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Dante Pettis

Wednesday NFL Transactions: NFC East

September 1st, 2021 at 6:00pm 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 Cowboys, Eagles, Giants and Washington moves are noted below.

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

Dallas Cowboys

Signed to practice squad:

New York Giants

Placed on IR:

Signed:

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Philadelphia Eagles

Signed to practice squad:

Washington Football Team

Placed on IR:

Signed:

Signed to practice squad:

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/1/20

December 1st, 2020 at 4:47pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

Three Giants Test Positive For COVID-19

November 20th, 2020 at 1:53pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although the Giants are not scheduled to play again until Week 12, they have run into a COVID-19 issue. Following Graham Gano‘s coronavirus contraction, three more Giants players have submitted positive tests.

Rookie tackle Matt Peart, tight end Kaden Smith and recently added wide receiver Dante Pettis tested positive for COVID, according to Ralph Vacchiano of SNY. They will join Gano, punter Riley Dixon and long snapper Casey Kreiter on the team’s reserve/COVID-19 list.

While none of Friday’s cases have affected high-profile Giants players, four positive tests certainly is a concern for the team. The Giants said in a statement they learned of the tests Thursday night; contact tracing is underway. No Giants have been at the team’s facility this week. Gano’s positive test Monday nixed plans for any in-person meetings or light workouts, per Vacchiano.

Players who test positive must remain away from teams’ facilities for 10 days, so Friday’s news will shelve the three latest positive testers for the Giants’ Nov. 29 game against the Bengals. The Giants played without guard starter Will Hernandez in two games earlier this month because of his positive test.

A third-round pick viewed as a developmental tackle, Peart has mixed in on offense since his Week 6 start. The UConn product has played 64 offensive snaps over the past four games, rotating in with starting right tackle Cameron Fleming. Used as a blocking tight end alongside Evan Engram, Smith has started nine games this season and played 48% of Big Blue’s offensive snaps. Pettis, claimed off waivers earlier this month, has yet to make his Giants debut.

Giants Claim WR Dante Pettis

November 4th, 2020 at 5:17pm CST by Ben Levine

Dante Pettis is heading to New York. The Giants announced that they have claimed the wide receiver off waivers. Pettis was waived by the 49ers yesterday.

While Pettis’ impending quarantine will sideline him for this weekend’s matchup against Washington, he could see a role in the Giants offense when the team returns from bye in Week 12. New York’s receiver corps is led by Golden Tate, Darius Slayton, and Sterling Shepard (along with tight end Evan Engram and running back Dion Lewis), but Pettis could slide in as a fourth receiver.

Of course, he also could have had a role in San Francisco, but he was phased completely out of the offense by the time he was let go. The former second-rounder showed some promise during his rookie campaign, hauling in 27 catches for 467 yards and five scores in 12 games (seven starts). His production plummeted in 2019, and he hasn’t had a reception in five games this season.

As Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel pointed out yesterday on Twitter, Pettis will account for around $264K in cap space. Considering the Giants’ early spot in the waiver order, there’s a good chance a handful of other teams made a claim.

49ers Waive WR Dante Pettis

November 3rd, 2020 at 5:16pm CST by Ben Levine

Dante Pettis‘ disappointing tenure with the 49ers has come to an end. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that San Francisco is waiving the wide receiver. The 49ers made the move after “trying and failing to trade” the former second-rounder.

It’s not a huge surprise that Pettis was on the trade block. After all, head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters that the team was shopping the wideout last month. Shanahan seemed to somewhat walk back those comments after the 49ers had suffered a handful of receiver injuries, but it was still clear that Pettis probably wasn’t going to stick around San Francisco long term.

Other teams apparently weren’t willing to give up even a conditional draft pick for Pettis, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he won’t find another gig. As Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel points out on Twitter, it’ll only cost a team around $264K in cap space to claim the receiver, so there’s a chance that Pettis may not even hit free agency.

The Washington product was a second-round pick (No. 44) by the 49ers in 2018. He had a solid rookie campaign, hauling in 27 catches for 467 yards and five scores in 12 games (seven starts). He saw time in 11 games (four starts) in 2019, but his production plummeted, as he finished with 11 catches for 109 yards and two scores.

Pettis had basically been phased out of the 49ers offense in 2020. While he’s appeared in five games (one start), he’s mostly appeared on special teams (collecting two punt returns, one kick return, and a lost fumble). He appeared in 73-percent of his team’s offensive snaps in Week 1, but other than three offensive snaps in Week 8, Pettis hasn’t appeared on offense since September.

49ers Rumors: Pettis, Samuel, RBs, Reed

October 28th, 2020 at 6:50pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here is the latest out of San Francisco. More injuries have cropped up for the 49ers, causing them to alter a previous strategy. But the 4-3 team received good news on the health front as well.

  • Dante Pettis looks to be off the trade block. The 49ers lost Deebo Samuel and Richie James to injuries during their win against the Patriots, and Kyle Shanahan said the team is now no longer likely to trade Pettis, via Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News (on Twitter). Shanahan previously confirmed the team was trying to deal the 2018 second-round wideout, who has fallen out of favor after showing flashes as a rookie. Pettis may receive another chance soon. The ex-Washington Husky standout has played sparingly on offense and special teams this season but has not caught a pass in nearly a year.
  • As for Samuel, he is set for another multiweek absence. The second-year receiver suffered a hamstring strain that will keep him out of Sunday’s game against the Seahawks. Shanahan expects his No. 1 wideout to miss San Francisco’s Week 9 game against Green Bay as well. Samuel has not enjoyed much time to build on his strong rookie season, with this hamstring setback coming after he missed a few months because of a foot fracture.
  • While Jeff Wilson became the latest 49ers running back to go down, the team received good news regarding one member of its backfield. The 49ers designated Tevin Coleman to return from IR Wednesday, opening the door to the veteran back playing in Seattle after a six-week absence. Should Coleman return, the 49ers will only be down two backs — Wilson and Raheem Mostert. The 49ers also designated Jordan Reed and K’Waun Williams to come off IR. The team has three weeks to activate its IR-DTR players.
  • The fifth of San Francisco’s running backs to see time this season, JaMycal Hasty, opted to stay in San Francisco despite offers to leave. Three teams expressed interest in poaching Hasty off the 49ers’ practice squad, per agent Scott Casterline, but the rookie UDFA preferred to stay and wait for an opportunity with a team that has been known to use running back committees under Shanahan, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area notes. Hasty, now on the team’s 53-man roster, has averaged 5.2 yards per carry in three games.
  • Before signing offensive lineman Tony Bergstrom to their practice squad, the 49ers also brought former Bears starter Ted Larsen and ex-Dolphins first-stringer Evan Boehm for workouts. The 49ers, who are expected to be without starting center Weston Richburg until perhaps Week 12, lost replacement Ben Garland recently.

Shanahan: 49ers Shopping WR Dante Pettis

October 23rd, 2020 at 3:43pm CST by Sam Robinson

Kyle Shanahan has revealed one player on his team’s trade block this season. The 49ers are shopping Dante Pettis, per their fourth-year coach (via The Athletic’s Matt Barrows, on Twitter).

Pettis’ stock has plummeted considerably in San Francisco since he arrived as a 2018 second-round pick. The former Washington Husky standout has no catches this season and was a healthy scratch down the stretch for the 2019 NFC champion 49ers edition. He battled a knee injury as well last season and has missed the past two games with more knee trouble.

Pettis did submit some highlights as a rookie — 27 receptions, 467 yards, five touchdown catches — but has not been seen much on offense since. Shanahan confirming Pettis’ trade-block status also occurred on the wideout’s 25th birthday. John Lynch has fielded “a number” of calls on Pettis, Shanahan said before adding that nothing is imminent, per the San Francisco Chronicle’s Eric Branch (on Twitter). Pettis interest appears to be tepid at this point.

At Washington, Pettis caught 15 touchdown passes as a junior in 2016 and was dominant as a returner. In four seasons at the Pac-12 program, Pettis returned nine punts for touchdowns — including four his senior season. The 49ers have since used two more premium draft choices on wideouts, taking Deebo Samuel in the 2019 second round and Brandon Aiyuk in this year’s first round. Both quickly passed Pettis in San Francisco’s aerial pecking order.

