HEADLINES

Ross Ventrone

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/15/16

August 15th, 2016 at 6:40pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s minor moves:

  • The Buccaneers have signed defensive tackle Ishmaa’ily Kitchen and waived/injured rookie safety Elijah Shumate, the club announced. Kitchen, who weighs in at 330 pounds, appeared in 40 games for the Browns from 2012-14, but saw action in only two contests last year with the Patriots and Lions.
  • The Cardinals announced that they’ve waived/injured safety Durell Eskridge and re-signed safety Tyrequek Zimmerman.
  • The Raiders have waived offensive lineman Torian White, per an announcement from the club. Additionally, head coach Jack Del Rio told reporters, including Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link) that tight end Gabe Holmes is likely headed to injured reserve.
  • The Seahawks announced that they’ve waived running back Cameron Marshall and signed linebacker Quayshawn Nealy.
  • The Colts have claimed guard Donovan Williams off waivers from the Bears and waived punter Michael Palardy, the team announced.
  • The Steelers announced that they’ve signed linebacker Jermauria Rasco and waived long snapped Matt Dooley. Pittsburgh also reached an injury settlement with special teams ace Ross Ventrone, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.
  • The Jets cut defensive tackle Christo Bilukidi with a left squad designation, according to Wilson (Twitter link).
  • The Panthers announced that they’ve swapped out punters, signing Kasey Redfern while waiving Swayze Waters.
  • The Chargers have signed defensive tackle Kamal Johnson, linebacker Zach Hodges, and linebacker James Vaughters, and waived waived cornerback Carrington Byndom.
  • The Rams have signed safety Michael Caputo and waived/injured safety Brian Randolph, tweets Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times.
  • The Packers have waived/injured long snapper Jesse Schmitt and will likely release him with an injury settlement, according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter link).
  • The Falcons have claimed guard Jordan Walsh off waivers from the Saints and waived fellow guard Shahbaz Ahmed, per Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/14/16

August 14th, 2016 at 5:50pm CST by Rory Parks

Here are today’s minor moves:

  • The Dolphins have signed defensive end Cedric Reed, tweets Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. The former Texas product spent last season on the Bills’ practice squad.
  • The Eagles have released offensive lineman Malcolm Bunche and wideout Deon Long, reports Zach Berman of The Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter). Bunche, a 2015 undrafted free agent, spent last season on Philly’s practice squad. Long, meanwhile, was added by the Eagles in early August after having been cut by the Rams.

Earlier updates:

  • The Steelers announced that they’ve placed special teams ace Ross Ventrone on injured reserve after he was injured in the club’s first preseason game. Pittsburgh also waived/injured offensive tackle Brian Mihalik and defensive tackle Roy Philon. To take those roster spots, the Steelers signed offensive tackle Wade Hansen, defensive tackle Khaynin Mosley-Smith, and cornerback Julian Whigham.
  • The Falcons‘ roster is back to 90 players after the team signed defensive back Ryan White, the club announced today.
  • The Jets have signed DL Jake Ceresna and RB Terry Williams, per Seth Walder of The New York Daily News (via Twitter). Walder adds that DL Christo Bilukidi left camp, and the team waived Anthony Kelly.
  • The Browns have signed WR Ed Eagan and have waived/injured Rannell Hall. The team also reached an injury settlement with DL Kyle Rose (Twitter link via Nate Ulrich of The Akron Beacon Journal).
  • The Cardinals have released LB Zack Wagenmann with an injury settlement and have signed DT Iosia Iosia, Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com tweets. Wagenmann, whom Arizona signed as a UDFA out of Montana last season, missed his entire rookie campaign after breaking his foot twice. He set Montana’s career sacks (37.5) and tackles for loss (53) records. The Titans signed Iosia as a UDFA this season, but he was waived in May.

Steelers Waive Jacoby Jones

January 1st, 2016 at 1:23pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Wide receiver/return man Jacoby Jones has now been cut for the second time this season, as Steelers PR man Burt Lauten announced (via Twitter) that the club has waived the veteran. To fill Jones’ roster spot, Pittsburgh has promoted safety Ross Ventrone off its practice squad.

The Steelers claimed Jones off waivers from the Chargers in early November, assuming the remainder of his $900K base salary. The 31-year-old was expected to provide a spark to Pittsburgh’s special teams unit, but he averaged just over three yards per return on punts and less than 25 yards per return on kickoffs. Notably, Jones botched two kicks in early December and hasnt’t seen any game action since those miscues.

Jones was due a non-guaranteed 2016 base salary of $3MM, so the Steelers have now cleared that total off next year’s books. (It never appeared remotely likely that Pittsburgh would keep Jones on its roster for the 2016 season, as its waiver claim looked to be a move for 2015 only). Jones is no longer a factor in clubs’ offensive game plans, and now that he’s struggled even in his special teams duties, he could struggle to find a deal next spring.

Ventrone, 29, is a career special-teamer with 22 career games to his name (including five this season with the Steelers). He’s bounced on and off Pittsburgh and New England’s practice squads this year, and he’ll look to provide some depth as the Steelers head into their regular season finale against the Browns.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/29/15

December 29th, 2015 at 7:56pm CST by Zachary Links

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

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

Oakland Raiders

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Signed: RB Kevin Monangai (Twitter link via Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer)

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

  • Signed: CB Kyle Sebetic (link via Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com)

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/18/15

November 18th, 2015 at 4:23pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Wednesday’s practice squad signings and cuts, with any additional moves added to the list throughout the day:

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

  • Signed: CB Terrance Mitchell (Twitter link via Rich Campbell of ESPN.com)

Dallas Cowboys

New England Patriots

New York Giants

  • Signed: WR Ben Edwards, C Shane McDermott (link via Jordan Raanan of NJ.com)

San Diego Chargers

Seattle Seahawks

St. Louis Rams

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/28/15

October 28th, 2015 at 3:29pm CST by Luke Adams

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

Baltimore Ravens

Cleveland Browns

Houston Texans

New England Patriots

New York Jets

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Steelers Activate Martavis Bryant

October 13th, 2015 at 3:14pm CST by Luke Adams

The Steelers have activated wide receiver Martavis Bryant to their 53-man roster, the team announced today in a press release. Bryant had missed the first four weeks of the season while serving a suspension, and Pittsburgh, armed with a roster exemption for the wideout, chose not to activate him for Week 5. Now, he’ll be eligible to play in Week 6, taking safety Ross Ventrone‘s spot on the roster.

Bryant, 23, came on strong in the second half of his rookie season in 2014, acting as a deep threat for the Steelers’ offense. For the year, the Clemson product caught 26 balls for 549 yards, an average of 21.1 yards per reception. He also hauled in eight touchdowns. Bryant had been expected to take a step forward in 2015, but a four-game ban for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy postponed his sophomore debut.

As for Ventrone, the veteran defensive back has been with the Steelers for parts of the last three seasons, providing depth in the secondary and seeing some action on special teams. He’ll be a free agent if and when he clears waivers.

Minor Moves: Saturday

October 11th, 2014 at 6:16pm CST by Rob DiRe

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here….

  • The Bears have elevated linebacker Terrell Manning from the practice squad to the active roster, the team announced on Twitter. The move could be an indication that D.J. Williams won’t be available for Sunday’s contest with the Falcons. To make room for Manning, Chicago has waived safety Shamiel Gary.

Earlier Updates:

Sunday Transactions: AFC North

August 31st, 2014 at 7:10pm CST by Luke Adams

Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four AFC North 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 are noted below.

Additionally, as of 11:00am CT 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 AFC North transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:

Baltimore Ravens:

Cincinnati Bengals:

Cleveland Browns:

Pittsburgh Steelers:

Steelers Reduce Roster To 53 Players

August 30th, 2014 at 2:15pm CST by Luke Adams

The Steelers have become the latest team to reduce their roster count to 53 players in advance of this afternoon’s deadline. Here are the 22 players cut from the club’s active roster today, per a press release: