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Troymaine Pope

RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/9/17

March 9th, 2017 at 2:00pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Unrestricted free agent news will obviously dominate the day, but several clubs also had to make decisions on whether to offer tenders to restricted and exclusive rights free agents. All RFA tenders listed are original round/right of first refusal (worth $1.797MM), and all links go to Twitter:

RFAs:

Tendered:

Non-Tendered: 

ERFAs:

Tendered:

Non-Tendered: 

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/13/16

December 13th, 2016 at 6:28pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s minor moves:

  • The Seahawks have made a series of roster moves, announcing that they’ve signed running back Kelvin Taylor and cornerback Ronald Powell to their 53-man roster while placing running back Troymaine Pope and fullback Will Tukuafu on IR. Tay is the son of former NFL great Fred Taylor.
  • The Bears have signed tight end MyCole Pruitt off the Vikings‘ practice squad, tweets Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispacth, while Chicago announced that it has cleared a roster spot by waiving defensive back De’Vante Bausby. Pruitt, a 2015 fifth-round pick, has played in 18 games over the past two years.
  • The Packers will sign linebacker Jordan Tripp, a source tells Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Tripp, primarily a special teamer, was recently waived off Seattle’s IR.
  • John Hughes won’t be staying home alone any longer, as the Buccaneers announced that they’ve re-signed the veteran defensive tackle. Hughes, 28, has already played in three games for Tampa this season.
  • The Ravens announced that they’ve placed running back Lorenzo Taliaferro on injured reserve and signed linebacker Lamar Louis to the active roster. Taliaferro, a 2014 fourth-round, hasn’t been able to get on the field in Baltimore, as he’s managed only 14 carries over the past two seasons. The Ravens are also promoting WR Michael Campanaro, tweets Jeff Zriebec of the Baltimore Sun.
  • The Rams have signed cornerback Troy Hill from the practice squad and placed tight end Cory Harkey on injured reserve, the team announced today. Hill had been waived following a DUI arrest, but has now earned a second chance on the roster.
  • The Bills signed safety Shamiel Gary and offensive lineman Michael Ola to the active roster, per a club announcement. Linebacker Bryson Albright has been waived in a corresponding transaction.
  • The Redskins announced that they’ve promoted linebacker Nick Moody from the practice squad to the active roster and placed defensive end Anthony Lanier on injured reserve. Lanier, 26, has 25 games of NFL experience under his belt since entering the league as a San Francisco draft pick in 2013.
  • The Cardinals have swapped out punters once again, announcing that they’ve waived Drew Butler in favor of Matt Wile, who was promoted from the practice squad. Arizona also signed quarterback Zac Dysert off the taxi squad.
  • The Falcons have re-signed cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson, the team announced today. BWW had just been waived last week in order to clear a spot for wide receiver depth.
  • The Browns announced that they’ve promoted DL Gabe Wright from the practice squad to active roster. Wright, a former Detroit draft pick, was claimed by Cleveland earlier this year.

NFC West Notes: Rams, Mathieu, Seahawks

November 21st, 2016 at 9:10pm CST by Zachary Links

For months now, we have been hearing that the Rams are on the cusp of extending coach Jeff Fisher and GM Les Snead. Lately, however, things have been quiet. Mike Florio of PFT reached out to Rams VP of football operations Kevin Demoff for comment and he said there were “no updates” to give for either of them.

Some people, according to Florio, believe that Fisher already has an extension in place but the team is waiting for the right time to announce it. Now 4-6 after losing to Miami, the Rams might want to wait a little longer.

Here’s more from around the NFC.

  • Cardinals GM Steve Keim thinks “there’s a good chance” safety Tyrann Mathieu plays Sunday in Atlanta (Twitter link via Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com). Mathieu’s been out since October with a shoulder injury.
  • C.J. Prosise suffered a fractured scapula, and Pete Carroll said Monday it’s too early to tell if the rookie running back will be able to return this season, per Zac Jackson of Pro Football Talk. That malady sounding quite concerning, the Seahawks head coach did say Prosise won’t need surgery on his injured shoulder. A high-ankle sprain will sideline running back Troymaine Pope, leaving Thomas Rawls and Alex Collins as the healthy Seattle runners of the moment.
  • Caroll also said Sunday looms as a possible Michael Bennett return date, Tom Pelissero of USA Today tweets. Bennett’s been out since late October with a knee injury, one that snapped a games-played streak that hit 74. The Seahawks recently discussed an extension with the vocal defensive end as well, and it looks like the surging team will have his services again soon. Bennett has three sacks this season, with Cliff Avril and Frank Clark combining for 17.5.
  • Before signing with the Seahawks as a UDFA this year, tackle George Fant nearly signed with the Chiefs, GM John Schneider said on his radio show (Twitter link via Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times). Fant, 24, has proven to be another strong UDFA find for Seattle, appearing in eight games and making four starts this year.
  • It was confirmed today Eric Reid will miss the rest of the season with a biceps tear. The 49ers safety will head into 2017 with a fifth-year option year that could well be guaranteed due to Reid’s injury status.

