Marlon Davidson

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/25/23

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

  • Signed: LB Donavan Mutin

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Las Vegas Raiders

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

Philadelphia Eagles

Tennessee Titans

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/4/23

Wednesday’s practice squad moves:

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

Erving finds a new home in 2023 after originally re-signing to stay with the Panthers in the offseason. The former first-round pick has plenty of starting experience over his eight years in the NFL and has started games at center, guard, and tackle. With several injuries nagging the offensive line in New Orleans, the addition of Erving could prove beneficial.

Wednesday NFL Transactions: NFC West

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 49ersCardinalsRams and Seahawks moves are noted below.

Arizona Cardinals

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Los Angeles Rams

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

San Francisco 49ers

Placed on IR:

Signed: 

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Seattle Seahawks

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad: 

49ers Place Nick Bosa On Reserve/Did Not Report List, Pare Roster To 53

The 49ers joined the Chiefs in placing their best defensive player on the reserve/did not report list due to a holdout and joined the other 30 teams in finalizing their 53-man roster. Some changes are expected, with veterans pledged to stay. But here is how the 49ers reached 53:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on reserve/did not report list:

Placed on IR:

Placed on reserve/PUP list:

The 49ers are planning to re-sign Hyder and Bryant once they make other roster moves, Matt Barrows of The Athletic notes (subscription required). Both are vested veterans who are not subject to waivers. With Samson Ebukam and Charles Omenihu gone, Hyder figures to be a key piece as a rotational defensive end. He is with the 49ers for the third time in four seasons. After an 8.5-sack slate in 2020, Hyder signed with the Seahawks. But Seattle released him in 2021, leading the veteran back to the Bay Area.

San Francisco’s 53-man roster will include Bosa soon, and this holdout does not appear as contentious as the Chris Jones-Chiefs standoff. John Lynch has indicated the 49ers will waive Bosa’s fines for missing training camp — an option the 49ers have due to Bosa being tied to a rookie contract. While the 49ers changed defensive coordinators, bringing in Steve Wilks to replace DeMeco Ryans, D-line coach Kris Kocurek remains in place. Bosa should be able to hit the ground running once he returns, though the 49ers are running short on time here.

Gonzalez suffered a calf injury Kyle Shanahan said would keep him out a few weeks. With the veteran landing on IR, an injury settlement is likely. The 49ers used a third-round pick on Michigan kicker Jake Moody, but Barrows notes the strained quadriceps injury he suffered may keep him out of Week 1. On that note, the 49ers worked out Tristan Vizcaino and Taylor Russolino, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area notes. Robbie Gould, the 49ers’ kicker for the past six seasons, remains unsigned.

49ers Sign DL Marlon Davidson, Re-Sign TE Troy Fumagalli

The 49ers confirmed on Monday that they have inked veteran quarterback Brandon Allen to a one-year deal. Two other additions have been made to their roster.

San Francisco has added Marlon Davidson to their defensive line rotation. The 24-year-old visited the 49ers in December, so it comes as little surprise that a deal has now been struck. Davidson entered the league with high expectations after a productive career at Auburn, but he was unable to translate his success to the NFL level in his first home.

A second-round pick of the Falcons, Davidson started just one of 19 games in Atlanta during his first two seasons there. He recorded only one sack, leaving his short- and long-term future with the team in doubt entering 2022. Knee surgery left him sidelined to begin the year, and Atlanta moved on in October. Davidson did not find a landing spot for the remainder of the campaign, so question marks remain about his recovery and ability to live up to his potential in the Bay Area.

The 49ers have already taken a flier on ex-Raider Clelin Ferrell this offseason, as the former top-five pick looks to rebuild his value. The same will now be true of Davidson, as he looks to carve out a role along a defensive front which added Javon Hargrave on a big-money deal in free agency. A strong showing in 2023 could boost his efforts to land a longer-term pact next offseason, with the 49ers or another interested team.

San Francisco also announced the return of tight end Troy Fumagalli. The 28-year-old signed with the 49ers last May, but was among the team’s final roster cuts in August. He then spent time on their practice squad, making him a familiar face as he hopes to crack the 53-man roster this time around. Fumagalli’s only regular season experience to date has come with the Broncos, but he will look to carve establish a role for himself in a TE room headed by George Kittle and which saw the addition of third-rounder Cameron Latu as well as seventh-rounder Brayden Willis during the draft.

Workout Rumors: Rourke, Davidson

Canadian Football League quarterback Nathan Rourke is in the midst of a bit of a free agency tour, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. Shortly after Rourke’s BC Lions were knocked out of the playoffs in mid-November, the 24-year-old announced that he was in communication with a number of NFL teams in regard to scheduling workouts.

