A.J. Pataiali’i

Patriots Waive Nine, Trim Roster To 66 Players

In addition to cutting quarterback Ryan Lindley and signing cornerback Justin Coleman on Friday, the Patriots announced nine other moves, reducing their roster to 66 players. Here’s the list of players who were waived by the team, according to a team release:

  • RB Tony Creecy
  • WR Zach D’Orazio
  • WR DaVaris Daniels
  • OL Ryan Groy
  • OL Caylin Hauptmann
  • OL Chris Martin
  • LB James Morris
  • DL A.J. Pataiali’i
  • DL Casey Walker

New England also released tight end Jake Bequette from the club’s injured reserve list, making him a free agent.

The Patriots will move running back LeGarrette Blount to the reserve/suspended list for Week 1 as part of their cutdown to 53 players, so the team will have to make 12 more roster moves by today’s deadline.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/4/15

Tonight’s minor moves..

  • The Eagles waived/injured linebacker Travis Long, who tore his ACL yesterday, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. If unclaimed, he’ll revert to the team’s IR list.
  • The Patriots waived A.J. Derby, a sixth-round pick out of Arkansas, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets.
  • The Jets signed receiver Arthur Williams and waived receiver Jarrod West, as Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News tweets.
  • The Dolphins were awarded wide receiver Kevin Cone off waivers from the Browns, James Walker of ESPN.com tweets. They also cut guard Dionte Savage.
  • The Patriots announced that they have signed linebacker L.J. Fort, linebacker Cameron Gordon, fullback Eric Kettani, and defensive lineman A.J. Pataiali’I.
  • Panthers wide receiver Stephen Hill officially cleared waivers and has been placed on the team’s IR, Jonathan Jones of The Observer tweets.
  • The Lions have filled their last roster spot with the signing of cornerback Ethan Davis out of Troy, Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com tweets.
  • The Cardinals cut cornerback Damond Smith while signing cornerback Jonte Green, Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com tweets.
  • The Chargers announced that they signed corner Jordan Mabin and released receiver Demetrius Wilson.
  • The Eagles announced that they released wide receiver Devante Davis while signing fellow wideout Josh Reese.
  • The Lions cut Jerell Harris, Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com tweets.

Practice Squad Updates: Tuesday

With practices resuming following the weekend’s games, and teams having a better of idea of how serious its players’ injuries are, Tuesdays are often a busy day for practice squad transactions, as clubs replenish their rosters and swap in players at potential positions of need. As such, we expect to update this post plenty of times throughout the day, with the latest news of practice squad signings and cuts from around the NFL. Here’s the latest:

  • Defensive tackle Joe Vellano, who was waived by the Patriots on Monday, has agreed to stay with New England on its practice squad, tweets Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com. Vellano is the beneficiary of the new practice squad rules that allow a second-year player to be eligible despite playing in 16 games in 2013.
  • Defensive back Chandler Fenner and wide receiver Julian Talley, both waived by the Giants yesterday, have been re-signed to the practice squad, tweets Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News.
  • The Eagles re-signed linebacker Brandon Hepburn to their practice squad, according to Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com (via Twitter).
  • The Packers signed Joe Kruger, the brother of Paul Kruger, to their practice squad, tweets Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun.
  • Former Ravens defensive tackle A.J. Pataiali’i has been added to the Browns’ taxi squad, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
  • As noted below, cornerback Mike Harris has signed with the Lions‘ practice squad, replacing fellow defensive back Josh Victorian, tweets Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com.
  • The Jets have released cornerback LeQuan Lewis from their practice squad, signing another cornerback – Dashaun Phillips – in his place, the team announced today (via Twitter).

