Minor NFL Transactions: 8/14/24
Wednesday’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: LB Storey Jackson
- Waived: P Ryan Sanborn
Buffalo Bills
- Reverted to IR: WR Bryan Thompson
Carolina Panthers
- Waived: S Clayton Isbell
- Released (with injury settlement): OLB Kemoko Turay
Cincinnati Bengals
- Placed on reserve/retired list: DE Jeff Gunter
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: C Cohl Cabral
- Waived (with injury designation): DE Shaka Toney
Denver Broncos
- Waived (with injury settlement): OLB Jaylon Allen
Detroit Lions
- Signed: CB Javelin Guidry
- Reverted to IR: LB DaRon Gilbert
- Waived (with injury designation): S Morice Norris Jr.
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: RB Nate McCrary
- Waived: LS Peter Bowden, S Tyler Coyle
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: DE Derek Rivers, WR Greg Ward
- Waived: S Kendell Brooks, WR Ethan Fernea
Las Vegas Raiders
- Activated from active/PUP list: G Jackson Powers-Johnson
- Released (with injury settlement): WR Keelan Doss
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: TE Tucker Fisk
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: DT Carlos Watkins
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: DT Robert Cooper
Minnesota Vikings
- Reverted to IR: LB Jabril Cox
New England Patriots
- Waived (with injury settlement): DE John Morgan
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: TE Mason Fairchild
- Waived: DT Kyler Baugh
New York Giants
- Signed: S Raheem Layne, S Jonathan Sutherland
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: CB Zyon Gilbert, WR T.J. Luther
- Reverted to IR: WR Tarik Black
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: DT Nick Williams
- Released: LB Zeke Turner
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: LB Easton Gibbs
- Waived (with injury designation): DT Nathan Pickering
Washington Commanders
- Waived (with injury settlement): T Alex Akingbulu
- Waived: G Mason Brooks
Cabral joins the Cowboys after UFL stints in Birmingham and Michigan. He adds more depth to the team’s offensive line after the team lost Chuma Edoga in their first preseason game and saw Earl Bostick helped off the field today. Toney suffered a groin injury, leading to this injury waiver, but could return to the team should he clear waivers.
Powers-Johnson was on some concerning ground with how much time he had missed with a concussion, but the Raiders saw him return to practice today.
The 49ers are adding some significant depth on the defensive line in Williams, who has vast starting experience in the NFL. Cutting Turner could mean that the return of Dre Greenlaw may on a better timeline than expected.
Giants Trade DT Jordan Phillips To Cowboys
The Cowboys are acquiring a division-rival defender, per NFL Insider Josina Anderson. Amidst injury troubles along the defensive line, Dallas has made the move to acquire Giants veteran defensive tackle Jordan Phillips. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tells us that Phillips’ departure will be accompanied by a pick swap, with New York sending a seventh- along with Phillips in exchange for a sixth-rounder in 2026. 
A former second-round pick out of Oklahoma, Phillips has spent most of his career in the AFC East. Drafted by the Dolphins, Phillips made 26 starts in his first three years with the team before seeing his playing time start to dwindle in Year 4. An outburst of dissatisfaction eventually led to Phillips’ getting waived by Miami.
Buffalo quickly picked up their division-rival’s scraps, claiming Phillips off of waivers. He played mostly as a rotation player with the Bills as he finished out his fourth season. In 2019, Phillips rewarded Buffalo for their faith in him, accompanying his nine starts that year with 9.5 sacks, 13 tackles for loss, and 16 quarterback hits — all career-highs by a wide margin.
Phillips leveraged a career year into a three-year contract with the Cardinals. He was a full-time starter during his time in Arizona, but injuries limited him to only 18 games over two years. His limited playing time would lead the Cardinals to release him, allowing the Bills to pick him up once again. Phillips was eased back into a rotation as he continued to play through injuries in Buffalo, starting only one game in 2022. He made nine starts last season but continued to play on a rotational snap count throughout the year.
After briefly considering retirement, Phillips signed with the Giants this offseason. ESPN’s Jordan Raanan tells us that New York has really liked what they’ve seen so far from some young defensive linemen like Elijah Chatman and D.J. Davidson, while Phillips had yet to make much of an impact this summer. Pat Leonard of the NY Daily News echoed this sentiment, claiming that it wasn’t very likely that Phillips was going to make their roster, so a pick swap was a nice consolation prize for a veteran free agent signing that didn’t pan out.
