Tag: Roster

Cincinnati Bengals release former Wisconsin wide receiver

Cincinnati Bengals release former Wisconsin wide receiver

The Cincinnati Bengals waived former Wisconsin wide receiver Kendric Pryor on Tuesday. The move was part of the Bengals trimming their roster to the required 53 players before Tuesday’s 4 p.m. deadline.

This news comes after Pryor caught one pass for 11 yards during limited preseason action. He missed time during the period with a finger injury, an injury that did not help his case to make the team’s active roster.

Related: Every former Wisconsin Badger to make an NFL 53-man roster entering 2024 regular season

The Bengals instead opted to enter 2024 with a wide receiver room of Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Andrei Losivas, Charlie Jones, Jermaine Burton and Trenton Irwin.

This news means Pryor will again likely enter the season on the practice squad. That status has defined his professional career this far, as he has yet to stick on an NFL roster since going undrafted during the 2022 NFL draft.

His first chance came with the Bengals during 2022 training camp. He was released during roster cuts on Aug. 30 of that year. That led to a stint with the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he spent most of the 2022 season on and off of the team’s practice squad. The Jaguars released him on Aug. 29, 2023 in the final roster cuts before the 2023 season.

Pryor then signed back with the Bengals in October. He spent the rest of the 2023 season on the Bengals practice squad before signing a reserve contract that kept him with the team up until Tuesday.

 

Pryor’s brief professional stint has followed a five-year Wisconsin career (2017-2021). He totaled 99 catching, 1,265 yards and seven touchdowns during that time, including a career-best 416 yards in 2021.

The former Badger will likely sign to the Bengals practice squad once waivers clear as he continues to work for his first NFL opportunity.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion. 

Houston Texans release former Wisconsin wide receiver

Houston Texans release former Wisconsin wide receiver

The Houston Texans released former Wisconsin wide receiver Quintez Cephus on Tuesday. The roster move comes as the Texans trimmed their roster to the required 53 players to enter the 2024 season.

Cephus signed with the Texans in July after being released by the Buffalo Bills earlier in the offseason. He spent the first four seasons of his NFL career with the Detroit Lions (2020-2023) after being a fifth-round selection in the 2020 NFL draft.

Related: Every former Wisconsin Badger to make an NFL 53-man roster entering 2024 regular season

The former Badger excelled in limited action during the Texans’ 2024 preseason, catching a total of six passes for 40 yards in three games of action.

That strong performance was not enough to earn him a spot on the team’s 53-man roster entering the season. Instead, the Texans opted for a wide receiver room of Nico Collins, Tank Dell, Stefon Diggs, Xavier Hutchinson, Robert Woods, John Metchie III and Steven Sims.

Cephus played for three years at Wisconsin (2016, 2017, 2019). His best season came in 2019 when he and quarterback Jack Coan connected for 59 receptions, 901 yards and seven touchdowns.

The former Badgers’ NFL career has been a roller coaster up to this point. He performed well in his first two seasons with the Lions (2020, 2021), totaling 35 catches for 553 yards and four touchdowns. An injury then derailed his 2022 season before his career came to a halt when he was among several Lions suspended for all of 2023 for violating the NFL’s gambling policy.

Cephus is still searching for his next opportunity after missing most of the last two seasons. He signed with the Buffalo Bills in April, though was soon released. The Texans were the next to give the talented former Badger an opportunity.

The wide receiver will likely start the 2024 season on the Texans’ practice squad. It isn’t out of the realm of possibility that he’s back on the active roster at some point this year.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion. 

Big things to know from Packers’ initial 53-man roster of 2024

All the big things to know from the Packers’ initial 53-man roster of the 2024 season, which was released Tuesday.

The Green Bay Packers released their initial 53-man roster of the 2024 season on Tuesday.

Who made the team? Who were the surprising releases? What about the injury situations? Let’s break it all down.

