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Minor NFL Transactions: 8/14/22

August 14th, 2022 at 5:00pm CST by Rory Parks

We will keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Green Bay Packers

New England Patriots

  • Signed: CB Devin Hafford

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

The most notable name amongst the Cardinals’ cuts is Keke. The 25-year-old made 17 starts with the Packers over the past two seasons, and was claimed off waivers by the Texans in February. Houston cut him in May, however, leading him to the Cardinals. In the waning months of the offseason, the 2019 fifth-rounder will need to find another NFL home in time for Week 1.

Another recent Packers draftee being let go is Martin. The 2020 fifth-rounder made six appearances last season with Carolina, playing all-but exclusively on special teams. Each of the team’s other roster cuts had yet to play in for the Panthers, including Westry, who had showed potential in 2021 when briefly starting for the Ravens.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/11/22

August 11th, 2022 at 5:45pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor transactions:

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

  • Reverted to IR: RB Tyreik McAllister

Green Bay Packers

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Packers Notes: Rodgers, Bakhtiari, Jenkins

August 10th, 2022 at 9:54pm CST by Ben Levine

The Packers are hoping a pair of rookie wideouts will help replace the production of former receiver Davante Adams. Second-round pick Christian Watson and fourth-round pick Romeo Doubs will be expected to contribute during the 2022 campaign, and while the duo obviously doesn’t have the expertise of a veteran wideout, quarterback Aaron Rodgers understands GM Brian Gutekunst‘s decision to pivot toward youth.

“We’re still a draft-and-develop team,” Rodgers told SI.com’s Albert Breer. “I know we say that a lot; that’s most of the league, they’d like to be like that. There are less teams like the old Washington [teams] when they were trying to buy a team in free agency in many years. You’d like to draft guys and develop them and give them second contracts in-house. But there are needs and there are opportunities. I’ve always felt like adding one or two veteran guys at or around the minimum can really pay huge dividends in important spots.

“We’ve relied on young guys for much of my career. There are pros and cons to both those things. But I like Brian and his staff, and I think everybody in the building, myself included, has tried to focus on growing a little bit more and communicating a little bit more.”

Rodgers mentions a team’s need for cheap veterans, and Breer notes that the Packers are still open to adding another receiver. Once Watson returns to the practice field, Green Bay’s young duo will join Allen Lazard, Sammy Watkins, and Randall Cobb atop the depth chart.

More notes out of Green Bay:

  • With Tom Brady turning 45 last week, Rodgers was asked if he could envision himself playing in the NFL until that age. “No, I don’t,” Rodgers answered definitively (via Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com). Rodgers is set to turn 39 in December.
  • During a recent podcast appearance, Rodgers admitted to using a psychedelic called ayahuasca. According to Peter King of Football Morning in America, the NFL won’t be retroactively punishing Rodgers for use of the plant, especially since he didn’t test positive for a banned substance. Both the league and the NFLPA confirmed to PFT’s Mike Florio that ayahuasca is “neither a prohibited compound under the substance-abuse policy nor a PED.” As Florio notes, there is some precedent for the NFL going after a player who admits to using “a given substance,” with the league previously attempting to put Randy Moss in a drug-test program after he admitted to smoking marijuana “every blue moon.”
  • Some good news on the injury front for the Packers. Gutekunst told reporters that he’s hopeful offensive linemen David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins will both return from their respective injuries early on during the 2022 campaign. “They are both doing really, really well. I think they both have a shot to play early in the season,” Gutekunst said (h/t to Zach Kruse of PackersWire). “They are progressing very well.” Bakhtiari tore his ACL in December of 2020, and he was active for only one January contest during the 2021 campaign. Jenkins tore his ACL during Week 11 of the 2021 season. Both offensive linemen were placed on PUP to begin training camp, and there’s probably little chance we see them during the preseason.
  • The Packers had in a handful of RBs for a workout earlier this week. According to ESPN’s Field Yates (on Twitter), Dexter Williams, Kalen Ballage, Jaylen Samuels, Stevie Scott, and Calvin Turner auditioned for the team. Green Bay ended up signing Williams earlier today.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/10/22

August 10th, 2022 at 5:41pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Signed: RB DeAndre Torrey

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Elgton Jenkins Likely To Stay On PUP List To Start Regular Season

August 8th, 2022 at 4:27pm CST by Sam Robinson

The offseason rumors of Elgton Jenkins‘ return not transpiring until at least October are looking likelier to be true. The Pro Bowl offensive lineman is likely to begin the season on the reserve/PUP list, Matt Schneidman of The Athletic notes (subscription required).

Players currently on teams’ active/PUP lists have until August 23 to be activated. If activations do not take place, they must begin the regular season on the reserve/PUP list — a roster designation that requires a minimum four-game absence to start the season. The potential unavailability of Jenkins and All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari continues to complicate matters for the Packers’ offensive front.

Jenkins, who has played a few spots along Green Bay’s offensive line, suffered his ACL tear on Nov. 21, 2021, going down on a noncontact play. If he remains on the PUP list going into the season, the earliest he could return would be the team’s Oct. 9 game against the Giants. That would be on the longer end for an ACL return, though these severe knee injuries — as Bakhtiari’s complications from a New Year’s Eve 2020 tear show — affect each player differently. The Packers also are known for injury-related caution.

Bakhtiari remains on Green Bay’s active/PUP list as well. The team managed to go 14-2, prior to a meaningless Week 18 loss to the Lions, with its starters last season. That came entirely without Bakhtiari and partially without Jenkins, who missed 10 games (counting Green Bay’s divisional-round loss to San Francisco).

The Packers have been using Jon Runyan Jr. as their first-string left guard during camp, per Schneidman, who adds a combination of Yosh Nijman, Zach Tom, Royce Newman and Jake Hanson have been combining to fill the other three tackle and guard posts. The Packers used third- and fourth-round picks on Sean Rhyan and Tom, respectively, this year. Josh Myers, who also missed a chunk of last season, remains at center. The team’s first depth chart listed Nijman at left tackle, Newman at right tackle and Hanson, a third-year blocker, at right guard.

Jenkins, who filled in for Bakhtiari at left tackle to start last season, is going into a contract year. A strong return from the ACL tear would put him in position to command top-tier guard money. He was a Pro Bowl guard alongside Bakhtiari, who signed a top-tier tackle contract weeks before his ACL tear, in 2020. Of course, the longer both he and Bakhtiari remain out the more questions it will generate about the state of Green Bay’s O-line.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/7/22

August 7th, 2022 at 8:05pm CST by Rory Parks

We will keep track of today’s minor moves right here:

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Green Bay Packers

Jacksonville Jaguars

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Washington Commanders

Saffold landed on the NFI list after injuring his ribs in a car accident. Getting their starting left guard back sooner rather than later is an important development for the Bills.

Colburn will take the place of Cottrell in the Jags’ RB room. The Wake Forest product played in four games for the USFL’s Philadelphia Stars this year, garnering 102 rushes for 457 yards (just under 4.5 YPC) and eight scores.

Cottrell has seen action in each of the past two years for Jacksonville, returning seven kicks in 2020 and handling one carry in 2021.

Wolf and Parker get preseason roster positions after successful workouts yesterday. The Commanders are looking for depth at both positions as they work towards a 53-man roster.

No Deal Imminent For Odell Beckham Jr.; Rams Still Interested In Reunion

August 7th, 2022 at 5:48pm CST by Adam La Rose

The onset of training camps has brought about another wave of veterans signing new deals, or at least meeting with prospective teams in the hopes of landing a contract. Odell Beckham Jr. is still unlikely to be included in either scenario in the immediate future, but the free agent remains a name worth watching. 

Multiple NFC teams have expressed interest in signing the 29-year-old in recent months, and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that he could still have a number of suitors (video link). The Buccaneers expressed interest before signing Julio Jones, and Rapoport “expects” the Packers to still be included among the teams willing to sign him, given the lack of proven options in their re-worked receiving corps.

The landing spot Beckham remains most connected to, though, is Los Angeles. Rapoport adds that the Rams “still have maintained interest” in a reunion as the offseason has progressed. His level of play after joining the team midseason – 593 yards and seven touchdowns in 12 total games – led to the team expressing optimism about a deal being finalized this offseason. The three-time Pro Bowler has reciprocated that desire, but is still not expected to sign with anyone soon.

