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Matt McCants

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/26/16

November 26th, 2016 at 4:39pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are today’s minor moves.

  • The Raiders waived tight end Ryan O’Malley and tackle Matt McCants, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). Practice squad linebackers James Cowser and Tyrell Adams will ascend to the 53-man roster, Caplan tweets. Shilique Calhoun is out, with starting middle linebacker Perry Riley questionable for Week 12. Neither Cowser nor Adams has seen any game action yet.
  • Defensive lineman Ufomba Kamalu could be set for his NFL debut after the Texans promoted him from their practice squad and cut defensive lineman Brandon Dunn to make room, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Dunn played in 17 games for the Bears and Texans from 2014-16 after arriving in the league in ’14 as a UDFA.
  • The Jaguars promoted tight end Alex Ellis and waived defensive tackle Richard Ash, the team announced. Ellis has yet to play in a game; Ash saw action in one in each of the past two seasons. A rookie UDFA from Tennessee, Ellis caught just eight passes as a senior.

Raiders OL Matt McCants Takes Pay Cut

September 8th, 2016 at 11:37am CST by Zachary Links

Raiders offensive lineman Matt McCants took a pay cut from $1.671MM to $675K, according to a source who spoke with ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter). In the new deal, McCants will receive a $325K signing bonus, bringing his total compensation to $1MM. In essence, McCants is taking a $671K pay cut in order to remain with the Raiders this season. Matt McCants (vertical)

McCants was a restricted free agent this offseason and the Raiders used the $1.671MM tender on him. Had he signed elsewhere, the signing team would have been forced to give Oakland a sixth-round draft pick.

McCants, 27, offers big size at the tackle position with his 6’5″, 308 pound frame. A sixth-round pick of the Giants in 2012, McCants found his way to the Raiders in 2013 and has appeared in 26 games ever since. Last year, he appeared in just two games. Squarely on the roster bubble in each of the last two seasons, McCants had little choice but to accept the pay cut.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor NFL Transactions: 4/13/16

April 13th, 2016 at 5:18pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

  • The Browns have claimed tight end Chase Ford off waivers from the Ravens, as Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun tweets. Ford inked his restricted free agent tender with Baltimore a few weeks ago but his $1.671MM salary was non-guaranteed.
  • The Ravens announced (on Twitter) that they have waived tight end Harold Spears. That now makes two tight ends waived by Baltimore in the last two days.
  • The Vikings announced (on Twitter) that they have waived linebackers Terrance Plummer and Alex Singleton.
  • The Broncos have waived defensive end George Uko, as Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post writes. Uko joined Denver’s practice squad in September 2015 and inked a reserve/future deal with the team following SB50. Prior to joining up with Denver’s taxi squad, Uko had one NFL appearance with the Bucs on his resume.
  • The Colts announced that exclusive rights free agent safety Akeem Davis has signed his tender. Davis, a Memphis product, has played in 19 NFL games over the course of his career with New Orleans, Seattle, Indianapolis, and Washington. In college, Davis registered 162 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, three interceptions, 2.5 sacks, five forced fumbles, and seven fumble recoveries over the years for the Tigers.
  • Raiders restricted free agent offensive tackle Matt McCants and ERFA defensive lineman Shelby Harris inked their tenders, as Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun tweets.
  • The Chargers waived quarterback Brad Sorensen, as Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. Sorensen was waived with a non-football injury designation.

Raiders Tender RFA Offer To Matt McGloin

March 4th, 2016 at 11:40am CST by Luke Adams

The Raiders have assigned a second-round tender offer to restricted free agent quarterback Matt McGloin, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). That offer is worth $2.553MM, which comes in the form of a non-guaranteed base salary for 2016.Matt McGloin

McGloin, 26, started six games for the Raiders in his first NFL season in 2013. While he threw tossed eight interceptions and led the club to a 1-5 record in those starts, McGloin wasn’t a disaster, throwing for 1,547 yards and eight touchdowns. He has remained a Raider since then, serving as a backup for Derek Carr in 2014 and 2015.

By assigning McGloin a second-round tender, the Raiders will likely assure that they don’t lose their No. 2 signal-caller to a rival team. Had they given him an original-round tender worth $1.671MM, the Raiders would have only held the right of first refusal — the higher tender will allow the team to collect a second-round pick as compensation if McGloin signs elsewhere.

Considering the Raiders have a projected $70MM+ in cap room, the decision to increase their offer to McGloin by less than $1MM to reduce the risk of losing him makes plenty of sense.

According to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Oakland has also tendered an offer to RFA offensive tackle Matt McCants. McCants, a backup lineman for the Raiders, will get the low-end, $1.671MM tender, per Caplan. The tender will entitle the team to a sixth-round pick as compensation if McCants signs elsewhere.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor Moves: Wednesday

April 8th, 2015 at 4:57pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are today’s minor transactions from around the NFL:

  • We learned yesterday that the Raiders have officially secured all five of their restricted free agents, and Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun tweets today that the team has locked up its exclusive rights free agents as well. Rival clubs couldn’t make a play for those ERFAs, so there wasn’t much suspense about whether or not they’d be returning to Oakland. Defensive end Denico Autry, tight end Brian Leonhardt, tackle Matt McCants, fullback Jamize Olawale, and cornerback Neiko Thorpe are now under contract.
  • Cornerback Antwon Blake, who received the low-end RFA tender from the Steelers last month, has officially signed that tender, according to Wilson (via Twitter). Blake will return to Pittsburgh on a one-year deal for 2015 worth $1.542MM.
  • Former Texans and Bears defensive lineman Amobi Okoye has been released by the Cowboys, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.com. Okoye appeared in 87 games between 2007 and 2012 before he was sidelined by a medical issue, and had been attempting to make it back to the NFL — if he intends to continue his comeback attempt, it looks like it’ll have to happen with another team.
  • The Packers have cut tackle Aaron Adams with a failed physical designation, per Weston Hodkiewicz of the Green Bay Press-Gazette (Twitter link). The former Kentucky lineman tore his ACL and MCL during training camp last year and missed the entire 2014 season.

Minor Moves: Lions, Chiefs, Raiders, Colts

April 21st, 2014 at 8:03pm CST by Luke Adams

Our posts on minor transactions typically focus on smaller-name players and under-the-radar moves. There are plenty of those today, as players accept contract tenders and teams bolster their rosters with camp bodies in time for 2014’s offseason workouts. Let’s round up today’s transactions…

  • Defensive end George Johnson has signed with the Lions, according to agent Brian Levy of Goal Line Football (Twitter link). Johnson has spent time with the Vikings and Buccaneers since 2011, though his regular-season playing time has been extremely limited.

Earlier updates:

  • Free agent wide receiver Kyle Williams has re-signed with the Chiefs, as he announced today on Twitter. Williams, a former 49er, was claimed by Kansas City off waivers last fall, but tore his ACL in late November. He’ll likely continue to rehab and recover throughout the summer, so he’s not expected to have a major role for the Chiefs in 2014.
  • The Lions have added a pair of cornerbacks to their roster, signing Aaron Hester and Nate Ness, tweets Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com. Hester was on the Broncos’ roster during the 2013 preseason, while Ness has bounced around among a handful of teams since going undrafted in 2009.
  • Raiders safety Brandian Ross and tackle Matt McCants have accepted and signed their exclusive rights free agent tenders from the club, the team announced via Twitter.
  • Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun reports a number of RFA and ERFA tender signings, via Twitter, as follows: Colts cornerback Josh Gordy has signed his $1.431MM tender; 49ers linebacker Michael Wilhoite has signed his ERFA tender; Giants center Dallas Reynolds has accepted his ERFA tender; and linebacker Adrian Hamilton and safety Anthony Levine have accepted their ERFA offers from the Ravens.

FA Rumors: Monroe, Ward, Dolphins, Hester

March 4th, 2014 at 7:38pm CST by Luke Adams

We’ve already passed along one round of free agent rumors this afternoon, but with the 2014 FA period just a few days away from officially getting underway, there will be plenty more items to track in the near future. In fact, we’ve already got another handful of updates to run through:

  • Left tackle Eugene Monroe and the Ravens remain far apart in talks on a new contract, reports Matt Zenitz of the Carroll County Times. It’s still possible that the two sides could work out an agreement, but it appears unlikely to happen before Monroe becomes eligible to hit the open market and negotiate with other clubs, says Zenitz. Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link) also hears that the sides are still far apart, though he says there were no new negotiations today, meaning things haven’t gotten any worse.
  • The agent of Browns safety T.J. Ward has released a statement about his free agent client to the Akron Beacon Journal, as Nate Ulrich details. It reads, in part: “With the passing of the franchise/transition tag deadline, we remain open to further discussions with the Browns in working towards a long-term deal and look forward to that possibility. However, if things don’t work out in Cleveland, we likewise look forward to the opportunity that can coincide with becoming an unrestricted free agent.”
  • To the surprise of the players’ agents, the Dolphins have yet to make contract offers to free-agent-to-be defensive tackles Randy Starks and Paul Soliai, reports Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
  • It looks like Ernie Sims won’t return to the Cowboys, according to ESPN.com’s Calvin Watkins, who says the team wants to get younger at its backup linebacker spots (Twitter link).
  • The Raiders have tendered contracts to five of their exclusive rights free agents, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today (Twitter link). Offensive linemen Matt McCants is eligible for the minimum salary for players with one year of NFL experience ($495K), while linebacker Kaelin Burnett, running backs Jamize Olawale and Jeremy Stewart, and cornerback Brandian Ross are eligible for the two-year minimum ($570K). All five players have to accept the tenders if they want to play in the NFL next season.
  • The Buccaneers aren’t expected to tender a contract to restricted free agent tight end Kyle Adams, tweets Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times. The team would still have the option of trying to re-sign Adams for less than the RFA tender amount.
  • The Bears are making no attempts to sign Devin Hester, meaning the return specialist appears likely to leave Chicago this offseason, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
  • When the Redskins released Adam Carriker today, I wrote that the defensive end would likely have to sign with another team if he hopes to return to the field in 2014, and John Keim of ESPN.com confirms as much (via Twitter). A source tells Keim that Washington won’t re-sign Carriker at a lower price.
  • The Giants have tendered contracts to Spencer Paysinger ($1.431M) and Dallas Reynolds ($570K) while the Browns tendered Craig Robertson ($570K), according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today (on Twitter).