HEADLINES

Larry Pinkard

Browns Cut TE Gavin Escobar

April 12th, 2018 at 1:53pm CST by Zachary Links

The Browns are trimming down the roster in advance of the draft. On Thursday, Cleveland announced that seven players have been cut. Here’s the full rundown:

Released:

Waived:

Escobar, 27, never lived up his to second-round draft status with the Cowboys. In four seasons with Dallas, he managed just 30 receptions for 333 yards. He inked a minimum salary benefit contract with the Chiefs in March of 2017, but did not make the final cut. He later hooked on with the Ravens, but he did not record an official statistic in his two games with the club.

Bullough spent three years with the Texans and appeared in 29 games with the club between 2015 and 2016. In the summer of 2017, the Texans released him after he was hit with a PED suspension. After his release, the NFL hit the linebacker with another four-game ban. The Michigan State product has not seen the field since Week 17 of the ’16 season.

Jaguars Cut RB Chris Ivory

February 23rd, 2018 at 11:32am CST by Zachary Links

On Friday, the Jaguars announced the release of Chris Ivory. The running back spent the last two years with the Jaguars. "<strong

In March of 2016, the Jags signed Ivory to a five-year deal worth $32.5MM with $10MM guaranteed. It seemed like a reasonable signing at the time since the Jaguars were armed with tons of camp space and Ivory was coming off of a 1,000+ yard, seven-touchdown season with the Jets.

Unfortunately, things did not pan out. Ivory missed considerable time in his first season with Jacksonville and averaged just 3.4 yards per carry in his most recent campaign. His performance made for an easy call this offseason. The Jaguars are eating $3.25MM in dead money, but they’re also saving $3.69MM by dropping him.

Ivory will turn 30 in March and no longer profiles as an RB1 type. However, he could draw interest from teams looking for depth at the position.

In related moves, the Jags also waived rookie defensive back Jarrod Harper, rookie running back I’Tavius Mathers and second-year wide receiver Larry Pinkard.

Jaguars Promote WR Jaelen Strong

December 23rd, 2017 at 11:56am CST by Ben Levine

Jaelen Strong is back. The Jaguars have promoted the wideout to the active roster, reports John Oehser of Jaguars.com (via Twitter). To make room on the roster, the team has waived/injured receiver Larry Pinkard.

Jaelen StrongStrong has bounced around a bit in 2017, spending time with both the Jaguars and Texans. The former third-round pick started the season in Houston, but he was released by the team after serving a one-game suspension. He later caught on with Jacksonville, but he was released by the team without having played a game. He subsequently signed with the team’s practice squad.

The 23-year-old has only appeared in a single game this season without compiling a catch. During his first two years in the league, Strong hauled in 28 catches for 292 yards and three touchdowns in 18 games (three starts). He’ll presumably slide behind Keelan Cole and Jaydon Mickens at the bottom of the receiver depth chart.

Pinkard had been recovering from a concussion in recent weeks. The former undrafted free agent out of Old Dominion was promoted to the Jagaurs active roster in mid-November. He ultimately played in four games, compiling a single five-yard catch.

Jaguars Activate WR Dede Westbrook

November 18th, 2017 at 11:01am CST by Ben Levine

Wide receiver Dede Westbrook is finally set to make his NFL debut. The Jaguars activated the rookie wideout from the reserve/injured list this morning, the team announced. The organization also activated defensive back Calvin Pryor from the reserve/injured list and promoted receiver Larry Pinkard from the practice squad. To make room on the roster, the team placed wideout Arrelious Benn on the injured reserve and waived defensive tackle Sheldon Day and receive Jaelen Strong.

Dede Westbrook (vertical)We learned in late October that the Jaguars had designated Westbrook for return. The fourth-rounder was initially placed on the injured reserve with a core injury prior to the start of the regular season. A former Oklahoma standout, Westbrook collected 80 receptions for 1,524 yards and 17 touchdowns last season, making him a finalist for the Heisman Trophy. Considering the fact that Allen Robinson was already out for the season and the team let go of two wideouts today, Westbrook could easily slide behind Marqise Lee and Allen Hurns on the depth chart.

