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Malik Reed

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/4/23

November 4th, 2023 at 3:49pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves and gameday callups for Week 9:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

  • Elevated: QB Dresser Winn

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Commanders

With Kyler Murray not being activated from injured reserve this week, the Cardinals are heading into Week 9 with Clayton Tune as the only quarterback on their active roster. Driskel will be called up for the week as a standard gameday elevation to back up Tune.

With Matthew Stafford listed as questionable for tomorrow’s game, the Rams are adding some depth at the quarterback position. Dresser Winn had a breakout 2022 campaign at UT Martin, tossing 18 touchdowns while adding another three scores on the ground. He joined the Rams as an UDFA but was cut at the end of the preseason. He had a brief stint in the Canadian Football League before rejoining the Rams practice squad earlier this week. If Stafford can’t go, Brett Rypien will get the call under center for the Rams.

Peters will be elevated for the second straight week in Seattle. The 41-year-old, playing in his 19th NFL season, split snaps with right tackle Stone Forsythe last week against Cleveland.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/30/23

September 30th, 2023 at 8:58pm CST by Adam La Rose

Saturday’s gameday elevations and other minor moves ahead of tomorrow’s slate of Week 4 games:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Walker’s elevation comes amidst a degree of uncertainty regarding Deshaun Watson‘s Sunday availability. The latter is dealing with a shoulder injury, but he has expressed confidence he will be able to suit up. In the event he is unable to play, though, Walker will provide insurance under center. NFL Network’s James Palmer reports Watson will be a game-time decision.

Chosen, formerly Robbie Anderson, made his Dolphins debut in Week 3, scoring a 68-yard touchdown on his only catch. His performance – along with other depth wideouts currently being sidelined for Miami – will give the 30-year-old a longer look with his new team.

Gore’s elevation will give him the chance to see regular season game action for the first time since 2021. The former UDFA recorded 361 scrimmage yards with the Chiefs that season, but a subsequent IR stint marked the end of his time in Kansas City. Gore has since spent time on the Saints’, and now Commanders’, taxi squads. Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post notes that fellow depth back Chris Rodriguez has bee ruled out with an illness, opening the door to Gore seeing limited snaps.

Raiders To Sign OLB Malik Reed

September 27th, 2023 at 10:20am CST by Sam Robinson

The Raiders’ pass-rushing plan has changed since the beginning of the month. Chandler Jones is not presently in the picture, with concerning off-field issues leading the former All-Pro to the team’s reserve/NFI list. First-round pick Tyree Wilson has not started in Jones’ place yet.

A former AFC West sack artist will be part of Las Vegas’ equation as of Wednesday. The Raiders are adding Malik Reed, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. This is a practice squad agreement, but the increased P-squad flexibility in recent years has led to these deals often serving as bridges to the active roster.

Reed spent three years with the Broncos, working as a regular sub for a team that could not keep Von Miller and Bradley Chubb healthy at the same time for most of Vic Fangio‘s HC tenure. After signing Randy Gregory and drafting Nik Bonitto last year, the Broncos traded Reed to the Steelers, with whom he played a rotational role. Reed ended up a contract-year one-and-done with the Steelers and rejoined Fangio with the Dolphins this offseason, but Miami did not keep the former UDFA on its active roster after cutdown day last month.

This will mark a return to Nevada for Reed, who played collegiately at the University of Nevada-Reno. Reed, 27, posted 13 sacks between the 2020 and ’21 seasons. Although Chubb was invited to the 2020 Pro Bowl, Reed’s eight sacks paced the Broncos that season. Reid has worked exclusively as a 3-4 outside linebacker over the course of his career.

The Raiders have tallied five sacks thus far, with Maxx Crosby responsible for two of those. But no other edge rusher has contributed to the team’s sack total through three games. Viewed as a Jones successor opposite Crosby this offseason, Wilson has operated as an off-the-bench rusher thus far, playing 40% of Las Vegas’ defensive snaps.

Dolphins Reduce Roster To 53 Players

August 29th, 2023 at 10:34pm CST by Ben Levine

The Dolphins began trimming their roster yesterday, cutting 14 players. That made today’s daunting task a bit more bearable, but the team still had to cut a number of players to get to the 53-player roster limit:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Placed on reserve/PUP:

Placed on IR:

Nik Needham, a 2019 UDFA out of UTEP, has spent his entire career with the Dolphins, appearing in 51 games (27 starts). He started five of his six appearances in 2022 before landing on IT in October with a torn Achilles tendon. His placement on PUP means he can’t make his season debut until at least Week 5.

