nfl roundup

nfl roundup

News & notes

Cleveland Browns: The team has waived veteran kicker Garrett Hartley, who was signed last season after the club released Billy Cundiff. Hartley was let go Monday as Cleveland also signed defensive back Charles Gaines, the club’s sixth-round pick, and signed eight players who participated in this past weekend’s rookie minicamp. Hartley played in Cleveland’s final two games last season and made all three field-goal attempts. He kicked in 57 games for New Orleans from 2008-13 and also kicked for St. Louis. Cundiff received an injury settlement last season after hurting his knee in practice. He missed five kicks in a five-game stretch before getting hurt. The Browns are expected to sign another veteran kicker. Special teams coordinator Chris Tabor said over the weekend “that position is wide open.” Gaines is the third of Cleveland’s 12 draft picks to sign.

Pittsburgh Steelers: The team has signed fourth-round draft pick Doran Grant, sixth-round pick Anthony Chickillo and a pair of free agents. The team announced Monday it has come to terms on four-year deals for Grant, a defensive back out of Ohio State, and Chickillo, a defensive end from Miami. Financial terms were not disclosed. Chickillo will transition from defensive end to outside linebacker with the Steelers. Pittsburgh also signed free agents Cameron Stingily and Mike Thornton after the two participated in a rookie minicamp over the weekend. Stingily, a running back, rushed for 13 touchdowns last season at Northern Illinois. Thornton started 10 games at Georgia last season, finishing with 30 tackles. To make room for Stingiliy and Thornton the Steelers released defensive tackle Nigel Crawford-Kinney, punter Richie Leone and defensive end Brandon Prate.

New Orleans Saints: The team has agreed to contract terms with outside linebacker Hau’oli Kikaha, quarterback Garrett Grayson and four other players selected in this year’s NFL draft. The agreements, announced Monday by general manager Mickey Loomis, are all for four years. Kikaha, an edge pass rusher who set career and single-season records for sacks at Washington, was the Saints’ second-round pick. Grayson, who played at Colorado State, was a third-round choice. The other four players who’ve agreed to terms include three fifth-round picks: Chattanooga outside linebacker Davis Tull, Fresno State defensive lineman Tyeler Davison and Georgia cornerback Damian Swann. Missouri running back and return specialist Marcus Murphy, a seventh-rounder, also has agreed to contract terms. The Saints open a three-day rookie camp on Friday.

Green Bay Packers: The team has signed second-round draft pick Quinten Rollins, a defensive back from Miami (Ohio) who is expected to replenish depth in the secondary. Rollins, the Mid-American Conference Defensive Player of the Year, was the 62nd overall selection in the draft. The 5-foot-11 Rollins finished with 72 tackles and seven interceptions in 2014, his only year of college football at Miami. Rollins did play four years of basketball at the school as a point guard.Green Bay on Monday also signed undrafted free agent Andy Phillips, an offensive lineman from Central Michigan. Defensive tackle Luther Robinson was released. An undrafted free agent who made the practice squad, Robinson had two tackles in five games last season before being placed on injured reserve on Dec. 8 with a calf injury.

Chicago Bears: The team has waived linebacker Khaseem Greene after two seasons. A fourth-round draft pick in 2013, Greene appeared in 25 games with six starts over two seasons. He had 601/2 tackles, one interception and one forced fumble to go with seven special-teams stops. The Bears also signed quarterback Pat Devlin to a one-year contract and defensive tackle Terry Williams and linebacker Kyle Woestmann to three-year contracts, while terminating the contract of vested veteran linebacker Austen Lane on Monday. Lane has appeared in 30 games with Jacksonville, Detroit and Chicago. Devlin spent the final eight weeks last season on Minnesota’s practice squad. Williams was a three-year starter for East Carolina. Woestmann had 100 tackles and 13 sacks in four seasons at Vanderbilt.

Associated Press