Shaun Phillips

Steelers Cut QB Landry Jones, Others

The Steelers have reached the 53-man roster limit by cutting a number of players, including quarterback Landry Jones.

Jones, 29, hasn’t played much during his six-year NFL career, as he’s attempted just 169 passes in relief of Roethlisberger. In that span, Jones has been a middling option, completing 63.9% of his passes for 1,310 yards, eight touchdowns, and seven interceptions.

The Steelers also placed wide receiver Eli Rogers on the Reserve/PUP List, which will keep him off of the field for at least the first six weeks of the season.

Here’s the full rundown of the Steelers’ moves:

Released:

  • QB Landry Jones
  • S Nat Berhe

Waived:

In addition to those moves, the Steelers designated the following players waived/injured:

NFL Future/Reserve Contracts: 1/15/18

Here are the latest reserve/futures contract signings from around the NFL. These deals will go into effect on the first day of the 2018 league year, with players joining their respective clubs’ offseason 90-man rosters:

Cleveland Browns

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tennessee Titans

Sunday NFL Transactions: AFC North

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 for the Ravens, Bengals, Browns, and Steelers are noted below.

Additionally, as of 12:00pm CT today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. 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’ Roster Now At 53

The Steelers have reduced their roster to 53 players by making the following transactions:

Cut:

Waived/injured:

Workout Notes: Phillips, McClain, Still

The Ravens worked out veteran outside linebacker Shaun Phillips, as Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Of course, after the Ravens reached agreement with Jason Babin earlier this evening, there might not be a spot for Phillips in Baltimore.

Phillips, 34, played nine seasons for the Chargers before joining the Broncos in 2013 and then signing with the Titans last March. The veteran inked a two-year, $5MM contract with Tennessee, but wasn’t overly effective in a part-time role, recording just a pair of sacks after reaching double-digits in 2013. With the Colts in 2014, Phillips made even less of an impact, recording seven tackles and no sacks in his five regular-season contests with the team.

Here are more notable NFL workouts from today..

  • We learned earlier today that Terrelle Pryor worked out for the Patriots. Pryor, making the transition from quarterback to wide receiver this summer, impressed Browns coaches in training camp. However, after the team set its 53-man roster prior to Week 1, Pryor was essentially the 53rd man, making him expendable when other holes needed to be filled.
  • Former Patriots cornerback Robert McClain was one of three cornerbacks who worked out for the Rams today, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets.
  • The Colts worked out former Bengals defensive tackle Devon Still, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
  • The Jets worked out a number of outside linebackers today, including former Falcon Jonathan Massaquoi, Brian Costello of the New York Post tweets. Massaquoi, 26, was selected by the Falcons in the fifth round of the 2012 draft, and has since played 40 games for the team, starting seven of them.
  • The Patriots had wide receiver Evan Spencer in for a tryout on Tuesday, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets.

Colts Release Shaun Phillips

The Colts have parted ways with a player they picked up halfway through the 2014 season, announcing today in a press release that they’ve released veteran outside linebacker Shaun Phillips. Phillips was also cut back in November by the Titans, but didn’t reach free agency, after being claimed off waivers by Indianapolis. Because players with Phillips’ NFL experience aren’t subject to waivers during the offseason, he’ll be free to sign with any team this time.

Phillips, 33, played nine seasons for the Chargers before joining the Broncos in 2013 and then signing with the Titans last March. The veteran inked a two-year, $5MM contract with Tennessee, but wasn’t overly effective in a part-time role, recording just a pair of sacks after reaching double-digits in 2013. With the Colts, Phillips made even less of an impact, recording seven tackles and no sacks in his five regular-season contests with the team.

The Colts’ claim of Phillips came at a time when the team was struggling to mount an outside pass rush, particularly with veteran edge defender Robert Mathis out for the year. However, Phillips was always viewed as a short-term option — his $2.65MM cap number for 2015 was too high for the Colts to consider carrying him, and the club will clear a little extra cap room by parting ways with him before free agency.

