Julian Stanford

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 1/3/23

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

New York Giants

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Ravens Add G John Simpson To Practice Squad

Free agent guard John Simpson has found a new home after getting waived by the team that drafted him two seasons ago, signing to the practice squad of the Ravens as a veteran exception. Simpson provides a strong depth piece deep down the Ravens roster.

Simpson is in his third season in the NFL. After a rookie season that saw him play here and there on the Raiders line, Simpson started every game for Las Vegas at left guard last year. Simpson started only the first two games of the season for the Raiders this season before being demoted to a backup role for both guard spots.

The former fourth-round pick out of Clemson losing his starting job at the beginning of the season didn’t come as a total shock. Before the season began, early reports out of camp indicated that only left tackle Kolton Miller and right guard Denzelle Good were guaranteed their starting spots. The reports, from Vic Tafur and Tashan Reed of The Athletic, claimed that rookie third-round pick Dylan Parham “could push (Simpson) at left guard or Andre James at center.”

Luckily for Simpson, Parham wouldn’t get a chance to take his job since he was first asked to replaced Good after a surprising retirement announcement. Unfortunately for Simpson, his job would soon be given to Alex Bars. The Raiders would waive Simpson shortly after an injury to Bars would push Simpson into extended relief duty for a game.

The move makes sense for the Ravens, who have experienced their fair share of offensive line injuries over the past few years. Starting tackles Ronnie Stanley and Ja’Wuan James have both missed significant time in recent years, helping to make sense of why Baltimore prefers to have so much quality depth at the offensive line.

Currently, behind a starting line of left tackle Stanley, left guard Ben Powers, rookie first-round center Tyler Linderbaum, right guard Kevin Zeitler, and right tackle Morgan Moses, the Ravens boast a true sixth-man on the line. Utility offensive lineman Patrick Mekari has played significant time at all five positions on the line at the NFL-level. He has the ability to fill in for any of Baltimore’s starting lineman should they go down with injury with little-to-no drop-off in quality of play. Besides Mekari, Baltimore has fourth-round rookie Daniel Faalele as a backup tackle, Trystan Colon-Castillo as a backup center, and Ben Cleveland as a backup guard.

The quality of the depth is good, but the lack of quantity doesn’t leave the Ravens with much in the way of options in case of emergency. Adding Simpson to the practice squad gives Baltimore another quality backup option on their offensive line. To make room for Simpson on the practice squad, the Ravens released practice squad outside linebacker Julian Stanford.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/26/22

The league’s minor moves and standard gameday elevations for Week 12:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/18/22

Here are Tuesday’s practice squad additions and subtractions:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Signed: LB Blake Lynch
  • Released: WR Stanley Berryhill

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: S Innis Gaines
  • Released: CB Benjie Franklin, LB Ray Wilborn

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

  • Signed: WR DeMichael Harris

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

  • Released: WR Kevin Kassis

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/11/22

Today’s minor NFL transactions:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Giants

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Panthers Trim Roster To 53 Players

The Panthers trimmed their roster to 53 players today, meaning a long list of players earned their walking papers:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Placed on IR:

The most notable move was kicker Zane Gonzalez landing on injured reserve, making him ineligible to return for the 2022 campaign. Gonzalez injury himself on Friday night while warming up on the sideline. It was later revealed that he suffered a significant groin injury, and that injury ended up being season-ending. The Panthers worked out five potential replacements yesterday.

Juston Burris started 20 of his 23 games for the Panthers over the past two seasons. After collecting a career-high 53 tackles in 2020, the safety finished with only 23 tackles this past year, with Pro Football Focus ranking him 77th among 92 qualifying safeties. He was on the roster bubble following the offseason pickup of Xavier Woods. Brandon Zylstra has seen time in 37 games for the Panthers over the past three years, hauling in 29 receptions for 391 yards and one touchdown. Yesterday’s trade for Laviska Shenault Jr. only pushed him further down the depth chart, leading to his release.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/9/22

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Jacksonville Jaguars

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/18/21

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Los Angeles Chargers

New England Patriots

  • Waived: OL Najee Toran

New Orleans Saints

  • Placed on reserve/retired list: OL Alex Hoffman
  • Re-signed: S Eric Burrell

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Signed: OT Casey Tucker

Washington Football Team

NFL Workout Updates: 8/21/20

Here are the notable workouts teams conducted recently:

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Miami Dolphins

New York Jets

Bills Sign LB Julian Stanford

The Bills have signed linebacker/special teamer Julian Stanford, the team announced today. The 27-year-old spent last season with the Jets. ESPN’s Rich Cimini reports that it’s a two-year deal worth $3MM ($550K guaranteed).

Stanford entered the season as a 2012 undrafted free agent out of Wagner. He spent the past three seasons in New York, including a 2017 campaign that saw him appear in 16 games for the second time in his career. Stanford finished the season with 19 tackles. The special teamer has 59 career games under his belt.