As he continues to recover from the torn ACL he suffered in the Super Bowl, Beckham won’t be available to play for several weeks to begin the season. That timeframe allows him to approach free agency without the urgency of healthy players, leaving open the possibility that he remains a free agent well into the campaign. On that point, Rapoport adds that nothing is considered “imminent” with respect to a contract being signed this summer.

The Rams still have Cooper Kupp at the top of their WR depth chart, and added Allen Robinson in free agency. The loss of Robert Woods leaves a starting spot available, though, and with over $8MM available in cap space, the team could afford a modest deal for Beckham. As the pool of available free agents continues to shrink, it will be interesting to watch how his market develops over time.

Injury Rumors: Evans, Pringle, Linderbaum, Savage, McKethan

August 6th, 2022 at 2:00pm CST by Ely Allen

As practices start to ramp up leading into the preseason, injuries are starting to rear their ugly heads. Here are a few rumors on injuries we’ve seen so far:

  • It appears that Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans has suffered a minor hamstring injury, according to Jenna Laine of ESPN. Laine reports that, despite a history of nagging hamstring issues, this minor injury will be no threat to Evans’ Week 1 status. Hamstring injuries caused Evans to miss a game last season and forced him to injured reserve in Week 14 of the 2019 season. Evans has shown incredible resiliency, as the 13 games played in 2019 were the least he’s ever played in a season. He’s had a strong history of never letting injuries keep him out for long and never keeping him from reaching the 1,000-yard receiving mark.
  • Wide receiver Byron Pringle joined the Bears after a bit of a breakout season with the Chiefs last year. Chicago head coach Matt Eberflus told reporters that, unfortunately, Pringle’s debut with the Bears may be a little delayed, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. The fourth-year receiver out of Kansas State suffered a quad injury that Eberflus says will cause him to “be out for some time.” Pringle’s only history with injuries in the NFL came two years ago when he spent three weeks on injured reserve with an ankle injury.
  • One of the Ravens’ two first-round picks, center Tyler Linderbaum suffered a lower leg injury this week that should hold him out for a short time, according to ESPN’s Jamison Hensley. “It’s not a serious thing,” head coach John Harbaugh explained after Friday’s practice. “It’s going to be probably at least a week…It could be two weeks. We’ll see.” Linderbaum, the first ever center that Baltimore has utilized a first-round pick on, is expected to take the starting job as a rookie and will play a large role in a comeback season for a Ravens team that saw their 2020 season derailed by a litany of season-ending injuries.
  • While trying to cover wide receiver Amari Rodgers in one-on-ones yesterday, Packers safety Darnell Savage suffered a hamstring injury and was forced to sit out the rest of practice, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. Savage downplayed the severity of the injury when talking to reporters. “I don’t think it’s a concern,” Savage said. “It’s a fast-people injury. Some of those things you can’t avoid. I’ll just handle it the right way…and I’ll be alright.”
  • Giants fifth-round pick Marcus McKethan suffered an ACL injury yesterday and will be out for his entire rookie season, according to Field Yates of ESPN. The offensive guard out of North Carolina was a reserve depth piece on New York’s line and was not expected to have much of an impact during his first NFL season, but a season-ending injury to any of a team’s players is never good news.

Packers Promote Jon-Eric Sullivan

August 3rd, 2022 at 2:04pm CST by Sam Robinson
  • The Packers promoted Jon-Eric Sullivan recently. The veteran executive is now serving as the team’s VP of of player personnel. A Packers staffer since 2004, Sullivan has worked his way up from the regional scouting ranks. When Brian Gutekunst was hired as GM in 2018, Sullivan became the team’s co-player personnel director alongside John Wojciechowski. Green Bay also promoted Chris Gaines and Sean Linton to college scouts.

NFL Workouts: 7/29/22

July 29th, 2022 at 9:00pm CST by Ely Allen

Here’s a list of minor players who visited or worked out for an NFL team today:

Carolina Panthers

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Washington Commanders

Howard had recently also worked out for the Saints, along with Bo Scarbrough, according to Nick Underhill at New Orleans Football Network. Howard has bounced between Philadelphia and Miami with limited success since averaging 1,123 rushing yards per season and totaling 24 rushing touchdowns in his first three seasons with the Bears. Injuries and limited productivity have really hurt Howard’s success over the past three years.

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