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Minor NFL Transactions: 12/6/2016

December 6th, 2016 at 6:58pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s minor moves:

  • The Dolphins announced that they’ve waived offensive tackle Bryce Harris. Miami had just claimed Harris, 27, off waivers from Jacksonville a few weeks ago. Harris has 34 games of experience under his belt, but has only started four contests during that time.
  • The Colts have waived tight end Mike McFarland off injured reserve, according to Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). McFarland, a 2015 undrafted free agent, signed with Indianapolis this March but was placed on IR just two months later.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/11/16

May 11th, 2016 at 4:38pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Wednesday’s minor signings, cuts, and other transactions from across the NFL:

  • The Buccaneers have claimed safety Johnny Lowdermilk off waivers from the Vikings, as Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. The team also waived rookie safety Traveon Henry and rookie wide receiver Dez Stewart (injured).
  • The Bengals made a minor change at the back of their 90-man roster, signing former Louisville offensive tackle Aaron Epps and waiving tackle Darryl Baldwin, per Coley Harvey of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Baldwin was an undrafted free agent in 2015 who has yet to appear in a regular-season NFL game, while Epps tried out for Cincinnati after going undrafted this year. Epps, who stands at 6’7″ and weighs 288 pounds, was a part-time starter at Louisville in 2014 and 2015. He started only 14 contests across his collegiate career.
  • After cutting former South Florida edge defender Eric Lee earlier this week, the Texans are expected to re-sign him today, tweets Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times. As Auman explains, the club wanted to change some language in Lee’s contract.
  • The Buccaneers signed receiver Freddie Martino, as Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets.
  • The Rams signed cornerback Jabriel Washington and released wide receiver Nick Toon and defensive back Winston Rose, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com tweets.
  • Linebacker Uani Unga, waived yesterday by the Giants, cleared waivers and was added to the Giants’ injured reserve list, as Ralph Vacchiano of the Daily News tweets.
  • Mike McFarland reverted to the Colts‘ IR after being waived-injured and clearing waivers (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle).
  • The Packers have reached an injury settlement with tight end David Grinnage, who was signed as a rookie free agent (Twitter link via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com).
  • The Patriots have cut linebacker Tony Steward, leaving them with an open roster spot, as Mark Daniels of the Providence Journal tweets.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/10/16

May 10th, 2016 at 4:30pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

  • Fullback Toben Opurum was claimed by the Broncos after he was waived by the Saints, Evan Woodbery of The Times-Picayune writes. Opurum, 25, has been with the Saints since the end of the 2014 season. In a related move, the Broncos have waived tight end Anthony Norris, Troy Renck of The Denver Post tweets.
  • The Bills have claimed running back Dri Archer off waivers from the Jets, as Mike Rodak of ESPN.com writes. Rodak notes that Archer owns the second-fastest 40-yard dash time (4.26 seconds) in NFL history. Bills wide receiver Marquise Goodwin holds the third-fastest time.
  • The Colts have claimed quarterback Josh Woodrum off waivers from the Giants, as Mike Wells of ESPN.com tweets. In a related move, the Colts waived-injured tight end Mike McFarland. McFarland will go on the Colts’ IR if he clears waivers. As for Woodrum, he becomes the team’s fourth QB on the depth chart after Andrew Luck, Scott Tolzien, and Stephen Morris.
  • The Rams released wide receiver Isiah Ferguson, according to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (on Twitter). To replace him, the Rams have inked wide receiver J.J. Worton (link).
  • The Vikings announced that they have waived safety Johnny Lowdermilk. The arrival of Lowdermilk will make room for the addition of running back C.J. Ham, whose signing was reported on Monday. Ham, a Duluth native, rushed for 1,097 yards and 16 touchdowns in his final season at Augustana University.
  • The Texans waived outside linebacker Eric Lee, who had signed as undrafted free agent from South Florida, John McClain of The Houston Chronicle tweets. Lee was making the transition to outside linebacker from college defensive end, as Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle notes (on Twitter).
  • The Packers announced the signing of safety Marwin Evans. Evans, 23, finished his collegiate career at Utah State. The Milwaukee native started 13 of 27 games played for the Aggies, recording 83 tackles (36 solo), 10 tackles for a loss, two sacks, an interception he returned 90 yards for a touchdown, three forced fumbles and five pass breakups.
  • The Giants‘ signing of Matt Smalley will wait until the Lafayette cornerback is done with his finals, according to Ralph Vacchiano of the Daily News (on Twitter). That will give Big Blue time before they have to release someone from the 90-man roster.
  • The Giants released linebacker Uani Unga (Twitter link via SiriusXM).
  • The Rams signed former Auburn wide receiver Duke Williams after his recent tryout, Vincent Bonsignore of the Daily News tweets.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/30/16

