Vernon Harris

Buccaneers Trim Roster To 53

The Buccaneers have moved their roster to 53 players by making the following transactions:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Released:

Placed on IR:

Placed on Reserve/Suspended List:

Buccaneers Sign CB Vernon Harris, OT Austin Albrecht

The Buccaneers have made a series of roster moves this morning. According to Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter), the team has signed cornerback Vernon Harris and offensive tackle Austin Albrecht. To make room on the roster, the team has waived-injured a pair of undrafted rookies, offensive tackle Cole Gardner and cornerback Maurice Fleming (via Auman on Twitter).

Vernon HarrisVernon has the most “experience” among the four, although he’s yet to appear in an NFL game. The 2016 undrafted free agent out of Dartmouth joined the Chiefs last offseason, but he ultimately spent the entire season on the injured reserve. The Ft. Lauderdale, Florida native will have an uphill battle to make the Tampa Bay roster, as he’ll have to compete with Josh RobinsonRobert McClainJavien Elliott, and Cody Riggs for a reserve role.

Albrecht went undrafted in this past year’s draft after a standout career at Utah State. After initially serving in a backup role, he proceeded to make 25 straight starts to end his collegiate career. The 6-5, 300-pound lineman earned an Honorable Mention spot on the All-Mountain West team during his junior and senior season.

Both Gardner and Fleming joined the Buccaneers in early May. Following three seasons at Iowa, Fleming played at West Virginia during his senior year, compiling 43 tackles and one interception. Meanwhile, Gardner played three seasons at Eastern Michigan, serving mostly as an offensive lineman. He did appear in several games at tight end, compiling 10 receptions for 95 yards and a touchdown during his college career.

Chiefs Sign Six Players, Cut Seven

The Chiefs are making moves. The team announced on Tuesday afternoon that six players have been signed while seven others have been shown the door:

Signed:

Cut:

Taylor was signed by the Chiefs just last week but was unable to stick on the roster. Before coming to KC, Taylor spent part of the 2016 season on the Seahawks’ practice squad and one game on the 53-man roster. Unfortunately, his odds of making the Chiefs’ final cut was never all that great anyway with Spencer Ware, Charcandrick West, C.J. Spiller, and third-round pick Kareem Hunt already in the fold. Taylor, a former sixth-round pick, will now look to hook on elsewhere.

Jean-Baptiste auditioned for the Chiefs over the weekend. Selected in the second round of the 2014 draft by New Orleans, he has yet to live up to the hype. In his three seasons since being drafted, he has appeared in just four games.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/6/16

Today’s minor moves:

  • The Chiefs exchanged UDFA corners, signing rookie Malcolm Jackson and cutting Vernon Harris, Terez Paylor of the Kansas City Star reports. A Dartmouth product, Harris caught on with the Chiefs just after the draft. Jackson played at Division I-FCS Charleston Southern.
  • Wide receiver Titus Davis left the Jets on Saturday, the team announced (on Twitter). To take his place on the roster, Gang Green claimed wideout Chris King from the Falcons. The Jets did not cut Davis; he left by his own choosing, per NJ.com’s Darryl Slater (on Twitter). The team signed Davis to a reserve/futures contract in January after keeping the 2015 UDFA on the practice squad for much of last season. A Duquesne product, King hit waivers on Friday.
  • The Buccaneers waived offensive lineman Caylin Hauptmann, the team announced on its Twitter account. The Bucs, after signing Hauptmann earlier this week, waived him with a “left squad” designation, Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times tweets.
  • The Colts signed punter Michael Palardy, tweets ESPN.com’s Mike Wells. The special teamer had previously spent time with the Panthers and Ravens. Palardy will presumably provide some competition for incumbent Pat McAfee, who has spent the past seven seasons in Indianapolis.
  • To make room for fullback John Kuhn, the Saints have waived-injured defensive lineman D.J. Pettway, according to The Advocate’s Nick Underhill on Twitter. Following a tumultuous tenure at Alabama, Pettway joined the Saints as an undrafted free agent.
  • The Seahawks have signed fullback/tight end Joe Sommers, reports NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo (via Twitter). The former UW-Oshkosh standout joined Chicago as an undrafted free agent, but he was waived by the Bears earlier this week.

Chiefs Sign Six Draft Picks, Seven UDFAs

The Chiefs have officially locked up the majority of their nine-player draft class, having signed six selections to contracts, the team announced. Along with the previously reported Chris Jones (second-round pick), the Chiefs inked the followers players to deals:

The Chiefs traded out of the first round this year, making third-round defensive back Keivarae Russell their most significant unsigned draft pick as of now. The team also officially signed seven undrafted free agents, including three cornerbacks:

Additionally, Kansas City waived Lithuanian-born linebacker Tautvydas Kieras, per a team announcement (Twitter link).