Minor NFL Transactions: 9/15/20
Today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Re-signed: T John Wetzel
- Waived: T Timon Parris
Cincinnati Bengals
- Promoted: DE Amani Bledsoe
- Waived: CB Torry McTyer
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed off Bears’ practice squad: LB Rashad Smith
- Signed off Cardinals’ practice squad: T Alex Light
- Placed on IR: OL Cameron Erving, TE Blake Jarwin
Houston Texans
- Promoted: TE Pharaoh Brown
- Placed on IR: TE Kahale Warring
Los Angeles Chargers
- Promoted: LB Asmar Bilal
- Placed on IR: LB Drue Tranquill
New York Giants
- Promoted: OL Chad Slade, S Sean Chandler
Philadelphia Eagles
- Promoted: G Sua Opeta (story)
- Placed on IR: DE Vinny Curry, CB Craig James (story)
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: OT Jerald Hawkins
Tennessee Titans
- Waived: WR Cody Hollister
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/12/20
Here are Saturday’s minor moves. Many of these roster decisions involve practice squad promotions. Under the new CBA, teams are permitted to promote two P-squad players without corresponding roster moves per week. Teams can carry 55 players on their rosters for game days and can have up to 48 active.
Arizona Cardinals
- Promoted: RB D.J. Foster
Baltimore Ravens
- Promoted: S Jordan Richards
Chicago Bears
- Promoted: K Cairo Santos
Cincinnati Bengals
- Promoted: DE Amani Bledsoe, S Trayvon Henderson
Cleveland Browns
- Promoted: CB Robert Jackson
Detroit Lions
- Promoted: G Kenny Wiggins, RB Jonathan Williams
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: LB Krys Barnes
- Promoted: LB Tipa Galeai, TE John Lovett
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Promoted: RB Nathan Cottrell, TE Ben Ellefson
Los Angeles Chargers
- Promoted: G Ryan Groy, FB Gabe Nabers
Miami Dolphins
- Released from IR via injury settlement: DB Nate Brooks
Minnesota Vikings
- Promoted: LB Hardy Nickerson
- Signed: DB Nate Meadors
New England Patriots
- Promoted: K Nick Folk, DT Xavier Williams
- Placed on IR: WR Gunner Olszewski
New Orleans Saints
- Promoted: WR Bennie Fowler, DL Margus Hunt
- Released from IR via injury settlement: DE Anthony Lanier
New York Jets
- Signed: QB Mike White
- Promoted: RB Josh Adams, WR Josh Malone
Philadelphia Eagles
- Promoted: DT T.Y. McGill, G Sua Opeta
San Francisco 49ers
- Promoted: C Hroniss Grasu, CB Dontae Johnson
Seattle Seahawks
- Promoted: T Chad Wheeler
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Promoted: WR Cyril Grayson, DB Mazzi Wilkins
Washington Football Team
- Promoted: WR Cam Sims
Eagles Sign Josh McCown To Practice Squad
Well this is an unusual arrangement we didn’t see coming. The Eagles are signing veteran quarterback Josh McCown to their practice squad, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
Thanks to a new COVID-19 exception veterans will be able to serve on practice squads, making this possible. As Schefter notes, he’ll easily be the oldest practice squad player in NFL history. Making the situation even more unique, McCown won’t even be reporting to the team. Instead McCown will continue to live in Texas, earn a $12K weekly salary, and serve as Philly’s emergency quarterback remotely.
McCown’s lovable journeyman career has taken him all over the football world, so it feels right for him to blaze this unheard of trail. We had heard back in January the Eagles were talking about adding him to the coaching staff, and this is the next best thing.
After originally announcing his retirement in June of last year, he signed with Philly last August after they had a couple of injuries. After serving as Carson Wentz‘s backup and not starting a game he was suddenly thrown into the spotlight when Wentz went down in the Eagles’ first round playoff game against Seattle.
McCown came into the game cold off the bench and nearly led them to a miracle victory, tearing his hamstring in the process and playing through the injury.
The Eagles have Nate Sudfeld and Jalen Hurts behind Wentz now, but in these uncertain times it can’t hurt to have too much insurance. McCown has turned into a fan favorite over the course of his career that started in 2002 with the Cardinals, and this is a nice feather in his cap.
