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Khyri Thornton

Minor NFL Transactions: 4/15/16

April 15th, 2016 at 6:42pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Here are Friday’s minor transactions from around the NFL:

  • Broncos wide receiver Bennie Fowler will officially stay with the team after signing his exclusive rights tender, Ben Swanson of DenverBroncos.com writes. Fowler, undrafted out of Michigan State in 2014, took the field in all 16 of the Super Bowl champions’ regular-season games and tallied 16 receptions, 203 yards, and a touchdown. He also added a key 31-yard grab on a third-and-12 play in the Broncos’ second-round playoff win over the Steelers.
  • Center Sam Brenner joined Fowler in signing his ERFA tender with the Broncos, per Swanson. The Broncos claimed Brenner off waivers in November, and he ended up on the team’s active roster for eight of its regular-season contests and its entire playoff run. Brenner was previously a member of the Dolphins, with whom he appeared in 10 games (four starts) from 2013-15.
  • Bears receiver Josh Bellamy posted a picture of himself on social media signing his exclusive rights tender with the club, as Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. Bellamy, 26, saw action in all 16 of the Bears’ games last season, started three, and totaled 19 receptions and two touchdowns.
  • Packers safety Chris Banjo has signed his exclusive rights tender, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Banjo hasn’t made much of a defensive impact in his three-year career, but he is one of the Packers’ top special teamers. The 26-year-old accrued a team-best 21 special teams tackles in 16 appearances last season.
  • The Browns have claimed defensive end/outside linebacker Jackson Jeffcoat off waivers from Washington, per Field Yates of ESPN (Twitter link). Jeffcoat, an undrafted free agent in 2014, logged nine appearances (one start), an interception and a forced fumble in two years with Washington.
  • The Cardinals have released running backs Marion Grice and Robert Hughes, reports Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com. Both players were on the Cards’ practice squad last season. Grice racked up playing time in his rookie year, 2014, amassing 22 touches (15 carries, seven receptions) and a score in Arizona. Hughes, who has seen regular-season action for three different teams since 2011, recorded eight receptions for an impressive 140 yards (17.5 yards per catch) for the 2014 Cardinals.
  • Offensive tackle Tanner Hawkinson, whom the Jaguars claimed off waivers from the Eagles earlier this month, has decided to retire (Twitter link via Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union). Hawkinson, a former Kansas Jayhawk, was the Bengals’ fifth-round selection in 2013. He appeared in six career games with Cincy and Philly.
  • Lions defensive tackle Khyri Thornton has signed his exclusive rights tender, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. Thornton, whom NFC North rival Green Bay took in the third round of the 2014 draft, debuted in the league last year as a member of the Lions, recording five tackles in six games.
  • The Bills have announced the release of offensive tackle Tyson Chandler with a non-football injury. Chandler signed with the Bills as an undrafted free agent from North Carolina State last spring.

Lions Re-Sign Tyrunn Walker

March 4th, 2016 at 8:34am CST by Luke Adams

FRIDAY, 8:34am: The Lions’ contract agreement with Walker has been finalized, with the team announcing the signing in a press release.

THURSDAY, 12:23pm: A year ago, the Lions’ signing of defensive lineman Tyrunn Walker from the Saints was viewed as one of the more solid under-the-radar moves of the offseason. However, Walker’s first year in Detroit came to an early end when he suffered a broken fibula and landed on the team’s injured reserve list in early October.Tyrunn Walker

As he recovers from that injury though, Walker is prepared to sign a new contract with the Lions, According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, the free agent defensive tackle is en route to Detroit today, where he will take a physical and sign a new one-year deal with the club, assuming some contractual language gets finalized.

After signing a one-year, $1.75MM pact last year, Walker will get a similar deal this time around. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that Walker’s new one-year contract will be worth $1.6MM, with a chance to max out at $2.25MM. It wouldn’t be surprising if the deal features per-game roster bonuses — because the Tulsa alum only appeared in four contests in 2015, only a quarter of his per-game roster bonuses would count against the cap.

In addition to nearing a contract agreement with Walker, the Lions are in talks to bring back Haloti Ngata, and Birkett expects him to re-sign (Twitter link). As Birkett notes, retaining those two defensive tackles would give the club the flexibility to focus on other positions in free agency next week.

Speaking of free agency, Birkett also reports that the Lions have tendered contract offers to all of their exclusive-rights free agents. The following players have received ERFA tenders, per Birkett:

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/23/15

October 23rd, 2015 at 5:46pm CST by Rob DiRe

Today’s minor NFL signings, cuts, and other moves:

  • The Lions have claimed defensive tackle Khyri Thornton off waivers, reports Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald (via Twitter). Thornton was cut by the Patriots yesterday. He will fill the spot opened when the Lions waived defensive tackle Ishmaa’ily Kitchen this morning.
  • The Rams have promoted running back Trey Watts to the active roster, and waived safety Christian Bryant to make room for him, writes Nick Wagoner of ESPN (via Twitter).
  • The Panthers have also promoted a player from the practice squad to the active roster, bringing tight end Scott Simonson up, according to Max Henson of Panthers.com. The team placed tight end Richie Brockel on the IR to make room for Simonson.
  • Washington has removed wide receiver Issac Blakeney from the IR with an injury settlement, reports Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/1/15

October 1st, 2015 at 5:09pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor signings, cuts, and other moves..

  • The Jets signed tight end Wes Saxton off of their taxi squad, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News tweets. Saxton will provide the Jets with depth while Jeff Cumberland is sidelined.
  • The Patriots promoted defensive tackle Khyri Thornton from the practice squad to the active roster, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets. New England wanted to beef up its defensive front and they had an open spot to use.
  • The Colts added running back Zurlon Tipton to the active roster, as Mike Chappell of FOX59 tweets. To make room, defensive lineman Earl Okine was waived. The move likely means that running back Tyler Varga will not be ready to go this weekend.
  • The Patriots removed Ryan Groy from their injured reserve with an injury settlement, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/19/15

September 19th, 2015 at 5:20pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Here are Saturday’s practice squad signings and cuts from around the NFL. The news comes courtesy of Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle:

Carolina Panthers

  • Signed: T Pierce Burton (Twitter link)
  • Cut: WR Damiere Byrd

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/17/15

September 17th, 2015 at 7:17pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Today’s minor moves across the NFL…

  • The Cowboys released offensive tackle R.J. Dill from the reserve-suspended list with an injury settlement, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports (via Twitter). The league suspended Dill last month for four games because of a violation of its policy on performance-enhancing substances. Dill has been a member of three different organizations since 2013, never appearing in a regular-season game.
  • The Patriots waived defensive tackle Khyri Thornton, according to ESPN’s Field Yates (Twitter link). The Pats claimed Thornton on waivers earlier this month. Green Bay used a third-round pick on Thornton in 2014. He’s yet to play in a regular-season game.

Sunday NFL Transactions: AFC East

September 6th, 2015 at 5:08pm CST by Luke Adams

Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four AFC 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 Bills, Dolphins, Patriots, and Jets 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 AFC East transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:

Buffalo Bills

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

  • Claimed off waivers:
  • Cut:
  • Signed to practice squad:

New York Jets

  • Signed:
  • Claimed off waivers:
  • Cut:
  • Signed to practice squad (press release):
    • LB Deion Barnes
    • FB Julian Howsare
    • LB Taiwan Jones
    • CB Keon Lyn
    • WR Walter Powell
    • TE Wes Saxton
    • T Wesley Johnson (Twitter link via Adam Caplan)
    • DL Jordan Williams

Packers Cut 20, Settle On 53-Man Roster

September 5th, 2015 at 6:02pm CST by Sam Robinson

In addition to placing Letroy Guion and Datone Jones on the reserve/suspended list, the Packers cut 18 players and waived two injured performers.

Green Bay parted ways with running backs Rajion Neal and John Crockett, leaving undrafted rookie Alonzo Harris as the third running back behind Eddie Lacy and James Starks.

The reigning NFC North champions’ additional departures are as follows:

  • Jared Abbrederis, WR
  • Carl Bradford, LB
  • John Fanor, S
  • Garth Gerhart, C
  • Tay Glover-Wright, CB
  • Mitchell Henry, TE
  • Justin Perillo, TE
  • Andy Phillips, C/G
  • Larry Pickard, WR (Waived/injured)
  • Jermaria Rasco, LB (Waived/injured)
  • Christian Ringo, DT
  • Matt Rotheram, G
  • Joe Thomas, LB
  • Khyri Thornton, DT
  • James Vaughters, LB
  • Jeremy Vujnovich, T
  • Ryan White, CB
  • Ed Williams, WR

Packers Cut Roster Down To 53

August 30th, 2014 at 5:50pm CST by Ben Levine

5:50pm: The Packers have formally announced their last few transactions to get down to 53 players. The team placed tight end Jake Stoneburner and defensive end Khyri Thornton on injured reserve, and cut center Garth Gerhart, tight end Justin Perillo, defensive end Luther Robinson, and tackle Jeremy Vujnovich. Additionally, Hubbard has been fully cut from the roster rather than being placed on IR, as indicated earlier.

1:30pm: The Packers are not finished making moves, as they’ve parted ways with five more players in addition two placing a duo on injured reserve:

Cut:

Placed on injured reserve:

10:55am: The Packers have released eight players this morning. You can find a running list of the team’s moves below:

  • Ryan White (CB) (via Rob Demovsky on Twitter)
  • Michael Hill (RB) (via Tom Silverstein on Twitter)
  • John Fullington (OT) (via Demovsky on Twitter)
  • Jordan McCray (OG) (via Ryan Wood on Twitter)
  • Jake Doughty (LB) (via Demovsky on Twitter)
  • Alex Gillett (WR) (via Silverstein on Twitter)
  • LaDarius Perkins (RB) (via Silverstein on Twitter)
  • Tanner Miller (S) (via Silverstein on Twitter)

A handful of these players have an opportunity to catch on with the Packers’ practice squad. As mentioned in each player’s respective tweet, White and Doughty have a chance of sticking around. The team could also bring back Hill or Perkins, but Silverstein indicates that the team won’t bring back both.

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