Elijah McGuire

Chiefs Add DT Andrew Billings, OT Roderick Johnson To Practice Squad

The Chiefs have added a pair of veterans to their practice squad. The team signed defensive tackle Andrew Billings and offensive tackle Roderick Johnson to their taxi squad, per ESPN’s Field Yates (on Twitter). Running back Elijah McGuire was released from the practice squad.

Billings was a fourth-round pick by the Bengals in 2016. He started 30 of his 32 games between the 2018 and 2019 seasons, collecting a total of 3.5 sacks, 12 tackles for loss, and 11 QB hits. The defensive tackle joined the Browns during the 2020 offseason, but he chose to opt out of the subsequent season. Billings ended up seeing time in only six games for Cleveland in 2021, collecting a single tackle. He was ultimately waived by the organization before catching on with the Dolphins practice squad.

Johnson, a fifth-round pick by the Browns in 2017, spent the majority of his career in Houston. After getting into only one game through his first two years in the NFL, the lineman saw a larger role in both 2019 and 2020. Johnson got into 28 games (with six starts) through those two seasons, including a 2020 campaign where he appeared in 245 offensive snaps. Johnson spent the entire 2021 campaign with the Dolphins organization.

McGuire has spent the past year-plus with the Chiefs organization, but he didn’t make a regular-season appearance for Kansas City. The former sixth-round pick got into 24 games for the Jets between 2017 and 2018.

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

Chiefs Cut WR Antonio Callaway

The Chiefs are down to the 85-man limit. On Tuesday, the club dropped five players from the roster, including wide receiver Antonio Callaway (waived/injured). In addition, they’ve waived/injured tight end Evan Baylis, waived defensive back Manny Patterson, placed running back Elijah McGuire on IR, and released wide receiver Chad Williams outright. 

[RELATED: Chiefs’ Laurent Duvernay-Tardif Out 4-6 Weeks]

The Browns selected Callaway in the fourth round of the 2018 draft after a productive career at the University of Florida. He entered the league with plenty of red flags, and he was largely unable to overcome them in the pros, resulting in multiple suspensions. But he also displayed plenty of promise in his first season with Cleveland, playing in 16 games (11 starts) and recording 43 catches for 586 yards and five TDs.

Last year, Callaway dressed for five ‘Fins games, but registered only two grabs for 20 years and one touchdown. Now, the former Brown, Dolphin, and XFL Viper will look to catch on with another team as the 2021 season draws closer.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/18/21

We’ll keep tabs on today’s “minor” moves here:

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Rams

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/22/20

Here are Tuesday’s practice squad decisions:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

  • Placed on practice squad reserve/COVID-19 list: DE Anthony Edwards

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

  • Activated off practice squad reserve/COVID-19 list: WR Ishmael Hyman

Chicago Bears

  • Signed: RB Spencer Ware
  • Activated off practice squad injured list: WR Thomas Ives

Cleveland Browns

  • Placed on practice squad reserve/COVID-19 list: DB Elijah Benton

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

  • Placed on practice squad reserve/COVID-19 list: DE David Irving

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

  • Released: OL Andrew Jones

Washington Football Team

Clyde Edwards-Helaire Out For Rest Of Regular Season

Chiefs rookie running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who has enjoyed a strong first season in the pros operating as the starting running back for the 13-1 defending champions, is out for the rest of the regular season, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (via Twitter). The No. 32 overall pick of this year’s draft suffered a hip and ankle injury in Sunday’s victory over the Saints.

X-rays came back negative, but CEH will miss Kansas City’s final two games of the regular season. Rapoport says in a separate tweet that the running back will have a shot at returning for the postseason, but it doesn’t sound like a sure thing.

The good news is that the Chiefs likely won’t need Edwards-Helaire for the next few weeks anyway. The club is all but certain to secure the AFC’s lone first-round bye, so CEH will have about a month to heal up before the divisional round of the playoffs. In 13 games (all starts) this season, the former LSU standout has 181 carries for 803 yards (4.4 YPC) and four TDs. He’s added 36 catches for 297 yards and a score through the air.

Le’Veon Bell will get the lion’s share of the work in CEH’s absence. The two-time First Team All-Pro has been reasonably effective in his time in Kansas City, maintaining a 4.0-YPC average across 56 carries with the club. He has two rushing scores and 12 catches for 90 yards.

