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Tony Jones Jr.

Cardinals Get Down To 53

August 27th, 2024 at 6:37pm CST by Ely Allen

The Cardinals finalized their initial 53-man roster with the following moves:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Placed on IR:

Placed on IR (designated for return):

We’ve already reported on the most notable name, Ridder. The Cardinals instead opted to rely on second-year passer Clayton Tune to back up Kyler Murray behind center. There’s still a chance Ridder could remain on the practice squad as QB3.

Robinson and Jones will miss the first four games of the season, but both have been designated to return from IR eventually. Jones Jr. will miss the 2024 season, though.

Two rookie draft picks failed to make the 53-man. Alabama Birmingham receiver Palmer (sixth-round) and Miami (FL) cornerback Davis (seventh-round) both hit the waiver wire following the preseason. Undrafted receiver Xavier Weaver out of Colorado, does make the roster, though.

Other surprises were the cutting of Carter and Barnes. Carter struggled last year before parting ways with the Jets, who drafted him in the fourth round in 2021. Six games in Arizona last year were not enough to warrant a return in 2024 on the active roster. Carter had been shopped around a bit as of late, but with no buyers, he hits the waiver wire. Barnes started six games for the team last year after three years in Green Bay, where he started 24 games.

Cardinals Activate RB James Conner From IR

November 11th, 2023 at 4:48pm CST by Ely Allen

Arizona is getting more than one key pieces of its offense back this weekend. With quarterback Kyler Murray already set to return as the starter in Week 10 for the Cardinals after being activated from injured reserve this week, Arizona will also be returning starting running back James Conner, who has been out since suffering a Week 5 knee injury.

Cardinals staff writer Darren Urban informs that Conner will officially be activated off of IR today with the intention of playing him against the Falcons this Sunday. “(Conner) is our workhorse in the run game, and it will be good to get him back,” head coach Jonathan Gannon said about the running back’s return to the field. “It helps not only Kyler, it helps our team.”

In Conner’s absence, Arizona has mostly relied on the legs of undrafted rookie Emari Demercado. With Demercado reportedly out this week, though, Conner isn’t the only addition the team is making to the running backs room. After waiving him just two days ago, the Cardinals are bringing back Tony Jones Jr. on a practice squad deal. In order to make room for Jones on the practice squad, the team released offensive lineman Vitaliy Gurman.

Jones will be one of two standard gameday elevations from the practice squad for this week’s game. He and Keaontay Ingram will be tasked with backing up Conner in his first game back from IR. The team’s other gameday elevation will be utilized to promote practice squad tackle Jackson Barton for the weekend.

Cardinals Reach Injury Settlement With RB Damien Williams, Waive RB Tony Jones Jr.

November 9th, 2023 at 5:56pm CST by Sam Robinson

James Conner‘s injury has required some running back shuffling in Arizona, but the team’s moves Thursday point to the starter coming back. With Conner practicing after a four-week IR stay, the Cardinals jettisoned two running backs.

The team reached an injury settlement with Damien Williams, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets, doing so while waiving Tony Jones Jr. Williams had been on Arizona’s practice squad injured list, being placed there last week. This transaction will send the veteran running back into free agency.

This marks the second straight year in which Williams, 31, has been cut loose via an injury settlement. The former Super Bowl starter began last season with the Falcons but suffered a rib injury in the team’s opener. As Tyler Allgeier began to flourish in his rookie season, the Falcons did not use one of their injury activations on Williams, releasing him from IR in December.

Although he caught on with the Raiders during Josh Jacobs‘ training camp absence, Williams did not make their 53-man roster. Conner’s injury prompted the Cardinals to add him in October. Williams, who totaled 10 touchdowns between the 2018 and ’19 postseasons as the Chiefs’ Kareem Hunt replacement, was active for three games with the Cardinals. He produced 43 yards on 11 carries, joining second-year back Keaontay Ingram and rookie UDFA Emari Demercado as Arizona’s ball carriers during Conner’s absence.

Jones has played in four Saints games this season; he joined the Cardinals as a waiver claim, arriving in the desert shortly after Williams. Jones, who went to training camp with the Broncos, logged three carries as a Cardinal. Demercado and Ingram remain on Arizona’s roster, but the team ditching two other backs points to Conner being ready when first eligible. Though, Demercado missed Week 9 and has not practice this week due to a toe injury. The Cardinals have until Saturday afternoon to activate the seventh-year back. Conner has missed time due to a knee injury, continuing a trend of short-term absences for the former third-round pick.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/18/23

October 18th, 2023 at 7:39pm CST by Ely Allen

Minor transactions from around the league today:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Denver Broncos

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

New York Giants

Seattle Seahawks

The Giants are dealing with an unprecedented epidemic at offensive tackle right now as their injury report starts to read like a phone book. Already missing starter Andrew Thomas and primary backup Matt Peart, New York went into Sunday night’s game with Evan Neal and Joshua Ezeudu bookending the line. Pugh had recently been brought in to help address the team’s depth at guard, but when Ezeudu exited the game with a toe injury, and was subsequently placed on injured reserve, Pugh kicked out and played the rest of the game at tackle with the first-team offense. Pugh will now serve as depth at tackle, as will Philips, who started his career in Baltimore as a guard before proving his versatility for the Ravens and Giants. He started five games for New York last year.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/9/23

