Rodney Smith

NFL Workout Updates: 11/8/17

Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account unless otherwise noted:

Chicago Bears

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

New England Patriots

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFL Workout Updates: 10/18/17

Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter:

Atlanta Falcons

  • DE Ricky Ali’ifua; TE Anthony Firkser; DT Nigel Williams, FB Malcolm Johnson; LB Kevin Snyder (link)

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

  • CB Josh Thornton; RB Marquez Williams (link)

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Chargers

  • S Malik Smith (link)

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

  • T Storm Norton (link)

Seahawks Now At 53

The Seahawks made some moves to get down to 53, including the release of last year’s backup quarterback. Here’s the full rundown:

Waived:

Waived/Injured:

Released:

Boykin has lost the backup QB job to Austin Davis and that’s not a huge surprise after Davis’ performance in the preseason. Coach Pete Carroll indicated recently that he would have liked to keep three signal callers, but it just wasn’t realistic.

“It’s a good idea if you can do it,” Carroll said. “They’re so important. It just depends on the rest of the roster.”

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/13/17

Today’s minor moves:

Chicago Bears

Green Bay Packers

  • Claimed off waivers: DL Shaneil Jenkins
  • Waived/injured: TE Beau Sandland

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Chargers

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

  • Waived: OL Richard Levy

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Redskins

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/3/17

Thursday’s minor NFL moves:

  • The Saints claimed offensive tackle Jerry Ugokwe off waivers from the Colts, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. In a corresponding move, the Saints waived fellow tackle Martin Wallace with an injury designation, per Nick Underhill of the Advocate (on Twitter). Ugokwe is an undrafted free agent from William & Mary who was with the Colts from May until Wednesday. Wallace, who joined the Saints in late July, has bounced around the league since going undrafted in 2013. He appeared in one game with Cleveland that year.
  • Defensive end Rufus Johnson agreed to a deal with the Raiders, relays Rapoport (on Twitter). Johnson was involved in a “serious” car crash on Wednesday, notes Rapoport. The 26-year-old was previously with the Saints, Patriots and Redskins. His sole appearance came with New England in 2015.
  • The Jaguars signed long snapper Matt Overton to replace Carson Tinker, who suffered a torn right ACL. The team also added guard Malcolm Bunche. The headliner is Overton, who was the Colts’ long snapper from 2012-16. He appeared in 16 games in each of those seasons and earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2013.
  • The Seahawks signed receiver Jamel Johnson and waived wideout Rodney Smith, per Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk. This is the second Seattle stint for Johnson, who was previously with the organization from late January through early May. Johnson went undrafted back in 2014 and has also been a member of the Green Bay organization. Smith, who signed with the Seahawks in January, combined to appear in eight games with the Vikings and Browns from 2013-14.
  • The Packers waived-injured cornerback Herb Waters with a shoulder issue, reports Michael Cohen of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Waters came into the league last year as an undrafted receiver from Miami before shifting to corner. He made enough progress on the practice squad for the team to promote him during the playoffs.
  • Defensive back Stefan McClure agreed to a deal with the Redskins, per his reps at Uso Sports (on Twitter). McClure went undrafted from California last year and spent some time on the Colts’ practice squad.
  • The Buccaneers reached an injury settlement with receiver Thomas Sperbeck, according to Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). The club waived the undrafted rookie from Boise State after he suffered a hamstring strain last weekend.
  • The Texans announced they have moved outside linebacker Davon Pratt to the active roster and waived defensive end T.J. Daniel. Pratt, from East Carolina, joined the Texans as an undrafted free agent in May. So did Daniel, who went to Oregon.
  • The Chiefs placed undrafted rookie Jordan Sterns on waivers. Sterns is a safety from Oklahoma State.
  • The Panthers signed tight end Bryce Williams and waived-injured safety Travelle Dixon. The Panthers are the fourth team for Williams, who has also spent time with the Patriots, Rams and Seahawks since going undrafted out of East Carolina last year. Dixon, undrafted from Washington two years ago, first joined the Panthers in January 2016.
  • The Bears added running back Josh Rounds and waived-injured fellow RB Joel Bouagnon. Both players went undrafted this year (Rounds from Tulane, Bouagnon from Northwestern).
  • The Rams signed receivers Justin Thomas and C.J. Germany. They also waived fullback Zach Laskey (Twitter links via Rapoport and Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com).
  • The Chargers signed center Barrett Gouger, who worked out for the team Thursday, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. Gouger’s an undrafted rookie from Vanderbilt.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/19/17

Here are the latest reserve/futures contract signings from around the NFL. These deals will go into effect on the first day of the 2017 league year, with players joining their respective clubs’ offseason 90-man rosters:

New England Patriots

New York Giants

  • K Aldrick Rosas

San Diego Chargers

  • WR Da’Ron Brown
  • WR Jamaal Jones

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Workout Notes: Eagles, Seahawks, Bears

Tuesday is typically the big day for player auditions, but plenty of workouts went down on Monday as well. Here’s the rundown, with all links going to ESPN.com’s Adam Caplan on Twitter, unless noted otherwise:

