HEADLINES

Shamarko Thomas

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/25/18

July 25th, 2018 at 4:27pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Indianpolis Colts

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Waived: OL Donavon Clark

Los Angeles Rams

  • Signed: WR Aaron Lacombe, WR Khadarel Lott, WR JoJo Natson
  • Waived: WR LaQuvionte Gonzalez, WR Ricky Jeune

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Waived/injured: DB Trey Johnson

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Redskins

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/3/17

October 3rd, 2017 at 6:59pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s minor moves:

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

Tennessee Titans

Redskins Looking At Shamarko Thomas

September 25th, 2017 at 3:35pm CST by Zachary Links

Former Steelers safety Shamarko Thomas will work out for the Redskins on Monday, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Thomas has been out of work since being cut by the Jets in early September. Shamarko Thomas (vertical)

Playing mostly at strong safety, Thomas spent the first four years of his career with Pittsburgh. The former fourth-round pick started in two of 14 appearances as a rookie, but he came off the bench in the rest of his games (34) with the team from 2014-16.

Last year, Thomas spent the bulk of the season on special teams duty and played in only five defensive snaps. As a special teamer, he was on the field for 126 snaps. But, given the Su’a Cravens situation and the rash of injuries the Redskins have had in the secondary, Thomas could be in line for a larger role with the Redskins if he is signed.

In spite of this year’s hiccups, the Redskins’ D stepped up in a big way on Sunday, containing the Raiders’ offense en route to a 27-10 win. The Redskins held the Raiders to just 128 yards of total offense, marking the franchise’s best showing in the last 25 years.

Jets Make 23 Moves, Reach 53-Man Limit

September 2nd, 2017 at 4:37pm CST by Zachary Links

The Jets waived 17 players, released three, placed two on the suspended list, and waived/injured one player in order to reach the 53-man maximum. Here’s the complete breakdown:

Waived:

Reserve/Suspended:

Waived/Injured:

Released:

Purdum was the longest-tenured player on the Jets’ roster, but he wasn’t performing up to standards this offseason. When the Jets acquired long snapper Thomas Hennessy in a trade with the Colts in late August, it was clear that Purdum’s time with the organization was coming to a close.

Jets Sign Shamarko Thomas

June 1st, 2017 at 6:28pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Jets have announced the signing of defensive back Shamarko Thomas. Additionally, the club has waived linebacker Jevaris Jones.

Shamarko Thomas

Primarily a strong safety, Thomas spent the first four years of his career with the Steelers, who selected him in the fourth round of the 2013 draft. He started in two of 14 appearances as a rookie, but he came off the bench in the rest of his games (34) with the team from 2014-16.

Thomas has just 30 career tackles (none last year) and is coming off a season in which he played only five defensive snaps in eight games. The 26-year-old was a bigger part of Pittsburgh’s special teams unit in 2016, playing 126 snaps, and will likely function in an ST role if he makes a Jets club that has no shortage of defensive backs on hand.

Jones, who played his college ball at Division II Shorter University, signed with the Jets on May 9 but didn’t even last a month with the team.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/24/16

December 24th, 2016 at 4:04pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are the minor moves coming on Christmas Eve.

  • The Steelers made several moves in advance of their Week 16 clash with the Ravens, signing defensive lineman Johnny Maxey and cornerback Al-Hajj Shabazz, Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets. To make room, Pittsburgh cut running back Daryl Richardson and moved cornerback Shamarko Thomas to IR.
  • With Darius Slay‘s status murky for Monday night’s Lions-Cowboys game, Detroit promoted second-year cornerback Alex Carter from its practice squad, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports (on Twitter). Carter came to the Motor City as a third-round pick in 2015 but saw an injury scrap his rookie season and did not make the 2016 team out of training camp. Carter, who will take Corey Lemonier‘s roster spot, has yet to play in an NFL game despite the Day 2 draft pedigree.
  • The Ravens placed second-round rookie Kamalei Correa on IR with a rib injury and promoted Brennen Beyer from their practice squad to take his place, Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com reports. Correa finishes the season with three tackles and a fumble forced in nine games (one start).

AFC North Notes: McCown, Carter, Thomas

June 7th, 2015 at 9:43am CST by Rory Parks

Much has been made of the Browns‘ quarterback situation heading into 2015, with a great deal of the discussion revolving around second-year signal-caller Johnny Manziel. But there has been significantly less attention devoted to the man who will more than likely be under center when Week 1 rolls around, Josh McCown.

McCown, signed to a three-year, $14MM contract this offseason, is not the solution at quarterback that Cleveland fans desperately seek. He is 35, and he has largely served as a backup in his 12 seasons in the league, compiling a 17-32 record as a starter. However, head coach Mike Pettine thinks that even if McCown is not the long-term answer, he does represent the next best thing. Pettine had this to say at yesterday’s Fan Fest (from Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal):

“Until you feel you’ve found what you would call a long-term solution, I don’t think we could have done any better than bringing in a guy like Josh McCown…It’s like having another coach on the field, and it’s all genuine. That’s the thing you like the most. Despite his age, people that have been at practice agree, he can still spin it. We didn’t just look to bring in a guy who was just going to be a mentor. We wanted a guy who we think can still play a little bit if you put him in the right circumstances. He’s been more than advertised.”

