Willington Previlon

Steelers Sign WR Jacob Copeland, Claim DT

It may not be the veteran contributor that Steelers fans would prefer to see, but the team added some depth today at the wide receiver position, signing Jacob Copeland, according to Steelers.com writer Teresa Varley. Aaron Williams of KPRC 2 adds that the team was also awarded defensive tackle Willington Previlon off of waivers after he was waived from Atlanta.

Copeland went undrafted a year ago after a five-year playing career at Florida and Maryland. Copeland originally signed with the Gators as a consensus top-100 recruit in the nation. He spent his first three years in Gainesville buried on the depth chart under names like Kadarius Toney and Kyle Pitts but proved to be an effective deep threat, averaging 18.9 yards per reception in his redshirt sophomore season with 435 yards and three touchdowns on only 23 receptions.

With Toney and Pitts (and quarterback Kyle Trask) gone in 2021, Copeland finally got to lead the room, tying for the team-lead in receptions (41) and receiving touchdowns (4) while leading the school with 642 receiving yards. Copeland made the decision to transfer for his redshirt senior season, opting to join the Terrapins in College Park. At Maryland, Copeland failed to make the same impact on the offense, finishing fourth on the team with 376 receiving yards to go along with 26 catches and two touchdowns, though he did lead the team with 14.5 yards per reception.

After signing initially with the Titans as an undrafted free agent, Copeland has spent short stints of time with the Vikings, Steelers, and Chiefs. He’ll now return for a second try with Pittsburgh.

Previlon has been floating around the NFL a little longer than Copeland after going undrafted in 2020. The former Rutgers big man was disruptive for the Scarlet Knights, totaling three sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss in his final two collegiate seasons. He’s bounced around since then, spending time with the Packers, Buccaneers, Cowboys, and Falcons before getting claimed by Pittsburgh.

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/9/24

Here are the reserve/futures deals handed out Tuesday:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Chicago Bears

Indianapolis Colts

  • S Kendell Brooks, G Lewis Kidd, S Michael Tutsie

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Minnesota Vikings

New York Jets

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 1/4/24

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Kansas City Chiefs

New York Giants

Isaiah Buggs will provide the Chiefs with some defensive line depth as they head into the playoffs. After playing a part-time role with the Steelers to begin his career, Buggs joined the Lions in 2022 and proceeded to have a career season, finishing with 46 tackles, one sack, and one forced fumble in 17 games (13 starts).

That performance earned him a two-year, $6MM extension this past offseason. However, his playing time dropped in 2023, and he collected 12 tackles and one sack in 10 games (three starts) before getting released earlier this week.

Buccaneers Set 53-Man Roster

Following the retirement of Tom Brady, the Buccaneers will be facing a pseudo-rebuild in 2023. Before they get to a challenging regular season, the team was forced to cut down their roster to 53 players today:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Waived/failure to disclose physical condition:

  • C Chris Murray

After sitting out the 2021 campaign, Deadrin Senat got into 12 games for Tampa Bay in 2022. The defensive tackle ultimately finished the campaign with 17 tackles, one sack, and a pair of QB hits. The former third-round pick got into 22 games for the Falcons to begin his career.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/28/23

We are less than 24 hours from the deadline for NFL teams to trim their rosters to 53 players. Here are the latest moves teams have made as they pare their squads down toward the in-season limit:

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

  • Released from IR via injury settlement: DB Tino Ellis

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

NFL Reserve/Futures Deals: 1/17/23

Today’s reserve/futures deals:

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Wednesday NFL Transactions: NFC South

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 BuccaneersFalcons, Panthers and Saints moves are noted below.

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

Atlanta Falcons

Claimed:

Released:

Signed to practice squad:

Carolina Panthers

Signed to practice squad:

New Orleans Saints

Claimed:

  • T Tanner Owen (from Bills)

Released:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Signed to practice squad:

Buccaneers Set 53-Man Roster

Here is how the Buccaneers moved their roster down to the 53-man max Tuesday:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

  • OLB Elijah Ponder

Placed on IR:

Ryan is expected to return soon, Greg Auman of The Athletic tweets. His release — from a contract containing no fully guaranteed money — is likely connected to Ryan Jensen‘s impending IR trip.

The Bucs should also be expected to retain Griffin on their 16-man practice squad, which can include up to six vested vets. Griffin has gone through a lengthy career without much actual usage. A 2013 Saints UDFA, Griffin has been with the Bucs since September 2015. Odds are, after he re-signed to stay in Tampa again this offseason, the veteran QB is part of the initial 2022 Bucs P-squad. Griffin, 32, has played in two career games. He would be the Bucs’ fourth passer — behind Tom Brady, Blaine Gabbert and Kyle Trask — if kept. So, the same arrangement as 2021.

The Bucs signed Avery last week. Avery spent the offseason with the Steelers but did not make their cut to 80; the Steelers have since traded for Broncos backup OLB Malik Reed. Borregales’ exit will give Ryan Succop the kicker job for a third straight year. After the Bucs went through several years of kicker instability, Succop has done well to inject reliability into the equation. Succop’s extension runs through 2023.

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/24/22

Here are Monday’s reserve/futures deals:

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

New Orleans Saints

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/6/21

Today’s taxi squad moves:

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

  • Signed: WR Damon Hazelton

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Signed: DL Willington Previlon