Alfred Morris

Giants Release RB Alfred Morris

The Giants have released running back Alfred Morris, per a club announcement. In addition, the club released cornerback Chris Milton and placed cornerback Jarren Williams on IR en route to the 85-man roster limit.

[RELATED: Texans Trade Keion Crossen To Giants]

Morris saw 55 carries for 238 yards and a touchdown with the G-Men in 2020. They re-signed him a few weeks ago to bolster the depth chart, but he wasn’t needed following the return of Saquon Barkley. With Barkley installed as the Giants’ RB1, candidates like Devontae Booker, Elijhaa Penny, Gary Brightwell, and Corey Clement will vie for the remaining spots.

All in all, Morris has 6,000+ yards to his credit over nine seasons with the Giants, Cowboys, Washington Football Team, 49ers, and Cardinals.

Giants Sign Alfred Morris

It’s official. On Monday morning, the Giants formally welcomed Alfred Morris back to the team. It’s likely a low-cost, one-year deal for the veteran running back.

Morris is now one contract shy of completing the NFC East cycle — perhaps he can hook on with the Eagles next year. For now, he’ll provide the Giants with some much-needed insurance as they monitor Saquon Barkley‘s availability. Barkley’s still working his way back from a torn ACL, leaving the Giants with Morris, Devontae Booker, Elijhaa Penny, Gary Brightwell, Corey Clement, Sandro Platzgummer, and Mike Weber as their active RBs.

In 2020, Morris totaled 238 yards on 55 carries for the Giants. His most notable game came against Washington in November — 67 yards off of nine-totes.

All in all, Morris has 6,000+ yards to his credit over nine seasons with the Giants, Cowboys, Washington, 49ers, and Cardinals.

Giants Expected To Sign Alfred Morris

Saquon Barkley‘s 2020 injury led the Giants to use several backs in a widespread replacement effort. Alfred Morris was part of that group, and the Giants may not be through with the veteran.

Morris is set to visit the Giants early next week and is expected to rejoin the team, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (Twitter links). This will be Morris’ second Giants agreement in less than a year.

An Eagles signing away from completing the NFC East cycle, Morris latched on with the Giants last year. Mixing in with the likes of Wayne Gallman and Dion Lewis, the former Washington, Dallas, San Francisco and Arizona back totaled 238 yards on 55 carries. This included a nine-tote, 67-yard effort in a Giants win over Washington in November.

Despite veteran running backs’ perennial issues finding work, Morris has continued to generate interest. The 32-year-old back has rushed for just more than 6,000 yards in his nine-year career, which has only included 10 games over the past two years.

This move will naturally invite more speculation about Barkley’s status. The Giants and Barkley have continued to be cryptic about the Pro Bowler’s recovery from multiple knee ligament tears and meniscus damage. Barkley remains on the Giants’ active/PUP list. The team has recently signed backup Devontae Booker positioned as Barkley’s top backup. The Giants also signed Corey Clement and drafted Gary Brightwell in Round 6.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/13/20

Here are Friday’s minor moves:

Buffalo Bills 

  • Placed on IR: LB Del’Shawn Phillips

Carolina Panthers

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/7/20

Here are Saturday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

Giants Add Alfred Morris To Practice Squad

Alfred Morris has resurfaced on the NFL radar. The eight-year veteran running back agreed to join the Giants’ practice squad, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets.

The Giants added Morris and quarterback Clayton Thorson to its taxi squad. Morris has been out of the NFL since the Cardinals released him in November 2019. To make room on their 16-man P-squad, the Giants cut running back Rod Smith and quarterback Cooper Rush.

This will bring a former Jason Garrett charge to New York. The Giants OC coached the former Pro Bowler in two seasons in Dallas. Morris served as Ezekiel Elliott‘s backup/suspension fill-in from 2016-17 but is certainly best known for his time in Washington.

Morris, now 31, strung together three straight 1,000-yard seasons with Washington and made the Pro Bowl in 2013 and ’14. He averaged 4.8 yards per carry with the 2017 Cowboys and gained 428 yards as a 49er in 2018. He played in one Cardinals game.

The Giants are down Saquon Barkley for the season, leaving them with Wayne Gallman, offseason addition Dion Lewis and recent signing Devonta Freeman. They rank last in the NFL in rushing, having gained just 170 yards (3.2 per carry) in three games.

Thorson spent time on the Cowboys’ practice squad in Garrett’s final season, playing behind Rush — who resided on Dallas’ active roster. The Giants brought Smith back earlier this month.

Cardinals Cut Alfred Morris

The Cardinals have informed running back Alfred Morris of his release (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). It was a super short stay in Arizona for the veteran, who was only just signed to the roster. 

Morris was squeezed out by the arrival of Kenyan Drake, who came over via trade with the Dolphins. In Drake’s Thursday night debut, he rattled off 110 yards on 15 carries, good for a 7.33 ypc average. Suddenly, the Cardinals no longer feel the need to have the safety net of Morris.

Morris’ 2019 Cardinals run ends after three snaps and one carry for four yards. He’ll look to new work and playing time elsewhere, but not before hitting the NFL’s waiver wire. Morris has the service time of a veteran, but all players released after the trade deadline are subject to the wire. If Morris clears, he’ll be free to sign with any club of his choosing.

Cardinals Sign Alfred Morris, Zach Zenner

The Cardinals signed running backs Alfred Morris and Zach Zenner this morning. The signings were first reported by Adam Caplan of ESPN.com and have since been confirmed by the team. In the team’s press release, the organization announced they released cornerback Trevor Williams to accommodate the signings.

Morris, in his ninth NFL season, burst onto the scene as a rookie in 2012 with Washington rushing for over 1,600 yards. He started every Washington game (64) over his time with the organization and accrued 5,078 yards from scrimmage in his four seasons with the team. Morris has not been a primary back elsewhere, but he has been a spot starter for both the Cowboys and 49ers in the past two seasons.

Zenner is another multi-year veteran, but has never had more than a rotational role. After spending the first four seasons of his career with the Lions, Zenner was released in August. He joined the Saints on October 16th and only received one carry before he was released yesterday.

Adding two veteran backs raises concerns that star running back David Johnson will be out for the Cardinals upcoming games. Johnson has been limited by knee problems over the past week and while he was active against the Giants, it was clear the team wanted to limit his workload. Backup Chase Edmonds was exceptional filling in as the primary back and appears Morris and Zenner will be expected to spell Edmonds in the coming weeks while they wait for Johnson to heal.

Williams was claimed on waivers from the Chargers on October 8th. He hasn’t played a large role for Arizona this season, but over the previous three seasons between San Diego and Los Angeles, Williams made 27 starts accruing 100 tackles and three interceptions.

Cardinals To Sign RB Alfred Morris

The Cardinals have agreed to sign running back Alfred Morris, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. To make room, they’ve dropped linebacker Ramik Wilson

Morris is on hand to help man the running back position while David Johnson nurses an ankle injury. He edged out Thomas Rawls and Zach Zenner in a recent audition as he looks to get his career back in track.

Morris, 30, played 12 games with the 49ers last season. This offseason, Morris reunited with the Cowboys, but Ezekiel Elliott‘s early September return left A-Mo without a job.

Morris did his best work early on with the Redskins, including a stellar 1,600-yard rookie season. In 2013 and 2014, he earned back-to-back Pro Bowl nods and eclipsed 1,000 yards each time. There have been signs of life more recently than that, however. In 2017, Morris managed 4.8 yards per carry in a small-but-not-that-small sample of 115 totes.

The Cardinals, who have a 3-3-1 record, will face the Saints on Sunday.

Cardinals Audition Alfred Morris

David Johnson suffered a wrist injury in the Cardinals’ Week 2 loss, and although the standout running back returned to action, the Cards are gathering some intel for a possible in-case-of-emergency scenario.

Arizona worked out Alfred Morris, Thomas Rawls and Zach Zenner on Tuesday, ESPN.com’s Field Yates and veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer report (Twitter links). The team also auditioned tight end Luke Willson.

Morris reunited with the Cowboys, but Ezekiel Elliott‘s holdout coming to an end prompted them to part ways with the veteran back. Morris, 30, played 12 games with the 49ers last season. Rawls last held a notable role with the 2016 Seahawks; he’s since bounced around. Zenner averaged 4.8 yards per carry last season and re-signed with the Lions in March. However, he did not make their 53-man roster.

Kliff Kingsbury‘s Cardinals have lapped the field in terms of 10 personnel usage — four wideouts, one running back — and have not used tight ends Charles Clay or Maxx Williams much. But the team auditioned Willson, Thomas Duarte and Jason Vander Laan anyway. Willson played 14 games for the 2018 Lions but did not make the Raiders’ roster this summer.