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Armon Watts

Wednesday NFL Transactions: NFC North

August 31st, 2022 at 3:35pm 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 Bears, Lions, Packers and Vikings moves are noted below.

Here are Wednesday’s NFC North transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day.

Chicago Bears

Claimed:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

Signed to practice squad:

Detroit Lions

Claimed:

Waived:

Released from IR:

Signed to practice squad:

Green Bay Packers

Signed:

Waived: 

Signed to practice squad:

Minnesota Vikings

Waived:

Bears Claim OL Alex Leatherwood

August 31st, 2022 at 11:33am CST by Sam Robinson

After a woeful Raiders tenure, Alex Leatherwood will have a second chance via the NFL’s waiver system. The Bears put in a claim for the former first-round pick, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

The Raiders bailed on Leatherwood after one season, marking a shocking freefall for last year’s No. 17 overall pick. The Bears, however, have also run into extensive O-line uncertainty. The rebuilding team will take a chance on the former Alabama prospect. Leatherwood’s signing bonus is the Raiders’ responsibility, leaving considerable dead money on Las Vegas’ cap sheet. But the Bears are now responsible for $5.9MM in Leatherwood salary.

Chicago, which changed up its roster considerably as it transitioned to a new GM-HC pairing this offseason, made five more waiver claims Wednesday. Defensive tackle Armon Watts, defensive back Josh Blackwell, defensive end Kingsley Jonathan, linebacker Sterling Weatherford and tight end Trevon Wesco will be en route to the Windy City as well, Yates tweets. The Bears’ six waiver claims are a league-high total this year.

This marks quite a haul for Chicago, which added former starters from Las Vegas and Minnesota. Watts started nine games for the Vikings last season, replacing the injured Michael Pierce, but the team changed defensive schemes this offseason and made a trade for former Texans second-round defensive tackle Ross Blacklock on Tuesday. That led Watts off the roster. But he will be back in a 4-3 scheme under Matt Eberflus, whose team cleared some D-tackle space by releasing Mario Edwards on Tuesday.

Viewed as a reach in last year’s first round, Leatherwood did not justify his draft slot when deployed at right tackle or right guard for the Raiders last season. The staff that drafted Leatherwood quickly moved him off right tackle, but Pro Football Focus rated him as one of the league’s worst guards. Despite the Raiders facing a few questions on their offensive line and losing Brandon Parker for the season, their new regime cut bait after trying Leatherwood at tackle again in training camp.

The Bears are expected to start fifth-round rookie Braxton Jones at left tackle, and they have 2021 fifth-rounder Larry Borom on the right side. Riley Reiff, who signed with the team shortly before camp, is also in the tackle picture. The team moved 2021 second-rounder Teven Jenkins from tackle to guard late this offseason, and while Jenkins appeared in trade rumors, he is on the roster and may well start the season at the new position. Leatherwood, his early-career struggles notwithstanding, may now also be a factor at that spot.

Vikings Move Down To 53

August 30th, 2022 at 11:11pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here is how the Vikings finalized their initial 53-man roster Tuesday:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Beyond the previously covered quarterback situation, the Watts departure is Minnesota’s most notable cut. The 2019 sixth-round pick started nine games last season, moving into the lineup after Michael Pierce‘s injury. The Vikings cut Pierce this offseason, though Watts did not profile as a pure nose tackle. He was also drafted to play in a different scheme.

Minnesota hired a new DC this offseason (Ed Donatell), and the team acquired former Texans second-round defensive tackle pick Ross Blacklock on Tuesday. The Vikes had also added veteran Jonathan Bullard this offseason. These moves appear to have affected Watts’ status, as does the Vikings keeping only six D-linemen. They retained 10 after 2021’s cutdown day. Some of the changes can be attributed to classification, with edge defenders classified as outside linebackers in 3-4 sets. Watts also carried a $2.5MM cap charge, allowing Minnesota to save some decent money.

The Davis cut represents a quick bailout on a 2021 third-round pick. One of two guard Davises the Vikes shipped out Tuesday (along with Jesse, whom they traded to the Steelers), Wyatt — an Ohio State alum — played in six games last season and did not log an offensive snap. In addition to drafting Ed Ingram in the second round this year, the Vikings signed veteran interior linemen Chris Reed and Austin Schlottmann.

Vikings Place DT Armon Watts On IR

January 1st, 2020 at 11:42am CST by Zachary Links

The Vikings have placed defensive tackle Armon Watts on injured reserve. To fill his roster spot, they’ve signed defensive end Eddie Yarbrough off the Bills’ practice squad. 

The Vikings selected Watts out of Arkansas with a sixth-round pick in the 2019 draft. Watts did not play in the first half of the season, but he suited up for six of the team’s final seven games. In those games, he tallied 1.5 sacks.

Yarbrough appeared in 31 games for the Bills in 2017 and 2018, including six starts. This year, he missed the team’s final cut, but he hooked on with their practice squad. All of a sudden, Yarbrough has a chance at a Super Bowl ring.

The Vikings will face the Saints on Saturday in New Orleans. The secondary will have its work cut out for them as they try to keep a lid on Michael Thomas, so the Vikes are hoping for some pass rush pressure against Drew Brees.

Vikings Sign Three Draft Picks

May 3rd, 2019 at 6:41pm CST by Zachary Links

The Vikings got ahead of the game on Friday by signing the following draft choices (all Twitter links from Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press):

Smith, who grew up in sunny California, will have to get used to the cold weather in Minnesota. He didn’t impress with his measurables in workouts, but he has proven to be a savvy defender in live action. In 2017, he led the Trojans with 112 tackles, with 11 tackles for a loss. He was slowed somewhat by injuries last year, but still managed 81 tackles and 7.5 tackles for loss in ten games.

Watts measures in at 6’5″ and roughly 300 pounds, so he already has the size to compete in the NFL. In accordance with his slot, he’ll receive a four-year, $2.687MM deal with a $167K signing bonus.