Here are some big things to know from the Packers’ first 53-man roster of 2024:

— The Packers placed running back A.J. Dillon (stinger) and tight end Tyler Davis (shoulder) on injured reserve without a return designation, ending their 2024 season. They could be released with injury settlements. This looks like it could be the end of Dillon’s career in Green Bay. He’s suffered two stingers in the last nine months and has no realistic pathaway to playing for the Packers in 2024.

— Rookie running back MarShawn Lloyd avoided injured reserve is on the 53-man roster, suggesting he’s close to return from a hamstring injury. Lloyd and Emanuel Wilson are the two backups behind Josh Jacobs.

— Veteran Greg Joseph is the kicker, for now. Anders Carlson was released.

— Defensive lineman Jonathan Ford went on injured reserve with a designation to return. He injured his calf in the preseason finale. He can return after a minimum of four games.

— The Packers released both Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt. On the first 53 is Malik Willis, who will be officially traded to Green Bay from Tennessee pending a physical.

— The Packers released receiver Grant DuBose and kept six receivers, with Bo Melton and Malik Heath making it as the final two. DuBose had a nice summer but it’s possible keeping seven receivers was just too many.

— The Packers kept six defensive ends — both Brenton Cox Jr. and Arron Mosby made the team. Cox led the team in pressures and Mosby made a ton of impact plays during the preseason.

— Linebacker Kristian Welch, a preseason standout and core special teamer, didn’t make it. He was released. The Packers kept only five linebackers.

— The Packers released rookie cornerback Kalen King. The team kept only five cornerbacks. King and Pratt, two seventh-round picks, were the only two of 11 draft picks to be released.

— Safety Anthony Johnson Jr., who started games for the Packers last season, was released in a shocking move. He had a nice camp and preseason but lost out to Zayne Anderson, a core special teamer, and Kitan Oladapo, a fifth-round rookie.

— The Packers did not have an undrafted rookie make the initial 53-man roster for the first time in two decades.

Saints cut Johnathan Abrams, a projected starter at safety

The New Orleans Saints released Johnathan Abrams, a projected starter at safety. But he won’t go on waivers and may return after roster cuts:

Here’s another surprising move from the New Orleans Saints. The team released Johnathan Abrams on Tuesday as part of their roster cuts, but he  had been a projected starter at safety before Will Harris pulled ahead in the last few weeks of training camp.

This may not be the end of the road. Abram won’t test waivers as a vested veteran and may return after roster cuts. Unless the Saints add more high-end help at safety, anyway. Their high-profile (and fruitless) pursuit of Justin Simmons suggests they’re at least open to making an upgrade.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports that the Saints “want him back on the practice squad” while Nola.com’s Luke Johnson quotes a team source as saying “We will see” whether Abram re-signs once the dust settles.

If preseason snap counts and performance are any indication, it won’t be Jordan Howden starting next to Tyrann Mathieu. The second-year pro missed too many tackles and blew too many opportunities this summer for the Saints to lean on him in the fall. He’ll have to earn back that confidence from the coaching staff. Stay tuned as the team’s plans materialize here.

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Report: Former Wisconsin linebacker surprisingly makes Bengals 53-man roster

Former Wisconsin linebacker surprisingly makes Bengals 53-man roster

Former Wisconsin linebacker Maema Njongmeta is in line to make the Cincinnati Bengals’ 53-man roster entering the 2024 season, according to TheDraftNetwork’s Justin Melo.

Njongmeta has been a breakout player this preseason after signing with the Bengals as an undrafted free agent following the 2024 NFL draft.

Related: Every former Wisconsin Badger currently on an NFL roster entering 2024 training camp

The two-year starter at Wisconsin totaled 29 tackles over three preseason games, 18 of them solo tackles. He also added two pass deflections and some strong special teams performance.

Njongmeta will enter the 2024 season as the Bengals’ third-string inside linebacker behind starters Logan Wilson and Germaine Pratt and backups Joe Bachie and Akeem Davis-Gaither.

