Khalfani Muhammad

Cardinals Sign RB Ito Smith

A second member of the Falcons’ 2020 running back trio has found a home. The Cardinals agreed to a deal with Ito Smith, whom the Falcons waived in April.

Smith joins Brian Hill in securing a landing spot, with Hill catching on with the Titans in May. Todd Gurley remains a free agent. Smith will join a team transitioning in the backfield. A year after trading David Johnson to the Texans, the Cardinals allowed Kenyan Drake to defect to the Raiders in free agency.

Arizona has Chase Edmonds and James Conner in place as its top running backs. The team appears set to give each considerable work this year. With Conner having struggled with injuries throughout his career, Smith profiles as veteran insurance.

A 2018 fourth-round pick out of Southern Miss, Smith has accumulated just 175 career carries. Sixty-three of those came in 2020, when the Falcons diminished Gurley’s workload down the stretch. Smith averaged 4.3 yards per carry last season, totaling 268 rushing yards and a touchdown. He has six career TDs, with four of those coming as a rookie — a season that featured Devonta Freeman barely see the field due to injury. Smith finished his college career with back-to-back 1,400-yard rushing seasons.

Arizona waived running back Khalfani Muhammad and safety Lorenzo Burns as well. Burns spent most of the past two weeks on the team’s reserve/COVID-19 list.

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/6/21

We’ll keep track of the latest reserve/futures deals here:

Arizona Cardinals

Denver Broncos

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New York Giants

San Francisco 49ers

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/14/20

The latest practice squad moves from around the NFL:

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: TE Issac Nauta

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

  • Signed: TE Bug Howard, LB Aaron Patrick

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Signed: P Lachlan Edwards
  • Released: WR Manasseh Bailey

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

  • Signed: RB Khalfani Muhammad

Vikings Notes: Wilson, Mattison, Rudolph

Eric Wilson has been an unexpected surprise for the Vikings this season. The former undrafted free agent has been one of the best linebackers in the NFL, compiling 90 tackles, three interceptions, three sacks, and five tackles for loss. Per ESPN’s Courtney Cronin, the 26-year-old leads his position in combined interceptions, forced fumbles and opponent fumble recoveries (six total), and that’s earned him the nickname “walking turnover” from fellow linebacker Eric Kendricks.

Wilson didn’t miss a game through his first three seasons in the league, but he only started 10 contests. He’s started 11 games already this season, but his sudden improvement didn’t come as a huge surprise to the organization.

“Ever since Eric’s been here, he’s been able to back up both positions when Anthony [Barr] and Eric [Kendricks] were in there, and whoever went down, he just went in in that position,” co-defensive coordinator Adam Zimmer told Cronin. “It’s something he’s done in the past, which helps, but it’s a real tribute to the kid, how he just steps in and doesn’t miss a beat playing a completely different position in the sub [package].”

Wilson’s breakout season came at the right time; the linebacker is set to become an unrestricted free agent following the season.

Let’s check out some more notes out of Minnesota:

  • Vikings running back Alexander Mattison will miss another week as he recovers from surgery for appendicitis, per Chris Tomasson of TwinCities.com. The 22-year-old has appeared in 11 games this season, rushing for 338 yards and one touchdown on 74 carries. For the second-straight week, Mike Boone and Ameer Abdullah will serve as the backups to Dalvin Cook.
  • Meanwhile, tight end Kyle Rudolph is listed as doubtful for tomorrow’s game against the Buccaneers (per Tomasson). The veteran is currently dealing with a foot injury, but he’s determined to maintain his 98-game starting streak (including playoffs). “He’s a pretty fast healer, so we’ll just see,” said head coach Mike Zimmer. “He’s been getting a lot of treatment, and he wants to play really bad. So I don’t want to count him out yet.” The 31-year-old has 28 receptions for 334 yards and one touchdown this season.
  • With Mattison sidelined, the Vikings are eyeing some free agent running backs. Tomasson reports (via Twitter) that Khalfani Muhammad was in Minnesota this week for a workout with the Vikings. The California product was a seventh-round pick by the Titans in 2017, and he’s also spent time with the Patriots, Broncos, and Cardinals.
  • In case you missed it, the Vikings signed tight end Hale Hentges off the Colts practice squad earlier this week. The 2019 undrafted free agent out of Alabama saw time in 11 games for Washington last season, hauling in eight receptions for 103 yards and one touchdown.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/24/20

We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Houston Texans

  • Signed: C Cohl Cabral
  • Released: DE Kendal Futrell

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Signed LB/LS Christian Kuntz

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/28/20

Here are Wednesday’s practice squad decisions:

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Green Bay Packers

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Football Team

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/27/20

Teams are trimming players earlier than usual this year, thanks to the NFL’s recommendation for an 80-man roster max. We’ll keep track of the latest minor moves here:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

  • Waived: G Evan Adams, G Daishawn Dixon, T R.J. Prince, K Nick Vogel

Buffalo Bills

Cincinnati Bengals

  • Waived: CB Isiah Swann

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Miami Dolphins

Philadelphia Eagles

Tennessee Titans

Reserve/Futures Contracts: 12/30/19

With the regular season behind us, teams can start signing players to reserve/futures contract. This ties the player to the team’s 90-man offseason roster.

Several teams have already started completing these deals, which we’ve compiled below:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Denver Broncos

Indianapolis Colts

New York Giants

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Broncos Trim Roster To 53

The Denver Broncos made a slew of moves today to get down to 53 players. Notably, the team will place rookie second-round quarterback Drew Lock on injured reserve, meaning he’ll have to miss at least the first eight games of the season as he recovers from his thumb injury. The team cut journeyman Kevin Hogan and UDFA Brett Rypien, leaving them without a quarterback behind Joe Flacco. GM John Elway has said they’ll sign a veteran to backup Flacco for now, and we’ve already heard they’re interested in Brian Hoyer.

There weren’t too many surprises that we didn’t already know of. Brendan Langley, a 2017 third-round pick, failed to make the team. He was drafted as a cornerback, but switched to receiver earlier this offseason after he didn’t pan out on defense.

Here’s the full list of other moves:

Waived:

FB George Aston

T Quinn Bailey

WR Trinity Benson

LB Keishawn Bierria

OL Adam Bisnowaty

OL Jake Brendel

WR Fred Brown

LB Jamal Carter

CB Rashard Causey

WR Steven Dunbar Jr.

OLB Ahmad Gooden

CB Alijah Holder

RB Devontae Jackson

CB Trey Johnson

G/C Sam Jones

OL Tyler Jones

T John Leglue

WR Kelvin McKnight

RB Khalfani Muhammad

DL Deyon Sizer

CB Linden Stephens

TE Moral Stephens

RB David Williams

DE DeShawn Williams

Waived/injured:

C Ryan Crozier

LB Joe Dineen

OLB Dadi Nicolas

S Dymonte Thomas

Released:

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/2/19

Here are Wednesday’s reserve/futures contract moves:

Cleveland Browns

Cincinnati Bengals

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Minnesota Vikings

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Redskins

 

* = part of the NFL’s International Player Development Program