HEADLINES

Tanner Knue

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/14/25

January 14th, 2025 at 10:18pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Once the regular season ends, teams that are eliminated from the playoffs can sign players – typically young members of their practice squads – to reserve/futures contracts. Teams that lose in the playoffs are also eligible to sign such deals. Here are the latest reserve/futures contracts from around the NFL:

Cleveland Browns

Green Bay Packers

Los Angeles Chargers

Minnesota Vikings

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Holley is a former Western Michigan Bronco who started his professional career with the Philadelphia Stars of the USFL in 2022. He then signed with the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts for the 2023 season and played a key role in their 2024 Grey Cup championship. Holley led all CFL interior defensive linemen with 8.0 sacks, drawing attention from multiple NFL teams before signing with the Browns, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson.

Steward was an undrafted rookie out of Troy in 2024 who spent the year on the Bears’ practice squad. He was pursued by multiple teams once the regular season ended, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson, but ultimately chose to stay within the NFC North with the Vikings.

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/11/25

January 11th, 2025 at 8:19pm CST by Ely Allen

Saturday’s minor transactions and more standard gameday practice squad elevations for the wild-card round of the playoffs:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Commanders

As a member of the practice squad this year, Clifford, the second-year passer out of Penn State, was elevated twice. As a member of the active roster, he will be able to serve as Green Bay’s emergency third quarterback, which could be beneficial after starter Jordan Love was knocked out of the team’s Week 18 loss with an elbow injury on his throwing arm, and his backup, Malik Willis, was dealing with a thumb injury on his throwing hand. Both players had two full practices this week and carry no injury designation, but the team will be taking no chances.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/7/24

October 7th, 2024 at 7:42pm CST by Adam La Rose

Monday’s taxi squad moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Buccaneers Set 53-Man Roster

August 27th, 2024 at 10:59pm CST by Ben Levine

The Buccaneers surprised a bit in 2023 without Tom Brady in the lineup. With Baker Mayfield leading the way, the team managed to win their division and return to the postseason for the fourth-straight season. Before the team can look to make it five consecutive trips to the playoffs, the organization had to make some difficult roster decisions today. The team announced the following moves as they set their 53-man roster:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Placed on IR:

The Buccaneers have continued their trend of building around draft picks. As Greg Auman of FOX Sports points out, 44 of Tampa Bay’s 53 players were either drafted by the organization or joined as an undrafted free agent. Among starters, the only players who didn’t join the organization as rooks are QB Baker Mayfield and guard Ben Bredeson.

The team will temporarily roll with only a pair of quarterbacks in Mayfield and backup Kyle Trask. John Wolford could have brought some starting experience to the QB room, as the former Ram started four games during his time in Los Angeles. The veteran also started the 2023 campaign on Tampa Bay’s p-squad before earning a promotion, so there’s a chance he follows a similar path this year.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/25/24

August 25th, 2024 at 9:04pm CST by Adam La Rose

With roster cutdowns beginning around the league, Sunday saw a number of moves take place:

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

Buffalo’s decision to cut Jones marks a blow to his efforts in finding a roster spot on a new team. Considering the latest report on his status, however, it does not come as a surprise. The Bills dealt with a number of injuries at the linebacker spot last season and Matt Milano will miss extended time in 2024 due to a biceps tear. In spite of that, the team will look elsewhere for depth options unless Jones is retained via the practice squad later this week.

Buccaneers Add 16 UDFAs

May 11th, 2024 at 9:02pm CST by Adam La Rose

Tampa Bay’s rookie minicamp will feature seven draftees, but also 16 UDFAs. Here is the full list regarding the latter additions:

  • Zack Annexstad, QB (Illinois State)
  • Marcus Banks, S (Mississippi State)
  • Judge Culpepper, DL (Toledo)
  • Xavier Delgado, G (Missouri)
  • Kalen DeLoach, LB (Florida State)
  • Tyrek Funderburk, CB (Appalachian State)
  • Antonio Grier, LB (Arkansas)
  • Daniel Grzesiak, OLB (Cincinnati)
  • Kameron Johnson, WR (Barton College)
  • Avery Jones, G (Auburn)
  • Latreal Jones, WR (Southern Mississippi)
  • Tanner Knue, WR (Eastern Michigan)
  • Chris McDonald, CB (Toledo)
  • Shaun Peterson, OLB (UCF)
  • DJ Williams, RB (Arizona)
  • Rashad Wisdom, S (UTSA)

Culpepper is the son of Brad Culpepper, who played six seasons in Tampa Bay. The younger Culpepper transferred from Penn State to Toledo in 2021. He earned first-team All-MAC honors in 2023, leading the team in sacks (nine) and tackles for loss (10.5). He received $100K in guarantees, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2.

Rocket teammate McDonald has also landed a notable commitment from Tampa Bay. He received $95K in guaranteed money, Wilson reports. McDonald spent his entire college career at Toledo and he racked up 32 pass breakups (including eight in 2023). He earned a third-team All-Conference nod last season, and will look to earn a depth spot in the Bucs’ secondary this summer.

The top of Tampa Bay’s QB depth chart is set given the investment made in Baker Mayfield this offseason. The team also has Kyle Trask and John Wolford in place as backup options, but Annexstad will aim to compete for the QB3 role or a practice squad place as a developmental option. He earned the starting spot during his freshman season at Minnesota, but the campaign was cut short through injury. The 6-3, 220-pounder transferred to Illinois State in 2022 and during his time there he racked up 3,547 passing yards along with a 27:12 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

Ben Levine contributed to this post.