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Leki Fotu

Jets Place DT Leki Fotu On IR, Activate TE Kenny Yeboah

October 31st, 2024 at 5:15pm CST by Adam La Rose

Allen Lazard has landed on injured reserve, sideling him for at least four games. He is joined in that respect by defensive tackle Leki Fotu, per a team announcement.

Fotu began the season on IR, and he was only activated two weeks ago. The free agent addition has therefore logged just 46 defensive snaps so far this season, and this second IR stint will further interrupt his 2024 campaign. Fotu served as a rotational member of Arizona’s D-line rotation over the past four years, and he was positioned to do the same upon arrival with the Jets.

The 26-year-old signed a one-year, $2.5MM deal to join New York. That low-risk investment has not gone as planned so far, but once healthy Fotu could be an effective contributor against the run. Fulfilling that role would be welcomed by team and player; the Jets have posted strong numbers in certain defensive categories this season, but they rank only 17th against the run. An effective showing to close out the campaign would also, of course, help Fotu’s market value.

New York also activated tight end Kenny Yeboah from injured reserve on Thursday. Like Fotu, he was listed as designated for return before the roster cutdown deadline, allowing him to see the field at some point after Week 4. Yeboah had his practice window opened last week, so it comes as no surprise he has been activated in time for tonight’s matchup against the Texans. In a corresponding move to the special teamer’s activation, fellow tight end Anthony Firkser was released.

As expected, Riley Patterson will indeed be the first kicker to get the first opportunity to take over for the injured Greg Zuerlein. Added to the practice squad (along with Spencer Shrader) yesterday, Patterson will not be a gameday elevation for Thursday’s game; rather, he has been signed to the active roster. Given Zuerlein’s struggles this season, Patterson could certainly play his way into an extended opportunity with the Jets even after the veteran is healthy.

Offensive lineman Alec Lindstrom – who has bounced on and off the Jets’ roster in recent days – has also been signed off the taxi squad to the active roster. The 26-year-old has yet to make a regular season appearance in the NFL, but he will again dress as a backup option up front for today’s game.

NFL Injury Updates: Jets, Hufanga, Dennis

October 27th, 2024 at 2:16pm CST by Ely Allen

The Jets provided an unfortunate update on Friday, with Connor Hughes of SportsNet New York reporting that starting guard Alijah Vera-Tucker, starting safety Ashtyn Davis, and defensive tackle Leki Fotu would all be out for today’s matchup with the Patriots. To make matters worse, interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich has claimed that all three players are candidates for injured reserve.

All three players were unable to participate in practice this week. The claim makes sense for Vera-Tucker and Fotu, who are dealing with ankle and knee injuries, respectively. The claim is a little more concerning for Davis, who has been on the injury report with a designated concussion. We’ve seen players come back from the NFL’s concussion protocol within a week, so the idea that Davis could miss four weeks because of a head injury could be alarming.

Here are a few other injury updates from around the NFL:

  • It’s been a rough go lately for 49ers safety Talanoa Hufanga. A year after earning first-team All-Pro honors, Hufanga suffered a season-ending ACL tear that cost him the final seven games of the year, not to mention San Francisco’s three playoff games en route to a close Super Bowl loss. He worked hard to be ready for the start of the 2024 season but was unable to make an appearance until Week 3. He was inactive in Week 4 before making his second start in Week 5 against the Cardinals, getting knocked out after only 11 defensive snaps with a wrist injury. According to ESPN’s Nick Wagoner, head coach Kyle Shanahan reported that it’s not guaranteed that Hufanga returns this year. Shanahan was quoted saying “it’s something (they’re) hoping happens” and that they’re “kind of expecting it to” happen, but “it’s not a sure thing.”
  • Buccaneers linebacker SirVocea Dennis has been on IR for the last three weeks with a shoulder injury, meaning that he’ll be eligible to return from IR after one more game. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like that’s going to be the case for the second-year defender. According to Greg Auman of FOX Sports, Dennis is unlikely to return this season. Per head coach Todd Bowles, if Dennis were to appear on the field again in Tampa Bay’s 2024 campaign, it would require a deep playoff run.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/14/24

October 14th, 2024 at 6:39pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Here are the latest transactions from around the NFL:

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Houston Texans

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Jones will get to make his Cardinals debut in Week 7 after serving a five-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy. Arizona requested and received a one-week roster exemption so Jones could get acclimated to his new offense before being added to the 53-man roster. He will bring a veteran presence to a young Cardinals receiver room that lost Marvin Harrison Jr. to a concussion on Sunday.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/2/24

October 2nd, 2024 at 8:31pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Practice window opened: T Christian Jones

Cleveland Browns

Green Bay Packers

  • Practice window opened: DT Jonathan Ford

Houston Texans

Las Vegas Raiders

New York Giants

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Today marks most teams’ first practice before Week 5, making it the first date players stashed on IR as teams set their initial 53-man rosters can work out again with their teams. This year’s IR tweak allowed teams to designate up to two players for return August 27, the catch being all players who receive that designation count toward their respective club’s eight-activation total. The batch included in today’s minor moves post consists entirely of players to receive that August IR-return designation.

The IR-return window is unchanged, however, with teams having 21 days from Wednesday to activate these players. Anyone from today’s group not being activated from IR by October 23 must miss the rest of the season. PFR will keep track of all players returning from IR via the Injured Reserve Return Tracker.

Jets Set 53-Man Roster

August 27th, 2024 at 10:08pm CST by Ben Levine

The 2023 campaign obviously didn’t go as planned for the Jets, but the organization is hoping for much more success with a healthy Aaron Rodgers under center in 2024. Of course, before they can take the field, the team had to set their 53-man roster. The Jets announced the following roster moves today:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on reserve/NFI list:

Following today’s moves, the Jets are temporarily rostering only a pair of tight ends in Tyler Conklin and Jeremy Ruckert. Anthony Firkser isn’t an especially surprising cut, but the veteran could have provided some experience to the position grouping. After topping 30 receptions with the Titans in 2020 and 2021, Firkser was limited to nine catches in 2022 before appearing in only a pair of games with the Lions in 2023. The Jets also moved on from 2023 seventh-round pick Zack Kuntz, although there’s a chance the six-foot-eight tight end lands back on the team’s practice squad.

The Jets also moved on from a notable rookie in Jaylen Key, who had the distinction of being this year’s Mr. Irrelevant. The safety had a strong one-season stint at Alabama, where he collected 60 tackles and one interception.

Jets To Sign DT Leki Fotu

March 12th, 2024 at 5:30pm CST by Ben Levine

Leki Fotu is heading to New York. The Jets are expected to sign the former Cardinals defensive tackle, according to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports.

It’s a one-year deal worth $2.5MM, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. The deal can hit $4MM via incentives and/or bonuses.

With Quinton Jefferson, Solomon Thomas, and Al Woods all hitting free agency, the Jets have been hunting for some reinforcement at defensive tackle. The team already agreed to a deal with former 49ers defensive lineman Javon Kinlaw, and now they’re adding another former NFC West option.

Fotu was a fourth-round pick by the Cardinals in 2020 and had spent his entire career in Arizona. He started only 21 of his 56 appearances with the organization but was consistently playing around 40 percent of his team’s defensive snaps. He started nine of his 11 appearances in 2023, finishing with 28 tackles and a career-high 2.5 sacks.

As ESPN’s Rich Cimini passes along, Fotu had a run-stop percentage of 6.7 percent last season, which ranked 22nd among 117 defensive tackles. That number would have ranked second on the Jets behind Quinnen Williams, the team’s lone holdover at the position.

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/6/24

January 6th, 2024 at 8:33pm CST by Ely Allen

The last week of pregame transactions and gameday callups for several teams this season:

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

  • Placed on IR: T Mike McGlinchey
  • Activated from IR: T Alex Palczewski
  • Signed to active roster: CB Art Green
  • Elevated: S Devon Key

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

  • Placed on IR: TE Hunter Henry
  • Signed to active roster: TE La’Michael Pettway
  • Elevated: TE Matt Sokol, OL Andrew Stueber

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Several teams whose season is set to come to an end tomorrow have elected to move injured players to injured reserve in order to create roster spots for practice squad options, particularly those who have had their three gameday elevations exhausted. In the case of the Broncos, McGlinchey will see his debut campaign in the Mile High City come to a premature end. Signed to a five-year, $87.5MM deal, the 28-year-old was part of a revamped O-line which did not produce the desired rebound on offense. Manning his usual right tackle spot, McGlinchey was charged with eight sacks and 49 pressures allowed by PFF, resulting in an overall grade of 67.5.

While the Giants will have an interesting decision to make with respect to Xavier McKinney‘s future, they will have Pinnock on the books for at least one more season. The latter’s rookie contract is set to expire following the 2024 campaign, one in which he will no doubt remain a vital member of New York’s secondary. Pinnock has recorded 85 tackles, two interceptions (including a 102-yard pick-six), six pass deflections and a pair of forced fumbles while logging over 1,000 defensive snaps this season. A return to health and a continuation of his 2023 level of play will be sorely needed next fall.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/27/23

December 27th, 2023 at 8:03pm CST by Ely Allen

Wednesday’s minor NFL transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Las Vegas Raiders

Minnesota Vikings

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Commanders

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/21/23

November 21st, 2023 at 9:49pm CST by Adam La Rose

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Cleveland Browns

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Harrison was among the Colts’ final roster cuts in August, but he was immediately retained via the practice squad. Despite that move, the 26-year-old has yet to make an appearance in Indianapolis as a gameday elevation. He will now have the chance to make his Colts debut, having taken the 53-man roster spot of Shaquille Leonard after the latter’s surprise cut.

Muse will be required to miss at least the next four weeks as a result of the IR move. The former Seahawk has played exclusively on special teams to date during his first season with the Chargers, logging a 73% snap share in that capacity. Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports Muse could still play later this season, something which will give Los Angeles a boost in the third phase if they are still in playoff contention down the stretch.

Ahmed’s foot injury, coupled with a new round of uncertainty regarding the healthy of rookie sensation De’Von Achane, could leave Miami shorthanded in the backfield. While it remains to be seen if the latter will miss time after coming back from an IR stint, the former will not be available moving forward. Ahmed is out for the season, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports. The 24-year-old scored two total touchdowns on 38 touches this year, his fourth with the Dolphins. He is set to hit free agency this offseason, but the injury will no doubt hurt his market.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/12/21

August 12th, 2021 at 5:34pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Thursday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: CB Dominique Martin
  • Waived/injured: LB Randy Ramsey

Indianapolis Colts

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

  • Re-signed: WR Darece Roberson
  • Waived: CB Bryan Mills

Tennessee Titans

  • Signed: LB Reggie Floyd
  • Waived: WR Kalija Lipscomb
  • Waived/injured: OL Adam Coon
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