October 9th, 2023 at 6:32pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Monday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

  • Released from IR via injury settlement: WR Penny Hart

Green Bay Packers

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

New Orleans Saints

Jones will be headed to his third team since the preseason concluded. With James Conner going down with a knee injury, the Cardinals are better equipping themselves in the backfield. Jones, who went to camp with the Broncos and had returned to the Saints, will head to the desert. Jones scored two touchdowns in the Saints’ Week 2 win over the Panthers and played in three other Saints games this season. But the team waived him Saturday. Jones will join Keaontay Ingram and rookie UDFA Emari Demercado on Arizona’s active roster; Damien Williams resides on the Cardinals’ practice squad. Ingram has missed time with a neck injury recently.

Because the Packers have used up their practice squad elevations with Taylor, they are signing him to their 53-man roster. Taylor will come up to replace Aaron Jones, whom the Pack declared inactive. Despite Jones having returned for Week 4, the standout starter is out again with a hamstring injury.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/7/23

October 7th, 2023 at 6:46pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are the day’s minor transactions heading into Week 5:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

  • Elevated: WR Xavier Malone

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Jacksonville Jaguars

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/20/23

September 20th, 2023 at 4:01pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Wednesday’s minor moves:

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Steelers placing Anthony McFarland on IR left them with two active-roster running backs. Igwebuike will step in as Pittsburgh’s third-stringer behind Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren. Because the Steelers signed Igwebuike off another team’s practice squad, they must keep him on their active roster for at least three weeks.

Coming back to the Saints after spending the offseason and training camp with the Broncos, Jones scored two touchdowns in New Orleans’ Monday-night win over Carolina. But the Saints had used a gameday elevation transaction to bump the veteran backup to the active roster. Wednesday’s move makes Jones an official part of the Saints’ 53-man unit.

Knight caught on with the Lions’ practice squad shortly after the Jets waived him. With David Montgomery likely to miss time, Knight will join Jahmyr Gibbs and Craig Reynolds as the backs on Detroit’s 53-man roster. A 2022 UDFA, Knight saw time following Breece Hall‘s ACL tear last season but could not stick on the Jets’ roster after the AFC East team’s Dalvin Cook addition.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/18/23

September 18th, 2023 at 6:06pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Monday’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

Denver Broncos

  • Signed off Patriots’ practice squad: DE Ronnie Perkins

New Orleans Saints

The Broncos will take a flier on a former third-round pick. Perkins arrived as a 2021 Patriots third-rounder, coming out of Oklahoma. Injuries intervened for the St. Louis native, who has yet to play in a regular-season game. After not playing for three-plus months to start his rookie season, Perkins landed on IR. The Pats then placed him on season-ending IR in August 2022. Perkins did not make New England’s 53-man roster this year but stuck around via a practice squad invite. Because the Broncos are poaching Perkins off a P-squad, they must keep him on their active roster for at least three weeks.

Broncos Place Baron Browning On Reserve/PUP List, Trim Roster To 53

August 29th, 2023 at 10:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Broncos will join other teams in using short-term IR to create roster spots for veterans they cut Tuesday. The team also needed to use its reserve/PUP list. Here is how Denver moved down to the 53-man limit:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

  • OLB Chris Allen

Placed on reserve/PUP list:

Browning suffered a meniscus injury this offseason and underwent surgery in June. This obviously deals a blow to Browning’s development, seeing as the converted off-ball linebacker has yet to play a full season at his second NFL position, and Denver’s edge depth. Randy Gregory and Frank Clark lead the way at the position; both are going into their age-30 seasons. The Broncos have seen Gregory, Von Miller and Bradley Chubb miss substantial time in recent years. They will hope Browning, who showed promise opposite Chubb at points last year, can return when eligible.

The Broncos did not place Jerry Jeudy on IR, keeping their No. 1 receiver available once his hamstring heals. This points to the team viewing Jeudy as likely to come back during the season’s first four weeks. Jeudy suffered a hamstring injury late last week; the malady is expected to sideline him for “several weeks.” The team is expected to re-sign Humphrey once it reorganizes its roster, 9News’ Mike Klis notes.

Although Purcell joined Humphrey as a cut, Klis adds the veteran nose tackle is set to come back. Ditto Moreau, as K’Waun Williams is set to head to IR — a designation that will cost the veteran slot cornerback at least four games — upon undergoing ankle surgery. The Broncos kept UDFAs Elijah Garcia, a defensive lineman, and Jaleel McLaughlin, a running back, after strong preseason outings. McLaughlin is the NCAA all-levels rushing kingpin, having amassed 8,161 yards while at Notre Dame College and Youngstown State — Division II and Division I-FCS programs, respectively, in Ohio. He will be the team’s third-string running back — behind Javonte Williams and Samaje Perine.

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