Rourke played three years of college ball at Ohio after transferring from Fort Scott Community College. As a starter for all three years, Rourke was one of the country’s most electric dual-threat quarterbacks. He improved each year as a passer, finishing with a career total of 7,457 yards, 60 touchdowns, and 20 interceptions. His consistency as a runner is uncanny. In 2017, 2018, and 2019, Rourke ran the ball 137, 134, and 154 times respectively, for 912, 860, and 867 yards respectively. Over the three seasons he ran for 2,034 yards and 49 touchdowns. That’s 9,511 yards of total offense and 111 total touchdowns, when you include the two receiving touchdowns he had as a Bobcat.

Rourke went undrafted by the NFL but was the highest drafted quarterback for the CFL in almost 20 years. A rough first season in British Columbia saw Rourke serve mainly as a backup, only starting two games, and making some mistakes early in his career. He only threw three touchdowns to five interceptions, although he was able to add five touchdowns on the ground, as well. In his second year with the team, during the league’s 2022 season, Rourke became a full-time starter. In nine starts, Rourke completed 78.7-percent of his passes for 3,349 yards while throwing 25 touchdowns to 10 interceptions. He also added 304 yards and seven touchdowns with his legs.

After the Lions’ season ended with a third loss in four matchups this year against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, a few NFL teams reached out to the athletic quarterback. Rourke reportedly met with the Raiders last week, the Jaguars on Monday, and the Broncos on Tuesday.

Seeing as all three of those teams are set with starting quarterbacks on fairly recent deals, it’s worth point out that Rourke did audition for the Giants at wide receiver just prior to the CFL’s 2021 season. It’s also worth pointing out that the XFL has produced some NFL quarterbacks with limited success lately. Both Commanders backup quarterback Taylor Heinicke and Panthers backup quarterback P.J. Walker have earned playing time with their respective squads. Heinicke, who started most of the 2021 NFL season for Washington, took over the starting job this year for an injured Carson Wentz and has gone on to win five of his seven starts for the team. Walker took over the starting job for an injured Baker Mayfield before suffering an injury of his own.

This opens the door for the league to look outside of the traditional talent pools for a player as important as the backup quarterback. To say Rourke would be an upgrade over Jarrett Stidham, C.J. Beathard, or Brett Rypien is no guarantee, but it may be worth taking a look at the mobile, young quarterback.

Here’s another workout rumor about a very recent second-round pick who was recently released:

  • Former Falcons defensive lineman Marlon Davidson visited the 49ers this week, according to Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network. Through two and a half seasons in the league, Davidson has played in 19 games, only starting one. He’s only recorded one sack but has a fumble recovery and a 3-yard pick six off of Tom Brady to his ledger. Davidson has yet to play this season after being placed on injured reserve following arthroscopic knee surgery and was released in late October. Securing a visit with San Francisco may indicate that he’s healthy enough to find his way back to the field now.

Falcons Cut DL Marlon Davidson

The Falcons have seen some turnover on their defensive line this year. They will continue that trend by moving on from Marlon Davidson, a former second-round pick.

This move comes after Davidson spent the season’s first seven weeks on IR. The third-year defensive lineman underwent arthroscopic knee surgery just before the season, and ESPN.com’s Michael Rothstein notes (via Twitter) he was on Atlanta’s roster bubble before going down with the injury.

Atlanta’s Thomas DimitroffDan Quinn regime chose Davidson 47th overall out of Auburn in 2020, but the interior D-lineman could not establish himself as a starter for either interim HC Raheem Morris nor DC Dean Pees. Davidson, who dealt with lower-body injuries during his two seasons with the Falcons, has one career start and one sack. He follows D-line contributors Anthony Rush and John Cominsky in being moved off the roster this year.

The Falcons cut Rush earlier this month and saw offseason addition Eddie Goldman retire shortly after joining the team. The 3-4 squad is thin on D-linemen acquired before GM Terry Fontenot took over; Grady Jarrett is the last man standing there.

Pees’ unit has turned to 2021 fifth-round pick Ta’Quon Graham as its starter opposite Jarrett up front, with Abdullah Anderson manning the nose post. Timmy Horne‘s emergence as a reserve also influenced Atlanta’s Davidson decision, per Rothstein. In not activating Davidson from IR, the Falcons still have seven injury activations remaining this season.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/1/22

Teams continue to tinker with their rosters after hundreds of players were cut earlier this week. We’ve tracked all of today’s minor moves below:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Falcons Place LB Deion Jones, CB Isaiah Oliver On IR

The Falcons removed Deion Jones from their active/PUP list last week, but the veteran linebacker will still miss the season’s first four games. Atlanta placed Jones on IR Thursday.

This turned out to be part of a bigger Atlanta IR shift. In addition to the Jones placement, the Falcons moved cornerback Isaiah Oliver, defensive lineman Marlon Davidson, offensive lineman Jalen Mayfield and tight end John FitzPatrick to IR. All are now ineligible through Week 4.

