HEADLINES

Peria Jerry

Minor Moves: Friday

February 13th, 2015 at 4:44pm CST by Luke Adams

The Browns released offensive lineman Paul McQuistan earlier today, a notable transaction because the move leaves Cleveland with some dead money on its cap for the 2015 season. However, the following transactions aren’t quite as noteworthy, involving players who didn’t see the field much – or at all – in 2014, or players who won’t be receiving any guarantees on their new contracts. Here are today’s minor moves:

  • The Falcons have signed former Seahawks linebacker Allen Bradford, the team announced today in a press release. Bradford has been well-traveled since entering the league as a sixth-round pick in 2011, spending time with the Buccaneers, Browns, Giants, and Jaguars, in addition to playing under new Atlanta head coach Dan Quinn in Seattle. However, the 26-year-old has only appeared in 13 career regular season contests.
  • Per Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News, the Cowboys have signed free agent defensive tackle Davon Coleman, who spent some time with the club during the 2014 season after signing as an undrafted free agent last spring. Machota adds that Dallas has also locked up one of its exclusive rights free agents, re-signing linebacker Cameron Lawrence. Both players figure to receive minimum-salary contracts.
  • According to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter), the Cowboys made one more transaction today, waiving linebacker DeVonte Holloman with a failed physical designation. Holloman had been on the injured reserve list all season.
  • Offensive tackle Xavier Nixon has been claimed off waivers by Washington, according to Caplan (via Twitter). Nixon, cut this week by the Colts, spent some time with Washington before heading to Indianapolis in 2013.
  • The Falcons officially removed defensive lineman Peria Jerry from the reserve/left squad list today, tweets Caplan. This was a procedural move, since Jerry announced his retirement back in July.

Falcons’ Peria Jerry To Retire

July 31st, 2014 at 2:30pm CST by Luke Adams

Falcons defensive tackle Peria Jerry has announced his intentions to retire from the NFL, according to the team. News of Jerry’s decision to retire was first tweeted by Jay Glazer of FOX Sports.

Jerry, who turns 30 in August, was selected 24th overall in the 2009 draft by Atlanta. However, injuries and underwhelming production on the field prevented him from breaking through as a full-time starter until last season, when he started 14 of the club’s 16 contests.

The Mississippi product recorded 33 tackles and 3.5 sacks in 2013, but graded as just the 65th-best defensive tackle of the 69 who received regular playing time, according to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required). Over the course of his five seasons in Atlanta, Jerry started 29 of 64 games, making 67 total tackles and recovering a pair of fumbles.

After the Falcons overhauled their defensive line in the offseason, bringing in Paul Soliai and Tyson Jackson, among others, Jerry was expected to return to a reserve role, having re-signed with the team in March. Jerry’s minimum salary contract included a $160K roster bonus, which it appears he won’t be receiving now that he won’t be on the team’s regular-season roster.

Falcons Re-Sign Peria Jerry

March 20th, 2014 at 9:39am CST by Luke Adams

THURSDAY, 9:39am: According to D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter), Jerry’s deal with the Falcons is for one year and $890K. Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com tweets that the contract includes a $730K base salary, which is the minimum, so it’s a bit surprising that the team would exceed the $65K bonus limit for a minimum salary benefit deal.

WEDNESDAY, 5:02pm: The Falcons have re-signed defensive lineman Peria Jerry, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The five-year veteran had been an unrestricted free agent.

Jerry, 29, started 14 games for the Falcons in 2013, but may not see such a significant role for the team in 2014 as the defensive line undergoes an overhaul. The former first-round pick logged 3.5 sacks to go along with 33 tackles last season, but didn’t post good grades against the run, according to Pro Football Focus, whose metrics ranked him 64th of 69 qualified defensive tackles (subscription required).

Earlier this month, it appeared the Falcons and Jerry were ready to part ways. Perhaps Jerry didn’t generate as much interest on the open market as he anticipated, or perhaps the club was unimpressed with the alternatives.

FA Rumors: Falcons, Finley, Winston, Neal

March 7th, 2014 at 4:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Let’s follow up on this morning’s free agent rumors with another round of them for the afternoon….

  • The Falcons are engaged in active talks to bring back offensive lineman Mike Johnson, but appear ready to part ways with defensive tackle Peria Jerry, reports D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Consitution.
  • Tight end Jermichael Finley has drawn interest from the Jets, Chiefs, Seahawks, Giants, and Steelers, tweets Ben Volin of the Boston Globe. The former Packers standout still hasn’t been medically cleared, however.
  • The Cardinals have maintained interest in offensive lineman Eric Winston, but with no deal imminent, the veteran tackle could hit the open market, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
  • The Packers have had meaningful discussions with outside linebacker Mike Neal, but they haven’t come up with a large enough offer to keep him from testing the open market, tweets Pete Dougherty of the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
  • Wilson also passes along an update on former Ravens defensive tackle Bryan Hall, who worked out for eight NFL teams at Arkansas State today. Hall was converted to linebacker by Baltimore, but is back to playing on the line now (Twitter links).
  • According to Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean (Twitter link), defensive tackle Antonio Johnson continues to talk to the Titans, as the team tries to re-sign some of its players scheduled to be unrestricted free agents
  • Having re-signed Marcus Sherels, the Vikings have one restricted free agent left, in linebacker Larry Dean. A source tells Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter link) the team is having ongoing discussions on the possibility of bringing Dean back.
  • Tight end Dustin Keller, who was doing exceptionally well in camp with the Dolphins last offseason before tearing his ACL, is on track to return for this season, tweets Tom Pelissero of USA Today. Keller is an unrestricted free agent.