Here is Philly’s full practice squad:
- DB Grayland Arnold
- WR Deontay Burnett
- WR Travis Fulgham
- RB Elijah Holyfield
- C Luke Juriga
- DE Matt Leo*
- QB Josh McCown
- C Sua Opeta
- DE Joe Ostman
- DB Elijah Riley
- T Prince Tega Wanogho
- RB Michael Warren
- DT Raequan Williams
- DB Trevor Williams
- TE Caleb Wilson
* = international player
Eagles Place Brandon Brooks On PUP List, Trim Roster To 53
The Eagles made a sizable amount of cuts Thursday. They made the rest of their moves to get down to 53 players Saturday. Here are the players the Eagles jettisoned to reach the regular-season limit.
Waived:
- CB Rasul Douglas (story)
- CB Sidney Jones (story)
- DE Shareef Miller (story)
- G Sua Opeta
- DE Joe Ostman
- DT Anthony Rush
- TE Noah Togiai
- T Prince Tega Wanogho
- DT Raequan Williams
Placed on active/PUP list:
The Brooks decision certainly is interesting, especially after the team placed left tackle Andre Dillard on season-ending IR this week. Brooks suffered a torn Achilles’ tendon in June, but the elite blocker has a history of surmounting such an injury. Brooks tore an Achilles in January 2019 and made it back in time for Philadelphia’s opener last season. The team is not ready to shut down its Pro Bowl guard for the season.
Alshon Jeffery also did not land on Philadelphia’s reserve/PUP list, which would have shelved the veteran wideout for six games. Instead, Jeffery — whom the Eagles have attempted to trade for months — is one of seven receivers on the Eagles’ 53-man roster. That will help a team that saw Marquise Goodwin opt out and first-round rookie Jalen Reagor suffer an injury that will keep him out to start the season.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/3/19
We’ll keep track of today’s minor NFL moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Waived: LB Pete Robertson
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: DT Justin Zimmer
- Released: DE Chris Smith
Denver Broncos
- Claimed: C Patrick Morris (from Steelers)
Detroit Lions
- Promoted: LB Jason Cabinda
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Promoted: CB Parry Nickerson
- Released: CB Breon Borders
Kansas City Chiefs
- Waived: WR Gehrig Dieter
Los Angeles Rams
- Promote TE Kendall Blanton
- Placed on IR: WR JoJo Natson
Miami Dolphins
- Claimed: WR Trevor Davis (from Raiders), RB Zach Zenner (from Cardinals)
- Placed on IR: RB Kalen Ballage
Philadelphia Eagles
- Promoted: G Sua Opeta
- Released: WR Mack Hollins
San Francisco 49ers
- Waived: K Chase McLaughlin
Notable NFL Practice Squad Salaries
Playing on an NFL practice squad isn’t a bad gig. You work with a club’s 53-man roster every week, have a good chance to get called up if/when injuries strike, and collect a solid paycheck ($8K per week minimum). And for some practice squaders, the pay can get even better.
While all practice squad salaries count towards the salary cap, there’s no restriction on how much a team can pay a practice squad player. When a club desperately wants to retain a player but can’t fit him on its 53, they’ll often bump up his salary in an effort to keep him around. Here’s a look at several players who are earning much more than the NFL’s $8K per week standard, via Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (Twitter link):
- 49ers LB Elijah Lee ($37,941)
- 49ers S Marcell Harris ($30K)
- Ravens CB Maurice Canady ($26K)
- Jets RB Josh Adams ($25K)
- Jets OL Calvin Anderson ($20K)
- Eagles OL Sua Opeta ($20K)
- Broncos QB Brett Rypien ($20K)
- Eagles QB Kyle Lauletta ($20K)
- Dolphins QB Jake Rudock ($20K)
- Colts OL Jackson Barton ($20K)
The 49ers clearly have no problem with spending a little extra on practice squad players, as both Lee and Harris are earning at least $22K more than the league PS minimum. Lee’s been with San Francisco since 2017 and started five games for the club last season, but the 49ers’ front seven depth is keeping him on the taxi squad for now. Harris, too, was a part-time starter for San Francisco in 2018.
The quarterbacks on the list are also interesting. Rypien has been deemed Broncos’ offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello‘s “project” and could be called up to the active roster at some point given that Denver is only carrying two quarterbacks in Joe Flacco and Brandon Allen (rookie second-rounder Drew Lock is on injured reserve). And the rebuilding Dolphins seem intent on hanging onto Rudock, who spent the first three seasons of his career with the Lions.
Sunday NFL Transactions: NFC East
Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four NFC East 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 Cowboys, Eagles, Giants, and Redskins are noted below.
