Minor NFL Transactions: 8/30/24
Here are Friday’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Released from IR via injury settlement: RB Tony Jones Jr.
Kansas City Chiefs
- Waived: CB Eric Scott Jr.
New England Patriots
- Released from IR via injury settlement: T Calvin Anderson
Players let go through injury settlements are open to return to their previous teams after an agreed-upon period of time. Jones could therefore return to the Cardinals’ backfield later on in 2024, after he played three games with the team last year. The 26-year-old has also seen time with the Saints and Seahawks, logging a rotational role while contributing on special teams.
Like Jones, Anderson (who missed time last year with malaria) will be able to sign with any interested team if he does not return to New England. The latter made five appearances with New England last season, starting twice. He was one of several players competing for a spot on the Patriots’ uncertain tackle depth chart until being placed on injured reserve during final roster cutdowns. A Broncos blocker from 2020-22, Anderson has 14 total starts to his name and could provide a depth option to his next team once healthy.
Marquise Brown Expected To Miss Chiefs’ Week 1 Matchup
Kansas City’s receiving corps looks quite different from the group it trotted out to open last season. While the Chiefs ultimately won Super Bowl LVIII anyway, they made the expected call to revamp their pass-catching contingent this offseason.
One of the players brought in, as expected, will not be available to open the season. After suffering an injury during the Chiefs’ preseason opener, Marquise Brown is not expected to play in Week 1 against the Ravens, per Andy Reid.
The former Baltimore first-rounder sustained an SC joint injury comparable to Tyreek Hill‘s from 2019. The all-time great went down in Week 1 of the ’19 season and did not return until Week 6 that year. Brown suffered his injury August 10, potentially putting Kansas City’s Week 2 matchup — after the upcoming post-Thursday mini-bye — in play for the free agent signing’s debut.
Reid’s early assessment of Brown’s status comes after SI.com’s Albert Breer indicated the former Ravens and Cardinals starter would miss early-season time. The Chiefs open with the Ravens and Bengals, potentially needing to count on others against Cincinnati as well. Since signing Brown, however, the two-time reigning champions added Xavier Worthy in Round 1, re-signed Mecole Hardman and reunited with JuJu Smith-Schuster after the Patriots cut bait. With Travis Kelce available after missing last season’s opener, the Chiefs appear better equipped than they were against the Lions last year.
While Brett Veach compared the injury to Hill’s 2019 malady, the eighth-year GM is optimistic. Kansas City’s decision to leave Brown on the active roster, rather than use a cutdown-day IR-return designation, reflects the team’s belief the offseason pickup can come back soon. Brown would have been down for at least four games had Kansas City placed him on IR.
“I probably can confidently say it was similar to Tyreek, and I think given that timeline I think it falls within the timeline that Tyreek went through, but I know he’s here every day,” Veach said. “He’s to the point now where he can laugh without pain, so that’s a good thing. He’s certainly trending in the right direction, and look, there was a reason why we didn’t put him on the IR to start the season.”
Brown has gone through some injury bouts as a pro. A Lisfranc issue plagued him as a rookie, though the 2019 draftee played 14 games that year. The Cardinals rarely saw a fully healthy Brown. More foot trouble intervened last season, causing Brown to miss five games in 2022. The Oklahoma alum also played through a heel injury for much of the 2023 season, ultimately missing three games. The Chiefs will hope for a September return.
Wednesday NFL Transactions: AFC West
Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline Tuesday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters. In addition to waiver claims, teams can begin constructing their 16-man practice squads today. These Broncos, Chargers, Chiefs and Raiders moves are noted below.
Denver Broncos
Signed:
Claimed:
Signed to practice squad:
- RB Tyler Badie, WR Michael Bandy, FB Michael Burton, G Nick Gargiulo, DE Matt Henningsen, WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey, DB Tanner McCalister, NT Jordan Miller, CB Quinton Newsome, TE Donald Parham, G William Sherman, WR David Sills, CB Reese Taylor, G Calvin Throckmorton, OLB Dondrea Tillman, TE Thomas Yassmin
Kansas City Chiefs
Signed:
Claimed:
- CB Eric Scott Jr.
Waived:
- CB Nic Jones
Signed to practice squad:
- S Deon Bush, TE Baylor Cupp, WR Justyn Ross, QB Bailey Zappe
Las Vegas Raiders
Signed:
Claimed:
- DB Thomas Harper, DT Jonah Laulu
Waived:
- DT Byron Young
Placed on IR:
Signed to practice squad:
- DE David Agoha, WR Alex Bachman, QB Carter Bradley, G Ben Brown, DT Matthew Butler, WR Jalen Guyton, RB Sincere McCormick, C Will Putnam, S Phalen Sanford, TE John Samuel Shenker, DE Charles Snowden, T Dalton Wagner, CB Sam Webb, WR Kristian Wilkerson
Los Angeles Chargers
Signed:
Claimed:
Waived:
- DB JT Woods
Signed to practice squad:
- OLB Andrew Farmer, LB Shaquille Quarterman
Chiefs To Add Bailey Zappe To Practice Squad
Both the Chiefs’ starting and backup quarterbacks are locked in, but the defending Super Bowl champions are adding a third option to work behind Patrick Mahomes and Carson Wentz.
Andy Reid will see what he can coax from Bailey Zappe, with NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reporting the former Patriots backup/spot starter is joining the Chiefs on a practice squad deal. Zappe has once again cleared waivers, but this time he will leave New England.
Mahomes has not missed a game due to injury since the 2019 season, though he did miss time during the 2020 and ’22 divisional-round games. Wentz signed this year, after the Chiefs pursued him in 2023; those two are the only active-roster Chiefs arms. Zappe will attempt to reset in Missouri and learn from one of the best coaches in NFL history.
Generating fanfare after winning two games as a rookie, Zappe started eight games in two seasons. He is a 63.2% passer who holds an 11-to-12 TD-to-INT ratio. Zappe, who threw a Division I-FBS-record 62 touchdown passes during his lone season with Western Kentucky, has averaged 6.8 yards per attempt as a pro. He played in three Pats offenses in three years, so learning a new scheme will be rather familiar territory for the former fourth-round pick.
The Pats had waived Zappe in 2023, completing an unusual plan that had Mac Jones as the only QB on the roster for a bit. Zappe did return and eventually replaced a struggling Jones late last season. Zappe closed the 2023 slate as New England’s starter, but the team — now under Eliot Wolf‘s guidance — overhauled its QB room by signing Jacoby Brissett and drafting Drake Maye and Joe Milton. The sixth-round Tennessee prospect beat out Zappe for the Patriots’ QB3 gig.
2024 NFL Waiver Order
Waiver claims can begin coming in at 11am CT. While the waiver order will depend on 2024 records in several weeks, teams’ 2023 finishes currently determine it. Here is how the waiver priority list stacks up heading into today’s round of claims:
- Carolina Panthers
- Washington Commanders
- New England Patriots
- Arizona Cardinals
- Los Angeles Chargers
- New York Giants
- Tennessee Titans
- Atlanta Falcons
- Chicago Bears
- New York Jets
- Minnesota Vikings
- Denver Broncos
- Las Vegas Raiders
- New Orleans Saints
- Indianapolis Colts
- Seattle Seahawks
- Jacksonville Jaguars
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Los Angeles Rams
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Miami Dolphins
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Cleveland Browns
- Dallas Cowboys
- Green Bay Packers
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Houston Texans
- Buffalo Bills
- Detroit Lions
- Baltimore Ravens
- San Francisco 49ers
- Kansas City Chiefs
Chiefs, JuJu Smith-Schuster Agree To Deal
AUGUST 28: This second Smith-Schuster deal with Kansas City will be for the veteran minimum, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets. As an eighth-year player, that checks out to $1.21MM. As expected, this is a one-year contract.
AUGUST 26: JuJu Smith-Schuster‘s tenure with the Patriots did not go to plan, but he will spend the 2024 campaign looking to rebuild his value with a familiar team. The veteran wideout is signing with the Chiefs, as first reported by veteran insider Jordan Schultz. 
Smith-Schuster spent the 2022 campaign in Kansas City after his five-year Steelers spell. His first Chiefs deal carried a value of $3.76MM on a one-year accord as he looked to earn a long-term investment on the open market the following season. The 27-year-old had the second most productive season of his career with Kansas City (78 catches, 933 yards), earning himself a payday from the Patriots.
Looking to add at the receiver spot, New England made a three-year, $25.5MM commitment to Smith-Schuster. Expectations were high for the former second-rounder, but he was dealing with a knee injury for much of the campaign. Playing at less than 100% – and as a member of one of the league’s least-productive offenses – he only managed a statline of only 29-260-1. That left Smith-Schuster as a cut candidate, and earlier this month the Patriots did indeed move on despite his 2024 base salary ($7MM) being fully guaranteed.
