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Minor NFL Transactions: 11/29/23

November 29th, 2023 at 7:00pm CST by Ely Allen

Wednesday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Miami Dolphins

New York Jets

Tennessee Titans

After missing the Cardinals’ last six games on injured reserve, Wilkinson is now on track to return to his starting left guard post this season. Arizona has used a mixture of Trystan Colon and Carter O’Donnell to fill the spot in the interim.

King found his way to the Texans’ practice squad after being waived by the Steelers and was elevated to game action last week. After starting 25 games for Houston in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, King will be a welcome addition back to the active roster.

Hardee has missed six games with a hamstring injury. The Pro Bowl special teamer returned to practice today alongside quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Schweitzer. Schweitzer was one of several offensive linemen in New York who sustained injuries earlier this year, but after missing the four games required of an IR stint, Schweitzer is working to return, as well.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/29/23

November 29th, 2023 at 5:11pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Wednesday’s practice squad moves:

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Rumored to be eyeing kickers after rookie Chad Ryland‘s game-tying miss in Week 12, the Patriots will give Wright another opportunity. The Jaguars’ primary 2021 kicker, Wright has not kicked in a game this season. He logged six as a replacement leg — for the Steelers and Chiefs — last season. The Pats drafted Ryland in the fourth round and jettisoned Nick Folk on roster-cutdown day, trading the veteran to the Titans. Ryland has missed 35-yard field goals in back-to-back games; the Patriots will now give him competition.

Waived to make room for Monday claim Derek Barnett, Ammendola remains in place as the Texans’ Ka’imi Fairbairn fill-in. Ammendola, who also worked as a Harrison Butker replacement last season in Kansas City, will be elevated to Houston’s active roster once again, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson notes. Ammendola missed two 50-plus-yard field goals, including a game-tying 58-yard try, last week. Fairbairn, who is recovering from a strained quad, can be activated from IR next week.

Texans To Waive CB Shaquill Griffin

November 29th, 2023 at 9:52am CST by Sam Robinson

The Texans will become the second AFC South team this year to cut ties with Shaquill Griffin. Houston is waiving the veteran cornerback Wednesday, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets.

After the Jaguars released Griffin this offseason, he ended up in Houston. The Texans have used the former Seahawks draftee as a starter in six games, but the team had benched him for the past two. Although Jackson went straight to free agency following his Jacksonville release, all players cut after the trade deadline are subject to waivers.

Houston gave Griffin a one-year, $3.5MM deal in May. Because the Texans used void years to lower Griffin’s cap hit, they will be on the hook for nearly $2MM in dead money as a result of this release. But the team is healthier at corner than it has been for most of the season, leaving Griffin without a clear role.

Derek Stingley Jr., Tavierre Thomas and Grayland Arnold had missed time due to injuries this season, and the team recently re-signed Desmond King to a practice squad deal. King worked as a gameday elevation in Week 12.

The Texans used Griffin exclusively on special teams over the past two weeks, demoting the seventh-year veteran after he had logged a 95% defensive snap share in five straight games earlier this season. Griffin, 28, had entered the Texans’ starting lineup following a Stingley hamstring injury that moved the top-three draftee to IR in September. The team activated Stingley in Week 10.

Pro Football Focus measured Griffin as a mid-pack corner this season, slotting him 52nd at the position. He intercepted one pass and broke up four more in 10 Texans games. The Jaguars had given the former third-round pick a three-year, $40MM contract during Urban Meyer‘s year in charge. A back injury stalled Griffin’s Jacksonville run, ending his 2022 season after five games. The Trent Baalke–Doug Pederson regime moved on this offseason, saving $13MM in the process.

A 78-game starter during his run in Seattle, Jacksonville and Houston, Griffin could certainly land elsewhere on waivers. It will be interesting to see if another team takes a flier on the 6-foot defender.

Texans’ Tytus Howard Out For Season

November 29th, 2023 at 8:35am CST by Sam Robinson

The Texans made Tytus Howard a key component of their offseason, handing the fifth-year offensive lineman a lucrative extension. The resurgent team will not see the former first-round pick finish out the season.

