HEADLINES

L.J. Fort

West Notes: Broncos, Raiders, Seahawks

October 23rd, 2014 at 6:38pm CST by Zachary Links

Last night, the Raiders learned that they’ll likely be without defensive end LaMarr Woodley for the remainder of the season. In terms of morale, it’s a big blow to a team that is still searching for its first win of 2014. The Raiders will travel to Cleveland on Sunday and they hope to leave with a 1-6 record. Here’s more from the AFC and NFC West..

  • With the Broncos cutting off their in-season negotiations, their signing priority should be Demaryius Thomas, Julius Thomas, Chris Harris, and Wes Welker in that order after the season, opines Joel Corry of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). In a poll on the subject earlier today, nearly 70% of Pro Football Rumors readers said that Demaryius Thomas should be Denver’s top priority, followed by Julius Thomas (~20%), and Harris (~11%).
  • The Raiders tried out safeties M.D. Jennings and Larry Asante, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (on Twitter). Jennings was a former starter for the Packers. Asante was with the Raiders before being waived/injured in August.
  • It was initially assumed that L.J. Fort was signed to the practice squad to play linebacker, but he could wind up being the Seahawks‘ answer at fullback, as Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times writes.

Minor Moves: Monday

October 20th, 2014 at 9:11pm CST by Luke Adams

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

  • The Seahawks have signed former Northern Iowa linebacker L.J. Fort to their practice squad, according to NFL Draft Diamonds. The signing has been confirmed by Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (on Twitter). Fort, who has spent time with the Browns, auditioned for the Jaguars and Titans this offseason after missing the Broncos’ final cut.
  • Dolphins defensive end Dion Jordan has been reinstated from his six-game suspension, according to Howard Balzer (Twitter link). Jordan, the third overall pick in the 2013 draft, will have a one-week roster exemption.

Earlier updates:

  • The Broncos have promoted running back Kapri Bibbs to the active roster, tweets Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com. As Legwold adds (via Twitter), several teams were interested in signing away Bibbs. Denver now has five RBs on its 53-man roster.
  • The following players have been cut by their respective teams, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun: Broncos linebacker Shaquil Barrett (Twitter link), Browns defensive lineman Jacobbi McDaniel (Twitter link), Saints linebacker Todd Davis (Twitter link), and Titans tight end Brett Brackett (Twitter link).
  • The Jaguars have promoted defensive end Chris Smith from their practice squad to their 53-man roster, says Wilson (via Twitter). Moving Paul Posluszny to injured reserve opened up a spot for Smith.
  • Wilson also tweets that the Saints have signed tight end Tom Crabtree, placing defensive end Glenn Foster on injured reserve in order to make room on the roster.
  • The Rams have released wideout Emory Blake from their practice squad, tweets Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com.
  • The Dolphins are signing wideout LaRon Byrd to their practice squad, per Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). Miami had been carrying nine players on its unit, so no corresponding move will be required.
  • Ravens head coach John Harbaugh confirmed today that long snapper Morgan Cox has been placed on injured reserve after tearing his ACL during yesterday’s game, tweets Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. As first reported by Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter), the club has signed long snapper Kevin McDermott to replace Cox. Earlier today, Wilson had tweeted that the Ravens were working out McDermott and fellow long snapper Patrick Scales.
  • On the heels of a loss in which they failed to run the ball effectively, the Browns have waived fullback Ray Agnew, the team announced today (Twitter link). An undrafted free agent, Agnew signed with the team in May and had two carries and two catches in his six games as a Brown. Fellow fullback Kiero Small has been promoted from Cleveland’s practice squad to take Agnew’s place on the roster.

AFC Notes: Harrison, Tannehill, Texans, Jags

September 25th, 2014 at 5:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Steelers brought back veteran linebacker James Harrison this week after suffering a rash of injuries on the defensive side of the ball, but while the sight of Harrison in black and gold will look familiar, we shouldn’t expect him to play a major role immediately. Harrison started all 87 games he played for Pittsburgh from 2007 to 2012, but former Bucs GM Mark Domenik thinks it’s unrealistic to expect significant contributions from the linebacker at age 36.

“I think you could see him play five to 10 snaps [in Week 4] in that limited pass-rush role,” Dominik said, according to Scott Brown of ESPN.com. “I think at the end of the day you’ll be lucky if James Harrison become a 20- to 25-snap guy. He knows what to do in the system, and that’s the No. 1 thing, it’s just that can he get his body to do it? That’s going to take a little bit of time.”

Here’s more from out of the AFC:

  • After being ambiguous earlier this week when he was asked about Ryan Tannehill‘s job security as the Dolphins‘ No. 1 quarterback, head coach Joe Philbin has expressed remorse about having created a distraction and given his starting signal-caller a vote of confidence, writes Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. As I noted earlier in the week, Tannehill will be extension-eligible starting this offseason and the Dolphins will also have to decide on his fifth-year option in the spring, so 2014 is a big year for the young QB.
  • We had already heard about the Texans auditioning a handful of punters this week in case Shane Lechler is unable to play this week, but Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link) adds a couple more names to the list of players the team tried out. According to Wilson, Houston also took a look at long snappers Brandon Hartson and Chris Maikranz.
  • The Jaguars auditioned linebacker L.J. Fort this week, tweets Wilson. Fort, waived by the Broncos during the preseason, also worked out for the Titans earlier in September.
  • Cornerback Vernon Kearney, who was cut by the Chiefs a month ago, was among the defensive backs who worked out for the Jets this week, per Wilson (via Twitter).

Audition Notes: Titans, Giants

September 14th, 2014 at 4:41pm CST by Dallas Robinson

As we approach halftime of the late afternoon contests, we have a couple audition notes to pass along:

Rory Parks contributed to this post.

Broncos Start Trimming Roster Down To 53

August 29th, 2014 at 5:38pm CST by Luke Adams

The defending AFC champions are the latest team to begin reducing their 75-man roster to the regular-season limit of 53 players in advance of tomorrow’s 3:00pm CT deadline. Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports, Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post, and Mike Klis of the Denver Post have the names that are part of the Broncos’ first wave of final cuts, so let’s round them up. The following players are no longer on Denver’s active roster: