Minor NFL Transactions: 10/30/21
Here is the Week 8 Saturday minor move blitz:
Atlanta Falcons
- Promoted: LB Daren Bates, LB James Vaughters
Buffalo Bills
- Promoted: TE Kahale Warring
Carolina Panthers
- Placed on IR: DE Darryl Johnson
- Promoted: P Lachlan Edwards, WR Keith Kirkwood
Chicago Bears
- Activated from IR: T Larry Borom
Cincinnati Bengals
- Promoted: DE Khalid Kareem, RB Trayveon Williams
Cleveland Browns
- Promoted: CB Tim Harris, S Jovante Moffatt
Denver Broncos
- Activated from IR: LB Jonas Griffith
- Promoted: LB Barrington Wade
Detroit Lions
- Activated from IR: DE Da’Shawn Hand
- Promoted: S Jalen Elliott, TE Brock Wright
Houston Texans
- Placed on IR: C Justin Britt
- Promoted: LB Hardy Nickerson, G Lane Taylor, OL Cole Toner
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: TE Kendall Blanton
- Promoted: DB Antoine Brooks, DB Tyler Hall
Miami Dolphins
- Promoted: LB Vince Biegel, RB Patrick Laird, CB Jamal Perry
Minnesota Vikings
- Promoted: TE Luke Stocker, DE Kenny Willekes
New England Patriots
- Promoted: DT Daniel Ekuale
New Orleans Saints
- Activated after six-game suspension: DT David Onyemata
- Placed on IR: G Andrus Peat (story)
- Promoted: T Jordan Mills, WR Kevin White
New York Jets
- Activated from IR: LB Jarrad Davis
- Promoted: LB Noah Dawkins, QB Josh Johnson, DE Jabari Zuniga
- Released: S Jarrod Wilson
Philadelphia Eagles
- Promoted: RB Jordan Howard, TE Richard Rodgers
- Activated from IR: S K’Von Wallace
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Promoted: DE Taco Charlton
Seattle Seahawks
- Promoted: LB Tanner Muse
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Promoted: WR Cyril Grayson
Tennessee Titans
- Promoted: DL Eli Ankou, FB Tory Carter, RB Dontrell Hilliard
Washington Football Team
- Promoted: C Keith Ismael, T David Steinmetz
Wednesday NFL Transactions: NFC East
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 Cowboys, Eagles, Giants and Washington moves are noted below.
Here are Wednesday’s NFC East transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day.
Dallas Cowboys
Signed to practice squad:
- OL Isaac Alarcón, DB Kyron Brown, CB Deante Burton, S Tyler Coyle, QB Ben DiNucci, DE Austin Faoliu, DT Justin Hamilton, RB JaQuan Hardy, C Braylon Jones, WR Osirus Mitchell, FB Nick Ralston, WR Brandon Smith, DE Breeland Speaks, TE Jeremy Sprinkle, S Darian Thompson
New York Giants
Placed on IR:
- WR John Ross, LB Elerson Smith
Signed:
- WR C.J. Board (Board was cut (below) before getting re-signed), LS Casey Kreiter
Claimed:
- LB Justin Hilliard (from 49ers), WR Collin Johnson (from Jaguars), LB Quincy Roche (from Steelers)
Waived:
- WR C.J. Board, LB Trent Harris, WR Dante Pettis
Signed to practice squad:
- OL Jackson Barton, OL Jake Burton, WR Matt Cole, TE Nakia Griffin-Stewart, TE Jake Hausmann, OL Brett Heggie, DL Willie Henry, LB Niko Lalos, DL David Moa, S Jordyn Peters, RB Sandro Platzgummer, WR David Sills, OL Kenny Wiggins, WR Damion Willis
Philadelphia Eagles
Signed to practice squad:
- S Grayland Arnold, OL Kayode Awosika, OT Le’Raven Clark, WR Travis Fulgham, WR John Hightower, RB Jordan Howard, RB Jason Huntley, CB Michael Jacquet, CB Craig James, WR KeeSean Johnson, DE Matt Leo, G Sua Opeta, OL Ross Pierschbacher, S Elijah Riley, LB JaCoby Stevens, DT Raequan Williams
Washington Football Team
Placed on IR:
Signed:
- LB David Mayo
Signed to practice squad:
- RB Peyton Barber, OL Beau Benzschawel, DE William Bradley-King, WR Antonio Gandy-Golden, C Keith Ismael, CB Danny Johnson, LB Jordan Kunaszyk, G Wes Martin, LB Jared Norris, S Jeremy Reaves, DE Bunmi Rotimi, OT David Steinmetz, C Jon Toth, DT Daniel Wise, DT Gabe Wright
Eagles Cut 20+ Players, Down To 53
The Eagles are ready to fly into Week 1. On Tuesday, they made a series of moves to get down to the 53-man roster max. Here’s the full rundown:
Released
- S Andrew Adams
- T Le’Raven Clark
- RB Jordan Howard
- DT Hassan Ridgeway
- TE Richard Rodgers
- CB Kevon Seymour
Waived
- S Grayland Arnold
