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Minor NFL Transactions: 8/31/23

August 31st, 2023 at 8:38pm CST by Ben Levine

Following a busy roster deadline day on Tuesday, teams continue to reshuffle their rosters. Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

  • Placed on IR: TE Stephen Sullivan

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Chargers

New York Giants

New York Jets

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

The Ravens brought back a trio of veterans to their 53-man roster. Brent Urban is probably destined for the biggest role, with the veteran lineman serving as the top backup to Broderick Washington at defensive end. Urban got into 16 games for Baltimore last season, collecting 21 tackles and one sack. Veteran QB Josh Johnson will slide behind Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley on the depth chart, and Kevon Seymour will continue his role as a key special teamer.

The Cardinals are temporarily losing some production with offensive lineman Dennis Daley and linebacker Myjai Sanders being placed on IR. Daley joined the Cardinals on a two-year deal this offseason after starting 15 of his 17 appearances for the Titans in 2022. Sanders had a productive rookie campaign, with the third-round pick collecting 23 tackles, three sacks, and one forced fumble.

Julian Okwara has turned into a productive pass-rushing option in Detroit. The former third-round pick has collected seven sacks over the past two seasons, but he’ll now be sidelined for the start of the season while recovering from a knee injury suffered during in the preseason finale.

Five Teams Placed Claims On WR Elijah Higgins

August 31st, 2023 at 5:48pm CST by Ben Levine

Elijah Higgins was a popular name on the waiver wire yesterday before he ultimately landed with the Cardinals. According to ESPN’s Field Yates (via Twitter), the Colts, Titans, Commanders, and Packers also tried to claim the receiver.

It’s not a surprise that there’s plenty of intrigue in the Stanford product. Higgins had productive 2021 and 2022 campaigns, hauling in 104 receptions for 1,204 yards and six touchdowns. Thanks to that performance, the former four-star recruit found himself on the NFL radar, and the Dolphins ended up using a sixth-round pick on him during this past year’s draft.

However, Higgins found himself joining a deep receivers room in Miami. The rookie still had a shot at making the roster, but Miami ended up rolling with the likes of Braxton Berrios, Cedrick Wilson, Erik Ezukanma, and River Cracraft to round out the WRs room behind Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.

Higgins could have a chance to contribute in Arizona, though it’d likely require an injury for him to see a significant role on offense. Behind Marquise Brown and Rondale Moore, the Cardinals are rostering Zach Pascal, rookie Michael Wilson, and Greg Dortch.

Per Fields, Higgins was one of only two players to earn more than two waivers claims. The other was new Texans lineman Nick Broeker, who also drew interest from the Cardinals, Titans, and Giants.

Wednesday NFL Transactions: NFC West

August 30th, 2023 at 3:27pm CST by Sam Robinson

Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline Tuesday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters. In addition to waiver claims, teams can begin constructing their 16-man practice squads today. These 49ers, Cardinals, Rams and Seahawks moves are noted below.

Arizona Cardinals

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Los Angeles Rams

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

San Francisco 49ers

Placed on IR:

Signed: 

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Seattle Seahawks

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad: 

Cardinals Get Down To 53 Players

August 29th, 2023 at 7:04pm CST by Ely Allen

The source of some strange, unpredicted preseason trades in the past few weeks, the Cardinals have been busy trying to figure out the 53-man roster they’ll open the season with. While some of their biggest cuts came in the days leading up to the deadline and the team is likely to continue making adjustments leading up to opening day, here are the cuts made to officially set team’s initial 53-man roster:

Waived:

Released:

Placed on IR:

Waived/injured:

Veteran running back Clement and former Ravens standout Williams both fell victim to a resurgent Keaontay Ingram, who surpassed them both on the depth chart after getting healthy. That means a roster spot for undrafted rookie Emari Demercado, who will get to reap the unfortunate benefit of Marlon Mack‘s season-ending injury. He’s joined by undrafted wide receiver Daniel Arias and tight end Blake Whiteheart.

The release of the long-time Cardinals long snapper, Brewer, comes as a bit of a surprise as the only other long snapper on the roster, undrafted rookie Matt Hembrough, is currently on injured reserve. They’ll likely target a free agent who is left available after cut day.

Quarterback Kyler Murray was not moved from the physically unable to perform list, nor was cornerback Garrett Williams moved from the non-football injury list. Both will attempt to make returns shortly after the start of the season. Rookie backup center Gaines’ first NFL season is unfortunately over before it could begin after sustaining a knee injury in the team’s preseason finale.

