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Rishaw Johnson

Washington Cuts 13 Players

May 4th, 2015 at 3:10pm CST by Luke Adams

Following the conclusion of this weekend’s draft, Washington has made significant changes to its roster, announcing today (via Twitter) that the club has waived or released 13 players. The players who were waived by Washington will have to go unclaimed before becoming free agents, while the veterans who were released will be able to seek new jobs immediately.

Here’s the full list of players cut by GM Scot McCloughan and his team:

Waived:

Released:

Washington Places Trent Murphy On IR

December 23rd, 2014 at 11:25am CST by Zachary Links

Washington has placed linebacker Trent Murphy on injured reserve, according to Mike Jones of The Washington Post (on Twitter). To fill his spot on the 53-man roster, the team will promote offensive lineman Rishaw Johnson from the Giants’ practice squad.

The rookie fractured the third metacarpal in his right hand and did not return in Saturday night’s win over the Eagles. A second-round pick out of Stanford, Murphy had started the last eight games at right outside linebacker for Washington, notching 32 tackles and 2.5 sacks. Coach Jay Gruden said on Sunday afternoon that Murphy is “a long shot” to play with the broken hand.

The Giants signed Johnson to their taxi squad in early December. The interior lineman has had a number of p-squad stints this season, including the Cowboys, making this his third NFC East stop of the year. This time, however, it’s on the 53-man roster, where he hasn’t been since 2013 with the Chiefs.

Washington filled their practice squad vacancy yesterday by signing wide receiver Colin Lockett.

East Notes: Revis, Washington, Jets, Giants

December 4th, 2014 at 9:02am CST by Luke Adams

There were times last season in Tampa Bay when Darrelle Revis didn’t necessarily look like one of the league’s best cornerbacks, but the veteran corner has re-established himself this year in New England, according to ESPN.com’s Mike Sando (Insider link), who calls Revis the year’s No. 1 free agent or trade acquisition. The East’s two division leaders get nods in Sando’s piece, with the Patriots being recognized for their signing of Revis and the Eagles lauded for their trade for Darren Sproles, who ranks seventh on the list.

Here’s more from around the NFC and AFC East divisions:

  • Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com expects quarterback Colt McCoy to return to Washington next season, but notes that McCoy is eligible for free agency, and if he reaches the open market, he’ll likely get offers from other teams after holding his own as a starter this year.
  • 35-year-old Washington safety Ryan Clark is focused on finishing this season strong, and isn’t thinking about his NFL future, writes Liz Clarke of the Washington Post. Still, while Clark stopped short of saying he’ll retire, he indicated that this season could be his last.
  • The Jets brought in several players for tryouts this week, focusing on the defensive line and special teams, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). Wilson reports that the club worked out defensive linemen Ben Bass, Kona Schwenke, and Zach Thompson, punters Kasey Redfern and Jacob Schum, and long snapper Patrick Scales.
  • In addition to working out cornerback Keith Lewis, whose audition was previously reported, Washington also took a look at running back Terrance Cobb and offensive lineman Rishaw Johnson earlier this week, tweets Wilson. Johnson has since signed with the division-rival Giants‘ practice squad.
  • Those Giants worked out several players of their own this week, per Wilson, who provides the list of participants (Twitter link): D.J. Bryant (OLB), Mike Golic Jr. (OL), Dion Lewis (RB), Jordan McCray (OL), and Uani Unga (LB).

Practice Squad Updates: Tuesday

December 2nd, 2014 at 6:12pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Tuesday’s practice squad signings and cuts from around the NFL:

  • The Giants signed former Chiefs guard Rishaw Johnson to their practice squad, according to Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News (via Twitter). Johnson worked out for Big Blue last week.
  • After promoting multiple players from their practice squad to their active roster, the Giants added linebacker Paul Hazel to the taxi squad, per Jordan Raanan of NJ.com.
  • Defensive back Lowell Rose has rejoined the Dolphins‘ practice squad, with the club placing wideout LaRon Byrd on the PS-IR list in a corresponding move, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
  • Linebacker Marshall McFadden, who was released by the Rams over the weekend, has cleared waivers and signed back to the team’s practice squad, tweets Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  • Wide receiver Eric Thomas has replaced fellow wideout Travis Harvey on the Bills‘ practice squad, according to a team release.

