Category: Practice Squad

QB David Blough added to the Viking practice squad

The Vikings add the star from this seasons Hard Knocks to the practice squad

The Minnesota Vikings added a 15th member to the practice squad in former Detroit Lions quarterback David Blough.

A fourth-year quarterback from Purdue, Blough was an undrafted free agent signed by the Detroit Lions. As a rookie, Blough made five starts for the Lions replacing an injured Matthew Stafford. He lost all five starts he made, throwing for 984 yards, four touchdowns and six interceptions. One of those was against the Minnesota Vikings where he went 24-of-40 for 205 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

Blough was recently one of the main players that HBO’s Hard Knocks focused on this past season. He had won the backup quarterback job behind starter Jared Goff but was released early Wednesday morning in favor of Nate Sudfeld.

On the market right now, there aren’t exactly a surplus of true developmental players. Making a move for an established backup to give you more options is a smart move.

The Vikings currently have 15 players on the practice squad with room for one more.

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Vikings practice squad tracker

Keep track of all the Vikings practice squad additions

Cutdown day is behind us and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is moving on to the next task of building up his first practice squad.

The Vikings were hoping to have both Kellen Mond and Armon Watts sneak onto the practice squad, but both players were claimed on waivers early Wednesday morning.

Throughout the day on Wednesday and into the week, we will be updating this to reflect who is on the Vikings practice squad heading into the 2022 season.

Jags sign QB Danny Etling to practice squad

The Jags now have two quarterbacks on their practice squad after signing former New England Patriots draft selection Danny Etling.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have just three games left to be played, but that hasn’t stopped them from adding talent to the practice squad. On Monday, the team signed Danny Etling to their practice squad, giving them two quarterbacks on the unit when including Kyle Lauletta.

Etling, 27, was drafted in 2018 out of Louisiana State in the seventh round (No. 219 overall) by the New England Patriots. Since then, he’s been a journeyman quarterback, spending time with the Atlanta Falcons,  Seattle Seahawks, Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos, and most recently the Green Bay Packers. Many of those stops involved time on the practice squad and Etling has yet to register a pass in the regular season.

While with LSU, Etling finished his career with 4,586 passing yards and 27 touchdowns. His passing yards total ranks him eighth in school history, and his completion number of 325 ranks him ninth.

Jags add CB Michael Jacquet to practice squad, sends CB Lorenzo Burns to practice squad IR

Jacquet joins the Jags’ practice squad with two starts (seven overall appearances), 12 tackles, a forced fumble, and three pass breakups to his name.

The Jacksonville Jaguars made some practice squad transactions to start the week and added Michael Jacquet to their practice squad. The decision came as the team placed practice squad cornerback Lorenzo Burns on the practice squad injured reserve, giving them the room to add another player to the unit.

Jacquet is currently in his second season in the NFL. He entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2020 for the Philadelphia Eagles and spent the opening two seasons of his career there. Jacquet was able to see the field as a rookie, playing in seven games and starting in two. In the process, he was able to register 12 tackles (one of which was a sack), a forced fumble, and three pass breakups.

Before entering the league, Jacquet attended Louisiana at Lafayette. He was able to accumulate four picks and 18 pass breakups while playing for the university for four seasons.

Jags make a few practice squad moves to begin Week 9

Jacksonville added defensive lineman Jeremiah Ledbetter to its practice squad, among several other moves.

Jacksonville’s 31-7 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday afternoon was one the team will want to forget about quickly. Unfortunately, with Buffalo coming to town next week, the road only gets tougher.

On Monday, the Jaguars made a couple of roster moves after the game involving their practice squad. The first was signing defensive end Jeremiah Ledbetter, who is a free agent that was most recently on the Arizona Cardinals practice squad until he was released last week.

A former sixth-round pick out of Arkansas in 2017, Ledbetter saw the bulk of his playing time come with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020, and he has 18 tackles and a sack on his career.

Further, offensive lineman Badara Traore was restored to the practice squad from the practice squad injured reserve list. Traore, an undrafted pickup for Chicago last year, has only appeared in one NFL game.

To help clear space on the practice squad, the team released receiver Josh Imatorbhebhe. The former Illinois player is an undrafted rookie who the Jags signed this offseason, but he suffered an injury during the preseason and was released on Aug. 26. He rejoined the practice squad on Oct. 12, but it seems he’ll be looking for a new home once again.

Jaguars do some shuffling with the practice squad

The Jags made a few adjustments to their practice squad on Monday morning, including bringing back receiver Josh Imatorbhebhe.

Coming off a frustrating 37-19 loss to Tennessee, Jacksonville heads back to the drawing board as a it tries to avoid an 0-6 start when it takes on the Miami Dolphins in London on Sunday morning.

Ahead of that game, the Jaguars made some tweaks to their practice squad, adding running back Kerrith Whyte Jr., offensive lineman Jared Hocker and receiver Josh Imatorbhebhe.

Whyte is a third-year player who was drafted in the seventh round in 2019 and has 122 career rushing yards. He spent this past offseason with the Buffalo Bills. Meanwhile, Hocker is a first-year guy out of Texas A&M who most recently spent some time on the Los Angeles Rams practice squad, and Imatorbhebhe is another rookie who signed with the Jags after the draft and spent most of the offseason with the team.

