HEADLINES

Wesley Johnson

Jets Notes: Revis, Ryan, Idzik, Johnson

October 16th, 2014 at 6:17pm CST by Zachary Links

Tonight, the Jets are going up against their former star cornerback Darrelle Revis. It didn’t have to be this way, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. When Revis learned that he was going to be a free agent this past offseason, he made a wish list of landing spots and the Jets were at No. 1. However, the Jets didn’t reach out to Revis about a trade or a release in time (link), so he joined up with his second choice, the Patriots. If things didn’t work out between New England and Revis, Rapoport says the Broncos were next on his list. As Jets fans everywhere slam their heads against the wall, let’s check out more on Gang Green..

  • Ryan is more on the hot seat than GM John Idzik, opines Jay Glazer of FOX Sports (video link). Ryan did well with limited talent last season but he hasn’t been able to get far with lousy play from quarterback Geno Smith.
  • Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post (on Twitter) agrees, theorizing that Idzik has set Ryan up to fail this season because he has job security and wants to install his own head coach. With more than $20MM in cap space going unused, it’s not hard to see that being the case.
  • Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter) has the contract info on two of the newest Jets. Cornerback Josh Thomas will earn the minimum salary ($645K) on a one-year deal. Guard Wesley Johnson, meanwhile, has three years left on his deal with cap hits of $510K, $600K, and $690K. Johnson was claimed off waivers earlier this week from the Steelers to replace the injured Brian Winters.

Jets Claim Wesley Johnson Off Waivers

October 13th, 2014 at 4:31pm CST by Zachary Links

The Jets claimed center/guard Wesley Johnson off waivers from the Steelers to replace the injured Brian Winters, tweets Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. The Jets confirmed this afternoon that Winters is done for the year with a torn ACL, tweets Shalise Manza Young of The Boston Globe (on Twitter).

The Steelers cut Johnson loose on Saturday to make room for safety Ross Ventrone. Johnson, a Vanderbilt product, was taken in the fifth round of the May draft. He competed for one of the final offensive line spots on the Steelers’ active roster in preseason but was ultimately edged out and relegated to the taxi squad. Thanks to Winters’ season-ending injury, the lineman figures to see playing time at guard for the Jets, who take on the Patriots in just a few days.

Minor Moves: Saturday

October 11th, 2014 at 6:16pm CST by Rob DiRe

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here….

  • The Bears have elevated linebacker Terrell Manning from the practice squad to the active roster, the team announced on Twitter. The move could be an indication that D.J. Williams won’t be available for Sunday’s contest with the Falcons. To make room for Manning, Chicago has waived safety Shamiel Gary.

Earlier Updates:

AFC North Links: Browns, Ravens, Steelers

August 16th, 2014 at 4:06pm CST by Rob DiRe

Browns‘ head coach Mike Pettine had a lot to say about his team, and spoke with reporters after today’s final practice of training camp. Nate Ulrich of Ohio.com transcribed his thoughts about how the team has fared since training camp opened. Pettine broaches many subjects, notably the fight that occurred during practice, various injury questions, and the current quarterback situation.

Here are some other links from around the AFC North:

  • In case Pettine couldn’t answer all the Browns‘ fans’ questions, Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com took a stab at answering some reader e-mails. The majority of the questions dealt with the quarterback position, but were not limited to Johnny Manziel and Brian Hoyer. Third and fourth stringers Connor Shaw and Rex Grossman drew their own inquiries as well.
  • The Ravens wrapped up their own training camp, and Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com gave his breakdown of the entire camp. He announced his best, most disappointing, and most improved players on each side of the ball, as well as highlighted some of the best and worst individual plays from camp.
  • The Ravens have as many as seven wide receivers competing for the final spot or two on the team’s active roster, writes Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. “Nobody has really separated themselves because nobody has fallen off right now,” head coach John Harbaugh said. “They’ve all played well. The games are going to be a big thing now. If practice doesn’t separate guys, then maybe the games will.”
  • The Steelers‘ have five serious candidates competing for four roster spots at offensive tackle, writes Scott Brown of ESPN.com. While the starters are more or less in place, and Mike Adams is cemented as the backup at both spots, Guy Whimper and Wesley Johnson are battling for the final spot. Whimper has the experience, but Johnson is versatile and still has room to develop after being drafted this past May.

