Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
The Chargers signed 10 players to reserve/future contracts. All spent all or part of the season on the practice squad.
With the 2023 season over, the Chargers have signed 11 players to future contracts, according to the NFL Transactions wire.
G Karsen Barnhart
TE McCallan Castles
WR Dez Fitzpatrick
WR Jaylen Johnson
DL Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste
EDGE Tre’Mon Morris-Brash
EDGE Caleb Murphy
RB Jaret Patterson
S Kendall Williamson
All 10 players spent time on the team’s practice squad or active roster in 2024.
The players will be added to the 90-man active roster when the 2025 offseason officially begins.
The Chargers made several roster moves on Thursday.
The Chargers made several roster moves on Thursday, including making the signing of quarterback Taylor Heinicke official.
Los Angeles will send the Falcons a 2025 seventh-round pick that converts into a 2025 sixth-rounder if certain conditions are met.
In correspondence, the team released safety Tony Jefferson and waived running back Jaret Patterson. Jefferson was signed to the practice squad.
Additionally, L.A. signed center Sam Mustipher and tight end Eric Tomlinson to the practice squad. Cornerback Robert Kennedy was released from the practice squad.
Mustipher spent the 2023 season with the Ravens, appearing in seven games and starting two. Before that, he spent the first three seasons of his career with the Bears, where he made 40 starts.
Tomlinson has played in 85 career games (53 starts) between seven teams (Ravens, Texans, Broncos, Giants, Raiders, Jets and Eagles). He has totaled 27 receptions for 280 yards (10.4 yards per catch) and three touchdowns.
While several high-profile starters won’t play, there are still plenty of players to follow on Saturday.
We’re just a day out from the Chargers’ 2024 preseason opener against the Seahawks at SoFi Stadium.
While several high-profile starters won’t play, there are still plenty of players to follow on Saturday.
Alt, the team’s first-round pick, has lived up to his draft billing in training camp, holding his own against Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa. While it’s expected that he should perform admirably well in pass protection, I’m curious to see his impact in the run game.
Jim Harbaugh said that Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins won’t play, which means that the guys competing for spots on the back end of the positional room will have their opportunities to prove themselves. Among the crop is Patterson, who has had a great training camp. Patterson spent most of last year on the team’s practice squad.
A player with the most to prove is Johnston, last year’s first-round pick. His rough rookie season was riddled with struggles to create separation and dropped passes. While he has shown some progress in the route-running department, Johnston has still dealt with drops at times in training camp. How will he look in live-game action?
Rumph was on the roster bubble coming into training camp. However, he’s been playing his way into making the 53-man roster. Looking noticeably bigger, physique-wise, Rumph has been a force at rushing the passer and defending the run. He must continue to perform at this level to lock up his spot.
Still has been a standout in the secondary this summer. He has made multiple plays on the football, something that he did at Maryland as he finished his final season at Maryland with five interceptions. As he looks to beat out Ja’Sir Taylor for the starting slot corner spot, Still needs to keep up this level of play.
Jaret Patterson is back in Washington.
With two games remaining in the 2023 NFL season, the Washington Commanders are battling multiple injuries at running back.
Starter Brian Robinson Jr. injured his hamstring in a Week 13 loss to the Miami Dolphins and has missed the last two games. Antonio Gibson moved into the starting role with rookie Chris Rodriguez Jr. behind him. The Commanders also brought back Jonathan Williams and signed veteran Derrick Gore from the practice squad.
During Sunday’s loss to the New York Jets, Rodriguez tweaked his ankle and was in a boot after the game. This was after he rushed for 58 yards and two touchdowns. Head coach Ron Rivera said that Rodriguez had an MRI on Tuesday.
“He’s getting an MRI today, I believe,” Rivera said. “I actually haven’t talked to [Head Athletic Trainer] Al [Bellamy]. I’ll be talking to Al at our five o’clock meeting, so I’ll have a better feel for Chris.”
Additionally, Williams was in concussion protocol, and with Robinson’s status still uncertain, the Commanders brought back a familiar face. Washington signed Jaret Patterson to the practice squad.
Patterson signed with Washington as an undrafted free agent after the 2021 NFL draft. Patterson spent two seasons with Washington, appearing in 20 games with one start, rushing for 344 yards, two touchdowns and averaging four yards per attempt.
The Prince George’s County (Maryland) native was waived during final roster cuts in August and signed with the Chargers practice squad in September. After three months on their practice squad, he was released last week and now returns to Washington.
“That’s the answer,” Rivera said when asked if Patterson being familiar with the team and also local played a part in his return. “He’s very familiar with what we do; that’s the biggest thing.”
With Gibson and Gore the only healthy backs, Patterson could be activated ahead of Sunday’s game, depending on the progress that Robinson, Rodriguez and Williams make throughout the week.
The Chargers added a running back to the practice squad in wake of Austin Ekeler’s ankle injury.
The Chargers signed running back Jaret Patterson to the practice squad on Wednesday.
