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Nathan Peterman

Falcons Add QB Nathan Peterman

September 3rd, 2024 at 7:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Falcons have identified their de facto third-string quarterback. Following their Taylor Heinicke trade, the Falcons added Nathan Peterman to their practice squad.

This will be Peterman’s fifth NFL team and second stop in the NFC South. Spending this offseason in New Orleans, the well-traveled reserve QB has been with the Bills, Raiders and Bears as well. He will step in behind Kirk Cousins and Michael Penix Jr. as an emergency third-stringer, as Atlanta’s 53-man roster houses two QBs.

Still probably best known for his rough game outings with the Bills early in his career, Peterman has made a career out of third-string work and occasional game cameos. Most recently, the 2017 Buffalo draftee was with Las Vegas. But Antonio Pierce‘s team moved on, keeping their two training camp QB1 competitors (Gardner Minshew, Aidan O’Connell). The Raiders are not currently carrying a P-squad QB.

Peterman, 30, is 1-4 as a starter. His most recent outing came in Week 18 of the 2022 season, as the Bears parked Justin Fields for a finale that secured them the No. 1 overall pick in 2023. Peterman has a 4-to-13 career TD-INT ratio. The enduring taxi squad presence, however, continues to find opportunities. Peterman’s initial Raiders stint, during the Jon Gruden years, lasted for more than three seasons. He spent the 2022 and ’23 campaigns with the Bears, vacillating between P-squad arm and active-roster reserve. The Saints signed Peterman in March but cut him in early August.

The Falcons traded Heinicke to the Chargers for a conditional sixth-round pick. Heinicke, who took a pay cut this offseason, had not expected to make the Falcons’ 53-man roster for a second year. To make room on its P-squad, Atlanta released veteran tackle Julie’n Davenport. A 32-game starter, Davenport has not seen game action since 2021.

Raiders Trim Roster To 53

August 27th, 2024 at 10:20pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here is how Antonio Pierce‘s first Raiders effort moved down to 53:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Placed on IR/return designation:

Waived/failed physical:

Peterman’s exit leaves two quarterbacks — the two that vied for the starting gig (Gardner Minshew, Aidan O’Connell) — on their 53-man roster. Peterman, however, has been quite resilient in his career. The Bears dropped him last year only to circle back via a practice squad invite. The eighth-year passer also has an extensive past with the Raiders, who rostered him for much of Jon Gruden‘s tenure. Teams have six practice squad slots they can use on vested veterans.

Guyton followed GM Tom Telesco from the Chargers. The ACL tear he suffered early during the 2022 season sidetracked his career, with the former Justin Herbert deep threat — who totaled 959 yards from 2020-21 — catching just 12 passes over the past two seasons. The Raiders kept rookie UDFA Ramel Keyton and third-year UDFA Tyreik McAllister among their six-man receiving corps. Four of the six wideouts on the Raiders’ roster are ex-UDFAs, with only Davante Adams and Tre Tucker being drafted.

The Raiders are using one of their injury activations on Taylor, who arrived via seventh-round pick this year. Elsewhere in the secondary, Webb is off the roster after having previously worked as a three-game starter. This came during Josh McDaniels‘ only full season in charge.

Raiders Sign QB Nathan Peterman

August 13th, 2024 at 5:51pm CST by Ben Levine

Nathan Peterman‘s NFL journey has landed him back with the Raiders. The organization announced today that they’ve signed the veteran quarterback. In a corresponding move, the team waived/injured wide receiver Keelan Doss.

Peterman is most known for tossing five interceptions during the first half of his NFL debut, but he’s since garnered a reputation as a steady backup QB. He had a nearly four-year stint with the Raiders, making only brief cameos in relief of Derek Carr. He also had a two-year stay with the Bears between 2022 and 2023. In total, Peterman has gone 1-4 in his five career starts.

The veteran signed with the Saints back in March but was cut loose earlier this month. The Raiders will now take a chance on a player who’s not only familiar with the organization, but also the playbook. As Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal observes, Peterson played the last two seasons in Chicago under new Raiders OC Luke Getsy, so it shouldn’t take the QB long to get his feet wet.

Bonsignore notes that Peterman might have simply been added to soak up preseason snaps. However, he could also provide an upgrade at QB3 over the likes of Anthony Brown Jr. and UDFA Carter Bradley (and behind Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell).

Doss has bounced around the NFL since going undrafted in 2019, including a handful of stints with the Raiders. He most recently spent two years with the Chargers, hauling in six catches for 33 yards.

Saints Release QB Nathan Peterman

August 2nd, 2024 at 10:05pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Saints have trimmed their quarterback depth chart. The team announced on Friday that veteran Nathan Peterman has been released.

Peterman has been in the NFL since 2017, but he has made just 15 appearances in his career. Four his five starts came during his first two Bills campaigns, and he has bounced on and off the practice squads of the Raiders and Bills since then.

The 30-year-old joined the Saints in March to compete for a spot on the 53-man roster. New Orleans already has Derek Carr in place as the starter along with 2023 fourth-rounder Jake Haener and fifth-round rookie Spencer Rattler, however. The latter two have spent the offseason battling for the QB2 role, and that competition will no doubt continue through the rest of training camp and into the preseason. As a vested veteran, Peterman will not be subject to waivers.

The former fifth-rounder will be able to join a new team in a bid to latch onto a roster spot during cutdowns at the end of the summer. He will otherwise be a candidate for taxi squad spot upon a potential return to New Orleans. Teams will have unlimited elevations for signal-callers to dress as their emergency No. 3 quarterback in 2024. The runner-up in the Haener-Rattler competition will of course be a strong candidate to serve in that capacity, though.

To fill the roster spot created by Peterman’s release – a move which will create a dead money charge of $80K, the guaranteed figure in his veteran minimum pact – the Saints signed wideout Samson Nacua. The brother of last year’s Offensive Rookie of the Year runner-up Puka Nacua, Samson initially entered the NFL as a Colts UDFA in 2022. He failed to make the roster and spent the past two seasons playing spring football in the USFL and UFL. Now, the 26-year-old will attempt to carve out a depth spot in New Orleans’ WR room.

Jake Haener, Spencer Rattler To Compete For Saints’ Backup QB Role

July 6th, 2024 at 9:45pm CST by Adam La Rose

Derek Carr will be expected to improve on his debut Saints campaign under new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak in 2024. New Orleans does not have Jameis Winston in place anymore, though, so the question of who will serve as his backup remains unanswered.

Winston – who has spoken about his desire to regain a starting opportunity in the NFL – took a deal with the Browns this offseason which has him on track to back up Deshaun Watson. New Orleans still has Swiss Army knife Taysom Hill in the fold, but the team has used the past two drafts to add true signal-callers. Jake Haener (fourth round, 2023) and Spencer Rattler (fifth round, 2024) are set to to compete for the QB2 role this summer.

Both quarterbacks rotated between the second- and third-team offense this spring, as noted by ESPN’s Katherine Terrell. She adds, though, that Haener received the majority of backup reps, leaving Rattler in place for the third-string role as things stand. Head coach Dennis Allen confirmed (via Terrell) the pecking order will be decided during training camp.

Haener did not see the field during his rookie season, one which began with a six-game PED suspension. The Fresno State product remains under team control for three more years via his rookie contract, giving him plenty of time to develop into at least a consistent backup option. He noted the change to Kubiak and a new scheme has allowed him to take a step forward compared to 2023, although that progress will be tested during padded practices in the summer.

Rattler’s college career began with a stellar redshirt freshman season at Oklahoma, but his downturn in play (and the arrival of Caleb Williams) the following year led to a transfer. The 23-year-old’s South Carolina performances did not put him back on the Day 1 draft radar, and he witnessed a massive gap between the sixth quarterback (Bo Nix, No. 12 overall) being selected and his addition by the Saints at No. 150. Still, Rattler’s upside could help him ascend to the role of Carr’s understudy as early as his rookie campaign.

New Orleans also has veteran Nathan Peterman in the fold, although Terrell notes he is a practice squad candidate given the term on Haener and Rattler’s respective deals. The latter two do not have a path to a starting role in 2024, but Carr’s contract contains a potential out in March 2025. His performance will therefore be a key storyline come the fall; before that point, it will be interesting to see who claims the backup gig.

Saints To Sign QB Nathan Peterman

March 14th, 2024 at 12:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Saints designated Jameis Winston as a post-June 1 cut, leaving the position of Derek Carr‘s backup open. Carr’s health issues last season made that role more relevant than it was in Oakland and Las Vegas.

