Tag: Joejuan Williams

Saints sign former Patriots second-round pick Joejuan Williams after group tryout

The Saints signed former Patriots second-round pick Joejuan Williams after a group tryout. He played college football at Vanderbilt:

The New Orleans Saints signed former Patriots second-round pick Joejuan Williams after a group tryout, per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill. The cornerback played college football at Vanderbilt and has lined up almost exclusively out wide in the NFL — on 436 of his 608 career defensive snaps, with 111 of them starting in the slot.

So he’s not exactly the Justin Simmons consolation prize some fans may have hoped for.  Instead, look for Williams to compete at the bottom of the depth chart with other corners like Rejzohn Wright, Mac McCain II, and Kaleb Ford-Dement. The Saints are still looking for players to round out their practice squad as guys like Rico Payton and Shemar Jean-Charles separate from the pack. And with injuries hitting three of their top four corners (Marshon Lattimore, Paulson Adebo, and Kool-Aid McKinstry) they need the help just to keep practice on schedule.

As for Williams? He’s listed  at 6-foot-3 and 212 pounds and was drafted at No. 45 overall in 2019, the sixth cornerback to be picked. But he played out his four-year contract with the Patriots without intercepting a single pass. He’s since spent time with the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings but has struggled to earn snaps for either team, instead coming up from their practice squad. He needs to impress right away if he’ll catch on with the Saints.

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Vikings release veteran CB Joejuan Williams

The Minnesota Vikings released veteran cornerback Joejuan Williams on Tuesday ending his second stint with the club in his career.

The Minnesota Vikings released veteran cornerback Joejuan Williams on Tuesday, ending his second stint with the club.

The 26-year-old cornerback was drafted by the New England Patriots in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft out of Vanderbilt. Some thought he could’ve been a first-round pick, but poor testing numbers pushed him down the board.

Williams spent time on the Vikings previously as a member of their roster last Summer but was released as apart of final roster cuts in August. He signed with the Bears during the season but was released by Chicago and found his way back to Minnesota.

Williams has appeared in 36 games in his career and has tallied 46 tackles and 10 pass breakups during that time.

The Vikings now move ahead with their cornerback room still needing some attention. They have cornerback Jerry Jacobs in the facility for a visit on Tuesday who could replace Williams on the roster if they decide to go ahead with him.

10 players sign future contracts with Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings signed 10 player from the practice squad to futures contracts, keeping them with the franchise during the offseason.

The Minnesota Vikings began shaping their 2024 roster on Monday afternoon by signing 10 players to futures contracts.

A futures contract is one that a player signs when they aren’t signed to a team’s active roster when the season is over. It is for the league minimum depending on how many service years the player has. The players don’t impact the salary cap until the new league year starts on March 13th.

Each year, teams usually sign in the ballpark of 10 players to futures contracts. They are usually players that have been on their practice squads throughout the year but every so often, teams will sign a player from another practice squad.

The Vikings signed 10 players to futures contracts on Monday afternoon with all of them having been on the practice squad.

Vikings make 4 roster moves ahead of week 18 matchup vs. Lions

With six players out, the Minnesota Vikings made four roster moves to fortify their active roster for week 18 against the Detroit Lions.

The Minnesota Vikings were in a tough spot going into their week 18 game against the Detroit Lions. They had six players listed as out for Sunday’s game and would have to make some roster moves to have enough cornerbacks for gameday.

It can get difficult to field a healthy roster by the end of the year but that’s why they have the practice squad, giving you options to help fortify the roster.

On Saturday afternoon, the Vikings made four moves to get the roster in better shape.

Vikings make 5 roster moves, distictions for Week 11 vs. Broncos

The Vikings made several moves, including elevating Anthony Barr

The Minnesota Vikings are set to take on the Denver Broncos on Sunday night in the Mile High City.

The final injury report left the Vikings with a lot of questions on who would be playing on Sunday night. On Saturday, the Vikings made five different roster moves and distinctions. Here are the moves the Vikings made ahead of Sunday.

Vikings make three roster moves on Wednesday

Wednesday’s roster moves further explain the decision to trade Ezra Cleveland

The Minnesota Vikings made three roster moves on Wednesday morning.

