Patrick Taylor

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/3/22

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Buffalo Bills

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

New Orleans Saints

Washington Commanders

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/1/22

A handful of minor moves on a busy deadline day:

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Kansas City Chiefs

Minnesota Vikings

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Free Agency

Packers Place WR Sammy Watkins On IR

The Packers ruled out veteran wide receiver Sammy Watkins yesterday as he deals with hamstring issues, but they took the ruling a step further today as the team placed him on injured reserve. The new ruling means that not only will Watkins miss tomorrow’s game against the Buccaneers, but quarterback Aaron Rodgers will have to wait four weeks to get his top receiver back. 

Watkins has seen a bit of a resurgence so far in his ninth NFL season. The 29-year-old has led the Packers in receiving yards through the first two games with six catches for 111 yards. Watkins’ resurgent season has seen the benefit of Rodgers’ top returning target, Allen Lazard, missing Week 1 as he deals with an ankle injury. He also has taken advantage of his competition for targets being rookies and a 32-year-old Randall Cobb. Regardless, Watkins has made the most of his early opportunities and the Packers will have to make up for some lost production in his absence.

Lazard has been cleared to play but is still dealing with that ankle injury. Rookie Christian Watson joins Watkins in his hamstring issues and Cobb has not practiced recently due to illness. Both are currently listed as questionable. Beyond those four, Rodgers will have to rely on two more rookies in Romeo Doubs and Samori Toure, second-year return specialist Amari Rodgers, and practice squad gameday call-up Juwann Winfree.

Watkins dealt with hamstring issues during his lone season in Baltimore last year, as well, missing four games and being mostly held out of the final three. He’s never quite been the portrait of health. Watkins hasn’t played in every game of the regular season since his rookie year back in 2014. Since then, he’s missed an average of four games per season. Watkins will be eligible to return to play in time for the Packers Week 7 matchup with the Commanders.

After moving Watkins to IR, Green Bay signed practice squad running back Patrick Taylor to the active roster in a corresponding move. Winfree, as mentioned above, has also been called to the active roster, but, as a standard gameday elevation, he will revert back to the practice squad after the game.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/17/22

Today’s minor moves around the league, including practice squad elevations for tomorrow’s action:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

  • Promoted from practice squad: CB Daryl WorleyWR Raleigh Webb

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New York Giants

New York Jets

New Orleans Saints

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Commanders

Wednesday NFL Transactions: NFC North

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 BearsLions, Packers and Vikings moves are noted below.

Here are Wednesday’s NFC North transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day.

Chicago Bears

Claimed:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

Signed to practice squad:

Detroit Lions

Claimed:

Waived:

Released from IR:

Signed to practice squad:

Green Bay Packers

Signed:

Waived: 

Signed to practice squad:

Minnesota Vikings

Waived:

Packers Cut Down Roster To 53

The Packers cut their roster down to 53 players today:

Waived

Waived/injured:

Placed on reserve/PUP:

The Packers ended up keeping only a pair of running backs in Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon, so the team must be feeling pretty confident that one of their waived RBs will pass through waivers and land on their practice squad. Patrick Taylor would seem to be the favorite for the RB3 role after collecting 25 touches in 2021. Meanwhile, the Packers kept seven wide receivers on their roster, so the release of Travis Fulgham was mostly due to a roster crunch.

The Packers no longer had a need for Ramiz Ahmed, as NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports (on Twitter) that the team activated kicker Mason Crosby off PUP after the veteran passed his physical. Crosby missed training camp and preseason while recovering from offseason knee surgery.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/27/22

Today’s minor NFL transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

  • Signed: OL Keenan Forbes, G Eric Wilson

Packers Place Nine Players On PUP To Start Camp

Sat, 4:07pm:

As mentioned as a possibility last night, the Packers made an addition to their PUP list today, placing star left tackle David Bakhtiari on the list after not including him in their first moves last night, according to ESPN’s Field Yates.

Bakhtiari missed all but one game last season as he recovered from an ACL tear that he suffered in Week 16 of the 2020 NFL season. He spent most of 2021 rehabilitating before finally making his season-debut in a Week 18 game that had no bearing on the team’s playoff positioning. He was inactive for Green Bay’s playoff loss to San Francisco.

Reiterating what was said yesterday, there is no need for Packers fans to fret quite yet. This is a natural process for NFL teams, especially concerning players returning from a major injury. As long as Bakhtiari comes off the PUP list in the preseason, he should have no restrictions going into regular season play.

Fri, 9:52pm:

As many teams are making necessary adjustments to their injury lists, the Packers joined in today, adding twelve players overall, nine to the physically unable to perform list and three to the non-football injury list, according to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky. 

The biggest surprise on the list was rookie second-round pick Christian Watson. An injury has not been disclosed for the wide receiver, who recently signed his rookie contract. Similarly, undrafted rookie defensive tackle Hauati Pututau was placed on the list for an undisclosed reason.

Four players placed on the PUP list were expected, as they are returning from major injuries. Tight end Robert Tonyan missed half of last season after tearing his ACL in late-October. The same game saw then-rookie running back Kylin Hill suffer a season-ending knee injury. Shortly after, tackle Elgton Jenkins tore his ACL, as well, ending his season after only eight starts. Linebacker Randy Ramsey also suffered an season-ending injury before the season even began after serving in 2020 as a core special teamer.

The three remaining players, kicker Mason Crosby, defensive lineman Dean Lowry, and running back Patrick Taylor, were all placed on the list with no information as to what has put them there.

That’s five expected starters, Watson, Tonyan, Jenkins, Lowry, and Crosby, on the PUP. Packers’ fans will be relieved not to see left tackle David Bakhtiari placed on the PUP list a year after missing all but one game last year recovering from an ACL tear suffered in late-2020.

There could always be additions to the list, as it isn’t official until Tuesday. Additionally, a player can come off of the list anytime during the preseason and can’t be on the list once they’ve practiced with the team. Any players still on the PUP list at the start of the regular season will be required to sit out a minimum of six games, but they won’t count against the roster as the team trims to 53 players.

While the number of players on the list may be alarming, there’s little to worry about as of right now for these Packers. As long as they come off of the list before the season starts, there will be no league-restrictions on their participation.

Wednesday NFL Transactions: NFC North

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 BearsLionsPackers and Vikings moves are noted below.

Here are Wednesday’s NFC North transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day.

Chicago Bears

Claimed:

Signed:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

Signed to practice squad:

Detroit Lions

Released/Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Green Bay Packers

Signed to practice squad:

Minnesota Vikings

Signed:

Claimed:

Placed on IR:

Signed to practice squad:

Packers Cut 26 Players

The Packers cut their roster down to 52 players today, providing the organization with some extra flexibility over the next few days. The team announced the following transactions:

Waived

Released

Placed on Reserve/PUP

Placed on Reserve/Suspended