Tag: waiver claim

Saints claim former All-Pro return man Kene Nwangwu off waivers

The Saints claimed a former All-Pro return man in Vikings running back Kene Nwangwu, adding more options for the new kickoff format:

The New Orleans Saints utilized their waivers position at No. 14 to make a claim Wednesday, bringing in 2022 All-Pro returner Kene Nwangwu per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill. This move was also officially confirmed via the NFL waiver system transaction report, shared  by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

First off, this move will require a respective move to be made, whether that be another player to injured reserve or someone being released or waived.

As for Nwangwu, he has been an exceptional kick return man throughout his career, leading the league in 2022 with 35 kick returns, and in 2021 with two kick return touchdowns (three of them in his career). His most notable of the three was a 99-yard return touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers in 2021, which conveniently came when Klint Kubiak was with the Vikings as well. Nwangwu only ran the ball sparingly for Kubiak that season but he averaged 4.7 yards per carry.

With the new kickoff format coming to the NFL this season, the Saints will now have two All-Pro returners on the team in Nwangwu and Rashid Shaheed, which should help their chances at being one of the first teams to really get accustomed to it quickly.

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Seahawks lose OLB Jamie Sheriff, LB Jon Rhattigan to waiver claims

Seahawks lose OLB Jamie Sheriff, LB Jon Rhattigan to waiver claims

Releasing a player and exposing them to the waivers claim process always comes with a risk. Unfortunately, the Seattle Seahawks were burned on two occasions when Wednesday’s claims were officially processed by the league office. The Carolina Panthers claimed Seahawks EDGE rusher Jamie Sheriff and off-ball linebacker Jon Rhattigan, according to multiple sources.

 

Both Rhattigan and Sheriff were waived during Tuesday’s final roster cuts. Sheriff is the one Seahawks fans will especially mourn. The rookie undrafted free agent from South Alabama recorded three sacks during the preseason and was a constant thorn in the backside of quarterbacks. He finished just half a sack away from leading the league in exhibition sacks.

The Seahawks clearly didn’t think Sheriff was ready for regular-season football. Instead of keeping him on the active roster, general manager John Schneider traded for veteran EDGE Trevis Gipson, who made the team. Sheriff was waived as a result, and the Panthers used their top waiver-wire priority to pounce on his availability.

The issue between the Seahawks and Rhattigan was apparently salary related. By claiming Rhattigan, the Panthers are inheriting his base salary of $2.985 million, which the Seahawks felt was bloated, per Bob Condotta. Again, the Panthers utilized their top priority here.

The Seahawks revamped their linebacker room earlier this offseason. Jerome Baker and Tyrel Dodson are expected to serve as the starters. They also drafted Tyrice Knight, and recently traded for rookie linebacker Michael Barrett, who is expected to re-join Seattle via the practice squad after he was waived on Tuesday. All of those moves made Rhattigan and his salary more expendable.

It’s worth acknowledging new Panthers general manager Dan Morgan worked under Schneider for five years in Seattle, first as a scout (2010), and later as assistant director of pro personnel (2011-14). Carolina’s staff features various ex Seahawks coaches, including their head coach Dave Canales. It’s not surprising that the Panthers opted to claim two Seahawks players.

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Texans waiver claim Vikings OT Jacky Chen

The Houston Texans acquired OT Jacky Chen from the Minnesota Vikings, who placed the rookie on waivers.

The Houston Texans are adding a little more depth to their tackle situation.

The club announced Tuesday they had made a waiver claim for Jacky Chen of the Minnesota Vikings.

Chen joined the Vikings as an undrafted free agent from Pace University in the New York City area. The international management major was invited to play at the East-West Shrine Bowl after the season.

The 6-6, 310-pound offensive lineman played three snaps for the Vikings in their 24-13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks last week. All three snaps were on special teams.

The Texans are still working through their tackle depth as right guard Tytus Howard recovers from a broken left hand and fourth-year Charlie Heck works his way off the physically unable to perform list.

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Ravens officially claim CB Trayvon Mullen off of waivers from Cowboys

The Ravens officially claimed cornerback Trayvon Mullen off of waivers from the Cowboys

When the Baltimore Ravens claimed cornerback Trayvon Mullen off waivers from the Dallas Cowboys, all parties involved knew that the move would only be finalized after the Super Bowl. Now, days after the big game, Mullen is officially a Raven.

Baltimore’s newest defender is a former second-round pick who played his college ball at Clemson before being drafted by the then-Oakland Raiders in 2019. At six-foot-two inches tall, he has the length to compete for contested balls on the boundary, and with his 4.46 40-yard dash time, can outrun a fair number of the league’s wide receivers.

Though he is far from a star at this point in his career, Mullen was a two-time champion during his time at Clemson, and even won the defensive MVP in the National Championship Game back in 2019. He has brought down four interceptions over the course of his NFL career and has played for the Arizona Cardinals as well as the Raiders and Cowboys since entering the league.

Mullen will need to show something special to cut it in Baltimore’s stacked secondary, but if he can, he could prove to be a valuable asset in the Ravens’ defensive backfield.

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Chiefs were among eight teams to attempt to claim DT Jerry Tillery on waivers

The #Chiefs were one of the teams that attempted to claim former #Chargers and new #Raiders DT Jerry Tillery on waivers.

The Kansas City Chiefs attempted to claim a player released by an AFC West rival.

According to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Chiefs were among eight teams to place a waiver claim on former Los Angeles Chargers DT Jerry Tillery. The former first-round draft pick out of Notre Dame was claimed by the Las Vegas Raiders, who have very high waiver priority given their poor record this season. The other six teams to place a claim besides Kansas City and Las Vegas were the Detroit Lions, Carolina Panthers, Indianapolis Colts, San Francisco 49ers, New York Jets and the New York Giants.

It shouldn’t come as a big surprise that Kansas City at least placed a waiver claim. There is literally no downside in attempting to claim a player, even if it’s highly unlikely they fall to you. It’s been Brett Veach’s modus operandi to try and reclaim former first-round draft picks during his tenure with the Chiefs. He didn’t work out in Los Angeles for whatever reason, but that doesn’t mean he won’t work elsewhere.

Tillery, in particular, had a solid showing against Kansas City in his career with Los Angeles. He recorded 12 total tackles, two tackles for loss and eight quarterback hits across seven career games played. That fact likely made him an appealing option for the Raiders as well.

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Report: Texans claim Packers DT Kinglsey Keke off waivers

The Houston Texans have claimed Texas A&M defensive end Kingsley Keke from the Green Bay Packers.

The Houston Texans are adding former Green Bay Packers 2019 fifth-round defensive tackle Kinglsey Keke to their roster.

According to Aaron Wilson from Sports Talk 790, the Texans claimed Keke off waivers from the Packers on Thursday.

Keke will not be able to join the Texans until after the Super Bowl.

Joining the Texans will be a homecoming for the former Texas A&M product. Keke provided the Packers with 54 combined tackles, 6.5 sacks, four tackles for loss, 13 quarterback hits, two forced fumbles, and five pass breakups through 41 games, 17 of which he started.

In 2021, Keke started in eight of 12 games, giving Green Bay 23 combined tackles, a tackle for loss, four quarterback hits, 2.5 sacks, three pass breakups, and a forced fumble on 393 defensive snaps.

Keke graduated from nearby George Ranch High School in Richmond, Texas. The Houston native was a Greater Houston Rotary Lombardi finalist as a senior for the Longhorns.

Cowboys claim ex-Panthers QB Will Grier off waivers

Grier was a third-round draft pick by Carolina in 2019; he’s played in 2 regular-season games, with 0 TDs and a 53% completion percentage. | From @ToddBrock24f7

The Cowboys continue to tweak their roster less than 24 hours after getting down to the required 53 names. As expected, the team has zeroed in on the backup quarterback position as an area of need with just over one week to go until the season opener.

