HEADLINES

Vaughn Martin

Workout Updates: 10/16/15

October 16th, 2015 at 5:02pm CST by Luke Adams

We’ve passed along a few of the more notable updates from the last few days on workouts and free agent visits, including the Giants trying out wide receivers like Terrelle Pryor and the Cowboys bringing in running back LaMike James. However, there are plenty more tryout updates from this week to round up, and we’ve got them all below. All links point to the Twitter account of Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post, unless otherwise indicated.

Arizona Cardinals

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Miami Dolphins

  • Devin Gardner, WR (link)
  • Josh Harper, WR

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

  • Jordan Dewalt-Ondijo, LB (link)

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

Chiefs Cut 11 Players

August 30th, 2015 at 10:12am CST by Rory Parks

We learned yesterday that the Chiefs had cut guard Marcus Reed, tight end Adam Schiltz, and cornerback Kenneth Penny. Adam Teicher of ESPN.com tweets that the team has also cut the following eight players, bringing their roster down to 79. Kansas City must be down to 75 players by Tuesday afternoon:

  • WR Kenny Cook
  • T Anthony Dima
  • LS Andrew East
  • CB Aaron Hester
  • DE Vaughn Martin
  • WR Jeret Smith
  • OL Charles Tuaau
  • WR L’Damian Washington

As Teicher adds in a separate tweet, East’s release indicates that the team has settled (for now, at least) on James Winchester as its long snapper. Winchester has never served as a long snapper in a regular season game.

Minor Moves: Monday

January 26th, 2015 at 6:27pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves..

  • The Packers announced that they have signed former Alabama punter Cody Mandell. Mandell, a 6-foot-2, 217-pound first-year player out of the University of Alabama, spent part of the 2014 offseason with the Cowboys.
  • The Chiefs and defensive end Vaughn Martin have agreed to terms on a one-year deal, according to Rand Getlin of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). Martin, a former fourth-round pick who has played for the Chargers and Dolphins, inked a minimum salary deal with the Lions near the start of the free agent period, but was cut by the team in June.

South Notes: Titans, Martin, Sims, Pasztor

August 15th, 2014 at 2:54pm CST by Luke Adams

Let’s check in on a few items from around the NFL’s two South divisions….

  • The Titans inquired last week about the possibility of bringing free agent defensive lineman Vaughn Martin in for a workout, but nothing has materialized on that front yet, says Terry McCormick of 247 Sports. Martin, a former fourth-round pick who has played for the Chargers and Dolphins, inked a minimum salary deal with the Lions near the start of the free agent period, but was cut by the team in June.
  • Buccaneers running back Charles Sims will undergo ankle surgery and is expected to be sidelined for 12-14 weeks, according to Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com (Twitter link). That timetable means the rookie rusher could return at some point this season, so we’ll have to wait and see what the Bucs decide to do with him. The club could either keep him on the active roster, place him on injured reserve (ending his season), or make him the one IR player with the designation to return.
  • Third-year offensive lineman Austin Pasztor, who was projected to start at right tackle for the Jaguars this season, has suffered a broken hand and will have surgery to repair the fracture. According to ESPN.com’s Michael DiRocco, the exact timetable for Pasztor’s return isn’t yet known, but he’ll be back at some point this season — Jags coach Gus Bradley confirmed that the 23-year-old will be re-evaluated in a month. Until then, Jacksonville will have to fill his shoes at right tackle, either with an internal option or an outside addition.

Lions Sign Two Players, Cut Vaughn Martin

June 2nd, 2014 at 9:53am CST by Luke Adams

The Lions have maxed out their roster at 90 players by adding two and releasing one. According to Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com (via Twitter), edge defender Kalonji Kashama and wide receiver Cody Wilson will take the final two spots on the 90-man roster, while defensive lineman Vaughn Martin will be cut to make room.

Martin signed a two-year, $4MM deal with the Dolphins in March of 2013, but underwent surgery for a sports hernia and was released by the team early in the ’13 season. The 28-year-old, who previously spent four seasons with the Chargers, inked a minimum salary deal with the Lions earlier this offseason, but failed to last even until training camp. He’ll come away with the $65K bonus he earned at the time of his signing, as well as modest workout bonuses for his participation in the team’s offseason program.

