Tag: P.J. Johnson

Lions make 5 roster moves to get to the 80-man limit

The Lions waived QB Jordan Ta’amu among the five players cut on Monday

The Detroit Lions made a series of roster moves on Monday to get to the 80-man roster limit.

The team released wide receiver Darius Jennings and waived four other players:

  • DT P.J. Johnson
  • RB Javon Leake
  • LB Robert McCray
  • QB Jordan Ta’amu

Jennings earns a different designation as a vested veteran and is not subject to waiver claims. All the other players are now eligible to be claimed by another team.

The players who were cut are not a surprise, though McCray was generally expected to last through to the next wave. McCray was the only player who began training camp with the Lions and had some good reps in the preseason games.

Detroit has until next Tuesday to cut down to the 53-man limit. The Lions play their third and final preseason game Friday night at home against the Indianapolis Colts.

Lions sign two new defensive tackles, place Nick Williams on reserve/COVID-19 list

One of the newcomers is P.J. Johnson, who was originally a 7th-round pick by Detroit in 2019

The personnel shuffle along the Detroit Lions defensive line continues in earnest. The Lions added two new players to the mix on Saturday and also placed defensive tackle Nick Williams on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

The Lions signed tackles Michael Barnett and P.J. Johnson. Fans should recognize Johnson’s name from his prior stint in Detroit. He was a seventh-round pick in 2019 out of Arizona but failed to make the team as a rookie. He’s bounced around several practice squads and rosters since, most recently the Carolina Panthers.

Barnett is in his second season but did not play in 2020. He was originally an undrafted rookie free agent out of Georgia for the New England Patriots.

The Lions have had some health issues on the defensive front prior to Williams’ trip to the reserve/COVID-19 list. Second-round rookie Levi Onwuzurike has only been a full participant in practice once. Veteran Michael Brockers has taken few reps in team drills throughout camp, and nose tackle John Penisini is battling an injury that kept him out on Friday and Saturday. The Lions have added Bruce Hector and Miles Brown in recent days and released Reggie Gilbert, too.

Panthers bring on DL Frank Herron once again

Panthers bring on DL Frank Herron once again

Just 16 days after the team waived him to make room for a pair of undrafted rookies, the Carolina Panthers are bringing back defensive lineman Frank Herron.

The 26-year-old initially jumped on with the Panthers a little over a month ago, signing alongside running back Mikey Daniel and nose tackle P.J. Johnson in mid-April. Herron, again, would then be waived on May 10 as Carolina brought in linebacker Paddy Fisher and running back Spencer Brown.

The 6-foot-4, 305-pounder has played in seven NFL games, each with the Detroit Lions. He recorded 11 combined tackles (one for a loss) between the 2019 and 2020 seasons.

Defensive lineman Kendall Donnerson, as also announced by the team, was waived to now make way for Herron.

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Panthers sign 2 players, waive 3 after rookie minicamp

Panthers sign 2 players, waive 3 after rookie minicamp

The headline grabber for rookie minicamps this weekend, perhaps particularly amongst Carolina Panthers fans, was the New York Giants trying to revive whatever’s left of wide receiver turned tight end Kelvin Benjamin. But, hey, your team did some work, too!

On Sunday afternoon, the Panthers announced the signings of two participants from their tryouts, safety Lano Hill and defensive end Kendall Donnerson.

Hill, formerly known as Delano, was a third-round pick of the Seattle Seahawks in 2017. (So, yes, there are some ties to general manager Scott Fitterer.) He has played 42 career games, having started six of them in the Seattle secondary from 2018 to 2019.

A seventh-round selection by the Green Bay Packers back in 2018, Donnerson entered the league as an outside linebacker from Southeast Missouri State University. He has yet to log an official NFL snap, having also bounced around to the practice squads for the Las Vegas Raiders and the Cincinnati Bengals over the last two seasons.

The corresponding moves to free up space for Hill and Donnerson came at the expense of three others, with kicker Matt Ammendola, linebacker Daniel Bituli and defensive tackle P.J. Johnson having been waived.

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Panthers sign 2 DL and a FB

Panthers sign 2 DL and a FB

Well, that workout must’ve went rather nicely, huh?

