KeiVarae Russell

NFL Workout Updates: 11/26/19

Got a whole lot of workout updates to pass along:

Carolina Panthers

Green Bay Packers

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFL Workout Updates: 9/16/19

We’ve got another batch of workout updates from the past few days, all via veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer on Twitter (unless otherwise noted):

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

Oakland Raiders

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Patriots Work Out Su’a Cravens

The Patriots worked out safety Su’a Cravens on Tuesday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The former second-round pick most recently played for the Broncos, who released him late last month.

Cravens entered the league as a second-round choice of the Redskins. He had tons of hype, particularly due to his ability to handle multiple positions in the secondary as well as linebacker. However, injuries, and general weirdness, sidetracked his career.

The versatility and potential is still there, so he would be a very interesting pickup for the Patriots, or any other potentially interested team. A motivated and healthy Cravens could be a difference-maker, as evidenced by flashes during his rookie season.

Here are the other players that New England has worked out today, via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com (via Twitter):

Bengals Trim Roster To 53

The Bengals announced their final 53-man roster. One of the moves will be, as expected, placing Darqueze Dennard on their reserve/PUP list. Dennard now must miss at least the first six games of the season. This comes after the Bengals re-signed their former first-round pick on a one-year, $5MM deal. The team knew Dennard needed a post-signing knee surgery, but the arthroscopic procedure was performed several months ago.

Cincinnati is also placing Jonah Williams on its PUP list instead of season-ending IR. While the first-round tackle was believed to be set to miss the season, this move is a way of retaining a chance he can recover. Williams would revert to IR if he cannot recover from the shoulder injury he sustained this offseason.

Here’s the full list of the Bengals’ moves to meet the 53-man limit:

Placed on Reserve/Injured list:

Placed on the Reserve/PUP list:

  • CB Darqueze Dennard (sixth-year player, Michigan State; knee injury)
  • OT Jonah Williams (rookie, Alabama; shoulder injury)

Released:

Waived:

Suspended:

  • G Alex Redmond (third-year player, UCLA, suspended for four games)

All of the waived players, except for Core, will be practice squad eligible if they clear waivers.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/18/18

Today’s minor moves:

Buffalo Bills

Cincinnati Bengals

Washington Redskins

Sunday NFL Transactions: AFC North

Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four AFC North teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions for the Ravens, Bengals, Browns, and Steelers are noted below.

Additionally, as of 12:00pm CT today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.

Here are Sunday’s AFC North transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:

Baltimore Ravens

Practice squad:

Cincinnati Bengals

Signed:

Practice squad:

Cleveland Browns

Claimed:

Cut:

Pittsburgh Steelers

Practice squad:

* = international player
** = practice squad exception

Bengals Trim Roster To 53

For the time being at least, Michael Johnson will not be part of the Bengals’ 53-man roster. The longtime starting defensive end does not appear among Cincinnati’s regular-season contingent, signalling a changing of the guard opposite Carlos Dunlap.

While Johnson could well return, with Cincinnati.com’s Paul Dehner Jr. tweeting this is a possibility because of the team trying to protect as many young players from the waiver wire as possible, he’s again off the roster. Johnson spent a year with the Buccaneers in 2014 but returned to Cincinnati a year later.

He’s been a Bengals starter in five of the past six seasons, but third-round selections of Jordan Willis and Carl Lawson last year — along with 2018 third-rounder Sam Hubbard — made the 31-year-old talent a less important commodity. Johnson registered five sacks last season and has 44 in his career.

As for the rest of the Bengals’ cuts, here are the other players who aren’t on the 53-man roster.

Released as vested veterans:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

The placement of Barkley on IR and the waiving of Woodside leaves Jeff Driskel as the Bengals’ only Andy Dalton backup. It would be logical if the Bengals examined the waiver wire this weekend for a possible signal-caller addition.

Bengals Claim KeiVarae Russell Off Waivers

The Bengals have claimed rookie defensive back KeiVarae Russell, according to Rand Getlin (on Twitter). The Chiefs surprised everyone in the football world when they released the third-round rookie earlier this week. To make room, the Bengals cut guard Trey Hopkins. KeiVarae Russell (vertical)

[RELATED: Chiefs Restructure Justin Houston’s Contract]

Getlin reported yesterday that it was a “special teams numbers game” that led to Russell’s release. It’s fair to say that there is some agent-driven spin involved in that take. While there may be some truth to that, it’s extremely rare to see a third-round pick released in September. Any way you slice it, the selection of Russell was a failure by the Kansas City front office.

Russell racked up 60 tackles, two interceptions, two forced fumbles, and six pass deflections in his final season at Notre Dame. The cornerback ran a 4.43 second 40-yard-dash at his Pro Day, helping to solidify his draft stock in the spring.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Chiefs Cut Third-Round CB KeiVarae Russell

In April, the Chiefs thought enough of KeiVarae Russell to make him the 74th overall pick in the draft. Today, they decided that Russell is not deserving of a spot on the 53-man roster. The Chiefs are releasing the third-round rookie, as Rand Getlin of NFL.com tweetsKeiVarae Russell (Vertical)

Getlin writes that it was a “special teams numbers game” that led to the defensive back’s release. Even if there was a roster crunch, it’s not often that you see a third-round rookie released in September.

Russell, a Notre Dame product, missed the 2014 season due to an honor code violation, which put his final season of eligibility in NCAA limbo. He returned in 2015, and started in 11 games before suffering a fractured tibia. In his shortened season, Russell restored much of his draft stock as he tallied 60 tackles, two interceptions, two forced fumbles, and six pass deflections. After that showing, Russell decided that he would go pro rather than play out his senior year.

After running a 4.43 second 40-yard-dash at his pro day, Russell could quickly pick up interest from other teams.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Chiefs Sign Entire Draft Class

The Chiefs have now signed their entire 2016 draft class, as Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports (Twitter link) that the club has inked the lone holdout, third-round defensive back KeiVarae Russell. Russell was chosen with the 74th overall pick, which Kansas City picked up in a draft day trade with the Buccaneers.KeiVarae Russell (Vertical)

Kansas City didn’t make a selection in the first round of the draft, trading down with the 49ers in order to a acquire a second-, fourth-, and sixth-round pick. The Chiefs were reportedly interested in quarterback Paxton Lynch, but after the Broncos traded up to select him at pick No. 26, KC decided to move back and pick up more draft capital. The club also didn’t originally have a third-round pick, as that selection was forfeited as a result of a tampering incident (though, as noted, the Chiefs did eventually pick up a third-rounder).

The class in its entirety:

Kansas City Chiefs

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.