Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Here’s who’s sticking around from the practice squad.
With the Miami Dolphins 2022 season officially coming to a close on Sunday, the restrictions that force teams to keep their active rosters at 53 players are lifted, allowing teams to sign up to 90 players.
Once a team is eliminated they can sign a number of players to reserve/future contracts which adds them to the active roster through the spring and summer.
On Monday, the Dolphins signed these seven players from their practice squad to such deals:
One spent time with Miami this offseason.
The Miami Dolphins are dealing with a number of injuries to their defense with players like Xavien Howard, Byron Jones, Keion Crossen, Raekwon Davis, Zach Sieler and Brandon Jones all dealing with something that has impacted their practice participation this week.
With all these questions, the Dolphins have looked at some potential options for the practice squad or active roster, as they tried out defensive back Tino Ellis and defensive lineman Jaylen Twyman.
Ellis spent part of this offseason with Miami before he was waived with an injury designation following the preseason matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After reverting to injured reserve, Miami and Ellis agreed to an injury settlement, allowing the defensive back to hit the market again. His knowledge of the system could make for an easy transition if he were to come back.
Twyman was a sixth-round selection of the Minnesota Vikings in 2021 after a collegiate career at Pittsburgh that saw him earn First-team All-ACC honors once. He spent all of his rookie season on injured reserve and started this year on Minnesota’s practice squad.
Hopefully, Miami won’t need to start looking around at free agents to fill holes due to injuries, but they’re doing due diligence for now.
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Ellis is now free to sign with any team.
The tracking of Miami Dolphins roster moves never stops.
According to Pro Football Network’s Aaron Wilson, the Dolphins and cornerback Tino Ellis agreed to an injury settlement, meaning Ellis is now a free agent.
Miami originally signed the former USFL cornerback at the end of July and waived him with an injury designation after he went down during the team’s first preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
As a free agent, Ellis is now free to sign with any team, and with the Dolphins actually in need of cornerback depth again, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see him find his way back on the roster before cuts down to 53 players.
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There were no surprises cuts in this round.
On Tuesday, all 32 teams have to get their rosters down from 90 players to 85 by the 4 p.m. ET deadline, and the Miami Dolphins did so early on Tuesday despite adding players on Monday.
To get down to 85 players, the Dolphins announced that they’ve waived center Cole Banwart, wide receiver DeVonte Dedmon and defensive lineman Jordan Williams. They also placed tight end Adam Shaheen on injured reserve and waived/injured cornerback Tino Ellis.
Banwart was a long shot to make the team with Adam Pankey getting more opportunities than him as the third center, and Michael Deiter returning healthy to practice last week.
Dedmon was brought in mostly for his return abilities in the CFL, but Lynn Bowden Jr. and Preston Williams did that during the preseason game, and Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle have solid resumes in that area as well.
Jordan Williams, a rookie undrafted free agent, only got 10 snaps on Saturday, and other defensive linemen proved more than he did with their opportunities.
Shaheen was traded to the Houston Texans just over a week ago, but a knee condition voided the trade and sent him back to Miami. It’s interesting that they’re keeping him on injured reserve rather than flat-out releasing him, as Shaheen is in the last year of his deal.
Ellis, who was signed just a few weeks back, was waived but with an injury designation, so if he goes unclaimed he’ll revert back to Miami’s injured reserve. He went down during the preseason opener with a lower-body injury.
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This is his second stint in Miami.
While the Miami Dolphins have done a great job this offseason of adding players to compete for roster spots and opportunities during training camp, they don’t appear to be done.
According to Pro Football Network’s Aaron Wilson, the Dolphins are signing cornerback Tino Ellis, who most recently played for the Michigan Panthers of the USFL. He recorded 26 total tackles and one interception with the Panthers.
Ellis was originally undrafted out of Maryland in 2020 and signed with the New Orleans Saints. He actually signed with the Dolphins back in 2020 and spent a week on the practice squad in 2021, so this is his second stint with the team.
