Dezmon Patmon

Eagles Sign WR Julio Jones

OCTOBER 21: To little surprise, Jones will make his Eagles debut on Sunday. The team announced he (along with cornerback Mekhi Garner) is a game day elevation for Week 7. Jones will thus revert back to the taxi squad after the contest, allowing two more game day call-ups before a signing on the active roster will be required. It will be interesting to see how large of a role he plays within an already capable Eagles offense during Sunday’s primetime matchup against the Dolphins.

OCTOBER 17: Already rostering one of the NFL’s top wide receiver tandems, the Eagles will add an All-Decade player to the mix. The team agreed to a deal with Julio Jones on Tuesday.

Jones, who has not played since his Buccaneers one-off in 2022, signed a one-year contract with the Eagles, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. This will be Jones’ age-34 season. Jones will reunite with ex-Titans teammate A.J. Brown and former Falcons sidekick Olamide Zaccheaus.

This is a practice squad deal, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. Since the league expanded P-squads to 16 players in 2020, teams have used the increased flexibility to stash veterans and provide ramp-up periods. The Eagles did this recently with Bradley Roby, who joined the team on a P-squad agreement before moving up to the 53-man roster days later. Jones should be expected to be on Philly’s active roster soon, with CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones indicating a real chance exists this transaction will happen before Week 7.

The Eagles are adding Jones not long after placing their No. 3 wideout, Quez Watkins, on IR. Watkins has missed three games this season and landed on IR ahead of Week 6 because of a hamstring ailment. The 5-1 team brought in Marquez Callaway and Dezmon Patmon for workouts Monday, Schefter adds, but will go with one of this era’s best receiving options. Jones is obviously well into his post-prime period by this point, but the 6-foot-3 target supplies tremendous experience — both as a lead target on a Super Bowl team and a supporting-caster on playoff-bound squads.

Philly has shown a willingness to bring in accomplished veterans near the end of their careers, doing so in 2022, when they aided their run defense by signing defensive tackles Ndamukong Suh and Linval Joseph midway through last season. Both vets stayed on the team through Super Bowl LVII. Jones, who played in Super Bowl LI with the Falcons, will sign on to chase a ring in what could very well be his final season.

Jones authored the most statistically productive five-year run by a pass catcher in NFL history, totaling 7,994 receiving yards from 2014-18. That stretch produced two first-team All-Pro nods, and Jones ripped off three second-team All-Pro seasons during his lengthy peak, one that effectively concluded with the 2019 season. That 15-game Atlanta slate represents a line of demarcation of sorts for Jones, who saw injury trouble wrap his prime during the 2020 slate. He has missed 21 games due to injury over the past three years.

The initial months of the Terry FontenotArthur Smith Falcons partnership led to a Jones trade to the Titans. Brown had pushed for the Titans to acquire Jones in 2021, and while the duo played together for a team that booked home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs, both missed time due to injuries. The hamstring trouble that slowed Jones in 2020 followed him to Tennessee. He finished the ’21 season with 34 catches for 434 yards and one touchdown. Signing with the Buccaneers last year, Jones worked as an auxiliary target alongside Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. The 12-year veteran tallied 24 catches for 299 yards and two scores for a Bucs team that cratered offensively, though a porous NFC South kept the Tom Brady-fronted team afloat en route to a playoff berth. Jones missed games but did not land on IR during his Tampa stay.

Returning this year will delay Jones’ Hall of Fame induction, though given the waits receivers regularly endure en route to Canton, the former No. 6 overall pick may not be a lock for first-ballot enshrinement. Nevertheless, the surefire Hall of Famer will join an Eagles team that endured an ugly loss to the Jets. Brown and DeVonta Smith are coming off a 1,000-1,000 season, and Zaccheaus finished with 533 yards for the 2022 Falcons. Though, the diminutive Philly native has just 74 yards this year. Watkins cannot return until Week 12, leaving a bit of a void behind Brown and Smith. Howie Roseman will see if Jones can help fill it for the Super Bowl-contending squad.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/12/23

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Signed: LB Ty Shelby
  • Released: OT Austen Pleasants

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/5/23

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Atlanta Falcons

  • Signed: S Lukas Denis
  • Placed on IR: OT Barry Wesley

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders added a veteran wideout to their practice squad in Keelan Cole Sr.. The 30-year-old spent the majority of the 2022 campaign in Las Vegas, hauling in 10 catches for 141 yards and one touchdown. He was productive in 31 games with the Jaguars and Jets between 2020 and 2021, catching 83 passes for 1,091 yards and six touchdowns.

