Tanoh Kpassagnon will be sidelined for at least the next three weeks. ESPN’s Field Yates reports (via Twitter) that the Saints have placed the defensive end on injured reserve.
Kpassagnon had already been ruled out for Week 13 thanks to a nagging ankle injury. The ailment had forced the defensive lineman to miss the previous two games, as well, and now he won’t see the field until Week 16 at the earliest.
The former second-round pick spent the first four seasons of his career with Kansas City, and he started 23 games for the Chiefs between the 2019 and 2020 seasons (along with six playoff starts and three playoff sacks). He joined the Saints this past offseason on a two-year deal, and he started five of his first eight games with the organization, collecting 18 tackles, four sacks, eight QB hits, and one forced fumble.
New Orleans made a handful of additional moves in anticipation of tonight’s matchup against the Cowboys (per Yates). The team signed offensive tackle Caleb Benenoch, defensive tackle Albert Huggins, and running back Adam Prentice from the practice squad to the active roster, and they also promoted linebacker Chase Hansen and guard Forrest Lamp to the 53-man roster.
Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline Tuesday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters. In addition to waiver claims, teams can begin constructing their 16-man practice squads today. These moves for the Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers and Saints are noted below.
Here are Wednesday’s NFC South transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day.
Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: C Ryan Kelly, WR Zach Pascal, QB Carson Wentz; the trio landed on the coronavirus list due to being high-risk close contacts, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets
Mintze likely received the top guarantee of the bunch at $85K (Twitter link via Mike Klis of 9News). With a bonus that’s roughly 50% of the practice squad base salary, the Broncos seem to like his odds of making the final cut, even though he’s a bit undersized for the position. Mintze impressed scouts at his pro day by running a 4.59-second 40-yard-dash, positioning him as one of the draft’s fastest outside ‘backers. All in all, he totaled 75 stops, 17 TFL, 8.5 sacks, and three forced fumbles across his four years on campus.