Sean Harlow

Cardinals Release G Brian Winters

In finalizing their Week 3 roster, the Cardinals moved Brian Winters off the squad. They released the veteran guard Saturday.

Winters agreed to terms with the Cards this offseason, heading to the desert after a lengthy New York tenure. The Jets released Winters last year, leading him to the Bills on a one-year contract. Winters signed with the Cardinals on a one-year veteran-minimum deal.

A longtime Jets starter, Winters worked as a part-time starter with the Bills last year. In two Cardinals contests, however, he has not seen much action. Arizona has used Justin Pugh and 2020 draftee Josh Jones as its starting guards. Winters has totaled 16 offensive snaps in the Cards’ two games.

Winters, 30, could potentially stick around with the team on a practice squad agreement, with up to six vested veterans eligible for taxi squads. But he is back in free agency for the time being.

The Cardinals also promoted two offensive linemen — Sean Harlow and Koda Martin — from their practice squad. They cleared the other roster spot by placing offensive lineman Josh Miles on IR. Arizona elevated safety Chris Banjo and cornerback Antonio Hamilton to its active roster as well.

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 CardinalsRamsSeahawks and 49ers moves are noted below.

Here are Wednesday’s NFC West transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day.

Arizona Cardinals

Signed to practice squad:

Los Angeles Rams

Signed to practice squad:

San Francisco 49ers

Signed:

Placed on IR: 

Signed to practice squad:

Seattle Seahawks

Claimed:

Signed:

Released/Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Cardinals Reduce Roster To 53

The Cardinals have reduced their roster to 53 players after making the following moves today:

Released

Waived

Waived/Injured

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/6/21

We’ll keep track of the latest reserve/futures deals here:

Arizona Cardinals

Denver Broncos

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New York Giants

San Francisco 49ers

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/26/20

Here are Saturday’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

  • Promoted: C Javon Patterson

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

New England Patriots

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

Falcons To Carry Two QBs On Practice Squad

The Falcons agreed to add 14 players to their practice squad Sunday. Teams can re-sign players they cut to P-squads if they clear waivers after Saturday’s cuts.

Atlanta will take the unusual step of carrying two P-squad quarterbacks. The team cut both Kyle Lauletta and Kurt Benkert on Saturday, but both landed on the Falcons’ taxi squad. Teams are allowed to carry 16 players — up from 10 in 2019 — on their squads.

Benkert, who was with Atlanta in 2019, and Lauletta — a recent Giants draftee who recently joined the Falcons — will play behind active-roster QBs Matt Ryan and Matt Schaub. Here is the Falcons’ full squad:

Falcons Release Laquon Treadwell, Slash Roster To 53

Here are the players the Falcons cut to trim their roster to the 53-man regular-season limit:

Waived:

Released:

Atlanta added Treadwell last year but did not see a considerable impact from the former first-round pick. The Vikings cut Treadwell ahead of the 2019 regular season, following the formerly coveted prospects struggles to claim a consistent role in Minnesota.

Wilcox re-signed with the Falcons a month ago. He has played for five teams but has not seen regular-season action since the 2018 season. The former Cowboys started suffered a season-ending injury last summer.

The cuts of Benkert and Lauletta leave two quarterbacks — Matt Ryan and Matt Schaub — on Atlanta’s roster. With Ryan being one of the most durable passers in the NFL, the Falcons can take advantage of an extra roster spot by keeping just two QBs.

Falcons Place G James Carpenter On IR

The Falcons have placed guard James Carpenter on IR, as D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (via Twitter). Carpenter has missed the team’s last two contests with a concussion, and Atlanta has decided to play it safe with the 30-year-old vet.

Carpenter, a former first-round pick of the Seahawks, spent the first four years of his career in Seattle and the next four with the Jets. He hooked on with the Falcons shortly after free agency opened this past March, signing a four-year, $21MM pact with the club.

As that contract suggests, Carpenter has generally been a serviceable player, but not a great one. The Alabama product started all 11 games in which he appeared this year before succumbing to the concussion, but he has yielded four sacks (tied for 13th-most in the league) and has committed seven penalties (tied for sixth-most). Advanced metrics are also not fond of his work this year.

However, he has started 108 out of a possible 114 games in his career with three different teams, so he must be doing something right. The Falcons focused heavily on their O-line in the draft this year, and since they wouldn’t save a ton of money against the cap by cutting Carpenter, it seems as though he’ll be back in 2020 while Atlanta addresses areas of more pressing concern.

In a corresponding move, the Falcons signed OL Sean Harlow.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/22/19

Today’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Cleveland Browns

  • Promoted from practice squad: DT Brandin Bryant, DE Porter Gustin

Denver Broncos

  • Promoted from practice squad: OLB Ahmad Gooden
  • Waived: TE Orson Charles

Houston Texans

New Orleans Saints

Seattle Seahawks 

Falcons Place RB Ito Smith On IR

For the second straight season, Ito Smith will land on the injured reserve. The Falcons announced today that they’ve placed the running back on the injured reserve (via the team’s website). Atlanta promoted offensive lineman Sean Harlow from the practice squad to take the open roster spot.

Smith, a 2018 fourth-round pick, was expected to play a bigger role in the Falcons’ backfield following Tevin Coleman‘s move to the 49ers. However, he’s seen even less work during his sophomore campaign; after rushing for 315 yards and four touchdowns on 90 carries last season (14 games), he’s only compiled 106 yards and one touchdown on 22 carries this year (seven games). He’s also hauled in 11 receptions for 87 yards this season, which is about on pace with his rookie numbers.

With Smith sidelined, the Falcons will likely turn to former fifth-rounder Brian Hill. The 24-year-old has appeared in four games this season, rushing eight times for 40 yards and one touchdown. The Falcons are also rostering Kenjon Barner and Qadree Ollison.

Harlow was a fourth-round pick by the Falcons back in 2017, but he hasn’t seen the field during two stints with the organization. Offensive lineman Wes Schweitzer was ruled out of Sunday’s game with a concussion, and coach Dan Quinn told Will McFadden of AtlantaFalcons.com that Harlow could somewhat replace his injured teammate’s versatility.