The former Terrapin has an uphill battle to climb against some tough competition for a depth spot at cornerback or on special teams with guys like Trill Williams, Elijah Cambell, Quincy Wilson and Kader Kohou vying for an opportunity to make the roster and practice squad.
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The New Orleans Saints signed free agent cornerback Kemon Hall after his tryout, which followed injuries to Tino Ellis and Johnson Bademosi.
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The New Orleans Saints lost two of their cornerbacks over the last week with veteran special teamer Johnson Bademosi and undrafted rookie Tino Ellis each ending the year on injured reserve. That prompted the team to host a pair of free agent corners on a tryout basis, and now they’ve ended up signing one of them: second-year pro Kemon Hall.
Here’s what we wrote of Hall after his workout:
Hall (listed at 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds) is a North Texas product who spent the 2019 season on the Minnesota Vikings practice squad, but hasn’t yet found a team in 2020. After transferring from Itawamba Community College in Mississippi, he started 25 straight games in the Conference USA and recorded 28 passes defensed (6 of which were interceptions), with a forced fumble thrown in for good measure. That suggests some real playmaking ability, but he’ll have to have wowed the Saints in his free agent tryout to get a shot on the 80-man roster.
So, apparently he did show the Saints what they wanted to see. But that won’t ensure an easy path to the 53-man roster for Hall, who will be competing with experienced backups like Patrick Robinson and Justin Hardee as well as Keith Washington Jr., an undrafted rookie. Adding another option to the cornerbacks room should only help everyone; iron sharpens iron in the NFL.
Here’s the Saints cornerbacks depth chart as it now stands:
And a second move could be coming in the days ahead. Hall’s addition brings the Saints to 79 spots filled on their 80-man roster for training camp, so it’s anyone’s guess as to how they might fill that remaining vacancy. Stay tuned for updates.
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The New Orleans Saints are down to just a handful of rostered cornerbacks after losing Tino Ellis and Johnson Bademosi to injured reserve.
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While the top of the New Orleans Saints depth chart has avoided serious injuries, the fringes of the roster can’t seem to catch a break. The Saints sent veteran cornerback Johnson Bademosi to injured reserve on Monday not long after he was activated from the physically unable to perform (PUP) list; a mid-December foot injury in 2019 ended his year. It’s unclear whether his latest injury is related to that issue, which prevented him from competing early in training camp.
Additionally, the Saints also lost cornerback Tino Ellis to a season-ending injury last week. Ellis, an undrafted rookie out of Maryland, had to be waived rather than directly designated to the injured reserve list due to NFL protocols. The move prompted the Saints to try out a pair of free agent cornerbacks, though neither of them were signed.
It means that the Saints have just a handful of cornerbacks on the roster right now: starters Marshon Lattimore and Janoris Jenkins, slot corners P.J. Williams and Patrick Robinson, special teams ace Justin Hardee, and undrafted rookie Keith Washington Jr. (West Virginia). The Saints probably need to sign another cornerback just to pad out the practice rotation for the rest of training camp.
On top of all of this: the Saints also released linebacker Nigel Bradham, which is good news for first- and second-year pros like Zack Baun, Joe Bachie, Kaden Ellis, and Chase Hansen. While the Saints could use reinforcements at cornerback, things are settling in nicely at linebacker.
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The New Orleans Saints tried out free agent cornerbacks Christopher Fredrick and Kemon Hall after rookie Tino Ellis went to injured reserve.
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The New Orleans Saints reported two free agent visits on Saturday’s daily NFL transactions wire: cornerbacks Christopher Fredrick and Kemon Hall. So who are they?
Fredrick (listed at 5-foot-11 and 198 pounds) is an undrafted rookie out of Syracuse, where he started 43 consecutive games at cornerback. He was credited with 23 pass defenses (including eight interceptions) in 49 games played, as well as five fumbles (three forced, two recovered). What’s interesting is that Fredrick also ran with the special teams units throughout his Syracuse career, experience which should help his odds of catching on with an NFL roster.
Hall (listed at 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds) is a North Texas product who spent the 2019 season on the Minnesota Vikings practice squad, but hasn’t yet found a team in 2020. After transferring from Itawamba Community College in Mississippi, he started 25 straight games in the Conference USA and recorded 28 passes defensed (6 of which were interceptions), with a forced fumble thrown in for good measure. That suggests some real playmaking ability, but he’ll have to have wowed the Saints in his free agent tryout to get a shot on the 80-man roster.
But why were the Saints bringing in more help for the secondary, which has impressed in training camp practices? It’s possible they simply need more bodies to help round out the daily rotation after rookie cornerback Tino Ellis (Maryland) was designated to the injured reserve list earlier this week.
With Ellis out of action, that leaves the Saints with the following healthy cornerbacks:
They haven’t signed anyone yet, but keep an eye out in case either of these free agents ends up joining the Saints for the rest of training camp. Earlier this week, they signed reserve tight end Ethan Wolf after a similar workout session.
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The New Orleans Saints waived cornerback Tino Ellis with an injury designation as the corresponding move to signing tight end Ethan Wolf.
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Multiple transactions related to the New Orleans Saints were listed on the daily NFL wire, most notably the release of rookie cornerback Tino Ellis. Ellis was waived with an injury designation, meaning that he will likely revert to the injured reserve list. He was absent at Monday’s practice session (the Saints were off Tuesday), and his release is the corresponding move for the Saints to sign tight end Ethan Wolf. Initially signed as an undrafted free agent out of Maryland, Ellis had long odds of making the roster.
Let’s recap what was going on with former Saints around the NFL. Cornerback Ken Crawley was signed by the Las Vegas Raiders earlier this summer, but was recently released, and visited the Arizona Cardinals as a free agent; NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Crawley is expected to sign with Arizona if he passes a physical and COVID-19 testing.
The Tennessee Titans signed wide receiver Krishawn Hogan after he participated in a recent tryout, making him the fifth player released by the Saints before training camp to catch on with a new team.
Unfortunately, Miami Dolphins linebacker Vince Biegel was sent to injured reserve after rupturing his Achilles in practice earlier this week. Biegel was swapped for Kiko Alonso in a preseason trade last summer, and he made the most of the opportunity — his first NFL sack came against Tom Brady, and he projected to start for Miami in 2020. Hopefully he will rebound.
One other throwback: pass rusher Jayrone Elliott impressed fans in some late-night preseason games back in 2018, and he also quickly gained a following in the short-lived AAF (San Antonio Commanders forever). He tried out for the Detroit Lions after appearing in five games with the Pittsburgh Steelers last season. Maybe he’ll get another shot in Detroit.
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The New Orleans Saints were not at full strength in their first training camp practice in pads, missing LG Andrus Peat and TE Josh Hill.
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The New Orelans Saints held their first training camp practice session in pads on Monday, but they weren’t at full strength. Four players were absent, including starting left guard Andrus Peat, co-starter tight end Josh Hill, undrafted rookie cornerback Tino Ellis, and veteran free agent pickup Anthony Chickillo.
However, Hill was the only player Payton offered an explanation for, saying that the tight end has missed time with a “tweak.” Whether the other players were dealing with recent injuries, personal issues, or the NFL’s COVID-19 protocol remains to be seen.
Hill’s loss is bigger than it appears; he’s one of Payton’s favorite players on the roster. He described Hill’s midgame exit with a concussion last season as “like losing your front door,” and had to spend an extended time on the bench retooling his playsheet. While Hill won’t set the world on fire with his receiving stats, there may not be another player Payton trusts more to execute blocking assignments and handle such a broad range of responsibilities.
Another example of Hill’s importance to the team: he’s appeared in 103 regular season games for the Saints, nearly as many as John Carney (108), Pat Swilling (107), Mark Ingram (106), and Pierre Thomas (105), and more than Joe Horn (102), Lance Moore (101), and Jimmy Graham (78). While this injury doesn’t sound like a long-term problem, Hill’s importance to the offense can’t be undersold. Hopefully he and the other absentees will return soon.
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