Tag: 53-man roster

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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Tight end Ed Dickson expected to see regular workload in Philadelphia

Activated back to the roster from the injured reserve, Seahawks tight end Ed Dickson is expected to see a full workload against the Eagles.

The Seattle Seahawks will be getting some extra help at the tight end position now that Ed Dickson has been officially activated back to the 53-man roster from the injured reserve.

The timing is critical for Seattle with fellow tight end Luke Willson battling a hamstring issue.

“It was a great time for him to be available to us,” coach Pete Carroll said Wednesday. “He wanted to get back a couple weeks ago. We couldn’t fit it in. Luke is kind of opening the door for him. I know you guys are probably wondering to ask about – because he has a hamstring, we can ask about that. Luke has been such an extraordinary healer over the years that I know there’s no category for it, but we’re going to call him probable. Even though it doesn’t exist, you never know.

“Ed coming back is great. He’s really excited to contribute and help out.”

Dickson has yet to see a game this season, but he looks to figure immediately into the plan this week in Philadelphia.

“He’s going to play a regular load if the week works out fine,” Carroll confirmed. “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.”

The Seahawks and Eagles are set to square off Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. PT.

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Cowboys fill roster void with WR-turned-CB instead of promoting Olumba

The Cowboys chose to go off roster in plugging the void left by Brown, and they’re bringing in a good athlete with a chance to snare balls.

The Dallas Cowboys have a new member of their secondary, inking Deante Burton to a contract that will make him a member of the 53-man roster for at minimum the next three weeks. The move was necessary after the team had to place slot corner Anthony Brown on injured reserve following an arm injury suffered in the club’s Week 11 victory over the Detroit Lions.

Brown required surgery, ending his season. While Jourdan Lewis had already usurped Brown in the starting lineup, the loss of Brown thins out the depth at the cornerback position. The team has been working with five corners on the roster for much of the season, and now has the same number after claiming the 6-foot-2, 200-pound corner off of the Indianapolis Colts’ practice squad.

To this point of his career, Burton has not been a return man in the NFL, but did so in high school and had several big special teams plays in college at Kansas State. Dallas has struggled on special teams in multiple facets, so this acquisition could potentially be part of an attempt to solve that fraction of the season’s equation.

Coming from a practice squad, the Cowboys are required to keep Burton on their active roster for a minimum of three weeks, which means he’ll have a tryout with the team through at least the club’s December 5 road matchup against the Chicago Bears.

Earlier in the year, the club lost fifth-round pick Michael Jackson in a similar move when the Lions snagged the University of Miami product.

UDFA Chris Westry is on injured reserve, but the club saw Burton as a better fit than current practice squader Donovan Olumba, who was impressive in his preseason work but failed to make the team’s opening roster.

Behind starters Byron Jones and Chidobe Awuzie, Lewis is the only CB currently getting defense snaps. C.J. Goodwin has been a core special teams player for the Cowboys, but rarely sees the field on defense. He has just 20 snaps (2.9%) as opposed to 181 on teams (66.8%).

As for Burton, he was originally a UDFA of the Atlanta Falcons, joining the league in 2017 out of Kansas State, where he was a wide receiver.

Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports

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During his time on the Falcons’ practice squad, he made the transition to defense. Perhaps the Cowboys are hoping his experience on offense could lead him to making better plays on the ball than the club has gotten. Dallas only has four interceptions through 10 games.

The 25-year-old has spent time with the Packers, Falcons for a second stint, and Texans before being on the Colts practice squad this year. He has three games under his belt and five total tackles, all of which came against the Philadelphia Eagles in one game each for the Falcons and Texans.

He also appeared in the playoff game for Houston, logging five special teams snaps.

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Saints designate Keith Kirkwood to return from injured reserve

The New Orleans Saints started a 21-day countdown for wide receiver Keith Kirkwood to practice with the team and return from injured reserve

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Reinforcements might be on the way for the New Orleans Saints wide receiver corps. Second-year pro Keith Kirkwood practiced on Wednesday, hours after Saints coach Sean Payton commended his progress in recovering from an early-season hamstring injury. Kirkwood has been on the shelf since hurting himself in pregame warmups back in Week 2, but the Saints designated him to return from injured reserve on the official league transactions wire.

This starts the clock on a 21-day window for Kirkwood to practice and be promoted to the 53-man roster, or else revert to the injured reserve list. It’s unclear which game the Saints are targeting in-house for him to make his return, though the earliest he’d be eligible would be Week 13’s game with the Atlanta Falcons on Nov. 28, per NFL rules.

If Kirkwood is able to suit up again this season, it’s easy to see how he could help the team. They have a wide-open void at the wide receiver position opposite Michael Thomas, who has caught 86 of the groups’ 116 receptions this year. The Saints weren’t able to find any last-minute upgrades at the NFL trade deadline, so Kirkwood might be their last remaining hope for to receiving corps to suddenly improve.

Teams are allowed to bring back two players from injured reserve each season, though it’s tough to say which Saints players may qualify. We can parse the list down a bit, however, because NFL rules stipulate only players who started the year on the 53-man roster may return from injured reserve later that season. That excludes most of the players on the list, which you can find below:

 

  • C/G Cameron Tom (ineligible)
  • LB Alex Anzalone
  • LB Kaden Elliss
  • LB Colton Jumper (ineligible)
  • LB Josh Martin (ineligible)
  • TE Garrett Griffin (ineligible)
  • WR Keith Kirkwood (designated to return)

Payton said earlier this year that starting middle linebacker Alex Anzalone would miss the rest of the season after shoulder surgery, so he won’t be a candidate. That leaves rookie linebacker Kaden Elliss as the only option left, but he tore his ACL on Sept. 22. There’s no way he’ll be recovered from that in time to play later this season. So don’t expect anyone but Kirkwood to return from injured reserve in 2019.

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Tight end Ed Dickson should be activated with Luke Willson injured

With tight end Luke Willson now out with a hamstring injury, Seattle Seahawks will likely activate Ed Dickson back to the 53-man roster.

The Seattle Seahawks just continue to suffer injuries at the tight end position. In Week 10 against the San Francisco 49ers, Luke Willson left the game with a hamstring injury and was unable to return leaving Jacob Hollister as the team’s only true tight end on the roster.

Willson had been battling a rib injury heading into the contest.

“Luke’s got a legit hamstring – legit meaning that it’s not just a little cramp or something,” coach Pete Carroll said Tuesday after Willson had been further evaluated. “It showed up in the MRI testing of it. But it might be a couple weeks for him, we’ll just have to wait and see.”

With Willson potentially out for the near future, the Seahawks will look to tight end Ed Dickson for additional support at the spot. Dickson, who is now eligible to be activated back from the injured reserve, should be healthy to play.

“Yes, he’s ready to go,” Carroll confirmed. “Fortunately, if Luke is unable to play then we would like to think we can go right to Ed and get him going.”

Dickson has been able to practice with the team but must be added back to the 53-man roster before he can make his 2019 season debut.

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