Craig Young

NFL Reserve/Futures Deals: 1/7/25

Many teams have started signing players to reserve/futures contracts, allowing the organization to retain (routinely) young, practice squad players through the offseason. Here are the latest reserve/futures contracts:

Arizona Cardinals

  • DE Anthony Goodlow, OL Sincere Haynesworth, RB Zonovan Knight, NT P.J. Mustipher

Atlanta Falcons

  • WR Makai Polk

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

  • TE Jordan Murray

Cincinnati Bengals

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

  • DL Tyler Manoa

Miami Dolphins

San Francisco 49ers

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/24/24

Tuesday’s taxi squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

  • Signed: K Andre Szmyt

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New York Jets

Tennessee Titans

Szmyt spent time on the Bears’ practice squad last year before playing with the USFL’s St. Louis Battlehawks recently. The 26-year-old terminated his pact with the spring league club to take a deal in Cleveland. A former All-American and Lou Graza winner as the country’s top kicker during his college career, Szmyt could see time late in the year given the Browns’ kicking struggles in 2024.

Thomas appeared to be on his way to join the Colts after he was claimed off waivers by Indianapolis. The veteran corner failed his physical upon arrival with his new team, however, leading to another trip to the waiver wire. No teams put in a claim this time around, but shortly after reaching free agency Thomas has landed a deal. The former 49er has 42 games and 11 starts to his name, and he will provide Minnesota with cornerback depth through the closing stages of the campaign.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/5/24

Today’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/16/24

Today’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: WR Malik Knowles

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Colts Let Go Of Five Veterans, Place TE Jelani Woods On IR On Way To 53

The Colts have gotten down to the 53 players who will start the year on the active roster. Here are the players who won’t:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

Placed on IR (designated for return):

The Colts made a number of tough decisions to close our the initial active roster. Aside from Montgomery, every other veteran the team released today has some form of starting experience under their belt. A youth movement in the defensive ends room kept Avery out of the mix, and Tomlinson wasn’t able to take advantage of Woods missing the who year on injured reserve.

Even more surprising perhaps was Indianapolis cutting ties with three drafted rookies after only four months. Fifth-round Auburn defensive back Simpson, sixth-round Marshall cornerback Abraham, and seventh-round Oklahoma defensive tackle Laulu all failed to make the 53-man roster, essentially marking those draft picks as wasted. If some late-round players end up breaking out into true contributors, the Colts are going to kick themselves for missing on those three selections.

On the other side of that, Indianapolis uncovered a gem in undrafted Marshall guard Dalton Tucker. Tucker made the roster and is one of only four interior offensive linemen backing up the starting three.

Colts Sign Seven UDFAs

After adding nine rookies via the draft, the Colts are continuing to add first-year players to their roster. The team announced that they’ve signed seven undrafted free agents, including a pair of quarterbacks:

Interestingly, the Colts listed former Kansas signal caller Jason Bean as both a quarterback and wide receiver. That’s not a complete surprise considering the rookie’s running ability. In three seasons at Kansas, Bean rushed for 901 yards and nine touchdowns on 178 carries. With Anthony Richardson atop the depth chart and Joe Flacco in place as the backup, Bean’s best shot at a roster spot will surely come at a different position. Kedon Slovis will have a similar uphill battle to make Indy’s roster. The quarterback had an up-and-down college career, with his 30-touchdown campaign as a freshman in 2019 representing his career-high. He most recently got into eight games at BYU, tossing 12 touchdowns vs. six interceptions.

Among all the UDFAs, Spencer Shrader probably has the most realistic shot at a roster spot, as the rookie will compete with veteran Matt Gay for the Colts’ primary kicker spot. Shrader finished his college career having connected on only 68.3 percent of his field goal attempts, although he was 156-for-158 on his extra point tries.