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Nicholas Morrow

Commanders To Sign LB Duke Riley

August 10th, 2025 at 6:25pm CST by Adam La Rose

Sunday saw the Commanders host seven linebackers on a free agent visit. That effort has produced at least one signing.

Duke Riley has a deal in place with Washington, his agents told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The news comes not long after it was revealed Riley was among the veterans who took part in a workout today (h/t Mike Garafolo of NFL Network). With 124 appearances in the NFL, he will certainly add experience to the position in the nation’s capital.

The Commanders’ depth linebackers have not stood out in the preseason, according to ESPN’s John Keim, and 2024 fifth-rounder Jordan Magee has also missed time. At a minimum, Riley is a trusted camp body who can absorb preseason snaps as needed, but his extensive experience as a special teams ace could give him a chance at a roster spot.

Riley, 31, appeared in all but one game for the Dolphins over the last four years. He was a core special teams contributor with a rotational role on defense until last year, when his defensive snap count plummeted to 42 under new defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver. It was clear that Riley would not receive another short-term contract in Miami, and he drew little interest on the free agent market this spring.

In Washington, the veteran linebacker will reunite with head coach Dan Quinn, who held the same position in Atlanta when the Falcons drafted Riley in 2017. The former third-round pick started 16 games across his first two seasons before an October 2019 trade to the Eagles, where he initially played special teams before taking over a starting role in 2020. A pre-existing relationship with Quinn and familiarity with his scheme should allow Riley to settle in quickly.

The Commanders’ group of workouts also included linebackers Amare Barno, Nicholas Morrow, Tanner Muse, Ronnie Perkins, Sione Takitaki, and Oshane Ximines, according to Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic.

Nikhil Mehta contributed to this post.

Final Transactions Of The 2024 NFL Season; Eagles Activate DE Brandon Graham From IR

February 9th, 2025 at 4:28pm CST by Ely Allen

FEBARUARY 9: With Graham active for tonight, Huff is amongst the Eagles’ healthy scratches. The latter had played in two of Philadelphia’s postseason games, and after signing a $17MM-per-year pact the fact he is not in the team’s Super Bowl lineup is a rather notable development. Most of Huff’s 2025 compensation is guaranteed, but his next action for Philadelphia will come next year.

FEBRUARY 8: The biggest game of the year will take place tomorrow night as the Chiefs are looking to threepeat for the first time in NFL history. The Eagles, on the other hand, are looking to avenge their Super Bowl loss to Patrick Mahomes and company from just two years ago. As has been the case all year, each team is allowed to elevate two players from their practice squad. Philadelphia has also taken the additional step to activate defensive end Brandon Graham from injured reserve.

Graham suffered a triceps tear in November, and it immediately became clear that he would not play again during the regular season. Triceps tears come with lengthy recovery timetables, and the 36-year-old said in the aftermath of the game in which his took place that he would be out for the rest of the year. As the season went on and the postseason drew nearer, hope began to rise that Graham would be able to make a return if the Eagles could last long enough to play in the Super Bowl.

To add on to that, Graham, who has spent his entire 15-year tenure in Philadelphia, said in July that he would retire following the 2024 campaign. If he is going to hold true to his word, he needed the team to keep winning in order to play one more game in green.

Luckily for Graham, his team held up their end of the bargain, and now, he’ll be able to hold up his. A Graham comeback will be significant for the Eagles, who have dealt with injuries to both he and Bryce Huff this season. Huff has since returned, though he is playing behind starters Josh Sweat and Nolan Smith in Vic Fangio‘s defense. At the time of his injury, Graham had already topped his 2023 full-season totals for sacks and QB hits in 11 games this season. The longest-tenured player in Eagles history was sitting on 3.5 and seven, respectively, in those categories when he went down against the Rams.

In order to make room on the roster, the Eagles have placed backup center Nick Gates on injured reserve. For their two practice squad callups, the Eagles have tabbed fullback Khari Blasingame and linebacker Nicholas Morrow. Blasingame has been elevated for all three of the team’s playoff games so far, while Morrow has been elevated for each of the last two.

The Chiefs only made standard gameday practice squad elevations today. Linebacker Swayze Bozeman and cornerback Steven Nelson will join the active roster for the final game of the season. Bozeman has played in two playoff games already for Kansas City, while Nelson will be making his 2024 debut.

