HEADLINES

Yosh Nijman

NFC Rumors: Bucs, Lions, Panthers, Packers

August 25th, 2023 at 11:01pm CST by Ely Allen

The Buccaneers may be considered as a rebuilding squad, but that doesn’t matter much to the players fighting for roster spots in the late preseason. As the regular season inches nearer and nearer, two starting positions are starting to come into focus, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times.

On offense, center Ryan Jensen has not returned to practice as he continues to recover from three knee ligament tears that he opted not to have surgery on. In his absence, Robert Hainsey and Nick Leverett have been competing for the starting job. Hainsey likely has a bit of an edge after playing the position in college and starting all 17 games last season for Tampa Bay, but Leverett has meshed well in new offensive coordinator Dave Canales‘ new zone-blocking scheme. Even if Hainsey can’t hold onto the job, Leverett may keep the position competitive.

On defense, Dee Delaney has really stepped up at nickelback after the team opted to move Antoine Winfield Jr. back to free safety full-time. Delaney, who spent four years at The Citadel before transferring to Miami (FL) and going undrafted, has stuck in Tampa Bay, playing 32 games over the past two seasons while starting three of them. Delaney has had a great camp as reflected in a stellar performance in last week’s preseason game against the Jets. Undrafted rookie Christian Izien has also impressed with physical play throughout the preseason, while rookie sixth-round pick Josh Hayes has fallen a bit behind in the position battle.

Here are a few more roster battles to watch heading into the final weekend of preseason games this season:

  • Nate Sudfeld was viewed as a solid backup option at quarterback for the Lions last season. Coming into 2023, though, he may be struggling to retain a roster spot, according to Justin Rogers of The Detroit News. Obviously, Jared Goff has the starting job locked up, but recently signed veteran Teddy Bridgewater has made a strong case for the QB2 role behind him. Sudfeld still has value to the team, but head coach Dan Campbell made it clear that his roster status depends on if he adds more value to the team than depth at other positions on the roster. If CB5 or CB6 end up adding more value than Sudfeld as QB3, he may find himself missing out on the initial 53-man roster.
  • As starting guard Austin Corbett waits to be cleared following ACL surgery, the Panthers‘ situation at guard is feeling a bit precarious. A tweet from Joseph Person of The Athletic tells that a decision on the starting right guard job in Corbett’s absence has been delayed until the returns from injury of rookie fourth-round pick Chandler Zavala and undrafted rookie Nash Jensen. Head coach Frank Reich wanted both rookies to have a chance for the spot before making the decision. Zavala was recently activated from the physically unable to perform list and hasn’t seen much action. Jensen was impressing early in the offseason before a back injury slowed his progress. They’ll compete with Cade Mays and Justin McCray for the position, but Person believes that Carolina may pursue some added competition at roster cutdowns.
  • Last week, the Packers‘ seventh-round pick from last year, Rasheed Walker, got the starting call at left tackle ahead of usual backup Yosh Nijman, according to Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. Nijman has been the usual go-to at tackle when starter David Bakhtiari isn’t available, but Schneidman thinks that Walker may have worked his way past Nijman on the depth chart as of late.

Minor NFL Transactions: 4/17/23

April 17th, 2023 at 10:12pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Monday’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Commanders

Teams with returning head coaches are now free to begin offseason workouts, leading to this high number of RFA and ERFA tenders being signed. Bryant and Reaves signed the low-end tender, while the Packers gave Nijman a second-round tender. Bryant and Reaves are tied to $2.62MM salaries; Nijman is attached to a $4.3MM number. Nijman has both played left and right tackle, settling in at the latter spot after the Packers moved Elgton Jenkins back to guard last season. ERFAs are two years from unrestricted free agency; RFAs are one year away.

