Velus Jones - Pro Football Rumors

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/23/22

August 23rd, 2022 at 4:31pm CST by Sam Robinson

Tuesday marked the day teams were forced to cut down from 85 to 80 players. Here are the moves teams made made to reach the new maximum. Players who land on the reserve/PUP or reserve/NFI list must miss at least the first four regular-season games.

Arizona Cardinals

Waived: P Nolan Cooney, CB Cortez Davis, TE Josh Hokit, RB T.J. Pledger
Waived/injured: CB Darrell Baker Jr.

Atlanta Falcons

Released: WR Geronimo Allison, CB Lafayette Pitts, WR Auden Tate
Waived: OLB Kuony Deng
Waived/injured: DL Jalen Dalton

Baltimore Ravens

Waived: ILB Diego Fagot, WR Bailey Gaither, T Jaryd Jones-Smith
Waived/injured: WR Slade Bolden

Carolina Panthers

Placed on IR: QB Matt Corral (story), CB Duke Dawson
Waived: TE Jared Scott

Chicago Bears

Released: T Julie’n Davenport
Waived: FB Jake Bargas, CB BoPete Keyes, DT LaCale London, WR Dazz Newsome

Cincinnati Bengals

Placed on reserve/PUP list: S Brandon Wilson
Waived: QB Drew Plitt

Dallas Cowboys

Placed on IR: TE Jeremy Sprinkle
Waived/injured: LB Christian Sam
Waived: K Lirim Hajrullahu, CB Quandre Mosely, WR Jaquarii Roberson
Released from IR via injury settlement: DB Kyron Brown, WR Ty Fryfogle, RB Ryan Nall

Detroit Lions

Waived: LB Shaun Dion Hamilton

Green Bay Packers

Placed on reserve/PUP list: RB Kylin Hill
Waived: WR Danny Davis
Waived/injured: S Vernon Scott

Houston Texans

Placed on reserve/non-football illness list: WR John Metchie (story)

Indianapolis Colts

Waived: C Alex Mollette, RB C.J. Verdell

Kansas City Chiefs

Placed on reserve/PUP list: T Lucas Niang
Placed on IR: RB Derrick Gore

Las Vegas Raiders

Released: CB Chris Jones
Waived: WR Chris Lacy
Waived/injured: CB Cre’von LeBlanc

Los Angeles Chargers

Signed: CB Michael Jacquet
Waived/injured: CB Tevaughn Campbell, LB Damon Lloyd, OLB Ty Shelby
Placed on reserve/NFI list: TE Stone Smartt

Minnesota Vikings

Placed on reserve/PUP list: LB Ryan Connelly, WR Blake Proehl
Waived: TE Shaun Beyer, CB Harrison Hand

New England Patriots

Placed on IR: LB Ronnie Perkins
Placed on reserve/NFI list: OL Andrew Stueber

New Orleans Saints

Released from IR via injury settlement: T Sage Doxtater, DT Jaleel Johnson

New York Giants

Placed on reserve/PUP list: OL Nick Gates, T Matt Peart
Placed on IR: ILB Darrian Beavers (story), TE Andre Miller, TE Ricky Seals-Jones

New York Jets

Released: OL Caleb Benenoch, LB Kai Nacua
Waived: S Elijah Riley, OL Isaiah Williams

Philadelphia Eagles

Placed on reserve/PUP list: TE Tyree Jackson, OL Brett Toth
Waived: CB Josh Blackwell, RB DeAndre Torrey, T Jarrid Williams

Pittsburgh Steelers

Released: OLB Genard Avery
Waived: WR Christian Blake, RB Mataeo Durant, QB Chris Oladokun, K Nick Sciba

San Francisco 49ers

Placed on reserve/PUP list: DT Kalia Davis, CB Jason Verrett (story)
Released: TE Tanner Hudson
Waived: LB Jeremiah Gemmel
Waived/injured: OL Sam Schlueter

Seattle Seahawks

Signed: TE Cade Brewer
Waived: G Shamarious Gilmore

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Waived/injured: TE Bug Howard

Tennessee Titans

Placed on reserve/PUP list: K Caleb Shudak

Washington Commanders

Released: T Rashod Hill
Placed on IR: LB Nathan Gerry
Waived: WR Kelvin Harmon
Released from IR via injury settlement: TE Sammis Reyes

NFC North Notes: Vikings Front Office Hire, Hundley, Jones, Alexander

May 19th, 2022 at 1:16pm CST by Adam La Rose

New Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah made a noteworthy addition to his staff earlier this week. The team announced the hiring of Demitrius Washington as their new vice president of football operations.

Washington had spent seven years with the 49ers, a stretch which overlapped with Adofo-Mensah’s time in that organization. For the past two seasons, Washington served as San Francisco’s director of research and development, the same title Adofo-Mensah held with the Browns prior to his hire. The pair will now reunite and, along with new head coach Kevin O’Connell, oversee the franchise’s transition from the previous Rick Spielman-Mike Zimmer regime.

Here are some other notes from around the NFC North, starting with one more from Minnesota:

The Vikings brought in veteran backup quarterback Brett Hundley as a tryout during rookie minicamp, but they made it clear they would not be signing him, as noted by Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press. The 28-year-old hasn’t made a regular season appearance since 2019, most recently spending time with the Colts. Minnesota’s QB room currently consists of Kirk Cousins, Kellen Mond, Sean Mannion and Nate Stanley.
The Bears used one of their 11 picks in last month’s draft to add to its receiving corps, selecting Velus Jones in the third round. The team is high on his speed and versatility, leading to the new coaching staff having “big plans” for the 25-year-old. “Let’s start out at receiver and then let’s see what he can do, moving him around to different spots and getting him the ball, because he is an explosive athlete” head coach Matt Eberflus said, via ESPN’s Courtney Cronin. After transferring from USC to Tennessee, Jones produced both on offense and special teams, recording 807 receiving yards and leading the SEC in both punt and kick return yardage in 2021.
An interesting note came out in the aftermath of Jaire Alexander‘s record-breaking extension with the Packers. USA Today’s Josina Anderson reports (on Twitter) that the Pro Bowler specifically wanted a four-year (rather than five-year) deal. He got just that, helping him to break the record briefly held by Denzel Ward for the highest annual average amongst cornerbacks at $21MM per season, and keeping him under contract through 2026.

NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/17/22

May 17th, 2022 at 5:14pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are the latest draft pick signings around the NFL:

Chicago Bears

WR Velus Jones (third round, Tennessee)

Dallas Cowboys

DE Sam Williams (second round, Ole Miss)
WR Jalen Tolbert (third round, South Alabama)

Detroit Lions

S Kerby Joseph (third round, Illinois)

Indianapolis Colts

WR Alec Pierce (second round, Cincinnati)