In Dallas, most of the injury issues have been coming at end. Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News reports that regular defensive tackles Chauncey Golston and Viliami Fehoko have been moved to defensive end to cover for the absences, so it makes sense that the Cowboys were on the lookout for someone to help fill out the middle. With players like Mazi Smith, Osa Odighizuwa, and Carl Davis leading the position at the moment, Phillips provides some much-needed veteran, starting experience as a depth piece.
Panthers To Sign S Rudy Ford
The Packers spent big for Xavier McKinney at safety. Their three primary options from 2023 are now each with other teams. Following Darnell Savage and Jonathan Owens, Rudy Ford now has a gig.
Ford agreed to terms with the Panthers on Wednesday, The Athletic’s Joe Person tweets. The veteran DB spent the past two seasons in Green Bay, starting 15 games. He will join a Panthers team that has seen some turnover at safety.
Carolina released Vonn Bell after one season, adding ex-Ejiro Evero Rams charge Jordan Fuller. The team also brought in fellow ex-Evero L.A. cog Nick Scott, whom the Bengals cut this offseason. Ford has no experience with Evero, though he did work with former Evero coworker Joe Barry in Green Bay.
The Packers turned to Ford as a regular over the past two seasons, marking a role increase compared to a nomadic start to his career. Playing five seasons split between Arizona, Philadelphia and Jacksonville, Ford started six games in that span. He worked with Savage during both Packers seasons, intercepting five passes.
Pro Football Focus graded Ford just outside the top 30 among safety regulars last season. The 49ers brought the 29-year-old defender in for a recent workout but did not sign him. He will bring more experience to a unit that also houses Xavier Woods, who is going into his second season with the team.
Rams Waive K Tanner Brown; Rookie Joshua Karty Wins Kicking Competition
The Rams have settled on their starting kicker. The team announced that they’ve waived Tanner Brown, meaning sixth-round rookie Joshua Karty has won the kicker competition.
Karty is coming off a standout career at Stanford. The kicker earned a pair of first-team All American nods while converting 85 percent of his field goal attempts and 98.6 percent of his extra point tries. That performance helped elevate him above the standard grouping of undrafted kickers, with Karty being the first kicker off the board (and one of only two overall alongside Cam Little) during the 2024 draft.
The rookie had an especially strong showing during the Rams’ preseason opener. Karty connected on both of his field goal attempts plus the game-winning extra point. Most notably, he got all of the team’s looks at the position, so the writing was on the wall for the other kicker on the roster.
Brown went undrafted out of Oklahoma State last offseason. He spent the entirety of his rookie campaign on the Rams practice squad, failing to leap the likes of Lucas Havrisik and Brett Maher. Brown should get another shot following 2021 and 2022 campaigns where he nailed 88.6 percent of his FG tries.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/13/24
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: WR Daylen Baldwin, RB Hassan Hall
- Released (with injury settlement): WR Jeff Smith
Atlanta Falcons
- Placed on PUP: RB Robert Burns
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: RB John Kelly
- Waived (with injury settlement): LB Quincy Roche
Buffalo Bills
- Waived-injured: WR Bryan Thompson
Carolina Panthers
- Released from IR (with injury settlements): OT J.D. DiRenzo, TE Curtis Hodges
Denver Broncos
- Re-signed: LB Alec Mock
Detroit Lions
- Signed: CB Essang Bassey
- Waived-injured: LB DaRon Gilbert
- Reverted to IR: WR Antoine Green
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: LB Chris Russell
- Released from IR (with injury settlement): CB Don Callis
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: LB Savion Jackson, LB Shaq Quarterman
- Waived: TE Ben Mason, CB Chris Wilcox
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: LB Jordan Kunaszyk
- Waived-injured: LB Jabril Cox
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: CB Kaleb Ford-Dement
- Waived: RB Zander Horvath
- Released from IR (with injury settlement): WR Jermaine Jackson
New York Jets
- Released from IR (with injury settlement): WR Hamze El-Zayat
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Waived-injured: WR Tarik Black
Seattle Seahawks
- Released from IR (with injury settlement): NT Matthew Gotel
Raiders Sign QB Nathan Peterman
Nathan Peterman‘s NFL journey has landed him back with the Raiders. The organization announced today that they’ve signed the veteran quarterback. In a corresponding move, the team waived/injured wide receiver Keelan Doss.
Peterman is most known for tossing five interceptions during the first half of his NFL debut, but he’s since garnered a reputation as a steady backup QB. He had a nearly four-year stint with the Raiders, making only brief cameos in relief of Derek Carr. He also had a two-year stay with the Bears between 2022 and 2023. In total, Peterman has gone 1-4 in his five career starts.
