HEADLINES

Tony Moeaki

Bears’ Roster At 53

September 3rd, 2016 at 6:50pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bears have officially reduced their roster to 53 players, and in doing so, placed LB Pernell McPhee and WR Marquess Wilson on PUP. As such, each player will be forced to miss at leas the first six games of the season.

Cut:

Waived/Injured:

PUP:

  • LB Pernell McPhee
  • WR Marquess Wilson

Braverman was the club’s seventh-round pick this year after posting a whopping 109 receptions for Western Michigan in 2015.

Moeaki has bounced around a bit since leaving the Chiefs in 2012. The 29-year-old played in 11 games for the Falcons last season, but he only hauled in three catches for 58 yards. Following a 2012 campaign where he caught 33 passes for 453 yards and a score, Moeaki has only compiled 11 catches for 192 yards over the past three seasons.

Bears To Sign Tony Moeaki

June 16th, 2016 at 1:48pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bears have agreed to sign tight end Tony Moeaki, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune tweets. Moeaki was one of a handful of players to audition for the Bears this week in minicamp. Tony Moeaki (vertical)

[RELATED: Why The Bears Could Consider Signing Eugene Monroe]

Moeaki, 29, appeared in 11 games with the Falcons last season. The veteran first burst on the scene in 2010 when he caught 47 passes for 556 yards and three touchdowns. After losing his 2011 season to a torn ACL, Moeaki rebounded in 2012 to catch 33 passes for 453 yards and one score. The former third-round pick has also had stints with the Bills and Seahawks.

After the daft, the Bears have been keeping an eye on the free agent market for tight end depth. In addition to Moeaki, the Bears also worked out former Packers tight end Ryan Taylor and UDFA Terenn Houk. Houk played wide receiver in college, but the Bears asked him to add some weight and focus on his blocking after participating in rookie minicamp. It’s unclear whether Houk or Taylor are still in the mix for a spot on Chicago’s 90-man roster.

The Bears have Zach Miller as their primary tight end with Khari Lee, Rob Housler, and Gannon Sinclair plus rookies Ben Braunecker and Joe Sommers in support.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Bears Working Out Tony Moeaki

June 9th, 2016 at 3:00pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bears are looking to shore up the tight end position and their auditions today included a familiar name. Chicago is taking a look at a group of TEs, including Tony Moeaki, a source tells Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Undrafted free agent Terenn Houk (BYU) and former Packers tight end Ryan Taylor are also being auditioned by Chicago. The other tight ends in the workout are not known at this point. Tony Moeaki (vertical)

Moeaki, 29, appeared in 11 games with the Falcons last season. The veteran first burst on the scene in 2010 when he caught 47 passes for 556 yards and three touchdowns. After losing his 2011 season to a torn ACL, Moeaki rebounded in 2012 to catch 33 passes for 453 yards and one score. The former third-round pick has also had stints with the Bills and Seahawks.

Houk played wide receiver in college, but Biggs says the Bears asked him to add some weight and focus on his blocking after rookie minicamp so that he could transition to wide receiver. Across the last two seasons at BYU, Houk recorded 58 receptions for 731 yards and four touchdowns. Taylor, 28, played for Green Bay from 2011 until fall of 2014 and appeared in 50 games during that span. Taylor hooked on with the Browns and Ravens in 2014, but he has not been in the NFL since.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Falcons Mince Roster Down To 52 Players

September 5th, 2015 at 3:37pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Falcons are among the final teams to unveil their regular-season roster, and they did so by leaving one spot open.

Atlanta’s roster now sits at 52 players, one below the limit of 53, according to AtlantaFalcons.com.

The team parted ways with Antone Smith, who reached an injury settlement with the team. Out since the Falcons’ preseason opener with a hamstring injury, the 29-year-old backup did not suit up for the team again and will now avoid injured reserve due to this settlement.

Also rehabbing from a broken leg sustained last November, Smith signed a one-year, $1.4MM deal in March to stay in Atlanta.

Injury-plagued veteran tight end Tony Moeaki also couldn’t make the roster. The 28-year-old spent last season with the Seahawks before signing on with the Falcons in March. Atlanta will go with Jacob Tamme and Levine Toilolo as its top two tight ends.

The Falcons placed Jon Asamoah, fullback Collin Mooney and cornerback Travis Howard on injured reserve. Asamoah, a high-priced signing in 2014, suffered a hip injury during preseason workouts.

Those also cut are as follows:

  • LB Derek Akunne
  • OL Pierce Burton
  • CB Akeem King
  • OL Eric Lefeld
  • LB Stansly Maponga
  • NT Joey Mbu
  • WR Carlton Mitchell
  • OL Adam Replogle (waived/injured)
  • RB Jerome Smith
  • TE D.J. Tialavea
  • LB Tyler Starr

NFC Rumors: Brees, Rams, Moeaki, Locke

June 25th, 2015 at 4:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

The city of St. Louis and the development commission tasked with extracting funds to finance a new Rams stadium along the Mississippi River front continued their arguments in court Thursday.

At the crux of this is a St. Louis city ordinance that requires a public vote for city funds to be used to finance a stadium, and the Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority (curiously referred to as the RSA) insists that ordinance is restricting its ability to keep the Rams in St. Louis, according to John Henry of KSDK, a local TV station.

What the RSA refers to as “broad” language in the 2002 city ordinance prompted the commission to sue the city in order to ask a judge if the law is constitutional, and St. Louis mayor Francis Slay said the city would defend the ordinance “vigorously.”

This is just one of the many disconnects between cities and their football futures occurring right now as the Los Angeles market appears set to re-open.

Here are some other notes from the NFC this afternoon.

  • In speaking with ESPN.com’s Ed Werder, Drew Brees is “very convinced” the Saints will win another Super Bowl before he retires (Twitter link). The presumptive Hall of Famer also iterated he was “heartbroken” after the team shipped Jimmy Graham to Seattle on Day 1 of free agency, noting that there were “big plans” for Graham in the ensuing years of the star tight end’s contract. Stripped of key weaponry and coming off a disappointing 7-9 season, the Saints are not an attractive pick to challenge for an NFC title this season. But the 36-year-old quarterback hasn’t missed the playoffs in back-to-back campaigns since the 2007-08 bracket absences, and it’s not like the NFC South is teeming with juggernauts.
  • Housing one of the league’s worst tight end stables, the Falcons are the latest team to give the injury-riddled Tony Moeaki a chance. Despite making just $744K this season, Moeaki will compete with Jacob Tamme — the Broncos’ third-string tight end last season who signed a two-year, $4MM contract in March — to be the Falcons’ top pass-catching tight end, writes D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Incumbent Levine Toilolo received the worst pass-receiving grade from Pro Football Focus among 67 qualified tight ends last season, opening the door for an odd Tamme-Moeaki battle.
  • At special teams coach Mike Priefer‘s request, the Vikings declined to bring in competition for Jeff Locke at punter, writes Ben Goessling of ESPN.com. A fifth-round pick in 2013, Locke ranked 25th in yards per punt (39.2) last season and dropped just 8% of his boots inside the 10-yard line, which was 30th.

Falcons Sign Tony Moeaki

March 19th, 2015 at 2:26pm CST by Luke Adams

After signing Jacob Tamme earlier today, the Falcons have added some more depth at the tight end position, announcing (via Twitter) that they’ve also signed Tony Moeaki. The veteran tight end, who gets a one-year deal, per Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com (Twitter link), becomes the latest former Seahawks to follow new Falcons head coach Dan Quinn to Atlanta.

Moeaki, 27, was a pass-catching threat earlier in his career in Kansas City, averaging 40 receptions during his first two full seasons with the Chiefs. However, over the last two seasons, in stints with the Chiefs, Bills, and Seahawks, Moeaki has caught just eight balls. The former third-round pick likely won’t play a significant role in the Falcons’ offense.

Financial terms of the deal aren’t yet known, but I’d be surprised if it’s more than a minimum salary pact. Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun confirms (via Twitter) that it’s a one-year deal.

Besides having a connection to Quinn, Moeaki also has history with Falcons executive Scott Pioli, who worked in the Chiefs’ front office when the tight end was drafted.

Minor Moves: Tuesday

November 4th, 2014 at 5:30pm CST by Luke Adams

We’re already tracking today’s practice squad signings and cuts in one post, and we’ll use the space below to keep tabs on Tuesday’s minor 53-man roster transactions. Here’s the latest:

  • Wide receiver Bryan Walters, who was cut over the weekend by the Seahawks, is celebrating his 27th birthday by re-signing with the team, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.com. Seattle also made a few other roster moves, signing tight end Tony Moeaki and cutting linebacker L.J. Fort and defensive back Terrance Parks, tweets Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times, adding in a second tweet that Parks received an injury settlement.
  • As expected, Washington activated wideout Leonard Hankerson off the PUP list today, cutting cornerback Chase Minnifield in order to accommodate the addition (Twitter link). Earlier today, John Keim of ESPN.com had pointed to cornerback as a position where the club had a surplus and could cut a player to make room for Hankerson.
  • The Saints have signed tackle Nick Becton off the Giants’ practice squad, placing fullback Austin Johnson on injured reserve with a knee injury to create an opening on their 53-man roster, says Larry Holder of the New Orleans Times-Picayune (Twitter links).
  • De’Andre Presley was activated from the reserve/PUP list just yesterday, but the Panthers have waived the receiver today, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).

