HEADLINES

Taylor Hart

Eagles Reach 53-Man Limit

September 2nd, 2017 at 3:26pm CST by Zachary Links

The Eagles dropped 17 players from the roster on Saturday in order to make the 53-man max:

Gerry was a fifth-round pick of the Eagles, so it’s a surprise to see that he did not make the cut. Then again, he had the tough task of converting from safety to linebacker this offseason, so the transition could take a little longer. He could be a candidate for the Eagles’ practice squad.

NFC Notes: Redskins, Eagles, Hart, Lions

January 22nd, 2017 at 9:31pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s Championship Games weren’t the most competitive affairs, but fans of the Falcons and Patriots will certainly accept the victories and prepare for the Super Bowl. For the Packers and Steelers, however, the offseason begins now.

Let’s take a quick spin around the NFC:

  • Adding more useful players along the defensive line should be the No. 1 offseason priority for the Redskins, opines John Keim of ESPN.com. Chris Baker could certainly be re-signed after he graded out as the league’s 19th-best interior defender, per Pro Football Focus, but Washington may have concerns about Baker’s level of consistency, per Keim. Ziggy Hood, Cullen Jenkins, and Kedric Golston are also headed for free agency, so the Redskins need to add more bodies up front after the team ranked in the bottom-third of the NFL in adjusted line yards allowed. I pointed to the defensive line when detailing Washington’s top three offseason needs, noting that the Redskins could afford to get younger along the front seven.
  • The Eagles are shifting Taylor Hart from defensive line to offensive tackle, according to Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). Hart had been playing OL while on the scout team, adds Berman, and the Eagles must have liked what he showed. Hart, 25, has bounced between Philadelphia and San Francisco during his short NFL career (following his collegiate coach Chip Kelly). In two seasons in the league, Hart has played in 15 total games, including one start.
  • After finishing dead last in defensive DVOA in 2016, the Lions could target help on the defensive side of the ball in rounds one, two, and three of the draft, writes Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com. Indeed, Detroit GM Bob Quinn said last week that although he values free agency as a way to acquire talent, the Lions will continue to focus on the draft as they build their roster. As Rothstein details, Detroit could use reinforcements at every level of its defense, but adding an elite talent along the defensive line seems like the primary focus.

Eagles Claim Taylor Hart From 49ers

October 24th, 2016 at 4:55pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Eagles have claimed defensive tackle Taylor Hart off waivers from the 49ers and signed cornerback Aaron Grymes to their practice squad, Adam Caplan of ESPN was among those to report (Twitter link). The club has also placed cornerback Ron Brooks on injured reserve and released offensive lineman Matt Rotheram.

Taylor Hart

Hart will now return to Philadelphia, which selected him in the fifth round of the 2015 draft. After a rookie year in which he totaled 14 appearances, including one start, and 12 tackles, Hart was unable to survive the Eagles’ final cuts in September. The 49ers, led by former Eagles head coach Chip Kelly, then claimed Hart, but he only made one appearance with San Francisco before it cut him. Hart also played under Kelly at Oregon.

Brooks ruptured his quadriceps tendon in the Eagles’ 21-10 win over the Vikings on Sunday, so his placement on IR comes as no surprise. Grymes, who was previously with the Eagles over the summer, worked out for the club Monday before signing and will provide extra organizational depth in Brooks’ absence.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/22/16

October 22nd, 2016 at 4:38pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are today’s minor moves.

