a bad concussion and went on injured reserve.
  • There might not be an opportunity at present, but after signing a three-year extension with the Eagles yesterday, guard Allen Barbre says he would like to start, writes Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Of course, the Eagles value his versatility off the bench as he has filled in admirably at both guard and tackle.
  • Brian McNally of The Washington Times wonders if Redskins linebacker Keenan Robinson can fill the void left by the retirement of London Fletcher.
  • The Cardinals signed undrafted rookie free agent running back Damien Thigpen, according to Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com. To make room, the Cards dropped wide receiver Kevin Smith. Thigpen was in rookie minicamp a couple of weeks ago with Arizona and apparently made quite an ipression. The 5’8″, 180 pound tailback tore his ACL late in his junior year and also missed part of his senior season.

Cardinals Announce 15 UDFA Signings

May 12th, 2014 at 6:49pm CST by Rob DiRe

The Cardinals have signed 15 undrafted free agents, reports Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com.

Here are all of the Cardinals’ signings:

  • Zach Bauman, RB, Northern Arizona
  • Jonathan Brown, LB, Illinois (9K bonus, per Aaron Wilson)
  • Glenn Carson, LB, Penn State
  • Chandler Catanzaro, K, Clemson
  • Tim Cornett, RB, UNLV
  • Bruce Gaston, DT, Purdue
  • Kelvin Palmer, OT, Baylor
  • Kelsey Pope, WR, Samford
  • Justin Renfrow, DT, Miami
  • Brandon Sermons, CB, UCLA
  • Kevin Smith, WR, Washington
  • Anthony Steen, OG, Alabama ($12K bonus, per Wilson)
  • Corey Washington, WR, Newberry
  • Todd Washington, CB, Southeastern Louisiana
  • Kadeem Williams, OT, Albany