Avery Williamson

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/23/21

Today’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

  • Signed: K Dominik Eberle

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Minnesota Vikings

  • Activated from COVID-19 list: G Kyle Hinton
  • Placed on COVID-19 list: CB Tye Smith
  • Signed: RB A.J. Rose

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Signed: OT Casey Tucker

Seattle Seahawks

  • Signed: LB Lakiem Williams

Washington Football Team

  • Released: QB Jordan Ta’amu

Broncos Sign LB Avery Williamson

Avery Williamson is heading back to Denver. The veteran linebacker is signing with the Broncos, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). It’s uncertain whether Williamson is joining the practice squad or going straight to the active roster.

After splitting the 2020 season between the Steelers and Jets, it took Williamson until November to sign with the Broncos practice squad. He was granted his release a week later, and he ended up joining the Titans active roster. He got into two games during his second stint in Tennessee, but he only saw time on 22 special teams snaps. He was ultimately cut by the Titans last week.

Williamson spent the first four seasons of his career in Tennessee. During that time, Williamson started 59 of his 63 games, collecting 376 tackles and 11.5 sacks. The Jets gave Williamson a nice contract in 2018, signing the former fifth-round pick for three years and $22.5MM. The linebacker missed the 2019 season after suffering a torn ACL, and he split the 2020 campaign between New York and Pittsburgh. He ultimately saw time in 15 games (10 starts) last season, collecting 111 tackles and one sack.

The Broncos were presumably seeking some additional linebacker depth after trading Von Miller at the trade deadline, and they’ve also got six linebackers sitting on IR. Now, they’ll have another chance to get Williamson up to speed on their defense.

Titans Add D’Onta Foreman To Practice Squad

The Titans have signed running back D’Onta Foreman to the practice squad, per a club announcement. Foreman will be joined by Adrian Peterson, who agreed to terms on Monday

[RELATED: Titans Sign Adrian Peterson]

Peterson is set for a quick promotion — he’ll likely be brought up to the varsity squad later this week. Foreman, meanwhile, will provide additional insurance at running back in the wake of Derrick Henry‘s injury. Henry’s foot trouble is expected to shelve him for a minimum of six weeks, but a late-season return remains possible.

The Titans have also released linebacker Avery Williamson from the 53-man roster while dropping running back Mekhi Sargent and defensive linemen Eli Ankou and Caraun Reid from the 16-man practice squad. That’ll give them enough room to accommodate the veteran tailbacks, though at least one of those players figures to return once Peterson is elevated to the active roster.

LB Avery Williamson Expected To Sign With Titans

Avery Williamson is heading to Tennessee. The veteran linebacker was granted his release from the Broncos practice squad and will be signing with the Titans active roster, according to Mike Klis of 9News in Denver (via Twitter).

Williamson’s stint in Denver lasted only a week; he signed with the organization last Tuesday. Now, he’ll be rejoining the Titans after having spent the first four seasons of his career in Tennessee. During that time, Williamson started 59 of his 63 games, collecting 376 tackles and 11.5 sacks.

The Jets gave Williamson a nice contract in 2018, signing the former fifth-round pick for three years and $22.5MM. The linebacker missed the 2019 season after suffering a torn ACL, and he split the 2020 campaign between the Jets and Steelers. He ultimately saw time in 15 games (10 starts) last season, collecting 111 tackles and one sack.

With Jayon Brown recently landing on injured reserve, the Titans were looking for some veteran reinforcement at linebacker. Williamson will certainly fit that bill, and there’s a good chance he sticks around Tennessee even when Brown returns.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/12/21

Today’s taxi squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

  • Signed: OL Austen Pleasants

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Broncos To Add LB Avery Williamson To Practice Squad

The Broncos are adding another experienced linebacker. After bringing Micah Kiser in, the team is signing veteran Avery Williamson to its practice squad, Ryan O’Halloran of the Denver Post tweets.

Denver worked out Williamson and Dylan Cole on Tuesday, Mike Klis of 9News tweets, and will give the taxi squad spot to the former.

This has been a mostly quiet year for Williamson, whom the Jets traded to the Steelers just ahead of last year’s deadline. After not being connected to a team this offseason, Williamson did audition for the Jets’ new regime recently. He will join a Broncos team that is down starter Josey Jewell for the season.

Denver has used second-year linebacker Justin Strnad in place of Jewell alongside Alexander Johnson as a starter on the inside but has added Kiser and will now have Williamson in the fold. Williamson, 29, has started 85 games as a pro, doing so with the Titans, Jets and Steelers.

The Jets gave Williamson a nice contract in 2018, signing the former fifth-round pick for three years and $22.5MM. He has four 100-plus-tackle seasons, with the most recent coming last season (111) after a missed 2019 campaign due to an ACL tear. Although Williamson is an off-ball linebacker, he has also been fairly prolific in rushing the quarterback. Williamson has 15.5 career sacks, with the 2020 season being the only one in which he did not record multiple QB drops.

