Sam Brown

Vikings’ 53-Man Roster Set

The Vikings made their mandatory cuts to pare their roster down to the 53-man ceiling. Here are the rearrangements Minnesota made to set its regular-season roster.

Cut:

Placed on IR:

Placed on Reserve/PUP list:

Placed on Reserve/NFI list:

Placed on Reserve/Suspended list:

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/26/17

Wednesday’s minor moves:

  • The Saints have waived running back Marcus Murphy and moved offensive lineman Chris Watt to the reserved/retired list, tweets Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com. Murphy, whom the Saints chose in the seventh round of the 2015 draft, served almost exclusively as a return man over his first two years, but he became superfluous to the team thanks to its offseason additions of Ted Ginn Jr. and Alvin Kamara. Watt signed with the Saints just over a month ago and looked like a candidate to function as interior O-line depth. That won’t be the case, though. The 26-year-old entered the NFL as a third-rounder of the Chargers in 2014 and started in eight of 17 appearances with them through last season.
  • The Jets have cut wide receiver Devin Street, per Clarence Hill Jr. of the Star-Telegram (on Twitter). New York will use Street’s old roster spot on Lucky Whitehead, whom it claimed off waivers from Dallas on Wednesday. A three-year veteran, Street was teammates with Whitehead when the two were on the Cowboys in 2015. Street was a member of the Colts last season, when he totaled five appearances and one catch. Indianapolis cut Street after the season, and both the Patriots and Jets have since waived him after short stints.
  • Safety Ricardo Allen has signed his exclusive rights free agent tender with the Falcons, who have waived undrafted offensive lineman Cam Keizer. Allen, a fifth-rounder in 2014, has emerged as an integral cog in Atlanta, having started in 30 of 31 appearances and picking off five passes since debuting in 2015. He racked up 90 tackles and two picks across 16 starts and a team-high 1,101 defensive snaps last year.
  • The Vikings have signed cornerback Sam Brown and waived offensive tackle Arturo Uzdavinis. Brown spent some time last year with the Ravens, who signed him as an undrafted free agent from Missouri Western State, but didn’t see any action. Uzdavinis just signed with the Vikings on Monday. They quickly became the fifth former team for the 2016 undrafted free agent from Tulane, who previously spent time with the Texans, Bears, Jaguars and Lions.
  • The Patriots have added defensive end Caleb Kidder, an undrafted rookie from Montana. Kidder previously had a brief stint with Minnesota, which cut him last week.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/15/16

Today’s practice squad moves:

Baltimore Ravens

  • Signed: CB Sam Brown

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Indianapolis Colts

  • Signed: Kitt O’Brien

Workout Notes: Pack, Vikes, Chiefs, Giants

In addition to the previously reported Joique Bell, the running back-needy Packers worked out fellow rushers James Wilder Jr. and Brandon Wegher on Tuesday, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. Defensive end Arthur Miley and defensive back Brandon Dixon also tried out.

More of the latest workouts (courtesy of Howard Balzer, unless otherwise noted):

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/24/16

Today’s minor moves from around the NFL:

  • Chargers defensive tackle Damion Square has been suspended for four games by the NFL for a substance abuse violation, as Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Square was a restricted free agent San Diego initially elected not to tender during the offseason, but the team later re-signed him to a cheaper one-year deal. The 27-year-old played in six games last year and started in one after being promoted from the practice squad in November.
  • The Jaguars cut running back Jonas Gray from IR via injury settlement, as Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union tweets.
  • The Eagles announced that they have waived wide receiver Hunter Sharp with an injury settlement.
  • The Chargers have reached an injury settlement with wideout Rico Richardson, per Wilson (Twitter link).
  • The Ravens and defensive back Sam Brown have reached an injury settlement, according to Wilson (via Twitter).

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/17/16

Today’s minor moves:

  • To make room for the newest member of their roster, Brock Vereen, the Chiefs released safety Akeem Davis (Twitter link via Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star).
  • The Ravens signed cornerback Carrington Byndom and waived fellow corner Sam Brown, per Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com.
  • The Browns waived offensive lineman Erle Ladson, tweets Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal.
  • The Jaguars signed guard/center Jacques McClendon and waived wide receiver Rasheed Bailey, as Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com tweets. McClendon was with the Jaguars in 2013-14.
  • The Colts signed free agent safety Alden Darby, as Colts PR man Christian Edwards tweets. They also removed running back Abou Toure from IR with an injury settlement, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
  • The Giants signed defensive back Joe Powell, who attended Globe Institute of Technology in Manhattan, according to Jordan Raanan of ESPN (Twitter link). Powell will take the place of fellow DB Matt Smalley, who suffered a dislocated shoulder Monday.
  • The Titans announced that they have signed wide receivers Jarrod West and Donte Foster. The team also waived/injured offensive lineman Josue Matias. Matias, a 2015 UDFA addition, spent last year on Tennessee’s practice squad and is facing a six-month recovery.
  • The Lions waived wide receiver Alex Chisum and signed free agent offensive lineman Lemuel Jeanpierre, according to a team announcement.
  • The NFL announced that Chiefs offensive tackle Zach Sterup has been suspended four games for violating the policy on performance-enhancing substances, as Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star tweets.

Ravens Sign Josh Johnson, Vlad Ducasse

The Ravens have signed quarterback Josh Johnson and guard Vlad Ducasse, as Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. "<strong

Johnson, who turned 30 on Sunday, was on and off of the Colts’ roster early in 2015 while Andrew Luck was sidelined. In October, Johnson signed on with the Bills to help provide some insurance behind Tyrod Taylor and E.J. Manuel. Johnson did not see the field in Buffalo, however. In his six NFL seasons, Johnson has started only five games. It remains to be seen whether he’ll be on the roster in Baltimore by September, but he can certainly provide another arm in practice while Joe Flacco recovers from a torn ACL.

Ducasse spent the first four seasons of his career with the Jets before joining the Vikings in 2014 and signing on with the Bears in 2015. Selected out of UMass in the second round of the 2010 draft, Ducasse never lived up to his draft pedigree, starting just five games during his time with New York. He topped that number in ’14 alone, starting six contests in Minnesota while playing at both guard positions. In 2015, he appeared in 15 games and started 11 of those contests.

In 2014, Ducasse played in 13 games, totaling 417 snaps, but graded as the league’s No. 61 guard among 78 qualifiers per Pro Football Focus. Last year, PFF rated Ducasse as the 47th best guard in the NFL out of 81 qualified players.

The Ravens also announced that they have signed rookie free agent Sam Brown, a defensive back from Missouri Western State.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.