- G/T Kayode Awosika
- WR Travis Fulgham
- WR John Hightower
- RB Jason Huntley
- CB Michael Jacquet
- CB Craig James
- DE Matt Leo
- G Sua Opeta
- WR Andre Patton
- C/G Ross Pierschbacher
- S Elijah Riley
- LB JaCoby Stevens
- DT Raequan Williams
Placed on IR
Placed on Reserve/COVID List
- DT T.Y. McGill
The Birds also freed up a spot earlier today by trading offensive lineman Matt Pryor (and a 2022 seventh-round pick) to the Colts for a sixth-round choice.
The release of wide receiver Travis Fulgham was one of today’s more notable moves. Fulgham played a big role for the Eagles last year as the team was decimated by WR injuries. However, they didn’t see enough this summer to keep him on the 53-man roster. With Fulgham gone, the Eagles are left with J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, Jalen Reagor, DeVonta Smith, Greg Ward, and Quez Watkins as their Week 1 receivers.
East Notes: Jets, Eagles, Washington
Teams around the league have been announcing that many if not all of their players would skip voluntary offseason workouts, including the Jets a couple of days ago. Things are now up in the air between the NFL and NFLPA, and one of the biggest sticking points is what to do about players with workout bonuses in their contracts. As of right now those players would stand to lose out on those bonuses, and collectively many millions of dollars, which is why some teams have said that some of their players will still be showing up.
Fortunately for Jets players, nobody on the roster has a workout bonus in their deal, according to Overthecap.com, via Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. Cimini notes the Jets had doled out lots of workout bonuses in past years, but “the current regime” led by GM Joe Douglas “has moved away from them.” He also points out that New York is “one of only five teams with no workout bonuses.”
Here’s more from the East, shifting to the NFC now:
- Jordan Howard recently signed back with the Eagles on a one-year deal, and he apparently didn’t have too many other options. Speaking to the media in a press conference this past week, Howard revealed he thought he might’ve been done in the NFL this offseason. “My market was just pretty dry,” Howard said, via Tim McManus of ESPN.com (Twitter link). “I was having thoughts like, I might be done,” he admitted candidly. “Teams weren’t really calling,” he added. Given the apparent lack of other interest, it probably won’t surprise you to learn that Howard’s one-year deal is for the vet minimum and contains no guaranteed money, Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports reports. Howard made the Pro Bowl as a rookie in 2016 with the Bears, but his stock has fallen rapidly since. He started last year with the Dolphins before getting cut and ending up back in Philly. He was also with the Eagles in 2019, when he carried the ball 119 times for 525 yards and six touchdowns in ten games.
- Washington made an interesting developmental signing this past week when they added former basketball player Sammis Reyes, who is hoping to become an NFL tight end. It was a cool story, and it turns out Washington views Reyes as something more than just a dart throw. His contract comes with $392K in guaranteed money, with a $20K signing bonus and $372K in guaranteed salary, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. That’s more than some established veterans are getting on this open market. That’s also way more than any old undrafted free agent would get, so Ron Rivera and co. clearly think Reyes has some real potential to contribute. After they watched Logan Thomas go from quarterback to very productive tight end for them last year, it’s not hard to understand why they’d try to catch lightning in a bottle twice.
Eagles To Re-Sign RB Jordan Howard
Jordan Howard is returning to Philly. The veteran running back is re-signing with the Eagles, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). It’s a one-year deal for the 26-year-old.
Howard inked a two-year deal with the Dolphins last offseason, but he waived in November after averaging 1.7 yards per carry. He eventually caught on with the Eagles for his second stint with the organization, although he had to settle for a practice squad gig. He was ultimately elevated for a pair of games, rushing for 27 yards on only seven carries. Howard’s first stint with the organization came in 2019, when he was traded from the Bears for a sixth-rounder. The running back finished that season with 584 yards from scrimmage.
The 2016 fifth-rounder has had a tough time matching the numbers from his rookie campaign, when he rushed for more than 1,300 yards en route to a Pro Bowl appearance. While his yards per carry continued to drop, Howard still put up decent numbers between the 2017 and 2018 seasons, averaging 1,163.5 yards from scrimmage and nine touchdowns per year.
Miles Sanders and Boston Scott will likely be slotted in as the top two running backs on Philly’s depth chart next season. Howard will compete with the likes of Jason Huntley, Elijah Holyfield, Adrian Killins, and (presumably) rookies for the third spot on the depth chart.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/26/20
Here are Saturday’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Promoted: OL Sean Harlow, WR Chris Rowland
Baltimore Ravens
- Promoted: CB Pierre Desir, QB Tyler Huntley
Carolina Panthers
- Promoted: LB Clay Johnston, T Matt Kaskey
Chicago Bears
- Promoted: DB Xavier Crawford
Cincinnati Bengals
- Activated from IR: CB Tony Brown
- Promoted: WR Trenton Irwin, LB Keandre Jones
- Waived: S Trayvon Henderson
Cleveland Browns
- Promoted: C Javon Patterson
Dallas Cowboys
- Promoted: FB Sewo Olonilua
- Placed on IR: DT Antwaun Woods
Denver Broncos
- Promoted: RB LeVante Bellamy
Green Bay Packers
- Promoted: DL Brian Price, RB Dexter Williams
Houston Texans
- Promoted: Steven Mitchell
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Promoted: CB Quenton Meeks, FB Bruce Miller, RB Craig Reynolds
Kansas City Chiefs
- Promoted: CB Deandre Baker, LB Omari Cobb, WR Gehrig Dieter, OL Tre’Vour Wallace-Simms
- Placed on IR: CB Sidney Jones
Las Vegas Raiders
- Activated from IR: DT Maliek Collins
- Promoted: CB Rashaan Gaulden, LB James Onwualu, DB Javin White
Los Angeles Chargers
- Promoted: DE Joe Gaziano, TE Matt Sokol
Los Angeles Rams
- Promoted: OL Jamil Demby, S JuJu Hughes
New England Patriots
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: TE Jordan Thomas
New York Jets
- Activated from IR: RB La’Mical Perine
- Promoted: LB Noah Dawkins, LB Sharif Finch, LB Brady Sheldon
Philadelphia Eagles
- Promoted: RB Jordan Howard, DT T.Y. McGill, DE Joe Ostman, TE Caleb Wilson
- Placed on IR: CB Kevon Seymour, DE Josh Sweat
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Promoted: LB Tegray Scales, K Matthew Wright
- Waived: OL Derwin Gray
Seattle Seahawks
- Activated from IR: DL Bryan Mone
- Promoted: WR Penny Hart
- Placed on IR: G Phil Haynes
Tennessee Titans
- Promoted: LB Brooks Reed
Washington Football Team
- Activated from IR: WR Antonio Gandy-Golden
- Promoted: QB Steven Montez
- Waived: WR Dontrelle Inman
Eagles Promote RB Jordan Howard
When the Eagles take the field tomorrow against the Packers, they’ll be joined by a familiar face. Philadelphia has promoted veteran running back Jordan Howard from the practice squad, the team announced on Twitter. The Eagles have also promoted defensive tackle Raequan Williams.
Howard appeared in 10 games for the Eagles during the 2019 campaign, starting four of those contests. He ultimately finished the season having compiled 525 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 119 carries (good for 4.4 yards per carry), and that included an 87-yard, two-touchdown performance in a victory over Green Bay.
Howard signed a two-year, $9.75MM deal with the Dolphins this past offseason, but his brief stint in Miami proved to be underwhelming. The 26-year-old appeared in five games (three starts) for the Dolphins, running for 33 yards and four touchdowns on 28 carries. He was released by the Dolphins in mid-November, and he quickly caught on with the Eagles practice squad.
