HEADLINES

Ty Powell

Minor NFL Transactions: 6/9/2016

June 9th, 2016 at 5:02pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

  • Pass rusher Kevin Anderson, whom the Steelers waived/injured on Wednesday, has cleared waivers and reverted to injured reserve, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
  • The Bears signed quarterback Dalyn Williams and released fellow QB Matt Blanchard, as Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune writes. Williams, a UDFA from Dartmouth, threw for 2,592 yards and 17 touchdowns last season, completing 64% of his passes. The Bears liked Blanchard, but he has no more practice squad eligibility.
  • The Eagles placed linebacker Ty Powell on the reserve/retired list, as Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News tweets.
  • The Browns signed third-round pick Cody Kessler, as Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal writes. Kessler, a USC product who went 93rd overall, had less hype than other quarterbacks in this year’s class but wound up being taken earlier than some big names at the position.
  • Linebacker Jerrell Harris, waived/injured by the Cowboys on Wednesday, is now on their IR after clearing waivers, tweets Wilson.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/17/16

May 17th, 2016 at 4:49pm CST by Zachary Links

Here are today’s minor transactions from around the NFL:

  • The Steelers have brought back tight end David Johnson, who was with Pittsburgh from 2009-13 after it took him in the seventh round of the ’09 draft (Twitter link via Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). Johnson, who has 24 career receptions, spent the previous two seasons in San Diego. To make room for Johnson, the Steelers cut fellow tight end David Reeves, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). Reeves, an undrafted free agent from Duke, signed with the Steelers last month.
  • Just days after signing with the Titans as an undrafted free agent, cornerback/kick returner Morgan Burns has retired, writes The Associated Press. Burns, a former Kansas State speedster, was the Big 12 special teams player of the year in 2015.
  • The Panthers have claimed tight end Marcus Lucas off waivers from the Bears, David Newton of ESPN reports. Lucas is familiar with Carolina, having spent the 2014 season on its practice squad. The former undrafted free agent from Missouri has yet to appear in an NFL game.
  • The Jaguars signed offensive lineman Jeff Linkenbach and cut kicker Jaden Oberkrom, according to ESPN’s Mike DiRocco. Linkenbach has 86 appearances and 36 starts to his name. Ten of those appearances came when Linkenbach was a member of both the Dolphins and Chargers last year. Oberkrom had a brief stint in Jacksonville, which signed the ex-TCU standout as an undrafted free agent earlier this month.

Earlier updates:

  • The Eagles announced that they have signed tight end M.J. McFarland and linebacker Ty Powell while waiving quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson and offensive lineman Brett Boyko, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. The addition of Powell means that the Eagles now have four players from the Buffalo’s 2014 defense on their roster. Jim Schwartz, of course, served as the defensive coordinator of that team.
  • The Buccaneers announced that they have signed A.J. Francis, as Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com writes. The defensive tackle now joins his fourth team after beginning his career in Miami and later seeing time in Seattle and New England. To make room, second-year defensive tackle Davon Coleman has been waived.
  • Former Texans first-round pick Amobi Okoye has signed with the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League, as Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle writes. The defensive tackle was stricken with a rare illness, which seemingly ended his career in 2012. He hooked on with the Cowboys last season, but he was released before he could take the field.
  • Washington has signed tryout cornerback Mariel Cooper, Tarik El-Bashir of CSNWashington.com tweets.
  • The Ravens announced that cornerback Sheldon Price, an ERFA, has agreed to his one-year contract with the team. Price, who went undrafted out of UCLA in 2013, previously spent time on the Colts’ taxi squad.

RFA Tender Decisions: 3/9/16

March 9th, 2016 at 9:10pm 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 free agents. We’ll round up those decisions here:

Tendered

Non-Tendered

Bills Place Jarius Wynn, Ty Powell On IR

August 18th, 2015 at 10:55am CST by Luke Adams

The Bills have made a handful of roster moves in the wake of a pair of season-ending ACL injuries, the team announced today in a press release. In addition to confirming the previously-reported signing of linebacker Quentin Groves, the Bills announced they’ve signed running back Ricky Seale, waived defensive lineman Erik Williams, and placed defensive end Jarius Wynn and linebacker Ty Powell on injured reserve.

Wynn and Powell both suffered ACL injuries that will prematurely end their 2015 seasons, creating some depth issues among the Bills’ front seven. Groves, a former second-round pick, will have an opportunity to compete for a roster spot and could be a solid veteran backup for Rex Ryan‘s squad. The 31-year-old has played in 100 regular season games for a total of five teams in his NFL career.

Although the Bills removed three players from their active roster and added just two, it doesn’t appear there will be a new opening on their 90-man roster. Prior to the first set of roster cutdowns, players with less than four years of NFL experience must pass through waivers before they can be placed on injured reserve. Since there’s no indication that Powell was waived/injured, which would have given another team the chance to claim him, it seems he’ll still count against the Bills’ 90-man roster for now, as Mike Rodak of ESPN.com tweets.

East Notes: Powell, Giants, Eli, Brady

August 17th, 2015 at 11:40am CST by Luke Adams

Earlier today, the Bills added another one of Rex Ryan‘s ex-Jets, signing cornerback Ellis Lankster to their roster. That’s just one of today’s stories out of the East though, so let’s round up the latest from around the league’s two East divisions….

  • Ty Powell, who was a reserve linebacker and a special teams contributor for the Bills last season, may have a torn ACL, Ryan said today (Twitter link via Joe Buscaglia of WKBW). If that diagnosis is confirmed, it would end Powell’s season.
  • There’s still a chance that the Giants could pursue a free agent offensive lineman like Jake Long or Evan Mathis, tweets Dan Graziano of ESPN.com. However, as Graziano suggests, it’s not as simple as making a contract offer, since there are concerns about Long’s health and Mathis’ asking price.
  • With Ben Roethlisberger and Philip Rivers having signed new contracts this offseason, a pair of New York reporters believe the other notable quarterback from the 2004 draft class should get an extension of his own. Steve Serby of the New York Post and Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News both make cases for why Giants signal-caller Eli Manning should get a new deal before the season begins.
  • Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk explains why Patriots quarterback Tom Brady shouldn’t sue investigator Ted Wells for defamation, like former Dolphins offensive line coach Jim Turner is doing.
  • Before the Cowboys break training camp, owner Jerry Jones has several objectives he’d like to see the team meet, including deciding how to proceed on defense without Greg Hardy and Rolando McClain early in the season. David Moore of the Dallas Morning News has the details.