Deneric Prince

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 8/30/24

Many teams used Friday to make further adjustments to their practice squads. Here is the full breakdown:

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

  • Signed: DT Cory Durden
  • Released: DT Tuli Letuligasenoa

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Wolford’s seven regular season appearances to date have all come with the Rams. The 28-year-old spent last season with the Buccaneers, though, working with then-offensive coordinator Dave Canales. Canales is now the head coach in Carolina, and Wolford has followed him in a bid to earn a 53-man roster spot at some point during the season. The Panthers already had Jack Plummer on their taxi squad, but Wolford will offer Canales and Co. a more familiar option behind Bryce Young and Andy Dalton.

Chiefs Trim Roster To 53

Moving on from wideouts Kadarius Toney and Justyn Ross, the Chiefs are down to 53. Here is how the two-time defending champs got there:

Released:

Waived:

Drafted in the 2020 third round with a path toward becoming the Chiefs’ starting right tackle, Niang has been unable to stay healthy. Niang’s contract tolled after he opted out of the 2020 season, and while he did start nine games during the ’21 campaign, the team has been unable to count on the TCU alum. Niang suffered a torn patellar tendon late in the 2021 slate and missed most of the ’22 season. Andrew Wylie took over at RT, and the Chiefs signed Jawaan Taylor to a $20MM-per-year deal in 2023.

The team traded for Cowboys tight end Peyton Hendershot earlier today, having done so months after drafting TCU’s Jared Wiley in Round 4. This will lead Smith off the roster. A second-generation NFL tight end, Smith has 21 starts on his resume but has also dealt with significant injury trouble.

Many of these players will end up on Kansas City’s practice squad, which can house up to six vested veterans. Waived players can begin joining teams’ P-squads — if they go unclaimed, that is — beginning at 11am CT on Wednesday.

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 2/14/24

Here are Wednesday’s reserve/futures deals:

Kansas City Chiefs

San Francisco 49ers

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/16/23

Today’s minor transactions and standard gameday elevations for the Sunday slate of games:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Wilkinson returned to practice this week, and will be eligible to return to the lineup on Sunday given today’s activation. The addition of a starter up front will be welcomed by the Cardinals by giving them stability at the left guard spot in particular and by providing an upgrade in protection ahead of a matchup against the stout 49ers defensive front in general. The Cardinals now have four IR activations remaining.

Street was acquired from the Eagles at the trade deadline after he failed to find playing time this season. The 27-year-old has started all five of his appearances in Atlanta, however, racking up 14 tackles (including four for a loss) and one sack. Those numbers will help his free agent market this offseason, but a pectoral injury will sideline him for at least four weeks. If the Falcons fall short of the postseason, therefore, Street will not return in 2023.

McCain was a full-time starter with the Commanders over the past two seasons, but his release led to a one-year Giants agreement. The former fifth-rounder has 87 starts to his name, but he has been unable to carve out a role in New York’s secondary, playing only 19 defensive snaps. McCain has logged a 50% snap share on special teams, however, so his absence in the third phase will be notable if he is claimed off waivers or signed as a free agent by an interested team.

Chiefs Place S Bryan Cook On IR

The Chiefs will welcome back a starting linebacker this weekend, but they’ll be down a starting safety for the foreseeable future. The team announced that they’ve placed safety Bryan Cook on injured reserve. The move makes room for linebacker Nick Bolton, who will be returning from IR.

[RELATED: Chiefs Activate Nick Bolton From IR]

Cook suffered an ankle injury last weekend that limited him to a season-low 22 defensive snaps. Coach Andy Reid already ruled out the defensive back for tomorrow’s game against the Bills, but Cook will now be sidelined for at least the next four games. He’ll be eligible to return for the regular season finale.

The 2022 second-round played mostly as a backup during his rookie season, starting only one of his 16 appearances while getting into about 32 percent of his team’s defensive snaps. In 2023, he’s started all 12 games for the Chiefs, collecting 42 tackles, two passes defended, and two fumble recoveries (including one for a score). Pro Football Focus currently has him ranked 40th among 83 qualifying safeties.

With Cook out of the lineup, the team will likely lean more on Mike Edwards opposite Justin Reid. Edwards has already seen a significant defensive role in 2023, and there have been some weeks where he’s out-snapped Cook.

As ESPN’s Field Yates points out, it’s notable that the Chiefs didn’t place running back Isiah Pacheco on IR. The running back is dealing with a shoulder issue that will sideline him for at least Week 14, and Reid admitted this week that he’s uncertain how much time the starter will miss.

Additionally, the Chiefs announced their two standard gameday practice squad elevations. Suiting up with the active roster against the Bills this weekend will be safety Deon Bush and running back Deneric Prince.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/2/23

Today’s gameday callups and minor moves heading into Sunday:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

The Chiefs have ruled out running back Jerick McKinnon for tomorrow’s game against the Packers, necessitating some extra depth at the position. The team will turn to Prince, an undrafted free agent who has spent the entire season on Kansas City’s practice squad. Prince had a breakout season at Tulsa in 2022, finishing with 813 yards from scrimmage and six touchdowns.

Winfrey, a 2022 fourth-round pick, was cut by the Browns last July after being investigated for pulling a gun on a woman. He joined the Jets practice squad in early November and will finally earn his first promotion of the season. Winfrey got into 13 games for Cleveland last year, collecting 22 tackles and 0.5 sacks.

At age 36, Irvin will be making his debut for a sixth NFL team. The veteran pass rusher signed with Detroit midway through November and will finally have a chance to extend his streak of regular season appearances to 12 straight years. The only absence on the Lions’ front-seven will be linebacker Alex Anzalone, so Detroit may be looking to stand Irvin up to help the team’s depth at linebacker.

 

Wednesday NFL Transactions: AFC West

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 BroncosChargersChiefs and Raiders moves are noted below.

Denver Broncos

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Kansas City Chiefs

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Las Vegas Raiders

Placed on IR: 

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Los Angeles Chargers

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Reverted to IR:

Released from IR via injury settlement:

Chiefs Place DT Chris Jones On Reserve/Did Not Report List, Set 53-Man Roster

The Chiefs’ 53-man roster does not include Chris Jones, who continues to stage a rare 2020s holdout. Here is how the defending Super Bowl champions moved down to 53:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Reserve/did not report:

Seeking a contract in the Aaron Donald range, Jones has seen the Chiefs push for a deal more in line with the recently established second tier of the defensive tackle market. Daron Payne, Dexter Lawrence, Jeffery Simmons and Quinnen Williams all signed for between $22.5MM and $24MM per year, but Jones has been resolute as he stays away. The Chiefs are unable to waive the $50K-per-day fines Jones has incurred, separating this from Nick Bosa‘s holdout. On a rookie contract, Bosa’s fines can be waived. Jones has lost more than $1.5MM already but has hinted at a holdout extending into the regular season.

The Chiefs have parted ways with a number of defensive regulars in recent years, moving on from the likes of Marcus Peters, Justin Houston, Tyrann Mathieu and Frank Clark. The team has prioritized Jones in the past, franchise-tagging him and reaching an extension in 2020. Jones, 28, will count on the Chiefs folding, as their pass rush will obviously take a hit without him. But as we move close to the regular season, SI.com’s Albert Breer notes the sides are not close on terms.

It still seems difficult to envision Jones missing out on game checks, but this process has already gone on far longer than expected. The Chiefs have, however, come out against trading the All-Pro D-tackle. Regarding another well-known Chief, Reiter is considered likely to end up on the team’s practice squad, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets.

Chiefs Sign 15 UDFAs

As the Chiefs prepare for the start of their rookie minicamp this weekend, the team announced the signing of 15 undrafted rookies:

The Chiefs also added Nigerian offensive lineman Chukwuebuka Godrick via the NFL International Player Pathway (IPP) program.

According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler (on Twitter), edge rusher Truman Jones got $236K in guaranteed money from the Chiefs. The Harvard product led the Ivy League with 13 tackles for loss last season, although his best bet for making the Chiefs active roster may be on special teams. Jones had a standout 2022 season on ST, finishing with three blocked kicks.

Elsewhere on defense, Indiana’s Cam Jones got a $15K signing bonus and an $135K base salary guarantee from Kansas City, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter). The linebacker finished his college career with 208 tackles and seven sacks, and he was projected to be a late-round pick after leading the Big Ten in tackles per game (10.8) through the first five contests. However, a foot injury ended his season prematurely, and Jones ended up going undrafted as a result.

On the offensive side of the ball, running back Deneric Prince got $231K in guaranteed money, including a $15K signing bonus, per Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com (on Twitter). The Tulane standout averaged more than five yards per carry during his college career, including a 2022 campaign where he compiled a career-high 729 rushing yards. Prince turned heads at the combine when he was fourth at the position in the 40-yard dash and fifth in broad jump.