Tag: Erick Hallett

Lions swap practice squad safeties, add Detroit-area native

Lions swap practice squad safeties, add Detroit-area native Kaevon Merriweather and release Erick Hallett

In a minor move at the bottom of the roster, the Detroit Lions made a swap of safeties on the team’s practice squad.

On the incoming side, Detroit added Kaevon Merriweather to the practice squad. Erick Hallett has now been released from Detroit.

Merriweather has extensive NFL experience on special teams in his two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He led the Buccaneers in special teams tackles as an undrafted rookie in 2023. The Detroit-area native (graduated from Belleville HS) was a college teammate of Lions tight end Sam LaPorta at Iowa. With Ifeatu Melifonwu spending at least four more weeks on injured reserve, the Lions still have a pressing need for safety depth.

Lions release injured WR, add safety to practice squad

The Lions made a couple of moves at the bottom of the roster on Tuesday

The Detroit Lions made a couple of tweaks to the bottom end of the roster on Tuesday.

Detroit released wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith from the injured reserve list. Smith was injured during the preseason and was placed on the I.R. prior to roster cutdowns. The veteran was trying to make the Lions after several injury-plagued years with the New Orleans Saints.

The Lions also tinkerer with the practice squad. Erick Hallett is back on the practice squad after being released from an earlier stint. The team had an opening, so no other move was needed.

Lions fill out practice squad, add former Jaguars safety

Lions fill out practice squad by adding former Jaguars safety Erick Hallett

The Detroit Lions had one open spot on the practice squad after releasing veteran safety CJ Moore earlier on Thursday. They fill the spot with another safety.

The Lions announced they have signed Erick Hallett to the final spot on the practice squad. Hallett, 24, was a sixth-round pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2023 NFL Draft. He played collegiately at Pittsburgh.

Hallett didn’t make the Jaguars as a rookie but spent the season on their practice squad. He was waived again during this week’s roster cutdowns.

Jaguars sign 11 players to reserve/future contracts

The Jaguars made moves on Monday to keep more than half of their practice squad players.

The 2023 season is officially over for the Jacksonville Jaguars and they made their first moves to secure a few players for 2024.

Reserve/future deals, which are typically a minimum-salary contract, don’t count against the team’s salary cap or roster limit until the beginning of the next league year. In layman’s terms, they’re a way to keep practice squad players while roster limits haven’t yet been expanded back to a maximum of 90 players.

On Monday, the Jaguars kept more than half of the players who were on the practice squad at the end of the regular season. While there’s still time for the team to add more players via reserve/future deals, notable omissions for now include running back Snoop Conner, tight end Josh Pederson, and quarterback E.J. Perry.

Instead, these are the 11 players the Jaguars secured Monday, via the NFL’s transaction wire:

Jaguars 2023 roster review: DB Erick Hallett II

The Jaguars hope Erick Hallett’s versatility will make him a valuable addition in the secondary.

The brunt of the offseason is in the books and training camp is still off on the horizon. Join us in the NFL’s dead zone with a player-by-player review of the Jaguars roster ahead of the 2023 season.

When the Jacksonville Jaguars began retooling their defense to fit the vision of new defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell during the 2022 offseason, versatility was a treasured trait.

In former Pittsburgh Panthers safety Erick Hallett II, the Jaguars hope they added a defensive back capable of contributing in more than one spot on the defense.

While the team currently has 11 players listed at cornerback on the roster and seven at safety, Hallett is the only one listed solely as a defensive back. During his collegiate career, Hallett mostly played safety, but he likely projects more as a cornerback in Jacksonville. His skills at both spots could prove useful.

Contract (2023): $750,000 base salary, $38,553 prorated signing bonus, $788,553 cap hit.

Acquired: Jaguars drafted Hallett with the No. 208 overall pick in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL draft.

