Ugo Amadi

Saints Sign OT Oli Udoh

The Saints have added some depth on the offensive line. The team announced that they’ve agreed to terms with offensive tackle Oli Udoh.

The former sixth-round pick spent five seasons with the Vikings to begin his career, appearing in 43 games. He only got an extended look during one of the those campaigns, starting 16 games for Minnesota in 2021. He landed back on the bench in 2022, starting one game (plus a playoff start) while appearing in only 131 offensive snaps.

Udoh re-signed with the Vikings last offseason and earned a starting nod in Week 2. However, he suffered a quad injury in that game, ending his season after only two appearances.

The Saints will be counting on Udoh to provide some depth in 2024. Ryan Ramczyk will be back in the starting lineup, but the team is currently eyeing one of Udoh, Trevor Penning, Landon Young, and Tommy Kraemer for the other starting tackle spot.

The Saints also made a move of the defensive side of the ball, re-signing safety Ugo Amadi. The former Seahawks draft pick spent the 2022 campaign bouncing between the Eagles, Titans, and Chiefs practice squads. He caught on with the Saints last offseason and proceeded to get into all 17 games, collecting 12 tackles while garnering the majority of his snaps on special teams.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/7/23

Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

  • Suspended two games: S Sean Chandler; DB violated NFL’s substance-abuse policy

Denver Broncos

Jacksonville Jaguars

  • Waived: QB E.J. Perry

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/12/22

Here are the minor roster moves in anticipation for Sunday’s slate of games:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Activated from IR: S Charles Washington
  • Promoted from practice squad: OL Rashaad Coward

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

  • Promoted from practice squad: TE Nick Muse

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/3/22

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Buffalo Bills

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

New Orleans Saints

Washington Commanders

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/31/22

Today’s minor transactions:

Baltimore Ravens

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

Eagles To Trade S Ugo Amadi To Titans

For the second time in less than two weeks, safety Ugo Amadi is on the move. The Eagles are sending their recent acquisition to the Titans (Twitter link via ESPN’s Adam Schefter). 

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero tweets that Philadelphia is including a seventh-round pick in 2024 along with Amadi, in exchange for a sixth-rounder of the same year. In terms of draft stock, that represents a stark difference to the cost the Eagles paid to acquire Amadi last week: former second-rounder J.J. Arcega-Whiteside. More than anything, of course, that deal was a reflection of the wideout’s underwhelming career to date.

Amadi, 25, was thought to be a release candidate hours before being dealt to Philadelphia. He made seven starts last season, logging a defensive snap share above 50% for the second straight season. The 2019 fourth-rounder totaled 125 tackles, 13 pass deflections and one interception across three campaigns in Seattle. He was seen as a depth addition for Philadelphia, whose situation at the safety position is rather murky. Instead, he will now look to make the Titans’ 53-man roster as an insurance policy on the backend while entering a contract year.

In related roster news, the Titans also announced that linebacker Monty Rice has been placed on the reserve/PUP list. That opens up the spot for Amadi to fill, but means that the Titans’ LB corps will be thinner for at least the first four weeks of the season. The 2021-third rounder started four of his 10 appearances last year, recording 36 tackles. His rookie campaign was cut short by an Achilles injury, which obviously won’t be fully recovered in time for September.

Eagles To Trade J.J. Arcega-Whiteside To Seahawks For Ugo Amadi

Amidst a day of roster cuts and player activations and signings, a rare player-for-player swap is taking place. The Eagles are sending tight end J.J. Arcega-Whiteside to the Seahawks in exchange for safety Ugo Amadi (Twitter link via NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero). 

Arcega-Whiteside was one of several notable draft investments the Eagles have made at the wide receiver position recently. The 2019 second-rounder came to Philadelphia with significant expectations given his size (six-foot-two, 225 pounds) and production at Stanford. Things haven’t gone according to plan, however, as he has failed to secure a full-time starting role across three seasons in the NFL.

After totaling just 16 catches in his first 40 games, the Eagles decided this offseason to move the 25-year-old to tight end. With the likes of first-rounders Jalen Reagor and DeVonta Smithas well as draft-day trade acquisition A.J. Brown at the position, that transition was Arcega-Whiteside’s clearest path to playing time. The same may not be true in Seattle, however; Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times tweets that the Seahawks plan to play Arcega-Whiteside at WR, where he will compete for a secondary role behind DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett

The news of a trade is particularly noteworthy in Amadi’s case. ESPN’s Brady Henderson reported (on Twitter) earlier today that the 25-year-old was going to be among the Seahawks’ first round of roster cuts. By acquiring him via trade, the Eagles avoid the possibility of another team claiming him. A fourth-round pick in the same draft as Arcega-Whiteside, Amadi started 12 games between 2020 and 2021. He played a career-high 691 defensive snaps last season, and recorded 54 tackles for the second consecutive season.

