Daniel Ekuale - Pro Football Rumors

Patriots Activate LB Jamie Collins

December 6th, 2021 at 5:21pm CST by Ben Levine

The Patriots defense will be getting some reinforcement for tonight’s showdown with the Bills. The team has activated linebacker Jamie Collins off injured reserve, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss (via Twitter).

After beginning the season with the Lions, Collins made his way back to the Pats for a third stint. Collins played in five games since re-signing with the Pats, registering a sack and seven tackles in addition to an INT. The 32-year-old suffered an ankle injury in November that ultimately led to his placement on injured reserve. The linebacker returned to practice earlier this week.

Collins was mostly playing as a backup for New England when healthy; Collins played around 20 percent of his team’s defensive snaps in his five games. Barring an injury to one of his teammates, Collins will likely continue in that role for the rest of the season.

The Patriots also promoted two players in anticipation of tonight’s game: safety Sean Davis and defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale (per Reiss on Twitter). Ekuale has gotten into two games with the Patriots this season, compiling a sack. The former undrafted free agent has also seen time with the Browns and Jaguars. Davis, a former second-round pick, has spent time on both the Colts and Bengals active rosters this season. He’s started 42 of his 68 career games.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/30/21

October 30th, 2021 at 4:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here is the Week 8 Saturday minor move blitz:

Atlanta Falcons

Promoted: LB Daren Bates, LB James Vaughters

Buffalo Bills

Promoted: TE Kahale Warring

Carolina Panthers

Placed on IR: DE Darryl Johnson
Promoted: P Lachlan Edwards, WR Keith Kirkwood

Chicago Bears

Activated from IR: T Larry Borom

Cincinnati Bengals

Promoted: DE Khalid Kareem, RB Trayveon Williams

Cleveland Browns

Promoted: CB Tim Harris, S Jovante Moffatt

Denver Broncos

Activated from IR: LB Jonas Griffith
Promoted: LB Barrington Wade

Detroit Lions

Activated from IR: DE Da’Shawn Hand
Promoted: S Jalen Elliott, TE Brock Wright

Houston Texans

Placed on IR: C Justin Britt
Promoted: LB Hardy Nickerson, G Lane Taylor, OL Cole Toner

Los Angeles Rams

Signed: TE Kendall Blanton
Promoted: DB Antoine Brooks, DB Tyler Hall

Miami Dolphins

Promoted: LB Vince Biegel, RB Patrick Laird, CB Jamal Perry

Minnesota Vikings

Promoted: TE Luke Stocker, DE Kenny Willekes

New England Patriots

Promoted: DT Daniel Ekuale

New Orleans Saints

Activated after six-game suspension: DT David Onyemata
Placed on IR: G Andrus Peat (story)
Promoted: T Jordan Mills, WR Kevin White

New York Jets

Activated from IR: LB Jarrad Davis
Promoted: LB Noah Dawkins, QB Josh Johnson, DE Jabari Zuniga
Released: S Jarrod Wilson

Philadelphia Eagles

Promoted: RB Jordan Howard, TE Richard Rodgers
Activated from IR: S K’Von Wallace

Pittsburgh Steelers

Promoted: DE Taco Charlton

Seattle Seahawks

Promoted: LB Tanner Muse

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Promoted: WR Cyril Grayson

Tennessee Titans

Promoted: DL Eli Ankou, FB Tory Carter, RB Dontrell Hilliard

Washington Football Team

Promoted: C Keith Ismael, T David Steinmetz

Patriots Place CB Jonathan Jones On IR

October 23rd, 2021 at 3:48pm CST by Sam Robinson

New England will be without its slot cornerback for at least three games. The Patriots moved Jonathan Jones to IR due to a shoulder injury.

The team is bracing for an extended Jones absence, according to ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss. It is unclear if a three-game break will be enough time, but Jones is down until at least Week 10 because of this transaction.

In his sixth season with the Patriots, Jones has worked his way from UDFA to regular inside defender with the team. Pro Football Focus slotted Jones fifth among all corners in 2020 but has not graded his 2021 performance nearly as well, viewing his work as barely top-100 worthy at the position. But Jones, whose $7MM-per-year Pats extension runs through 2022, will have some time to get healthy.

The Patriots worked out veterans Brian Poole, D.J. Hayden and De’Vante Bausby this week but did not sign them. Second-year cover man Myles Bryant is most likely to serve as Jones’ fill-in, Reiss adds. Late-summer trade acquisition Shawn Wade remains out due to a concussion.