Earlier updates:

  • One wide receiver has replaced another on the Cowboys‘ practice squad, tweets Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, as Tim Benford has been cut and LaRon Byrd has been signed.
  • The Rams are down to nine players on their practice squad, having cut wide receiver Justin Veltung today, according to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter).
  • The Lions have signed defensive back Mike Harris to their taxi squad, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link). Detroit had a full 10-man unit, so a corresponding cut will be necessary to finalize the move.
  • Offensive tackle Ryan Miller has been cut from the Broncos‘ practice squad, reports Mike Klis of the Denver Post (via Twitter).
  • The Browns have cut long snapper Charley Hughlett from their practice squad, per agent Brett Tessler (via Twitter). Hughlett was brought in to provide competition for the team’s regular long snapper, Christian Yount, but Cleveland has opted to continue on with Yount.
  • The 49ers have swapped one offensive lineman for another on their practice squad, cutting tackle John Fullington in order to bring aboard guard Andrew Tiller, according to the club.
  • Guard William Campbell and defensive tackle Jeremy Towns are the newest members of the Bills‘ practice squad, replacing fullback Lonnie Pryor and tight end Jamie Childers, according to Mike Rodak of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
  • Three days after cutting him from their active roster, the Jaguars have re-signed tight end Mickey Shuler to their practice squad, the team announced today in a press release. To make room on the squad, wide receiver Kerry Taylor has been cut.
  • Last week’s promotion of quarterback Chandler Harnish to the active roster suggested the Vikings were more confident in him than McLeod Bethel-Thompson in an emergency scenario, and the team’s moves today reflected that as well. The Vikes announced in a press release that Bethel-Thompson has been let go from the practice squad, with Harnish, wideout Donte Foster, and defensive back Pierre Warren joining the unit.
  • To keep tabs on all 32 practice squad rosters, be sure to check out our complete list.

Minor Moves: Friday

We’ll track Friday’s minor transactions from around the NFL right here, as teams gear up for Week 4’s games. The latest moves will be added to the top of the list throughout the day….

  • The Patriots have replaced offensive lineman Chris Martin on their practice squad, re-adding defensive tackle Ben Bass to take his place, as Phil Perry of CSNNE.com writes.
  • Giants cornerback Jayron Hosley has been reinstated from suspension following the Giants’ fourth game of the season last night, tweets Howard Balzer of The SportsXchange. The team will receive a roster exemption for Hosley, meaning New York will have until Monday to decide whether to cut the cornerback or someone else in order to get down to 53 players.

Earlier updates:

  • According to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter), the Ravens have cut defensive tackle A.J. Pataiali’i from their practice squad. With Fitzgerald Toussaint and Deonte Thompson returning to the squad after being waived from the active roster, the team is now carrying the maximum 10 players.
  • Safety Chris Prosinski, who was recently placed on injured reserve by the Jaguars, has been removed from the team’s IR list with an injury settlement, tweets John Oesher of Jaguars.com. I touched on how injury settlements work earlier today in my PFR Glossary post explaining the injured reserve list.

Minor Moves: Monday

We’ll keep tabs of today’s minor transactions from around the NFL right here, with the latest moves added to the top of the page throughout the day:

  • The Dolphins have signed Marcus Thigpen to their practice squad, writes Omar Kelly of the Sun Sentinel. Thigpen spent one week on the Patriots’ practice squad beore being cut last week. Thigpen, a former CFL standout, contributed 1,910 kickoff return yards, 580 punt return yards, and scored three touchdowns for the Dolphins in the past two seasons.
  • The Redskins will sign center Tevita Stevens to their practice squad tomorrow, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (on Twitter).
  • Steelers linebacker Jarvis Jones, who injured his wrist last night, has been placed on Pittsburgh’s injured reserve list with the designation to return, according to Brian McIntyre (via Twitter). The designation means that Jones will be sidelined for at least the next eight weeks of game action.
  • In advance of tonight’s game against the Jets, the Bears have waived wide receiver Josh Bellamy and promoted linebacker Terrell Manning from their practice squad to the 53-man roster, tweets Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.
  • Linebacker Keith Smith has been cut by the Cowboys, the team officially announced today (via Twitter). For now, the club has an opening on its 53-man roster.
  • The Ravens are filling the 10th and final opening on their practice squad by re-adding defensive tackle A.J. Pataiali’i, reports Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
  • After being cut from the team’s active roster before this weekend’s contest against the Colts, safety Craig Loston has rejoined the Jaguars‘ practice squad, tweets John Oehser of Jaguars.com.
  • Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson is set to join the Vikings‘ practice squad, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter). When the move becomes official, Minnesota will need to cut or promote someone off the practice squad to clear a spot for Bethel-Thompson.
  • The Buccaneers have removed Rashaan Melvin from their injured reserve list with a settlement, says Wilson (via Twitter).

Practice Squad Updates: Thursday

Here are the latest practice squad additions and cuts from around the NFL, with the most recent moves added to the top of the list throughout the day. To check out the full practice squad rosters for all 32 teams in the league, be sure to check out our updated master list.

  • After being cut by the Patriots earlier today in a bit of roster shuffling, defensive tackle Kelcy Quarles has decided to stay with New England by joining its practice squad, according to Jordan Raanan of the Newark Star-Ledger (Twitter link).

Earlier Updates:

  • We heard yesterday that quarterback Ryan Griffin had cleared waivers and been added to the Saints‘ practice squad, but we didn’t hear until today which player he’d be replacing. According to Mike Triplett of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Griffin will be taking linebacker Todd Davis‘ spot.
  • The Dolphins have cut linebacker David Hinds from their practice squad, replacing him with linebacker Terrell Manning, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (Twitter links).
  • The Ravens have re-signed linebacker Josh Bynes to their practice squad, removing defensive tackle A.J. Pataiali’i from the unit to make room, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.

Sunday Transactions: AFC North

Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four AFC North teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions are noted below.

Additionally, as of 11:00am CT today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. For the 2014 and 2015 seasons, changes were made to practice squad rules that allow teams to carry eight players instead of 10, and the eligibility requirements for those extra two spots were also loosened. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.

Here are Sunday’s AFC North transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:

Baltimore Ravens:

Cincinnati Bengals:

Cleveland Browns:

Pittsburgh Steelers:

Ravens Cut Derek Cox, Dominique Franks

3:56pm: The Ravens have announced their last few moves, which are as follows:

Cut:

Placed on reserve-PUP list:

Placed on reserve-suspended list:

1:15pm: The Ravens have waived two more players:

9:37am: After letting go of offensive lineman Reggie Stephens yesterday, the Ravens have cut two more offensive lineman this morning. Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun reports (via Twitter) that lineman A.Q. Shipley has been released while NFL.com’s Aditi Kinkhabwala tweets that Ryan Jensen has been released. Below is a running list of the team’s moves:

Ravens Cut Six Players

The Ravens are cutting reserve center Reggie Stephens, a source tells Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun. The Iowa State product has had previous stints with the Bears and Bills.

The Ravens will also cut outside linebacker D.J. Roberts and they’re expected to release tight end Nathan Overbay (Twitter links). Here’s your running list:

Ravens Sign 18 Undrafted Free Agents

TUESDAY, 9:56am: The Ravens have announced an 18th UDFA signing, adding Montana Tech linebacker Ryan Jones to the list (Twitter link). Jones got a signing bonus of $1K, per Aaron Wilson (via Twitter).

MONDAY, 2:38pm: The Ravens have signed 17 players who went undrafted over the weekend, the team announced today in a press release. Here’s the complete list of rookie free agents Baltimore has added to its roster:

  • Xavius Boyd, LB, Western Kentucky ($1.5K bonus, per Aaron Wilson)
  • Levi Brown, DT, Temple
  • Jeremy Butler, WR, Tennessee-Martin ($4K bonus)
  • Jace Davis, WR, Northern Colorado ($4K bonus)
  • Parker Graham, OT, Oklahoma State ($9K bonus)
  • Derrick Hopkins, DT, Virginia Tech ($10K bonus)
  • James Hurst, OT, North Carolina ($9K bonus)
  • Tramain Jacobs, CB, Texas A&M ($4.5K bonus)
  • Richie Leone, P, Houston
  • Jamie Meder, DT, Ashland ($3.5K bonus)
  • Dexter Moody, S, Albany State
  • Deji Olatoye, CB, North Carolina A&T ($6K bonus)
  • Zachary Orr, LB, North Texas ($3K bonus)
  • A.J. Pataiali’i, DT, Utah State ($1K bonus)
  • Avery Patterson, CB, Oregon ($3K bonus)
  • Sammy Seamster, CB, Middle Tennessee State ($8K bonus)
  • Brett Van Sloten, OT, Iowa ($6K bonus)