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Senio Kelemete

Saints Working Out G Senio Kelemete

June 14th, 2022 at 10:42am CST by Sam Robinson

Senio Kelemete is back with the Saints. For a workout, at least. In addition to bringing in David Johnson and Joe Schobert for minicamp, the Saints are hosting Kelemete, Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.football tweets. All three vets are participating in the team’s Tuesday workout.

Johnson’s teammate in Houston two years ago, Kelemete may be better known for his time in New Orleans. The 10-year veteran guard played with the Saints from 2014-17, establishing himself as a spot starter to the point the Texans gave him a three-year, $12MM deal to be one of their starting guards in 2018.

The former Cardinals fifth-round pick played three seasons with the Texans. After a 14-start 2018, a season in which Deshaun Watson took more sacks than any quarterback in 12 years, Kelemete missed 15 games in 2019 after an early-season injury. He did not regain a job as a full-time starter in 2020 but did make five starts.

After making two more starts for the Chargers last season, Kelemete has 44 over the course of his career. Twenty-two of those came for the Saints, who had Kelemete as a steady insurance option as they reconstructed their roster ahead of their late-2010s run of playoff berths.

New Orleans has Andrus Peat and Cesar Ruiz locked in at the guard spots, and while the team did not draft any interior O-linemen, it signed veterans Josh Andrews and Forrest Lamp. Swingman James Hurst remains on the team as well. Kelemete, 32, would vie for a depth role if brought back.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/12/21

October 12th, 2021 at 12:10pm CST by Zachary Links

Keeping tabs on today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Chicago Bears

  • Promoted: OLB/DL Sam Kamara

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

San Francisco 49ers

Wednesday NFL Transactions: NFC West

September 1st, 2021 at 4:08pm CST by Sam Robinson

Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline Tuesday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters. In addition to waiver claims, teams can begin constructing their 16-man practice squads today. These Cardinals, Rams, Seahawks and 49ers moves are noted below.

Here are Wednesday’s NFC West transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day.

Arizona Cardinals

Signed to practice squad:

Los Angeles Rams

Signed to practice squad:

San Francisco 49ers

Signed:

Placed on IR: 

Signed to practice squad:

Seattle Seahawks

Claimed:

Signed:

Released/Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

49ers Get Roster Down To 53

August 31st, 2021 at 5:34pm CST by Ben Levine

The 49ers made a long list of transactions today to get down to 53 players. Several of these moves have previously been reported, but for posterity’s sake, we’ve listed them all below.

Placed on reserve/PUP list

Placed on IR

Released

Waived

Placed on Reserved/Suspended List

49ers To Cut Senio Kelemete

August 31st, 2021 at 11:48am CST by Zachary Links

The 49ers will release offensive lineman Senio Kelemete en route to the 53-man deadline (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero). He’ll likely reappear on the Niners’ 16-man practice squad, Pelissero hears.

Kelemete joined the Niners in June to provide some much needed OL depth in the wake of Justin Skule‘s season-ending ACL tear. However, the 49ers prefer the rest of their options at tackle and guard, including incumbent backup guard Tom Compton.

Kelemete came into the league as a fifth-round pick of the Cardinals in 2012. After one year in the desert, he spent the next five years with the Saints followed by three years with the Texans. He still had one year to go on his Texans deal, but they released him in February to save $1.73MM against the 2021 salary cap.

Kelemete appeared in 14 games with five starts for the Texans last season. For his career, he’s made 42 total starts at different positions along the offensive line. His versatility could make him an appealing pickup for other clubs, which would rule him out for the Niners’ taxi squad.

49ers To Sign Senio Kelemete

June 11th, 2021 at 11:23am CST by Zachary Links

The 49ers have agreed to sign offensive lineman Senio Kelemete (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo). Kelemete will provide the Niners with some much needed depth in the wake of Justin Skule‘s season-ending ACL tear. 

[RELATED: Justin Skule Done For Year]

Kelemete appeared in 14 games with five starts for the Texans last season. For his career, he’s made 42 total starts at different positions along the offensive line. His versatility will be a major bonus for the Niners, who can plug him in at guard or tackle depending on their needs.

Kelemete came into the league as a fifth-round pick of the Cardinals in 2012. After one year in the desert, he spent the next five years with the Saints followed by three years with the Texans. He still had one year to go on his Texans deal, but they released him in February to save $1.73MM against the 2021 salary cap.

The veteran will still have to earn his spot on the Week 1 roster, but the odds are in his favor. If all goes well, he’ll serve as a top backup behind Trent Williams and Mike McGlinchey while also seeing some reps on the interior.

Texans Release OL Senio Kelemete

February 23rd, 2021 at 3:28pm CST by Sam Robinson

Less than a year after extending Senio Kelemete, the Texans will part ways with the veteran offensive lineman. The Texans released Kelemete on Tuesday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

Houston will save $1.73MM by making this move. The franchise is also cutting linebacker Peter Kalambayi, which will create nearly $1MM in cap space.

