HEADLINES

Year: 2024

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/16/21

November 16th, 2021 at 5:19pm CST by Zachary Links

Keeping tabs on the latest taxi squad moves:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Football Team

Saints Sign K Brett Maher To Practice Squad

November 16th, 2021 at 5:02pm CST by Sam Robinson

Having used three Wil Lutz replacement kickers this season, the Saints might be preparing to try a fourth. Brett Maher is back on the team’s practice squad, as of Tuesday.

While Maher has not been one of the kickers the Saints have tried this year, he was with the team during the preseason. New Orleans had Maher on its roster for a week in August but moved on before the regular season began. A Maher groin injury led to his quick New Orleans departure. With yet another kicker scuffling, the Saints may be set to give Maher his first game action in nearly two years.

[RELATED: Saints’ Lutz Done For Year]

The Saints have tried Cody Parkey, Aldrick Rosas and Brian Johnson this season. Johnson has been the team’s kicker for the past four games. He is 8-for-8 on field goal tries but has missed three extra points in eight attempts — including two misfires that made a big impact in Sunday’s loss to the Titans.

Maher, 31, has not kicked since the Cowboys cut him late in the 2019 season. He has been through numerous workouts and non-game-day stays with teams since. Between his Dallas exit and Saints signing in August, Maher was with the Jets, Washington, Texans and Cardinals. He has not been on a team this season.

Although Maher has limited experience for a 2013 UDFA, he was the first kicker in NFL history to have made three 60-plus-yard field goals. The Nebraska-Kearney alum and ex-CFL leg missed 10 field goals prior to the Cowboys cutting him in 2019. However, despite having spent his entire career kicking from the NFL’s modern PAT distance, the veteran kicker is 68-for-69 on extra points.

49ers Waive CB Dre Kirkpatrick

November 16th, 2021 at 3:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

A late roster replacement earlier this season, Dre Kirkpatrick is now on the waiver wire for the first time. The 49ers moved on from the veteran cornerback Tuesday.

The former first-round pick played in six 49ers games this season, making one start for a team that has dealt with some injury issues at corner over the past two months. Despite vested-veteran status, Kirkpatrick will head to waivers because the trade deadline has passed.

Kirkpatrick did not play Monday night due to an ankle injury, one that kept him out of practice throughout last week. Kirkpatrick, 32, has been with the Cardinals and 49ers since his eight-season Bengals run wrapped after the 2019 season. He made 11 starts for the Cards last year.

San Francisco used Emmanuel Moseley and Josh Norman as its outside cornerback starters against the Rams. The team also drafted two corners — Ambry Thomas (Round 3) and Deommodore Lenoir (Round 5) — this year. Kirkpatrick ended up playing 25% of San Francisco’s defensive snaps this season and was a special teams regular.

Although Kirkpatrick has bounced around since his Cincinnati stint ended, several teams were interested in him this offseason. Prior to his Sept. 13 49ers signing, Kirkpatrick visited the Patriots, Saints and Texans. The Alabama product allowed a 129.9 passer rating while in coverage this year — well up from his number with the Cardinals — but may draw interest for a late-season role elsewhere.

Derek Wolfe Will Not Play This Season

November 16th, 2021 at 3:45pm CST by Sam Robinson

Sidelined during the season’s first half, Derek Wolfe will not end up playing at all for the Ravens in 2021. 

Wolfe has missed extensive time due to hip and back injuries. Although he returned to practice late last month, his 21-day window to be officially activated closed Tuesday. He is now back on IR and must remain there for the rest of the season.

Harbaugh said he does not “understand [the situation] completely,” per Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com, but the veteran defensive lineman was “not in a place” where a return this season is possible.

The 10th-year D-lineman practiced just once during his IR-return window and is set to miss a full season for the first time in his career. Wolfe has dealt with injuries for much of his NFL run but has never previously missed more than five regular-season games. This news comes months after the Ravens re-signed him on a three-year, $12MM deal.

One of many starters from the Broncos’ dominant 2015 defense still active, Wolfe played eight seasons in Denver and wanted to return on a third contract. But the Broncos went in a different direction in 2020, leading Wolfe to Baltimore. He started eight games for last season’s playoff-bound Ravens squad, making 51 tackles and registering just one sack. Wolfe and Calais Campbell represented key veteran additions for last year’s team, but the former’s career is at a crossroads after this news.

