Quinton Dunbar

Redskins Activate DeAngelo Hall from PUP

Washington looks to be getting some reinforcements to their secondary in the form of a 33 year-old defensive back. The Redskins have activated safety DeAngelo Hall from the PUP after the veteran returned to practice in Week 7, according to a team announcement. Washington has waived offensive lineman Orlando Franklin to make room on the active roster.

DeAngelo Hall (vertical)

Hall was placed on the PUP back in training camp as he recovered from a torn ACL he suffered last season against the Giants.

The 14-year veteran brings another capable asset into a defensive backfield that consists of Josh Norman, Quinton Dunbar, D.J. Swearinger and Montae Nicholson. It remains to be seen how much playing time Hall will get in the early goings, but it will certainly be a welcomed addition coming on the heels of two crushing defeats by division foes Philadelphia and Dallas.

Hall is not the player he once was when he came into the league with the Atlanta Falcons in 2004, having played his last full season in 2013 when he had four picks on the year. The safety has not registered an interception since that time.

Franklin, 29, signed with the team last week, but was vulnerable after the Redskins offensive line got healthier. The former second round pick spent his first four years in the NFL with the Broncos before moving onto the Chargers for the last two seasons. The guard was cut by Los Angeles at the beginning of this year and will once again be an option for teams looking to build up their offensive line depth in the second half of the year.

NFC Notes: Fitzgerald, DeHaven, Lions, Redskins

Larry Fitzgerald recently signed an extension with the Cardinals that would take him through the 2017 season. However, when asked if he’d retire before completing the contract, the veteran wideout dodged the question.

“That’s kind of self explanatory, right?” Fitzgerald told Kent Somers of AZCentral.com. “I hope so. We’ve got a good thing going right now. We’ve got a really good football team. But not only that, management, Steve Keim (General Manager), Coach (Bruce) Arians, Michael Bidwill. We’ve done a great job in all phases of organization football, and it’s been fun to be around here the last couple years.”

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

  • Panthers special teams coach Bruce DeHaven is taking a leave of absence to resume cancer treatments, writes Joseph Person of The Charlotte Observer. The coordinator title has been handed to assistant Thomas McGaughey, and former NFL linebacker Chase Blackburn will slide into the assistant role. DeHaven, who has been coaching for 46 years, is hoping to return for the team’s Week 2 game against the 49ers. In the meantime, he’ll serve as the Panthers’ senior special teams advisor.
  • Lions rookie running back Zach Zenner got a longer look during the team’s preseason opener than veteran Stevan Ridley. The two backs have been splitting reps in practice, and ESPN.com’s Michael Rothstein believes both players will ultimately make the roster. However, the writer notes that if Zenner continues to get playing time over Ridley, the veteran could find himself on the “roster bubble.”
  • Rich Tandler of RealRedskins.com writes that the Redskins were expected to only carry a pair of quarterbacks on their roster (Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy) with the hope that rookie Nate Sudfeld would end up on the practice squad. However, Tandler writes that the signal-caller is making a case to make the roster.
  • Tandler notes that cornerback Greg Toler‘s play has led to some tough decisions for the Redskins coaching staff. If the former fourth-rounder ended up on the team, the organization would either cut Quinton Dunbar or Dashaun Phillips, although the team’s lack of safeties makes the latter unlikely.

Washington Signs Mason Foster, Places Shawn Lauvao On IR

Washington has announced a series of roster moves, confirming today (via Twitter) that they’ve added a pair of new players to the 53-man roster, signing free agent linebacker Mason Foster and promoting cornerback Quinton Dunbar from the practice squad.

In order to make room for the incoming additions, Washington has placed two players on the injured reserve list. Starting left guard Shawn Lauvao and cornerback Justin Rogers have both landed on IR. Rogers has been battling foot problems, while Lauvao suffered an ankle injury during the club’s Week 3 game against the Giants.

Of the two new players on Washington’s 53-man squad, Foster is the more interesting name. The 26-year-old appeared in 10 games for the Buccaneers last season and started all of them. In that time, he recorded 62 total tackles and three pass deflections. The former third-round pick also impressed with 105 tackles in 2012, and 92 tackles – to go along with three interceptions and two sacks – in 2013. However, after signing with the Bears in March, he failed to earn a spot on Chicago’s regular season roster.

As for the two players heading to IR, Lauvao will be the more noteworthy loss for Washington, since he was a key piece of an offensive line that looked very effective in the running game during the season’s first couple games. Josh LeRibeus is expected to replace Lauvao going forward, though he’s dealing with an injury of his own. Tom Compton and Spencer Long could also be in the mix.

Sunday NFL Transactions: NFC East

Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four NFC East 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 for the Cowboys, Giants, Eagles, and Washington are noted below.

