Headlines

Matthew Wright

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 8/31/23

By | at August 31, 2023 9:21 pm

Today’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Signed: WR Kaden Davis, OL Marquis Hayes

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

1 comment Arizona Cardinals Baltimore Ravens Buffalo Bills Chicago Bears Denver Broncos Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers Indianapolis Colts Jacksonville Jaguars Kansas City Chiefs Las Vegas Raiders Los Angeles Chargers Miami Dolphins New England Patriots New Orleans Saints New York Giants New York Jets Philadelphia Eagles Pittsburgh Steelers San Francisco 49ers Seattle Seahawks Tampa Bay Buccaneers Transactions

Panthers Cut QB Jake Luton, 10 Others

By | at August 26, 2023 11:03 am

The Panthers have a few more days until they need to reduce their roster to 53 players, but the front office has already started the process. The team announced that they’ve waived the following 11 player:

While none of these cuts are particularly surprising, there are still some notable players in the bunch. As NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweets, the Panthers may be starting the process early and trying to tempt another squad to make a waiver claim, which would improve Carolina’s spot in the rankings.

Considering his position, Luton is one of the bigger names on the list. The quarterback hasn’t seen the field for a regular season game since he was winless in three starts with the Jaguars in 2020, but he’s still had backup gigs over the past few years, with the QB having also spent time with the Seahawks, Dolphins, and Saints. The former sixth-round pick joined the Panthers back in July.

Wright will surely find himself in the kicker rolodex once teams get hit with injuries. He was the Jaguars’ (mostly) full-time kicker in 2021, connecting on 87.5 percent of his field goal attempts and 86.7 percent of his extra point tries. He split the 2022 campaign between the Chiefs and Steelers, converting 15 of his 18 FGAs and all 15 of his XPAs.

Earlier today, head coach Frank Reich told reporters that the organization was going to have some difficult decisions to make before Tuesday’s roster deadline. As of today, the Panthers still have to cut 26 players.

“Literally every position has battles in place, not just for the roster, but you know, play time, who’s starting, how we’re looking at things,” Reich said (via the team’s website). “But the good news is they’re hard decisions, right? Because we feel good about the guys we have on our roster.”

8 comments Carolina Panthers Transactions

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/8/23

By | at August 8, 2023 8:28 pm

Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Chargers

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Signed: WR Johnny King
  • Waived: T Chim Okorafor
  • Activated from active/PUP list: WR Devon Allen

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

  • Waived/injured: CB Andrew Whitaker

Washington Commanders

Flowers, who agreed to terms with the Patriots earlier today after a workout, suffered a foot injury in October of last season. That setback cut short a Dolphins run after four games. Flowers, who will turn 30 next week, last played for the Patriots in 2018.

McNichols joined Duke Johnson, Brian Hill and Jason Huntley at a recent 49ers workout. The 49ers are without Elijah Mitchell for what is expected to be a short stretch. A five-year veteran, McNichols most recently saw action for the Titans in 2021, helping the team as a pass-catching back (28 grabs for 240 yards) while Derrick Henry missed time with a foot fracture.

Allen suffered an injury while competing in the opening rounds of the 110-meter hurdles competition at the USA Track and Field Championships in July. The two-time Olympian owns the sixth-fastest hurdle time this year (13.04 seconds) but missed a key chunk of Eagles camp. This marks his second bid to make Philadelphia’s 53-man roster. Allen, 28, spent last season on the Eagles’ practice squad and stayed with the team via a reserve/futures contract in February.

The Panthers’ regular kicker, Eddy Pineiro, is battling a groin injury. Carolina gave Pineiro, their 2022 kicker, $2.25MM guaranteed earlier this offseason. The Jaguars’ primary kicker in 2021, Wright kicked in four Steelers games and two Chiefs contests last season.

A rookie UDFA, Whittaker suffered a torn patellar tendon in a recent Seahawks practice, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets. Matthews also sustained a season-ending injury — a torn ACL — during a Texans workout, Wilson adds (on Twitter).

5 comments Carolina Panthers Chicago Bears Houston Texans Indianapolis Colts Los Angeles Chargers New England Patriots New Orleans Saints New York Jets Philadelphia Eagles Pittsburgh Steelers San Francisco 49ers Seattle Seahawks Transactions Washington Commanders

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/6/23

By | at January 6, 2023 6:01 pm

Today’s minor moves heading into the Saturday slate of games:

Arizona Cardinals

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

New England Patriots

  • Reverted back to IR: P Jake Bailey
  • Moved from IR to reserve/suspended by club: P Jake Bailey, CB Jack Jones

Philadelphia Eagles

 

After working out for the Chiefs yesterday and signing to their practice squad today, Wright will be promoted immediately as a gameday elevation for tomorrow’s regular season finale against the Raiders. Regular kicker Harrison Butker has been ruled out for the fifth game this year and the first time since Week 5 of the season, opening up a playing opportunity for Wright this week.

Bailey has been on injured reserve since Week 9 and was designated to return from IR around December 21, while Jones was placed on IR only a week ago on New Year’s Eve. Bailey’s return window has since closed reverting him to season-ending IR, but in one of the less common transactions seen this season, he and Jones were both moved from an IR designation to the reserve/suspended by club designation. The exact reason why each player has been suspended by the team is unclear, but it is apparently the result of two separate incidents.

