Tremayne Anchrum

Saints Place RB Kendre Miller On IR, Reduce Squad To 53

Here is how the Saints moved their roster down to the regular-season 53-man limit:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

Placed on IR/return designation:

Placed on reserve/PUP list:

A host of vested vets are off the Saints’ roster, and Miller will be for a stretch as well. Miller has been down with a hamstring injury for several weeks, suffering the setback minutes into the team’s initial training camp workout. This lingering into the regular season is a concerning development for both parties. Hamstring trouble limited Miller late last summer as well. The Saints still roster Jamaal Williams behind Alvin Kamara, but they used a third-round pick on Miller last year. The TCU alum logged 41 carries as a rookie, but a new OC (Klint Kubiak) is now calling the shots.

Kpassagnon sustained an Achilles tear early this offseason, and he will miss at least four games. Rookie UDFA Mason Tipton made the roster over St. Brown, while offseason pickup Will Harris secured a spot over Abram. The Saints kept Lucas Patrick and Oli Udoh over Davis and Lemieux, who had been attempting to bounce back from an injury-plagued Giants tenure.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/28/24

Here are today’s minor moves to close out the weekend:

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

  • Activated from active/NFI list: TE Erick All

Dallas Cowboys

Kansas City Chiefs

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Thuney has been working his way back from a pectoral injury. After suffering the strain in a Divisional Round win over the Bills, the injury held Thuney out of the team’s final two wins over the Ravens and 49ers. Having passed his physical, Thuney will return to practice in order to take the next steps on his way back to the field.

The Giants weren’t the only team to submit a waiver claim for Rourke as he continues to try and turn his success in the Canadian Football League into an NFL opportunity. Now, after being buried on the depth chart behind Daniel Jones, Drew Lock, and Tommy DeVito, Rourke is able to look elsewhere for that chance at playing time in the NFL.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/24/24

Wednesday’s minor transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Placed on active/NFI list: T Gottlieb Ayedze, WR Shaquan Davis
  • Placed on active/PUP list: S Sydney Brown

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Commanders

In New Orleans, Young has officially made the comeback from offseason neck surgery, passing his physical today alongside Olave, who is no stranger to offseason injuries.

Treadwell will join his eighth team in nine years after only making one catch in five games with the Ravens last season.

Brown is working his way back from an ACL tear that he suffered in the final game of his rookie season last year, so it’s no surprise that he will start the offseason on PUP.

Seahawks Contract Details: Hankins, Wallace, Anchrum, Shenault, Dodson, Burns, Baker

Here are some details from recently agreed-upon contracts in Seattle:

  • Johnathan Hankins, DT: One year, $2.05MM. According to ESPN’s Brady Henderson, Hankins’ new deal includes a base salary of $1.24MM and $300K of guaranteed money in the form of a signing bonus. He can earn up to $510K in per-game active roster bonuses.
  • K’Von Wallace, S: One year, $1.5MM. Henderson informs us that Wallace’s contract will have a base salary of $1.13MM and includes $205K of guaranteed money that all comes in the signing bonus. Wallace will also be able to earn up to $170K via per-game active roster bonuses.
  • Tremayne Anchrum, G: One year, $1.16MM. Once again, Henderson tells us that Anchrum’s new deal will include a base salary of $1.06MM and a guaranteed amount of $100K in the form of a signing bonus.
  • Laviska Shenault Jr., WR: One year, $1.29MM. According to Henderson, Shenault’s new contract has a guaranteed amount of $1.15MM comprised of $985K of his base salary (worth a total of $1.13MM) and a $167.5K signing bonus.
  • Tyrel Dodson, LB: One year, $4.26MM. Dodson’s new deal has a guaranteed amount of $1MM comprised completely of his signing bonus, per Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times. With a base salary of $2.25MM, Dodson can earn an additional $250K in a workout bonus and a potential $760K in per-game active roster bonuses. Nick Korte of OvertheCap.com tells us that the contract adds another seventh-round compensatory pick for the Bills in 2025 while taking a sixth-round compensatory pick away from the Seahawks.
  • Artie Burns, CB: One year, $1.38MM. Condotta also tells us that Burns has signed for the veteran minimum, once again. He’ll hold a base salary of $1.21MM with $75K of guaranteed money in the form of a signing bonus. He can earn another potential $92.5K with a roster bonus.
  • Jerome Baker, LB: One year, $7MM. We were already aware of the $7MM value of Baker’s deal, but ESPN’s Henderson informs us that Baker’s new deal has a guaranteed amount of $6.02MM, consisting of his $2.02MM base salary and $4MM signing bonus. The $977.5K remaining in non-guaranteed money will come in the form of per-game active roster bonuses.

