HEADLINES

Morgan Burns

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/17/16

May 17th, 2016 at 4:49pm CST by Zachary Links

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

  • The Steelers have brought back tight end David Johnson, who was with Pittsburgh from 2009-13 after it took him in the seventh round of the ’09 draft (Twitter link via Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). Johnson, who has 24 career receptions, spent the previous two seasons in San Diego. To make room for Johnson, the Steelers cut fellow tight end David Reeves, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). Reeves, an undrafted free agent from Duke, signed with the Steelers last month.
  • Just days after signing with the Titans as an undrafted free agent, cornerback/kick returner Morgan Burns has retired, writes The Associated Press. Burns, a former Kansas State speedster, was the Big 12 special teams player of the year in 2015.
  • The Panthers have claimed tight end Marcus Lucas off waivers from the Bears, David Newton of ESPN reports. Lucas is familiar with Carolina, having spent the 2014 season on its practice squad. The former undrafted free agent from Missouri has yet to appear in an NFL game.
  • The Jaguars signed offensive lineman Jeff Linkenbach and cut kicker Jaden Oberkrom, according to ESPN’s Mike DiRocco. Linkenbach has 86 appearances and 36 starts to his name. Ten of those appearances came when Linkenbach was a member of both the Dolphins and Chargers last year. Oberkrom had a brief stint in Jacksonville, which signed the ex-TCU standout as an undrafted free agent earlier this month.

Earlier updates:

  • The Eagles announced that they have signed tight end M.J. McFarland and linebacker Ty Powell while waiving quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson and offensive lineman Brett Boyko, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. The addition of Powell means that the Eagles now have four players from the Buffalo’s 2014 defense on their roster. Jim Schwartz, of course, served as the defensive coordinator of that team.
  • The Buccaneers announced that they have signed A.J. Francis, as Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com writes. The defensive tackle now joins his fourth team after beginning his career in Miami and later seeing time in Seattle and New England. To make room, second-year defensive tackle Davon Coleman has been waived.
  • Former Texans first-round pick Amobi Okoye has signed with the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League, as Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle writes. The defensive tackle was stricken with a rare illness, which seemingly ended his career in 2012. He hooked on with the Cowboys last season, but he was released before he could take the field.
  • Washington has signed tryout cornerback Mariel Cooper, Tarik El-Bashir of CSNWashington.com tweets.
  • The Ravens announced that cornerback Sheldon Price, an ERFA, has agreed to his one-year contract with the team. Price, who went undrafted out of UCLA in 2013, previously spent time on the Colts’ taxi squad.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/23/16

May 13th, 2016 at 5:46pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Here’s today’s look at the minor signings and cuts around the NFL:

  • Just one week after being released by New England, running back Joey Iosefa is re-signing with the Patriots, per Doug Kyed of NESN.com. Iosefa, who played in two games for the Pats in 2015, turned down the opportunity to work out for another club, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com (Twitter link), who adds that Iosefa had planned to re-sign with New England all along.
  • The Lions have added an undrafted rookie free agent, inking Central Michigan defensive tackle Louis Palmer to a contract, according to Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com (Twitter link). In order to create a roster spot, Detroit released offensive tackle Lamar Holmes, a veteran of 21 NFL games who signed with the Lions in February.
  • The Titans also agreed to terms with an UDFA, signing Kansas State cornerback Morgan Burns, tweets Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com. Burns, who ran a 4.38 40-yard dash, is expected to make his mark as a kick returner, according to his NFL.com draft profile.
  • Former Wisconsin tight end Austin Traylor was set to attend the Chargers rookie camp on a tryout basis, but he’ll instead sign with the Cowboys, reports Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link).