Joe Banyard

Minor Moves: Saturday

Here are some minor transactions that have occurred this Saturday before the rest of the week two action begins:

  • The Bears have promoted three players to their active roster for Sunday’s game against the 49ers, reports Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribute (via Twitter). Receivers Josh Bellamy and Chris Williams will be suited up tomorrow, along with center Taylor Boggs.
  • The Vikings have signed running back Joe Banyard off of their practice squad, reports Adam Caplan of ESPN (via Twitter). The team has waived full back Zach Line to make room for Banyard.
  • The Patriots have promoted linebacker Deontae Skinner to their active roster, reports Field Yates of ESPN (via Twitter). The team waived linebacker Darius Fleming to make room for the roster move.

Earlier updates:

  • The Jaguars have waived fifth-round pick Chris Smith, reports Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union (via Twitter). The defensive end was released to make way for the signing of safety Craig Loston.
  • The Raiders have officially promoted linebacker Bojay Filimoeatu from the practice squad to the active roster, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (via Twitter). Wilson originally reported the teams plans to do so yesterday, and it has now become official. Filimoeatu slots in the roster spot that was vacated when the team placed Taiwan Jones on the injured-reserve, according to Wilson (via Twitter).
  • The Lions are promoting safety Nate Ness to the active roster, reports Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter). Birkett has not played in a game since 2011.

Sunday/Monday Transactions: NFC North

Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four NFC North teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions are noted below.

Additionally, as of 11:00am CT today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. For the 2014 and 2015 seasons, changes were made to practice squad rules that allow teams to carry eight players instead of 10, and the eligibility requirements for those extra two spots were also loosened. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.

Here are Sunday’s NFC North transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:

Chicago Bears:

Detroit Lions:

Green Bay Packers:

Minnesota Vikings:

Free Agent Notes: Patterson, Bailey, Kafka, Painter

It was a busy day in the NFL, and plenty of free agents are now looking for a new home. Let’s see where some of them could be heading…

  • The Texans have already expressed interest in former Jets cornerback Dimitri Patterson, tweets ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
  • The Saints don’t have a kicker on their roster, but they shouldn’t be worried. Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole tweets that there are plenty of options in free agency, including Ryan Succop, Connor Barth and Jay Feely.
  • NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport spoke to Champ Bailey‘s agent, Jack Reale, who indicated that the veteran “definitely” still wants to play and is completely healthy. He had a plantar problem which is resolved. He just missed too much time for the coach’s evaluation to be complete,” Reale said (via Rapoport’s Twitter).
  • The Buccaneers will look to bring back quarterback Mike Kafka to their practice squad, tweets the Tampa Tribune’s Roy Cummings.
  • Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com wonders if the 49ers could have interest in offensive lineman Vinston Painter. Florio refers to the 49ers attempt to sign Painter away from the Broncos prior to the conference championship games.
  • If Joe Banyard clears waivers, he will end up on the Vikings practice squad, tweets Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
  • The Bills aren’t expected to add another quarterback, tweets ESPN’s Adam Caplan.

Vikings Cut Fred Evans, Others

7:05pm: The Vikings roster is officially down to 53 players, as the team formally announced their transactions in a press release. The following players have been cut by Minnesota:

Released:

Placed on Injured Reserve:

  • Antonio Richardson, OT

2:24pm: The Vikings have released veteran defensive lineman Fred Evans on their way down to 53 players, according to Pro Football Talk (via Twitter). The longtime Viking has 94 games under his belt for the team since arriving in Minnesota in 2007, but it seems he won’t have a spot on the club’s regular-season roster this time around. Here are all of the Vikings’ Saturday roster cuts: