HEADLINES

Sanders Commings

Extra Points: Bouye, Texans, Tannehill, Kelly

February 23rd, 2017 at 9:15pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Texans are unlikely to place the ~$14.297MM franchise tag on pending free agent A.J. Bouye, which the cornerback understands. “Like my agent told me, it’s about the market value. If you’re not set to make that amount in the franchise tag, then the Texans have to do what they have to do,” Bouye told Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. “We made some moves last offseason and spent some money. We have guys, other corners, No. 25 [Kareem Jackson], No. 24 [Johnathan Joseph] and No. 30 [Kevin Johnson]. On top of trying to bring me back, they also have to take care of Hopkins, take care of Clowney when his deal is up.” If the Texans don’t tag Bouye, the 25-year-old could price himself off the team on a long-term deal once he reaches the open market. Even though he only has 19 starts to his name, Bouye’s “going to get paid a lot of money” because “everybody in the league knows how good he is,” an NFL personnel department executive informed Wilson.

More from around football (and a relevant baseball note):

  • As expected, the knee injury that sidelined Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill for the tail end of last season, including the team’s wild-card round loss to the Steelers, won’t be a problem going forward. Tannehill is now fully healed from his partially torn ACL/Grade 2 MCL sprain and will be able to participate in the Dolphins’ entire offseason program, reports Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald.
  • Because he pleaded guilty to a non-criminal charge of disorderly conduct in January 2015, former Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly isn’t allowed to participate in next week’s scouting combine in Indianapolis. However, Kelly’s agent, Vance McAlister, is still working to land an invitation for his client, details Lorenzo Reyes of USA Today. If that doesn’t happen, Kelly and McAlister might travel to Indy anyway. “We are talking with all the teams that have already expressed interest to see what their thoughts are to make a decision,” said McAlister, who believes Kelly deserves an opportunity to meet with each team and let the clubs decide if he’s worth drafting. “I’ll be the first to tell you, Chad has had to grow up and has made some mistakes because of his immaturity. No question about that,” continued McAlister. “But for me, it’s up to the 32 teams to decide whether he has learned from his mistakes or grown. Nobody would be writing a story or talking about this if Chad didn’t have the talent. And by no means are we trying to justify any of his behavior of what he has done in the past. But that’s for teams to talk to him, ask him the questions and decide.”
  • Onetime NFL defensive back Sanders Commings will attempt to break into Major League Baseball as an outfielder, having agreed to join the Atlanta Braves on a minor league contract, writes Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors. The soon-to-be 27-year-old could have taken a shot at a baseball career much earlier, as the Arizona Diamondbacks selected him in the 37th round of the 2008 MLB draft, but he instead chose to play football at Georgia. After his time with the Bulldogs ended, Commings went to Kansas City in the fifth round of the NFL draft in 2013. Commings appeared in the only two games of his pro football career that year with the Chiefs, who waived him in December 2015.
  • Jaguars offensive tackle Josh Wells‘ new deal is a two-year, $1.52MM pact featuring $75K in guarantees, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/14/15

December 14th, 2015 at 8:33pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Today’s minor moves around the NFL:

  • The Buccaneers will sign free agent defensive tackle Da’Quan Bowers on Tuesday and waive D-lineman Josh Shirley, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports (via Twitter). Bowers spent 2011-14 in Tampa and totaled seven sacks after it used a second-round pick on him. Shirley, a rookie, joined the Bucs in October. He subsequently appeared in five games.
  • The Dolphins signed defensive tackle Deandre Coleman and placed tight end Brandon Williams on injured reserve, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Coleman, undrafted out of Cal in 2014, appeared in one game as a rookie. Williams suited up four times for the Dolphins this year before breaking his left foot.
  • The Vikings signed defensive end Justin Trattou and waived safety Shaun Prater, according to Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press. Trattou has had multiple stints with the Vikings since entering the league in 2011. He appeared in two games with them earlier this season and intercepted a pass. Prater, who had been with the Vikings since 2013, garnered one appearance this year.
  • The Browns cut center Gabe Ikard, per Wilson (on Twitter). Ikard, a 25-year-old snapper, joined the Browns earlier this month.
  • The Chiefs removed safety Sanders Commings from injured reserve and reached a settlement with him, Wilson tweets. Commings’ last appearance with the Chiefs was in 2013.
  • The Chargers waived quarterback Brad Sorensen, per Eric D. Williams of ESPN (Twitter link). Sorensen, whom the Chargers chose in the seventh round of the 2013 draft, has never attempted a regular-season pass.

Chiefs Deal Kelcie McCray To Seahawks, Set Roster

September 5th, 2015 at 4:27pm CST by Luke Adams

The Chiefs announced 22 roster moves today, and one of them was of particular interest — according to a team release, the club sent safety Kelcie McCray to the Seahawks in a trade for an undisclosed draft pick. Adam Schefter of ESPN.com fills in the details, tweeting that Kansas City gets a fifth-rounder in the deal.

Recent reports had suggested that Seattle was seeking depth at its safety position, with Kam Chancellor still holding out and Earl Thomas returning from a serious injury. In McCray, the Seahawks get a solid backup who primarily served as a special-teamer last season for the Chiefs.

Here are Kansas City’s 21 other moves that get the tea down from a 75-man roster to just 53 players:

Cut:

  • WR Da’Ron Brown
  • DE Mike Catapano
  • S Sanders Commings
  • LB Ja’Gared Davis
  • DT Hebron Fangupo
  • C Garrett Frye
  • DL David Irving
  • LB James-Michael Johnson
  • C Eric Kush
  • WR Donatella Luckett
  • C Daniel Munyer
  • DB Deji Olatoye
  • G Jarrod Pughsley
  • RB Darrin Reaves
  • DB Kevin Short
  • T Derek Sherrod
  • TE Ryan Taylor
  • FB Spencer Ware
  • WR Fred Williams

Placed on injured reserve:

  • TE Richard Gordon

Reserve/suspended:

  • CB Sean Smith

Extra Points: Houston, Thomas, Vikings, Jaguars

July 18th, 2015 at 8:32pm CST by Rob DiRe

Justin Houston signed the richest contract in the history of the Chiefs organization, and his teammates are just as excited for the star pass rusher than he is for himself, writes Chris Bumbaca of the Kansas City Star. Receiver Junior Hemingway and safety Sanders Commings both had great things to say about their teammate’s new deal.

“To have Justin back, man, it’s a good move for us. We can keep pushing, keep doing what we’re doing as a team, keep building, keep grinding, and get going — and try and get this ring,” said Hemingway. “In my eyes, he’s the best. His work ethic, just the person who he is, just being around him, you can feed off of that.”

“That guy deserves every penny. He’s one of the hardest workers on the team — most vocal leader, also leads by example,” said Commings. “He makes it easy on the rest of the defense. He can make a play before it even gets started, getting to their quarterback so fast.”

  • Another AFC West star with a new deal added more headlines at a Broncos press conference, where Demaryius Thomas boldly claimed he will be chasing 2,000 receiving yards, write Troy Renck of the Denver Post. He will take over for Andre Johnson and Steve Smith as the number one option in the Gary Kubiak offense.
  • Kyle Rudolph should return to his place at the top of the Vikings depth chart after missing significant time with injury last season, but the roster behind him is up in the air. Rhett Ellison, Chase Ford, fifth-round pick MyCole Pruitt, and the onside kick pariah Brandon Bostick will all battle for spots on the roster. Master Tesfatsion of the Star Tribune posits that Pruitt is a lock to make the team, meaning last year’s blocking specialist Ellison and receiving specialist Ford will have to fight each other out for what is likely the third and final spot on the roster. Tesfatsion notes that Bostwick would need a strong showing to be in position for that last spot in the team.
  • The Jaguars haven’t been good in what seems like forever, but general manager Dave Caldwell is rebuilding the team from the trenches out. Ryan O’Halloran of Jacksonville.com points out that the team has devoted 20.6% of the salary cap to the offensive line, and 27.7% to the defensive line. (There is also an excellent story about wide receivers coach Jerry Sullivan and his relationship to legendary defensive coordinator Bill Arnsparger, who passed away on Friday).

Chiefs Release Nine Players, Place Commings On IR

August 25th, 2014 at 8:16am CST by Dallas Robinson

Teams still have about 31 hours to trim their rosters to 75 players, and the Chiefs are getting an early start on the process by releasing nine players this morning, the team announced in a press release. Kansas City also placed second-year safety Sanders Commings on injured reserve, ending his season.

The Chiefs’ roster count sits at 78, meaning they need to make three more transactions before tomorrow’s 3pm deadline.