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NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/22/24

October 22nd, 2024 at 5:46pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are today’s practice squad moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Signed: WR Phillip Dorsett

Carolina Panthers

Signed: OL Andrew Raym
Released: OLB Shaq Lawson, DT Jayden Peevy

Cincinnati Bengals

Signed: T Andrew Coker
Released: DT Domenique Davis

Detroit Lions

Signed: S Erick Hallet

Green Bay Packers

Released: TE Andrew Beck

Houston Texans

Signed: RB Jawhar Jordan
Released: OL Arlington Hambright

Kansas City Chiefs

Signed: QB Chris Oladokun, WR Cornell Powell

Las Vegas Raiders

Signed: WR Terrace Marshall, TE Trevon Wesco

Minnesota Vikings

Signed: TE Robert Tonyan

New England Patriots

Released: LS Tucker Addington

Pittsburgh Steelers

Signed: DT Breiden Fehoko

Seattle Seahawks

Released: CB Eric Garror

Tennessee Titans

Signed: T Isaiah Prince

Washington Commanders

Signed: S Ben Nikkel, WR Mike Strachan
Released: S Sheldrick Redwine

Prince played under Brian Callahan in Cincinnati but has only played two games over the past two seasons. A six-game starter with the Dolphins and Bengals, Prince missed all of the 2020 season due to a COVID-19 opt-out and then all of the 2022 season due to injury.

The Vikings cut Tonyan from their 53-man roster earlier today, but because the NFC North mainstay is a vested veteran, he did not need to clear waivers before joining Minnesota’s practice squad. With T.J. Hockenson on the way back, Tonyan profiles as insurance.

This is a third chance for Marshall. The Panthers waived him after three seasons. No team claimed the former second-round pick, with Joe Brady‘s Bills passing. The 49ers took a flier soon after but released him last week.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/19/24

October 19th, 2024 at 6:29pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s minor moves and standard gameday practice squad callups:

Carolina Panthers

Signed to active roster: DT T.J. Smith
Elevated: OLB Shaq Lawson, LB Shaquille Quarterman
Waived: C Andrew Raym

Cincinnati Bengals

Activated from reserve/PUP list: CB DJ Ivey
Elevated: C Trey Hill

Cleveland Browns

Elevated: WR Jaelon Darden

Detroit Lions

Signed to active roster: DL Pat O’Connor
Elevated: DE Isaac Ukwu, TE Shane Zylstra

Green Bay Packers

Elevated: FB Andrew Beck

Houston Texans

Activated from reserve/suspended list: DE Denico Autry
Elevated: FB Troy Hairston, CB Desmond King

Indianapolis Colts

Elevated: LB Liam Anderson, CB Kelvin Joseph

Las Vegas Raiders

Signed to active roster: WR Alex Bachman
Elevated: TE Justin Shorter, WR Kristian Wilkerson

Los Angeles Chargers

Released: S Tony Jefferson

Los Angeles Rams

Elevated: CB Ahkello Witherspoon

Miami Dolphins

Signed to active roster: QB Tim Boyle
Elevated: CB Nik Needham, LS Matt Overton
Placed on reserve/NFI list: LS Blake Ferguson

Minnesota Vikings

Signed to active roster: TE Robert Tonyan
Waived: WR Trishton Jackson
Elevated: DE Jalen Redmond, OLB Bo Richter

New England Patriots

Elevated: LB Ochaun Mathis

New York Jets

Signed to active roster: TE Anthony Firkser
Elevated: S Jalen Mills, CB Kendall Sheffield

Philadelphia Eagles

Activated from reserve/PUP list: S Sydney Brown
Elevated: OL Jack Driscoll

Pittsburgh Steelers

Signed to active roster: LB Adetokunbo Ogundeji
Elevated: WR Brandon Johnson, RB Jonathan Ward

San Francisco 49ers

Elevated: K Anders Carlson, S Jaylen Mahoney

Seattle Seahawks

Elevated: CB Faion Hicks, CB Josh Jobe

Autry was hit with a six-game PED suspension in July, leaving the Texans without a key figure along the defensive line. The free agent pickup could have suited up by means of Houston using his one-week roster exemption; instead, he has been activated in time for Week 7. Autry, 34, posted a career-high 11 sacks last season and he will look to make an immediate impact during his Texans debut. Especially with Mario Edwards having been issued a four-game suspension of his own earlier this week, he should have a notable role right away.

Panthers, Shaq Lawson Agree To Deal

October 8th, 2024 at 7:03pm CST by Adam La Rose

Still on the lookout for veteran help along the edge, the Panthers are set to make another addition. Shaq Lawson has a deal in place with Carolina, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson reports. The move (a practice squad agreement) is now official, per a team announcement.

Wilson noted earlier today that Lawson visited the Panthers. The news of an agreement quickly coming together thus comes as little surprise, and it will add considerable experience to the team’s edge rush group. The 30-year-old is a veteran of 109 games, all of which came in the AFC East.

Lawson spent his first four seasons in Buffalo, with his most productive campaign coming in 2019 (6.5 sacks, 13 tackles for loss). That stretch was followed by single campaigns with the Dolphins and Jets before a return to the Bills. After handling a notable role in Miami and New York, the former first-rounder returned to Buffalo; he remained there for 2022 and ’23.

During his second Bills stint, Lawson made seven total starts and recorded 4.5 sacks. He did not have a strong market during the spring, however, resulting in several weeks of the regular season playing out until interest picked up. In the wake of Jaelan Phillips‘ season-ending knee injury, Lawson was among the veteran edge rushers who visited the Dolphins on a workout last week. That process did not yield an agreement, but he did not need to wait long to find another suitor.

Carolina traded away Brian Burns this offseason, one in which Yetur Gross-Matos departed in free agency. Preseason injuries to both D.J. Wonnum and Amare Barno left the team thin on healthy options along the edge, and a reunion with Marquis Haynes was recently worked out. After Jadeveon Clowney suffered a shoulder injury in Week 5, Lawson’s addition will provide another healthy depth option. It will be interesting to see how quickly he finds himself on the active roster.

Dolphins Working Out Potential Edge Replacements

October 3rd, 2024 at 10:04pm CST by Ely Allen

The Dolphins received some unfortunate news yesterday as they discovered that a knee injury will sideline former first-round pick Jaelan Phillips for the remainder of the season. They filled Phillips’ vacant roster spot today with Tyus Bowser, signing him off of the Seahawks’ practice squad, but the additions may not stop there.

In addition to reuniting Bowser with defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver after their time together in Baltimore, Miami brought in a few names to work out for potential contracts. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2, veterans Shaq Lawson, Al-Quadin Muhammad, and Cam Gill were all in South Florida today to audition for potential roster spots.

While both Lawson and Weaver have spent time with the Jets, Bills, and Dolphins, their time never lined up together. Lawson does have experience in Miami, though, starting seven games for the team in 2020 and delivering four sacks and a career-high 18 quarterback hits. Since then, he has remained in the AFC East, spending a year with the Jets and two more seasons with the Bills, who drafted him in 2016. His role in Buffalo last year was minimal as he served as an occasional sub in the defensive pass rush.

Muhammad had an impressive 2021 campaign in Indianapolis. In his first season as a full-time starter, the Miami (FL) product delivered career highs in sacks (6.0), total tackles (48), and quarterback hits (13). Rewarded with a new contract in Chicago, Muhammad struggled to find similar success in his new role with the Bears. He spent last year on the Colts’ practice squad but didn’t play, especially after a six-game suspension was levied on him by the league for violating the NFL’s PED policy.

Gill, a former undrafted free agent for the Buccaneers, fought back from his own recent injury history to play 15 games in Tampa Bay last year. He doesn’t quite have the pass rushing upside that Lawson and Muhammad bring to the table, but he remains a potential body that Miami could add on defense.

Weaver has plenty of options to try and replace Phillips as the team moves forward with its season, though none of the options will likely match the production Phillips brought to the table. Regardless, as Miami continues to be plagued with injuries on both sides of the ball, adding quality bodies continues to be the focus.