Kansas City is also thinking about some depth to its RB room. Per ESPN’s Field Yates (via Twitter), the club is bringing in Elijah McGuire for a visit. McGuire has not seen any regular season action since 2018, but the Chiefs are familiar with what he can do. The former sixth-round pick of the Jets spent the end of the 2019 campaign and all of this year’s training camp with KC but was cut before the start of the 2020 season. He has spent time on the Cowboys’ and Dolphins’ taxi squads this year.

Dolphins Place Myles Gaskin On Reserve/COVID-19 List

One week after Myles Gaskin returned from IR, he experienced another setback that is set to sideline him again. The Dolphins placed their top running back on their reserve/COVID-19 list Saturday. Gaskin tested positive for the coronavirus, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter).

Gaskin joins Matt Breida and Jamal Perry as running backs on Miami’s coronavirus list, leaving the Dolphins shorthanded for their Week 14 game against the Chiefs. Gaskin’s positive test will knock him out for at least two Dolphin games.

The Dolphins have not activated Breida, whom they placed on the virus list last week, as of Saturday afternoon. The transactions deadline looms soon. Miami did, however, promote Elijah McGuire from its practice squad. McGuire will join tight end Chris Myarick and defensive end Tyshun Render in being elevated to the active roster.

Gaskin totaled 141 scrimmage yards last week, upon returning from an MCL sprain. The Dolphins are now extremely thin in the backfield, with Salvon Ahmed also out. Gaskin practiced in full Friday but will miss the pivotal AFC matchup. Miami’s backfield depth chart — as far as healthy players go — consists of DeAndre Washington, Patrick Laird and McGuire. The Dolphins acquired Washington from the Chiefs in a pre-deadline trade.

AFC East Notes: Edelman, Jets, Dolphins

Matthew Slater is in the midst of his 13th NFL season. With the Patriots currently spending a week on the West Coast, the California (and UCLA) product is appreciating what could be the final homecoming of his career.

“I don’t know how many more chances I’m going to have to play football in California, where my dreams started as a kid. It certainly means a lot,” Slater told ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “For our team, it’s another game, and they’ll be the two biggest games of the season. It certainly carries a little extra significance for me, especially the second one, needless to say.”

Yesterday’s game against the Chargers marked Slater’s first game in Los Angeles since his final season at UCLA in 2007. As Reiss notes, Slater’s father, Jackie, spent 19 of his 20 NFL seasons playing in Los Angeles for the Rams.

The 35-year-old special teams ace has spent his entire career on the opposite coast in New England. Slater has earned three Super Bowl rings, eight Pro Bowl appearances, and five first-team All-Pro nods. He also earned a spot on New England’s 2010s All-Decade Team.

Some more notes out of the AFC East…

  • One of Slater’s teammates won’t be returning to the field very soon. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that wideout Julian Edelman is “still a couple of weeks” away from rejoining the Patriots. The 34-year-old landed on IR back in October after undergoing knee surgery, and he was recently placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Edelman, who has 21 receptions for 315 yards this season, is still planning to play again in 2020, according to Schefter.
  • A surprising name has popped up as a potential suitor for the inevitable head coaching vacancy with the Jets. WFAN radio host Boomer Esiason suggested that former Steelers head coach Bill Cowher could be an option for New York. “He was saying to me yesterday, he’s the one that told me the Jets job is going to be really attractive, and they could hire whomever they want, and he told me he loves [G.M.] Joe Douglas,” Esiason said (via Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com). Cowher hasn’t coached since the 2006 season. He currently holds a 149-90 record, and he won a Super Bowl championship with Pittsburgh in 2005.
  • The Dolphins auditioned running back Elijah McGuire recently, according to Schefter (on Twitter). The former Jets sixth-round pick has bounced around the NFL a bit, including a stint on the Cowboys practice squad that ended back in October. The 26-year-old has appeared in 24 career games (five starts), rushing for 591 yards and four touchdowns. He’s also added 36 receptions for 370 yards and two scores.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/9/20

We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad updates here:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

  • Signed: T Greg Senat

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

  • Signed: OT Jaryd Jones-Smith

New England Patriots

  • Signed: G Corey Levin
  • Released: FB Paul Quessenberry

New Orleans Saints

  • Signed: DE Marcus Willoughby

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 2/4/20

Here are today’s reserve/futures deals:

Arizona Cardinals

Kansas City Chiefs