NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/9/16
Today’s practice squad moves:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: TE Scott Simonson, OT Pearce Slater
- Cut: TE Beau Sandland
- Placed On IR: DT Eric Crume
Chicago Bears
- Signed: OL Cornelius Edison
- Cut: OL Colin Kelly
Denver Broncos
- Signed: S Ryan Murphy
Houston Texans
- Signed: OL Jeff Adams
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: WR Tevaun Smith
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: LB Earl Okine, CB Terrance Mitchell
- Cut: CB Tyler Patmon
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: TE MyCole Pruitt
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: CB Brian Dixon
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: WR George Farmer
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/4/16
Friday’s minor NFL moves:
- The Panthers have promoted guard Tyler Larsen from their practice squad and cut tight end Scott Simonson, per a team announcement. Larsen, a third-year man who was previously with the Dolphins and Redskins, logged his first career NFL appearance in the Panthers’ Week 4 loss to the Falcons. As for Simonson, this is the second time the Panthers have cut him this year. They previously parted with the 24-year-old Oct. 15 and then re-signed him three days later.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/18/16
Tuesday’s minor moves from around the NFL:
- The Steelers announced that they have signed offensive tackle Brian Mihalik to the team’s active roster off the Lions‘ practice squad. To make room, offensive lineman Matt Feiler was cut loose. Mihalik spent the 2016 offseason and part of training camp with Pittsburgh.
- The Panthers have re-signed tight end Scott Simonson, as Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer tweets. To make room for him, the Panthers have cut defensive end Lavar Edwards, who recorded one sack this year. As Person notes (Twitter link), that’s more than the combined total that starters Kony Ealy and Charles Johnson (0.5) have between them.
- The Colts announced that they have elevated wide receiver Tevaun Smith from their practice squad to the 53-man roster. Smith will take the place of fellow wideout Quan Bray, who’s now on IR with an ankle injury (via Kevin Bowen of the team’s website). Bray has only three catches this year, but he is the Colts’ primary return man.
- The Seahawks announced that they have placed defensive tackle Garrison Smith on IR and signed defensive tackle Sealver Siliga to the 53-man roster.
- The Saints have released cornerback Tony Carter from IR, tweets Nick Underhill of the Advocate.
Panthers Cut Scott Simonson
To make room for the promotion of cornerback Lou Young from their practice squad, the Panthers have cut tight end Scott Simonson, according to Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer. The team has also added wide receiver Damiere Byrd to its practice squad as a replacement for Young (Twitter links).
Simonson, 24, joined the Panthers before the 2015 campaign and ultimately appeared in 14 regular-season games (one start) with the club. The blocking specialist tallied only one catch as a Panther after going without a reception with his previous employer, the Raiders, in 2014. Simonson’s exit from Carolina’s roster leaves Ed Dickson as the only backup to No. 1 tight end Greg Olsen.
The Panthers waived Byrd on Thursday, but he’ll now rejoin the organization after going unclaimed. Byrd originally signed with the Panthers last year as an undrafted free agent from South Carolina. He hasn’t yet logged any NFL action.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/23/15
Today’s minor NFL signings, cuts, and other moves:
- The Lions have claimed defensive tackle Khyri Thornton off waivers, reports Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald (via Twitter). Thornton was cut by the Patriots yesterday. He will fill the spot opened when the Lions waived defensive tackle Ishmaa’ily Kitchen this morning.
- The Rams have promoted running back Trey Watts to the active roster, and waived safety Christian Bryant to make room for him, writes Nick Wagoner of ESPN (via Twitter).
- The Panthers have also promoted a player from the practice squad to the active roster, bringing tight end Scott Simonson up, according to Max Henson of Panthers.com. The team placed tight end Richie Brockel on the IR to make room for Simonson.
- Washington has removed wide receiver Issac Blakeney from the IR with an injury settlement, reports Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).
Sunday NFL Transactions: NFC South
Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four NFC South teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions for the Falcons, Panthers, Saints, and Buccaneers are noted below.
Additionally, as of 11:00am today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. For the 2014 and 2015 seasons, changes were made to practice squad rules that allow teams to carry eight players instead of 10, and the eligibility requirements for those extra two spots were also loosened. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.
Here are Sunday’s NFC South transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:
Atlanta Falcons
- Claimed off waivers:
- T Bryce Harris (press release)
- Signed to practice squad:
- RB Mike Gillislee (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson)
- TE Marcel Jensen (Twitter link via Vaughn McClure)
- LB Stanlsy Maponga (Twitter link via McClure)
- DT Joey Mbu (Twitter link via Tony Pauline)
Carolina Panthers
- Signed to practice squad:
- DT Chas Alecxih (press release)
- WR Brenton Bertsin (Twitter link via Wilson)
- LB Brian Blechen (press release)
- WR Carrington Byndom (press release)
- WR Damiere Byrd (press release)
- DE Rakim Cox (Twitter link via Joseph Person)
- T David Foucalt (press release)
- LB Adarius Glanton (press release)
- TE Scott Simonson (Twitter link via Wilson)
- CB Lou Young (press release)
New Orleans Saints
- Claimed off waivers:
- DE Obum Gwacham (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport)
- LB Michael Mauti (Twitter link via Rapoport)
- Cut:
- DT Ashaad Mabry (Twitter link via Evan Woodbery)
- S Kenny Phillips (Twitter link via Mike Garafolo)
- Signed to practice squad:
- WR R.J. Harris (Twitter link via Katherine Terrell)
- OL Sean Hickey (Twitter link via Stephen Bailey)
- WR Seantavius Jones (Link via Woodbery)
- G Cyril Lemon (Twitter link via Wilson)
- TE Chris Manhertz (Twitter link via Woodebery)
- FB Toben Opurum
- CB Sammy Seamster (Twitter link via Wilson)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Claimed off waivers:
- LB Kourtnei Brown (Twitter link via Rapoport)
- LB Jeremiah George (Twitter link via Rapoport)
- QB Ryan Griffin (Twitter link via Rapoport)
- LB James-Michael Johnson (Twitter link via Adam Caplan)
- C Eric Kush (Twitter link via Rapoport)
- Cut (press release):
- TE Cameron Brate
- G Kadeem Edwards
- T Reid Fragel
- WR Rannell Hall
- LB Jason Williams
- Signed to practice squad:
- DB Jude Adjei-Barimah (link via Greg Auman)
- CB Imoan Claiborne (link via Auman)
- WR Kaelin Clay (Twitter link via Auman)
- WR Donteea Dye (link via Auman)
- LB Howard Jones (Twitter link via Wilson)
- LB Josh Keyes (link via Auman)
Panthers Organize Regular-Season Roster
The Panthers cut 22 players to officially reduce their roster to 53, reports Max Henson of Panthers.com.