Contract Details: James, Lawson, Muse

April 23rd, 2023 at 12:55pm CST by Rory Parks

Here are a few details on contracts that have been signed in the last several weeks:

Richie James, WR (Chiefs): One year. $1.08MM (veteran minimum for a player with four to six years of service time). $400K guaranteed, including $152.5K signing bonus. Despite a career year in 2022 as part of the Giants’ depleted WR corps, James had to settle for a veteran minimum accord (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of KPRC2).
Shaq Lawson, DE (Bills): One year. $1.165MM (veteran minimum for a player with seven or more years of service time). $300K guaranteed, including $152.5K signing bonus (Twitter link via Wilson). Lawson was unable to parlay his increased role in the second half of the 2022 season — which included two playoff starts — into anything more than a veteran minimum deal.
Tanner Muse, LB (Steelers): One year. $1.01MM (veteran minimum for a player with three years of service time). Twitter link via Wilson. Muse worked primarily on special teams for the Seahawks in 2022, but he saw the first defensive snaps of his career towards the end of the season and will look to carve out a rotational/ST role for Pittsburgh. Seattle non-tendered him in March.

Bills To Re-Sign DE Shaq Lawson

April 10th, 2023 at 12:58pm CST by Adam La Rose

Shaq Lawson‘s second stint with the Bills has earned him an extended stay in Buffalo. The veteran defensive end is re-signing on a one-year deal, reports Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (Twitter link).

Lawson, 28, began his career with the Bills, spending four productive if uninspiring seasons with the team. He notched a career-high 6.5 sacks in the final year of his rookie contract, which helped earn him a three-year, $30MM deal with the Dolphins in 2020. That pact could have provided the opportunity for continued career ascension, but that didn’t turn out to be the case.

The former first-rounder spent only one season in Miami, and was dealt to the Texans. Before having played in Houston, however, Lawson was traded back into the AFC East and joined the Jets in 2021. While logging a significant workload, he managed only a single sack in New York, leading to his release before season’s end. That move left his future uncertain, but a return to his original home proved to be an effective move.

Lawson inked a one-year contract last March to head back to Buffalo, where he spent much of the season in a rotational role. After the season-ending injury suffered by Von Miller, however, Lawson stepped took on a larger workload. He ended up starting six regular season games, along with both of the Bills’ playoff contests. He managed 31 tackles and 3.5 sacks, numbers which have allowed him to retain his spot as a valued member of the team’s edge rush group.

While Miller continues to recover at the start of the 2023 campaign, Buffalo will look to recent draftees Gregory Rousseau, A.J. Epenesa and Carlos Basham for much of their pass rushing production. Lawson will look to continue in the role he had to finish out last season, while providing depth at the position for a unit which will be without defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier this year. Another season with decent production could earn him yet another Bills pact, or boost his stock for a move elsewhere.

AFC East Notes: Patriots, Gesicki, Lawson

August 11th, 2022 at 8:02pm CST by Ben Levine

Jake Bailey signed an extension with the Patriots earlier this month, and we’re now getting details on the punter’s new deal. According to Ben Volin of the Boston Globe (on Twitter), Bailey earned a four-year pact worth $13.125MM, with $6.275MM of that deal fully guaranteed.

Bailey got a raise on his 2022 salary, jumping from $3.986MM to $4.5MM. The move lowered his cap number, however, reducing it from $4.058MM to $2.025MM. Next year, Bailey’s cap number will increase to $3.415MM before going to $3.79MM in both 2024 and 2025.

“I’m just so happy and blessed I get a few more years here,” Bailey said last week (via the team’s website). “I was just kind of on the phone with my agent and I was like, ‘Alright, that’s it. We’re good with that,’ and it wasn’t like a crazy big moment. But it was fine and a huge milestone in my life and just thankful God put me in this position.”

The 2019 fifth-round pick out of Stanford has spent his entire career in New England, including a 2020 campaign where he earned first-team All-Pro honors.

