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Dawuane Smoot

Bills Activate DE Dawuane Smoot, LB Baylon Spector

December 14th, 2024 at 6:45pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Bills will have a pair of defensive reinforcements available for tomorrow’s game against the Lions. Dawuane Smoot and Baylon Spector have been activated from injured reserve, per a team announcement.

Smoot and Spector were designated for return earlier this week, opening their respective 21-day practice windows. They have both avoided setbacks over the past few days, clearing the way for today’s move. Buffalo will have three activations available over the remainder of the regular season.

Smoot suffered a wrist injury in November, and surgery was required as a result. It was unclear at the time if the issue would be season-ending, but Smoot has managed to rehab in time for the closing weeks of the campaign. His return will be welcomed given his rotational role along the edge prior to the injury. The 29-year-old has made four starts and handled a 48% snap share in 2024, his debut Bills campaign.

While Smoot is a pending free agent, Spector is still attached to his rookie contract through 2025. The latter has similarly been a part-time defensive contributor this season, though, and his presence will be key down the stretch after the Bills dealt with multiple linebacker injuries earlier in the year. Spector, 26, was used almost exclusively on special teams during his first two seasons in the league but he has taken on an increased workload in 2024. With Terrel Bernard healthy and Matt Milano back in the fold, Buffalo’s LB situation is in a much better place now than it has been throughout the season.

In corresponding roster moves, offensive lineman Will Clapp and receiver Jalen Virgil were let go. Both players will now hit the waiver wire, although it is unlikely either of them will get claimed. Provided they reach free agency, they will be candidates to remain in the Bills’ organization via a practice squad deal.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/11/24

December 11th, 2024 at 8:25pm CST by Ely Allen

Wednesday’s minor roster updates:

Atlanta Falcons

  • Signed to active roster: RB Carlos Washington Jr.
  • Placed on IR: RB Jase McClellan

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Los Angeles Rams

  • Reverted to season-ending IR: G KT Leveston

Miami Dolphins

New York Giants

New York Jets

Seattle Seahawks

It’s unfortunate news for the rookie second-round safety, Nubin. After starting the first 13 games of his first season in the NFL, the top-drafted safety in the 2024 NFL Draft will end the year on injured reserve with an ankle injury. Nubin had graded out as the 34th-best safety in the league, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), before the injury.

Charles will miss the remainer of the season, as well, and perhaps some of next year. The former undrafted receiver will be undergoing surgery for a torn ACL.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/5/24

November 5th, 2024 at 9:07pm CST by Ely Allen

Tuesday’s minor moves:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Green Bay Packers

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Washington Commanders

Free Agent

We don’t have a reason for Moreland’s suspension yet, but we know that it will last three weeks. He hasn’t played in the NFL since 2021, but if a team were to sign him, he wouldn’t be available for three games.

Bills To Place DE Dawuane Smoot On IR

November 4th, 2024 at 4:27pm CST by Sam Robinson

Despite Dawuane Smoot signing a one-year, $2.5MM deal during the summer, the veteran defensive end worked his way into the Bills’ starting lineup. The AFC East leaders have turned to the former Jaguars regular as a first-stringer in each of the past four games.

Buffalo’s edge-rushing depth will take a hit, however, with Sean McDermott indicating (via The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia) Smoot is headed to IR with a wrist injury. The veteran EDGE needs surgery, and while McDermott said the team hopes this is not a season-ending issue, no return timeline exists right now.

The Bills dropped A.J. Epenesa back to a place as a rotational rusher, doing so even after giving the former second-round pick a two-year, $12MM deal. This brought a Smoot move into the starting lineup. While Buscaglia indicates Epenesa’s run-game work leaves a bit to be desired, Pro Football Focus had graded the Iowa alum as better in that department compared to Smoot, who served as a starter during Von Miller‘s suspension.

Miller has not started for the Bills since his 2022 ACL tear, but the future Hall of Famer has more closely resembled his pre-injury version this season after a concerning 2023 showing. Back from a four-game ban, Miller carries three sacks into Week 10. Epenesa and Gregory Rousseau have four and 4.5, respectively. Smoot has 1.5 this season and has long been a rotational player, though he frequently supplied Jacksonville’s pass rush with support during Josh Hines-Allen‘s run.

