Charlie Thomas III

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/15/24

With a handful of teams getting eliminated from the playoffs this weekend, those front offices are starting to prepare for the offseason. Here are today’s reserve/futures deals, with the majority coming from recently eliminated squads:

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/16/23

Today’s minor transactions and standard gameday elevations for the Sunday slate of games:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Wilkinson returned to practice this week, and will be eligible to return to the lineup on Sunday given today’s activation. The addition of a starter up front will be welcomed by the Cardinals by giving them stability at the left guard spot in particular and by providing an upgrade in protection ahead of a matchup against the stout 49ers defensive front in general. The Cardinals now have four IR activations remaining.

Street was acquired from the Eagles at the trade deadline after he failed to find playing time this season. The 27-year-old has started all five of his appearances in Atlanta, however, racking up 14 tackles (including four for a loss) and one sack. Those numbers will help his free agent market this offseason, but a pectoral injury will sideline him for at least four weeks. If the Falcons fall short of the postseason, therefore, Street will not return in 2023.

McCain was a full-time starter with the Commanders over the past two seasons, but his release led to a one-year Giants agreement. The former fifth-rounder has 87 starts to his name, but he has been unable to carve out a role in New York’s secondary, playing only 19 defensive snaps. McCain has logged a 50% snap share on special teams, however, so his absence in the third phase will be notable if he is claimed off waivers or signed as a free agent by an interested team.

Wednesday NFL Transactions: AFC North

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 BengalsBrownsRavens and Steelers moves are noted below.

Cincinnati Bengals

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Baltimore Ravens

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Cleveland Browns

Claimed:

Placed on IR:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Pittsburgh Steelers

Released:

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Browns Trim Roster To 53

The Browns found a new kicker today, but on roster deadline day, that obviously wasn’t their only move. The organization made a number of cuts to get to the 53-man roster limit:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on reserve/NFI:

At one point, Demetric Felton looked like he could be a worthy backup to Nick Chubb, but the versatile offensive weapon has fallen down the depth chart. The former sixth-round pick had an okay rookie season in 2021, finishing with 205 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. However, he was limited to only three touches in eight games last season.

Kellen Mond seemed like a long shot to make the roster, and the Browns ultimately decided to role with only two quarterbacks in Deshaun Watson and rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson. Mond has only gotten into one regular season game, completing two passes for the Vikings in 2021.

Browns Sign 9 UDFAs

With rookie minicamps taking place this weekend, many teams which have not already done so have unveiled their undrafted free agent classes. Here is the breakdown of the rookies who will look to make the Browns’ 90-man roster:

The Browns have made a pair of sizeable financial commitments out of this group. One is to Diabate, whom Tom Pelissero of NFL Network tweets will receive $250K in guaranteed money. That figure ranks amongst the highest handed out in 2023, and will raise expectations for the Utah product in training camp. Diabate spent his first three seasons at Florida, but his most productive pass-rushing campaign came in 2022 with the Utes. He totaled five sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss in 12 games.

Cleveland also earmarked $250K in guarantees for Phelps, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 (Twitter link). The 6-3, 244-pounder put up big numbers in his final season at Miami (Ohio) in 2021, then transferred to Kansas. The step up in competition resulted in a new career high in tackles (57), along with another notable campaign in terms of sacks (seven) and tackles for loss (11.5). Phelps, along with Diabate, will look to give the team added depth in the front seven, a spot which has been a point of emphasis during the offseason.

Greaney put himself on the NFL radar with a career year in 2022. The 6-6, 249-pounder posted a 50-693-9 statline in 11 contests last year, helping earn him FCS second-team All-American honors. The Browns have David Njoku at the top of their TE depth chart, but they have been relatively quiet on the free agent front in adding backups behind him. They also elected not to draft a tight end, which could give Greaney an opportunity to push for a roster spot during the summer.