HEADLINES

Dante Pettis

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/9/24

November 9th, 2024 at 9:11pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s minor moves, including standard gameday practice squad elevations:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

  • Elevated: LB Curtis Bolton, WR Isaiah Hodgins

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Spector will miss at least the next four games as a result of the Bills’ move. He has remained a mainstay on special teams this year, having also done so in 2022 and ’23. The former seventh-rounder has made three starts on defense, however, so his absence will be felt moving forward. Linebacker has been a position hit hard by injuries this season, and Buffalo’s depth at the second level will now be tested even further.

Wattenberg had his 21-day practice window opened by the Broncos earlier this week, paving the way for today’s activation. The 27-year-old operated as the team’s starting center prior to going down after having won a summer competition for the gig with Alex Forsyth. Forsyth handled first-team duties over the past four games, drawing a superior PFF evaluation and therefore potentially playing his way into an extended look atop the depth chart. At a minimum, having Wattenberg back will give Denver – a team with three IR activations left – depth up front.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/15/24

October 15th, 2024 at 6:41pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s NFL practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: T Spencer Rolland

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Amos is far-removed from his days as a full-time starter in the NFC North. With Talanoa Hufanga on injured reserve, though, and only three safeties on the active roster, Amos could have an opportunity to make an impact in the Bay Area.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/5/24

September 5th, 2024 at 5:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

As the 2024 season kicks off, here are the day’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

  • Removed from IR via injury settlement: LB Cam Gill

Chicago Bears

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

  • Removed from IR via injury settlement: OL Ryan Hayes

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Signed off Cardinals’ practice squad: DL Ben Stille
  • Placed on IR: DL Earnest Brown
  • Removed from IR via injury settlement: LB Shaun Peterson, DL Lwal Uguak

Tennessee Titans

  • Removed from IR via injury settlement: LB JoJo Domann

Washington Commanders

The Ravens drafted Ali in this year’s fifth round. He entered the week joining Derrick Henry and Justice Hill as running backs on Baltimore’s 53-man roster. Kelly has since replaced him as Baltimore’s RB3. He will now join Keaton Mitchell as being on an injured list; the latter remains on the Ravens’ reserve/PUP list, sidelining him for at least four games. This designation shelves Ali for that period as well. The Ravens could use one of their injury activations to bring Ali back to the roster at that point.

Bears Drop Roster To 53

August 27th, 2024 at 5:38pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Bears have set their initial 53-man roster. Here is the full breakdown of the moves they made on Tuesday ahead of the cutdown deadline in addition to releasing veteran quarterback Brett Rypien:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

Placed on IR (designated for return):

With Rypien out of the picture, it will be interesting to see if Reed is kept the organization with a practice squad deal. For the time being, Chicago’s only passers are Caleb Williams and Tyson Bagent. It comes as no surprise those two were kept on the 53-man roster, of course, but it neither Rypien nor Reed are available in the next few days, the Bears will be in the market for a depth addition.

Waitman was one of two punters in place during the offseason, so the decision to cut him means fourth-round rookie Tory Taylor has won the gig. Waitman, 29, played for the Steelers in 2021 and the Broncos the following season. He led the NFL in punts during his full campaign in Denver, but he did see any regular season action in 2023. Waitman signed a futures deal in the winter, the Taylor selection suggested he would need to find a new home once roster cuts took place.

Borom and Martin were not named to the initial 53-man roster, per a new role for 2024. Teams may designate two players to return from IR before naming their rosters, although they are still required to miss at least the first four games of the season. In Pettis’ case, on the other hand, today’s move confirms he will be sidelined for the entire campaign.

Bears To Re-Sign WR Dante Pettis

March 15th, 2024 at 2:34pm CST by Sam Robinson

Dante Pettis missed last season due to injury. Since the wideout last played, the Bears have changed offensive coordinators and are likely to change quarterbacks. But the veteran pass catcher will have another chance.

The Bears are re-signing Pettis to a one-year deal, ESPN.com’s Courtney Cronin tweets. The former 49ers second-round pick played an auxiliary role for the 2022 Bears. He will join a receiving corps that now includes Keenan Allen, whom the team acquired late Thursday night.

Pettis re-signed in 2023 but opened training camp on the Bears’ non-football injury list; he was not activated until August. Chicago then shuttled the veteran backup, who had served as a part-time starter for a receiver-thin 2022 Bears edition, to IR. That ended Pettis’ season. Even with Luke Getsy gone, the team will give Pettis another shot.

Pettis did not stick in San Francisco, and he did not exceed 110 receiving yards in a season from 2019-21. The Bears took a flier on him during a 2022 offseason in which they added a few receivers — Byron Pringle, Equanimeous St. Brown, N’Keal Harry among the others — on low-cost short-term deals. Pettis caught 19 passes for 245 yards and three touchdowns that season.

The Bears now have Allen and D.J. Moore atop their receiver depth chart, and another addition early in the draft could be in play for a team that will be ready to supply Caleb Williams with weapons. The team added Gerald Everett to pair with Cole Kmet this week, while acquiring pass-catching back D’Andre Swift. At wide receiver, the likes of Tyler Scott and Velus Jones reside as Chicago’s tertiary options presently.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/6/23

September 6th, 2023 at 7:45pm CST by Ely Allen

Minor moves from around the league as we prepare for tomorrow’s season opener:

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

  • Waived from IR with injury settlement: LB Vi Jones

Bears Place WR Dante Pettis On IR

August 25th, 2023 at 2:47pm CST by Adam La Rose

Dante Pettis will not play a second Bears campaign. The team announced on Friday that the receiver and returner has been placed on IR.