More notes out of the AFC East…

While you should never put too much stock into preseason depth charts, Volin points out on Twitter that the Patriots‘ initial depth chart shows that the team is committing to Trent Brown at left tackle and Isaiah Wynn at right tackle. The two offensive lineman are swapping positions following a 2021 campaign that mostly saw Wynn at LT and Brown at RT.
Mike Gesicki leads the Dolphins in receptions since the beginning of the 2019 campaign, but the tight end may find himself as a secondary target for Tua Tagovailoa in 2022. As Adam H. Beasley of ProFootballNetwork.com points out, Gesicki will likely be fourth in line for targets behind wide receiver Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, and Cedrick Wilson. As new head coach Mike McDaniel noted, the offense won’t try to force the ball to the tight end, but there will surely be situations where the team is counting on Gesicki to contribute. “It’s something that we’ve talked to the tight ends about at length — it comes in waves,” McDaniel told Beasley. “There have been practices where he’s got seven or eight … he had more targets maybe Practice 7 — it was 7 or 8 — than Tyreek had. It’s just one of those things that you try in the game of football, especially when you are a pass receiver at any position, to really focus on what you can control. You can’t control the defenses. You can’t control the progression. You can’t control the pass rush.”
Veteran defensive end Shaq Lawson is back in Buffalo after re-joining the organization this offseason. Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic expects Lawson to ultimately make the Bills 53-man roster, but he’s fallen behind the likes of A.J. Epenesa and Boogie Basham on the depth chart and will likely serve as the team’s fifth defensive end. The 28-year-old started seven games for the Jets in 2021, collecting 23 tackles and one sack.
If Tre’Davious White isn’t ready for the start of the regular season, then there’s a good chance the Bills will be starting a rookie cornerback opposite Dane Jackson. As Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports writes, first-round rookie Kaiir Elam would be a natural choice, but he’s struggled during training camp. As a result, sixth-round rookie Christian Benford could find himself in the starting lineup come Week 1.

Bills To Sign Shaq Lawson

March 17th, 2022 at 3:38pm CST by Zachary Links

Shaq Lawson is back in Buffalo. On Thursday, the edge rusher agreed to a one-year deal with the Bills (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero).

[RELATED: Bills To Sign V. Miller]

Lawson, 27, was a first rounder of the Bills back in 2016. He racked up 16.5 sacks during his four-year stay in Buffalo, which wasn’t enough for the team to pick up his fifth-year option. He stayed in the division when he signed with the Dolphins in 2020 on a three-year, $30MM deal. His production was essentially on par with his days in Buffalo, though, and he found himself being traded to the Texans one year later.

Lawson never played in Houston, however, being moved once again later that offseason, this time to the Jets. In New York, he managed just one sack and was let go before the end of the campaign. Over his six years in the NFL, he has established himself as a capable rotational pass rusher, and a return to Buffalo could allow him to get back to his old form.

The Bills, meanwhile, get to bolster their pass rush despite a limited budget. Much of their cap room has been allocated towards Von Miller, who will team with Lawson up front.

Mutual Interest Between Bills, Shaq Lawson For Return

March 9th, 2022 at 12:44pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Bills may soon be welcoming back a familiar face. There is “mutual interest” in a return to Buffalo between the team and edge rusher Shaq Lawson according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler (Twitter link).

[RELATED: Bills Release LB A.J. Klein]

Lawson, 27, was a first rounder of the Bills in 2016. He racked up 16.5 sacks during his four-year stay in Buffalo, which wasn’t enough for the team to pick up his fifth-year option. He stayed in the division when he signed with the Dolphins in 2020 on a three-year, $30MM deal. His production was essentially on par with his days in Buffalo, though, and he found himself being traded to the Texans one year later.

Lawson never played in Houston, however, being moved once again later that offseason, this time to the Jets. In New York, he managed just one sack and was let go before the end of the campaign. Over his six years in the NFL, he has established himself as a capable rotational pass rusher, and a reunion in Buffalo could return him to his most productive form.

Fowler notes that “nothing is imminent” as of now, which is understandable given that the Bills are currently projected to be over the cap by roughly $2MM. Still, the team could likely find room to fit in the veteran without much issue. If they do, he would add an experienced presence to one of the AFC’s best rosters.