Today’s practice squad moves:
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: QB Brett Rypien
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: QB Ian Book
- Released: DB Mekhi Garner
Today’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Designated for return: WR Deonte Harty
Houston Texans
- Designated for return: TE Teagan Quitoriano
Los Angeles Chargers
- Designated for return: WR Simi Fehoko
Los Angeles Rams
- Activated from IR: S John Johnson
Philadelphia Eagles
- Waived: QB Ian Book
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Designated for return: OT Calvin Anderson
A handful of playoff teams designated players for return from IR today, opening the 21-day window for activation. While there’s a chance these players are activated at some point during the postseason, they could also merely be providing the team with another body during practices.
The Eagles have activated defensive end Bryce Huff from injured reserve, per a team announcement.
Huff landed on IR on November 22 with a wrist injury that required surgery. He was designated to return on December 18 and suffered no setbacks in his two weeks of practice, setting him up to return to the lineup on Sunday against the Cowboys.
The Eagles will be hoping that Huff can be more effective heading towards the playoffs than he was to start the year. After a career-high 10.0 sacks in 2023 earned him a three-year, $51MM deal in free agency, Huff only recorded 2.5 sacks over his first 10 games in Philadelphia. His snap count already began to decrease before his injury, but fellow edge rusher Brandon Graham has since gone down with a triceps tear. Huff’s veteran teammate might be able to return deep in the playoffs, but until then, the Eagles will need Huff to recapture some of his 2023 form.
Huff’s activation was one of several Eagles roster moves on Saturday; the team also waived defensive end Charles Harris to make room for Huff on the 53-man roster. With Jalen Hurts sidelined, the Eagles promoted Ian Book from the practice squad to the active roster so he can serve as the team’s emergency third quarterback.
Wide receiver Britain Covey was placed on injured reserve for the second time this year, ending his regular season. Covey will be eligible to return in the playoffs if the Eagles make the NFC Championship game. Running back Tyrion Davis-Price and linebacker Dallas Gant were also elevated from the practice squad for Sunday’s matchup with the Cowboys.
Dealing with multiple injuries at quarterback, the Eagles hosted Ian Book on a visit. That meeting will lead to a free agency addition. Book is signing with Philadelphia.
This is a practice squad deal, per NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo. With Jalen Hurts in concussion protocol and backup Kenny Pickett dealing with a rib injury, the Eagles are suddenly vulnerable at the game’s most important position. Book profiles as insurance.
Book is making a return trip to Philly, having been with the team for just more than a year earlier in his career. The Eagles claimed Book off waivers from the Saints in August 2022 and carried him until moving on in August 2023. He will join Tanner McKee as healthy Philly QBs presently.
As he goes through the protocol, Hurts did not practice Wednesday. His availability for Week 17 is up in the air. Pickett logged a limited session on Christmas Day, but the former Steelers starter-turned-Hurts backup did not make it through his first extended 2024 appearance unscathed. McKee did not see any game action, but he would be the next man up if both Philadelphia’s starter and backup could not go against the Cowboys. The Eagles drafted McKee in the 2023 sixth round.
The Saints made Book a 2021 fourth-round pick, and he made an emergency start that season. A Saints team wrecked by COVID-19 turned to Book in a Monday-night outing against the Dolphins. It did not go well for the hosts that night, as Book threw two interceptions during the short-notice start. The Notre Dame alum has not played in a regular-season game since. The Eagles rostered him during their 2022 Super Bowl LVII season but did not keep him for the 2023 season, having drafted McKee to play behind Hurts and Marcus Mariota.
Book, 26, has bounced from the Saints to the Eagles to the Patriots to the Chiefs. He has not been with a team since being cut by Kansas City in August. To make room on their practice squad, the Eagles released DB Tariq Castro-Fields. The team also signed running back Lew Nichols to its P-squad.
The Chiefs have started to trim their roster, with the team announcing that they’ve waived the following 12 players:
- CB Miles Battle
- QB Ian Book
- CB Ekow Boye-Doe
- WR Phillip Brooks
- DE Owen Carney
- DT Alex Gubner
- CB Kelvin Joseph
- G Griffin McDowell
- LS Randen Plattner
- WR Kyle Sheets
- TE Geor’quarius Spivey
- G Nick Torres
Kelvin Joseph‘s brief stint in Kansas City has already come to an end. The former second-round pick disappointed during his time in Dallas, starting only three of his 26 appearances through two seasons. He was traded to Miami last August but only got into four games with his new squad before earning his walking papers. He ended the campaign with the Seahawks, and in total, he finished the 2023 campaign having appeared in only five games. Joseph signed a reserve/futures contract with the Chiefs back in January but didn’t do enough during the preseason to earn a spot on the opening 53-man roster.
Ian Book joined the Chiefs via a reserve/futures contract back in January, but he wasn’t able to pass Chris Oladokun as the organization’s QB3 behind Patrick Mahomes and Carson Wentz. Book hasn’t seen the field since his one-start cameo with the Saints in 2021, although he’s continued to get jobs from the Eagles and Patriots.
Wednesday’s reserve/futures deals:
Atlanta Falcons
- FB Robert Burns, S Tre Tarpley
Chicago Bears
- S Douglas Coleman, LS Cameron Lyons
Kansas City Chiefs
- QB Ian Book, WR Jacob Copeland, RB Hassan Hall, OLB Jordan Smith
Los Angeles Chargers
New York Giants
- LB Tomon Fox
SEPTEMBER 19: Corral has spent time on the Panthers’ offseason roster, Carolina’s IR list, along with the Patriots’ 53 and New England’s exempt/left squad list. After his second stay on waivers, the 2022 third-round pick is now a first-time free agent. No one claimed Corral by Tuesday afternoon’s deadline, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets.
SEPTEMBER 18: The Patriots’ flier on Matt Corral produced an early speedbump, with the former third-round pick being placed on the exempt/left squad list. Days later, Corral is no longer with the team.
New England waived Corral from the exempt/left squad list and also released Ian Book from its practice squad. Book landed on the Pats’ P-squad last week, after he had worked out for multiple teams.
Corral missed multiple Pats practices leading up to Week 1 and was absent from team meetings. The Patriots could circle back to Corral as a practice squad addition, assuming he clears waivers, but it is not known if the Ole Miss alum is in the team’s plans any longer. It will be interesting to see if the Panthers pick up Corral for their P-squad. Frank Reich indicated the team was interested in adding him to its taxi squad following the late-August cut. Two weeks ago, Bill Belichick called Corral a “good, young developing player,” but the Pats — for the time being, at least — have moved on.
Three seasons remain on Corral’s rookie contract, but last year’s No. 94 overall pick is trending downward despite having recovered from the Lisfranc injury that ended his rookie year before it started. Trade rumors emerged early this offseason, and the team then signed Andy Dalton and traded up for the No. 1 overall pick, which became Bryce Young. The Panthers have only Young and Dalton on their active roster; they are not carrying a QB on their practice squad.
Viewed as a raw prospect, Corral generated buzz to be drafted much higher than 94th. On what became a tough night for Corral, Desmond Ridder and Malik Willis, the Panthers traded a 2023 third-round pick to move up (via the Patriots) to No. 94. The Pats hired ex-Panthers player personnel director Pat Stewart this offseason, and while that undoubtedly helped lead to the team claiming Corral on waivers, the second-year passer is back on the wire.
Bailey Zappe sits behind Mac Jones on New England’s 53-man roster, and rookie UDFA Malik Cunningham resides on the practice squad. The team could be on the lookout for a new option. The Pats had checked on Colt McCoy and discussed Case Keenum with the Texans recently.
Today’s taxi squad moves around the league:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: LB Tyreek Maddox-Williams
- Placed on IR: S Jovante Moffatt
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: RB Godwin Igwebuike
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: WR Michael Strachan
Denver Broncos
- Signed: WR Michael Bandy
Houston Texans
- Signed: DT Bruce Hector
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: T Sebastian Gutierrez, CB Troy Pride Jr.
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: RB Jaret Patterson, OLB Ty Shelby
New England Patriots
- Signed: QB Ian Book, DB William Hooper
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: CB Faion Hicks, TE Michael Jacobson, OLB Terrell Lewis, LB Ty Summers
- Placed on IR: LB Ryan Connelly
- Released: WR Jontre Kirklin
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: OL John Molchon
The Eagles released linebacker Nicholas Morrow and waived running back Trey Sermon today, and they’ve now cut a number of young players to get down to the 53-man roster limit:
Waived:
- WR Devon Allen
- LB Quinton Bell
- QB Ian Book
- RB Kennedy Brooks
- DT Robert Cooper
- WR Britain Covey
- CB Mekhi Garner
- G Julian Good-Jones
- WR Jadon Haselwood
- DE Tarron Jackson
- TE Tyree Jackson
- LB Kyron Johnson
- WR Johnny King
- LB Tyreek Maddox-Williams
- S Tristin McCollum
- WR Joseph Ngata
- DE Janarius Robinson
- G TyreseRobinson
- TE Brady Russell
- DT Olive Sagapolu
- DT Caleb Sanders
- CB Josiah Scott
- G Josh Sills
- P Arryn Siposs
- WR Freddie Swain
- LB Ben VanSumeren
- S K’Von Wallace
- WR Greg Ward
- DT Marvin Wilson
Released from IR:
Devon Allen is two-time Olympian hurdler, and after having played college football for Oregon between 2013 and 2016, he caught on with the Eagles last offseason. He spent most of the 2022 campaign on Philly’s practice squad, and there’s a chance he’s destined for the same gig again in 2023.
Britain Covey is another subtraction from the WRs room, although the 26-year-old played only 19 snaps on offense for the Eagles in 2022. He had a much larger role on special teams, where he returned 10 kicks for 206 yards and 33 punts for 308 yards.
Sun, 8:44pm: The cuts continued in Philadelphia today, according to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Among those already listed below, the Eagles waived DE Quinton Bell, RB Kennedy Brooks, DT Robert Cooper, WR Jadon Haselwood, LB Tyreek Maddox-Williams, DT Olive Sagapolu, DT Caleb Sanders, WR Freddie Swain, and DT Marvin Wilson.
Most notable of these is likely Swain, who is only two years separated from catching four touchdowns for the Seahawks in 2021. After failing to catch on with the Broncos and Dolphins in 2022 and the Eagles this offseason, Swain will have to keep looking for his next NFL home.
Sat, 9:45pm: Further names on the cut list are in, courtesy of KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. Veteran offensive tackle Dennis Kelly is among the players being let go, putting an end to his Eagles reunion. The 33-year-old began his career in Philadelphia and returned there in July after spending last season with the Colts, but the team will move forward with its in-house options up front. A veteran of 54 starts and 130 games, Kelly will look to find a depth role elsewhere as teams search for quality fill-in options along their O-lines.
In addition to Kelly, the Eagles have released fellow linemen Josh Andrews, Cameron Tom and Brett Toth, as well as wide receiver Deon Cain.
Sat, 12:48pm: The Eagles are starting to reduce their roster to 53 players. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Eagles are releasing tight end Dan Arnold. The team has also waived tight end Tyree Jackson (per Pelissero), quarterback Ian Book (per Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer), offensive lineman Tyrese Robinson (per McLane), and wideout Johnny King (per Andrew DiCecco of InsideTheBirds.com).
According to Pelissero, the Eagles released Arnold now so the veteran would have more time to catch on with a new team. The former undrafted free agent out of UW–Platteville joined Philly earlier this offseason but was facing an uphill battle to make the final roster.
The tight end’s best season came with the Cardinals in 2020, when he hauled in 31 receptions for 438 yards and four touchdowns in 16 games (five starts). He spent most of the past two seasons in Jacksonville, hauling in 37 catches for 459 yards. Pro Football Focus generally hasn’t been a fan of Arnold’s blocking ability throughout his career, although the site has given him solid grades for his receiving skills. There’s a chance he catches on with a new team, even if he has to ultimately settled for a practice squad gig.
Jackson was facing a similar battle to make the roster considering the team’s depth at tight end. The former UDFA got into 12 games for the Eagles over the past two years, compiling three catches and one touchdown. With Arnold and Jackson out of the picture, the team’s depth chart at TE now includes Dallas Goedert, Jack Stoll, Grant Calcaterra, and Brady Russell.
Book seemed destined to be the Eagles fourth QB in 2023, so there’s a good chance he lands back on the practice squad after serving in a similar role in 2022. The former fourth-round pick got one start as a rookie with the Saints in 2021, completing 12 of his 20 pass attempts while tossing a pair of interceptions.