Jeff Smith

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

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/11/23

Today’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Cleveland Browns

Indianapolis Colts

Pittsburgh Steelers

P.J. Walker has landed back on the Browns practice squad after getting cut from the active roster this past weekend. After spending the offseason with the Bears, Walker caught on with the Browns practice squad to begin the 2023 campaign. He ended up starting a pair of games for Cleveland, including a win over the 49ers. However, his one touchdown vs. five interceptions didn’t spark much optimism, and with Walker firmly behind Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Joe Flacco on the depth chart, the QB was demoted to the practice squad.

The former UDFA out of Temple spent the previous three seasons with the Panthers, starting seven of his 15 appearances. In 17 career games, Walker has completed 54.6 percent of his passes for 2,135 yards, six touchdowns, and 16 interceptions. He’s gone 5-4 in his nine career starts.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/2/23

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

  • Signed: CB Mark Milton

New Orleans Saints

Cory Littleton could provide a spark to the Saints defense. The linebacker started 37 of his 64 appearances for the Rams between 2016 and 2019, including a 2018 campaign where he earned second-team All-Pro honors after finishing with 125 tackles and four sacks. Following a three-year stint with the Raiders, Littleton spent the 2022 campaign with the Panthers, where he collected 47 tackles in 15 games (seven starts). He’s spent the 2023 season in Houston, where he primarily played on special teams.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/31/23

Here are Tuesday’s practice squad transactions in the NFL:

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

New York Giants

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/20/23

Wednesday’s practice squad transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

  • Signed: RB Carlos Washington Jr.

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

WR Kenny Golladay Worked Out For Jets

A former Pro Bowler worked out for the Jets yesterday. Per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, wide receiver Kenny Golladay auditioned for the Jets. However, a signing isn’t imminent, with Pelissero reporting that the Jets aren’t signing the free agent “at this time.”

Golladay is persona non grata in New York following a brutal tenure with the Giants. Golladay inked a four-year, $72MM contract only two offseasons ago, and following a first season in New York where he was limited to 521 yards in 14 games, he had only six catches in 12 games last year. Following those two forgettable seasons, Golladay was cut loose by the Giants back in March.

The Jets were banking on Golladay still possessing some of the talent he showed during his time in Detroit. Between the 2018 and 2019 campaigns, Golladay had 135 catches for 2,253 yards and 16 touchdowns.

The Jets haven’t done much to fill the spot previously held by Corey Davis, so there could be a role in New York for Golladay. Behind Garrett Wilson and Allen Lazard, the Jets are eyeing Mecole Hardman and Randall Cobb as their top backup wideouts. The team is also rostering Irvin Charles and UDFAs Jason Brownlee and Xavier Gipson.

Golladay wasn’t the only free agent who worked out for the Jets yesterday. Per Pelissero, the team also hosted quarterback Anthony Brown, running back Ellis Merriweather, and wide receivers James Proche and Jeff Smith.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/11/23

Here are the minor moves made around the league today:

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Indianapolis Colts

New York Giants

  • Released from IR with injury settlement: WR Jeff Smith

San Francisco 49ers

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/4/23

Here are today’s minor moves as we head into the weekend:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Removed from commissioner’s exempt list: OL Josh Sills

San Francisco 49ers

Sills was placed on the commissioner’s exempt list back in February when a grand jury indicted him on counts of rape and kidnapping. The charges stem from an event that allegedly took place back in December 2019. Today it was announced that Sills was acquitted of both charges, according to sources at The Athletic. The Eagles released a statement that, with his adjudication, he will return to the team’s active roster.

The 49ers announced that Johnson has been placed on season-ending injured reserve. They didn’t disclose the injury that will sideline the young edge they signed two months ago.

The Vikings are adding the XFL’s 2023 leading rusher in Smith. Smith had 791 rushing yards in 10 games last year.

Giants Sign Former Jets WR Jeff Smith

Wide receiver Jeff Smith will be staying in New York. He won’t be re-signing with the Jets in order to do so, though. The former Jet will be swapping Big Apple franchises and signing a new contract with the Giants, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

Smith originally signed with the Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2019. He was cut during final roster cuts before the regular season and signed to the team’s practice squad. Smith was promoted to the active roster for one game and recorded a catch for 12 yards as a rookie before being placed on injured reserve five days later. He would start 2020 on IR, as well, but would still play 12 games that season. He’s missed games here and there with injury, but for the most part, he’s remained on the active roster since being activated as a rookie.

Smith’s sophomore season was probably his strongest in terms of playing time and production. He received the fourth-highest offensive snap count in the wide receivers room behind Breshad Perriman, Jamison Crowder, and Denzel Mims. In the following years, Smith received the eighth- and sixth-highest snap counts in 2021 and 2022, respectively. 2020 was his strongest season statistically, too, as it saw him record career-highs in targets (37), receptions (17), and yards (167). He has yet to record an NFL touchdown. Smith signed an exclusive-rights free agent tender to remain with the Jets in 2022.

He leaves one New York team for the other as the Jets continue to target assets in an effort to satisfy Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who intends to play for the Jets once trade compensation is worked out. He makes his way to the Giants, where Kenny Golladay, Richie James, Marcus Johnson, and Darius Slayton have all found their way to free agency.

Slayton and James were the team’s top two receivers in terms of playing time and statistics last year. The Giants return a group of receivers that collectively missed a large portion of games in 2022. Smith will be competing with Isaiah Hodgins, Sterling Shepard, and Wan’Dale Robinson for the bulk of the team’s playing time. The three combined to miss 31 games last season. Should they struggle to stay on the field again, Smith will be competing with David Sills, Collin Johnson, and others for playing time behind them.

The Giants added a huge safety blanket for newly extended quarterback Daniel Jones, acquiring tight end Darren Waller from Las Vegas in a trade this week. They’ll need to add more than just Waller, though, if they expect to have a potent passing attack to supplement running back Saquon Barkley‘s ground game. Smith is a minor step towards that goal, but the team will likely need to do much more to be competitive.

RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/14/23

Today’s tender decisions from around the NFL:

RFAs

Tendered:

Non-tendered:

ERFAs

Tendered: