Trenton Cannon

49ers Add RB Brian Hill To Practice Squad

San Francisco is adding another piece to its running back room. Four-year veteran Brian Hill will join the team’s practice squad, per NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco (via Twitter). 

A Falcons fifth-round pick in 2017, Hill has spent most of his career in Atlanta. He totaled 982 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 202 carries (an average of 4.7 per carry), adding 38 receptions for 313 yards and one score during his time with the Falcons. Atlanta’s new regime did not re-sign him this offseason.

In between his Atlanta exit and this signing, Hill spent time with the Titans and Browns. The former Wyoming back has yet to see any action this season, however. The Browns released Hill from their practice squad last week.

Injuries in the 49ers’ backfield point to Hill as an option. Elijah Mitchell and Trenton Cannon are dealing with concussions, while Jeff Wilson‘s knee injury also has him in question. Mitchell also went through an MRI on his knee Wednesday, per Maiocco, who adds the scan came back clean (Twitter link). Trey Sermon is on IR and ineligible to return this week. The 49ers’ only sure thing at the position is currently JaMycal Hasty. Although Hasty has seen intermittent work with the 49ers over the past two seasons, he played one offensive snap in San Francisco’s Week 13 game.

49ers CB Emmanuel Moseley To Miss “A Few Weeks”

The injuries keep piling up for the 49ers, and now one of their starting defensive backs will be sidelined for at least the next few games. Cornerback Emmanuel Moseley suffered a high ankle sprain and will miss “a few weeks,” according to ESPN’s Nick Wagoner (on Twitter).

Moseley missed a pair of games to begin the year thanks to a knee injury, but he’s otherwise started all 10 games for San Francisco this season. The 25-year-old has been one of the team’s most reliable defensive backs, collecting 36 tackles and 10 passes defended. He was limited to only nine defensive snaps before exiting yesterday’s loss to the Seahawks. Rookie fifth-round pick Deommodore Lenoir saw the bulk of the snaps in Moseley’s stead, but he was eventually replaced by Dontae Johnson. The team is also rostering third-round rookie Ambry Thomas.

More injury updates out of San Francisco: running back Elijah Mitchell is in concussion protocol after suffering symptoms this morning. The rookie standout briefly exited yesterday’s game before returning, and he finished the day with 84 yards from scrimmage and one touchdown. Mitchell has been the team’s leading back this season, and the 49ers might have to turn to Jeff Wilson if starter is forced to miss any time.

There was a scary moment for the 49ers yesterday, when running back Trenton Cannon was forced to go to the hospital after suffering a concussion (via Matt Barrows of The Athletic on Twitter). While Cannon is in concussion protocol, the running back has been released from the hospital and is heading back to San Francisco, per Wagoner. The 27-year-old has spent the majority of his time on special teams this season, and he’s returned 16 kicks for San Francisco.

49ers Add RB Trenton Cannon

The 49ers have claimed Trenton Cannon off of waivers from the Ravens (Twitter link via Field Yates of ESPN.com). Cannon will help to fortify the Niners’ running back group in the wake of Raheem Mostert‘s season-ending injury.

[RELATED: Raheem Mostert Out For Year]

The Niners also picked up Kerryon Johnson this week, adding him to their 16-man practice squad. Cannon might not be as big of a name, but he offers experience and special teams ability.

A sixth-round Jets pick in 2018, Cannon wound up with the Panthers last year and contributed mostly as a kick returner. He played on 40% of the Panthers’ special teams snaps in 2020. This all overlapped with Christian McCaffrey‘s injury, but Cannon took just ten handoffs in 14 games with Carolina, less than his 38 totes as a Jets rookie.

The Ravens turned to Cannon in the wake of their own backfield injury bug. They may look for additional RB help as Cannon moves on to his new club. He’ll have his chance to debut for SF on Sunday when they face the Eagles in Philadelphia.

Ravens Place OL Tyre Phillips On IR

The Ravens finished Monday night’s overtime loss without Tyre Phillips, and they will be without their starting left guard going forward. Baltimore placed Phillips on IR Tuesday.

A knee injury led to Phillips being carted off Monday, and he will join some high-profile teammates on IR. The Ravens are already down J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards and Rashod Bateman on offense. It remains to be seen if Phillips’ injury will allow him to make a return in his second season.

A third-round pick out of Mississippi State last year, Phillips started eight games for the Ravens as a rookie. The 331-pound blocker won the team’s left guard job to start this season, playing opposite free agent acquisition Kevin Zeitler. Ben Powers replaced Phillips in the Ravens’ lineup Monday, but the team also has third-round rookie Ben Cleveland on its active roster. The Ravens traded guard Ben Bredeson to the Giants just before the season.

Additionally, the Ravens waived Trenton Cannon on Tuesday. The team brought in the ex-Jets and Panthers special-teamer and used him as a ball-carrier Monday night. Cannon received two carries, playing behind Ty’Son Williams and Latavius Murray. The Ravens, however, have higher-profile backs Le’Veon Bell and Devonta Freeman on their practice squad.

Ravens Sign RB Trenton Cannon, Waive RB Justice Hill

Following a season-ending Achilles tear, Justice Hill will be available on the waiver wire. The Ravens waived the third-year running back with an injury designation Wednesday.

While Hill is technically on the wire, he is expected to stay with the Ravens. The former fourth-round pick would revert to Baltimore’s injured reserve if unclaimed. This development is often a precursor to an injury settlement taking place, removing the player from IR, but it sounds like the Ravens are preparing to carry Hill on their injured list this season. Two years remain on Hill’s rookie deal.