An undrafted free agent out of Buffalo, Patterson saw 85 carries for 344 yards and two touchdowns while adding ten receptions for 73 yards in 20 games (one start) in his two seasons with the Commanders.
The move to sign Patterson to the practice squad came after the news of Austin Ekeler nursing an ankle injury he sustained in the season opener against the Dolphins.
Ekeler missed practice on Wednesday while he attended the funeral of his agent, Cameron Weiss, according to NFL Media’s Bridget Condon.
If Ekeler can’t play this Sunday against the Titans, Joshua Kelley will receive the bulk of the snaps, with Isaiah Spiller and Elijah Dotson complementing him.
One name is familiar to Buffalo:
The Buffalo Bills held workouts with seven total players a few days prior to their season-opening matchup against the New York Jets.
It might not result in an immediate signing, but the Bills like to do their homework on players for down the road. Among those who worked out with the team was someone Buffalo will be familiar with as well.
Former Washington Commanders and University at Buffalo running back Jaret Patterson was among the group. He was waived last week by the Commanders.
Patterson signed with Washington as an undrafted free agent in 2021.
Here’s the full list of players the Bills had in for a workout:
The Colts worked out six players, including three RBs Monday.
The Indianapolis Colts worked out six players, including three running backs, according to the league’s transaction wire Monday.
With Jonathan Taylor missing at least the first four games of the season and Zack Moss’ status up in the air for the regular-season opener, the Colts are doing their research on available running backs.
Along with the trio of backs, the Colts also held tryouts for three offensive linemen.
Here are the six players the Colts worked out Monday:
Patterson reacted to the move.
The Washington Commanders began releasing players Monday morning ahead of Tuesday’s NFL deadline to trim rosters from 90 to 53 players.
While none of the early cuts were a surprise, one player was popular among fans: Running back Jaret Patterson. Ben Standig from The Athletic first reported that Washington had waived Patterson, the third-year running back from nearby St. Vincent Pallotti High School in Laurel.
It didn’t take long for Patterson to confirm the move, posting the following message on Twitter featuring some advice from Steve Harvey.
— Jaret Patterson (@JaretPatterson) August 28, 2023
Patterson had a productive preseason for the Commanders. In last week’s win over the Ravens, Patterson had an impressive 15-yard touchdown reception. In the finale against the Bengals, Patterson rushed eight times for 51 yards.
An undrafted free agent out of Buffalo in 2021, Patterson spent all of his rookie season on Washington’s roster, appearing in 17 games, carrying the ball 68 times for 266 yards and two touchdowns. He also had 10 receptions for 73 yards.
In 2022, Patterson was among the Commanders’ final cuts but was quickly re-signed to the practice squad. He remained on the practice squad until Nov. 14, when he was activated due to injuries to Antonio Gibson and J.D. McKissic.
Patterson would appear in three games last season, carrying the football 17 times for 78 yards. He also returned four kickoffs for 97 yards.
Patterson has proven he can play in the NFL. Unfortunately for him, he was behind Brian Robinson Jr., Gibson and rookie Chris Rodriguez Jr. Patterson is also likely behind veteran Jonathan Williams, but it is currently unknown if the Commanders will keep three of four running backs.
Which players impressed Washington fans on Saturday night?
Mercifully, the NFL preseason is over outside of one game on Sunday night. The Washington Commanders put a bow on their preseason with Saturday’s 21-19 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Washington finished the preseason with a 3-0 record and now turns its attention to Week 1 and the Arizona Cardinals.
Jacoby Brissett started the game for the Commanders, playing into the second quarter. He completed 10 of 15 passes for 96 yards, with his final pass going for a 39-yard touchdown to rookie wide receiver Mitchell Tinsley.
Outside of three offensive line starters, the Commanders sat the remainder of their starting players.
Tinsley, along with quarterback Jake Fromm and running back Jaret Patterson, were just some of Washington’s standouts from the final week of the preseason.
How did Twitter — or X — feel about the Commanders’ performance against the Bengals? Here are some of the top reactions from across social media.
Did some of these players do enough to earn a spot on the 53-man roster?
On Saturday, the Washington Commanders concluded the preseason with a 21-19 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. With the win, the Commanders finished the preseason undefeated for the first time since 2013.
Who cares, right? While the preseason may not mean anything to fans, outside of just seeing football again, it does mean a lot to those young players at the bottom of every 90-man roster fighting for their football futures. Or the veteran looking for one last opportunity.
For the final preseason game, the Commanders rested their starters outside of a select few. Washington started its three interior linemen [LG Saahdiq Charles, C Nick Gates and RG Sam Cosmi] for the first drive with backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett and pulled them afterward. This game would be mostly focused on those fighting for roster spots and giving other young players some valuable experience.
So, which players stood out?
We normally do a studs and duds story after every Commanders’ game. However, we chose to do things a bit differently this time around, focusing on some of the players who are impressed.
Here are seven Commanders who were outstanding in the preseason finale.