Additionally, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads today. 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 East transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day.
New York Giants
- Claimed:
- WR Cody Core
- OL Eric Smith
- Waived:
- WR Alonzo Russell
- OL Brian Mihalik
- Signed to practice squad:
- DL Freedom Akinmoladun
- OL Evan Brown
- LB Jake Carlock
- TE C.J. Conrad
- RB Jon Hilliman
- DT Chris Slayton
- LB Josiah Tauaefa
- WR Reggie White Jr.
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed to practice squad:
- TE Alex Ellis
- WR Marcus Green
- DT Bruce Hector
- QB Kyle Lauletta
- G Sua Opeta
- TE Josh Perkins
- RB Boston Scott
- LB Alex Singleton
- WR Greg Ward
Washington Redskins
- Claimed:
- Waived:
- Placed on IR:
- LB Jordan Brailford
- RB Shaun Wilson
- Signed to practice squad:
- CB Adonis Alexander
- DE Ryan Bee
- WR Jehu Chesson
- TE J.P. Holtz
- T Timon Parris
- S Jeremy Reaves
- RB Craig Reynolds
- WR Cam Sims
- LB Darrell Williams
Eagles Reach 53-Man Limit
The Eagles have gotten down to 53, making some notable cuts to get there. The team released guard/center Stefen Wisniewski, who they re-signed to a $1.5MM deal back in May. He had gotten $150K guaranteed, so Philly will eat that. Wisniewski had started at least six games in each of the past three seasons for the Eagles.
To help thin out their crowded running backs room, they got rid of a few well-known names. They waived Josh Adams, who rushed for 511 yards for them last year, as well as 2017 fourth-round pick Donnel Pumphrey, who has battled injuries ever since entering the league. They also cut Wendell Smallwood, who had 364 yards rushing and three touchdowns and another 230 yards and two touchdowns through the air last year.
Offensive tackle Brett Toth also failed to make the team. Toth only recently got permission from the Army to join the NFL, and he signed with the Eagles only a couple weeks ago. He seems like a prime candidate for a practice squad spot.
Aside from that, and other announced moves, the Eagles made the following roster moves over the weekend to reach the 53-player limit:
Waived:
CB Ajene Harris
CB Josh Hawkins
T Riley Mayfield
WR Greg Ward
LB Chris Worley
Released the following players:
TE Will Tye
Reserve/PUP
CB Jalen Mills
Eagles Sign Entire 2019 Draft Class, 10 UDFAs
The Eagles have moved quickly to not only wrap up their entire 2019 draft class, but announce their crop of undrafted free agents.
Draft Class
- 1-22: Andre Dillard, T (Washington State)
- 2-53: Miles Sanders, RB (Penn State)
- 2-57: JJ Arcega-Whiteside, WR (Stanford)
- 4-138: Shareef Miller, DE (Penn State)
- 5-167: Clayton Thorson, QB (Northwestern)
Philadelphia moved up to pick No. 22 to acquire Dillard, sending pick Nos. 25, 127, and 197 to Baltimore in order to get ahead of the Texans, who had their own needs along the offensive line. Many analysts viewed Dillard as the best offensive tackle available in the draft, especially given the number of pass sets he took in Washington State’s pass-happy offense. With the Eagles, he’ll likely act as a swing tackle in 2019 before moving into the starting lineup in 2020 (if Jason Peters ever decides to hang up his cleats).
Sanders and Arcega-Whiteside give quarterback Carson Wentz a few more weapons to play with in 2019. The Eagles acquired running back Jordan Howard from the Bears, but Sanders should also be in the mix for carries. Meanwhile, Arcega-Whiteside will give Philadelphia a big body at the receiver position, and could potentially lead to the Eagles trading former first-round pass-catcher Nelson Agholor.
Undrafted Free Agents
- Joey Alfieri, LB (Stanford)
- Ryan Bates, T (Penn State)
- T.J. Edwards, LB (Wisconsin)
- Nico Evans. RB (Wyoming)
- Nate Herbig, G (Stanford)
- Sua Opeta, G (Weber State)
- Keegan Render, C (Iowa)
- Anthony Rush, DT (UAB)
- DeAndre Thompkins, WR (Penn State)
- Kevin Wilkins, DT (Rutgers)
Among Philadelphia’s UDFAs, Opeta may have the best chance to stick given his contract. The Weber State product received a $55K base salary guarantee and a $25K signing bonus from the Eagles, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.