After suffering a knee injury in Week 12, Howard is expected to miss the rest of the season, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. Tests have revealed Howard will need surgery. Howard did well to secure a high-end contract this summer, but this represents a blow to a Texans O-line that has already absorbed a few this year. Specifically, Howard has battled a patellar tendon issue for the past few weeks, with KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson adding the injury worsened Sunday.

Houston began the season without Howard, placing its starting right tackle on IR to start the season. Howard had undergone hand surgery. But the Texans used one of their IR activations on the 2019 draftee. Having signed George Fant in the wake of Howard’s hand injury, the Texans slid Howard to guard — a position he played at points during his rookie contract. The team has already lost three interior O-linemen — including guard starter Kenyon Green, a 2022 first-rounder — for the season. Howard joining that list doubles as the biggest blow this battered unit has sustained.

Houston is committed to Howard, who has played a few positions over the course of his career. The team gave Howard a three-year, $56MM accord. That pact came with $36MM guaranteed at signing. The Texans had drafted the Division I-FCS product during Brian Gaine‘s short run as GM, but Nick Caserio made him part of an offseason O-line blueprint. The Texans extended Laremy Tunsil and gave Shaq Mason a new deal after trading for him. The O-line fortifications have helped C.J. Stroud rocket to the Offensive Rookie of the Year lead and have played a major role in the No. 2 overall pick elevate into the MVP race.

In addition to Kenyon Green, the Texans have lost Scott Quessenberry — their primary 2022 center starter — and late-summer trade pickup Kendrick Green for the season. The team activated second-round pick Juice Scruggs just last week; the Penn State alum had missed nearly three months due to a hamstring injury sustained during the team’s preseason finale. Rookie Jarrett Patterson, who has been Houston’s primary center this season, is also on IR.

Pro Football Focus has viewed Howard’s move back to guard as a somewhat challenging odyssey, slotting him 69th at the position. Months before the Texans traded for Tunsil, they drafted Howard to play right tackle. Howard began his career there but played 10 games at guard to open the 2021 season. He then upped his stock by faring well replacing Tunsil at left tackle. Tunsil’s 2022 return slid Howard back to right tackle, and he played well enough to earn a top-five RT contract. At guard, Howard’s $18.6MM-per-year deal ranks third overall.

With Fant on a one-year contract, Howard may well be back at right tackle by the time he is healthy again. For now, Tunsil and Fant remain at tackle. Scruggs replaced Howard at right guard against the Jaguars, with free agent signing Michael Deiter remaining at center. After Scruggs missed 10 games to start his career, the No. 62 overall pick may be set to start his first game — at a position he was not drafted to play. The Texans also have trade acquisition Josh Jones, who has played both tackle and guard as a pro, as an option opposite Mason.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/28/23

November 28th, 2023 at 7:58pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Rams

  • Signed: CB Cameron McCutcheon
  • Released: OL Grant Miller

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

After getting cut by the Patriots this past weekend, Will Grier is back with the organization. Considering the uncertainty surrounding New England’s QB situation, there was some speculation that Grier could get a look before the end of the season, and his addition to the taxi squad leaves that door open. The former Cowboys backup started two games for the Panthers back in 2019, going winless while tossing zero touchdowns vs. four interceptions.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/28/23

November 28th, 2023 at 7:02pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

  • Signed to active roster: CB Ekow Boye-Doe

Miami Dolphins

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Following the addition of Michael Carter and the return of Emari Demercado, the Cardinals didn’t have any room for Keaontay Ingram. The 2022 sixth-round pick got into 20 games across one-plus seasons in Arizona, collecting 181 yards from scrimmage and one touchdown. If the running back passes through waivers, there’s a chance he lands on the Cardinals practice squad.

