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Kaden Smith

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/16/23

October 16th, 2023 at 7:00pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are Monday’s minor moves:

Dallas Cowboys

Los Angeles Chargers

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Washington Commanders

The Cowboys are bringing in some reinforcements after having to place linebacker Leighton Vander Esch on IR this week. The Chargers are bringing up Doss as a standard gameday elevation, as well, with Mike Williams, Simi Fehoko, and Jalen Guyton all out tonight.

Haener, the Saints’ rookie fourth-round passer, started his NFL career on a six-game suspension due to a violation of the league’s performance-enhancing substance policy. With Haener adding another arm to the bullpen, Luton became expendable but may find a spot on the team’s practice squad.

Commanders Set 53-Man Roster

August 29th, 2023 at 5:16pm CST by Ben Levine

The Commanders have been busy reducing their roster, with the organization cutting 12 players yesterday. The team finished off their transactions today, reducing their roster to 53 players:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

Despite tossing a pair of touchdowns in the preseason finale, Jake Fromm earned his walking papers from the Commanders. The quarterback was already facing an uphill battle to make the roster with Sam Howell and Jacoby Brissett ahead of him on the depth chart, and he’ll certainly be a popular target if he makes it through waivers. The former fifth-round pick started a pair of games for the Giants in 2021.

Commanders To Sign TE Kaden Smith

August 13th, 2023 at 9:14am CST by Rory Parks

The Commanders are signing tight end Kaden Smith, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). Smith signed with the Colts in May but was waived earlier this month.

As ESPN’s John Keim tweets, Washington’s TE1, Logan Thomas, is currently nursing a calf injury. As such, Smith will at least give the club an extra body at the position for the time being, and given his past experience with the divison-rival Giants, he may have a legitimate shot to stick on the roster.

A sixth-round pick of the 49ers in 2019, Smith was waived by San Francisco one week into his rookie season and was claimed by the Giants. From 2019-21, the Stanford product was a regular presence in New York’s offensive lineup, appearing in 33 games (22 starts) as the blocking complement to receiving tight end Evan Engram. Smith also showed some receiving abilities of his own, catching 31 balls for 268 yards and three TDs during Engram’s injury-related absence in the second half of the 2019 campaign.

Unfortunately, a knee injury suffered in November 2021 derailed Smith’s career, and there was concern that he would not be able to play again. After missing all of 2022, the 26-year-old is healthy enough, though he could not carve out a spot in a crowded TE room in Indianapolis. He will hope for better luck with the Commanders, who are rostering two recent mid-round draft choices in John Bates and Cole Turner in addition to Thomas.

Like Smith, Bates is known more for his blocking prowess. While Bates did flash some promise as a pass catcher in his rookie season in 2021 (20 receptions for 249 yards and a score), Turner, a 2022 fifth-rounder, is the more exciting receiving prospect. Thomas, meanwhile, played in just six games in 2021 due to injury and was unable to recapture his pre-injury form last year, so the fact that he is now battling a calf ailment is certainly cause for concern.

In the TE-friendly scheme of new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, there is perhaps room for all four of Thomas, Bates, Turner, and Smith, especially in light of Thomas’ health concerns and the fact that Bates and Turner are largely unproven commodities.

The Commanders cut punter Colby Wadman in a corresponding transaction, as Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post tweets.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/1/23

August 1st, 2023 at 8:13pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

  • Signed: RB Toriano Clinton, TE La’Michael Pettway, T Dan Skipper
  • Waived: T Jordan Murray, TE Kaden Smith, DT Jamal Woods

Las Vegas Raiders

New England Patriots

  • Claimed (from Bears): WR Thyrick Pitts
  • Placed on reserve/retired list: WR Jalen Hurd

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Chosen in the third round by the 49ers back in 2019, Hurd never ended up seeing regular-season action. A converted running back who played in front of Alvin Kamara at points while at Tennessee, Hurd transferred to Baylor and became a wide receiver. Two season-ending injuries — a back malady in 2019 and an ACL tear in 2020 — derailed Hurd’s 49ers tenure. The team cut him during the 2021 season. Barely a week after the Patriots signed Hurd, it appears he is throwing in the towel on an injury-plagued career.

Penisini had unretired this offseason, joining the Panthers. The former Lions sixth-rounder played two seasons on his rookie contract but called it quits in June 2022. His unretirement will precede a Panthers exit. The Lions are moving Zylstra off their 90-man roster due to a severe knee injury. If unclaimed, Zylstra would revert to Detroit’s IR list. Zylstra has seen action in 17 games for the Lions over the past two seasons.

Hassenauer will require surgery to repair a triceps injury, and this transaction will shut him down — as far as the Giants are concerned. The only way Hassenauer can play in 2023 would be if the Giants removed him from IR via an injury settlement. Hairston suffered a herniated disk during practice, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson (on Twitter).

Colts Sign TE Kaden Smith

May 24th, 2023 at 3:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

The 2021 Giants ran into severe injury trouble in their blocking ranks, with tight end Kaden Smith joining Nick Gates and Shane Lemieux in sustaining career-altering setbacks. Smith missed all of last season but will soon have a chance to resume his career.

Smith agreed to terms with the Colts on Wednesday, adding to what has become one of the league’s most crowded tight end rooms. The former Giant has not played in a game since November 2021.

A knee injury paused Smith’s NFL run, with The Athletic’s Dan Duggan indicating concern existed about the blocking tight end being able to play again (Twitter link). This setback followed Gates’ September 2021 broken leg and Lemieux’s September knee malady. Neither O-lineman was ready in time for the start of the 2022 season, with Gates debuting in Week 8 and Lemieux playing only in Week 10 of last season. While the Giants kept both O-linemen on their roster, they waived Smith with a failed physical designation before last year’s free agency period.

Prior to the injury, Smith resided as a regular alongside Evan Engram. A former 49ers sixth-round pick, Smith started 22 games for the Giants from 2019-21. Complementing New York’s receiving tight end, Smith played more than 400 offensive snaps during both the 2019 and ’20 seasons. He caught three touchdown passes in 2019 but mostly functioned as a blocker in the Big Apple.

Making the Colts’ 53-man roster will not be automatic for the 26-year-old rebound candidate. Indianapolis carries Mo Alie-Cox, 2022 third-rounder Jelani Woods, 2021 fourth-rounder Kylen Granson, 2022 sixth-rounder Andrew Ogletree, rookie fifth-rounder Will Mallory and free agent pickup Pharaoh Brown. Ogletree suffered a torn ACL during training camp last year. Of this group, only Brown and Mallory arrived under the current coaching staff. Smith will join that contingent and vie for a job in Indy in the coming weeks.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/11/22

March 11th, 2022 at 9:33pm CST by Adam La Rose

Here are today’s minor roster moves around the NFL:

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Houston Texans

Las Vegas Raiders

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/1/20

December 1st, 2020 at 4:47pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

Three Giants Test Positive For COVID-19

November 20th, 2020 at 1:53pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although the Giants are not scheduled to play again until Week 12, they have run into a COVID-19 issue. Following Graham Gano‘s coronavirus contraction, three more Giants players have submitted positive tests.

Rookie tackle Matt Peart, tight end Kaden Smith and recently added wide receiver Dante Pettis tested positive for COVID, according to Ralph Vacchiano of SNY. They will join Gano, punter Riley Dixon and long snapper Casey Kreiter on the team’s reserve/COVID-19 list.

While none of Friday’s cases have affected high-profile Giants players, four positive tests certainly is a concern for the team. The Giants said in a statement they learned of the tests Thursday night; contact tracing is underway. No Giants have been at the team’s facility this week. Gano’s positive test Monday nixed plans for any in-person meetings or light workouts, per Vacchiano.

Players who test positive must remain away from teams’ facilities for 10 days, so Friday’s news will shelve the three latest positive testers for the Giants’ Nov. 29 game against the Bengals. The Giants played without guard starter Will Hernandez in two games earlier this month because of his positive test.

A third-round pick viewed as a developmental tackle, Peart has mixed in on offense since his Week 6 start. The UConn product has played 64 offensive snaps over the past four games, rotating in with starting right tackle Cameron Fleming. Used as a blocking tight end alongside Evan Engram, Smith has started nine games this season and played 48% of Big Blue’s offensive snaps. Pettis, claimed off waivers earlier this month, has yet to make his Giants debut.

Giants Waive RB Paul Perkins

September 16th, 2019 at 7:02pm CST by Ben Levine

Paul Perkins‘ tenure with the Giants has come to an end. ESPN’s Field Yates reports (via Twitter) that the team has waived the running back. In a corresponding move, the team claimed tight end Kaden Smith off waivers.

Perkins, a 2016 fifth-round pick out of UCLA, emerged during his rookie campaign, compiling 456 rushing yards on 112 carries (good for a 4.1-yard average). He also hauled in 15 receptions for 162 yards. He finished with only 136 offensive yards during the 2017 season, and he spent the entire 2018 campaign on the reserve/non-football injury list.

Perkins was inactive for the team’s first two games this season, so today’s move won’t have a major impact on the Giants running back depth chart. The team will continue rolling with Saquon Barkley, Wayne Gallman, and Elijhaa Penny at the position.

Smith was a 2019 sixth-round pick out of Stanford. He was cut by the 49ers last weekend.

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