Ethan Fernea

NFL Reserve/Futures Deals: 1/8/24

Many teams have started signing players to reserve/futures contracts, allowing organization to retain (routinely) young, practice squad players. Here are the latest reserve/futures contracts:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

  • OL Barry Wesley

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Denver Broncos

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

  • LB Brandon Bouyer-Randle, WR Davion Davis, CB D’Angelo Mandell

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/30/23

Here are today’s minor transactions and callups for the remainder of the Week 17 matchups:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Alualu is set to make his Lions debut after signing earlier this month. Given the injury issues Detroit has faced up front, the 36-year-old has the chance to see playing time through the close of the regular season and into the playoffs. Alualu expressed a desire to continue playing with the Steelers this offseason, but he remained a free agent deep into the year. His tenure in the Motor City could help boost his free agent stock if he wishes to remain in the league in 2024, though.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/23/23

Saturday’s gameday elevations and other minor moves around the league:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys 

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New York Jets

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

The Bills will not have depth running back Ty Johnson available for tonight’s game, leading to the decision to elevate Fournette. The former Super Bowl champion will thus make his Buffalo debut, although with lead back James Cook in the lineup, Fournette will likely not receive many looks on offense. The latter has already returned a kickoff for the first time in his career, however.

Signed to the Dolphins’ practice squad last week, Ingram will also make his 2023 debut in Week 16. The 34-year-old last played during his Miami stint in 2022, during which time he started three games and recorded six sacks. With Jaelan Phillips out for the year, Ingram will look to once again give the Dolphins a rotational presence off the edge.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/15/23

Here are today’s minor transactions, including some practice squad callups for the Saturday games:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Denver Broncos

Indianapolis Colts

Minnesota Vikings

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Commanders

Getting Charles back should provide a bit of a boost for a Commanders’ offensive line that has allowed quarterback Sam Howell to be sacked an NFL-leading 58 times. That being said, they led the league in that category when Charles was healthy, as well. Still, as Charles attempts to come back from the calf injury that sidelined him for six games, he’ll have to overcome second-year guard Chris Paul, who has been starting in his place since the injury. While Charles had been struggling in a contract year, his replacement has ranked as the fourth-worst guard in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

Wormley, Krull, and Senat all make their way up to the active roster for two reasons: first, injuries, and second, they’ve already appeared as standard gameday elevations off of the practice squad the maximum three times. In order to appear in any other games this year, all three needed to be signed to new contracts. If the players they are replacing come back from injury before the end of the season, any of them can be waived, re-signed to the practice squad, and elevated an additional three times.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/1/23

December’s first practice squad adjustments:

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Chargers

Hamler reportedly had joined the Colts’ practice squad at full health after undergoing offseason surgery to repair a partially torn pectoral muscle and taking time away from football to deal with pericarditis, a heart condition that didn’t require surgery but did necessitate medication. Despite being seemingly healthy at the time of his signing, Hamler has yet to be elevated for an in-game appearance in 2023 and is now headed to the practice squad’s injured reserve. It’s unclear if this newest transaction has anything to do with the 24-year-old’s previous health issues.

Colts Work Out WR Sammy Watkins

Sammy Watkins didn’t generate much interest this offseason, but the veteran has earned a midseason workout. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the veteran wide receiver auditioned for the Colts today.

Watson got into 12 games with the Packers and Ravens during the 2022 season, finishing with a career-low 16 catches for 325 yards. Despite having just turned 30 in June, it was quiet for Watkins throughout the offseason, with the wideout attending zero reported workouts.

While he’s years removed from his 1,000-yard season with the Bills, the former first-round pick has still topped 300 receiving yards in each of his NFL seasons. He spent a full year in Baltimore in 2021, collecting 394 yards, and he topped 400 yards receiving in each of his three seasons with the Chiefs (including a 2019 campaign where had 673 receiving yards). As Joel A. Erickson of the Indianapolis Star points out, Watkins generated interest from the Colts during the 2021 offseason, but the team ended up re-signing T.Y. Hilton.

As Rapoport notes, the Colts were in the market for a wide receiver at the deadline. Further, rookie Josh Downs left yesterday’s win thanks to a lingering knee injury, and it’s uncertain if he’ll be able to suit up against the Patriots this weekend.

Watkins wasn’t the only player who worked out for the Colts ahead of their trip to Germany. Per Erickson, the team also hosted wideout Ethan Fernea, offensive tackle Larnel Coleman, and guard Lachavious Simmons.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/10/23

Today’s minor moves:

Baltimore Ravens

  • Waived/injured: WR Makai Polk

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Following the addition of Shelby Harris, the Browns decided to let go of another defensive lineman. Michael Dwumfour got into nine games with the Texans and 49ers last season, compiling eight tackles. He joined the Browns earlier this offseason.

Logan Stenberg was a fourth-round pick by the Lions back in 2020. He saw a larger role in each of his three seasons with the organization, culminating in a 2022 season where he got into 16 games with four starts. The lineman also had a role on special teams in three seasons in Detroit, so there’s a chance he finds another gig elsewhere.

Players waived or released from IR often agree to an injury settlement with their team. Their previous placement on IR would have prevented them from seeing the field during the 2023 campaign; now that they’ve been released, they can sign elsewhere and play this season.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/5/23

Saturday’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts 

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

Signed: WR Jontre Kirklin

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Washington Commanders

The Browns waived receiver Daylen Baldwin yesterday, and more details on his situation have emerged today courtesy of NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (Twitter link). Baldwin tore a tendon behind his knee, and he will undergo surgery as a result. After his recovery (which is expected to take roughly six to eight weeks), Pelissero notes that a return is the Browns’ preference.

Vigil will add considerable experience to the middle of the Jets’ defense. The 29-year-old has started 53 of his 89 career games, though he has not operated as a full-time starter in recent years as he once did. Vigil spent the 2022 season in Arizona, where he was limited to only eight games played and logged a defensive snap share of 35%. Both Vigil and Eguavoen worked out with the Giants last month, but they will instead head to New York’s other franchise for the 2023 season.

Kirklin played four games with the XFL’s Houston Roughnecks, and he scored four touchdowns in the process. He will look to carry over that production at the NFL level as part of a Saints receiving corps which has plenty of uncertainty amongst its depth options.

Whittaker spent the past three seasons in Arizona, coming on and off the Cardinals’ practice squad a number of times. He was a key member of the team’s secondary last year, however, starting four of his six games played and logging a snap share of 74%. The 28-year-old will compete for a depth role behind the established starters at the CB spot in Washington.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/22/22

Here are the league’s minor moves going into Week 7:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

New York Giants

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders