HEADLINES

Keilahn Harris

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/28/24

May 28th, 2024 at 7:04pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Baltimore Ravens

Houston Texans

  • Waived/injured: DE Marcus Haynes

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Waived from IR (with injury settlement): WR Keilahn Harris

The Ravens added some veteran depth to the middle of their defensive line today. Josh Tupou heads to Baltimore after spending the first chunk of his career with their division rival in Cincinnati. The nose tackle got into 65 games (23 starts) in seven years with the Bengals, collecting 86 tackles and a pair of sacks. He also got into five postseason games, compiling another six stops. He topped 400 defensive snaps in 2019 and 2021 (Tupou opted out of the 2020 campaign), but he’s been limited to around 280 snaps over the past two seasons. Senat spent the past two seasons with the Buccaneers, collecting 18 tackles in 15 games.

Haynes, a former UDFA out of Old Dominion, signed a reserve/futures contract with the Texans in February. The defensive end suffered a quadriceps injury that will likely lead to an injury settlement, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/21/24

May 21st, 2024 at 6:53pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are Tuesday’s minor NFL moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Cleveland Browns

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Waived (with injured designation): WR Keilahn Harris

Jackson is the only name here with much extended experience in the NFL. Jackson was part of the Colts’ three-pronged approach to replace lost production during Jonathan Taylor‘s injury-riddled 2022 season.

Zack Moss and Nyheim Hines were the other two to earn starts, but Jackson displayed the most versatility. Moss had 365 rushing yards but only had four catches for 12 yards, while Hines had 188 receiving yards but only 36 rushing yards. Jackson found extended use in both areas with 236 rushing yards and 209 receiving yards. This is because Jackson’s role as a backup changed partway through the season, when the Colts traded Hines to Buffalo for Moss. When Hines was on the team, Jackson was the primary backup ball carrier. When Moss came to town, Jackson’s role shifted to more of a third-down receiving back. His past versatility could land him on another NFL roster once he’s healthy again.

NFL Reserve/Futures Deals: 1/17/24

January 17th, 2024 at 9:05pm CST by Ely Allen

Wednesday’s reserve/futures contracts:

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Miami Dolphins

Pittsburgh Steelers

Bryant joined the Cowboys in November, and though he didn’t appear in any games, Bryant left a good impression in Dallas after several weeks on the practice squad. He was released late in the season as the team shuffled the roster a bit but makes his return to Dallas for the offseason.

Falcons Bring Back WR Damiere Byrd

October 19th, 2023 at 4:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

NFC South reunions have defined Damiere Byrd‘s 2023. The veteran receiver returned to the Panthers earlier this year, but an injury nixed his path back to a role in Charlotte. Months later, a Falcons return will commence.

The veteran wide receiver signed a practice squad deal with the Falcons on Thursday. Byrd, 30, spent last season with Atlanta, signing as a free agent during the 2022 offseason. He is now back in Georgia as a potential backup option.

An injury settlement allowed Byrd to relocate for a second time this year. Byrd signed with the Panthers in mid-April and began training camp with his original NFL team. But a hamstring injury Frank Reich called “significant” led Byrd to IR. Landing on IR before the season prevented Byrd from being eligible for activation as a Panther, and the parties agreed on an injury settlement in late August. This moved Byrd back to free agency, and it appears his hamstring injury has healed.

Byrd initially signed with the Falcons on a one-year, $1.32MM deal. Now attached to a practice squad salary, the South Carolina alum will have a chance to play for the same team in consecutive years for the first time since 2017-18. Since his Panthers rookie contract expired, Byrd has been an NFL nomad. The 5-foot-9 pass catcher moved to Arizona, New England, Chicago and Atlanta from 2019-22.

While Byrd’s best season (47 catches, 604 yards) came back with Cam Newton — when the two ex-Panthers teamed up on a Patriots one-off — he produced his top per-catch number with the Falcons. Byrd averaged 20.6 yarders per reception last year, amassing 268 yards and two touchdowns in Arthur Smith‘s offense. The Falcons have a player familiar with their offense back in the fold, which should accelerate a potential elevation to the active roster.

The Falcons have added two veterans to their receiving corps over the past two weeks, having traded for Van Jefferson as well. The team’s Drake London-fronted wideout crew features offseason additions Mack Hollins and Scotty Miller, along with KhaDarel Hodge, who re-signed this year. To make room for Byrd on their 16-man taxi squad, the Falcons placed wide receiver Keilahn Harris on the practice squad injured list.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/11/23

October 11th, 2023 at 6:58pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are today’s practice squad adjustments:

Atlanta Falcons

Las Vegas Raiders

  • Signed: WR Malik Flowers

Los Angeles Rams

New Orleans Saints

Falcons Reduce Roster To 53 Players

August 29th, 2023 at 10:59pm CST by Ben Levine

The Falcons roster took shape today. While the team moved on from some notable veterans, the front office surely had a tougher time waiving a long list of promising young players:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

One of the most surprising cuts was Darren Hall, who has started 10 of his 31 appearances for the Falcons over the past two seasons. The former fourth-round pick started nine games this past year, finishing with 45 tackles, three passes defended, and one forced fumble.

Parker Hesse spent the past two seasons in Atlanta, serving mostly as a blocking tight end. The former UDFA started seven of his 17 appearances this past season, hauling in nine catches for 89 yards.

Falcons Sign Six UDFAs

May 3rd, 2023 at 10:21am CST by Sam Robinson

The Falcons kept their UDFA class small this year. Here are the six players Atlanta brought in as post-draft priority signings:

Only one of these prospects comes from a Power 5 program. The Falcons reached to the mid-major level in Division I-FBS (Enechukwu, Marshall), Division I-FCS (Washington) and Division II (Harris, Malone) for their UDFAs this year.

The Commanders also pursued Harris, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson, who notes the NFC East team offered the small-school wideout an $80K guarantee (Twitter link). It is unclear what the Falcons are guaranteeing Harris, but it is likely in that ballpark. Harris posted back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons at Oklahoma Baptist; he caught 16 touchdown passes in 2021 and combined for 172 catches in that span. He also excelled as the Bison’s kick returner.

Atlanta lost Olamide Zaccheaus and Damiere Byrd in free agency and did not draft a wide receiver, opening a door for this UDFA class. The team did add Mack Hollins and Scotty Miller to its equation. Malone joined Harris as a Division II All-American last season. The former JUCO transfer caught 67 passes for 1,382 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2022. The Falcons certainly placed a premium on production with this receiver duo, which both produced out of the Great American Conference. That said, Harris and Malone will obviously be set for quite the competition level jump this offseason.