Kansas City’s latest Super Bowl win came in spite of inconsistent play at the receiver position, so it came as little surprise the team’s offseason was defined in large part by efforts at bolstering the position. Marquise Brown was added on a one-year deal in free agency, while Xavier Worthy was selected in the first round of the draft. Brown could be sidelined for the start of the season through injury, though, and uncertainty looms regarding a potential suspension being levied against Rashee Rice. Regardless of what happens on that front, Smith-Schuster will represent another, familiar option in the passing game.
Kadarius Toney – who has one year remaining on his rookie contract – is known to be on the Chiefs’ roster bubble. Reuniting with Smith-Schuster is certainly not a positive sign for his ability to avoid being cut or traded in the next two days, but it remains to be seen how Kansas City will proceed. For Smith-Schuster, meanwhile, another low-cost deal no doubt awaits him but he has the potential to again boost his market with a strong Chiefs campaign.
Chiefs Trim Roster To 53
Moving on from wideouts Kadarius Toney and Justyn Ross, the Chiefs are down to 53. Here is how the two-time defending champs got there:
Released:
- S Deon Bush
- LB Cole Christiansen
- DT Matt Dickerson
- TE Irv Smith Jr.
Waived:
- RB Emani Bailey
- LB Swayze Bozeman
- TE Baylor Cupp
- DT Neil Farrell
- T Chukwuebuka Godrick
- CB Kamal Hadden
- RB Keaontay Ingram
- LB Curtis Jacobs
- DE Truman Jones
- DT Fabian Lovett
- CB D.J. Miller
- T Lucas Niang
- QB Chris Oladokun
- WR Cornell Powell
- RB Deneric Prince
- RB Louis Rees-Zammit
- WR Nikko Remigio
- CB Keith Taylor
- WR Montrell Washington
Drafted in the 2020 third round with a path toward becoming the Chiefs’ starting right tackle, Niang has been unable to stay healthy. Niang’s contract tolled after he opted out of the 2020 season, and while he did start nine games during the ’21 campaign, the team has been unable to count on the TCU alum. Niang suffered a torn patellar tendon late in the 2021 slate and missed most of the ’22 season. Andrew Wylie took over at RT, and the Chiefs signed Jawaan Taylor to a $20MM-per-year deal in 2023.
The team traded for Cowboys tight end Peyton Hendershot earlier today, having done so months after drafting TCU’s Jared Wiley in Round 4. This will lead Smith off the roster. A second-generation NFL tight end, Smith has 21 starts on his resume but has also dealt with significant injury trouble.
Many of these players will end up on Kansas City’s practice squad, which can house up to six vested veterans. Waived players can begin joining teams’ P-squads — if they go unclaimed, that is — beginning at 11am CT on Wednesday.
Cowboys To Trade TE Peyton Hendershot To Chiefs
The Chiefs are making another trade. After acquiring Cardinals edge rusher Cameron Thomas late last night, Kansas City is adding to its tight end group.
Dallas is sending backup tight end Peyton Hendershot to Kansas City, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. A third-year UDFA, Hendershot has totaled 15 receptions for 141 yards in his career. The Cowboys will obtain a conditional 2026 seventh-round pick in the deal, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini tweets.
Despite the Chiefs still rostering one of the greatest tight ends in NFL history, they are adding some depth. Not employing any tight end on Travis Kelce‘s level, the Cowboys are still set at the position. They have 2023 starter Jake Ferguson, former second-round pick Luke Schoonmaker and UDFA John Stephens.
Kansas City added to its tight end group by drafting TCU’s Jared Wiley in Round 4. Multiyear Kelce backup Noah Gray is now in a contract year, and the team did not retain Jody Fortson this offseason. Kelce’s status is, of course, unthreatened; he received a raise this offseason and remains signed through 2025.
Hendershot only logged 165 offensive snaps last season, and while Pro Football Focus viewed his pass blocking as elite, that only came on a nine-snap sample size. Hendershot, 25, did notch two 500-plus-yard seasons at Indiana. One of those included a 622-yard, four-touchdown showing (2021). The Chiefs now have him under contract through the 2025 season.