Earlier updates:

  • Adam Caplan of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter) that former Eagles linebacker Jake Knott is set to sign with the Dolphins‘ practice squad. Miami, with a full 10-man unit, will have to make a corresponding move before the addition becomes official.
  • After losing Solomon Patton off their practice squad to the Buccaneers, the Cardinals have replaced him by signing wide receiver Ryan Spadola, tweets Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com.
  • Cut by the Jaguars over the weekend, wide receiver Mike Brown cleared waivers and rejoined the team today, signing with Jacksonville’s practice squad, according to Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union (via Twitter).
  • The Panthers promoted a pair of players to their active roster from the practice squad today, and began filling the newly-created openings by signing safety Kimario McFadden to the unit, the team announced (Twitter link).
  • Defensive end Jordan Stanton, who was cut from the Giants‘ practice squad back in September, re-signed with the unit today, per agent Landon Betsworth (via Twitter). The team has yet to announce the move that will create an opening for Stanton.

NFC East Notes: RGIII, Washington, Giants

November 26th, 2014 at 9:00pm CST by Zachary Links

Tight end Gavin Escobar was a notorious reach by the Cowboys in the second round of the 2013 draft and has done little to prove those naysayers wrong, writes Kevin Sherrington of The Dallas Morning News. Escobar has had a few moments this season, but he hasn’t taken any tremendous strides from his underwhelming rookie year. In 2013, Escobar was expected to see lots of targets in two tight end sets for Dallas. Instead, he was hardly used at all and finished that season with nine catches and two TDs. This year, Escobar has eight receptions and three TDs. More from the NFC East..

  • The benching of Robert Griffin III is just another example of Washington‘s self-inflicted woes, writes Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. The RGIII era, he writes, was a bad idea from the beginning. A study from the Harvard Sports Analysis Collective back in 2012 concluded that in order for Washington “to get the equivalent value from RGIII as they spent acquiring him, he must produce at least as much as Tom Brady.” Suffice to say, Washington would have been much better off had they kept their valuable draft choices. Now, Griffin will probably be tossed aside for good this offseason, with the Redskins lucky to get a late-round pick.
  • Washington worked out linebackers Uani’ Unga and Quandon Christian, defensive backs Kevin Fogg, Kenny Horsley, Kenny Okoro, and Bryan McCann, wide receiver Douglas McNeil, guard John Sullen, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (via Twitter).
  • The Giants worked out guard Rishaw Johnson, according to Wilson (on Twitter). Big Blue also had tackle Michael Bamiro in for an audition, which led to him being signed to the practice squad soon after.

Practice Squad Updates: Monday

November 24th, 2014 at 7:30pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here..

  • The Chiefs have placed Darin Drakeford on the practice squad-injured list, tweets Aaron Wilson. The linebacker was originally cut by the Falcons in August, and he signed with Kansas City in October.
  • The Colts have re-signed wideout Griff Whalen to their practice squad, tweets Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star. The 24-year-old was waived this past weekend to make room for Zurlon Tipton.

Earlier updates:

  • The Packers have signed offensive tackle Justin Renfrow to their practice squad, tweets ESPN’s Rob Demovsky. To make room, they released guard Rishaw Johnson, who was signed to the practice squad last week. Renfrow, a former standout for the Miami Hurricanes, briefly spent time with the Cardinals.
  • The Chiefs are planning to sign defensive lineman Nick Williams off of the Steelers’ practice squad, a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Kansas City has their eye on the 2013 seventh rounder all year, Rapoport adds. Williams, 24, spent last year on injured reserve. He’s now the second defensive lineman to be plucked from the Steelers’ practice squad this month. The Cardinals signed defensive end Josh Mauro off of the Steelers’ taxi squad two weeks ago.
  • To fill the space left by Williams’ departure, the Steelers have signed defensive end Joe Kruger to their practice squad, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.com.

Practice Squad Updates: Wednesday

November 19th, 2014 at 11:40am CST by Luke Adams

We’ll round up today’s practice squad signings and cuts in this space, with the latest moves added to the top of the list throughout the day….

  • The Packers have filled the lone opening on their practice squad by signing guard Rishaw Johnson, the team announced today. Johnson previously spent time this season on the Buccaneers’ active roster and the Cowboys’ practice squad.

Earlier updates:

  • The Steelers, who cut LeGarrette Blount and promoted running back Josh Harris to their roster yesterday, have added another back to the practice squad to replace Harris. LaDarius Perkins, an undrafted rookie out of Mississippi State who spent the summer with the Packers, is the newest member of the taxi squad, per Burt Lauten (via Twitter).
  • Defensive end George Uko, who spent three weeks on the Buccaneers‘ practice squad earlier this year, has been re-signed to the unit, the team announced today in a press release. Tampa Bay cut punter Jacob Schum to make room for Uko.
  • After cutting him earlier this week to accommodate the activation of guard Geoff Schwartz, the Giants have re-signed linebacker Justin Anderson to their practice squad, tweets Dan Graziano of ESPN.com.

North Notes: Steelers, Tate, Peterson

November 18th, 2014 at 6:56pm CST by Zachary Links

Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL.com reported earlier today (via Twitter) that someone on the Steelers staff called someone with the Browns to ask about Ben Tate‘s release, but Scott Brown of ESPN.com (Twitter link) hears that Pittsburgh has no interest in picking up Tate to replace LeGarrette Blount. More out of the North divisions..

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Practice Squad Updates: Wednesday

October 29th, 2014 at 6:52pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s practice squad moves:

  • One cornerback has replaced another on the Chargers‘ practice squad, as the team announced today that it has signed Kendall James and parted ways with Aaron Hester.
  • Offensive lineman Chris Barker, who was cut when the Patriots acquired Jonathan Casillas, has cleared waivers and will rejoin the club’s practice squad, tweets Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald. The Pats will have to make a corresponding move to make room for Barker.
  • One last update from Charean Williams (Twitter link) on Jeff Baca: the Cowboys have indeed signed the offensive lineman to their practice squad, releasing guard Rishaw Johnson to do so.

Earlier updates:

  • After being cut by the Rams to accommodate the addition of safety Mark Barron, quarterback Case Keenum has cleared waivers and re-signed with the team’s practice squad, tweets Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  • Linebacker Justin Anderson is signing with the Giants‘ practice squad, per Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). The team had been carrying just nine players on its squad, so no corresponding move was necessary to clear room for Anderson, who spent time with the Giants during the preseason.
  • The Seahawks appear to have filled one of their practice squad openings by adding offensive lineman Keavon Milton, says Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (via Twitter).
  • Charean Williams had issued an addendum to her earlier report, tweeting that apparently Baca hasn’t signed with the Cowboys after all. Instead, the team has replaced Davis with another linebacker, Will Smith.
  • The Cowboys have signed offensive lineman Jeff Baca to the taxi squad, replacing linebacker Troy Davis, according to Charean Williams of the Star-Telegram (on Twitter).
  • Quarterback Mike Kafka has been signed to the Buccaneers‘ practice squad, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times (on Twitter). Kafka, 27, was released by the Bucs on Monday. He did not take a snap with the Bucs during his short stint on the active roster and his only NFL experience came in 2011 with the Eagles where he appeared in four games.

Bucs Promote Mike Kafka To Roster

September 25th, 2014 at 9:33am CST by Luke Adams

The Buccaneers have signed quarterback Mike Kafka off their practice squad to their 53-man roster, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). The team has cut guard Rishaw Johnson to clear a spot on the roster for the new addition, and has replaced Kafka on the practice squad with offensive lineman Josh Allen.

The move to promote Kafka to the active roster had been anticipated, given the health of Josh McCown. While McCown was holding out hope of playing this week against the Steelers, a sprained thumb was expected to keep him sidelined, allowing Mike Glennon to get his first start of the season. Kafka will act as the No. 2 option behind Glennon, assuming McCown is ruled out.

Although he drew some interest from the Cowboys back in February, Kafka was signed by the Bucs and spent most of the year with the club before becoming a roster casualty during the cutdown to 53 players. After he cleared waivers though, Tampa Bay quickly re-added him to its practice squad, making him the de facto No. 3 signal-caller for the team despite the fact that he wasn’t on the active roster.

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