One minor move to pass along today:
Las Vegas Raiders
After spending his rookie season with the Rams, Meredith caught on with the Raiders in 2022. He spent most of that season on the practice squad but earned a larger role in 2023. The lineman finished this past season having appeared in all 17 games, including one start. A major portion of his snaps came on special teams, but he still got looks on offensive beyond his one start.
18 teams had their seasons come to an end yesterday, and their front offices have already turned the page to the 2023 NFL seaon. This started today, as a number of players were signed to reserve/futures contracts, which allows organizations to retain (routinely) young, practice squad players throughout the offseason. Here are today’s reserve/futures contracts:
Arizona Cardinals
Atlanta Falcons
Buffalo Bills
Carolina Panthers
Chicago Bears
Cleveland Browns
Denver Broncos
Detroit Lions
Indianapolis Colts
Kansas City Chiefs
Las Vegas Raiders
Los Angeles Rams
New Orleans Saints
New York Jets
Washington Commanders
Derek Carr and the Raiders offense will be getting some significant reinforcement. The Raiders have activated tight end Darren Waller and wide receiver Hunter Renfrow from injured reserve, reports ESPN’s Field Yates (via Twitter).
Waller hasn’t seen the field since October but it took the front office a month to finally place him on IR, delaying his required four-game absence. After two-straight 1,000-yard campaigns in 2019 and 2020, Waller was limited to 665 receiving yards in 11 games in 2021. His hamstring injury has limited him to only five appearances in 2022, with the former Pro Bowler hauling in 16 receptions for 175 yards and one score. Waller inked a three-year, $51MM extension with the Raiders back in September.
Renfrow has dealt with a handful of injuries in 2022, limiting him to 21 receptions in six games before being sidelined. The 26-year-old was coming off a breakout campaign in 2021 that saw him haul in 103 receptions en route to a Pro Bowl nod. The wideout inked a $32MM deal with the organization during the offseason.
Without Waller and Renfrow in the lineup, the Raiders have been leaning heavily on Davante Adams and Josh Jacobs, with both players having already topped 1,000 yards from scrimmage. The Raiders second-leading receiver this season has been Mack Hollins, who has hauled in 47 catches for 588 yards and three touchdowns.
The Raiders made a handful of additional moves as they prepare for tomorrow’s game against the Patriots. Las Vegas promoted offensive linemen Sebastian Gutierrez and Jordan Meredith to the active roster. To make room for today’s transaction, the Raiders cut wide receiver DJ Turner and tight end Jacob Hollister.
Today’s practice squad updates:
Atlanta Falcons
Houston Texans
Las Vegas Raiders
San Francisco 49ers
Today’s practice squad transactions:
Atlanta Falcons
Carolina Panthers
Chicago Bears
Cleveland Browns
Denver Broncos
Houston Texans
Indianapolis Colts
New York Giants
New York Jets
Philadelphia Eagles
Pittsburgh Steelers
Today’s practice squad transactions:
Atlanta Falcons
Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland Browns
Miami Dolphins
Minnesota Vikings
New England Patriots
Seattle Seahawks
Tennessee Titans
Today’s practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
Carolina Panthers
Cleveland Browns
Houston Texans
San Francisco 49ers
Sharpe has bounced in recent years, and the 49ers will be his second team in 2022. The 27-year-old initially signed with the Bears in May, but did not see the field in Chicago. He will provide depth for a San Francisco team which has had fellow veteran Willie Snead see time on and off the taxi squad.
Today’s only practice squad moves:
Las Vegas Raiders
Guidry was brought in for cornerback depth a little over a week ago when Anthony Averett was placed on injured reserve. He made an appearance in the Raiders Week 2 game, only playing three special teams snaps, but was later waived to make room for tackle Justin Herron, who was acquired in a trade with the Patriots earlier this week. After clearing waivers, Guidry has returned as a member of the Raiders’ practice squad and can still contribute as a standard gameday elevation.
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 Broncos, Chargers, Chiefs and Raiders moves are noted below.
Here are Wednesday’s AFC West transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day.
Re-signed:
Signed to practice squad:
Signed to practice squad:
Released from IR:
Signed to practice squad:
Signed:
Waived:
Signed to practice squad:
The Raiders have been busy today, trading former second-round cornerback Trayvon Mullen to the Cardinals for a conditional seventh-round pick. The Raiders have since completed their 53-man roster, cutting a number of players:
Keelan Cole started 11 of his 15 games for the Jets last season, finishing with 28 receptions for 449 yards and one touchdown. He was expected to serve as an end-of-the-depth-chart option at wide receiver (and in the return game), but he ultimately lost out on the gig to Tyron Johnson and DJ Turner. Wideout Dillon Stoner and Isaiah Zuber were also candidates for the fourth or fifth receiver gig, but they were cut.
Matthias Farley saw time in all 17 games for the Titans last season, finishing with 16 tackles. He has extensive special teams experience, but the Raiders ended up pivoting to younger options to round out their roster, Darius Phillips was also a candidate to contribute on special teams following a 2021 campaign where he returned 25 punts for the Bengals.
Austin Walter had a career-high 28 touches for the Jets last offseason, but he wasn’t able to crack the Raiders roster even with the release of Kenyan Drake. The Raiders RB room is still plenty crowded, with Josh Jacobs, rookie fourth-round pick Zamir White, special teams ace Brandon Bolden, rookie seventh-round pick Brittain Brown, and veteran Ameer Abdullah all earning roster spots.