PFF grades:

  • 79.4 (2022 – PITT)
  • 50.8 (2021 – PITT)
  • 66.1 (2020 – PITT)
  • 60.0 (2019 – PITT)

Statistics:

  • Three interceptions, two forced fumbles, three tackles for loss, 55 tackles (2022)
  • Three interceptions, two forced fumbles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 72 tackles (2021)
  • Two interceptions, two tackles for loss, 30 tackles (2020)
  • 14 tackles (2019)

Highlight:

Quote: “When he steps foot on this field, you can tell it’s football. He’s not bringing any other baggage, anything else from the outside.” – Pittsburgh safeties coach Cory Sanders on Hallett

Calvin Ridley (No. 0) Travis Etienne Jr. (No. 1) Rayshawn Jenkins (No. 2) C.J. Beathard (No. 3) Tank Bigsby (No. 4) Andre Cisco (No. 5)
Chris Claybrooks (No. 6) Zay Jones (No. 7) Logan Cooke (No. 9) Parker Washington (No. 11) James McCourt (No. 12) Christian Kirk (No. 13)
Kendric Pryor (No. 14) Tim Jones (No. 15) Trevor Lawrence (No. 16) Evan Engram (No. 17) Nathan Rourke (No. 18) Sammis Reyes (No. 19)
Daniel Thomas (No. 20) Latavious Brini (No. 21) JaMycal Hasty (No. 22) Foyesade Oluokun (No. 23) Snoop Conner (No. 24) D’Ernest Johnson (No. 25)
Antonio Johnson (No. 26) Divaad Wilson (No. 27) Tevaughn Campbell (No. 29) Montaric Brown (No. 30) Darious Williams (No. 31) Tyson Campbell (No. 32)
Devin Lloyd (No. 33) Gregory Junior (No. 34) Ayo Oyelola (No. 35) Christian Braswell (No. 36) Tre Herndon (No. 37) Qadree Ollison (No. 38)
Jamal Agnew (No. 39) Erick Hallett (No. 40) Josh Allen (No. 41) Andrew Wingard (No. 42) Kaleb Hayes (No. 43) Derek Parish (No. 43)
Travon Walker (No. 44) K’Lavon Chaisson (No. 45) Ross Matiscik (No. 46) De’Shaan Dixon (No. 47) Chad Muma (No. 48) Leonard Taylor (No. 49)
Shaquille Quarterman (No. 50) Ventrell Miller (No. 51) DaVon Hamilton (No. 52) Willie Taylor III (No. 53) DJ Coleman (No. 54) Dequan Jackson (No. 55)
Yasir Abdullah (No. 56) Caleb Johnson (No. 57) Raymond Vohasek (No. 59) Darryl Williams (No. 60) Samuel Jackson (No. 62) Coy Cronk (No. 64)
Chandler Brewer (No. 67) Brandon Scherff (No. 68) Tyler Shatley (No. 69) Cole Van Lanen (No. 70) Walker Little (No. 72) Blake Hance (No. 73)
Cam Robinson (No. 74) Cooper Hodges (No. 75) Anton Harrison (No. 76) Josh Wells (No. 77) Ben Bartch (No. 78) Luke Fortner (No. 79)
Kevin Austin Jr. (No. 80) Seth Williams (No. 81) Elijah Cooks (No. 84) Brenton Strange (No. 85) Gerrit Prince (No. 86) Jaray Jenkins (No. 87)
Oliver Martin (No. 88) Luke Farrell (No. 89) Henry Mondeaux (No. 90) Jordan Smith (No. 92) Tyler Lacy (No. 93) Folorunso Fatukasi (No. 94)
Roy Robertson-Harris (No. 95) Adam Gotsis (No. 96) Nick Thurman (No. 97) Michael Dogbe (No. 98) Jeremiah Ledbetter (No. 99) Brandon McManus
Jacob Harris

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Introducing the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 2023 NFL Draft class

Get to know the 13 players drafted by the Jaguars this year.

The 2023 NFL draft is in the books and the Jacksonville Jaguars added their biggest class ever.

With 13 players — 10 of which came on Day 3 — the Jaguars have a ton of rookies competing for spots on a mostly intact roster that won the AFC South in 2022.

While experts largely predicted that the Jaguars would target defensive backs and pass rushers early, the team instead spent its first three picks on offensive players.

Here’s the baker’s dozen of draftees and links to learn more about each of them:

One play from each draftee that shows what they bring to the Jaguars

What do the newest members of the Jaguars bring to the table? These plays offer a glimpse:

It obviously takes a lot more than one play to evaluate a football player. But sometimes one highlight is all it takes to see the size, speed, strength, athleticism, and skills that someone brings to the field.

In the 2023 NFL draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars added 13 new players to their roster. While some — like former Auburn running back Tank Bigsby and Florida linebacker Ventrell Miller — might be familiar to Jaguars fans, others are new names and faces.

So what do the new members of the Jaguars bring to the table? Here’s one highlight from each draftee that shows what Jacksonville hopes it’s going to get: