Minor NFL Transactions: 10/9/21
Here is Week 5 Saturday’s minor move spree:
Arizona Cardinals
- Promoted: OL Danny Isidora, TE Ross Travis, CB Jace Whittaker
Atlanta Falcons
- Activated from IR: CB Kendall Sheffield
- Promoted: WR Juwan Green, CB Chris Williamson
- Waived: TE Parker Hesse
Baltimore Ravens
- Designated for return: G Tyre Phillips
Carolina Panthers
- Promoted: S Kenny Robinson, RB Rodney Smith
Cleveland Browns
- Activated from IR: LB Anthony Walker
- Promoted: DE Joe Jackson, DB Jovante Moffatt
Dallas Cowboys
- Promoted: FB Nick Ralston, TE Jeremy Sprinkle
Denver Broncos
- Promoted: WR Tyrie Cleveland
Detroit Lions
- Promoted: TE Shane Zylstra
Houston Texans
- Placed on IR: OL Marcus Cannon
- Promoted: QB Jeff Driskel, WR Chris Moore
Indianapolis Colts
- Promoted: QB Brett Hundley
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Promoted: K Matthew Wright
Kansas City Chiefs
- Activated from IR: LB Willie Gay
- Promoted: DE Demone Harris
- Waived: LB Darius Harris
Los Angeles Chargers
- Activated from IR: CB Ryan Smith
Miami Dolphins
- Activated from IR: DT Raekwon Davis
- Promoted: WR Isaiah Ford, DE Jabaal Sheard
Minnesota Vikings
- Promoted: G Dakota Dozier, CB Parry Nickerson, CB Tye Smith
- Waived: WR Dan Chisena
New England Patriots
- Promoted: DB Myles Bryant, OL James Ferentz, OL Alex Redmond, G William Sherman
New Orleans Saints
- Promoted: OL Jordan Mills, WR Kenny Stills
- Released: DT Christian Ringo
New York Giants
- Promoted: T Korey Cunningham
New York Jets
- Activated from IR: LB Blake Cashman
- Promoted: S Jarrod Wilson, TE Kenny Yeboah
Philadelphia Eagles
- Promoted: T Le’Raven Clark
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Promoted: S Karl Joseph, WR Cody White
- Released: G Rashaad Coward
San Francisco 49ers
- Promoted: WR Travis Benjamin, TE Tanner Hudson, QB Nate Sudfeld
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Activated from IR: OLB Cam Gill
- Promoted: TE Codey McElroy, DB Rashard Robinson
Tennessee Titans
- Activated from IR: WR Marcus Johnson
- Promoted: S Jamal Carter, DL Caraun Reid, LB John Simon
- Waived: LB Sharif Finch
Washington Football Team
- Promoted: WR Antonio Gandy-Golden
Steelers Place DL Stephon Tuitt On IR
The Steelers will not have one half of their longtime defensive end duo to start the season. Stephon Tuitt will begin the year on IR.
Tuitt has battled a knee injury this summer. This move will sideline the eighth-year defensive lineman for at least the season’s first three games. The Steelers carried Tuitt through to their 53-man roster, but he will not be able to join Cameron Heyward and Co. in uniform until at least October.
Last season marked a return from a separate injury for Tuitt, who saw his 2019 slate end early because of a chest malady. Tuitt returned to have his best year as a pass rusher. The former second-round pick posted 11 sacks and 25 QB hits last season, helping the Steelers to an 11-0 start and the AFC North title.
Pittsburgh also placed offensive tackle Zach Banner and running back Anthony McFarland on IR Wednesday. After missing 15 games last season, Banner was in line to begin this year as the team’s right tackle starter. Those plans will be on hold. Banner began last season as the team’s right tackle but suffered a torn ACL in Week 1. Both players will also be eligible to return in Week 4.
To fill these roster spots, the Steelers brought back O-linemen B.J. Finney and Rashaad Coward, along with cornerback Arthur Maulet. Pittsburgh cut each on Tuesday.
Steelers Cut Down To 53
The Steelers became the latest team to officially get their roster down to 53 players on Tuesday. More shuffling can be expected in the days to come, but the initial 53 is set. Here’s who didn’t make the cut:
Waived:
- RB Jaylen Samuels
- RB Trey Edmunds
- WR Cody White
- OL Rashaad Coward
- OL B.J. Finney
- OL Chaz Green
- OL John Leglue
- TE Kevin Rader
- LB Cassius Marsh
- LB Quincy Roche
- DB Mark Gilbert
- DB Arthur Maulet
- DB Donovan Stiner
Placed on season-ending IR:
- QB Joshua Dobbs
Some of these names will certainly be familiar, including Samuels. The 2018 fifth-round pick from N.C. State received a lot of run in his first two years as a hybrid player, and got 113 touches in 2019. He fell out of favor last year, playing sparingly and only getting 18 touches. With the team drafting Najee Harris in the first-round, there was no longer any need for him.
Finney was with the Steelers from 2015-19, and started at least two games in four straight years from 2016-19. But he wasn’t able to crack the 53-man roster in his return after spending last year with the Seahawks and Bengals. Notably, former first-round quarterback Dwayne Haskins has made the initial 53-man roster behind Ben Roethlisberger and Mason Rudolph. Dobbs will spend the whole year on IR after getting hurt in the preseason finale.
Steelers To Sign Rashaad Coward
The Steelers’ offensive line group continues to shuffle. Pittsburgh is expected to sign free agent lineman Rashaad Coward, a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).
Coward was a restricted free agent who was not tendered by the Bears, leaving him free to sign with any team. Coward is an interesting player, since when he entered the league as an UDFA out of Old Dominion in 2017 he was a defensive end. He was on defense during his rookie year with Chicago (mostly on the practice squad), and then made the switch to offensive line the following year.
In 2019 he was thrust into starting action despite still being very new to the position after Kyle Long went down with an injury. He started ten games at guard that year. This past season he appeared in all 16 games and started five at left guard, playing just over 30 percent of the offensive snaps.
Since he’s still only 26 and only just recently started playing guard, it’s an intriguing low-risk signing for the Steelers with some upside. Considering they’ve already lost significant pieces of their offensive line like Maurkice Pouncey and Matt Feiler this offseason, it can’t hurt to start throwing darts.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/17/20
Today’s minor moves:
Chicago Bears
- Signed: K Ramiz Ahmed, OL Rashaad Coward, TE J.P. Holtz
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: RB Jacques Patrick
Las Vegas Raiders
- Claimed: TE Paul Butler (from Lions)
Bears To Place Kyle Long On IR
The Bears are expected to put right guard Kyle Long on IR, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (Twitter link). That’s obviously disappointing news for Chicago, whose O-line has struggled mightily this year.
Of course, Long is one of the offensive lineman who has underwhelmed, so losing him might not be as big of a blow as it would have been in years past. It seems that time has taken a toll on the 30-year-old Oregon product, who hasn’t started more than nine games since 2016. He has been dealing with a hip injury this year, and it could be that the hip pain has caused his play to suffer.
Even so, he remains an intelligent veteran presence, so he will still be missed. The Bears, 3-2, have a bye this week and will be without Long for at least eight weeks. If the club is still in playoff contention at year’s end, Long could theoretically return for a postseason push. In the meantime, Rashaad Coward may get the nod in Long’s absence.
Long and the Bears agreed to a contract restructure in February that removed the 2021 season from Long’s deal, meaning he will be eligible for unrestricted free agency after the 2020 campaign. But Long was a potential cap casualty before the restructure, so he may have already played his last snap in a Bears uniform.
Extra Points: Broncos, Ravens, Hawks, Bears
Emmanuel Sanders avoided the physically unable to perform list and participated in individual work during Broncos practice on Wednesday, and the veteran wideout is likely to be a “full go” within two-to-three weeks, tweets James Palmer of NFL.com. Now 32 years old, Sanders tore his Achilles in a December practice and missed the remainder of the season. Recent reports have indicated he may not be ready for Week 1, but if he’s ready for full practice sessions by mid-August, his availability for the start of the regular season wouldn’t seem to be in question. Sanders will be the most experienced member of a Denver pass-catching unit that also includes Courtland Sutton and DaeSean Hamilton.
Here’s more from around the NFL:
- Wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown was among the Ravens placed on the active/non-football-injury list on Thursday, the club announced. Brown actually did suffer his Lisfranc injury playing football, but he’s been placed on NFI because the injury occurred in college, not the NFL. Active/NFI is different from reserve/NFI in that it doesn’t require Brown to miss any games or any specified amount of action. Rather, when he’s healthy enough to practice (which should be in just a few weeks, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com), he’ll be removed from the list. Brown still counts against Baltimore’s 90-man roster while he’s on active/NFI.
