HEADLINES

Usama Young

Workout Notes: 12/16/15

December 16th, 2015 at 7:02pm CST by Ben Levine

It’s been a busy last couple of days around the NFL, with teams still looking to fill up their squads for the rest of the season. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweeted a whole bunch of workout notes this afternoon, which we’ve compiled for you below…

Arizona Cardinals

  • CB Mitchell White (link)

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Read more

Raiders Release Nick Roach

March 6th, 2015 at 4:46pm CST by Zachary Links

The Raiders announced (on Twitter) that they have released linebacker Nick Roach and safety Usama Young with failed physical designations.

Roach suffered a concussion during the preseason and didn’t see the field in 2014. Last month, Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle reported that he was still having headaches and wasn’t expected to return in 2015. The 29-year-old (30 in June) played every defensive snap for Oakland in 2013 but it sounds like it will be a while, if ever, before we see him back on the gridiron. Roach briefly returned to practice in September of 2014 but never made it back into live action after the unfortunate incident against the Packers in preseason.

Young signed a two-year contract with the Raiders in the offseason but his season ended in late October when he tore both his ACL and MCL and was placed on IR. A frequent contributor on special teams, Young had taken on a more significant role on defense in 2014, starting three of the club’s first six contests. Young was a starter for the Browns before joining up with Oakland in 2013.

Raiders To Place Woodley, Young On IR

October 24th, 2014 at 3:08pm CST by Luke Adams

At least two Raiders players won’t be around to try to help lead the team to its first victory of the year, according to head coach Tony Sparano, who confirmed today that defensive end LaMarr Woodley and safety Usama Young have season-ending injuries (Twitter link via Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle). According to Steve Corkran of the Bay Area News Group (via Twitter), practice squad players will likely be promoted to the 53-man roster when Woodley and Young are officially placed on injured reserve.

Woodley, who turns 30 next month, suffered a torn bicep on Sunday, prematurely ending his season and likely his stint with the Raiders as well. The veteran defender signed a two-year deal with the team in the offseason, but the contract didn’t include a signing bonus, which means it’ll be fairly easy for Oakland to get out of at season’s end. With Woodley recovering from this injury, it seems more likely that the Raiders would cut him than commit to a 2015 salary that includes a $3.85MM base and a $1MM bonus due on the fifth day of the ’15 league year.

As for Young, he also signed a two-year contract with the Raiders in the offseason. A frequent contributor on special teams, Young had also taken on a more significant role on defense this season, starting three of the club’s first six contests.

Assuming the Raiders add a pair of defenders to replace their injured players, candidates to be promoted from the practice squad include defensive ends Denico Autry and Shelby Harris, along with linebacker Spencer Hadley, cornerback Ras-I Dowling, and defensive tackle Ricky Lumpkin.

West Notes: Young, Seahawks, 49ers

October 20th, 2014 at 6:35pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Raiders are the only winless team remaining in the NFL, and they’ll be without one member of their secondary as they try to right the ship. Safety Usama Young will miss the remainder of the season after tearing both his ACL and MCL, reports Bill Williamson of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Young, 29, is in his seventh NFL season, and has also spent time with the Saints and Browns. Brandian Ross will take over at strong safety in Oakland, and presuming Young is placed on injured reserve, the team will be able to add another body to the defensive backfield to fill his roster spot. Here’s more from the NFL’s two West division:

  • After fullback Derrick Coleman broke his foot during warmups on Sunday, Pete Carroll today told reporters, including Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (Twitter link), that the Seahawks will keep all options open with regards to adding a new FB.
  • For his part, Coleman will be out at least six weeks, per Carroll (Twitter link via Condotta).
  • Seattle wanted to sign fullback Kiero Small off the Browns’ practice squad, tweets Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports, so Cleveland promoted him to the active roster to ensure the Seahawks couldn’t steal him. Small was originally drafted by Seattle.
  • Don’t look for former Seahawks fullback Michael Robinson to reappear in Seattle. Carroll coyly told reporters that Robinson is doing a good job in his role as a television commentator (Twitter link via Condotta).
  • Jim Harbaugh has no knowledge of Mike Florio’s Pro Football Talk report that indicated Aldon Smith‘s suspension could be reduced, the 49ers coach told Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

Extra Points: NFLPA, Moreno, Contract Details

March 20th, 2014 at 4:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Newly-minted NFLPA president Eric Winston is just hours into his new role, but he sounds like he’s ready to hit the ground running.

“This union has always been about fighting,” Winston told Tom Pelissero of USA Today. “It won’t change.”

Winston didn’t mince words when it came to the idea of expanding the NFL season from 16 to 18 games, telling Pelissero that the idea is “dead in the water.” He was less definitive when it came to the idea of playoff expansion, but he made it clear that the union will only be on board under certain conditions. Here’s more from around the NFL:

  • Knowshon Moreno arguably had the most impressive 2013 campaign of any of this year’s free agent running backs, but his name hasn’t surfaced at all in the last nine days. That changed today, with word breaking that the Dolphins will have Moreno in a for a visit on Friday (Twitter link via Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald).
  • The Panthers continue to pursue free agent receivers, and will have Lestar Jean in for a visit tonight and tomorrow, according to Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter).
  • The Buccaneers hosted free agent defensive back Chris Owens today, tweets Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune. Owens also met with the Steelers this week, as we heard earlier this afternoon.
  • Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap has the full breakdown of many of the new contracts signed in recent days, including, but not limited to, Andrew Hawkins‘ four-year pact with the Browns, Scott Chandler‘s two-year deal with the Bills, James Starks‘ two-year deal with the Packers, Charlie Johnson‘s two-year contract with the Vikings, and Usama Young‘s two-year deal with the Raiders.
  • Jerricho Cotchery‘s deal with the Panthers is technically for five years, as Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun details (via Twitter). I imagine it includes three void years, similar to Roman Harper‘s new contract. Cotchery also received a $2.25MM signing bonus.
  • Wilson (Twitter links) also provides details on a pair of minimum salary benefit contracts, noting that fullback Jed Collins will get $710K from the Lions between his $65K signing bonus and $645K base salary. Safety Craig Steltz will get $795K from the Bears between his $730K salary and the $65K roster bonus for 2014.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Extra Points: Freeney, Young, Edelman

March 15th, 2014 at 6:20pm CST by Rob DiRe

Dwight Freeney has agreed to take a pay cut to remain with the Chargers, according to Michael Gehlken of the U-T San Diego. The move clears about $900,000 in cap space for the team and reduces Freeney’s base salary from $2.5MM down to $1.625MM. It also reduces his roster bonus from $500,000 to $375,000.

Other notes from around the league this evening…

Raiders To Re-Sign Usama Young

March 15th, 2014 at 10:11am CST by Luke Adams

The Raiders have agreed to terms on a new contract with safety Usama Young, reports Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (via Twitter). According to Garafolo, it’ll be a two-year deal.

After starting for Cleveland in 2012, Young played a part-time role in his first season with the Raiders, logging 208 defensive snaps. He made the most of his limited action though, recording 2.5 sacks, an interception, and a fumble recovery. The 28-year-old, a former third-round pick, also was a contributor on special teams, racking up seven tacklse for the unit.

According to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (via Twitter), the Jets had discussions with Young’s camp before he reached a deal with the Raiders, but New York was never seriously in the mix.