HEADLINES

Chase Cota

Giants Sign RB Jacob Saylors

June 18th, 2024 at 8:44pm CST by Ben Levine

With Saquon Barkley no longer leading the backfield, the Giants face an uncertain RB corps. The team has added another option to the mix, as the team announced that they’ve signed running back Jacob Saylors. In a corresponding move, the team placed wide receiver Chase Cota on injured reserve.

Saylors had 3,851 yards and 33 touchdowns during his time at East Tennessee State. That performance helped earn him preseason and practice-squad jobs with the Bengals and Falcons as an undrafted rookie. After getting cut by Atlanta’s practice squad late last season, Saylors ended up catching on with the St. Louis Battlehawks of the UFL. There, he rushed for 461 yards and five touchdowns.

Now, he’ll be looking to make his NFL debut with the Giants, although he faces an uphill battle to make the roster. Devin Singletary is expected to lead the depth chart, with Saylors joining a backup grouping that features the likes of Eric Gray, Jashaun Corbin, and rookies Dante Miller and Tyrone Tracy Jr..

Cota has bounced around the NFL since going undrafted out of Oregon in 2023. The wideout has had stints with the Lions, Chiefs, Texans, and Giants. After not receiving a reserve/futures contract with the Texans at the end of the 2023 campaign, he ended up getting that opportunity from the Giants. Unfortunately, Cota suffered an injury that required him to land on IR, although depending on the severity, an injury settlement could allow him to catch on with another squad.

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/23/24

January 23rd, 2024 at 7:27pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s reserve/futures contracts:

Buffalo Bills

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/12/23

December 12th, 2023 at 8:51pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

  • Signed: TE Chris Pierce

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: WR Thyrick Pitts
  • Released: LB Austin Ajiake

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Signed: CB Matt Hankins

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New York Jets

  • Signed: OT Obinna Eze

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Mason Crosby‘s stint with the Rams has already come to an end. The veteran kicker was added to the practice squad with Lucas Havrisik struggling, and there was speculation that the long-time Packers kicker was going to get the start when he was promoted to the active roster. Crosby ended up being inactive against the Ravens, the first time in his career that he earned that designation.

Crosby will now look to continue his career elsewhere. The Packers moved on from their all-time scoring leader following a 2022 season where Crosby connected on 86.2 percent of his field goal attempts and 37 of his 39 XP tries.

Chase Cota is the son of former NFL safety Chad Cota, and he’s also the cousin of fellow Texans practice squad safety Brady Breeze. The wide receiver spent four years at UCLA before transferring to Oregon for the 2022 campaign. He finished that season with career-highs in receptions (36), receiving yards (497), and touchdowns (three). He spent the preseason with the Lions before catching on with the Chiefs practice squad. He spent the majority of the 2023 season in Kansas City before getting cut from the taxi squad last week.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/5/23

December 5th, 2023 at 6:23pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Tuesday’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

  • Signed: WR Davion Davis
  • Placed on practice squad injured list: WR Jared Wayne

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/26/23

September 26th, 2023 at 8:28pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Signed: S A.J. Finley

New England Patriots

  • Released: CB William Hooper

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

Geron Christian is back in Houston for his second stint with the team, as the lineman started eight of his 14 appearances for the Texans in 2021. The former Washington third-round pick spent the 2022 campaign with the Chiefs, where he mostly played on special teams in his 10 games.

A pair of notable running backs found jobs today. Deon Jackson joined the Browns practice squad after getting cut by the Colts last week. The RB started Week 1 for Indy, and he ultimately finished his stint with the team having collected 504 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns in 27 games. Meanwhile, Jeremy McNichols is heading to San Francisco after having spent the past two seasons as one of Derrick Henry‘s backups. The former fifth-round pick got into 30 games between 2021 and 2022, collecting 655 yards from scrimmage.

Lions Announce 53-Man Roster

August 29th, 2023 at 10:55pm CST by Ben Levine

We knew the Lions were going to make a handful of QB transactions leading up to today’s deadline, with Hendon Hooker destined for NFI and Nate Sudfeld tearing his ACL. Of course, the team made many additional moves to get to the 53-man roster limit:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Activated from PUP:

Placed on reserve/NFI:

Placed on reserve/suspended:

Placed on IR:

Released from IR:

Craig Reynolds spent the past two seasons with the Lions, and he made the most of his opportunities while on the field. He was limited to 14 games across the two seasons, but the RB still posted 500 yards from scrimmage on 94 touches. With a new-look depth chart in 2022, Reynolds found himself on the outside looking in.

The same goes for Benny Snell, who joined the organization earlier this offseason. The running back has spent his entire career in Pittsburgh, starting five of his 63 appearances. He didn’t miss a game for Pittsburgh over the past three seasons, although he’s seen a drop in productivity. After compiling 429 yards from scrimmage during the 2020 campaign, Snell has only collected 218 yards in 34 games since.

Lions Sign 15 UDFAs

May 13th, 2023 at 9:36am CST by Ben Levine

With the Lions kicking off rookie minicamp yesterday, the team was busy adding 15 undrafted free agents to their roster:

Per Tim Twentyman of the team’s website, Lions Brad Holmes expressed enthusiasm about their year’s UDFA class, with the GM noting that three unspecified players were actually on Detroit’s draft board.

One of the team’s most notable additions is Steven Gilmore, the younger brother of former NFL DPOY Stephon Gilmore. The Marshall product had nine interceptions and 34 passes defended during his five collegiate season, and his ability to play multiple positions in the secondary (plus special teams) could give him a strong opportunity to earn a roster spot.

The Lions used a third-round pick on Hendon Hooker, but that didn’t stop them from adding a QB in free agency. Adrian Martinez had a prolific showing at Nebraska before transferring to Kansas State, where he paired an underwhelming 1,261 passing yards with 627 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. His passing inconsistency led to him going undrafted, but the Lions could get creative with how they use the dynamic runner.

Speaking of, Keytaon Thompson was a backup quarterback at Mississippi State before transferring to Virginia as a wideout. He was productive in the slot during his two seasons as Virginia, hauling in 131 receptions for 1,569 yards.