Tag: IR

Steelers announce multiple roster moves

The Steelers placed Trenton Thompson on IR and activated Damontae Kazee.

The Pittsburgh Steelers announced a handful of roster moves on Wednesday ahead of this week’s playoff showdown against the Buffalo Bills. First and foremost, the team activated safety Damontae Kazee after serving his three-game suspension.

The team also placed safety Trenton Thompson on IR. Thompson did a nice job filling in with the rash of losses in the Steelers secondary. Pittsburgh also brought back wide receiver Dan Chisena and signed him to the practice squad. To make room on the practice squad, the team released running back Jake Funk.

Pittsburgh won their final three games of the season and got some help from the Tennessee Titans to get into the playoffs. The Steelers not only got Kazee back but should have Minkah Fitzpatrick back as well against the Bills.

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Packers CB Eric Stokes designated for return from IR

Eric Stokes, who missed the last 5 games with a hamstring injury, was designated for return from injured reserve on Monday.

The Green Bay Packers designated cornerback Eric Stokes for return from injured reserve on Monday, opening his 21-day practice window and creating the possibility of him returning to play Sunday night against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Stokes, who missed the Packers’ last five games with a hamstring injury, can now practice with the team for up to three weeks — without counting a spot on the 53-man roster — before he must be activated to roster or sent back to injured reserve. The Packers can activate him at any point during the three-week window.

Stokes injured his hamstring on a special teams snap vs. the Denver Broncos. He missed games against the Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers, Los Angeles Chargers and Detroit Lions. Players on injured reserve must miss a minimum of four games before being eligible for designation to return.

Stokes has played only four special teams — all in Denver — since suffering significant foot and knee injuries last November in a loss to the Detroit Lions.

The Packers could use Stokes down the stretch. Rasul Douglas was traded to the Buffalo Bills at the deadline and Jaire Alexander has battled back and shoulder injuries. Over the last few weeks, the Packers have started rookie Carrington Valentine at one cornerback spot and former practice squader Corey Ballentine at the other. Keisean Nixon remains the slot corner.

If nothing else, the Packers need to see where Stokes is at physically over the final six games and how he fits into the puzzle at cornerback long-term.

Last week, the Packers designated safety Darnell Savage for return from injured reserve but did not activate him in time to play vs. the Detroit Lions. It’s possible both Stokes and Savage could be available for the Packers come Sunday night against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.

Packers TE Luke Musgrave lands on injured reserve, to miss at least 4 games

Packers rookie TE Luke Musgrave will miss at least the next four games after suffering a significant abdomen injury. He was placed on injured reserve Wednesday.

The significant abdomen injury suffered by Green Bay Packers tight end Luke Musgrave during Sunday’s 23-20 win over the Los Angeles Chargers will cost the rookie at least the next four games. The Packers placed Musgrave on injured reserve as part of six roster moves made Wednesday.

Musgrave, the 42nd overall pick in the 2023 draft, will miss games against the Detroit Lions, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He will be eligible to return Dec. 24 against the Carolina Panthers, although it’s unclear at this point if a return to the playing field is possible in 2023.

Musgrave needed to be hospitalized after suffering the injury. He played through the injury Sunday but became aware of the underlying issue Monday.

Musgrave appeared in each of the Packers’ first 10 games and was on the field for 71 percent of the offense’s snaps. He ranks third on the team in targets (45) and receiving yards (341) and second in receptions (33) entering Week 12. He caught 73.3 percent of his targets, averaged 7.7 yards per target and produced five catches of 20 or more yards. He scored his one and only touchdown during a win over the Los Angeles Rams in Week 9.

Without Musgrave, the Packers will turn to rookies Tucker Kraft and Ben Sims to play leading roles at tight end over at least the next four games. Kraft produced a 27-yard catch against the Chargers and has come on as a run blocker. The majority of Sims’ playing time has come as a blocker, but he does have two catches for 14 yards.

The Packers also placed rookie running back Emanuel Wilson on injured reserve. He suffered a shoulder injury against the Chargers.

Packers to place S Darnell Savage (calf) on injured reserve

Darnell Savage is going on IR, per ESPN. The Packers safety will miss at least the next four games.

The Green Bay Packers will place safety Darnell Savage on injured reserve after he aggravated a calf injury on Sunday against the Denver Broncos, per Rob Demovsky of ESPN.

Savage’s injury isn’t season-ending but going on injured reserve means the veteran safety must miss at least four games before he’s eligible to return. The Packers won’t have Savage for games against the Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers and Los Angeles Chargers.

Savage was originally injured during the Packers’ loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Oct. 9. He practiced in a limited capacity all three days last week coming out of the bye and started at safety against the Broncos, but he went down mid-play during the second quarter in Denver and didn’t return.

Savage has been on the field for 344 defensive snaps and 51 special teams snaps this season.

Without Savage, the Packers could start veteran Jonathan Owens or rookie Anthony Johnson Jr. at safety next to Rudy Ford for the next month. The team also has special teamer Dallin Leavitt and Zayne Anderson at safety.

Savage going on injured reserve will clear a roster spot for cornerback Corey Ballentine, who is being signed from the practice squad, per Bill Huber of SI.com.

Injury to Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth creates a problem for his upcoming contract

Pat Freiermuth is headed to IR after suffering a hamstring injury.

On Saturday, the Pittsburgh Steelers announced that starting tight end Pat Freiermuth would be headed to IR due to a hamstring injury that caused him to miss the team’s Week Five game against the Baltimore Ravens. This means Freiermuth will miss this week’s game against the Los Angeles Rams and a minimum of the three games after that.

This means the earliest Freiermuth can return is for the Steelers Week 11 road showdown with the Cleveland Browns.

For Freiermuth, this is less than ideal for a guy who will enter into the final year of his rookie contract at the end of the season. The Steelers typically like to extend their top players a year out from allowing them to hit free agency the following season. Pittsburgh could still offer Freiermuth an extension in the offseason despite the problems he’s had this season. Unfortunately, it won’t be for the kind of money he might want.

In 2022, Freiermuth had his best season with 63 receptions for 732 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Had he been able to build off of that this season, there’s no doubt he would have gotten a big raise in an extension. But even before the injury, Freiermuth was off to a rough start.

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Colts rookie QB Anthony Richardson’s season could be over

The Colts might have to finish the season without Anthony Richardson.

According to NFL reporter Ian Rapoport, the rookie season of Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson Jr. might be over. Richardson suffered a shoulder injury and the Colts placed him on IR but now he could end up having season-ending surgery.

Richardson was off to a strong start in 2023. His raw athleticism is off the charts and his arm talent is elite. Richardson was playing with a ton of confidence but it was clear he opened himself up to far much contact with his style of play.

With Richardson out, the Colts have turned to Gardner Minshew to handle the offense. The Colts selected Richardson with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft.

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Rookie LB Robert Beal Jr. (hamstring) to start season on injured reserve

After re-injuring his hamstring, the rookie fifth round pick will start the season on the injured reserve.

After announcing wide receiver Danny Gray would start the season on the injured reserve, another young member of the San Francisco 49ers will hit the IR to start the 2023 campaign.

On Wednesday, John Lynch announced rookie Robert Beal Jr. would be added to the injured reserve to start the season. Beal Jr. re-injured his hamstring, according to the 49ers general manager.

He’s coming off a hamstring that he re-injured. We thought the best thing for Robert — he’s a guy we really like and are excited to work for, but we got to get that thing right. He qualified for the short-term. He had to make out 53. He’s a guy who showed a lot and we’re thrilled about the prospect of working with him going forward. But, we have to get him back so he’s ready. We will go through that process.

Via @JL_Chapman on Twitter:

The 49ers landed Beal Jr. out of Georgia in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL draft. Beal won two national titles with the Bulldogs at Georgia. Playing alongside several future pros on Geogia’s vaunted defensive line, Beal Jr. recorded 10.5 sacks during his time in Athens.

The 24-year-old linebacker will now miss the first four games of his career on the injured reserve due to a lingering hamstring injury.

With Gray and Beal Jr. hitting the injured reserve, the 49ers are set to bring back veteran defenders Kerry Hyder and Austin Bryant.

This post originally appeared on Niners Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! 

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Commanders place DT Phidarian Mathis on short-term IR

And Tyler Larsen is back.

Shortly after the Washington Commanders finalized their initial 53-man roster yesterday, general manager Martin Mayhew called it “very fluid.”

On separate questions about center Tyler Larsen and fullback/tight end Alex Armah, head coach Ron Rivera and Mayhew hinted at bringing both released players back.

As it turns out, the Commanders had a plan all along. On Wednesday, Washington placed second-year defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis on the short-term reserved/injured list, meaning he will miss at least the first four games of the 2023 season.

In a corresponding move, the Commanders re-signed Larsen. Armah was among the players Washington signed to its practice squad on Wednesday.

It’s another tough break for Mathis, Washington’s second-round pick in 2022. Mathis injured his knee in Week 1 last season after playing only a few snaps and was lost for the season. In the preseason opener against the Cleveland Browns, Mathis injured his calf on the same play that defensive end Chase Young suffered a stinger.

The Commanders have arguably the NFL’s best defensive tackle duo in Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne, backed up by promising second-year DT John Ridgeway. Veterans Efe Obada and James Smith-Williams can also play inside, and the Commanders re-signed Benning Potoa’e to the practice squad.

Larsen is Washington’s third center on the roster, joining Nick Gates and Ricky Stromberg. All three can also play guard. Larsen has started games for Washington the last two seasons.

Packers sign rookie LB Marvin Pierre, place TE Tyler Davis on IR

The Packers signed rookie LB Marvin Pierre to the 90-man roster and placed TE Tyler Davis on injured reserve, ending his season.

The Green Bay Packers signed rookie linebacker Marvin Pierre and placed tight end Tyler Davis on injured reserve on Monday.

Davis tore his ACL during the Packers’ preseason-opening win over the Cincinnati Bengals and will miss the rest of the season.

With an open roster spot, the Packers signed Pierre, who went undrafted out of Kent State in 2023. He spent time earlier this year with the Arizona Cardinals but was released in early June. Pierre (6-2, 222) produced 96 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception over 11 games during his final collegiate season in 2022.

Per PFF, Pierre produced 46 stops and 10 total pressures over 716 snaps for Kent State last season. His 46 stops ranked tied for 30th among all collegiate linebackers. He also missed 14 tackles. On special teams, Pierre was credited with eight tackles but also six more missed tackles.

Pierre’s Relative Athletic Score at linebacker is 9.08 out of 10.0. His draft profile at NFL.com can be found here.

In Pierre, the Packers are getting extra depth and athleticism at linebacker going into the final week of training camp. Depth is light with De’Vondre Campbell nursing an ankle injury. The final week is also a chance to see if Pierre can come in and immediately contribute on Rich Bisaccia’s special teams. A spot on the practice squad could be the prize if Pierre impresses right away.

Pierre will wear No. 54 for the Packers.

Packers activate WR Randall Cobb from injured reserve in time to play vs. Titans

Randall Cobb will be available for the Packers on Thursday night. The team activated the veteran slot receiver from injured reserve.

The Green Bay Packers officially activated wide receiver Randall Cobb from injured reserve, giving the veteran pass-catcher an opportunity to play against the Tennessee Titans on Thursday night at Lambeau Field.

Cobb, 32, missed the last four games with an ankle injury suffered in Week 6 against the New York Jets.

The Packers had an open spot on the 53-man roster, so no corresponding move was required.

Cobb caught 18 passes for 257 yards during the first six games of the 2022 season. He’s been an effective third-down receiver since returning to Green Bay in 2021, giving Matt LaFleur’s offense a valuable weapon against the NFL’s top third-down defense on Thursday night.

The Packers will go into Week 11 with Cobb, Allen Lazard, Sammy Watkins, Christian Watson and Samori Toure at wide receiver. Romeo Doubs is out with an ankle injury.