Giants sign Jaydon Mickens after working out three returners

The New York Giants have signed WR Jaydon Mickens after working out a trio of return men on Tuesday.

The New York Giants hosted a small group of return men for a tryout on Tuesday in East Rutherford, including former sixth-round pick Kenjon Barner.

The 33-yard-old Barner was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in 2013. Since then, he’s become quite the journeyman, making stops with the Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Chargers, New England Patriots, Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens and, most recently, Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Barner has also been a part of three Super Bowl teams — the Eagles, Patriots and Buccaneers.

In 76 career games, he’s rushed for 416 yards and three touchdowns, while hauling in 28 receptions for 152 yards. He’s also returned 91 punts for 677 yards and one touchdown, and 55 kickoffs for 1,291 yards.

In addition to Barner, the Giants also worked out wide receivers Jaydon Mickens and Chester Rogers. Both were undrafted free agents in 2016 who have made a living as reserves and return men.

Of the three, Jaydon Mickens was signed to the practice squad. In order to clear room for him, offensive lineman Roy Mbaeteka had his contract terminated.

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Browns make handful of practice squad moves after Deshaun Watson officially activated

The Browns continue to tinker with their practice squad, making three moves and potentially preparing for a fourth on their reserve unit.

The big news from a day ago surrounding the Cleveland Browns was the official reinstating and activation of quarterback Deshaun Watson. After serving his 11-game suspension, Watson is set to start against his former team as the Browns take on the Houston Texans this Sunday.

However, the Browns also made three practice squad moves. These reserve moves are extremely non-consequential, so too much time does not need to be spent on them. However, by placing one player on Injured Reserve, releasing one player from the practice squad, and signing a third player, the Browns were busy churning the bottom of their roster.

We take a look at those moves here.

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Browns make slew of roster moves for matchup vs. Patriots

As the Cleveland Browns prepare for the New England Patriots, they have made a slew of roster moves.

With the New England Patriots on the docket tomorrow at FirstEnergy Stadium, the Cleveland Browns have made three roster moves. Unfortunately, one of those moves was not the activation of newly acquired linebacker Deion Jones, as he likely makes his debut next week against the Baltimore Ravens.

Elevations from the practice squad are not a new thing for all 32 teams, and churning the bottom of the roster is a common practice by the Browns. Both of these are moves they made today, as well as the activation of a player off of Injured Reserve and back onto the active roster.

We take a look at the three roster moves here and discuss their repercussions.

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Browns elevating WR/KR Chester Rogers and LB Dakota Allen vs. Chargers

The Browns are elevating two players from the practice squad for this week’s game against the Chargers.

The Cleveland Browns are elevating a pair of players for their Week 5 showdown with the Los Angeles Chargers. The first player is wide receiver/returnman Chester Rogers, with linebacker Dakota Allen joining the active roster for this game as well.

This will be Rogers’ second elevation, meaning the Browns can elevate him one more time off of the practice squad before they have to sign him to the active roster to see him on Sundays again. Expect Rogers to take over return duties, with Allen playing a great deal of special teams (or in case of emergency should Jacob Phillips continue to struggle).

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Browns elevating TE Miller Forristall, WR Chester Rogers from Practice Squad vs. Steelers

The Browns are elevating Miller Forristall and Chester Rogers to the active roster for their game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Cleveland Browns are activating tight end Miller Forristall and wide receiver Chester Rogers from the Practice Squad for their Thursday night showdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers. After placing tight end Jesse James on Injured Reserve this week, the elevation of Forristall felt inevitable on a short week.

Rogers, however, signed after the Week 1 mistakes of Demetric Felton as a punt returner, makes his first appearance with the team. There is a reasonable chance Rogers could find himself back deep in the return game tonight as special teams continue to be a weak spot of the team.

The countdown to kickoff begins.

Report: Don’t expect Chester Rogers as the Browns return man in Week 2

Chester Rogers was a top-10 NFL punt and kick returner in 2021, but the Browns aren’t expected to elevate him from the practice squad Sunday

It was an easy connection and speculation to make. When the Browns signed wide receiver Chester Rogers to the practice squad this week, it was pretty clear the move was related to special teams and not the Cleveland offense. Rogers finished in the top 10 in the NFL in 2021 in both punt and kick returns while with the Tennessee Titans.

But if that is the plan for Rogers in Cleveland, it’s not an immediate one. Per Brad Stainbrook, the Browns are not expected to activate Rogers for this Sunday’s home opener against the New York Jets.

Demetric Felton fumbled away any job security at the spot with a terrible Week 1 in Carolina. Felton had a fumble and also left some yards on the field by going down on first contact. He had 28 yards on five punt return attempts. Jerome Ford remains the team’s kick returner, something special teams coordinator Mike Priefer reiterated this week.

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Browns sign CB from Bears practice squad, add WR to their practice squad

Browns confirm the addition of Graham off the Bears practice squad as well as signing a potential returner to their own practice squad:

The Cleveland Browns may be one of the most active teams in the NFL. Rarely a week goes by without GM Andrew Berry making a move.

Monday, Berry waived CB Herb Miller a day after his possession-saving recovery of Demetric Felton’s fumble. In that report, we noted that the team had reportedly already decided who they would be adding to the roster but had not become official.

Tuesday that move became official with Cleveland signing CB Thomas Graham Jr. off of the Chicago Bears practice squad. Graham was a sixth-round pick in 2021 and played in four games for the Bears last year.

The Browns also signed WR Chester Rogers to their practice squad. Rogers has compiled 1,522 yards receiving in four seasons between Indianapolis and Tennesee. He has also returned punts throughout his career.

Once up to speed, it is possible that Rogers will take over for Felton in the return game while Graham will have important responsibilities in special teams as well.

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Texans release FB Andy Janovich among 4 total transactions

The Houston Texans made four total transactions, including the release of fullback Andy Janovich.

The Houston Texans have a head start on their cut down from 85 players to 80.

The Texans released fullback Andy Janovich and linebacker Tae Davis on Sunday. Janovich had one target in the Texans’ 24-20 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Aug. 19 at SoFi Stadium. Davis had one tackle on special teams.

Houston also waived offensive lineman Myron Cunningham, an undrafted free agent from Arkansas.

The Texans also placed receiver Chester Rogers on the reserve/injured list. Rogers had three punt returns for 30 yards and a fair catch against the Rams along with a kickoff return for 20 yards.

The Texans have to get to 80 players by 3:00 p.m. Central Time on Aug. 23. The next roster cut down is to 53 players on Aug. 30.

Texans make WR Chester Rogers signing official among 4 transactions

The Houston Texans processed the Chester Rogers signing among their four total roster moves.

The Houston Texans processed the signing of receiver Chester Rogers Wednesday. The former Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans wideout is now a member of the club’s 90-man roster.

As a corresponding move, the Texans waive-injured receiver Davion Davis. The former Hutto High School and Sam Houston State product was originally signed off the Cleveland Browns’ practice squad last October and made it until December when he was placed on injured reserve. Davis caught a pass for 17 yards in his two games for Houston, one of which he started.

The Texans also allowed defensive back Tristin McCollum to rejoin the active roster. McCollum passed his physical and is no longer on the physically unable to perform list.

Houston also signed long snapper Harrison Elliott, who will provide some relief for Pro Bowl long snapper Jon Weeks.

Report: Texans sign former Colts, Titans WR Chester Rogers

The Houston Texans have signed former Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans wideout Chester Rogers.

The Houston Texans liked what they saw from their workout of Chester Rogers and decided to add him to the roster.

According to Aaron Wilson from the Pro Football Network, the Texans signed the former Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans wideout on Tuesday.

The Texans had a need at slot receiver when second-round pick John Metchie was diagnosed with leukemia in the days leading up to the start of training camp.

Rogers was with the Titans from 2020-21 and didn’t see any time on the active roster until last year. The former 2016 undrafted free agent from Grambling State caught 30 passes for 301 yards and a touchdown through 16 games and two starts.

In his four seasons with the Colts, Rogers generated 111 catches for 1,221 yards and five touchdowns through 53 games, 22 of which he started.