John Wetzel

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/15/20

Today’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Chargers

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tennessee Titans

Falcons To Carry Two QBs On Practice Squad

The Falcons agreed to add 14 players to their practice squad Sunday. Teams can re-sign players they cut to P-squads if they clear waivers after Saturday’s cuts.

Atlanta will take the unusual step of carrying two P-squad quarterbacks. The team cut both Kyle Lauletta and Kurt Benkert on Saturday, but both landed on the Falcons’ taxi squad. Teams are allowed to carry 16 players — up from 10 in 2019 — on their squads.

Benkert, who was with Atlanta in 2019, and Lauletta — a recent Giants draftee who recently joined the Falcons — will play behind active-roster QBs Matt Ryan and Matt Schaub. Here is the Falcons’ full squad:

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/5/20

Today’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Denver Broncos

  • Released: DL Billy Winn
  • Waived: CB Horace Richardson

San Francisco 49ers

Falcons Release OL John Wetzel

The Falcons announced today that they released offensive lineman John Wetzel.

The 28-year-old had six separate stints with the Falcons last season, but the organization continued to turn to him whenever they had a need on the offensive line. The Boston College product ultimately got into a pair of games for Atlanta in 2019. The offensive guard previously started 19 of his 32 games for the Cardinals between the 2016 and 2017 seasons, but he was limited to only eight games (five starts) in 2018.

The organization clearly sees value in Wetzel, so it wouldn’t be a shock if the veteran landed back with the Falcons at some point. It’s worth noting that the lineman was able to sneak in a workout with the Texans between one of his runs in Atlanta.

This will likely be one of many minor moves that the Falcons make as they scrounge around for extra cap. The team’s currently sitting with around $5MM in space, although they could move on from someone like Devonta Freeman to clear up even more room.

Falcons Designate Chris Lindstrom For Return

The Falcons have designated rookie guard Chris Lindstrom to return from injured reserve, per a club announcement. In related moves, they’ve also signed offensive tackle John Wetzel and formally activated punter Matt Bosher from injured reserve. 

Lindstrom, 22, was selected by the Falcons with the No. 14 pick in the 2019 draft. He started at right guard in the season opener against the Vikings, but, unfortunately, he suffered a foot injury that landed him on injured reserve.

With his return to practice, the NFL’s 21-day window for activation begins. If Lindstrom is not activated to the 53-man roster during that window, he will not be eligible to return this season.

Bosher, 32, landed on IR prior to Week 5 matchup with a groin injury. Then, in late November, they earmarked him for return. The veteran has averaged 45.7 yards per punt during his nine seasons with the Falcons and will resume his place in the lineup starting this week against the Panthers.

NFL Workout Updates: 11/18/19

Today’s updates from the workout circuit:

Cleveland Browns

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

New York Jets

Oakland Raiders

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/15/19

Here’s a rundown of early-week minor NFL moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

  • Signed: T Dan Skipper (from Patriots’ practice squad)

Indianapolis Colts

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Signed: DE L.T. Walton

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Redskins

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/12/19

Here are Saturday’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

  • Promoted from practice squad: CB Nik Needham
  • Waived: S Doug Middleton

Minnesota Vikings

  • Promoted from practice squad: LB Cameron Smith
  • Waived: WR Davion Davis

New York Giants 

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Falcons Place Johnathan Cyprien On IR

Injuries continue to pile up for the Falcons’ defense. Just about a week after making a deal to acquire safety Johnathan Cyprien from the Eagles, the team is placing him on injured reserve, they announced in a release.

Details on his injury weren’t immediately released, but he’ll now have to miss at least the next eight weeks. The Falcons already lost starting safety Keanu Neal for the season, and traded for Cyprien in part to help replace him. Cyprien started the team’s Week 5 loss to the Texans, so it’s yet another big blow to a unit that has been one of the most banged up in the entire league the past couple of years. The Falcons are now 1-4, and at a crossroads. Owner Arthur Blank has said he’s not making a coaching change at this time, but Dan Quinn is clearly on the hot seat.

Cyprien originally entered the league as a second-round pick of the Jaguars back in 2013. After four years as a full-time starter in Jacksonville, he signed with the Titans in 2017. He missed six games with a hamstring injury that year, but started the other ten. Last year, he missed the entire season with a torn ACL, and it’s unclear if his latest injury is related to that.

The Falcons made a small flurry of corresponding roster moves. They signed cornerback D.J. White off of the Eagles’ practice squad to their active roster, signed offensive lineman John Wetzel, signed punter Sam Irwin-Hill to their practice squad and released tight end Carson Meier off of the practice squad. Wetzel has started 24 games for the Cardinals the past three years, and White is a 2016 sixth-round pick of the Chiefs who has bounced around a bit but never played much.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/5/19

Here are Saturday’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Oakland Raiders

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Released from IR with injury settlement: DT Aziz Shittu

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers