Tag: Isaac Nauta

Packers signing TE Isaac Nauta to practice squad

The Packers are adding a draft pick of the Lions and a solid blocker at TE to the team’s practice squad.

The Green Bay Packers are adding a recent draft pick of the Detroit Lions and a capable blocker to the practice squad.

According to Matt Schneidman of The Athletic, the Packers are signing tight end Isaac Nauta to the team’s practice squad.

Nauta is a 2019 seventh-round pick of the Lions, who released him last Saturday.

Over 13 regular-season games and 101 offensive snaps with the Lions, Nauta caught three passes for 16 yards. Used mostly as a blocker, he received solid grades at Pro Football Focus as both a pass-blocker and run-blocker the last two seasons.

Of his 101 snaps on offense since entering the NFL, 74 have been blocking snaps.

The Packers could see Nauta as insurance against an injury to Marcedes Lewis, the team’s top blocking tight end, or even a young player they could groom to eventually take over Lewis’ role in Matt LaFleur’s offense.

Nauta was the 224th overall pick in 2019. Kyle Crabbs of The Draft Network described him as an “ace blocker” coming out of Georgia.

The Packers have 16 players on the practice squad, so a move to make room for Nauta is required. It’s possible the team could elevate a player from the practice squad to the active roster to clear a spot.

The Packers play the Lions on Sunday.

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Lions activate Darryl Roberts from IR, sign Frank Herron, and release Marvin Hall, Isaac Nauta

The Detroit Lions have activated CB Darryl Roberts from IR, signed DT Frank Herron, and released WR Marvin Hall, TE Isaac Nauta on Saturday.

The Detroit Lions announced a series of roster moves Saturday, activating cornerback Darryl Roberts from injured reserve, re-signing defensive tackle Frank Herron (who was previously on the practice squad), confirming the previously reported release of wide receiver Marvin Hall as well as releasing tight end Isaac Nauta.

Additionally, the Lions have elevated undrafted rookie safety Bobby Price to the active roster for Week 13. Assuming he is active — if only for special teams purposes — Price will be making his NFL debut on Sunday.

Roberts was injured in the Lions’ Week 8 game versus the Indianapolis Colts, was placed on injured reserve, and began practicing this week. During his seven games played in 2020, Roberts started one game — Week 4 versus the New Orleans Saints — accounted for 20 tackles, one interception, and three pass breakups.

Capable of playing in the slot and on the outside, Roberts is returning to the field at just the right time, as the Lions lost Desmond Trufant to IR earlier in the week and Jeff Okudah was ruled OUT on Friday.

The Lions will enter this game with Amani Oruwariye and Justin Coleman starting, but when they shift to a base nickel, it will likely be Roberts who takes the field. Mike Ford — who recently cleared concussion protocols — will likely act as the Lions’ fourth option.

Herron has been on the Lions practice squad most of the season but was elevated to the active roster twice in Weeks 10 and 11. Having exhausted his elevation eligibility, the only way the Lions could get him back on the field this season was to sign him to the active roster.

With Danny Shelton placed on IR earlier in the week, and Da’Shawn Hand ruled OUT on Friday the Lions need Herron for depth, despite also signing Kevin Strong to the active roster earlier in the week.

The Lions will likely start Nick Williams at the 3T and John Penisini at nose tackle, with Herron and Strong backing up both spots.

Last night, it was reported that the Lions were planning on releasing Hall in order to make room for younger players on the roster and that likely means more playing time for Quintez Cephus — potentially even a starting role while Kenny Golladay remains out.

Nauta is being released in favor of Hunter Bryant for the second time this season, the other happening at roster cutdowns. With other areas of the roster needing attention, the Lions could not afford to keep a fourth tight end at this time and the team clearly prefers the talented undrafted rookie as the third option.

Price being elevated likely covers the Lions in two areas. First, he’s a highly athletic young player they will get a chance to get an extended look at in order to determine his long-term potential. Second, he will give the Lions special teams depth as safety, as Tracy Walker is questionable for this game. Walker’s wife Bella just delivered the couple’s first child, and Lions historically allow their player’s paternity leave.

Week 9 snap counts: Lions went big up front to stop the run and it didn’t work

Reviewing the Detroit Lions snap counts from the Week 9 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

The Detroit Lions went big in order to stop the Minnesota Vikings rushing attack, and it didn’t work — at all.

Going bigger up front was the perfect post-bye adjustment and the Lions found immediate success against the Jaguars and Falcons running games, but the past two weeks the strategy has fallen flat.

This raises several concerns, including, what do they do now?

The Lions have to take a hard look at what’s happing up front because if they don’t fix it soon, it could be curtains on the season.

Detroit Lions sign Isaac Nauta to active roster, release Bo Scarbrough

The Detroit Lions announced they have re-signed tight end Isaac Nauta to the active roster and released running back Bo Scarbrough in a corresponding move.

The Detroit Lions announced they have re-signed tight end Isaac Nauta to the active roster and released running back Bo Scarbrough in a corresponding move.

After spending his rookie season on the 53-man roster, Nauta opened this season on the practice squad. Each week, the Lions have elected to protect Nauta from being poached by another team, and over the last two games, they have elevated him to the active roster — both new rules put in place due to COVID-19.

While the new rules have allowed Nauta to stay busy in 2020, he has exhausted his elevation eligibility — players are only allowed to be elevated twice — and with the Lions desire to keep him involved in the Lions offense, they needed to sign him to the active roster in order to have him available on game days.

After yesterday’s announcement that the Lions were bringing back Jonathan Williams, — who is still working his way through the onboarding process and should join the team next week — it was obvious a shakeup was coming in the running backs room.

Scarbrough spent most of the season on injured reserve, but was cleared for action last week, and elevated to the active roster. Less than a day later, he was declared a healthy scratch on game day, raising some concerns about his involvement moving forward. Now, a week later, he is released to make room for Nauta.

If Scarbrough clears waivers — which no Lions’s running back has done this year — it’s very likely he will be brought back and placed on the Lions practice squad.

One other housekeeping note: with Nauta being signed off the practice squad, a spot opened up and the Lions filled it with defensive tackle Albert Huggins, who is now in his third stint with the team.

Detroit Lions protect TE Isaac Nauta and CB Dee Virgin in Week 8

The Detroit Lions have elected to only protect tight end Isaac Nauta and cornerback Dee Virgin in Week 8.

The Detroit Lions have elected to only protect tight end Isaac Nauta and cornerback Dee Virgin in Week 8, mirroring a pattern they established at the beginning of the season. The duo was also protected in Week 7.

It’s another week where the team could have protected more but chose only to keep Nauta and Virgin from the potential of being signed away by another team.

One note on Nauta: he cannot be elevated to the active roster on game day again this year. The NFL limits a player to just two games where they are elevated from the practice squad. If the Lions want Nauta to play, they will need to sign him to the active roster and make a corresponding move. The team clearly values Nauta’s presence, but he won’t play again unless he’s signed to the active 53-man roster.

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Detroit Lions elevate TE Isaac Nauta to the active roster for Week 7

The Detroit Lions announced they have elevated tight end Isaac Nauta to the active roster for Week 7.

The Detroit Lions announced they have elevated tight end Isaac Nauta from the practice squad to the active roster for Week 7.

This is the second time in as many weeks Nauta has found his way onto the 53-man roster, playing 18 snaps on offense in Week 6 with no statistical production — which isn’t overly surprising as he is mainly utilized in a blocking capacity.

Being able to elevate a practice squad player to the active roster is a new rule for 2020, due to COVID-19, but there are some important details to keep in mind.

After Nauta plays in the game on Sunday, he will then revert back to the Lions practice squad without having to clear waivers. But moving forward, if the Lions wish to elevate him to the active roster again, the rule has some stipulations:

“No player may be activated under this rule for more than two games per season, either regular-season or postseason games,” per ESPN’s Dan Graziano. “If a player has already been elevated twice under this rule, and the team wants to add him to the roster, it must terminate his practice-squad contract and sign him to an NFL contract, as has been the case with practice-squad players in years past.”

So, while Nauta will return to the practice squad after this week’s game, if the Lions wish to use Nauta in another game this season, he would have to be signed to the active roster.

Detroit Lions elect to protect TE Isaac Nauta and CB Dee Virgin in Week 7

The Detroit Lions have declared the practice squad players they wish to protect in Week 7 and they include tight end Isaac Nauta and cornerback/gunner Dee Virgin.

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The Detroit Lions have declared the practice squad players they wish to protect in Week 7 and they include tight end Isaac Nauta and cornerback/gunner Dee Virgin.

Nauta and Virgin have been protected players for the Lions every week in 2020 and each has been elevated to the active roster for one game — Virgin in Week 2 versus the Arizona Cardinals and Nauta in Week 6 versus the Jacksonville Jaguars. Ironically, those are the two games the Lions have won this season.

Despite having the option to protect up to four practice squad players each week, this is the second week in a row the Lions have protected fewer than the maximum — in Week 6 they only protected three players.

Last week, in addition to Nauta and Virgin, the Lions protected quarterback David Blough, but since then, Blough has been signed to the active roster, and the Lions elected to leave his protection spot open.

The only other players the Lions have used a protection label on are running back Jonathan Williams — who has since been released — and running back Kerrith Whyte — who is currently on the practice squad injured reserve’s list.

Lions make series of roster moves ahead of Week 6 matchup

The Detroit Lions have made a series of roster moves ahead of their Week 6 matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Detroit Lions have made a series of roster moves ahead of their Week 6 matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The biggest move is the return of starting guard Joe Dahl, who was activated from injured reserve and placed on the 53-man roster. His return will allow the Lions to potentially trot out their preferred starting five offensive linemen, while also having coverage at center if Frank Ragnow is unable to play. Ragnow is currently listed as questionable, but the fact that he was not downgraded to out today is a solid sign he will get a chance to test his groin in pre-game and could still potentially play.

The Lions have also signed quarterback David Blough off of their practice squad and placed him on the active roster. It’s not totally clear why the Lions felt the need to make this move at this time, as the Lions have yet to use Chase Daniel for a single snap so far this season, but it’s possible another team tried to poach him off the practice squad and the Lions offered to sign him to keep him in Detroit.

Update: Chris Burke of The Athletic confirmed our speculations that Blough was indeed offered a contract from the Dallas Cowboys and that led to the Lions signing him.

To make room for Dahl and Blough, the Lions placed rookie tight end Hunter Bryant on injured reserve on Friday and released cornerback Chris Jones on Saturday in corresponding moves.

Additionally, the Lions elected to take advantage of a new COVID-19 rule for 2020, and have elevated tight end Isaac Nauta from the practice squad to the active roster. Nauta will be allowed to play on Sunday — a move that makes sense with only two other tight ends on the roster — and following the game, he will revert to the Lions practice squad and will not be subject to waivers.

Detroit Lions protect 3 practice squad players in Week 6

According to Tuesday’s NFL transaction wire, the Detroit Lions have elected to only protect three practice squad players in Week 6, quarterback David Blough, tight end Isaac Nauta, and cornerback/gunner Dee Virgin.

According to Tuesday’s NFL transaction wire, the Detroit Lions have elected to only protect three practice squad players in Week 6, quarterback David Blough, tight end Isaac Nauta, and cornerback/gunner Dee Virgin.

Blough, Nauta, and Virgin have been protected every available week this season, so it’s no surprise they ended up with this designation again, but with the option to protect a fourth player not taken, it does veer from what they have done in past weeks.

In previous weeks, the Lions have opted to protect a running back as their fourth option, choosing Jonathan Williams in Week 1 and Kerrith Whyte in each week after. But with Whyte being placed on the practice squad injured reserve, the Lions didn’t name another player.

At this time, it’s unclear if it’s possible for the Lions to add another protection label later — or if the Lions would want to at all — as the rule only indicates teams “may designate” up to four players “after 4:00 pm EST on the Tuesday of a game week” but doesn’t suggest a close to the window.

The Lions are not alone in protecting less than the maximum allowed, as the Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Washington Football Team also protected three or fewer players.

Lions keep the same foursome protected on the practice squad as Week 2

The Lions have been very consistent in who they protect on the practice squad

Being on an NFL practice squad often comes with inherent job insecurity. But for three members of the Detroit Lions 16-man practice squad, the team has valued them enough to protect them from being poached by other teams in all three weeks of the 2020 NFL season to date.

Just as they did in Week 2, the Lions protected the following four players:

  • QB David Blough
  • RB Kerrith Whyte
  • TE Isaac Nauta
  • CB/Gunner Dee Virgin

Blough, Nauta and Virgin were also all protected in Week 1. Whyte took Jonathan Williams’ spot as the protected RB in Week 2. Williams was released from Detroit’s practice squad on Tuesday.

The protecting of practice squad members is a new wrinkle in the roster construction for 2020. All the practice players are subject to waivers following Sunday’s game, but the Lions can then protect four of them from being signed by another team after Tuesday’s waiver deadline.

Thus far the claiming off waivers of practice squad players has been almost nonexistent. Not a single player who was on a practice squad in Week 2 was tabbed in the claim period this week, per the NFL’s transaction wire.