March 30th, 2016 at 3:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are the latest minor signings, cuts, and other transactions from around the NFL:

  • The Bills have officially re-signed offensive tackle Jordan Mills, the club confirmed in a press release. Mills had been a restricted free agent, having received a low-end $1.671MM tender from Buffalo — he has now formally signed that tender.
  • The Chargers are signing former UNC quarterback Bryn Renner after working him out along with some other signal-callers today, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Renner has spent time with Denver, Baltimore, and Tennessee, though his stints with those clubs came primarily during training camp or as a practice-squad player.
  • The Colts announced today in a press release that they’ve signed free agent tight end Mike McFarland and waived offensive tackle Pierce Burton. McFarland joined the Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2015, but was placed on injured reserve before the end of the 2015 preseason.
  • Mike Chappell of Fox59/CBS4 tweets that the Colts have also waived cornerback Josh Mitchell, who spent the 2015 season on the injured reserve list. Mitchell signed with Indianapolis as an undrafted free agent out of Nebraska last May, but he landed on IR later that month.

Workout Notes: Texans, 49ers, Giants

December 29th, 2015 at 8:55pm CST by Zachary Links

The Texans tried out Canadian Football League wide receiver Eric Rogers, according to a source who spoke with Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle. Rogers, who is in the process of auditioning for a reported 14 NFL teams, is not eligible to sign with an NFL club until January when he can ink a reserve/futures contract. The 6’3″, 210-pound former Division III standout at California Lutheran caught 87 passes for 1,448 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Here are more of today’s workout notes from around the NFL:

  • In addition to working out Rogers, the Texans also took a look at former Bengals defensive tackle Devon Still, per Pro Football Talk (Twitter link). Wilson adds a couple more defensive linemen to the list of players auditioned by Houston, tweeting that Glenn Foster and Josh Watson were brought in by the club as well. No one from the group was signed to a contract for now.
  • The 49ers tried out offensive lineman Colin Kelly, tweets Wilson.
  • Tight end Mike McFarland is among the players who worked out for the Giants on Tuesday, a source tells Wilson (Twitter link). Jordan Raanan of NJ.com (Twitter link) hears that former Washington wide receiver Aldrick Robinson was part of that workout group as well.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Workout Notes: Jets, Washington

December 14th, 2015 at 8:52pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Monday’s workout news from around the NFL:

  • Cornerback Kendall James tried out for the Jets, according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini (Twitter link). James, who entered the league as a sixth-round pick in 2014, has spent time with multiple organizations. He was most recently on the Browns’ practice squad, and has never appeared in a regular-season game.
  • Washington worked out tight end Mike McFarland, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). McFarland, an undrafted rookie out of South Florida, spent some time with the Texans earlier this season

Extra Points: Trades, FAs, Texans, Browns

October 30th, 2015 at 9:40pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The NFL doesn’t see that level of trade activity that does MLB or the NBA, but there are still a fair number of deals each year. Still, most of the trades (at least, those made in-season) are fairly minor in nature. However, in something of a thought exercise, Greg Garber of ESPN.com takes a look at five potential deals, involving star players such as J.J. Watt, Calvin Johnson, and Joe Thomas. Needless to say, it’s highly unlikely that any of these trades will come to pass, but it’s interesting to entertain, nonetheless. On a related note, I recently examined several AFC candidates to be traded before the November 3 deadline, and I’ll go over the NFC later this weekend.

Here’s a look around the NFL as we close out Friday night:

  • In an Insider-only piece for ESPN.com, Field Yates takes an early look at the top 10 free-agents-to-be for 2016, with Broncos pass rusher Von Miller topping his list. Considering Denver locked up Demaryius Thomas to a new contract earlier this year, Miller looks like a very strong bet to get the franchise tag this winter. However, if he signs a long-term deal with the Broncos or another team, Miller could become the NFL’s highest-paid defensive player, says Rand Getlin of the NFL Network (video link).
  • The Texans brokered a one-week injury settlement of nearly $19K for tight end Mike McFarland, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle writes. McFarland was removed from injured reserve following a bizarre incident where he was the victim of an extortion plot. Interestingly, Wilson writes that McFarland’s exit is related to that situation. McFarland joined the Texans as a UDFA this season out of South Florida. However, he began his career at USF as a four-star recruit.
  • The Browns worked out former Patriots defensive lineman Joe Vellano today, according to Wilson (Twitter link). Vellano, who turned 27 today, appeared in all 16 games for New England back in 2013, but saw action in just five contests last year. Cleveland has a few defensive lineman who are dinged up, but the club is likely just updating its emergency list.
  • The Titans will discuss re-adding receiver Rico Richardson to the active roster, reports Terry McCormick of TitansInsider.com (Twitter link). Richardson was released and moved to the practice squad on Monday.

