HEADLINES

Pierce Burton

Minor NFC Transactions: 5/15/17

May 15th, 2017 at 5:49pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier today, we rounded up some minor moves out of the AFC. In the interest of equal time, we turn our attention to the NFC:

  • The Rams signed two Northwestern State alums in wide receiver Shakeir Ryan and running back De’Mard Llorens, Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com reports. In addition to the skill-position talents from the Natchitoches, Louisiana-based program, the Rams added another small-school product in Mary Hardin-Baylor linebacker Teidrick Smith. The two Division I-FCS talents and Division III defender will displace two Rams in defensive back Jared Collins and offensive lineman Shaq McMeans, per Gonzalez. Their roster currently houses 89 players.
  • Former Georgia Tech quarterback Justin Thomas signed with the Saints, who also added guard Josh LeRibeus and running back Trey Edmunds, Nick Underhill of The Advocate reports. The 5-foot-11 Thomas operated as a dual-threat quarterback with the Yellowjackets and probably would convert positions for an NFL opportunity. He rushed for more than 1,000 yards as a sophomore in the program’s run-centric offense and threw for 18 touchdown passes that season. In the two subsequent slates, Thomas combined to throw 21 TDs. The son of former Dolphins Pro Bowl tight end Ferrell Edmunds, Trey Edmunds served as a reserve at Virginia Tech and Maryland.
  • On a busy Monday, the Saints signed Drew Iddings, a source tells Underhill (on Twitter). Iddings, a former defensive lineman, will be trying to stick as an offensive guard. The 6-foot-6, 290-pound athlete has no significant experience on offense, but New Orleans believes that the powerful lineman can make a smooth transition. In college at South Dakota, Iddings appeared in 46 games and totaled 149 tackles and eight sacks.
  • The Seahawks cut quarterback Skyler Howard and fullback Brandon Cottom and signed fullback Kyle Coleman and wide receiver Speedy Noil, per a team announcement. Noil entered the draft early out of Texas A&M. He caught just 42 passes combined the past two seasons.
  • Giants signed wide receiver Kevin Snead, a Carson-Newman product, after his tryout. Snead, a former track star, reportedly ran a sub-4.3-second 40-yard-dash. To make room, the team waived offensive lineman Martin Wallace.
  • The Lions have signed free agent offensive tackle Arturo Uzdavinis and waived tackle Pierce Burton.
  • The Vikings signed guard Freddie Tagaloa after a successful rookie minicamp tryout, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets.
  • The Cardinals signed wide receiver Larry Clark.

Minor NFL Transactions: 2/23/17

February 23rd, 2017 at 9:00pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Thursday’s minor moves:

  • The Lions have announced the signing of offensive tackle Pierce Burton to an undisclosed contract. Burton, who went undrafted in 2014, previously spent time on the practice squads of the Vikings, Falcons, Panthers and Colts. The ex-Ole Miss standout hasn’t yet appeared in an NFL game.

NFC Notes: Cowboys, Redskins, Vikings, Seahawks

January 21st, 2017 at 11:16am CST by Ben Levine

The Cowboys defensive line struggled at times this past season, so it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that the team would be searching for some reinforcement this offseason. Executive vice president Stephen Jones essentially confirmed that the team would be pursuing an edge rusher when appearing on Ben and Skin on KRLD-FM 105.3 The Fan (via DallasNews.com):

“There’s no question. That’s why we always have to continue to be better. We haven’t done a good job of that. We’ve tried in several different ways to make that happen. But as we sit here today, we don’t have that player. We saw glimpses of that with Randy Gregory, but that’s a huge question mark as to when he might be able to come back and be a football player in the NFL. Getting his life off the field in the right order is the most important thing. But in the mean time, there’s no question what our needs are. The focus is gonna be on defense.

“You don’t ever shut your eye to a player who can help improve you on the offensive side of the ball either. We showed that last year when everybody knew how bad we needed defense and we obviously picked Zeke. Had the right rationale for it. I don’t think anything could have gone more according to plan than picking Zeke. I don’t think you ever rule out anything. That’s how you make huge mistakes. But I think it’s obvious to anyone who watches our football team that the defensive side of the football, especially our front seven, is where we need the most improvement.”

Let’s check out some more notes from around the NFC…

  • The Redskins‘ search for a defensive coordinator will be entering a third week, and one player believes the wait is a positive sign for outside linebackers coach (and candidate) Greg Manusky. ESPN.com’s John Keim writes that the former Colts defensive coordinator has the support of the Redskins players, and he notes that the front office may appreciate the continuity and Manusky’s familiarity with the organization.
  • Keim writes that the Redskins want to hang on to assistant defensive backs coach Aubrey Pleasant, noting that Sean McVay has had interest in bringing his former co-worker to the Rams. Pleasant played a significant role in helping former wideout Quinton Dunbar transition to a defensive back.
  • UCLA has hired Vikings assistant offensive line coach Hank Fraley as their new offensive line coach, reports Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports (via Twitter). The former NFL lineman had spent the past three seasons in Minnesota, and he previously coached at the University of San Diego and San Jose State.
  • The Seahawks worked out a trio of players yesterday, according to Howard Balzer on Twitter: offensive linemen Pierce Burton and Tayo Fabuluje and defensive end B.J. McBryde. Fabuluje, a former sixth-round pick, played four game for the Bears in 2015. Burton and McBryde have yet to play in an NFL game.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/13/16

December 13th, 2016 at 5:24pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Signed: LB Reshard Cliett

