Kerrith Whyte Jr.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/30/21

Today’s taxi squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

New England Patriots

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

Jaguars Add WR John Brown To Practice Squad

The Jaguars have added two notable offensive players to their practice squad. The team signed wideout John Brown and running back Jordan Wilkins to the p-squad, the team announced. The organization also released running back Kerrith Whyte Jr. from the practice squad.

Brown spent the offseason with the Raiders but was part of the team’s final cuts. He later caught on with the Broncos and got into two games with the squad, although he was limited to only 12 offensive snaps. The 31-year-old had a 1,000-yard season as recently as 2019, so there’s a chance he still has something left in the tank. The Jaguars have been looking for some reinforcement at receiver since DJ Chark went down with an injury, and Brown will be the latest option they’ll take a look at.

Wilkins was a fifth-round pick by the Colts back in 2018, and he saw time in 45 games through his first three seasons in the NFL. He got 230 touches with Indy, collecting 1,184 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns. The 27-year-old was cut by the Colts in late October.

Whyte was a seventh-round pick by the Bears in 2019, and he’s since spent time with the Steelers, Lions, Bills, and Jaguars. He saw time in six games with Pittsburgh, collecting 131 yards from scrimmage. He joined Jacksonville in early October.

Bills Place G Forrest Lamp On IR

As the second of this year’s cutdown days approaches, the Bills made multiple additions. However, they also placed guard Forrest Lamp on IR. Lamp will not be able to suit up for the Bills this season.

A calf injury prevented Lamp from practicing much during Buffalo’s training camp, and the team will move him to IR to save a roster spot. The former Chargers second-round pick could play this season, but only if he and the Bills reach an injury settlement that takes him off the team’s IR list. The NFL’s newly flexible IR rule, which allows players to return to active rosters after three weeks, only applies after the season starts.

Injuries have dogged Lamp for most of his pro career. He missed all of his 2017 rookie season with an ACL tear, and he missed the second half of the 2019 season due to a broken ankle. Overall, the former higher-end offensive line prospect has been limited to 25 games as a pro. However, 16 of those came last season.

The Bolts used Lamp as a 16-game starter but did not re-sign him, leading the Western Kentucky product to Buffalo. The Bills guaranteed $350K of Lamp’s one-year, $1.1MM contract.

In other Bills transactions Monday, they signed running back Kerrith Whyte and cornerback Tim Harris and waived wide receiver Duke Williams with an injury designation. Teams have until 3pm Tuesday to pare their rosters to 80 players.

Steelers Trim Roster Down

The entire AFC North is now finished as the Steelers became the latest team to trim their roster to 53 players. Here are all the moves, we’ll recap the most notable ones at the bottom:

Lynch is probably the most well known of these names. The former Broncos first-round bust signed with the Steelers last year as insurance after multiple quarterback injuries. He’s running out of chances. Switzer has mostly contributed as a returner with Pittsburgh and Dallas, although he did have 36 catches with the Steelers in 2018.

Smallwood was one of the Eagles’ main running backs in 2018, but didn’t get too many touches with Washington last year. He’ll likely pop up somewhere else soon. Brooks Jr. was the Steelers’ sixth-round pick in this past draft, so he’s likely ticketed for the practice squad if he clears waivers.

McCullers has been with the Steelers the past six years so his is a significant departure even though the nose tackle only played 12 percent of the defensive snaps last season.

 

Steelers To Sign WR Deon Cain Off Colts’ Practice Squad

Prior to Thursday night’s ugly conclusion in Cleveland, the Steelers lost multiple wide receivers to injuries. They will respond by adding wideout Deon Cain from the Colts’ practice squad, per Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

JuJu Smith-Schuster and Diontae Johnson — Pittsburgh’s Nos. 1-2 wideouts this season — suffered concussions during the Week 11 loss to the Browns. The Steelers will add Cain, whom the Colts recently viewed as a player who could be a reliable target.

The Colts cut Cain last week but were able to pass him through waivers and onto their practice squad. They opted not to promote him again and will see him head to Pittsburgh. Indianapolis drafted Cain in the sixth round out of Clemson in 2018 and were pleased with his early development, but an ACL tear during his initial training camp threw that development off course. This season, Cain could not gain a foothold in Indianapolis’ depleted receiving corps, catching just four passes for 52 yards in seven games.

Down James Conner again, the Steelers also signed running back Kerrith Whyte Jr. off the Bears’ practice squad. Chicago drafted White in the seventh round this year. They will make room for these additions with cuts of edge defender Jayrone Elliott and running back Tony Brooks-James.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/26/19

Today’s minor moves:

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Miami Dolphins

Seattle Seahawks

Bears Sign Three Rookies

The Bears have started to ink their draft picks to contracts. The team announced tonight (via Twitter) that they’ve signed three rookies to deals:

Ridley is the most notable name on the list, and that’s not entirely due to his draft stock. Rather, the Georgia product is the younger brother of Falcons wideout Calvin Ridley. Chicago selected Ridley following another productive collegiate season, as the receiver hauled in 43 receptions for 559 yards and nine scores.

Allen Robinson, Taylor Gabriel, and Anthony Miller seem to have a solid hold on the top three spots on the Bears’ depth chart. However, Ridley could give a pair of free agent additions, Cordarrelle Patterson and Marvin Hall, a run for that fourth spot.

Whyte should have a shot at making the Bears roster as a third or fourth running back behind Mike Davis and Tarik Cohen, as he’ll be competing with unproven options like Ryan Nall, Taquan Mizzell, and fellow rookie David Montgomery,. Denmark will have a more difficult time establishing a role on a team that added free agents Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Buster Skrine.

Following these moves, the Bears have two unsigned draft picks remaining: Montgomery and cornerback Duke Shelley.