- Seahawks rookie linebacker Ben Burr-Kirven has been placed on the active/physically unable to perform list, according to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. Like active/NFI, active/PUP won’t force Burr-Kirven to miss any time, but the designation is notable because the first-year defender recently underwent sports hernia surgery. An extremely athletic fifth-round pick, BBK is expected to be ready for training camp, per Seattle head coach Pete Carroll.
- The Bears moved offensive tackle Bradley Sowell to tight end because they believe converted defensive lineman Rashaad Coward can make the transition to offense, as J.J. Stankevitz of NBC Sports Chicago writes. Not only is Coward expected to complete his transition to the offensive side of the ball, he’s likely to be Chicago’s top swing tackle. He’ll have to beat out NFL journeyman Cornelius Lucas for that role, but he reportedly has the edge at the moment.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/7/18
Today’s minor moves:
Chicago Bears
- Re-signed: OL Rashaad Coward (exclusive rights free agent)
Green Bay Packers
- Re-signed: WR Jake Kumerow (ERFA)
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/13/19
Here is the latest news involving restricted free agents and exclusive-rights free agents, with updates coming throughout the day:
ERFA
Tendered:
- Bears: DE Roy Robertson-Harris, LB Isaiah Irving, OL Rashaad Coward
- Seahawks: LB Austin Calitro, LB Emmanuel Ellerbee, C Joey Hunt, RB J.D. McKissic, CB Kalan Reed
Non-tendered:
- Bears: S DeAndre Houston-Carson (via Howard Balzer on Twitter)
- Bengals: QB Brad Kaaya (via Balzer)
- Cardinals: LB Gabe Martin, DE Zach Moore, C Daniel Munyer (via Balzer)
- Chiefs: TE Alex Ellis (via Balzer)
- Colts: S Ronald Martin (via Balzer)
- Falcons: WR Marvin Hall (via Balzer)
- Giants: DT Kristjan Sokoli (via Balzer)
- Patriots: WR Cody Hollister (Twitter link via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com)
- Raiders: CB Tevin Mitchel (via Balzer)
- Rams: LB Garrett Sickels (via Balzer)
- Ravens: OT Steven Moore (via Balzer)
- Saints: DB Rickey Jefferson (per NOLA.com’s Josh Katzenstein, on Twitter)
- Seahawks: DE Ricky Ali’ifua, DB T.J. Green, RB Tre Madden, DB T.J. Mutcherson
- Steelers: T Joseph Cheek, S Malik Golden, LB Keith Kelsey, TE Jake McGee (via Balzer)
- Vikings: OT Cedrick Lang, TE Josiah Price (via Balzer)
RFA
Tendered at second-round level:
- Seahawks: T George Fant (per Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times, on Twitter)
Tendered at original-round level:
- Chiefs: S Jordan Lucas
- Saints: CB Ken Crawley (Twitter link via Nick Underhill of The New Orleans Advocate)
- Seahawks: DL Quinton Jefferson (via Tom Pelissero of NFL.com, on Twitter)
Non-tendered:
- Bears: LS Patrick Scales (via Balzer)
- Bengals: TE Matt Lengel (via Balzer)
- Bills: TE Logan Thomas (via Mike Rodak of ESPN.com, on Twitter)
- Broncos: QB Kevin Hogan, LB Deiontrez Mount, WR Jordan Taylor (via Balzer)
- Browns: CB Juston Burris, TE Orson Charles (via Balzer)
- Buccaneers: TE Alan Cross, CB Javien Elliott, T Leonard Wester (via Balzer)
- Cardinals: LB Jeremy Cash, OT John Wetzel (via Balzer)
- Chiefs: LB Terrance Smith (via Balzer)
- Dolphins: WR Leonte Carroo (via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald)
- 49ers: S Tyvis Powell (via Balzer)
- Jaguars: OG Chris Reed (via Balzer)
- Jets: DT Destiny Vaeao (via Balzer)
- Panthers: WR Damiere Byrd (via Balzer)
- Raiders: DE Shilique Calhoun (via Balzer)
- Redskins: WR Maurice Harris (per Mike Garafolo of NFL.com, on Twitter), RB Rob Kelley (via Balzer)
- Saints: WR Tommylee Lewis (via Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com, on Twitter)
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/9/17
Here are today’s minor moves.
Chicago Bears
- Signed: DL Rashaad Coward
- Waived: LB Jonathan Anderson
Detroit Lions
- Activated from IR: G Joe Dahl
- Waived: S Rolan Milligan
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: LB Cameron Lynch
- Waived: CB Dominique Hatfield
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: LB Josh Carraway
- Waived: FB Jalston Fowler

