Raiders Claim QB DeShone Kizer
The Raiders claimed quarterback DeShone Kizer off waivers from the Packers, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter).The move gives Oakland four quarterbacks as of this writing, though one of their signal callers will almost certainly be displaced to make room for the Notre Dame product.
A second-round selection in 2017, Kizer was pegged as a green talent that had high upside. Unfortunately for him, he was taken by the Browns, who proceeded to lose every game that season. At year’s end, he was shipped to Green Bay. Now, at the age of 23, he’s moving on to his third career NFL team.
The Raiders seemed set at quarterback with Derek Carr, Mike Glennon, and Nathan Peterman. Now, it looks like Peterman will be squeezed out to make room for Kizer. The Raiders would probably like to stash Peterman on the practice squad, but he’d have to clear waivers first.
Cowboys, Ezekiel Elliott Moving Towards Deal
The Cowboys and Ezekiel Elliott are moving toward a deal, Clarence Hill of the Dallas Morning News tweets. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) also hears that serious progress has been made over the last 24 hours, though obstacles still remain.
We heard this morning that the two sides still have significant ground to cover, so it’s unclear if this is a case of actual progress in negotiations, or a case of conflicting stories.This morning’s update suggested that the two sides are simply getting back to the table after weeks of silence. Hill’s tweet, meanwhile, suggests that things are moving in a positive direction. Either way, we can say this with confidence – there’s an increased sense of urgency and optimism coming from both sides of the table.
Elliott’s guarantees appear to be the holdup at this stage. Zeke likely wants guarantees in the range of Todd Gurley‘s $45MM amount, a number that would give Dallas pause given the risk involved with RBs.
Broncos To Sign Corey Nelson
Corey Nelson will sign with the Broncos, according to Greg Auman of The Athletic (on Twitter). It’s a homecoming for the linebacker, who played in Denver from 2014-2017.
Nelson, 27, was released by the Bucs this week as they trimmed their roster to meet the 53-man maximum. He did his finest work with the Broncos, including the 2016 season in which he tallied 61 total tackles across 16 games (six starts). And, following the 2015 season, Nelson helped the Broncos capture a Super Bowl ring.
This might not be the Broncos’ only reunion of the week – they’re also interested in signing wide receiver Demaryius Thomas.
Patriots Reach Roster Max
The Patriots announced the release of 27 players as a part of their efforts to get down to the 53-man limit. They also placed four players on injured reserve, one player on NFI, and another on PUP.
The previously reported release of wide receiver Demaryius Thomas understandably got the most attention, but there are some other notable names here, including wide receiver Braxton Berrios. Berrios, 24 in October, had a solid training camp and preseason, but could not find a place on the roster after Julian Edelman and Josh Gordon returned to action. It stands to reason that he could be a practice squad candidate if he clears waivers.
Here’s the rest:
Released:
TE Stephen Anderson
TE Andrew Beck
RB Nick Brossette
OL Cole Croston
WR Ryan Davis
OL James Ferentz
OL Tyler Gauthier
LB Terez Hall
DL Trent Harris
DB A.J. Howard
OL Martez Ivey
FB Jakob Johnson
DL Ufomba Kamalu
OL Cedrick Lang
LB Calvin Munson
DL David Parry
WR Damoun Patterson
LB Christian Sam
TE Eric Saubert
OL Dan Skipper
OL Tyree St. Louis,
DL Nick Thurman
DB Ken Webster
LB Scooby Wright III
Placed on IR:
OL Hjalte Froholdt
DB Malik Gant
DL Derek Rivers
In addition, New England also placed offensive lineman Yodny Cajuste on the NFI list and wide receiver Cameron Meredith on the PUP list.
Colts Reach Roster Max
The Colts reached the 53-man limit on Saturday by cutting a number of players, including running back Charcandrick West. West, who has been toggled on and off of the Chiefs’ roster in recent years, hooked on with the Colts less than two weeks ago. Despite the season-ending injury suffered by D’Onta Foreman, he wasn’t able to make the final cut.
Also among the cuts – J’Marcus Webb, one of the club’s Week 1 starting tackles in 2018. Webb’s season was mostly lost to injury, and he’ll have to hook on elsewhere for 2019.
Here’s the rest of the Colts’ moves:
Waived:
– S Micah Abernathy
– T Jackson Barton
– CB Jalen Collins
– WR Ashton Dulin
– G Jake Eldrenkam
– T Antonio Garcia
– DE Gerri Green
– DE Obum Gwacha
– K Cole Hedlund
– WR Krishawn Hogan
– CB Isaiah Langley
– WR Roger Lewis
– LB Skai Moore
– C Daniel Munyer
– DE Carroll Phillips
– DT Johnny Robinson
– DT Sterling Shippy
– G Nate Theaker
– S Jacob Thieneman
– WR Jordan Veasy
– QB Phillip Walker
– RB Aca’Cedric Ware
– RB Marquis Young
Waived/Injured:
– WR Penny Hart
– S Isaiah Johnson
– WR Marcus Johnson
– S Kai Nacu
– CB Shakial Taylor
– LB Ahmad Thomas
Released:
– TE Gabe Holmes
– DT Caraun Reid
– TE Ross Travis
Rams Reach Roster Max
The Rams reached the roster max of 53 with the following moves on Saturday:
Waived:
Dakota Allen, LB
Chandler Brewer, OT
Marquise Copeland, DT
Justin Davis, RB
Donte Deayon, DB
Landis Durham, DE
John Franklin, DE
Khadarel Hodge, WR
John Kelly, RB
Jeremiah Kolone, G
Steven Parker, DB
Kevin Paterson, DB
John Wolford, QB
Waived/Injured:
Alex Bachman, WR
Josh Carraway,LB
Dominique Hatfield, DB
Trevon Young, LB
Placed on IR:
Micah Kiser, LB
Eagles Reach 53-Man Limit
The Eagles have gotten down to 53, making some notable cuts to get there. The team released guard/center Stefen Wisniewski, who they re-signed to a $1.5MM deal back in May. He had gotten $150K guaranteed, so Philly will eat that. Wisniewski had started at least six games in each of the past three seasons for the Eagles.
