Here are Thursday’s practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
Buffalo Bills
Detroit Lions
Los Angeles Rams
New Orleans Saints
San Francisco 49ers
Bobby Hart‘s stint with the Bills has already come to an end. After joining Buffalo late last month, the team waived the veteran offensive lineman today, per Aaron Wilson (on Twitter).
Hart has managed to stick in the NFL for seven seasons despite being selected in the seventh round of the 2015 draft. The lineman started 21 games for the Giants between 2015 and 2017. He later started 45 games (out of 46 appearances) for the Bengals between 2018 and 2020.
The Bengals dropped Hart in March and he’s been making the rounds ever since, spending time with the practice squads of the Bills and Dolphins. The Titans also picked him up for a bit, using him in three games this year. He joined the Bills when Spencer Brown was placed on reserve/COVID-19 list, and it always sounded like his stint in Buffalo was going to be temporary. Ultimately, Hart’s time with the Bills ended without him appearing in a game.
To fill the open spot on the roster, the Bills activated offensive tackle Tommy Doyle off the reserve/COVID-19 list (via Wilson on Twitter). The rookie fifth-round pick out of Miami (OH) has seen time in six games this season, although he’s only played on 15 offensive snaps.
The Bills have signed offensive lineman Bobby Hart, per a club announcement. He’ll help fill in for right tackle Spencer Brown, who was placed on the COVID-19/Reserve list earlier this week.
Hart has managed to stick in the NFL for seven seasons despite being selected in the seventh round of the 2015 draft. The lineman started 21 games for the Giants between 2015 and 2017. He later started 45 games (out of 46 appearances) for the Bengals between 2018 and 2020.
The Bengals dropped Hart in March and he’s been making the rounds ever since, spending time with the practice squads of the Bills and Dolphins. The Titans also picked him up for a bit, using him in three games this year. Now, the 6’5″, 330-pound lineman is back in Buffalo with a chance to play.
The Bills will likely start Daryl Williams alongside Dion Dawkins while Brown is out. They’ll be supported by Hart and fifth-round rookie Tommy Doyle.
The Bills advanced to 6-3 last week, cruising past the Jets 45-17. Next up, a Sunday afternoon tilt against the Colts in Buffalo.
Today’s practice squad transactions:
Arizona Cardinals
Atlanta Falcons
Baltimore Ravens
Cleveland Browns
Detroit Lions
Houston Texans
Jacksonville Jaguars
Las Vegas Raiders
Los Angeles Chargers
Miami Dolphins
New York Giants
Tennessee Titans
The Titans moved on from two players today. The team announced that they’ve waived offensive lineman Bobby Hart and defensive lineman Amani Bledsoe.
Hart has managed to stick around the NFL for seven seasons despite being selected in the seventh round of the 2015 draft. The lineman started 21 games for the Giants between the 2015 and 2017 seasons, and he later started 45 games (of 46 appearances) for the Bengals between 2018 and 2020. Hart was released by the Bengals back in March, and he’s spent most of the 2021 campaign on the Bills and Dolphins practice squad.
The 27-year-old joined the Titans back in October, and he started a game for the team while filling in for injured offensive tackles Taylor Lewan and Kendall Lamm. Hart ultimately saw time in three total games during his stint in Tennessee.
Bledsoe joined the Titans as an undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma in 2019, and after starting four of his 14 games with the Bengals in 2020, he returned to the Titans (via the practice squad) back in September. The 23-year-old saw time in five games (two starts) for the Titans this season, collecting a single tackle.
We’ve compiled today’s practice squad moves below:
Atlanta Falcons
Carolina Panthers
Chicago Bears
Cincinnati Bengals
Denver Broncos
Houston Texans
Miami Dolphins
New York Giants
Pittsburgh Steelers
Seattle Seahawks
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Washington Football Team
The Bills cut 23 players from their roster today, making it to the 53-man limit. The team announced the following moves:
Released
Waived
As Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic points out, cutting Lewis came as a bit of a surprise considering the Bills’ lack of depth at cornerback. However, the reporter believes that today’s move is an indication that the team isn’t concerned about injuries to Levi Wallace, Dane Jackson and Taron Johnson. Lewis, a 2019 undrafted free agent, finished last season with seven tackles in five games (two starts). If he passes through waivers, he’ll likely end up on Buffalo’s practice squad.
On a busy Tuesday for offensive line transactions, the Bills added some potential depth. They signed veteran tackle Bobby Hart.
The Bills signed Hart to a one-year contract. A former Giants seventh-round pick, Hart spent the past three seasons as the Bengals’ starting right tackle.
Despite Hart’s seventh-round arrival, he has spent extensive time in teams’ starting lineups. The Giants used him as a first-stringer in 21 games in three seasons but cut him on the first day of Dave Gettleman‘s GM tenure. The Bengals scooped Hart up and used the ex-Day 3 draftee as a 45-game starter — including all 16 games during the 2018 and ’19 seasons — and signed him to multiple contracts.
While Hart has been viewed as a low-end tackle option for much of his career, Pro Football Focus did give the Florida State alum his highest career mark last season and ranked him 49th among tackles. In Buffalo, however, Hart would be ticketed for a backup job.
The Bills recently re-signed right tackle Daryl Williams to a multiyear deal and have Dion Dawkins entrenched as their left tackle. The Bills did enter Tuesday light on swing tackle options. Hart, 26, would make sense for such a role.
The Bengals released defensive tackle Geno Atkins, head coach Zac Taylor announced. Atkins was due $12.2MM in non-guaranteed money, so the Bengals took the opportunity to wipe that from the books. In addition, the Bengals are also cutting quarterback Ryan Finley and offensive tackle Bobby Hart (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). All together, the moves will save the Bengals roughly $30MM in cap space.
Atkins fought through a shoulder injury throughout the season. Towards the end, it proved to be too much to play with. He suited up for just eight games in total, and, even when he was healthy, he wasn’t happy about his playing time. His final tally: zero sacks and zero starts. It was a sharp drop from his pre-extension season in 2017, when he finished out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 2 ranked interior defender. The Bengals could have had the perennial Pro Bowler under contract through 2022, but his $14.8MM cap hit for 2021 was too much.
Last year, he watched his longtime counterpart Carlos Dunlap — the No. 1 all-time Bengals sack leader — get shipped to the Seahawks. It’s now the 33-year-old’s turn to exit. He leaves with eight Pro Bowls to his credit and the second-highest sack total in franchise history.
Hart, whose release will yield ~$6MM in savings, was long rumored to be a cap casualty. And, with Riley Reiff in the mix, his services were no longer needed.