Justin Blazek - Pro Football Rumors

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/26/24

August 26th, 2024 at 10:08pm CST by Ely Allen

There have been plenty of posts today about a number of teams releasing and waiving players ahead of roster cuts. Here are the best of the rest of the minor moves for Monday:

Carolina Panthers

Waived (with injury settlement): WR Tayvion Robinson

Cincinnati Bengals

Waived: DE Justin Blazek

Cleveland Browns

Activated from active/PUP list: S D’Anthony Bell

Detroit Lions

Waived: OLB Mitchell Agude, WR Kaden Davis, OL Bryan Hudson, RB Zonovan Knight, CB Rachad Wildgoose, TE Shane Zylstra
Released: DL Pat O’Connor, LB Ty Summers

Houston Texans

Released: DT McTelvin Agim, G Dieter Eiselen, LB Jacob Phillips

Indianapolis Colts

Waived: DE Levi Bell
Released: C Mike Panasiuk

Las Vegas Raiders

Waived: CB Demarcus Governor

New York Giants

Released: T Matt Nelson

New York Jets

Waived: DT Jaylen Twyman

Philadelphia Eagles

Waived (with injury settlement): S Mekhi Garner
Waived: S Andre’ Sam

Pittsburgh Steelers

Waived: T Tyler Beach, WR Jacob Copeland, RB Daijun Edwards, T Devery Hamilton, T Anderson Hardy, CB Kyler McMichael, DE Marquiss Spencer, CB Kiondre Thomas
Released: LB Kyahva Tezino, K Matthew Wright

San Francisco 49ers

Waived: P Pressley Harvin III, G Lewis Kidd, WR Jontre Kirklin
Released: RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn

Seattle Seahawks

Waived: CB Willie Roberts

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Waived: DT C.J. Brewer, DL Mike Greene, CB Keenan Isaac, OLB Daniel Grzesiak, CB Chris McDonald, TE Tanner Taula, S Rashad Wisdom

Tennessee Titans

Waived (with injury designation): LB JoJo Domann, WR Tre’Shaun Harrison
Waived: T Brian Dooley, CB Tay Gowan, LB Mikel Jones, LB Thomas Rush, WR Sam Schnee, TE Steven Stilianos, P Ty Zentner

Nelson was an effective swing tackle for the Lions in the past three years. While he wasn’t able to stick with the Giants, he’s likely to draw interest elsewhere in the NFL.

The Eagles like Sam a lot at safety, but with a number of veterans atop the depth chart, there wasn’t room for him on the roster. The team plans to retain him on the practice squad should he clear waivers, per Andrew DiCecco of 975 The Fanatic. The Buccaneers have similar plans with Isaac, Taula, and Wisdom.

Bengals Sign 14 Undrafted Free Agents

May 11th, 2024 at 4:53pm CST by Ely Allen

After an unexpected fourth-place finish in the AFC North, the Bengals went to work in order to get back into the race of the league’s toughest division, putting together a 10-man rookie draft class. They’ll expand their rookie group by 14 with these undrafted free agent additions:

Justin Blazek, DE (Wisconsin-Platteville)
Cole Burgess, WR (SUNY Cortland)
Noah Cain, HB (LSU)
Aaron Casey, LB (Indiana)
Elijah Collins, HB (Oklahoma State)
Michael Dowell, S (Miami (OH))
Cam Grandy, TE (Illinois State)
PJ Jules, S (Southern Illinois)
Rocky Lombardi, QB (Northern Illinois)
Austin McNamara, P (Texas Tech)
Eric Miller, OT (Louisville)
Tre Mosley, WR (Michigan State)
Maema Njongmeta, LB (Wisconsin)
Lance Robinson, CB (Tulane)

On offense, Burgess was a small school stud in Division III football. In three years as a starter in college, Burgess caught 176 balls for 3,095 yards and 35 touchdowns. He has clearly demonstrated that he has the tools to succeed in the NFL after dominating at the DIII level, but he will need to handle the significant leap in the level of competition to earn a roster spot.

Another small school phenom, Blazek will likewise need to make the jump to NFL competition. In two full seasons as a starter, Blazek earned DIII first-team All-American honors with a combined 17.5 sacks, 29.0 tackles for loss, and 11 passes deflected. He has the athleticism and the drive to make a go at a roster spot. Jules is one more small school prospect with massive production. He has great range and plays the ball aggressively, helping him get 29 passes defensed in his career. He also showed the other side of safety play in 2023, tallying 111 tackles and 13.0 tackles for loss.

It was a bit of a shock to see Casey go undrafted after a monster season for the Hoosiers. After leading the team in total tackle (86) and tackles for loss (10.5) in his first season as a starter in 2022, Casey stuffed the stat sheet with 109 tackles, 20.0 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, and three forced fumbles in 2023. He takes a lot of risks that bite him, but he’s an aggressive defender with NFL potential. Njongmeta’s production came more in 2022, but in his two years as a starter, he combined for 154 tackles, 20.0 tackles for loss, and 6.5 sacks.

Ben Levine contributed to this post.