HEADLINES

Ray Agnew

Browns To Sign Tyler Thigpen

December 23rd, 2014 at 11:00am CST by Zachary Links

11:00am: To make room, Cleveland has waived Ray Agnew, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal tweets.

10:06am: Thigpen will likely back up Connor Shaw against Baltimore, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com tweets.

9:56am: Rex Grossman wasn’t interested in the opportunity, but another signal caller was. The Browns have signed Tyler Thigpen, according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network (via Twitter).

The Browns were without a healthy quarterback heading into their season finale against the Ravens. Rookie Johnny Manziel suffered a hamstring injury in last week’s loss to the Panthers. The Browns’ original starter for the 2014 season, Brian Hoyer, is nursing a shoulder injury. In addition to that injury, a source says that Hoyer is dealing with a badly bruised bicep, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. While his status for Sunday’s intra-divisional tilt has not been disclosed, it seems possible that he might not be able to go, leaving Thigpen to start.

Thigpen, 30, joined the Browns on a one-year deal in May after a strong performance at their minicamp. A seventh-round pick in the 2007 draft, he saw his most significant action during the 2008 season, when he started 11 games for the Chiefs and put up respectable numbers, including 2,608 passing yards, 18 touchdowns, and just 12 interceptions. Since then, he has served as a backup in Kansas City, Miami, and Buffalo. While he made a strong impression on the team, Thigpen was released in August to make room for Grossman.

Minor Moves: Tuesday

November 11th, 2014 at 4:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Tuesday is typically the busiest day of the week during the NFL season for transactions, so we’ll round up several of the day’s less notable 53-man roster changes in this space, adding the latest moves to the top of the list throughout the day:

  • After placing defensive tackle Brandon Mebane on injured reserve, ending his season, the Seahawks signed tight end Rashaun Allen to take his spot on the 53-man roster, tweets Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. Allen had been on the Vikings’ practice squad.
  • The Saints have reinstated wide receiver Joe Morgan from his suspension and have a roster exemption for him that expires tomorrow, tweets Howard Balzer of The SportsXchange.

Earlier updates:

  • A week after claiming him off waivers, the Bills have let go of safety Jerome Couplin, the team announced today in a press release. As Mike Rodak of ESPN.com tweets, the team could replace Couplin with a defensive end, since Jarius Wynn wasn’t able to practice today.
  • Linebacker Zac Diles has been cut by the Texans, according to Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). Diles had been signed when Houston was dealing with several injuries at the linebacker position, and it seems he’s no longer needed now that the club is getting a little healthier.
  • The Buccaneers have placed rookie guard Kadeem Edwards on their injured reserve list due to a season-ending foot injury, per Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com (via Twitter). The team has yet to announce an addition to the roster, so for now there’s an open spot on the squad.
  • The Chiefs have signed tight end Phillip Supernaw to their active roster from the Ravens’ practice squad, reports Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). Demetrius Harris broke his foot during the team’s Sunday win over Buffalo, and Anthony Fasano was banged up as well, so more depth at the tight end position was necessary.
  • In addition to signing Supernaw, the Chiefs also announced several more roster moves, promoting running back Charcandrick West from their practice squad and placing Harris and running back Cyrus Gray on injured reserve.
  • The Browns have reversed a roster move they made a few weeks ago, re-signing fullback Ray Agnew to their active roster and waiving fullback Kiero Small (Twitter link). The team had previously promoted Small to replace Agnew, who was the starting fullback earlier this season.

Workout Notes: Bengals, Saints, Lions, Bucs

November 4th, 2014 at 10:30pm CST by Dallas Robinson

As teams around the league assess themselves during the early part of the week, we’ll learn about the latest tryouts as clubs try to remake the back ends of their rosters. We’ll keep track of today’s audition notes here:

Earlier updates:

  • The Bengals worked out tight end Michael Egnew, reports Adam Caplan of ESPN (Twitter link). Egnew, a third-round pick in 2012, has spent time with the Dolphins, Lions, and Jaguars. Cincinnati also brought in defensive back Josh Victorian, who was dropped from the Lions’ practice squad in early October, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
  • With fullback Austin Johnson nursing a knee injury, the Saints auditioned fellow FBs Michael Zordich and Ray Agnew, per Caplan (on Twitter). New Orleans also tried out ex-Washington safety Bacarri Rambo, who started three games last season, tweets Caplan. Wilson passes along a few more names (on Twitter), noting that the club brought in defensive backs Malcolm Bronson, Stan McKay, and Brandon Taylor, and running back Toben Opurum.
  • The Lions worked out cornerbacks Trevin Wade and Robert Steeples, says Wilson (Twitter link). The duo worked out for the Panthers a few weeks ago.
  • The Buccaneers auditioned linebacker Jeremy Grable, per Wilson (via Twitter). Grable was on Tampa Bay’s roster over the summer.
  • Offensive lineman Maurice Hurt is one of 15 players whom Washington is trying out today, according to John Keim of ESPN.com (on Twitter). We should learn the names of the other participants shortly.

Minor Moves: Monday

October 20th, 2014 at 9:11pm CST by Luke Adams

We’ll keep tabs on today’s minor transactions from around the NFL right here, with the latest moves added to the top of the list throughout the day:

  • The Seahawks have signed former Northern Iowa linebacker L.J. Fort to their practice squad, according to NFL Draft Diamonds. The signing has been confirmed by Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (on Twitter). Fort, who has spent time with the Browns, auditioned for the Jaguars and Titans this offseason after missing the Broncos’ final cut.
  • Dolphins defensive end Dion Jordan has been reinstated from his six-game suspension, according to Howard Balzer (Twitter link). Jordan, the third overall pick in the 2013 draft, will have a one-week roster exemption.

Earlier updates:

  • The Broncos have promoted running back Kapri Bibbs to the active roster, tweets Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com. As Legwold adds (via Twitter), several teams were interested in signing away Bibbs. Denver now has five RBs on its 53-man roster.
  • The following players have been cut by their respective teams, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun: Broncos linebacker Shaquil Barrett (Twitter link), Browns defensive lineman Jacobbi McDaniel (Twitter link), Saints linebacker Todd Davis (Twitter link), and Titans tight end Brett Brackett (Twitter link).
  • The Jaguars have promoted defensive end Chris Smith from their practice squad to their 53-man roster, says Wilson (via Twitter). Moving Paul Posluszny to injured reserve opened up a spot for Smith.
  • Wilson also tweets that the Saints have signed tight end Tom Crabtree, placing defensive end Glenn Foster on injured reserve in order to make room on the roster.
  • The Rams have released wideout Emory Blake from their practice squad, tweets Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com.
  • The Dolphins are signing wideout LaRon Byrd to their practice squad, per Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). Miami had been carrying nine players on its unit, so no corresponding move will be required.
  • Ravens head coach John Harbaugh confirmed today that long snapper Morgan Cox has been placed on injured reserve after tearing his ACL during yesterday’s game, tweets Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. As first reported by Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter), the club has signed long snapper Kevin McDermott to replace Cox. Earlier today, Wilson had tweeted that the Ravens were working out McDermott and fellow long snapper Patrick Scales.
  • On the heels of a loss in which they failed to run the ball effectively, the Browns have waived fullback Ray Agnew, the team announced today (Twitter link). An undrafted free agent, Agnew signed with the team in May and had two carries and two catches in his six games as a Brown. Fellow fullback Kiero Small has been promoted from Cleveland’s practice squad to take Agnew’s place on the roster.

Browns Sign 12 Undrafted Free Agents

May 15th, 2014 at 3:05pm CST by Luke Adams

THURSDAY, 3:05pm: The Browns have added Nebraska-Kearney defensive end Elhadji Ndiaye to their undrafted free agent class, according to the team (via Twitter).

MONDAY, 3:33pm: After an eventful draft that saw the Browns make multiple trades and land Johnny Manziel, the team has also added 11 undrafted free agents to its roster. Here’s the full list, courtesy of the team (Twitter link):

  • Ray Agnew, FB, Southern Illinois
  • Calvin Barnett, DL, Oklahoma State
  • Darwin Cook, DB, West Virginia
  • Isaiah Cromwell, RB, Alabama State ($10K bonus, per Aaron Wilson)
  • Anthony Dima, OL, Massachusetts
  • Chandler Jones, WR, San Jose State
  • Jonathan Krause, WR, Vanderbilt ($10K bonus, per Wilson)
  • Michael Philipp, OL, Oregon State
  • Connor Shaw, QB, South Carolina
  • Kenny Shaw, WR, Florida State
  • Willie Snead, WR, Ball State