Cardinals Release QB Colt McCoy; Kyler Murray To Begin Season On PUP List

August 28th, 2023 at 10:58pm CST by Rory Parks

Per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, Cardinals QB Kyler Murray will begin 2023 on the reserve/PUP list, which will require him to miss at least the first four games of the season. The bigger surprise is that Colt McCoy, who spent the past two seasons as Murray’s backup in Arizona, has been released, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.

Murray, of course, is the club’s franchise passer, and he signed a massive contract extension last July. But he suffered an ACL tear and a torn meniscus late in the 2022 season, and while there was some initial optimism that he would be cleared for Week 1 of the upcoming campaign, it had become increasingly apparent that would not be the case. As Arizona is clearly in rebuild mode — and perhaps in line for the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 draft — it simply does not make sense for the team to rush Murray back onto the field.

Even after the recent trade that brought Josh Dobbs to the desert, the expectation was that McCoy would open the season as the Cardinals’ starting signal-caller, with Dobbs serving as his backup and fifth-round rookie Clayton Tune as the third-stringer. On the other hand, new Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing worked as the Browns’ quarterbacks coach in 2022, when Dobbs was on the Cleveland roster, so there is some familiarity there. Additionally, McCoy’s 2022 season was cut short due to a concussion, and he spent time on IR with a calf injury prior to that. An elbow problem sidelined McCoy at the outset of this year’s offseason program.

The McCoy release creates $1.5MM of cap space for the Cardinals while leaving the club with a dead money charge of $3.5MM, as Mike Jurecki of Arizona Football Daily observes. As such, it seems clear that the move was not financially motivated and was instead designed to give younger players who might have longer futures with the team more of an opportunity.

McCoy, who will turn 37 next month, contemplated retirement this offseason. It is now fair to wonder if he will hang up the cleats or search for another opportunity to extend his playing career. The Texas product has started 36 games in the NFL, and though his 11-25 record as a starter is obviously uninspiring, he has had stretches of quality play. In 2021, for instance, he started three games in relief of an injured Murray and went 2-1 while completing 74.7% of his passes for three TDs against one interception.

Cardinals Place OL Pat Elflein On IR

August 28th, 2023 at 6:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

Injuries have dogged Pat Elflein since his Minnesota days. The veteran interior offensive lineman is back on IR as of Monday. This designation takes Elflein out of the Cardinals’ mix.

Elflein, who signed with the Cardinals just before training camp, will not be carried over to the team’s 53-man roster. While Elflein has made a few trips to IR during his career, being placed on the injury list before the season — thus, exempting him from an in-season activation — is new territory for the former Vikings, Jets and Panthers starter.

Signing Elflein to a one-year, $1.15MM contract, the Cardinals guaranteed him just $25K. The seventh-year veteran will likely receive an injury settlement and be jettisoned from Arizona’s IR list. Injury waivers existed in this contract for hip and ankle issues, which have led to past Elflein absences. Elflein, 29, missed practice time ahead of Arizona’s third preseason game. Both Jonathan Gannon and OC Drew Petzing were in Minnesota during part of Elflein’s Vikings career.

Formerly the Vikings’ starting center, Elflein hit Minnesota’s IR in September 2020. After the Vikes cut him later that year, Elflein scored a three-year, $13.5MM Panthers pact. He was back on IR in September 2021 and again in October 2022. The center/guard missed 11 games last season, going down with a hip injury in October. A Cards settlement would allow Elflein to resurface elsewhere when he heals up, but it is safe to say the 64-game starter’s career is at a crossroads.

The Cardinals are now without two notable veterans on their O-line; they dealt Josh Jones to the Texans during their three-trade Thursday. Jones worked as D.J. Humphries‘ primary fill-in last season. With Humphries back, the Cardinals have gone Humphries-Elijah Wilkinson–Hjalte Froholdt–Will Hernandez-Paris Johnson up front since training camp started.

Arizona also released defensive backs Nate Hairston and Sean Chandler. Teams have until 3pm CT on Tuesday to cut their rosters to 53 players. Hairston, who has 18 career starts at cornerback, played in two Cards games last season. A sixth-year safety who has seen action with the Giants and Panthers, Chandler has seven career starts on his resume.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/25/23

August 25th, 2023 at 8:02pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are today’s minor moves heading into the final weekend of preseason games this year:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Signed: C Cohl Cabral

Baltimore Ravens

  • Waived from IR with injury settlement: WR Shemar Bridges

Buffalo Bills

  • Released from IR with injury settlement: DE Shane Ray

Carolina Panthers

Houston Texans

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

Pittsburgh Steelers

Ray’s unlikely return to the NFL will have to wait a bit longer, it seems. Having not appeared in an NFL regular season game since 2018, Ray’s opportunity in Buffalo has come to an end. His bid to play alongside former Broncos teammate Von Miller will fall short due to injury.

