James Carpenter

NFL COVID-19 List Updates: 12/29/21

Several key players returned to practice Wednesday. Here are the latest COVID-19 updates from around the league:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

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 Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Activated from practice squad/COVID-19 list: WR Rico Bussey

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

Saints’ COVID Surge

Yesterday, the Saints saw 9 players hit the reserve/COVID-19 list including quarterbacks Taysom Hill and Trevor Siemian who were expected to handle the duties behind center for the rest of the year with Jameis Winston on IR with a torn ACL. In addition to those two, guard James Carpenter, linebacker Kaden Elliss, defensive back Jeff Heath, defensive end Jalyn Holmes, defensive back Malcolm Jenkins, defensive tackle Christian Ringo, and tackle Jordan Mills all found themselves on the COVID list. Besides the quarterbacks and full-time starter Jenkins, the other six players have a combined 8 starts between them.

With three quarterbacks currently unavailable for Monday Night’s matchup with the Dolphins, the Saints are expected to start the rookie fourth-round pick out of Notre Dame, Ian Book. As we reported earlier this morning, New Orleans also made the move of signing Blake Bortles as a contingency plan behind Book.

Well, despite the addition, the Saints didn’t fair any better today, losing full-time starters Ryan Ramczyk at tackle and Demario Davis at linebacker to the reserve/COVID-19 list, as well as reserves running back Dwayne Washington and safety J.T. Gray.

With the losses, the Saints will continue to operate with a depleted roster, like every other NFL team this year. The Saints’ lineup now lacks the likes of regular starters like Winston, Hill, Jenkins, Ramczyk, Davis, kicker Wil Lutz, tackle Andrus Peat, tight end Adam Trautman, and wide receiver Michael Thomas. Although they look like a shell of the team they could be at full strength, the Saints, along with the rest of the NFL, will continue to work to make the most of a bad situation as they currently sit only two spots outside of the final Wild Card spot with a 7-7 record, losing the tiebreakers to current 7-seed Minnesota and 8-seed Philadelphia.

Saints Place Taysom Hill, Trevor Siemian On Reserve/COVID-19 List

The Saints are the latest team with a virus issue. It may well lead the playoff-contending squad starting a rookie at quarterback Monday night.

New Orleans placed Trevor Siemian on the reserve/COVID-19 list earlier Thursday morning, Jeff Duncan of NOLA.com notes, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com adds that Taysom Hill will also be moved to the virus list (Twitter link). Rookie Ian Book is the next man up. The Notre Dame product is likely to get the call Monday night.

Book would be New Orleans’ fourth QB starter this season, following Jameis Winston, Siemian and Hill. The Saints selected the ex-Fighting Irish standout in the fourth round. This certainly could stall the Saints’ recent momentum. After nearly falling out of the playoff race during a stretch without Alvin Kamara, the Saints have won two straight — including a 9-0 win in Tampa that doubled as Tom Brady‘s first shutout loss in 15 years.

Sean Payton has not been at the facility this week; the 16th-year head coach remains away from the team after testing positive for COVID last week. The Saints chose Book 133rd overall. He started three seasons at Notre Dame, topping out with a 34-touchdown pass season as a junior in 2019.

Book is also the winningest starting QB in Notre Dame history. He stands to be tasked with helping the Saints stay on the No. 7 seed line in the NFC playoff race. The Saints’ win over the Buccaneers moved them to 7-7; FiveThirtyEight.com gives the team a 44% chance to make the playoffs. New Orleans being forced to give the keys to a Day 3 rookie with zero regular-season snaps will impact those odds.

The Saints also added seven more players to their reserve/COVID-19 list. Malcolm Jenkins is among them. Joining the veteran safety are safety Jeff Heath, guard James Carpenter, offensive lineman Jordan Mills, defensive end Jalyn Holmes, D-tackle Christian Ringo and linebacker Kaden Elliss.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/11/21

Here is how teams finalized their Week 14 rosters:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/8/21

Here are Wednesday’s practice squad moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Dallas Cowboys

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Rams

  • Released: WR JJ Koski

Las Vegas Raiders

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

  • Signed: WR Travis Toivonen

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Ravens Cut G James Carpenter

A week after promoting James Carpenter to their active roster, the Ravens parted ways with the veteran guard. Carpenter is no longer on Baltimore’s practice squad.

