Today’s taxi squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
Cincinnati Bengals
Detroit Lions
Las Vegas Raiders
Minnesota Vikings
New Orleans Saints
Here are Monday’s minor moves:
Cincinnati Bengals
Indianapolis Colts
Los Angeles Rams
Philadelphia Eagles
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tennessee Titans
Sinnett joined the Bengals’ practice squad late last week. This move preceded A.J. McCarron‘s return by one day. Joe Burrow is in uniform tonight, but the Bengals will take advantage of the emergency third QB rule by bumping Sinnett up to the active roster. Jake Browning is in place as Burrow’s backup.
After the Jets and Steelers waived Mann this year, he secured another chance in Philly. The team brought Mann onto its practice squad last week, moving their punter of the past two seasons — Arryn Siposs — off their roster. Mann is in his fourth NFL season; the former sixth-round pick served as the Jets’ punter from 2020-22.
With Quez Watkins inactive, Allen received his first opportunity to suit up for an NFL game. The two-time Olympian 110-meter hurdler has been on the Eagles’ practice squad for the past two seasons. A former wideout at Oregon, Allen devoted much of his 20s to track, becoming one of the best 110 hurdlers in U.S. history. Since landing on the Eagles’ 90-man offseason roster in 2022, Allen has worked as a two-sport athlete.
The league’s practice squad transactions heading into the weekend:
Arizona Cardinals
Carolina Panthers
Cincinnati Bengals
Miami Dolphins
New York Jets
With starting quarterback Joe Burrow still nursing a calf injury that has hampered him throughout the first two weeks of the season, the signing of Sinnett becomes significant. Burrow’s status is reportedly still up in the air for this Sunday, and with practice squad quarterback Will Grier getting signed away to the Patriots’ active roster yesterday, Sinnett would now serve as QB2 to Jake Browning if Burrow can’t go.
The Bengals have worked their way down to the 53-man roster limit. Here are the moves made on Tuesday to finalize their initial squad:
Collins will miss at least the first four weeks of the season given his PUP designation. The former Cowboy signed a three-year, $21MM deal in free agency last offseason to operate as Cincinnati’s right tackle starter. His play in his debut season was underwhelming, however, and that role will belong to Jonah Williams this season, unless the latter misses time or Collins usurps him on the depth chart. A knee injury is to blame for Collins’ missed time, per the team.
Both Pesefea and Tell will miss the entire season, as is the case for all players placed on IR before being named to the initial 53-man roster. They will either remain with the organization during the campaign, or be released via an injury settlement which would allow them to find a new opportunity elsewhere.
Jones represents a more experienced cut than most of the other players let go. The former second-rounder has 57 games and 27 starts to his name, and he split his time between the Seahawks and Raiders last season. Moving on from Jones further signals the team’s intention of relying on younger options like Cam Taylor-Britt and rookies DJ Turner and DJ Ivey in the secondary.
Losing Adeniji (unless he clears waivers and is retained via the practice squad, as will no doubt be the case for many of the players listed above) would leave the Bengals thin along the O-line, especially in light of the Collins news. The 2020 sixth-rounder has experience at multiple positions up front, but his level of play has been a contributing factor in the team’s urgency in pursuing free agent blockers in recent years.
Following the calf injury that will keep star quarterback Joe Burrow out for most, if not all, of the preseason, the Bengals have decided to add another camp body to their quarterbacks room. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Cincinnati plans to sign former XFL quarterback Reid Sinnett in order to help manage through the preseason. 
This is not Sinnett’s first stint on an NFL squad. He originally signed as an undrafted free agent with the Buccaneers in 2020 out of San Diego. He also previously spent time with the Dolphins (twice) and Eagles before finding his way to the XFL. He never made any NFL appearances, but he did spend time on the active rosters in both Miami and Philadelphia.
In the XFL, Sinnett got his first professional playing time with the San Antonio Brahmas. Unfortunately, his time on the field was cut short. After only starting one game as a pro, Sinnett was placed on injured reserve after suffering a broken foot.
Sinnett is likely not a threat to push Bengals backup quarterbacks Trevor Siemian or Jake Browning for playing time, and he’s obviously not going to challenge Burrow upon his return, but Burrow went down early into training camp, and the Bengals have a long way to go before they start playing football that matters. Going through the preseason with only two active quarterbacks is just not a viable option, so Sinnett gets more NFL experience under his belt to help Cincinnati get through camp without putting too much on Siemian and Browning.
The XFL will begin its third try next week. The rebooting league’s latest season will begin Feb. 18, nearly two months before USFL 2.0’s second season is scheduled to start.
This setup will make for a strange winter-spring period in which two minor leagues of sorts will be in operation. Considering the short tenures of XFL 2.0 (2020) and the Alliance of American Football (2019), this will be one of the more interesting years for non-NFL football.
Numerous former NFLers line the XFL’s season-opening rosters. Here are some of the players who will be part the league’s latest eight-team configuration. The full rosters can be found here.
King has not punted since the 2018 season, when the Broncos waived him not long after signing the veteran specialist to a multiyear deal. King, 34, punted for the Raiders for five seasons.
Armstead received workout opportunities and landed with multiple teams, but the former Jaguars backup has been unable to regain his footing since missing all of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 complications. A former Packers second-round pick, Murphy has six NFL seasons under his belt. Reid, 31, played eight NFL seasons — most recently suiting up in 2021 — and was a regular for the Lions early in his career. Brice started 10 games for the Packers in 2018; he has not played since.
Davis started 42 games for the Steelers from 2017-19; he played with three teams during the 2021 season. A
Elam logged 26 starts for the Ravens, but his NFL run stopped after the 2016 season. A former Broncos second-round pick, Latimer played six NFL seasons and ended up a 10-game starter for the Giants in 2019. Lynch was part of the 2016 and ’17 Broncos squads along with Latimer but, despite his first-round status, flamed out of the league after two seasons. He has since spent time in the CFL and USFL.
Ballage did not play in the NFL this season but saw action in 17 games for the Steelers in 2021. Wing served as the Giants’ punter for three seasons. Sinnett was with the Dolphins this season, joining the team following Tua Tagovailoa‘s Week 4 concussion.
The biggest name in this XFL edition, Gordon became a journeyman in recent years. He was most recently with the Titans, catching on with Tennessee this year before being released in October. The former All-Pro spent the 2021 season with the Chiefs. Suspensions hijacked the 31-year-old pass catcher’s career. The Cowboys cut DiNucci just before this season, and while workout opportunities came, the former emergency Dallas starter will try his hand in the XFL.
Although McCarron’s most recent action came with the Texans, he was on the 2021 Falcons. A path toward being Matt Ryan‘s final backup in Atlanta closed after a preseason ACL tear. Workouts in 2022 did not lead to a signing.
A former top-10 pick and NFL sack leader, Beasley has been out of the league since the 2020 season. The ex-Super Bowl starter’s one-year, $9.5MM deal did not work out for the Titans, who cut the edge rusher during the ’20 campaign. Bryant has been out of the league longer, with suspensions altering his path. The talented ex-Steeler spent time in Canada recently. Hundley was on the Ravens’ practice squad until season’s end this year, signing with the team after Lamar Jackson‘s ankle injury.
Today’s practice squad transactions:
Arizona Cardinals
Atlanta Falcons
Baltimore Ravens
Buffalo Bills
Carolina Panthers
Denver Broncos
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
Houston Texans
Miami Dolphins
New England Patriots
New Orleans Saints
San Francisco 49ers
Seattle Seahawks
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
In light of the recent injuries to starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, and the prospect that he could miss some time, the Dolphins worked out three quarterbacks today, according to Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network. Ben DiNucci, Jake Fromm, and Reid Sinnett all auditioned in Miami for the depth spot.
DiNucci has some experience helping out in a tough spot from his time with the Cowboys two years ago when both starting quarterback Dak Prescott and backup Andy Dalton were injured. He got one opportunity to start against the Eagles before being benched for the winner of a Cooper Rush–Garrett Gilbert battle.
Fromm has had a bit of trouble finding the success he enjoyed in college at the NFL-level. Since being drafted in 2020, Fromm has served as a backup for the Bills and Giants. He got two starts while with the Giants that delivered uninspiring returns.
Sinnett has no regular season in-game experience, but he has spent time previously with the Dolphins. Miami ended going with familiarity, signing Sinnett to their practice squad. This is all a practice in contingencies as the Dolphins can still rely on backup quarterbacks Teddy Bridgewater and Skylar Thompson.
Here are a few other workout notes from across the NFL, starting with a bunch of kickers:
Here’s the practice squad moves from around the league today:
Atlanta Falcons
Buffalo Bills
Cleveland Browns
Kansas City Chiefs
Miami Dolphins
New England Patriots
New York Giants
Philadelphia Eagles
Tua Tagovailoa has been at the center of concussion discussions around the league in recent days, and the Dolphins have made an unsurprising decision with the quarterback. Head coach Mike McDaniel announced on Monday that Tagovailoa will not play in Miami’s Week 5 game, meaning that veteran backup Teddy Bridgewater will get the start. 
“I can comfortably say he’ll be out for this game against the Jets, but anything beyond that, we’re just focused on making sure he’s at optimal health and then crossing that bridge,” McDaniel said, via Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer (Twitter link). “So it’s a little early for definitive timelines.”
Tagovailoa was carted off the field during last Thursday’s game against the Bengals with a concussion. That, in turn, came four days after he suffered what he and the team termed a back injury which caused him to notably stumble. An investigation into the team’s handling of the situation remains ongoing, but it has already had notable consequences.
The unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant who was involved in the 24-year-old’s case has been terminated by the NFLPA. In addition, changes are being finalized to the league’s concussion protocols which are aimed at avoiding a repeat of his situation. In the meantime, attention is turning to Tagovailoa’s long-term health.
McDaniel reiterated his confidence in the team’s medical staff, adding that their decision on Tagovailoa’s return will depend on the new protocols, which could take effect as early as this week (Twitter links via Adam Beasley of Pro Football Network). With the timeline for his return uncertain, it remains to be seen if the Alabama alum will be placed on IR.
For at least this week, though, Bridgewater will prepare for his first start in Miami. The 29-year-old threw for 193 yards, one touchdown and one interception in relief of Tagovailoa on Thursday. The game against the Jets will mark his first start since his one-year stints as a stop-gap with the Panthers in 2020 and the Broncos in 2021. Known for his consistent, if underwhelming, levels of production, his ability to lead a much-improved Dolphins offense will be worth watching.
Backing up Bridgewater will be seventh-round rookie Skylar Thompson, who impressed during training camp and the preseason. The Dolphins also added extra depth behind them, by re-signing former UDFA Reid Sinnett to the practice squad.