The 49ers made their interest in trading Marquise Goodwin public previously and found a taker for the ex-Olympian, sending him to the Eagles during draft weekend. Pettis’ rookie contract runs through the 2021 season.

49ers WR Dante Pettis Has Knee Sprain

November 29th, 2019 at 11:10am CST by Marc Delucchi

49ers wide receiver Dante Pettis left practice on Wednesday with what could have been a serious knee injury, luckily, the sophomore wideout’s injury appears to just be a sprain that is not a cause for long-term concern, according to Ian Rapoport. The injury does make his status this week uncertain, but should not limit him later in the year.

This season has gone as good as anyone could have expected for the 49ers, but that has not been the case for Pettis. The team’s second round pick in 2018 appeared poised for a breakout after a strong finish to his rookie season. However, he found himself at the bottom of the team’s depth chart at receiver and has been unable to take advantage of limited opportunities.

In 2019, Pettis has appeared in all 11 49ers games (4 starts) this season and hauled in 11 receptions for 109 yards and two touchdowns. For what it’s worth, Pettis only had 11 receptions and 189 yards at this point last season before recording 262 receiving yards in his next four games.

Pettis may be on the border of the 49ers plans going forward, but a season-ending injury could have spelled the end of his time in San Francisco. Matt Barrows of The Athletic reported that either Pettis or wide receiver Marquise Goodwin, who is dealing with minor injuries of his own, will be inactive this week in San Francisco’s big game in Baltimore against the Ravens.

 

Extra Points: Brady, Brown, Pettis

October 26th, 2019 at 9:18pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

There’s been a lot of talk about Tom Brady‘s future recently, thanks to ESPN’s Adam Schefter hinting on this past week’s Monday Night Football broadcast that Brady might be eyeing a new team in 2020. Appearing on ESPN’s ‘Get Up’ earlier this week Schefter doubled down, per Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston. Schefter laid out the three possible options: Brady retiring, Brady returning to the Patriots in 2020, or Brady going to a new team. Schefter then said that “staying in New England, to me, would seem like the least likely option of the three.”

That’s a pretty bold statement to make, and Schefter is obviously one of the most well-connected people around the league so he wouldn’t say something like that lightly. The Patriots are coming off yet another Super Bowl win and have started the season 7-0, but thanks to a unique contract maneuver with voidable years, Brady is set to become a free agent at the end of the 2019 campaign. Brady’s deal includes a provision that precludes the Pats from franchise-tagging him, so he’s truly free to walk if he wants to. We’ll surely hear a lot more about his future with New England before the end of the season.

Here’s more from around the league on a quiet Saturday evening as we await kickoff:

  • Speaking of the Patriots, their former receiver Antonio Brown is still looking for work. It’s been made clear that Brown won’t be picked up before the league includes its investigation into his sexual assault allegations, and the two sides appear to be in a stalemate. Brown says he’s ready to interview with the league, people close to the embattled wideout told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (Twitter link). However, a separate source told Fowler that the league “feels like it’s waiting on Brown.” This type of confusion is par for the course for this whole saga. Meanwhile, Fowler notes that Brown continues to train on his own in Florida.
  • Dante Pettis was on the receiving end of a lot of hype this offseason, but the second-year pro hasn’t had the breakout campaign many were hoping for. The 49ers’ second-round pick last year, Pettis has been a bit of a disappointment. He’s been buried in San Francisco’s pecking order, and apparently he could be on the move. During a recent radio appearance, Sirius XM NFL Insider Adam Caplan said not to be surprised if the young receiver is traded at the deadline (Twitter link). There are a lot of teams in need of receiver help, and given Pettis’ age and the promise he flashed last season, the 49ers should be able to land a middle-round pick for him if they did decide to deal him. So far this season he has only nine catches for 83 yards and one touchdown.
  • In case you missed it, multiple teams are in on Kenyan Drake.
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