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.
Bills Audition WR Corey Davis
The Bills have made some changes at wide receiver this week, moving Chase Claypool to IR and bringing in Damiere Byrd. A bigger name is also on Buffalo’s radar, albeit one that has not played in two years.
Former Titans top-five pick Corey Davis worked out for the Bills on Wednesday, ESPN.com’s Field Yates tweets. Davis left the Jets just before last season but revealed interest in returning to the league earlier this year.
The Jets released Davis from their reserve/retired list, opening the door for the six-year veteran to speak with other teams about a comeback. While Davis’ Jets deal did not pan out, the former MAC standout is still in his 20s (29) and looks to catch on somewhere as a presumptive auxiliary option or even a depth piece.
Davis attracted a nice Jets contract (three years, $37.5MM) after totaling a career-high 984 yards in 2020. Injuries slowed the big-bodied wideout in New York, leading to 12 missed games during the two years Davis was on the Jets’ active roster. The Jets were taking their time on an expected pay-cut agreement with Davis last year, but the 209-pound pass catcher instead retired. Evidently interested in resuming his career, Davis tried out for a team effectively resetting at the position.
In addition to Claypool, this Bills offseason included the additions of Curtis Samuel, Mack Hollins and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. The team is trying some free agents as ancillary weapons, with holdover Khalil Shakir and second-rounder Keon Coleman in place as the likely lead options in Josh Allen‘s seventh season. Claypool is now out of the mix, but the Bills are still kicking tires post-Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis.
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
Bills To Sign Damiere Byrd, Ben DiNucci
Damiere Byrd‘s journey around the NFL stopped through Washington this offseason, but the Commanders ended the partnership months after it began. The veteran supporting-caster secured another opportunity Monday, however.
The Bills, who have signed several free agent wideouts this year, added Byrd to that list, per ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler. This will be team No. 8 for Byrd, who will return to the AFC East in an effort to make Buffalo’s 53-man roster or their practice squad. Byrd played for the Patriots in 2020, enjoying his best season. The 10th-year vet worked out for the Bills today, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets.
Rostering Byrd during Cam Newton‘s season at the controls, the Pats received Byrd’s best production. That 604-yard showing is an outlier, though, as the 5-foot-9 target does not have another season north of 400 yards on his resume. Byrd has some return experience, and Fowler references that in connection with this Bills agreement, but not too much. Byrd maxed out at seven kick returns in a season (2017, which included a touchdown return) and topped two punt returns in a season just once (11 in 2018).
This signing also can be added to the Carolina-to-Buffalo pipeline, as Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott were indeed still in Charlotte when Byrd’s career began back in 2015. This once-active pipeline has slowed a bit, as the Bills’ power duo has been in place since 2017, but Byrd represents another member. In between his first Panthers stint, here is Byrd’s journey: Cardinals (2019), Pats (2020), Bears (2021), Falcons (2022), Panthers again (2023), Texans (2023) and Commanders. Byrd averaged 20.6 yards per catch in Atlanta (13/268) and totaled 329 yards in Chicago.
In addition to Byrd, the Bills added Ben DiNucci, per NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero. The Broncos carried DiNucci on their practice squad for most of last season, elevating him to their active roster on a few occasions, but cut the veteran third-stringer weeks after draft week brought in Zach Wilson and Bo Nix. DiNucci, who played in the USFL in 2023, last saw NFL game action in 2020 with the Cowboys.
The former seventh-round pick will join a Bills team that lost Shane Buechele to a neck injury in its preseason opener. DiNucci joins Josh Allen and Mitchell Trubisky as healthy Bills QBs.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/6/24
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: EDGE Marquis Haynes, CB Delonte Hood
Baltimore Ravens
- Activated from NFI: LB Adisa Isaac
Buffalo Bills
- Released from IR: DL David Ugwoegbu
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: DE Marcus Haynes, LB Landon Honeycutt
- Waived: WR Jalen Camp, OT Chukwuma Okorafor
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: LB Darius Harris, DT Albert Huggins, LB Nick Vigil
- Waived: LB Byron Vaughns
- Placed on IR: DE Sam Williams
- Placed on reserve/did not report: WR CeeDee Lamb (story)
Denver Broncos
- Signed: LB Alec Mock
- Waived/injured: LB Ronnie Perkins
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: DE Zach Morton
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: WR Dax Milne
- Waived/injured: DT Tomari Fox
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: QB Luis Perez
- Waived: LB Savion Jackson
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: OL Matt Kaskey, OL Alec Lindstrom
- Waived: TE Neal Johnson, DB Kenny Logan Jr.
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: LB Mike Rose
- Waived/injured: OT Chandler Brewer
New York Giants
- Reverted to IR: RB Jashaun Corbin
San Francisco 49ers
- Placed on IR: WR Malik Turner
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: LB Jamie Sheriff
- Waived/injured: LB Josh Onujiogu
Washington Commanders
- Signed: OL J.C. Hassenauer
- Waived: TE Armani Rogers
- Waived/injured: T Alex Akingbulu
CeeDee Lamb isn’t usually mentioned in this type of post, but the transaction involving the wideout was simply procedural. As ESPN’s Todd Archer notes, placing Lamb on the reserve/did not report list opens up a roster spot for the Cowboys, something that was necessary after the team signed three players today. This move doesn’t impact negotiations, and Lamb can be activated once he returns to practice. Lamb continues to holdout while he waits for a new deal, but the front office is working hard to get him back in the building.