Smoot, 29, totaled between five and six sacks in each season from 2019-22. A late-season Achilles tear in 2022 hurt his 2023 market, leading to a one-year, $3.5MM Jags deal just before last season. Smoot only notched one sack in 12 games as a backup, and the Bills brought him in as a depth piece in May. Only Smoot has managed a healthy workload as of late. He played between 47% and 68% of Buffalo’s defensive snaps from Weeks 4-8, notching three tackles for loss in that span.

With this injury occurring two days before the trade deadline, it will be interesting if the Bills — who have seen their defense hurt by key injuries in each of the past four seasons — add at least a depth player. Miller is now 35 and has two ACL tears on his medical sheet. The team is carrying six D-ends on its 53-man roster, however, with offseason pickup Casey Toohill and fifth-round rookie Javon Solomon residing behind the Miller-Epenesa duo on the depth chart. With one of those two set to start moving forward, the Bills will need to assess whether their current EDGE group is sufficient.

Bills Sign WR Chase Claypool, DE Dawuane Smoot

May 3rd, 2024 at 11:29am CST by Adam La Rose

The Bills continue to be active in the post-draft free agent market. Buffalo announced on Friday that the previously-reported agreement with linebacker Deion Jones has become official. The team has also added wideout Chase Claypool as well as defensive end Dawuane Smoot, though. All three players are attached to one-year deals.

Claypool showcased considerable potential during his first two seasons in the league. Operating as a key member of the Steelers’ offense, the former second-rounder posted 1,845 combined yards and 13 total touchdowns between the 2020 and ’21 campaigns. Things have not gone according to plan since, however, with a trade to the Bears in 2022 not producing the desired impact.

Claypool made just 18 catches in 10 games with Chicago, and he was on the move once again this year when he was traded to the Dolphins. The 25-year-old Canadian’s Miami stint produced only four receptions in nine games, and the team is in the market for a WR3 upgrade. Claypool visited the Seahawks in April, but to little surprise that did not yield a pre-draft agreement. Buffalo will bring him in ahead of offseason practices and training camp and in doing so provide him the opportunity to carve out a roster spot.

The Bills’ receiver room looks much different with Gabe Davis having departed in free agency prior to the trade which sent Stefon Diggs to the Texans. Buffalo traded down to the No. 33 spot in the draft and used that pick on Keon Coleman, and the team followed up that move by signing Quintez Cephus. Claypool will compete with the latter for a depth spot in the receiver pecking order this summer.

Smoot is likewise headed to Buffalo not long after meeting with another team. The 29-year-old recently visited the Texans, but he will instead look to earn a roster spot with the Bills. Smoot delivered a strong outing in 2021 (10 starts, six sacks), but an Achilles tear suffered the following year hurt his market value. Playing out a one-year deal last season, he posted just one sack while logging a rotational defensive role.

Buffalo has Von Miller on the books through 2027, and the team has retained both A.J. Epenesa and Greg Rousseau recently. The former re-signed on a two-year deal before the latter had his 2025 fifth-year option picked up. Smoot will look to earn a complementary place behind those three returnees in Buffalo this season, his first spent outside of Jacksonville.

The Bills entered Friday with only $2.8MM in cap space, much of which will be needed to sign their rookie class. While none of the Jones, Claypool or Smoot deals will be particularly lucrative, they will nevertheless use up much of the team’s remaining financial resources available until the post-June 1 release of Tre’Davious White frees up more spending power.

Texans Host Free Agent DE Dawuane Smoot

April 28th, 2024 at 11:43am CST by Rory Parks

On the eve of this year’s draft, the Texans hosted free agent defensive end Dawuane Smoot, per ESPN’s Field Yates. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2, Smoot’s visit was “positive,” and the two sides left the door open to an agreement once the draft dust settled.