Now, Howard will have an opportunity to reinsert himself into an inconsistent running back corps. The Eagles have turned to three running backs this season, including Miles Sanders, Boston Scott, and Corey Clement.
Williams joined the Eagles this offseason as an undrafted free agent out of Michigan State. The 23-year-old made his NFL debut after being promoted to the active roster in Week 8.
Eagles Add Jordan Howard To Practice Squad
The Eagles have signed Jordan Howard to the practice squad, per a club announcement. This was the expected move after Howard auditioned for Philly late last week.
[RELATED: Eagles Activate G Isaac Seumalo From IR]
Howard was traded from the Bears to the Eagles last year and parlayed his performance into a two-year deal with the Dolphins. Things didn’t go according to plan in Miami — after averaging just 1.2 yards per tote, Howard was left off of the active roster, taking a backseat to Myles Gaskin and Matt Breida. Then, he was dropped from the roster altogether. No one picked up Howard (and his contract) on the waiver wire, leading him back to the Eagles.
Howard topped 1,100 rushing yards in his first two Bears seasons but was less effective in Matt Nagy‘s scheme in 2018. With the Eagles, Howard bounced back by averaging 4.4 yards per carry and rushing for six touchdowns in ten games. He’ll look to reprise that type of production, if and when he’s given the opportunity. The Eagles could give him a chance to get back on the field next week, when they face the Seahawks in a Monday night matchup.
Eagles Expected To Sign Jordan Howard
Shortly after the Dolphins cut Jordan Howard, the veteran running back secured an Eagles visit. Howard is meeting with Eagles brass Thursday, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
This will lead to an agreement. Howard is expected to sign with the Eagles on a practice squad agreement, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). Should he navigate COVID-19 protocols, he will be eligible to practice with the Eagles next week. Given Howard’s history with the team, he should not have an issue reacclimating.
Howard landed an ultimately unsuccessful (for the Dolphins) two-year deal based somewhat on his 2019 performance as an Eagle. The Eagles acquired Howard from the Bears last year and used him as a starter. The fifth-year back, however, has experienced a brutally ineffective 2020.
Howard’s Dolphins stay ended with a 1.2 yards-per-carry average (33 yards on 28 totes). The Dolphins made him a healthy scratch at one point and moved on in the form of a Monday cut. As expected, no team claimed Howard’s contract.
The Eagles have a recent history of circling back to running backs. They signed Jay Ajayi a year after an injury ended his first Eagles tenure and re-signed Corey Clement after non-tendering him as a restricted free agent this year. Clement is currently on Philly’s reserve/COVID-19 list.
Howard surpassed 1,100 rushing yards in his first two Bears seasons but was less effective in Matt Nagy‘s scheme in 2018, prompting the Bears to trade him in the ’19 offseason. With the Eagles, Howard bounced back by averaging 4.4 yards per carry and rushing for six touchdowns in 10 games.
Dolphins Release RB Jordan Howard
Jordan Howard‘s time in Miami has come to an end. The Dolphins have cut the running back, head coach Brian Flores announced during his press conference on Monday.
Interestingly, Flores deemed it a “mutual parting,” which likely has something to do with Howard being frustrated with his limited role. Even though he’s a vested veteran since it’s this late in the season, Howard will be subjected to waivers. We heard a couple of weeks ago that Howard might be available in a trade, but clearly there weren’t any takers. Still, he could be a target of some contending teams looking for running back help.
Howard signed a two-year, $9.75MM deal with Miami back in March, and they proved to regret it almost immediately. He started the first two games but only carried the ball 13 times for 11 yards, and quickly took a backseat to Myles Gaskin and Matt Breida. He’s mostly been inactive recently. All told, he’ll finish his Dolphins tenure with a pitiful 33 yards on 28 attempts through five games, although he did score four touchdowns.
A fifth-round pick of the Bears in 2016, Howard became Chicago’s starter as a rookie and spent his first three seasons as their lead back. The Indiana product slowly fell out of favor with Matt Nagy, and was shipped out to Philadelphia before the 2019 season. Last year with the Eagles he was relatively productive, rushing the ball 119 for 525 yards and six scores. Howard’s salary isn’t guaranteed for 2021 and he’s only owed around $721K for the rest of this year (per this tweet from Field Yates of ESPN.com), so it’s certainly not inconceivable that a team will claim him.