Maxx Williams

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/14/22

Here are today’s minor transactions from around the league:

Arizona Cardinals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/12/22

Here are Monday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Los Angeles Rams

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Collins began his latest Patriots stint by signing with their practice squad Oct. 3, but the veteran linebacker has only played in one game this season. That also came on a Monday night — against the Bears in October. Monday will be Collins’ 87th game as a Patriot. Stints with the Browns and Lions interrupted this run, but the 2013 second-round pick has re-signed with the Patriots three times.

Marcus Mariota‘s IR move created a need for a new Falcons backup. Woodside, who was with Arthur Smith in Tennessee, will step in behind new starter Desmond Ridder this week. Ridder and Woodside are the only two QBs on Atlanta’s active roster or practice squad presently. Harris sustained a torn pectoral muscle Thursday night and will require surgery. A former fourth-round pick, Harris has bounced on and off the Rams’ active roster this season. He be retained via exclusive rights free agent tender next year.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/26/22

The league’s minor moves and standard gameday elevations for Week 12:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/21/22

Here are Monday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Cincinnati Bengals

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/10/22

Today’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Miami Dolphins

New York Giants

 

Rosen’s short stint with the sixth NFL franchise of his career has come to an end, for now. Rosen joined the Browns in the offseason and battled with Joshua Dobbs and Kellen Mond for backup positions behind temporary starting quarterback Jacoby Brissett while Deshaun Watson fulfills his 11-game suspension. Rosen lost out to Dobbs and Mond, eventually signing on to Cleveland’s practice squad, where he’s stayed until now. Rosen will likely continue to search for a team that he fits with, since he does not have to clear waivers as a vested veteran. It may behoove him to contact two teams he has a history with as both San Francisco and Miami have suffered injuries in their quarterback rooms.

Cardinals Release TE Maxx Williams

OCTOBER 9: Williams has not, in fact, been released yet, per SI’s Howard Balzer (Twitter link). General manager Steve Keim acknowledged that the TE is “banged up,” however, suggesting that an agreement is in place between player and team to keep him in the fold, potentially via the practice squad.

OCTOBER 7: The Cardinals are cutting ties with Maxx Williams. Early in his fourth season with the team, the veteran tight end received his walking papers Friday.

Williams re-signed on a low-cost deal (one year, $1.27MM) this offseason after having played with the franchise throughout Kliff Kingsbury‘s tenure. The Cardinals retained both Williams and Zach Ertz this year and drafted Trey McBride in the second round.

Early in his eighth NFL season, Williams had played 17% of Arizona’s offensive snaps. He does not have a reception through four games. Because the trade deadline has not passed, Williams’ vested-veteran status will send him straight to free agency. Williams could conceivably come back on a practice squad agreement, but for now he is off the team.

A Ravens second-round pick in 2015, Williams topped out in receiving production (32 catches, 268 yards) as a rookie. Teams have still valued the former Minnesota Golden Gopher, with the Cardinals signing him to three contracts since 2019. Williams, 28, caught 39 passes for 497 yards and three touchdowns during his three-plus-year Arizona run.

Williams has made multiple IR trips since coming to the desert, however. He missed nine games in 2020 and 12 last year. A major knee injury shelved him midway through last season, and while the Cardinals brought him back, they made multiple long-term tight end commitments since that injury. Ertz re-signed on a three-year deal in March, and McBride is locked in through 2025. Seventh-year veteran Stephen Anderson rounds out Arizona’s active-roster tight end contingent.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/4/22

Today’s minor transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Los Angeles Rams

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Washington Commanders

Cardinals Make Three Roster Moves

The Cardinals made plenty of headlines yesterday by making quarterback Kyler Murray the league’s second-highest paid player. They have made some other, less substantial moves today. 

The team announced that tight end Maxx Williams has been placed on the active/PUP list. The 28-year-old suffered a season-ending knee injury in October, leaving a significant hole in Arizona’s offense. To fill the void, the Cardinals traded for Zach Ertz days later. Still, Williams did enough in his third year in the desert to earn a one-year contract this offseason.

The former second-rounder is no stranger to injuries. Williams has played a full season only once in his seven-year career, back in 2019. Since then, he has made just 14 appearances in total, prompting the Cardinals to retain Ertz and add Trey McBride in the draft. Williams will therefore have plenty of competition for playing time upon his return.

Meanwhile, the team also confirmed the signing of wideout Victor Bolden Jr. The five-foot-nine, 175-pounder played a pivotal role in helping the Birmingham Stallions win the USFL title. Overall, he ranked fourth in the spring league with 415 receiving yards, numbers which translated to the championship game (of which he was named MVP). In addition, he showcased his ability as a returner, with 794 yards on special teams. That was Bolden’s calling card during his previous stint in the NFL, which began by signing as a UDFA with the 49ers in 2017 and ended last summer when he was waived by the Lions.

Lastly, to make room for Bolden, the Cardinals released undrafted receiver Jared SmartIf Bolden can make Arizona’s roster as a returner in particular, he could round out the team’s WR corps, which already features the likes of DeAndre Hopkins, Marquise Brown, Rondale Moore, A.J. Green, Antoine Wesley and Andy Isabella at the top of the depth chart.

Contract Details: Seals-Jones, Williams, Tomlinson, Jones, Montgomery, Gardeck, Singleton, Carter

Here are the latest details from contracts recently agreed to across the league:

  • Ricky Seals-Jones, TE (Giants): One-year, $1.19MM. The deal, tweeted out by Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network, has a $352,500 amount guaranteed at signing. The guaranteed amount includes a signing bonus of $152,500 and $200,000 of his salary worth $1.04MM.
  • Maxx Williams, TE (Cardinals): One-year, $1.27MM. The deal has a salary of $1.12MM, according to Wilson. Regardless of whether or not he is active, he’ll receive a $15,000 bonus for any game for which he is on the roster. If he is active for any game, he’ll receive an additional $52,500 roster bonus. He’ll also receive a per game active bonus of $5,000 for a potential season total of $85,000.
  • Eric Tomlinson, TE (Broncos): One-year, $1.44MM. The deal has an amount of $1MM guaranteed at signing, according to Wilson. The guaranteed amount includes a $400,000 signing bonus and $600,000 of his salary worth $1.04MM.
  • DaQuan Jones, DT (Bills): Two-year, $14MM. The deal has an amount of $10.63MM guaranteed at signing, according to Wilson. The guaranteed amount consists of a $5.5MM signing bonus, the full first-year salary of $1.75MM, and $3.38MM of the second-year salary, which is set at $6.75MM. The contract includes a voidable year for 2024 that voids automatically 23 days before the 2024 league year begins.
  • Ty Montgomery, RB (Patriots): Two-year, $3.6MM. The deal has an average annual salary of $1.8MM with an amount of $300,000 guaranteed consisting entirely of the dual-position player’s signing bonus, according to Wilson. Included in that AAV of $1.8MM are a first-year salary of $1.16MM, a second-year salary of $1.36MM, roster bonuses of $280,000 in year one and $340,000 in year two, and workout bonuses of $50,000 in each year. The former wide receiver will earn a per game active bonus of $20,000 for a potential season total of $340,000. The deal holds an annual playtime incentive of up to $300,000. The deal also holds a potential out after the 2022 NFL season that would leave a dead cap number of $150,000.
  • Dennis Gardeck, LB (Cardinals): Three-year, $10MM. The deal has a guaranteed amount of $3.75MM, according to Wilson. $3.25MM of that amount is guaranteed at signing with a $2MM signing bonus and the first-year salary of $1.25MM being fully guaranteed. $500,000 of the second-year salary, worth $3.27MM, guarantees on the fifth league day of the 2023 season (injury guaranteed at signing). The third-year salary is worth $2.46MM. Gardeck will also receive a per game active bonus of $20,000 for a potential season total of $340,000. The deal includes an annual playtime incentive of $250,000 and an escalator based on sack total that can be worth up to $625,000. A potential out after the 2022 season would leave a dead cap number of $1.33MM.
  • Alex Singleton, LB (Broncos): One-year, $1.12MM. The deal has a salary of $965,000 with a guaranteed amount of $150,000 fully consisting of Singleton’s signing bonus, according to Mike Klis of 9News. Singleton will have a playtime incentive based on snap-percentage. At the end of the year, if he has played 65% of the team’s defensive snaps, he’ll receive $250,000, $500,000 if he plays 70%, and $750,000 if he plays 75%.
  • Lorenzo Carter, OLB (Falcons): One-year, $3.5MM. The deal has a salary of $1.5MM with a guaranteed amount of $2MM fully consisting of Carter’s signing bonus, according to Michael Rothstein of ESPN. The deal includes a 2023 dummy year that will be voided 23 days before the 2023 league year. It will leave the Falcons with a dead cap number of $1M for Carter.

Cardinals To Re-Sign Maxx Williams

The Cardinals are in line to keep another member of their tight end room. The team is giving Maxx Williams a one-year deal, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (Twitter link). 

[RELATED: Cardinals, Zach Ertz Closing In On Deal]

Williams, who will be 28 at the start of next season, has spent the past campaigns seasons in Arizona. That was preceded by four years in Baltimore, after the Ravens drafted him in the second round in 2015. He totalled 497 receiving yards in 42 games with the Ravens, which included 21 starts.

In Arizona, the Minnesota product has put up an identical number of yards, in this case needing 12 fewer games to do so. Not surprisingly, that production has come as a result of greater playing time. He snap percentage has increased in each of the last three years, reaching 66% in 2021. He was off to an impressive start this season, but suffered a torn ACL in Week 5.

Even with Ertz back, then, Williams has cared out a role for himself in the team’s offense. With receiver Christian Kirk having signed with the Jaguars, the veteran could also be in line for an increase in targets. In any event, Williams’ blocking ability should continue to earn him plenty of time on the field for what was one of the league’s top offenses in 2021.