Tyrie Cleveland

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/25/24

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.

NFL Reserve/Futures Deals: 1/8/24

Many teams have started signing players to reserve/futures contracts, allowing organization to retain (routinely) young, practice squad players. Here are the latest reserve/futures contracts:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

  • OL Barry Wesley

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Denver Broncos

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

  • LB Brandon Bouyer-Randle, WR Davion Davis, CB D’Angelo Mandell

Eagles Set 53-Man Roster

The Eagles released linebacker Nicholas Morrow and waived running back Trey Sermon today, and they’ve now cut a number of young players to get down to the 53-man roster limit:

Waived:

Released from IR:

Devon Allen is two-time Olympian hurdler, and after having played college football for Oregon between 2013 and 2016, he caught on with the Eagles last offseason. He spent most of the 2022 campaign on Philly’s practice squad, and there’s a chance he’s destined for the same gig again in 2023.

Britain Covey is another subtraction from the WRs room, although the 26-year-old played only 19 snaps on offense for the Eagles in 2022. He had a much larger role on special teams, where he returned 10 kicks for 206 yards and 33 punts for 308 yards.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/20/23

Here are today’s minor moves:

Baltimore Ravens

Detroit Lions

Jacksonville Jaguars

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

It appears that, like Colby Wadman before him, Palardy is just a camp body. Incumbent punter Tress Way is dealing with a back ailment, and he will only work as the holder in the Commanders’ preseason contest against the Ravens tomorrow night (Twitter link via Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post). So Palardy, who has appeared in 80 games in his career (including eight with the Patriots in 2022), will have a chance to audition for other clubs that may be on the lookout for a punter at some point.

Washington is also in need of another player to rotate in on the defensive line, as Jonathan Allen (plantar fasciitis) and Phidarian Mathis are both banged up (Twitter link via ESPN’s John Keim). Mack, who has 25 appearances in his pro career, will at least help the team get through camp and the rest of the preseason slate.

Eagles Release CB Greedy Williams

The Eagles have made a handful of roster moves this morning, including releasing cornerback Greedy Williams (per ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Twitter). The team also released punter Ty Zentner and waived/injured wide receiver Tyrie Cleveland, defensive tackle Noah Elliss, and cornerback Zech McPhearson.

With five new roster openings, the Eagles have signed defensive tackles Robert Cooper, Marvin Wilson, and Caleb Sanders and linebackers Tyreek Maddox-Williams and Quinton Bell.

Williams spent the first four seasons of his career with the Browns. The second-round pick started all 12 of his appearances as a rookie, but after missing the 2020 season with a shoulder injury, the defensive back found himself in and out of the lineup following his return. He started eight of his 16 appearances in 2021, and he was limited to only one start in 11 games this past season.

The 25-year-old inked a one-year deal with the Eagles this offseason. As Pro Football Network’s Adam Caplan tweets, Williams is owed $600K of the $1.35MM contract he inked with Philly.

Zentner’s release doesn’t come as a huge surprise. The Kansas State product was added as an undrafted free agent during the offseason and was expected to provide some competition at the position. This move likely means that Arryn Siposs will serve as the Eagles’ punter for a third-straight season.

Among the team’s additions, Bell has the most NFL experience. The 2019 seventh-round pick got into five games with the Buccaneers in 2020, although he didn’t record a stat. He’s spent much of the past two years with the Falcons organization, getting into four games while splitting his snaps between defense and special teams.

As for the trio of waived/injured players, Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets that the Eagles expect all three players to clear waivers and revert to injured reserve. While Cleveland, Elliss, and McPhearson wouldn’t be able to play for Philly during the 2023 campaign, the Eagles would retain their rights.

NFL Reserve/Futures Deals: 2/15/23

Here are Wednesday’s reserve/futures contracts:

Kansas City Chiefs

Philadelphia Eagles

The Chiefs will likely enter into extension talks with Creed Humphrey when the Pro Bowler becomes eligible in 2024, but they are also retaining their Super Bowl LIV and Super Bowl LV center starter. Reiter, 31, played for the Dolphins in 2021 but did not see any action for the Chiefs this season. The Chiefs cut Shelton after training camp but kept the veteran defensive tackle around on their practice squad. Shelton, 29, played in one game for the Super Bowl champions this season and will be set to collect a second Super Bowl ring; his first came in 2018 with the Patriots.

