HEADLINES

Phillip Gaines

Texans Re-Sign CB Phillip Gaines

March 14th, 2020 at 10:09am CST by Ben Levine

Phillip Gaines is re-signing with Houston. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports (via Twitter) that the veteran cornerback has signed with the Texans. It’s a one-year deal worth the veteran’s minimum.

The 28-year-old has bounced around the league a bit since being selected in the third round of the 2014 draft. His best season came with the Chiefs in 2016, when he had 44 tackles, seven passes defended, an interception, and two forced fumbles.

After splitting the 2018 season with the Bills and Browns, Gaines signed with the Texans last September. After appearing in six games (two starts) for his new squad, Gaines landed on the injured reserve.

The Texans were presumably eyeing some cornerback reinforcement after the squad and Johnathan Joseph mutually agreed to part ways. On the flip side, the organization has reportedly made re-signing Bradley Roby a priority.

Texans Lose Phillip Gaines For Season

October 21st, 2019 at 4:15pm CST by Marc Delucchi

Texans cornerback Phillip Gaines is set to undergo season-ending ankle surgery, according to Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle. Per a source, Gaines will be placed on Injured Reserve after suffering a severe high-ankle sprain in yesterday’s loss to the Colts. The recovery is expected to take five months.

Gaines has been a rotational player since entering the league in 2014. Entering the sixth year of his career, Gaines had yet to start less than three games in a season, but never more than six. Houston had begun using him more prominently as the season went on, starting the team’s previous two games before leaving the game yesterday.

While Gaines was not signed to be a starter, he was called into action once Bradley Roby and Johnathan Joseph went down with injuries. Now down another member of their secondary, the Texans decided to trade a third-round pick in the upcoming draft for Raiders cornerback Gareon Conley earlier today. It appears likely that Conley will step into Gaines’ place in the lineup.

Texans Release Aaron Colvin, Sign Phillip Gaines

September 10th, 2019 at 7:05pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

In the wake of Monday night’s heartbreaking loss, the Texans are making a surprising move. Houston is releasing veteran cornerback Aaron Colvin, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

In a corresponding roster move the team signed fellow corner Phillip Gaines to a one-year deal, according to a tweet from Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. The Texans are taking a massive financial loss by cutting Colvin right now. Just last March, they signed him to a four-year, $34MM deal with $18MM in guaranteed money. As Schefter pointed out, he still had a $7.5MM guaranteed salary for 2019 which Houston will now be eating.

Colvin originally entered the league as a fourth-round pick of the Jaguars back in 2014. After spending his first four years in Jacksonville, he landed the massive deal from his former AFC South rivals. The marriage was never a good fit from the start, and it was clear right away there were problems.

Colvin started only two games last year, and also missed time with an ankle injury. He started last night’s game against the Saints and that was apparently the final straw as Houston’s secondary struggled to contain Drew Brees. The Texans have been sniffing around for cornerback help for a while and have now settled on Gaines, a 2014 third-round pick of the Chiefs.

After four years in Kansas City, Gaines started six games for the Bills last year and also spent some time with the Browns. Colvin thrived as a nickel corner in Jacksonville, and should draw significant interest on the open market, albeit at a much cheaper price. As Adam Caplan of Sirius XM points out in a tweet, longtime Texan Johnathan Joseph and fellow starter Bradley Roby are both in the final year of their deals, so Houston’s secondary could look quite a bit different in 2020.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/7/19

September 7th, 2019 at 7:10pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Here are today’s minor moves on the eve of regular season openers:

Arizona Cardinals

Cleveland Browns

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Redskins

Browns Reach 53-Man Limit

August 31st, 2019 at 3:27pm CST by Zachary Links

After making a couple of trades, the Browns have made a boatload of cuts to reach the 53-man max. Here’s the breakdown:

Contract Terminated:
LB Ray-Ray Armstrong
P Britton Colquitt
DT Carl Davis
T Bryan Witzmann