To clear space for these moves, the team released offensive lineman Austen Pleasants, who was signed last week, as well as running back Wendell Smallwood and receiver Devin Smith, the latter of which saw a bit of preseason action and nine offensive snaps Week 1 against Houston with the Jags.

With some injuries and the team looking to build for the future, it’s not surprising to see some shuffling with the practice squad, and we’ll keep you posted on if any of these players will be activated for the trip to the United Kingdom.

Jaguars resign OL Austen Pleasants to practice squad

Pleasants was with the team during the offseason, but he was released ahead of final roster cuts.

Jacksonville has made a move with its practice squad, as offensive lineman Austen Pleasants has been brought back into the fold. This move comes after offensive lineman Badara Traore was placed on the practice squad injury list.

The 6-foot, 7-inch Pleasants was originally signed by the Jaguars as an undrafted free agent out of Ohio last season. He didn’t make the final 53-man roster but was placed on the practice squad. After the season, he signed a futures contract with the team.

Pleasants was released this offseason ahead of the final roster cut date after mostly seeing action on the interior at guard throughout training camp. With him coming back, it could be a sign that Jacksonville wants more bodies on the interior with A.J. Cann struggling while Ben Bartch and Tyler Shatley are the only non-starting interior players on the active roster.

The nature and severity of Traore’s injury remain unclear, but it seems Pleasants will be around the locker room for at least the short-term future.

Broncos sign edge rusher Aaron Patrick off Jaguars practice squad

Denver added one of Jacksonville’s developmental edge rushers to its active roster on Thursday.

After beating Jacksonville 23-13 on Sunday, Denver added insult to injury by signing developmental edge-rushing outside linebacker Aaron Patrick off the Jaguars’ practice squad on Thursday.

Patrick went undrafted in 2020 out of Eastern Kentucky, where he totaled 27.5 sacks over his career and earned First Team FCS All-American honors during his final year in 2019. He joined the Jaguars practice squad last December and signed a futures contract in January.

He was waived during final cuts following the 2021 preseason, but was brought back just a few days later to rejoin the practice squad. Now, Patrick will be on an active, 53-man roster for the first time.

This move makes a good deal of sense for Denver, who lost starting edge rusher, Bradley Chubb, to an injury on Sunday. He was placed on the injured reserve and is expected to be out six to eight weeks. In Patrick, the Broncos add a depth guy to the active roster who could potentially develop into something more.

Jacksonville hasn’t yet made a move to replace Patrick on the practice squad, but it’s possible that one could be imminent. Veteran tight end Trey Burton (who Urban Meyer recruited to Florida and coached) has a pending workout with the Jags in the wake of James O’Shaughnessy being placed on the injured reserve.

If the Jags choose to bring in Burton, he would very likely be heading to the practice squad as Jacksonville still has three tight ends on the active roster. Burton is a free agent who most recently played with the Indianapolis Colts during the 2020 season.

Jaguars re-sign Nathan Cottrell to the practice squad

Cottrell showed some flashes in the preseason but was initially released from the practice squad ahead of Week 1.

Jacksonville is bringing a familiar face back to the practice squad as the team re-signed running back Nathan Cottrell on Monday. Cottrell didn’t make the final 53-man roster this preseason but was brought back to the practice squad before being released ahead of Week 1.

Originally an undrafted player out of Georgia Tech in 2020, Cottrell started his rookie season on the Jaguars’ practice squad but also saw a couple of stints on the active roster during the season. When active, he saw action as a returner, taking seven returns for 123 yards.

Cottrell had a solid preseason this fall, and with the injury to running back Travis Etienne, some thought he had a chance as a dark-horse roster candidate. Instead, the Jags released him from the practice squad on Sept. 6 to clear space for Duke Johnson, a speedy running back. But Johnson was recently released, and the players have swapped once again, with Cottrell returning to the Jacksonville practice squad.

He is one of two running backs the Jaguars are currently developing on the practice squad in addition to Devine Ozigbo, who also showed some signs of promise in the preseason.

In addition to starter James Robinson, the Jags have two running backs on the active roster in Carlos Hyde and Dare Ogunbowale. Hyde has had a solid start to the season as a change of pace back, but Ogunbowale is yet to see his first carry. If Jacksonville looks to change things up at that No. 3 spot, Cottrell could be a candidate.

Jaguars add edge rusher Aaron Patrick to practice squad, release K Kaare Vedvik

Jacksonville re-signed Patrick, who it waived on Monday, to the practice squad.

Jacksonville continues to tinker with its practice squad. On Thursday, the team made another change to the group, bringing back second-year edge rusher Aaron Patrick, who was waived by the Jaguars on Monday. The team also released kicker Kaare Vedvik to clear space on the practice squad.

A former First Team FCS All-American during his redshirt senior season at Eastern Kentucky in 2019, Patrick went undrafted in the 2020 NFL draft after totaling 27.5 sacks in his career with the Colonels. He joined the Jaguars practice squad last December, signing a futures contract in January.

Patrick made the initial 53-man roster before the Jags decided to waive him. He cleared waivers, and now he’ll be heading back to the practice squad.

Vedvik, the player Jacksonville released to make room for Patrick, has been a journeyman kicker since entering the league in 2018, but he hasn’t been able to stick it out on an active roster. He’s attempted an extra point and a 45-yard field goal in his career, missing both.