The Ravens guaranteed Wolfe $8.5MM. It will be interesting if they are still interested in the former second-round pick returning in 2022 for his age-32 season. A near-$4MM dead-money hit would come if Wolfe is released.

Lions To Sign K Riley Patterson Off Patriots’ Practice Squad

November 16th, 2021 at 2:28pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although the Lions no longer have ex-Patriot staffers running their operation, they still looked to the New England roster to help their kicking situation.

The Lions are signing kicker Riley Patterson off the Patriots’ practice squad, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets. The team is restocking its kicker situation, with the Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett adding (via Twitter) the team is signing Aldrick Rosas to its practice squad. Detroit placed Austin Seibert on IR on Saturday.

By rule, Patterson must remain on the Lions’ active roster for at least three weeks. The former Memphis kicker will replace Ryan Santoso here. Santoso is now off Detroit’s practice squad.

Santoso kicked in three games for the Lions, his fourth team this year, and went 5-for-6 on extra points and 2-for-3 on field goals. The missed field goal came during Sunday’s tie game in Pittsburgh, which certainly did not feature optimal kicking conditions. Santoso has been with the Giants, Panthers, Titans and Lions this year.

Patterson entered the league as a Vikings UDFA in May but bounced to the Patriots last month. Minnesota cut him from its IR via injury settlement in August. Patterson has yet to kick in an NFL game but spent the previous four seasons as Memphis’ kicker. He made 92% of his field goal tries as a junior in 2019 but saw his make rate plummet to 68% last season. Patterson will be the Lions’ third kicker this year, following Seibert and Santoso.

Santoso joined the Giants a few months after they waived Rosas, who has since bounced to the Jaguars and Saints. New Orleans moved on from the former Pro Bowler earlier this season. Rosas kicked in four games with the Saints, making 1 of 4 field goal attempts.

Ravens To Release Le’Veon Bell

November 16th, 2021 at 1:22pm CST by Zachary Links

The Ravens are releasing Le’Veon Bell, per an announcement from the running back himself. As a post-trade-deadline cut, he’ll be subject to the waiver wire before potentially reaching the open market. 

“This hurts, but it’s been a blessing to be here to say the least,” Bell tweeted. “I’ve enjoyed every second of this short period and got a whole new meaning of what this city is like..it’s a great place to be. I appreciate [GM Eric DeCosta] and [head coach] John Harbaugh for the opportunity to be called a Raven.”

[RELATED: Ravens Activate TE Nick Boyle]

While a reunion is possible, per Harbaugh, Bell’s 2.7-yard average this season does not present considerable upside. Bell joined the Ravens’ taxi squad in early September and earned a promotion to the varsity squad soon after. The 29-year-old has appeared in a total of five games this season, collecting 31 touches for 83 yards and two touchdowns.

“I really appreciate everything about him: professionalism, attitude, work ethic,” Harbaugh said, via ESPN.com’s Jamison Hensley. “Being around him is a joy every single day. He’s really a great guy and he helped us.”

Bell has had issues holding a job since his famed 2018 holdout. No longer producing like his old All-Pro self, he was limited to just 466 yards between the Jets and Chiefs last year. Still, he did register more than 1,000 all-purpose yards with Gang Green in 2019.

The Ravens were expected to use Bell quite a bit following injuries to J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards, and Justice Hill. Instead, they’ll stick to the rest of their RBs — Devonta Freeman, Ty’Son Williams, and Latavius Murray.

Chiefs To Promote Shane Buechele

November 16th, 2021 at 10:35am CST by Zachary Links

The Chiefs are promoting quarterback Shane Buechele from the practice squad to the 53-man roster, according to Adam Caplan of SiriusXM (on Twitter). The move is being made to prevent the Cardinals from poaching him this week (Twitter link via Field Yates of ESPN.com).

The Cardinals could use the extra insurance under center as Kyler Murray and Colt McCoy are both dealing with injuries. Murray’s status for this week is in doubt, thanks to his lingering ankle issue. Meanwhile, McCoy is still working through the pectoral injury he suffered on Sunday. If neither player is ready in time, QB3 Chris Streveler will likely start against the Seahawks.

