HEADLINES

Christian Matthew

Ravens Let Go Of WRs Malik Cunningham, Anthony Miller On Way To 53

August 27th, 2024 at 9:39pm CST by Ely Allen

The Ravens have gotten down to the required 53-man roster. Here’s how they did it:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Placed on IR:

Placed on IR (designated for return):

Placed on reserve/PUP list:

Baltimore will be without the veteran Maulet or electric Mitchell for at least four games to start the season. The other injured reserve placements, which includes two undrafted free agent signings, will miss the entire 2024 season.

For the second year in a row, the Ravens showed questionable draft decision-making as a draft pick from the current year failed to make the 53-man roster. Last year saw fifth-round cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly get waived, while this year sees sixth-round Kentucky quarterback Devin Leary get the early axe. Such occurrences were not common under former general manager Ozzie Newsome, and Ravens fans will hope that Eric DeCosta doesn’t make a habit out of wasting draft picks.

On the other hand, DeCosta continued a usual trend of analytical excellence as the Ravens continued what has become a tradition of seeing at least one undrafted rookie make the initial 53-man roster. This year, the honor goes to Maryland safety Beau Brade. Baltimore chose to enlist the young prospective talent of Brade over retaining the veteran experience of Worley, who has seen some decent time on the Ravens defense in recent years.

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/29/24

January 29th, 2024 at 4:53pm CST by Adam La Rose

Monday’s futures contracts:

Baltimore Ravens

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 1/16/24

January 16th, 2024 at 8:07pm CST by Ben Levine

As playoff teams prepare for the second round of the postseason, they continue to tinker with their practice squads:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Houston Texans

San Francisco 49ers

Leonard Fournette‘s brief stint with the Bills has come to an end. The veteran running back joined Buffalo’s practice squad in October, but it took him until Week 16 to make his season debut. Fournette ended up getting into a pair of games for the Bills, collecting 40 rushing yards on 12 attempts. He wasn’t active for the team’s playoff opener, and after reverting to the practice squad, he now finds himself a free agent.

Bears Place C Lucas Patrick On IR

January 6th, 2024 at 5:12pm CST by Ely Allen

The Bears have placed starting center Lucas Patrick on injured reserve, ending his 2023 NFL season a day early. Obviously, this doesn’t mean much as Patrick will only miss one game and Chicago is already mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. The move is a common one seen this week as many teams will utilize IR to help lock promising practice squad players down on active roster contracts.

For the Bears, that player seems to be practice squad cornerback Greg Stroman. With Patrick vacating a spot on the active roster, Stroman has signed to the 53-man squad for this week. In two years with the Bears, Stroman has appeared in nine games, making two starts. In each of those two starts, Stroman has recorded an interception. With Stroman now on the active roster, Chicago will have an opportunity to keep him away from free agency in the offseason, essentially guaranteeing him another year with the Bears, if that’s what they agree to.

With Patrick unavailable, practice squad center Doug Kramer has been called up as a standard gameday elevation to provide some depth on the interior offensive line. Joining Kramer as a one-week elevation will be cornerback Christian Matthew.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/27/23

November 27th, 2023 at 6:38pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Monday’s minor moves:

Chicago Bears

Green Bay Packers

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

  • Waived from reserve/retired list: WR John Ross

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

San Francisco 49ers

Ross signed a reserve/futures deal with the Chiefs in January but retired before training camp. The Combine 40-yard dash record holder now intends to resume his career, according to NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo. Ross, who turned 28 today, has not played in a regular-season game since 2021 with the Giants.

A Raiders spring signee, Shelley did not make Las Vegas’ 53-man roster. The Rams picked him up before the season and have used him mostly on special teams. Shelley, who Bears and Vikings prior to this two-team 2023, has logged 76 defensive snaps this season. But the veteran cornerback has been on the field for 65% of Los Angeles’ special teams plays.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/3/23

October 3rd, 2023 at 7:43pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

  • Signed: WR Kendric Pryor

Dallas Cowboys

  • Signed: LB Mikel Jones

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: S Christian Young

Indianapolis Colts

Miami Dolphins

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Taiwan Jones will now look to catch on elsewhere after getting let go by the Giants. The veteran joined New York’s practice squad back in August and was elevated for the first two games of the season, with Jones returning one kick and one punt. It’s been a bit since Jones last contributed on offense, but the veteran was a reliable special teams player for the Bills for half a decade (two stints).

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/2/23

October 2nd, 2023 at 6:37pm CST by Adam La Rose

Monday’s minor moves around the league:

Arizona Cardinals

Detroit Lions

Jacksonville Jaguars

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

As part of the new terms regarding the NFL’s gambling policy, players hit with six-game bans for gambling on non-NFL events while at team facilities have seen their suspensions reduced. As a result, Williams and Petit-Frere will be able to return as early as Week 5. Tom Pelissero of NFL Network notes that each player will receive a one-week roster exemption, after which they will need to be activated.

The same holds true of Robinson, who was suspended for the season’s opening month due to a PED violation. That ban cost the 27-year-old over $3.5MM in salary and voided the remaining guarantees in his deal, which runs through 2024. The Jaguars have had an up-and-down start to the season on offense, but the unit has fared well in pass protection so far with only eight sacks allowed. Still, Robinson’s return to the blindside will be welcomed in Jacksonville.

Cooking Accident Sends Cardinals CB Antonio Hamilton To NFI List

September 1st, 2022 at 4:01pm CST by Sam Robinson

A part-time starter in his first season with the Cardinals, Antonio Hamilton was on track to be a full-time player in Arizona’s secondary this season. But he will not be starting his second Arizona campaign on time.

The Cardinals placed the veteran cornerback on their reserve/non-football injury list Thursday because of a cooking accident at his home, according to Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). Hamilton explained on Twitter that he suffered a second-degree burn on his feet.

Kliff Kingsbury confirmed Hamilton was set to be a starter this season for the Cards; the fourth-year Arizona HC said Hamilton told the team about the accident earlier this week. Kingsbury said Hamilton had the best camp of any Cards defender. This is certainly an odd development, and it is unclear if the kitchen mishap occurred before or after the Cardinals agreed to acquire Trayvon Mullen from the Raiders. Either way, Hamilton is out for at least Arizona’s first four games.

Arizona has Byron Murphy and Marco Wilson in place as its top holdover corners, but Hamilton played 29% of the team’s defensive snaps last season. The 29-year-old defender has played with four teams across a six-year career — the Raiders, Giants, Chiefs and Cards — but has never started more than two games in a season. With the former UDFA having made a midcareer climb to the top of a team’s depth chart for the first time, this represents a tough break and another blow to a Cards cornerback corps that has been in need for a while now.

The Cardinals added both Mullen and corner Javelin Guidry at the position this week. The latter, a former standout sprinter, is coming over from the Jets via waiver claim. As a result of this development, cornerback Christian Matthew will be re-signed, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero adds (on Twitter). A seventh-round rookie, Matthew was waived to make room for Guidry on Wednesday.

Wednesday NFL Transactions: NFC West

August 31st, 2022 at 3:46pm 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.

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

Arizona Cardinals

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Los Angeles Rams

Signed to practice squad:

San Francisco 49ers

Signed:

Claimed:

Placed on IR:

Released from IR:

Signed to practice squad:

Seattle Seahawks

Signed:

Claimed:

Waived:

  • LB Joshua Onujiogu

Placed on IR:

Reverted to IR:

Signed to practice squad:

Cardinals Sign Second-Round TE Trey McBride

May 17th, 2022 at 7:07pm CST by Ben Levine

The Cardinals are almost finished signing their draft class. The team announced that they’ve signed second-round tight end Trey McBride, seventh-round cornerback Christian Matthew, and seventh-round offensive lineman Marquis Hayes to their rookie contracts.

Following a standout college career at Colorado State, the Cardinals made McBride not only their first selection of the draft. They also made him the first tight end off the board when they selected him in the second round (No. 55). After collecting 74 receptions through his first three collegiate seasons, McBride exploded in 2021, hauling in 90 catches for 1,121 yards. The performance earned him a number of accolades, including a unanimous All-American selection and the John Mackey Award, which is given to the top tight end in college football.

The Cardinals held on to Zach Ertz, so McBride will be playing behind the veteran to start his career. However, in a creative and (usually) high-flying offense, it shouldn’t take look for McBride to carve out a role.

As our team-by-team 2022 NFL Draft results show, the Cardinals only have a pair of unsigned draft picks: