Pittsburgh Steelers sign S Jalen Elliott to practice squad

The Steelers added depth at a painfully thin position.

We knew a signing was coming from the moment Damontae Kazee was suspended for the rest of the season. The Pittsburgh Steelers are painfully thin at the defensive back position with Minkah Fitzpatrick out (again) for an undetermined length of time and Keanu Neal and Elijah Riley on injured reserve.

To address that need, Pittsburgh signed safety Jalen Elliott to their practice squad today. The 25-year-old journeyman, who was with the Steelers in camp and also part of their practice squad early this season, has spent time with the Detroit Lions, New England Patriots and Las Vegas Raiders.

Elliott played eight games in 2021, with one start, and recorded 12 tackles.

On Monday, Mike Tomlin expressed optimism that Riley could come off injured reserve this week. Expect their depth to be tested with Miles Killebrew and Trenton Thompson as the Steelers host the surging Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday.

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Raiders waive two to make room for undrafted free agent signees

Raiders waive two to make room for UDFA signees

Saturday, immediately following the draft, in which the Raiders added nine players, they went about signing undrafted free agents. By the time all the reports came in as to who the Raiders were signing, they were over the 90-player limit. So, Monday, they announced they had waived to players.

Getting waived to make room are safety Jalen Elliott and tackle Sebastian Gutierrez.

Elliott appeared in eight games with the Lions in 2021.

Gutierrez was an undrafted rookie for the Raiders out of Minot State last season. He was called up for one game last season, seeing two special teams snaps.

Both players had spent time on the Raiders’ practice squad last season and were brought back on reserve/future deals in January.

These cuts bring the roster, with draft selections, to 80, which means they will add as many as 10 undrafted rookies. Which, as it happens, is exactly how many showed up in our UDFA tracker.

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Patriots slim down roster ahead of next deadline with two cuts

The Patriots are making cuts ahead of Tuesday’s roster deadline.

The New England Patriots are making moves ahead of the next deadline of league-wide roster cuts on Tuesday. Per ESPN’s Mike Reiss, the team waived defensive backs Jalen Elliott and Devin Hafford on Saturday.

NFL teams are required to cut their rosters down to 80 players by the August 23 deadline.

Elliott went undrafted and spent a couple of seasons with the Detroit Lions before signing with the Patriots in early August. The 24-year-old safety faced long odds of making the roster given the considerable amount of talent the Patriots already have at that position.

It was always going to be an uphill battle.

Hafford didn’t find much better luck at cornerback. The 24-year-old undrafted rookie free agent was actually signed by the Patriots back on May 9 before being released on May 16. He was then re-signed on August 14 for another look, but his stay was even shorter than the first time.

This is only the beginning of a slew of moves on the horizon with the team expected to cut down to a 53-man roster by August 30.

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Every Notre Dame player currently on an NFL training camp roster

Lots of former Irish talent in the NFL

Part of being an alumnus of a supremely successful collegiate football is seeing them getting an opportunity at the next level. For Notre Dame, the list of former players getting their shot in the NFL is large, very large. Find out below every former Irish star (in alphabetical order) and which NFL team they are with in training camp.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeFChen

Lions waive two more players in advance of rookie minicamp

The Lions have now waived 8 players this week

The Detroit Lions entered NFL draft weekend with the most players under contract of any team two weeks ago. Now comes the process of trimming the roster to create room to add potential upgrades.

The Lions parted ways with two more players on Thursday morning, the dawn of the team’s rookie minicamp. Wide receiver Javon McKinley and safety Jalen Elliott were waived by Detroit, the team announced in a press release.

Both were undrafted free agent rookies in 2021. Elliott played in eight games and saw action on 92 defensive snaps. McKinley bounced between the waiver wire and practice squad all season, never appearing in a game.

Detroit has now waived eight players this week.

Lions re-sign LB Alex Anzalone, 3 others

The Detroit Lions re-sign LB Alex Anzalone and 3 others on the brink of free agency

One of the Detroit Lions’ primary defensive starters from the 2021 season is coming back for another go-around. Linebacker Alex Anzalone has re-signed with the Lions prior to the onset of free agency.

The team announced the re-signing on Monday just before the legal tampering period for free agents begins. Anzalone was scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent. He started 14 games for the Lions in his first season in Detroit, coming to the team with head coach Dan Campbell and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn from the New Orleans Saints.

Anzalone struggled early in the season but his play perked up once the Lions jettisoned LB Jamie Collins. The 27-year-old wore the green dot as the defensive playcaller.

The Lions also announced they officially re-signed safety C.J. Moore, safety Jalen Elliott and linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton. Terms of the new deals are not yet known.

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Lions place S Jalen Elliott on reserve/COVID-19 list

Elliott is the seventh Lions DB to go onto the reserve/COVID-19 list in the last week

There are more COVID-19 issues circulating around the Detroit Lions. The team has placed safety Jalen Elliott on the reserve/COVID-19 list after Thursday’s round of testing at the Lions training facility in Allen Park.

Elliott becomes the seventh defensive back to go onto the list since Monday. He is the 10th Lions player placed on reserve/COVID-19 status.

Because of the outbreak, the Lions were already placed in enhanced protocols by the league. Those include no in-person meetings, mandatory mask-wearing while indoors and social distancing emphasis.

Elliott is coming off his first career start. Now in his second NFL season, the free agent from Notre Dame was added to the active roster from the practice squad in November. He has previously been on the reserve/COVID-19 list twice since joining the Lions in 2020, per Justin Rogers of the Detroit News.

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Former Notre Dame player pays tribute to Oxford High School hero

RIP Tate. The world could use more like you. #hero

Jalen Elliott is a former Notre Dame captain and now a member of the Detroit Lions after being signed to their active roster in November.  Elliott wears number-42 for the Lions and changed things up a bit as he entered Ford Field on Sunday.

Tate Myre was one of the four students killed in the Oxford High School (Michigan) shooting last week.  Myre was a junior at Oxford and a star on the football team who happened to wear 42.  He died heroically as he tried to save classmates from harm.

In a small but kind gesture, Elliott wore his No. 42 jersey to Ford Field Sunday but with a slight change.  Instead of his last name on the back it had “MYRE” across the back.

A kind move by Elliott, certainly.  The Lions winning their first game of the season was a positive for the story as well.

Jim Harbaugh also spoke about Myre on Saturday, noting how Michigan’s 42 points in the Big Ten championship game felt special.

Without getting too political I would just like to say that the world could use more people like Tate Myre.  The young man had his whole life ahead of him and died saving others from an entirely senseless act.

The young man died a hero.

Related:

Former Notre Dame tight end scores first NFL touchdown in Lions win

40 former Notre Dame players named to NFL rosters to start 2021

Notre Dame coaching staff tracker

Lions sign S Jalen Elliott, add 2 players to practice squad

The Detroit Lions sign S Jalen Elliott, add 2 players to the practice squad on a busy Tuesday

The Detroit Lions worked quickly to fill the roster spot created by the release of veteran tight end Darren Fells. Detroit signed safety Jalen Elliott from the team’s practice squad to the active 53-man roster to take Fells’ place.

Elliott is in his second season with the Lions, nearly all of which has been spent on the practice squad. He played 24 snaps on defense as a practice squad elevation in the Week 8 loss to the Eagles.

In addition to signing Elliott off the practice squad, the Lions also added two players back onto the unit. Tight end Nick Eubanks and wide receiver Travis Jonsen signed to the practice squad in Detroit on Tuesday. Eubanks is an undrafted rookie from Michigan who has spent time with the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles. Jonsen is in his second NFL season and was last with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Neither has played in a regular season game.

Lions activate DE Da’Shawn Hand in a series of roster moves

Lions activate DE Da’Shawn Hand in a series of roster moves that also includes elevating two players from the practice squad

The Detroit Lions made some roster moves in advance of Sunday’s Week 8 matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles. The most significant of those moves is the return of defensive end Da’Shawn Hand to the active roster.

The Lions activated Hand from the injured reserve list, where he has been since the start of the season. Hand was designated for return with his ongoing groin injury earlier this month and he came through practices in good enough shape to earn his way back onto the 53-man roster.

In addition to Hand, safety Jalen Elliott and tight end Brock Wright will also be in uniform on Sunday when the Lions host the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 8. Elliott and Wright were elevated from the practice squad to the active list. It’s the second week in a row for each player.

Detroit also brought back defensive lineman Eric Banks to the practice squad, releasing CB Shakur Brown to make room. Banks was waived from the active roster during the week to help create the space for Hand to return.

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