  • The Chiefs worked out a number of notable veteran linebackers on Monday.
  • Guard Dallas Thomas worked out for the Eagles (link). Thomas, a third-round pick by Miami in 2013, started 26 games during his four-year career with Miami. He was cut earlier this year and has been unable to find work despite auditions with Detroit, Tennessee, Indianapolis, and Chicago.
  • The Seahawks worked out linebackers Ron Thompson and Junior Sylvestre (link). Sylvestre was in camp with the Colts the past two years and was on IR last year.
  • The Raiders worked out quarterback Keith Wenning, wide receiver Rodney Smith, and linebacker Beniquez Brown (link).
  • The Bears worked out fullback Malcolm Johnson (link). He was drafted in the sixth-round of the 2015 draft by Cleveland.
  • The Bears also auditioned six other players, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Of those six, five of them were wide receivers and five of them played this past season in the CFL. The group was headlined by Derel Walker, the CFL’s most outstanding rookie in 2015 and a two-time All-Star. The 25-year-old finished second in the CFL this season with 1,589 yards. The group also included CFL standout wide receivers like Greg Ellingson, Kenny Shaw, and Diontae Spencer. Guard Derek Dennis, who spent this past season with the Calgary Stampeders, showed his stuff, as well as indoor league receiver Orlandus Harris. As Biggs notes, the Bears haven’t had a lot of success with CFL imports in recent years.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/13/16

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

Atlanta Falcons

  • Signed: RB Blake Sims (link via Matt Zenitz of AL.com)
  • Cut: RB Gus Johnson (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle)

Arizona Cardinals

  • Signed: WR Marquis Bundy (via team announcement)
  • Cut: WR Chris Hubert (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle)

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Indianapolis Colts:

Jacksonville Jaguars

  • Cut: WR Shaq Evans (Twitter link via Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com)

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Oakland Raiders

  • Signed: OT Takoby Cofield (Twitter link via reps at Precision Sports)
  • Cut: LB Jason Fanaika (Twitter link via Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com)

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

  • Signed: QB Alex Tanney (Twitter link via Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com)
  • Cut: OL Ronald Patrick

Washington Redskins

Cowboys Place Kellen Moore On IR

Today, the Cowboys placed quarterback Kellen Moore on injured reserve. Kellen Moore (Vertical)

Earlier this month, Moore broke his leg, elevating Dak Prescott to the No. 2 spot on Dallas’ quarterback depth chart. Then, when Tony Romo suffered a back injury in preseason, Prescott was bumped up to the starting role. The initial prognosis on Moore was that he would miss three or four months, but Dallas has opted to shut him down instead.

Below, we have the full slate of Dallas’ moves to get down to a 75-man roster today.

Waived:

PUP List:

NFI List:

The Cowboys also placed tight end James Hanna on the reserve/physically unable to perform list and waived

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/30/15

Here are Wednesday’s minor transactions from around the NFL, as teams get their rosters set for Week 17:

  • The Colts made a pair of tight end transactions, placing Dwayne Allen (calf) on season-ending injured reserve and promoting Erik Swoope from their practice squad, per Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star (Twitter link). A fourth-year man, Allen made 16 catches in 13 games for the Colts this season. He hasn’t been able to match the production he put up as a rookie in 2011 in terms of receptions (45) and yardage (521), but he did amass a career-best eight touchdowns last season.
  • The Patriots waived cornerback Troy Hill, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss (Twitter link). The Pats claimed Hill off waivers from Cincinnati last week. In addition, they signed defensive tackle Ishmaa’ily Kitchen, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
  • The 49ers have been awarded tight end Je’Ron Hamm off waivers, a day after he was cut by Washington, according to a Niners release. San Francisco moved running back Shaun Draughn to injured reserve to accommodate the waiver claim — Draughn joins fellow RBs Reggie Bush and Carlos Hyde on the Niners’ IR.
  • The Bills created two roster spots on Tuesday by placing Charles Clay and Ron Brooks on injured reserve, and filled those spots today with a pair of practice squad cornerbacks. As Joe Buscaglia of WKBW tweets, head coach Rex Ryan confirmed that Buffalo elevated Merrill Noel and Sammy Seamster from the team’s taxi squad.
  • The Chargers also added secondary depth today, signing safety Brandian Ross and cornerback Cassius Vaughn to their active roster, according to Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link). The club has now added three defensive backs to its 53-man squad this week.
  • After placing Dez Bryant and two other players on injured reserve today, the Cowboys have promoted wide receivers Rodney Smith and Vince Mayle from their practice squad, and also signed cornerback Josh Thomas, per Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Twitter link).
  • The Broncos are signing guard Robert Myers off the Ravens‘ practice squad to fill the 53rd spot on their roster, reports Mike Klis of 9News. That roster opening was created on Tuesday when Denver cut safety Shaun Prater.
  • According to Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com (Twitter link), offensive lineman Braxston Cave has been promoted from the Lions‘ practice squad to their active roster, taking the spot vacated by cornerback Bill Bentley, who was cut on Tuesday.