Colts claim 3 players from waiver wire

The Colts claimed three players off the waiver wire.

The Indianapolis Colts claimed three players from the waiver wire Wednesday following the league’s massive cutdown day.

Going into the first official waiver period of the 2023 regular season, the Colts had a few areas they could have addressed. Chiefly among them all was the offensive line. Two of the three waiver claims they made Wednesday came at that position group.

The three waiver claims came in the form of Miami Dolphins offensive tackle Ryan Hayes, Philadelphia Eagles guard Josh Sills and Dallas Cowboys linebacker Isaiah Land.

The Colts will have to make corresponding moves in order to have room for these new waiver additions.

3 49ers claimed off waivers after final cuts

The #49ers had 3 players claimed off waivers by other teams. All 3 could’ve been back with the practice squad.

Waiver claims were processed Wednesday morning and the 49ers lost three potential practice squad additions in that process.

Former 49ers offensive linemen Keith Ismael and Ilm Manning were both claimed by the Arizona Cardinals. Undrafted rookie cornerback D’Shawn Jamison was scooped up by the Carolina Panthers.

Ismael was one of the team’s centers during the preseason and could’ve come back to the practice squad as an in-house depth option with NFL experience.

Manning had an impressive camp as an undrafted rookie tackle. He had a chance to land on the final roster, but the team elected to subject him to waivers and Arizona swooped in. Manning will likely need to move inside to carve out a long-term role in the NFL.

Jamison had a tremendous camp and preseason and drew praise from 49ers receivers, defensive coordinator Steve Wilks and general manager John Lynch. He was good as a cornerback, but also added some explosiveness in the return game. There was a numbers crunch for San Francisco at CB that didn’t allow them to keep Jamison, and the Panthers took advantage.

The 49ers did not make any waiver claims, so any additions they make will have to come via free agency.

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6 takeaways from Colts’ initial 53-man roster

Here are six takeaways from the Colts’ initial 53-man roster.

The Indianapolis Colts have officially released their initial 53-man roster for the 2023 season.

While there will likely be more changes to come because of some position groups being thin at the moment, there are some interesting things to take away at who made the team and who surprisingly didn’t.

Let’s take a look at what caught the eye when looking at the Colts’ initial 53-man roster:

Chargers claim EDGE Derrek Tuszka off waivers

The Chargers added some depth at the edge defender position.

Joey Bosa is week-to-week with a groin injury, so the Chargers went out to get some depth at the edge defender position.

Los Angeles claimed Derrek Tuszka off waivers on Tuesday, according to ESPN’s Field Yates.

Tuszka was picked up by the Titans after being waived by the Steelers earlier this month.

Tuszka played 15 games for Pittsburgh in 2021, recording two sacks, a tackle for loss, and a forced fumble.

Selected by the Broncos in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL draft out of North Dakota State, Tuszka appeared in nine games and logged six tackles.

Tuszka was a productive pass rusher in college, totaling 29.5 career sacks.

Chiefs lose one player, awarded none in waiver claims

One former #Chiefs player was claimed on waivers, but no waiver claims were awarded to KC. 16 former #Chiefs also cleared waivers and are now free agents.

The Kansas City Chiefs lost one player to another team during waiver claims.

According to the NFL’s official personnel notice, former Chiefs DT Matt Dickerson was claimed by the Atlanta Falcons. We mentioned the Falcons as a team to watch when Kansas City released Danny Shelton and Taylor Stallworth, but they go with Dickerson who Falcons HC Arthur Smith is familiar with from his time with the Tennessee Titans.

Dickerson was a late addition for Kansas City during training camp, joining the team in early August after he was released by the Arizona Cardinals.

The following Chiefs players cleared waivers:

  • OL Vitaliy Gurman
  • DL Kehinde Oginni Hassan
  • S Devon Key
  • S Zayne Anderson
  • WR Cornell Powell
  • OG Mike Caliendo
  • LB Jack Cochrane
  • TE Jordan Franks
  • RB Jerrion Ealy
  • CB Nazeeh Johnson
  • DE Azur Kamara
  • CB Dicaprio Bootle
  • RB Tayon Fleet-Davis
  • WR Aaron Parker
  • QB Dustin Crum
  • LB Mike Rose

Kansas City was not awarded any players during the waiver claiming period. It’s unclear if they had anyone in mind or even tried to put in a waiver claim to add someone to the 53-man roster, but if they did they were unsuccessful.

The Chiefs can now begin to assemble their 16-man practice squad as well as the expected moves to get players on injured reserve.

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10 players Broncos should consider claiming off waivers

The Broncos will have an opportunity to claim players off the waiver wire on Wednesday morning.

After trimming their roster down to 53 players on Tuesday, NFL teams will now have opportunities to claim players off the waiver wire on Wednesday morning.

The Denver Broncos are ninth in the waiver wire order (full order here), so they will have some opportunities to add players if they want to.

Here’s a quick list of 10 names the team should consider adding.

Two ex-Lions cut this week get claimed by other NFL teams

The Jaguars claimed Rashod Berry and the Patriots claimed Matt Sokol

The Jacksonville Jaguars hold the top spot in the NFL’s waiver claim priority pecking order. And the Jaguars used their status to claim former Lions OLB Rashod Berry on Wednesday, while the New England Patriots did the same with tight end Matt Sokol.

Berry and Sokol were part of the wave of cuts in Detroit earlier this week. The Jaguars claimed Berry and assumed his $895,000 contract for 2022, releasing the Lions of any obligations. The Patriots did the same with Sokol.

It’s not often when players cut by the Lions at this time of year resurface immediately in another NFL city, especially when there are no prior ties to the player. Berry signed with the Lions last August after spending a season with the New England Patriots. In five games on the Lions’ active roster, Berry played a total of 62 snaps and recorded one QB hit.

Sokol never suited up for the Lions and was signed to a reserve/future contract earlier this offseason.

Ironically enough, Sokol does have time in the past on Jacksonville’s practice squad and Berry came to Detroit from New England. But they were claimed by the unfamiliar teams.

Eric Banks: What the Lions are getting in their new DT

Breaking down new Detroit Lions defensive lineman Eric Banks, claimed off waivers from the Chargers

The Detroit Lions made a move to bolster the defensive line on Friday. The Lions placed a successful waiver claim on defensive tackle Eric Banks, who was waived by the Los Angeles Chargers this week.

What are the Lions getting in Banks?

Banks is in his second NFL season. He started out with the Los Angeles Rams as an undrafted free agent out of Texas-San Antonio. Banks, all 6-foot-5 and 275 pounds of him, spent most of his rookie campaign on the Rams’ practice squad.

He was with the Rams in the preseason in 2021 and even bagged a great sack in their matchup against the Raiders. Banks was cut in the final roster cutdowns and moved to the other side of SoFi Stadium with the Chargers.

He played in each of the first three games for the Chargers, logging 36 total defensive snaps as a rotational reserve. Banks registered one tackle. The Chargers had a player returning from I.R. and decided to let Banks go.

Banks wins with length and the ability to get himself narrow between the tackles. He’s got very long arms and uses a nice jab to keep his length as an asset. He’s athletic enough that he played as a QB in high school, and his feet and agility reflect it.

There isn’t a lot of lower-body power to Banks game. He doesn’t anchor well in the run game, getting too upright and appearing to try and see over the block to locate the ball. Banks does have some upper-body power and torques his shoulders well, which in combination with his long arms makes him difficult to control if he wins the initial combat.

During his time at UTSA, Banks led the nation in forced fumbles. He uses the length and a relentless effort to extricate the ball very well on sacks but also on run plays where the back tries to scoot past him.

He joins a crowded Lions defensive front that also returned DE Jashon Cornell from suspension this week. Banks projects to play as a DE in Aaron Glenn’s scheme, fluctuating between the 4 and 6 techniques. He is a familiar face for GM Brad Holmes, who led the Rams scouting department when that team signed Banks.

 

Lions claim DB Corey Ballentine off waivers

Ballentine was a 2019 6th-round pick by the Giants and has some impressive kick return experience

The Detroit Lions have added another defensive back to the mix. The Lions claimed cornerback Corey Ballentine off waivers from the New York Jets.

Ballentine, 25, is in his third NFL season. The Jets waived him off injured reserve and the Lions claimed him. He injured his knee in the preseason on a very impressive kick return against the Green Bay Packers.

Ballentine was a 2019 sixth-round pick out of Washburn, a D-II school. He impressed during the 2019 Senior Bowl week with his twitchy athleticism and open-field speed. He played over 400 snaps at cornerback for the Giants in 2019-2020 before being waived in a surprise move. The Jets quickly pounced and installed him as their primary return man for the rest of the season.

He fills the roster spot created with CB Jeff Okudah going on injured reserve. Ballentine

The Patriots don’t claim players on waivers after roster cuts

No players cut yesterday will join New England from waivers.

NFL teams were forced to trim their rosters down to 53 players on Saturday, leaving a lot of talented men without jobs. However, before they could become free agents, they had to make it through the waiver wire.

Teams around the league had the opportunity to claim any of the more than 800 players who were released from all 32 franchises this weekend. According to the NFL’s transaction wire, the New England Patriots did not claim anyone.

This news comes as a bit of a surprise, as many feel that the team lacks talent and depth at key positions. While there weren’t many big names released yesterday, there were a couple that the Patriots could’ve been interested in. They may have missed out if someone higher in waiver priority put in a claim on a player they were targeting.

This, however, doesn’t mean these players can’t find their way to New England now that their waiver period is finished. Now, they are all free agents and are welcome to sign wherever they’d like.

For example, New England released both of their kickers, Justin Rohrwasser and Nick Folk, during roster cuts. Now, they’ll have the opportunity to bring in another kicker who was released such as Stephen Hauschka, Chase McLaughlin, Matt Gay, or Cairo Santos and agree to a new, team-friendly contract.

While the Patriots weren’t active in acquiring new talent yesterday, it would be a total shock if Bill Belichick didn’t bring in someone new in the coming days.

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