The veteran signed with the Saints back in March but was cut loose earlier this month. The Raiders will now take a chance on a player who’s not only familiar with the organization, but also the playbook. As Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal observes, Peterson played the last two seasons in Chicago under new Raiders OC Luke Getsy, so it shouldn’t take the QB long to get his feet wet.
Bonsignore notes that Peterman might have simply been added to soak up preseason snaps. However, he could also provide an upgrade at QB3 over the likes of Anthony Brown Jr. and UDFA Carter Bradley (and behind Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell).
Doss has bounced around the NFL since going undrafted in 2019, including a handful of stints with the Raiders. He most recently spent two years with the Chargers, hauling in six catches for 33 yards.
Jaguars Activate DL Arik Armstead
Arik Armstead missed the beginning of training camp while recovering from a torn meniscus suffered midway through the 2023 campaign. The veteran defensive lineman is now able to return to practice, however; Armstead was activated from the PUP list on Tuesday, per a team announcement. 
[RELATED: Recapping Jaguars’ Offseason]
The longtime 49er spent his first nine seasons in the league with San Francisco. Armstead was set to play out the final year of his deal in 2024, but the 49ers’ efforts to have him accept a pay cut were unsuccessful. As a result, the team moved forward with his release, setting up a notable free agent spell. Armstead drew interest from multiple teams, but he ultimately decided to join the Jaguars.
The 30-year-old landed a three-year, $43.5MM deal featuring $28MM in guarantees. Armstead will thus be expected to play a key role along the defensive interior for his new team. Jacksonville is set atop the depth chart on the edge with Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker, but the team sought out a D-lineman to pair with DaVon Hamilton when negotiating with Armstead. The latter is a veteran of 97 starts.
Armstead recorded five sacks last season despite being limited to 12 games. That was the third time in his career he posted at least five sacks, and making an impact in the passing game would be key in the Jaguars phase of his career. The former first-rounder has posted between 11 and 18 quarterback hits in five of the past six seasons; duplicating that production should be expected provided he can remain healthy.
With two preseason games remaining, the Jaguars will have multiple opportunities to have Armstead see game reps before the campaign kicks off. Even if he is limited to training camp work, though, he will have time to get up to speed in time for Week 1.
Eagles Activate DB Cooper DeJean
The Eagles’ new-look secondary should be at full strength in time for the start of the regular season. Second-round rookie Cooper DeJean was activated from the active/NFI list on Tuesday, per a team announcement. 
Philadelphia’s ability to improve against the pass compared to 2023 will be key factor in the team’s success this season. DeJean figures to have a role in that regard, even if he does not earn a starting gig right away. The Iowa product has experience at both corner and safety dating back to his college career, one which ended with a fractured fibula. That ailment delayed his pre-draft workouts but it did not do much damage to his stock. He had been rehabbing a hamstring injury prior to today’s activation.
DeJean was selected with the No. 40 pick, Philadelphia’s second selection (and one which the team traded up to acquire). The first was used on cornerback Quinyon Mitchell, who is likely to handle first-team duties during his rookie campaign. Mitchell is capable of playing on the boundary opposite Darius Slay or in the slot, a spot typically reserved for Avonte Maddox. James Bradberry remains in the fold, but he is transitioning from corner to safety.
The Eagles brought back C.J. Gardner-Johnson this offseason, and he is set to log a heavy workload at safety. Philadelphia also has Mekhi Garner and Sydney Brown at that spot, although they are all dealing with injuries for the time being. Caden Sterns was added this weekend, so DeJean will have plenty of competition for playing time if he is used at safety upon returning to action.
The All-American racked up seven interceptions and 13 pass breakups over the past two years, demonstrating his production when healthy. DeJean will now have a brief stretch to prepare himself for his NFL debut in Week 1. He indicated (via PHLY’s Zach Berman) the Eagles’ third preseason game is a realistic target to return to action in advance of playing at full health in September.
Dolphins To Release DT Teair Tart
Zach Sieler‘s presence notwithstanding, the Dolphins will feature a new-look defensive line this season. Christian Wilkins and Raekwon Davis exited in free agency, opening two starting jobs. In a surprising early decision, the Dolphins moved on from a competitor for one of those posts.
