Malik Turner

Colts Sign WR James Washington

Genard Avery‘s season-ending knee injury will lead to him joining Ashton Dulin, who also suffered a season-ending knee injury this week, on IR. To fill Avery’s roster spot, the Colts signed James Washington.

Washington is running out of time to prove himself in the NFL. The Cowboys and Saints have released the former second-round pick over the past year, and the Giants did not use him in a game after adding him late last season.

The Colts will see how Washington looks in their system. Teams must trim their rosters from 90 to 53 by 3pm August 29. After two years of going back to a tiered cut system, the NFL reintroduced the 90-to-53 slash this year. That will lead to more players hitting waivers than at previous points in the 2020s. This does not affect Washington, who is a vested veteran. But the ex-Steelers draftee does not have much time to prove himself in Indianapolis.

The Steelers used Washington as a regular in 2019, when an elbow injury sidelined Ben Roethlisberger after two games. Teaming with ex-college teammate Mason Rudolph, Washington put together his best NFL stretch. He totaled 44 receptions for 735 yards and three touchdowns that year. Although Washington’s five touchdown receptions helped Pittsburgh bounce back and win the NFC North in 2020, Chase Claypool usurped him in the team’s receiver rotation. Washington only finished with 285 receiving yards in 2021. A foot fracture sustained early during Cowboys training camp last year derailed the 5-foot-11 deep threat in Dallas.

Washington, 27, will join a few wideouts to sign with the Colts this year. Amari Rodgers, Breshad Perriman and Isaiah McKenzie as veterans picked up during Shane Steichen‘s initial months as head coach. The team will determine how Washington and this trio fit alongside roster locks Michael Pittman Jr., Alec Pierce and third-round pick Josh Downs.

With 16-man practice squads able to include up to six vested veterans, Washington would also have a chance to land here with the Colts, who waived wide receiver Malik Turner with an injury designation Friday. A former Seahawks, Cowboys and 49ers cog, Turner signed with the Colts in February.

Minor NFL Transactions: 2/23/23

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Texans Activate S Grayland Arnold, Place WR Nico Collins On IR

Today, the Texans used their final allowed activation from the injured lists to return backup safety Grayland Arnold to the active roster from injured reserve, according to Mark Berman of Fox 26. Making room on the active roster, Houston placed second-year wide receiver Nico Collins on IR.

Arnold originally signed as an undrafted free agent to Philadelphia in 2020, making his NFL debut as a rookie with the Eagles. After appearing in four games only playing on special teams, Arnold finally appeared on an NFL defense in Week 16 of his rookie season and followed it up with his first and only career start. The next year, Arnold failed to make the team’s final 53-man roster and was released from the practice squad days before the regular season. Arnold signed with the Texans shortly after, spending most of the season on the practice squad. Since joining Houston last season, Arnold has appeared in nine games, almost exclusively on special teams.

The loss of Collins should really hurt an already struggling Houston offense. In his sophomore season, Collins was building off of a strong rookie year. After catching 33 balls for 446 yards and a touchdown last season, Collins had just surpassed his rookie numbers, racking up 37 receptions for 481 yards and two touchdowns this season. He’s been Houston’s No. 2 wide receiver all season, with increased responsibility in the four games missed by the team’s leading receiver Brandin Cooks.

With some doubting that Cooks will return at all this year, the Texans could go the rest of the season without Cooks and Collins. With rookie second-round pick John Metchie already out for the year, this would leave the Texans with a receiving corps composed of Chris Moore, Phillip Dorsett, and Amari Rodgers for the final few games of the season. The team did add receiver Malik Turner to their practice squad today, perhaps in anticipation for the extended absences in their receivers room.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/20/22

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Signed: QB James Morgan
  • Released: QB Carson Strong

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

  • Signed: G Parker Ferguson, DB Devon Key
  • Released: LB Harvey Langi

Detroit Lions

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Seattle Seahawks

  • Signed: DT Jarrod Hewitt

Tennessee Titans

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/3/22

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Buffalo Bills

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

New Orleans Saints

Washington Commanders

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/2/22

Here are today’s practice squad transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/1/22

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Miami Dolphins

  • Released: QB Reid Sinnett

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/8/22

Here are the roster moves for today, leading into gameday tomorrow. Reminder that gameday elevations will revert to the practice squad after this weekend’s games:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Commanders

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/3/22

Here’s today’s minor moves from around the league, including a couple practice squad elevations for tonight’s NFC West matchup:

Atlanta Falcons

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Los Angeles Rams

San Francisco 49ers

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/10/22

Today’s minor moves around the league, as teams prepare for the first Sunday slate of regular season games:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

The Cardinals’ moves come as a reaction to yesterday’s injury news. Baccellia’s roster spot was opened up in the short-term by the injury to Rondale Moore, but he won’t simply be a stop-gap. Arizona signed the 25-year-old to a two-year deal to remain on the main roster, per Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network (Twitter link). A UDFA out of Washington, Baccellia has yet to make a regular season NFL appearance.

Likewise, the fact that Ford will miss at least the first four weeks of the season makes the re-acquisition of Garcia a logical one. The former fourth-rounder has plenty of guard experience, including his three seasons spent in Arizona. It was only in 2021 that he logged any starts, but he could provide veteran depth behind Justin Pugh at least until Ford is able to return.

Addison, 35, was one of several veteran signings the Texans made this offseason to add depth to their front seven. He had a productive season with the Bills last season, notching seven sacks despite not starting any games. In his absence, Harris and Pierre-Louis will provide depth in the edge rush department on Sunday, and likely the short-term future as well.

Quick reminder that standard game day practice squad promotions are a recent development from the new CBA and COVID-19 seasons. Essentially, each team is able to promote two players from the practice squad to the active roster for game days. The players will automatically revert back to the practice squad after the game, not needing to clear waivers before rejoining the developmental roster. A player can only be promoted three times per season. If a team would like to promote a player for a fourth game, they’ll need to go through the normal method of creating space on the 53-man roster to promote them and have them clear waivers before placing them back on the practice squad. That is the difference between “Signed to 53-man roster” from the practice squad and “Promoted from practice squad.”