Shaquille Quarterman

Chargers Waive RB Isaiah Spiller, T Alex Leatherwood; Get Down To 53

The Chargers made their way down to 53 players today with a number of waives and releases:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

  • OLB Chris Collins
  • T Tyler McLellan
  • OLB Chris Rumph
  • IOL Bucky Williams

Placed on IR (designated for return):

There aren’t too many surprises here. Of the veterans, Parham fell victim to the addition of two veteran receiving options, and Quarterman was a long-time special teamer.

Michigan wide receiver Johnson was the only drafted rookie who failed to make the roster after being selected in the seventh round. While no undrafted rookies made the roster either, McLellan and Williams will stick around on the IR, where they will remain out for the year. Niemann will have the option to be activated after four games.

The biggest cuts we otherwise see are Spiller, who got some run as a depth option at running back last year, and Leatherwood. Leatherwood, the former first-round pick out of Alabama, continues to struggle to find his place in the NFL.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/13/24

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

  • Waived-injured: WR Bryan Thompson

Carolina Panthers

  • Released from IR (with injury settlements): OT J.D. DiRenzo, TE Curtis Hodges

Denver Broncos

  • Re-signed: LB Alec Mock

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: LB Chris Russell
  • Released from IR (with injury settlement): CB Don Callis

Los Angeles Chargers

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

  • Signed: CB Kaleb Ford-Dement
  • Waived: RB Zander Horvath
  • Released from IR (with injury settlement): WR Jermaine Jackson

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

  • Released from IR (with injury settlement): NT Matthew Gotel

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/12/24

Here are Monday’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Cincinnati Bengals

  • Activated from active/PUP: DT Devonnsha Maxwell

Cleveland Browns

  • Signed: LB Brandon Bouyer-Randle, S Chase Williams
  • Released: RB John Kelly
  • Waived: DE Marcus Haynes
  • Waived/injured: CB Vincent Gray

Denver Broncos

  • Claimed (from Giants): DB Kaleb Hayes
  • Waived: ILB Alec Mock

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

  • Signed: LB Anthony Hines, TE Neal Johnson
  • Waived: LB Jimmy Ciarlo, CB Myles Jones

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Claimed (from Ravens): OL Tykeem Doss
  • Waived/injured: DB Kalon Barnes

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Hernia surgery forced Tampa to the Ravens’ active/PUP list, but the fourth-round pick is ready to return. Needing a double hernia operation after minicamp (per The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec), Tampa is unlikely to be ready for practice until at least next week. By avoiding a move to the reserve/PUP list, Tampa is no longer at risk of missing Baltimore’s first four games.

A rookie UDFA, Murphy went down with an MCL injury, per NFL.com’s Cameron Wolfe. The Dolphins signed Brown, a four-year Giants special-teamer and backup presence, in April. While the Dolphins continue to deal with linebacker injuries, they did bring Jaelan Phillips off the PUP list today.

Fromm spent most of the past two seasons with the Commanders, but the team — as it transitions to a new regime — cut the former Georgia passer in May. He joins a Lions team that still rosters Nate Sudfeld along with Jared Goff and Hendon Hooker.

Eagles Sign S Caden Sterns

The Eagles have signed free agent safety Caden Sterns, the team announced. Philadelphia cut linebacker Shaquille Quarterman in a corresponding move.

It has been a busy week for Sterns, who was waived by the Broncos on August 5, claimed by the Panthers on August 6, and subsequently put back on the waiver wire when he failed a physical with Carolina. He cleared waivers and was free to sign with any club, and as many expected, he chose the Eagles as his new employer.

Denver’s former fifth-round pick has shown potential when on the field, particularly during his rookie campaign in 2021. Sterns totaled a pair of interceptions and five pass deflections that season, and while he nearly matched both of those figures the following year, he played in just five games due to a hip ailment. Availability remained an issue for Sterns in 2023, as he suffered a torn patellar tendon in the regular season opener and was shelved for the rest of the year.

Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was Sterns’ head coach in Denver in 2021, and when speaking to reporters immediately after today’s acquisition, Fangio praised the 24-year-old DB’s instincts (video link via Eliot Shorr-Parks of 94WIP.com). Fangio added, however, that Sterns will not practice for a week or so as he continues to recover from last year’s injury.

Nonetheless, Shorr-Parks believes Sterns has a real chance of making the roster, because in his estimation, Philadelphia would not have signed a player who is not yet ready to practice if the club did not think highly of that player and have a real vision for his fit on the team. Additionally, the Eagles need safety depth since C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Mekhi Garner are dealing with their own injury problems and since Sydney Brown is on the PUP list and James Bradberry is still learning the position after transitioning from cornerback (though Fangio said Bradberry is doing “pretty damn good” in that transition).

Quarterman, meanwhile, signed with Philadelphia just last week in an effort to crack the team’s LB rotation and to serve as a key special teams contributor after spending most of his first four years in the league as a third phase stalwart for the Jaguars. He will now need to seek an opportunity elsewhere.

Eagles Sign LB Shaquille Quarterman

Philadelphia will have an additional option in the linebacking corps for the remainder of training camp. The Eagles have an agreement in place with Shaquille QuartermanESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. The signing is now official, per a team announcement.

Quarterman entered the league in 2020 after being drafted by the Jaguars. He was a regular in Jacksonville over the course of his rookie contract, making 65 combined regular and postseason appearances. The 26-year-old did not make any starts on defense, though, with most of his playing time coming on special teams.

The 2021 season saw Quarterman total 3o tackles while logging his largest defensive workload (142 snaps). His third phase contributions over the following two years were not enough to land him a new Jaguars pact, however, leading to a lengthy stay on the open market. The former fourth-rounder visited the Bears last month, but he will be headed to Philadelphia for at least the next few weeks.

The Eagles have undergone a number of changes at the linebacker spot this offseason after the team’s underwhelming end on defense to close out the 2023 campaign. Nicholas Morrow took a deal with the Bills, while Zach Cunningham and Shaquille Leonard remain unsigned. Philadelphia added Devin White and Zack Baun in free agency before drafting Jeremiah Trotter Jr. Those new faces will join returnee Nakobe Dean in competing for defensive playing time.

Quarterman will attempt to carve out a role as part of that group, presumably on special teams. The Eagles’ upcoming preseason contests will give the Miami alum a chance to earn a 53-man roster spot. Philadelphia entered Monday with over $25.5MM in cap space, so this addition (which will no doubt be for one year and the league minimum) will not affect the team’s financial outlook.

NFL Workouts: Texans, Quarterman, Fromm

The Texans appear to be looking for another body in the running backs room. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2, Houston hosted veteran rusher Deon Jackson and undrafted Ohio State rookie Miyan Williams for workouts today.

Jackson spent his first two seasons out of Duke with the Colts as an undrafted free agent. Due to injuries to Jonathan Taylor, Jackson saw extended time in two starts during his sophomore campaign. He recorded career highs in carries (68), yards (236), and touchdowns (1) that season. Last year, Jackson bounced around, playing games for the Colts, Browns, and Giants.

Williams played four seasons for the Buckeyes in five years with the team, spending most of his time as a backup. Injury trouble for TreVeyon Henderson in 2022 opened the door for Williams to have a breakout season, rushing for 825 yards at 6.4 yards per clip and scoring 14 touchdowns. In 2023, a healthy Henderson and an influx of new talent severely reduced Williams’ role.

With free agent addition Joe Mixon and third-year back Dameon Pierce in place atop the depth chart, Jackson and Williams are trying out for an opportunity to push Dare Ogunbowale and sixth-round rookie Jawhar Jordan for a backup job.

Here are a couple other workouts from around the league recently:

  • The Bears looked at some potential linebacker depth yesterday in Shaquille Quarterman, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. After four years with the Hurricanes, Quarterman returned to his hometown as a fourth-round pick for the Jaguars. While he never started a game over the course of his rookie deal in Duval, Quarterman became a core special teamer. He earned some defensive snaps in his second season with the team, totaling 30 tackles that year and, though his time was even more limited in 2022, he made the most of it, forcing a fumble on Derrick Henry in a division matchup. Chicago returns their top three linebackers, so Quarterman is likely looked at only as a potential depth addition.
  • The Packers worked out a notable name at quarterback today, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, hosting former Georgia championship-winning passer Jake Fromm. Since being drafted by the Bills in the fifth round in 2020, Fromm has bounced from Buffalo to the Giants to the Commanders. His only playing time came in New York where he started two losing efforts, completing 45 percent of his passes for 210 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions. Green Bay hopes to not need anyone behind Jordan Love, but perhaps they are seeking a bit more experience in a camp arm than the two draft picks from the last two years they currently roster.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/5/20

Here are Saturday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/7/20

Here are Saturday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/21/20

Today’s 2020 NFL draft pick signings:

  • The Jaguars have signed fourth-round linebacker Shaquille Quarterman, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Quarterman, whom Jacksonville selected with the draft choice it acquired from the Bears in exchange for quarterback Nick Foles, was a four-year starter at the University of Miami, and posted at least 80 tackles in all four of his seasons with the Hurricanes. In a pre-draft profile, Lance Zierlein of NFL.com praised Quarterman’s hustle and mentality, but indicated 6’0″, 235-pounder may not have the short-area quickness required to play linebacker in the NFL. The Jaguars already have Myles Jack and Joe Schobert starting at linebacker, meaning Quarterman will likely begin his pro career on special teams.