Tag: 53-man roster

Way-too-early 53-man roster prediction for the Vikings

We get it. It’s early, but here some predictions about what the 53-man Vikings roster could look like.

The Vikings 2020 roster is shaking up to be quite different than how it looked in 2019.

Minnesota drafted 15 players in the recent NFL Draft, the most ever by a team in the seven-round format. The Vikings added some talent who could come in and start, while others can possibly beat out incumbent reserves for a spot on the depth chart. Minnesota added players at positional needs such as wide receiver, cornerback and offensive line.

There will also likely be so me rookies who don’t make the team, considering there were so many Vikings rookies drafted on the third day. So, that got us at Vikings Wire thinking, what will Minnesota’s 53-man roster look like?

There’s a lot of time for players to prove themselves and make the team, but it’s interesting to look at how the team could present itself in 2020, especially with all the new faces.

Here are the choices we made:

*: Denotes a player who is at multiple positions on the depth chart.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7, Page 8, Page 9, Page 10, Page 11, Page 12, Page 13, Page 14

Broncos will have larger roster and practice squad under new CBA

Under the NFL’s new CBA, the Broncos’ roster and practice squad will grow larger in the coming years.

NFL players voted to approve a new CBA on Sunday, paving the way for the league to make several big changes in the coming years.

Among the most notable changes are adjustments to rosters and practice squads. The team’s regular season roster of 53 players will be expanded to 55 players and game day rosters will increase from 46 players to 48 players over the next few seasons.

Additionally, practice squads will increase from 10 players to 12 players with the possibility of expanding to 14 players within a few years. Practice squad players will now also see an increase of pay by $2,500 per week.

The increased roster and practice squad sizes will give the Broncos more depth for expanded seasons. Starting next year, the regular season will be expanded to 17 games. The playoffs will also increase by one team per conference, with that change also taking place next season.

To read more about the biggest changes in the CBA, click here.

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Saints make several roster moves before Week 17, waive DeShawn Shead

The New Orleans Saints promoted practice squad Lil’Jordan Humphrey and re-signed Ricky Ortiz, but waived Michael Ola and DeShawn Shead.

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The New Orleans Saints made a handful of roster moves on Saturday, just a day before their Week 17 kickoff with the Carolina Panthers. ESPN’s Mike Triplett and Nola.com’s Amie Just first reported the transactions.

Two players were waived from the active roster, including veteran offensive tackle Michael Ola and recently-signed defensive back DeShawn Shead.

In their place, the Saints called up practice squad wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey and brought back fullback Ricky Ortiz. Ortiz spent a few weeks on the Saints practice squad from Nov. 22 to Dec. 4, while Humphrey was promoted to the active roster for several games earlier this year.

These moves were likely made in response to a number of still-developing injury situations for New Orleans. All-star left tackle Terron Armstead was not listed on the Saints injury report this week after spending the better part of a month recovering from a high-ankle sprain, making Ola’s spot on the roster unnecessary.

On top of that, Saints fullback Zach Line was a sudden addition to Friday’s injury report, while dealing with a knee injury. He was sidelined for a few recent games with the same issue, so Ortiz’s addition probably signals that Line will be unavailable against Carolina.

As for Humphrey’s call-up: the Saints designated reserve wideout Krishawn Hogan to the injured reserve list after last week’s win over the Tennessee Titans, opening up a spot on the active roster. Hogan was predominately used as a blocker, which Humphrey may be better-suited for than fellow rookie Emmanuel Sanders.

Shead’s release is puzzling, though. The Saints are going to be without three of their top defensive backs (including safeties Vonn Bell and Marcus Williams, and cornerback Eli Apple) so having someone with experience at several positions would have been useful. This could mean that they like their depth in the secondary well enough and weren’t expecting Shead to play much in his first week on the job anyway. It’s possible he returns after this game, however, but by no means is that a sure thing.

So now the Saints 53-man roster is back at capacity, while the practice squad has one open spot. Stay tuned to see what the Saints choose to do next.

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Saints fill two practice squad vacancies, sign D.J. Swearinger after tryouts

The New Orleans Saints held free agent tryouts and signed S D.J. Swearinger. DT Jalen Dalton and DB Chris Johnson joined the practice squad.

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The New Orleans Saints called up two players form their practice squad for Monday night’s game with the Indianapolis Colts, promoting defensive tackle Taylor Stallworth and safety T.J. Green. Green was waived on Wednesday to open up a roster spot for veteran safety D.J. Swearinger, who took part in a group workout at the Saints practice facility. Per a report from Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, that list included:

  • DB Kentrell Brice, Louisiana Tech
  • DL Jalen Dalton, North Carolina
  • DL Mike Hughes, UNLV
  • DB Chris Johnson, North Alabama
  • DB Derrick Kindred, TCU
  • DL Tomasi Laulile, BYU
  • DB Deshawn Shead, Portland State
  • DB Tre Sullivan, Shepherd
  • DB D.J. Swearinger, South Carolina

While Swearinger signed with the Saints as a member of the 53-man active roster, New Orleans filled their two vacancies on the practice squad by signing Dalton and Johnson.

Dalton (6-foot-6, 300 pounds) is a rookie defensive tackle/end hybrid who can line up almost anywhere up front. He initially signed with the Chicago Bears after the 2019 NFL Draft, but was released during September roster cuts and hadn’t yet caught on with another team. With Sheldon Rankins ending his year on injured reserve and Stallworth called up to the active roster, the Saints needed someone to fill out snaps in practice.

Johnson (6-foot-3, 200 pounds) is also a rookie, though the small-school safety spent his summer with the Houston Texans before joining their practice squad after annual roster cuts. He was briefly a member of the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad before they released him as part of other personnel changes. Players signed onto NFL practice squads around this time of the year typically agree to futures contracts with those teams, but it’s unclear whether that’s the case with these two additions for the Saints.

All told, these signings bring the Saints practice squad back up to its 10-man capacity. Dalton and Johnson will join wide receivers Lil’Jordan Humphrey and Emmanuel Butler, running back/wide receiver Taquan Mizzell, offensive linemen Derrick Kelly and John Leglue, linebacker Andrew Dowell, tight end Jerrell Adams, and tight end/defensive lineman Mitchell Loewen.

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Broncos promote DB Alijah Holder, add two players to practice squad

The Broncos added cornerback Alijah Holder to the 53-man roster on Tuesday and signed two players to the practice squad.

The Denver Broncos have promoted defensive back Alijah Holder from the practice squad to the 53-man roster, the team announced Tuesday. Denver had an opening on the roster after safety Kareem Jackson was suspended for two games for driving while ability impaired.

Holder (6-2, 188 pounds) played cornerback at Stanford but is expected to serve as a rotational backup safety. He spent the first 15 weeks of the season on the Broncos’ practice squad after signing with the team as an undrafted free agent in May.

Assuming Holder will play safety, he will join Justin Simmons, Will Parks and Trey Marshall as Denver’s top four safeties to close out the year.

The Broncos also signed safety P.J. Locke and defensive lineman Jay-Tee Tiuli to the practice squad Tuesday. Both defenders are rookies. Last week, offensive lineman Corey Levin was signed to the Bears’ active roster from Denver’s practice squad. Levin’s departure and Holder’s promotion created the two openings for Locke and Tiuli.

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Seahawks officially activate Ethan Pocic back from injured reserve

The Seattle Seahawks have officially activated offensive lineman Ethan Pocic back from injured reserve and placed Rashaad Penny on the IR.

The Seattle Seahawks officially activated offensive lineman Ethan Pocic back to the roster from the injured reserve. Pocic, who was placed on IR Week 6 with a back injury, became eligible to return after missing the requisite next eight games of the regular season.

“He and Joey [Hunt] could both play center, which was really a bonus to us, as well as Ethan has played both guard spots, and he could play tackle if he needed to in an emergency,” coach Pete Carroll said after Friday’s practice. “His versatility has always been a great strength, all the way back to when he had done all of that in college as well. That was always the positive that he brought that was unique for him.”

The roster move was expected as Pocic had returned to practice following the team’s win over Minnesota. Pocic has appeared in just two regular-season games this year.

To make room for Pocic on the 53-man squad, running back Rashaad Penny was placed on the injured reserve. Expected to undergo ACL surgery in the near future, Penny’s season is now officially over.

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Saints waive TE Dan Arnold among several roster moves

The New Orlenas Saints waived tight end Dan Arnold to make room on the 53-man roster, re-signing linebacker Manti Te’o among roster moves.

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The New Orleans Saints announced a series of roster moves on the official NFL transactions wire for Wednesday, Dec. 4. Among those moves was the release of third-year tight end Dan Arnold from the 53-man active roster, creating room for free agent linebacker Manti Te’o. Arnold had been a frequent gameday inactive since being called up from the Saints practice squad earlier this year, logging just two catches for 25 yards. He’s subject to waivers but is eligible to return to the practice squad should he clear them on Thursday.

Another pair of corresponding moves also shook up the Saints practice squad, with fullback Ricky Ortiz waived to open a slot for second-year left tackle Nate Wozniak. Wozniak originally signed with the Saints as an undrafted free agent out of Minnesota, and he returns to the team as a developmental candidate while starting left tackle Terron Armstead works his way back from a high-ankle sprain.

