Minor NFL Transactions: 8/26/25
Amongst a busy day of roster moves, here are some minor transactions outside of final roster cuts:
Arizona Cardinals
- Activated from active/PUP list: G Will Hernandez
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: S Sam Franklin
- Activated from active/PUP list: C Sedrick Van Pran-Granger
Green Bay Packers
- Extended: LS Matt Orzech
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Activated from active/PUP list: WR Chris Godwin, T Tristan Wirfs
Arizona, Buffalo, and Tampa Bay all made decisions to pull players off the active/physically unable to perform list in order to avoid them missing the first four games of the season. They may not be quite ready to start in Week 1, but their teams at least have confidence that they won’t be out for a month.
Franklin wasn’t a free agent for long. The former Panthers safety just finished out camp in Denver and was told that he didn’t make the Broncos’ initial 53-man roster. Hours later, he apparently came to an agreement with Buffalo and will head there to start his 2025 campaign.
Orzech has been the Packers long snapper for the past two years after similarly short stints with the Rams and Jaguars. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Green Bay gave him his first long-term deal. The 30-year-old will be under a three-year, $4.8MM deal that will make him the third highest-paid long snapper in the league.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/23/24
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Activated from IR: OT Christian Jones
Baltimore Ravens
- Designated for return: CB Jalyn Armour-Davis
Chicago Bears
- Designated for return: OL Larry Borom, RB Travis Homer
Dallas Cowboys
- Designated for return: DL Jordan Phillips
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: LS Matt Orzech
- Waived: DL Jonathan Ford
New York Jets
- Signed to active roster: S Jalen Mills
- Placed on IR: OL Xavier Newman-Johnson
- Designated for return: TE Kenny Yeboah
San Francisco 49ers
- Promoted: DL Evan Anderson
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Promoted: P Trenton Gill, WR Ryan Miller
Washington Commanders
- Activated from IR: LB Jordan Magee
The Bears should soon be getting some offensive reinforcement. Most notably, lineman Larry Borom returned to practice today after missing the first chunk of the season with an ankle injury. The former fifth-round pick has been a reliable swing OT for the Bears over the past three years, starting 23 of his 39 appearances. The team will also welcome back Travis Homer, who has been sidelined since Week 3 with a finger injury. The veteran RB may have a tough time cracking the rotation upon his return with D’Andre Swift, Roschon Johnson, and Khalil Herbert currently leading the depth chart. The Bears will have 21 days to activate either of the two players to the 53-man roster.
Jordan Phillips was back at Cowboys practice today after landing on IR in mid-September. The defensive lineman’s injury wasn’t ever made particularly clear; the Cowboys claimed the player was favoring his previously repaired wrist, although the player later hinted that he was forced to the sideline because of conditioning. After more than a month on the shelf, the veteran will now get another look. The Cowboys acquired Phillips from the Giants back in August, and the veteran only got into about one fourth of his team’s defensive snaps before landing on IR. Phillips appeared in 26 games for the Bills between 2022 and 2023, collecting 35 tackles and four sacks.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/21/24
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Promoted: LB Markus Bailey, DL Ben Stille
Atlanta Falcons
- Released from IR: LB Milo Eifler
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed to active roster: RB Chris Collier
- Promoted: LB Kristian Welch
Green Bay Packers
- Activated off IR: DL Jonathan Ford
- Released: LS Matt Orzech
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed to active roster: DT Zach Carter
- Waived: DT Nesta Jade Silvera
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed to active roster: CB Dicaprio Bootle, CB Shaun Wade
- Promoted: C Sam Mustipher, WR Jalen Reagor
- Placed on IR: DB Deane Leonard
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived: LB Elias Neal
New York Giants
- Signed to active roster: DT Armon Watts
New York Jets
- Reinstated from reserve/Did Not Report: LB Haason Reddick (story)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Promoted: P Trenton Gill
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.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/31/23
Following a busy roster deadline day on Tuesday, teams continue to reshuffle their rosters. Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Claimed on waivers (from Colts): OL Carter O’Donnell
- Placed on IR: OL Dennis Daley, LB Myjai Sanders
- Waived from IR: OT Lachavious Simmons
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: QB Josh Johnson, CB Kevon Seymour, DE Brent Urban
- Placed on IR: LB Malik Hamm, RB Keaton Mitchell, CB Damarion Williams
Buffalo Bills
- Placed on IR: WR Justin Shorter, LB Baylon Spector
Carolina Panthers
- Placed on IR: TE Stephen Sullivan
Chicago Bears
- Waived from IR: RB Trestan Ebner, OL Gabe Houy
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: DT Maurice Hurst
- Placed on IR: LB Jordan Kunaszyk
Detroit Lions
- Signed: RB Craig Reynolds
- Placed on IR: LB Julian Okwara
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: LS Matt Orzech
- Placed on IR: OT Luke Tenuta
Indianapolis Colts
- Waived: G Arlington Hambright
Los Angeles Chargers
- Waived from IR: LB Blake Lynch
New York Giants
- Waived from IR: CB Zyon Gilbert
New York Jets
- Placed on IR: OT Carter Warren, TE Kenny Yeboah
Seattle Seahawks
- Waived from IR: S Joey Blount
Tennessee Titans
- Released: OL Justin Murray
The Ravens brought back a trio of veterans to their 53-man roster. Brent Urban is probably destined for the biggest role, with the veteran lineman serving as the top backup to Broderick Washington at defensive end. Urban got into 16 games for Baltimore last season, collecting 21 tackles and one sack. Veteran QB Josh Johnson will slide behind Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley on the depth chart, and Kevon Seymour will continue his role as a key special teamer.