Justin Herbert‘s recent foot injury necessitated some extra depth at the position. The team ended up opting for Luis Perez, who led the UFL last season in completions (225), passing yards (2,309), and touchdowns (18). Perez will soak up some temporary snaps alongside Easton Stick, Max Duggan, and UDFA Casey Bauman.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/5/24
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Placed on IR: LB BJ Ojulari (story)
Buffalo Bills
- Reverted to IR: DL David Ugwoegbu
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: TE Jesper Horsted
- Waived: WR Tayvion Robinson
- Waived-injured: WR Devin Carter
Cleveland Browns
- Released from IR: LB Charlie Thomas
Green Bay Packers
- Activated from PUP: TE Tucker Kraft
- Released: QB Jacob Eason
Houston Texans
- Reverted to IR: OT Jaylon Thomas
Indianapolis Colts
- Activated from PUP: CB Chris Lammons
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Reverted to IR: TE Josh Pederson
Las Vegas Raiders
- Activated from PUP: WR Jalen Guyton
New England Patriots
- Signed: LS Tucker Addington
- Placed on IR: OL Jake Andrews
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: LB Mike Rose
New York Giants
- Claimed off waivers (from Commanders): CB Christian Holmes
- Waived-injured: RB Jashaun Corbin
Philadelphia Eagles
- Waived: OL Jason Poe
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: LB Blake Lynch
- Waived: C Mike Novitsky
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/4/24
Today’s minor transactions to close out the weekend:
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: LB Shayne Simon
- Waived (with injury designation): DE David Ugwoegbu
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: TE Jacob Hollister
Cincinnati Bengals
- Activated from active/NFI list: T Trent Brown
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: S Faion Hicks
- Waived: S Dyshawn Gales
- Released from IR: C Brian Allen
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: RB Gary Brightwell, TE Chris Myarick
- Waived: RB Lorenzo Lingard, TE Josh Pederson
Washington Commanders
- Signed: DT Taylor Stallworth
- Waived: CB Christian Holmes
The Browns were looking forward to stashing Allen’s starting experience as a reserve lineman on the interior. Unfortunately, he suffered a calf injury that ended his season before it even began. Only on a one-year contract anyway, Allen will now get a head start on the free agency he would’ve faced at the end of this season.
Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson will not be coaching his son, Josh, this season, it appears. The 26-year-old tight end appeared in three games under his father in 2023.
Bills WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling On Roster Bubble
The Bills shuffled the top of their WR depth chart this offseason, parting ways with Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis while signing Curtis Samuel in free agency and adding Keon Coleman in the second round of the draft. The club also acquired Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who has had issues with drops in his career but who possesses the type of big-play ability that Davis has, which meshes well with quarterback Josh Allen‘s powerful arm.
Early last month, we heard that Valdes-Scantling appeared to be a roster lock. Unfortunately for him, that no longer appears to be the case, as Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic reports that MVS “has faded into the background” and is not getting as many reps with Allen as he did when training camp opened (subscription required).
Buscaglia posits that the decision to have MVS work with the second and third units could simply be the coaching staff’s way of sending a message to the speedy wideout. Still, it’s a potentially ominous sign for a player who largely struggled throughout the 2023 regular season as a member of the Chiefs (despite some memorable highlights during Kansas City’s Super Bowl run).
Interestingly, Buscaglia says that Tyrell Shavers, a 2023 UDFA who did not see any regular season action last year, has outplayed Valdes-Scantling. Even Chase Claypool, whose star has fallen considerably since a promising start to his careeer with the Steelers, was getting more reps with Allen prior to sustaining a toe injury.
For now, the top four receivers in the Bills’ pecking order appear to be Samuel, Coleman, Khalil Shakir, and Mack Hollins. Behind that quartet, players like MVS, Shavers, Claypool, Justin Shorter, KJ Hamler, and Andy Isabella will continue battling for a spot on the 53-man roster.
If Buffalo were to release Valdes-Scantling, it would incur $2.25MM in dead money, though the team has proven that it will not allow such an outcome to prevent what it believes is a necessary move. Indeed, trading Diggs to the Texans resulted in a dead cap charge of $31MM, and Buscaglia reminds us that the team cut tight end O.J. Howard before final cutdowns in 2022 — despite having signed him in March of that year — in favor of second-year UDFA Quintin Morris.
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/31/24
Wednesday’s minor transactions to close out the month:
Baltimore Ravens
- Waived (with injury settlement): DT Rayshad Nichols
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: S Terrell Burgess
- Waived: P Jack Browning
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: RB Dillon Johnson
- Waived (with injury designation): WR Daewood Davis
Indianapolis Colts
- Waived: G Lewis Kidd
Kansas City Chiefs
- Activated from active/PUP list: CB Jaylen Watson
Las Vegas Raiders
- Placed on reserve/PUP list: LB Darien Butler
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: WR Willie Snead
- Waived: DT Mario Kendricks
Minnesota Vikings
- Waived: LB Abraham Beauplan
New York Giants
- Claimed off waivers (from Eagles): CB Mario Goodrich
- Released (with non-football injury designation): CB Stantley Thomas-Oliver
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: WR Tarik Black
- Waived: DL Jonathan Marshall
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: DT Rodney Mathews, RB Kairee Robinson
- Waived: LB Easton Gibbs
- Waived (with injury settlement): RB Ricky Person
Snead is the latest veteran wideout to join the Dolphins receiving corps. He hasn’t really contributed much to the NFL since his 2020 campaign with the Ravens, but he’ll get another chance this summer in South Beach.
Carolina brings in Johnson just a day after watching veteran Rashaad Penny hang up his cleats. In order to make room for Johnson, the Panthers let good of Davis, the team’s recent signee from the UFL.
Butler was waived after a failed physical two days ago. After going unclaimed, he’ll get to stay in Vegas by taking a place on the reserve/PUP list.
AFC East Notes: Jets, Godchaux, Fins, Bills
Aaron Rodgers made a surprising push to come back from a September Achilles surgery last season. That predictably ended without the Jets quarterback suiting up again. Robert Saleh is now planning to keep his starter on ice until the games count again. The fourth-year Jets HC said he does not expect Rodgers to play during the preseason, though he noted (via the New York Post’s Ryan Dunleavy) he is still deciding with regards to his QB’s participation in the team’s preseason finale. Rodgers sat out the first two Jets preseason games last year but received some work — after pushing Saleh for a chance to suit up, despite not having previously played in the preseason since 2018 — in the third contest. Teams generally park their starters for the third preseason game, and while it would be interesting to see how Rodgers looks post-surgery, it currently appears Week 1 will be his first appearance.
Here is the latest from the AFC East:
- Haason Reddick‘s holdout has become much costlier. In addition to the $50K-per-day fines the recently acquired Jets pass rusher is accumulating, a $300K penalty is expected to come his way due to a CBA wrinkle. As veteran NFL reporter Josina Anderson points out, Reddick can be fined up to 15% of his signing bonus. The Jets are not obligated to go after that money but could. They will levy the fines, Saleh assumes (via SNY’s Connor Hughes). A report last week suggested the sides were moving closer to ending this holdout, but it persists.
- Joining Matt Judon as a contract-seeking Patriots defender, Davon Godchaux is not practicing fully. The veteran defensive tackle is protesting his deal by staging what appears to be a partial hold-in, per the Boston Globe’s Ben Volin, who notes Godchaux went through some drills at Pats practice Tuesday. Unlike Judon’s situation, which has escalated, this has not become acrimonious just yet. A 2025 free agent-to-be, Godchaux is tied to a two-year, $20.8MM deal that calls for a $7.15MM base salary. As the Patriots have paid several key players, Godchaux did not participate in minicamp and has angled for what would be his second extension with the team.
- Shaquil Barrett‘s retirement caught his agent and the Dolphins by surprise. Drew Rosenhaus said the veteran edge rusher had been considering it for a while. Barrett, 32, alluded to spending more time with his family. Rosenhaus mentioned the tragedy the two-time Super Bowl winner endured last year, when Barrett’s 2-year-old daughter drowned in the family’s pool, during an interview with WSVN’s Donovan Campbell (via the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson). While Barrett returned for a final Buccaneers season after that tragedy, he is not planning to play an 11th season. Though, Rosenhaus did not rule out a comeback later this year. The Dolphins circled back to Emmanuel Ogbah in the wake of Barrett’s decision.
- The Dolphins finished last season down several linebackers due to injury. One of them, Cameron Goode, is not expected to be back by Week 1, Jackson adds. The torn patella tendon the 2022 seventh-round pick sustained in Week 17 led him to the Dolphins’ active/PUP list. It would not surprise to see him transferred to the reserve/PUP list, which requires a four-game absence, next month. Goode joined Jaelan Phillips, Bradley Chubb, Andrew Van Ginkel and Jerome Baker in being out for Miami’s wild-card game last season. Chubb and Phillips remain on Miami’s PUP list.
- The Bills entered camp with three players — Mike Edwards, Damar Hamlin and second-rounder Cole Bishop — competing to start alongside Taylor Rapp, The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia notes (subscription required). Rapp spent much of last season behind longtime starters Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer but re-signed as the team went through a spate of cap cuts. Hamlin, who is on Buffalo’s roster bubble figures to see more first-unit time due to recent injuries to Edwards and Bishop. Edwards is week-to-week with a hamstring ailment, per Buscaglia, while Bishop left Tuesday’s practice. These setbacks led the Bills to bring in 36-year-old veteran Kareem Jackson on Tuesday.