Lions cut 5 players to make room for the UDFA class

Lions cut 5 players to make room for the UDFA class, including waiving one player with an injury settlement

No team carried more players on the 90-man roster than the Detroit Lions did entering the 2022 NFL draft weekend. As a result, the team has been limited in the pursuit of undrafted free agents. That has now been rectified.

The Lions waived five players on Tuesday.

  • LB Tavante Beckett
  • EDGE Rashod Berry
  • CB Parnell Motley
  • TE Matt Sokol
  • TE Jared Pinkney, who was waived with an injury settlement

None of the players who were waived were considered more than longshots to make the final 53-man roster. Beckett did show some ability on special teams as an undrafted rookie in 2021.

Creating those vacancies on the roster places the Lions at 85 players on the roster, counting the spots committed for the draft class.

Lions signed TE Jared Pinkney off Rams’ practice squad

The Lions continue to collect talent from the Rams, signing TE Jared Pinkney off their practice squad

Brad Holmes and the Detroit Lions like collecting talent from the Los Angeles Rams. After already adding several players who once suited up for the Rams – Jared Goff, Josh Reynolds, Michael Brockers, KhaDarel Hodge – the Lions have added another.

They signed tight end Jared Pinkney off the Rams’ practice squad, adding him to their 53-man roster. He was on the Lions’ practice squad in September, so this is his second stint. T.J. Hockenson is on injured reserve, so Detroit could use some tight end depth. The Rams have needed to dig deep at tight end in recent weeks, too, after missing Tyler Higbee for two games due to COVID-19 and losing Johnny Mundt to a torn ACL earlier this season.

Pinkney went undrafted out of Vanderbilt in 2020 and landed with the Falcons initially before bouncing around between practice squads.

Lions sign LB Curtis Bolton, TE Jared Pinkney in flurry of roster moves

Curtis Bolton, Jared Pinkney and Jashon Cornell are now all on the 53-man roster after a plethora of moves on Tuesday

It was a very busy day on the NFL’s transaction wire on Tuesday around the league. The Detroit Lions contributed their fair share of roster moves to the log.

To sum it up briefly, the Lions:

Signed LB Curtis Bolton and TE Jared Pinkney to the active 53-man roster

Activated DE Jashon Cornell from the reserve/non-football injury list

Signed WR Juwan Green and TE Ross Travis to the practice squad

Placed LB Josh Woods on injured reserve

Placed TE Brock Wright on the reserve/COVID-19 list

Released CB Chris Williamson from the practice squad

Bolton comes up from the Lions’ own practice squad. He’s played over 30 snaps on special teams as a practice squad elevation the last two weeks. The inside backer will take the place of Woods, who started in Week 14 before getting hurt in the Week 15 matchup against Arizona. His season is over due to his neck injury.

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Pinkney was signed off the Los Angeles Rams’ practice squad to the active 53-man roster. He did spend three weeks in September on the Lions practice squad before emigrating to the Rams.

With Wright going on the reserve/COVID-19 list and the earlier move sending Shane Zylstra to the injured reserve, Pinkney is the only tight end on the active roster and projects to start against the Seahawks in Week 16. He is in his second NFL season as an undrafted free agent from Vanderbilt.

Perhaps the most eye-catching move is Cornell. A 2020 7th-round pick from Ohio State, Cornell has been on the field for just four snaps in two seasons. He’s battled injuries, a three-game NFL suspension and recently the lengthy stint on the NFI list. Cornell flashed quite a bit of pass-rush potential in the summer of 2021 when he was healthy.

Lions swap out recent practice squad moves

Javon McKinley is back again amongst the Lions’ practice squad moves

Monday’s transaction notification from the Detroit Lions required some careful reading. It was easy to do a double-take and wonder if they mistakenly sent out the same press release that they did over the weekend.

It wasn’t the same, alas. Monday’s practice squad moves were the exact opposite of the ones that went down on Saturday.

On Saturday, the Lions added long snapper Beau Brinkley and punter Lac Edwards to the practice squad and released wide receiver Javon McKinley and tight end Jared Pinkney. Monday’s move brought back McKinley and Pinkney and spelled the end for the brief tenures of Brinkley and Edwards.

The moves on Saturday were made as insurance against a COVID-19 situation. With regular kicker Austin Seibert out due to COVID, the Lions were careful to have backups at the ready. Now that they weren’t needed, the team moved on from the veteran specialists and brought back the two young receivers.

