HEADLINES

Kevin Austin

Saints Activate C Erik McCoy From IR

November 16th, 2024 at 4:42pm CST by Ben Levine

4:42PM: As expected, New Orleans has announced the activation of McCoy from injured reserve. The team also activated reserve linebacker Nephi Sewell off of the reserve/physically unable to perform list. To clear some roster space, the Saints waived wide receiver Jermaine Jackson. Jackson had been filling duties as a return man, appearing in the team’s last four contests.

In the announcement, New Orleans also designated wide receivers Kevin Austin and Dante Pettis as their standard gameday practice squad elevations for the second straight week.

9:07AM: The Saints’ season is all but in the gutter, but the team will still welcome back their starting center for the stretch run of the season. The team is expected to activate starting center Erik McCoy from IR in time for tomorrow’s game against the Browns, per ESPN’s Katherine Terrell.

McCoy suffered a groin injury only a few snaps into Week 3 and subsequently underwent surgery. He’s missed each of New Orleans’ last seven games, although a return seemed imminent when he returned to practice earlier this month. While the Saints sit three games out of a playoff spot in the NFC, the staff is still more than happy to slot the veteran OL back atop the depth chart.

“Should be good to go,” interim coach Darren Rizzi said of McCoy. “I thought we did the right thing here the last couple of weeks with his volume in practice, amped it up a little bit every day, and he looks like he’s ready to go. Unless we have a setback between now and Sunday, I imagine he’d be in there.”

There have been plenty of changes in New Orleans since McCoy went down with an injury. Most notably, the team moved on from head coach Dennis Allen, and the offense has lost two major pieces in Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed. While Derek Carr made a relatively quick return from his oblique injury, he’s had to play behind an inexperienced OL. With McCoy out of the lineup and Ryan Ramczyk lost for the season, Cesar Ruiz represented the only holdover from the Drew Brees/Sean Payton era.

A 2019 second-round pick, McCoy has been a full-time starter since joining New Orleans. After missing nine combined games between the 2021 and 2022 seasons, the center managed to get into all 17 games in 2023, leading to his first career Pro Bowl nod. He’ll step right back into his starting center spot, and the Saints won’t have to juggle any additional depth after they cut fill-in Connor McGovern earlier this week.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/9/24

November 9th, 2024 at 9:11pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s minor moves, including standard gameday practice squad elevations:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

  • Elevated: LB Curtis Bolton, WR Isaiah Hodgins

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Spector will miss at least the next four games as a result of the Bills’ move. He has remained a mainstay on special teams this year, having also done so in 2022 and ’23. The former seventh-rounder has made three starts on defense, however, so his absence will be felt moving forward. Linebacker has been a position hit hard by injuries this season, and Buffalo’s depth at the second level will now be tested even further.

Wattenberg had his 21-day practice window opened by the Broncos earlier this week, paving the way for today’s activation. The 27-year-old operated as the team’s starting center prior to going down after having won a summer competition for the gig with Alex Forsyth. Forsyth handled first-team duties over the past four games, drawing a superior PFF evaluation and therefore potentially playing his way into an extended look atop the depth chart. At a minimum, having Wattenberg back will give Denver – a team with three IR activations left – depth up front.

Wednesday NFL Transactions: NFC South

August 28th, 2024 at 4:02pm CST by Sam Robinson

Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline Tuesday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters. In addition to waiver claims, teams can begin constructing their 16-man practice squads today. These Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers and Saints moves are noted below.

Atlanta Falcons

Signed:

Claimed:

Signed to practice squad:

Carolina Panthers

Signed:

Claimed:

Waived:

  • WR Jalen Coker

Waived from IR:

Signed to practice squad:

New Orleans Saints

Signed:

Claimed:

Signed to practice squad:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Signed:

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/22/24

July 22nd, 2024 at 7:52pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Baltimore Ravens

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

  • Waived-injured: WR Jared Wayne

Kansas City Chiefs

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

  • Signed: WR Kevin Austin Jr.

New York Jets

Jaguars Trim Roster To 53

August 29th, 2023 at 2:18pm CST by Sam Robinson

Teams have until 3pm CT to trim their rosters to the 53-man limit. The Jaguars are getting an early start. Here are the players the Jags cut Tuesday:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Placed on IR:

Placed on reserve/suspended list:

Placed on exempt list:

  • CB Chris Claybrooks

Several of these players will be back, in all likelihood, via practice squad deals. Waiver claims process at 11am CT on Wednesday. Free agents can make plans to join P-squads early, but teams will not have the full picture of who is available until the waiver claims process.

Conner and Ollison being off the roster leaves third-round rookie Tank Bigsby, D’Ernest Johnson and Jamycal Hasty in place behind starter Travis Etienne. The Jaguars chose Conner in the 2022 fifth round, and while they traded James Robinson before last year’s deadline, Conner did not receive much work. He totaled 12 carries for 42 yards as a rookie.

Wells returned to Jacksonville earlier this month, but this IR placement will halt a journey back to regular-season work with his initial NFL team. Wells, 32, started nine games for the Jags from 2014-18. He then worked as a key Buccaneers backup over the past several years. Players placed on IR before the season are not eligible for in-season activations, though an injury settlement could allow Wells to play this season.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/28/23

August 28th, 2023 at 8:27pm CST by Sam Robinson

We are less than 24 hours from the deadline for NFL teams to trim their rosters to 53 players. Here are the latest moves teams have made as they pare their squads down toward the in-season limit:

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

  • Released from IR via injury settlement: DB Tino Ellis

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

NFL Reserve/Futures Deals: 2/13/23

February 13th, 2023 at 4:55pm CST by Adam La Rose

Today’s reserve/futures contracts:

Jacksonville Jaguars

WR Kevin Austin Jr., OL Coy Cronk, K James McCourt, WR Jaylon Moore, OL James Murray, S Ayo Oyelola, QB E.J. Perry, TE Gerrit Prince, RB Mekhi Sargent, S Deionte Thompson, DL Nick Thurman, OL Darryl Williams, WR Seth Williams

NFL Reserve/Futures Deals: 1/23/23

January 23rd, 2023 at 6:30pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s reserve/futures deals, mostly featuring teams recently eliminated from the postseason:

Buffalo Bills

Dallas Cowboys

Jacksonville Jaguars

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Jaguars Move Down To 53

August 30th, 2022 at 2:20pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Jaguars are the next team to announce their roster cuts. To get down to the 53-man limit, Jacksonville has moved on from the following players:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Perry found himself on and off the team’s roster throughout the summer. On multiple occasions, he swapped places with Kyle Sloter as a camp body. Initially thought to be signing with the Eagles as a UDFA, Perry will now look to catch onto a practice squad should he go unclaimed.

Raequan Williams has two years of NFL experience, albeit in a very limited role. The Michigan State alum made six appearances with the Eagles in 2020, and logged his first career start last season. The 25-year-old found himself behind the likes of Folorunso Fatukasi and Roy Robertson-Harris on the d-line, however.

The same is true of Tufele, a 2021 fourth-round pick. After racking up 6.5 sacks in two seasons at USC, the six-foot-three, 305-pounder was held in relatively high regard. He was limited to just four games and 54 defensive snaps as a rookie, however, and faced tough competition for full-time snaps in Year 2. He could also be a practice squad candidate, although his age and draft status figure to make him a name to watch on the waiver wire as well.

Jaguars Sign 15 Undrafted Free Agents

May 2nd, 2022 at 7:56pm CST by Ben Levine

The Jaguars stole some headlines during the draft when they selected Travon Walker with the first-overall pick. Days later, the team is still adding. The Jaguars announced the signing of 15 undrafted free agents:

The most notable name on the list is Kevin Austin. The wideout had a breakout campaign with Notre Dame in 2021, finishing with 48 receptions for 888 yards and seven touchdowns. Standing at 6-2 and 215 pounds, the receiver will compete for a roster spot with fellow UDFA WR Lujuan Winningham, who had 25 touchdowns during his final three seasons at Central Arkansas.

Andrew Mevis went 20-for-23 on field goals last season and made 100 percent of his extra point tries, putting him on the NFL map. He’ll provide some competition in a room that also features Matthew Wright and Ryan Santoso.