The former three-star recruit is the next in a long line of recent Wisconsin inside linebackers to make it to the NFL. He is taking the same path as Badger great T.J. Edwards, who signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as a undrafted free agent in 2019 and is entering his sixth NFL season.

Njongmeta totaled 158 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, 6 1/2 sacks, one interception, two pass deflections and three fumble recoveries during his time with the Badgers. He was one of the best players on Jim Leonhard’s 2022 defense before taking a step back under Luke Fickell and Mike Tressel in 2023.

Check back after roster cuts are finalized for a complete list of former Badgers to make NFL rosters for the 2024 regular season.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion. 

Saints waive Lou Hedley, making a big change at punter

The New Orleans Saints waived Lou Hedley, making a big change at punter. It looks like it’ll be Matthew Hayball punting this year but he isn’t out of the woods yet:

The New Orleans made a big change at punter and waived Lou Hedley, as first reported by NewOrleans.Football’s Mike Triplett. Obviously we’ll have to wait and make sure they don’t add someone else, but that suggests rookie punter Matthew Hayball won the job after a spirited competition throughout the summer. He’ll be the fourth punter for the Saints in five years after Hedley won the job from Blake Gillikin, who had replaced Thomas Morstead.

Hayball signed with the Saints as an undrafted free agent in the spring, having played college football at Vanderbilt. Like Hedley he hails from Australia but Hayball showed better hang time and distance on his kicks throughout training camp. When Hedley consistently came up short in the preseason games with too many line-drive punts and a poorly-timed touchback, it seemed to seal the deal.

Good luck to Hedley on his next opportunity. He was one of the better stories in the Saints locker room and he’ll land on his feet wherever he goes next. As for Hayball? We’ve seen the Saints dismiss all of their specialists and bring in someone new before if they weren’t getting the desired results. Maybe that repeats this time. Roster cuts will be finalized at 3 p.m. CT. on Tuesday but more movement is expected throughout the week.

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Khalen Saunders expected to miss several weeks with calf injury

The Saints may have to shuffle their cards on roster cut-down day, as Khalen Saunders is expected to miss several weeks with a calf injury:

New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Khalen Saunders is expected to miss a couple of weeks due to a calf injury, per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill. This news comes on roster cut-down day and leaves the Saints with some pretty intriguing questions to answer as they begin to trim down the roster to its official 53-man size.

The Saints have options, as they could place Saunders on injured reserve, leaving him out of the lineup for four games but opening an extra roster spot for the duration. Otherwise, they could keep him on the active roster if the injury is expected to have a shorter duration than that and find a way to replace him for two to three weeks until he is healthy.

As for his replacement, the presumably obvious answer would be Nathan Shepherd, who started all 17 games for the Saints with Saunders along the defensive line. The other possible option would be rookie sixth-round pick Khristian Boyd, who has been the subject of quite a bit of hype throughout the offseason process. He has exceptional athletic skills and physical traits that make him an intriguing prospect, and may lead to him getting at least some share of the snaps left behind by Saunders. Bryan Bresee had already replaced Saunders in the starting lineup next to Shepherd so expect a big season for the second-year draft pick.

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View every player on the Broncos’ roster before cuts begin

This is what the Broncos’ roster looks like before cuts begin this week.

The Denver Broncos wrapped up preseason on Sunday with a perfect 3-0 record. The next part is no fun.

Denver must now trim the squad from 91 players down to a 53-man roster by 2 p.m. MT on Tuesday, Aug. 27. The first cuts could start as early as Monday.

Before the cuts begin, here’s a look at the Broncos’ roster as it stands now.

Denver Broncos 90-man offseason roster

Name Position Number
Jarrett Stidham QB 8
Bo Nix QB 10
Zach Wilson QB 4
Javonte Williams RB 33
Samaje Perine RB 25
Jaleel McLaughlin RB 38
Audric Estime RB 37
Blake Watson RB 43
Tyler Badie RB 36
Michael Burton FB 20
Nate Adkins FB/TE 45
Greg Dulcich TE 80
Adam Trautman TE 82
Lucas Krull TE 85
Thomas Yassmin (IPP) TE 86
Hunter Kampmoyer TE 84
Courtland Sutton WR 14
Marvin Mims WR 19
Josh Reynolds WR 11
Troy Franklin WR 16
Tim Patrick WR 12
Devaughn Vele WR 81
Lil’Jordan Humphrey WR 17
Brandon Johnson WR 89
Jalen Virgil  WR 15
Phillip Dorsett WR 13
David Sills WR 87
Michael Bandy WR 83
Mike McGlinchey OT 69
Garett Bolles OT 72
Frank Crum OT 73
Alex Palczewski OT 63
Matt Peart OT 79
Demontrey Jacobs OT 71
Will Sherman OT/G 78
Oliver Jervis OT 64
Quinn Meinerz G 77
Ben Powers G 74
Nick Gargiulo G/C 66
Calvin Throckmorton G 76
Luke Wattenberg C/G 60
Alex Forsyth C 54
Sam Mustipher C 61
Zach Allen DE 99
John Franklin-Myers DE 98
D.J. Jones DL 93
Malcolm Roach DL 97
Angelo Blackson DL 90
Matt Henningsen DL 91
Elijah Garcia DL 95
Eyioma Uwazurike DL 96
Jordan Jackson DL 94
Jordan Miller DL 68
Baron Browning OLB 5
Jonathon Cooper OLB 0
Nik Bonitto OLB 42
Jonah Elliss OLB 52
Drew Sanders (PUP) OLB 41
Thomas Incoom OLB 59
Dondrea Tillman OLB 92
Alex Singleton ILB 49
Cody Barton ILB 55
Jonas Griffith ILB 50
Justin Strnad ILB 40
Levelle Bailey ILB 56
Andre Smith ILB 23
Durell Nchami LB 53
Alec Mock LB 57
Pat Surtain CB 2
Ja’Quan McMillian CB 29
Riley Moss CB 21
Damarri Mathis CB 27
Levi Wallace CB 39
Kris Abrams-Draine CB 31
Tremon Smith CB 1
Art Green CB 28
Reese Taylor CB 35
Quinton Newsome CB 36
Kaleb Hayes DB 46
Devon Key DB 26
Tanner McCalister DB 30
Keidron Smith DB 43
Brandon Jones S 22
P.J. Locke S 6
Delarrin Turner-Yell (PUP) S 32
JL Skinner S 34
Omar Brown S 45
Wil Lutz K 3
Riley Dixon P 9
Trenton Gill P 47
Mitchell Fraboni LS 48

Notes: Drew Sanders (Achilles) and Delarrin Turner-Yell (ACL) are currently on the physically unable to perform list. As part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway program, tight end Thomas Yassmin does not count against the 90-man roster limit. If he makes the practice squad this year, he also would not count against that 16-player limit.

After finalizing an active roster, Denver can build a 16- or 17-player practice squad. We will track all of the team’s roster moves on Broncos Wire.

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Saints open the second half vs. Titans with a takeaway

The Saints opened the second half against the Titans with a takeaway. Way to reintroduce yourself after missing time with an injury, Monty Rice:

Here’s how you reintroduce yourself after missing time with an injury. The New Orleans Saints opened the second half against the Tennessee Titans with a takeaway. Monty Rice was held out of practice the last week while on the mend with an ankle injury but he was able to dress for Sunday’s preseason game, and he made the most of that opportunity.

Rice tackled Titans running back Jabari Small and punched the ball loose. His teammate, rookie safety Millard Bradford, recovered it and set the Saints offense up in Tennessee territory. It was a great play by both players as they compete for roster spots ahead of cut-downs on Tuesday.

And that competition is fierce. The top of the depth chart at both linebacker and safety appears to be set, so guys like Rice and Bradford are fighting for the few vacancies remaining on the back end of the depth chart or the practice squad. But clutch plays like this will do a lot to help their cases for those jobs.

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View the Broncos’ roster for preseason finale vs. Cards

Here is the Broncos’ roster for their preseason finale against the Cardinals today.

Welcome back, Denver Broncos football!

After defeating the Indianapolis Colts and Green Bay Packers in their first two preseason games, the Broncos are now set to host the Arizona Cardinals in their preseason finale on Sunday afternoon.

Denver did not make any transactions this week, so the roster is unchanged from last week. Here’s where things stand going into the final week of preseason.

Denver Broncos 90-man offseason roster

Name Position Number
Jarrett Stidham QB 8
Bo Nix QB 10
Zach Wilson QB 4
Javonte Williams RB 33
Samaje Perine RB 25
Jaleel McLaughlin RB 38
Audric Estime RB 37
Blake Watson RB 43
Tyler Badie RB 36
Michael Burton FB 20
Nate Adkins FB/TE 45
Greg Dulcich TE 80
Adam Trautman TE 82
Lucas Krull TE 85
Thomas Yassmin (IPP) TE 86
Hunter Kampmoyer TE 84
Courtland Sutton WR 14
Marvin Mims WR 19
Josh Reynolds WR 11
Troy Franklin WR 16
Tim Patrick WR 12
Devaughn Vele WR 81
Lil’Jordan Humphrey WR 17
Brandon Johnson WR 89
Jalen Virgil  WR 15
Phillip Dorsett WR 13
David Sills WR 87
Michael Bandy WR 83
Mike McGlinchey OT 69
Garett Bolles OT 72
Frank Crum OT 73
Alex Palczewski OT 63
Matt Peart OT 79
Demontrey Jacobs OT 71
Will Sherman OT/G 78
Oliver Jervis OT 64
Quinn Meinerz G 77
Ben Powers G 74
Nick Gargiulo G/C 66
Calvin Throckmorton G 76
Luke Wattenberg C/G 60
Alex Forsyth C 54
Sam Mustipher C 61
Zach Allen DE 99
John Franklin-Myers DE 98
D.J. Jones DL 93
Malcolm Roach DL 97
Angelo Blackson DL 90
Matt Henningsen DL 91
Elijah Garcia DL 95
Eyioma Uwazurike DL 96
Jordan Jackson DL 94
Jordan Miller DL 68
Baron Browning OLB 5
Jonathon Cooper OLB 0
Nik Bonitto OLB 42
Jonah Elliss OLB 52
Drew Sanders (PUP) OLB 41
Thomas Incoom OLB 59
Dondrea Tillman OLB 92
Alex Singleton ILB 49
Cody Barton ILB 55
Jonas Griffith ILB 50
Justin Strnad ILB 40
Levelle Bailey ILB 56
Andre Smith ILB 23
Durell Nchami LB 53
Alec Mock LB 57
Pat Surtain CB 2
Ja’Quan McMillian CB 29
Riley Moss CB 21
Damarri Mathis CB 27
Levi Wallace CB 39
Kris Abrams-Draine CB 31
Tremon Smith CB 1
Art Green CB 28
Reese Taylor CB 35
Quinton Newsome CB 36
Kaleb Hayes DB 46
Devon Key DB 26
Tanner McCalister DB 30
Keidron Smith DB 43
Brandon Jones S 22
P.J. Locke S 6
Delarrin Turner-Yell (PUP) S 32
JL Skinner S 34
Omar Brown S 45
Wil Lutz K 3
Riley Dixon P 9
Trenton Gill P 47
Mitchell Fraboni LS 48

Notes: Drew Sanders (Achilles) and Delarrin Turner-Yell (ACL) are currently on the physically unable to perform list. As part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway program, tight end Thomas Yassmin does not count against the 90-man roster limit. If he makes the practice squad this year, he also would not count against that 16-player limit.

The Broncos have to trim the roster down to 53 players by Aug. 27. After finalizing an active roster, Denver can build a 16- or 17-player practice squad. We will track all of the team’s roster moves on Broncos Wire.

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