HEADLINES

Rod Sweeting

North Notes: Cook, Lions, Bengals, Ravens

June 3rd, 2016 at 8:56pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Packers tight end Jared Cook had foot surgery earlier this week and will be sidelined at least until training camp, sources tell Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com, who adds that the operation is being viewed as “preventative.” The hope is that Cook will be able to return when Green Bay begins camp next month, though it doesn’t sound as though that’s definitive. Cook signed a one-year, $2.75MM deal ($825K guaranteed) with the Packers after being released by the Rams earlier this year.

Here’s more from the NFL’s two North divisions…

  • True to his scouting report, Lions rookie defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson is having little trouble getting used to Detroit’s scheme. “Athletically, strength-wise, he’s all the things we thought and he can do what we’re going to need him to do,” Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin told Justin Rogers of MLive.com. “What you look at is when you go work them out, can they move? Can they bend? Can they redirect? How powerful are they? He had all those traits and so we thought it would be a no-brainer that he would be able to transition to play for us.”
  • The Bengals might have found a new market inefficiency by relying on older players to handle key roles, Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes. Cincinnati will have four members of its club (non-QB or specialist) who will be age 33 or older by season’s end: Andrew Whitworth, Karlos Dansby, Adam Jones, and Eric Winston. Additionally, the club has expressed an interest in pass rush specialist Dwight Freeney, who is still productive at the age of 36.
  • With linebacker Daryl Smith and defensive lineman Chris Canty gone, the Ravens’ front seven has gotten younger, CSNMidAtlantic.com’s Clifton Brown notes. Baltimore will depend on a number of players still on their rookie contracts, from defensive lineman Brandon Williams and Timmy Jernigan to linebackers C.J. Mosley and Arthur Brown. Brown, especially, will be counted on to step up in his fourth NFL season — the former second-round pick notably didn’t play a single defensive snap in 2014 and played only 10 last year. Day 2 draft picks Kamalei Correa and Bronson Kaufusi, both edge rushers, could also play large roles next season.
  • The Lions worked out cornerback Rod Sweeting, as Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets. Sweeting, 25, entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech three years ago, and has bounced around the league since then. While his most recent action came in Cowboys camp last year (where he was waived during final cutdowns), Sweeting’s most notable time was with the Saints, with whom he played nine games in 2013.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Cowboys Cut A.J. Jenkins, Down To 53 Players

September 5th, 2015 at 5:23pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cowboys have announced their Saturday roster moves, paring down from 75 players to 53 in preparation for the regular season. One of the players waived today by the Cowboys was former first-round wideout A.J. Jenkins, who signed with the team earlier in the offseason. With failed stops in San Francisco, Kansas City, and Dallas now under his belt, Jenkins’ NFL opportunities are likely running out.

Here are the players removed from Dallas’ active roster today, per a team release:

Waived:

  • QB Dustin Vaughan
  • QB Jameill Showers
  • RB Gus Johnson
  • RB Ben Malena
  • FB Ray Agnew
  • WR Clyde Gates
  • WR Nick Harwell
  • WR A.J. Jenkins
  • T Laurence Gibson
  • T John Wetzel
  • C Shane McDermott
  • C Ronald Patrick
  • DE Ben Gardner
  • DE Efe Obada
  • LB Donnie Baggs
  • LB Dakorey Johnson
  • CB Joel Ross
  • S Tim Scott

Waived/injured:

  • LB Ka’Lial Glaud
  • CB Rod Sweeting

Reserve/suspended:

  • DE Greg Hardy
  • LB Rolando McClain

Meanwhile, Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram weighs in on rumors from earlier in the day that linked running back Jonas Gray to the Cowboys. According to Williams (via Twitter), the Cowboys didn’t have interest in trading for Gray, but could be interested now that he has been cut by the Pats. The young back will become a free agent tomorrow unless he’s claimed on waivers or signs to a practice squad.

Bills Sign Red Bryant

August 19th, 2015 at 9:50am CST by Luke Adams

The Bills have announced a series of transactions, according to Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News, who tweets that the team has signed veteran defensive lineman Red Bryant. In addition to signing Bryant, the Bills also added running back Cierre Wood, cutting tight end Chris Manhertz and cornerback Rod Sweeting.

Bryant, who was among the defensive players to work out for the Bills earlier this week, saw time in all 16 games in his first and only season for the Jaguars in 2014. In total, he racked up 23 tackles to go with one pass deflection and one sack. The 31-year-old graded out as a slightly below-average contributor, according to Pro Football Focus‘ (subscription required) metrics, coming in with a -1.6 grade. Overall, that placed him 31st out of 59 qualified 4-3 defensive ends.

Before his season in Jacksonville, Bryant spent six years with the Seahawks, starting all but one regular-season contest for the team from 2011 to 2013. Although Bryant has been a starter for the last four years, one GM tells Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that the veteran defender is best used in a rotation at this point in his career, perhaps for 20-30 plays per game. That shouldn’t be a problem in Buffalo, where the Bills have plenty of talent on the defensive line, even after taking a few injury hits.

The addition of Wood should help provide depth at another injury-plagued position for the Bills, though it’s not clear if his signing means the team has decided not to sign a veteran like Ray Rice. As I outlined earlier today, Buffalo had been discussing a possible pursuit of Rice, with LeSean McCoy (hamstring), Fred Jackson (hamstring), Anthony Dixon (calf), and Karlos Williams (illness) all battling health issues.

Bills Sign 10 To Reserve/Futures Contracts

December 29th, 2014 at 3:36pm CST by Luke Adams

Today is the first day that teams can begin signing players who didn’t finish the regular season on an NFL roster to reserve/futures contracts for the 2015 season, and the Bills have locked up 10 such players, according to a team release.

Here’s the full list of the players to ink futures deals with the team. Of these 10 players, all but one finished the year on the Bills’ practice squad:

Defensive end Ike Igbinosun was the only player to finish the season on Buffalo’s taxi squad and not receive a futures contract from the team. Meanwhile, Holley was the only one to sign a deal after not being on the practice squad, though he spent time earlier in the season on the unit before being placed on the injured list.

For a refresher on how reserve/futures contracts work, be sure to check out our glossary entry.

Practice Squad Updates: Tuesday

November 4th, 2014 at 5:47pm CST by Luke Adams

We’ll round up the latest practice squad signings and cuts from around the league right here, with the most recent moves added to the top of the page throughout the day:

  • The Seahawks continue to shuffle through the members of their practice squad, as Condotta reports (Twitter link) that the club has cut tight end Brett Brackett.
  • Safety Adrian Phillips has cleared waivers and rejoined the Chargers‘ practice squad, per Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter).
  • The Saints have filled their practice squad by signing running back Tauren Poole and officially confirming the addition of fullback Michael Zordich, tweets Larry Holder of the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
  • According to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter), the Seahawks have signed safety Dion Bailey to their taxi squad, while Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times tweets that the club dropped receiver Chris Matthews to make room for Bailey.

Earlier updates:

  • Wideout Jalen Saunders, who was drafted in the fourth round this year by the Jets and has also spent time with the Cardinals, has signed to the Seahawks‘ practice squad, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.com.
  • The Bills have cut wide receiver Naaman Roosevelt from their taxi squad, replacing him with cornerback Rod Sweeting, the club confirmed in a press release. Sweeting was just released from the division-rival Dolphins’ practice squad a week ago.
  • After losing safety Jordan Kovacs to Miami, the Eagles have signed running back Kenjon Barner to fill the final spot on their practice squad, the team announced today (Twitter link). Philadelphia traded for Barner this summer, but cut him when reducing the active roster from 75 players to 53.
  • Cornerback Chance Casey has been added to the 49ers‘ practice squad, filling the 10th and final open spot, per Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group (via Twitter).
  • Washington has released tackle Terren Jones from its practice squad, leaving three openings on the unit, the team announced today (Twitter link).

Practice Squad Updates: Tuesday

October 28th, 2014 at 6:24pm CST by Luke Adams

They may not be the sort of deadline-day transactions we’re hoping for, but some teams around the league are making roster moves, adding and subtracting players from their respective practice squads. We’ll track the latest updates below:

  • The Broncos have added receiver Douglas McNeil to their practice squad, reports Troy Renck of the Denver Post. An Arena League standout, the 26-year-old McNeil caught 66 balls for 858 yards and 18 touchdowns in 11 games for the Portland Thunder. He takes the practice squad spot of John Boyett, who was released last week following his arrest for assault.
  • The Colts announced receiver Chandler Jones was signed to their practice squad at the expense of running back Jeff Demps. This will be Jones’ second stint with the Colts this season, while Demps’ stay with the team lasted just a week. Jones is an undrafted free agent out of San Jose State, where he is the school’s all-time leading receiver.
  • The Giants have cut linebacker Carlos Fields from their practice squad, according to NJ.com’s Jordan Raanan (via Twitter).
  • Running back Ben Malena has replaced cornerback Kendall James on the Texans‘ practice squad, according to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).
  • The Rams have signed offensive tackle Steven Baker to their taxi squad, per Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). The club had plenty of space to add Baker without cutting a player, but released quarterback Garrett Gilbert from the practice squad nonetheless, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.com.
  • Wideout Tavarres King has signed to the Buccaneers‘ practice squad, says Caplan (via Twitter). The team doesn’t have any openings on its PS, but after today’s trades, there are two spots available on the active roster, so I imagine at least one player is in line for a promotion.

Earlier updates:

  • The Dolphins performed a bit of an overhaul on their practice squad today, adding tight end Evan Wilson, tight end Gerell Robinson, and cornerback Rashaan Melvin to replace quarterback Seth Lobato, tight end Jake Murphy, and defensive back Rod Sweeting, per Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (Twitter links).
  • With backup running back Stepfan Taylor expected to be sidelined for the near future, the Cardinals have added some backfield insurance via their practice squad, signing running back Zach Bauman, writes Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com. Cornerback Anthony Gaitor has been waived to make room for the new addition.
  • Wide receiver Jace Davis, who was with the Ravens during training camp and the preseason, has re-signed with the team’s practice squad, according to a press release. Davis takes the 10th and final spot, which had been vacated after tight end Phillip Supernaw was promoted to the active roster on the weekend.

Practice Squad Updates: Tuesday

October 14th, 2014 at 9:12pm CST by Luke Adams

While we track today’s transactions relating to teams’ 53-man rosters in a separate post, we’ll use this space to keep tabs on the day’s practice squad signings and cuts. Here’s the latest:

  • The Redskins signed wide receiver Rashad Ross to the practice squad, tweets John Keim of ESPN.com. Washington liked Ross this summer and they scooped him up after he was discarded by the Bears.
  • A day after being waived by the Bears, linebacker Terrell Manning has rejoined the team’s practice squad, per Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter).
  • The Redskins have parted ways with practice squad wideout Marvin McNutt, tweets Zac Boyer of the Washington Times.
  • As the Giants weight their options at receiver on the 53-man roster, they’ve made a change to the wideouts on their practice squad — Jordan Raanan of NJ.com tweets that Chris Harper has replaced Travis Harvey.
  • Wide receiver Patrick Edwards is the newest addition to the Lions‘ practice squad, replacing defensive tackle Derrick Hopkins, per Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com (Twitter link).

Earlier updates:

  • Linebacker Kaelin Burnett and cornerback Ross Weaver have found a new home, joining the Cardinals‘ practice squad, per Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com (Twitter link). The team had one opening on its squad, so linebacker Jonathan Brown has been released to make room for the second incoming player.
  • The Dolphins have parted ways with wideout Marcus Thigpen, replacing him on their practice squad with defensive back Rod Sweeting, tweets Chris Perkins of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
  • The Jaguars have signed tight end Michael Flacco, the brother of Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link). Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union notes (via Twitter) that Flacco replaces tight end Marcel Jensen, who was put on the practice squad IR list.
  • Wide receiver Lee Doss has been cut from the Browns‘ practice squad, according to Wilson (via Twitter).

Jets Notes: Ryan, Berry, Walls

October 7th, 2014 at 6:56pm CST by Zachary Links

While the Giants enjoy their three game win streak, things are decidedly less cheery for the Meadowlands’ other team. Here’s the latest on Gang Green..

  • Jets coach Rex Ryan says he expects to get fired if he can’t turn his team’s season around, writes ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini. “You’re right, if that’s the case and we don’t get this thing on the right track, I don’t think for a minute I’ll be here,” Ryan said on ESPN New York. “I know I won’t, but I believe this team will right itself and we’ll find a way.” The Jets have a 1-4 record as they get set to take on the Broncos and Patriots.
  • Gang Green worked out an old friend in cornerback Aaron Berry, Cimini tweets. That could be a sign that Darrin Walls‘ knee is in worse shape than previously believed.
  • The Jets, who are in desperate need of help in their secondary, worked out three defensive backs, according to Cimini (via Twitter). Malcolm Bronson, Jordan Sullen, and Rod Sweeting were all brought in for auditions. Meanwhile, linebacker Mario Harvey visited with the team.

Practice Squad Updates: Tuesday

September 30th, 2014 at 6:52pm CST by Luke Adams

Tuesday is often a busy day for practice squad transactions, as teams fill spots vacated by players who were promoted over the weekend, or shuffle their 10-man units around based on injuries to the 53-man roster during Sunday’s games. We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad signings and cuts right here, with the latest moves added to the top of the list throughout the day….

  • The Lions have added running back William Powell to their practice squad, according to Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com (via Twitter). Powell, 26, was cut by the Texans in late August.
  • The Titans have released quarterback Brad Sorensen from their practice squad, reports Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean (Twitter link). Sorensen was a Chargers seventh-round pick in 2013.
  • The Jets have swapped out one cornerback for another, adding LeQuan Lewis to their PS while removing Brandon Smith, per Brian Costello of the New York Post (on Twitter).
  • The Panthers’ practice squad is now full after Carolina signed linebacker Horace Miller and running back Tauren Poole, the team announced on Twitter.
  • The Eagles removed two players from their practice squad, cutting linebacker Brandon Hepburn and offensive tackle Tyler Hoover, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN (Twitter link). Linebacker Jake Knott will return Philly’s PS after serving a four-game PED suspension, says Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link).
  • The Rams have re-signed tight end Brad Smelley to their practice squad, tweets Howard Balzer. To clear a roster spot, St. Louis cut defensive end Kourtnei Brown from the PS.

Earlier Updates:

  • The Texans have placed receiver Uzoma Nwachukwu on the practice squad injured list, tweets Palmer. Houston’s PS is now down to eight players.
  • The Dolphins have filled their final taxi squad slot by adding defensive end Emmanuel Dieke, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link). Dieke was cut by the Giants last month.
  • Browns long snapper Christian Yount may be looking over his shoulder this week, as the Browns announced they’ve added long snapper Charley Hughlett to their practice squad, according to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal (via Twitter). Hughlett replaces defensive lineman Calvin Barnett.
  • The Bills have swapped one tight end for another, replacing D.J. Tialavea with Jamie Childers, tweets Mike Rodak of ESPN.com.
  • Kicker Chris Boswell has been removed from the Texans‘ practice squad, per James Palmer of CSNHouston.com (Twitter link).
  • Nose tackle Robert Thomas has replaced fellow defensive lineman Hebron Fangupo on the Redskins‘ practice squad, as Mike Jones of the Washington Post tweets. Thomas went unclaimed on waivers after being cut by Washington on the weekend.
  • The Dolphins have removed cornerback Rod Sweeting from their practice squad, signing tight end Jake Murphy to take his place, according to Chris Perkins of the South Florida Sun Sentinel (via Twitter).
  • Wideout Travis Labhart, who was on the Texans‘ practice squad earlier this season, will rejoin Houston’s unit, a source tells David Nuño of KTRK-TV in Houston (Twitter link). The team currently has no openings, so one of the 10 current players will need to be cut or promoted to clear room for Labhart.

Practice Squad Updates: Wednesday

September 17th, 2014 at 4:53pm CST by Luke Adams

In addition to today’s transactions involving 53-man rosters, several teams are also shuffling players on and off their practice squads. Here’s the latest news:

  • The Bears have filled the three openings on their practice squad by signing tight end Blake Annen, cornerback Jordan Sullen, and wide receiver Chris Williams, the team announced today (via Twitter).

Earlier updates:

  • Having been cut by the Raiders earlier this week, linebacker Bojay Filimoeatu has cleared waivers and rejoined the club’s practice squad, according to Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). With the re-addition of Filimoeatu, the team is now back up to a full 10-man squad.
  • After clearing waivers, defensive tackle Matt Conrath has made the move from the Rams‘ 53-man roster back to their practice squad, says Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter).
  • The Dolphins have signed cornerback Rod Sweeting to their practice squad, releasing linebacker Terrell Manning from the unit to clear a spot for the new addition, tweets Chris Perkins of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
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