Minor NFL Transactions: 9/21/24
Today’s minor NFL transactions:
Arizona Cardinals
- Elevated: T Jackson Barton, T Charlie Heck
Baltimore Ravens
- Elevated: RB Chris Collier, CB Ka’dar Hollman
Carolina Panthers
- Elevated: DE DeShawn Williams
Chicago Bears
- Elevated: DE Byron Cowart, WR Collin Johnson
- Placed on IR: RB Travis Homer
Cleveland Browns
- Signed to active roster: RB Gary Brightwell, TE Blake Whiteheart
- Elevated: CB Tony Brown, TE Geoff Swaim
Dallas Cowboys
- Elevated: DE Carl Lawson, LB Nick Vigil
Detroit Lions
- Elevated: WR Tim Patrick, WR Allen Robinson
Green Bay Packers
- Elevated: QB Sean Clifford, CB Robert Rochell
Houston Texans
- Elevated: RB J.J. Taylor, LB Zeke Turner
Las Vegas Raiders
- Elevated: CB Sam Webb
Los Angeles Chargers
- Elevated: LB Shaquille Quarterman
Los Angeles Rams
- Elevated: TE Nikola Kalinic, WR Xavier Smith
Miami Dolphins
- Signed to active roster: QB Tim Boyle
- Elevated: WR Dee Eskridge, WR Erik Ezukanma
- Placed on IR: WR Grant DuBose
Minnesota Vikings
- Elevated: OLB Bo Richter, TE Robert Tonyan
New Orleans Saints
- Elevated: LB Isaiah Stalbird
New York Giants
- Elevated: CB Art Green, LB Ty Summers
Philadelphia Eagles
- Elevated: WR Parris Campbell, TE Jack Stoll
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Elevated: DL Mike Greene, WR Sterling Shepard
Tennessee Titans
- Elevated: LB Luke Gifford, RB Jabari Small
Players like Hollman, Vigil, Webb, and Quarterman will now be getting called up for the third time this season. The NFL rules limit a practice squad player to three standard gameday elevations per contract. If their teams want to get them into more games in the future, the normal route is for them to be signed to the active roster after this weekend then released/waived and signed to new practice squad deals, starting their three-game count over.
Shy Tuttle‘s foot injury will keep him off the field for Week 3, as the Panthers announced that the defensive tackle has been downgraded from doubtful to out. The Panthers called up Williams to temporarily take the open roster spot. The defensive end started 10 of his 16 appearances for the Panthers last season, and he landed back on Carolina’s practice squad last month after spending the preseason with the Bills.
The Browns announced a handful of moves ahead of their game with the Giants tomorrow. Notably, the team didn’t promote any offensive tackles, which provided some optimism surrounding the availability of their injured tackles. While Jedrick Wills Jr. is expected to play (per Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal), Jack Conklin will not (per Tony Grossi of 850 ESPN Cleveland). Conklin hasn’t played since Week 1 of the 2023 season while recovering from a torn ACL and MCL. He practiced this week and was initially listed as questionable for tomorrow’s game, but it sounds like a new hamstring injury is the culprit for his Week 3 absence.
With both Joe Mixon and Dameon Pierce set to miss Sunday’s trip to Minnesota, the Texans are bringing up Taylor off the practice squad. Taylor will back up Cam Akers and Dare Ogunbowale against the Vikings this weekend.
Rams Waive S Russ Yeast
The Rams made a number of roster moves in advance of their Week 2 trip to Arizona. Among those moves, Los Angeles made the decision to place defensive back Russ Yeast on injured reserve. 
Yeast is in his third season since getting drafted in the seventh round by the Rams. He played a bit of a reserve role as a rookie in 2022, making one start as a fifth defensive back in 15 game appearances. Yeast followed that up with a more impactful 2023 campaign, starting nine of 17 games and recording 61 total tackles and five passes defensed. Yeast played all over the field last year, spending most of his time at safety but playing a healthy number of snaps in the slot and in the box.
Yeast entered the year as the presumed starting nickelback for Los Angeles, but in the season opener in Detroit, Yeast only appeared on the field for one defensive snap. Not yet a vested veteran, Yeast will be subjected to the waiver wire, where any team can claim him if they so desire. In his place, Quentin Lake will take over that nickel role. Lake started four games late into last year before taking the starting role in the opener last week. Lake was drafted a round before Yeast back in 2022, and the two have jockeyed for preference on the depth chart ever since.
Taking Yeast’s spot on the active roster will be practice squad cornerback Cam Lampkin. Lampkin was originally signed as an undrafted free agent out of Washington State. He failed to make the initial 53-man roster but was signed to the practice squad, where he remained until today’s promotion.
Joining Lampkin off the practice squad as standard gameday elevations are offensive lineman Justin Dedich and tight end Nikola Kalinic. Both players will revert back to the practice squad after tomorrow’s contest.
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 49ers, Cardinals, Rams and Seahawks moves are noted below.
Arizona Cardinals
Signed:
Claimed:
Signed to practice squad:
- WR Andre Baccellia, LB Markus Bailey, LB Krys Barnes, OL Jackson Barton, RB Michael Carter, WR Dan Chisena, CB Jaden Davis, OL Marquis Hayes, OL Keith Ismael, LB Julian Okwara, WR Tejhaun Palmer, QB Desmond Ridder, TE Bernhard Seikovits, DL Ben Stille, CB Divaad Wilson
Los Angeles Rams
Signed:
- DT Neville Gallimore (story)
Claimed:
Waived:
- DT Cory Durden
Placed on IR:
Signed to practice squad:
- OL A.J. Arcuri, OL Justin Dedich, B Zach Evans, TE Miller Forristall, DB Tanner Ingle, DB Shaun Jolly, TE Nikola Kalinic, DB Cam Lampkin, DT Tuli Letuligasenoa, OL Mike McAllister, DT David Olajiga, WR Xavier Smith, WR Drake Stoops, DB Jason Taylor II, OLB Keir Thomas, LB Zach VanValkenburg, WR Sam Wiglusz
San Francisco 49ers
Signed:
- OL Ben Bartch, WR Terrace Marshall Jr., TE Eric Saubert, CB Rock Ya-Sin
Claimed:
Waived:
Placed on IR:
- OL Jon Feliciano, CB Ambry Thomas
Signed to practice squad:
- DE Jonathan Garvin, DB Chase Lucas, S Tracy Walker
Seattle Seahawks
Signed:
Claimed:
Signed to practice squad:
- CB Artie Burns
Rams Pare Roster To Initial 53
Here is how the Rams’ initial 53-man roster looks ahead of Sean McVay‘s eighth season:
Waived:
- OL A.J. Arcuri
- OL Justin Dedich
- RB Zach Evans
- TE Miller Forristall
- DB Tanner Ingle
- DB Shaun Jolly
- TE Nikola Kalinic
- DB Cam Lampkin
- DL Tuli Letuligasenoa
- OL Mike McAllister
- DL David Olajiga
- WR Xavier Smith
- WR Drake Stoops
- DB Jason Taylor II
- OLB Keir Thomas
- OL Zachary Thomas
- OLB Zachary VanValkenburg
- WR Sam Wiglusz
Waived/injured:
Placed on IR:
Placed on IR/return designation:
- OL K.T. Leveston
- DL Larrell Murchison
Despite Los Angeles trading Ernest Jones to the Titans, McVay said the team is not looking around at inside linebacker. The Rams kept kept five off-ball LBs — Christian Rozeboom, Troy Reeder, Jacob Hummel, Omar Speights and Elias Neal — and McVay labeled Rozeboom and Reeder as the team’s expected starters. Rozeboom, a former UDFA out of South Dakota State, has made five starts in his three-season career. Reeder, whom the Rams brought back last year after he spent 2022 with the Chargers, has made 31 career starts. Ten of those came during the team’s Super Bowl LVI-winning season. The veteran played only 192 defensive snaps last season. Both Neal and Speights were part of the team’s UDFA contingent this year.
The Rams’ other major piece of injury news emerged earlier today; Tyler Higbee will make the expected trip to the reserve/PUP list. That will knock out the team’s longtime tight end starter for at least four games. Leveston and Murchison are also sidelined for that span, but the Rams’ IR-return moves will lead to two of their eight injury activations being used before Week 1. The NFL greenlit up to two such moves this year, but the Rams have run out of injury activations in the not-so-distant past, exhausting theirs during an injury-flooded 2022 season.
The nephew of Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson, Tre’Vius played 318 special teams snaps as a rookie last year. This development follows Derion Kendrick‘s July ACL tear. The Rams placed Kendrick on IR weeks ago.
NFL Reserve/Futures Deals: 1/16/24
Here are today’s reserve/futures contracts:
Chicago Bears
- C Doug Kramer, DE Khalid Kareem
Cleveland Browns
- DT Jayden Peevy
Dallas Cowboys
Green Bay Packers
- LB Deslin Alexandre, LB Deandre Johnson, LB Christian Young
Las Vegas Raiders
- OL Ben Brown, S Tyreque Jones, RB Tyreik McAllister
Los Angeles Rams
- TE Miller Forristall, TE Nikola Kalinic, G Grant Miller, WR Xavier Smith
Minnesota Vikings
New Orleans Saints
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 49ers, Cardinals, Rams and Seahawks moves are noted below.
Arizona Cardinals
Claimed:
- C Trystan Colon, TE Elijah Higgins, C Keith Ishmael, T Ilm Manning, DB Starling Thomas, DB K’Von Wallace
Waived:
- WR Daniel Arias, G Marquis Hayes, S Javonte Moffatt, DL Ben Stille, TE Blake Whiteheart
Signed to practice squad:
- QB Jeff Driskel
Los Angeles Rams
Claimed:
Waived:
Signed to practice squad:
- OL A.J. Arcuri, OL Logan Bruss, DT Marquise Copeland, RB Royce Freeman, DB Tanner Ingle, WR Tyler Johnson, TE Nikola Kalinic, OL Mike McAllister, DB Cameron McCutcheon, OL Grant Miller, LB Troy Reeder, QB Brett Rypien, WR Xavier Smith, OLB Keir Thomas II, WR Austin Trammell
San Francisco 49ers
Placed on IR:
- DL Robert Beal, WR Danny Gray
Signed:
- DL Austin Bryant, DL Kerry Hyder
Claimed:
Waived:
Signed to practice squad:
- DT Alex Barrett, FB Jack Colletto, WR Chris Conley, DL Marlon Davidson, TE Troy Fumagalli, OL Alfredo Gutierrez (via International Player Pathway), RB Brian Hill, CB Qwuantrezz Knight, OL Corey Luciano, WR Tay Martin, DL T.Y. McGill, LB Curtis Robinson, WR Willie Snead, CB Tre Swilling, OL Leroy Watson, WR Isaiah Winstead
Seattle Seahawks
Claimed:
- CB Kyu Blu Kelly, LB Drake Thomas
Waived:
Signed to practice squad:
- QB Holton Ahlers, OLB Levi Bell, CB Lance Boykin, CB Artie Burns, T Greg Eiland, DT Matthew Gotel, C Joey Hunt, WR Cade Johnson, RB Bryant Koback, WR Matt Landers, TE Tyler Mabry, LB Patrick O’Connell, S Ty Okada, RB SaRodorick Thompson, WR Easop Winston Jr.
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:
- OL AJ Arcuri
- K Tanner Brown
- OL Logan Bruss
- DE T.J. Carter
- OLB Daniel Hardy
- DB Quindell Johnson
- WR Tyler Johnson
- TE Nikola Kalinic
- OL Mike McAllister
- DB Cameron McCutcheon
- OL Grant Miller
- DB Robert Rochell
- WR Xavier Smith
- OLB Keir Thomas
- WR Austin Trammell
- QB Dresser Winn
- LB Jaiden Woodbey
Waived/injured:
- DB De’Andre Square
- DB Rashad Torrence
Released:
- DT Marquise Copeland
- RB Royce Freeman
- QB Brett Rypien
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.
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/14/23
Today’s only minor move:
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: TE Nikola Kalinic
Kalinic, a former second-round pick in the Canadian Football League after going undrafted in the NFL draft, finally made his NFL debut last year with the Colts. While playing for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2019 & 2021, Kalinic reeled in 23 receptions for 192 yards and two touchdowns. His first season in the NFL started out on the practice squad, but Kalinic was eventually promoted to the active roster last year. He failed to register any stats on offense but started two of seven appearances in Indianapolis. He was waived by the team back in May. Kalinic will have to work for snaps in a crowded tight end room led by Tyler Higbee and including Brycen Hopkins, Hunter Long, and rookies Davis Allen and Christian Sims.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/4/23
Today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: WR Penny Hart
Houston Texans
- Waived/injured: WR Drew Estrada
Indianapolis Colts
- Waived: DE Kameron Cline, TE Nikola Kalinic, LB Forrest Rhyne, DT Chris Williams, TE Jalen Wydermyer
Minnesota Vikings
- Claimed off waivers (from Falcons): CB John Reid
Hart got into 39 games for the Seahawks over the past three years. The majority of his work came on special teams, but he did manage to haul in 11 receptions during his limited snaps on offense. More notably, Hart had 17 special teams tackles over the past two years, including 11 last season.
Meanwhile, the Vikings made a move on a Falcons castoff. Reid got into 24 games for the Texans and Seahawks between 2020 and 2021, but he bounced around the league a bit in 2022. He appeared in three games (one start) with the Titans before catching on with Atlanta’s practice squad late in the season.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/13/22
Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: DT Brandin Bryant
- Waived: DT C.J. Brewer
Carolina Panthers
- Waived: DL Daviyon Nixon
Denver Broncos
- Placed on IR: RB Mike Boone
- Signed off Dolphins’ practice squad: WR Freddie Swain
Houston Texans
- Signed from practice squad: QB Jeff Driskel
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed off practice squad: TE Nikola Kalinic
- Waived: WR Keke Coutee
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed off Broncos’ practice squad: G Netane Muti
- Placed on IR: LB Jayon Brown
Philadelphia Eagles
- Placed on IR: P Arryn Siposs (story)
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed off Jets’ practice squad: DT Jonathan Marshall
- Signed: LB Olasunkanmi Adeniyi
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Waived: LB Olakunle Fatukasi