Tag: PUP list

Detroit Lions EDGE Austin Bryant returns to practice, begins evaluation period

Detroit Lions EDGE Austin Bryant has returned to practice in Week 7, beginning a 21-day evaluation period. He remains on the PUP for now.

It’s been a tumultuous start to Detroit Lions’ Austin Bryant’s NFL career with multiple injuries sidelining the second-year EDGE rusher, but he has returned to practice in Week 7 and begun an evaluation period to determine if and when he can return in the 2020 season.

Bryant began his rookie training camp on the non-football injury list, was activated after a few days, then quickly injured his shoulder during the first week of camp. That injury eventually led to him opening the season on the injured reserve.

He was activated from injured reserve in late November of 2019, placed on the roster, and played in Week 12. Then he was promptly re-injured. By Week 15, he was healthy once again, and played in the final three games of the season — but was once again injured in Week 17.

He opened 2020 on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, but it’s unclear if his injury was related to what happened to him in the 2019 finale or something else.

Today, Bryant is healthy enough to practice, and at his morning press conference coach Matt Patricia said he wants to get Bryant reps to see where he is health-wise. The Lions will now have 21-days to decide if they want to place him on the active roster or if they will put him on injured reserve.

With Julain Okwara placed on injured reserve today, the Lions could use Bryant’s help on the edge and will hoping he is ready to go sooner rather than later.

Chiefs OL Martinas Rankin’s practice window opens this week

Rankin can finally return to practice after beginning the season on the PUP list.

The Kansas City Chiefs could be getting some reinforcements along the offensive line as early as this week.

Martinas Rankin is free to begin practicing this week after starting the season on the PUP list. He’s been allowed to attend team meetings and rehab at team facilities, but his practice window finally opens this week. That means Rankin has a new six-week window where he can return to practice and be activated from the PUP list to return to play if he’s deemed healthy.

If Rankin doesn’t return to practice and get activated in the next six weeks, the team would have to choose between sending him to injured reserve or releasing him from his contract. That’d be an absolute worst-case scenario for Kansas City.

Rankin was first acquired by the Chiefs in the trade that sent RB Carlos Hyde to the Houston Texans. He started five games at guard for the Chiefs in 2019, but he has the flexibility to kick out and play tackle. The Chiefs could obviously use the help on the offensive line as their depth has taken a hit with Kelechi Osemele’s knee injuries and now Mitchell Schwartz dealing with a back injury.

It’s not clear if we’ll see Rankin return to practice this week yet, but from Andy Reid’s comments last week, it didn’t sound like he would be ready to return for Week 7.

“Yeah, so Rank (Martinas Rankin) has done a good job of working to get back,” Reid told reporters. “He’s not quite there yet but he’s working at it.”

Rankin suffered a season-ending knee injury in mid-November during the 2019 season. So he’s nearly hit the 12-month mark in his recovery from injury. The Chiefs should still be cautious here and not rush Rankin back just because they’re in need of depth. There are other options out there and available in the interim.

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Saints designate Kiko Alonso, Ty Montgomery to return from injuries

The New Orleans Saints are working to bring linebacker Kiko Alonso and running back Ty Montgomery back to action after early-year injuries.

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Some reinforcements could be on the way for the New Orleans Saints. While the team was expecting to get all-star wide receiver Michael Thomas back from his early-season ankle sprain (and a single-game benching after a fight in practice), on Monday they also designated two veteran players to return from injuries on the official NFL transactions wire: linebacker Kiko Alonso and running back Ty Montgomery.

Alonso started training camp on the physically unable to perform list after suffering an ACL tear back in January’s playoffs; despite some offseason optimism, he wasn’t able to get medical clearance to return to work until Oct. 19. It’s unclear how involved he’ll be once he’s back to his old self, because the Saints have played so little base defense. Linebackers Demario Davis and Alex Anzalone are the only ones to log meaningful snaps, with strongside starter Zack Baun seeing just 13 plays so far this year. But Alonso proved last year he can play so the Saints will find ways for him to help out.

As for Montgomery: he was an exciting free agent addition in training camp, but the pass-catching specialist got on the field for just 10 snaps on offense before going down with a hamstring injury. He was placed on injured reserve, but players can be designated to return after three weeks of inaction this year due to COVID-19 rules changes. Most of Montgomery’s action came on special teams (he only had 3 targets and 1 carry on offense) so that could continue once he’s active again on game days.

The Saints welcomed multiple starters back into the lineup after a spat of early-season injuries before the bye week: defensive end Marcus Davenport (elbow, toe), left guard Andrus Peat (ankle), cornerback Marshon Lattimore (hamstring), and tight end Jared Cook (groin) all got on the field in Week 6’s win over the Los Angeles Chargers, and right tackle Ryan Ramczyk returned from a Week 5 concussion. Adding Thomas to that group would be huge, but bringing in more veteran depth like Alonso and Montgomery would also be moves in the right direction.

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2020 Seahawks roster cuts: Seattle trims squad down to 53 players

The Seattle Seahawks made the following cuts, releasing or waiving these players to trim to their roster down to 53 by the NFL’s deadline.

The Seattle Seahawks made a number of difficult decisions over the last couple of days to trim their roster down to the 53-player limit by the NFL’s deadline of Saturday, Sept. 5 at 1:00 p.m. PT.

While the roster will remain fluid over the next couple of days and the rest of the season, here’s a look at the players who were waived or released during the initial round of cuts. Keep in mind, some could be added back to active duty or placed on the practice squad.

Seattle has waived the following players:

T Tommy Champion

DT Demarcus Christmas

QB Danny Etling

WR Aaron Fuller

QB Anthony Gordon

LB Shaquem Griffin

WR Penny Hart

CB Gavin Heslop

DT P.J. Johnson

DT Cedrick Lattimore

WR Lance Lenoir

TE Tyler Mabry

S Chris Miller

DB Ryan Neal

CB Debione Renfro

DB Jayson Stanley

TE Stephen Sullivan

WR Cody Thompson

OT Chad Wheeler

The Seahawks also terminated the contracts of two veterans:

WR Paul Richardson

FB Nick Bellore

Click here to see the five players the Seahawks placed on reserve lists to start the 2020 season.

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Jets activate Avery Williamson, Ryan Griffin, Daniel Brown

The Jets have placed Avery Williamson, Ryan Griffin and Daniel Brown back on the active roster.

The New York Jets have three injured players back on the active roster and officially practicing.

The team announced Saturday that Avery Williamson (knee/PUP), Ryan Griffin (ankle/PUP) and Daniel Brown (NFI) have all been activated. Joe Flacco is the only Jet left on the PUP list.

Williamson is coming back from a torn ACL that he suffered last preseason. His value on the team increased this offseason with C.J. Mosley opting out due to COVID-19 concerns. Before Williamson’s ACL injury, he was coming off one of the best seasons of his career, recording 120 total tackles, six pass breakups, three sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and one interception.

Griffin was the Jets’ best tight end last season. He was a late offseason signing last year but proved to be one of Sam Darnold’s favorite targets. Griffin had 320 receiving yards and five touchdowns in 13 games before going down with an ankle injury in Week 14. The Jets rewarded Griffin with a three-year contract extension worth $10.8 million.

As for Brown, he was primarily a backup tight end in 2019. He started in five of 16 games and had seven catches for 72 yards and a touchdown. The Jets re-signed Brown to a one-year deal this offseason.

In other Jets news, they re-signed safety Anthony Cioffi and released tight end Connor Davis.

Former Chiefs QB Alex Smith activated from Washington PUP list

Alex Smith’s comeback from a devastating leg injury is nearly complete.

Former Kansas City Chiefs QB Alex Smith’s comeback from a devastating leg injury suffered in 2018 is nearly complete.

According to Washington Post reporter Nicki Jhabvala, Smith is expected to be activated off the Washington Football Team PUP list. It could happen as early as Sunday. That means Smith will be all clear for football activities, including contact periods of practice.

Smith, 36, suffered spiral and compound fractures to his tibia and fibula in his right leg in Week 11 of 2018. We wouldn’t learn the magnitude of the injury until it was later revealed during the “Project 11” documentary that Smith nearly lost his leg and his life due to an infection. His leg would require numerous surgeries. He spent months bound to a wheelchair and in an external fixator. His comeback to football is a testament to Smith’s dedication and is nothing short of miraculous.

Just last week, Washington head coach Ron Rivera said that Smith would be in the middle of the quarterback competition if he was healthy. Well, he’s healthy and he’ll have over a month to prove that he deserves to be the starting quarterback in Washington. He’ll be in competition with second-year QB, Dwayne Haskins. Really, it’s Haskins’ job to lose as the incumbent starter.

Everyone is rooting for Smith in his return from injury, but the Chiefs Kingdom will certainly throw their support behind Smith to win the starting job from Haskins.

Update: It’s now official, Alex Smith has come off the PUP list.

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Report: Alex Smith to be cleared for football activity in Washington

After a long recovery process, Alex Smith is reportedly going to be removed from the PUP list and cleared for football activity.

Several months ago, it was easy to believe that Washington quarterback Alex Smith would never put on pads and step onto a football field again.

On Sunday, Smith is reportedly going to be removed from the PUP list and be placed on the active roster in Washington, according to ESPN’s John Keim.

After a gruesome leg injury held him out of over a year of play, and threatened not only his football career, but his life at points, Smith will now have a chance to play meaningful snaps in Washington’s practices, as he competes with the likes of Dwayne Haskins and Kyle Allen to earn minutes on the team. Seeing him overthrow Haskins as the seeming sure-shot to earn the QB1 role in Washington sounds like a huge task, but considering the obstacles that he’s already overcome to get to this point, nothing is out of the question.

Smith is expected to be activated off the PUP list Sunday, the source said, putting him in line to be on the field when Washington begins full-pad work at training camp Tuesday. His wife, Elizabeth, posted a video on Instagram earlier Saturday night of Smith’s family spraying him with champagne. She wrote, “Hard work pays off! Lots to celebrate in the Smith house tonight.”

At this point, just getting onto the active roster in Washington is more than you could have ever asked for from Smith, so anything he accomplishes from here on out is an absolute cherry on top of the Sunday. Here is a heartfelt congratulations to Alex, who keeps on pushing the boundaries of what is possible with some hard work and dedication.

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Johnson Bademosi passes physical, activated from Saints PUP list

The New Orleans Saints activated veteran cornerback Johnson Bademosi from the physically unable to perform list after he passed his physical

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One member of the New Orleans Saints has gotten healthy: veteran cornerback Johnson Bademosi was activated from the physically unable to perform (PUP) list on Friday after passing his physical. He had initially been designated to the PUP list after failing his entry physical due to a late-season foot injury. Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football first reported his activation.

Bademosi re-signed with the Saints earlier this year; before that, he logged 110 snaps in six games, taking 109 snaps on special teams with the punt and kick coverage units. With nine years of NFL experience behind him, he has the resume to again make the team, and now his body is healthy enough to allow him to compete for a roster spot.

That leaves just linebacker Kiko Alonso on the PUP list, who was designated to it along with Bademosi two weeks ago. Alonso has been recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in the Saints’ postseason loss to the Minnesota Vikings, and would be a favorite to start next to Demario Davis at linebacker if he were healthy. But he has to bide his time in the trainers’ room until he’s cleared to return to play.

LSU Tigers sports

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Seahawks LB K.J. Wright makes ‘marvelous return’ from shoulder surgery

Seattle Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright made a ‘marvelous return’ from shoulder surgery and will not start training camp on the PUP list.

The Seattle Seahawks saw the healthy return of one of their starting linebackers at Wednesday’s practice. K. J. Wright, who underwent shoulder surgery during the offseason, was on the field with his teammates.

“It’s a marvelous return,” coach Pete Carroll said during his virtual press conference after the session. “He’s raring to go. We anticipated that he could quite likely go on PUP (Physically Unable to Perform list), he cleared his physical with flying colors. We’ll still look after him and take care of him, but he’s in great shape.”

The Seahawks have yet to have a fully-padded practice and Wright could likely be limited in contact drills to start.

But with no preseason games and the regular-season opener still over a month away, Wright will hopefully have enough time to fully recover ahead of his 2020 campaign.

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LOOK: Former Alabama LB Reuben Foster back in action

Former Alabama LB Reuben Foster makes his return to football with the Washington Football team. Foster missed the entire 2019 season.

Former Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster has had an interesting journey in the NFL since being drafted in the first round of the 2017 draft. After not being able to play since the 2018 season, Foster is back in action.

Foster’s time with the team that drafted him, the San Francisco 49ers, was short lived after being released early in his sophomore season due to violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.

Three days after being released by San Francisco, Foster was picked up by Washington. He was unable to play in the remainder of the 2018 season due to the ongoing NFL investigation into off-the-field allegations.

In his first ever practice with Washington, leading into the 2019 season, Foster suffered a severe knee injury. A torn ACL and LCL kept the once star linebacker sidelined for the entire season.

There have been videos posted to social media showing Foster training, a good sign that he’s back in good health, as well as coaches and staff commenting on if he’ll be available for the 2020 season.

Well, the speculation has concluded. Today, Foster was taken off the physically unable to perform (PUP) list and the Washington Football Team welcomed him back with a post to social media.

Roll Tide Wire will keep you updated on Reuben Foster’s return to football as the 2020 NFL season approaches.