HEADLINES

Month: August 2023

Dolphins Reduce Roster To 53 Players

August 29th, 2023 at 10:34pm CST by Ben Levine

The Dolphins began trimming their roster yesterday, cutting 14 players. That made today’s daunting task a bit more bearable, but the team still had to cut a number of players to get to the 53-player roster limit:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Placed on reserve/PUP:

Placed on IR:

Nik Needham, a 2019 UDFA out of UTEP, has spent his entire career with the Dolphins, appearing in 51 games (27 starts). He started five of his six appearances in 2022 before landing on IT in October with a torn Achilles tendon. His placement on PUP means he can’t make his season debut until at least Week 5.

Tight end Tyler Kroft signed with the Dolphins back in May, but the veteran was unable to beat our younger options for a roster spot. Kroft has seen time in 92 career games (52 starts), hauling in 105 catches for 1,081 yards and 13 touchdowns. He spent the 2022 campaign with the 49ers, collecting four receptions in 11 games (four starts).

Ravens Set 53-Man Roster

August 29th, 2023 at 10:25pm CST by Ely Allen

The Ravens did a bit of work in the days leading up to the roster cut deadline, including the announced release of veteran running back Melvin Gordon. Still, there was a bit of work left to be done today. Here’s the remaining moves Baltimore made in order to get down to 53 players:

Waived:

Released:

The most surprising moves here come at cornerback. Especially with the recent injury trouble facing star corner Marlon Humphrey, the Ravens choice to not only cut two reliable backups in Seymour and Worley but also to waive the fifth-round rookie draft pick Kelly is shocking. The team did reinforce with several free agent veterans like Rock Ya-Sin, Ronald Darby, and Arthur Maulet, and they’re hoping to see strong seasons from second year cornerbacks Damarion Williams and Jalyn Armour-Davis, both of whom were limited in their rookie seasons due to injury. Look for them to attempt to retain Seymour and Worley on the practice squad. Kelly will have to clear waivers in order to return, a tough ask for a fifth-round talent. Williams is expected to be placed on injured reserve following the deadline, opening a door for Worley or Seymour to return to the active roster.

Brown and Johnson put forth valiant efforts throughout the preseason, essentially allowing starting quarterback Lamar Jackson and primary backup Tyler Huntley to escape the preseason without really being touched. Unfortunately, neither made a strong enough case to remain on the regular season roster. Brown is surely a candidate to return to the practice squad, if he clears waivers.

Baltimore’s tradition of scouting undrafted talent continued this year as the team saw two free agent rookies make the initial 53-man roster. Former East Carolina running back Keaton Mitchell gave some strong impressions that helped him beat out Gordon and fellow undrafted signee Wright. Malik Hamm, Lafayette’s all-time sack leader, makes the team behind as of yet unproven pass rushers Odafe Oweh and David Ojabo, veteran Jadeveon Clowney, and fellow rookie Tavius Robinson, a fourth-round pick out of Ole Miss.

Outside linebacker Tyus Bowser remains on the non-football injury list to start the season alongside long snapper Nick Moore, rookie guard Andrew Vorhees, and cornerback Trayvon Mullen. He’ll miss at least the first four games of the season.

Broncos Place Baron Browning On Reserve/PUP List, Trim Roster To 53

August 29th, 2023 at 10:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Broncos will join other teams in using short-term IR to create roster spots for veterans they cut Tuesday. The team also needed to use its reserve/PUP list. Here is how Denver moved down to the 53-man limit:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

  • OLB Chris Allen

Placed on reserve/PUP list:

Browning suffered a meniscus injury this offseason and underwent surgery in June. This obviously deals a blow to Browning’s development, seeing as the converted off-ball linebacker has yet to play a full season at his second NFL position, and Denver’s edge depth. Randy Gregory and Frank Clark lead the way at the position; both are going into their age-30 seasons. The Broncos have seen Gregory, Von Miller and Bradley Chubb miss substantial time in recent years. They will hope Browning, who showed promise opposite Chubb at points last year, can return when eligible.

The Broncos did not place Jerry Jeudy on IR, keeping their No. 1 receiver available once his hamstring heals. This points to the team viewing Jeudy as likely to come back during the season’s first four weeks. Jeudy suffered a hamstring injury late last week; the malady is expected to sideline him for “several weeks.” The team is expected to re-sign Humphrey once it reorganizes its roster, 9News’ Mike Klis notes.

