Today’s practice squad transactions:
Baltimore Ravens
Denver Broncos
Pittsburgh Steelers
PFR’s practice squad rundown, signaling we are indeed close to games that count, begins Thursday. Here is how teams began to handle their 16-man P-squads.
Arizona Cardinals
Atlanta Falcons
Carolina Panthers
Chicago Bears
Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland Browns
Dallas Cowboys
Detroit Lions
Houston Texans
Indianapolis Colts
Jacksonville Jaguars
Las Vegas Raiders
Los Angeles Chargers
Los Angeles Rams
Miami Dolphins
Minnesota Vikings
New England Patriots
New Orleans Saints
New York Giants
Philadelphia Eagles
Pittsburgh Steelers
San Francisco 49ers
Seattle Seahawks
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tennessee Titans
Washington Commanders
Slovis went to camp with the Colts, joining the team as a UDFA this year. Houston placed Case Keenum on IR and released Tim Boyle, who is now the Dolphins’ P-squad QB. Slovis, who played at USC, Pittsburgh and BYU in college, is now the Texans’ de facto third-stringer.
Shelley has 11 career starts — with the Bears and Vikings — on his resume. He joined the Raiders last year but ended up with the Rams, playing in 11 games as a backup. The Giants have spent time searching for a cornerback answer, having not been too satisfied with their Cor’Dale Flott–Nick McCloud CB2 competition. New York did not make any waiver claims at the position Wednesday.
Reagor, who played for the Patriots last season, is back after being released earlier this week. The former Minnesota first-rounder played in 11 New England games last season, returning a kick for a touchdown. Latu joins the Browns after being a 49ers cut. The 2023 third-round pick missed all of last season with an ACL tear. Jefferson is back with the Bolts hours after being released.
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 Bengals, Browns, Ravens and Steelers moves are noted below.
Baltimore Ravens
Signed:
Claimed:
Signed to practice squad:
Cincinnati Bengals
Signed:
Claimed:
Released:
Signed to practice squad:
Cleveland Browns
Signed:
Claimed:
Signed to practice squad:
Pittsburgh Steelers
Signed:
Claimed:
Signed to practice squad:
The Steelers were one of several teams who made adjustments to their roster today with cut day looming on the horizon. The past two days saw the team put center Nate Herbig on injured reserve followed by his roster spot being taken up by linebacker Kyahva Tezino. The latest roster adjustment saw Pittsburgh release veteran cornerback Anthony Averett, per ESPN’s Brooke Pryor. 
Averett is a former fourth-round pick out of Alabama who was originally drafted by the Steelers’ division-rival in Baltimore. He spent the duration of his rookie contract with the Ravens, gradually increasing his role until he became a full-time starter at cornerback in 2021. Injuries often hampered his availability, limiting him to just 44 of a possible 65 games in Baltimore, but in his contract year, Averett started all 14 games he appeared in, recording career-highs in tackles (54), interceptions (3), and passes defensed (11).
Those efforts earned him a one-year, $4MM deal with the Raiders. In Las Vegas, Averett would make six more starts in seven appearances, but injuries would limit him to only that in 2022. Last year, Averett signed with the 49ers late in the offseason but was released two weeks later. He signed to the Lions’ practice squad in early October but would only remain there for five weeks before being released again. The Steelers signed him back in May, hoping he would add some experienced depth behind Joey Porter Jr. and Donte Jackson.
Quickly filling up Averett’s roster spot, the Steelers signed defensive end Marcus Haynes, who was waived by the Browns a week ago. Additionally, another defensive back hit the free agent market as the team released cornerback Grayland Arnold from IR with an injury settlement, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2.
Anthony Averett was one of several experienced players who used rookie minicamps as a way to earn an NFL deal. The veteran corner spent the past few days at the Steelers’ camp, and that has indeed produced a contract.
[RELATED: Steelers Met With Cameron Sutton]
Averett’s agent told Pro Football Talk a one-year Pittsburgh agreement has been reached. The 29-year-old will thus spend the remainder of the offseason looking to earn a 53-man roster spot. The Steelers already have Joey Porter Jr. and trade acquisition Donte Jackson in place as projected starters, but Averett has notable first-team experience of his own.
The latter entered the league as a fourth-round pick of the Ravens in 2018. Averett was used sparingly during his first two Baltimore campaigns, but he logged 18 starts across the 2020 and ’21 campaigns. That led to a one-year, $4MM Raiders agreement during his first trip to free agency. He was limited to just six games in 2022, however, something which hindered his market value.
Averett began last year with the 49ers, but he was let go amidst further injury issues. That led to a brief Lions practice squad agreement before San Francisco checked back in. No agreement was reached the second time around, though, and the Alabama product did not see any regular season action in 2023. He will aim to bounce back this season on a Steelers team which has made a number of moves on defense.
The team’s draft was centered mainly on offense, however, and sixth-rounder Ryan Watts represents Pittsburgh’s only rookie in the secondary. Veteran Patrick Peterson – who played with the Steelers last season but was released midway through his $14MM pact – remains unsigned. Head coach Mike Tomlin is open to bringing Peterson back into the fold, but it will be interesting to see if this Averett addition changes that stance.
Pittsburgh entered Sunday with over $18MM in cap space. With most of the team’s draft class having been signed already, the Steelers thus have the flexibility to make post-draft veteran additions such as this one. Averett’s pact will no doubt be a low-cost flier, but his previous starting experience gives this move a degree of upside.
NFL teams often use rookie minicamp as an opportunity to bring in some veterans for workouts. Here are a few such instances of teams who invited some veteran free agents for the weekend:
The 49ers have run into injury troubles in the secondary, and a veteran addition could be coming soon as a result. Anthony Averett is set to visit San Francisco, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.
Averett was in line to play for the 49ers this season after he agreed to a deal in August which sent him to the Bay Area. Injuries became an issue during training camp, however, and he was let go later that month in a move which left him free to sign elsewhere.
The 28-year-old landed with the Lions in October by joining their practice squad with Detroit banged up on the backend. That agreement led to Averett remaining with the team through mid-November, but he did not make any appearances. His last game action came in 2022 during his one-year stint with the Raiders. The former fourth-rounder dealt with multiple injuries in Vegas, limiting him to seven games and hurting his market value in the offseason.
Prior to that, Averett had spent his first four seasons with the Ravens. He saw his playing time increase incrementally with each passing year during his time in Baltimore, taking on full-time starting duties in 2021. The Alabama product delivered his best season to date at that point with 54 tackles, three interceptions and 11 pass deflections. Now on his second team in 2023, he will look to provide CB depth to the NFC West leaders.
San Francisco’s defense has, as expected, produced elite rankings in a number of categories this season. Their pass defense (213 yards allowed per game) sits mid-pack, however, and the team has run into injury troubles at safety with starter Talanoa Hufanga and special teamer George Odum set to miss the rest of the season. Averett could provide an experienced perimeter option down the stretch as the 49ers aim to patch together part of their secondary.
Today’s practice squad transactions:
Baltimore Ravens
Carolina Panthers
Denver Broncos
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
Houston Texans
Los Angeles Chargers
Minnesota Vikings
New Orleans Saints
Philadelphia Eagles
Pittsburgh Steelers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Today’s practice squad transactions:
Atlanta Falcons
Chicago Bears
Denver Broncos
Detroit Lions
Indianapolis Colts
Las Vegas Raiders
Miami Dolphins
Minnesota Vikings
New York Giants
Pittsburgh Steelers
Anthony Firkser will provide the Lions with some veteran tight end depth. Darrell Daniels has mostly transitioned to a fullback role and James Mitchell is sidelined with a hamstring injury, leaving Sam LaPorta and Brock Wright as the two healthy TEs on the roster. Firkser has seen time in 69 regular season games, hauling in 115 catches for 1,207 yards and five touchdowns. The 28-year-old tight end got into 11 games for the Falcons in 2022, finishing with nine catches for 100 yards.
Yodny Cajuste is back in New York after getting cut by the Jets back in August. The former third-round pick got into 17 games (five starts) for the Patriots between the 2021 and 2022 seasons. He was waived by New England back in May before catching on with the Jets for the preseason.
Two of the Lions’ three starter-level free agency additions in their secondary have suffered major injuries. The team will attempt to patch up the unit by adding another veteran.
Anthony Averett will join the Lions on a practice squad deal, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. Averett enjoyed a short stint with the 49ers during training camp, but a preseason injury brought his time in San Francisco to a close. A mid-August injury settlement, however, led Averett off the 49ers’ IR list and opens the door to the sixth-year veteran playing in 2023.
The Lions are down both C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Emmanuel Moseley in the secondary. Moseley made his season debut in Week 5, returning from the ACL tear that ended his 49ers tenure early. But the veteran cover man tore his other ACL against the Panthers on Sunday, knocking him out for the season and throwing cold water on potential hopes to use this year as a springboard to a lucrative multiyear deal.
Averett worked out for the Texans last week, per NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo, providing an indication he has recovered from the unspecified injury he suffered with the 49ers. The former Ravens and Raiders starter will join a Lions team that is still in decent shape at corner, but in light of Moseley’s injury, Aaron Glenn‘s defense will pick up some insurance.
Injuries have hindered Averett for a bit now. Thumb and toe issues shortened Averett’s Raiders season to seven games. While the former Ravens fourth-rounder parlayed his 14-start 2021 season (in relief of Marcus Peters) into a Raiders first-string opportunity, he could not stay on the field. The Raiders then scrapped their 2022 CB setup this offseason, letting Averett and Rock Ya-Sin walk in free agency (and eventually signing Peters), and Averett went without a job until August.
Pro Football Focus did not grade Averett’s 2022 sample especially well, slotting him just inside the top 100 among corners. The Alabama alum worked as a backup to Peters and Marlon Humphrey from 2019-20, but due largely to the past two seasons, the 5-foot-11 cover man has 27 career starts. The Lions have lost Moseley but still have two veterans — Sutton and Will Harris — joining ascending second-year cog Jerry Jacobs. Averett, 28, could take the route many 2020s veterans have by using the P-squad as a quick-forming passage back to an active roster.