Carolina Panthers

  • Signed: OL Blaine Clausell

Cleveland Browns

Indianpolis Colts

  • Signed: T Pierce Burton

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

  • Signed: DT Justin Zimmer

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Signed: LB Shaquille Riddick

San Francisco 49ers

  • Signed: OT Mitchell Van Dyk

Tennessee Titans

  • Signed: RB David Fluellen

Washington Redskins

NFL Workout Updates: 11/1/16

November 1st, 2016 at 8:38pm CST by Ben Levine

Tuesday is workout day in the NFL, and today was no different. Due to the sheer volume of today’s auditions, we’ll split up the reports by conference:

AFC

NFC

North Notes: Jackson, Lewis, Jeffery

October 23rd, 2016 at 12:36pm CST by Rory Parks

Hue Jackson has his work cut out for him as the head coach of the Browns, but he had the opportunity to succeed Marvin Lewis as the Bengals‘ head coach if he so chose. As Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes, “Jackson confirmed this week that he passed up an opportunity to succeed [Lewis] in Cincinnati, taking the Browns job instead.” Of course, even if Lewis wanted to hand the baton to Jackson at some point down the line, it would have been difficult for Jackson to turn down a head coaching job elsewhere, as there is no guarantee that Cincinnati ownership would have gone along with Lewis’ plan, or that Lewis would have even been around to pass the torch.

Jackson, though, was also motivated by the opportunity to rebuild the Cleveland franchise, and by his friendship with Lewis. Jackson said, “That is Marvin’s football team. He’s been there a long time. It’s hard to ever replace a best friend that way and be there waiting behind. I didn’t think it was the right thing for me to do. I didn’t think it would be right for their team.”

Now let’s take a look at a few more notes from the league’s north divisions:

  • The Browns recently hosted tackle Pierce Burton on a visit, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).
  • Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com takes an in-depth look at how Bears wideout Alshon Jefferey could fare on the open market this offseason. Historically speaking, Jeffery is unlikely to be hit with the franchise tag for a second consecutive year, and a player with his ability does not often reach the open market. Fitzgerald believes Chicago will regret not locking Jeffery up long-term, and that the South Carolina product’s next contract could pay him over $14MM per season.
  • Over a month after the deal was consummated, there is one more detail to pass along from the Sam Bradford trade. We already knew that, if the Vikings reach the NFC Championship Game this year, the conditional 2018 fourth-rounder they are required to send to the Eagles would become a third-rounder. But according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, if that 2018 fourth-rounder does indeed become a third, Philadelphia will send back a 2018 seventh-round choice to Minnesota.
  • Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press examines pending free agents at linebacker that the Lions could target in the offseason. New England’s Jamie Collins and Dont’a Hightower are both familiar to GM Bob Quinn and would represent upgrades for Detroit, although Hightower is far more likely to reach the open market than Collins. Birkett also names Nick Perry as a realistic option.
  • Earlier today, we learned that Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger may miss just one game and could be back in time for the team’s Week 9 matchup against Baltimore.

NFL Workout Updates: 10/11/16

October 11th, 2016 at 7:35pm CST by Dallas Robinson

We’ll keep track of the day’s auditions here:

  • The Buccaneers will work out defensive end Chris McCain on Wednesday, reports Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). McCain, who was traded from Miami to New Orleans during the offseason before ultimately being waived, has appeared in 19 games over the past two seasons.
  • After being released by the Redskins last week, veteran defensive end Kendall Reyes landed a workout with the Texans, who are still trying to replace J.J. Watt, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.com. Houston also tried out defensive lineman Lars Koht, per Kaplan.
  • The Dolphins worked out cornerbacks Darrin Walls and Blidi Wreh-Wilson before signing Chimdi Chekwa, tweets Caplan, who adds that Miami also auditioned offensive tackle David Foucault. The Dolphins also worked out linebacker Trevor Reilly, according to Howard Balzer (Twitter link).
  • Former Buffalo outside linebacker Randell Johnson is visiting the Jets today, as Alex Marvez of the Sporting News tweets. New York also worked out tight end Mitchell Henry, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (Twitter link).
  • The Seahawks worked out defensive end Malliciah Goodman on Monday, reports Rand Getlin (on Twitter). Goodman played for Atlanta in his first three NFL seasons. Seattle also took a look at tight end Alex Bayer, defensive end Josh Boyd, cornerback Trae Elston, safety Jordan Lomax, and visited with safety Elijah Shumate, per Balzer (Twitter link).
  • The Panthers auditioned offensive tackles Michael Bowie and Pearce Slater, as well as cornerbacks Randall Evans, Tyler Patmon, and Kevin Short, tweets Balzer. Cleveland placed Bowie on the retired list earlier this year, but he’s apparently had a change of heart.
  • Offensive tackle Pierce Burton worked out for the Colts today, according to Balzer (Twitter link).

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.

Practice Squad Updates: 12/1/15

December 1st, 2015 at 4:30pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s practice squad updates from around the NFL:

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

  • Signed: LB Brian Blechen (Twitter link via Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer)

Indianapolis Colts

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

  • Signed: WR Austin Hill (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle)

New York Jets

Oakland Raiders

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

St. Louis Rams

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/24/15

November 24th, 2015 at 4:54pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Tuesday’s practice squad signings and cuts from around the NFL, with any further moves added to the list throughout the day:

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

  • Signed: OL Reese Dismukes (Twitter link via Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer)
  • Cut: T Pierce Burton (Twitter link via Person)

Chicago Bears

  • Signed: LB Danny Mason, QB Justin Worley (Twitter link via Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times)

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

San Francisco 49ers

  • Signed: LB Kevin Snyder (link via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle)

Seattle Seahawks

Load More Posts