Kelemete came over from the Saints in 2018. He started 14 games at guard that season, one in which Deshaun Watson was sacked 62 times, but only opened six games in Houston’s lineup over the past two years. Kelemete, 30, suffered a season-ending injury in September 2019 but returned to play in 14 games last season.

The Texans drafted Kalambayi in the 2018 sixth round and used him exclusively as a backup and special-teamer during his three seasons. One season remained on his rookie contract.

Given the state of the Texans, Kelemete certainly will not be alone among cap casualties this offseason. The Texans are set to hold barely $7MM in cap space after making these moves. With Nick Caserio now presiding over the roster, more starters acquired by previous GMs will be in jeopardy of being cut.

Texans, Senio Kelemete Agree To Extension

July 27th, 2020 at 9:22am CST by Zachary Links

The Texans have reached agreement on a one-year extension with guard Senio Kelemete, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). The new deal will keep the veteran under contract through the 2021 season.

Kelemete, 30, has spent the last two years with the Texans, though the 2019 season was basically wiped out by a wrist injury. He joined Houston in 2018 on a three-year free agent deal and served as the team’s go-t0 left guard that year.

Kelemete won’t necessarily be in the starting lineup this year – he may wind up supporting Max Scharping on the left side and Zach Fulton on the right side.

The move created a bit of cap space for the Texans, as Wilson reports in a full-length piece that Kelemete’s cap number dropped from $3.5MM to $2.3MM. He agreed to reduce his 2020 base salary from $2.75MM to $1.3MM, though he did receive a $500K signing bonus and can earn up to $200K in per-game active roster bonuses, so his 2020 pay will max out at $2MM. It sounds as if Houston may have been prepared to cut him, so he elected for a bit of a decrease in exchange for some security.

In 2021, he is scheduled to earn a base salary of $1.3MM, though he can rack up $4.2MM in per-game active roster bonuses.

Texans Place Senio Kelemete On IR

September 25th, 2019 at 12:25pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Texans’ offensive line just took a blow. Houston is placing guard Senio Kelemete on injured reserve, a source told Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link). In a corresponding roster move the team has promoted linebacker Tyrell Adams from the practice squad to the active roster, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.

A fifth-round pick back in 2012, Kelemete has been with the Texans since 2018. He spent a handful of seasons with the Saints as a part-time starter before signing a three-year deal with Houston last offseason. He was the team’s primary left guard last year, starting 14 games. He started their opener against the Saints in Week 1, but picked up a wrist injury. He practiced last week, so this is a bit of a surprise.

Kelemete will now have to miss at least the next eight games before he is eligible to return. Rookie first-round pick Tytus Howard filled in at left guard in Week 2, then flipped to right tackle. Rookie second-round pick Max Scharping started at left guard this past week, and appears to have that job secured moving forward. Adams is a journeyman who has bounced around a ton of teams’ practice squads and offseason rosters since entering the league as an undrafted free agent in 2015. He’ll be depth only.

Texans’ Tytus Howard To Open At Guard

August 3rd, 2019 at 2:45pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Texans deployed one of the NFL’s worst offensive lines last season and are likely to return multiple starters from the group that yielded 62 an NFL-most sacks. But the team looks to be planning on getting a key addition into the lineup in an unexpected fashion.

Tytus Howard is the frontrunner to open the season as Houston’s starting left guard, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle notes. A first-round tackle out of Alabama State, Howard would replace 2018 starter Senio Kelemete if this plan ends up coming to fruition. Recent signing Matt Kalil is in place as the team’s left tackle, Wilson adds.

Although Howard was viewed as a bit of a reach as a first-rounder, the Texans — despite firing GM Brian Gaine, who oversaw this year’s draft — clearly believe the former high school quarterback has a chance to play immediately. Gaine said after the draft the college tackle could play both guard positions, and Bill O’Brien‘s staff is testing that stance.

Additionally, the Texans are considering second-round guard Max Scharping as a Week 1 starter on the right side. But Wilson adds 2018 starter Zach Fulton is firmly in the mix to keep his job to start this season. Seantrel Henderson, who re-signed after suffering a season-ending injury in Week 1, is expected to start at right tackle.

Deshaun Watson took the most sacks any NFL passer has since Jon Kitna in 2006. The Texans were quiet in free agency on this front, despite entering the marketplace with more than $80MM in cap space. They added the oft-maligned Kalil and used first- and second-round picks on a Division I-FCS tackle (Howard) and mid-major guard (Scharping, out of Northern Illinois). All three additions could be Week 1 starters, doing so after 2018’s batch of newcomers frequently failed to protect Watson.

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