HEADLINES

Luke Marquardt

Lions Trim Roster To 53

September 3rd, 2016 at 3:28pm CST by Zachary Links

The Lions have released offensive lineman Brandon Thomas, as Rand Getlin of NFL.com tweets. Thomas came to Detroit in the Jeremy Kerley trade earlier this week. Brandon Thomas (vertical)

Thomas, a former third-round pick, has never taken a snap in the NFL. He missed his entire rookie season in 2014 while recovering from a torn ACL suffered in college, and didn’t appear in a game during his sophomore campaign. Thomas wasn’t need in the Bay Area given that Anthony Davis has come out of retirement and shifted to guard and he apparently wasn’t wanted in Detroit either.

Thomas obviously wasn’t the Lions’ only victim of cut day. Cuts include:

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/21/16

July 21st, 2016 at 8:15pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

  • The Steelers have waived linebacker Tyriq McCord from the Reserved/Injured list, tweets Mike Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The undrafted defender out of Miami originally hit his leg at rookie minicamp, and he suffered another injury during OTAs.
  • The Patriots have released rookie linebacker C.J. Johnson and long-snapper Christian Yount, tweets NESN.com’s Doug Kyed. ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss says the Yount move is an indication that Joe Cardona (Navy) will be available next season.

Earlier Updates:

  • The Steelers have released veteran tight end Matt Spaeth, according to Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (on Twitter). In March, Pittsburgh signed Spaeth to a two-year deal. The 31-year-old appeared in 15 regular-season games in 2014 (eight starts) and caught three passes for 46 yards and a touchdown, and also started the Steelers’ playoff game against Baltimore. Spaeth was cut with a failed physical designation, as James Palmer of NFL.com tweets. GM Kevin Colbert says that Spaeth was never able to recover from offseason knee surgery.
  • The Lions announced that they have signed free agent tackle Luke Marquardt. Contract terms were not disclosed. A native of Sammamish, Wash., the 6’6″ lineman joins Detroit after signing with the Jets earlier this season. He began his NFL career with the 49ers in 2013 as an UDFA out of Azusa Pacific.

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: 4/20/16

April 20th, 2016 at 7:17pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

  • The Browns have waived tight end Chase Ford, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Ford was claimed off of waivers just one week ago by Cleveland, so it was a short stay for him.
  • The Jets signed offensive tackle Luke Marquardt, as Rich Cimini of ESPN.com tweets. The 6’6″ tackle first came into the league as a UDFA out of Azusa Pacific when he signed with San Francisco.
  • The Colts signed offensive tackles Kevin Graf and Mitchell Van Dyk, Mike Chappell of CBS4 tweets. Graf, 25 in June, is a 6’6″, 303 pound lineman out of USC. Van Dyk was waived/injured by Pittsburgh prior to the start of the 2015 season.

Minor Moves: Steelers, Dolphins, Seahawks

May 28th, 2014 at 4:57pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are a few of the latest transactions from around the league, including several draft pick signings, waiver claims, and cuts, plus a new contract for a player who was cut by his old team earlier this month:

  • Three teams parted ways with recently-signed undrafted free agents or players on reserve contracts, as the Steelers cut offensive lineman Kaycee Ike, the Dolphins dropped running back Cameron Marshall, and the Texans waived guard Kevin Forsch (all Twitter links via Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun). The Packers also waived linebacker Victor Aiyewa, per Wilson (via Twitter).
  • Three players cut this week have been claimed off waivers, according to Wilson, who reports (in a series of three tweets) that tackle Michael Ola is headed to the Bears, defensive back Deion Belue was awarded to the Steelers, and receiver Kofi Hughes was claimed by the Texans.
  • A couple more updates from Wilson: Luke Marquardt is now on the 49ers‘ injured reserve list (Twitter link), while Garrett Scott has been placed on the Seahawks‘ non-football injury list (Twitter link).
  • Having been recently cut by the Seahawks, defensive back Jimmy Legree has signed with the Cardinals, tweets Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer.

Earlier updates:

  • The Seahawks became the NFL’s fourth team to finishing locking up its 2014 draft class, announcing last night that fourth-round wide receiver Kevin Norwood and fourth-round linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis have signed their rookie contracts. The Saints, Chiefs, and Bears were the first three clubs to sign all their draftees.
  • Sixth-round cornerback Brandon Dixon has inked his four-year rookie deal with the Jets, the team confirmed today in a press release. The 195th overall selection, Dixon is in line for a signing bonus worth about $103K an an overall four-year base value of around $2.324MM, per Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap. The former Northwest Missouri State speedster is the 10th of 12 Jets draft picks to sign his contract.
  • The Dolphins have signed former Buccaneers cornerback Anthony Gaitor, according to Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. The appropriately named Gaitor, a seventh-round pick in 2011, remains in the state where he also played his college ball, at Florida International.

Minor Moves: 49ers, Jags, Dolphins, Pats

May 27th, 2014 at 3:29pm CST by Luke Adams

We’ll round up several of Tuesday’s minor moves in this post, including a handful of signings and cuts, plus one draftee inking his new rookie contract. Following Memorial Day weekend, here are a handful of today’s transactions:

  • The 49ers made a series of roster moves today, signing former Stanford linebacker Chase Thomas and USC tight end Kevin Greene. To clear room on the roster for the new additions, the club waived-injured offensive tackle Luke Marquardt and waived linebacker Morgan Breslin with a non-football injury designation.
  • Fifth-round linebacker Telvin Smith signed his rookie contract with the Jaguars today, tweets Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union. As our tracker shows, the Florida State product becomes the fifth of nine Jacksonville draftees to sign.
  • The Dolphins have added three players to their 90-man roster, signing offensive linemen Samuel Longo and Michael Philipp and defensive tackle Micajah Reynolds, the team announced today (via Twitter). None of the three players have any regular-season NFL experience, though the two linemen spent a little time with the Browns and Reynolds was previously on the Saints’ roster.
  • A pair of rookie free agents, Troy State’s Wilson Van Hooser and East Carolina’s Reese Wiggins, have signed deals with the Patriots, the club announced in a press release. The two receivers occupy the final spots on New England’s roster, which is now full at 90 players.
  • Former UTEP linebacker Horace Miller, who tried out for the Seahawks at their rookie minicamp last week, is practicing today with the team, which presumably makes him the final addition to the 90-man roster, reports Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (via Twitter).

NFC Notes: Giants, Durant, Washington, Floyd

May 24th, 2014 at 8:47am CST by Matt Feminis

“It seems everyone in the free world with an interest in football wants to know why the Giants didn’t draft a tight end and what they’re going to do to shore up the position,” writes Giants.com Senior Writer/Editor Michael Eisen. However, Eisen says GM Jerry Reese likes his two young, developmental tight ends (Adrien Robinson and Larry Donnell) and wants to see what the team has in veterans Kellen Davis and Daniel Fells and rookie free agent Xavier Grimble before addressing the position.

In other NFC news and notes…