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Martin Ifedi

Buccaneers’ George Johnson Done For Season

August 5th, 2016 at 8:40am CST by Zachary Links

The Buccaneers announced that defensive end George Johnson is done for the season and going on injured reserve, as Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. Johnson went down during Thursday’s practice with an injury that has yet to be disclosed, though Jenna Laine of ESPN.com hears that it’s a hip fracture. George Johnson (vertical)

[RELATED: Buccaneers Not Shopping QB Mike Glennon]

The Bucs acquired Johnson and a seventh-round pick from the Lions last offseason in exchange for a fifth-round choice. Initially, the Buccaneers signed the defensive end to a three-year, $9MM offer sheet as a restricted free agent, but the Lions contested the proposal, arguing that they did not have to match de-escalators in the latter years of the deal since the RFA rules were ambiguous in that area. Without those de-escalators, the Lions only would have had to give Johnson a $7MM deal to retain him. Ultimately, however, the two teams were able to work something out.

An undrafted free agent in 2011, Johnson originally signed multiple contracts early in his career with the Buccaneers, and spent parts of the next two seasons with the club. He was quietly effective in 2014, appearing in all 16 games for the Lions and earning a positive grade from Pro Football Focus (subscription required), largely thanks to his excellent pass-rushing acumen. Last year, Johnson appeared in 11 games for the Bucs, tallying 23 tackles and two forced fumbles.

To fill Johnson’s spot, the Bucs have signed defensive end Martin Ifedi. The 6’3′, 275-pound athlete spent part of last season on Tampa Bay’s taxi squad and was with the team this offseason until being waived in May.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Buccaneers Release Connor Barth

May 2nd, 2016 at 2:10pm CST by Luke Adams

2:10pm: The Buccaneers have formally confirmed the release of Barth, announcing that they’ve also cut defensive end Martin Ifedi, who had signed a futures deal in January. Per Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune (Twitter link), Barth requested his release from the Bucs, hoping for the opportunity to find a new home elsewhere.

11:06am: After trading up in the draft to select Florida State kicker Roberto Aguayo in the second round, the Buccaneers will release veteran kicker Connor Barth today, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link).Connor Barth

[RELATED: Bucs trade up to No. 59, select Roberto Aguayo]

The move had been expected since the moment the Buccaneers turned in their draft card for Aguayo — the team wasn’t going used a second-round pick on a kicker, only to have him compete for a job. Barth had been cut and re-signed by the Bucs multiple times in the past, but he’s unlikely to return this time, barring an injury to the team’s rookie kicker.

Last season, after opening the regular-season schedule with Kyle Brindza handling kicking duties, the Buccaneers made a change several weeks into the season, bringing back Barth to replace the struggling Brindza. The 30-year-old ultimately made 23 of 28 field goal attempts (82.1%), along with 25 of 26 extra point tries.

Barth had been in line to earn a $1.333MM salary in 2016, but that figure was non-guaranteed. Tampa Bay will clear the entire amount from its books by cutting Barth, creating a little extra cap flexibility.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/4/16

January 4th, 2016 at 7:16pm CST by Luke Adams

Now that the 2015 regular season is in the books, teams can begin signing players to reserve/futures contracts, adding those players to their 90-man offseason rosters. Generally, these players finished the season on a team’s practice squad, though some were free agents at season’s end.

Here are today’s reserve/futures deals:

Atlanta Falcons signed four players (Twitter link via Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com)

Baltimore Ravens signed seven players (Twitter link via Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun):

  • Brennen Beyer, LB
  • Leon Brown, G
  • Nordly Capi, DE
  • Blaine Clausell, T
  • Chuck Jacobs, WR
  • Nick Perry, S
  • Harold Spears, TE

Buffalo Bills signed seven players (Twitter link via Mike Rodak of ESPN.com)

Chicago Bears signed nine players (Twitter link via Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune):

Cleveland Browns signed six players (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle)

Dallas Cowboys signed eight players (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle)

Denver Broncos signed four players (Twitter link via Mike Klis of 9NEWS)

Detroit Lions signed five players (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle)

Jacksonville Jaguars signed nine players (Twitter link via Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union):

Miami Dolphins signed one player (link)

  • Tyler Davis, WR

New Orleans Saints signed five players (link via Evan Woodbery of the Times-Picayune):

New York Giants signed six players (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle)

Philadelphia Eagles signed seven players (Twitter link via team):

San Diego Chargers signed six players (Twitter link via Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego)

Seattle Seahawks signed three players (Twitter link via Wilson)

  • Andrew East, LS
  • Ronnie Shields, TE
  • Phillip Sims, QB

Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed nine players (link via Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times):

  • Josh Allen, G
  • Andre Davis, WR
  • Antoine Everett, G
  • Ben Gottschalk, C
  • Gerod Holliman, S
  • Martin Ifedi, DE
  • Derrick Lott, DT
  • C.J. Roberts, CB
  • Joel Ross, CB

Tennessee Titans signed five players (Twitter link via Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com):

  • David Fluellen, RB
  • Kevin Greene, TE
  • Nick Harwell, WR
  • Josue Matias, G
  • Will Poehls, T

Washington signs three players (link via team):

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/10/15

November 10th, 2015 at 4:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier today, we learned that the Ravens had signed running back Terrance West to their practice squad, cutting defensive end Nordly Capi to make room. That’s one of a handful of practice squad changes around the league today, so let’s round up the rest….