Sam Robinson contributed to this report

Seahawks Promote Troymaine Pope

November 15th, 2016 at 8:50pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Seahawks have promoted running back Troymaine Pope from the practice squad to the active roster, according to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (Twitter link). Pope will fill the spot vacated by fellow running back Christine Michael, who was waived earlier today.Troymaine Pope (Vertical)

[RELATED: Seattle Seahawks Depth Chart]

If he’s active on Sunday, Pope will become the fourth running back on the Seattle roster, behind rookies C.J. Prosise and Alex Collins, and second-year player Thomas Rawls, who is set to return to the lineup this Sunday. Pope, 22, will likely serve on special teams duty when the Seahawks face the Eagles. An undrafted free agent this spring, Pope was on Seattle’s roster all summer, before joining the Jets’ practice squad in September.

Meanwhile, a few more details have rolled in related to Michael’s release, and off-the-field concerns don’t appear to have played a role in the move. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link), Seattle’s decision to cut ties is simply a football transaction, and is mostly based on the fact that the Seahawks prefer Rawls. Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link) concurs, noting that Prosise has added a new dimension to Seattle’s offense while Michael has “regressed as a runner.”

Jets Sign C.J. Spiller, Waive Knile Davis

November 1st, 2016 at 8:00pm CST by Ben Levine

8:00pm: The Jets actually waived running back Troymaine Pope to originally make room for Davis, according to Mehta (via Twitter).

6:09pm: Knile Davis‘ tenure with the Jets didn’t even last three hours. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter), the team is planning on releasing the running back as they finalize a deal with veteran C.J. Spiller. Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News confirms (via Twitter) that the Jets will indeed by signing Spiller. Davis was claimed off waivers by the Jets earlier today.

C.J. Spiller (vertical)Similar to Davis, Spiller will be joining his third team this season. The 29-year-old started the campaign with the Saints, and he was quickly signed by the Seahawks following his release by New Orleans. The former first-rounder only had three rushes for nine yards during his two-game tenure in Seattle, and he added another five catches for 43 yards and a touchdown. The Seahawks ended up cutting bait with the veteran last week.

Spiller is certainly an upgrade over Davis, as the veteran running back put up solid numbers in 2015. During his lone full-season with the Saints, Spiller rushed for 112 yards on 36 carries. He also added another 34 catches for 239 yards and two scores. Meanwhile, Davis only collected 96 offensive yards in 2015, and he’s followed that up with only 21 total yards in 2016. Rapoport tweets that the Jets had been in talks with Spiller, but they claimed Davis as insurance in case the veteran didn’t sign. Ultimately, Spiller decided to take the Jets’ offer.

The Jets already have a crowded running back corps, led by Matt Forte and Bilal Powell. Spiller will likely compete with rookie Troymaine Pope to be the team’s third-string running back. Spiller will certainly get an opportunity, as he’ll be reunited with former Bills coach Chan Gailey, who is now the Jets’ offensive coordinator. Spiller’s best seasons came under Gailey, including a 2012 season where he rushed for 1,244 yards.

Sunday NFL Transactions: AFC East

September 4th, 2016 at 5:53pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four AFC 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 Bills, Dolphins, Patriots, and Jets 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 East transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day (all links go to Twitter unless noted otherwise):

Buffalo Bills

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New York Jets

Seahawks’ Roster Now At 53

September 3rd, 2016 at 6:06pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Seahawks haven’t officially released their moves today, but as Curtis Crabtree of KJR noted (Twitter link), the club has listed their transactions on their official team depth chart.

Cut:

Waived/injured:

Waived From IR:

The Seahawks also announced that they’ve acquired defensive back Dewey McDonald (for a conditional 2017 pick, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com) from the Raiders, and, as we previously noted, acquired safety L.J. McCray from the 49ers.

Seahawks Waive Cooper Helfet

August 6th, 2016 at 4:51pm CST by Sam Robinson

On a busy day in Seattle, the Seahawks waived fifth-year tight end Cooper Helfet, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times reports, amid a wave of transactions.

The Seahawks extended Helfet a tender as an exclusive-rights free agents in March, and the 27-year-old pass-catcher signed it soon after. However, Helfet has missed almost all of training camp after breaking a bone in his foot.

Condotta expects the veteran tight end to pass through waivers and land on Seattle’s IR (Twitter link).

A former UDFA out of Duke, Helfet’s played with the Seahawks since 2012 and made a modest impact during the past two seasons. Starting four games combined during the 2014-15 campaigns, Helfet made 25 receptions for 315 yards and two touchdowns — both of which coming in 2015. An easier route to playing time opened after Jimmy Graham‘s season-ending injury last season.

But Graham is expected to return soon, and the Seahawks also drafted Nick Vannett in the third round this year. Luke Willson also returns for the Seahawks, who made more moves on Saturday in addition to signing Jahri Evans.

Seattle also waived Brandon Cottom, whom Condotta tabbed as a good bet to be the team’s primary fullback prior to suffering an Achilles injury Thursday, along with tight end Ronnie Shields, running back Tre Madden and defensive end David Perkins.

The Seahawks signed linebacker Kache Palacio, running back Troymaine Pope and wideout Uzoma Nwachukwu.