Jason Huntley

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/12/23

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Signed: LB Ty Shelby
  • Released: OT Austen Pleasants

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Wednesday NFL Transactions: AFC South

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 ColtsJaguarsTexans and Titans moves are noted below.

Houston Texans

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Indianapolis Colts

Placed on IR:

Signed:

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad: 

Jacksonville Jaguars

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Tennessee Titans

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Released:

Released from IR via injury settlement:

Colts Move Roster To 53

Some higher-profile Colts news has overshadowed their roster construction, but the Jonathan Taylor drama factors into Indianapolis’ roster construction. Here is how the team moved down to 53:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

Placed on reserve/PUP:

Placed on reserve/suspended list:

While Funk could be a practice squad candidate, Indianapolis’ 53-man roster includes three running backs: Deon Jackson, Zack Moss and fifth-round rookie Evan Hull. Moss is rehabbing a broken arm and looms as a candidate for in-season IR. The Colts released late-summer pickup Kenyan Drake recently. The Taylor move sidelines the disgruntled All-Pro for the first four games.

Smith, Rodgers, Strachan and Winfree moving off the roster leaves only four receivers (Michael Pittman, Alec Pierce, Josh Downs and Isaiah McKenzie) on the active. It seems likely another will be added before Week 1. Even with Brown gone, Indy’s 53-man roster houses five tight ends. Jelani Woods, Mo Alie-Cox, Kylen Granson, fifth-round rookie Will Mallory and Drew Ogletree, a second-year sixth-rounder, comprise that group. This would seem to be a place the Colts would be willing to cut into, should they be awarded any players on waivers before Wednesday’s 11am CT deadline.

The Colts added Harrison this offseason, signing the former Browns safety after the Browns brought in 2022 Colts cog Rodney McLeod. It should be expected Harrison, who is going into his sixth season, lands somewhere soon. Teams can keep up to six vested veterans on their respective practice squads, leaving the door ajar for Harrison — who only signed with the Colts on Aug. 14 — to stay. The 26-year-old defender has 45 starts on his resume.

Colts Sign Two Free Agents; RB Kareem Hunt Leaves Without Deal

The Colts made a few transactions today including the signings of running back Jason Huntley and tight end Ricky Seals-Jones, according to the team’s Twitter account. While the added depth is surely appreciated, it is likely a bit disappointing for Colts fans following the free agency activity surrounding running back Kareem Hunt.

Shortly after leaving New Orleans without a new contract, Indianapolis becomes the second straight visit that doesn’t result in a deal for the veteran rusher, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

Hunt reportedly had a “great” visit with the Saints before making his way up to Indiana. The two locations he’s visited recently have situations that could allow for some early playing time. The Saints will be down a running back as Alvin Kamara serves a three-game suspension to start the year due to his role in a violent altercation a year and a half ago. New Orleans does still have a strong rusher at the top of the depth chart after signing Jamaal Williams this offseason, but the depth behind Williams is fairly inexperienced.

The Colts, on the other hand, may be getting a little desperate. Jonathan Taylor took his holdout to another level yesterday, leaving camp to rehabilitate his ankle injury. As backups Zack Moss and Deon Jackson are dealing with their own injuries, the Colts are currently relying only on recent signee Kenyan Drake and a trio of inexperienced options.

Hunt reportedly fielded offers from both teams with guaranteed money proving to be the main difference. While offering around the same amount that the Colts are expected to pay, the Saints’ deal includes more incentives that will make Hunt earn the money without guarantees.

Huntley and Seals-Jones appear to be depth signings to help Indianapolis make it through the preseason healthy. Huntley has only appeared in six games over his first three NFL seasons after getting drafted in the fifth round by the Eagles. He only has 18 rushes for 70 yards in his young career.

Seals-Jones likely has a better chance to push for a roster spot in 2023. Mo Alie-Cox and Jelani Woods are both dealing with injuries heading into the preseason, and Seals-Jones has some solid experience. Appearing in games for four teams over his five years in the league, Seals-Jones has seen spurts of success throughout his career. The converted college wide receiver saw career-highs in 2018 in receptions (34) and receiving yards (343) and caught four touchdowns the following year. Only two seasons ago, he started six games in Washington. He missed all of last season while dealing with a toe injury but could bring some quality starting experience for the Colts if healthy.

In order to make room on the roster for Huntley and Seals-Jones, the Colts waived/injured tight end La’Michael Pettway and safety Michael Tutsie.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/1/23

Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

  • Signed: RB Toriano Clinton, TE La’Michael Pettway, T Dan Skipper
  • Waived: T Jordan Murray, TE Kaden Smith, DT Jamal Woods

Las Vegas Raiders

New England Patriots

  • Claimed (from Bears): WR Thyrick Pitts
  • Placed on reserve/retired list: WR Jalen Hurd

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Chosen in the third round by the 49ers back in 2019, Hurd never ended up seeing regular-season action. A converted running back who played in front of Alvin Kamara at points while at Tennessee, Hurd transferred to Baylor and became a wide receiver. Two season-ending injuries — a back malady in 2019 and an ACL tear in 2020 — derailed Hurd’s 49ers tenure. The team cut him during the 2021 season. Barely a week after the Patriots signed Hurd, it appears he is throwing in the towel on an injury-plagued career.