Should Williamson be elevated to the Broncos’ active roster ahead of Sunday’s game, he would face the Steelers, who used him as a four-game starter following last year’s trade. Kiser and rookie third-rounder Baron Browning, however, are currently the team’s second-string linebackers. But reinforcements have been necessary across Denver’s lineup, which is missing several starters after an injury-plagued stretch.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/5/21

We’ll keep tabs on today’s taxi squad moves here:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Minnesota Vikings

  • Signed: DT T.J. Smith

San Francisco 49ers

Washington Football Team

Jets, LB B.J. Goodson Agree To Deal

B.J. Goodson is returning to New York. The veteran linebacker agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the Jets on Tuesday, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.

This contract will be worth up to $2.1MM and bring the former Giants fourth-round pick and multiyear starter back to the Big Apple. Goodson worked out for the Jets on Tuesday. Interestingly, the Jets also auditioned former big-ticket free agency addition Avery Williamson, whom they traded to the Steelers at last year’s deadline.

Goodson, 28, has 43 career starts; 14 of those came for the Browns last season. The former Giants and Packers cog established a key role in Cleveland, with which he made a career-high 91 tackles and intercepted two passes to help snap a 17-season playoff drought. Pro Football Focus graded Goodson as an upper-echelon coverage linebacker in 2020. The Titans met with Goodson in April. Otherwise, he enjoyed a quiet free agency stay.

The Jets are down Jarrad Davis with an injury that required an IR stay, and C.J. Mosley has rarely seen the field during his two-plus-year Jets tenure. While Mosley returned to action to start this season, Jet linebackers Jamien Sherwood and Blake Cashman are dealing with injuries.

Williamson, 29, was not connected to a team in the offseason. The previous Jets regime signed the ex-Titan standout to a three-year, $22.5MM deal in 2018. Williamson, however, missed all of 2019 due to injury and finished last season in Pittsburgh. He started four games with the Steelers, who were then without Devin Bush. Williamson led the 2018 Jets with 120 tackles, contributing three sacks as well.

Jets Trade Avery Williamson To Steelers

With a couple of days left until the deadline, we’ve got news of another major trade to pass along. The Jets are going to trade linebacker Avery Williamson to the Steelers.

Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News was the first to tweet that a deal was in the works, and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network quickly confirmed that the trade was in fact happening (Twitter link). Pittsburgh will send New York a 2022 fifth-rounder and get back a 2022 seventh-rounder, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Williamson will provide needed reinforcements at inside linebacker after the Steelers just lost stud Devin Bush for the rest of the season with a torn ACL.

Pittsburgh is the last undefeated team in the league and they’re looking like legit Super Bowl contenders, so it’s not surprising that they’re being aggressive. It makes plenty of sense for the 0-8 Jets as well, as New York is looking to sell off veteran assets in exchange for whatever draft capital they can get.

A fifth-round pick of the Titans back in 2014, Williamson signed a three-year, $22.5MM pact with the Jets in the 2018 offseason. He started all 16 games for New York that year, racking up a whopping 120 tackles, before missing all of last season with a torn ACL. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent this offseason and with Bush coming back in 2021, this will likely be a short-term rental.

The Jets have already shipped out Steve McLendon and Jordan Willis, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see things devolve into a full-blown fire sale in the next couple of days.

Trade Rumors: Thomas, Njoku, Watt, Jets

Saints head coach Sean Payton has said his team has no interest in trading star receiver Michael Thomas, though Thomas’ camp was recently said to be looking for potential deals. There has been no movement towards a Thomas trade, and whether that’s because New Orleans has no interest in dealing him or because the club has not received an offer it likes, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says Thomas will stay put.

With the trade deadline two days away, let’s round up a few more rumors on players who could be on the move:

  • The Browns don’t want to trade tight end David Njoku, but Njoku has renewed his request to be dealt, and Rapoport says Cleveland has been fielding calls on the former first-rounder. It may take at least a fourth-round pick to get a deal done, but with Austin Hooper set to return and with the emergence of rookie Harrison Bryant, the Browns may elect to move Njoku.
  • Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes that the Texans are at the center of the trade market, with one executive saying Houston could move as many as five players if it wants to. Rapoport expects the Packersinterest in Will Fuller — which dates back to the summer — to ramp up, but it will likely take a high pick to convince the Texans to move Fuller. Fellow WR Kenny Stills has also drawn some interest, though rival clubs see the contracts for Stills and Randall Cobb as prohibitive. DE J.J. Watt may be receptive to a trade, but considering his contract and age, other teams probably don’t value him like the Texans do.
  • The Jets have received calls on LB Avery Williamson, OTs George Fant and Chuma Edoga, and CB Quincy Wilson, per Albert Breer of SI.com. Rich Cimini of ESPN.com says the Steelers — who recently lost Devin Bush for the season — could be in the market for Williamson, and Edoga also seems like a good bet to be dealt since he does not look like a fit with the current regime.
  • La Canfora says teams have also called the Jets about WR Breshad Perriman and TE Chris Herndon, though Breer notes that safety Marcus Maye has not drawn much interest.
  • Rapoport names Dolphins RB Jordan Howard and Seahawks TE Jacob Hollister as two other players who could be moved. And though the Bengals are shopping disgruntled wideout John Ross, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com says there hasn’t been interest in Ross (Twitter link).