Tag: Tony Brooks-James

Falcons sign LB Emmanuel Ellerbee, OL Jason Spriggs

The Atlanta Falcons signed outside linebacker Emmeuel Ellerbee and offensive lineman Jason Spriggs on Monday, while releasing running back Tony Brooks-James.

The Atlanta Falcons signed outside linebacker Emmeuel Ellerbee and offensive lineman Jason Spriggs on Monday, while releasing running back Tony Brooks-James.

Ellerbee, 24, went undrafted out of Rice back in 2018 before being signed by the Falcons. He never made it into a regular season game in Atlanta, but would play for the Los Angeles Chargers and Seattle Seahawks from 2018-2020.

The Falcons have been low on outside linebacker depth since releasing Barkevious Mingo and Ellerbee can add something to special teams — where he contributed most during his time with the Chargers and Seahawks.

Spriggs, 27, was a second-round pick by the Green Bay Packers in 2016, but injuries kept him from being a major contributor. Over his five-year NFL career, he’s appeared in 44 games with nine starts. Spriggs should provide depth behind Kaleb McGary at right tackle.

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Falcons flex RB Tony Brooks-James to active roster for Sunday

Earlier in the week the Falcons signed RB Tony Brooks-James to the practice squad, and on Saturday, Atlanta promoted him to the active roster

The Atlanta Falcons ruled out running back Todd Gurley for Sunday’s Week 12 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders. Earlier in the week, the Falcons signed RB Tony Brooks-James to the practice squad, and on Saturday, Atlanta promoted him to the active roster.

Brooks-James spent time with the Falcons during last year’s preseason but has never played in a regular-season game for Atlanta. The 25-year-old back has only appeared in three career games — all with the Pittsburgh Steelers — where had two kick returns and carried the ball just eight times.

We’ll see if Brooks-James gets any touches on Sunday with Gurley out. Check out his touchdown run with the Falcons during a 2019 preseason game against the Jaguars.

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Raiders sign former Falcons LB Vic Beasley to practice squad

The Atlanta Falcons opted to let linebacker Vic Beasley walk during the 2020 free-agency period and the former first-round pick ended up signing a one-year deal with the Titans.

The Atlanta Falcons opted to let linebacker Vic Beasley walk during the 2020 free-agency period and the former first-round pick ended up signing a one-year deal with the Titans.

Beasley’s stay in Tennessee didn’t last long, though. He was released three weeks ago and had remained unsigned until Monday afternoon. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Beasley was signed to the practice squad by the Falcons’ Week 12 opponent, the Las Vegas Raiders.

Beasley led the NFL with 15.5 sacks during Atlanta’s 2016 Super Bowl run and Las Vegas has struggled to rush the passer this season. Beasley is likely just an emergency/depth signing and there’s no guarantee he ever sees the active roster.

The Falcons host the Raiders from Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.

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Falcons sign two players to practice squad, release LB Jake Carlock

The Atlanta Falcons made a few minor moves on Monday afternoon, signing running back Tony Brooks-James and wide receiver Devin Gray to the practice squad.

The Atlanta Falcons made a few minor moves on Monday afternoon, signing running back Tony Brooks-James and wide receiver Devin Gray to the practice squad.

To make room, the team released linebacker Jake Carlock, who signed with the Falcons less than a week ago.

Brooks-James and Gray have each previously spent time on Atlanta’s practice squad, but never played in a regular season game for the Falcons. Brooks-James has appeared in three career games, all with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The 25-year-old running back can contribute as a kick returner on special teams if he’s flexed to the active roster. Gray, also 25, has yet to make his NFL debut, but could provide depth if Julio Jones misses time.

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Minnesota Vikings announce four roster cuts

The Minnesota Vikings announced a wave of cuts Wednesday with the 2020 NFL season around the corner.

Minnesota has to trim its roster down to 53 players by Saturday at 3 p.m C.T. The Vikings announced four cuts on Wednesday which will help them do so.

The team announced that it had cut RB Tony Brooks-James, LB Jordan Fehr, DE Stacy Keely and DE Anthony Zettel.

Brooks-James, in his second year in the NFL, was waived and brought back this offseason only to be cut by the Vikings. Fehr and Keely were both rookies.

Zettel was a depth signing that the Vikings made earlier this offseason. He came over after a stint with the 49ers. With the addition of Yannick Ngakoue recently, and the depth Minnesota already has, that makes it hard for any defensive end to make the team.