4 comments Arizona Cardinals Kansas City Chiefs Las Vegas Raiders New England Patriots Philadelphia Eagles Transactions

Steelers Activate K Chris Boswell From IR

By | at December 10, 2022 8:40 pm

The Steelers once again have all three of their specialists available as their push for a playoff spot continues. Per a team announcement, kicker Chris Boswell has been activated from IR.

The 31-year-old last played in Week 7, and has been on IR for one month due to a groin injury. That move guaranteed that he would miss at least four weeks, but Pittsburgh designated him for return on Thursday. That opened his 21-day window to be activated, and signaled that he would be ready to suit up in Week 14 during Sunday’s divisional showdown with the Ravens.

Boswell had been available for every game last season, one in which he reached the 90% plateau in his field goal percentage for the fifth time in his career. In the offseason, that made it little surprise when he signed a four-year extension. The $5MM AAV of that pact (briefly) tied him with Baltimore’s Justin Tucker as the league’s highest-paid kicker. Overall, Boswell’s career FG percentage sits at 87.4%, though his 2022 performance has not yet reached that standard.

The one-time Pro Bowler has converted 12 of 16 field goals so far, a 75% success rate which would rank as the second-lowest in his career if it were to continue. On the other hand, Boswell has been perfect on extra points this year, and made five of his six attempts beyond 50 yards. Recent improvements on offense under rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett could lead to an increase in opportunities in the kicking game.

In a corresponding transaction, the Steelers released Matthew Wright, who had filled in for Boswell over the course of the past four games. During that span, he converted 12 of 14 field goal attempts, also going a perfect seven-for-seven on extra points. That helped the team win three of their past four games, but their No. 1 option at the position will now take over for the stretch run.

1 comment Pittsburgh Steelers Transactions

Steelers To Sign K Matthew Wright Off Chiefs’ Practice Squad

By | at November 9, 2022 9:47 am

It appears the Steelers will be without their primary kicker for a bit longer. With Chris Boswell battling a groin injury, the Steelers are signing Matthew Wright off the Chiefs’ practice squad, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

By signing Wright off Kansas City’s taxi squad, the Steelers must keep him on their 53-man roster for at least three weeks. That is a fairly good indicator of Boswell’s timeline. The eighth-year Pittsburgh kicker, who suffered the injury in Week 7 against the Dolphins and did not kick against the Eagles in Week 8, is believed to need a bit more time to recover, James Palmer of NFL.com tweets.

The Chiefs have kept Wright on their P-squad since using him as one of Harrison Butker‘s fill-in options earlier this season. The Jaguars’ primary kicker in 2021, Wright kicked in two games for the Chiefs during Butker’s absence. Following Justin Reid and Matt Ammendola as Butker replacement options, Wright was 3-for-4 on field goals — including a then-Arrowhead Stadium-record 59-yarder against the Raiders — and 8 of 8 on extra points during his Chiefs cameo.

Wright, 26, was 21-for-24 on field goals with the Jaguars last season. Transitioning to a new regime this offseason, Jacksonville waived Wright in May. Boswell signed a second Steelers extension this year. He is under contract through 2026.

Butker has kicked in three games since returning in Week 7 but has struggled, by his standards, since returning. The sixth-year Chief, who began his Kansas City career after being signed off Carolina’s practice squad, is 5-for-8 on field goals this season. Butker missed an extra point and a 47-yard field goal against the Titans. The Chiefs would have needed to promote Wright to their active roster to keep him. They will pass, and Wright is set to have another opportunity elsewhere.

4 comments Kansas City Chiefs Pittsburgh Steelers Transactions

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/10/22

By | at October 10, 2022 6:18 pm

Today’s minor moves:

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

 

Young continues to struggle to find a long-term home in the NFL. After Baltimore drafted him and traded him in his second year to the Rams, it took Young over a full season with the team to earn a starting role. When he was finally starting on a consistent basis, Los Angeles traded him once again to Denver where he started six straight games before being inactive for the remainder of the year. Young signed in the offseason with the Raiders but was released ahead of roster cut deadlines. He signed to the Buccaneers practice squad days before the season started and was active for the last four weeks, only playing on special teams. He’ll likely land on another practice squad somewhere in the league, perhaps with one of his former teams as both Baltimore and Los Angeles have experienced some injuries to their linebacker depth.

0 comments Cincinnati Bengals Cleveland Browns Denver Broncos Detroit Lions Kansas City Chiefs Las Vegas Raiders Miami Dolphins New Orleans Saints Seattle Seahawks Tampa Bay Buccaneers Transactions

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/1/22

By | at October 1, 2022 7:20 pm

Today’s minor moves around the league, including practice squad elevations for tomorrow’s action:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

1 comment Arizona Cardinals Atlanta Falcons Baltimore Ravens Buffalo Bills Carolina Panthers Chicago Bears Cleveland Browns Dallas Cowboys Denver Broncos Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers Houston Texans Indianapolis Colts Jacksonville Jaguars Kansas City Chiefs Las Vegas Raiders Los Angeles Chargers New England Patriots New Orleans Saints New York Giants New York Jets Philadelphia Eagles Pittsburgh Steelers Seattle Seahawks Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tennessee Titans Transactions Washington Commanders
Show all
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors