Kendall Milton

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 8/29/24

PFR’s practice squad rundown, signaling we are indeed close to games that count, begins Thursday. Here is how teams began to handle their 16-man P-squads.

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Slovis went to camp with the Colts, joining the team as a UDFA this year. Houston placed Case Keenum on IR and released Tim Boyle, who is now the Dolphins’ P-squad QB. Slovis, who played at USC, Pittsburgh and BYU in college, is now the Texans’ de facto third-stringer.

Shelley has 11 career starts — with the Bears and Vikings — on his resume. He joined the Raiders last year but ended up with the Rams, playing in 11 games as a backup. The Giants have spent time searching for a cornerback answer, having not been too satisfied with their Cor’Dale FlottNick McCloud CB2 competition. New York did not make any waiver claims at the position Wednesday.

Reagor, who played for the Patriots last season, is back after being released earlier this week. The former Minnesota first-rounder played in 11 New England games last season, returning a kick for a touchdown. Latu joins the Browns after being a 49ers cut. The 2023 third-round pick missed all of last season with an ACL tear. Jefferson is back with the Bolts hours after being released.

Eagles Cut Down Roster To 53 Players

The Eagles are hoping to rebound from a disappointing end to their 2023 campaign. Before they can do that, the team had to make some tough roster decisions as they got down to 53 players. The team announced the following moves:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Placed on IR (designated for return):

Placed on reserve/PUP:

After carrying only four wideouts on their initial 53-man roster in 2023, the team is carrying five WRs heading into 2024. Still, some notable names earned their walking papers today. Parris Campbell is only two years removed from a 63-catch season with the Colts, but the wideout was limited to only 20 receptions with the Giants in 2023. John Ross continues to get opportunities by virtue of his first-round billing, but the former ninth-overall pick hasn’t seen the field since a 10-game showing with the Giants in 2021.

Oren Burks missed a chunk of the summer with an injury, but his release is still a bit of a surprise. The former third-round pick spent the past two seasons with the 49ers, where he started eight of his 32 appearances. The veteran has also made a name for himself on special teams, where he’s averaged more than 277 snaps per season.

Eagles Sign Seven UDFA Rookies

After addressing several positions of need in their nine-man draft class, the Eagles have expanded their rookie class to 16 men. The seven undrafted rookie free agents joining the drafted players are:

*Roster exemption for International Player Pathway Program

Just like they were able to do with many of their draft picks, the Eagles were able to add some major value throughout the undrafted free agent class. Tackle was a position of need that the Eagles were unable to address through the draft, though they did sign former Jets first-round tackle Mekhi Becton to come in as a swing tackle last weekend. Here, they add three more young prospects to the position in Ayedze, Dankwah, and Vakalahi.

All three represent giant, inexperienced projects to the position room. Dankwah, 6-foot-8, 349 pounds, was selected to the All-MEAC first team in each of the last two years despite making only five starts in 2022. The Canada-native is not alone as an international addition as Vakalahi, 6-foot-5, 318 pounds, comes from Brisbane, Australia. Despite zero athletic experience in the past two years as he completed his mission service in Wellington, New Zealand, Vakalahi was discovered when Eagles international scout Chris Naeole walked past Vakalahi’s father, also a large man, while Vakalahi’s parents were vacationing in Hawai’i.

Castles caught five touchdowns for the Volunteers as a graduate transfer after time at both Cal and UC Davis. He was mainly an in-line blocker at Tennessee, but with a 6-foot-4, 244 pound frame and a basketball background, Castles could certainly find a place on an NFL roster if he improves his abilities as a receiver.

It was a surprise to see Hall go undrafted. Ranked by Dane Brugler of The Athletic as the 11th-best defensive tackle and a projected fourth-round pick, Hall somehow fell out of all seven rounds. He doesn’t play with a ton of consistency but could prove impactful as a rotational player should he make the 53-man roster.

Though the Bulldogs were led in rushing yards by Daijun Edwards (880), Milton wasn’t far behind (790) and led the team in rushing touchdowns with 14. Milton is a thumper who could find an impact as a short-yardage or goal-line back, but his significant health issues throughout college prove a major hurdle to overcome moving forward.

Sam led the Tigers in interceptions (3) as another graduate transfer. He spent his first five years of college at McNeese State followed by a season at Marshall. He initially announced he would transfer from Marshall to Tulane before switching to LSU, where he would start all 13 games for the Tigers last year. Though he plays the physical role of a strong, box safety, he has more of the size of a smaller free safety and may have to find a role on special teams in order to make the roster in Philadelphia.