  • Vikings signed CB Joejuan Williams to the practice squad
  • Release CB C.J. Coldon Jr. from the practice squad
  • Activated the practice window for G/C Chirs Reed who is on the NFI list

The move to trade Ezra Cleveland makes more sense now, as Reed was a solid contributor for the Colts and Vikings over the last few years. He hasn’t practiced at all with the Vikings this year.

Williams spent training camp with the Vikings before they added him to the practice squad. The Bears shortly after signed Williams to the active roster. He was released after the Bears loss to the Chargers on Sunday night.

Coldon spent time in training camp with the Vikings and immediately signed to the practice squad.

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Bears activate C Doug Kramer off IR, elevate CB Joejuan Williams to the roster

For the first time since he was drafted, Doug Kramer has a chance to suit up in a regular-season game for his hometown team.

Chicago Bears center Doug Kramer Jr. will finally be ready to play in a regular-season game for his hometown team. On Saturday, the Bears announced they had activated Kramer off injured reserve, where he spent the first six weeks of the season dealing with a thumb injury. The Bears also elevated cornerback Joejuan Williams to the active roster for their game against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Kramer suffered a thumb injury in the team’s final preseason game against the Buffalo Bills. He was designated to return to practice nearly two weeks ago but had yet to be activated on the roster until Saturday. Now that he’s back in the fold, the Bears have a plethora of centers on their roster, including Cody Whitehair, Lucas Patrick, Dan Feeney, and now Kramer.

The Bears are expected to adjust their starting offensive line for their game against the Raiders, and while it’s unlikely Kramer will become the starting center anytime soon, he’s now an added piece for them to consider if issues at the position persist. Kramer, a native of Hinsdale, IL, was a sixth-round draft pick in 2022 out of Illinois and missed his entire rookie season with a foot injury.

Williams, meanwhile, has played in one game for the Bears since he was signed back in September. With a few members of the secondary either out or questionable, Williams provides depth if they need it.

Vikings lose CB from practice squad to Bears

The Vikings practice squad took a hit on Wednesday

The Minnesota Vikings had the first player taken off their practice squad on Wednesday. According to ESPN’s Courtney Cronin, the Chicago Bears have signed cornerback Joejuan Williams off of the Vikings practice squad to their active roster.

The Bears have issues right now at cornerback with Kyler Gordon on injured reserve with a broken hand and both Jaylon Johnson and Tyrique Stevenson are banged up.

Williams heads to Chicago to play in a defense that will ask him to play both press-man coverage and drop cover-2, both of which he is more than capable of doing. He played well for the Vikings during the preseason and was viewed as a solid asset on the practice squad.

The Vikings replaced him on the practice squad with Myles Gaskin.

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7 recently cut or waived players Raiders should consider adding

Still some talent out there to be had from roster cuts. Here are 7 of them the Raiders should consider adding.

There are always a few players that teams cut who instantly stun a lot of people. Many of those players are talented enough or fit another team’s need so well, that they are scooped up quickly or claimed off waivers. But not all of them.

Some players still slip through and either remain unsigned or join a team’s practice squad.

Either way, what many refer to as the “final 53-man roster” is anything but final. A better term is “initial 53” because more moves inevitably occur afterward.

Sometimes those moves are a team seeing a player or players become available that they like better than those they kept initially. Other moves include injured players who the team expects to have back in short order, but in order to be added to the IR Designated for Return list, those players must be on the roster after the initial cuts are made.

Now that the dust has settled from the cuts, signings, and claims, I have compiled a list of those players still out there who the Raiders should consider adding this week as they prepare for the season opener.

Zulgad’s four-and-out: The surprise cut and the surprises who made the Vikings’ 53-man roster

There were multiple surprises with the Minnesota Vikings initial 53-man roster. @jzulgad breaks it all down

The Vikings’ 53-man roster is set but don’t expect this version to be the exact one the team runs out for its Sept. 10 opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

There will be changes over the next few days in which players are signed or claimed off waivers and others, who think they made the 53, find themselves looking for work.

Nonetheless, the roster is worth examining as far as the surprise cuts and surprise players that were kept — for now.

Let’s take a look.