NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/26/23
Here are Thursday’s practice squad transactions from around the league:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: CB Quavian White
Houston Texans
- Signed: CB Kris Boyd
DE Chase Winovich Announces Retirement
Former Patriots third-round pick Chase Winovich announced his retirement on Instagram, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. After a little over four years in the NFL, Winovich has decided to hang up his cleats. 
Winovich shined brightest in Ann Arbor, where he played four years for the Wolverines of Michigan. After starting out his college career unsure of whether he belonged on offense or defense, he found his place at defensive end, collecting 43 tackles for loss and 18.5 sacks over three seasons of extensive play. His disruptive abilities landed him in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft with a ticket to New England.
While not finding the same domination in the NFL, Winovich still gave strong contributions as a Patriot. While coming off the bench in his first year and earning nine starts in his second, Winovich totaled 11.0 sacks, 10 tackles for loss, and 22 quarterback hits in those two seasons. In 2021, though, Winovich found himself in the doghouse and, after a mostly ineffective season, was traded to Cleveland in exchange for Mack Wilson last year.
Winovich spent most of the season on injured reserve before getting to appear in six of the team’s last eight games, including two starts. After his rookie contract expired, he signed with the Texans, who released him before the roster cut deadline this preseason. He found himself on Miami’s practice squad and would appear in three games, playing mostly on special teams.
The reasoning behind Winovich’s decision is not immediately clear aside from his post mentioning that “the time has come for (him) to serve the universe in other ways.” He also seemed to leave the door open for a potential return, quoting his grandmother in saying, “It’s only bye for now.”
Packers Place Darnell Savage, Eric Stokes On IR
The Packers announced a flurry of roster moves today to take care of some injury business. Green Bay had to send safety Darnell Savage and cornerback Eric Stokes to injured reserve, requiring the signing of two practice squad defensive backs to come up and fill their place. 
Savage, the Packers starting free safety of the past five years, is playing in a contract year after having his fifth-year option picked up. Unfortunately, this last season before hitting the open market will include a stint on IR after the Maryland alum suffered a calf injury, according to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky. With Savage expected to need a month or so to heal, former Houston starter Jonathan Owens will likely take his place in the starting lineup next to Rudy Ford.
Stokes is returning to IR after a heart-breaking four days. The young cornerback out of Georgia missed the back half of last season with an ankle injury then underwent both foot and knee surgeries in the offseason. Not fully healed at the start of this year, Stokes has been on Green Bay’s reserve/PUP list all season, up until four days ago.
Green Bay partially activated Stokes out of necessity in order to ensure he would be able to avoid spending the full season on the PUP list, after being designated to return. After only four special teams snaps in Week 7, though, Stokes will land on IR for a second straight season. The injury sending him back to IR is being designated as a hamstring malady.
The Packers decided to fill the two vacant roster spots by signing practice squad players to the active roster, one of whom came from another team’s practice squad. The team decided to add cornerback Robert Rochell off the Panthers’ practice squad and promote cornerback Corey Ballentine from their own. Cornerback Zyon Gilbert will join the Packers’ practice squad, filling the spot vacated by Ballentine.
With Stokes on IR and Jaire Alexander continuing to battle the injury bug, the focus on cornerbacks is completely understandable. With a three-game upcoming stretch that includes games against the Chargers, Lions, and Chiefs, Green Bay will be working hard to get their secondary right.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/25/23
Here are Wednesday’s minor moves from around the league:
Baltimore Ravens
- Designated to return from IR: WR Tylan Wallace
Denver Broncos
- Signed to active roster: WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey
Houston Texans
- Designated to return from IR: DT Hassan Ridgeway
Los Angeles Rams
- Designated to return from IR: TE Hunter Long
Miami Dolphins
- Designated to return from IR: WR River Cracraft
Seattle Seahawks
- Designated to return from IR: RB Kenny McIntosh
- Designated to return from PUP: NT Austin Faoliu
Tennessee Titans
- Claimed off waivers (from Cardinals): S K’Von Wallace
- Placed on IR: DT Taylor Stallworth
After being waived yesterday by the team who submitted a waiver claim for him at the start of the season, Wallace finds himself on the third NFL team of his career. While the trade that sent star Titans’ defender Kevin Byard to Philadelphia returned another safety in Terrell Edmunds, Wallace will come in and attempt to compete for some key playing time with Edmunds and Amani Hooker.
Humphrey has been promoted as a standard gameday elevation three times already, the limit for a practice squad contract, so in order to see any further game action, he needed to be on the active roster. If he is released and re-signs to the team’s practice squad, he’ll be able to be elevated three more times under a new practice squad deal.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/25/23
Today’s practice squad transactions:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: WR Davion Davis, DT Jacob Slade
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: LB Donavan Mutin
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: DT Eli Ankou
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: QB Jake Luton, TE Jordan Matthews
Denver Broncos
- Signed: WR Michael Bandy
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: CB Zyon Gilbert
Las Vegas Raiders
- Released from practice squad IR with injury settlement: T Sebastian Gutierrez
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: OLB Quincy Roche
New England Patriots
- Signed: QB Malik Cunningham
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: CB Mario Goodrich
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: DT Marlon Davidson
Chargers Claim S Jaylinn Hawkins, Place S Raheem Layne On IR
The Falcons made a semi-surprising move yesterday when they waived a full-time starter from last year, safety Jaylinn Hawkins. The Cal product hit the waiver wire, and while several teams put in a claim to acquire the 26-year-old, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, it was the Chargers who had the winning position to bring him in.
The claim is likely the result of an injury to backup safety Raheem Layne, who reportedly tore his ACL, per Daniel Popper of The Athletic. Layne was initially fighting for a roster spot to start the year, beating out Mark Webb at the roster cut deadline. He not only made the roster, but he also worked his way up the depth chart, earning a start in place of an injured Alohi Gilman in Week 3.
With Layne out, headed to injured reserve, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2, Hawkins comes in with the potential to step in as a starter if Gilman is forced to miss more time. The addition of Hawkins actually adds to the impressive depth of the Chargers’ safety unit. Behind Gilman and Derwin James, Dean Marlowe also provides years of starting experience to the team’s secondary. Between Marlowe and Hawkins, Los Angeles has 42 careers starts from its backups alone.
The Chargers are hoping that their acquisition of Hawkins will serve merely as insurance as Gilman continues to work his way back from the toe injury that has kept him out of the team’s past two games. In case injuries continue to cause issues, though, Los Angeles now has two solid options to start in Gilman’s place.
Texans Place S Eric Murray On IR
The Texans saw a hit to their depth in the secondary this past weekend when primary backup safety Eric Murray suffered a torn meniscus in the team’s win over the Saints. The severity of the injury was confirmed by MRI on Monday, leading to Houston’s decision today to put Murray on injured reserve after undergoing knee surgery, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. 
Murray took a backseat in Houston last year after nearly two years as the team’s starting free safety. With Jalen Pitre and Jonathan Owens starting in the defensive outfield, Murray found himself coming off the bench and playing special teams. The Texans have replaced Owens with Jimmie Ward this year, but Murray has been able to increase his role a bit due to injuries. With Ward missing the first two games of the year and Pitre missing two himself, Murray has logged four starts as the team’s first choice off the bench.
Unfortunately, now Houston will see injury force Murray’s absence. Knee surgery is enough to force a long-term absence, hence Murray’s placement on IR. Fortunately for both sides, though, the Texans aren’t yet calling the injury season-ending, holding out hope that Murray may be able to return late in the year.
In the meantime, Ward and Pitre will continue to start. If anything were to keep either of them off the field, the Texans would need M.J. Stewart to step up. The veteran out of North Carolina has 10 starts in his career, including one this season, when both Pitre and Ward were out. Houston also has versatile defensive back Grayland Arnold, who has filled in some at cornerback this season, as well, due to an injury to Tavierre Thomas.
To fill Murray’s roster spot, the Texans called up cornerback D’Angelo Ross from the practice squad. Ross has played in two games so far this year, solely appearing on special teams. Ross’s spot on the practice squad will be filled by cornerback Alex Austin, who was waived from the team’s active roster earlier this week to make room for wide receiver Noah Brown coming off IR.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/18/23
Minor transactions from around the league today:
Arizona Cardinals
- Waived: RB Tony Jones Jr.
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed to active roster: S Micah Abernathy
Denver Broncos
- Signed to active roster: WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed to active roster: QB Nathan Rourke
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed to active roster: CB Tyler Hall
- Placed on IR: S Roderic Teamer
New York Giants
- Signed to active roster: G Justin Pugh
- Signed off Eagles’ practice squad: OL Tyre Phillips
- Waived: TE Lawrence Cager
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed to active roster: WR Cody Thompson
The Giants are dealing with an unprecedented epidemic at offensive tackle right now as their injury report starts to read like a phone book. Already missing starter Andrew Thomas and primary backup Matt Peart, New York went into Sunday night’s game with Evan Neal and Joshua Ezeudu bookending the line. Pugh had recently been brought in to help address the team’s depth at guard, but when Ezeudu exited the game with a toe injury, and was subsequently placed on injured reserve, Pugh kicked out and played the rest of the game at tackle with the first-team offense. Pugh will now serve as depth at tackle, as will Philips, who started his career in Baltimore as a guard before proving his versatility for the Ravens and Giants. He started five games for New York last year.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/18/23
Wednesday’s practice squad updates:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: RB Jacob Saylors, S Arnold Tarpley III
Denver Broncos
- Signed: WR Michael Bandy
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: TE John Samuel Shenker
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: WR Trishton Jackson
New England Patriots
- Signed: DE William Bradley-King, RB Patrick Taylor
- Released: DL Manny Jones, WR T.J. Luther
New York Giants
- Signed: G Jalen Mayfield
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: WR Cody White, T Greg Eiland
- Released: QB Holton Ahlers
RB Leonard Fournette Will Not Visit Bills
OCTOBER 17: Fournette will not, in fact be heading to Buffalo today. Schultz notes that the Bills expected to lose Ty Johnson off their practice squad, but since that is not happening, they will not host Fournette for an audition. The latter has still received interest from a number of teams, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports, but he does not have any visits lined up at this point.
OCTOBER 16: After receiving some promising news about running back Damien Harris, who was taken off the field in an ambulance after suffering a “neck sprain” last night, according to NFL Insider Jordan Schultz, the team is still dealing with the fact that they may be without him for a period of time. With Nyheim Hines suffering a season-ending injury before the season even began, this leaves the Bills with only James Cook and Latavius Murray as healthy active roster running backs. 
Enter free agent running back Leonard Fournette. Schultz claims that Fournette has informed him that he will be visiting the Bills‘ facility tomorrow. After three years each with the Jaguars and Buccaneers, Fournette has been a free agent since being released by Tampa Bay in February.
Fournette hasn’t been quiet in his free agency, fielding calls from the Patriots, who would end up signing Ezekiel Elliott, and Colts, who found a resurgent break out from Zack Moss. He’s been ready, though, staying in good enough shape to perform at workouts, the newest of which will be in Buffalo tomorrow.
So far this season, the Bills have essentially used Cook as a workhorse, utilizing Harris and Murray to spell Cook for short periods. Murray has proven to be plenty serviceable as a backup running back over the years, but at 33 years old, he doesn’t have quite the same tread remaining as the 28-year-old Fournette.
Fournette could come in and provide the Bills with a true RB2 who can do a bit more than just give Cook a breather. Fournette would have a chance at coming in and actually earning snaps in certain situations. As for the likelihood of this opportunity, Schultz claims that “there’s a good chance (Fournette) signs in Buffalo if all goes well.”