Tag: practice squad

Saints waive TE Dan Arnold among several roster moves

The New Orlenas Saints waived tight end Dan Arnold to make room on the 53-man roster, re-signing linebacker Manti Te’o among roster moves.

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The New Orleans Saints announced a series of roster moves on the official NFL transactions wire for Wednesday, Dec. 4. Among those moves was the release of third-year tight end Dan Arnold from the 53-man active roster, creating room for free agent linebacker Manti Te’o. Arnold had been a frequent gameday inactive since being called up from the Saints practice squad earlier this year, logging just two catches for 25 yards. He’s subject to waivers but is eligible to return to the practice squad should he clear them on Thursday.

Another pair of corresponding moves also shook up the Saints practice squad, with fullback Ricky Ortiz waived to open a slot for second-year left tackle Nate Wozniak. Wozniak originally signed with the Saints as an undrafted free agent out of Minnesota, and he returns to the team as a developmental candidate while starting left tackle Terron Armstead works his way back from a high-ankle sprain.

Additionally, second-year wide receiver Keith Kirkwood will revert to the injured reserve list after the Saints designated him to return back on Nov. 13. Kirkwood was the only eligible candidate to return from injured reserve, having started the year on the active roster before going down in-season, with linebackers Alex Anzalone (shoulder) and Kaden Elliss (knee) each already ruled out for the year. So New Orleans will not be receiving any reinforcements from injured reserve after Kirkwood’s unsuccessful attempt at bouncing back from his early-season hamstring injury.

It raises questions about what the Saints can still do to get some production out of their thin wide receiver corps. Michael Thomas is playing like the best receiver in the game, but it’s tumbleweeds after him — veteran Ted Ginn Jr. and second-year draft pick Tre’Quan Smith have combined for just 8 catches on 21 targets in the four games since New Orleans’ bye week. Expect more trick plays for do-it-all quarterback Taysom Hill to make up the deficiency, if the Saints can’t get tight end Jared Cook and running back Alvin Kamara going consistently.

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Saints re-sign practice squad OL/TE convert Nate Wozniak

The New Orleans Saints re-signed Nate Wozniak, a collegiate tight end they converted to left tackle, to their practice squad on Wednesday.

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The New Orleans Saints offensive line received some added depth on Wednesday, with Amie Just of Nola.com reporting that the team re-signed offensive lineman Nate Wozniak. Wozniak, the former 6-foot-9 Minnesota Golden Gophers tight end, learned to play left tackle while with the Saints from May 2018 to August 2019. He spent the intervening months with stints on the Minnesota Vikings and Atlanta Falcons practice squads, as well as trying out for a handful of teams.

Wozniak clearly has the size and length to play in the NFL, but rehearsed technique has eluded him so far. He never progressed beyond lining up at left tackle with the third-string offensive line while in New Orleans through two offseasons, and probably still needs a lot of work before he’ll be game-ready. The good news is that stepping into a game against NFL pass rushers shouldn’t happen for a while, with several players between him and the starting unit.

Here’s a projection of what the Saints depth chart looks like right now at offensive tackle:

  1. LT Terron Armstead (injured)
  2. RT Ryan Ramczyk
  3. LG/LT Andrus Peat (injured)
  4. LG/LT Patrick Omameh
  5. LT Ethan Greenidge
  6. OL John Leglue (practice squad)
  7. RT Derrick Kelly (practice squad
  8. LT Nate Wozniak

We’re still waiting on news of who left the Saints practice squad to create room for Wozniak, who would be the third offensive lineman on the unit along with Leglue and Kelly, both rookies. So stay tuned for the official NFL transactions wire to update with that information.

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Pete Carroll believes practice squad players ready to contribute

Every team has a practice squad and uses it how they see fit, but Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll says their guys can contribute.

An NFL practice squad can have a negative connotation to it. It can be where underwhelming careers of former college stars go to die, but it can also be where an unheralded name comes out of nowhere.

No matter what, the practice squad players play an integral role in preparing their team for the upcoming week. They emulate the opposing team, and that means they know just as much as the players they help to prepare.

Because of that, teams take those spots seriously. There is quite a bit of shuffling that goes on during the year, depending on what the team needs or potentially how the team sees the upside of a practice squad eligible player on waivers.

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll recently voiced his opinion on having all 53 players active for games, which he is in favor of. That could give the practice squad an even bigger role.

“They’re practicing too, they’re ready to help out,” Carroll said of his practice squad players. “Our guys are so close they could play. They’re involved with the installation every week.”

Seattle needs to look no further than tight end Jacob Hollister, who has excelled this season after beginning the year on the practice squad, to know the system works.

The unheralded and non-guaranteed work the players on the practice squad do is vital to the success of the team they help prepare. The added chance that they may get to suit up just adds more incentive for them to succeed.

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Broncos added a cornerback, lost an offensive lineman last week

The Broncos signed cornerback Shakial Taylor to their 53-man roster last week.

Some fans in Denver might not have noticed that the Broncos made two roster moves over Thanksgiving weekend.

Denver claimed cornerback Shakial Taylor off waivers after he was cut by the Colts. To make room for Taylor on the active roster, the Broncos placed cornerback Cyrus Jones on the reserve/non-football injury list.

Jones has an illness that will apparently keep him out for a while.

Taylor (5-11, 175 pounds) entered the league as a college free agent out of Kansas with Indianapolis in May. He spent part of the year on the Colts’ practice squad and dressed for five games, totaling seven tackles.

In addition to adding a cornerback last week, Denver also lost a reserve offensive lineman. Corey Levin left the Broncos’ practice squad to sign with the Bears, joining Chicago’s 53-man roster. NFL rules allow practice squad players to sign with another team’s active roster.

Denver filled Levin’s former spot on the practice squad by bringing back rookie quarterback Brett Rypien, who was cut last week to make room for Drew Lock, who was activated from injured reserve.

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Broncos sign QB Brett Rypien to practice squad

The Broncos have re-signed rookie quarterback Brett Rypien to their 10-man practice squad.

The Denver Broncos have signed rookie quarterback Brett Rypien to their 10-man practice squad, the team announced Monday. Rypien was cut last week to make room for Drew Lock on the 53-man roster.

Lock was activated from injured reserve and started against the Los Angeles Chargers, leading the team to a 23-20 win in Week 13.

Rypien cleared waivers over the weekend and now returns to Denver. Rypien played college football at Boise State and signed with the Broncos in May after going undrafted in April. He failed to make Denver’s 53-man roster in September but was added to the practice squad.

Rypien spent the first eight weeks of the season on the practice squad before being promoted to serve as Brandon Allen’s backup in Week 9. Rypien served as Allen’s backup for three games before Lock took over. Allen will now serve as the team’s No. 2 quarterback.

The Broncos had an open spot for Rypien on the practice squad after offensive lineman Corey Levin left the team to sign with the Chicago Bears. Because he was only on the practice squad, Levin was eligible to join Chicago’s active roster.

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Irish in the NFL: Bennett Jackson waived by Ravens

Former Notre Dame Irish safety Bennett Jackson was waived by the Baltimore Ravens after the 28-year-old made his NFL debut this year.

The Baltimore Ravens waived former Notre Dame safety Bennett Jackson on Monday. He is now a free agent.

An immediate roster move was not announced, but the Ravens are expected to activate safety Brynden Trawick from the injured reserve to take his place.

Jackson has primarily been a special teamer in his time with the Ravens, which began in Week 7. He was active in four of the team’s six games since then, recording two combined tackles.

It was Jackson’s first NFL action, despite being drafted in the sixth round way back in 2014 by the New York Giants. A plethora of time on the practice squad and on the injured reserve prevented Jackson from actually playing until this year, at age 28.

Jackson starred at Notre Dame from 2010-2013, recording six interceptions and 158 combined tackles in the secondary for the Irish.

Now, he’ll have to work hard to find another team willing to take on a 28-year-old journeyman – but at least he was able to realize his goal of playing in an NFL game with Baltimore.

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Pete Carroll believes all 53 players should be active on gameday

Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll lamented the NFL’s rule that only 46 of the team’s 53 players can be active on game day.

Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider both strongly oppose the NFL’s rule that requires teams to make seven players inactive on game day.

Carroll feels that, as long as all 53 players on the roster are getting paid, they should be allowed to help the team each week – especially as the season goes on and players are consistently forced to suit up while dealing with injuries.

“I just don’t understand,” Carroll lamented on Saturday. “I just don’t get it. I just wish we would have all these guys available and they would help us this time of year, they would take plays off of guys, and they’d be healthier. There are some arguments that are kind of old arguments. I’ll always keep clamoring for that. I think it’s the right thing for the players, mostly. That’s what we should be considering. We’re paying them anyway. They’re all getting paid. I don’t understand it.”

Carroll went on to say he doesn’t really understand why the league hasn’t changed this rule, but that he believes it has to do with teams having injured players, which would give them less players than the opposing team.

However, Carroll believes a simple solution would be allowing players to be activated off the practice squad in place of injured players, which still allows each team to have 53 active each week.

“You can take guys off the practice squad, too, which would be great for those guys,” Carroll continued. “It would be the best thing that could ever happen for those guys. If you want to solve the problem, you solve the problem from my perspective. I don’t get what their perspective is, and I respect that.”

The league evaluates rule changes every year, and fans can bet Carroll, Schneider and many others around the league will clamor for a bigger active roster starting in 2020.

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Lions promote WR Chris Lacy, place WR Marvin Hall on IR

The Detroit Lions announced they have promoted wide receiver Chris Lacy from the practice squad and placed wide receiver Marvin Hall on injured reserve in a corresponding move.

The Detroit Lions announced they have promoted wide receiver Chris Lacy from the practice squad and placed wide receiver Marvin Hall on injured reserve in a corresponding move.

Lacy initially made the Lions 53-man roster after a strong training camp and preseason, but after only seeing the field for five snaps over two games, he was released and re-added to the practice squad in Week 3 of the regular season.

Lacy will step into the Lions fourth wide receiver role but, like earlier in the season, he will need to be looking over his shoulder as the team may want to get an extended look at some of their younger wide receivers currently on the practice squad, namely rookies Travis Fulgham and Tom Kennedy.

When Lacy was released from the Lions active roster, it was Hall who replaced him. Hall wasted no time making an impact on the Lions roster and what he lacked in volume, he made up for in big-play production.

Through his first five catches with Matthew Stafford at the helm, Hall was averaging a stunning 40.2-yards per reception. When Jeff Driskel took over, Hall caught three more passes but saw his per catch average dip to a still impressive 37.3-yards per catch average.

Hall is signed through the 2020 season and figures to enter the offseason as one of the Lions top four options at wide receiver.

Irish in the NFL: Chargers sign cornerback KeiVarae Russell

The Los Angeles Chargers signed former Notre Dame Fighting Irish cornerback KeiVarae Russell to their practice squad.

The Los Angeles Chargers signed former Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive back KeiVarae Russell to their practice squad on Tuesday.

Russell starred at Notre Dame for three seasons, missing the 2014 season with an injury but returning his senior year to record 48 solo tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, one sack, two interceptions and two forced fumbles.

That was enough for him to get picked in the third round of the 2016 NFL draft by the Chiefs – but not enough for him to stick with them, as he was released in September of that year.

He caught on with the Bengals and appeared in 20 games with them over the last three seasons, recording one interception, two passes defended and 17 solo tackles as a backup defensive back and a special teams contributor.

Cincinnati cut him just before the start of the 2019 season however, and he has remained without a team until Los Angeles signed him on Tuesday.

The former Irish cornerback will have a long road ahead of him to make it onto LA’s active roster, but at least he’s back in the NFL for now.

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Jacob Hollister continues to be a great pickup for Seahawks

Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll is thrilled with the performance of young tight end Jacob Hollister so far this season.

The Seattle Seahawks have had a healthy 2019 season across the board, with one glaring exception: the tight end position.

Season ending injuries to both Will Dissly and Ed Dickson, the latter just days after he was designated to return from the injured reserve, as well as veteran Luke Willson’s recent hamstring injury have left the Seahawks with few options.

Jacob Hollister, who began the year on the practice squad, has been forced to step into the leading role at that spot over the last month or so.

Hollister has not only filled in the usual run-blocking duties of a Seattle tight end, he has also established himself as a reliable pass-catcher and playmaker for Russell Wilson and the rest of this Seattle offense.

“Jake’s been a stud,” coach Pete Carroll commented on Monday. “He’s taken a lot of hits, he’s delivered a lot of them, man he’s playing good ball. He’s just doing such a good job. I’m so fired up for Jake. Talk about a great pickup. There’s a great pickup for us you know. He’s coming through for us in a big way. Still contributing in a big way on special teams too. I’m really excited about that.”

Hollister had two catches for 22 yards on Sunday against the Eagles, but if it weren’t for a shockingly misplaced throw from Wilson, a wide open Hollister would have easily hauled in his fourth touchdown in the last three games.

The Seahawks are hoping to get Willson back shortly, but fans can bet that Hollister will remain a crucial part of this team’s offense over the last five games of the regular season.

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