Today’s practice squad moves:
Buffalo Bills
Indianapolis Colts
Philadelphia Eagles
San Francisco 49ers
Today’s minor moves:
Buffalo Bills
Carolina Panthers
Cleveland Browns
Detroit Lions
Jacksonville Jaguars
New York Jets
Germain Ifedi‘s underwhelming stint with the Bills has come to an end. The veteran offensive lineman joined the Bills this past offseason and was expected to provide some experienced depth. Instead, Ifedi was inactive for every game this season, and the Bills have decided his roster spot could be put to better use. ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg believes this move will likely open a spot for defensive tackle DaQuan Jones.
Wednesday’s minor NFL transactions:
Arizona Cardinals
Carolina Panthers
Las Vegas Raiders
Minnesota Vikings
San Francisco 49ers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Washington Commanders
Here are today’s post-holiday practice squad adjustments:
Arizona Cardinals
Atlanta Falcons
Carolina Panthers
Cincinnati Bengals
Denver Broncos
Houston Texans
Los Angeles Chargers
Pittsburgh Steelers
San Francisco 49ers
Seattle Seahawks
Sebastian Joseph-Day cleared waivers on Christmas Day, closing the book on the $8MM-per-year Chargers contract he signed in 2022. But the veteran interior defensive lineman will not be out of work for long. He is set to head north.
The 49ers agreed to terms with Joseph-Day on Tuesday, according to NFL.com’s Jason McCourty. CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson indicates Joseph-Day is finalizing a one-year deal with the NFC West champions. Joseph-Day will follow Chase Young and Randy Gregory as high-profile 49ers D-line additions this season. To clear a roster spot, the 49ers are waiving wide receiver Willie Snead, who has bounced on and off the team’s practice squad for two years now.
San Francisco has been without longtime starter Arik Armstead for the past three games. Armstead is not on IR, but he is dealing with foot and knee issues after missing much of last season. Javon Hargrave returned to action against the Ravens but missed Week 16 due to injury. Joseph-Day, who started in his final three seasons with the Rams before trekking across town to sign with the Bolts last year, will add some important depth for the 49ers.
Not long after firing Brandon Staley and GM Tom Telesco, the Chargers moved on from Joseph-Day and D-line coach Jay Rodgers. Staley had made a push for a defensive overhaul last year. That led to Joseph-Day and J.C. Jackson joining the team as free agents and Khalil Mack arriving via trade. As the 2023 season winds down, only Mack remains among those pickups. The Chargers traded Jackson back to the Patriots, as that fit proved poor. Joseph-Day, however, started 30 games for the team over the past two years.
Before signing with the Chargers, Joseph-Day generated free agency interest on the heels of his Rams run. A chest injury sidelined Joseph-Day for much of the Rams’ Super Bowl-winning 2021 season, though he did play a few snaps in Super Bowl LVI. But the former sixth-round pick started throughout the 2019 and 2020 seasons alongside Aaron Donald. Pro Football Focus graded Joseph-Day as a top-20 defender in 2020, as the Rams returned to the playoffs and upset the Seahawks in the wild-card round.
This season, the advanced metrics site slotted Joseph-Day 67th overall among interior D-linemen. In Staley’s scheme, Joseph-Day had performed fairly well pressuring QBs. The 28-year-old defender matched his career high with three sacks, and the 11 QB hits accumulated are nearly double his season-best total. Joseph-Day looks set to become a rotational cog in San Francisco, with Armstead’s injury potentially determining how big a role the newcomer will receive. Javon Kinlaw and Kevin Givens round out San Francisco’s interior D-line group.
While a starter for the Rams, Joseph-Day did not eclipse a 43% snap rate in 2019 or 2020. His usage climbed before the 2021 injury, however, and the Chargers used their free agency addition on 71% of their defensive snaps last season. Joseph-Day’s work rate dropped to 58% in L.A. this year.
This will be Joseph-Day’s first time in a 4-3 defense, though the lines between the two primary NFL base fronts have blurred over the past several years. The 49ers have an expensive D-line in place, having extended Nick Bosa after signing Hargrave to a $21MM-per-year deal in March. Armstead remains on the big-ticket extension he signed in 2020. Joseph-Day figures to slot in alongside Gregory as a low-cost veteran; the Broncos are paying the bulk of Gregory’s base salary.
While the Panthers, Cardinals and Commanders continued their losing ways in Week 16, the Patriots’ effort in Denver shook up the top of the 2024 draft. New England has dropped from second to fourth in the ’24 order.
In a strange spot in which Broncos fans and and undoubtedly many Pats supporters wanted the Russell Wilson-driven comeback to succeed, Chad Ryland‘s 56-yard game-winning field goal dropped New England out of the No. 2 spot, injecting doubt about the team’s ability to nab a top-flight QB prospect without trading up next year.
The Bears (via the Panthers) remain atop the table, holding a one-game lead on the Cardinals. Carolina closes its season with two games against eight-win teams — the Jaguars and Buccaneers. Arizona will face Philadelphia and Seattle, and with Carolina’s strength of schedule at .522 and Arizona’s at .561, the draft-order tiebreaker reaffirms the Bears’ placement on the doorstep of entering a second straight offseason holding a No. 1 overall pick. The Justin Fields matter remains an important big-picture NFL topic, but GM Ryan Poles is close to having his pick of the 2024 QB prospects.
It is not clear if the Commanders will be interested in a quarterback in the first round, but they will have a new regime running the show. The last time Washington held a top-three pick (2020), it passed on Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert due to having drafted Dwayne Haskins in the 2019 first round. With Sam Howell struggling as of late, Josh Harris‘ next set of decision-makers may want to bring in their own prospect. The Cardinals could stand in the Commanders’ way, via another trade in the top three, but suddenly Washington could be a player for a 2024 first-round QB.
Ahead of Week 17, here is how the 2024 draft order looks:
Here are the NFL’s Boxing Day practice squad updates:
Atlanta Falcons
Denver Broncos
Los Angeles Rams
New England Patriots
Pittsburgh Steelers
San Francisco 49ers
Seattle Seahawks
Tennessee Titans
Washington Commanders
Smith will make his way to a third team this season. The Saints signed the former Cowboys mainstay just before the season, but the Raiders later poached the eighth-year veteran off New Orleans’ practice squad. The Steelers, who have lost regulars Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander for the season, will turn to him now. This move come after the Steelers added Mykal Walker, who is on team No. 4 this year, to their linebacking corps.
Henderson resurfaced with the Rams midway through this season, coming back after the team lost Kyren Williams and Ronnie Rivers in one game. Williams made his way back to action last month, while Rivers moved back to the 53-man roster last week. With Royce Freeman in place as veteran insurance, the Rams will again cut Henderson.
The Broncos are planning to bring Smith back to their P-squad soon, per the Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson. The team initially planned to cut Smith to clear a spot for Kareem Jackson. With the Texans making another high-profile waiver claim — this one to reunite with Jackson, who was primarily a Houston cornerback from 2010-18 — the Broncos no longer have to clear a P-squad spot.
Today’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
Cincinnati Bengals
Los Angeles Chargers
San Francisco 49ers
The Ravens designated Hamm for return on Dec. 4, making Christmas Day the linebacker’s activation deadline. Rather than activating Hamm to their active roster, the Ravens let his 21-day practice window close. A rookie UDFA out of Division I-FCS Lafayette, Hamm will end up missing his entire rookie season. The Ravens carried Hamm over to their 53-man roster after training camp, placing him on IR a day later.
Today’s practice squad moves:
Atlanta Falcons
Detroit Lions
New York Jets
San Francisco 49ers
Taylor Stallworth has found a new home after getting cut by the Titans back in November. The veteran spent the majority of his stint in Tennessee sitting on injured reserve, getting into six defensive snaps in one appearance. The journeyman has spent time with six different squads since going undrafted out of South Carolina in 2018. He got into 32 games with the Colts between 2020 and 2021, collecting 28 tackles and 3.5 sacks.
Today’s minor moves:
New Orleans Saints
New York Giants
Pittsburgh Steelers
San Francisco 49ers
Anthony McFarland Jr.‘s stint with the Steelers has come to an end after three-plus seasons. The former fourth-round pick got an extended look as a rookie, collecting 167 yards from scrimmage on 39 touches. Over the past two-plus seasons, he’s compiled only 66 yards on 14 touches, with the RB being firmly behind Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren on the depth chart. That duo will continue to command the majority of the snaps at the position, with Godwin Igwebuike now serving as Pittsburgh’s RB3.