Royce Freeman

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/25/23

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.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/16/23

Today’s callups and adjustments heading into Week 2:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New York Giants

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Wednesday NFL Transactions: NFC West

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 49ersCardinalsRams and Seahawks moves are noted below.

Arizona Cardinals

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Los Angeles Rams

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

San Francisco 49ers

Placed on IR:

Signed: 

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Seattle Seahawks

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad: 

Rams Cut Down To 53 Players

The Rams did a bit of work yesterday in moving towards the 53-man deadline. Here are the additional moves the team made today to get down to the max roster number to start the season:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Released:

It appears that fourth-round rookie draft pick Stetson Bennett won out in the battle for the backup quarterback job, leading to the expendability of Rypien and Winn. Youth similarly won out at the running back spot as rookie Zach Evans and second year backs Kyren Williams and Ronnie Rivers beat out the veteran backup in Freeman. On defense, Copeland is bit of a surprise after starting nine games last year for the Rams.

The special teams room is quite intriguing for now. The room was looking to hold three rookies before the above waiver of the undrafted Oklahoma State kicker Brown. Seventh-round rookie punter Ethan Evans and undrafted rookie long snapper Alex Ward remain on the roster, but without Brown, the Rams will need to look into adding a new kicker out of the free agent market. Or they may attempt to follow the recent trends and trade for one.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/30/23

Here are the minor moves around the league to wrap up the weekend:

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New York Giants

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Igwebuike, the former safety-turned-running back, likely won’t have a role in a crowded running backs room that currently includes rookie top-ten pick Bijan Robinson, Tyler Allgeier, and Cordarrelle Patterson. He does have some experience on kick return, where he could compete with Patterson and Avery Williams for a role.

The Rams added some quality, experienced depth today in Freeman. While he’s failed to reach the success he found as a primary backup in his first two seasons, Freeman should have plenty of tread on the tires at only 27 years old with minimal usage over the past three years. Behind starter Cam Akers, Los Angeles only has second-year Kyren Williams and rookie sixth-rounder Zach Evans, so bringing in an experienced backup like Freeman should be beneficial.

The Giants add two depth pieces back to their beat-up receiving corps. Getting them back into the fold will be beneficial for training camp. Meanwhile, across the way, new Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers will get to work with his old teammate, Cobb, once again.

The retirement of Pottebaum comes as a bit of a shock so early into camp. The Iowa-product was a part of Pittsburgh’s small, seven-man undrafted free agent class this year. Not only that, but heading into camp, Pottebaum was also the only fullback listed on the roster. He was in attendance for the Steelers’ first week of training camp, as well, but now appears to be on his way out. This doesn’t leave Pittsburgh completely high and dry as the team was already exploring the option of utilizing tight end Connor Heyward in a role more similar to what he played in college. Heyward could earn a much larger role in his sophomore season by taking on a few more snaps at fullback.

Texans Place RB Dameon Pierce On IR

Dameon Pierce‘s season has come to an end. The Texans have placed the rookie running back on injured reserve, reports ESPN’s Field Yates (via Twitter).

Pierce suffered a high ankle sprain during Houston’s Week 14 loss to the Cowboys, although initial reports indicated that the injury was mild. It was believed that the rookie RB may only have to miss a game or two, which wouldn’t necessitate a move to IR. Instead, the Texans decided to shut down Pierce for the year.

The fourth-round rookie has quickly established himself as an offensive focal point in Houston. He’s started all 13 games for the Texans, and he leads all rookies with 939 rushing yards. In total, the Florida product has contributed 1,104 yards from scrimmage and five touchdowns. With Pierce out for the final four games, the Texans will likely turn to Rex Burkhead and Dare Ogunbowale to lead their RB room. Royce Freeman will also be signed to the active roster, according to Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com (on Twitter).

Cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. and defensive tackle Taylor Stallworth are also heading to IR, per Yates. Stingley, the third-overall pick in this year’s draft, hasn’t played since Week 10 while recovering from a hamstring injury. He started each of his nine appearances for the Texans this season, collecting 43 tackles and one interception. After starting the season in Kansas City, Stallworth got into one game for Houston in 2022.

There is some good news on the injury front. According to Wilson (on Twitter), the Texans have also activated defensive lineman Jon Greenard from IR. Greenard had eight sacks in 12 starts last season, and he started each of Houston’s first four games this year before landing on IR. To round out their moves, the Texans signed defensive back Jacobi Francis to the 53-man roster and have promoted defensive back Will Redmond and tight end Mason Schreck from the practice squad.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/12/22

Today’s practice squad moves from around the NFL:

Atlanta Falcons

Chicago Bears

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Tennessee Titans

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/9/22

Today’s minor moves leading up to Week 1:

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Released with injury settlement: WR Greg Ward

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Waived with injury settlement: DT Elijah Ponder

Tennessee Titans

The Texans had recently re-signed Freeman after he failed to make the initial 53-man roster. Houston will move forward with rookie Dameon Pierce, Rex Burkhead, and Dare Ogunbowale at running back.

Ward has been with the Eagles on-and-off since signing with the team after going undrafted in 2017. His first two seasons consisted mostly of time on the practice squad. The former University of Houston quarterback then took a hiatus from the NFL to sign with the Alliance of American Football. When the AAF suspended operations, Ward re-joined the Eagles. He had a bit of a breakout year in 2020, catching 53 passes for 419 yards and six touchdowns, but took a bit of a backseat in Philadelphia’s offense last season.

Miller was called up as a response to Browns cornerback Greedy Williams being placed on injured reserve today. Miller will slot in behind Denzel Ward, Greg Newsome II, Martin Emerson, and A.J. Green as the secondary faces off against their former teammate Baker Mayfield in Week 1.

Texans Re-Sign WR Chris Conley, RB Royce Freeman

The Texans are welcoming back a pair of veterans. After getting cut earlier this week, running back Royce Freeman and wide receiver Chris Conley are re-signing with Houston, reports NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter).

Conley was let go during final roster cuts on Tuesday. The veteran wideout joined the Texans last year, and he finished his first season in Houston with 22 receptions for 323 yards and two touchdowns. After spending the first four seasons of his career with the Chiefs, Conley spent the 2019 and 2020 seasons in Jacksonville. He had a career year with the Jaguars in 2019, hauling in 47 catches for 775 yards and five touchdowns.

With the 29-year-old back in the picture, he’ll likely slide into the sixth spot on the depth chart behind Brandin Cooks, Nico Collins, Chris Moore, Phillip Dorsett, and Tyler Johnson.

Freeman was let go yesterday, but it took him less than 24 hours to land back on the active roster. After spending the first few months of the 2021 season with the Panthers, the veteran RB was claimed on waivers by Houston in November. He got into seven games for the Texans, collecting 154 yards from scrimmage on 42 touches.

The 26-year-old will slot in fourth on the depth chart behind Dameon Pierce, Rex Burkhead, and Dare Ogunbowale. The Texans are also stashing veteran Marlon Mack on the practice squad.

Latest On Texans’ Running Backs Room

The Texans finished the 2021 NFL season ranked dead-last in rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, and rushing yards per carry. Houston has made some moves to address the position and the room will look fairly different at camp this summer. 

Last year saw four Texans’ running backs start games. Three of those running backs are no longer on the roster. Mark Ingram returned to New Orleans midway through last season, Phillip Lindsay signed this offseason with the Colts, and David Johnson hit the free agent market and has yet to sign with a new team. While losing three players who started games may sound significant, the three backs combined last year to rush for only 652 yards and 2 touchdowns while averaging only 3.12 yards per carry.

Houston returns their leading rusher last year, Rex Burkhead. Burkhead, who turns 32 next month, racked up the highest rushing total of his career last year in his ninth season, totaling 427 yards on the ground. Burkhead has been a third-down type of running back throughout his career, recording more receiving yards than rushing in tw0 of his nine years. The Texans also return Royce Freeman, who was claimed off waivers in early-November last year.

To address the struggling run-game, Houston made two big moves. The first move they made was to sign free agent running back Marlon Mack in the weeks leading up to the Draft. Mack spent five seasons in Indianapolis, starting as a backup to Frank Gore. Once Gore left in free agency, Mack took the starting job and, despite missing six games in the next two years, was 92 yards away from two-consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons. In 2020, a torn Achilles in Week 1 ended Mack’s season and opened the door for then-rookie Jonathan Taylor to take the reins. Taylor quickly took over, finishing second in Offensive Player of the Year voting last year. In his final year with the Colts, Mack took a backseat to Taylor and Nyheim Hines as he was only active in six games.

The second move Houston made was drafting Florida running back Dameon Pierce in the fourth-round of the Draft. Pierce had the best year of his career in his senior season while splitting carries with Malik Davis and Nay’quan Wright. Pierce only rushed for 574 yards in his final season as a Gator, but his physical playing-style led to him leading the team with 16 touchdowns from scrimmage, 13 of those being on the ground.

So who is taking the lead for Houston next season? According to Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network, the Texans will have a committee-approach at running back this year. They have built a room that holds quite a few skill sets necessary for a successful position group. Mack is expected to take the lead back role, as he’s the only one with experience and success in that role. Although Mack runs with the same physical, attacking style as Pierce, Pierce’s presence should allow Mack a bit of a reprieve in those short-yardage and goal-line situations. Burkhead should be able to return to his role as a receiving, third-down back. Freeman has experience spelling starters as a reliable backup, and can continue to do so in any role asked of him. Houston also brought in former-Jaguar Dare Ogunbowale who has plenty of experience as a backup, as well. They also roster Darius Anderson, who will likely serve as a camp body this summer.

With Mack, Pierce, and Burkhead, Houston has specialists for three different situations. If they need or want more bodies on the 53-man roster, Freeman, Ogunbowale, and the young Anderson can compete for that fourth slot. The improvements needed for the run-game need to come from several areas: offensive line make-up, success in the passing-game to take pressure off, down-field blocking from receivers and tight ends, etc. The first-step, though, is to have players who can run, and Houston has drastically renovated their running backs room in an attempt to get out of the basement of rushing offenses.