Stanley Havili

Practice Squad Updates: Wednesday

As usual, plenty of practice squad players are on the move again this week, being signed, cut, or promoted as teams prepare for Week 11 games. Here are Wednesday’s latest practice squad additions and subtractions:

  • Per Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal (via Twitter), linebacker D.J. Smith has joined the Browns‘ practice squad, replacing fellow linebacker Allen Bradford, who was signed by the Seahawks’ active roster today.
  • A day after being cut by the Jaguars, cornerback Peyton Thompson has cleared waivers and re-signed with the team’s practice squad, tweets John Oehser of Jaguars.com.
  • The Ravens have replaced tight end Phillip Supernaw, who signed with the Chiefs earlier this week, with tight end Konrad Reuland, per Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).

Earlier updates:

  • The Seahawks have added fullback Stanley Havili to their practice squad, tweets Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times.
  • After promoting linebacker Max Bullough to their active roster, the Texans got their practice squad back up to the maximum 10 players by signing former Central Florida tackle Chris Martin, according to Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).
  • The Buccaneers have filled the two openings on their practice squad by signing linebacker Jeremy Grable and offensive lineman Jeremiah Warren, both of whom have previously been with the team, tweets Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com.
  • Another club with two openings on its taxi squad has also filled them — the Bears announced today (via Twitter) that wide receiver B.J. Cunningham and guard Antoine McClain have signed with the team.
  • The Cardinals have swapped out an offensive player for a defender, according to Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com, who tweets that the team has signed cornerback Darren Woodard to its practice squad to replace running back Zach Bauman.
  • After seeing tight end Rashaun Allen signed off their practice squad by the Seahawks, the Vikings have filled the newly-created vacancy by re-adding tight end Ryan Otten, per Ben Goessling of ESPN.com (via Twitter).

Workout Notes: Tuesday

We’ll keep track of today’s workouts and visits here..

  • The Colts worked out notable kick returner Josh Cribbs, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter). Cribbs is the NFL’s all-time co-leader in kickoff returns for touchdowns with eight.
  • The Titans worked out former Packers first round pick Derek Sherrod, Yates tweets. The offensive tackle was cut by the Packers late last month.
  • The Panthers also auditioned Sherrod and Kevin Greene, Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post tweets.
  • Defensive tackle Fred Evans tried out for the Seahawks, according to Howard Balzer of USA Today (on Twitter).
  • The Saints tried out safeties M.D. Jennings and Kenny Phillips, according to Balzer (on Twitter). Jamarca Sanford was signed earlier today, so Jennings and Phillips probably won’t be coming to New Orleans.
  • The Saints also auditioned running backs Andre Brown, Tim Hightower, Mikel LeShoure, and Rutgers alum Brian Leonard, according to Yates (via Mike Triplett on Twitter).
  • The Packers looked at defensive tackle Kenny Horsley, safety Kimario McFadden, and linebacker Chaz Sutton, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com tweets.
  • The Falcons are working out former Utah State center Tyler Larsen today, a league source tells Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (on Twitter).
  • The Dolphins worked out Jonte Green, Wilson tweets.
  • The Seahawks worked out running backs Johri Fogerson, Stanley Havili, and Karl Williams, Wilson tweets.
  • The Titans worked out tight end Dorin Dickerson today, Wilson tweets. The Titans removed him from the IR with an injury settlement in August.

Colts Activate Landry, Nixon; Cut Three

The Colts have announced a series of roster moves today, making changes to both their 53-man roster and practice squad. Per a team release, here are Tuesday’s transactions out of Indianapolis:

Activated:

Cut:

Signed to practice squad:

  • WR Eric Thomas

Cut from practice squad:

  • WR Chandler Jones

Landry, who served a four-game suspension for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs, opened the season as a starter in the Colts’ secondary, but Sergio Brown has played well in his absence, so it will be interesting to see how the team divides the playing time with Landry back on the active roster. It’s worth noting that the team could have activated Landry for Week 9’s contest, but chose to take full advantage of a roster exemption, delaying the decision until it absolutely had to be made.

As for Nixon, he was placed on IR with the designation to return prior to Week 1 due to a knee injury. He figures to take over the swing tackle role held by Meredith, and shouldn’t see frequent action unless someone in front of him gets hurt.

PUP, IR-DTR Players Soon Eligible To Practice

Week 6 of the NFL season will come to an end after Monday night’s game between the 49ers and Rams, and when teams begin preparing for Week 7, many of those clubs may be welcoming some players back to practice. Six weeks into the NFL season, players who were placed on the physically unable to perform list or the injured reserve list with the designation to return prior to Week 1’s games will be eligible to return to practice.

Of course, just because those players are able to return to the practice field doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be healthy enough to do so. Players on the PUP list have a five-week window to begin practicing. Once they return to practice, they have three weeks to be added to their respective teams’ active rosters. In other words, a player on the PUP list could theoretically return for his team’s Week 7 game, or could return as late as for his team’s Week 15 contest. If the player doesn’t return to practice or game action in time, he’ll revert to season-ending injured reserve.

Here are the players currently on the physically unable to perform list who can begin practicing as soon as next week:

Players who began the season on the PUP list didn’t participate in any preseason practices, but that’s not the case for players on the injured reserve list with the designation to return. Teams can use this spot on one player per season, placing him on the injured reserve list without necessarily ruling him out for the season. As we explained in an earlier post, players given this designation can begin practicing after six weeks and can return after eight weeks.

That means that players who were placed on IR-DTR prior to Week 1 can begin practicing next week. A player who was placed on IR-DTR after – for instance – Week 2 will have to wait another two weeks to return to practice.

Here’s the list of players currently on IR-DTR who can begin practicing as soon as next week:

Colts Place Ballard, John, Karim On IR

The Colts have reduced their roster count from 79 players to 75 without waiving or releasing anyone, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun, who reports (via Twitter) that Indianapolis has made the following roster moves:

Placed on injured reserve list:

Placed on reserve/PUP list:

The three players placed on IR won’t have to pass through waivers, since the Colts waited until the first roster cutdown date to move them to the injured reserve list. As for Havili, he’ll be eligible to return to the team’s active list after the season’s first six weeks.

Colts Notes: Fullback, Whalen, Nixon

Following the Colts minicamp, coach Chuck Pagano realized how much talent he has on his squad. Pagano relayed the message to his team:

“It will be really, really difficult to get to 53 this year,” said Pagano (via Mike Chappell of IndyStar.com). “The final cutdown is going to be difficult.”

Chappell decided to give the coach a hand and give his crack at the roster. Here are some of the more interesting notes, along with two bonus tweets from the Indianapolis Star’s Stephen Holder…

  • At fullback, Chappell chose Mario Harvey over Stanley Havili. Harvey, a former linebacker, is switching to the offensive side of the ball. Havili has 218 career all-purpose yards.
  • The writer took LaVon Brazill and Da’Rick Rogers at wide receiver, but notes that Griff Whalen could beat out the duo.
  • For the final tight end spot, Chappell sided with Jack Doyle over Weslye Saunders, but adds that the team could very well carry four at the position.
  • Chappell envisions a year on the practice squad for seventh-round pick Ulrick John.
  • Jeris Pendleton earned Chappell’s final spot on the defensive line, but the writer warns that the job could be Brandon McKinney‘s if the veteran has regained form following his two knee injuries.
  • Holder tweets that former undrafted offensive tackle Xavier Nixon “is a keeper.” The 23-year-old made his NFL debut last season.
  • Holder also tweets that rookie wideout Donte Moncrief has looked good and is making coaches excited.