  • The 49ers performed some more DuJuan Harris-related paperwork by again adding the running back to their active roster from their practice squad, Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News reports. San Francisco cut defensive tackle Taylor Hart, whom the team claimed from the Eagles off waivers earlier this season, to make room. This marks Harris’ third promotion to the 53-man unit after being called up in September twice and subsequently waived soon after. The 49ers are going to be without Carlos Hyde in Week 7 and are in need of a third running back behind Mike Davis and Shaun Draughn. Harris hasn’t played in a game yet this season.
  • The Saints became the latest team to waive quarterback Joe Callahan. New Orleans jettisoned the 23-year-old signal-caller and signed linebacker Chris McCain from its practice squad, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. Callahan has a path back to the Saints, with the team wanting him back, per Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). But the Packers did as well and saw the Saints claim him before he could pass to their practice squad, so Callahan landing somewhere soon seems likely.
  • In a wide receiver exchange, the Buccaneers promoted Freddie Martino to their 53-man roster and waived Donteea Dye, the team announced. Martino broke into the NFL with the 2014 Falcons, who employed current Bucs HC Dirk Koetter as their OC. He played in two games earlier this season but has yet to catch a pass in the NFL.

49ers Claim Taylor Hart From Eagles, Waive L.J. McCray

September 5th, 2016 at 5:49pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The 49ers have claimed defensive tackle Taylor Hart off waivers from the Eagles, according to Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area (Twitter link). Additionally, San Francisco has waived safety L.J. McCray.

Taylor Hart

Hart joins Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner as the third 49ers defensive lineman who attended Oregon, where new head coach Chip Kelly was at the helm from 2009-12. Hart played under Kelly during the latter’s final three seasons with the Ducks and then reunited with Kelly in Philadelphia. The Eagles chose Hart in the fifth round of the 2014 draft, but he didn’t debut until last season. In 14 games (one start), Hart tallied 27 tackles.

San Francisco had a deal in place over the weekend to send McCray to the NFC West rival Seahawks for a late-round pick in 2018, but it fell through after he failed a physical. As a result, the 49ers won’t get anything for McCray, an undrafted free agent in 2014 who appeared in 22 games with the club.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Sunday NFL Transactions: NFC East

September 5th, 2016 at 9:10am CST by Dallas Robinson

Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four NFC East 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 Cowboys, Giants, Eagles, and Redskins 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 NFC East transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day (all links go to Twitter unless noted otherwise):

Dallas Cowboys

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Washington Redskins

NFC Notes: Eagles, 49ers, Giants, Seahawks

August 24th, 2016 at 5:53pm CST by Zachary Links

The Eagles have been shopping defensive lineman Taylor Hart around the NFL, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Hart doesn’t have an overly appealing track record in the league, however. The 2014 fifth-round pick from Oregon was on the Eagles’ 53-man roster throughout his rookie year, but he failed to log any appearances. In 14 games last season, the 6-foot-6, 281-pounder partook in 27 percent of the Eagles’ defensive snaps and made 27 tackles.

Here’s more from the NFC:

  • When asked to characterize his association with Trent Baalke, 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick said he and the GM have a “business relationship” (via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle). Further, in response to Baalke’s comment last week that he and Kaepernick broke their months-long silence with a” good conversation,” the signal-caller simply referred to it as a “conversation.”
  • Giants owner John Mara the Josh Brown situation on Wednesday and said the club was in fact aware of both the domestic allegations against the kicker and his arrest (via Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com). Nothing has happened since to change the Giants’ opinion on re-signing him in April.
  • Because the Seahawks made such a minimal investment in Jahri Evans (one year, minimum salary benefit with $80K guaranteed), it’s uncertain if the veteran guard is a lock for the club’s final roster. As Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times writes, Seattle is pleased with the play of left guard Mark Glowinski and first-round right guard Germain Ifedi, so a starting spot for Evans might not be available.
  • As of now, the Saints and contract-year quarterback still aren’t progressing toward an extension.

Connor Byrne contributed to this post.

NFC East Notes: Cowboys, Eagles, Giants

May 19th, 2014 at 9:22pm CST by Rob DiRe

Cowboys’ owner and general manager Jerry Jones spoke to Kimberly Jones of the NFL Network about the possibility of the NFL expanding their playoff format, and he liked the idea of more playoff teams, reports Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network (via Twitter). Jones noted that it would help his team get into the tournament, as the Cowboys have barely missed the playoffs in each of the past three seasons.