Zentner is likely a short-term signing for Houston, who lost punter Cameron Johnston to a tweaked calf. Johnston shouldn’t need long to get back to the field, but Zentner will be asked to fill in for the team’s preseason game against the Saints this weekend.

Browns To Trade QB Josh Dobbs To Cardinals

August 24th, 2023 at 10:52pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Cardinals are still not done on the trade front. Arizona is on the acquiring end of a deal this time, however. The Browns are trading quarterback Josh Dobbs and a 2024 seventh-round pick to the Cardinals for a 2024 fifth-rounder (Twitter link via Tom Pelissero of NFL Network). CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones was the first to report (via Twitter) that Dobbs was on his way to the desert.

Jones adds that that Kellen Mond has not, in fact, been placed on waivers. Such a move was announced by the team earlier today, but with Dobbs no longer in the fold, the Browns will retain Mond to keep three quarterbacks on the roster. Most significantly, this news confirms that rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson has done enough to win the backup job behind Deshaun Watson.

This move ends a second Dobbs tenure early. The Browns had rostered Dobbs as their Jacoby Brissett backup last year, but Watson’s return from suspension led to the team cutting him. Dobbs ended up in Detroit and then Tennessee, where he was immediately called upon to start (over Malik Willis) in the Titans’ final two games. Now, the veteran reserve, months after rejoining the Browns on a one-year deal worth $2MM, will join a Cardinals team that came into the day with five QBs rostered. The move points to Kyler Murray remaining on Arizona’s PUP list to start the season.

The trade also comes not long after Kevin Stefanski (via cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot) had named Dobbs as their backup. That was believed to be the plan all along, with the seventh-year vet operating as QB2 as Thompson-Robinson developed. This move will still allow for Thompson-Robinson to grow behind Watson, though an injury to the starter would throw the fifth-round rookie into the fire.

Although Colt McCoy, David Blough, Jeff Driskel and fifth-round rookie Clayton Tune are on Arizona’s roster, the Cardinals brought in Dobbs, who has a history with new OC Drew Petzing. The Browns’ QBs coach last year will bring in Dobbs as McCoy insurance, per ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss (on Twitter). McCoy’s season ended early because of a concussion last year, and he went on IR with another issue prior to that. An elbow problem sidelined McCoy to start this offseason program as well. The 14th-year veteran is going into his age-37 season. Under contract for one more year, McCoy considered retirement this offseason.

To start the year, the Cards’ depth chart will likely be McCoy-Dobbs-Tune at QB, Weinfuss adds. With Petzing on board as the play-caller, TheLandonDemand.com’s Tony Grossi notes the Cardinals tried to sign Dobbs as a free agent. Thompson-Robinson’s emergence changed the Browns’ thinking regarding their QB depth chart, per Grossi.

Despite Dobbs coming into the league as a 2017 fourth-round pick, he had only attempted 17 passes coming into December of last year. The Titans summoned the rocket scientist, and he completed 69% of his passes in a do-or-die game against a much healthier Jaguars squad. The injury-plagued Titans pushed the Jags in that Week 18 game, with Dobbs throwing for 232 yards and a touchdown. Mired in some QB uncertainty until Murray returns, the Cardinals now have the former Steelers draftee in a familiar system.

Adam La Rose contributed to this post.

Cardinals Trade OL Josh Jones To Texans

August 24th, 2023 at 2:55pm CST by Adam La Rose

A busy day on the trade front for the Cardinals continues. Arizona is sending offensive lineman Josh Jones to the Texans, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The Cardinals (who have now confirmed the deal) will send Jones and a seventh-round pick to Houston for a fifth-rounder (Twitter links).

As is the case with hybrid defender Isaiah Simmons, Jones is entering the final year of his rookie contract. Like Simmons, the Cardinals and new general manager Monti Ossenfort will move on from a Steve Keim-era draftee instead of seeing Jones potentially depart next offseason in free agency.

Jones saw only 55 offensive snaps as a rookie, but he took on a much more significant role in the two years since. The 26-year-old played all 17 games (including 12 starts), and saw time at both right tackle and right guard in 2021. His versatility was showcased to a further degree this past season when he logged 622 snaps, all but 12 of which came at left tackle while filling in for an injured D.J. Humphries.

The former third-rounder earned a career-high PFF grade of 75.8 in 2022, showcasing potential if given a full-time starting opportunity. The Cardinals have Humphries on the books for the next three seasons, however, and first-round rookie Paris Johnson Jr. is set to start right away at right tackle. Kelvin Beachum was retained, and he will now be assured of the swing tackle role. Moving on from Jones will result in $2.74MM in cap savings for the Cardinals.

The move also represents another in what has been a busy offseason along the O-line for the Texans. Both tackle starters (Laremy Tunsil and Tytus Howard) have signed lucrative extensions, and guard Shaq Mason was acquired via trade with the Buccaneers and later signed to a new deal. Jones – a native of Richmond, Texas who played collegiately at Houston – will be in place as a backup to all three of those entrenched starters.

As KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson notes (via Twitter), the Texans are in need of capable depth at the right tackle spot in particular as the regular season approaches. Howard is recovering from hand surgery, and his Week 1 availability remains up in the air. Charlie Heck, meanwhile, will begin the season on the PUP list while dealing with foot and back injuries, per Wilson. That will sideline the former fourth-rounder for at least the first four games of the campaign.

The Cardinals and Texans worked out a trade on Day 1 of the draft which allowed the latter to move up to No. 3 on the board and select Will Anderson. It was the first of two swaps Ossenfort authorized which ultimately resulted in Johnson – the Cardinals’ top target to bolster their O-line – being selected sixth overall. The teams have now partnered once again, with one adding valuable depth and the other adding further to its draft cupboard as part of a full-scale rebuild.

Cardinals Trade Isaiah Simmons To Giants

August 24th, 2023 at 1:08pm CST by Adam La Rose

1:08pm: Providing further details on the financial implications of the deal, Howard Balzer of gophnx.com tweets that Simmons already had a roster bonus of $4.2MM paid out earlier in training camp. That figure, along with the outstanding signing bonus from his rookie contract, will leave Arizona with $5.56MM in cap commitments to their now-former starter. The Cardinals’ only financial savings will be Simmons’ $1.01MM base salary; the Giants will now be on the hook for that amount.

9:38am: Isaiah Simmons‘ time in Arizona is coming to an end. The Cardinals are trading the former first-rounder to the Giants in exchange for a 2024 seventh-round pick, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). The deal is now official.

Expectations were high for Simmons upon arrival in Arizona, after he established himself as a highly athletic and versatile prospect. Finding a permanent spot for the hybrid defender has proven to be difficult in the NFL, however, and the Cardinals are moving on with one year remaining on his rookie contract. His 2023 cap hit sits at just over $6.57MM, and Arizona will see minimal savings with this trade.

The 25-year-old played at linebacker during his first three seasons with the Cardinals. The team declined to pick up his fifth-year option at a rate of $12.7MM after being classified at that position. Simmons later revealed that his move to safety was of his own choosing. Player and team appeared to be headed for at least one more year together, especially to see how effective the position change would prove to be. Instead, new Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort will cut bait with a Steve Keim draftee.

The Giants’ defense played a large role in the team’s surprise run to the divisional round of the playoffs last season, and the unit will again be counted on to be effective under second-year coordinator Don Martindale. New York lost a starting safety in Julian Love during free agency, but there is also plenty of uncertainty for the team at the inside linebacker spot. Former Colt Bobby Okereke is locked into one starting spot at the second level, but the other first-team role has been in the air during the summer.

Simmons could fill in at either spot, and it will be interesting to see if he is used in a similar fashion to how he wished to be deployed in Arizona. On that point, ESPN’s Jordan Raanan tweets the Giants plan to use him at the LB spot. The Clemson alum has filled the statsheet during his career with 258 tackles, 7.5 sacks, seven forced fumbles and four interceptions. Those figure have not translated to strong PFF grades, however, and issues in run defense helped contribute to the Cardinals’ decision to decline his fifth-year option and, now, move on altogether before his contract year began.

The rebuilding Cardinals are eyeing future assets as they look to contend further down the road. Given his age and draft pedigree, it appeared Simmons could have had at least a short-term future with the team, one whose defense already lost corner Byron Murphy and defensive lineman Zach Allen in free agency. That unit will be without another starter now, while the Giants will take a flier and see if Simmons can live up to his draft stock in Year 4. If that takes place, he could prove to be a highly worthwhile acquisition.

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