Minor Moves: Steelers, 49ers, Saints, Cards

May 27th, 2014 at 6:51pm CST by Zachary Links

The Steelers announced that they have signed two of their draft picks: fifth-round offensive lineman Wesley Johnson and sixth-round linebacker Jordan Zumwalt. Johnson, a 6’5″, 297 pound lineman out of Vanderbilt University, was taken with the 173rd overall pick and offers experience all over the O-line. Zumwalt, a UCLA product who stands at 6’4″ and 235 pounds, was the 192nd overall selection. He started 30 of 50 games played in his career, compiling 256 tackles (164 solo), two sacks, 22 tackles for loss, five forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, two interceptions and two blocked kicks. With the signings, Pittsburgh has now signed four of their nine selections from the 2014 NFL Draft. Here’s the rest of tonight’s minor moves..

  • The Cardinals are signing former Arizona State wide receiver Kevin Ozier to a three-year contract following a successful rookie minicamp, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. The Cardinals also signed tackle Cory Brandon to a two-year deal, his agent tells Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com (Twitter link), and they went on to announce the signings of cornerback Jimmy Legree and running back Jalen Parmele (link).
  • To make room for the above signings, the Cardinals cut LeQuan Lewis, Tim Cornett, Kadeem Williams, and Corey Washington, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
  • The 49ers announced that they signed fourth-round wide receiver Bruce Ellington. The No. 106 overall pick out of South Carolina finished last season with 106 catches for 1,586 yards and 16 touchdowns.
  • The Saints inked tackle Jason Weaver and waived receiver Chris Givens, writes Katherine Terrell of The Times-PIcayune. Weaver, a former Edna Karr player, signed with the Buccaneers as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2013 and spent training camp with the Bengals last year before spending the regular season on the Dolphins practice squad. Givens was signed as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2012 but never saw a regular season snap.
  • The Cowboys waived-injured Jarrod Pughsley and Evan Wilson to sign offensive guards Tyronne Green and Darius Morris, Wilson (of the Baltimore Sun).
  • The Rams signed wide receiver Diontae Spencer, according to Wilson (via Twitter). The McNeese State product had some interest in April but went undrafted.

AFC East Notes: Bills, Patriots, Draft

April 25th, 2014 at 2:45pm CST by Luke Adams

In recent weeks, there has been speculation that if the Texans intend to trade down in the draft, Buffalo may be a potential partner, and Bills GM Doug Whaley certainly sounds like a man who would like a shot at standout defensive end Jadeveon Clowney.

“If you’re gonna miss, I’d rather take a chance on a guy that’s 6’5″, 270, that runs a 4.5,” Whaley said of the South Carolina star, according to Joe Buscaglia of WGR 550. “Now think about this, you have Mario Williams, Kyle Williams, Marcell Dareus and Jadeveon Clowney. I mean, that’s gonna strike fear in a lot of offenses. And if they go max protect, you can’t double everybody, and if you do you’ve gotta put eight in the box. And then that helps our DBs and everybody involved. Is he gonna be a cornerstone? You never want to say absolutely, because there have been big misses before. But if I’m gonna miss, I’m gonna miss on a guy like that.”

The Bills pick at No. 9, so if they decide to seriously engage in talks with the Texans for the first overall pick, the price figures to be high. Here’s more out of the AFC East:

  • Draft analyst Todd McShay sees USC’s Xavier Su’a-Filo as the Patriots‘ only solid option if they want to boost their interior offensive line at No. 29, writes Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com. McShay believes that there is a very significant dropoff at the guard position after the former Trojan, so the Pats will have to pounce if that’s their objective.
  • Wisconsin running back James White visited and worked out for the Patriots, and also worked out for the Dolphins, and Browns, sources tell Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. The former Badger previously worked out for the Bears. White rushed for 1,052 yards and 14 touchdowns during his first season for the Badgers and gained 1,444 yards last season while working in tandem with running back Melvin Gordon. Together, they combined for 3,052 rushing yards to set a single-season record.
  • The Patriots are looking at Missouri running back Henry Josey, wide receiver Marcus Lucas, and tight end/fullback Eric Waters in a private workout today, tweets Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  • Vanderbilt offensive tackle Wesley Johnson also had a private workout with the Patriots today, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Zach Links contributed to this post.