Tag: practice squad

Badgers in the NFL: Panthers sign Tyler Marz to practice squad

The Carolina Panthers signed former Wisconsin Badgers offensive lineman Tyler Marz to the practice squad on Wednesday.

The Carolina Panthers have signed former Wisconsin Badgers offensive lineman Tyler Marz to their practice squad.

Marz starred for the Badgers from 2012-2015, earning second team All-BIG-10 honors his senior year after being an honorable mention the previous two seasons.

Despite the accolades, Marz went undrafted in 2016 and ended up signing with the Titans, where he spent his entire first season on the practice squad.

The Chargers briefly claimed him off the practice squad in 2017, but he found his way back to Tennessee later that year.

In 2018, he ended up starting one game for the Titans as an injury replacement, but was cut the next September and has remained unsigned until Carolina picked him up on Wednesday.

He’ll provide additional depth for the Panthers, but probably won’t find his way back onto the active roster unless an injury hits one of the team’s starters in the final two regular season games of the 2019 season.

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Saints fill two practice squad vacancies, sign D.J. Swearinger after tryouts

The New Orleans Saints held free agent tryouts and signed S D.J. Swearinger. DT Jalen Dalton and DB Chris Johnson joined the practice squad.

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The New Orleans Saints called up two players form their practice squad for Monday night’s game with the Indianapolis Colts, promoting defensive tackle Taylor Stallworth and safety T.J. Green. Green was waived on Wednesday to open up a roster spot for veteran safety D.J. Swearinger, who took part in a group workout at the Saints practice facility. Per a report from Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, that list included:

  • DB Kentrell Brice, Louisiana Tech
  • DL Jalen Dalton, North Carolina
  • DL Mike Hughes, UNLV
  • DB Chris Johnson, North Alabama
  • DB Derrick Kindred, TCU
  • DL Tomasi Laulile, BYU
  • DB Deshawn Shead, Portland State
  • DB Tre Sullivan, Shepherd
  • DB D.J. Swearinger, South Carolina

While Swearinger signed with the Saints as a member of the 53-man active roster, New Orleans filled their two vacancies on the practice squad by signing Dalton and Johnson.

Dalton (6-foot-6, 300 pounds) is a rookie defensive tackle/end hybrid who can line up almost anywhere up front. He initially signed with the Chicago Bears after the 2019 NFL Draft, but was released during September roster cuts and hadn’t yet caught on with another team. With Sheldon Rankins ending his year on injured reserve and Stallworth called up to the active roster, the Saints needed someone to fill out snaps in practice.

Johnson (6-foot-3, 200 pounds) is also a rookie, though the small-school safety spent his summer with the Houston Texans before joining their practice squad after annual roster cuts. He was briefly a member of the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad before they released him as part of other personnel changes. Players signed onto NFL practice squads around this time of the year typically agree to futures contracts with those teams, but it’s unclear whether that’s the case with these two additions for the Saints.

All told, these signings bring the Saints practice squad back up to its 10-man capacity. Dalton and Johnson will join wide receivers Lil’Jordan Humphrey and Emmanuel Butler, running back/wide receiver Taquan Mizzell, offensive linemen Derrick Kelly and John Leglue, linebacker Andrew Dowell, tight end Jerrell Adams, and tight end/defensive lineman Mitchell Loewen.

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Irish in the NFL: Dolphins sign Jonathan Bonner to practice squad

The Miami Dolphins signed former Notre Dame defensive tackle Jonathan Bonner to their practice squad, keeping his NFL dreams alive.

The long and winding road for former Notre Dame defensive end Jonathan Bonner has taken him to Miami.

Bonner, who nearly left Notre Dame after his senior year to pursue a career in IT, decided to come back for his fifth year and helped wreak havoc on the defensive line alongside Jerry Tillery in 2018.

Despite the stellar campaign, Bonner went undrafted in the 2019 NFL Draft. He was quickly picked up by the Redskins however, and played well for them in the preseason before getting cut.

Now, Bonner has been signed to the practice squad of the Miami Dolphins, keeping his NFL dream alive, at least for the time being.

While it won’t be easy to crack the 53-man roster, Miami might very well be the best case scenario for Bonner to make his NFL debut at some point in the final few weeks of the season.

Bonner recorded 64 combined tackles and two sacks with the Irish from 2015-2018.

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Seattle Seahawks sign linebacker Dekoda Watson

The Seattle Seahawks brought back linebacker Dekoda Watson, who was signed for two days in October before the team claimed Josh Gordon.

The Seattle Seahawks signed veteran linebacker Dekoda Watson to the active roster, taking the place of suspended receiver Josh Gordon.

This is Watson’s second time being signed by the Seahawks this season. He originally signed on October 30, with the hope that he would help contribute on the special teams and on Seattle’s depleted pass rush unit.

“We’re gonna give him a chance to give us some rush on the edge,” coach Pete Carroll commented after the signing. “He’s been a really accomplished [special] teams guy too. We’re hoping he can give us some additional boost there. We’ll see.”

However, Watson’s first stint in Seattle only lasted a few days, as the team released him to make room for Gordon, who they won on waiver claims two days later.

Now he’s back, this time replacing Gordon, and he’ll once again have a chance to contribute off the edge and on special teams.

The nine-year veteran has primarily been a special teams contributor, but he does have six career sacks – including two in 2018 as a member of the 49ers.

The Seahawks also shuffled things around on the practice squad, cutting linebacker Jermaine Grace and replacing him with rookie linebacker Sutton Smith, who was a sixth round pick by Pittsburgh this year out of Northern Illinois.

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Broncos promote DB Alijah Holder, add two players to practice squad

The Broncos added cornerback Alijah Holder to the 53-man roster on Tuesday and signed two players to the practice squad.

The Denver Broncos have promoted defensive back Alijah Holder from the practice squad to the 53-man roster, the team announced Tuesday. Denver had an opening on the roster after safety Kareem Jackson was suspended for two games for driving while ability impaired.

Holder (6-2, 188 pounds) played cornerback at Stanford but is expected to serve as a rotational backup safety. He spent the first 15 weeks of the season on the Broncos’ practice squad after signing with the team as an undrafted free agent in May.

Assuming Holder will play safety, he will join Justin Simmons, Will Parks and Trey Marshall as Denver’s top four safeties to close out the year.

The Broncos also signed safety P.J. Locke and defensive lineman Jay-Tee Tiuli to the practice squad Tuesday. Both defenders are rookies. Last week, offensive lineman Corey Levin was signed to the Bears’ active roster from Denver’s practice squad. Levin’s departure and Holder’s promotion created the two openings for Locke and Tiuli.

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Ex-Saints kick returner, LSU track star Cyril Grayson gets shot with Bucs

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed former New Orleans Saints kick returner and ex-LSU Tigers track star Cyril Grayson from the Dallas Cowboys.

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A former New Orleans Saints wide receiver has a big opportunity, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Cyril Grayson off of the Dallas Cowboys practice squad. Grayson spent the summer with the Saints competing for a roster spot with rookie returns specialist Deonte Harris, though he ultimately was waived during roster cuts.

Grayson’s background as a track-and-field athlete was on clear display during the Saints preseason games. He competed for the LSU Tigers in college before trying his hand in the NFL, initialy joining the Seattle Seahawks before the Saints brought him in for an extended tryout. He worked out for a few different teams before the Cowboys added him to their practice squad.

It’s great to see Grayson get this opportunity, even if it’s coming with a rival squad in the NFC South. But the Buccaneers are eliminated from playoff contention and need to evaluate all possible options as they enter the second year of Bruce Arians’ tenure as head coach. If Grayson can make an impact in the final two weeks of the season, it could turn into a longer stay with Tampa Bay.

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Rashaad Penny headed to injured reserve to make room for Ethan Pocic

The Seattle Seahawks will activate Ethan Pocic in time for Sunday’s game, placing Rashaad Penny on the injured reserve to make room.

Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll announced on Friday that the team will place running back Rashaad Penny (ACL) on the injured reserve, ending his season.

The team plans to use his roster spot to activate offensive lineman Ethan Pocic, who is now eligible to play after missing the last 10 weeks with a neck injury.

“We’re gonna get Ethan up,” Carroll said on Friday. “He’s gonna come up this week. He’s had a really good return to us. He’ll take Penny’s spot. That’s what will happen by game time. Glad to have Ethan back, he’s been a really versatile player for us, he’s worked really hard to get back, he feels great.”

Pocic is capable of playing both center and guard, and figures to be a depth option across the offensive line for the final three games of the season.

While Pocic is an option to start at center in place of Joey Hunt, coach Pete Carroll has loved what Hunt has brought to the table so far this year, so a move seems unlikely.

