HEADLINES

Milton Wright

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/7/23

September 7th, 2023 at 7:10pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor transactions:

Green Bay Packers

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

  • Waived from IR: LB Ryan Smenda

Minnesota Vikings

Tennessee Titans

The Chiefs hinted at Travis Kelce‘s status for tonight’s season opener when they added a tight end to the active roster. Matt Bushman was undrafted out of BYU in 2021 and has spent much of the past two years on the Chiefs’ practice squad. With Kelce inactive, Bushman could make his NFL debut tonight, although he’ll be behind Noah Gray and Blake Bell on the depth chart.

Wednesday NFL Transactions: AFC West

August 30th, 2023 at 8:39pm CST by Sam Robinson

Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline Tuesday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters. In addition to waiver claims, teams can begin constructing their 16-man practice squads today. These Broncos, Chargers, Chiefs and Raiders moves are noted below.

Denver Broncos

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Kansas City Chiefs

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Las Vegas Raiders

Placed on IR: 

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Los Angeles Chargers

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Reverted to IR:

Released from IR via injury settlement:

Chargers Finalize 53-Man Roster

August 29th, 2023 at 11:08pm CST by Ely Allen

The Chargers took care of most of their headline moves before the deadline today. They used today to take care of the remaining moves necessary to get down to the 53-man roster limit. Here are the team’s moves from today:

Waived:

Placed on reserve/PUP:

Seventh-round rookie quarterback Max Duggan failed to make the roster behind starter Justin Herbert and backup Easton Stick. At running back, though, undrafted rookie running back Elijah Dotson impressed enough in the preseason to make the active roster in the regular season.

The team will carry a simple, five-man receiving corps into the season with Guyton on the physically unable to perform list. Returning wideouts Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, and Josh Palmer will be joined by former TCU draft picks Quentin Johnston and Derius Davis.

Cameron Dicker winning the kicking battle led to the trading of Dustin Hopkins and the waiving of Cade York. After making 19 of his 20 kick attempts for the Chargers in his rookie year and converting all 22 of his extra point attempts, Dicker will remain the team’s placekicker moving forward.

Chargers Sign WR Milton Wright

July 26th, 2023 at 6:45pm CST by Ben Levine

After going undrafted in the NFL Supplemental Draft earlier this month, Milton Wright has found his way on to an NFL roster. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter), the wide receiver has signed with the Chargers.

After hauling in 42 receptions through his first two collegiate seasons, Wright had a breakout campaign in 2021. The Purdue wideout finished the season with 57 receptions for 732 yards and seven touchdowns, and he appeared ready to take it to another lever in 2022.

However, persistent academic issues resulted in him being deemed ineligible for the 2022 season. Wright first tried to transfer before deciding to pivot to the supplemental draft. The receiver ended up going undrafted, allowing him to sign with any team.

Despite an NFL-ready body (six-foot-three, 195 pounds), Wright’s 4.69-second 40-yard dash time led some scouts to sour on the prospect. Still, the Chargers decided to take the low-risk move following a successful tryout earlier today.

The organization is plenty deep at the receiver position, with Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, and first-round rookie Quentin Johnston leading the way. With Josh Palmer and rookie fourth-round pick Derius Davis also appearing to be roster locks, Wright will have to compete with the likes of Jalen Guyton, Keelan Doss, and John Hightower for one of the final spots on the depth chart.

WRs Malachi Wideman, Milton Wright To Work Out For NFL Teams

July 12th, 2023 at 11:18am CST by Sam Robinson

The NFL’s first supplemental draft since 2019 ended without a team using a selection. As a result, the two wide receivers in the draft — Malachi Wideman (Jackson State) and Milton Wright (Purdue) — are unrestricted free agents.

Both players intend to work out for teams soon. Wright has already secured workout opportunities with teams, per ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter, who notes these auditions will take place when teams report to training camp later this month (Twitter link). Wideman is also in the process of scheduling workouts with teams, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets, with KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson adding auditions will be on tap for the former Division I-FCS wide receiver (Twitter link).

Purdue rostered Rondale Moore and David Bell during Wright’s career. With Moore on the Cardinals by 2021, Wright established new career-high marks in receptions (57), receiving yards (732) and touchdowns (seven) during his junior season alongside Bell. A former four-star Tennessee recruit who later transferred to the then-Deion Sanders-led program, Wideman totaled 34 receptions for 540 yards during his lone season in uniform for Jackson State. Wideman caught 12 touchdown passes that year. Both Wright and Wideman were declared academically ineligible for the 2022 season, leading to their supplemental draft avenues.

Wideman, who already held a pro day earlier this summer, is on tap to continue his career soon. The CFL and XFL have offered safety nets for the 6-foot-5 wideout. The San Antonio Brahmas obtained Wideman’s rights and offered him a contract, per Wilson, who adds the free agent pass catcher also has a CFL offer in hand (Twitter link). That offer looks to have come from the Calgary Stampeders, whom Wilson notes have acquired Wideman’s rights.

Prior to this week, the supplemental draft had not been held since 2019. The event’s star power of the 1980s and ’90s, when the likes of Bernie Kosar, Cris Carter and Rob Moore were selected in the summer draft, has long faded. But the Cardinals did land eventual safety starter Jalen Thompson in July 2019. After not being chosen, Wideman and Wright will attempt to catch on with teams soon.

No Players Selected In Supplemental Draft

July 11th, 2023 at 12:45pm CST by Adam La Rose

The NFL’s supplemental draft took place on Tuesday, ending a three-year absence of the event. As many expected, no teams took the opportunity to make an addition to their rosters, however.

Neither Malachi Wideman nor Milton Wright were drafted, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (Twitter link). As a result, both wideouts are now unrestricted free agents, as is the case with players who are not selected in the spring entry draft.

The announcement of the supplemental draft’s return came roughly one month ago, amidst little fanfare. The 2023 edition marked the first since 2019, and instances of notable players being selected have generally been few and far between. Wideman held a Pro Day in an attempt to garner interest from NFL teams, but that effort was not sufficient to earn him a selection today.

Teams acquire players in supplemental drafts by bidding on them; succesful bids cost them a selection in the equivalent round of the subsequent entry draft. Both Wideman and Wright applied for eligibility for the supplemental draft after being deemed academically ineligible for the 2022 college season. That missed time cost them the opportunity to take part in April’s draft, though today’s news demonstrates it was unlikely they would have been selected at that point.

It will be interesting to monitor how much interest either player receives as a free agent with teams not willing to spend draft capital to acquire them. A deal in time for training camp could allow them the opportunity to at least compete for a practice squad role. Failing that, the XFL and USFL have demonstrated in recent years an ability to give players a pathway back to the NFL via impressive play during the spring.

Between 2010 and 2019, a total of eight players were selected in supplemental drafts. That list includes the likes of quarterback Terrelle Pryor and receiver Josh Gordon, along with current Cardinals safety Jalen Thompson. Further additions to the summer draft alumni will have to wait until at least next year, however.

Two Players Granted Eligibility For Supplemental Draft

July 5th, 2023 at 9:08pm CST by Ben Levine

On July 11, the NFL will hold its first supplemental draft since 2019, and we learned today that two players have been granted eligibility for the event. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter), Jackson State wide receiver Malachi Wideman and Purdue wideout Milton Wright were granted eligibility for next week’s draft.

Both Wideman and Wright were deemed academically ineligible for the 2022 season and lost 2023 NFL Draft eligibility. The two receivers are the only players who can be selected during the 2023 NFL Supplemental Draft.

Wideman is a former four-star recruit who started his college career at Tennessee. He later joined Deion Sanders‘ Jackson State squad and proceeded to haul in 34 receptions for 540 yards and 12 touchdowns during the 2021 campaign. Those 12 touchdowns ultimately paced the SWAC during the 2021 season. Wideman will audition himself to teams during a Pro Day this Saturday (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of KRPC2).

Wright left Purdue last May after being ruled academically ineligible for the 2022 college football season. When we last saw him in 2021, he hauled in 57 catches for 732 yards and seven touchdowns for the Boilermakers. He finished his college career with 99 catches in 27 games.

Any team that selects a player during the draft will have to sacrifice the corresponding round’s pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Between 2010 and 2019, there were eight players selected via the supplemental draft, highlighted by quarterback Terrelle Pryor (third round to the Raiders in 2011) and wide receiver Josh Gordon (second round to the Browns in 2012). There have been seven wideouts selected during the draft since its inception in 1977; besides Gordon, the draft has also produced Pro Bowl WR Rob Moore and Hall of Fame WR Cris Carter.