Chiefs To Waive WRs Kadarius Toney, Justyn Ross
In a move which has recently been foreshadowed, Kadarius Toney is being let go. The former first-round wideout is set to be waived by the Chiefs, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
As colleague Tom Pelissero notes, Kansas City had been trying to find a trade partner for Toney. With no agreement coming on that front, the defending champions will move on. After an underwhelming 2023 campaign, the 25-year-old was known to be on the Chiefs’ roster bubble. He will now hit the waiver wire. In addition to cutting Toney, the Chiefs are moving on from former UDFA Justyn Ross, veteran reporter Jordan Schultz adds.
Toney entered the league with high expectations based on his draft status and his highlight-reel ability shown in college. His tenure in New York after only 12 games, however, with a trade midway through the 2022 campaign sending him to Kansas City in return for third- and sixth-round picks. The Florida product had a strong showing in Super Bowl LVII, suggesting he would have a regular role during his first full campaign with the team.
Both Toney and Ross came with baggage, and the Chiefs augmented their receiver situation significantly since acquiring each. A former freshman standout at Clemson, Ross saw a neck injury alter his career. While he recovered, the ex-Trevor Lawrence target went undrafted. Ross also landed on the commissioner’s exempt list last season in connection with a domestic battery arrest.
Toney held a bigger role in Kansas City, but his issues staying healthy in New York carried over. Toney missed time due to multiple injuries, but the Chiefs’ offense fared better with the shifty Florida alum out of the mix late last season. Toney took issue with his Chiefs status last year, criticizing the team for keeping him sidelined during the playoffs. This blast came hours before the AFC championship game, and the Chiefs subsequently made Toney a healthy scratch for Super Bowl LVIII. Nevertheless, Andy Reid welcomed Toney back for the 2024 offseason program. An experiment with Toney as a running back did not pan out, either.
The Chiefs harbored hopes of turning Toney into their No. 1 receiver last year. He fell well short of expectations and played the lead role, with supporting contributions from Skyy Moore and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, in a clunky season for Kansas City’s receiving corps — most memorably via the infamous offensive offside infraction that negated Toney’s own go-ahead TD against the Bills. The two-time defending champs signed Marquise Brown, drafted Xavier Worthy in Round 1 and just reunited with JuJu Smith-Schuster. The team also re-signed Mecole Hardman this offseason, crowding a receiving corps that suddenly has Moore in a fringe position.
If Toney goes unclaimed on waivers, the Chiefs will eat $2.53MM in dead money. A team claiming Toney would be on the hook for that total (his 2024 base salary), making it a bit easier to envision another club swooping in via free agency. That said, Toney has flashed brightly at points. He has just been wildly inconsistent, leading to this Chiefs separation.
Sam Robinson contributed to this post
Charles Omenihu To Start Season On Chiefs’ PUP List; BJ Thompson To Stay On NFI
As the Chiefs embark on their threepeat quest, they will be without one of their edge-rushing regulars. Charles Omenihu is remaining on the team’s PUP list, moving to the reserve/PUP to start the season.
The two-time reigning champions are hopeful the 2023 free agency addition will be ready to return in November, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. The former Texans and 49ers edge player suffered an ACL tear during the Chiefs’ AFC championship game win in Baltimore and had been expected to start the season off the roster.
Omenihu, who turned 27 last week, must miss only four games because of this transaction. But it appears clear the Chiefs are not expecting him back until around midseason. Considering Omenihu suffered the tear in late January, it is not surprising to see this timetable emerge.
The Chiefs gave Omenihu a two-year, $16MM deal as a free agent last year. Despite beginning last season by serving a six-game suspension — for a January 2023 domestic violence arrest — and then ending it with an ACL tear, Omenihu already proclaimed himself deserving of a new contract. He did total seven sacks in 11 games and then add an eighth during his abbreviated Ravens matchup, forcing two fumbles. But it appears he will need to wait there; the Chiefs will likely gauge Omenihu’s post-surgery form before making a move.
Kansas City has former first-rounder George Karlaftis anchoring its edge rush, and the team re-signed versatile D-lineman Mike Danna this offseason. The Chiefs did not give 2023 first-rounder Felix Anudike-Uzomah much playing time as a rookie, but Omenihu being moved off the roster opens the door for the Kansas City-area native.
Another defensive end will also begin the season off Kansas City’s roster. BJ Thompson, who went into cardiac arrest during a June special teams meeting, will begin the season on the NFI list, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero notes. Thompson suffered a seizure and was hospitalized. The Chiefs are expecting the 2023 fifth-round pick to play this season, however.