Charlie Heck is back on the Texans active roster after missing the first two-plus months of the season. The offensive lineman was recovering from a back injury that “involved sciatica that went down to his foot,” per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston. The former fourth-round pick will look to carve out a role after starting 17 of his 35 NFL appearances through his first three seasons in the NFL.

Texans Claim DE Derek Barnett

November 27th, 2023 at 3:31pm CST by Adam La Rose

Derek Barnett recently saw his Eagles tenure come to an end, but he has not had to wait long to find out his next NFL home. The veteran edge rusher has been claimed off waivers by the Texans, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. In a corresponding move, kicker Matt Ammendola has been waived.

Barnett was waived last Friday, leaving him subject to the wire on Monday. If he had cleared, he would have become a free agent and been able to choose his next destination. Instead, the Texans have elected to claim him and add a veteran presence to their edge contingent. Schefter notes Houston had interest in trading for Barnett in advance of the 2023 trade deadline.

The former first-rounder came up in trade talks in advance of last month’s deadline, but Barnett’s lack of playing time and production limited his value. As a pending free agent, though, his contract represented one which would have been easy to move from the Eagles’ perspective and to absorb with respect to an acquiring team. Schefter’s colleague Field Yates notes Philadelphia restructured Barnett’s deal prior to waiving him, a move which has left him with a base salary of $420K. That figure, along with some per-game roster bonuses, represents the cost the Texans will take on.

Miami was named as a team to watch with respect to adding Barnett, in large part due to the season-ending Achilles tear suffered by Jaelan Phillips. The Dolphins indeed put in a claim for Barnett, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates. With a superior record, the AFC East leaders were positioned behind Houston in the waiver priority. Now, Barnett will head to a new team for the first time in his career after an underwhelming end to his Eagles tenure.

The 27-year-old showed promise with at least five sacks in three of his first four seasons. He recorded only a pair of sacks in 2021, however, and an ACL tear suffered in Week 1 of last season left him sidelined for the first year of his extension. Barnett has been healthy this season, but he has been buried on the depth chart of a stacked Eagles defensive front. As a result, he has played just 99 defensive snaps, recording three tackles and sacks or QB pressures.

The Tennessee alum will look to carve out a more notable role in Houston, a team which has recorded only 22 sacks on the year. Starting defensive ends Jonathan Greenard and Will Anderson have combined for 10, and expectations are sky-high for the latter in particular after he was selected third overall in the 2023 draft. Still, the Texans could use experienced depth in the pass-rush department as they aim to secure an unexpected postseason berth. Playing a part in that effort could help Barnett’s free agent stock along the way.

Vic Fangio‘s consulting gig in Philly last season overlapped with Barnett’s final full tenure, though the veteran pass rusher’s Week 1 ACL tear minimizes that connection to a large degree. But the Dolphins losing Phillips wounds their pass rush. Fangio losing key edge-rushing personnel partially defined his Broncos tenure, which saw Von Miller and Bradley Chubb miss extended stretches to the point the two barely played together following the latter’s 2019 ACL tear. The Dolphins still have Chubb leading the way, and the team may well give the demoted Emmanuel Ogbah — who is attached to a four-year, $65.4MM extension that runs through 2025 — more time in the wake of Phillips’ injury.

Texans Activate C Juice Scruggs From IR

November 25th, 2023 at 5:45pm CST by Sam Robinson

NOVEMBER 25: Finally, some good news for the Texans’ interior offensive line. After season-ending injuries to Quessenberry and Kenyon and Kendrick Green, and Patterson, the substitute starter at center, getting carted off with a broken fibula, nearly a month ago, Houston is finally getting some reinforcement. The team announced that they have officially activated Scruggs from injured reserve, allowing the second-round rookie to finally be available to potentially make his NFL debut. Whether or not he plays or starts has yet to be determined. He has only been back at practice since Wednesday and is trying to unseat the team’s fourth option at center, Dieter, who currently ranks as the NFL’s 23rd-best center, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

In order to make room for Scruggs on the active roster, the Texans have waived linebacker Garret Wallow. Wallow spent most of this year on the practice squad after being waived halfway through his rookie contract in the preseason. The former fifth-round pick started five games in his first two seasons but only made an appearance this year when he was promoted to the active roster a week ago. If he clears waivers, Wallow will almost certainly be retained on a practice squad contract.

