LAS VEGAS — The Las Vegas Raiders have signed former Montana receiver and return specialist Malik Flowers to their practice squad, the team announced Thursday.
Flowers, who was a special teams stalwart for the Grizzlies, originally signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in May but was later released. He then signed with the Seattle Seahawks but was waived in August as teams cut their rosters to 53 players ahead of the season opener.
At Montana, Flowers was one of the top kickoff returners in FCS history. He had seven career kick returns for touchdowns at Montana, which tied for an FCS record with former Weber State player Rashid Shaheed, who is now playing in the NFL with the Saints.
As a receiver, Flowers, a Fontana, California, native, caught 51 passes for 716 yards and four touchdowns in his career and ran for another score in his time with the Grizzlies. In 2022, Flowers caught 31 passes for 460 yards and two scores.
There are currently four former Grizzlies in the NFL. Receiver Samori Toure is on the Green Bay Packers' active roster, and offensive lineman Dylan Cook is on the Pittsburgh Steelers' active roster. Patrick O'Connell is on the Seattle Seahawks' practice squad.
Also this week, the Houston Texans released former Montana State receiver Lance McCutcheon from their practice squad. McCutcheon, a Bozeman High graduate, signed with the Texans' practice squad after he was released by the Los Angeles Rams in August. The Rams signed McCutcheon as an undrafted free agent in 2022.
Denver Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton is the only former Bobcat on an active NFL roster. Troy Andersen, a linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons, is on injured reserve after suffering a shoulder/pectoral injury in the Falcons' game against the Detroit Lions earlier this season.
Former Bobcats Ty Okada (Seahawks), Lewis Kidd (Indianapolis Colts) and Daniel Hardy (Chicago Bears) are on NFL practice squads.
NFL teams are permitted to place 16 players on their practice squads. Practice squad eligibility rules have loosened, largely because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but practice squads are still largely reserved for younger players. NFL teams can activate practice squad players to their active gameday rosters a limited number of times during a season.