An August shoulder injury cost Williams his 2022 season, but the former second-round pick was trending in the wrong direction with the Patriots. New England chose Williams 45th overall in 2019 but used him as a starter only once. New Vikings DC Brian Flores was no longer with the Pats when they drafted Williams, 25, but the team will take a flier on the Vanderbilt alum.

Packers Place Second-Round Tender On OL Yosh Nijman

March 15th, 2023 at 4:24pm CST by Ben Levine

Yosh Nijman is sticking around Green Bay. The Packers have placed a second-round tender on the restricted free agent offensive lineman, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (via Twitter).

Nijman joined the Packers as a 2019 undrafted free agent out of Virginia Tech. He effectively red shirted as a rookie and mostly played on special teams as a sophomore, but he’s seen more playing time on offense over the past two years.

After starting eight of his 17 appearances in 2020, Nijman started 13 of his 17 appearances in 2021, appearing in 69 percent of his team’s offensive snaps. While Pro Football Focus only ranked him 54th among 81 qualifying offensive tackles, he earned high marks for his pass-rushing ability.

Any team is free to sign Nijman to an offer sheet, but if the Packers don’t match the offer, the suitor would owe Green Bay a second-round pick. If the 27-year-old lineman isn’t signed to an offer sheet, he’ll return to Green Bay on a $4.3MM deal.

Elgton Jenkins Likely To Stay On PUP List To Start Regular Season

August 8th, 2022 at 4:27pm CST by Sam Robinson

The offseason rumors of Elgton Jenkins‘ return not transpiring until at least October are looking likelier to be true. The Pro Bowl offensive lineman is likely to begin the season on the reserve/PUP list, Matt Schneidman of The Athletic notes (subscription required).

Players currently on teams’ active/PUP lists have until August 23 to be activated. If activations do not take place, they must begin the regular season on the reserve/PUP list — a roster designation that requires a minimum four-game absence to start the season. The potential unavailability of Jenkins and All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari continues to complicate matters for the Packers’ offensive front.

Jenkins, who has played a few spots along Green Bay’s offensive line, suffered his ACL tear on Nov. 21, 2021, going down on a noncontact play. If he remains on the PUP list going into the season, the earliest he could return would be the team’s Oct. 9 game against the Giants. That would be on the longer end for an ACL return, though these severe knee injuries — as Bakhtiari’s complications from a New Year’s Eve 2020 tear show — affect each player differently. The Packers also are known for injury-related caution.

Bakhtiari remains on Green Bay’s active/PUP list as well. The team managed to go 14-2, prior to a meaningless Week 18 loss to the Lions, with its starters last season. That came entirely without Bakhtiari and partially without Jenkins, who missed 10 games (counting Green Bay’s divisional-round loss to San Francisco).

The Packers have been using Jon Runyan Jr. as their first-string left guard during camp, per Schneidman, who adds a combination of Yosh Nijman, Zach Tom, Royce Newman and Jake Hanson have been combining to fill the other three tackle and guard posts. The Packers used third- and fourth-round picks on Sean Rhyan and Tom, respectively, this year. Josh Myers, who also missed a chunk of last season, remains at center. The team’s first depth chart listed Nijman at left tackle, Newman at right tackle and Hanson, a third-year blocker, at right guard.

Jenkins, who filled in for Bakhtiari at left tackle to start last season, is going into a contract year. A strong return from the ACL tear would put him in position to command top-tier guard money. He was a Pro Bowl guard alongside Bakhtiari, who signed a top-tier tackle contract weeks before his ACL tear, in 2020. Of course, the longer both he and Bakhtiari remain out the more questions it will generate about the state of Green Bay’s O-line.

RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 4/18/22

April 18th, 2022 at 7:24pm CST by Ben Levine

Here’s a look at the latest tender decisions from around the NFL:

RFAs

Signed:

ERFAs

Signed:

Packers OL Yosh Nijman Signs ERFA Tender

May 6th, 2021 at 4:50pm CST by Ben Levine

Yosuah Nijman is heading back to Green Bay. The offensive tackle has signed his exclusive rights free agent tender, reports ESPN’s Rob Demovsky (via Twitter).

The ERFA tender is a non-guaranteed, one-year deal worth $780K, which is the league minimum for a player with one season of experience.

The Virginia Tech product went undrafted during the 2019 draft, but he quickly caught on with the Packers. He spent time on the practice squad and active roster during his rookie season, but he didn’t see the field for a regular-season game. The lineman managed to get into all 16 games in 2020, although most of his playing time came on special teams; Nijman was limited to only 14 offensive snaps last season.

The 25-year-old has a chance to take on a larger role in 2021. As Demovsky notes, Nijman could be called upon to start in place of David Bakhtiari, who’s been named to an All-Pro team in each of the past five seasons. The veteran’s 2020 season was cut short by a torn ACL, but Bakhtiari is apparently ahead of schedule and could even be ready for the start of next season.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/21/19

December 21st, 2019 at 4:21pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Saturday’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

  • Promoted from practice squad: OL Matt Kaskey
  • Waived: LB Ramik Wilson

Cleveland Browns

  • Promoted from practice squad: DE Robert McCray
  • Waived: Brandin Bryant

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed off Saints’ practice squad: T John Leglue
  • Placed on IR: T Yosh Nijman

Oakland Raiders

Tennessee Titans

Sunday NFL Transactions: NFC North

September 1st, 2019 at 4:24pm CST by Sam Robinson

Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four NFC North teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions for the Bears, Lions, Packers and Vikings are noted below.

Additionally, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads today. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.

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

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Minnesota Vikings

Packers Reach 53-Man Max

August 31st, 2019 at 5:20pm CST by Zachary Links

The Packers have released the following players to reach the 53-man limit:

G Dejon Allen
TE Evan Baylis
FB Tommy Bohanon
RB Tra Carson
G Anthony Coyle
T Gerhard de Beer
CB Kabion Ento
K Sam Ficken
LB James Folston
RB Keith Ford
S Natrell Jamerson
LB Markus Jones
CB Jocquez Kalili
WR Allen Lazard
DL James Looney
S Tray Matthews
TE Pharoah McKever
WR J’Mon Moore
T Yosh Nijman
G/T Adam Pankey
CB Jackson Porter
LB Randy Ramsey
WR Teo Redding
CB Nydair Rouse
DL Olive Sagapolu
LB Brady Sheldon
DL Deon Simon
WR Malik Taylor
QB Manny Wilkins

The Packers’ previously announced release of DeShone Kizer leaves the club with just two quarterbacks – Aaron Rodgers and Tim Boyle – on the roster. Meanwhile, they’ll carry six wide receivers on the initial 53: Davante Adams, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Geronimo Allison, Trevor Davis, Jake Kumerow, and Darrius Shepherd.

Equanimeous St. Brown, meanwhile, is not on that WR list. He was initially thought to have suffered a mild ankle sprain, but now, he’ll be out for the season.

Packers Sign 11 UDFAs

May 3rd, 2019 at 1:28pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Packers revealed their UDFA class on Friday. Here are the players who will try to take the long way to making Green Bay’s roster.

The three linebackers join seventh-round pick Ty Summers in adding to Green Bay’s defensive second level depth. Bolton was a one-year starter at Oklahoma, with Ramsey having been a two-season starter at Temple. Ramsey also saw action on the Owls’ defensive line. A 26-game Baylor starter, Roberts received a $7K signing bonus and $65K base salary guarantee, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports (on Twitter).

Wilkins was the Sun Devils’ starting quarterback for three seasons. Joining Aaron Rodgers, DeShone Kizer and 2018 UDFA Tim Boyle, Wilkins represents the Packers’ only offseason QB addition. In addition to throwing 52 touchdown passes in three seasons, Wilkins rushed for 20 TDs and gained 1,035 yards on the ground.