Lastly, the Texans announced that cornerback Desmond King and wide receiver Steven Sims have been activated from the practice squad as standard gameday elevations for tomorrow’s divisional matchup against the Jaguars. King has appeared in three games this year for the Steelers after spending the past two seasons in Houston as a starter. The Texans brought him back to their p-squad this week. Sims was elevated last week and caught both his targets for 25 yards. Sims also took punt returner duties, fielding two for 16 yards.

NOVEMBER 22: Juice Scruggs has endured a long journey back from the hamstring injury he suffered during the preseason. The second-round Texans draftee has not yet made his NFL debut, despite his injury occurring in the team’s preseason finale.

The Texans have finally designated the Penn State product for return Wednesday, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets. Scruggs, who was moving toward being the Texans’ starting center during training camp, now has three weeks to be activated from IR. No activation in that span will make this a true redshirt year for the high-end interior O-line prospect.

Making multiple trades for O-linemen in August, the Texans have also seen long-term injuries affect their front. Projected guard starter Kenyon Green is out for the season, and trade pickup Kendrick Green joins him on season-ending IR. The team’s primary center starter last season, Scott Quessenberry, suffered season-ending injuries — ACL and MCL tears — early during training camp. That paved the way for Scruggs, but his hamstring setback has thus far defined his rookie year.

The Texans will give the No. 62 overall pick a chance to change that soon. Houston has also dealt with center availability issues in-season. Jarrett Patterson started seven games this season, but the sixth-round rookie is on IR after being carted off the field in Week 8. Free agent pickup Michael Deiter resides as option 4 for the Texans; the ex-Dolphins third-rounder has started the past three games at center.

Houston has just two IR activations remaining this season. It stands to reason Scruggs will be given a shot to come back. Though, the 6-4 team is contending for a playoff spot. A key performer going down with a short-term injury now could still be brought back later this season, but the ascending team may need to keep players on the active roster in the event of multiweek injuries going forward. DeMeco Ryans‘ previous team ran into this issue, with the 49ers using all their IR activations during the 2022 regular season.

Scruggs has already needed to overcome obstacles to keep his career going. A 2019 car accident left his playing future in serious doubt. The 6-3, 315-pound blocker earned third-team All-Big Ten honors in 2022, cementing his status as one of the top interior linemen in this year’s class.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/23/23

November 23rd, 2023 at 8:08pm CST by Ely Allen

Thanksgiving Day transactions from around the league:

Houston Texans

Miami Dolphins

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Horton, a fourth-round rookie out of TCU, released a statement from the team that he is “dealing with a personal health matter that will keep (him) away from the team for an indefinite period of time.” His spot on the roster will be taken by Hyder, a practice squad end who is one of several former 49ers defenders to join head coach DeMeco Ryans in Houston.

The 49ers have upgraded one of their cornerback roster spots, subbing Womack in off the injured reserve for Jean-Charles. Womack was a much more active participant in his rookie season last year than Jean-Charles has been for the 49ers so far this season. While Womack was ready to return, the same could not be said for rookie fifth-round defensive end Robert Beal Jr. Beal was downgraded to out for tonight’s game and will remain on IR with his 21-day practice window still open for four more days.

Meanwhile, Miami and New York are making their standard gameday elevations for the league’s first ever Black Friday football game tomorrow.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/23/23

November 23rd, 2023 at 6:29pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s practice squad moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Houston Texans

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo reportedly didn’t practice yesterday due to injury issues with his back, per Michael Rothstein of ESPN. Atlanta will make sure their backs are covered with the signing of Wright, just in case.

Wells was waived by the Bucs yesterday in order to make room on the roster for linebacker J.J. Russell. He finds his way back to Tampa by way of a practice squad contract.

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