As Ulrich writes, Pettine’s comments, which were echoed by GM Ray Farmer, suggest that McCown is not only the favorite to win the starting job out of training camp this season, he is a lock.

Let’s check out a couple of more links from the AFC North:

  • As we learned several weeks ago, Browns safety Tashaun Gipson is the only restricted free agent who appears demonstratively unhappy with his contract situation, as he was offered a second-round tender rather than a first-round tender. As Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com writes, the Browns should have gone the extra mile and extended the first-round offer, which would have cost the team an extra $1MM but would have set a positive tone for extension talks. Grossi believes, however, that the situation could still be resolved amicably.
  • By releasing Jacoby Jones this offseason, the Ravens left themselves a hole at kick returner. One of the early favorites for that role, Michael Campanaro, has struggled with injury in his young career, and though cornerback Lardarius Webb was an effective returner a few years ago, injuries have taken their toll on him as well, and Baltimore does not want to risk losing their No. 2 corner to a special teams injury. As Clifton Brown of CSNBaltimore.com writes, that leaves the door wide open for undrafted free agent DeAndre Carter, the diminutive receiver who showed explosive speed at Sacramento State and whose chances to stick on the 53-man roster seem to increase with each passing day.
  • Shamarko Thomas has battled injury in his first two seasons in the league, but in the wake of Troy Polamalu‘s retirement, he now has the chance to establish himself as the Steelers‘ long-term answer at strong safety. Ralph N. Paulk of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review describes the work that Thomas has put in this offseason to ensure that he capitalizes on his opportunity, work that has not gone unnoticed by Thomas’ running mate st safety, Mike Mitchell.

AFC North Notes: Manziel, Tucker, Polamalu

June 28th, 2014 at 2:50pm CST by Rob DiRe

Johnny Manziel hasn’t played in an NFL game yet, but his off the field conduct has already become a point of contention in the Browns‘ organization, according to the Chicago Tribune. He has been in the news for his already legendary partying, and has come out and stated that he was not going to tone down his personality for the NFL. Manziel’s conduct is already the biggest storyline in the NFL this offseason, according to our PFR Poll, slightly edging out Andre Johnson trade rumors, Jimmy Graham‘s contract, and the Redskins’ name controversy.

Here are some other notes from around the AFC North:

  • Browns‘ head coach Mike Pettine has been impressed with the team’s two top backs, free agent signing Ben Tate and rookie Terrance West, writes Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com. The Browns attempted 681 passes in 2013, most in the NFL, and will need a strong ground game to help avoid repeating that performance next season.
  • The Ravens have a number of players who are up for contract extensions this summer, including kicker Justin Tucker, writes Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun. Tucker is coming into the final year of a three-year deal and has been one of the top kickers in the league over his first two seasons. The team is also looking to lock up Torrey Smith, Jimmy Smith, and Haloti Ngata.
  • Steelers‘ safeties Troy Polamalu and Shamarko Thomas are training together this offseason, writes Ray Frager of CSNBaltimore.com. Polamalu invited the younger safety out to California this offseason to help bring him up to speed on the defense.

Steelers GM On Mitchell, Harrison, WRs, Cap

March 24th, 2014 at 10:53am CST by Luke Adams

With the majority of the league’s owners and decision-makers congregated in Orlando, we can expect plenty of interviews this week with NFL general managers. Already this morning, we’ve passed along comments made by Browns GM Ray Farmer, so let’s turn our attention to one of his division rivals. Alan Robinson of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has provided a transcript of a discussion with Steelers GM Kevin Colbert. Here are a few notable items:

  • The Steelers typically like pursuing free agents coming off their first contract, but the team felt that Mike Mitchell essentially fit that bill, since his second contract was only for one season. Colbert also believes there’s “a lot of room for continued growth” with the Steelers’ new safety.
  • Colbert is leaving the door open for a possible reunion with James Harrison, though he cautioned that there may be other outside linebackers that could help the team.
  • The Steelers would have liked to bring back Jerricho Cotchery, but wish him luck in Carolina, with Colbert suggesting that the Panthers were “able to do some things financially that we weren’t able to do.”
  • Discussing the signing of Lance Moore, Colbert indicated that the former Saint should give the club a little of what both Cotchery and Emmanuel Sanders provided last season: “He’s a very smart, experienced receiver that knows how to work in the slot.” The Steelers GM also isn’t overly concerned about Moore’s dip in production last season, pointing out that there may not have been enough balls to go around in New Orleans after Kenny Stills entered the mix.
  • The Steelers hadn’t been anticipating the bump to a $133MM salary cap at all, and it allowed the team to make a couple moves that otherwise may not have been possible.
  • Colbert on whether he feels okay about having parted with 2014’s third-round pick in a trade for safety Shamarko Thomas: “If he was in this draft, we certainly would feel good about having used that third-round pick.”