Allen, 28, put his track and field career on pause to attempt a football comeback, and the two-time Olympic 110-meter hurdle finalist resided on the Eagles’ practice squad all season. While the Paris Games are not until 2024, Allen ran 2022’s top 110 hurdle time (12.84 seconds) — which doubled as the third-fastest time in history — and will be on the radar to claim his first world championship in the event. This year’s World Track and Field Championships are slated for Aug. 19-27 in Budapest, so it will be interesting to see if Allen puts track aside for the time being or if the Eagles greenlight dual participation. The Bears did so for long jumper/wide receiver Marquise Goodwin in 2021, but that was for an Olympic Trials competition that did not conflict with training camp.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 1/17/23

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Buffalo Bills

Kansas City Chiefs

Philadelphia Eagles

Broncos Activate OL Tom Compton From PUP List, Place T Billy Turner On IR

The Broncos’ perpetually spinning right tackle carousel may soon have another starter in place. The team activated Tom Compton from the reserve/PUP list on Tuesday.

Signed to vie for the right tackle gig with Billy Turner and/or provide depth, Compton has been shut down since undergoing back surgery this summer. The Broncos designated Compton for return Oct. 26, giving them one more day to activate the veteran offensive lineman. Otherwise, Compton would have been ineligible to play this season.

In moving Compton onto the 53-man roster, the Broncos shuttled Turner to IR. While Nathaniel Hackett called Denver’s most recent right tackle starter week-to-week Monday, the veteran blocker’s latest knee injury was rumored to require a much longer absence. Turner will be out at least four games. While Compton could take over as Denver’s starter, it is not certain the veteran will be ready immediately upon return.

[RELATED: Week 11 Injured Reserve Return Tracker]

Denver gave Compton a one-year, $2.25MM deal to come over from San Francisco. They of 10 different right tackles to open the past 10 seasons, the Broncos had planned a Turner-Compton competition. Compton’s back procedure and Turner’s training camp knee injury scuttled that, leading Cameron Fleming to start the season there. Many changes to Denver’s front have occurred since that point.

Compton, 33, has experience at both guard and tackle. Most recently, he filled in well for the NFC championship-bound 2021 49ers. Following Mike McGlinchey‘s season-ending quadriceps injury, Compton took over and started San Francisco’s final 10 games. Pro Football Focus rated the veteran as one of last season’s top run blockers at any position, though his limited offseason market did not reflect that praise. The Broncos are Compton’s seventh NFL team; he has started for five of those, making 44 career starts.

Turner, 31, signed a one-year, $2.5MM deal to rejoin the Broncos (and Hackett, the Packers’ OC during each of Turner’s three Green Bay years) this offseason. After Turner’s injury Sunday, the Broncos moved inexperienced option Quinn Bailey to their right tackle post. The team has lost left tackle Garett Bolles for the season and has center Lloyd Cushenberry on IR. The combination of three second- and/or third-string options led to the Broncos allowing 18 quarterback hits against the Titans.

The Broncos also waived wide receiver Tyrie Cleveland and signed defensive lineman Jonathan Harris to their active roster from the practice squad.

Broncos WR KJ Hamler Out For Week 2

After the position was seen as a strength entering the season, the Broncos’ situation at wide receiver is being tested early in the campaign. KJ Hamler will miss Denver’s Week 2 game against the Texans, reports NFL Network’s James Palmer (Twitter link). 

The 23-year-old will sit out as he continues to deal with lingering pain stemming from the knee and hip surgeries he underwent last year. As Palmer notes, “it took a lot” just for Hamler to be available for the Broncos’ regular season opener in Seattle. He played 40 snaps in that contest, his first action since Week 3 of the 2021 campaign.

“Part of the maintenance,” head coach Nathaniel Hackett said, via 9News’ Mike Klis, when asked about Hamler missing the entire week of practice. “We want to make sure we get him to [play] as many games as we possibly can.”

A second-rounder in 2020, Hamler has been limited to just 17 games so far in his NFL career. His receptions (35) and yardage (455) totals fall short of what he and the team would have expected given his college production, though his yards-per-catch average of 13.0 demonstrates the vertical speed he was drafted to provide. Expectations are high in 2022, just as they are for the rest of Denver’s skill-position corps, given the presence of Russell Wilson at quarterback.

With Hamler’s availability set to fluctuate from one game to the next, the loss of fellow wideout Tim Patrick to an ACL tear leaves Denver much thinner at the position than they were entering training camp. Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy will likely see an increase in targets, but Tyrie Cleveland along with rookies Montrell Washington and Jerry Virgil are among the options to step into a starting slot role. The inexperienced trio will likely be in and out of the rotation as the team continues managing Hamler’s situation.

“It’s such a unique deal what happened to him,” Hackett added. “He’s been doing some great things, been getting some great reps, did good last game. We just want to be sure we got him for the whole season.”

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 1/7/22

Today’s taxi squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Cleveland Browns

  • Placed on Practice Squad COVID-19 List: DE Joe Jackson

Denver Broncos

Washington Football Team

  • Placed on Practice Squad COVID-19 List: DL David Bada