AFC Links: Woodson, Titans, Pats, Skrine

Let’s check out some assorted notes from around the AFC…

  • Following his tenure with the Packers, veteran cornerback Charles Woodson inked a contract with the Raiders. Woodson admitted that his agent had reached out to the Lions during the 2012 offseason, but there was little interest from the franchise. “I was kind of throwing some lines out there to see where the interest was,” Woodson said (via ESPN.com’s Michael Rothstein). “Most teams, coming out of Green Bay, everybody thought I was pretty much done. Washed up. Couldn’t run anymore. I heard all of the adjectives to describe me…They were one of those teams that probably thought that.”
  • Michael Oher was just one of many offseason additions that didn’t work out for the Titans in 2014, writes ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky. Linebacker Wesley Woodyard lost his job to a rookie, running back Dexter McCluster made little impact offensively, defensive lineman Al Woods ultimately settled into a backup role and linebacker Shaun Phillips was cut in November.
  • In a series of tweets, Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap partially attributes the Patriots cap-conscious approach to the team’s inability to keep running back Curtis Martin. The franchise’s lack of cap flexibility during the 1998 offseason had a lasting impact on the organization, and the team vowed to never be in that kind of situation again.
  • Count Browns defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil among those who’d like to see defensive back Buster Skrine back with the team next season. “Buster is one of my favorite guys on the defense,” O’Neil previously said (via Kevin Jones of ClevelandBrowns.com). “He embodies ‘Play Like a Brown.’ I don’t ever want to let good players walk out the door.”

Colts Claim Shaun Phillips Off Waivers

A week after missing out on claiming a running back off waivers, the Colts have added a veteran pass rusher via the waiver process, according to a team press release. Indianapolis has been awarded former Titans outside linebacker Shaun Phillips, the club announced today.

Phillips, 33, played nine seasons for the Chargers before joining the Broncos last season and then signing with the Titans this past March. The veteran inked a two-year, $5MM contract with Tennessee, but wasn’t overly effective in a part-time role this season, recording just a pair of sacks after reaching double-digits in 2013. He was released yesterday by the club.

With the Titans going younger at the linebacker position, the division-rival Colts are the beneficiaries, snagging Phillips off waivers in the hopes that he can contribute to a pass rush that has been a little lacking at times this season. While the Colts have recorded a respectable 28 sacks as a team, only a handful have come from their outside linebackers, a group that has been without injured Pro Bowler Robert Mathis all year.

The Colts, who put in a claim for Ben Tate last week, but missed out on him to the Vikings, waived linebacker Victor Butler to make their claim of Phillips official. Butler, having been signed earlier this week, had only been with the team for two days before being cut, though he has been off and on the roster multiple times this season, and could return at some point.

Titans Release Shaun Phillips

3:33pm: The Titans have officially confirmed Phillips’ release, announcing that they’ve promoted outside linebacker Dontay Moch to the roster to take his spot (Twitter links).

11:50am: The Titans will release veteran outside linebacker Shaun Phillips today, according to Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean (via Twitter). Because the trade deadline has passed, Phillips, like all players, will have to pass through waivers before becoming an unrestricted free agent.

Phillips, 33, played nine seasons for the Chargers before joining the Broncos last season and then signing with the Titans this past March. The veteran inked a two-year, $5MM contract with the club, but wasn’t overly effective in a part-time role this season, recording just a pair of sacks after reaching double-digits in 2013. As Wyatt notes (via Twitter), with the club out of the playoff hunt, Ken Whisenhunt and his staff prefer to take a look at some younger defensive players down the stretch.

Because the deal included a $750K signing bonus, the Titans will carry $375K in dead money on their 2015 cap. However, removing Phillips’ base salary from their books creates more than $2.5MM in ’15 cap savings.

Tennessee will have an open roster spot once the release of Phillips becomes official, so a corresponding addition is likely.

AFC Links: Colts, Titans, Raiders

Colts general manager Ryan Grigson spoke to the media on Thursday and addressed a number of subjects, including the return of owner Jim Irsay, who had been suspended six games for an OWI conviction. Via ESPN.com’s Mike Wells

“With Jim gone, things are pretty well structured. Jim is always there for input, but he never forces anything down our throats. Just his presence, it’s great to see. Got alumni back. Taking a team picture, and everyone’s walking over, everyone’s walking over to talk to him. that’s something you can’t fake. These guys are beaming at seeing him, and hugging him, and he was the same way. Great for our players to see. That relationship goes back years and years, because that’s real. If you play for the horseshoe, you’re family.”

Let’s see what else is happening around the AFC…

  • Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean examines the Titans recent drafts, and attributes the team’s lack of success to their inability to pick good players. Wyatt notes that only two of the team’s 20 draft picks from the 2009-2010 draft are still with the team.
  • Meanwhile, Josh Glennon of The Tennessean opines that the Titans have not been getting their money’s worth from their free agent signings. The writer is particularly displeased with the performance of Dexter McCluster, Michael Oher and Shaun Phillips.
  • Kenbrell Thompkins is making the most of his opportunity with the Raiders after he was waived by the Patriots. ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson attributes the wideout’s determination to being released, and the 26-year-old is making sure that never happens again. “I wasn’t expecting it,” Thompkins said. “But it happened and I have to learn from it. Hard working and becoming a big part of this team is what I’m focused on.”