Giants Worked Out Felix Jones, 14 Others

October 21st, 2014 at 4:31pm CST by Luke Adams

4:31pm: The Giants worked out 15 players in total, according to Jordan Raanan of NJ.com, who provides the full list of participants. Here are the 11 new names:

12:00pm: After losing back-to-back divisional matchups against the NFC-leading Cowboys and Eagles, the Giants are entering their bye week, and are taking the opportunity to look at a handful of free agents. According to Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (Twitter link), running backs Felix Jones and Alex Green are working out for the team.

Green, a former third-round pick who started his career with the Packers, was cut by the Jets in August and has auditioned for the Lions and Panthers since then. As for Jones, there haven’t been many reports on the former Cowboy this year, which is somewhat surprising — while he didn’t do much in limited action for the Steelers last season, he had recorded over 100 carries in each of his previous four seasons in Dallas, and is still just 27 years old.

The fact that the Giants are working out running backs shouldn’t necessarily be viewed as a sign that Rashad Jennings‘ recovery is moving slowly, or that the team is looking to add a player at the position. It’s more likely that New York is simply gauging the options in the market at several spots in case the club needs to dip into free agency later in the season.

In fact, Josina Anderson of ESPN reports (via Twitter) that quarterback Terrelle Pryor is also visiting the club today, while Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post adds tight end Tony Moeaki to the list of players auditioning. The Giants’ workout group this work is expected to be large, as Jordan Raanan of NJ.com tweets, so several more participants will likely be reported soon.

Bills Cut Brian Moorman, Jordan Palmer, Others

August 29th, 2014 at 3:28pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bills have announced the first wave of their final roster cuts, and the list of released players includes some familiar names, including punter Brian Moorman, who has been with the team for nearly his entire career since 2001 and wrote an open letter to Bills fans following his release. Via Joe Buscaglia of WGR 550 (Twitter link), here’s the list of Bills moves:

Waived/released:

Placed on injured reserve:

Bills Notes: Roster, Ownership, Sale

August 14th, 2014 at 4:35pm CST by Luke Adams

Wide receiver T.J. Graham, tight end Tony Moeaki, and linebacker Jimmy Gaines are among the players whose roster spots are in jeopardy for the Bills as August’s cutdown dates approach, writes Jay Skurski of the Buffalo News. Still, even as Buffalo prepares for the regular season, its play on the field is taking a back seat in the news these days to the sale of the franchise, so let’s check out the latest reports on that process….

  • The Buffalo Fan Alliance, a Bills fan group, has discovered documents referring to Rogers Communications consultant, Roger Rai, as part of the ownership group “attempting to acquire and move the Buffalo Bills to Toronto,” writes John Wawrow of The Associated Press. The Rogers family is part of the Toronto-based group led by Jon Bon Jovi pursuing the Bills, but Rai that he’s not involved with that group, and that any references connecting him to an attempted purchase of the franchise is “a mistake on my behalf.”
  • Whether or not Rai is involved, and whether or not that Toronto group wants to move the Bills to Canada, things aren’t looking particularly good for Bon Jovi and company. Tim Graham of the Buffalo News tweets that there’s “major tension” within the group lately, with the partners not getting along.
  • Meanwhile, multiple sources who spoke to John Kryk of the Toronto Sun about the Toronto group’s meeting with the Bills sellers described the sitdown as “purely perfunctory.” According to Kryk, defeat for Bon Jovi’s group seems “more inevitable than ever.”
  • At least two Los Angeles-based parties signed the Bills’ non-disclosure agreement, but abandoned any pursuit of the franchise once they found out how difficult it would be to relocate the team to L.A., says Graham in a story for the Buffalo News. According to Graham, philanthropist Eli Broad, who is worth an estimated $6.9 billion, was one potential suitor who signed the non-disclosure agreement but was discouraged about his chances of moving the club west.
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