The Cardinals are temporarily losing some production with offensive lineman Dennis Daley and linebacker Myjai Sanders being placed on IR. Daley joined the Cardinals on a two-year deal this offseason after starting 15 of his 17 appearances for the Titans in 2022. Sanders had a productive rookie campaign, with the third-round pick collecting 23 tackles, three sacks, and one forced fumble.
Julian Okwara has turned into a productive pass-rushing option in Detroit. The former third-round pick has collected seven sacks over the past two seasons, but he’ll now be sidelined for the start of the season while recovering from a knee injury suffered during in the preseason finale.
Packers Place CB Eric Stokes On PUP, Set 53-Man Roster
The Packers will roll into the 2023 campaign without cornerback Eric Stokes, who was placed on PUP today. The organization made additional moves to get to the 53-man roster limit:
Released:
Waived:
- TE Austin Allen
- LB Keshawn Banks
- WR Jadakis Bonds
- WR Cody Chrest
- T Jean Delance
- WR Grant DuBose
- C James Empey
- CB Tyrell Ford
- S Innis Gaines
- CB Elijah Hamilton
- CB William Hooper
- CB Shemar Jean-Charles
- DL Jason Lewan
- RB Nate McCrary
- QB Alex McGough
- WR Bo Melton
- WR Dre Miller
- LB Arron Mosby
- DL Antonio Moultrie
- LB Kenneth Odumegwu
- LS Matt Orzech
- FB Henry Pearson
- LB Jimmy Phillips Jr.
- LB Marvin Pierre
- S Benny Sapp III
- C Cole Schneider
- DL Chris Slayton
- RB Patrick Taylor
- T Kadeem Telfort
- CB Kiondre Thomas
- WR Duece Watts
Placed on reserve/PUP:
- CB Eric Stokes
Placed on IR:
Waived/injured:
- RB Tyler Goodson
- LS Broughton Hatcher
- RB Lew Nichols
Stokes continues to rehab from foot and knee injuries that limited him to only nine games in 2022. His placement on PUP means he’ll have to sit out at least the first four games before being eligible for activation. The 2021 first-round pick has started 23 of his 25 appearances for the Packers, collecting 81 tackles, 14 passes defended, and one interception.
Meanwhile, Moore won’t be eligible to play for the Packers in 2023 after getting placed on injured reserve with a knee injury. Moore joined the Packers this offseason after spending the first five seasons of his career with the 49ers. He sat out the entire 2021 campaign but otherwise appeared in 61 games across four healthy seasons with San Francisco, collecting 108 tackles.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/8/23
Here are Monday’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: S Jaquan Amos
- Waived: DE Levi Bell
Chicago Bears
- Waived: OL Nick Amoah, DB Justin Broiles, TE Damien Caffrey
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: LS Broughton Hatcher, DL Antonio Moultrie
- Waived: LS Jack Coco
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: WR Tyler Adams, WR Kody Case, T Matthew Vanderslice, DT Jamal Woods
- Waived: WR Cody Chrest, CB Tyler Richardson, RB Titus Swen, WR Braxton Westfield
New York Giants
- Reverted to PUP list: S Terrell Burgess
Philadelphia Eagles
- Waived: S Andre Chachere
Hatcher and Moultrie join cornerback William Hooper in landing Packers deals after the team’s rookie minicamp. Despite the Packers cutting Coco, Hatcher still has competition to become Green Bay’s long snapper. Matt Orzech, who spent the past two years as the Rams’ deep snapper, remains the favorite for the Packer gig after receiving a $300K signing bonus this offseason, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com tweets. Orzech had been on Green Bay’s radar for years; the team tried to claim him off waivers in 2021.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/15/23
Today’s minor transactions:
Cincinnati Bengals
- Re-signed: RB Trayveon Williams
Denver Broncos
- Signed: CB Tremon Smith
Green Bay Packers
- Re-signed: TE Tyler Davis
- Signed: LS Matt Orzech
Indianapolis Colts
- Re-signed: CB Tony Brown
Las Vegas Raiders
- Re-signed: S Roderic Teamer
Los Angeles Chargers
- Re-signed: DL Morgan Fox
Los Angeles Rams
- Re-signed: OL Coleman Shelton
Miami Dolphins
- Re-signed: T Kendall Lamm
- Signed: TE Eric Saubert
- Claimed off waivers (from Broncos): WR Freddie Swain
Minnesota Vikings
- Re-signed: TE Ben Ellefson
Washington Commanders
- Re-signed: DE Efe Obada
Smith got a two-year deal from Denver that can max out at $5.5MM, per Mike Klis of 9News in Denver (via Twitter). Smith got a $1.4MM signing bonus to join the Broncos, per Troy Renck of Denver7 (via Twitter). After finishing last in kicker return average in 2022, the Broncos should get a bump from Smith, who averaged 23.9 yards on his 40 kickoff returns for Houston over the past two years.
Packers Tried To Claim LS Matt Orzech
The Packers attempted to claim long snapper Matt Orzech, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). However, the Rams had higher priority in the order due to their 10-6 finish. The Packers, meanwhile, went 13-3 (and nearly reached the Super Bowl).
[RELATED: Titans Cut Orzech, Orchard]
Orzech, a 2019 undrafted free agent, saw 16 games as a rookie with the Jaguars. In 2020, he had stints with the Jaguars and Dolphins before landing with the Titans’ practice squad. On Monday, the Titans waived him along with linebacker Nate Orchard and tight end Parker Hesse.
Meanwhile, the Packers have bigger fish to fry. Star quarterback Aaron Rodgers still wants out and the Packers continue to insist that he’ll stay put. Still, the Broncos believe that they can swing a trade for Rodgers — especially since the other potential suitors have found other solutions at QB.
Titans Cut LB Nate Orchard
Nate Orchard‘s stint with the Titans has come to an end. The Titans released the veteran linebacker today, per the NFL ‘s official transactions report. Tennessee also waived tight end Parker Hesse and long snapper Matt Orzech.
The 2015 second-round pick lived up to his draft stock during his rookie season, finishing with three sacks and four QB hits. After spending most of his sophomore campaign on the IR, Orchard settled into a backup role with the Browns in 2017, but he was cut by Cleveland prior to the 2018 campaign. Since that time, the veteran has bounced around the NFL, spending time with the Bills, Chiefs, Seahawks, Dolphins, Washington, and Texans. He saw time in three games for WFT last season, collecting a pair of tackles.
After getting cut by Washington in November, Orchard caught on with the Titans practice squad. He inked a futures contract with the organization in January. Ultimately, the 28-year-old won’t make it to training camp with the organization.
Orzech, a 2019 undrafted free agent, got into 16 games as a rookie with the Jaguars. In 2020, he had stints with the Jaguars and Dolphins before landing with the Titans practice squad.
Hesse, a former University of Iowa standout, spent most of the 2020 season on Tennessee’s practice squad.
NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/15/21
Here are the latest reserve/futures contracts given out:
Baltimore Ravens
Chicago Bears
- WR Reggie Davis, WR Jester Weah
Detroit Lions
- DB Godwin Igwebuike, DE Robert McCray, TE Hunter Thedford
Green Bay Packers
Las Vegas Raiders
- QB Kyle Sloter
Pittsburgh Steelers
- S John Battle, DT Demarcus Christmas, T Anthony Coyle, FB Trey Edmunds, WR Anthony Johnson, T Jarron Jones, LS Christian Kuntz, T John Leglue, TE Kevin Rader, LB Tegray Scales, DL Calvin Taylor, P Corliss Waitman, T Brandon Walton, WR Cody White, CB Trevor Williams
San Francisco 49ers
- QB Josh Johnson, OL Corbin Kaufusi
Seattle Seahawks
- DT Myles Adams
Tennessee Titans
- T Paul Adams, WR Rashard Davis, TE Parker Hesse, WR Cody Hollister, TE Tommy Hudson, LB Jan Johnson, T Brandon Kemp, QB DeShone Kizer, K Tucker McCann, C Daniel Munyer, DE Nate Orchard, LS Matt Orzech, WR Chester Rogers, LB Tuzar Skipper
Washington Football Team