Although Purcell joined Humphrey as a cut, Klis adds the veteran nose tackle is set to come back. Ditto Moreau, as K’Waun Williams is set to head to IR — a designation that will cost the veteran slot cornerback at least four games — upon undergoing ankle surgery. The Broncos kept UDFAs Elijah Garcia, a defensive lineman, and Jaleel McLaughlin, a running back, after strong preseason outings. McLaughlin is the NCAA all-levels rushing kingpin, having amassed 8,161 yards while at Notre Dame College and Youngstown State — Division II and Division I-FCS programs, respectively, in Ohio. He will be the team’s third-string running back — behind Javonte Williams and Samaje Perine.

Rams Cut Down To 53 Players

August 29th, 2023 at 9:44pm CST by Ely Allen

The Rams did a bit of work yesterday in moving towards the 53-man deadline. Here are the additional moves the team made today to get down to the max roster number to start the season:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Released:

It appears that fourth-round rookie draft pick Stetson Bennett won out in the battle for the backup quarterback job, leading to the expendability of Rypien and Winn. Youth similarly won out at the running back spot as rookie Zach Evans and second year backs Kyren Williams and Ronnie Rivers beat out the veteran backup in Freeman. On defense, Copeland is bit of a surprise after starting nine games last year for the Rams.

The special teams room is quite intriguing for now. The room was looking to hold three rookies before the above waiver of the undrafted Oklahoma State kicker Brown. Seventh-round rookie punter Ethan Evans and undrafted rookie long snapper Alex Ward remain on the roster, but without Brown, the Rams will need to look into adding a new kicker out of the free agent market. Or they may attempt to follow the recent trends and trade for one.

49ers Place Nick Bosa On Reserve/Did Not Report List, Pare Roster To 53

August 29th, 2023 at 9:36pm CST by Sam Robinson

The 49ers joined the Chiefs in placing their best defensive player on the reserve/did not report list due to a holdout and joined the other 30 teams in finalizing their 53-man roster. Some changes are expected, with veterans pledged to stay. But here is how the 49ers reached 53:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on reserve/did not report list:

Placed on IR:

Placed on reserve/PUP list:

The 49ers are planning to re-sign Hyder and Bryant once they make other roster moves, Matt Barrows of The Athletic notes (subscription required). Both are vested veterans who are not subject to waivers. With Samson Ebukam and Charles Omenihu gone, Hyder figures to be a key piece as a rotational defensive end. He is with the 49ers for the third time in four seasons. After an 8.5-sack slate in 2020, Hyder signed with the Seahawks. But Seattle released him in 2021, leading the veteran back to the Bay Area.

San Francisco’s 53-man roster will include Bosa soon, and this holdout does not appear as contentious as the Chris Jones-Chiefs standoff. John Lynch has indicated the 49ers will waive Bosa’s fines for missing training camp — an option the 49ers have due to Bosa being tied to a rookie contract. While the 49ers changed defensive coordinators, bringing in Steve Wilks to replace DeMeco Ryans, D-line coach Kris Kocurek remains in place. Bosa should be able to hit the ground running once he returns, though the 49ers are running short on time here.

Gonzalez suffered a calf injury Kyle Shanahan said would keep him out a few weeks. With the veteran landing on IR, an injury settlement is likely. The 49ers used a third-round pick on Michigan kicker Jake Moody, but Barrows notes the strained quadriceps injury he suffered may keep him out of Week 1. On that note, the 49ers worked out Tristan Vizcaino and Taylor Russolino, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area notes. Robbie Gould, the 49ers’ kicker for the past six seasons, remains unsigned.

Panthers Reduce Roster To 53

August 29th, 2023 at 9:07pm CST by Ben Levine

The Panthers cut down their roster to 53 players today, but in the process, they ruled out a key offensive lineman for at least a month:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on PUP:

Placed on IR:

Austin Corbett continues to rehab from a torn ACL and has been sitting on PUP throughout the preseason. The transaction means the starting guard can’t be activated to the active roster until Week 5, but he may need longer to get into form. NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe tweets that the team is hoping to have him back midway through the season. Rookie Chandler Zavala will likely slide into the starting lineup while Corbett is sidelined.

Eric Rowe has 100 games of experience in stints with the Eagles, Patriots, and Dolphins. He’s spent the past four seasons in Miami, starting 39 of his 63 appearances. This included a 2022 campaign where he got into 14 games (six starts), finishing with 56 tackles and a pair of sacks. The two-time Super Bowl champ joined the Panthers back in April.