Waived:
WR Dorian Baker
DT Brandin Bryant
TE Stephen Carlson
TE Seth DeValve
T Brian Fineanganofo
RB Trayone Gray
LB Willie Harvey
S J.T. Hassell
WR Ishmael Hyman
CB Robert Jackson
K Greg Joseph
CB Donnie Lewis Jr.
S Montrel Meander
WR Braxton Miller
RB A.J. Ouellette
DE Jarrell Owens
CB Lenzy Pipkins
DT Brian Price
DE Wyatt Ray
S Tigie Sankoh
T Brad Seaton
WR Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi
LB Anthony Stubbs
T Travis Vornkahl
LB Dedrick Young II
WR Derrick Willies
G Willie Wright
DE Anthony Zettel

Waived/Injured:
G Kyle Kalis (concussion)
FB Joe Kerridge (concussion)

IR:

CB Phillip Gaines (concussion)

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/15/19

March 15th, 2019 at 10:16pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s minor moves:

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Los Angeles Chargers

Oakland Raiders

Browns Claim CB Phillip Gaines, S Jermaine Whitehead Off Waivers

November 7th, 2018 at 3:58pm CST by Zachary Links

The Browns claimed cornerback Phillip Gaines (from the Bills) and safety Jermaine Whitehead (Packers) off waivers, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). If placed on the active roster, both players will be available for Sunday’s game against the Falcons.

Cleveland’s been short on secondary personnel recently. Damarious Randall missed Week 9 because of groin and ankle injuries, and E.J. Gaines (concussion) is now on IR.

Both Cleveland-bound players have connections to the front office. John Dorsey drafted Gaines in the third round while serving as the Chiefs’ GM in 2014, and Whitehead caught on with the Packers in 2016, when Browns execs Eliot Wolf and Alonzo Highsmith were in Green Bay.

Phillip Gaines signed a league-minimum deal with the Bills after four seasons of up-and-down work with the Chiefs. He started in six Buffalo games this season — the most of his career — and made 54 tackles.

Whitehead started in two Packers contests and was expected to be a bigger part of Green Bay’s secondary following the Ha Ha Clinton-Dix trade. The former UDFA, however, was ejected from Sunday’s game against the Patriots, further weakening an already-thin safety contingent. He played 221 snaps this season, registered 37 stops and recorded a sack.

Bills Release CB Phillip Gaines

November 6th, 2018 at 5:46pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Bills have released starting cornerback Phillip Gaines, the club announced today. Buffalo has promoted fellow defensive back Levi Wallace from the practice squad to fill Gaines’ vacated roster spot.

Gaines, 27, had started six games for the Bills and was second among Buffalo cornerbacks in defensive snaps with 367, but he hadn’t played especially well. Pro Football Focus graded Gaines as the No. 56 CB among 111 qualifiers, while the ex-Chief had allowed 10.6 yards per pass and a 50% success rate, both of which are well below league average. Buffalo also ranked 19th in pass DVOA against opposing No. 2 receivers, the majority of which were covered by Gaines.

Penalties were also a problem for Gaines. As noted by Mike Rodak of ESPN.com (Twitter links), Gaines leads all NFL players with 131 penalty yards. Additionally, Gaines gave up 90 yards via penalty against the Bears on Sunday (both on lengthy pass interference calls), a total which ranks second among all players since 2001.

With Gaines out of the picture, Ryan Lewis — a waiver claim by the Bills earlier this years — figures to start at corner against the Jets on Sunday, tweets Joe Buscaglia of WKBW. Taron Johnson, who has played roughly 55% of Buffalo’s defensive snaps, will continue in his role as the club’s nickel cornerback.

Bills Notes: Allen, McCoy, Staff, CBs

September 17th, 2018 at 5:38pm CST by Sam Robinson

Despite the quarterback battle between Nathan Peterman and Josh Allen being close during the preseason, the Bills did not want their No. 7 overall pick to have to play so soon. They hoped Peterman would keep the job “for a while” while Allen learned, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports. However, after Peterman’s 0.0 passer rating against the Ravens, little debate ensued about making the move to the rookie for Week 2.

“You wish you had more to go on than just the three starts, and it might be different if this was a veteran with a five-year body of work,” a Bills source told La Canfora, recalling Peterman’s five-interception start against the Chargers last season. “But you don’t have anything else to go on, and after it happens a second time you can’t just write it off as an anomaly.”

Allen is now the starter, but La Canfora reports the Bills remain on the lookout for quarterbacks — via the waiver wire and on other teams’ depth charts. However, as for their QB1 job, it’s Allen’s. Sean McDermott confirmed as much Monday (via Joe Buscaglia of WKBW, on Twitter). Citing the Wyoming product’s intellect, the Bills did not envision their draft prize sitting an entire season like some expected, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link). In his first start, a loss to the Chargers, Allen completed 18 of 33 passes for 245 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.

Here’s the latest from Buffalo:

  • Allen may not have LeSean McCoy available to take handoffs in Week 3. The former All-Pro running back cracked rib cartilage against the Chargers, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets, adding McCoy will be questionable to face Vikings. Worries existed this injury indeed was cracked ribs, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter), who adds this injury won’t be classified as a fracture. Chris Ivory resides as Buffalo’s backup running back.
  • McDermott took over play-calling duties from defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier mid-game, he confirmed after the Bills’ loss to the Chargers. “I just thought we needed a spark and that’s my background,” McDermott said. Frazier said during his tenure he and McDermott have worked collaboratively, per Mike Rodak of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
  • Vontae Davis‘ mid-game retirement obviously caught the Bills by surprise, and it’s final. McDermott will not be reaching out to the cornerback, who signed with the Bills this offseason. “I have not been in touch with Vontae today,” McDermott said (via Buscaglia, on Twitter). “His actions were loud and clear. My focus is on my team right now.”
  • Despite the 30-year-old corner retiring, the Bills received a roster exemption for Davis, Rapoport tweets. It’s a left-squad designation, per NFL reporter Howard Balzer (Twitter link).
  • Phillip Gaines will now be counted on to start opposite Tre’Davious White, but he’s encountered some injury trouble. Gaines dislocated one of his elbows, Mike Rodak of ESPN.com tweets. That may not stop him from playing in Week 3, but it’s a concern at this point, per Rodak. After a shaky stay with the Chiefs, Gaines joined Davis in signing with the Bills this offseason. The Bills have fourth-round rookie Taron Johnson and third-year player Lafayette Pitts on their roster. With Davis gone and Gaines injured, Buffalo has three available corners at this moment.

Contract Details: Texans, Weeden, Bills

April 3rd, 2018 at 7:21pm CST by Zachary Links

A deeper look at some recent free agent deals:

  • Quarterback Brandon Weeden‘s contract with the Texans is for one year at a rate of $880K. The deal includes $230K in guaranteed cash between $140K of his base being assured and a $90K signing bonus. Weeden has not seen the field since 2015 when he appeared in four games for Dallas and two for the Texans. The 34-year-old (35 in October) has a career 6-19 record.
  • Linebacker Will Compton’s one-year deal with the Titans can be worth up to $2MM, John Keim of ESPN.com tweets. The deal included a $250K signing bonus. As Keim notes, that’s a solid contract for Compton considering that shoulder and Lisfranc injuries held him back in 2017. With the Titans, he’ll have an opportunity to reassert himself and potentially start.
  • The Bills’ contracts signed last week with cornerback Phillip Gaines and wide receiver/punt returner Kaelin Clay were both for one year at minimum salaries, Mike Rodak of ESPN.com tweets. Gaines is not well regarded by the advanced metrics, but he was a pivotal reserve for Kansas City from 2014-2017 and started some games last year due to Steven Nelson‘s injury.
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