Nathan Peterman is heading to New Orleans to be one of Carr’s backups, Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.football tweets. Peterman has experience as a Carr backup, being one of the Raiders’ reserves under Jon Gruden, and has worked with new Saints QBs coach Andrew Janocko with the Bears. Peterman’s deal is for one year and worth the veteran minimum, Underhill notes.

Peterman spent the past two seasons in Chicago, finding himself on and off the Bears’ active roster. He was released during final roster cutdowns in August, confirmation that UDFA Tyson Bagent won out Chicago’s backup quarterback competition. Peterman was ultimately brought back into the fold later on in the year, though, and he remained on the active roster from mid-October onwards.

New Orleans faced increased expectations on offense after using Winston and veterans like Andy Dalton under center in previous years. Carr – who inked a four-year, $150MM deal – had an up-and-down showing while battling injury for part of the campaign. A new offensive staff is in place for 2024, and Carr will face pressure to perform under Klint Kubiak, especially given the fact his 2025 salary does not become guaranteed until next March.

Much of New Orleans’ success on offense will of course depend on the play of Carr, but Peterman could be tasked with stepping in for him if needed. The Saints also have 2023 fourth-rounder Jake Haener (who was issued a six-game PED suspension to start the year) along with Swiss Army knife Taysom Hill as other QB options.

Adam La Rose contributed to this post.

Bears QB Justin Fields Dealing With Dislocated Thumb, Doubtful For Week 7

October 16th, 2023 at 1:12pm CST by Ely Allen

OCTOBER 16: When speaking publicly about Fields’ injury, head coach Matt Eberflus confirmed the 24-year-old is dealing with a dislocated thumb. Fields is doubtful to play in Week 7, but more clarity on his return timetable will likely not emerge until later in the week, including a decision on whether or not surgery will be in play (h/t ESPN’s Courtney Cronin). Much will depend on the swelling in the affected thumb, but for now Bagent can be penciled in as Chicago’s starter moving forward.

OCTOBER 15: Early into the second half of the Bears’ loss to the Vikings today, third-year quarterback Justin Fields was forced out of the game with an injury to his throwing hand. Specifically, according Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the injury was to Fields’ thumb, affecting his grip on the football. Fields was unable to effectively grip the ball and spent the remainder of the game on the sideline as a result.

Fields third year in the NFL started off in a rocky manner as fans continued to question his effectiveness as an NFL starter. Three straight losses to open the year while throwing three touchdowns to five interceptions and only averaging 175.33 passing yards per game only added to the mounting critiques.

In the team’s past two contests leading up to today’s game, though, Fields was beginning to show the promise becoming of his high draft status. In a close loss and a big first win of the season, Fields threw eight touchdowns to one interception while averaging 308.5 passing yards per game. Coming off those two strong performances, a divisional contest against the struggling Vikings was becoming a game to watch for Fields. Unfortunately, the injury to his hand kept him from continuing that recent success with a big second half.

In his absence, Chicago put in undrafted rookie quarterback Tyson Bagent out of Shepherd University. In his NFL debut, Bagent was mostly efficient, aside from a desperation interception in the game’s dying moments, while being mostly conservative as a substitute. After a critical fumble that ended up being returned for a touchdown, Bagent wasn’t able to erase the Bears’ 13-point deficit, but he did lead the team on a touchdown drive to make it a one-score game.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, head coach Matt Eberflus disclosed that the X-rays on Fields’ hand were negative, indicating no broken bones. He will undergo an MRI tomorrow in order to determine if there is any other potential damage that may take time to recover from. If the MRI turns up something that will force Fields to miss time, or if Fields is still struggling to grip the ball next week, Bagent may hear his name called again especially if fellow backup Nathan Peterman remains unavailable.

Bears Place RB Khalil Herbert, WR Equanimeous St. Brown On IR

October 13th, 2023 at 6:07pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Bears will be quite shorthanded in the backfield in Week 6 with Roschon Johnson, Travis Homer and Khalil Herbert unavailable. The latter will be sidelined for an extended stretch, though.

Herbert was placed on injured reserve Friday, per a team announcement. The news comes as little surprise, as his high ankle sprain suffered during Chicago’s first win of the season was expected to keep him out for multiple games. As a result of the IR move, Herbert will be required to miss at least the next four weeks.

The 25-year-old saw an uptick in usage early in the 2023 season, as was expected after the free agent departure of David Montgomery. Herbert has averaged 12.2 touches per contest, and he has remained efficient on the ground with an average of 5.3 yards per carry. It will be interesting to see how the Bears divvy up their running back snaps now that Herbert will not be in the picture for the foreseeable future. Darrynton Evans was recently signed off the Dolphins’ practice squad to provide needed depth in the backfield.

The Bears also placed Equanimeous St. Brown on IR Friday. The former Packers sixth-rounder has been in Chicago since last season, operating as a rotational option in the passing game. He has seen a dip in playing time this year (49% snap share), but his absence will be felt given that of Chase Claypool, whose highly underwhelming time in the Windy City came to an end less than one calendar year after his arrival. Bringing back Herbert and St. Brown will require two of the Bears’ seven remaining IR activations.

A pair of those will be used on backup offensive lineman Doug Kramer and starting slot cornerback Kyler Gordon. The latter could return in time for Sunday if he is activated using one of the roster spots opened up by today’s moves. The other one has already been occupied by the return of Nathan Peterman. The journeyman quarterback was released earlier this month, but the expectation at the time was that he would be retained via the practice squad. Peterman will now return to the active roster behind undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent on the depth chart.

Bears Designate CB Kyler Gordon For Return, Sign QB Nathan Peterman To Practice Squad

October 9th, 2023 at 1:23pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Bears could have their starting slot corner back in the fold as early as Week 6. Kyler Gordon was designated for return from injured reserve on Monday, per a team announcement. Backup center Doug Kramer has also had his practice window opened.

[RELATED: Khalil Herbert Facing Extended Absence, Bears Sign RB Darrynton Evans]

As a result of the move, both players are now clear to return to practice. They can do so for up to 21 days before Chicago will be required to activate them or see them revert to season-ending IR. Bringing back the pair will use up two of the team’s seven remaining IR activations.

Gordon suffered a broken hand in the season opener, and the surgery he underwent opened the door to an IR stint the following week. The team was optimistic he would be able to return at the first opportunity, and that would prove to be the case if he were to be activated this week. A 2022 second-rounder, Gordon played on the outside as a rookie but has moved to the slot for the 2023 campaign. His return will allow Chicago to have its top trio of Gordon, Jaylon Johnson and rookie Tyrique Stevenson in place at the CB spot.

Gordon, 23, showed plenty of promise last season, racking up 71 tackles, three interceptions and six pass deflections. The Washington alum left plenty to be desired in coverage, though, allowing three touchdowns and a passer rating of 102 as the nearest defender. That led to a poor PFF grade of 49.8, but a return to action will give him the chance to show improvement and in doing so give a boost to the Bears’ secondary.

In other roster news, the Bears retained quarterback Nathan Peterman by signing him to the practice squad. The veteran was released last week in a move which confirmed undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent‘s status as the backup to Justin Fields. Chicago did not have another passer in the organization beyond that pair for a time, however, so it comes as little surprise that Peterman will remain in the Windy City. The 29-year-old spent last season on and off the team’s taxi squad, and that arrangement is now set continue in 2023.

Bears Release QB Nathan Peterman

October 5th, 2023 at 6:52pm CST by Ben Levine

For the second time in two weeks, Nathan Peterman has been let go by the Bears. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Chicago released the veteran quarterback today.

Peterman spent most of the 2022 campaign as the Bears’ QB3, but he ended up starting the team’s regular-season finale with both Justin Fields and Trevor Siemian sidelined. Peterman fared okay in that contest, tossing a touchdown without an interception in an eventual loss.

The 29-year-old re-signed with the organization this past offseason, and despite being part of the Bears’ final roster cuts, he was brought back as the QB2 to start the season. Since then, the veteran has dropped down the depth chart, with UDFA Tyson Bagent being promoted to the primary backup behind Fields.

As a result, Peterman was cut from the roster in September but was quickly brought back. It will be interesting to see if the front office follows a similar path this time around. For what it’s worth, the organization is only rostering a pair of QBs in Fields and Bagent, so they’ll surely need some more depth following tonight’s game.

Peterman has emerged as a popular backup QB in recent years, having previously held the clipboard for the Bills and Raiders. In total, Peterman has seen time in 13 games (five starts), completing 53.1 percent of his passes for 712 yards, four touchdowns, and 13 interceptions.

The Bears also announced that they’ve officially activated guard Teven Jenkins off injured reserve and promoted defensive back A.J. Thomas from the practice squad. The 2022 UDFA out of Western Michigan has spent his entire career in Chicago, collecting four tackles in five appearances.

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