Miami released veteran D-tackle Teair Tart on Tuesday, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter. The Dolphins are the second team to bail on Tart since December, when the Titans cut the former starter. Tart was one of many free agent D-line options Miami added this offseason, and after being waived in December, the now-vested veteran will head straight to free agency.
The Dolphins will eat $568K in dead money (due to guarantees) after this release. They had signed Tart to a one-year deal worth $1.75MM in early April.
The Titans placed a second-round RFA tender on Tart last year but bailed on the 36-game starter after 11 games last season. The Texans claimed the former fifth-round pick but used him as a backup in two late-season contests. Tart generated interest beyond Miami this offseason, and the 27-year-old run stuffer will need to find a new home. Though, his value has dipped since his 16-game run as the Titans’ nose tackle starter back in 2022.
Pro Football Focus graded Tart as a top-25 interior D-lineman in 2022; this came after he had started 10 games for a 2021 Titans team that claimed the AFC’s No. 1 seed. Operating as more of a run defender on a D-line with Jeffery Simmons and Denico Autry, Tart still did well coming from a fifth-round draft slot. Despite playing in only 11 Titans games last season, he registered a career-high eight tackles for loss. It would stand to reason another team will give the Florida International alum another shot soon.
A recent report pointed to Tart competing with Benito Jones for Miami’s NT job. Tuesday morning’s news obviously strengthens Jones’ standing, and the Dolphins made several adds post-Wilkins this offseason. The team signed Calais Campbell this summer and added recent Broncos part-time starter Jonathan Harris. Former Cowboys third-round pick Neville Gallimore is on the roster, as is ex-Tart Titans teammate Da’Shawn Hand. As it stands now, Jones is positioned as a starter alongside Campbell and Sieler, in Anthony Weaver‘s defense.
Commanders Sign WR Martavis Bryant, Waive K Ramiz Ahmed
Add Martavis Bryant to the list of recent Cowboys following Dan Quinn to Washington. After a second meeting with the Commanders, the veteran wide receiver secured another comeback opportunity.
Bryant, who has not played a regular-season game since 2018, spent much of last season on the Cowboys’ practice squad. He joins Tyler Biadasz, Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler as players on the 2023 Cowboys who are now part of the Commanders’ 2024 roster. Of course, the March signees have locked-in paths to playing time. Bryant has merely scored another chance to compete.
To make room on their 90-man roster, the Commanders cut kicker Ramiz Ahmed. Entering camp as the team’s only kicker, Ahmed saw his status change when the team claimed Riley Patterson. Ahmed has kicked in one career game. He will lose a kicking competition to a much more experienced player.
Although Bryant caught on with the Cowboys during Quinn’s Dallas finale, the team never elevated him onto its active roster. This sent the former Steelers and Raiders pass catcher to another crossroads, as he is now 32. The NFL reinstated Bryant last year, after he had been suspended for substance abuse — during a 2011 CBA that brought stricter penalties on this front — back in 2018.
The Cowboys also cut Bryant in May, after having given him a reserve/futures contract to extend his redevelopment. But the 6-foot-4 weapon has continued to generate interest. As could be expected, Quinn said (via NBC Sports Washington’s JP Finlay) he was impressed with Bryant on Dallas’ P-squad last year.
Bryant’s initial NFL run included extended flashes, mostly in Pittsburgh, that still have league personnel intrigued. Suspended in 2015, 2016 and 2018, Bryant still totaled 17 touchdowns (all with the Steelers) during his interrupted early years. He produced two 600-plus-yard seasons, including a 765-yard 2015 showing opposite Antonio Brown that came in just 11 games. Bryant followed that up with an acrobatic TD in a Steelers wild-card win over the Bengals. Being unable to follow that up — thanks to a full-season ban in 2016 — came to define the Clemson alum’s career.
Bryant resurfaced in the XFL’s third effort in 2023. The Cowboys enjoyed good luck from spring-league imports recently, adding All-Pro kicker Brandon Aubrey and Pro Bowl return man KaVontae Turpin from the USFL. Quinn’s new team will try its luck with Bryant, who is certainly running short on time to make an NFL return. Beyond their Terry McLaurin–Jahan Dotson–Luke McCaffrey trio, the Commanders carry Jamison Crowder, fourth-year player Dyami Brown and the recently re-signed Byron Pringle.
The Commanders added Ahmed shortly after releasing Brandon McManus in June. The Jaguars’ decision to waive Patterson early in training camp led to him being claimed once again. Kicking in 39 games since 2021, the well-traveled specialist is now the only kicker on Washington’s 90-man roster.