The five-foot-nine, 201-pounder will add depth on the backend for the Eagles. Safety was seen as an area of need for much of the offseason after the departure of Rodney McLeod, and Amadi will now look to carve out at least a rotational role behind starters Anthony Harris and Marcus Epps.

Both players will get a fresh start in advance of a contract year, and look to build their free agent values while reinforcing potential weak points on their new teams’ respective rosters.

NFC Notes: Clowney, Cards, Giants, Panthers

A notable development transpired in Jadeveon Clowney‘s near-fourth-month free agency odyssey Tuesday. The Browns’ Olivier Vernon restructure points to them giving the Vernon-Myles Garrett pairing another year and bowing out on Clowney. This would eliminate a high-paying suitor from the sweepstakes. The Seahawks remain in the running for Clowney, but Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times notes they are not going to offer a deal in the $15-$16MM-AAV ballpark like they did earlier this offseason. Seattle’s offer in this neighborhood occurred several weeks ago, but the team is still in need at edge rusher. Clowney now has an offer in hand from the Raiders, but they were viewed as a “distant third.” However, with the Browns perhaps out, the Raiders may have moved up to second. At just more than $13MM in cap space, the Seahawks hold more than the Raiders ($8MM).

Here is the latest from the NFC:

  • Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins lined up as teammates for the first time, with the new Cardinals duo joining several teammates in Texas for a workout. Despite the NFLPA issuing directives for players not to gather for workouts, as the COVID-19 pandemic sets records (with Texas being a hot spot) in recent days. But other teams — most notably the Buccaneers — have seen select personnel conven for pre-training camp work. The Cards’ workout took place nearby where Murray went to high school, just north of Dallas.
  • Seahawks second-round pick Marquise Blair will compete with Bradley McDougald for the team’s starting strong safety job, opposite Quandre Diggs, but Brady Henderson of ESPN.com notes the second-year player is also a candidate to be Seattle’s nickel back. Blair played just 219 snaps as a rookie, though Pete Carroll said he is “very interested” in getting him on the field this season. Ugo Amadi, a 2019 fourth-rounder, will serve as Blair’s primary competition for Seattle’s nickel role. Amadi played just 76 defensive snaps as a rookie.
  • The Giants hired their first female scout, naming Hannah Burnett as their Midlands scout. Burnett’s most notable NFL experience came with the Falcons, for whom she attended pro days and the Combine. In addition to Burnett, the Giants named Marquis Pendleton their northeast area scout and added Nick Williams as an offensive assistant. Pendleton has worked in a different scouting capacity with the team since 2016; Williams spent the past three seasons as Southern Illinois’ wide receivers coach.
  • The Panthers did not renew the contracts of scouts Don Warren and Clyde Powers, Joe Person of The Athletic tweets. Both staffers were Dave Gettleman hires. Warren was a three-time Super Bowl champion as a tight end with the Redskins, for whom he also worked as a scout prior to his Panthers stay.

Seahawks Sign Four Draft Picks

The Seahawks have started signing a handful of their 11 draft picks to contracts. According to ESPN’s Brady Henderson (via Twitter), Seattle signed four of their rookies today:

Blair is the most notable name on the list, as the Seahawks used one of their two second-rounders on the Utah product. Following a solid 2017 season, the safety had a breakout campaign in 2018, finishing the season with 44 tackles, two passes defended, and two picks.

The Seahawks watched as both Earl Thomas and Mo Alexander left via free agency, leaving some open spots on the depth chart. Tedric Thompson and Bradley McDougald are currently slotted in as the team’s starting safeties, but Blair should be able to supplant one of the two. The team also inked another rookie safety, Amadi, to his contract, providing the team with even more depth at the position.

Haynes may have a difficult time cracking the lineup, as both Mike Iupati and D.J. Fluker are standing in his way. However, the rookie has a chance to become a useful reserve lineman. The same goes for Burr-Kirven, who should compete with Barkevious Mingo, Shaquem Griffin, and Austin Calitro for backup reps at linebacker.

Following today’s signings, seven of the Seahawks’ draft picks remain unsigned.