Luke Adams and Zach Links contributed to this post.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/28/15

October 28th, 2015 at 3:38pm CST by Luke Adams

With Week 8’s slate of games around the corner, NFL teams are getting their rosters ready for their upcoming contests. Here are Wednesday’s minor transactions from around the league:

  • The Texans cut Mike McFarland from injured reserve with an injury settlement, Wilson tweets.
  • A day after being cut by the Colts, safety and special-teamer Dewey McDonald has been claimed off waivers by the Patriots, tweets Mike Reiss of ESPN.com, adding that New England will need to open a roster spot to make it official.

Earlier updates:

  • The Ravens have placed rookie receiver Darren Waller on injured reserve, ending his season, per Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter links). Offensive tackle De’Ondre Wesley has been promoted to the active roster to give the team some depth, as Eugene Monroe battles a shoulder injury.
  • The Jets have also made a move to provide insurance for a banged-up offensive lineman, elevating Wesley Johnson to their active roster, according to the team (Twitter link). Veteran center Nick Mangold suffered a neck injury against the Patriots, though he may not have to miss much – if any – time.
  • As expected, the Buccaneers – who will be without Louis Murphy for the rest of the season and Vincent Jackson in the short term – have promoted wide receiver Adam Humphries from their practice squad, tweets Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune.
  • The Jaguars have signed linebacker Hayes Pullard from off the Browns’ practice squad, waiving linebacker James-Michael Johnson to clear a space on their roster, according to John Oehser of Jaguars.com (Twitter link).
  • Having been cut from the 53-man roster on Saturday, wide receiver T.J. Graham re-signed with the Saints today, per Evan Woodbery of the Times-Picayune. Graham takes the roster spot that opened up when New Orleans waived cornerback Sammy Seamster.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/19/15

August 19th, 2015 at 9:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Wednesday minor NFL signings, cuts, and other moves from around the NFL:

  • When word broke earlier today that the Texans had signed safety Quintin Demps and defensive lineman Fili Moala, I noted that two corresponding roster moves would be required. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle has the details on those moves, reporting (via Twitter) that the team has waived defensive end Jasper Coleman and waived/injured tight end Mike McFarland. McFarland will land on the Texans’ injured reserve list if he clears waivers.
  • After releasing him earlier this week, the Saints have re-signed veteran tight end Alex Smith, placing tight end Kevin Brock on injured reserve, writes Nick Underhill of The Advocate. Brock had to be carted off the field after going down with an injury during Tuesday’s practice.
  • Former Georgia wide receiver Michael Bennett – not to be confused with the Michael Bennetts who played on the defensive line at Texas A&M or Ohio State, respectively – signed a contract with the Bengals today, according to the team (Twitter link). Cincinnati cut tight end Jake Murphy to create roster space for the addition.
  • The Steelers have claimed linebacker L.J. Fort off waivers from the Patriots, waiving linebacker Jordan Zumwalt, a 2014 sixth-round pick, with an injury designation, the team announced today (via Twitter).
  • The Chargers have also claimed a former Patriot, nabbing tight end Logan Stokes off waivers, according to a team release. Tight end Eric Frohnapfel was cut to create a spot for Stokes.
  • Washington has reached an injury settlement with outside linebacker Trevardo Williams, who landed on the team’s IR with a hamstring strain, tweets Zac Boyer of the Washington Times. Williams is now a free agent, able to sign with any team.

Texans, 16 UDFAs Reach Deals

May 2nd, 2015 at 10:50pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Texans have agreed to terms with 16 undrafted free agents, according to Mark Berman of FOX 26. Here they are:

  • Ivory Brandon, DT, Alabama
  • Jake Cotton, OG, Nebraska
  • Kurtis Drummond, S, Michigan State ($5K bonus, per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press).
  • Will Johnson, P, Texas State
  • Kendall Lamb, OT, Appalachian State
  • Khari Lee, TE, Bowie State
  • Mike McFarland, TE, South Florida
  • Cam McLeod, DE, Ohio State
  • Greg Mancz, C, Toledo
  • Dan Pettinato, DE, Arizona State
  • James Rouse, DE, Marshall
  • Chad Slade, OG, Auburn
  • Carlos Thompson, OLB, Mississippi
  • Lynden Trail, OLB, Norfolk State
  • Tony Washington, OLB, Oregon
  • Chandler Worthy, WR, Troy