Baltimore moved Hill off its roster and added another back in his place. Trenton Cannon agreed to terms with the Ravens and is now on the team’s active roster. The Panthers waived Cannon last week, having claimed Royce Freeman — a player the Ravens attempted to claim. Baltimore’s active-roster running back contingent now consists of Gus Edwards, Ty’Son Williams and Cannon.

A sixth-round Jets pick in 2018, Cannon wound up with the Panthers last year and contributed mostly as a kick returner. Cannon also played 40% of the Panthers’ special teams snaps last season. Despite Christian McCaffrey‘s injury, Cannon took just 10 handoffs in 14 games with Carolina. He logged 38 carries as a Jets rookie.

The Cannon move comes a day after the Ravens added Le’Veon Bell to their practice squad. Bell makes more sense as a Baltimore backfield contributor this season, with Hill and J.K. Dobbins out, but Cannon as of now occupies the team’s No. 3 tailback slot.

Panthers Claim RB Royce Freeman

Royce Freeman did not make it out of the top 10 on the waiver wire, going to the team that picked just ahead of the Broncos in this past draft. The Panthers claimed Freeman on Thursday, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.

The ex-Bronco is joining Christian McCaffrey and rookie Chuba Hubbard at running back on Carolina’s active roster. The Panthers are cutting veteran back Trenton Cannon to clear a roster spot for Freeman, David Newton of ESPN.com notes.

Denver waived Freeman on Wednesday, making room for rookie UDFA running back Nate McCrary. The Broncos added Mike Boone and second-round pick Javonte Williams this offseason. With Melvin Gordon‘s guarantees remaining intact after DUI charges were dismissed, Freeman faced an uphill climb to carve out a role in Denver this year.

The former third-round pick will provide the Panthers with considerable experience behind McCaffrey. A four-year Oregon contributor, Freeman totaled 297 career carries for 1,187 yards and eight touchdowns with the Broncos. The 225-pound back mostly worked as the ball-carrying B-side to Phillip Lindsay in Denver but was not much of a factor last year, with Gordon in town.

Mike Davis‘ departure for Atlanta left an experience void behind McCaffrey, and considering the dual-threat standout missed most of last season, adding depth could be critical for Carolina — especially as the schedule expands to 17 games. One year remains on Freeman’s rookie contract.

Also a 2018 draftee, Cannon spent last season with the Panthers and contributed mostly as a kick returner. Cannon spent his first two seasons with the Jets. The Virginia State alum would be eligible for Carolina’s practice squad, should he pass through waivers.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/4/20

Here are today’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Miami Dolphins

Philadelphia Eagles

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/3/20

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here. For the running list of opt out decisions, check out PFR’s 2020 Opt Out Tracker.

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

  • Released: QB Jalen Morton, FB Elijah Wellman

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

  • Claimed off waivers (from Colts): CB Picasso Nelson

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

AFC East Notes: Jets, CBs, Bell, Patriots

Despite their wealth of cap space this offseason, the Jets still have some apparent needs. One of those is cornerback. Trumaine Johnson leads the Jets’ corner group. Although the team appears to, at least to some extent, regret signing him to a five-year, $72.5MM contract, he is by far the surest thing Gang Green has here. After Johnson, the Jets have Darryl Roberts and slot signee Brian Poole. Both are former part-time starters, and Rich Cimini of ESPN.com notes the Jets are indeed gauging the trade market for possible solutions. The Jets have thus far tried to address this issue with minor signings (Mark Myers and Montreal Meander) but still have $28MM-plus in cap space, so they could take on a veteran contract if need be. This will be an interesting situation to monitor, but the team does have an outside option in Morris Claiborne. A Jets starter over the past two seasons, Claiborne was not in the team’s initial offseason plans but remains in free agency.

Here is the latest out of the AFC East:

  • Another Jets issue does not yet appear to have subsided. Some in the building were upset Le’Veon Bell did not show for OTAs, Cimini adds. While the two-time All-Pro running back reported for minicamp, there will surely be some learning to do when training camp commences. Bell has only played in one offensive system, Todd Haley‘s, in his career. This is the latest in what’s been another complicated Bell offseason, one that included previous reports of Jets dissatisfaction at his absences and Adam Gase not wanting him at the price Mike Maccagnan paid.
  • Gang Green has not decided on an Andre Roberts successor at kick returner yet, but Trenton Cannon looks to be in the early lead, Ethan Sears of the New York Post writes. Jets special teams coordinator Brant Boyer praised the running back’s work in this department this offseason, but he has one career kick return as an NFLer. That won’t make replacing an All-Pro easy.
  • The Patriots have not featured much in the way of consistency at wide receiver over the past two years, with numerous players — including Julian Edelman, who did not play in 2017 — shuttling in and out of the lineup and on and off the roster. One low-level signee who has a chance to stick as a role player is former Redskins cog Maurice Harris, per Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. Given a one-year, $1MM deal, the 6-foot-3 Harris has been used at multiple positions thus far, Reiss adds, and profiles as a Tom Brady auxiliary target.
  • The pick the Pats were going to send to the Lions for Michael Roberts was the one they acquired from the Falcons in trading them safety Jordan Richards last year, Reiss notes. The Falcons gave the Patriots a 2020 seventh-round pick, so Roberts’ chances of making New England’s roster may have been slim.
  • Both the Bills and Dolphins now have all of their rookies under contract.