As a result of that move, Pettis will not be eligible to play in 2023. He signed with Chicago last offseason and contributed both on offense and special teams. He registered 19 catches for 245 yards and three touchdowns, while serving as the Bears’ punt returner. He ran back 18 punts on an average of 9.1 per return.

The former second-rounder opened training camp on the non-football injury list, and he was only activated earlier this month. That gave him limited opportunies to earn a place in Chicago’s new-look receiver room or the primary punt return gig. Both a depth role on offense and a more prominent one on special teams was something Pettis was in competition for with 2022 third-rounder Velus Jones. After finding himself on the roster bubble, the latter is now in better position to secure a spot during next week’s cutdowns.

Pettis re-signed for the veteran minimum in April after his debut Bears season. Today’s news will keep him sidelined for the campaign and hurt his value on the open market next offseason. After flashing potential as a rookie with 467 yards and five touchdowns, the Washington alum has failed to replicate that success during his subsequent campaigns, which were also spent with the 49ers and Giants. Another low-cost deal no doubt awaits him upon his return to full health.

In addition to moving on from Pettis, the Bears waived fellow wideout and returner Joe Reed with an injury designation. The latter, a 2020 Chargers fifth-round pick, made 11 appearances as a rookie but has yet to see any regular season action since then. He will revert to IR if he goes unclaimed.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/9/23

August 9th, 2023 at 8:19pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are the minor transactions from around the league as we wrap up training camp and officially head into the preseason:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Signed: RB Stevie Scott

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Waived/injured: T Nicolas Melsop

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/25/23

July 25th, 2023 at 7:43pm CST by Ben Levine

With a number of teams preparing for the start of training camp, a long list of players were placed on inactive lists today. We’ve compiled all of those and today’s other minor moves below:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Commanders

Free Agents

Isaiah Wilson hasn’t had an NFL gig since he was released by the Giants in January of 2022. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero tweets that the free agent lineman was slapped with a three-game suspension, but it’s uncertain what led to the temporary ban. Wilson was a first-round pick by the Titans in 2020 but got into only one game with Tennessee before getting shipped off to Miami. He was waived by Miami after showing up late to his team physical, and his practice squad stint with New York only lasted one season.

Max Garcia is an experienced addition to the Saints OL room, with the veteran having most recently started seven of his 12 appearances with the Cardinals in 2022. The 31-year-old has 59 games of starting experience, although Pro Football Focus was iffy on his production last year (63rd among 77 qualifying offensive guards).

Following a three-year stint in Cleveland, Terrance Mitchell has spent the past two seasons bouncing around the NFL. He got into 14 games (13 starts) for the Texans in 2021, finishing with 60 tackles and 10 passes defended. He spent the 2022 season with the Titans, finishing with 39 tackles in 11 games (five starts). 49ers fifth-round pick Darrell Luter Jr. is set to miss some time with a knee injury, providing Mitchell with an opportunity during training camp.

Bears WR Velus Jones On Roster Bubble

June 20th, 2023 at 12:31pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Bears figure to have an improved receiving corps in 2023 given the team’s moves at the position this offseason. One returning member of the unit could face a signficant challenge to remain on the roster during training camp, however.

Velus Jones will need to prove his worth as both a kick and punt returner during the remainder of the offseason, writes Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic (subscription required). Jones was a third-round pick last year, something which was met by some with surprise given his age (25) at the time, and raised expectations for him both on offense and special teams as a rookie. The Tennessee alum was used as a receiver, rusher and returner, but his main impact was in the latter category.

Jones totaled just 210 scrimmage yards on offense, seeing limited opportunities in a Bears offense which featured more established players ahead of him on the depth chart and which was among the league’s most run-heavy. He did find success in the kick return game, though, recording 607 yards on 22 runbacks (good for an average of 27.6 per return).

With respect to punt returns, though, veteran Dante Pettis occupied the Bears’ lead role. He returned 18 punts for 163 scoreless yards, and that special teams position is one he would likely be limited to in 2023 if he were to remain in the Windy City following roster cuts. Jones figures to have a higher overall upside and is under contract for the next three years, but Fishbain notes he will need to put together a notable training camp performance to avoid finding himself a cut candidate.

Chicago’s WR room is of course topped by D.J. Moore, part of the return the team got from the Panthers in the blockbuster trade involving this year’s No. 1 pick. Moore was a must-have for the Bears in large part due to his contract status, and his addition should boost what was the league’s least-productive passing offense in 2022. When at full health, Chicago will also have Darnell Mooney, Chase Claypool, Equanimeous St. Brown and fourth-round rookie Tyler Scott available at the receiver spot.

If he remains a gadget-type player on offense, Jones will be hard-pressed to earn much in the way of playing time and touches this season. With a role mostly limited to special teams, the presence of Pettis could lead to a legitimate competition for a single returner role. As a result, Jones’ footing on the Bears’ roster may not be as secure as his age and draft stock would initially suggest heading into Year 2.

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