Pryor was claimed off waivers from the Browns in September, although he was placed on the injured reserve shortly thereafter. As our own Dallas Robinson noted, Pryor will be stuck in a reserve role behind Barry Church and Tashaun Gipson, who both rank among the NFL’s top defensive backs, according to Pro Football Focus. Of course, the 25-year-old still has plenty in the tank, as he finished the 2016 campaign with 62 tackles and six passes defended in 15 games for the Jets.

Benn, a 2010 second-round pick, has been stuck towards the bottom of the depth chart during his two-year tenure in Jacksonville. After having hauled in 55 receptions during his first two seasons in the league, Benn only has six receptions for 128 yards and one touchdown in two seasons with the Jaguars (24 games). The 29-year-old was productive on special teams, however, compiling eight tackles over the past two years. Strong, a 2015 third-round pick, joined the Jaguars in mid-September after being waived by the Texans. He ultimately didn’t see the field for the Jaguars. Pinkard, a former undrafted free agent out of Old Dominion, has yet to get in an NFL game. Day, a 2016 fourth-round pick, was buried on the depth chart for the Jaguars, as the 23-year-old had only compiled three tackles and one sack in six games this season.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/13/17

September 13th, 2017 at 5:44pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

  • Signed: CB Greg Mabin

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

  • Signed: WR Brian Brown
  • Released: S Jameill Showers

Detroit Lions

  • Signed: OT Storm Norton
  • Cut: DE Pat O’Connor

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: G Darrell Greene

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

  • Signed: CB Ryan Lewis

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Jaguars Trim Roster To 75

September 1st, 2017 at 5:14pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Jaguars have cut their roster from 90 players to 75, according to John Oehser of the team’s website:

Waived:

  • TE Caleb Bluitt
  • OL Malcolm Bunche
  • LB P.J. Davis
  • CB Charles James
  • DT Tueni Lupeamanu
  • WR Larry Pinkard
  • OL Demetrius Rhaney
  • WR Jamal Robinson
  • CB Dwayne Thomas
  • FB Marquez Williams (waived/injured)

Released outright (vested veterans who are not subject to waivers):

Placed on IR:

Minor NFL Transactions: 4/17/17

April 17th, 2017 at 7:12pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The latest minor moves…

  • Raiders defensive end Denico Autry has signed his RFA tender, reports ESPN’s Adam Caplan (Twitter link). The Raiders gave the 2014 undrafted free agent an original-round tender, leading to speculation that he could draw interest from elsewhere. Instead, Autry will return to the Raiders on the heels of back-to-back three-sack seasons. ERFAs Seth Roberts (WR) and Denver Kirkland (G) are also back in the fold, according to Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal (on Twitter).
  • The Seahawks have re-signed linebacker Kache Palacio, writes Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. Palacio, a former fullback who went undrafted out of Washington State last year, spent most of 2016 on Seattle’s practice squad.
  • Lions ERFAs Brandon Copeland (DE), Kerry Hyder (DT) and T.J. Jones (WR) have signed their tenders, tweets Birkett. Dolphins ERFAs Mike Hull (LB) and Anthony Steen (C) did the same earlier Monday, per Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (Twitter link).

Earlier updates:

  • The Panthers have re-upped restricted free agent guard Andrew Norwell and a pair of exclusive rights free agents – center Tyler Larsen and punter Michael Palardy – writes Bryan Strickland of their website. Carolina used a second-round tender on Norwell, who will earn $2.746MM in 2017. Norwell combined for 29 starts over the previous two seasons and ranked 11th in performance among Pro Football Focus’ 72 qualified guards last year.
  • Steelers RFA cornerback Ross Cockrell has inked his original-round tender, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). Cockrell went in the fourth round of the 2014 draft, so the Steelers would have been entitled to a fourth-rounder had Cockrell signed elsewhere and they elected against matching the offer. The 25-year-old caught on with the Steelers in 2015 and has since totaled 31 appearances, 23 starts and two interceptions. Cockrell started in every Steelers game last year, and his performance ranked an improve 28th among 111 qualified corners at PFF.
  • Chiefs RFA kicker Cairo Santos has signed his tender, per Schefter (on Twitter). Santos, undrafted in 2014, received a low tender; as such, Kansas City wouldn’t have been entitled to compensation had he gone elsewhere. The three-year veteran has connected on 84.3 percent of field goal attempts, including 88.6 percent last season (good for fifth in the league).
  • Lions offensive tackle Cornelius Lucas has signed his RFA tender, tweets Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. The Lions assigned Lucas an original-rounder tender last month, so they wouldn’t have gotten a pick had the 2014 undrafted free agent signed elsewhere and they chose not to match. Lucas is now slated to make $1.797MM this year in Detroit, where he has started in six of 35 career appearances.
  • The Buccaneers have re-signed quarterback Ryan Griffin, cornerback Jude Adjei-Barimah, tight end Cameron Brate, linebacker Adarius Glanton, and wide receivers Adam Humphries and Freddie Martino, per Scott Smith of the team’s website. As a restricted free agent, Griffin is the only one of the bunch who could have potentially gone elsewhere (the rest were exclusive rights free agents). The Bucs tendered the 2013 undrafted free agent at an original-round level last month, and he’ll now try to win the No. 2 role behind Jameis Winston. Tampa Bay’s previous second-stringer, Mike Glennon, is now the Bears’ starter.
  • RFA defensive back Marcus Burley and ERFA running back George Atkinson III are returning to the Browns, per a team announcement. Burley, undrafted in 2013, received an original-round tender. The former Seahawk is coming off his first year in Cleveland, where he appeared in 12 games and played just under 40 percent of the Browns’ special teams snaps.
  • Fullback Tommy Bohanon and receiver Larry Pinkard have signed with the Jaguars, tweets the team’s account. Bohanon is the only with NFL experience, having logged 36 appearances and 14 starts as a Jet from 2013-15.
  • Speaking of the Jets, they have re-signed linebacker Julian Stanford (via Randy Lange of the team’s site). The Jets could Stanford on Friday, but both sides knew that was only a procedural move. Last season was the first as a Jet for the 26-year-old Stanford, who appeared in nine games (two starts) and played about a quarter of their defensive snaps and a third of their special teams snaps.

NFC North Notes: Vikings, Loadholt, Lions

July 28th, 2016 at 1:00pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier this week, Vikings offensive lineman Phil Loadholt announced his retirement from football. While Loadholt cited his health as the driving factor in his decision, Mike Florio of PFT wonders if the veteran’s recent pay cut was an even greater motivation to walk away from the sport. This spring, the Vikings pushed Loadholt to amend his ~$5.5MM base salary to a $2MM base for 2016 with up to $3.5MM in incentives. Ultimately, Loadholt may have opted for early retirement rather than playing for a reduced salary this season.

Here’s more from the NFC North:

  • Or, maybe Loadholt did retire because of injuries. The lineman had a setback two weeks ago while working out in Houston, Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press (on Twitter) hears. The leg issue, which was unrelated to his troublesome Achilles tendon, would have sidelined him during training camp.
  • Former Miami wide receiver Tyler Davis and former Green Bay wide receiver Larry Pinkard both worked out for the Lions earlier this week, along with quarterback Jimmy Clausen, ESPN.com’s Michael Rothstein tweets. However, after the Lions added Anquan Boldin on Wednesday, it’s not clear if there is still a spot available for Pinkard or Davis.
  • Yesterday, we discussed the Vikings’ offseason with reporter Darren Wolfson.

Workout Notes: 12/16/15

December 16th, 2015 at 7:02pm CST by Ben Levine

It’s been a busy last couple of days around the NFL, with teams still looking to fill up their squads for the rest of the season. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweeted a whole bunch of workout notes this afternoon, which we’ve compiled for you below…

Arizona Cardinals

  • CB Mitchell White (link)

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Read more

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