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: DT Eric Crume (press release via team)
  • Cut: DT Justin Hamilton

Indianapolis Colts

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

St. Louis Rams

  • Signed: LB Matthew Wells (Twitter link via Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFC Notes: Ellington, Cowboys, Eagles

September 14th, 2015 at 5:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Cardinals running back Andre Ellington suffered a PCL sprain in Sunday’s game, as first reported by Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link) and confirmed by head coach Bruce Arians (Twitter link via Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com). While Anderson suggested a recovery timetable of two to three weeks for Ellington, Arians indicated his running back could just miss one week, and the team hasn’t ruled him out for its Week 2 game yet.

If Ellington isn’t able to practice by Friday, it will likely lead to a flurry of roster moves for the Cardinals, according to Arians. As ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss tweets, the team could promote running back Kerwynn Williams to its roster for next Sunday’s game against the Bears.

  • With Dez Bryant expected to miss at least a month, the Cowboys will sign a wide receiver for depth purposes, tweets Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Ed Werder of ESPN.com (Twitter link), on the other hand, hears that the team is still undecided on whether to sign a receiver. If Dallas signs a wideout, I wouldn’t expect him to play a major role in the offense in Bryant’s absence.
  • Sam Bradford‘s start in tonight’s game eliminates the possibility of the Eagles getting the Rams‘ 2016 third-round pick, as Adam Schefter of ESPN notes. Philadelphia would have received that pick if Bradford hadn’t been able to play a game this season due to injury. Now, it’s worth watching whether or not the former first overall pick will play 50% of the Eagles’ offensive snaps — if he doesn’t, Philadelphia will get St. Louis’ 2016 fourth-rounder.
  • Former Eastern Washington offensive tackle Jake Rodgers, cut earlier this month by the Falcons, has a tryout with the Saints on Tuesday, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (Twitter link).
  • Three defensive backs – former Rams cornerback Montell Garner, ex-Seahawks safety Ryan Murphy, and former Bengals safety Floyd Raven – worked out for the Packers, tweets Rob Demovksy of ESPN.com. Green Bay also auditioned defensive end Martin Ifedi, a 2015 seventh-round pick who was cut by St. Louis.
  • Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News examines 49ers CEO Jed York‘s legacy in San Francisco.
  • If St. Louis wants to keep the Rams, one critical issue to work through is who will pay cost overruns, a source tells Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (Twitter link).

Davis, Jones Among Rams’ Final Cuts

September 5th, 2015 at 10:01pm CST by Sam Robinson

Thought to have the upper hand in the Rams’ center competition, Barrett Jones was one of St. Louis’ roster cuts as it trimmed to 53 players (according to Myles Simmons of the team’s website).

Tim Barnes and Demetrius Rhaney ended up sticking on the roster due to having better positional versatility than Jones, an Alabama product who the Rams took in the fourth round in 2013, per ESPN.com’s Nick Waggoner.

An undrafted free agent in 2011, Barnes is listed as the Rams’ starting snapper.

The Rams also waived Austin Davis, who started eight games for the team last season in Sam Bradford‘s absence. Davis threw for over 2,000 yards and completed 63.4% of his passes in his first game sample.

Here are the rest of the Rams’ cuts:

  • Alex Bayer, TE
  • Emory Blake, WR
  • Malcolm Brown, RB
  • Christian Bryant, S
  • Justice Cunningham, TE
  • Marcus Fortson, DT
  • Montell Garner, CB
  • Jacob Hagen, S
  • Martin Ifedi, DE
  • Zach Laskey, FB
  • Matt Longacre, DE
  • Marshall McFadden, LB
  • Brandon McGee, CB
  • Trovon Reed, CB
  • Daniel Rodriguez, WR
  • Louis Trinca-Pasat, DT
  • Brandon Washington, OL

Rams Sign Todd Gurley, Entire Draft Class

June 12th, 2015 at 4:02pm CST by Luke Adams

As expected, the Rams have signed their entire 2015 draft class in one fell swoop, according to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, who tweets that first-round running back Todd Gurley and seven other draftees have inked their rookie contracts with the club.

The only Rams draft pick who had previously signed his deal was sixth-round wideout Bud Sasser, who wasn’t physically cleared to play for the team due to a heart condition. St. Louis signed him to his rookie contract, ensuring he’d get his signing bonus, then waived him. Here’s the full list of the remaining Rams draftees who are now under contract with the club:

  • 1-10: Todd Gurley, RB (Georgia)
  • 2-57: Rob Havenstein, T (Wisconsin)
  • 3-72: Jamon Brown, T (Louisville)
  • 3-89: Sean Mannion, QB (Oregon State)
  • 4-119: Andrew Donnal, T (Iowa)
  • 6-215: Cody Wichmann, G (Fresno State)
  • 7-224: Bryce Hager, LB (Baylor)
  • 7-227: Martin Ifedi, DE (Memphis)

Gurley’s four-year deal will, of course, be the most lucrative of the bunch, with a signing bonus worth about $8.313MM and an overall value of $13.823MM, per Over The Cap. The contract for the 10th overall pick will also be the only one that features a fifth-year option, allowing the Rams to lock up the running back for the 2019 season.

While most teams announce their signings in bunches in the weeks following the draft, the Rams make a habit of waiting until mid-June to confirm their rookie deals. Head coach Jeff Fisher has said in previous years that he likes to make sure his newcomers are educated on financial planning before they sign their first NFL contracts.