J.J. Taylor

Wednesday NFL Transactions: AFC East

Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline Tuesday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters. In addition to waiver claims, teams can begin constructing their 16-man practice squads today. These BillsDolphins, Jets and Patriots moves are noted below.

Here are Wednesday’s AFC East transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day.

Buffalo Bills

Placed on IR:

Signed to practice squad:

Miami Dolphins

Signed to practice squad:

New England Patriots

Signed to practice squad:

New York Jets

Signed to practice squad:

Patriots Trim Roster To 53 Players

The Patriots cut down their roster to 53 players today. In the process, they let go of a handful of recent draft picks, including a 2022 selection:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

The Patriots acknowledged some of their previous draft mistakes today. The team let go of three 2021 draft picks in wide receiver Tre Nixon, linebacker Will Sherman, and linebacker Cameron McGrone, and they even let go of a 2022 draft pick in sixth-round running back Kevin Harris. However, perhaps the biggest move was releasing tight end end Devin Asiasi. After waiving fellow 2020 third-round tight end Dalton Keene earlier this month, Asiasi was let go today. Despite his third-round status, Asiasi only saw time in 10 games for the Patriots in two years. With Asiasi and Keene out of the picture, it was expected that Lil’Jordan Humphrey would make the squad as a hybrid WR/TE. However, for the time being, the Patriots will roll with only two tight ends in Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith.

Terrance Mitchell started 29 games over the past two seasons in stints with the Browns and Texans, and he had a chance to compete for a starting gig in New England. However, despite all the uncertainty surrounding the position, the veteran wasn’t able to make his mark, leading to a surprising release. Justin Bethel is another surprising cut, as the veteran has established himself as a special teams ace in recent years.

NFL COVID List Updates: 12/22/21

We’ve compiled a list of players who were placed or activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list today. In some instances (including Christian McCaffrey and Travis Etienne), players activated from the list remain on IR:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Placed on list: T Le’Raven Clark

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/8/20

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

New England Patriots

Seattle Seahawks

Patriots Sign 16 UDFAs

The Patriots have announced agreements with 16 undrafted free agents. Here is their full list:

This four-receiver group will join a Pats team that both did not draft a wideout and one that rosters a soon-to-be 34-year-old Julian Edelman and a soon-to-be 31-year-old Mohamed Sanu. The latter is entering a contract year.

None of the rookie quartet put up standout career numbers. Thomas, who is 5-foot-10 and 174 pounds, left school early. He surpassed 16 yards per catch in two Hurricane seasons. Zuber transferred from Kansas State but barely eclipsed 200 receiving yards at Mississippi State. The 5-8 Riley served as the Orange’s kick and punt returner. Hastings, who is 5-10 and averaged 20.2 yards per catch as a junior in 2018, will see $57.5K of his rookie deal guaranteed, per Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter).

Harris finished his Razorbacks career with three straight 100-plus-tackle seasons and will see a sizable portion of his rookie deal guaranteed. The Pats are guaranteeing $140K of Harris’ contract, per NESN.com’s Doug Kyed (on Twitter). Bryant will receive a $50K guarantee, Kyed adds (via Twitter).

Taylor goes only 5-6, but he surpassed 3,000 rushing yards with the Wildcats in four seasons. While he only topped 30 receptions in one of those (2019), his 2018 season featured 1,434 rushing yards. Berry and Burt bring New England’s rookie tight end total to four, coupling with the two third-round picks the Pats used at the position. The two combined for just 40 career receptions.