The Texans were aggressive in the free agent and trade markets this offeason as they attempt to capitalize on the financial freedom that having quarterback C.J. Stroud on his rookie deal affords them. That was especially evident in the club’s approach to its defensive front, as it added players like Foley Fatukasi, Denico Autry, Tim Settle, and Mario Edwards Jr. to the unit while re-signing Derek Barnett and landing one of this year’s biggest free agent fish, Danielle Hunter.

Smoot would presumably compete for reps with Barnett and 2023 fourth-rounder Dylan Horton behind starters Will Anderson and Hunter. The Texans are plenty familiar with Smoot, a longtime cog of the division-rival Jaguars, and his signing would represent a low-risk, high-reward endeavor for the overnight championship contenders.

Now 29, Smoot was selected by Jacksonville in the third round of the 2017 draft. While it took several years for him to find his footing in the professional ranks, he quietly emerged as a consistent pass rusher, collecting 22.5 sacks for the Jags between 2019 and 2022. That included a 2021 campaign in which he started a career-high 10 games and compiled 36 tackles, six sacks, and 16 QB hits.

Smoot unfortunately suffered a torn Achilles towards the end of a similarly productive 2022 season, which proved to be especially poor timing since he was finishing up the two-year, $10MM deal he signed the year before. Smoot lingered on the open market until last July, when he inked a modest one-year pact to remain with the Jaguars. He was promptly placed on the PUP list due to the Achilles injury and did not make his 2023 debut until the middle of October. In 12 games (zero starts), Smoot recorded just one sack and four QB hits.

Still, now that he is over a year removed from the Achilles tear, it is fair to expect him to recapture at least some of the form he displayed during his peak years in Duval. At the very least, he should be able to serve as a useful rotational pass rusher, and he can likely be had for another low-cost contract.

Houston did not add an edge defender until the seventh round of the 2024 draft, when it selected USC product Solomon Byrd. As such, it seems that nothing that transpired this weekend would preclude the Texans from circling back to Smoot.

Jaguars Activate DE Dawuane Smoot From PUP

October 14th, 2023 at 12:50pm CST by Ben Levine

After suffering an Achilles injury late during the 2022 season, Dawuane Smoot is ready to make his return to the field. The Jaguars announced that they’ve activated the defensive end from the physically unable to perform list. To make room on the roster, the Jaguars placed cornerback Christian Braswell on injured reserve.

While it took a few years for him to find his place on defense, Smoot has emerged as one of the Jaguars’ most consistent pass-rushers in recent years. The former third-round pick collected 22.5 sacks for Jacksonville between 2019 and 2022, including a 2021 campaign where he started a career-high 10 games en route to 36 tackles, six sacks, and 16 QB hits.

He continued his production in 2022, finishing with five sacks, six tackles for loss, and 12 QB hits. He suffered a torn Achilles last December, an injury that proved to be poor timing since Smoot was finishing up a two-year, $10MM deal he signed with the organization in 2021. It took the 28-year-old until July to re-sign with the Jaguars, and he was placed on PUP to begin the 2023 campaign. Smoot returned to practice earlier this month.

Josh Allen and Travon Walker are manning the edge spots, meaning Smoot will compete with K’Lavon Chaisson for any leftover pass-rush reps. For what it’s worth, coach Doug Pederson said this week that he doesn’t expect Smoot to be on a snap count when he returns to the field.

“He brings a veteran leadership and presence out there,” Pederson said (h/t Adam Stites of JagsWire). “You can play him in base defense, you can play him in nickel in pass rush situations. There’s his production that comes from being inside and all of that on third down and stuff.

“I don’t think you want to put him on a pitch count, but I think you have to monitor, and you don’t want to get his rep count too high. But at the same time, you want to let him get comfortable with the game and see how he is doing throughout the course of three hours or so that you’re out there.”

Smoot will be taking the roster spot held by Braswell, a rookie sixth-round pick. The Rutgers product appeared in each of Jacksonville’s first three games this season, but he’ll now be sidelined for at least the next four games while he recovers from a hamstring injury.

