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Lirim Hajrullahu

NFL Workouts: Dolphins, Lions, Kindley

October 3rd, 2022 at 8:53pm CST by Ely Allen

In light of the recent injuries to starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, and the prospect that he could miss some time, the Dolphins worked out three quarterbacks today, according to Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network. Ben DiNucci, Jake Fromm, and Reid Sinnett all auditioned in Miami for the depth spot.

DiNucci has some experience helping out in a tough spot from his time with the Cowboys two years ago when both starting quarterback Dak Prescott and backup Andy Dalton were injured. He got one opportunity to start against the Eagles before being benched for the winner of a Cooper Rush–Garrett Gilbert battle.

Fromm has had a bit of trouble finding the success he enjoyed in college at the NFL-level. Since being drafted in 2020, Fromm has served as a backup for the Bills and Giants. He got two starts while with the Giants that delivered uninspiring returns.

Sinnett has no regular season in-game experience, but he has spent time previously with the Dolphins. Miami ended going with familiarity, signing Sinnett to their practice squad. This is all a practice in contingencies as the Dolphins can still rely on backup quarterbacks Teddy Bridgewater and Skylar Thompson.

Here are a few other workout notes from across the NFL, starting with a bunch of kickers:

  • The Lions are dealing with a combination of injuries and struggles at kicker. Austin Seibert is dealing with a right groin injury and the kicker brought in to replace him, Dominik Eberle, missed two extra points last weekend. Detroit brought in Lirim Hajrullahu for a tryout today, according to Wilson.
  • The Giants brought in offensive lineman Solomon Kindley for a visit today, according to Wilson. Kindley started much of his rookie season at right guard for the Dolphins, who drafted him in the fourth round in 2020. His workload decreased in Year 2 down to only two starts before he was eventually waived just prior to the 2022 regular season. New York is likely reaching out due to injuries that seventh-overall pick Evan Neal is dealing with. Kindley doesn’t have much experience at tackle, but he can provide the offensive line with a little more depth that can allow for some flexibility.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/23/22

August 23rd, 2022 at 4:31pm CST by Sam Robinson

Tuesday marked the day teams were forced to cut down from 85 to 80 players. Here are the moves teams made made to reach the new maximum. Players who land on the reserve/PUP or reserve/NFI list must miss at least the first four regular-season games.

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Cowboys To Work Out Brett Maher, Matt Ammendola, Cole Murphy

August 8th, 2022 at 4:51pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Cowboys moved on from two-year kicker Greg Zuerlein this offseason and introduced a competition between far less experienced specialists. Said competition appears to be generating some unease.

Struggles from both Lirim Hajrullahu and Jonathan Garibay will bring the Cowboys to work out some replacement options. Brett Maher, Matt Ammendola and Cole Murphy are coming in for a Tuesday workout, Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News notes. Maher, of course, has a Dallas history. He operated as the Cowboys’ kicker from 2018-19.

Garibay resided as the team’s lone kicker for much of the offseason; Hajrullahu arrived July 1. Garibay has struggled throughout camp, per Gehlken, who adds he missed seven of his 11 field goal tries during Saturday’s practice. Despite having just four games on his resume (all in 2021), Hajrullahu is going into his age-32 season. Garibay is a rookie UDFA out of Texas Tech.

The NFL’s lone kicker with three 60-plus-yard field goals — all coming during his time with the Cowboys — Maher resurfaced last season. He was part of the Saints’ Wil Lutz solution, one of four kickers to be classified as such last year. Maher, 32, made 88.9% of his field goal tries in eight games with the Saints. He was 10-for-12 on extra points. The Saints waived the ex-CFL leg in February.

Ammendola, 25, kicked in 11 Jets games last season — his first NFL action. The Oklahoma State alum made just 68.4% of his field goal attempts and was 14-for-15 on PATs. The Jets cut him in March. He also auditioned for the Jaguars last month. Murphy, who kicked at Syracuse from 2014-17, has not played in an NFL regular-season game.

After Maher’s late-season struggles in 2019, the Cowboys moved on. They gave Zuerlein a three-year, $7.5MM deal in 2020 but dropped him in March of this year. Zuerlein has since replaced Ammendola with the Jets. Considering the underwhelming Hajrullahu-Garibay competition, it would be a slight surprise if one of these available kickers was not added after Tuesday’s workout. With Hajrullahu going 8-for-8 against a live rush Monday, it might be Garibay whose job is at stake here.

Cowboys To Re-Sign K Lirim Hajrullahu

July 1st, 2022 at 12:08pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Cowboys will have a familiar face on special teams during training camp later this month. The team is re-signing kicker Lirim Hajrullahu, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (Twitter link).

The 32-year-old put himself on the NFL radar with his play in the CFL over the course of a six-year career there. That tenure included two all-star seasons and a Grey Cup championship. It earned him the opportunity to showcase himself in the United States, beginning in the 2020 offseason.

In April of that year, Hajrullahu signed with the Rams as they searched for Greg Zuerlein‘s replacement. He wasn’t able to win the job, however, as Los Angeles tapped Sam Sloman for the top spot. That began a cycle of brief stints in the Spring League and on multiple NFL teams’ practice squads for Hajrullahu in the proceeding two years.

That included time with the Panthers and, later, Cowboys in 2021. He made a total of four appearances last season, converting four of five field goal attempts and going eight-for-eight on extra points. His time in Dallas has earned him another opportunity to replace Zurlein, whom the Cowboys released earlier this offseason.

The team previously had only undrafted rookie Jonathan Garibay on the roster, leading to expectations that they would add competition at the position. Hajrullahu represents a veteran option, but Dallas could still bring in further candidates for the starting role in the coming weeks.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/4/22

May 4th, 2022 at 3:31pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Rams

Washington Commanders

Panthers Place K Zane Gonzalez On IR

December 22nd, 2021 at 9:36pm CST by Ben Levine

Zane Gonzalez‘s season has come to an end. The Panthers announced today that they placed the veteran kicker on injured reserve. The IR stint will force Gonzalez to miss at least three games, and with only three games remaining on the schedule, his season has effectively come to an end.

The 26-year-old was signed off the Lions practice squad in September, replacing the likes of Joey Slye and Ryan Santoso. Gonzalez missed a field goal in Week 4, but he’s since made 17-straight, making him 20-for-22 for the season. The veteran also connected on 22 of his 23 extra point tries. Gonzalez will be a free agent this offseason.

Gonzalez suffered a quad injury prior to Sunday’s win over the Bills. Wideout Brandon Zylstra was forced to handle kickoffs, while the team generally went for fourth downs and two-point conversations without a healthy kicker.

The Panthers will temporarily turn to Lirim Hajrullahu, who was signed off the Washington Football Team practice squad today. The 31-year-old made his NFL debut earlier this season. connecting on five extra point tries for the Cowboys. Carolina also added kicker Alex Kessman to the practice squad.

 

Minor NFL Transactions:  12/21/21

December 21st, 2021 at 10:02am CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawk

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Football Team

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/11/21

December 11th, 2021 at 4:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Saturday’s practice squad moves:

Detroit Lions

  • Placed on practice squad reserve/COVID-19 list: LB Tavante Beckett
  • Released: T Darrin Paulo

Houston Texans

Washington Football Team

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/13/21

November 13th, 2021 at 4:56pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Saturday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

  • Activated from PUP list: DT Trysten Hill
  • Promoted: K Lirim Hajrullahu

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/10/21

November 10th, 2021 at 4:50pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Las Vegas Raiders

Minnesota Vikings

 hoNew England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

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