Joel Heath

NFL COVID-19 List Updates: 1/4/22-1/5/22

Here are Tuesday and Wednesday’s activations from and placements on the reserve/COVID-19 lists:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

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

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: TE Jared Cook, LB Damon Lloyd (remains on IR)

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

Lions Place Joel Heath On IR

The Lions have placed defensive lineman Joel Heath on injured reserve, per a club announcement. This was the expected move after Heath suffered a torn ACL while working out at the Lions’ facility earlier this week.

Heath, a Michigan State product, went undrafted in 2016 and signed his first deal with the Texans. He went on to appear in 32 games for Houston, including 16 starts. Then, the Broncos claimed him towards the end of 2019 and re-upped him in 2020, but he didn’t see any action in Denver and opted-out of the 2020 season.

Heath hooked on with the Lions earlier this year with the hope that he would crack the defensive line rotation. Unfortunately, he suffered a freak injury midway through a bag drill on Wednesday. Now, he’ll focus on recovery with an eye on 2022.

The Lions’ revamped 3-4 scheme will feature newcomer Michael Brockers plus Day 2 rookie DLs Levi Onwuzurike and Alim McNeill. Meanwhile, Romeo Okwara and Trey Flowers will be shifted to outside linebacker.

Lions DL Joel Heath Tears ACL

Joel Heath opted out of the 2020 season, and the veteran defensive lineman will now be unable to play in 2021. Heath suffered a torn ACL while working out at the Lions’ facility Wednesday, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.

Heath went down during an individual period at Lions OTAs, which began Monday. The Lions signed Heath in February, shortly after the Broncos released him. He signed a one-year, $990K contract.

The Broncos claimed the former Texans UDFA off waivers late in the 2019 season and re-signed him in 2020. He did not end up seeing any action with Denver, however. Heath, 27, became a Texans starter early in his career, despite his low-level NFL entrance. Over his first two seasons, Heath started 15 games with Houston. He has become a backup in the years since.

As a result of the opt-out and this injury, Heath will face longer odds in a potential bid to make a roster in 2022.

Minor NFL Transactions: 2/2/21

Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:

Denver Broncos

Los Angeles Rams

  • Signed to reserve/futures contract: LS Steven Wirtel

Pittsburgh Steelers

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/28/20

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves in this post. In addition to the transactions listed below, note that Broncos DT Joel Heath and Giants CB Shakial Taylor, who had previously been listed as cut, actually opted out of the 2020 season. As Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network tweets, both players were reinstated to their teams’ rosters and placed on the Reserve/Opt-Out List. The full (and final) opt-out tracker can be found here:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Pittsburgh Steelers

2020 NFL Opt Out Tracker

Per an agreement between the NFL and the NFLPA, players with COVID-19 health concerns can opt out of the 2020 season. Initially, the deadline was believed to be Tuesday, August 4. Talks between the league and the union have pushed it to August 6.

Chiefs guard and medical school graduate Laurent Duvernay-Tardif was the first player to officially opt out. Scores of players followed.

Here’s the rundown, so far:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

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 Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • T Brad Seaton

Tennessee Titans

  • OL Anthony McKinney

Washington Football Team

Free agents

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/27/20

Teams are trimming players earlier than usual this year, thanks to the NFL’s recommendation for an 80-man roster max. We’ll keep track of the latest minor moves here:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

  • Waived: G Evan Adams, G Daishawn Dixon, T R.J. Prince, K Nick Vogel

Buffalo Bills

Cincinnati Bengals

  • Waived: CB Isiah Swann

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Miami Dolphins

Philadelphia Eagles

Tennessee Titans

Broncos Re-Sign DL Joel Heath

Joel Heath is heading back to Denver. ESPN’s Field Yates reports (via Twitter) that the defensive lineman has re-signed with the Broncos.

Heath was claimed off waivers by Denver in late December, but he was non-tendered by the organization earlier this offseason. Ultimately, the front office opted to bring back the 26-year-old.

The former undrafted free agent out of Michigan State spent the first three-plus seasons of his career with the Texans, including a 2017 campaign where he started nine of his 13 games. In total, Heath has compiled 34 tackles and three sacks in 32 career games, although he’s been limited to only seven regular season games over the past two years.

The Broncos have been relatively busy revamping their defense line this offseason. They acquired Pro Bowler Jurrell Casey from the Titans, and they brought back restricted free agent Mike Purcell.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/30/19

A handful of minor moves to pass along:

Cincinnati Bengals

  • Claimed off waivers (from Packers): CB Tony Brown

Denver Broncos

  • Claimed off waivers (from Texans): DE Joel Heath

Jacksonville Jaguars

  • Claimed off waivers (from Cowboys): S Josh Jones

Pittsburgh Steelers

As veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer points out (on Twitter), the waiver claims will be deferred to February 3rd (the day after the Super Bowl).