Minor NFL Transactions: 1/3/18
Here are today’s minor moves around the NFL:
New Orleans Saints
- Placed on IR: TE Garrett Griffin
- Signed: TE John Phillips
Today’s practice squad updates:
New England Patriots
- Signed: LB Trevor Reilly
- Released: WR Bernard Reedy
NFL Workout Updates: 12/31/17
Here are today’s workout notes from around the league:
Jacksonville Jaguars
- WRs Mario Alford, Corey Brown, Tevaun Smith, Rannell Hall, Quan Bray (tweet via Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union)
New Orleans Saints
- S Kelcie McCray (tweet via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle)
Darryl Tapp Working As Coaching Intern For Saints
- Saints head coach Sean Payton said that Darryl Tapp, who played in the league for 11 years (including four games with the Bucs this season), is now serving as a coaching intern for New Orleans. It would appear, then, that Tapp’s playing days are over and he is shifting his sights to the next stage of his career.
Could Pete Carmichael Get A HC Job?
- There are expected to be two head coaching openings in the NFC North, with the Bears and Lions preparing to look for their next sideline general this offseason. Rapoport names Patriots DC Matt Patricia as a top choice for Detroit, while the Bears could look hard at a QB guru for young signal-caller Mitch Trubisky. Rapoport tweets that the Saints‘ Pete Carmichael, the longest-tenured OC in the league, could get a look for the Chicago job.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/30/17
Here are today’s practice squad moves.
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: WR Quan Bray
- Cut: CB Lorenzo Doss
Detroit Lions
- Signed: DT Toby Johnson
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: T Andrew Wylie
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: CB Mykkele Thompson
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/29/17
Here are today’s minor moves.
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: FB Marquez Williams
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: OL John Fullington
- Waived: TE John Phillips
Philadelphia Eagles
- Placed on IR: LB Joe Walker
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: RB Khalfani Muhammad
- Waived: CB Demontre Hurst
Saints Claim LB Kasim Edebali
The Saints have added a familiar face as the team gets ready for its first postseason appearance since 2013. The team has claimed linebacker Kasim Edebali off waivers from the Rams, according to Josh Katzenstein of the The Times-Picayune. To free up a roster spot, New Orleans has placed linebacker Hau’oli Kikaha on injured reserve.
Edebali, 28, had previously been employed by the Saints from 2014-16. His best year in New Orleans came in 2015 when he racked up five sacks in a full season of work. Edebali has bounced around a bit this season, having started the year with the Broncos, before making stops with the Lions, Rams and now the Saints after being cut on three different occasions.
The Saints likely made this move to help replace Kikaha as a reserve pass rusher for the remainder of the season. The third-year player out of Washington University had appeared in 12 games with the Saints, collecting four sacks behind the likes Manti Te’o and Michael Mauti on the depth chart. The former 2015 third-round pick had suffered an ankle injury in last week’s win over the Falcons, which surely prompted his move to the IR.
Could Cowboys Shop CB Orlando Scandrick?
During the 2017 NFL Draft the Cowboys were in trade talks to send CB Orlando Scandrick to the Saints for S Kenny Vaccaro, a source told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Clarence Hill Jr. Mike Fisher of 105.3 The Fan in Dallas confirmed the trade talks and believes the veteran cornerback will not be with the team next season. 
Scandrick is unlikely suit up for the team’s finale vs. Philadelphia after missing the team’s previous three games with fractured bones in his back and with the Cowboys eliminated from playoff contention. In his absence, the team has relied on rookie cornerbacks Chidobe Awuzie and Jourdan Lewis, and second-year CB Anthony Brown. Those results have been favorable and could make the 10-year veteran expendable.
Though signed through the 2019 season, Scandrick, as Hill notes, is in a favorable contract that will pay the 30-year-old cornerback $3 MM in 2018 and $4 MM in 2019. The team could again target Vaccaro, who was placed on IR earlier this month with a wrist injury, though it is not known if the Saints will be willing to part with the former first-round pick who played a role in helping New Orleans dramatically improve its defense in 2018.
Though known in the past as one of the league’s top slot cornerbacks, Scandrick has endured a down year. Entering Week 17, Scandrick has not registered an interception and has just three passes defensed on the season. Pro Football Focus ranked the veteran as the No. 113 cornerback heading into the season finale.
Saints To Bring John Kuhn Off IR
John Kuhn‘s complicated Saints season looks like it will have another key chapter. The team plans to use its second IR-return slot on the veteran fullback, Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com reports.
This will finish the Saints’ IR-boomerang itinerary this season. The team already brought Delvin Breaux off IR but did not end up activating him. The team had hoped Zach Strief would be ready to return, but the tackle already underwent surgery that will prevent that from happening.
Kuhn has not played since September. A biceps injury sent him to IR. Once he returns to practice, Kuhn could return to game action for the Saints at any time. The Saints’ employment of fellow fullback Zach Line may make the 35-year-old Kuhn a superfluous addition, but Katzenstein notes (on Twitter) this made the most sense for a second IR-return choice.
The Saints, though, released Kuhn twice this season only to re-sign him shortly after each of those transactions processed. He’s played in 15 postseason games as a member of the Packers.
Saints Sign DT Tony McDaniel
After being released by the 49ers in mid-November, veteran defensive tackle Tony McDaniel has found a new home in New Orleans after signing with the Saints, Herbie Teope of The Times-Picayune writes. The team has placed defensive tackle John Hughes III to accommodate the signing, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
It is the 12-year lineman’s second stint with the Saints in 2017. McDaniel appeared in all four preseason games with the team before being released at the start of the season. He then signed with San Francisco and appeared in four games, making five tackles, before being released on November 13.
The Saints will mark the sixth team McDaniel has suited up for since entering the league in 2006 as an undrafted free agent out of Tennessee. After stays with Jacksonville and Miami, McDaniel enjoyed his breakout campaigns with Seattle in 2013 and 2014, winning a Super Bowl during that stretch. He made a stop in Tampa Bay, another round in Seattle before ending up with the Niners and Saints in 2017.