Mike Thomas

Minor Moves: Monday

Today’s minor moves..

  • The Buccaneers have signed safety Derrick Wells, according to Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com (on Twitter). The Lehigh, Florida native was one of the players in attendance for the team’s rookie mini-camp.
  • The Cowboys welcomed back fullback Tyler Clutts on a one-year deal and cut Jed Collins, as Todd Archer of ESPN.com tweets. Clutts joined the Cowboys late in 2013 and played in every game last season, helping DeMarco Murray to an NFL-high 1,845 yards.
  • The Giants removed Thomas Gordon from their injured reserve with an injury settlement, Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun tweets.
  • The Patriots have said goodbye to Cameron Gordon and Devin Gardner, Wilson tweets. Gardner was a former quarterback at Michigan and was looking to transition to wide receiver in the NFL.
  • Washington signed linebacker Alonzo Highsmith while waiving Brey Cook, James Gayle, LaKendrick Ross, wide receiver Tyler Rutenbeck, and quarterback Connor Halliday, as John Keim of ESPN.com tweets. Halliday’s release was just formality after he abruptly announced his retirement from football.
  • The Saints announced the signings of linebacker Henry Coley, kicker Zach Hocker, offensive lineman Antonio Johnson, wide receiver Josh Morgan, and wide receiver Kyle Prater, as Larry Holder of The Times-Picayune tweets. To make room, offensive lineman Doniel Gambrell, guard Andrew Miller, and linebacker Stephon Sanders were shown the door while New Orleans waived/injured receiver Malcolme Kennedy (link).
  • The Titans announced (on Twitter) that they have agreed to terms with tight end Tevin Westbrook and outside linebacker Dezmond Johnson. Running back Lache Seastrunk and outside linebacker Dontay Moch were waived.
  • The Toronto Argonauts signed former NFL linebacker Brian Rolle, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Rolle, 27 in November, was drafted by the Eagles in the sixth round of the 2011 draft. His last NFL gig was with the Steelers, who signed him on a futures/reserve contract in 2013. Meanwhile, the Argos said goodbye to wide receiver Mike Thomas and safety David Sims, who both have had multiple stops in the NFL (link).
  • Wide receiver/kick returner DeShon Foxx has agreed to terms with the Seahawks, accoridng to Wilson (on Twitter).
  • The 49ers signed Mylan Hicks and Justin Renfrow, according to Wilson (on Twitter).
  • The Seahawks signed Earnest Pettway and Charles Tuauu, according to Wilson (on Twitter).
  • The Chiefs cut Curtis Feigt with a non-football injury designation, Wilson tweets.

Sunday Transactions: AFC South

Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four AFC South teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions are noted below.

Additionally, as of 11:00am CT today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. For the 2014 and 2015 seasons, changes were made to practice squad rules that allow teams to carry eight players instead of 10, and the eligibility requirements for those extra two spots were also loosened. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.

Here are Sunday’s AFC South transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:

Houston Texans:

Indianapolis Colts:

Jacksonville Jaguars:

  • Claimed off waivers: Mickey Shuler, TE (via Ryan O’Halloran on Twitter)
  • Cut: Marcel Jensen, TE (via Aaron Wilson on Twitter)
  • Signed to practice squad (officially announced): Cody Booth, T; DeAndre Coleman, DT; Henry Josey, RB (via Adam Caplan on Twitter); Craig Loston, S; Stephen Morris, QB; Kerry Taylor, WR; Tony Washington, WR; Marcus Whitfield, LB. The team has also added cornerback Peyton Thompson, reports Michael DiRocco (via Twitter), although the team has not officially announced the signing.

Tennessee Titans:

South Notes: Caldwell, Griffin, Washington

Despite owning 10 selections in the 2014 NFL Draft — including No. 3 overall — Jaguars second-year GM David Caldwell cites a robust class of eligible draftees as a reason to trade down and stockpile picks.

“We have 10 picks already and when we did the Eugene Monroe trade, we felt it would be a deep draft,” Caldwell said at his NFL Scouting Combine interview, according to John Oehser of Gaguars.com. “We feel really good about having an extra four and an extra five.”

In addition to its regularly allotted picks in Rounds 1-7, Jacksonville acquired a fifth-round pick with the trade of receiver Mike Thomas to the Lions, along with the aforementioned fourth- and fifth-round picks from the Ravens in the Monroe trade.

With NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock calling this draft class the deepest in the last 10 years, and Steelers GM Kevin Colbert saying it’s the deepest he’s ever seen, one would be hard-pressed to argue with Caldwell’s philosophy, especially with a lineup devoid of blue-chip talent.

More notes from the AFC and NFC South….

  • Titans safety Michael Griffin and receiver Nate Washington are due to make $6.2MM and $4.8MM in 2014, respectively, but it “sounds like they’re going to be OK,” according to Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean (Twitter link).
  • However, Wyatt doesn’t feel so optimistic about right tackle David Stewart, who is scheduled to earn $6.4MM next season. The Titans would not endure a cap hit of any kind if they release Stewart, who is in the final year of a six-year deal and has missed four games in each of the past two seasons due to injury.
  • Saints GM Mickey Loomis said he plans on filling as many needs as possible in free agency, then finding the best players available in the draft, writes John DeShazier of NewOrleansSaints.com. The New Orleans staff has all the reports written on the 2014 NFL draft class, said Loomis, and that it is now in the “fine-tuning” stage of the evaluation process.
  • DeShazier notes that the BPA strategy has paid dividends with Loomis at GM, unearthing gems like Jahri Evans and Marques Colston in the fourth and seventh rounds of 2006, along with Pierre Thomas and Junior Galette as undrafted free agents in 2007 and 2010.