NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/13/18
Here are Tuesday’s practice squad decisions:
Arizona Cardinals
- Cut: WR Montay Crockett
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: CB Denzel Rice
Denver Broncos
- Signed: WR Chad Hansen
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: WR Steve Ishmael, DE Anthony Winbush
- Released: OT De’Ondre Wesley
Oakland Raiders
- Cut: DE James Cowser
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: TE Will Tye
- Cut: TE Billy Brown
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: RB Ralph Webb
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: CB Mike Jordan
NFL Workout Updates: 11/13/18
Here’s the latest from the workout circuit. All links go to NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account, unless otherwise noted.
Arizona Cardinals
- LB Thurston Armbrister, LB Terence Garvin, CB Leonard Johnson, T Rick Leonard, S Dexter McCoil, DT Tyrunn Walker (link)
Detroit Lions
- LB Azeem Victor (link)
Indianapolis Colts
- TE Kivon Cartwright, TE Je’Ron Hamm, TE Nick Keizer, CB Reggie Porter, LB Anthony Winbush (link)
Jacksonville Jaguars
- DE Geneo Grissom, DT David Parry, DT Elijah Qualls, T Menelik Watson (Twitter link via Sirius XM Radio’s Adam Caplan)
New Orleans Saints
- DT Michael Bennett, DT Sealver Siliga, DE Phil Taylor, DL Jerel Worthy (link)
New York Jets
- WR Tanner McEvoy, LB Corey Nelson, DE Marcus Smith, DL Destiny Vaeao, TE Hakeem Valles (link)
Oakland Raiders
- S Afolabi Aguda, WR Rashard Davis, WR Josh Huff, WR Charles Johnson, P Drew Kaser, S Tray Matthews, S Stephen Roberts, QB Alek Torgersen, WR Griff Whalen, S J.J. Wilcox (link)
Tennessee Titans
- WR Daniel Braverman, WR Quan Bray, OLB/DE Kasim Edebali, DE Terrence Fede, CB Dontae Johnson, CB Mike Jordan, CB Ashton Lampkin, CB Jeremiah McKinnon, OLB/DE Nate Orchard, QB Nic Shimonek, WR ArDarius Stewart, TE Tyrone Swoopes, LB John Timu, RB Charcandrick West (link)
NFL Workout Updates: 10/30/18
Here’s the latest from the workout circuit. All links to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account, unless otherwise specified.
Arizona Cardinals
- OT Cornelius Lucas, OT Derek Newton, DT Will Sutton, DT Vincent Valentine
Baltimore Ravens
- LB Ejuan Price
Chicago Bears
- C Luke Bowanko, OG Adam Gettis, LB Lorenzo Mauldin, LB Aaron Wallace
Cleveland Browns
- OG David Bright
- DE Alex Barrett, LB Jonathan Freeny, CB Jalen Myrick, LB Kelvin Sheppard
Green Bay Packers
- T Andrew Nelson, LB Anthony Winbush
Jacksonville Jaguars
- TE Troy Niklas
Miami Dolphins
- DT Joey Mbu, DE Kendall Reyes, DT Sylvester Williams
New Orleans Saints
- DE Robert Ayers, DE Tank Carradine, DE Will Clarke, CB Jeremiah McKinnon, S Obi Melifonwu, DE Ifeadi Odenigbo, CB Marcus Williams
NFL Workout Updates: 10/2/18
Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran Howard Balzer’s Twitter account unless otherwise noted:
Arizona Cardinals
- WR Jordan Leslie (link via Adam Caplan of SiriusXM)
Atlanta Falcons
Cleveland Browns
- LB Junior Sylvestre (link); CBs Sterling Moore, Josh Robinson; K Daniel Carlson, Miles Bergner (link via Caplan)
Denver Broncos
- P Brock Miller (link)
Detroit Lions
- RB Akeem Hunt; C Jake Eldrenkamp; Ts Antonio Garcia, De’Ondre Wesley; G Landon Turner (link)
Green Bay Packers
- LBs Josh Carraway, Aaron Wallace (link via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com)
Houston Texans
Jacksonville Jaguars
- RBs Matthew Dayes, Orleans Darkwa (link via Caplan)
Los Angeles Chargers
- LBs Jonathan Celestin, Tre’von Johnson; P Shane Tripucka; LS Taybor Pepper (link)
Los Angeles Rams
- LB Anthony Winbush; DBs Xavier Coleman, Ranthony Texada; K Kai Forbath
Miami Dolphins
- Gs Austin Davis, J.J. Dielman; Cs Dillon Day, T.J. Johnson, Jon Toth; T Gerhard de Beer; DTs Xavier Cooper, Will Sutton (link)
Minnesota Vikings
- DE Terrence Fede; LB Tyrone Holmes (link)
New England Patriots
- T Andrew Nelson (link)
New Orleans Saints
- G/T Oday Aboushi; Ts Chaz Green, Austin Howard; Gs Jordan Morgan, Isaiah Williams; CBs De’Vante Bausby, Jeremy Boykins, Byron Maxwell (link)
New York Jets
Oakland Raiders
- DEs Damontre Moore, Jacquies Smith; LBs Travis Feeney, Edmond Robinson; K Nick Novak (link via Caplan)
Pittsburgh Steelers
- CB Herb Waters (link)
Seattle Seahawks
- WR Keon Hatcher; DE Hau’oli Kikaha; LB Chris Odom; CB Kalan Reed; Ss Maurice Alexander, Eddie Pleasant, Jeremy Reaves (link)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- CB Josh Shaw; S A.J. Howard (link)
Tennessee Titans
- QB Garrett Gilbert; WRs Aaron Burbridge, Reggie Davis, Damoun Patterson; LB Antwione Williams (link)
Patriots Work Out WR Kendall Wright
The Patriots hosted wide receiver Kendall Wright and a host of other free agents for workouts on Wednesday, reports Mike Reiss of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
New England currently only has four wide receivers on its roster (excluding special-teamer Matthew Slater), and the club is counting on Chris Hogan, Phillip Dorsett, Cordarrelle Patterson, and the recently-claimed Chad Hansen to shoulder the load until Julian Edelman returns from suspension in Week 5. In addition to Hansen, the Patriots claimed former Seahawks pass-catcher Amara Darboh off waivers on Sunday, but waived him with an injury designation on Tuesday.
Wright inked a one-year, $1MM deal with the Vikings this spring that contained $400K guaranteed, but he was cut loose on Sunday. Scheduled to be Minnesota’s slot receiver between Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs, Wright was beaten out by former first-round pick Laquon Treadwell for a starting spot. Given his lack of special teams prowess, Wright didn’t hold much appeal as a reserve for Minnesota.
That Wright doesn’t play special teams (he has only four career ST snaps) could present a problem for his chances to earn a Patriots roster spot, as well, but New England’s dire need for receiving weapons could trump Wright’s weakness on teams. A former first-round pick, Wright spent five years with the Titans before landing with the Bears in 2017. The lone bright spot in an otherwise dismal passing attack, Wright posted a team-leading 59 receptions and 614 yards in his only season with Chicago.
Here’s the full list of free agents that were on hand for New England today, per Reiss:
- RB Kenjon Barner
- DB Quin Blanding
- RB Matthew Dayes
- WR Brandon Reilly
- RB Aaron Ripkowski
- LB Martrell Spaight
- LB Anthony Winbush
Falcons Reduce Roster To 52
The Falcons have trimmed down their roster. The team announced that they’ve reduced their roster to 52 players, meaning they’re leaving one spot open for a potential free agent addition.
We learned yesterday that the organization was moving on from defensive back Ron Parker and offensive lineman Austin Pasztor. The rest of the team’s moves are below:
Waived:
- QB Kurt Benkert
- WR Christian Blake
- FS Marcelis Branch
- OT Daniel Brunskill
- DB Deante Burton
- WR Dontez Byrd
- LB Jonathan Celestin
- DE Mackendy Cheridor
- DB Secdrick Cooper
- RB Justin Crawford
- DT Jon Cunningham
- WR Reggie Davis
- OG Jamil Douglas
- LB Emmanuel Ellerbee
- FB Jalston Fowler
- TE Jaeden Graham
- S Tyson Graham
- TE Alex Gray
- WR Devin Gray
- QB Garrett Grayson
- OG Sean Harlow
- C J.C. Hassenauer
- DE J.T. Jones
- WR Lamar Jordan
- DB Chris Lammons
- RB Terrence Magee
- TE Troy Mangen
- K David Marvin
- DB Ryan Neal
- LB Emmanuel Smith
- DT Garrison Smith
- K Giorgio Tavecchio
- DT Jacob Tuioti-Mariner
- OG Salesi Uhatafe
- WR Julian Williams
- LB Anthony Winbush
Waived/injured:
Falcons Sign 27 UDFAs
The Falcons have signed a whopping 27 undrafted free agents. Here is the full rundown:
- Kurt Benkert, QB (Virginia)
- Christian Blake, WR (Northern Illinois)
- Dontez Byrd, WR (Tennessee Tech)
- Jontey Byrd, DL (Kent State)
- Mackendy Cheridor, DL (Georgia State)
- Detrich Clark, WR (Colorado State)
- Matt Gono, OL (Wesley College)
- Secdrick Cooper, S (Louisiana Tech)
- Justin Crawford, RB (West Virginia)
- Emmanuel Ellerbee, LB (Rice)
- Devin Gray, WR (Cincinnati)
- J.C. Hassenauer, OL (Alabama)
- Richard Jarvis, LB (Brown)
- Lamar Jordan, QB/WR (New Mexico)
- Chris Lammons, S (South Carolina)
- David Martin, K (Georgia)
- Troy Mangen, TE (Ohio)
- Luke McNitt, FB (Nebraska)
- Daniel Marx, FB (Stanford)
- Joseph Putu, CB (Florida)
- Demario Richard, RB (Arizona State)
- Jake Roh, TE (Boise State)
- Emmanuel Smith, LB (Vanderbilt)
- Jacob Tuioti-Mariner, DL (UCLA)
- Salesi Uhatafe, OL (Utah)
- Anthony Winbush, LB (Ball State)
- Malik Williams, RB (Louisville)
Most NFL teams do not employ a fullback but the Falcons rostered one last year in Derrick Coleman, so McNitt and Marx may have a shot at making the team. At quarterback, there may be an opportunity for Benkert and Lamar Jordan to unseat Garrett Grayson as the third QB (assuming Jordan is being evaluated as a QB), though they are well set with Matt Schaub as the primary backup to Matt Ryan.
Benkert received a $60K guarantee to sign, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets, so it’s clear that the Falcons think highly of him. Benkert started his collegiate career at East Carolina before transferring to Virginia for the 2016 season. In two years as Virginia’s starter, he completed 57.7% of his passes with 46 touchdowns against 21 interceptions.
In other Falcons news, GM Thomas Dimitroff recently addressed speculation about the team’s relationship with star Julio Jones. The Falcons also triggered the fifth-year option for defensive end Vic Beasley recently.