Yasir Durant

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/20/22

Today’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Cleveland Browns

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Rams

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Patriots Trim Roster To 53 Players

The Patriots cut down their roster to 53 players today. In the process, they let go of a handful of recent draft picks, including a 2022 selection:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

The Patriots acknowledged some of their previous draft mistakes today. The team let go of three 2021 draft picks in wide receiver Tre Nixon, linebacker Will Sherman, and linebacker Cameron McGrone, and they even let go of a 2022 draft pick in sixth-round running back Kevin Harris. However, perhaps the biggest move was releasing tight end end Devin Asiasi. After waiving fellow 2020 third-round tight end Dalton Keene earlier this month, Asiasi was let go today. Despite his third-round status, Asiasi only saw time in 10 games for the Patriots in two years. With Asiasi and Keene out of the picture, it was expected that Lil’Jordan Humphrey would make the squad as a hybrid WR/TE. However, for the time being, the Patriots will roll with only two tight ends in Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith.

Terrance Mitchell started 29 games over the past two seasons in stints with the Browns and Texans, and he had a chance to compete for a starting gig in New England. However, despite all the uncertainty surrounding the position, the veteran wasn’t able to make his mark, leading to a surprising release. Justin Bethel is another surprising cut, as the veteran has established himself as a special teams ace in recent years.

Minor NFL Transactions:  12/15/21

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: LB A.J. Klein

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Patriots’ Trent Brown To Miss Week 2

Trent Brown will not be in the Patriots’ starting lineup against the Jets on Sunday. The calf strain the recently reacquired right tackle suffered last week will keep him out.

This marks the latest health setback for Brown, who missed much of last season due to injury and COVID-19 complications. Second-year UDFA Yasir Durant is the top candidate to fill in for Brown, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets.

This marks the second straight year a calf injury will sideline Brown. His 2020 started similarly, with a Week 1 calf ailment leading to missed early-season time.

The Pats traded a 2022 fifth-round pick to the Raiders for Brown and a seventh-rounder and redid the large lineman’s contract. Part of Brown’s reworked deal includes per-game roster bonuses totaling $2MM. While Brown was called day-to-day after his latest injury, he missed New England’s Wednesday and Thursday practices and managed a limited session Friday. This participation may point to Brown missing just one week, but the run of bad breaks for the seventh-year veteran should be a bit of a concern for a team that also has a left tackle (Isaiah Wynn) with an extensive injury past.

Though he became the rare right tackle Pro Bowl invitee in his first Raiders season, Brown missed five games in 2019. He missed 11 in 2020. After Brown’s calf issue forced three missed games last season, he had two stints on the Raiders’ reserve/COVID-19 list. While Brown did not miss a game for the Patriots in 2018, when he played a major role in the franchise winning its sixth Super Bowl, the 6-foot-8 blocker’s health in the time since he initially left New England has become an issue.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/30/21

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here. Teams have until 3pm CT Tuesday to pare their rosters down to 53 players.

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

  • Released from IR via injury settlement: LB Darron Lee

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

Chiefs Sign 18 UDFAs

The Chiefs became the latest team to announce their undrafted free agent class:

  • Andre Baccellia, WR (Washington)
  • Maurice French, WR (Pittsburgh)
  • Aleva Hifo, WR (BYU)
  • Kalija Lipscomb, WR (Vanderbilt)
  • Justice Shelton‐Mosley, WR (Vanderbilt)
  • Cody White, WR (Michigan State)
  • Yasir Durant, T (Missouri)
  • Jovahn Fair, G (Temple)
  • Darryl Williams, C (Miss St.)
  • Tershawn Wharton, DT (Missouri S&T)
  • Omari Cobb, LB (Marshall)
  • Bryan Wright, LB (Cincinnati)
  • Rodney Clemons, S (SMU)
  • Jalen Julius, S (Ole Miss)
  • Hakeem Bailey, CB (West Virginia)
  • Javaris Davis, CB (Auburn)
  • Lavert Hill, CB (Michigan)
  • Tommy Townsend, P (Florida)

The Chiefs had to spend relatively big to get a couple of these guys. Lipscomb got $110K guaranteed and a $10K signing bonus, while Williams got $107K guaranteed and a $7K signing bonus (Twitter links via Tom Pelissero of NFL Network). This was regarded as an epic receiver class with plenty of draftable players going un-selected due to the surplus, so it’s not surprising guys like Lipscomb are landing big bonuses.

As a junior at Vandy he had 916 yards and nine touchdowns, although he took a step back last season. Williams was a three-year starter at MSU who can play guard and center.

All told, the Chiefs inked a whopping six undrafted receivers. White declared early after racking up 922 yards and six touchdowns as a senior at Michigan State. Davis was widely expected to get drafted, with NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein projecting him as a fifth-rounder and Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller having him go at the top of the sixth, so he’s a nice get as well.