Marquise Copeland

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: 

Rams Cut Down To 53 Players

The Rams did a bit of work yesterday in moving towards the 53-man deadline. Here are the additional moves the team made today to get down to the max roster number to start the season:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Released:

It appears that fourth-round rookie draft pick Stetson Bennett won out in the battle for the backup quarterback job, leading to the expendability of Rypien and Winn. Youth similarly won out at the running back spot as rookie Zach Evans and second year backs Kyren Williams and Ronnie Rivers beat out the veteran backup in Freeman. On defense, Copeland is bit of a surprise after starting nine games last year for the Rams.

The special teams room is quite intriguing for now. The room was looking to hold three rookies before the above waiver of the undrafted Oklahoma State kicker Brown. Seventh-round rookie punter Ethan Evans and undrafted rookie long snapper Alex Ward remain on the roster, but without Brown, the Rams will need to look into adding a new kicker out of the free agent market. Or they may attempt to follow the recent trends and trade for one.

Rams Activate CB Darious Williams From IR

The Rams will have a key defender back in uniform Sunday night. They activated cornerback Darious Williams from IR on Saturday, doing so at their first opportunity.

Williams went down with an ankle injury during the Rams’ Week 5 win in Seattle, but he will be back in uniform for another nationally televised game this week. Los Angeles also bumped defensive back Antoine Brooks and defensive lineman Marquise Copeland from its practice squad.

This next stretch of games qualify as pivotal for Williams, who became the only 2021 restricted free agent to be given a first-round tender. Williams is playing on that $4.77MM RFA tender this season, and should he maintain the course he charted last season, a lucrative long-term deal stands to be in his future. Given the Rams’ pattern of acquiring and extending big stars and letting key role players walk, it is not a lock Williams stays in L.A. beyond this season. But the former UDFA does stand to help this year’s championship-contending squad alongside Jalen Ramsey.

Pro Football Focus graded Williams as its No. 4 overall corner last season. The Rams let Troy Hill walk and prioritized Williams as an RFA. Becoming a regular starter for the first time, Williams intercepted four passes last season. He does not have a pick yet this year.

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 CardinalsRamsSeahawks and 49ers moves are noted below.

Here are Wednesday’s NFC West transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day.

Arizona Cardinals

Signed to practice squad:

Los Angeles Rams

Signed to practice squad:

San Francisco 49ers

Signed:

Placed on IR: 

Signed to practice squad:

Seattle Seahawks

Claimed:

Signed:

Released/Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/18/21

With the Ravens, Browns, and Rams getting eliminated from the playoffs over the weekend, both teams announced their slew of reserve/futures deals on Monday. As a reminder, these are all non-guaranteed deals, usually for practice squad type players, to help teams flesh out their 90-man offseason rosters.

Baltimore Ravens

Cleveland Browns

Los Angeles Rams

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/22/20

Here are Tuesday’s practice squad decisions:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

  • Placed on practice squad reserve/COVID-19 list: DE Anthony Edwards

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

  • Activated off practice squad reserve/COVID-19 list: WR Ishmael Hyman

Chicago Bears

  • Signed: RB Spencer Ware
  • Activated off practice squad injured list: WR Thomas Ives

Cleveland Browns

  • Placed on practice squad reserve/COVID-19 list: DB Elijah Benton

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

  • Placed on practice squad reserve/COVID-19 list: DE David Irving

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

  • Released: OL Andrew Jones

Washington Football Team

Rams Claim LB Justin Hollins, Add 15 To Practice Squad

The Rams left their roster at 52 players after cutdown day, and the team filled the roster spot with a player familiar with their new defensive coordinator.

Los Angeles submitted a waiver claim for Justin Hollins, a linebacker whom Denver cut Saturday, and the 2019 draft pick will rejoin Brandon Staley. The Broncos used Hollins at both inside and outside linebacker spots last season; Staley coached Denver’s outside linebackers in 2019.

This will bring another ex-Staley pupil to L.A. The Rams already signed Leonard Floyd, whom Staley coach in Chicago, to be a starter. Hollins, a fifth-round pick out of Oregon, profiles as a depth piece.

The Rams also set their practice squad Sunday. All 15 players were in camp with the Rams this year, so for those hoping to go in fresh for the Hard Knocks finale next week, this is the spoiler warning.

Here is how the Rams’ practice squad looks:

Rams Make Roster Cuts

The Rams are one-upping everyone else, making a slew of roster cuts to get down to *52* players, as Adam Schefter passes along on Twitter. Presumably they’re planning on making another move imminently and not starting the year with one less player than everyone else.

Los Angeles had already made a bunch of cuts, so it’s a smaller group getting the axe now:

Deayon and Johnston have both been featured prominently on HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’ during camp, so there will surely be some fans bummed about those cuts. Both are good bets to be back on the practice squad since Johnston was a draft pick and Deayon was on the active roster at times last year.

Perkins had plenty of electrifying moments as Virginia’s quarterback, but the UDFA apparently wasn’t ready to make it as an NFL passer. Howard and Robinson aren’t getting cut but are rather being put on IR and the non-football injury list respectively. Howard, who was supposed to play a big role on defense, will be out for the season while Robinson will have to miss at least the first six games.