While the 11th-year blocker could return at some point, as teams commonly bring back players they jettison from their respective taxi squads, the longtime starter has not seen any action this season.

The former Seahawks, Jets and Falcons offensive lineman has started 121 career games, being a multiyear starter for each of his previous teams. A starter in both Super Bowl XLVIII and Super Bowl XLIX, Carpenter landed a nice Jets contract in 2015 and caught on with the Falcons in ’19. The Falcons cut the 32-year-old veteran in March, and the Ravens added him in October.

Baltimore moved guard Ben Cleveland off its IR list Saturday and has seen Tyre Phillips return from IR recently as well. Adam Redmond also resides as a Ravens practice squad guard.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/11/21

Today’s minor NFL transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Los Angeles Chargers

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Ravens Designate Nick Boyle For Return

The Ravens have designated tight end Nick Boyle to return from the injured reserve list, per a club announcement. Meanwhile, they’ve reversed course on their waiver claim of Brandon Knight, as the former Cowboys offensive lineman did not report to the team. Instead, the Ravens pivoted to veteran offensive lineman James Carpenter

[RELATED: Ravens Activate Bateman, Phillips From IR]

Boyle opened the year on IR as he was still healing up from his November knee injury. A recent microscopic surgery helped somewhat, but also elongated his rehab. The good news is that Boyle is back to provide blocking for a Ravens squad that will be without Ronnie Stanley. The All-Pro left tackle opted to go under the knife this week, ruling him out for the rest of the year.

Boyle’s best season as a receiver came in 2019, when he had 31 catches for 321 yards and two touchdowns. The Ravens still have him under contract through 2023 thanks to the two-year, $13MM extension he inked back in January.

Ravens Add OL James Carpenter To Practice Squad

James Carpenter had landed his next gig. The veteran offensive guard is signing with the Ravens, reports NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (via Twitter). Carpenter will initially be joining Baltimore’s practice squad, but he’ll presumably join the active roster once he’s ready to go.

Carpenter came into the league as a tackle when he was drafted in the first-round by the Seahawks way back in 2011, but he was quickly switched to guard. He started 13 games for Atlanta this past season, and 11 the year before. The Alabama product spent his first four years in Seattle, then signed a four-year deal with the Jets in 2015.

He completed that deal and started all 16 games for New York in three of those seasons. He signed a four-year, $21MM deal with Atlanta in 2019, but only made it halfway through that pact before he was cut but the team back in March. The 32-year-old had remained a free agent since that time.

The Ravens’ offensive line had one of their best games of the season yesterday against the Chargers. While Lamar Jackson was sacked three times, Baltimore still managed to rush for 187 yards and three touchdowns. Still, that hasn’t stopped the front office from adding to the offensive line. Earlier today, the Ravens claimed offensive tackle Brandon Knight off waivers from the Cowboys.

North Notes: Darrisaw, Carpenter, McFarland

Let’s round up a few items from the league’s North divisions:

  • Vikings LT Christian Darrisaw, the No. 23 overall pick of this year’s draft, has undergone two procedures for a groin injury in 2021, which delayed the start to his pro career. But he saw his first snaps at the left tackle position in last week’s win over the Lions, and he will get the start there against the Panthers today, as Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets. Rashod Hill had been trying to hold down the fort in Darrisaw’s absence, but he struggled, and today marks the true beginning of the Darrisaw era on the blindside.
  • The Ravens worked out free agent guard James Carpenter on Friday, as Doug Kyed of Pro Football Focus tweets. Baltimore is on the lookout for OL depth after placing rookie guard Ben Cleveland on IR earlier this week. This marks the first reported interest in Carpenter since he was released by the Falcons in March.
  • Even though the Steelers drafted RB Najee Harris in the first round of this year’s draft, 2020 draftee Anthony McFarland hoped to have a meaningful role on offense. But as Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review details, McFarland sustained a torn MCL during the preseason and has been on IR ever since. He was designated for return last week, and Rutter says the Maryland product will most likely be back on the field after the Steelers’ Week 7 bye.