Here are some other notes from around the NFC East:

  • The Eagles have signed fourth-round pick Jaylen Watkins, fifth-round pick Taylor Hart, and undrafted free agent Devan Morgan, reports Jeff McClane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter). Hart is a defensive end out of Oregon, while Watkins and Morgan are both defensive backs. The team released defensive back John Fulton to make room on the roster.
  • Eagles’ head coach Chip Kelly drafted two Oregon players this year, and both have found the transition from college to the pros smooth because of the connection, writes Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

    “There’s things in the offense I know already,” receiver Josh Huff said. “It’s just getting things separated from the Oregon offense to the Philly offense. The play calls are different. The hand signals are different. So I have to reboot my whole system and get it in order.”

    Hart also has some familiarity with the system.

  • The Giants have just enough cap room to sign all their draft picks without making any roster move, writes Jordan Ranaan of NJ.com (via Twitter). Ranaan still expects the team to free up about $5MM by cutting David Baas in the near future..

NFC East Notes: Eagles, Cowboys, Hart

May 10th, 2014 at 10:45pm CST by Luke Adams

As if conditional picks based on a player’s performance weren’t convoluted enough, the 2015 draft pick included in the swap the Eagles and Bills pulled off today hinges on the performance of two players, Steve Johnson and Bryce Brown. Eagles GM Howie Roseman told reporters today, including Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News (Twitter link), that he doesn’t think he’s been involved in such a complicated deal before. Roseman also called the trade a win for both sides: “We weren’t looking to dump [Brown], but … there was opportunity for value” (Twitter link).

Here’s more on the Eagles and one of their NFC East rivals:

  • The Eagles were hoping to land at least one offensive lineman in the draft, but according to Roseman (Twitter link), the run in the third round was like nothing he’d ever seen. The Eagles GM referred to missing out on offensive linemen as a “dagger in the heart,” per Tim McManus of PhillyMag.com (Twitter link).
  • Speaking of that third-round run on linemen, it sounds like it affected the Cowboys too. Executive VP Stephen Jones said the club was close to trading back up into the third round to draft a lineman, but Dallas’ target came off the board a few picks earlier than expected. Carlos Mendez of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has the details and quotes from Jones, who said the trade would’ve seen the Cowboys give up a 2015 pick.
  • Oregon defensive end Taylor Hart, who the Eagles snagged in the fifth round, had a third-round grade according to the team. Roseman said that he felt as if Philadelphia could wait on Hart since not many teams needed 3-4 ends (Twitter link via Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer).

NFC East Notes: Brown, Graham, Hart, Martin

May 10th, 2014 at 2:06pm CST by Rob DiRe

The Eagles have been fielding calls from the Bills about tailback Bryce Brown for a while, reports Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network and Jeff McClaine of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter). The team finally moved Brown to the Bills in exchange for a conditional future pick.

Here are some other draft weekend notes from the NFC East:

  • Eagles’ head coach Chip Kelly said he does not expect any other players on the roster to be traded during the draft, reports Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News (via Twitter). That could be good news for Brandon Graham, who was thought to be on the trade block this weekend.
  • Kelly wanted the Eagles to take Oregon defensive end Taylor Hart with the first pick in round four, reports the team insider of PhiladelphiaEagles.com (via Twitter). The team’s general manager Howie Roseman proved to be a smart draft manager, saying he would still be available when they selected at the top of the fifth round.
  • The Cowboys almost missed their top draft pick Zack Martin of Notre Dame, as a coin flip gave them No. 16, one spot ahead of the Ravens. The Rams were in talks to exchange picks with the Ravens in order to jump up to No. 17 to select Martin, reports Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Knowing that Johnny Manziel was near the top of the Cowboys’ board when the team selected, Florio writes that if Martin was not on the board, the team might have been more inclined to take the Texas A&M quarterback.
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