Additionally, as of 11:00am 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 NFC East transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:

Dallas Cowboys

  • Acquired via trade:
    • RB Christine Michael, from Seahawks (link)
  • Cut:
  • Signed to practice squad:

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Claimed off waivers:
    • QB Stephen Morris (link)
  • Signed to practice squad (via press release)

    • T Brett Boyko (Twitter link via Adam Caplan)
    • G Malcolm Bunche
    • CB Randall Evans (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson)
    • WR Freddie Martino
    • DE Brian Mihalik
    • RB Raheem Mostert (Twitter link via Brett Tessler)
    • TE Chris Pantale
    • WR Quron Pratt
    • S Ed Reynolds (Twitter link via Caplan)
    • LB Deontae Skinner (Twitter link via Tony Pauline)

Washington

Washington Trims Roster To 53 Players

Washington is now down to 53 players, having made a series of cuts in advance of this afternoon’s deadline. Here, according to a press release, are the club’s moves:

Waived:

  • LB Houston Bates
  • WR Reggie Bell
  • RB Mack Brown
  • T Takoby Cofield
  • DE Corey Crawford
  • WR/CB Quinton Dunbar
  • TE Je’Ron Hamm
  • LB Sage Harold
  • C/G Tyler Larsen
  • WR Colin Lockett
  • LB Terrance Plummer
  • C Austin Reiter
  • DL Travian Robertson
  • DL Robert Thomas
  • RB Trey Williams

Waived with injury settlement:

  • DB Da’Mon Cromartie-Smith
  • S Akeem Davis
  • TE D.J. Williams

Waived/injured:

  • FB Jordan Campbell
  • WR Evan Spencer

Released:

  • NT Jerrell Powe

Minor Moves: Monday

Here are Monday’s minor transactions from around the NFL, with the latest minor moves added to the top of the list throughout the day:

  • The Lions signed three tryout players – safety Nathan Lindsey and receivers Erik Lora and Jarred Haggins – and released wideout Desmond Lawrence, Tim Twentyman of the team’s website writes.
  • Washington has signed undrafted receiver Quinton Dunbar, formerly of Florida, tweets Tarik El-Bashir of CSNWashington.com.
  • The Dolphins signed one tight end – Tim Semisch, undrafted out of Northern Illinois – and released another in Ryan Taylor, writes Mike Wilkening of Pro Football Talk. Taylor, a Packers seventh-round pick in 2011, has eight career catches.
  • The Cardinals have signed three tryout players – a quarterback (Phillip Sims) and two safeties (Brandon Person and Harold Jones-Quartey) – per their official website. To make room, they released tackle Kelvin Palmer, wide receiver Travis Harvey, and cornerback Ross Weaver.
  • The Bears signed quarterback Pat Devlin, defensive tackle Terry Williams, and linebacker Kyle Woestmann, tweets Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune. They also waived linebacker Khaseem Greene and cut fellow LB Austen Lane.
  • The Buccaneers have cut safety Shelton Johnson, wide receivers Chandler Jones and Josh Reese, offensive lineman Matt Patchan, and linebacker Michael Reynolds (Twitter: Roy Cummings, Tampa Tribune).
  • The Packers will release defensive lineman Luther Robinson, according to Bill Huber of Packer Report. Robinson appeared in five games last year.
  • The Bills signed undrafted free agent safety Wes Miller, formerly of UTEP, according to Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News (Twitter link).
  • The Raiders signed ex-Auburn running back Michael Dyer, who tried out for them over the weekend, tweets Richard Davenport of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Twitter link). They also signed Emporia state wideout Austin Willis, the player told Rick Peterson Jr. of the Topeka Capital-Journal. Additionally, running back Terrance Cobb wrote on Instagram that the team released him.
  • The Vikings waived wide receiver Kain Colter and guard Jesse Somsel, writes Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune. Colter was on the Vikings’ practice squad last year, while they recently signed Somsel as an undrafted free agent.
  • The Giants released three players – running back Chris Ogbonnaya, linebacker James Davidson, and defensive back Thomas Gordon – according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano (Twitter link).
  • The Buccaneers signed linebacker Jared Koster, who tried out at their rookie minicamp, tweets Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune.
  • The Steelers signed tryout players Cameron Stingily (running back) and Mike Thornton (defensive line) to their 90-man roster, reports Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Twitter link). To make room, they cut punter Richie Leone, defensive tackle Nigel Crawford-Kinney, defensive end Brandon Prate, long snapper Brandon Hartson, wide receiver Brelan Chancellor, and guard Collin Rahrig (Twitter).
  • The Broncos waived guard Jon Halapio, whom they signed to their practice squad last December, tweets Mike Klis of 9News. Additionally, the team waived wide receiver Matt Miller after signing him as an undrafted free agent earlier this month (Twitter link via Troy Renck of the Denver Post).
  • The Buccaneers have signed three tryout players from rookie camp, tweets Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune. The team agreed to deals with wide receivers Donteea Dye and Adam Humphries and offensive tackle Edawn Coughman.
  • Offensive tackle Antonio Richardson, whom the Vikings waived last week, has retired because of knee issues, per Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press. Richardson signed with the Vikings last year as an undrafted free agent from Tennessee and saw some action in the preseason.
  • The Panthers have cut defensive tackle Darious Cummings, reports ESPN’s Joe Person (via Twitter). Cummings signed with the Panthers last week as an undrafted free agent from Florida.
  • The Buccaneers will cut return man Solomon Patton today, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. Patton, who went undrafted out of Florida last year, appeared in seven games for the Bucs as a rookie. He has had two stints with Tampa and one with the Cardinals during his short career.
  • Former Wisconsin offensive lineman Andy Phillips signed with the Packers, the player tweeted. Phillips earned a spot with the Pack after impressing team brass as a tryout player at rookie minicamp over the weekend.