Tag: Devin Asiasi

Titans signing TE Devin Asiasi to the practice squad

The Titans are reportedly adding a tight end to their practice squad.

The Tennessee Titans are reportedly adding a tight end to their practice squad in the wake of their Week 16 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

According to NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe, the Titans are signing free-agent tight end Devin Asiasi to the practice squad.

A former third-round pick of the New England Patriots in the 2020 NFL draft, Asiasi has played in 22 games during his career, tallying four receptions for 44 yards and one touchdown.

After two seasons in New England, Asiasi landed with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2022, where he played in 12 games and totaled two catches for five yards. He has not played a snap during the 2023 campaign.

The Titans have been dealing with injuries at the position of late, with Josh Whyle and Trevon Wesco both missing time in the last few weeks.

Asiasi is the second tight end Tennessee has on the practice squad, along with Thomas Odukoya. The Titans also have Chig Okonkwo and Kevin Rader on the active roster.

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Browns add Devin Asiasi among 4 practice squad roster moves

The Browns make a handful of practice squad moves…

The Cleveland Browns enter Week 4 with the chance to see their record soar to the heights of 3-1 if they can take down the Baltimore Ravens. The success they have seen, however, will not stop them from continuing to churn the bottom of their roster and the practice squad every week. To that point, the Browns had six players in for a workout at the end of last week, including former third round tight end Devin Asiasi.

And now, as we sit five days from their game against the Ravens, the Browns have made two signings to their practice squad, resulting in two players getting the axe from their reserve unit as well. We saw this all of last year as well, as the Browns frequently tinkered with their practice squad as the season ticked along.

Here are the four moves the Browns made to their practice squad as a monstrous Ravens week gets underway in Cleveland.

Browns bring TE Devin Asiasi, WR Shi Smith, and more in for workouts on Friday

The Browns hosted 6 for workouts yesterday.

As they do every week, the Cleveland Browns brought in six players for a workout on the heels of their Week 3 matchup against the Tennessee Titans. The headliners of this week’s batch of tryouts are tight end Devin Asiasi and wide receiver Shi Smith.

Asiasi, of course, is a former third round selection of the New England Patriots. He lasted less than two years in New England before he was released and signed by the Cincinnati Bengals. Asiasi managed to rack up just five yards on two catches in 2022 for the Browns’ little brother.

Smith is the other interesting name, as a former sixth round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft of the Carolina Panthers after an illustrious career with the South Carolina Gamecocks. Appearing in all 17 games for the Panthers a year ago, Smith racked up 296 yards and two touchdowns on 22 catches.

Here is the full list of players the Browns had in for a workout on Friday as they look to continue to find bottom of the roster and practice squad-worthy players.

Patriots salary cap: Tracking New England’s $18 million in dead money

Here’s where the Patriots’ dead money situation stands ahead of the 2023 season.

The New England Patriots have made it past June 1, which means the team’s salary will be less impacted by any trades or contract releases for the 2023 season.

When it comes to dead money, the Patriots are sitting at the middle of the pack in the NFL, mostly due to all of the money they had tied up in former tight end Jonnu Smith’s contract.

Dead cap is money or any guaranteed salary still being paid to players that were moved from the roster. The Patriots are currently sitting at $18,174,272 in dead money, per Over The Cap.

Here are nine former Patriots players eating up a portion of the team’s salary cap ahead of the 2023 season:

Bengals TE Devin Asiasi set to make debut vs. Jets

The Bengals have to lean into depth at TE after key injuries.

The Cincinnati Bengals now have a next-man-up approach to the tight end position with Drew Sample off the board for what could be the entire season due to a knee injury.

Cincinnati will lean on Mitchell Wilcox as the immediate backup behind starter and pass-catching threat Hayden Hurst.

But Week 3 against the New York Jets should also mark the debut of Devin Asiasi, who was one of three notable waiver claims by the Bengals as the league cut down to 53-man rosters.

Tight ends coach James Casey liked Asiasi during the 2020 draft, so it’s no shock he’s not too worried about the upcoming debut.

“He’s one of those well-rounded guys I like. He can run routes and catch it as well as block. You can put him in the game and he can do more than one thing,” Casey said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “He’s smart and he cares about it, which is the biggest thing. I think he’ll surprise some people with his speed and movement.”

As for Asiasi? He’s loving what he sees from Joe Burrow and the overall culture in the locker room: “Good kid. Confident kid. All these guys rally to him, so that’s a real good thing. The thing I really like about these guys and this team is they all seem to look out for each other, help each other, in the tight end room, the special teams room, whatever it is.”

The Bengals might not lean on Asiasi all that much on Sunday, but he’s the first of the three waiver claims to break into playing time and perhaps the one with the biggest chance to earn even more snaps, quickly.

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Bengals excited to develop TE Devin Asiasi after waiver claim

The Bengals have plans — and an interesting comparison — for TE Devin Asiasi.

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From the sounds of it, the Cincinnati Bengals were a little surprised to see they landed three waiver claims after cutdowns.

One of those was at tight end, where they landed former Patriots third-round pick Devin Asiasi. His arrival, at least in part, played a role in free agent O.J. Howard instead signing with the Texans.

But if the Bengals are a bit miffed about that they sure aren’t showing it. In fact, tight ends coach James Casey threw out an interesting comparison while talking up the move.

“He’s a young player who’s got ability and talent. Still a little bit inexperienced, but watching him on film, he can block the tight end,” Casey said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “It’s not like (C.J.) Uzomah is a super flashy guy, but he’s making eight million because he’s smart and can block … The guys you can trust to block are really valuable and you look at it, there’s something like 15 tight ends drafted, there’s not a lot of guys out there.”

Asiasi arrives as immediate depth behind Drew Sample and Mitchell Wilcox at the spot (the same thing Howard would have done). But it’s pretty interesting to hear coaches already throw out Uzomah’s name as a reference point. Uzomah was a fifth-rounder in 2015 who didn’t play all that much his first few seasons, either.

We’re perhaps a long ways off from seeing Asiasi contribute, as he likely won’t even be active for Week 1. But this is the sort of long-term thinking that eventually pays off for teams.

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Ian Rapoport updates O.J. Howard to Bengals after Devin Asiasi waiver claim

Here’s the latest on O.J. Howard to the Bengals.

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The Cincinnati Bengals were reportedly interested in signing big-name free agent O.J. Howard. But Wednesday’s waiver claim of tight end Devin Asiasi threw a proverbial wrench in the apparent plans.

Potentially, at least.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport during a television appearance, the Bengals still want to add Howard. That came after Bengals head coach Zac Taylor told reporters on scene that there were no more planned transactions for the day, per Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic.

Meaning, Howard could still sign tomorrow. He’s in the building and doing the routine things like taking a physical. The addition of Asiasi does make it more complex though, as adding a fourth tight end might mean losing a player at another position. That, or they have plans to throw one of, if not both Drew Sample and Mitchell Wilcox on injured reserve.

Either way, the latest update says the Bengals and Howard could still come to an agreement as early as Thursday.

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TE Devin Asiasi is the only former Patriot claimed on waivers

Devin Asiasi is the lone Patriot claimed on waivers.

Former New England Patriots tight end Devin Asiasi has a new home after being claimed on waivers by the Cincinnati Bengals on Wednesday afternoon.

Catching passes from an elite quarterback in Joe Burrow with the defending AFC champions isn’t a bad place to end up for the former third-round draft pick.

According to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, Asiasi was actually present at Gillette Stadium ahead of the waiver news with the intention of joining the Patriots’ practice squad. Well, those plans are clearly dead in the water now with the 25-year-old former UCLA standout set to bid farewell to the team that drafted him before joining the Bengals.

It’s worth noting that Asiasi was the only former Patriots player claimed on waivers, which means there are a slew of other talented players that could potentially return on the practice squad.

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Bengals claim TE Devin Asiasi on waiver wire

The Bengals make a move on the waiver wire.

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Despite sitting 31st in the official waiver wire order, the Cincinnati Bengals managed to find a guy they wanted by claiming tight end Devin Asiasi.

A third-round pick in 2020 by the New England Patriots, Asiasi only caught two passes with one touchdown during his time in Foxboro.

Considered undersized at 6’3″, Asiasi still brings some of that versatility the Bengals will love in the offense.

The news comes on the heels of a report revealing the Bengals also intend to sign former first-round pick O.J. Howard at tight end, too. Depth at the position was one of the biggest red flags and the team has quickly moved to address it.

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Patriots waiving former third-round draft pick Devin Asiasi

Patriots are waiving Devin Asiasi.

The New England Patriots have started their spree of cuts ahead of Tuesday’s deadline by reportedly waiving tight end Devin Asiasi.

It’s a move that followed not long after the team’s decision to waive Dalton Keene as well. Both tight ends were taken in the third-round of the 2020 NFL draft in an effort to boost the position, which has become a staple for the franchise over the years.

Asiasi was projected to be third on the depth chart behind Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith this season. But given his injury history and overall struggles to catch on with the offense, the team has decided to move on.

In two seasons with the Patriots, Asiasi has only mustered two receptions for 39 yards and one touchdown. Coach Bill Belichick likely already saw the writing on the wall last offseason when he made the splurge on both Henry and Smith to join the roster.

This was just the first of many moves for the Patriots ahead of the roster cut deadline set for 4 p.m. ET.

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