Thursday’s practice squad moves:
Buffalo Bills
Los Angeles Rams
New York Jets
Pittsburgh Steelers
Tennessee Titans
A Bills kicker workout will lead to Tyler Bass competition. Lucas Havrisik has secured another opportunity, latching on with Buffalo’s practice squad Thursday.
Bass has missed three field goals this season, all from between 40 and 49 yards, and memorably missed a game-tying kick — albeit in windy conditions — in that range that would have potentially forced overtime against the Chiefs in the divisional round. While Bills GM Brandon Beane has offered a vote of confidence, the Bills have a backup plan in place.
Havrisik spent part of last season as the Rams’ kicker, but the team waived him just before the playoffs. A reserve/futures deal with the Browns did not lead to a spot on their 53-man roster out of training camp, but the Bills will offer an opportunity. Havrisik, 25, was not part of Buffalo’s kicker audition last month; Anders Carlson and Cade York took part in that mid-September workout.
A former Browns UDFA, Havrisik landed in Los Angeles once the Rams signed him off Cleveland’s P-squad. He made 15 of 20 field goals last season, albeit playing in a friendlier home environment compared to what Bass has dealt with in Buffalo, but struggled down the stretch. Havrisik missed field goals in consecutive games before shanking two extra points in Week 17 in New York. The Rams cut him and moved back to Brett Maher, who kicked in their wild-card outing.
An Arizona product from Riverside, Calif., Havrisik does not have too much experience kicking in cold weather — at least, not compared to Bass. The Bills signed Bass to a four-year, $20.4MM extension in 2023. No guaranteed money remains on the deal beyond 2024. Bass, 27, has been Buffalo’s kicker for the past five seasons. The Bills chose him in the 2020 sixth round out of Georgia Southern.
Bass signed his extension after making more than 87% of his field goal tries in 2021 and ’22. This preceded a 4-for-6 season from beyond 50 yards last year. But Bass joined Greg Zuerlein in struggling Monday on a windy night. Before Bass’ Chiefs miss, he also made just 1 of 3 attempts in the Bills’ wild-card win over the Steelers. After six more games of evidence this season, the Bills are preparing to move on if need be.
Green Bay’s kicker plan is not off to a good start. After cutting both Anders Carlson and Greg Joseph, the Packers have seen the player they ultimately chose — waiver claim Brayden Narveson — miss four field goals thus far this season.
Matt LaFleur expressed support for Narveson, despite his two-miss Week 4, but he is 9-for-13 thus far this season. And none of the misses have come from beyond 50 yards. Three misfires came from between 40 and 49, while Narveson has also missed from inside 40 yards to start his Packers tenure that could be short if he cannot turn it around soon.
LaFleur’s vote of confidence notwithstanding, ESPN.com’s Field Yates notes the Pack worked out two other options — Chad Ryland, Lucas Havrisik — who carry more experience. Ryland kicked for the Patriots in 2023, while Havrisik kicked in nine games for the Rams last season.
Before bailing on the kicker they chose in the 2023 draft, the Packers became the rare team to carry three kickers on its 90-man roster throughout training camp. The team had signed Joseph to push Carson but ended up dissatisfied with both. Narveson went to camp with the Titans, but the Packers had targeted him as a UDFA earlier this year. A waiver claim sent a player who kicked at three schools (Iowa State, Western Kentucky, NC State) to Wisconsin.
Ryland beat out Nick Folk for the Patriots job but lost a training camp battle to Joey Slye this summer. He was just 16-for-25 as a rookie, though a 56-yard game-winner did down the Broncos in Week 16. Havrisik was 15 of 20 for the Rams last season, but the team waived him just before the playoffs. Havrisik could not win the Browns’ job this summer.
The Packers do have Alex Hale, who vied with Joseph and Carlson for the job this offseason, on their practice squad. Teams do not make a habit of carrying two P-squad kickers. Unless Green Bay is looking to upgrade its Narveson competition on its taxi squad, the hunt for Narveson replacements is underway. It is safe to say the 25-year-old rookie is on notice.
The Browns began their journey toward a 53-man roster, cutting more than a dozen players Monday. Here is how Cleveland started its pre-cut-day odyssey:
The Browns only signed Havrisik late last week, and he kicked in their preseason finale. The team gave Dustin Hopkins an extension this offseason and moved on from Cade York — this time via trade (to the Commanders) — for a second straight summer. This left no doubt about Cleveland’s kicker situation. Havrisik kicked in nine games for the Rams last year.
Saylors and Robbins’ exits leave an injury-depleted running back room. The Browns are leaving Nick Chubb on their PUP list, shifting the Pro Bowler to the reserve/PUP; he will miss at least four games. Nyheim Hines is coming off Cleveland’s active/NFI list, making him eligible for Week 1. But he is not quite ready to practice despite his ACL tear — sustained in a jet-ski accident — occurring more than a year ago. Jerome Ford, Pierre Strong and D’Onta Foreman remain on the Browns’ active roster. Foreman also suffered a rib injury in the team’s preseason finale.
Some of these players could be practice squad candidates for the team, but Cleveland still has several players left to cut before reaching 53. Generally, the final cuts are more likely to end up on P-squads compared to the first wave.
Friday’s minor transactions to wrap up the week:
Carolina Panthers
Chicago Bears
Cleveland Browns
Detroit Lions
Indianapolis Colts
Kansas City Chiefs
Minnesota Vikings
New Orleans Saints
San Francisco 49ers
Seattle Seahawks
Washington Commanders
The name of recent UFL linebacker Noah Dawkins is starting to make the rounds in NFL camps. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2, Dawkins worked out recently with both the Cowboys and Bears.
Dawkins’ introduction to the NFL came in 2019 when he signed with the Bengals as an undrafted free agent following an impressive pro day at The Citadel. He was signed off the team’s practice squad to the Buccaneers active roster, appearing in 10 games without recording any defensive statistics. In the next three years, he spent time with the Jets and Bears.
He spent this past UFL season with the Michigan Panthers, totaling 35 tackles and an interception. He wasn’t part of the initial rush of players from the UFL getting NFL interest, but he seems to be growing in popularity. In addition to his recent workouts, Wilson reports that Dawkins has garnered interest from multiple other teams.
Here are a couple other workout rumors from around the NFL:
Today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
Buffalo Bills
Cleveland Browns
Houston Texans
Pittsburgh Steelers
San Francisco 49ers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Washington Commanders
After missing most of the past two seasons due to a knee injury, Ryan Jensen announced back in February that he was going to retire. The Buccaneers made the move official today, although that won’t be the end of their cap commitment to the offensive lineman. As Greg Auman of FOX Sports notes, since Jensen’s contract was pro-rated, the Buccaneers will be hit with a combined $16.6MM in dead cap over the next two seasons.
The Browns cleared up their depth chart a bit by cutting kicker Lucas Havrisik, leaving the organization with Dustin Hopkins and Cade York to compete for the starting job. Havrisik got into nine games with the Rams last season, connecting on 15 of his 20 field goal tries and 19 of his 22 extra points. In other kicker moves, the Commanders have added Ramiz Ahmed in the wake of the Brandon McManus release.
Today’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
Carolina Panthers
Cleveland Browns
Kansas City Chiefs
Today’s minor moves:
Cleveland Browns
Los Angeles Chargers
Miami Dolphins
Minnesota Vikings
San Francisco 49ers
Washington Commanders
Today’s reserve/futures deals from around the league:
Cleveland Browns
Denver Broncos
Green Bay Packers
Houston Texans
New England Patriots
In his second year out of college, Havrisik made his NFL debut for the Rams, playing nine games for Los Angeles this season. He struggled from distance, only converting four of nine field goal attempts over 40 yards, and disappointed with three missed PATs this year. Cleveland will take a chance on an experiment at kicker after seeing regular kicker Dustin Hopkins miss the last few games of the season.