As for Kashama and Wilson, both players are local products — Kashama played his college ball at Eastern Michigan, while Wilson attended Central Michigan. Both players figure to be long shots to earn spots on the team’s regular-season roster.

NFC North Notes: Suh, Weems, Contracts

March 18th, 2014 at 11:50am CST by Luke Adams

At an appearance at the MGM Grand in Detroit, Lions president Tom Lewand suggested the team isn’t bothered by the fact that there’s no contract extension in place with defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh yet, as Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com writes. While a new deal for Suh would open up some cap room for the Lions in 2014, the club never viewed an extension as an essential part of its free agency plans.

Let’s round up a few other items from around the NFC North….

  • The Bears have asked wide receiver and return man Eric Weems to take a pay cut, and will likely release him if he decides not to accept the cut, reports Jeff Dickerson of ESPN Chicago. The team could create $1.1MM in cap savings by releasing Weems.
  • B.J. Raji‘s one-year contract with the Packers includes a $500K signing bonus, a non-guaranteed $3.1MM base salary, $300K in per-game roster bonuses, and a $100K workout bonus, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
  • Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune details the specifics of Charles Tillman‘s one-year contract with the Bears. It includes a $2.25MM base salary, a $500K signing bonus, $100K in workout bonuses, and $400K in per-game roster bonuses. The total guarantee is $750K.
  • The Lions‘ one-year deal for Vaughn Martin is a minimum salary benefit contract, including a $65K bonus, tweets Michael Rothstein. So Martin will earn $795K, while the cap hit for the team will be $635K.
  • Via Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press notes (via Twitter) that Jerome Simpson‘s new deal with the Vikings is worth $1MM — a $900K base salary, plus $50K in workout bonuses and another $50K in roster bonuses.
  • Mark Craig of the Minneapolis Star Tribune examines some possible reasons why the Vikings haven’t addressed the linebacker position in free agency yet.

Lions To Sign Vaughn Martin

March 13th, 2014 at 9:07am CST by Luke Adams

The Lions have agreed to a contract with free agent defensive lineman Vaughn Martin, according to agent Chad Speck (via Twitter). Terms of the deal aren’t yet known.

Martin, 27, signed a two-year, $4MM deal with the Dolphins last March, but underwent surgery for a sports hernia and was released by the team early in the 2013 season. Before signing with Miami, the London, Ontario native spent four seasons with the Chargers, starting 27 total games for the team in 2011 and 2012. For his career, the former fourth-round pick has 79 tackles and three sacks.

Given his relatively poor Pro Football Focus grades and his 2013 health issues, Martin likely won’t be a significant investment for the Lions, but it could turn into a nice depth signing for the team’s defensive line.

Extra Points: Bills, Boldin, Brady, Browns

February 12th, 2014 at 10:32pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bills would be smart to add some competition at quarterback and trading for Kirk Cousins could be one way for them light a fire under E.J. Manuel. Mike Rodak of ESPN.com looked at why a deal for the Redskins‘ No. 2 QB could happen, why it might not happen, and what it would take to get it done. More from around the National Football League:

  • Consistent with what we’ve been hearing this offseason, the 49ers want wide receiver Anquan Boldin back and the feeling is mutual, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
  • Would the Patriots ever trade Tom Brady? Bob Neumeier and Fred Toucher stopped by CSNNE.com (video link) for some friendly debate.
  • Andrew Cohen of OverTheCap wonders if the Browns‘ situation is really so bad despite their many question marks. The Browns have a tremendous talent in Josh Gordon and lots of cap room to work with this offseason.
  • The Bears announced that Pat Meyer has been promoted to offensive line coach, according to Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter).
  • Veteran defensive tackle Vaughn Martin visited the Jets and Lions over the last two weeks and is fully recovered from the hernia surgery he underwent during last season, tweets Adam Caplan of SiriusXM. The Canadian has recorded 78 tackles and three sacks over the course of his NFL career.