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/25/25

January 25th, 2025 at 7:38pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s standard gameday practice squad elevations in advance of championship Sunday:

Buffalo Bills

Kansas City Chiefs

Philadelphia Eagles

Washington Commanders

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/18/25

January 18th, 2025 at 5:08pm CST by Ely Allen

Saturday’s minor moves, including stand gameday practices squad elevations for the weekend’s remaining divisional playoff games:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Detroit Lions

Los Angeles Rams

Philadelphia Eagles

Washington Commanders

Eagles Place Nakobe Dean On IR, Bring Back Nicholas Morrow

January 14th, 2025 at 7:23pm CST by Sam Robinson

A few teams have turned to Nicholas Morrow as a regular starter, but the veteran linebacker has been unable to secure much in the way of financial commitments in free agency. He has spent most of this season with the Bills as a backup, before being waived earlier this month.

Nakobe Dean‘s season-ending injury will earn Morrow another opportunity, marking a familiar development. The Eagles are bringing Morrow back, per NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo. Dean 2023 injuries kept Morrow with a regular role in Philly, and the team will turn to familiarity late in the season. This is a practice squad deal.

The Eagles placed Dean on IR after he suffered a torn patellar tendon during the Packers game; that malady may well lead to Dean missing time to start the 2025 season. Dean battled multiple foot ailments in 2023, leading to two IR stints and only five games played. After the Eagles stashed Dean as a backup during their NFC championship season in 2022, injuries are otherwise defining the former third-rounder’s rookie contract. Dean finishes this season with 128 tackles and three sacks; Pro Football Focus ranked him 12th among off-ball linebackers.

Dean has not been the Eagles’ top LB success story this year; that honor goes to Zack Baun, who morphed from a player who researched recent special teams contracts (via Yahoo.com’s Jori Epstein) into a first-team All-Pro. The Eagles initially viewed Baun as a rotational edge rusher, per ESPN.com’s Tim McManus, but he has boosted his value tremendously as a traditional off-ball LB this season. The former Saints third-rounder will be counted on as the Eagles attempt to book a second Super Bowl berth in three seasons.

Morrow initially caught on with the Eagles after a full-season run as a Bears starter, but that season only fetched a one-year, $1.2MM deal. Philly had viewed Morrow as a potential starter heading into their 2023 camp but then cut him weeks later. Morrow resurfaced on Philly’s P-squad that September and became Dean’s primary replacement soon after. Last season, Morrow started 12 games and made 95 tackles — a career-high 12 for loss — but the Eagles changed up at linebacker this past offseason to lead him to Buffalo. The Division III success story, who has made 58 career starts, played in 11 Bills games as a backup.

The Eagles also moved Parris Campbell back to their 53-man roster to take Dean’s place and added wide receiver Elijah Cooks to their practice squad. The team released wideout Joseph Ngata from its taxi squad.

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/2/25

January 2nd, 2025 at 7:25pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Buffalo Bills

Cincinnati Bengals

Detroit Lions

New England Patriots

  • Waived: DT Haggai Ndubuisi

Seattle Seahawks

The Patriots signed Haggai Ndubuisi off the Commanders practice squad just yesterday, but the team is already waiving the defensive tackle. As ESPN’s Mike Reiss notes, Ndubuisi is being waived with a non-football illness designation, an indication that something popped up during the player’s physical.

Brady Russell landed on IR today after the tight end dealt with a foot injury for much of the season. The special teamer got into 11 games with the Seahawks in 2024. In his place, the team signed John Rhys Plumlee from the practice squad. The rookie was listed by the Seahawks as a WR, but the former UCF QB served as an occasional signal-caller on Seattle’s scout team.

Bills Sign LB Nicholas Morrow

December 23rd, 2024 at 9:02pm CST by Ben Levine

Nicholas Morrow has landed back in Buffalo. The linebacker is signing with the Bills, per ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg. Morrow will be joining Buffalo’s active roster.

Morrow spent the majority of this season on the Bills roster, but he was squeezed off the squad earlier this month. He went unclaimed on waivers, and per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, he was set to fly to Green Bay to audition for the Packers. Instead, the Bills called and Morrow accepted their offer to return.

The journeyman joined the Bills this past offseason. After starting 29 games in stints with the Bears and Eagles between 2022 and 2023, Morrow found himself primarily playing special teams in Buffalo. He was limited to only 44 defensive snaps in 11 games, although his 182 ST snaps were among the highest on the team.

The Bills’ linebackers room looks a bit different than it did when Morrow was cut a few weeks ago. Matt Milano (groin), Dorian Williams (elbow), and Baylon Spector (calf) are all dealing with injuries at the moment, leaving Terrel Bernard as the lone healthy LB. There’s a chance Morrow finds himself with an increased defensive role during his “second” stint in Buffalo.

Latest On Bills’ LB Situation Following Matt Milano Injury

August 18th, 2024 at 11:58am CST by Rory Parks

In the wake of outside linebacker Matt Milano’s bicep tear, which will keep the 2022 First Team All-Pro on the shelf for an indefinite period of time, the Bills will need to find an adequate replacement. Per Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic (subscription required), Buffalo will likely give Dorian Williams the first shot at taking over for Milano.

That does not come as much of a surprise, as Williams was a third-round pick last year and had been serving as Milano’s backup throughout much of training camp anyway. However, his ascension to a starting role is still contingent upon improvement in several areas.

The most glaring weakness in Williams’ game is his coverage ability, as he frequently takes the bait on play-action fakes. While his speed is an asset and allows him to make splash plays in run defense, he remains vulnerable against the pass, and given how much the Bills ask of their linebackers – which is why they invest more dollars at the position than many other teams – the second-year pro is still in the process of learning his responsibilities.

Of course, Milano suffered a season-ending leg injury in Week 5 of the 2023 season, and Buffalo initially gave Williams a crack at an increased role before ultimately turning to Tyrel Dodson. Dodson took advantage of his opportunity and parlayed his strong performance into a one-year, $4.26MM deal with the Seahawks this offseason, which gives Williams a clearer path to a starting job this time around.

Still, third-year pro Baylon Spector has looked good in camp and could be in the mix as Milano’s replacement, even though he has spent most of his time working as Terrel Bernard’s backup at middle linebacker. Veteran Nicholas Morrow is another option, though he has battled a core/groin injury. Despite the injury, Milano’s absence certainly improves Morrow’s chances of making the initial 53-man roster.

If the Bills want to take advantage of Williams’ run defense upside while mitigating his coverage liabilities, the team could bring in an additional safety on obvious passing downs and drop another safety into the second level of the defense to serve as a de facto third LB on those plays. That is what Jordan Poyer did last year, but Poyer is now with the Dolphins, and in Buscaglia’s view, safety might be the weakest position on the team, so Buffalo may not be able to line up in dime coverage as often as it might like.

The Bills could also turn to free agency or a trade if Williams et al. are not up to the challenge. However, head coach Sean McDermott prefers to address these types of issues via internal promotions, so Buffalo could eschew that route, especially in light of the above-referenced complexities that accompany the club’s linebacker positions.

Williams appeared in all 17 of the Bills’ regular season games last year, including two starts. He participated in 211 defensive snaps and recorded 40 combined tackles.

La’el Collins, Deion Jones Facing Uphill Battles To Make Bills’ 53-Man Roster?

July 5th, 2024 at 5:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Bills’ wide receiver situation brings considerable uncertainty, and a host of veterans will vie for roster spots in training camp. Buffalo added several low-cost vets at other positions as well, setting up interesting competitions.

Two of these are present at linebacker, where Nicholas Morrow joins Deion Jones to supply depth for a team that was down to third-stringers by the time it ran into the Chiefs in the divisional round. Buffalo enjoyed better health along its offensive line, but the team still signed La’el Collins — after his year off — to compete for a swing role. Despite the profiles Collins and Jones carry, they are not locks to make the four-time reigning AFC East champions’ roster.

[RELATED: Bills S Damar Hamlin On Roster Bubble]

Collins, who signed a one-year deal worth $1.75MM, met with Bills brass late last season but eventually circled back to the Cowboys for what turned out to be a non-playing role. Most recently in place as the Bengals’ starting right tackle, Collins’ career turned when he suffered ACL and MCL tears in Week 16 of the 2022 season. The Bengals released him from their reserve/PUP list last September.

