HEADLINES

Kyle Christy

Minor NFL Transactions: 6/2/16

June 2nd, 2016 at 5:15pm CST by Zachary Links

Here are today’s minor moves.

  • The Steelers have signed fourth-round offensive tackle Jerald Hawkins, as Teresa Varley of Steelers.com writes. Hawkins offers experience at both left and right tackle but he’s expected to play on the left side for Pittsburgh. “He can come in here and help right away by competing and pushing the guys and making them better,” said offensive line coach Mike Munchak. “It just makes the group better when you can bring in a good athlete and a good player that has the ability to compete and help us become better. “We feel this guy can come in and learn from the guys we have, push the guys that we have and now it’s just a matter of how quickly we feel he can contribute.”
  • The Cardinals signed wide receiver Marquis Bundy, safety Tyrequek Zimmerman, and guard Jake Bernstein to return to the 90-man roster limit, Kyle Odegard of AZCardinals.com tweets.
  • The Chargers have agreed to sign guard/tackle Brett Boyko, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
  • To make room, the Chargers waived offensive lineman Zeth Ramsay, as Eric Williams of ESPN.com tweets. The Bolts now have 17 offensive linemen on their 90-man roster.
  • The Lions announced that they have signed UDFA kicker Devon Bell and waived punter Kyle Christy. Bell, a Mississippi State product, played in all 13 games last year and averaged 62.1 yards per kickoff, while also punting nine times for 370 yards (41.1 avg).
  • The Jaguars have signed guard Patrick Omameh and released offensive lineman Patrick Miller, as Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com tweets. Omameh has played in 30 games over the course of his NFL career.
  • The Redskins signed UDFA wide receiver Jarvis Turner, Master Tesfatsion of The Washington Post tweets.
  • The Seahawks signed fullback Kyle Coleman, as Wilson tweets. A rookie with tight end experience who played at Arkansas State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Coleman will possibly audition at multiple spots in Seattle, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times writes.
  • The Jets announced that they’ve signed guard Mike Liedtke, while adding that they’ve cleared a roster spot by waiving tackle Luke Marquardt.

Minor NFL Transactions: 4/25/16

April 25th, 2016 at 4:59pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

  • The Buccaneers have signed running back Storm Johnson to a two-year contract, as Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. The former Miami, UCF, and Jags tailback is now slated to compete for the backup running back job this fall in Tampa. The former seventh-round pick had some hype behind him in Jacksonville but never broke out in the way that coaches and fantasy owners hoped he would.
  • The Browns announced that they have signed wide receiver Saalim Hakim, as Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal tweets. Hakim participated in voluntary minicamp last week with Cleveland on a tryout basis and apparently made a strong impression on team brass. Hakim originally entered the league as a UDFA with Dallas in 2012.
  • The Saints have released second-year defensive end Tavaris Barnes, a league source tells Evan Woodbery of The Times Picayune (on Twitter). Barnes, a Clemson product, appeared in 12 games for New Orleans in 2015.
  • The Saints have also waived safety Vinnie Sunseri, as Woodbery tweets.
  • The Lions have signed punter Kyle Christy, as Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press tweets. Interestingly, Birkett tweets that Christy could serve to save the legs of Sam Martin and possibly Matt Prater in camp. Reading between the lines, it does not sound like Christy has a great chance of actually hooking on in Detroit.
  • The Packers have waived defensive end Ray Drew, as Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com writes. Drew, a street free agent signed in March, lasted only one week into the team’s offseason workout program. Drew spent part of the 2015 season on Cleveland’s taxi squad.

North Notes: Packers, McCray, RG3, Lions

April 22nd, 2016 at 8:00pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Here’s the latest out of the NFL’s two North divisions…

  • Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com has the details of linebacker Lerentee McCray‘s recently signed contract with the Packers. McCray got a $50K signing bonus and could make another $75K in workout bonuses – a high amount for a street free agent, Demovsky notes – and $200K in sack incentives (Twitter link). McCray, 25, was mostly a contributor on special teams with Denver from 2014-15, but the Packers believe he’s capable of helping them defensively. “We think he’s got a nice body type, he’s got good athletic ability, shows the ability to be an outside ‘backer with length and that sort of thing,” said general manager Ted Thompson.
  • Robert Griffin III’s offseason training with throwing guru Tom House is going well so far, the Browns quarterback said Thursday. “Tom House has been great. It’s been a really, really beneficial experience,” Griffin stated (link via Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal). House, an ex-Major League Baseball pitcher who uses 3-D motions analysis to dissect a QB’s throwing motion and then revamps it, has worked with the likes of Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Andy Dalton and Carson Palmer in the past. He spent a large portion of last offseason with Dalton, who went on to have a career year. On whether he’ll continue training with House, Griffin said, “Without a doubt. It’s not just a one-off thing. It’s a lifestyle. I plan on living that lifestyle.”
  • Though no signing has been announced yet, the Lions are expected to bring punter Kyle Christy aboard today following a workout session, according to Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). Christy, who last played at Florida at 2014 and has never spent time on an NFL roster, will presumably act as competition for incumbent punter Sam Martin. Martin is entering the final season of his rookie contract, and notably changed agents in February, signalling that he could be open to an extension.

Dallas Robinson contributed to this post.