Here are Friday’s minor moves:
Buffalo Bills
Cincinnati Bengals
Dallas Cowboys
Las Vegas Raiders
New England Patriots
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
The Bills will be without a key piece for tonight’s game against the Patriots. Buffalo has placed A.J. Klein on the reserve/COVID-19 list, reports ESPN’s Field Yates (on Twitter).
Klein signed a three-year pact with the Bills back in 2020, and he started 11 of his 16 games during his first season in Buffalo, finishing with career-highs in tackles (75), sacks (five), and QB hits (nine). He also started one of his three playoff appearances. The 30-year-old has only started three of his 11 games this season, collecting 30 tackles.
The linebacker has been completed phased out of the defense in six appearances this year, but he’s seen significant roles in his other five appearances. As Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic tweets, tonight could have been one of those games where Klein saw time on defense, as the Bills could have relied on a three-linebacker look against the Patriots’ “fullback heavy approach.”
The Bills also promoted two players from the practice squad for tonight’s game (via Aaron Wilson on Twitter): nose tackle Eli Ankou and linebacker Joe Giles-Harris. Ankou has seen time in 29 career games, including an appearance with Buffalo in Week 12. Giles-Harris got into 14 games with the Jaguars between 2019 and 2020, and he’s spent the majority of the 2021 campaign on Buffalo’s practice squad.
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 Bills, Dolphins, Jets and Patriots moves are noted below.
Here are Wednesday’s AFC East transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day.
Signed:
Placed on IR:
Signed to practice squad:
Claimed:
Waived:
Signed to practice squad:
Claimed:
Waived:
Signed to practice squad:
Claimed:
Re-signed:
Waived:
Placed on IR:
The Bills cut 23 players from their roster today, making it to the 53-man limit. The team announced the following moves:
Released
Waived
As Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic points out, cutting Lewis came as a bit of a surprise considering the Bills’ lack of depth at cornerback. However, the reporter believes that today’s move is an indication that the team isn’t concerned about injuries to Levi Wallace, Dane Jackson and Taron Johnson. Lewis, a 2019 undrafted free agent, finished last season with seven tackles in five games (two starts). If he passes through waivers, he’ll likely end up on Buffalo’s practice squad.
Here are Sunday’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
Buffalo Bills
Carolina Panthers
Chicago Bears
Dallas Cowboys
Denver Broncos
Detroit Lions
Houston Texans
New Orleans Saints
Here is Saturday’s usual flood of minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
Carolina Panthers
Cleveland Browns
Dallas Cowboys
Denver Broncos
Green Bay Packers
Houston Texans
Jacksonville Jaguars
Indianapolis Colts
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
Pittsburgh Steelers
Washington Football Team
Here are Saturday’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
Atlanta Falcons
Baltimore Ravens
Carolina Panthers
Denver Broncos
Detroit Lions
Jacksonville Jaguars
Los Angeles Chargers
Los Angeles Rams
Minnesota Vikings
New England Patriots
Philadelphia Eagles
Pittsburgh Steelers
San Francisco 49ers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Washington Football Team
Here are Saturday’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
Atlanta Falcons
Buffalo Bills
Carolina Panthers
Chicago Bears
Dallas Cowboys
Denver Broncos
Detroit Lions
Houston Texans
Indianapolis Colts
Jacksonville Jaguars
Kansas City Chiefs
Las Vegas Raiders
Los Angeles Chargers
Miami Dolphins
Minnesota Vikings
New York Giants
Pittsburgh Steelers
Seattle Seahawks
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tennessee Titans
Washington Football Team
The NFL’s expanded coronavirus protocols have resulted in more players landing on teams’ respective reserve/COVID-19 lists. The Jaguars have the most crowded list, as of Saturday afternoon.
The Jags placed 12 of their 16 practice squad players on their reserve/COVID-19 list, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. This does not yet appear to be a case of a dozen positive tests. Jacksonville P-squad offensive lineman K.C. McDermott tested positive, and the league’s new contact tracing protocols have led the team to put the bulk of its practice squad on the COVID list for the time being.
Here are the players who joined McDermott on the Jags’ reserve/COVID list:
Suspended defensive end Josh Mauro will join McDermott and the slew of P-squad players on the COVID-19 list, Pelissero adds (on Twitter). Mauro has been suspended throughout the season for a positive PED test.
Considering players placed on this list must isolate for five days, the Jaguars will need to make some moves to fill out a practice squad following their Week 6 game. Even players who are asymptomatic after close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 must isolate for at least five days. The Jags face the Chargers next Sunday; there will be several new P-squad players to start their next week of practice.