Transactions News & Rumors

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/20/24

Friday’s minor transactions to end the week:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

After not seeing the field since 2022, Brewer has been called up as a standard gameday practice squad elevation in each of the first two weeks of 2024. With the NFL rules restricting practice squad players to three elevations in one contract, this was going to be necessary eventually in order for Brewer to appear in a fourth game. If Brewer is waived and re-signed to the practice squad, his three-game limit should reset.

After spending his rookie season as an undrafted cornerback for Tampa Bay in 2023, Isaac was waived before the start of this year. He was claimed by the Panthers, but his time in Carolina didn’t last long as he was waived a week and a half later. He re-signed with the Buccaneers amidst a number of injuries in the secondary before today’s departure.

Ravens, RB Justice Hill Agree To Extension

The Ravens were among the teams to make a notable outside free agent addition at the running back spot this offseason. One of Baltimore’s incumbent options in the backfield now has a new deal in place, though.

Justice Hill has agreed to an extension, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. This will be a two-year, $6MM deal for the veteran, he adds. Hill – who has spent his entire career in Baltimore – will be under contract through the 2026 season as a result of this news, which is now official.

Selected in the fourth round of the 2019 draft, Hill has remained a complementary option in the backfield through much of his tenure. He was one of three Ravens running backs who suffered a season-ending injury before the 2021 campaign began, but since then he has not had availability issues. Hill has remained a core special teams contributor (both as a kick returner and in other roles), but this new deal comes in the wake of his most productive campaign.

The 26-year-old set career highs across the board in 2023, racking up 593 scrimmage yards and four total touchdowns. With J.K. Dobbins suffering an Achilles tear early in the year, Hill was counted on as a key member of the backfield throughout the campaign while splitting reps with Gus Edwards and – for a stretch in the middle of the season – undrafted rookie Keaton Mitchell. Plenty has changed since the end of the 2023 slate.

Dobbins and Edwards departed in free agency, while the Ravens added Derrick Henry on a two-year deal. The longtime Titans star nearly found himself in Baltimore ahead of the 2023 trade deadline, but he joined the team amidst high expectations on early downs and goal line situations in particular. With Mitchell continuing to rehab the ACL tear which ended his encouraging rookie year, Hill has been leaned on as a key pass-catching option early in 2024. Today’s deal means that will continue for the foreseeable future.

The Oklahoma State product signed a two-year extension in March 2023; that pact carried an AAV of $2.55MM. His work on offense and special teams since then has clearly drawn strong reviews from the team and earned him a slight raise. The Ravens’ Henry investment does not include any guaranteed salary for next year, leading to uncertainty regarding his status next spring. Likewise, it remains to be seen how Mitchell will fare and how large of a workload he will handle once healthy. However Baltimore’s RB room shakes out in 2024 and beyond, Hill will be a notable presence in it.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/19/24

Here are Thursday’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

New England Patriots

New York Jets

The Patriots sustained a blow to their offensive line depth when Okorafor left the team after being benched after just 12 snaps in Week 1. New England received a five-day roster exemption for Okorafor’s initial absence but was forced to move the offensive tackle to the reserve/left team list when the exemption expired. He is now ineligible to return this season.

Watson was drafted by the Browns in the sixth round of the 2024 draft and made Cleveland’s initial 53-man roster. He appeared in the team’s first two regular-season games, playing 33 snaps on special teams.

Texans TE Brevin Jordan Out For Season

SEPTEMBER 19: This placement will cover the rest of the season. Jordan suffered a torn ACL, according to Wilson. This is a tough blow for the 2021 draftee, as his path toward the 2025 free agent market will now include extensive knee rehab.

SEPTEMBER 18: The Texans will be down a tight end for at least the next four games. The team placed tight end Brevin Jordan on injured reserve today, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston.

Jordan suffered a knee injury at some point during Sunday’s win over the Bears, although he still managed to finish the contest. The veteran was operating as Houston’s TE2 behind Dalton Schultz this season, with Jordan garnering 43 total snaps as a run blocker.

While he’s been called upon as a blocker in 2024, the former fifth-round pick hasn’t been a complete non-factor offensively through his first three-plus seasons in the NFL. The Miami (FL) product averaged 17 catches per season between 2021 and 2023, and he had a notable 73-yard touchdown during last year’s playoffs.

The team added some depth at the position today by signing Irv Smith Jr. to the practice squad, per Wilson. Smith profiles as more of a pass-catcher, with the tight end averaging more than 23 receiving yards per game in 37 appearances with the Vikings. After dealing with injuries between the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Smith put together his worst statistical season in 2023, finishing with career-lows in receptions (18), receiving yards (115), and touchdown receptions (one).