Penisini had unretired this offseason, joining the Panthers. The former Lions sixth-rounder played two seasons on his rookie contract but called it quits in June 2022. His unretirement will precede a Panthers exit. The Lions are moving Zylstra off their 90-man roster due to a severe knee injury. If unclaimed, Zylstra would revert to Detroit’s IR list. Zylstra has seen action in 17 games for the Lions over the past two seasons.

Hassenauer will require surgery to repair a triceps injury, and this transaction will shut him down — as far as the Giants are concerned. The only way Hassenauer can play in 2023 would be if the Giants removed him from IR via an injury settlement. Hairston suffered a herniated disk during practice, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson (on Twitter).

Could Steelers Keep Only Two RBs On Roster?

In 2022, five running backs (including one fullback) recorded carries for the Steelers offense. Starter Najee Harris and then-rookie Jaylen Warren accounted for 91 percent of those carries (349 of 384 total). The next two most-active carriers, Benny Snell and Derek Watt, are currently free agents, while Anthony McFarland is on a reserve/futures contract after spending last season on the team’s practice squad. All signs are pointing to an offense heavily featuring Harris and Warren, but is it possible that Pittsburgh would go so far as to only keep two running backs on their roster going into the 2023 season? Mark Kaboly of The Athletic seems to think so. Let’s break it down.

First of all, the name of the game for NFL running backs these days is “youth.” With a 25-year-old Harris heading into his third NFL season and a 24-year-old Warren heading into his second, the Steelers may be better set up than any team to roll confidently with two backs for a full season. Harris hasn’t missed a game since entering the NFL, and after leading the NFL in touches as a rookie, he shouldered another heavy load last year with the sixth-most touches in the league.

Warren wasn’t asked to do much in his rookie season. He only averaged about five carries per game, but despite playing less than half the number of snaps as Harris, Warren showed he has potential catching out of the backfield. He recorded 15 fewer receiving yards than Harris, but Warren averaged 7.6 yards per catch to Harris’s 5.6. He fits as an ideal relief back for Harris who can slide in on passing downs when needed. He hasn’t shown that he can carry the team if needed, but neither has any other back on their roster. Plus, Harris hasn’t put Pittsburgh in that position yet during his short career.

McFarland is struggling to hold on to a roster spot in Pittsburgh. After appearing in 11 games as a rookie in 2020, McFarland has only appeared in three games in the two seasons since. The team waived him in its final roster cuts before last season, negating his four-year rookie contract, before signing him to the practice squad and, eventually, a futures contract.

Pittsburgh also signed running back Jason Huntley to a futures contract this offseason after he spent the 2022 season on the practice squad. Huntley has 18 career carries for the Eagles over his first two years in the league but didn’t contribute at all to the Steelers offense last year.

Additionally, the team signed three undrafted free agents: small school backs Darius Hagans out of Virginia State and Alfonzo Graham out of Morgan State as well as Iowa fullback Monte Pottebaum. Hagans and Graham put up strong 2022 seasons for the Trojans and Bears, respectively, but neither is really considered a big threat to push Warren for backup or receiving back duties. Pottebaum was a distinguished scholar at Iowa and a strong special teams contributor.

Of all the above-mentioned backs, McFarland and Pottebaum have the strongest cases for making the 53-man roster with Harris and Warren. Special teams coordinator Danny Smith reportedly has a number of holes to fill in his units, but if he can do so without McFarland or Pottebaum, their chances of making the team will plummet.

Pottebaum has the added opportunity of solidifying himself as a true fullback, filling the void left by Watt. Even that’s not a sure thing, though, as tight end Connor Heyward could always revert back to that role, if needed. Before playing his redshirt senior season and his rookie NFL season at tight end, Heyward spent four years at Michigan State as a stout running back. If the Steelers decided to utilize his blocking and receiving abilities in a fullback/H-back type of role, they may continue to carry four tight ends on the roster in lieu of a third running back.

So, there you have it. As insane as it may seem in today’s NFL, the Steelers may be well on their way to carrying only two running backs on their 53-man roster. They fully trust Harris and Warren to carry out the duties of the room between them, and they can always cheat a little by borrowing a bit from the tight end room, if necessary.

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/10/23

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

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

New England Patriots

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/18/22

Here are Tuesday’s practice squad additions and subtractions:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Signed: LB Blake Lynch
  • Released: WR Stanley Berryhill

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: S Innis Gaines
  • Released: CB Benjie Franklin, LB Ray Wilborn

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

  • Signed: WR DeMichael Harris

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

  • Released: WR Kevin Kassis

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/12/22

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit lions

Jacksonville Jaguars

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/2/22

Teams are still constructing their initial 16-man practice squads. Here is the latest on how those are shaping up:

Arizona Cardinals

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Commanders

  • Signed: LB De’Jon Harris