Additionally, second-year wide receiver Keith Kirkwood will revert to the injured reserve list after the Saints designated him to return back on Nov. 13. Kirkwood was the only eligible candidate to return from injured reserve, having started the year on the active roster before going down in-season, with linebackers Alex Anzalone (shoulder) and Kaden Elliss (knee) each already ruled out for the year. So New Orleans will not be receiving any reinforcements from injured reserve after Kirkwood’s unsuccessful attempt at bouncing back from his early-season hamstring injury.

It raises questions about what the Saints can still do to get some production out of their thin wide receiver corps. Michael Thomas is playing like the best receiver in the game, but it’s tumbleweeds after him — veteran Ted Ginn Jr. and second-year draft pick Tre’Quan Smith have combined for just 8 catches on 21 targets in the four games since New Orleans’ bye week. Expect more trick plays for do-it-all quarterback Taysom Hill to make up the deficiency, if the Saints can’t get tight end Jared Cook and running back Alvin Kamara going consistently.

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Broncos added a cornerback, lost an offensive lineman last week

The Broncos signed cornerback Shakial Taylor to their 53-man roster last week.

Some fans in Denver might not have noticed that the Broncos made two roster moves over Thanksgiving weekend.

Denver claimed cornerback Shakial Taylor off waivers after he was cut by the Colts. To make room for Taylor on the active roster, the Broncos placed cornerback Cyrus Jones on the reserve/non-football injury list.

Jones has an illness that will apparently keep him out for a while.

Taylor (5-11, 175 pounds) entered the league as a college free agent out of Kansas with Indianapolis in May. He spent part of the year on the Colts’ practice squad and dressed for five games, totaling seven tackles.

In addition to adding a cornerback last week, Denver also lost a reserve offensive lineman. Corey Levin left the Broncos’ practice squad to sign with the Bears, joining Chicago’s 53-man roster. NFL rules allow practice squad players to sign with another team’s active roster.

Denver filled Levin’s former spot on the practice squad by bringing back rookie quarterback Brett Rypien, who was cut last week to make room for Drew Lock, who was activated from injured reserve.

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Pete Carroll believes all 53 players should be active on gameday

Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll lamented the NFL’s rule that only 46 of the team’s 53 players can be active on game day.

Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider both strongly oppose the NFL’s rule that requires teams to make seven players inactive on game day.

Carroll feels that, as long as all 53 players on the roster are getting paid, they should be allowed to help the team each week – especially as the season goes on and players are consistently forced to suit up while dealing with injuries.

“I just don’t understand,” Carroll lamented on Saturday. “I just don’t get it. I just wish we would have all these guys available and they would help us this time of year, they would take plays off of guys, and they’d be healthier. There are some arguments that are kind of old arguments. I’ll always keep clamoring for that. I think it’s the right thing for the players, mostly. That’s what we should be considering. We’re paying them anyway. They’re all getting paid. I don’t understand it.”

Carroll went on to say he doesn’t really understand why the league hasn’t changed this rule, but that he believes it has to do with teams having injured players, which would give them less players than the opposing team.

However, Carroll believes a simple solution would be allowing players to be activated off the practice squad in place of injured players, which still allows each team to have 53 active each week.

“You can take guys off the practice squad, too, which would be great for those guys,” Carroll continued. “It would be the best thing that could ever happen for those guys. If you want to solve the problem, you solve the problem from my perspective. I don’t get what their perspective is, and I respect that.”

The league evaluates rule changes every year, and fans can bet Carroll, Schneider and many others around the league will clamor for a bigger active roster starting in 2020.

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Report: Seahawks tight end Ed Dickson headed back to injured reserve

In an unexpected turn of events, Seahawks TE Ed Dickson – who was just activated this week – could be headed back to the injured reserve.

Just days after the Seattle Seahawks activated tight end Ed Dickson back to the 53-man roster, he might be headed back to the injured reserve.

A report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler indicates that’s exactly what is likely to happen.

“Seahawks expected to place TE Ed Dickson back on IR, according to sources,” Fowler tweeted early Thursday evening. “Dickson was activated this week but there’s concern over his recovery from injury.”

This report contradicts what coach Pete Carroll had said earlier in the week – that Dickson would actually be able to carry a full workload Sunday against the Eagles.

“He’s going to play a regular load if the week works out fine,” Carroll said Wednesday. “He’s been conditioning for a long time. He’s been practicing with us for quite a while. He should be ready to go. Weight’s in a good spot. He looks like he’s in good shape. He won’t play the whole game because we’ll be moving guys in and out. We expect him to play a regular role.”

If the Seahawks do place Dickson back on the injured reserve, they will undoubtedly have to active Tyrone Swoopes up from the practice squad.

This story is continuing to develop.

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