[RELATED: Falcons Claim T Chuma Edoga]

With one of the free roster spots, the Falcons brought back linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski. The team had included the former Bears and Raiders defender among its Tuesday cuts. Atlanta also re-signed defensive lineman Abdullah Anderson and offensive lineman Colby Gossett.

Linked in trade rumors for months, Jones underwent shoulder surgery in May to quiet those. He did not return to practice until late August. The seventh-year defender is set to count for a Falcons-most $20MM against the 2022 cap. The team added Kwiatkoski, former Dean Pees Titans charge Rashaan Evans and second-rounder Troy Andersen at the position — one also housing third-year cog Mykal Walker — this offseason. That and the Falcons having moved on from most of their Super Bowl LI nucleus, as they attempt to rebuild, has naturally inserted Jones’ name into departure rumors.

It should not be completely ruled out Jones could be dealt by the Nov. 1 deadline, but Thursday’s transaction — continuing an injury hiatus into the season — further complicates that status.

Oliver went down with a season-ending knee injury in October of last year. Despite that, the former second-round pick re-signed with the Falcons on a one-year, $2.39MM deal. A 33-game Falcons starter, Oliver will have missed at least a year of football by the time he is able to return. Davidson underwent arthroscopic knee surgery last month. Mayfield lost his right guard job to journeyman Elijah Wilkinson during camp.

NFC South Notes: Panthers, Bucs, Davidson

Matt Corral landed on the Panthers’ IR Tuesday, ending his rookie season before it started. The Lisfranc injury the third-round pick suffered will require surgery, Matt Rhule said. The Panthers had planned to carry Corral as their third-string quarterback during what was to be a developmental year, with the team wanting him to add muscle to his 205-pound frame and obviously learn a pro-style offense, per Joe Person of The Athletic. Because of Corral’s injury, the Panthers’ roster math may change. The team may no longer be preparing to carry three quarterbacks, Person notes (subscription required). This news would pertain to P.J. Walker, the former XFL 2.0 standout who has been Carolina’s backup the past two seasons. Walker, who has won both his regular-season starts but holds a career 51.6 passer rating, struggled in the Panthers’ second preseason game. The 27-year-old passer could be stashed on the practice squad — behind starter Baker Mayfield and backup Sam Darnold — if he clears waivers in the event of a cut before next week’s deadline.

Here is the latest from the NFC South:

  • Shifting to the division’s most famous quarterback, Tom Brady is now back with the Buccaneers. The all-time great missed nearly two weeks of training camp. Family time has circulated as the reasoning behind Brady’s absence, which coincidentally occurred while the team held joint practices against the Dolphins, and Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com notes Brady and wife Gisele Bundchen spent time at an exclusive Bahamas resort. Not a bad arrangement, though not many players could swing such a mid-camp trip. Brady has not taken questions since the Dolphins scandal broke, but he is back practicing with the Bucs.
  • During Brady’s time away, the Bucs lost another potential O-line starter. Aaron Stinnie‘s ACL and MCL tears add to a lengthy list of changes to Tampa Bay’s interior O-line. Ali Marpet retired, Alex Cappa signed with the Bengals, and Ryan Jensen suffered what may be a season-ending injury. Jensen, however, may have a late-season return window. The Bucs are not planning to place their starting center on IR, with Albert Breer of SI.com noting the veteran blocker’s “complicated” injury could have him available for the playoffs. For now, the team will keep that door open. That would mean carrying Jensen onto the 53-man roster and then placing him on IR.
  • For now, the Bucs have 2021 third-round pick Robert Hainsey (31 offensive snaps last season) at center and would have either second-round rookie Luke Goedeke or former UDFA Nick Leverett (two career games; zero starts) at left guard opposite Shaq Mason. Goedeke would be the likely in-house solution, Greg Auman of The Athletic notes. Hainsey, who was working at guard earlier this offseason, is unlikely to be moved off his new center post, Auman adds. This would point to the Bucs, if they feel the need arises, looking at the guard market for a veteran. Ereck Flowers, Quinton Spain and James Carpenter are among the top options.
  • While the Bucs are not believed to be actively searching, the loss of two veteran blockers could be rather important in what could be Brady’s final season. The Ravens could be a trade option, Auman offers, holding a potential guard surplus featuring Tyre Phillips, Ben Cleveland and Ben Powers. The team is unlikely to keep all three.
  • Falcons defensive tackle Marlon Davidson underwent arthroscopic knee surgery recently, D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes. The team had hoped Davidson, a 2020 second-round pick, would push Ta’Quon Graham to start opposite Grady Jarrett in the team’s 3-4 scheme. Graham, a 2021 fifth-rounder who started five games last season, is now in the lead. Despite his draft pedigree, Davidson has started just one game.