Using the tenth spot in the waiver wire order, the Cowboys claimed Will Grier on Wednesday. Grier was released by the Carolina Panthers on Tuesday.

The former West Virginia passer started his collegiate career at Florida, where he was under Cowboys quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier, who was the Gators’ offensive coordinator and QBs coach then. After transferring to West Virginia and starting for two seasons, Grier was drafted by Carolina in the third round of 2019’s draft. He started the team’s final two games of the regular season that year, going 28-of-52 for 228 passing yards and four interceptions over those appearances, his only stats as a pro.

The 26-year-old had been competing in camp this summer with the Panthers’ high-profile offseason addition Sam Darnold and XFL passing yards leader P.J. Walker. Walker survived final cuts in Carolina; Grier did not.

Twenty-seven players were plucked from the waiver wire on Wednesday, with successful claims made by 18 teams; Grier was the only quarterback taken.

None of the Cowboys’ cuts were claimed by any other teams.

According to David Helman of the team website, Dallas will temporarily cut punter Bryan Anger in order to make room for Grier. Anger will be re-signed later after more roster maneuvers have been completed.

 

Grier now joins Cooper Rush as the depth behind starter Dak Prescott, with Ben DiNucci and Garrett Gilbert being cut by Dallas this week. Rush is expected to be the primary understudy for Prescott to start the season while Grier gets acclimated to Kellen Moore’s offense.

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LOOK: Recapping the Texans’ roster moves to get to 53 players

The Houston Texans made a series of moves to finalize their 53-man roster. Here is a look at the moves so far.

The Houston Texans have made a series of moves to get to 53 players on their active roster on Aug. 31.

General manager Nick Caserio said early in training camp that the goal of roster construction is not to look for the best 53 players, but to take the whole roster as a whole, including the possibility of players who could join the practice squad.

“There’s always going to be a lot of movement on and off the roster,” Caserio said on July 28. “We have 50 new players. Again, it’s a great opportunity for everyone to kind of get started. The goal for training camp is for everybody to establish a level of performance. We’re not going to predetermine everything. Nobody has a defined role. We’re going to go out there and let the players take care of themselves, and that will sort itself out.”

Here is a recap of the moves the Texans made

Texans claim rookie S Geno Stone from Ravens, place on exempt-commissioner permission list

The Houston Texans placed a waiver claim for Baltimore Ravens rookie safety Geno Stone.

The Houston Texans continue to evaluate their roster even as the regular season draws to a close with a game to go.

The Texans claimed rookie safety Geno Stone from the Baltimore Ravens. The club them placed Stone on the exempt/commissioner permission list.

Stone played in two games for the Ravens from Weeks 9-10. In the Nov. 8 game at the Indianapolis Colts, Stone played 19 snaps on special teams in the 24-10 victory. In the Nov. 15 Sunday Night Football matchup in the pouring rain at the New England Patriots, Stone played 19 special teams snaps once more and added two defensive snaps in a 23-17 loss.

Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey endorsed the move by the Texans, and Baltimore safety DeShon Elliott similarly praised the claim by Houston.

Baltimore selected Stone in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL Draft from Iowa.

Texans claim CB Mark Fields off waivers, place G Hjalte Froholdt on COVID-19 reserve

The Houston Texans made a couple of roster moves as they get ready to take on the Indianapolis Colts in Week 15.

The Houston Texans made a couple of roster moves as they gear up for their Week 15 encounter with the Indianapolis Colts Sunday at 12:00 p.m. CT at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Their first was to claim cornerback Mark Fields off waivers from the Minnesota Vikings. Houston then placed him on the exempt/commissioner permission list.

Fields went undrafted in 2019 from Clemson and caught on with the Kansas City Chiefs. Kansas City then traded Fields to the Vikings at the end of preseason for a 2021 seventh-round pick. Fields collected a tackle in three career games with the Vikings.

Houston also placed guard Hjalte Froholdt on COVID-19 reserve. The former Arkansas Razorback has not practiced for the past two days.