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Lions elevate K Ryan Santoso and shuffle the practice squad roster

The Lions made quite a few special teams moves on the practice squad after elevating Santoso, who can both punt and kick

Ryan Santoso’s wild ride in the 2021 season continues. The Lions elevated Santoso from the team’s practice squad for Sunday’s Week 3 battle with the Baltimore Ravens.

Detroit used the standard elevation for Santoso, who can also serve as a punter. Every team can elevate up to two players from the practice squad each week, though the Lions only elevated Santoso this week.

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Santoso was a member of the New York Giants through the first part of the offseason. The Giants traded the third-year pro to Carolina the day before the final preseason game. The Panthers subsequently cut Santoso after Week 1, when he was perfect in Carolina’s win over the Jets.

In Week 2, he was on the Tennessee Titans practice squad and inactive. The Lions snagged him to the Detroit practice squad after the Titans let him go after Week 2. Now he’s up on the active roster for the Lions in Week 3.

In other Lions practice squad movement, the team swapped in two new players and dropped two others.

Coming in:

Long snapper Beau Brinkley

Punter Lachlan Edwards (Lac)

No longer with the team:

Wide receiver Javon McKinley

Tight end Jared Pinkney

Brinkley and Edwards each tried out for the Lions on Friday, along with another long snapper. Brinkley, 31, was the long snapper for the Titans for the last nine seasons. Edwards was the punter for the New York Jets from 2016-2019 and led the NFL in both punts and punting yardage in 2019.

Lions bring back Darren Fells and Dean Marlowe among roster maneuvers

The Lions used a roster manipulation to create space and quickly brought back Fells and Marlowe. Detroit also made several changes to the practice squad.

Lions fans whose blood pressure surged with the odd news of the team releasing two prominent veterans on Wednesday can relax. The Lions quickly re-signed tight end Darren Fells and safety Dean Marlowe in a series of roster maneuvers on Thursday.

Fells and Marlowe were never going anywhere. The Lions exploited the NFL’s rules that require a player to be on the active roster for a day before being placed on injured reserve. Detroit had two players destined for I.R. in Tim Boyle and Da’Shawn Hand, but they needed to wait a day. After claiming WR KhaDarel Hodge and PK Austin Seibert off waivers, GM Brad Holmes needed two quick, temporary roster spots, and waived the vested veterans Fells and Marlowe to create the space.

The Lions also made a few changes to the team’s 16-man practice squad. Holmes brought in five players who spent the preseason on other rosters:

  • OLB Jessie Lemonier
  • QB Steven Montez
  • CB Parnell Motley
  • TE Jared Pinkney
  • TE Shane Zylstra

To make room for the newcomers, the Lions released four players from the initial practice squad. All were with the Lions throughout training camp:

  • LB Rashod Berry
  • DT Miles Brown
  • TE Alize Mack
  • RB Dedrick Mills

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Titans sign TE Jared Pinkney to futures contract

Pinkney is one of 15 players the Titans have signed to futures contracts.

The Tennessee Titans signed former Vanderbilt tight end Jared Pinkney to a futures contract on Wednesday.

Pinkney originally signed with the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent after the 2020 NFL draft. The Falcons waived him on Sept. 5, then signed him to the practice squad the following day.

The 6-foot-4, 260-pounder was a practice squad elevation in Week 17 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but was inactive.

Pinkney totaled 114 catches for 1,560 receiving yards to go with 14 touchdowns in four years at Vanderbilt. He earned second-team All-SEC honors as a junior when he recorded 50 catches for 774 yards and seven touchdowns.

Futures contracts are effective the first day of the new league year. Because there aren’t practice squads in the offseason, teams can sign players ahead of the upcoming season.

With the signing of Pinkney, the Titans have now inked 15 players to futures contracts. You can check out the other 14 futures signings Tennessee has made right here.

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Falcons flex TE Jared Pinkney, two others to active roster for Week 17

On Saturday, the team announced that three practice squad players, WR Chris Rowland, WR Devin Gray and TE Jared Pinkney, have been flexed to the active roster for Sunday’s game.

The Atlanta Falcons (4-11) don’t have much to lose in their season finale other than draft positioning. On Saturday, the team announced that three practice squad players, WR Chris Rowland, WR Devin Gray and TE Jared Pinkney, have been flexed to the active roster for Sunday’s game.

All three players are were undrafted free agents. Gray came into the league back in 2018, while both Pinkney and Rowland were signed in 2020.

Falcons receiver Brandon Powell has been ruled out for Sunday’s game, which will likely give Rowland a chance to handle the team’s kick-return duties against the Buccaneers.

Pinkney, who was a productive player during his time at Vanderbilt, will be making his NFL debut. During his four college seasons, the Commodores tight end recorded 114 catches, 1,560 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns.

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2020 NFL Draft: Should the Bears target tight end in 2nd round?

Following the release of Trey Burton, there are some that believe the Bears will use one of their 2nd-rounders to draft a tight end.

There’s no doubt that tight end remains a huge need for the Chicago Bears. That’s certainly the case when your tight end group collectively nets 36 receptions, 416 receiving yards and just two touchdowns.

Bears general manager Ryan Pace has been focused on fixing one of the position groups that plagued Chicago’s offense. He brought in veteran Jimmy Graham during free agency and admitted a mistake with Trey Burton, parting ways with him Friday.

The Bears have been linked to tight ends throughout the pre-draft process, and it’s not exactly a surprise. But considering this year’s weak class of tight ends, there are some that believe there aren’t any tight ends worthy of a second-round selection.

Following the release of Burton, there are some that believe it’s a certainty that Chicago will use one of their second-rounders to draft a tight end. While that’s certainly a possibility, it’s not a guarantee.

The problem with the Bears taking a tight end in the second round is that they only have two selections in the first four rounds — both in the second round — and there are needs other than tight end.

Chicago has shown interest in prospects like Notre Dame’s Cole Kmet, Purdue’s Brycen Hopkins, Dayton’s Adam Trautman and Vanderbilt’s Jared Pinkney. While guys like Kmet and Hopkins will be gone before the Bears’ next pick rolls around following the second round, Pinkney is someone that should still be there for Chicago in the fifth round.

But given a report that the Bears are looking to trade one — possibly both — of their second-rounders, it would make sense for Pace to trade down and lock up an extra selection in rounds three or four, where some top tight end prospects should still be on the board.

What say you, Bears fans? Should Pace draft a tight end in the second round of the draft?

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Giants select Tristan Wirfs in The Athletic’s seven-round mock draft

The New York Giants land Iowa OT Tristan Wirfs and a ton of other talent in The Athletic’s seven-round mock draft.

The 2020 NFL Draft is now less than two weeks away and some of the top publicans are beginning to finalize their mock drafts.

Among them is Dane Brugler of The Athletic, who released version 5.0 of his mock draft on Monday. And while a window was left open for the possibility of one more version between now and the draft, he acknowledges that the likelihood of another seven-round draft is slim-to-none.

So, what does Brugler have the New York Giants doing? He starts their draft off with Iowa offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs.

The Giants’ decision could come down to their highest-ranked tackle or a defensive playmaker like Isaiah Simmons. One of the reasons I think they will lean toward tackle is the impact that will make on other recent first-round picks like Saquon Barkley and Daniel Jones.

And here are the Giants’ next nine picks:

  • 36. New York Giants – A.J. Epenesa, Edge, Iowa
  • 99. New York Giants – Bryan Edwards, WR, South Carolina
  • 110. New York Giants – Kenny Robinson, FS, XFL
  • 150. New York Giants – Keith Ismael, OC, San Diego State
  • 183. New York Giants – Evan Weaver, LB, California
  • 218. New York Giants – Rodrigo Blankenship, PK, Georgia
  • 238. New York Giants (from NO) – Jared Pinkney, TE, Vanderbilt
  • 247. New York Giants – Rico Dowdle, RB, South Carolina
  • 255. New York Giants – Stantley Thomas-Oliver III, CB, FIU

Brugler also offered the following commentary for the Bryan Edwards pick:

Out of sight and out of mind – unfortunately that has been the theme of Edwards’ draft process after injuries sidelined him for the Senior Bowl and combine. But teams know what type of competitor he is after his record-setting career for the Gamecocks.

There’s a lot to digest here, but Brugler essentially has the Giants addressing every major area of need, every secondary area of need and then some in this mock draft.

Kenny Robinson would be the first XFL player drafted in this scenario, while the Giants also land the best kicker — Rodrigo Blankenship — to compete with Aldrick Rosas.

How would you feel about this draft haul, Giants fans?

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