Gabriel Murphy

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/7/24

Saturday’s minor transactions, including gameday practice squad elevations:

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Eagles starting tight end Dallas Goedert has been placed on injured reserve, so Jenkins will come up from the practice squad for a little added depth.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/29/24

Here are the latest practice squad transactions from around the NFL:

Atlanta Falcons

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

San Francisco 49ers

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/27/24

Wednesday’s minor transactions, including some standard gameday practice squad elevations for the Thanksgiving Day slate:

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

  • Designated to return from IR: CB Myles Harden

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Vikings’ release of Murphy is disappointing one for the organization for sure. The rookie pass rusher out of UCLA was not healthy enough to be on the active roster to start the season, but Minnesota liked him enough to dedicate one of their eight IR activations on him in August. He was activated yesterday but hit waivers today. If he clears the waivers, he’ll be available to sign to the team’s practice squad.

Adams has seen his biggest NFL roles during his time in Pittsburgh. Though he hasn’t gotten the same number of starts as he had in 2022 and 2023, he’s continued the same level of production. After missing the last four games, he’ll be looking to return to the field soon.

Vikings Sign LB Jamin Davis, Place LB Ivan Pace On IR

The Vikings made a handful of changes to their linebackers corps today. The team’s newest addition is Jamin Davis, who was signed to the 53-man roster from the Packers practice squad. The team also activated linebacker Gabe Murphy off injured reserve and placed linebacker Ivan Pace on IR.

A former first-round pick by the Commanders, Davis was let go by Washington last month. The linebacker showed flashes through his first three seasons in the NFL, including 2022 and 2023 campaigns where he started 28 games while compiling 193 total tackles, six sacks, and two forced fumbles. With a new staff in Washington, Davis found himself on the outside looking in with his squad. After having his fifth-year option declined, the fourth-year player only saw time on 86 defensive snaps in five games this year.

Davis was quickly scooped up by the Packers, who stashed the new addition on the practice squad. After spending almost one month on Green Bay’s taxi squad, Davis will return to an active roster in Minnesota.

The newest addition will likely be taking the spot held by Pace, who has started all nine of his appearances in 2024. The former UDFA has settled into an important role as a sophomore, collecting 59 tackles and three sacks. Pace suffered a hamstring injury on Sunday that limited him to only five defensive snaps. He’ll now have to miss at least the next four games, with his earliest return marked for December 29 against the Packers.

Blake Cashman will continue to lead the linebackers depth chart, with Kamu Grugier-Hill and Brian Asamoah mixing in with Davis for the leftover snaps. The team clearly likes Murphy, a UDFA out of UCLA, but the rookie will likely be eyeing a special teams role for the stretch run of the season. Murphy landed on IR before the season with a knee injury.

Vikings Cut Robert Tonyan, Kene Nwangwu To Move Down To 53

The Vikings will begin the season without T.J. Hockenson. In addition to the standout tight end, Minnesota will be without some other notable names. Here is how the Vikings trimmed their roster to 53:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

  • WR Malik Knowles

Placed on season-ending IR:

Placed on IR/return designation:

The Vikings were taking calls on both Nwangwu and Roy, according to NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo and Tom Pelissero. Minnesota gave Roy’s agent a change to find a trade partner. Neither effort came to fruition, and the duo ventured to waivers. Nwangwu is an interesting cut, as he is the rare kick returner who thrived under the old kickoff setup in its final years. The former fourth-round pick totaled three kick-return TDs from 2021-22. The Vikings could not find room for him, with the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling noting his issues catching on as a pure running back mattered. He has only totaled 27 carries over the past two seasons. A 2023 fifth-rounder, Roy played 96 defensive snaps last season.
Despite Hockenson heading to the reserve/PUP list, the Vikings moved Tonyan off their roster. The rare player to complete a full division sweep, the NFC North veteran signed with the Vikings this offseason. Minnesota only gave the ex-Green Bay, Chicago and Detroit tight end $150K guaranteed. The team still has Johnny Mundt and blocking specialist Josh Oliver at the position. Best known for his 11-touchdown 2020 season, Tonyan also caught 53 passes in 2022. He was not used often in Chicago, however, and Minnesota does not look to have the veteran in its plans.
Wright arrived recently in a trade from the Cowboys. Minnesota sent Dallas former second-round pick Andrew Booth in exchange for Wright, who had one season left on his rookie contract. This has been a rough month for Kwesi Adofo-Mensah‘s first draft; the team waived the player it landed for Booth and cut 2022 first-rounder Lewis Cine as well.
Risner and Murphy can return after four games. The Vikings will move their injury-activation count from eight to six, however, as both players already count toward Minnesota’s regular-season limit. Risner started 11 games with the Vikes last season and re-signed this offseason.

Vikings Sign 17 UDFAs

With the draft in the rearview mirror, teams are bringing in undrafted free agents. The Vikings added 17 players to their offseason roster via the UDFA route; here is Minnesota’s class:

Not exactly a hotbed for NFL talent, Mercer will send two wide receivers to the same team. These two pass catchers are the second and third Mercer products to land an NFL opportunity in the past decade. James is the Division I-FCS program’s all-time receiving leader; he earned first-team All-American honors in 2023. The former Georgia recruit surpassed 1,100 receiving yards in each of the past two seasons, adding 20 receiving TDs. Operating as an all-purpose player, Harper combined for four return scores for the Bears. Harper set a school record with 78 grabs alongside James last season.

ESPN’s Scouts Inc. ranked Knox as this draft class’ No. 205 overall prospect; he is heading to Minneapolis after five college seasons (the recent norm for UDFAs due to the COVID-19 waiver). After four seasons at Arkansas, Knox transferred to South Carolina. He caught 37 passes for 312 yards and two TDs last season. Murphy was part of UCLA’s Laiatu Latu-led edge-rushing contingent. After a 7.5-sack 2021 season, he registered eight — along with 16 tackles for loss — last year. Murphy will attempt to make a Vikings team that is revamping on the edge, bringing in Jonathan Greenard and first-rounder Dallas Turner after losing Danielle Hunter, D.J. Wonnum and Marcus Davenport.

Gant is a former four-star recruit who transferred from Ohio State, earning first-team All-MAC honors after heading north to Toledo. Rolland — a Harvard transfer — started as one of Drake Maye‘s pass protectors for the past two seasons, while Cindric started 17 games at center and 17 more at guard at Cal.