In addition to placing rookie defensive end Arthur Miley on injured reserve and reaching an injury settlement with offensive lineman Brian Folkerts, the Panthers cut Jordan Todman. This leaves Fozzy Whittaker and Cameron Artis-Payne as Jonathan Stewart‘s primary backups.
The remaining Carolina cuts are as follows:
- Chas Alecxih, DT
- Marcus Ball, S
- Brenton Bersin, WR
- Brian Blechen, LB
- Mike Brown, WR
- Carrington Byndom, CB
- Damiere Byrd, WR
- Rakim Cox, DE
- David Foucault, T
- Adarius Glanton, LB
- T.J. Heath, CB
- Ricky Henry, G
- Marcus Lucas, TE
- Jordan McCray, G
- Terry Redden, DT
- Scott Simonson, TE
- Jason Trusnik, LB
- Martin Wallace, T
- Lou Young, CB
Minor Moves: Tuesday
Today’s minor moves..
- The Colts cut kicker Taylor Pontius, according to Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun (on Twitter). Pontius was a member of the Colts’ rookie minicamp as a tryout player in May and signed a contract soon after.
- The Patriots announced that they have released rookie defensive back Eric Patterson. Patterson, 22, was signed by the Pats as a UDFA back in May. The Ball State product started in 28 of 41 games during his collegiate career and finished with 135 total tackles and six interceptions.
- The Vikings announced that they have signed free agent defensive tackle Chrishon Rose. Rose, who comes out of East Carolina, played in 13 games as a senior, posting 41 total tackles including 14 solo stops. Rose’s defensive unit held 18 opponents to 100 or less rushing yards in his four seasons at ECU.
- The Packers have signed tackle Vince Kowalski, a UDFA from Villanova, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The signing brings Green Bay to the full 90-man roster limit. Kowalski started all four seasons at Villanova and was named first-team in his conference last season.
- Rams sixth-round pick Bud Sasser went unclaimed off waivers and is now a free agent, Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun tweets.
- Washington has signed tackle Bryce Quigley and cut quarterback Hutson Mason, according to Mike Jones of the Washington Post (on Twitter). Mason was serving as an extra arm behind Robert Griffin III, Colt McCoy, and Kirk Cousins in camp.
- Former Northern Arizona punter Andy Wilder, who went undrafted last spring, has been cut by the Buccaneers, according to Wilson (on Twitter).
- The Panthers will sign former Raiders tight end Scott Simonson to a one-year deal, a source tells Wilson (on Twitter).
Minor Moves: Thursday
Here are today’s minor transactions from around the league.
- The last fifth-round draft pick to sign, long snapper Joe Cardona inked his rookie deal with the Patriots, reports Ben Volin of the Boston Globe (on Twitter). Only first-round pick Malcom Brown remains unsigned among the Patriots’ draft contingent.
- The Raiders made several moves today, including the waiving of tight end Scott Simonson, who was on Oakland’s practice squad last season, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Caplan (via Twitter). Caplan also reports of the Raiders waiving linebackers Jacoby Hale and Miles Burris, the latter being waived off injured reserve with an injury settlement. Hale will head to injured reserve if unclaimed and could reach an injury settlement as well.
- Chase Williams, the son of Rams defensive coordinator Greg Williams, signed with the Raiders as an undrafted free agent, reports Rams media information manager Casey Pearce (on Twitter). Chase Williams started at inside linebacker last season with Virginia Tech.
- The Buccaneers removed 24-year-old tight end Emmanuel Ogbuehi from their injured reserve with an injury settlement, reports Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link). Ogbuehi has resided on the Dolphins’, Browns’ and Ravens’ rosters and/or practice squads the past two years.
Raiders Promote Scott Simonson
The Raiders have promoted tight end Scott Simonson to their active roster from the practice squad, reports Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). The team placed safety Jonathan Dowling on injured reserve in order to make room for Simonson.
The team was looking forward to a different transaction, as they were hoping receiver Rod Streater would be activated from injured reserve-designated to return in time for this week’s matchup with the 49ers, according to Tafur (via Twitter). Streater should be back with the team next week.
While Simonson’s promotion may not have been a surprise, it is interesting that the team did not place tight end Brian Leonhardt on injured reserve, writes Jerry McDonald of the Oakland Tribune (via Twitter). Leonhardt suffered two concussions in the past two weeks, leaving the remainder of his season in jeopardy.
There is a chance that move comes next week, when the team gets Streater back. At that time, the Raiders will need to open up a roster spot in order to get him back on the field. McDonald was waiting to see if that would happen this week as well (via Twitter).