Cole will be taking the spot held by Antoine Wesley, who earned his walking papers today. The former UDFA got into 15 games for the Cardinals in 2021, finishing with 19 catches for 208 yards and three touchdowns.

Bills Begin Roster Cuts, Release 7

Teams have until Tuesday afternoon to get their 90-man rosters down to 53, but a number of them are deep into that process already with the preseason now in the books. The Bills trimmed their roster on Sunday by releasing the following seven players:

Each player, with the exception of White, has regular season NFL experience, although none have much in the way of game action. Sternberger is the most notable name on the list, given his time with the Packers to start his career. The former third-rounder had plenty of expectations after his career at Texas A&M, but things did not go according to plan in Green Bay.

Sternberger logged only 18 games across two seasons with the team, and his last NFL action came in 2020. He bounced around to the Commanders and Steelers after his time in Green Bay came to an end, and he played in the USFL this past spring. The 27-year-old led the league in receiving touchdowns with the Birmingham Stallions, which landed him an opportunity with the Bills. He will instead wind up on their practice squad or find himself in search of another new NFL home.

Depth along the offensive line, especially at the tackle position, has been a talking point for Buffalo this summer. McGhin, who has bounced around several teams’ practice squads in his career, has made two career appearances – though they both came in 2019. Especially if Buffalo elects not to add more experienced fill-in options up front in the coming days, he could find himself on the team’s taxi squad.

NFL Reserve/Futures Deals: 1/23/23

Today’s reserve/futures deals, mostly featuring teams recently eliminated from the postseason:

Buffalo Bills

Dallas Cowboys

Jacksonville Jaguars

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 1/17/23

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Buffalo Bills

Kansas City Chiefs

Philadelphia Eagles

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/22/22

Here are the league’s minor moves going into Week 7:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

New York Giants

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/5/22

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Chargers

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

  • Signed: OT Sebastian Gutierrez

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Commanders

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/4/22

Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:

Cleveland Browns

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Minnesota Vikings

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Designated for return from IR: WR Calvin Austin

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

Cine has now undergone two surgeries in London to repair his leg fracture. The first-round pick underwent a preparatory procedure before his Tuesday operation to repair the compound fracture he sustained. The Georgia product will stay in England for the time being, with Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press noting (via Twitter) doctors want to ensure no infections develop. Cine could travel back to Minnesota as soon as this weekend.

Following Latavius Murray off the Saints’ practice squad this week, Wilson did not see any action for the team this season. The former multiyear Vikings starter signed a one-year, $2.75MM Eagles deal in 2021, but Philadelphia bailed on that contract during the season. Wilson, 28, finished last season with the Texans. In his lone full season as a Vikings starter (2020), Wilson made 122 tackles, registered three sacks and intercepted three passes.

Addison signed with the Texans shortly after the draft, joining fellow ex-Bills edge rusher Jerry Hughes in joining the rebuilding team on a two-year deal. The Texans placed Addison on IR with a groin injury; he is eligible to be activated to the 53-man roster this week. Teams can make eight activations from their injured lists — be it IR, PUP or NFI — this season.

Colts’ Quenton Nelson Returns To Practice

Colts guard Quenton Nelson has been designated for return. Ditto for rookie defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo and wide receiver Dezmon Patmon, who also took to the practice field on Wednesday.

Nelson could potentially play against the 49ers on Sunday night, but that’ll all depend on how his practice sessions go this week. Whenever he returns, it’ll be a big boost to the Colts’ front five.

[He’s] an elite leader, not just an elite player,” head coach Frank Reich said earlier this month (via ESPN.com).

The multiple-time All-Pro has been sidelined for weeks with a high-ankle sprain, unfamiliar territory for the otherwise healthy lineman. Before this, Nelson hadn’t missed a game through his first three years in the NFL.

Nelson, the sixth-overall pick in the 2018 draft, stands as one of the top offensive guards in the game. Barring any further complications, he’s expected to ink a record-setting extension come next year. In the meantime, he’s focused on the task at hand — helping the Colts gain ground in the AFC South.

After an 0-3 start, the Colts have rallied somewhat to win two of their last three. Now 2-4, the Colts have a chance to close in on the 4-2 Titans.