In other Saturday Pats news, they promoted offensive lineman James Ferentz and defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale from their practice squad.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/5/21

September 5th, 2021 at 4:20pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:

New England Patriots

Signed: DL Daniel Ekuale

Jaguars Release Timmy Jernigan

September 28th, 2020 at 2:56pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Jaguars are staying busy Monday. Shortly after we heard they’d be signing kicker Stephen Hauschka the team announced a small flurry of roster moves, including the release of veteran defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan.

They also waived/injured kicker Brandon Wright, promoted defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale from the practice squad, and placed linebacker Leon Jacobs on injured reserve. Jernigan signed with Jacksonville in August, and had played a rotational role along the defensive line through the first three games. The 48th overall pick of the 2014 draft, Jernigan spent his first three years in Baltimore.

He was then traded to Philadelphia, and started 15 games for the Eagles team that won Super Bowl LII. He signed a four-year, $48MM extension midway through that year, but was limited to three games the following year following back surgery. He was cut after 2018, then re-signed with Philly on a cheaper one-year deal.

He appeared in ten games with nine starts for the Eagles last season. The Florida State product then inked a one-year, $3.75MM pact with Houston in April, but that deal was called off after a couple of months. He only turned 28 last week, and due to his past starting experience and production, should resurface soon with a team looking for run-stuffing help.

The Jaguars are clearly going all in on their youth movement on defense. Jacobs started seven games last year and two of the three this season, so that’s a significant loss even though he hadn’t been playing super heavy snaps. Ekuale is a 2018 UDFA from Washington State who appeared in seven games with the Browns last year.

Jaguars Promote Mike Glennon

September 8th, 2020 at 11:29am CST by Zachary Links

The Jaguars have promoted Mike Glennon from the practice squad to the active roster, per a club announcement. Glennon, who will serve as the team’s third quarterback behind Gardner Minshew and rookie Jake Luton, will take the place of linebacker Quincy Williams, who has been placed on IR.

Luton, a sixth-round pick, pulled off a training camp upset over Glennon and Joshua Dobbs. Still, the Jaguars didn’t want to let the 30-year-old get away. After dropping Glennon from the roster, they quickly scooped him up and stashed him on the practice squad. It’s pretty unusual to see a player with Glennon’s experience on the p-squad, but this is an unusual year, to say the least. The Eagles just made a similar move to backstop their QBs by signing 41-year-old Josh McCown to their practice squad for extra insurance under center.

Glennon has attempted just 31 passes over the last two years combined. For his career, he’s logged 22 starts, 36 touchdowns, and 20 interceptions.

In related moves, the Jags released cornerback Tramaine Brock from IR while adding defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale and former Eagles cornerback Sidney Jones to the taxi squad.

Browns Get Down To 53

September 5th, 2020 at 1:22pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Browns became the second team after the Panthers to officially announce their initial 53-man roster, waiving 24 players to get down. Here’s everybody they cut, with a recap on some notables at the bottom:

QB Kevin Davidson
QB Garrett Gilbert
RB Dontrell Hilliard
RB Benny LeMay
FB Johnny Stanton
WR Ja’Marcus Bradley
WR Damion Ratley
WR Taywan Taylor
T Brady Aiello
T Alex Taylor (waived/injured)
C Jon Toth
G Michael Dunn
G Willie Wright
DE Robert McCray
DE Chad Thomas
DT Daniel Ekuale
LB Solomon Ajayi
LB Willie Harvey
LB Montrel Meander
CB A.J. Green
CB Robert Jackson
CB Donovan Olumba
S Elijah Benton
S Javonte Moffatt

One of the biggest names on this list is Thomas, who the Browns drafted 67th overall in 2018. He barely played as a rookie, but he started eight games and had four sacks last year. The Browns are loaded along the defensive line, so it would’ve been tough for him to find snaps. He’s a definite practice squad candidate assuming he doesn’t get claimed.

Taylor flashed some potential with the Titans and had 466 yards with Tennessee in 2018, but failed to make a dent after getting traded to Cleveland last year. Ratley is another receiver who got cut, and he started three games each of the past two years. The 2018 sixth-rounder from Texas A&M had 200 yards and a touchdown last season.

Gilbert spent last season as Baker Mayfield‘s backup after he lit it up in the ill-fated AAF, but he was made expendable by the offseason addition of Case Keenum. He should get another shot elsewhere or on the practice squad.