Here are Friday’s minor moves:
Buffalo Bills
- Waived: WR Malik Williams
Houston Texans
- Waived: OL Carson Green
Minnesota Vikings
- Reverted to IR (after going unclaimed on waivers): DE Kenny Willekes
The Steelers got down to the 53-man max by releasing wide receiver Eli Rogers and a host of other players. Among other notables released 2019 draft picks Sutton Smith (linebacker, sixth round) and Derwin Grey (offensive lineman, seventh round), as well as Marcus Allen, a fifth-round defensive back from the 2018 class.
Rogers came out of nowhere and had a breakout season in 2016, catching 48 passes for 594 yards and three touchdowns in just 13 games. It was a promising debut, but he took a pretty big step backwards the next season when he had just 149 yards and 18 catches. Then in the playoffs, he suffered a torn ACL. The ACL took a long time to recover from, and Rogers didn’t end up making it back until Week 15 of last year.
The rest of the rundown is below.
Offensive players released:
- QB Devlin Hodges
- RB Trey Edmunds
- RB Travon McMillian
- RB Malik Williams
- WR Trey Griffey
- WR Johnny Holton
- WR Tevin Jones
- WR Brandon Reilly
- WR Diontae Spencer
- TE Micky Crum
- TE Kevin Rader
- TE Christian Scotland-Williamson
- TE Trevor Wood
- OL Garrett Brumfield
- OL J.C. Hassanauer
- OL Patrick Morris
- OL Damian Prince
Defensive players released:
- DB Dravon Askew-Henry
- DB Marcelis Branch
- DB Jhvonte Dean
- DB P.J. Locke
- DB Trevon Mathis
- LB Jayrone Elliott
- LB Christian Kuntz
- LB Tegray Scales
- LB Robert Spillane
- DL Winston Craig
- DL Greg Gilmore
- DL Henry Mondeaux
- DL Casey Sayles
- DL Conor Sheehy
Special teams cuts:
Here are the latest reserve/futures contract signings from around the NFL. These deals will go into effect on the first day of the 2019 league year, with players joining their respective clubs’ offseason 90-man rosters:
Los Angeles Rams
- OL Aaron Neary
- DB Steven Parker
- DB Ramon Richards
Pittsburgh Steelers
- LB Robert Spillane
- RB Malik Williams
Today’s workout updates, all courtesy of veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer (on Twitter):
Chicago Bears
- T Dakoda Shepley; G Ethan Cooper; LB Sam Eguavoen; K Ty Long
Detroit Lions
- DEs Avery Ellis, Tony Nelson; LB Sam Eguavoen
Green Bay Packers
- WR Devin Smith
Houston Texans
Indianapolis Colts
- QBs Jon Jennings, Bo Levi Mitchell; WRs Sammie Coates, Greg Ward, Taj Williams; T Dakoda Shepley; LBs Sam Eguavoen, Jameer Thurman
Kansas City Chiefs
- DTs Henry Mondeaux, Cavon Walker; CB DeAndre Elliott
Los Angeles Chargers
- LB Alex Singleton; LS Tanner Carew; K Ty Long; P Shane Tripucka
New England Patriots
- WR Jordan Williams-Lambert
New Orleans Saints
- DE Geneo Grissom; LB Lorenzo Mauldin
New York Jets
- WR Stacy Coley; DE Charles Tapper
Pittsburgh Steelers
- RBs Terry Swanson, Malik Williams; WR Diontae Spencer
Seattle Seahawks
The Falcons have trimmed down their roster. The team announced that they’ve reduced their roster to 52 players, meaning they’re leaving one spot open for a potential free agent addition.
We learned yesterday that the organization was moving on from defensive back Ron Parker and offensive lineman Austin Pasztor. The rest of the team’s moves are below:
Waived:
- QB Kurt Benkert
- WR Christian Blake
- FS Marcelis Branch
- OT Daniel Brunskill
- DB Deante Burton
- WR Dontez Byrd
- LB Jonathan Celestin
- DE Mackendy Cheridor
- DB Secdrick Cooper
- RB Justin Crawford
- DT Jon Cunningham
- WR Reggie Davis
- OG Jamil Douglas
- LB Emmanuel Ellerbee
- FB Jalston Fowler
- TE Jaeden Graham
- S Tyson Graham
- TE Alex Gray
- WR Devin Gray
- QB Garrett Grayson
- OG Sean Harlow
- C J.C. Hassenauer
- DE J.T. Jones
- WR Lamar Jordan
- DB Chris Lammons
- RB Terrence Magee
- TE Troy Mangen
- K David Marvin
- DB Ryan Neal
- LB Emmanuel Smith
- DT Garrison Smith
- K Giorgio Tavecchio
- DT Jacob Tuioti-Mariner
- OG Salesi Uhatafe
- WR Julian Williams
- LB Anthony Winbush
Waived/injured:
The Falcons have signed a whopping 27 undrafted free agents. Here is the full rundown:
- Kurt Benkert, QB (Virginia)
- Christian Blake, WR (Northern Illinois)
- Dontez Byrd, WR (Tennessee Tech)
- Jontey Byrd, DL (Kent State)
- Mackendy Cheridor, DL (Georgia State)
- Detrich Clark, WR (Colorado State)
- Matt Gono, OL (Wesley College)
- Secdrick Cooper, S (Louisiana Tech)
- Justin Crawford, RB (West Virginia)
- Emmanuel Ellerbee, LB (Rice)
- Devin Gray, WR (Cincinnati)
- J.C. Hassenauer, OL (Alabama)
- Richard Jarvis, LB (Brown)
- Lamar Jordan, QB/WR (New Mexico)
- Chris Lammons, S (South Carolina)
- David Martin, K (Georgia)
- Troy Mangen, TE (Ohio)
- Luke McNitt, FB (Nebraska)
- Daniel Marx, FB (Stanford)
- Joseph Putu, CB (Florida)
- Demario Richard, RB (Arizona State)
- Jake Roh, TE (Boise State)
- Emmanuel Smith, LB (Vanderbilt)
- Jacob Tuioti-Mariner, DL (UCLA)
- Salesi Uhatafe, OL (Utah)
- Anthony Winbush, LB (Ball State)
- Malik Williams, RB (Louisville)
Most NFL teams do not employ a fullback but the Falcons rostered one last year in Derrick Coleman, so McNitt and Marx may have a shot at making the team. At quarterback, there may be an opportunity for Benkert and Lamar Jordan to unseat Garrett Grayson as the third QB (assuming Jordan is being evaluated as a QB), though they are well set with Matt Schaub as the primary backup to Matt Ryan.
Benkert received a $60K guarantee to sign, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets, so it’s clear that the Falcons think highly of him. Benkert started his collegiate career at East Carolina before transferring to Virginia for the 2016 season. In two years as Virginia’s starter, he completed 57.7% of his passes with 46 touchdowns against 21 interceptions.
In other Falcons news, GM Thomas Dimitroff recently addressed speculation about the team’s relationship with star Julio Jones. The Falcons also triggered the fifth-year option for defensive end Vic Beasley recently.