Noah Togiai

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/30/24

Here are Tuesday’s reserve/futures deals:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Detroit Lions

Philadelphia Eagles

Eagles Activate WR Quez Watkins From IR

NOVEMBER 25: It didn’t take long for the Eagles to officially activate Watkins. They are doing so today in time for tomorrow’s matchup against the Bills. With Watkins returning to the fold, Philadelphia now has their full assortments of receivers for a difficult stretch of the schedule. Having the whole receiving corps available is a huge plus as Hurts will be without tight ends Goedert and Grant Calcaterra for at least this upcoming game.

Tight end Noah Togiai will be brought up from the practice squad as a standard gameday elevation to help fill out a thin tight ends position. Joining him as a gameday elevation tomorrow will be practice squad linebacker Ben VanSumeren.

NOVEMBER 22: The NFL’s only one-loss team is moving closer to having its full wideout corps back at work. Quez Watkins returned to Eagles practice Wednesday, opening his 21-day activation window.

Placed on IR after suffering a hamstring injury, Watkins has been sidelined for longer than the IR-minimum requirement. The Philadelphia slot receiver has missed the past five games.

During Watkins’ absence, the Eagles added Julio Jones to their A.J. Brown– and DeVonta Smith-fronted wideout crew. Playing 82 snaps during his four-game run with the defending NFC champions, Jones has four receptions for 16 yards. Prior to Watkins’ injury, the fourth-year receiver was struggling to make an impact as well. Watkins will eventually come off IR with a four-catch, 21-yard stat line.

This is a contract year for Watkins, a 2020 sixth-round pick, and he will need to produce more to command a notable deal in free agency. Watkins did deliver more impressive work in the past. During Jalen Hurts‘ first season — one that became a run-leaning operation as Shane Steichen took over play-calling — Watkins posted a career-high 647 receiving yards. Once the Eagles traded for Brown during the 2022 draft, Watkins’ role took a hit. He finished last season with 354 yards — at just 10.7 per reception.

The Eagles also have Olamide Zaccheaus as a slot option; the ex-Falcon has just six receptions for 87 yards this year. With Dallas Goedert out, the Eagles could certainly use a viable third wideout. And it is worth wondering how frequently the team will use Watkins now that Jones is on the roster. The 8-1 team has six IR activations remaining this season. Goedert would not count toward this total, as the team is not planning to place its top tight end on IR.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/14/23

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Denver Broncos

  • Released: CB Reese Taylor

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: LB Austin Ajiake

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Chargers

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/24/23

Here are Tuesday’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Released: CB Quavian White

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/16/23

Practice squad moves from today:

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Philadelphia Eagles

Washington Commanders

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/2/23

Today’s taxi squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Cincinnati Bengals

  • Released: QB Reid Sinnett

Detroit Lions

Las Vegas Raiders

Minnesota Vikings

  • Released: DL Junior Aho

New Orleans Saints

Cardinals Get Down To 53 Players

The source of some strange, unpredicted preseason trades in the past few weeks, the Cardinals have been busy trying to figure out the 53-man roster they’ll open the season with. While some of their biggest cuts came in the days leading up to the deadline and the team is likely to continue making adjustments leading up to opening day, here are the cuts made to officially set team’s initial 53-man roster:

Waived:

Released:

Placed on IR:

Waived/injured:

Veteran running back Clement and former Ravens standout Williams both fell victim to a resurgent Keaontay Ingram, who surpassed them both on the depth chart after getting healthy. That means a roster spot for undrafted rookie Emari Demercado, who will get to reap the unfortunate benefit of Marlon Mack‘s season-ending injury. He’s joined by undrafted wide receiver Daniel Arias and tight end Blake Whiteheart.

The release of the long-time Cardinals long snapper, Brewer, comes as a bit of a surprise as the only other long snapper on the roster, undrafted rookie Matt Hembrough, is currently on injured reserve. They’ll likely target a free agent who is left available after cut day.

Quarterback Kyler Murray was not moved from the physically unable to perform list, nor was cornerback Garrett Williams moved from the non-football injury list. Both will attempt to make returns shortly after the start of the season. Rookie backup center Gaines’ first NFL season is unfortunately over before it could begin after sustaining a knee injury in the team’s preseason finale.

Minor NFL Transactions: 2/17/23

Today’s minor moves around the NFL:

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints 

Anderson has signed a two-year deal, per the Bills’ announcement of the move. The 26-year-old joined the Chiefs in 2021, and made a total of seven appearances across the past two seasons, only seeing action on special teams.

The fact that the Vikings re-signed pending ERFAs Brandel and Tonga this early speaks to how highly they are valued by the organization. Brandel filled in for Christian Darrisaw at left tackle when the latter was concussed, while Tonga logged two starts and a 36% snap share in 2022. Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that each signed a one-year deal at $940K, which would have been their tender amounts.

Kirkwood, 28, was set to hit the open market in March but the Saints will have him place for the 2023 season. Originally signed by New Orleans as a UDFA in 2018, he returned to the Saints this past season after a pair of campaigns with the Panthers. He recorded only two catches, but saw an offensive snap share of 46%.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/19/22

Today’s minor moves, including some standard practice squad elevations for the two Monday Night Football games:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Green Bay Packers

Minnesota Vikings

Philadelphia Eagles

Washington Commanders

 

Brewer has completed a pretty unlikely path to an NFL game. Coming out of Coastal Carolina, the defensive lineman had to have surgery following an injury suffered in the Chanticleers’ bowl game. With no college all-star game and no NFL Combine, Brewer had only his Pro Day to show his ability. After going undrafted and unsigned as a college free agent, he earned a rookie mini camp tryout and got to stay for training camp as the lowest player on the depth chart. Brewer played more than any other defensive player in training camp and stayed healthy. He got cut, signed with the practice squad, and is now getting an opportunity to appear in his first NFL game.

The Cowboys had hoped to re-sign Ridgeway after waiving him. It doesn’t appear that Washington was the only team to keep him from returning to Dallas, as multiple teams reportedly submitted claims for the former fifth-round pick.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/10/22

Today’s minor moves around the league, as teams prepare for the first Sunday slate of regular season games:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

The Cardinals’ moves come as a reaction to yesterday’s injury news. Baccellia’s roster spot was opened up in the short-term by the injury to Rondale Moore, but he won’t simply be a stop-gap. Arizona signed the 25-year-old to a two-year deal to remain on the main roster, per Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network (Twitter link). A UDFA out of Washington, Baccellia has yet to make a regular season NFL appearance.

Likewise, the fact that Ford will miss at least the first four weeks of the season makes the re-acquisition of Garcia a logical one. The former fourth-rounder has plenty of guard experience, including his three seasons spent in Arizona. It was only in 2021 that he logged any starts, but he could provide veteran depth behind Justin Pugh at least until Ford is able to return.

Addison, 35, was one of several veteran signings the Texans made this offseason to add depth to their front seven. He had a productive season with the Bills last season, notching seven sacks despite not starting any games. In his absence, Harris and Pierre-Louis will provide depth in the edge rush department on Sunday, and likely the short-term future as well.

Quick reminder that standard game day practice squad promotions are a recent development from the new CBA and COVID-19 seasons. Essentially, each team is able to promote two players from the practice squad to the active roster for game days. The players will automatically revert back to the practice squad after the game, not needing to clear waivers before rejoining the developmental roster. A player can only be promoted three times per season. If a team would like to promote a player for a fourth game, they’ll need to go through the normal method of creating space on the 53-man roster to promote them and have them clear waivers before placing them back on the practice squad. That is the difference between “Signed to 53-man roster” from the practice squad and “Promoted from practice squad.”