Jags Designate Dawuane Smoot For Return

October 4th, 2023 at 10:07am CST by Sam Robinson

During their London trip, the Jaguars could have multiple linemen back. In addition to seeing left tackle Cam Robinson reinstated from his four-game PED suspension, Jacksonville is opening Dawuane Smoot‘s practice window.

The Jags announced Smoot will begin practicing Wednesday. The recently re-signed edge rusher landed on the reserve/PUP list to start the season. Smoot sustained an Achilles tear in Week 16 of last season.

Smoot is playing on his third Jaguars contract. The team had re-signed the former third-round pick in 2021 and had seen steady play amid a woeful period. Smoot registered between five and six sacks in each of his past four seasons. He combined for 29 QB hits from 2020-21 and added 12 last season to go with his five sacks. The Achilles tear crushed Smoot’s market, but shortly after the Ravens arranged a free agency meeting, the Illinois alum opted to return to the Jags on a one-year, $3.5MM deal.

The team circled back to Smoot in July, adding him months after losing Arden Key in free agency. Key signed with the Titans, creating a void behind starters Josh Allen and Travon Walker. Smoot, 28, will be expected to re-emerge as a key backup. The Jags are down multiple front-seven pieces, with defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton still on IR.

Week 5 represents the first week for players on the PUP, IR and NFI lists to return. Wednesday’s designation for return starts Smoot’s activation clock. The Jaguars now have three weeks to move the seventh-year defender back onto their 53-man roster. Failure to do so in a 21-day period would send Smoot to season-ending IR.

Jaguars Place DT DaVon Hamilton On IR, Sign DL Angelo Blackson

August 31st, 2023 at 9:26am CST by Sam Robinson

Two of the Jaguars’ pass rushers will be out of the mix to start the season. In addition to Dawuane Smoot staying on the PUP list, the Jags will be without DaVon Hamilton, who landed on IR on Thursday.

Jacksonville shifted Hamilton and offensive lineman Cooper Hodges to IR, sidelining each for at least four games to start the year, and signed veteran D-lineman Angelo Blackson and O-lineman Blake Hance.

A back issue sidelined Hamilton late in training camp. The Jaguars had given the former third-round pick a lucrative extension — three years, $34.5MM — this offseason. But both he and Smoot, who re-signed late this summer, will make delayed debuts for the defending AFC South champions. Neither can return until at least Week 5.

Hamilton moved into the Jags’ starting lineup on a full-time basis last season, starting 14 games. Pro Football Focus rated Hamilton as a top-30 interior D-lineman in 2022, but his status will be worth monitoring ahead of his fourth NFL slate. The Jags announced recently Hamilton’s back trouble is a “non-football-related medical issue.” Doug Pederson said recently Hamilton does not have a return timetable. The Jaguars guaranteed the Ohio State alum $20MM at signing.

While teams often use post-cutdown-day IR moves to bring back veterans who went through training camp with the squad, the Jags are adding Blackson, who went to camp with the Ravens. Baltimore released the interior D-lineman on cutdown day, doing so after signing him in the offseason. Blackson, 30, is going into his ninth NFL season.

The Jaguars move Blackson closer to an AFC South career sweep. The former Titans draftee spent two seasons in Tennessee and three in Houston earlier in his career. Blackson migrated to Arizona and then Chicago, playing the past two seasons with the Bears. With Hamilton out indefinitely, the Jags have some insurance in Blackson, who has made 42 career starts. The eight-year veteran finished the 2021 season with 2.5 sacks and nine quarterback hits. In 15 games last year, Blackson did not register a sack and tallied one QB hit.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/26/23

July 26th, 2023 at 9:07pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: WR Cody Chrest
  • Placed on NFI: OT Caleb Jones
  • Waived/injured: WR Jeff Cotton

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Among the additions on today’s list, defensive back A.J. Moore is the most notable. The defensive back spent four years with the Texans to begin his career, compiling 69 tackles in 55 games while primarily playing on special teams. The 27-year-old spent a chunk of last season on the Titans practice squad, and he ultimately got into one game with the big-league club.

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