Schultz and rookie fourth-round pick Cade Stover are mostly rostered for their pass-catching ability, so there’s a chance the team looks for a blocking option to temporarily replace Jordan. The Texans are also rostering tight end Chris Myarick and fullback Troy Hairston on the practice squad, and both players are probably candidates for promotions for Week 3.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/18/24

Today’s practice squad moves:

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

  • Signed: DT Dashaun Mallory

Green Bay Packers

Los Angeles Rams

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Signed: LB David Anenih

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/18/24

Here are Wednesday’s minor moves:

Denver Broncos

  • Signed from practice squad: OLB Dondrea Tillman

Los Angeles Rams

  • Signed from practice squad: OL Justin Dedich

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

A five-year Giants contributor, Ximenes logged 14 defensive snaps through two Patriots games. A rookie UDFA out of James Madison, Kromah has not played in a regular-season game yet. Because the Pats poached Kromah from the Bears’ P-squad, he must remain on New England’s 53-man roster for three weeks.

Additionally, free agent defensive back Alex Brown received a three-week suspension, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. Brown has not been on an NFL roster since 2021 and has not played in a game since 2019.

Broncos Place RT Mike McGlinchey On IR

The Broncos enjoyed near-perfect attendance along their offensive line last season. As the team attempts to develop Bo Nix, one of its blockers will be out of the mix for a while.

Not intending to go week-to-week with Mike McGlinchey‘s MCL sprain, Denver is placing (via 9News’ Mike Klis) its right tackle on IR. The high-priced blocker went down during the Broncos’ loss to the Steelers and will be unable to return until at least Week 7.

This move comes weeks after the team lost swing backup Quinn Bailey for the season. Alex Palczewski, a 2023 UDFA who did not play as a rookie, is set to step in, per Sean Payton. Palczewski spent all of last season on IR, being placed on the injured list just before last season.

Given a five-year, $87.5MM deal, McGlinchey started 16 games in his Broncos debut. This came as Garett Bolles, Ben Powers, Lloyd Cushenberry and Quinn Meinerz suited up for 17 contests. This remarkable run of health contrasted from the 2022 season, when Denver played stretches without Bolles, Cushenberry and Meinerz. That year also featured RT instability, leading to yet another investment in a position the franchise had struggled to fill since the Peyton Manning years.

In Week 1, McGlinchey became the first Bronco to open back-to-back seasons at right tackle since Orlando Franklin from 2012-13. The Broncos poached the veteran from the 49ers, who had stood down while paying Trent Williams top LT money, and gave him a contract that called for his 2025 salary ($17.5MM) to become fully guaranteed in March 2024. McGlinchey’s 2025 money vested after he submitted a middling first season in Denver. Though, the Broncos could find a gulf between a seventh-year vet — who was a top-10 pick — and a UDFA set for his third career game.

The team signed Matt Peart as a swing option this offseason, and the veteran played both right and left tackle in New York. Palczewski, 25, earned second-team All-Big Ten and third-team All-America acclaim in his final Fighting Illini season. After being in Payton’s system for a year (albeit on IR), he will be entrusted to help protect Nix amid the rookie QB’s sluggish start.

Chiefs Sign RB Keaontay Ingram From Practice Squad

Kareem Hunt‘s return to Kansas City may not come with an immediate return to the team’s active roster. The Chiefs first chose to bump up one of their current practice squad running backs.

Keaontay Ingram is now on the defending champions’ 53-man roster, while Hunt is officially on their practice squad. Ingram joins Samaje Perine and rookie UDFA Carson Steele on Kansas City’s active roster.

Initially catching on with the Chiefs’ P-squad in late November of last year, Ingram was originally a Cardinals sixth-round pick in 2022. The Cards selected Ingram in Steve Keim‘s final draft as GM but waived him midway through last season, Monti Ossenfort‘s first running the front office. Ingram played in 20 games with Arizona, logging 62 carries for 134 yards and a touchdown in limited duty. Ingram has not played in a regular-season game as a Chief.

Hunt can be elevated from the practice squad up to three times, but as a vested veteran, the former rushing champion can move back and forth to the Chiefs’ P-squad and 53-man roster — should the team take this route after the elevation period ends — up until the day after the trade deadline. Players of all experience levels are subject to waivers following that point. Hunt, however, should probably be expected to move to the Chiefs’ 53-man roster and stay once his elevation period ends.

The Chiefs are in this bind because Clyde Edwards-Helaire landed on the reserve/non-football illness list before Isiah Pacheco‘s fibula fracture. Andy Reid said the team’s starter is undergoing surgery today. Pacheco is aiming to return at some point during the season’s second half. Additionally, the Chiefs signed linebacker Cole Christiansen from their practice squad and officially announced Pacheco’s IR move.