Tag: Elevations

Saints only use one of two practice squad elevations in Week 3

The Saints used only one of their two practice squad elevations for Week 3, adding linebacker Isaiah Stalbird to their active roster against the the Eagles:

The New Orleans Saints used just one of their two available practice squad elevations heading into Week 3’s matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles, adding linebacker Isaiah Stalbird to the active roster.

This is the second week in a row where he has been brought up from the practice squad, and he did make one tackle last week against the Dallas Cowboys while playing 14 snaps on special teams.

Stalbird was a rookie undrafted free agent signing for the Saints this spring after he played 52 games for the South Dakota State Jackrabbits. In those 52 games, he accrued 238 tackles (139 solo, 99 assisted), 18.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 18 pass deflections, 5 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, and an interception.

Prior to that, Stalbird spent two seasons with the Nebraska Cornhuskers, redshirting his freshman season in 2018, and then being a critical special teams player in 2019 appearing in all 12 games and leading the team with 10 special teams tackles (out of his 13 total on the season).

This level of production and versatility is what likely caught the eye of the Saints’ scouting department, and why he ended up remaining with the team, even if it’s on the practice squad. That he’s now been activated for two games so early in the season speaks well to how highly his coaches value him.

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Saints announce practice squad elevations for Week 2

Saints bring up Ugo Amadi and Isaiah Stalbird from the practice squad to the active roster for Week 2

Ahead of their game versus the Dallas Cowboys, the New Orleans Saints are elevating safety Ugo Amadi and linebacker Isaiah Stalbird from the practice squad.

Each week teams are allowed to bring a maximum of two players from the practice squad to the main roster each week. After three elevations, a player has to be signed to the main roster to appear again.

That’s not an imminent future at the moment. It’s only Week 2, and this is the first time either team has been elevated to the active roster this season..

For Stalbird, this will be his first career game. The Saints picked up the linebacker as an undrafted free agent out of South Dakota State. The Saints called up Khaleke Hudson last week before the Browns signed him off the Saints’ practice squad.

Amadi was on last year’s active roster for all 17 games. He’s played safety and slot corner, but it’s unlikely he’ll see much time in those positions against the Cowboys. Like Stalbird, Amadi will see the majority of his snaps on special teams. Marshon Lattimore’s health could push him into getting defensive snaps.

With injuries mounting in the secondary, Saints elevate two practice squad DB’s

With injuries mounting in the secondary, the Saints elevated two practice squad defensive backs for Week 4’s Buccaneers game:

With injuries mounting in the secondary, the New Orleans Saints elevated two practice squad defensive backs for Week 4’s game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Starting free safety Marcus Maye is still away from the team during his three-game suspension, and his backup Jordan Howden was pre-emptively ruled out for Sunday’s game due to a finger injury. Starting cornerback Paulson Adebo is out with a hamstring injury, too.

So here’s what you need to know about the guys helping to fill in for them: Johnathan Abram and Cameron Dantzler Sr.:

Chiefs elevate pair of practice squad players for Super Bowl LVII

The #Chiefs elevated a pair of players from the practice squad ahead of #SuperBowlLVII

The Kansas City Chiefs have made a pair of practice squad elevations ahead of Super Bowl LVII against the Philadelphia Eagles. Just as the team did against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC divisional round, both WR Marcus Kemp and C Austin Reiter have been elevated from the practice squad per the NFL’s daily personnel notice.

Kemp was elevated in each of the past two postseason games, but he was only made active for the AFC Championship Game. He caught a crucial 13-yard pass to keep a touchdown drive alive against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Both Kemp and Reiter were made inactive for the divisional round against the Jaguars.

It’s possible the Chiefs go that route again in Super Bowl LVII, but it’s good to have the options available should something happen ahead of the game. There is no penalty or reason not to elevate players from the practice squad.

It’s possible that Kemp is active for the game given that the Chiefs normally like to carry six active receivers on game day. JuJu Smith-Schuster, Kadarius Toney and Justin Watson are all expected to play in the Super Bowl, but after the AFC title game attrition, they might want to play it safe. Right now, no players carry any game status designations, so they’re pretty healthy. Kemp also plays a key role on special teams for Kansas City.

As for Reiter, he was the team’s starting center in both Super Bowl LIV and Super Bowl LV. Having him available should something go wrong in warm-ups is a smart move.

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Chiefs elevate two practice squad players for Week 5 vs. Raiders

The #Chiefs have officially elevated two players from the practice squad for Week 5 vs. the #Raiders.

The Kansas City Chiefs have made a pair of practice squad elevations ahead of their Week 5 game against the Las Vegas Raiders on “Monday Night Football.”

With Harrison Butker formally ruled out again, the team has elevated K Matthew Wright from the practice squad for the second consecutive week. Last week against the Buccaneers, Wright made all seven of his kicks including two field goals and five extra points. His long field goal attempt was 44 yards, but Dave Toub says this week that the top end of his range is 53 yards.

“I was really pleased (with) the way he handled it,” Toub said of Wright’s performance in Week 4. “He’s got a really good mental aspect – that’s where you find out. He kicked well in practice and stuff, but in the games being able to make really seven field goals is what it comes down to – extra point is a field goal (just) as much. Being able to make all seven in that last game, that was big on a Sunday Night Football game.”

In addition to Wright, the Chiefs also elevated LB Elijah Lee from the practice squad. Lee recovered the forced fumble on the opening kickoff in Week 4’s win over the Buccaneers.

“Elijah Lee is playing outstanding right now for us,” Toub said on Friday.

This is Lee’s third and final practice squad elevation of the year before they’ll have to risk putting him on waivers after a standard elevation.

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Chiefs elevate two practice squad players for Week 2 vs. Chargers

The #Chiefs have officially elevated two players from the practice squad ahead of the team’s Week 2 game against the #Chargers.

The Kansas City Chiefs will have a total of 55 players to choose from for their active game-day roster on “Thursday Night Football” in Week 2 against the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Chiefs have opted to elevate two players from the practice squad ahead of Thursday’s game. With Harrison Butker ruled out from the game with an ankle sprain, Kansas City has chosen to elevate recently-signed K Matt Ammendola from the practice squad. Ammendola has been with the team for just two days, but he got some work with the specialists inside Arrowhead Stadium during practice on Tuesday.

Ammendola appeared in 11 games with the New York Jets last season. In those 11 games, he was 13-for-19 on field goal attempts and 14-for-15 on extra points. On 47 kickoff attempts, Ammendola recorded 27 touchbacks for the Jets.

The Chiefs also chose to bring up CB Dicaprio Bootle from the practice squad. With Trent McDuffie on injured reserve, that means Jaylen Watson will be getting starting snaps. Watson has been one of the key players for Dave Toub’s special teams unit, so the decision to bring up Bootle is likely related to special teams. Bootle can also play nickel corner on defense if injuries were to necessitate it.

Here is a reminder of how the NFL’s practice squad elevations work this season:

“Teams can promote up to two players per week from the practice squad to the active roster via standard elevation (bringing the 53-man roster to 55 players). These players can be elevated three times during the course of the season, reverting to the practice squad the following week. They are not subject to waivers when they revert back to the practice squad. NFL teams must decide to elevate players by 3:00 p.m. CT the day before a game is played.”

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NFL approves unlimited practice squad standard elevations for playoffs

This is good news for several Kansas City Chiefs players who had already used up their two elevations.

The NFL Management Council and NFLPA have agreed to a new rule that will be beneficial to the Kansas City Chiefs during the playoffs.

According to NFL Network reporter Tom Pelissero, the NFL and NFLPA recently agreed to remove the two-game restriction from practice squad standard elevations. Previously, players could only be activated to the 53-man roster from the practice squad twice without those players needing to clear waivers to return to the practice squad. Now, the NFL is allowing practice squad players to be elevated an unlimited number of times during the course of the playoffs.

This new rule will go into effect at the conclusion of Week 17 and the start of the wild card round.

So why will this rule be beneficial for the Chiefs? They already have several players on the practice squad who had exhausted their two standard elevations for the season Players like WR Gehrig Dieter, CB DeAndre Baker and DB Chris Lammons each would be ineligible for standard elevation under the old rule. Should those three players be needed in the playoffs, the team won’t have to risk losing them on waivers or make a move to sign them to the 53-man roster unless absolutely necessary.

Unfortunately, this rule wasn’t in place a few weeks ago. Perhaps it would have influenced the decision of WR Marcus Kemp, who signed with the Miami Dolphins practice squad knowing that he no longer had the ability to be elevated to the Chiefs’ 53-man roster.

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