HEADLINES

Matt Johnson (QB)

East Notes: Randle, Jets, Cowboys, Bills

June 9th, 2016 at 6:01pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Wide receiver Rueben Randle joined the Eagles earlier this offseason on a one-year deal after spending the first four seasons of his career with the division-rival Giants. If Randle had it his way, he’d still be with Big Blue. The 25-year-old told Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post he was “a little disappointed” the Giants didn’t show an interest in re-signing him before he headed to Philadelphia. “I just moved on and accepted it for what it was. I would’ve liked to have stayed,” said Randle, who called it “an unfortunate situation.” Randle was a productive and durable member of the Giants during his tenure with them, hauling in 188 passes and 20 touchdowns on 14.1 yards per catch while appearing in 64 straight regular-season games. He racked up 57 receptions and a career-best eight TDs last season.

Here’s more from the NFL’s two East divisions:

  • With the standoff over a contract between free agent quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Jets continuing, word is getting around among agents and players that the team is difficult to deal with, CBS Sports’ Joel Corry told SiriusXM NFL Radio (Twitter link).
  • Fitzpatrick continues to talk regularly with Jets players, writes ESPN’s Rich Cimini, who opines that de facto starting QB Geno Smith is currently in an awkward position as he tries to assert himself as a team leader. Head coach Todd Bowles disagrees, saying, “I don’t think it clips his wings or anybody else’s.” Of course, if the Jets do re-sign Fitzpatrick at some point, Smith’s roster spot won’t necessarily be safe with recent draft picks Christian Hackenberg and Bryce Petty also on their depth chart.
  • Cowboys offensive lineman Ronald Leary – who wants out of Dallas – has switched agencies, according to Liz Mullen of Sports Business Daily. Leary has transferred from Kelley Drye & Warren to CAA Sports.
  • The Bills will have former Bowling Green quarterback Matt Johnson in for a workout on Monday, Joe Buscaglia of WKBW tweets. He adds that if all goes well, Johnson will participate in minicamp next week.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/16/16

May 16th, 2016 at 6:36pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

Earlier Updates:

  • The Broncos have signed linebacker Dekoda Watson to a one-year deal, Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com tweets. Watson appeared in three games for the Patriots last year as he was yo-yo’d on and off of the team’s roster.
  • Eagles guard/tackle Matt Tobin has signed a two-year deal with the team, a source tells Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Tobin was previously set to play out this year on his one-year restricted free agent tender. Now, his new deal will lower his base salary for this season.
  • Washington waived linebacker Reggie Northrup, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Interestingly, Northrup is represented by rapper Lil Wayne.
  • More Washington signings via the team’s website: tackle Al Bond, guard Nila Kasitati, linebacker Mike Wakefield and running back Kelsey Young. Guard Dominick Jackson was waived.
  • The Seahawks have waived/injured linebacker Christian French and signed fellow linebacker Khairi Fortt to take his place on the 90-man roster, Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times tweets.
  • The Bengals are set to sign former University of Buffalo quarterback Joe Licata, as Tyler Dunne of The Buffalo News tweets. To make room, rookie quarterback Matt Johnson has been waived.
  • The Browns signed defensive back Eric Patterson, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets. The 23-year-old entered the NFL last year as a UDFA with New England. The Ball State product appeared in two games for Indianapolis and one with St. Louis.
  • The Bears announced they have signed Donovan Williams, an offensive lineman from Louisiana-Lafayette (Twitter link via Brad Biggs of The Chicago Tribune). The Bears have also released center Dan Buchholz, wide receiver/tight end Marcus Lucas, and wide receiver Nathan Palmer (link).
  • The Bears waived defensive end Bruce Gaston, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com writes. Demovsky suggests that Gaston, who made Green Bay’s opening day roster last season, could get another look from the Packers.
  • The Chargers have signed former Arizona State guard Vi Teofilo to a three-year deal, a source tells Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego. The 6’3″, 205-pound lineman will look to compete for a practice squad spot. The Chargers waived guard Sebastian Johansson, an undrafted rookie guard from Marshall, in a corresponding move. They also waived-injured linebacker Brock Hekking.
  • The Saints waived safety Michael Caputo and quarterback Griffin Neal after this weekend’s rookie minicamp, Evan Woodbery of The Times-Picayune tweets. According to Wilson (on Twitter), the team has also cut receiver Shane Wynn.
  • In a related move, the Saints inked linebacker Tony Steward (Twitter link via Woodbery). Steward played at Clemson and was a fifth-round pick of Buffalo in 2015.
  • The Saints signed Jake Lampman, Wilson tweets. The Ferris State product caught 52 passes for 731 yards and eight touchdowns last season.

Ben Levine contributed to this post.

Bengals Announce 13 UDFA Signings

May 6th, 2016 at 10:37am CST by Luke Adams

The Bengals formally announced their undrafted free agent signings this morning, tweeting out a list of 13 new rookie additions to their roster. After splitting their draft class fairly evenly between offensive and defensive players, the Bengals’ group of UDFAs leans more toward offense, with only four defenders among them. Here’s the full list: