HEADLINES

Kristian Welch

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/28/25

March 28th, 2025 at 7:46pm CST by Adam La Rose

Friday’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Welch has played 72 games in the NFL, with much of his tenure taking place with the Ravens. The 26-year-old saw time with Baltimore and Denver last season, but in 2023 he played for the Packers. This reunion will give Green Bay depth at the second level of the defense along with a familiar face on special teams.

Ravens Waive S Eddie Jackson

November 23rd, 2024 at 3:27pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Ravens have waived veteran safety Eddie Jackson, according to a team announcement, ending his time in Baltimore after just over four months.

Jackson started four games this year with 339 total snaps, but played just 16 snaps against the Bengals in Week 10 before being sidelined as a healthy scratch in Week 11. His 50.3 overall defensive grade from Pro Football Focus (subscription required) is the lowest of his career and ranks in the bottom 10 among NFL safeties this year.

The veteran safety “wasn’t pleased with [a] reduced role,” per Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic, and his “frustrations boiled over” ahead of the Ravens’ trip to Pittsburgh. Jackson did not travel with the team last week, and Baltimore’s switch to Kyle Hamilton and Ar’Darius Washington at deep safety led to one of their best pass defense performances of the year.

Jackson will now be subject to waivers, though his struggles this year make it unlikely that he will be claimed, especially since he has not contributed on special teams since 2022. The Ravens will have to absorb Jackson’s $250k signing bonus and the remainder of his $750k of guaranteed salary on the salary cap, per OverTheCap, but another team will cover his salary if he is claimed on waivers. If Jackson clears waivers, he can sign with any team or their practice squad. A return to the Ravens’ practice squad seems unlikely given his recent frustrations.

The Ravens also signed linebacker and core special teamer Kristian Welch to their active roster from their practice squad. Welch had been elevated from the practice squad for the last three games, playing 73% of the team’s special teams snaps. With no more elevations remaining, Baltimore promoted Welch to the 53-man roster to ensure he can play on Monday night against the Chargers.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/16/24

November 16th, 2024 at 8:56pm CST by Ely Allen

Saturday’s minor moves, including standard gameday practice squad elevations:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Toney is set to make his debut for the regular season. The former first-round pick out of Florida has had a rocky first four years in the league, despite coming away with two Super Bowl rings in Kansas City. He was signed to the Browns’ practice squad just after the season opener and will be eligible to see game action with Cleveland in Week 11.

O’Donnell was added to the 49ers’ practice squad earlier this week given the chance of Mitch Wishnowsky missing time. The latter is now on injured reserve, ensuring at least a four-game absence. O’Donnell, 32, is a veteran of 145 games but Week 11 will mark his first regular season action since 2022.

Ravens Activate Keaton Mitchell For Season Debut

November 7th, 2024 at 3:16pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Ravens have officially activated Keaton Mitchell from the Physically Unable to Perform list after his recovery from last season’s ACL tear.

The second-year running back electrified the league as an undrafted rookie, picking up first downs on 19 of his 47 carries for 396 yards and an average of 8.4 yards per carry. He ruptured his ACL in Week 15, ending his season and sidelining him into the 2024 regular season.

After dealing with major injuries to J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards, and Justice Hill in recent years, the Ravens took a conservative approach with Mitchell by ensuring that he would not take on a heavy load upon his return. Derrick Henry has served as Baltimore’s primary ballcarrier with Justice Hill taking snaps on passing downs, allowing Mitchell to slowly ramp up his workload as a change-of-pace back throughout the game.

If Mitchell is able to recapture his uncatchable speed from last season, the Ravens’ already-potent offense will become even more deadly. Lamar Jackson is a frontrunner for his third MVP, and Henry merits consideration of his own. Zay Flowers has at least 100 receiving yards in four of his last five games, bringing him to fifth in the NFL with 654 yards on the year. Adding Mitchell as a ballcarrier and pass-catcher out of the backfield may be too much for any defense to stop.

The Ravens waived edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue to make room for Mitchell on the 53-man roster ahead of their Thursday night matchup with the Bengals. Baltimore also used standard practice squad elevations on linebacker Kristian Welch and defensive tackle Josh Tupou, who spent his last six NFL seasons in Cincinnati.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/21/24

October 21st, 2024 at 7:17pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Green Bay Packers

  • Activated off IR: DL Jonathan Ford
  • Released: LS Matt Orzech

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

New York Giants

New York Jets

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

According to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, today’s moves were purely procedural. After returning to practice earlier this month, Jonathan Ford was nearing the end of his activation window. To avoid the defensive lineman landing on season-ending injured reserve, the Packers activated the former seventh-round pick to the active roster. That meant the Packers needed to carve out a spot, and long snapper Matt Orzech was the temporary casualty. However, Silverstein says Orzech will land back on the roster later this week following more roster machinations.

Meanwhile, the Giants added Armon Watts to the active roster following the lineman’s stint on the team’s practice squad. It sounds like rival teams may have forced the Giants hand. As ESPN’s Jordan Raanan notes, other teams expressed interest in the former Bears starter, forcing the Giants to secure Watts services now (vs. continuing to stash him on the taxi squad).

Elsewhere in New York, Haason Reddick was officially activated from the Did Not Report list today. Per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston, the Jets now have a two-game roster exemption to officially add the pass-rusher to the 53-man roster.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/16/24

October 16th, 2024 at 8:59pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: WR Malik Knowles

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Broncos Designate RT Mike McGlinchey, OLB Baron Browning For Return

October 15th, 2024 at 4:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

A loss to the Chargers halted the Broncos’ win streak at three, but reinforcements are on the way. Both Baron Browning and Mike McGlinchey are back at practice for the AFC West team.

Denver designated both its starting right tackle and fourth-year linebacker for return Tuesday, 9News’ Mike Klis tweets. This would make each eligible to be activated ahead of Thursday’s game in New Orleans. While the Broncos may be cautious with both given the short week and each having a 21-day return timetable, the early return designations are certainly notable.

McGlinchey went down with an MCL sprain in Week 2, while Browning also headed to IR after an injury (a foot issue) sustained against the Steelers. The Broncos have since lost backup right tackle Alex Palczewski to a high ankle sprain; McGlinchey’s top reserve did not play in the team’s Week 6 loss to the Bolts. The Broncos also cut linebacker Kristian Welch from their active roster.

While the Broncos have a greater need along an offensive line than also recently saw center Luke Wattenberg placed on IR, Browning’s return stands to be interesting for a defense that has been one of the NFL’s most surprising units this season. Denver ranks fourth in scoring defense and yards allowed. Browning, who joins ex-Ohio State teammate Jonathon Cooper in a contract year, served as a starter in both games he played this season. Third-year player Nik Bonitto has taken over in that role; the replacement has four sacks in six games. Browning, who tallied 4.5 last season, did not register a sack before going down this year. Rookie third-rounder Jonah Elliss has operated as Denver’s top rotational rusher.

McGlinchey, 30, missed just one game for the Broncos last season and did not miss any time for the 49ers in 2022. The former top-10 San Francisco draftee missed nine games during the 2021 season due to a torn quad but rebounded to boost his market, leading to a five-year, $87.5MM Broncos agreement. McGlinchey’s 2025 salary became fully guaranteed in March, and the Broncos appear to be close to having him back at full strength.

Palczewski had played well in relief of McGlinchey, but the ankle injury he suffered in Week 5 clears a path for the starter to return. With the Broncos having a 10-day break before their Week 8 matchup, the team has some time to decide on Browning and McGlinchey. The Broncos have six injury activations remaining.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/29/24

August 29th, 2024 at 8:15pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Thursday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys 

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

  • Removed from IR via injury settlement: LB Keandre Jones, S Ben Nikke

Schlottmann suffered what Brian Daboll called a long-term injury. Elaborating on the injury Schlottmann suffered in practice Wednesday, The Athletic’s Dan Duggan notes the veteran backup O-lineman will rehab a broken fibula. The injury is expected to shut down the free agency addition for at least two months. No surgery is on tap for Schlottmann. The Giants considering him for activation may depend on their injury situation, as teams only have eight regular-season IR activations. The Giants have seven presently, as they used a summer IR designation on linebacker Matthew Adams on Tuesday.

Packers Announce 53-Man Roster

August 27th, 2024 at 11:23pm CST by Ben Levine

The Packers featured the youngest roster in the NFL last season, and they’re set to return most of that young core in 2024. Still, the team had to move on from a long list of inexperienced players as they pared their roster down to 53 players. The organization announced the following roster moves today:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

  • CB LJ Davis
  • LB Ralen Goforth

Placed on IR:

Linebacker Kristian Welch brings the most experience of the bunch, with the former UDFA appearing in 57 career games in time with the Ravens and Packers. He spent the 2023 campaign in Green Bay, where he played all 210 of his snaps on special teams. Considering his limited experience on defense, there’s a chance the Packers are tinkering with their roster and intend to bring the veteran back via the practice squad.

NFC Contract Details: Packers, Moore, Maddox, Burns

April 7th, 2024 at 8:05pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are some details on recent new contracts around the NFC:

  • Eric Wilson, LB (Packers): One year, $1.38MM. According to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, Wilson’s new contract with Green Bay includes a base salary of $1.21MM and a signing bonus of $167.5K.
  • Kristian Welch, LB (Packers): One year, $1.21MM. Demovsky also tells us that Welch’s re-signed deal will have a base salary of $1.13MM and a signing bonus worth $20K. Welch can earn an additional $20K with a workout bonus as well as a per game active roster bonus of $2,647 for a potential season total of $45K.
  • Chris Moore, WR (Cardinals): One year, $2MM. Moore’s contract with the Cardinals will have a guaranteed amount of $750K comprised of $250K of his 2024 base salary (worth a total of $1.28MM) and a $500K signing bonus, according to Howard Balzer of USA Today Sports. Moore will add another $50K with a workout bonus and an additional $10K per game that he’s on the active roster for a potential season total of $170K in per game active roster bonuses.
  • Avonte Maddox, CB (Eagles): One year, $1.5MM. Maddox’s new deal will have a guaranteed value of $875K consisting of $500K of his base salary (worth $1.13MM in total) and a $375K signing bonus.
  • Brian Burns, OLB (Giants): Five years, $141MM. We noted recently that Burns’ deal was not worth the reported $150MM amount and was actually for $141MM. Thanks to Dan Duggan of The Athletic, we now know that the $9MM difference comes from incentives wherein he can earn an additional $1.8MM for each year that he either reaches 12.5 sacks, makes a Pro Bowl, or earns first-team All-Pro honors. He’s reached that sack total once in 2022 and made two Pro Bowls in 2021 and 2022, but because he didn’t reach any of those achievements last year, the potential $1.8MM won’t count against New York’s cap space in 2024.
Load More Posts