Tag: Kyu Blu Kelly

Raiders sign former Ravens mid-round CB, Vegas native to active roster

To add depth at the cornerback position for week 16, the Raiders added Kyu Blu Kelly to the active roster from the practice squad.

Two cornerbacks appeared on the Raiders injury report this week with Nate Hobbs (illness) and Sam Webb (back/illness) both Questionable.

To make sure they have the depth they needed, the Raiders signed CB Kyu Blu Kelly off their practice squad.

The Las Vegas Native and Bishop Gorman grad joins his hometown team officially after spending the past three months on the team’s practice squad.

Blu Kelly was a fifth round pick out of Stanford by the Ravens in 2023.  He didn’t make the regular season roster as a rookie and spent that season bouncing around to several different teams, appearing in eight combined games between the Seahawks (5), Commanders (2), and Packers (1). And spent this past offseason in Washington.

The 6-1, 186-pounder appeared in 38 games over four seasons at Stanford, collecting three interceptions and 23 pass breakups.

Raiders send 2 starters to injured reserve, add 4 to active roster Week 13 vs Chiefs

Raiders made several moves including sending Gardner Minshew and Jakorian Bennett to IR and adding four others to face the Chiefs Week 13.

Early Thanksgiving Day, the Raiders took care of quite a bit of business. First they sent starting quarterback Gardner Minshew along with starting cornerback Jakorian Bennett to injured reserve.

Minshew broke his collarbone late in the team loss to the Denver Broncos last week. His season is done.

Bennett suffered a shoulder injury on the second play of the team’s game in Miami in week 11 and missed the Broncos game last week. He will be out at least the next four weeks which means should he return this season, he would be eligible to play the final two games of the season.

In corresponding moves, the Raiders officially activated QB Aidan O’Connell from injured reserve and signed practice squad WR Terrace Marshall to the active roster.

O’Connell will start vs the Chiefs on Friday, He had been out the past four games with an injured thumb. While Marshall has been on the team’s practice squad since October 22, appearing in one game this season so far.

Additionally, the Raiders elevated CB Kyu Blu Kelly and RB Sincere McCormick from the practice squad. McCormick in particular played well enough last week against the Broncos to earn more snaps this week.

Giants hosted several recent draft picks as part of mass workout

The New York Giants hosted 15 players for workouts on Thursday, including five players who were recently draft picks.

The New York Giants had a busy day in East Rutherford on Thursday, complete with the week’s final practice, head coach and player press conferences, and a mass workout that included several recent draft picks.

Among those in attendance were cornerbacks D.J. James, Zech McPhearson, Damarion Williams and Kyu Blu Kelly, and quarterback Chris Oladokun.

James was a sixth-round pick of the Seattle Seahawks in the 2024 NFL draft but was waived after starting his career on the non-football injury (NFI) list. He was named Second-Team All-SEC in 2022 at Auburn.

McPhearson was a fourth-round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2021 NFL draft and has the most experience of any drafted player who worked out. He’s appeared in 33 career games, recording 30 tackles, one QB hit, one sack, and two passes defensed. McPhearson suffered a torn Achilles during the 2023 preseason and missed the whole year.

Williams was a fourth-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens in the 2022 NFL draft and has appeared in 15 career games, recording 24 tackles and two passes defensed.

Kelly was a fifth-round pick of the Ravens in the 2023 NFL draft and has also made brief stops with the Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers, and Washington Commanders. He’s appeared in eight career games and recorded five tackles.

Oladokun was a seventh-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2022 NFL draft but found his way to the Kansas City Chiefs after being released as a rookie. He’s picked up two Super Bowl rings as a member of the Chiefs, serving as the quarterback of their practice squad.

The following players also took part in Thursday’s workout:

  • Safety Al Blades
  • Wide receiver Kaden Davis
  • Wide receiver Alex Erickson
  • Cornerback Eric Garror
  • Defensive back Jason Maitre
  • Linebacker Andrew Parker Jr.
  • Offensive lineman Julian Pearl
  • Linebacker Yvandy Rigby
  • Wide receiver David Wallis
  • Cornerback A.J. Woods

Although Erickson went undrafted in 2016, he’s carved out a solid career for himself as a return specialist. He’s appeared in 107 games and returned 162 punts for 1,303 yards, and 110 kickoffs for 2,729. He led the NFL in kick return yardage (810) as a rookie in 2016.

None of the players who worked out were immediately signed.

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Ravens’ 2023 rookie class ranked middle of the pack among all 32 teams

Baltimore Ravens’ 2023 rookie class ranked 17th among all 32 teams

The first season for the 2023 NFL rookie class is now in the books.

Using one year of data, CBS Sport’s Chris Trapasso ranked all 32 team’s draft classes.

The Baltimore Ravens landed at No. 17, with first-round wide receiver Zay Flowers listed as the sole Year 1 hit.

“Flowers made noticeable contributions to the Ravens boosted passing attack,” Trapasso wrote. “His 21 missed tackles forced was fourth among all receivers in football in 2023. After his selection in the first round, Baltimore, with an uncharacteristically small class, didn’t get much impact, and a fifth-round pick, cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly, didn’t even make the team out of camp.”

Several players from the 2023 class could be in line for expanded roles this season. Most noticeably, third-round pick Trenton Simpson will likely replace free agent Patrick Queen as an inside linebacker next to Roquan Smith. Simpson flashed his speed and playmaking ability against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the final game of the regular season.

Seventh-round pick Andrew Vorhees could be in line to compete for a starting spot as both right guard Kevin Zeitler and left guard John Simpson are set to hit free agency. Baltimore traded back into the seventh round to select Vorhees after he slid down the board due to a torn ACL he suffered at the combine.

Sixth-round pick Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu could also compete for one of the guard positions, while fourth-round pick Tavius Robinson could be in line for a more significant workload at outside linebacker after notching one sack as a rookie.

Seahawks re-sign CB Lance Boykin to reserve/future contract

Naturally, the team’s first official transaction since they made Mike Macdonald their new head coach involves a cornerback.

In Baltimore they love their defensive backs just as they have in Seattle these last 15 years or so. Naturally, the team’s first official transaction since they made Mike Macdonald their new head coach involves a cornerback. According to Aaron Wilson, Seattle has re-signed cornerback Lance Boykin to a reserve/future contract.

Players who sign these type deals typically end up on the practice squad the following season. That’s also where Boykin spent most of the 2023 campaign. In the end, he only made it on the field for one regular season game, putting in 10 total snaps against the Giants.

Looking ahead, there’s not much of a path for Boykin to get more playing time unless it’s on special teams. The Seahawks had an obscenity of riches at corner this year, even deep enough to waive Kyu Blu Kelly, who was a superb fifth-round pick by the Ravens out of Stanford. He’s now with the Commanders.

After the season ended, the team signed seven other players to reserve/future deals. That list includes edge Levi Bell, wide receivers Easop Winston Jr. and Cody White, running back Bryant Koback, safety Jonathan Sutherland, tight end Tyler Mabry and local nose tackle Matthew Gotel.

More Seahawks Wire stories

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2024 NFL mock draft: Complete 3-round projections (100 picks)

Commanders claim rookie CB Kyu Blu Kelly off waivers

Kelly was a fifth-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft.

Surprisingly, the Washington Commanders released veteran cornerback Danny Johnson on Wednesday. Washington made the move to claim rookie cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly off waivers from the Green Bay Packers.

The Commanders releasing Johnson isn’t necessarily the biggest surprise. Since signing with Washington as an undrafted free agent in 2018, Johnson has been released multiple times and spent time on the practice squad. However, he just signed a two-year extension in March after playing well down the stretch in 2022.

Johnson ends his time in Washington appearing in 66 games with eight starts. He recorded 96 tackles and one interception. Johnson also returned 38 kickoffs, averaging 22.5 yards per return.

The chance to land a young player like Kelly, who Washington liked in the pre-draft process last offseason, was an opportunity the Commanders couldn’t afford to pass up. The 6-foot-0, 193-pounder from Stanford was a fifth-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens in the 2023 NFL draft but was waived during final cuts in August.

