Zach Zenner

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/10/19

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Dallas Cowboys

Jacksonville Jaguars

Miami Dolphins

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Promoted: WR Ishmael Hyman

Washington Redskins

Interestingly Dallas’ hand was forced with Hyatt, as they promoted the offensive lineman because another team was trying to poach him away, a source told Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). He’s a rookie UDFA from Clemson. Elsewhere, the Dolphins are scooping up players from other teams left and right as they build for 2020.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/3/19

We’ll keep track of today’s minor NFL moves here:

Arizona Cardinals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

  • Claimed: C Patrick Morris (from Steelers)

Detroit Lions

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Rams

  • Promote TE Kendall Blanton
  • Placed on IR: WR JoJo Natson

Miami Dolphins

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Cardinals To Release Zach Zenner

The Cardinals are releasing running back Zach Zenner today, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Per league rules, Zenner will hit the waiver wire since the trade deadline is in the rear view mirror. 

The Cardinals went from being paper thin at the running back position to having too many running backs ready to go. Or, as head coach Kliff Kingsbury termed it, they had a “good problem” on their hands. To fix the logjam, Zenner will be dropped.

David Johnson‘s ankle and knee injuries kept him off the field earlier in the year, which created room for Chase Edmonds to emerge as the team’s top running back. Later, Edmonds went down with a hamstring injury, pushing the Cardinals to trade for Kenyan Drake. Zenner and Alfred Morris also joined the club in late October – Morris lasted a week and Zenner held on for just over a month.

The Cardinals have a full running back room, but their overall woes persist. On Sunday, they lost badly to the Rams, dropping their record to 3-8-1.

Cardinals Sign Alfred Morris, Zach Zenner

The Cardinals signed running backs Alfred Morris and Zach Zenner this morning. The signings were first reported by Adam Caplan of ESPN.com and have since been confirmed by the team. In the team’s press release, the organization announced they released cornerback Trevor Williams to accommodate the signings.

Morris, in his ninth NFL season, burst onto the scene as a rookie in 2012 with Washington rushing for over 1,600 yards. He started every Washington game (64) over his time with the organization and accrued 5,078 yards from scrimmage in his four seasons with the team. Morris has not been a primary back elsewhere, but he has been a spot starter for both the Cowboys and 49ers in the past two seasons.

Zenner is another multi-year veteran, but has never had more than a rotational role. After spending the first four seasons of his career with the Lions, Zenner was released in August. He joined the Saints on October 16th and only received one carry before he was released yesterday.

Adding two veteran backs raises concerns that star running back David Johnson will be out for the Cardinals upcoming games. Johnson has been limited by knee problems over the past week and while he was active against the Giants, it was clear the team wanted to limit his workload. Backup Chase Edmonds was exceptional filling in as the primary back and appears Morris and Zenner will be expected to spell Edmonds in the coming weeks while they wait for Johnson to heal.

Williams was claimed on waivers from the Chargers on October 8th. He hasn’t played a large role for Arizona this season, but over the previous three seasons between San Diego and Los Angeles, Williams made 27 starts accruing 100 tackles and three interceptions.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/22/19

Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

  • Signed off Jaguars’ practice squad: DT Eli Ankou

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Minnesota Vikings 

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Oakland Raiders

San Francisco 49ers

Saints Sign RB Zach Zenner

The Saints have signed running back Zach Zenner, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. He’ll serve as insurance in case Alvin Kamara‘s ankle keeps him from seeing the field this week. 

To make room, the Saints have dropped linebacker Stephone Anthony, their one-time first-round pick who returned this season. It’s possible that Anthony will return in the not-too-distant future, but for now, the Saints need the firepower in the backfield.

Zenner spent time with quarterbacks coach Joe Lombardi while in Detroit, so it might not take him long to get acclimated in New Orleans. It’s also possible the Saints won’t need much from him on Sunday against the Cardinals if Kamara is able to suit up.

NFL Workout Notes: 10/8/19

Here are today’s workout updates. There are a number of notable names on this list, so pay attention!

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

New England Patriots

Oakland Raiders

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Redskins

Giants Work Out RBs

Following the injury to Saquon Barkley, the Giants worked out running backs Fozzy Whittaker and Zach Zenner, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The club also took a look at Benny Cunningham, as The Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson tweets.

As Barkley rests up from a high ankle sprain, the club is preparing for anywhere between 4-8 weeks without him. In the interim, Wayne Gallman will take over as the club’s top tailback. The good news is that the team is not planning on putting Barkley on injured reserve at this time, which leaves open the possibility that he will be able to return inside of two months.

At this moment, Gallman’s only backup is Elijhaa Penny, a former UDFA who previously spent time with the Cardinals. Last year, Penny tallied eight catches for 50 yards plus seven totes for 25 yards.

Whittaker, 30, spent the last five years with the Panthers, but missed the 2018 season with a torn ACL. His biggest year came in 2016 when he registered 4.6 yards per carry off of 57 attempts.

Cardinals Audition Alfred Morris

David Johnson suffered a wrist injury in the Cardinals’ Week 2 loss, and although the standout running back returned to action, the Cards are gathering some intel for a possible in-case-of-emergency scenario.

Arizona worked out Alfred Morris, Thomas Rawls and Zach Zenner on Tuesday, ESPN.com’s Field Yates and veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer report (Twitter links). The team also auditioned tight end Luke Willson.

Morris reunited with the Cowboys, but Ezekiel Elliott‘s holdout coming to an end prompted them to part ways with the veteran back. Morris, 30, played 12 games with the 49ers last season. Rawls last held a notable role with the 2016 Seahawks; he’s since bounced around. Zenner averaged 4.8 yards per carry last season and re-signed with the Lions in March. However, he did not make their 53-man roster.

Kliff Kingsbury‘s Cardinals have lapped the field in terms of 10 personnel usage — four wideouts, one running back — and have not used tight ends Charles Clay or Maxx Williams much. But the team auditioned Willson, Thomas Duarte and Jason Vander Laan anyway. Willson played 14 games for the 2018 Lions but did not make the Raiders’ roster this summer.

NFL Workout Updates: 9/3/19

Here are today’s workout updates, all courtesy of Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter) unless otherwise noted. The Saints had several recognizable players in for workouts.

Arizona Cardinals (Twitter link via veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer)

Carolina Panthers (Twitter link via Balzer)

Cincinnati Bengals

Detroit Lions

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

  • Brandon Hitner

Philadelphia Eagles

Washington Redskins (Twitter link via Balzer)