Tag: practice squad

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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Pete Carroll explains why Ed Dickson went back on IR

The Seahawks placed TE Ed Dickson back on the injured reserve just days after he was activated to the roster.

The Seattle Seahawks placed tight end Ed Dickson back on injured reserve just days after he was activated to the 53-man roster. The move seemed strange considering coach Pete Carroll had said Dickson would likely be ready for a full workload at the start of the week.

Carroll explained the unexpected move during his Friday afternoon press conference.

“We stepped up his work in the first couple days knowing that we were earnestly working to get ready,” Carroll said. “He’s just not ready. It’s unfortunate and I feel bad for him and all, but [placing him on IR is] just the right thing to do. He’s not ready to play yet. He was ready to get back to practice. He did that. When we pushed it up, you could just tell. We had to move him back to IR. The only way we could get him, we had to activate him on Wednesday to make him available.”

Had Seattle not made the roster move by Wednesday’s deadline, Dickson would not have been able to return this season.

“We had a good day’s work, and you could tell,” Carroll said. “I sat with him and talked about it and talked through it. He understood. He could tell. He doesn’t quite feel as ready as he needs to be.”

Seattle activated Tyrone Swoopes from the practice squad to take Dickson’s spot on the 53-man roster.

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Saints shuffle roster posts, lose Austin Carr to injured reserve

The New Orleans Saints sent WR Austin Carr to injured reserve and called up practice squad TE Jason Vander Laan, adding RB Ricky Ortiz.

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The New Orleans Saints shuffled the bottom of their depth chart on Friday in a series of roster moves. Third-year wide receiver Austin Carr was sent to the injured reserve list after missing practice with an ankle injury; in his place, the Saints called up practice squad tight end Jason Vander Laan. The open spot on the practice squad was filled by Ricky Ortiz, who the official NFL transactions wire listed as a running back.

Ortiz’s (6-foot-0, 233 pounds) exact position is a little unclear, though it doesn’t mean much in the bigger picture (teammate Taquan Mizzell, also on the practice squad, is listed as a wide receiver but wears No. 44, a number restricted to running backs and fullbacks). Oritz’s previous NFL experience came as a fullback with the Atlanta Falcons, where he was listed as a fullback and appeared in a dozen games last season, totaling 139 snaps on offense and 89 snaps on special teams.

Vander Laan (6-foot-4, 245 pounds) has been on the Saints practice squad since Oct. 23. His NFL experience has been limited to appearances with the Indianapolis Colts, Carolina Panthers, and New England Patriots practice squads. Before that, he played quarterback at Ferris State, where he set the NCAA all-division record for rushing yards (5,953).

With starting fullback Zach Line sidelined by a knee injury and backup tight end Josh Hill returning from a mild concussion, opportunities are there for fresh faces like Vander Laan and Ortiz to make an impression right away. Carr’s loss on offense is minimal; he’s proven to be a capable blocker out of the slot, but struggles to get open or catch the ball when it’s thrown to him. The Saints are working with second-year wideout Keith Kirkwood in his return from injured reserve in the next few weeks. Hopefully he’ll be able to create a spark where Carr couldn’t once he’s back.

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Seahawks place TE Ed Dickson on IR, promote Tyrone Swoopes

The Seattle Seahawks placed TE Ed Dickson back on the injured reserve, promoting Tyrone Swoopes from the practice squad to take his place.

Ed Dickson’s second season with the Seattle Seahawks was over nearly as soon as it began. The veteran was placed back on the injured reserve just two days after he was activated, meaning he will not play a single snap in the 2019 season.

The Seahawks recalled tight end Tyrone Swoopes from the practice squad to take his place on the active roster. Swoopes will likely serve as the backup tight end behind Jacob Hollister, with Luke Willson (hamstring) not expected to suit up on Sunday against the Eagles.

Dickson missed the first six games of the 2018 season on the injured reserve before coming back and hauling in three touchdowns down the stretch. Seattle no doubt hoped for more of the same from the veteran in 2019, but a lingering knee injury never managed to resolve itself, ending his season and putting the 32-year-old’s career in jeopardy.

Swoopes originally joined the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2017, converting from quarterback to tight end. He has appeared in two games over the past two seasons, hauling in one reception.

Sunday will likely be his first game on the active roster in 2019, and he could see regular action for Seattle at least until Willson is healthy.

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