“I think Joey is doing really well,” Carroll said on Wednesday. “Joey has really held up his own. Like we said from the start, his smarts are really a plus. He has been in command of what is going on up there. We have not taken a step back at all. He’s done a nice job.”

Penny suffered a knee injury early in the first quarter of last Sunday’s game against the Rams, and the team’s fears were realized when he went under the knife for ACL surgery.

His recovery will be a long one, and at this point it is unclear if he will miss any time in the 2020 season.

Veteran C.J. Prosise and rookie Travis Homer are expected to handle running back duties behind Chris Carson, and the team signed Xavier Turner to the practice squad as added depth.

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Saints shuffle practice squad, sign former Giants and Texans TE Jerell Adams

The New Orleans Saints practice squad added former New York Giants and Houston Texans tight end Jerell Adams, an athlete who needs a shot.

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The New Orleans Saints aren’t finished tweaking their roster just yet. As first reported by The Athletic’s Katherine Terrell, on Thursday the team waived practice squad offensive lineman Nate Wozniak to open a spot for fourth-year tight end Jerell Adams. This follows a concussion to starting tight end Jared Cook in last week’s game with the San Francisco 49ers, as well as the previous release of reserve tight end Dan Arnold.

Adams first entered the NFL as a sixth-round draft pick out of South Carolina, selected by the New York Giants back in 2016; he had boosted his draft stock before that by timing the 40-yard dash in 4.64 seconds at 6-foot-5 and 247 pounds, the best mark for a tight end at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. He played sparingly as a rookie, and was outranked the following year by first-round pick Evan Engram and veteran free agent pickup Rhett Ellison. Adams was waived by New York during roster cuts before the 2018 season.

He went on to spend the better part of two years on the Houston Texans practice squad, having been just released on Dec. 3 before the Saints called him up. There are practice snaps to go around with Arnold out of town and Cook on the mend, with just one healthy, experienced tight end (backup Josh Hill) and a converted defensive lineman (Mitchell Loewen) ahead of him. If Adams still has some athleticism to spare, he’s in good position to take advantage of the opportunity before him.

For the curious, here’s how the Saints practice squad shakes out now:

  • WR Emmanuel Butler
  • WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey
  • DT Taylor Stallworth
  • OL Derrick Kelly
  • OL John Leglue
  • RB Taquan Mizzell
  • DB T.J. Green
  • LB Andrew Dowell
  • TE/DL Mitchell Loewen
  • TE Jerell Adams

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Badgers in the NFL: Raiders promote Nick Nelson from practice squad

The Oakland Raiders promoted former Wisconsin Badgers defensive back Nick Nelson from the practice squad on Wednesday.

The Oakland Raiders made a series of roster moves on Wednesday, including promoting former Wisconsin Badgers defensive back Nick Nelson from the practice squad onto the active roster.

Nelson was originally a fourth round pick by the Raiders in 2018. In his rookie season, Nelson appeared in 10 games (starting three) and recording 20 combined tackles, one pass defended and one fumble recovery.

He was waived on August 31 of this year but re-signed to the practice squad and he remained there until his promotion.

The Raiders cut safety DJ Swearinger on Tuesday, opening up a spot for Nelson, although his experience is primarily at cornerback and not safety. It’s unclear if the Raiders plan to use Nelson at a new position, or if he will contribute on the special teams and as depth on the outside.

Nelson spent his first two collegiate seasons at Hawaii before transferring to Wisconsin and starting 14 games in 2017, recording 35 combined tackles and 21 passes defended with the Badgers – which topped the entire NCAA.

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Irish in the NFL: Raiders sign Te’Von Coney to practice squad

The Oakland Raiders brought back former Notre Dame linebacker Te’Von Coney, signing him to the practice squad on Wednesday.

The Oakland Raiders made a series of roster moves on Wednesday, including signing former Notre Dame linebacker Te’Von Coney to their practice squad.

Coney starred at Notre Dame from 2015-2018, racking up 313 total tackles, including 23 for a loss and seven sacks.

Despite getting a fifth round grade from Draft Network, and getting lauded for his potential as an early-down, run-stuffing linebacker, Coney went undrafted in the 2019 NFL draft.

He managed to catch on with the Raiders as an undrafted free agent, but they waived him on August 31 and added him to their practice squad a week later, which he has bounced off and on throughout the season.

Raiders coach Jon Gruden promised Raider fans that some changes were coming, and while Coney’s path to the active roster is still blocked, his return to the practice squad gives him a better chance of making his NFL debut before the 2019 season is concluded.

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