Seahawks Interested In Laken Tomlinson, Cody Whitehair

The Seahawks lost four-year guard starter Damien Lewis in free agency, seeing him sign a lucrative deal with the Panthers. Seattle has also not re-signed their primary 2023 right guard, Phil Haynes. Some guard work is on tap for Mike Macdonald‘s team.

A guard addition should be expected soon. The Seahawks are interested in Tomlinson, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, who adds they have also discussed bringing in Cody Whitehair for a visit.

Ex-Rams O-lineman Tremayne Anchrum signed with the Seahawks last month, but Macdonald made it clear (via ESPN’s Brady Henderson) the team was not done with its guard shopping. Tomlinson and Whitehair offer considerable experience, though neither is coming off an especially good season. The Bears benched Whitehair last year, and Tomlinson did not show his 49ers form often with the Jets. New York released its two-year guard starter before free agency.

One thing Tomlinson certainly offers is durability; over the past six seasons, the veteran blocker has missed all of one start. Tomlinson turned 32 this offseason and graded 58th and 53rd among guards, per Pro Football Focus, during his two Jets seasons. But he excelled with the 49ers, giving them guard stability for five seasons. Tomlinson earned a San Francisco extension, and his 49ers work commanded a three-year, $40MM deal from the Jets in 2022.

Whitehair, 31, spent eight seasons with the Bears. While he became an expected cap casualty this offseason, the veteran has extensive experience at guard and center. Chicago’s attempt to move Whitehair back to center — to accommodate UFA addition Nate Davis — did not pan out, but Whitehair still saw considerable time at left guard (666 snaps) last season due to injuries. Overall, the 2016 second-round pick has made 118 starts; Tomlinson, a former Lions first-rounder, exited the 2023 season with 138.

This year’s free agency class included a deep guard crop. Lewis was among those who did very well on the market. The Panthers gave Lewis a four-year, $53MM deal with $26.2MM guaranteed at signing. While the top guards are long gone, a host of veterans are still available. In addition to Whitehair and Tomlinson, the likes of Dalton Risner, Andrus Peat, Greg Van Roten and Mark Glowinski are unsigned. Anchrum signed for just $1.2MM and just $100K guaranteed, potentially putting the Seahawks in search of two new starting guards.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/18/24

Today’s minor moves:

Chicago Bears

Green Bay Packers

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Seattle Seahawks

Rams Considering Joe Noteboom At Guard, Shift Logan Bruss To Tackle

Rumored ahead of training camp to be holding four position battles along their offensive line, the Rams have made one notable change up front and are considering another. Their top 2022 draft choice is now at a new position, while the left tackle they re-signed for more than $13MM per year is not a lock to be Matthew Stafford‘s blindside protector to begin this season.

Logan Bruss is moving back to his college position of right tackle, per Sean McVay, who indicated this switch — which The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue notes (via Twitter) came about because of injury issues at the spot — will likely be for good. Bruss, who was transitioning to guard before ACL and MCL tears nixed his rookie year, is set to back up Rob Havenstein at right tackle — the Rams’ lone solidified starting O-line post coming into camp. The Rams chose Bruss in the 2022 third round.

While Bruss (25 right tackle starts at Wisconsin) is moving to a backup role, the Rams are also considering the prospect of Joe Noteboom not opening the season at left tackle. Introduced earlier this offseason, the notion of Noteboom at guard is now firmly in play, per McVay.

We want to find the best five,” McVay said. “But I think every one of those positions is incredibly valuable and really whatever we deem is the best fit for the five players at the two tackles, two guard spots and center. But I think Joe is a guy that can start at guard or tackle and he’s played at a high level so players like him are very rare that have the ability to do that. … Whether or not he ends up doing that or playing tackle, we’re still kind of working through that.”

Returning from an October 2022 Achilles tear, Noteboom is attached to a three-year deal worth $40MM. The Rams paid up to keep Noteboom in the wake Andrew Whitworth‘s retirement. Whitworth’s fill-in at that high-profile blocking post to close his career, Noteboom attracted a free agent market that led to the $13.3MM-per-year accord. The Rams used a few left tackles following Noteboom’s injury — one of many maladies to affect Los Angeles’ O-line during a disastrous Super Bowl title defense — and one of those options (Alaric Jackson) is pushing the incumbent for the job.

Using the increasingly popular “or” distinction to denote a position battle, the Rams’ depth chart lists Jackson as a co-left tackle starter. A 2021 UDFA, Jackson made six starts for the team last season. But a blood clot issue ended the Iowa alum’s season.

