Ex-Texans WR Shorts signs with Buccaneers
TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay signed free-agent receiver Cecil Shorts III on Tuesday.
Shorts, who was selected in the fourth round by Jacksonville in the 2011 draft, spent the first four years of his career with the Jaguars before signing with the Texans last season. He caught 42 passes for 484 yards and two touchdowns for the Texans in 2015, but hamstring issues and a dislocated shoulder limited him to 11 games and four starts.
In other pro football news:
• Chicago, which opens the season Sunday against the Texans, signed kicker Connor Barth to replace Robbie Gould, who was released Sunday. Barth played in 12 games for Tampa Bay last season, going 23-of-28 on field goals and making 25 of 26 extra points. He signed with New York in May but was released Saturday. Barth played for Bears coach John Fox in Denver in 2014.
• New Orleans changed kickers, cutting veteran Kai Forbath and signing Wil Lutz, a rookie who spent the preseason with Baltimore. Lutz was a four-year kicker at Georgia State. The move comes days after it appeared that Forbath, who took over as the Saints’ kicker last season, had won a preseason competition with Connor Barth for his job.
• Buffalo safety Aaron Williams returned to practice after missing nearly a month recovering from a concussion and is set to start in the Bills’ season opener at Baltimore. Williams has been out since suffering a concussion on Aug. 11, when he collided with receiver Dez Lewis during a team drill at training camp. The injury came on the heels of Williams’ having seasonending neck surgery in which doctors shaved two disks to alleviate nerve damage suffered in Week 2 of 2015.
• New England receiver Danny Amendola, who has been recovering from knee and ankle issues this preseason, said he feels ready to play despite sitting out all four of the Patriots’ preseason games. “I feel strong. I feel fast. So I’m ready to roll,” he said.