The players signed by NFL teams to reserve/future contracts in the opening days of the offseason almost invariably ended the regular season on the signing team’s practice squad.
For instance, the New Orleans Saints announced on Thursday that former South Alabama wide receiver Kawaan Baker had signed a reserve/future contract with the team.
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Baker initially joined the Saints as a seventh-round selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, played in two games while spending his rookie season on the practice squad and ended the 2022 campaign on New Orleans’ practice squad again after stops with the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles.
But the Saints also announced on Thursday that former Alabama tight end Miller Forristall had signed a reserve/future contract with the team.
Forristall entered the NFL as an undrafted rookie with the Tennessee Titans in 2021, but he had been on the Cleveland Browns’ practice squad for most of his NFL tenure.
Forristall played in two games as a rookie and four in the 2022 campaign. In those games, Forristall was on the field for 27 offensive snaps and 61 special-teams plays for Cleveland.
A player signed to a reserve/future contract can be added to an NFL team’s roster when it expands from 53 to 90 players for the offseason on March 15, the first day of the NFL’s 2023 business year. The newly signed players become eligible to participate in offseason workouts, minicamps and OTAs as team members.
Only players who aren’t on NFL active rosters can sign reserve/future contracts.
Twenty players from Alabama high schools and colleges have signed reserve/future contracts since the end of the 2022 regular season. The other players include:
· Guard Deonte Brown (Austin, Alabama) signed with the Carolina Panthers.
· Running back Spencer Brown (Mortimer Jordan, UAB) signed with the Carolina Panthers.
· Safety Shyheim Carter (Alabama) signed with the Tennessee Titans.
· Guard Lester Cotton (Central-Tuscaloosa, Alabama) signed with the Miami Dolphins.
· Offensive tackle Korey Cunningham (Montevallo) signed with the New York Giants.
· Running back Derrick Gore (Alabama) signed with the New Orleans Saints.
· Linebacker Jeremiah Moon (Hoover) signed with the Baltimore Ravens.
· Tight end Gerrit Prince (UAB) signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
· Defensive lineman LaBryan Ray (James Clemens, Alabama) signed with the New England Patriots.
· Offensive lineman Lachavious Simmons (Selma) signed with the Arizona Cardinals.
· Safety Josh Thomas (Montgomery Academy) signed with the Arizona Cardinals.
· Safety Nolan Turner (Vestavia Hills) signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
· Center Darryl Williams (Bessemer City) signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
· Wide receiver Seth Williams (Paul Bryant, Auburn) signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Each of those players was on the practice squad of the team with which he signed when the 2022 season ended for that club.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
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