Giants Set Initial 53-Man Roster

August 29th, 2023 at 9:01pm CST by Ely Allen

Most of the headlines concerning the Giants came this summer as the team came to a long-term deal with quarterback Daniel Jones and a short-term solution to satisfy running back Saquon Barkley. Still, the team made the necessary moves today to get towards a 53-man roster. Here are the cuts from today:

Waived:

Released:

Ximines is potentially the biggest name here. A former third-round pick in 2019, Ximines has failed to live up to his draft stock, only starting nine games during the first four years of his career. He was re-signed on a cheap, one-year deal at the start of free agency, but ultimately, it seems like New York decided to move on.

The sixth-round rookie draft pick Beavers had a strong chance not only at a roster spot but at a starting spot. A torn ACL in the preseason ended any hopes of a starting role as a rookie for Beavers.

On offense, Phillips was a top contender for the swing tackle job after filling in for Evan Neal in four starts at right tackle last year. It appears he lost out on the role to Matt Peart.

Lastly, the undrafted rookie quarterback DeVito did his best over the preseason to earn a roster spot, drawing praise from many of his coaches. Ultimately, he proved unable to convince the Giants to keep a third passer behind Jones and Tyrod Taylor.

Texans Set 53-Man Roster

August 29th, 2023 at 8:33pm CST by Ben Levine

The Texans are in the midst of a rebuild, but that doesn’t make their roster decisions any easier. The organization ultimately settled on 53 players today:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Placed on reserve/PUP:

Three veteran tight ends were let go in Mason Schreck, Eric Tomlinson, and Nick Vannett. Vannett has the most epxerience of the bunch, having seen time in 86 career games. He spent the 2022 seasons with the Giants and Saints, hauling in six catches. Tomlinson has appeared in 85 career games, including 34 over the past two seasons. He started 12 of his 17 appearances for Denver in 2022, serving mostly as an extra blocker.

Adam Humphries was an 800-yard receiver with the Buccaneers in 2018, but he’s compiled only 985 yards in three years since. He didn’t get into a game during the 2022 season, but he did haul in 41 catches for Washington in 2021.

Vikings Make Cuts To Reach 53-Man Roster

August 29th, 2023 at 8:25pm CST by Ely Allen

Most of the Vikings’ roster moves were done ahead of the deadline, but today they did the rest of the work to get down to the 53-man roster. Here are the moves made today to reach the deadline:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

  • LB Abraham Beauplan

Released:

A strong preseason performance by backup running back Ty Chandler and the returning prowess of Kene Nwangwu led to the disappointing cut of the seventh-round pick McBride. Besides that, there weren’t many surprises on the offensive side of the ball as the Vikings continually value consistency on the offensive line.

Minnesota needed to work out how to replace the production lost in the departure of pass rusher Za’Darius Smith. The opportunity led to a nice surprise as undrafted rookie Andre Carter II makes the initial 53. Carter is joined on the defensive side by undrafted linebacker Ivan Pace, who got plenty of run in camp as Brian Asamoah recovered from injury. Safety NaJee Thompson is the last undrafted rookie to find his way onto the roster thanks to his contributions on special teams.

Bills To Sign OT Germain Ifedi

August 29th, 2023 at 8:12pm CST by Ben Levine

The Bills have added some veteran depth to their offensive line. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that the Bills are expected to sign offensive tackle Germain Ifedi. The organization worked out Ifedi earlier today.

[RELATED: Bills To Release T David Quessenberry, G Ike Boettger]

Ifedi was a first-round pick by the Seahawks in 2016 and proceeded to spend four years in Seattle, starting all 65 of his appearances (regular season and playoffs). He became a free agent in 2020 after the Seahawks declined his fifth-year option.

He caught on with the Bears, where he proceeded to get into 25 games (23 starts) across two seasons with the organization. He joined the Falcons last offseason and got into all 17 games without a start, with the majority of his snaps coming on special teams. He signed with the Lions earlier this offseason but was cut by the organization this week.

While Ifedi barely played on the offensive line in 2022, he graded out as an above-average lineman as recently as 2021, per Pro Football Focus. That season, the site gave him particularly high marks for his pass-blocking ability, a skill that’s been a theme throughout his career.

It seemed inevitable that the Bills would add some offensive line depth. Brandon Shell was placed on the reserve/retired list during training camp, and Tommy Doyle has since suffered a season-ending injury. Then, the organization made the surprising move today when they let go of David Quessenberry, who was the organization’s primary swing tackle last season.

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