Kelly was claimed by Seattle, where he appeared in five games before being waived again on Nov. 11. That’s when the Packers claimed him, and he appeared in one game for Green Bay. In total, the rookie has appeared in six games this season but has played only two defensive snaps. Most of his action came on special teams.

During his time at Stanford, Kelly was a three-year starter and two-time second-team All-Pac 12 selection.

The Commanders have a connection to Kelly. Quarterbacks coach Tavita. Pritchard was with Kelly for all four of his seasons at Stanford, where he served as the offensive coordinator.

According to Mike Garofolo of the NFL Network, the Los Angeles Rams — Washington’s opponent this week — tried to claim on two different occasions this season.

Kelly’s father, Brian, a former second-round pick out of USC in 1998, played 11 NFL seasons, including 10 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The elder Kelly had 22 interceptions during his NFL career and also won a Super Bowl.

Rams once again tried to claim rookie CB Kyu Blu Kelly and failed

For the second time this season, the Rams tried to claim Kyu Blu Kelly, and for the second time, he went to another team

The Los Angeles Rams must really like what rookie cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly brings to the table because for the second time this season, they attempted to claim him off waivers. And for the second time, they were beaten out by another team due to the waiver order.

According to Mike Garafolo, the Rams put in a claim for Kelly, but because the Commanders were higher in the waiver order due to their worse record, they were awarded the corner. The Rams also tried to claim him in November after the Seahawks cut him but that time, the Packers had higher priority so he went to Green Bay.

Kelly is a fifth-round rookie who was drafted 157th overall by Seattle but has now been cut by two teams in his first season in the NFL. The Rams have decent depth at cornerback but with Duke Shelley on injured reserve, perhaps they wanted some additional help behind the starters.

The Rams, of course, will face the Commanders on Sunday afternoon, but it’s unlikely Kelly is going to play on defense in that game. Although, with Washington ranking last in the NFL against the pass, perhaps Kelly will get thrown into the mix right away.

Seahawks 53-man roster tracker: QB, LB elevated from practice squad

Our 53-man roster tracker is updated.

The Seattle Seahawks announced a couple of practice squad elevations on Saturday ahead of today’s game against the San Francisco 49ers. Recently re-signed third-string quarterback Sean Mannion has been elevated as a contingency in case starter Geno Smith is unable to play. Smith is listed as questionable with elbow and groin injuries. The Seahawks also elevated linebacker Patrick O’Connell, who gives them some extra depth in case Jordyn Brooks is inactive – he is also listed as questionable.

Here’s the team’s updated 53-man roster by jersey number (Dec. 10).

Packers claim CB Kyu Blu Kelly off waivers from Seahawks

The Packers claimed CB Kyu Blu Kelly, a fifth-round pick in the 2023 draft, off waivers from the Seahawks.

The Green Bay Packers claimed cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly off of waivers from the Seattle Seahawks on Monday, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.

Kelly was a fifth-round pick out of Stanford by the Baltimore Ravens in 2023. He was waived by the Ravens at final roster cutdowns in August and claimed by the Seahawks. Over five games in 2023, Kelly played 38 special teams snaps.

During the preseason, Kelly was on the field for 118 snaps from scrimmage. He produced six tackles, gave up six catches for 73 yards and a touchdown on 10 targets and had one penalty. The Ravens played him primarily outside at corner.

Kelly (6-0, 193) is 22 years old. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.52 seconds (1.49-second 10-yard split), hit 36″ in the vertical leap and covered 10-11 in the broad jump at the NFL Scouting Combine.

At Stanford, Kelly was a four-year starter and two-time All-Pac 12 pick who appeared in 38 games and produced three interceptions and 26 pass breakups. He was invited and participated in the Senior Bowl.

The corresponding roster move was releasing defensive back Innis Gaines. Kelly must pass a physical in Green Bay before he’s added to the 53-man roster officially, but a roster spot still needed to be opened beforehand.

Seahawks announce 4 roster moves going into Week 10 game

The Seattle Seahawks announced four roster moves on Saturday that will impact today’s game against the Washington Commanders.

The Seattle Seahawks announced four roster moves on Saturday that will impact today’s game against the Washington Commanders.

Here’s a quick review of yesterday’s transactions.