Here are today’s minor moves:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: LS Andrew DePaola
- Placed on IR: DT Destiny Vaeao
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: G Dejon Allen
Dolphins head coach Brian Flores still hasn’t officially named his starting quarterback, but all signs are pointing to a Week 1 display of FitzMagic in Miami. As Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald writes, the team’s starting offense is not playing in tonight’s preseason finale, but Josh Rosen might.
Although Rosen will not start against the Saints tonight — that honor belongs to Jake Rudock — he is dressed and will go in if Rudock gets injured. It therefore seems clear that the 36-year-old Ryan Fitzpatrick will get the nod to open the season. Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com (Twitter link) hears that will indeed be the case.
It’s fair to wonder if it’s wise for a rebuilding team like Miami to turn to an aging journeyman under center rather than evaluating what it has in Rosen, who was the No. 10 overall pick in last year’s draft. But while Rosen was said to be closing the gap on Fitzpatrick earlier this month, it seems the bearded veteran has managed to hold off his younger competition.
Neither player has lit the world on fire in preseason contests. Rosen has completed 28 of 45 passes for 352 yards and has thrown one interception, while Fitzpatrick has completed 17 of 32 passes for 166 yards and one touchdown.
Graham Gano, one of the highest-paid kickers in the league, may be headed to the injured reserve, as David Newton of ESPN.com writes. Gano, who also finished the 2018 season on IR, continues to deal with a sore knee.
The team could carry Gano on its initial 53-man roster and then put him on IR, which would make him eligible for a return later in the season. As Newton observes, Gano is not a trade candidate because of the injury and his high cap number (roughly $3.7MM).
If Gano is not ready for Week 1, the Panthers will likely turn to Joey Slye, unless a more appealing kicker becomes available during final cutdowns. Slye, a Virginia Tech product, auditioned for the Bucs last year but ultimately remained unsigned.
He hooked on with the Giants in May, but Big Blue subsequently waived him. He signed with the Panthers at the beginning of this month and has impressed in the preseason, converting all six of his field goal attempts and both of his extra point chances. He could win the job with a strong showing in Carolina’s preseason finale tonight.
The Cowboys selected offensive lineman Connor McGovern in the third round of this year’s draft with the expectation that he could compete for the team’s starting left guard job. However, Todd Archer of ESPN.com says that McGovern, who sustained a partially torn pectoral muscle during the offseason program and who participated in just two training camp practices, has suffered a setback.
It’s presently unclear if McGovern will need surgery or if he can simply rehab the injury. According to David Moore of the Dallas Morning News, McGovern is dealing with a smaller strain of his pectoral muscle separate from the earlier tear (Twitter link). Both Moore and Archer suggest that the Cowboys could include McGovern on the initial 53-man roster, which would then allow them to put him on IR with the possibility of bringing him back later in the season, but a source tells Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News that the team is considering keeping McGovern on the shelf for his entire rookie season (Twitter link).
After all, Dallas does have the offensive line depth to withstand a redshirt season from its Day 2 draft choice. Even with McGovern’s uncertain status, Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk writes that the Cowboys are open to trading players from either its O-line or D-line (or perhaps both).
“We do get calls on both offensive and defensive lines,” executive vice president Stephen Jones said yesterday. “We’ve made that a priority over the years, and it’s a strength of ours, and some teams are interested in it. Yeah, I think there’s a possibility for sure that we could move somebody.”
It seems that Dallas will go into the season with Connor Williams as the starting LG. If the Cowboys do swing a trade, Williams suggests that they would want a draft pick, not a player, in return.
Reports just two days ago suggested that the Dolphins would not trade offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil to the Texans for Jadeveon Clowney, and earlier this week, Miami reportedly assured Tunsil’s camp that the former first-rounder would not be dealt.
However, Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald notes that the Tunsil-to-Houston rumors will not go away. It sounds as if Miami is still strongly considering a Clowney trade, but if the team deals Tunsil — one of the best and most-liked players on the team — Beasley says the Dolphins could have a mutiny on their hands.
Beasley’s source said, “[t]he backlash would be amazing. Guys would legit revolt.”
Beasley added the Fins will only include Tunsil in a Clowney trade if they are blown away by the offer. In other words, Houston would have to send back Clowney and premium draft capital if it wants to land the 25-year-old Ole Miss product. The Texans have been persistent in their efforts to pry Tunsil away, but the Dolphins are holding the line for now.
Miami clearly believes Tunsil can be a key component of its next competitive roster, but a package of draft picks could allow the team to assure itself of one of the top QB prospects in the 2020 draft, which would obviously help accelerate the rebuild. If the Dolphins are convinced to part with Tunsil, though, new HC Brian Flores will apparently face the first real chemistry test of his head coaching career.
Bill Bowlen‘s lawsuit attempting to remove Broncos CEO Joe Ellis and his fellow trustees from the Pat Bowlen trust has been dismissed in its entirety, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). This resolution paves the way for Pat Bowlen’s ownership succession plans to go into effect.
As those who have been following this situation know by now, Broncos owner Pat Bowlen, who passed away in June, ceded control of the club to three trustees during his battle with Alzheimer’s, and the trustees were vested with the power to transfer the team to one of Pat Bowlen’s seven children — when the time is right, and assuming at least one child satisfies his requirements for ownership — or to sell the team if the trustees believe doing so is in the club’s best interest.
For some time now, it has appeared that 29-year-old Brittany Bowlen is the favorite to ultimately take the reins. But not long after her status as the frontrunner became clear, Beth Bowlen Wallace went public with her desire to own the Broncos, though Ellis said the trust believed Bowlen Wallace was not qualified for ownership.
Bill Bowlen, Pat Bowlen’s brother, then filed his suit to remove the trustees, and as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes, the Broncos believe that Bill Bowlen was acting on behalf of Bowlen Wallace and another sister, Amie Klemmer.
Florio, in confirming Schefter’s report, also says the battle is not quite over. After Bill Bowlen filed the suit, the Broncos initiated an arbitration proceeding under the theory that the matter falls within the NFL’s purview. Bill Bowlen had resisted arbitration since filing suit, but now it is his last hope.
The Broncos, though, believe that they will prevail in arbitration, and Florio says they’re probably right. So for right now, it seems as if Brittany Bowlen will, sooner or later, become the team’s controlling owner.
Rory Parks contributed to this post.
The Bills have sent guard Wyatt Teller and a seventh-round pick to the Browns in exchange for a fifth-round pick and a sixth-round pick in 2020. The deal, announced by Buffalo, will give Cleveland some additional depth on the offensive line.
Given the timing of the deal, Teller seems a near-lock to make the final cut. He’ll find out for sure on Saturday afternoon, when teams go from the 90-man max to the 53-man limit.
Teller a former fifth-round pick of the Bills in 2018, started the final seven games of his rookie year at left guard.
Seahawks cornerback Kalan Reed may be forced to retire after suffering a serious neck injury, agent Harold Lewis tells NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). The Seahawks already placed Reed on injured reserve, but it sounds like this will be a career-ender as well.
Reed went down in the Seahawks’ preseason game against the Vikings earlier this month and injured his third and fourth vertebrae in the process. Doctors have since advised him that attempting to play again would put him in serious jeopardy, especially since he experienced numbness afterwards.
Reed entered the league in 2016 as a seventh-round pick of the Titans. He appeared in seven games over two seasons in Tennessee before hooking on with Seattle’s practice squad last year. Last year, he earned a promotion to the varsity squad, but did not see the field. This year, he was hoping to make the 53-man cut, but he’ll have to focus on other endeavors from here on out.
We wish Reed the best in his recovery.
The Cardinals have signed defensive tackle Clinton McDonald, according to a tweet from his agents. McDonald should help provide depth on the defensive line as the club prepares for a switch back to a 3-4 scheme.
[RELATED: Cardinals To Place WR Hakeem Butler On IR]
It’s a one-year, $1.25MM deal, according to Adam Caplan (on Twitter). The pact includes just $120K fully guaranteed with a base salary of $930K.
The Cardinals already added defensive tackle help with their trade for Bruce Hector, but they’re leaving no stone unturned, especially after cutting former first-round pick Robert Nkemdiche. The well-traveled McDonald, who spent time with the Seahawks, Bengals, Buccaneers, and Broncos before joining the Raiders last year, could fit the bill.
McDonald is perhaps best known for his work with the Seahawks in 2013 in their lead-up to the Super Bowl. In that season, McDonald compiled 35 tackles and 5.5 sacks.
Maybe age really is just a number. Kicker Matt Bryant will try out for the Falcons on Friday, according to Bryant’s former teammate and current CNN reporter Coy Wire (on Twitter). 
Bryant, 44, nailed 95.2% of his field goal tries for the Falcons last year, but the Falcons elected to save money by declining his 2019 option. It brought an end to Bryant’s 10-year run as the Falcons’ top leg, though they could rekindle their relationship if Bryant auditions well on Friday.
Blair Walsh, whose career has been defined by ill-timed misses, was recently brought on board to challenge Giorgio Tavecchio (Bryant’s initial replacement). This week, in full view of the press, Walsh went just 5-of-9 on his field goal attempts in practice.