Just hours after David Newton of ESPN reported that the Carolina Panthers were working out fullback Mikey Daniel on Tuesday, a deal between the two sides has been reached. The signing of the South Dakota State Jackrabbit and 2020 training camp body for the Atlanta Falcons was first noted by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

With the departure of Alex Armah to the New Orleans Saints, Daniel will officially be the lone fullback on the Carolina roster. The six-foot, 235-pounder averaged 4.7 per carry and scored 30 touchdowns over his four-year collegiate career.

The team also, according to Joseph Person of The Athletic, added defensive linemen Frank Herron and P.J. Johnson on Tuesday evening.

Herron, 6-foot-4 and 305 pounds, entered the league as an undrafted free agent with the New England Patriots in 2018. The LSU Tiger, after additional stints in Seattle, Miami, Tennessee and Detroit, has played in seven games between 2019 and 2020 for the Lions.

Johnson, another former Lion, was a seventh-round pick by Detroit in 2019. The 6-foot-4, 335-pounder has bounced around to the Los Angeles Chargers, Seattle and Arizona as well, having yet to log a regular-season snap.

Cardinals free up two roster spots on practice squad

They released defensive lineman P.J. Johnson and place WR A.J. Richards on the practice squad injured reserve.

The Arizona Cardinals made a pair of roster moves on the practice squad on Tuesday, leaving two vacancies. The team announced that receiver A.J. Richardson was placed on the practice squad injured reserve with a groin injury. Defensive lineman P.J. Johnson was released as well.

The Cardinals have gotten most of their defensive line healthy again after having as many as five players from the unit on injured reserve.

They did not announce any additions, although those will certainly be coming. The team brought in several players for tryouts last week and those have often resulted in practice squad signings. Because of league COVID testing protocols, it takes nearly a week for a player to have a tryout to getting signed.

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Cardinals bring in 3 D-linemen for tryout

They only have four healthy defensive linemen between the active roster and practice squad.

The Arizona Cardinals need defensive line help, although they will be shorthanded on Thursday against the Seattle Seahawks. With three currently on injured reserve and Corey Peters headed there, the Cardinals are seeking depth.

They hosted 15-year veteran Domata Peko, according to the league transaction report on Wednesday and they also had three other defensive linemen in for a tryout.


Chargers cut 6 players, get roster to 80 players prior to NFL deadline

A notable player was cut by the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Chargers cut bait with six players on Saturday, bringing their roster to 80 players.

Those players are as followed:

  • WR Andre Patton
  • DT P.J. Johnson
  • OT Koda Martin
  • TE Jared Rice
  • S Roderic Teamer
  • TE Andrew Vollert

Los Angeles could have started training camp with the traditional 90-man roster but needed to get down to 80 prior to the agreed-upon deadline of August 16 that the NFL and NFLPA settled in their negotiations for how the league will handle the COVID-19 pandemic.

By making cuts now, it gets the Bolts ahead of the pack, and also opening up the door for some of those waived players to find a new team ahead of the upcoming season.

Below is the official team statement:

The Los Angeles Chargers today announced the release of defensive tackle P.J. Johnson, tackle Koda Martin, wide receiver Andre Patton, tight end Jared Rice, safety Roderic Teamer and tight end Andrew Vollert. The moves bring the roster to 80 players for the start of training camp.

Johnson was a seventh-round selection by Detroit in the 2019 NFL Draft and finished the season on the Bolts’ practice squad.

Martin spent the 2019 season on injured reserve after signing as an undrafted rookie free agent.

Patton initially signed as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2017, spending two seasons on the practice squad before appearing in 13 games last year.

Rice was signed as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Fresno State this offseason.

Teamer, an undrafted rookie free agent, made the 53-man roster in 2019, playing in seven games.

Chargers sign 2 players to practice squad

The Los Angeles Chargers made a pair of acquisitions on Wednesday.

The Los Angeles Chargers announced that they have signed wide receiver Tyron Johnson and defensive tackle P.J. Johnson to their practice squad.

Johnson, the undrafted rookie out of Oklahoma State, started his professional career with the Houston Texans. He was released on cutdown day, and went on to join the Buffalo Bills, Texans again and the Carolina Panthers.

During his two seasons with the Cowboys, Johnson amassed 94 receptions, 1,589 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Johnson, the former Arizona product, was selected by the Detroit Lions in the seventh-round of the 2019 NFL draft. He was with the team throughout the preseason, but was released on cutdown day.

The 6-foot-4 and 335 pound nose tackle finished his collegiate career with 31 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and three sacks.

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