Seahawks To Add Tanner Muse To P-Squad
Former Raiders linebacker Tanner Muse cleared waivers and selected a new home shortly after. The Seahawks are signing the former third-round pick to their practice squad, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.
Caught in a sudden roster crunch, after the Raiders both traded for Denzel Perryman and signed K.J. Wright, Muse will receive another opportunity in Wright’s old stomping grounds. The Raiders did make an attempt to keep Muse via practice squad invite, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore (on Twitter), but the young defender opted for Seattle’s offer.
This stands to be Muse’s first healthy NFL season. He missed all of his rookie year due to a toe injury. One of a few Raiders draft picks from Clemson, Muse intercepted four passes during his senior season with the Tigers and saw regular time for the ACC powerhouse’s previous two outfits.
After playing safety at Clemson, Muse moved to linebacker this offseason. While the Raiders previously had injury-created openings for linebackers during their preseason slate, ex-Gus Bradley charges Perryman and Wright filled them. Acquired during Paul Guenther‘s defensive coordinator stay, Muse ended up being jettisoned to create roster space.
The Seahawks only kept four linebackers on their active roster, giving Muse a potential early chance to contribute as a backup. Cody Barton resides as Seattle’s fourth linebacker, behind starters Bobby Wagner, Jordyn Brooks and Darrell Taylor. Teams have until Saturday afternoon to set their active 53-man for the week.
Raiders To Host D’Onta Foreman
Released from the Falcons’ practice squad on Friday, D’Onta Foreman is already drawing some new interest. The free agent running back is visiting with the Raiders on Tuesday, veteran NFL reporter Aaron Wilson tweets.
Foreman worked out for Atlanta at the beginning of August, and signed to the team’s practice squad after roster cuts. He lasted just a couple of days on the practice squad before getting the boot. Foreman also had a workout with the Seahawks back in April, his only other publicly reported visit this offseason. Foreman was highly regarded coming out of Texas, and the Texans drafted him 89th overall in 2017.
He flashed potential as a rookie, and was viewed as the future starter in Houston. Unfortunately, midway through his first pro season he tore an Achilles, an injury he struggled to recover from. He started the following year on the PUP list, and only ended up appearing in one game in 2018.
Foreman quickly fell out of favor with the team, with the organization accusing him of having poor work habits, and he was released in 2019. He latched on with the Colts, but then tore a bicep and sat out all of that season.
Signed to the Titans’ practice squad last season, he ended up appearing in six games for Tennessee, rushing 22 times for 95 yards. Jalen Richard was recently placed on injured reserve, which left the Raiders a bit thin at running back. They did just sign Peyton Barber a few days ago, but they still only have three active guys in the backfield for now. Despite being around for a while, Foreman only turned 25 back in April.
Raiders To Waive LB Tanner Muse
The Raiders are waiving linebacker Tanner Muse (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero). The news comes as a surprise, given that Muse was a third-round pick just last year.
Muse missed his entire rookie season with a toe injury. This summer, he’s seen reps with the first string unit while also working as a special teams player.
The Clemson product was first-team All-ACC in his final year on campus and drew league-wide attention. He registered 73 tackles, six tackles for loss, two sacks, and a team-high four interceptions in 2019, prompting the Raiders to take him No. 100 overall in 2020.
It’s worth nothing that the move has not officially hit the NFL’s transactions wire yet. Given the 6’2″, 230-pounder’s potential, it’s possible that the Raiders could find a trade for Muse before he hits the waiver wire.
In any event, this marks a clear miss for GM Mike Mayock & Co. Muse was one of three Raiders third-round picks in 2020. Now, two of those players are gone — wide receiver Lynn Bowden was shipped to the Dolphins before the start of last season for a fourth-round choice.
Raiders Rework LB Nick Kwiatkoski’s Deal
The Raiders have made multiple moves to bolster their linebacking corps over the past two weeks, trading for Denzel Perryman and signing K.J. Wright. They have also done some contractual maneuvering to help create cap space for these additions.
In addition to freeing up $8MM in cap room by restructuring Yannick Ngakoue‘s recently agreed-upon deal, the Raiders moved past $10MM in new space by reworking Nick Kwiatkoski‘s contract. Las Vegas created $2.31MM in cap space with its latest base salary-to-bonus adjustment, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
This marks the second adjustment to Kwiatkoski’s deal this year. The team made a previous tweak in March, doing so along with its second revision to Cory Littleton‘s contract. Together, the two 2020 linebacker acquisitions’ deals have been redone four times. Kwiatkoski signed a three-year, $21MM pact in March 2020 and started a career-high 12 games last season. The Raiders added void years to the deal in March, creating some cap room, and did a more traditional restructure this week.
While the terms of Wright’s agreement are not in yet, the Raiders’ latest adjustment to the Kwiatkoski contract helped their linebacking corps add an experienced piece. The team now has Wright (140 career starts), Perryman (51), Littleton (51) and Kwiatkoski (34) on its active roster. Nicholas Morrow (29 starts) is on IR to begin the season. But this quintet gives the Raiders, whose defensive struggles followed them to Nevada last year, one of the NFL’s most experienced off-ball linebacker groups.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/3/21
Here are Friday’s practice squad moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: WR Keelan Doss, LB James Vaughters
- Released: RB D’Onta Foreman
Houston Texans
- Signed: WR Jalen Camp, CB Antonio Phillips
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: TE Tyler Davis, CB Marvell Tell
- Released: LB Curtis Bolton, WR Tyler Vaughns
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: DL Cortez Broughton, CB Shakur Brown, LB Christian Rozeboom
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: LB Marquel Lee
- Released: LB Max Richardson
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: S Antoine Brooks, RB Buddy Howell
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: LB Milo Eifler, CB Jamal Perry
- Released: RB Jordan Scarlett
New York Giants
- Signed: TE Ryan Izzo
- Released: G Jake Burton, TE Nakia Griffin-Stewart, OL Brett Heggie, WR Damion Willis
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: TE Tanner Hudson, LB Rashad Smith, CB Dee Virgin, WR Isaiah Zuber
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: G Phil Haynes
Washington Football Team
- Signed: K Eddy Pineiro
Raiders To Add WR David Moore To Practice Squad
Despite having a history with new Panthers GM Scott Fitterer and having pocketed more than $1MM fully guaranteed, David Moore did not make Carolina’s 53-man roster. Two days after his release, the former Seahawks wideout landed another gig.
The Raiders are signing Moore to their practice squad, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. Moore, 26, will be the most experienced pass catcher on Las Vegas’ taxi unit, but after the NFL expanded P-squads to 16 players last year, numerous veterans have landed such deals to continue their careers.
Moore served as a complementary option in Seattle but twice exceeded 400 receiving yards in a season, doing so in 2018 and ’20. He totaled 11 touchdown receptions between those campaigns, adding two more in 2019. Moore signed a two-year, $4.75MM deal with the Panthers in March.
The Raiders already have veterans Willie Snead and Zay Jones on their active roster. Moore provides additional insurance for a team set to rely on homegrown young wideouts. Las Vegas also released John Brown earlier this week.
Raiders, Yannick Ngakoue Rework Deal
The Raiders have restructured Yannick Ngakoue‘s contract (Twitter link via Field Yates of ESPN.com). The defensive end will have $12MM of his salary converted into a signing bonus to free up $8MM in cap room for the Raiders. The Raiders also added three void years to the deal to make it all work.
The will allow the Raiders to add KJ Wright and his new contract to the books. Plus, they’ll have extra cash to upgrade elsewhere during the year.
Ngakoue inked a two-year, $26MM deal with the Raiders back in March. The basics of the pact remain unchanged — Ngakoue will earn the same amount of money and remain under club control until the spring of 2023.
Jon Gruden has long been a fan of Ngakoue. Ditto for old friend Gus Bradley, his defensive coordinator in Las Vegas. The Raiders hope that Ngakoue will help to restore their once feared pass rush, which hasn’t been the same since the Khalil Mack trade.
Ngakoue, 26, is set to enter his sixth season as a pro. With 45.5 career sacks to his credit, he’s a potential difference-maker — even if the Ravens didn’t use him all that much in the playoffs. He’s not particularly strong against the run, but he averaged over nine sacks per season over his first four years in the league, and he has also demonstrated some serious play-making ability. He forced 14 fumbles in that stretch and he was directly responsible for five of the 12 defensive touchdowns the Jaguars scored between 2016 and 2019.
Raiders To Sign RB Peyton Barber
The Raiders are signing Peyton Barber off of the Washington Football Team’s practice squad, according to a source who spoke with Ben Standig of The Athletic (on Twitter). Now, the running back will join the 53-man roster in Las Vegas. 
[RELATED: Raiders Wanted Freeman]
The Raiders previously tried to claim Royce Freeman off waivers, but lost out to the Panthers due to waiver priority. Barber’s still a solid consolation prize, considering his past work. Back in 2018, he led the Buccaneers in rushing (871 yards), staving off Ronald Jones in the process.
However, Barber played on just 18% of Washington’s offensive snaps in 2020 and was on the field on 30% of Washington’s special teams plays. The 225-pound running back averaged a career-low 2.7 yards per carry last season, gaining 258 yards on 94 rushing attempts. He missed Washington’s final cut and settled for their practice squad. Now, he’ll have a chance to see the field in Week 1.
Barber will support top RBs Josh Jacobs and Kenyan Drake while Jalen Richard rehabs his injured foot.
Ravens, Raiders Wanted Royce Freeman
With J.K. Dobbins out for the season, the Ravens tried to claim Royce Freeman (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). Ditto for the Raiders, Yates hears, but the Panthers ultimately nabbed Freeman on Thursday thanks to their higher waiver priority. 
For the Ravens, it’s a sign that they’re not entirely confident in their current options. For now, their RB group consists of Gus Edwards with support from third-year scat-back Justice Hill and 2020 UDFA Ty’Son Williams. It’s possible that Williams would have been let go if Freeman was claimed, despite his strong summer. Edwards profiles as the team’s RB1 for now and his 5.2 career ypc shows that he can do damage. Still, he’s never carried an RB1 workload before.
The Raiders — the Ravens’ Week 1 opponent — would have slotted Freeman behind Josh Jacobs and newcomer Kenyan Drake. That role was ticketed for Jalen Richard, but he’ll start the year on IR thanks to a foot injury.
Instead of Baltimore or Vegas, Freeman will head to Carolina. He’ll slot behind Christian McCaffrey and rookie Chuba Hubbard as he takes Trenton Cannon‘s place on the team. Freeman wasn’t much of a factor last year, but he has 297 career carries to his credit for 1,187 yards and eight touchdowns.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/2/21
Here are Thursday’s practice squad moves, with the list being updated throughout the day:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: WR Devin Gray
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: TE Kahale Warring
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: WR Aaron Parker
- Cut: CB Rashaan Melvin
Chicago Bears
- Signed: WR Rodney Adams
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: WR Trenton Irwin
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: DB Tim Harris, G David Moore, K Chris Naggar, OL Jordan Steckler
Denver Broncos
- Signed: DL Jonathan Harris
Detroit Lions
- Signed: OLB Jessie Lemonier, QB Steven Montez, CB Parnell Motley, TE Jared Pinkney, TE Shane Zylstra
- Cut: OLB Rashod Berry, NT Miles Brown, TE Alize Mack, RB Dedrick Mills
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: LS Steven Wirtel
- Cut: DT Willington Previlon
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: QB Kyle Lauletta, TE Matt Sokol
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: RB B.J. Emmons, DE Gerri Green, T Devery Hamilton, CB Madre Harper, CB Robert Jackson, C Jimmy Morrissey, OL Jeremiah Poutasi, RB Trey Ragas, LB Max Richardson, DT Niles Scott, WR Dillon Stoner, WR DJ Turner, DE Kendal Vickers
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: CB Brandon Facyson
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: G Jared Hocker
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: DB Tino Ellis, WR Brandon Powell, RB Jordan Scarlett, OL Kion Smith, DL Jason Strowbridge, OL Cameron Tom
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: WR Trishton Jackson
New York Giants
- Signed: LB Trent Harris, QB Brian Lewerke, TE Chris Myarick, WR Dante Pettis, RB Dexter Williams
- Cut: OL Jake Burton, TE Nakia Griffin-Stewart, OL Brett Heggie
New York Jets
- RB Josh Adams, DL Ronald Blair, OL Grant Hermanns, CB Lamar Jackson, WR D.J. Montgomery, OL Jimmy Murray, LB Del’Shawn Phillips, DL Hamilcar Rashed, DL Tanzel Smart, WR Vyncint Smith, OL Isaiah Williams, TE Kenny Yeboah, DE Jabari Zuniga
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: TE Nick Eubanks, WR KeeSean Johnson, DT Marvin Wilson
- Cut: S Grayland Arnold
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: CB Michael Jackson
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: S Andrew Adams, OLB Ladarius Hamilton, WR Jaydon Mickens, DB Troy Wagner