While Jones and Morrow bring similar experience, Collins will battle an unseasoned pro for Buffalo’s swing tackle job. As of now, the Buffalo News’ Ryan O’Halloran notes Ryan Van Demark is the early frontrunner to land that gig. Van Demark, who beat out David Quessenberry for the OT3 role last year, entered the league as a Colts UDFA in 2022 before spending that season on the Bills’ practice squad. Van Demark played 47 offensive snaps as a backup last season, as the Bills kept their starters on the field.

Collins’ roster spot may come down to how starting right tackle Spencer Brown looks following offseason shoulder surgery. Van Demark took the first-string RT reps during Buffalo’s offseason program. Labeling The Bills are likely to carry only one pure backup tackle. Collins, 30, brings guard experience but that occurred during his first two NFL seasons (2015-16). The Bengals did not consider sliding Collins to guard after the Orlando Brown Jr. signing.

A practice squad spot could await Collins in the event he cannot unseat Van Demark when the pads come on, though that would probably depend on another team’s willingness to dangle a roster spot. It would cost the Bills $1.5MM in dead money to release Collins, whereas dropping Jones would not bring any cap penalties due to the veteran linebacker not receiving any guaranteed money.

The Bills plan to use the recovering Matt Milano and third-year cog Terrel Bernard as their three-down linebackers, per O’Halloran, with 2023 third-rounder Dorian Williams assured of a spot as well. Tyrel Dodson signed with the Seahawks this offseason. Buffalo, which needed to use old friend A.J. Klein in an emergency circumstance in the playoffs, added Morrow and Jones this offseason. Morrow, who signed for $1.5MM ($750K guaranteed) in March, started 12 Eagles games last season but once again did not command a notable market. Nevertheless, O’Halloran expects the ex-Raiders and Bears starter to have an early leg up on Jones to be the team’s veteran backup presence at linebacker.

Jones, 29, made three starts for the Panthers last season but has seen his playing time reduced significantly since his Falcons days. Atlanta traded the former Pro Bowler to Cleveland during the 2022 season, and although he landed a 2024 gig in May after not joining the Panthers until August last year, the presences of Morrow (29 starts since 2022), fifth-round pick Edefuan Ulofoshio and third-year backup Baylon Spector complicate the former Falcons extension recipient’s path to the Bills’ final 53.

With the NFL loosening restrictions on vested veterans’ practice squad eligibility, it is not difficult to envision Collins and Jones sticking around as experienced options in the event more injury trouble occurs. Both have work to do to avoid the P-squad coming into play.

Bills To Sign LB Nicholas Morrow

March 12th, 2024 at 3:09pm CST by Adam La Rose

Nicholas Morrow‘s Eagles stock bounced up and down last year, but the veteran linebacker ended up playing a bigger-than-expected role. The Bills took interest and will bring in the longtime starter.

Buffalo will sign the former Raiders, Bears and Eagles ILB, per NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo, who notes the sides agreed on a one-year pact Tuesday. Morrow started 12 games for the Eagles last season. He did so while operating as Philadelphia’s defensive signal-caller, so his absence will be missed in 2024.

Taking on a major role with the Eagles’ defense, Morrow made 95 tackles; that represents the second-highest total of his career. The former UDFA had topped 100 stops in 2022 with the Bears, but that production only landed him a one-year accord last offseason. After having a hand in a defense which struggled mightily down the stretch in the Eagles’ NFC title defense, Morrow will again find himself on the move via a short-term agreement.

Buffalo lost Tremaine Edmunds in free agency last year, creating a major vacancy at the linebacker spot. 2022 third-rounder Terrel Bernard took on a starting role as a result, racking up 143 tackles and 6.5 sacks. Tyrel Dodson also logged a notable defensive workload, although he was also used heavily on special teams (as has been the case in previous years for him). The latter is a pending free agent, and his departure could be foreshadowed by Morrow’s addition.

In any case, the 28-year-old will offer considerable experience alongside Bernard and veteran Matt Milano. Morrow has 94 games (58 starts) to his name, and he recorded three sacks, five pass deflections and a forced fumble with the Eagles last season. He will look to replicate (or better) those figures in Buffalo while aiming to avoid the late-season letdown experienced in Philadelphia.

Sam Robinson contributed to this post. 

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