Texans cut Mike Bell, Ephraim Salaam has knee scoped

by mdierk on Aug 8, 2008 1:27 PM MDT

Here's some news about a couple of former Broncos and neither one is positive.

Texans offensive tackle Ephraim Salaam underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair cartilage damage in his left knee and will be out from three to four weeks.

To replace Salaam, the Texans signed veteran free agent offensive tackle Torrin Tucker. They considered Houston native Fred Miller, who played at Baylor before moving to the NFL and playing for the Rams, Titans and Bears.

“Ephraim got up Thursday morning and felt something under his kneecap,” coach Gary Kubiak said today. “He got an MRI, and they did the scope after it. We expect him to be back for the start of the season.”

To clear a spot on the roster for Tucker, running back Mike Bell was placed on waivers.

Meanwhile, general manager Rick Smith said today that the Texans could bring back guard Charles Spencer and sign him to the practice squad. After the Texans waived Spencer in July, Carolina claimed him. The Panthers waived him Thursday, saying he was too out of shape to contribute.

“The door’s still open,” Smith said. “We’ve been in contact with him. If he gets in shape, then another chapter in the Charles Spencer story could be written with our team.”

Because offensive tackle Scott Jackson (foot) and guard Fred Weary (leg) also are out, the Texans are still shorthanded in the offensive line.

Rookie Duane Brown and veteran Eric Winston are the starting tackles. Backups Rashad Butler and Brandon Frye will get a lot of playing time in Saturday’s preseason game against Denver.

I hope Mike Bell has a back-up plan.

This is a Fan-Created Comment on MileHighReport.com. The opinion here is not necessarily shared by the editorial staff of MHR

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I'm still learning

This comes from an football-ignorant Dane: What’s the difference between being cut and “Waived”?

Remember: New England won 18 last year; Oakland's won 19 in a half-decade
/The great Dane - formerly known as Claaaaas!

by Claus Vestergaard on Aug 8, 2008 1:42 PM MDT 0 recs

it means the same thing.....

Mike Bell was fired

fader nation is a conquered nation

The creator of the following names:

conquered fader nation
Phyllis and his merry men

by mdierk on Aug 8, 2008 1:47 PM MDT up 0 recs

yep, no difference

“waived” is the official term, and being cut is sort of the unempathic short version.

You don’t die (get cut) you pass away (get waived).

Mountains, forest, sea: these render man fierce, but yet do not destroy the man.

by styg50 on Aug 12, 2008 8:03 PM MDT up 0 recs

we pick him back up until Torain gets healthy. I’m not a big Mike Bell fan but he does run really hard. I know he is slow and is in Shanny’s doghouse for fumbling the ball, but he would be replenishing the depleted depth from Ryan’s injury. Am I out of my mind? Wouldn’t be the first time.

by orangeblood on Aug 8, 2008 2:33 PM MDT 0 recs

I like that possibility better than bringing in someone like Alexander.

If God is not a Bronco fan, then WHY are sunsets Blue and Orange? - Jon Tollerud 5/22/08

by Zappa on Aug 8, 2008 2:41 PM MDT up 0 recs

Mike Bell

Absolutely Mike Bell over Alexander, or any ot he other guys out there (Henry, Benson). With Torain out, we are down to Sapp, Hillis, and Pittman as big guys. Put Torain on the inactive PUP list so he won’t count against the roster – he’s out until late October at least.

by bradley on Aug 8, 2008 3:03 PM MDT up 0 recs

Torain is out for 3 months....might as well put him on IR and get him ready for 2009

fader nation is a conquered nation

The creator of the following names:

conquered fader nation
Phyllis and his merry men

by mdierk on Aug 8, 2008 3:09 PM MDT up 0 recs

RE: Bell

I like that idea better than the Alexander one but I still would like to know why Bell is being let go, which I don’t think we know. Bell showed great promise, and he also produced, but he plummeted down the depth chart for a reason.

Anyone have an explanation for Bell’s fall? My guess is he didn’t perform well at the mental aspects (and I’m not knocking his intelligence), combined with his performance in blocking and, perhaps, ball security. He had the advantage of being on our squad all last year, which gave him a chance to work on his weaknesses, but he summarily cut before camp as if it was an easy decision, and that implies there’s a weakness in his game, and one we may not be aware of.

by Colinski on Aug 8, 2008 3:43 PM MDT up 0 recs

fumbles-as in almost every time he touched the ball.

Michael Fabiano really knows nothing about football outside of regression analysis and stat extrapolation. If it doesn’t have to do with fantasy football, his opinion is worthless.

by kwool79 on Aug 8, 2008 4:05 PM MDT up 0 recs

good answer

I knew there was a reason, but I forgot what it was. You’ve jogged my memory, wasn’t it something of an adventure every time he carried the ball? Exciting, yes; but not the way to win ball games.

My latest proposal is to use Larsen at FB, which still may not give us the power RB we want. It may help the FB position, however. It may also give them another reason for keeping him on the roster, which could be a good idea. He’ll be seeing action at FB in the fourth quarter against Houston, and that’s after seeing action at LB during the first three quarters.

by Colinski on Aug 9, 2008 12:29 AM MDT up 0 recs

Depleted depth?

Selvin Young

Andre Hall

Michael Pittman

Anthony Aldrige

I think we’ll be just fine. But I can’t wait to see torain run one day.

Michael Fabiano really knows nothing about football outside of regression analysis and stat extrapolation. If it doesn’t have to do with fantasy football, his opinion is worthless.

by kwool79 on Aug 8, 2008 4:05 PM MDT up 0 recs

Lorenzo Neal

Does anyone know if he has been picked up, and if not, what the current knock on him might be? He made the Pro Bowl just a season or two ago – granted, it can be a name recognition survey, but he was a good opponent.

Atwater for the Hall!

by broncobear on Aug 8, 2008 4:50 PM MDT 0 recs

Still unemployed

I wonder if its because of his age? (37) He has blocked for 11 straight 1000 yard rushers. Inlcuding Adrian Murrell. I think he would be an asset to Denver and allow Pittman to be a pure RB. just my humble 2 cents

by broncfanstuckinsd on Aug 8, 2008 5:26 PM MDT up 0 recs

If he's healthy, bring him in!

Owning the Patriots since September 9, 1960

by Darin H on Aug 8, 2008 8:20 PM MDT up 0 recs

the real question is

what are we going to do with sapp, hillis, and pittman? is pittman a rb? do we cut sapp and go with neal as a blocking fb-short yardage/running downs. interesting thought, but neal only does one thing, though at an elite level. i think shanny likes his fb’s to be more versatile-running and receiving. but as a pure blocker, neal is one of the best ever. but i don’t see him fitting in here, unfortunately.

btw mdirk, i love the avatar. meck is one of my favorite broncos ever, and if i could put just one more bronco in the hall of shame, it would be him. and i would have pat bowlen deliver the speech. by hand, to mike shanahan

by davecheffy on Aug 8, 2008 9:08 PM MDT 0 recs

My opinion.

Pittman is more of a RB than a FB. He’s always played RB. He would be a good power option to fill the void left by Torain’s injury.

"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe

by hoosierteacher on Aug 11, 2008 1:51 PM MDT up 0 recs

I'm not sure what happened to Mike Bell...

but he would be way better for our team than Shawn. I really don’t know what happened to Mike Bell! What Happened! We knew he was not special, we knew he was not the answer, but he ran so hard the first year. Many not-so-fast-backs have made great backs.

Mike Bell is such a question. He seemed to have so much heart—but apparently he doesn’t. That is the only answer.

Mike Bell If you show up on our team again-make some crushing tackles on special teams-and build things from there.

by Mike Clark on Aug 8, 2008 10:46 PM MDT 0 recs

Sapp

I Think Cecil Sapp is a lot better than he gets credit for, and think we are perfectly fine at RB and FB going into the season.

by The Heat on Aug 9, 2008 3:27 PM MDT 0 recs

Cecil The Diesel

His nickname at Colorado State. Sapp is a very good football player, and will make the team. He’s tremendous on special teams, is a decent blocking back, and can catch the ball out of the backfield, something Lorenzo Neal never did. And if he has to play TB, he will show you he can do that also.

by bradley on Aug 10, 2008 9:53 AM MDT up 0 recs