Today’s taxi squad moves:
Cleveland Browns
Kansas City Chiefs
Miami Dolphins
Detroit got an early start on reducing its roster size Monday, but the team made the final moves toward 53 players Tuesday. Here are the moves from today that got the Lions there:
Houston was the only member of the Lions’ 2022 rookie class that failed to make the initial 53-man roster. The young linebacker should have a good chance to land on the team’s 16-man practice squad Wednesday, if he can clear waivers. On the other hand, undrafted defensive lineman Demetrius Taylor found his way onto the roster after a disruptive preseason. Another undrafted rookie, running back Greg Bell, didn’t make the roster, but will remain with the team on Detroit’s injured reserve.
There were a number of surprising, but necessary, cuts today. Igwebuike had a decent chance to make the roster due to his experience and ability returning kicks. Kennedy led the team in catches, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns during the preseason. His lack of effective use on special teams likely lost him his spot on the final roster. Parker started much of last year at nickel for the Lions. Unfortunately he was expendable after the offseason additions of veteran JuJu Hughes and rookie Chase Lucas.
The winner of the kicking battle has been crowned as Austin Seibert made the final roster over Patterson. Patterson showed plenty of ability during the last couple of weeks and it would be no surprise if he was to be claimed by another team off waivers by tomorrow.
Finally, it appears the backup quarterback battle was won by David Blough, who outperformed Boyle in preseason. Still, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Detroit peruse the mass of recently waived players for a new quarterback. They have the second-highest priority on the waiver wire and should have their pick of the litter if they think they can improve on Blough.
Kendall Lamm is heading to Detroit. The Lions announced that they have signed the free agent offensive tackle.
Despite going undrafted in the 2015 draft, Lamm has put together a respectable seven-year career. He spent the better part of those seven seasons with the Texans, where he started 24 of his 55 appearances. He spent a pair of seasons in Cleveland before joining the Titans last August.
The 30-year-old ended up seeing time in 12 games (one start) for Tennessee last season, and he pretty much split his playing time between offense and special teams. Lamm didn’t play enough snaps to qualify for Pro Football Focus’ rankings, but his score would have ranked toward the bottom of the OT list. However, the site was much more favorable of his performances in 2020 and 2019, and despite his ugly 2021 score, he still earned a solid grade in run blocking.
The Lions don’t have a whole lot of offensive tackle depth behind starters Taylor Decker and Penei Sewell. Lamm will be competing with the likes of Dan Skipper, Matt Nelson, and Darrin Paulo for backup reps.
Meanwhile, the Lions announced that they’ve placed offensive tackle Zein Obeid on the reserve/retired list. Obeid is now the third member of Detroit’s 12-man UDFA class to retire.
As players are moved to the PUP and NFI lists and rosters are starting to take shape for the start of training camps, many players are searching for opportunities to make a team.
Here’s the list of players who have received workouts or taken visits today and this past weekend:
Atlanta Falcons
Baltimore Ravens
Buffalo Bills
Carolina Panthers
Chicago Bears
Cincinnati Bengals
Green Bay Packers
Houston Texans
Indianapolis Colts
Jacksonville Jaguars
Kansas City Chiefs
Las Vegas Raiders
New England
New York Giants
New York Jets
Philadelphia Eagles
San Francisco 49ers
Seattle Seahawks
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tennessee Titans
The Titans are releasing offensive tackle Kendall Lamm, according to Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network (Twitter link). Lamm had one more year to go on his contract, but the Titans opted for extra cap space instead.
[RELATED: Titans, Landry Agree On Extension]
Lamm joined the Titans on a two-year pact worth $8.5MM last spring. Up until that point, the undrafted free agent out of Appalachian State spent the first four seasons of his career with the Texans, followed by two years with the Browns. Lamm was limited to just four games during his first season in Cleveland, but he got into 15 games (one start) for the Browns in 2020, appearing on 116 offensive snaps and 68 special teams snaps.
His Titans run was spent mostly as a reserve with one start out of 12 appearances. All in all, the 29-year-old (30 in June) has 86 games on his resume and 28 starts.
Here are Monday’s activations from and placements on the reserve/COVID-19 lists:
Carolina Panthers
Chicago Bears
Cincinnati Bengals
Denver Broncos
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
Houston Texans
Indianapolis Colts
Kansas City Chiefs
Las Vegas Raiders
Los Angeles Chargers
Los Angeles Rams
Miami Dolphins
Minnesota Vikings
New England Patriots
New Orleans Saints
New York Jets
Philadelphia Eagles
Pittsburgh Steelers
San Francisco 49ers
Seattle Seahawks
Tennessee Titans
Washington Football Team
THURSDAY: Backup left tackle Kendall Lamm also revealed he tested positive (Twitter link via Buck Reising of WGFX), putting the Titans in a bind up front ahead of a matchup with the 49ers’ Nick Bosa-spearheaded defensive line.
WEDNESDAY: The Titans’ two most experienced offensive linemen will miss Thursday night’s game. Rodger Saffold landed on the team’s reserve/COVID-19 list Wednesday, while Tennessee also ruled out Taylor Lewan due to injury.
A 2019 free agent addition, Saffold has been the Titans’ left guard starter in 44 of a possible 47 games over the past three seasons. He practiced fully on Monday and Tuesday but will be scratched for Week 16.
Lewan is down because of a back injury. The Titans’ longtime left tackle did not practice this week. This will be the eighth-year blocker’s third absence this season. Lewan finished last season on IR, missing 11 games. Both blockers have made significant contributions to both Derrick Henry and Ryan Tannehill‘s success over the past three years.
Missing the left side of their O-line will certainly add to the Titans’ issues on offense. They have been without Henry, A.J. Brown and Julio Jones for most of the past month and change. However, Brown has a chance to come back to face the 49ers on Thursday; the Titans designated him for return from IR earlier this week. Jones, despite leaving another game early because of his recurring hamstring issue, does not have an injury designation and will suit up against San Francisco.
Kendall Lamm is off to Tennessee. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that the offensive tackle is signing with the Titans. It’s a two-year deal worth $8.5MM.
The 2015 undrafted free agent out of Appalachian State spent the first four seasons of his career with the Texans, starting 24 of his 55 games. He signed a two-year deal with the Browns in 2019, but he was limited to only four games during his first season in Cleveland. He got into 15 games (one start) for the Browns in 2020, appearing on 116 offensive snaps and 68 special teams snaps. The 28-year-old also hauled in a one-yard touchdown from Baker Mayfield during a Week 13 win over the Titans.
After being silent through the first half of the day, the Titans have ramped up their signings over the past hour. Lamm is the team’s third signing after linebacker Bud Dupree and defensive tackle Denico Autry.
Kendall Lamm‘s 2018 run as a Texans starter ended up helping him secure a raise in free agency. The Browns are signing the fifth-year tackle, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets.
It’s a two-year deal worth more than $7MM. This contract figures to position Lamm for a swing-type role in Cleveland. However, Lamm did function as a starter for most of last season — albeit for an embattled Houston offensive front.
While the Browns have an entrenched right tackle in Chris Hubbard, who signed a long-term pact in 2018, they never exactly settled their left tackle position after Joe Thomas‘ retirement. Greg Robinson ended up there by season’s end and re-signed on a one-year, $7MM deal. It would seem the No. 2 overall pick has the inside track on the job, at this point. But this would appear to be Lamm’s best path to another first-string role.
A 2015 UDFA, Lamm started 13 games last season after opening 11 games with the Texans’ first unit from 2015-17. He graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 52 overall tackle, far better than Houston left tackle Julie’n Davenport, and profiled as a competent pass blocker. Although, Houston’s line did allow Deshaun Watson to be sacked 62 times, which was more than any other quarterback went down last season.
Today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
Baltimore Ravens
Buffalo Bills
Detroit Lions
Houston Texans
Miami Dolphins
New York Giants
New York Jets
Philadelphia Eagles
San Francisco 49ers