Jackson joined Tristan Wirfs as Iowa’s starting tackles in 2018 and ’19. The lower-regarded prospect started as the Hawkeyes’ left tackle from 2018-20, earning first-team All-Big Ten acclaim in 2020. This did not lead to a high profile coming into the 2021 draft, but the Rams have seen enough from the 25-year-old blocker to give him a legitimate shot at unseating Noteboom.

A “best five” scenario may well involve Noteboom shifting to right guard, where the depth chart lists Tremayne Anchrum — a 2020 seventh-rounder who started one game for the team last season — as the present first-stringer. With second-round pick Steve Avila set to start at the Rams’ other guard spot, Noteboom — who previously played guard before settling into the role as Whitworth’s apprentice — could return to an inside spot to accommodate Jackson. Anchrum joins Noteboom, Bruss and Jackson in coming off a season-ending injury — a fractured fibula.

Rams Rumors: Safety, Kicker, OL, McClendon

With Jordan Fuller finally making a healthy return after missing most of the 2022 season on injured reserve, the Rams should be set at one of their safety spots. Fuller had started all 28 games he’d appeared in over his first two years, and he’s stood out so far this offseason in OTAs and minicamp. The battle for who will start next to Fuller, though, has become a situation to watch in Los Angeles, according to Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic.

There appears to be two second-year players at the forefront of the race: last year’s sixth-round pick Quentin Lake and seventh-round pick Russ Yeast. Lake got a late start to his rookie year after starting the season on the reserve/physically unable to perform list. Once activated, he played almost exclusively on special teams until the team’s season finale in Seattle. Yeast also started off mainly on special teams before earning a good number of defensive snaps late in the year. He made his first career start in that same Seattle game.

Lake and Yeast will both get significant run with the first team in an effort to determine a starter. A dark horse in the competition could be rookie seventh-round pick Jason Taylor II. The Oklahoma State product had an impressive 99 tackles last season to go along with six interceptions for the Cowboys. While each player should get a strong chance, it’s believed that Yeast has the early edge.

Here are a couple other rumors coming out of LA:

  • An expected camp kicking battle was cut short when Christopher Dunn was waived a couple weeks ago. The Rams currently only roster undrafted rookie Tanner Brown at the position. Also coming out of Stillwater, Brown never missed a single extra point during his collegiate career. In his senior year, Brown converted an impressive 22 of 23 field goal attempts. Despite the lofty college numbers, entering the season with Brown as the only option is a risky move. Rodrigue doesn’t rule out the possibility of Los Angeles bringing in some camp competition for the young specialist.
  • The Rams’ top draft selection this year, second-round guard Steve Avila, is reportedly “as pro-ready a rookie as (Rodrigue has) seen walk into the (Rams’) building.” If the TCU-product secures a starting guard spot, as expected, the other guard spot could be won in competition between Tremayne Anchrum and Logan Bruss. Both Anchrum and Bruss were limited last season due to injury and are reportedly itching to prove their worth in 2023. Bruss has even gotten snaps at his old college position of right tackle, making him a strong candidate for a Swiss Army role on the offensive line if he can’t win a starting job. Rodrigue warns not to forget about rookie fifth-round pick Warren McClendon out of Georgia, as well. Although a knee injury forced him to miss time this spring, McClendon’s expected to make some noise in camp this summer.

Latest On Rams’ Offensive Line

The Rams’ offensive line staffing issues extended to the point three in-season signings — Matt Skura, Ty Nsekhe, Oday Aboushi — needed to step into starting roles last season. Skura and Nsekhe ended up making eight starts for a team mired in a near-season-long blocking crisis.

None of these veterans remain with the team, as it will attempt to reconstruct a line with capabilities near the level of its 2021 Super Bowl-winning group. As of OTAs, however, only one spot appears locked down. Rob Havenstein, the only constant for Los Angeles up front last season, is on track to man the team’s right tackle spot for a ninth season. Beyond the St. Louis-era holdover, competition will ensue in the coming months.

Although the Rams re-signed Joseph Noteboom and Brian Allen last year, neither may be a lock to enter the season as a starter. Allen will compete for the center job he has held for three of the past four seasons — excepting a full-season 2020 absence — while Noteboom, per The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue will likely vie for the left tackle gig with Alaric Jackson, one of the other Rams to suffer a season-ending health issue last year (subscription required).

