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NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/29/15

Fantasy Football
December 29, 2015

Here are Tuesday’s practice squad signings and cuts from around the NFL:

Cincinnati Bengals

  • Signed: QB Mike Kafka (Twitter link via team)

Cleveland Browns

  • Signed: DB Sean Baker (press release via team)

Miami Dolphins

  • Signed: DE Jordan Williams (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle)

Oakland Raiders

  • Signed: S Chris Hackett (Twitter link via Adam Caplan of ESPN.com)

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Signed: RB Kevin Monangai (Twitter link via Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer)

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Signed: S Ross Ventrone (Twitter link via Caplan)

San Francisco 49ers

  • Signed: CB Kyle Sebetic (link via Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com)

Colts Sign Josh Freeman, Ryan Lindley

Fantasy Football
December 29, 2015

4:07pm: The Colts have gotten back up to the 53-man roster limit by signing another quarterback, Ryan Lindley, the team announced in a press release. The move gives Indianapolis five signal-callers in total on its roster, including three healthy QBs, and gives the team another option for this Sunday.

2:39pm: The Colts have filled two openings on their 53-man roster, announcing today that they’ve signed quarterback Josh Freeman and promoted inside linebacker Amarlo Herrera from their practice squad. The team created two open spots on Monday by placing quarterback Charlie Whitehurst and guard Hugh Thornton on the injured reserve list, and created one more today by also sending linebacker Josh McNary to IR.

Since starting his career with the Buccaneers and then spending a little time in 2013 in Minnesota, Freeman has not appeared in a regular season game or even spent any real time on a club’s in-season roster. Most recently, he played for the Dolphins this summer and then joined the FXFL’s Brooklyn Bolts in the fall.

After working out for the Colts on Monday, Freeman becomes the second healthy quarterback on the roster, joining Stephen Morris. Assuming Andrew Luck and Matt Hasselbeck are unable to play this weekend, as is expected, either Freeman or Morris – who was signed off the Eagles’ practice squad last Thursday – will have to start for Indianapolis in its regular season finale.

We’ll have to wait and see whether Freeman gets a shot to play in Week 17, and if he’s a part of the Colts’ plans for 2016 at all.

NFC West Notes: 49ers, Holmgren, Freeney

Fantasy Football
December 29, 2015

For the second consecutive year, veteran NFL coach Mike Holmgren has expressed interest in the 49ers‘ head coaching job, a source tells Robert Klemko of TheMMQB.com (Twitter link). Holmgren said back in July that when he reached out to the Niners last winter, the team conveyed to him that it wanted someone younger. For Holmgren to get an opportunity in San Francisco, the club would have to change that stance, and would also have to part ways with current coach Jim Tomsula.

Let’s round up a few more items from out of the NFC West…

  • Nose tackle Ian Williams likely ranks as the 49ers‘ top priority in free agency, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com writes. When asked if he wants to re-sign with the 49ers, Williams said, “I would love to. This is where I’ve been. This is where I know guys on the team. This is where I’m comfortable at. I’d love to be back.”
  • Veteran pass rusher Dwight Freeney has been a terrific addition to the Cardinals‘ defense, but he said on Monday that he has “no clue” whether he’ll continue playing in 2016, per Alex Marvez of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Freeney intends to re-evaluate his future a month after his season ends.
  • Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll suggested on Monday that running back Marshawn Lynch could be cleared to return to practice by Wednesday, which might put him in position to return to the field for Week 17 and the postseason (Twitter link).

Zach Links contributed to this post.

NFC East Notes: Bradford, Coughlin, Romo

Fantasy Football
December 29, 2015

Eagles offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur anticipates that quarterback Sam Bradford will re-sign with the team this offseason, as Dave Zangaro of CSNPhilly.com writes. Bradford, of course, is eligible for free agency, but the Eagles will have the franchise tag at their disposal if they want – or need – to use it, and the former first overall pick could agree to a new deal with or without being franchised.

“I expect him to [re-sign],” Shurmur said. “He’s all along expressed to us that he enjoys what we’re doing. He likes our offense, he likes the culture here. And so it’s no surprise that that was revealed publicly. But, yeah, I hope he’s here for sure.”

Here’s more from around the NFC East:

  • The Giants will have a tough decision to make if they want to move on from coach Tom Coughlin. However, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com wonders if Coughlin could make things easier on the organization by simply walking away himself.
  • If the Giants make a coaching change, they should go after current Saints coach Sean Payton, Gary Myers of the New York Daily News opines. Furthermore, Myers feels that if Coughlin goes, GM Jerry Reese should also be shown the door based on his disappointing results in recent drafts (with Odell Beckham Jr., of course, standing as an exception).
  • After fracturing his collarbone twice this season, Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is considering having a plate inserted in an attempt to prevent further injuries, as Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes. Davison also passes along Romo’s comments on his future and on the possibility of the Cowboys drafting a quarterback.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Bills GM Doug Whaley On Rex Ryan, Offseason

Fantasy Football
December 29, 2015

In an interview with WGR 550, Bills GM Doug Whaley touched on a wide range of topics, including his offseason plans and his relationship with coach Rex Ryan. Here’s a look at some of the highlights, courtesy of The Buffalo News’ Tyler Dunne.

On his relationship with team ownership and Ryan:

 Ownership is great. My relationship with Rex Ryan is something I cherish. I wake up every day happy to come into work with him. With my future, it’s one of those things where the ownership doesn’t have to tell me anything. I’ve always attacked my job as, ‘Let me do my job, not to lose it. But to keep it and keep getting better.’ So until the ownership tells me my keys don’t work, I’m here for the long haul and I’m here to get this team where we need to go. 

Doug Whaley (vertical)

On whether the Bills could draft a QB:

I look at it this way, I have to give credit to our scouting staff because the philosophy into this draft is we’ll draft the best player available. That’s why we think we were so successful. We didn’t see a perceived need or push somebody up and draft on need. Going into this draft, there is no position you can’t argue that we should or shouldn’t draft. So it opens up the board for us and let’s us scout with what we call ‘clear eyes’ instead of ‘needy eyes.’ And that helps us be a lot more successful. So to answer your question, there is nothing that would preclude us from taking any position on the board. That could be quarterback, that could be tight end, wide receiver, all across the board we could use an [influx] of young, talented depth.

On what this QB draft class looks like:

Right now, with the seniors, it’s not particularly top heavy but it is particularly deep. I think there’s a lot of quarterbacks you can get rounds two through six that have a chance to grow and progress into a solid No. 2 and possibly a No. 1 with time and seasoning.

On the areas he’ll be targeting this offseason:

With the injuries in the secondary, especially at the safety position, I’m not going to give you a total blueprint because I know people listen and it’d put us at a competitive disadvantage. But we have to get some depth in the secondary. We have to get some depth at the linebacker position. And some of the injuries like Powell, Ty Powell was out, that hurt us. A little more depth at the outside position with Jarius Wynn coming back.

And I just think an impact player on defense, like we brought in impact players on offense last year. So I think that’s what we’re going to look for, is just the best players available that’ll help us get to where we need to go on the defensive side of the ball.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.