To help thin out their crowded running backs room, they got rid of a few well-known names. They waived Josh Adams, who rushed for 511 yards for them last year, as well as 2017 fourth-round pick Donnel Pumphrey, who has battled injuries ever since entering the league. They also cut Wendell Smallwood, who had 364 yards rushing and three touchdowns and another 230 yards and two touchdowns through the air last year.
Offensive tackle Brett Toth also failed to make the team. Toth only recently got permission from the Army to join the NFL, and he signed with the Eagles only a couple weeks ago. He seems like a prime candidate for a practice squad spot.
Aside from that, and other announced moves, the Eagles made the following roster moves over the weekend to reach the 53-player limit:
Waived:
CB Ajene Harris
CB Josh Hawkins
T Riley Mayfield
WR Greg Ward
LB Chris Worley
Released the following players:
TE Will Tye
Reserve/PUP
CB Jalen Mills
Bears Cut 34, Reach Max
The Bears reached the NFL’s mandatory 53-man limit by dropping 34 players and placing two players on IR.
Here’s the full breakdown:
Waived:
RB Josh Caldwell
RB Ryan Nall
WR Tanner Gentry
WR Taquan Mizzell Sr.
WR Marvin Hall
WR Thomas Ives
WR Joe Walker
WR Jordan Williams-Lambert
TE Ellis Richardson
TE Jesper Horsted
TE Ian Bunting
OL Jordan McCray
OL Alex Bars
OL Sam Mustipher
OL Marquez Tucker
OL Joe Lowery
OL Tommy Doles
DE Jonathan Bullard
DL Jonathan Harris
DL Jalen Dalton
DL Daryle Banfield
LB Jameer Thurman
OLB Chuck Harris
OLB Matt Betts
CB Michael Joseph
CB John Franklin III
CB Clifton Duck
S Jonathon Mincy Sr.
S Doyin Jibowu
LS John Wirtel
OLB Kylie Fitts
OLB James Vaughters
CB Stephen Denmark
Released:
QB Tyler Bray
Placed on IR:
TE Dax Raymond
G Blake Blackmar
49ers Cut Joshua Garnett, Reach Max
The 49ers got down to the 53-man roster maximum by releasing 24 players in total on Saturday, including former first-round pick Joshua Garnett.
The Niners used the No. 28 pick to select Garnett in 2016, but they never saw much from him at the pro level. The Stanford product started in eleven of his 15 games as a rookie, but even then, his performance was underwhelming – Garnett racked up penalties and didn’t excel in run blocking or pass blocking. Garnett then missed all of 2017 after undergoing knee surgery and only saw action as a reserve in seven games last year. At a rate of $10.35MM, it made little sense to keep Garnett for 2020, especially since the option would have been guaranteed for injury.
This year, Garnett is said to be healthy, but that ensured little in terms of performance, so he’s out. The Niners will save $1.7MM against $1.2MM in dead money.
Jordan Matthews was said to have had a strong camp, but the 27-year-old wide receiver wasn’t able to stick in SF. He inked a one-year, $1.8MM deal with the Niners in March, but he’ll exit with just his $300K signing bonus in hand.
Aside from Garnett and Matthews, here’s the rest of the Niners’ cuts:
Released
DB Antone Exum Jr.
DL Kevin Givens
TE Daniel Helm
WR Malik Henry
LB Elijah Lee
LB David Mayo
OL Najee Toran
RB Jeff Wilson Jr.
Waived/Injured
OL Andrew Lauderdale
Raiders Get Down To 53 Players
The Raiders have made their slew of cuts. They placed defensive tackle Justin Ellis on injured reserve, meaning he’ll miss the entire season. After starting 14 games in 2017, Oakland signed Ellis to a three-year, $15MM extension. Injuries limited him to just six games last season, so he’ll have barely played through the first two years of that extension.
Former Rams defensive lineman Ethan Westbrooks also got the boot. He started nine games for Los Angeles in 2017 and racked up four sacks. Last year he had a smaller role, although he did appear in all 16 games for the Rams. ‘Hard Knocks’ star Keelan Doss unfortunately failed to make the roster. He’s an undrafted rookie receiver from UC Davis. Additionally Keith Smith, who served as the team’s fullback last season, was released.
Waived:
WR Marcell Ateman
DE Quinton Bell
RB James Butler
LB Jason Cabinda
LB Te’von Coney
G Lester Cotton Sr.
WR Keelan Doss
LB Koa Farmer
WR Rico Gafford
WR Keon Hatcher
G/T Denver Kirkland
CB Dylan Mabin
T Justin Murray
CB Nick Nelson
WR De’Mornay Pierson-El
T Tyler Roemer
DT Anthony Rush
Released:
FB Keith Smith
DE Ethan Westbrooks
LB Kyle Wilber
Waived/injured:
TE Paul Butler
Placed on season-ending injured reserve:
DT Justin Ellis