Murray’s injury doesn’t seem all that serious, but the Cardinals are taking a cautious approach. They don’t want a repeat of last year, when the QB tried to fight through his shoulder trouble.

“That was a nagging situation last year,” Kingsbury said (via the team website). “(Kyler) played through it and kind of toughed it out. But he probably wasn’t able to be 100 percent the back of the season. So, this year we want to make sure he can feel as good as possible. We have the bye coming up, and hopefully, that gives him more time to recover and hit that home stretch. If he can play Sunday, he will play, but we want to be smart with him.”

Now, the Cardinals will have to look elsewhere for help. The Chiefs, for now, will have two backups behind Patrick Mahomes in Buechele and Chad Henne.

Cardinals, Devon Kennard Rework Deal

November 16th, 2021 at 8:34am CST by Zachary Links

The Cardinals converted $2.6MM of outside linebacker Devon Kennard‘s base salary into a bonus, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The move will carve out an additional $1.725MM in cap space for Arizona this year while kicking an equal amount on to their 2022 books. 

[RELATED: Cardinals Place Edmonds On IR]

Before the adjustment, the Cardinals had just ~$700K in cap room, according to Over The Cap. Now, they have a little extra space to make depth signings in the second half of the year.

The Lions cut Kennard in March of 2020, a surprise move given his 14 sacks across 2018 and 2019. The Cardinals gladly picked him up, signing him to a three-year, $20MM deal with $12MM in guarantees. He recorded just three sacks in 2020 and has yet to notch a sack this year, but Pro Football Focus has him ranked as one of the league’s best edge defenders, tied for 12th with Vikings standout Danielle Hunter.

The Cardinals fell to 8-2 on the year after Sunday’s loss to the Panthers, but they’re still atop the NFC West and tied for the NFC’s best record with the Packers. They’ll look to get back in the win column on Sunday when they face the Seahawks in Seattle.

Trevor Siemian To Remain Saints Starting QB?

November 15th, 2021 at 10:48pm CST by Ben Levine

With Jameis Winston done for the season, third-string QB Trevor Siemian has earned the last two starts for the Saints. Even with Taysom Hill fully recovered from his concussion, it sounds like Siemian could retain his starting gig. Per Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, the journeyman QB “has an opportunity to remain in place” as New Orleans looks to make a playoff push.

In three games this season, Siemian has completed only 57.7 percent of his pass attempts, but the 29-year-old has thrown for 706 yards, five touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Sean Payton hasn’t definitively stated a plan at the position moving forward, and while Hill will remain a natural part of the offense, Siemian’s ability to (somewhat) replicate Drew Brees‘ offense makes him the favorite to keep the top spot on the depth chart (per La Canfora).

The Saints made a sizable commitment to Hill this offseason when they inked the Swiss Army Knife to what amounted to a one-year, ~$12MM extension. Hill has already seen four starts at QB this season, completing seven of his eight passes attempts for 56 yards and one interception. He also has 20 carries for 104 yards and three touchdowns, and he’s added another four receptions for 52 yards.

Meanwhile, Winston underwent successful surgery on his left knee last week, per Jeff Duncan of NOLA.com. The surgery repaired a torn ACL and a “damaged’ MCL, and he’s already been released from the hospital.

Titans Waive OL Bobby Hart, DL Amani Bledsoe

November 15th, 2021 at 8:32pm CST by Ben Levine

The Titans moved on from two players today. The team announced that they’ve waived offensive lineman Bobby Hart and defensive lineman Amani Bledsoe.

Hart has managed to stick around the NFL for seven seasons despite being selected in the seventh round of the 2015 draft. The lineman started 21 games for the Giants between the 2015 and 2017 seasons, and he later started 45 games (of 46 appearances) for the Bengals between 2018 and 2020. Hart was released by the Bengals back in March, and he’s spent most of the 2021 campaign on the Bills and Dolphins practice squad.

The 27-year-old joined the Titans back in October, and he started a game for the team while filling in for injured offensive tackles Taylor Lewan and Kendall Lamm. Hart ultimately saw time in three total games during his stint in Tennessee.

Bledsoe joined the Titans as an undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma in 2019, and after starting four of his 14 games with the Bengals in 2020, he returned to the Titans (via the practice squad) back in September. The 23-year-old saw time in five games (two starts) for the Titans this season, collecting a single tackle.

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