These won’t be the last of the Vikings roster cuts. It will be interesting to see who makes the depth chart in the future, who ends up on the practice squad and who ends up looking for an opportunity elsewhere.

The team also placed Kenny Willekes on the Reserve/Injured list.

Vikings bring back RB Tony Brooks-James, waive Brady Aiello

The Vikings re-signed Brooks-James eight days after releasing him.

Eight days after releasing him, the Vikings have signed running back Tony Brooks-James back to the roster.

With the move, the Vikings have released tackle Brady Aiello. Ironically, the two were actually teammates at Oregon for three seasons.

Brooks-James, 25, spent three games with the Steelers last season, running eight times for seven yards.

The Vikings now have five running backs on their roster. Brooks-James rejoins Ameer Abdullah, Mike Boone, Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison.

Vikings have 4 RBs on roster after waiving Tony Brooks-James

In 2019, the Vikings kept four running backs on the roster. Will that continue in 2020?

The Vikings announced Saturday that they have signed linebacker Quentin Poling while waiving running back Tony Brooks-James.

By releasing Brooks-James, who appeared in three games for the Steelers last season, the Vikings have four running backs on the roster: Dalvin Cook, Alexander Mattison, Mike Boone and Ameer Abdullah.

It’s worth noting the Vikings also have fullbacks C.J. Ham and Jake Bargas on the roster. Ham is expected to win the job after signing an extension this offseason.

Will the Vikings keep all four running backs on their roster or trim it down to three? Last season, the Vikings entered the season with four running backs active.

If the Vikings were to cut a player, it would probably be Abdullah considering Boone’s late season emergence in 2019.

However, with Cook’s injury history (Cook has missed 19 games in his first three seasons), it might be a safe move to keep four running backs on the roster.

Vikings waive RB Tony Brooks-James, announce LB Quentin Poling signing

The Vikings ended up waiving running back Tonny Brooks-James, the team announced Saturday.

Running back Tony Brooks-James plays a position that has an abundance of talent on the Vikings roster.

The Vikings have Dalvin Cook, Alexander Mattison, Mike Boone and
Ameer Abdullah all at the same position.  That can make it hard for a player like Brooks-James to make the team.

It would have been interesting to see if Brooks-James could still do it with all the obstacles in his way, but the Vikings ended up waiving the running back, the team announced Saturday.

That wasn’t the only roster move Minnesota announced. The team also said that it has officially signed linebacker Quentin Poling.

According to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, free agent linebacker Quentin Poling was expected to sign with Minnesota, pending COVID-19 testing and a physical, so this move shouldn’t come as a shock.

Poling can compete for a linebacker spot lower on the depth chart. It would be very surprising if he became a starter, but there’s the possibility he could still fill out a reserve and special teams role.

Vikings’ free-agent watch: RBs

The only free agent among the group is Ameer Abdullah.

Under contract:

The Vikings are in pretty good shape as far as the running back position is concerned.

Dalvin Cook still has one year and $1.3 million remaining on his contract. There is a chance the Vikings try to extend his deal this offseason, but they don’t exactly have tons of flexibility.

Alexander Mattison was solid as a rookie and still has three years left on his deal.

And then there’s Mike Boone, who is under contract for just $660,000 next season before becoming a restricted free agent. There’s a pretty decent chance that Boone is the best third-string running back in all of football. And what a deal he’s on.

The Vikings also signed Tony Brooks-James to a futures contract after the 2019 season ended.

Free agents:

Veteran Ameer Abdullah is set to be a free agent after spending the last year-plus with the Vikings. It would be a surprise if Abdullah was brought back just given the running backs the Vikings already have on the roster.

However, Abdullah does offer a different skill set than these other four and can return kicks and punts.

Vikings sign RB Tony Brooks-James to practice squad

On Tuesday, the team released Johnny Stanton to make room for Brooks-James.

After releasing fullback Johnny Stanton from the practice squad on Tuesday, the Vikings filled his spot on Wednesday, signing running back Tony Brooks-James.

Brooks-James, a rookie, was an undrafted free agent out of Oregon. He spent time with Pittsburgh earlier in November. In three games, he rushed eight times for seven yards. Not great.

In four years of college, Brooks-James had 1,863 rushing yards and 392 receiving yards to go with 20 total touchdowns.