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Zach Laskey

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/3/17

August 3rd, 2017 at 5:35pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Thursday’s minor NFL moves:

  • The Saints claimed offensive tackle Jerry Ugokwe off waivers from the Colts, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. In a corresponding move, the Saints waived fellow tackle Martin Wallace with an injury designation, per Nick Underhill of the Advocate (on Twitter). Ugokwe is an undrafted free agent from William & Mary who was with the Colts from May until Wednesday. Wallace, who joined the Saints in late July, has bounced around the league since going undrafted in 2013. He appeared in one game with Cleveland that year.
  • Defensive end Rufus Johnson agreed to a deal with the Raiders, relays Rapoport (on Twitter). Johnson was involved in a “serious” car crash on Wednesday, notes Rapoport. The 26-year-old was previously with the Saints, Patriots and Redskins. His sole appearance came with New England in 2015.
  • The Jaguars signed long snapper Matt Overton to replace Carson Tinker, who suffered a torn right ACL. The team also added guard Malcolm Bunche. The headliner is Overton, who was the Colts’ long snapper from 2012-16. He appeared in 16 games in each of those seasons and earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2013.
  • The Seahawks signed receiver Jamel Johnson and waived wideout Rodney Smith, per Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk. This is the second Seattle stint for Johnson, who was previously with the organization from late January through early May. Johnson went undrafted back in 2014 and has also been a member of the Green Bay organization. Smith, who signed with the Seahawks in January, combined to appear in eight games with the Vikings and Browns from 2013-14.
  • The Packers waived-injured cornerback Herb Waters with a shoulder issue, reports Michael Cohen of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Waters came into the league last year as an undrafted receiver from Miami before shifting to corner. He made enough progress on the practice squad for the team to promote him during the playoffs.
  • Defensive back Stefan McClure agreed to a deal with the Redskins, per his reps at Uso Sports (on Twitter). McClure went undrafted from California last year and spent some time on the Colts’ practice squad.
  • The Buccaneers reached an injury settlement with receiver Thomas Sperbeck, according to Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). The club waived the undrafted rookie from Boise State after he suffered a hamstring strain last weekend.
  • The Texans announced they have moved outside linebacker Davon Pratt to the active roster and waived defensive end T.J. Daniel. Pratt, from East Carolina, joined the Texans as an undrafted free agent in May. So did Daniel, who went to Oregon.
  • The Chiefs placed undrafted rookie Jordan Sterns on waivers. Sterns is a safety from Oklahoma State.
  • The Panthers signed tight end Bryce Williams and waived-injured safety Travelle Dixon. The Panthers are the fourth team for Williams, who has also spent time with the Patriots, Rams and Seahawks since going undrafted out of East Carolina last year. Dixon, undrafted from Washington two years ago, first joined the Panthers in January 2016.
  • The Bears added running back Josh Rounds and waived-injured fellow RB Joel Bouagnon. Both players went undrafted this year (Rounds from Tulane, Bouagnon from Northwestern).
  • The Rams signed receivers Justin Thomas and C.J. Germany. They also waived fullback Zach Laskey (Twitter links via Rapoport and Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com).
  • The Chargers signed center Barrett Gouger, who worked out for the team Thursday, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. Gouger’s an undrafted rookie from Vanderbilt.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Rams Make Several Roster Moves, Down To 75

August 30th, 2016 at 1:13pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Rams are down to the 75-man roster limit. Here’s the full slate of transactions made by Los Angeles, per a club announcement.

Waived:

  • K Taylor Bertolet
  • TE Benson Browne
  • DB Michael Caputo
  • LB Zach Colvin
  • C/G Brian Folkerts
  • LB Darreon Herring
  • S Jordan Lomax
  • LS Jeff Overbaugh
  • WR David Richards
  • TE Jake Stoneburner
  • OT Jordan Swindle
  • QB Dylan Thompson

Waived/Injured:

  • FB Zach Laskey
  • WR Marquez North

If Laskey and North clear waivers, they’ll revert to the Rams’ IR list.

Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter links) first reported most of these moves.

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/5/16

January 5th, 2016 at 5:33pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are today’s reserve/futures contract signings from around the league. These deals will go into effect on the first day of the 2016 league year, with players joining their respective clubs’ 90-man rosters.

Arizona Cardinals

  • Taylor Boggs, C (Twitter link via Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com)
  • Valerian Ume-Ezeoke, C
  • Mike Reilly, OLB
  • Tyrequek Zimmerman, S

Baltimore Ravens

  • Jerod Johnson, QB (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle)

Cincinnati Bengals

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

  • Burton Pierce, OT
  • Ben Heenan, G
  • Edwin Jackson, LB
  • Kitt O’Brien, G
  • Dezmen Southward, DB
  • Joshua Stangby. WR

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Oakland Raiders

  • Garrett Gilbert, QB (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle)
  • Giorgio Tavecchio, K

San Diego Chargers

San Francisco 49ers

  • Corey Acosta, K (link via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle)

St. Louis Rams

Sunday NFL Transactions: NFC West

September 6th, 2015 at 5:47pm CST by Luke Adams

Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four NFC West teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions for the Cardinals, 49ers, Seahawks, and Rams are noted below.