Noteboom, Jackson, Allen, David Edwards, Tremayne Anchrum and 2022 third-round pick Logan Bruss were lost for the season. Week 1 right guard Coleman Shelton missed time as well, leading to numerous O-line combinations during a disastrous Super Bowl title defense. Of this group, all are back except Edwards, a three-year guard starter who signed a low-cost deal with the Bills in March.

Noteboom, who signed a three-year, $39MM deal ($16.5MM fully guaranteed) to succeed Andrew Whitworth, suffered an Achilles tear in mid-October. He is not yet a full OTAs participant but is expected to be full-go by training camp. The other in-house option at left tackle, Jackson, filled in for Noteboom but did not play past Week 9 due to a blood clot issue. The Rams cleared Jackson (six 2022 starts) earlier this spring, Rodrigue notes, giving the third-year UDFA an interesting opportunity. It would stand to reason Noteboom will be favored, given his contract and previous role as Whitworth’s top backup, though Rodrigue adds the former third-round pick could be a left guard option as well. Noteboom played guard in 2019, but a season-ending injury closed that path. Jackson played both guard and tackle last season, filling in for both Noteboom and Edwards, offering flexibility for the regrouping Rams this offseason.

Allen started at center throughout the Rams’ Super Bowl-winning season but suffered a Week 1 knee injury and saw a calf ailment end his season three games early. Suffering an ACL tear midway through the 2019 season and missing all of 2020 as a result, Allen played just seven games last season. While he worked his way back from the ACL setback en route to a two-year, $10MM deal, the guarantees on that pact have been paid out. Allen figures to match up with last year’s Week 1 right guard, Shelton, at center. Pro Football Focus graded Allen as the NFL’s 10th-best center in 2021; it slotted Shelton as a bottom-tier interior lineman last year.

While Shelton (13 starts last season) will also be an option at right guard again, the Rams have used their top pick on a guard in each of the past two years. Bruss, who suffered ACL and MCL tears during a preseason game, has received clearance to return. The Rams chose TCU’s Steve Avila 36th overall. Avila should be ticketed for a starting guard role. Bruss was in competition for the right guard gig last year, but Avila’s draft slot would make it a bit of a surprise if he was not penciled in to start in Week 1. A former seventh-round pick, Anchrum has minimal game experience and is coming off a September fibula fracture. He will likely vie for a swing job.

Over the past two offseasons, the Rams have lost considerable experience. Whitworth’s retirement and the free agency exits of Edwards and Austin Corbett have created an interesting (and mostly unproven) mix here. The Rams could have re-signed Edwards for next to nothing, as he is tied to a one-year, $1.77MM contract, but they will aim to build around Avila. The team, which also added new O-line coaches (Ryan Wendell, Zak Kromer), may field a new-look front five come Week 1.

Rams Place CB Troy Hill On IR, Promote G Oday Aboushi

The Rams will not have their primary slot cornerback available for a while. Troy Hill sustained a groin injury during the team’s Week 2 win over the Falcons; the veteran defender is now on IR.

Hill and Week 2’s right guard option — Tremayne Anchrum — are now on the four-week injury list. Veteran guard Oday Aboushi, who joined the Rams’ practice squad last week, is now on the defending champions’ 53-man roster.

Reacquired via trade on Day 3 of the draft, Hill re-emerged in his old gig in Los Angeles to start the season. Hill, 31, played 95% of the Rams’ defensive snaps in Week 1 but left their Week 2 game early. Cobie Durant replaced Hill, but Sean McVay said a hamstring injury could keep him out against the Cardinals as well. Robert Rochell and sixth-round rookie Derion Kendrick represent the team’s top other options here, should Durant not be able to go.

Anchrum became the latest Rams offensive lineman to go down; McVay confirmed the third-year blocker is out for the season. Anchrum, a 2020 seventh-round pick, suffered a fractured fibula Sunday. The Rams had Anchrum, third-round rookie Logan Bruss and veteran Coleman Shelton competing for the right guard job this summer. None of the three are available for that gig presently. Bruss (ACL, MCL tears) is out for the season; Shelton slid to center to replace Brian Allen, who suffered an injury in Week 1. Allen is not on IR, however. His return would shift Shelton back to right guard.

Second-year UDFA Alaric Jackson stepped in at right guard against the Falcons, but Aboushi is far more experienced. A starter for six teams during a nine-year career, Aboushi has 47 career first-string appearances. The 31-year-old blocker could join an ultra-exclusive club by starting for a seventh team. Considering the Rams’ situation, that may happen soon. Aboushi started five games for the Chargers last season, opening the year as their top right guard. An ACL tear ended that run. It will be interesting to see if the Rams move the veteran into their starting lineup this week, assuming Allen is not ready to return.