Richard Rodgers (TE)

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/28/22

Here today’s minor moves from around the league:

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Seattle Seahawks

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/24/22

Lots of moves leading into gameday. Remember that players promoted from the practice squad for games will revert back to the practice squad after:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/15/22

Today’s minor NFL transactions:

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/10/22

Today’s minor moves around the league, as teams prepare for the first Sunday slate of regular season games:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

The Cardinals’ moves come as a reaction to yesterday’s injury news. Baccellia’s roster spot was opened up in the short-term by the injury to Rondale Moore, but he won’t simply be a stop-gap. Arizona signed the 25-year-old to a two-year deal to remain on the main roster, per Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network (Twitter link). A UDFA out of Washington, Baccellia has yet to make a regular season NFL appearance.

Likewise, the fact that Ford will miss at least the first four weeks of the season makes the re-acquisition of Garcia a logical one. The former fourth-rounder has plenty of guard experience, including his three seasons spent in Arizona. It was only in 2021 that he logged any starts, but he could provide veteran depth behind Justin Pugh at least until Ford is able to return.

Addison, 35, was one of several veteran signings the Texans made this offseason to add depth to their front seven. He had a productive season with the Bills last season, notching seven sacks despite not starting any games. In his absence, Harris and Pierre-Louis will provide depth in the edge rush department on Sunday, and likely the short-term future as well.

Quick reminder that standard game day practice squad promotions are a recent development from the new CBA and COVID-19 seasons. Essentially, each team is able to promote two players from the practice squad to the active roster for game days. The players will automatically revert back to the practice squad after the game, not needing to clear waivers before rejoining the developmental roster. A player can only be promoted three times per season. If a team would like to promote a player for a fourth game, they’ll need to go through the normal method of creating space on the 53-man roster to promote them and have them clear waivers before placing them back on the practice squad. That is the difference between “Signed to 53-man roster” from the practice squad and “Promoted from practice squad.”

Eagles To Release TE Richard Rodgers

Richard Rodgers‘ third stint in Philly has come to an end. Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets that the Eagles are cutting the veteran tight end.

As a vested veteran, Rodgers would have had his entire salary guaranteed had he made the 53-man roster. There’s a chance the organization circles back to him once players land on injured reserve, but another contract would likely provide the organization with a bit more flexibility (perhaps via a practice squad spot).

Rodgers made a name for himself with the Packers, especially thanks to a 2015 campaign where he finished with 510 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. He joined the Eagles for his first go-around with the organization in 2018. While he’s had brief stints with Washington and Arizona over the past four seasons, his regular season appearances have only come in an Eagles uniform. He ultimately saw time in 25 games (four starts) with Philadelphia, with the majority of his production coming during a 2020 campaign where he hauled in 24 receptions for 345 yards and two touchdowns. The 30-year-old got into three games with the Eagles last season.

Rodgers was competing for a back-of-the-depth-chart role behind Dallas Goedert and Jack Stoll. This move likely secures a roster spot for rookie sixth-round pick Grant Calcaterra.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/3/22

Today’s minor moves

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

  • Signed: LS Harrison Elliott
  • Activated from PUP: DB Tristin McCollum
  • Waived-injured: WR Davion Davis

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

*Per Dan Duggan of The Athletic (on Twitter), Gono has left the squad due to an undisclosed physical issue. The lineman will meet with a doctor tomorrow, which should provide some clarity.

Eagles Trade Zach Ertz To Cardinals

The Eagles have traded Zach Ertz to the Cardinals in exchange for rookie cornerback Tay Gowan and a 2022 fifth-round draft pick. The deal is now official, per an announcement from both clubs. 

Ertz was once a focal point of the Birds’ offense, but he’s been relegated to a secondary role behind Dallas Goedert. With one season left on his five-year, $42.5MM deal, the Eagles have turned their surplus into draft capital.

Ertz, 31 in November, finished last year with just 36 catches for 335 yards and one touchdown in eleven games. But, before that, he made three straight Pro Bowls from 2017-19 and consistently performed as one of the league’s best tight ends. So far this year, the veteran has 18 catches for 189 yards and two scores in six games.

The Cardinals will be responsible for the rest of Ertz’s salary, approximately $5.5MM. Ideally, he’d like an extension, but that’ll probably wait until after the season. The Cardinals will have much more utility for Ertz than the Eagles did since they’ve lost Maxx Williams for the year with a knee injury. Ertz will likely serve as the Cardinals’ TE1 with support from Darrell Daniels and Demetrius Harris. Beyond those three, the Cards also have Ross Travis on the practice squad, though they released recently-acquired veteran Richard Rodgers from the p-squad in the wake of the Ertz deal.

After years of iffy tight end production, Arizona finally has a proven option in Ertz. He delivered 335 yards in a down year with five missed games; the Cardinals haven’t had a TE top 600 yards in a season since moving to Arizona in 1988.

Cardinals Designate DL Jordan Phillips For Return

Jordan Phillips is moving closer to making his season debut. The Cardinals designated the veteran defensive lineman to return from IR Wednesday, starting his 21-day clock.

The second-year Arizona defender has three weeks to return from IR or miss the entire 2021 season. Phillips’ absence has dragged on with his current team; he has not played since Nov. 8 of last year.

The Cards did not disclose Phillips’ injury upon placing him on IR in September. His two IR stints in 2020 came because of hamstring injuries. The veteran interior D-lineman missed the final seven games of Arizona’s season. The Cardinals gave Phillips a three-year, $30MM deal in 2020, bringing him west after his 9.5-sack 2019 season with the Bills. The 29-year-old defender has yet to deliver much in the way of production since, adding some pressure ahead of his season debut.

Phillips is close to rejoining a team that has improved since he last suited up. The Cards are the league’s lone remaining unbeaten, at 5-0, and now have J.J. Watt anchoring their defensive line. A Phillips return in Week 6 would help a Cardinals team that is expected to be without Chandler Jones, who tested positive for COVID-19 this week. The Cards rank sixth in the league in scoring defense.

In addition to Phillips’ return to practice, the Cardinals placed both tight end Maxx Williams and special-teamer Zeke Turner on IR. Williams is facing the prospect of missing the rest of this season with a knee injury; Turner is battling a shoulder ailment. Arizona added some depth by signing veteran tight end Richard Rodgers to its practice squad.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/28/21

Today’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Indianapolis Colts

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Tennessee Titans

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Football Team

Eagles Re-Sign Richard Rodgers

The Eagles have re-signed tight end Richard Rodgers, per a club announcement. The longtime Packer will return for his fourth straight season with the Eagles on what is likely a one-year pact.

[RELATED: Ertz Won’t Report For Offseason Work]

Rodgers appeared in 13 games and started four times for the Birds last year and recorded 24 catches, 345 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He’s best known for the Hail Mary ball he caught from Aaron Rodgers in Detroit several years ago, but Rodgers actually nabbed eight TDs in that 2015 season. Between 2017 and 2018, he recorded just one catch for seven yards amidst injuries, but he saw a healthy number of targets with the Eagles in 2020.

For now, Rodgers projects to serve as the No. 3 tight end behind Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert. However, Ertz could very well get traded between now and Week 1, creating extra room for Rodgers, Jason Croom, Caleb Wilson, Hakeem Butler, and the rest of the roster hopefuls at TE.