Tight end Tyler Kroft signed with the Dolphins back in May, but the veteran was unable to beat our younger options for a roster spot. Kroft has seen time in 92 career games (52 starts), hauling in 105 catches for 1,081 yards and 13 touchdowns. He spent the 2022 campaign with the 49ers, collecting four receptions in 11 games (four starts).

Dolphins Release LB Malik Reed

August 28th, 2023 at 1:41pm CST by Rory Parks

The Dolphins have released linebacker Malik Reed, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. Reed signed with the club in March.

Reed started his career in Denver, joining the Broncos as an undrafted free agent out of Nevada in 2019. In the defense installed by then-head coach Vic Fangio, Reed quickly made an impact, tallying his first sack by Week 4 of his rookie season and going on to start the next eight games. His strongest season came the following year, when he and Bradley Chubb formed a dynamic pass rushing duo that generated 15.5 sacks (Reed led the team with eight sacks, and Chubb was right behind him with 7.5).

Unfortunately, he fell off a bit in 2021, as he posted just five sacks and was regarded by Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics as the 89th-best edge defender out of 110 qualifiers. Fangio was dismissed after that season, and Reed was dealt to the Steelers almost one year ago today.

Although PFF was kinder to Reed in 2022 than it was the year prior, he produced just one sack in 14 games, and he was forced to settle for a one-year, veteran minimum contract this offseason. He was always unlikely to become a starter for Miami, but there was a chance that Reed could rekindle some of his Mile High magic working under Fangio, who was hired as the ‘Fins defensive coordinator in February. Clearly, that will not happen, and Reed will instead search for a new employer.

Another team will surely take a flier on Reed given his past production and the general need for pass rushing talent, though he could be running out of opportunities.

Dolphins Sign OLB Malik Reed

March 18th, 2023 at 2:58pm CST by Ely Allen

The Dolphins have added some pass rushing depth today, agreeing to a one-year deal with Malik Reed, according to Field Yates of ESPN. Both parties have intentions of improving on a disappointing 2022 season.

Reed started his career in Denver, signing with the Broncos as an undrafted free agent out of Nevada in 2019. He quickly made an impact as a rookie, tallying his first sack by Week 4 and starting the next eight games for the Broncos. His strongest season came the following year when he led the team in sacks with eight, combining with Bradley Chubb for 15.5 sacks.

While still under his entry level deal, Reed was traded to the Steelers for 2022. No longer starting on his new team, Reed struggled to produce in Pittsburgh, following up 15.0 sacks in three years with the Broncos with a single sack on the Steelers. He’ll attempt to get back on track with the Dolphins.

Miami was middle of the pack with their pass rush last year, led by the second-year linebacker out of Miami (FL), Jaelan Phillips, who totaled seven sacks. The team is set to lose its second- and third-highest sack getters, Melvin Ingram (6.0) and Elandon Roberts (4.5), to free agency this offseason but still have Chubb, whom they acquired and extended last season.

Reed will be reunited with Chubb in Miami, backing him and Phillips up as a depth pass rusher. The Dolphins passing rushing depth is extremely thin right now, making Reed an immediate asset no matter what the result. If Reed can return to the production he had in Denver, Miami is looking at a strong top group of pass rushers.

Steelers Hopeful T.J. Watt Can Return In October

September 13th, 2022 at 8:35am CST by Sam Robinson

SEPTEMBER 13: More information is still being gathered, but there is a growing sense that surgery will not be needed and that, as a result, Watt will indeed be able to return in roughly six weeks (Twitter link via Rapoport). His colleague Tom Pelissero tweets that the Steelers are likely to place him on IR given that timeframe, though they have yet to do so.

SEPTEMBER 12: The next couple of days will be important for the Steelers’ 2022 defensive aspirations. Fears of T.J. Watt having suffered a torn pectoral muscle have not been proven unfounded, but the 2021 Defensive Player of the Year is not being shut down for multiple months just yet.

Watt will receive second and third opinions from doctors on Tuesday, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter report (Twitter links). A surgery would likely lead to a season-ending shutdown, but the Steelers are also optimistic Watt did not suffer a full tear. The team is hopeful Watt, in the event of a partial tear, could to return in around a month, per CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones (on Twitter).

Pittsburgh’s wild overtime win finished without Watt, who left the field during the fourth quarter. The NFL’s two-time reigning sack leader posted a sack — one of the Steelers’ seven on Joe Burrow in Week 1 — and three tackles for loss in Pittsburgh’s five-period victory. Their prospects of pressuring quarterbacks would take a substantial hit if Watt sustained a full pectoral tear.

In each year of Watt’s career, the Steelers have led the NFL in sacks. That has helped fuel a defensive turnaround, after a more offensively oriented “Killer B’s” period, during that stretch. Since drafting Watt in the 2017 first round, the Steelers have not had to play an extended period without him. Watt, 27, has never missed more than two games in a season.

No matter what the final rounds of testing produce, it appears certain Watt will be out for a while. The league’s highest-paid edge rusher missing half the season and the rest of it are obviously two vastly different realities, however. This season marks the first of Watt’s four-year, $112MM extension. The Steelers No. 2 and No. 3 edge rushers are signed to rookie contracts.

Pittsburgh’s trade for Malik Reed looms large now. The former UDFA will now be in position to play alongside Alex Highsmith. The team sent Denver a 2023 seventh-round pick for the fourth-year veteran last week. Reed has three years’ worth of experience being called into action as a result of a major injury. Bradley Chubb‘s ACL tear made Reed Von Miller‘s top 2019 complementary rusher, and Miller’s season-nullifying ankle injury a year later kept Reed in the lineup. Chubb missed much of last season due to ankle trouble. That and the Miller trade kept Reed (34 career starts) a lineup fixture. Reed played 32 defensive snaps against the Bengals.

Steelers Notes: Reed, Pickens, Bush

September 2nd, 2022 at 4:11pm CST by Adam La Rose

Pass-rush depth had long been something the Steelers were reported to be seeking this offseason. Pittsburgh addressed the issue earlier this week by acquiring Malik Reed and a 2023 seventh-round pick from the Broncos in exchange for a sixth-rounder. It appears that Reed’s destination was no coincidence.

When speaking about the decision to trade the 26-year-old, Broncos GM George Paton said, via Kyle Newman of the Denver Post, “We have a lot of really talented outside backers who can rush. We thought it would be best to trade Malik and trade him to somewhere where he’s going to fit in… He wanted to go to Pittsburgh, and we found a home for him. I think it’s a win-win for both sides.”

Reed will enter his contract year slated to operate as the team’s third outside linebacker behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith. With 15 sacks and an equal number of tackles for loss during his three seasons in Denver, the Nevada product should give his new team the productivity off the edge they were looking for.

Here are some other notes from the Steel City:

  • Immediately following the trade, Reed agreed to re-work his contract. His base salary has dropped from $2.43MM to $1.5MM, as noted (on Twitter) by ESPN’s Field Yates. With a productive season, he will no doubt earn a raise over that figure, but for 2022 he projects as a highly cost-effective option off the bench for a Steelers team which already led the league in sacks last season.
  • One of the stars of training camp and the preseason has been rookie wideout George Pickens, to the point where many have wondered how the Steelers were able to land him at No. 52 in the draft. Per PFF’s Doug Kyed, the Georgia standout was viewed by many around the NFL as the top receiver prospect after the 2020 college season, and that things only changed after his ACL tear the following spring and the rise of character concerns. As a so-called ‘wild card’ prospect, he was ultimately the 11th WR to hear his name called, but he could have a productive rookie season alongside Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool, and has the upside to outperform most (if not all) of the pass-catchers chosen ahead of him.
  • Much of the talk surrounding the team this offseason has been the expectations placed on linebacker Devin Bush. The team’s decision to decline his fifth-year option has left many believing the former top-10 pick will be playing elsewhere in 2023. One pundit of that opinion is Mark Kaboly of The Athletic, who wrote last month that Bush is “nowhere near where he should be” considering his experience and draft pedigree. Kaboly adds that the team may need to alter its personnel packages based on whether or not Bush is on the field – a far cry from the every-down, playmaking defender the Michigan alum was drafted to become.
  • In addition to reinforcements along the defensive edges, the Steelers were active in seeking o-line depth. In fact, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Pittsburgh was “the team that came up most often” in trade talks (Twitter link). Fowler names Dennis Daley (who was dealt to Tennessee) as one of the team’s targets; they ultimately acquired Jesse Davis from the Vikings hours after the Reed deal. The 30-year-old was a starter on the Dolphins’ underwhelming offensive front last season, but could provide experienced depth for a unit the Steelers hope will take a step forward in 2022.

Broncos To Trade OLB Malik Reed To Steelers

August 30th, 2022 at 10:58am CST by Sam Robinson

The top fill-in starter for Von Miller and Bradley Chubb over the past three seasons, Malik Reed has a new home. The Broncos are sending the veteran outside linebacker to the Steelers, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.

Denver will collect a late-round pick for the contract-year linebacker. While Reed has been a productive pass rusher, the Broncos made some moves this offseason to bolster that position. The depth acquired made Reed expendable, it appears.

After the Broncos traded the best pass rusher in team history (Miller) at last year’s deadline, they went to work in adding to that position this offseason. The team signing Randy Gregory and used its top draft choice (No. 64 overall) on Nik Bonitto. Denver also moved 2021 inside linebacker starter Baron Browning to the edge, and NFL.com’s James Palmer adds (via Twitter) the team is high on the former third-round pick after the training camp he put together at the new position.

A Reed trade has also loomed as a possibility for months due to his arrival before George Paton became the Broncos’ GM. Chubb is now the only OLB left from the John Elway regime, with the Broncos also rostering 2021 seventh-rounder Jonathan Cooper. Though Cooper’s spot may not be completely safe. Chubb and Gregory’s injury issues still may prompt the Broncos to prioritize depth at the position. But they felt enough depth was present to unload Reed, who will have a clearer role in Pittsburgh.

The Steelers, who cut edge rusher Genard Avery earlier this month, have featured an OLB need for a bit now. They traded Melvin Ingram last year, creating a void behind starters T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith. Reed stands to play the same role he did in Denver, though Miller and Chubb’s injuries often simply made him a starter.

A 2019 UDFA, Reed has registered 13 sacks over the past two years. Since 2019, the Nevada alum has made 34 starts. One season remains on the 26-year-old OLB’s contract; the Broncos tendered Reed at the original-round level as an RFA this year.

AFC Roster Rumors: Van Roten, Jefferson, Scharping, Reed

July 7th, 2022 at 7:58pm CST by Ely Allen

As the calendar year ticks away the days, NFL teams are having to start thinking about the difficult decisions they will have to make to eventually get their rosters down to 53 players to start the season. While the teams still have almost two months to make all the necessary cuts, many veterans are entering training camp on roster bubbles.

Here’s a breakdown of some of the players who may find themselves looking for a new team by the time the season begins:

  • The Bills brought in free agent offensive guard Greg Van Roten to solidify their depth on the interior of the offensive line. The 32-year-old veteran has starting experience with the last two clubs he’s spent time with, the Panthers and Jets, but he may not even make it to the final 53-man roster in Buffalo, according to Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN. As the Bills figure out just who will receive their coveted roster spots, the final spot will likely become a battle between Van Roten, Greg Mancz, whose experience at center could give him an edge, and rookie sixth-round pick Luke Tenuta.
  • The Ravens are overloaded with talent at the safety position. With free agent addition Marcus Williams, first-round pick Kyle Hamilton, and incumbent starters from last year Chuck Clark and Brandon Stephens all crowding the depth chart, veteran Tony Jefferson may find himself on the outside looking in, according to ESPN’s Jamison Hensley. Jefferson was released by Baltimore two offseasons ago, following a season mostly lost to a torn ACL, but was brought back last year after starting safety DeShon Elliott went down with a season-ending injury and Baltimore needed another veteran presence in their defensive backfield. Unfortunately, with the influx of new talent combined with the presence of last year’s starters, the Ravens may find that rostering Jefferson is not crucial to their depth at the position.
  • After trading cornerback Lonnie Johnson Jr. to the Chiefs this offseason, the Texans‘ 2019 draft class is down to two remaining players: first-round tackle Tytus Howard and second-round guard Max Scharping. While Howard has established himself as a starter on the line, Scharping is not a lock for the 53-man roster, according to Sarah Barshop of ESPN. Scharping stepped up as a starter during his rookie season but could not manage to hold onto the spot in his second year. The 2021 season saw Scharping struggle enough that his roster spot is now in question.
  • Over the past three seasons, pass rusher Malik Reed has been a lifesaver for Denver as the Broncos saw stars Von Miller and Bradley Chubb each miss time over the 2019, 2020, and 2021 seasons. Some roster moves by the Broncos, though, seem to be pointing toward some roster danger for Reed, according to ESPN’s Jeff Legwold. Free agent Randy Gregory was brought in on a $70MM contract, Denver drafted rookie Nik Bonitto in the second round this year, and the Broncos moved Baron Browning to outside linebacker after he played his entire rookie season on the inside. That trio will all be under contract until at least 2025, while Reed is in a contract year. This doesn’t necessarily spell doom for the former undrafted free agent, who has done a lot to earn his spot. But, with only one roster spot likely to be available at the position, Reed will potentially be duking it out with 2021 seventh-round pick Jonathon Cooper for the final OLB roster spot.
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