Additionally, as of 11:00am today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. For the 2014 and 2015 seasons, changes were made to practice squad rules that allow teams to carry eight players instead of 10, and the eligibility requirements for those extra two spots were also loosened. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.

Here are Sunday’s NFC West transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:

Arizona Cardinals

San Francisco 49ers

  • Signed to practice squad (link via Matt Maiocco):
    • WR DiAndre Campbell
    • CB Marcus Cromartie
    • RB Kendall Gaskins
    • DT Kaleb Ramsey
    • OLB Marcus Rush
    • NT Garrison Smith
    • QB Dylan Thompson
    • OG Andrew Tiller (Twitter link via Matt Barrows)
    • S Jermaine Whitehead (Twitter link via Barrows)

Seattle Seahawks

St. Louis Rams

  • Signed to practice squad:

Davis, Jones Among Rams’ Final Cuts

September 5th, 2015 at 10:01pm CST by Sam Robinson

Thought to have the upper hand in the Rams’ center competition, Barrett Jones was one of St. Louis’ roster cuts as it trimmed to 53 players (according to Myles Simmons of the team’s website).

Tim Barnes and Demetrius Rhaney ended up sticking on the roster due to having better positional versatility than Jones, an Alabama product who the Rams took in the fourth round in 2013, per ESPN.com’s Nick Waggoner.

An undrafted free agent in 2011, Barnes is listed as the Rams’ starting snapper.

The Rams also waived Austin Davis, who started eight games for the team last season in Sam Bradford‘s absence. Davis threw for over 2,000 yards and completed 63.4% of his passes in his first game sample.

Here are the rest of the Rams’ cuts:

  • Alex Bayer, TE
  • Emory Blake, WR
  • Malcolm Brown, RB
  • Christian Bryant, S
  • Justice Cunningham, TE
  • Marcus Fortson, DT
  • Montell Garner, CB
  • Jacob Hagen, S
  • Martin Ifedi, DE
  • Zach Laskey, FB
  • Matt Longacre, DE
  • Marshall McFadden, LB
  • Brandon McGee, CB
  • Trovon Reed, CB
  • Daniel Rodriguez, WR
  • Louis Trinca-Pasat, DT
  • Brandon Washington, OL

NFC Mailbags: Washington, Packers, Panthers, Cowboys, Rams

May 23rd, 2015 at 11:41am CST by Ben Levine

We took a look at ESPN.com’s AFC mailbags earlier this morning. Let’s now shift our focus over to the NFC…

  • Scot McCloughan made no changes to the Washington front office following his hiring, but John Keim believes there could be a simple explanation for the lack of turnover. McCloughan seemed to have a good “rhythm” with those remaining in the front office, and Keim hypothesizes that if the GM wanted to make moves, his targets may have been unavailable.
  • Despite Mike Neal‘s $4.25MM cap hit for 2015, Rob Demovsky says the Packers‘ linebacker is likely staying put. The 27-year-old was paid $1MM back in March, so if the team wanted to part ways with Neal, they likely would have done it earlier in the offseason.
  • The Panthers and outside linebacker Thomas Davis have been having ongoing discussions regarding an extension, according to David Newton. The writer adds that he’d be “shocked beyond belief” if the two sides didn’t come to an agreement prior to training camp, and he notes that Davis could be in line for a two or three-year extension.
  • Todd Archer was surprised that Cowboys assistant director of player personnel Will McClay‘s wasn’t mentioned more during the offseason GM searches. The writer wonders if other team’s want to see a larger body of work from McClay, who has only been running the Cowboys’ scouting department for a year.
  • The Rams could easily turn to undrafted rookie Zach Laskey for their fullback spot, writes Nick Wagoner. However, it could be difficult to bump Cory Harkey from the role, and Wagoner believes the tight end will see the bulk of the fullback snaps in 2015.

Rams Sign 15 Undrafted Free Agents

May 8th, 2015 at 2:33pm CST by Dallas Robinson

FRIDAY, 2:33pm: The Rams have officially announced their undrafted free agent signings, adding five more players to the list of 10 below, bringing their total to 15. Here are the five new names:

  • Isiah Ferguson, WR, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
  • Montell Garner, DB, South Alabama
  • Matt Longacre, DL, Northwest Missouri State
  • Cameron Lynch, LB, Syracuse
  • Keshaun Malone, LB, Bacone

SUNDAY, 4:41pm: After adding nine picks in the 2015 NFL draft, the Rams have agreed to sign another 10 undrafted players, according to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

  • Malcolm Brown, RB, Texas
  • Imoan Claiborne, CB, Northwestern State
  • Terrence Franks, RB, Texas State
  • Jacob Hagen, S, Liberty
  • Jay Hughes, S, Mississippi State
  • Zach Laskey, FB, Georgia Tech ($3K bonus, per Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun)
  • Bradley Marquez, WR, Texas Tech
  • Tyler Slavin, WR, New Mexico-Highlands
  • Louis Trinca-Pasat, DT, Iowa ($15K bonus and $10K of base salary guaranteed, per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press)
  • Darrell Williams, T, South Florida