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NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/11/19

September 11th, 2019 at 6:37pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Wednesday’s practice squad decisions:

Arizona Cardinals

Dallas Cowboys

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

  • Signed: RB Bruce Anderson

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

Philadelphia Eagles

Chargers Work Out TEs Will Tye, Ben Koyack

September 11th, 2019 at 5:19pm CST by Sam Robinson

Hunter Henry‘s latest injury represents yet another early-season setback for perhaps the NFL’s clubhouse leaders for this type of obstacle. The Chargers are at work trying to add to their tight end contingent.

In addition to auditioning Luke Willson, the Bolts brought in veterans Will Tye and Ben Koyack, per the Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson (on Twitter).

A former Giant, Tye last played in 2017. Koyack, a seventh-round Jaguars pick in 2016, has not caught a pass since the 2017 season. Tye, however, surpassed 40 receptions with the 2015 and ’16 Giants editions. The Chargers have Virgil Green and third-year UDFA Sean Culkin on their roster. The team has yet to place Henry on IR, though his timetable may end up requiring that — as it did last year.

Another Antonio Gates reunion has yet to be reported as a possible Bolts plan of action, but that would be a natural fit given the 39-year-old future Hall of Famer’s experience with the franchise and rapport with Philip Rivers. The Chargers brought back Gates last year after Henry’s ACL tear, and Henry returned in time for Los Angeles’ divisional playoff game.

The Bolts also worked out defensive backs Dontae Johnson and Tevaughn Campbell, along with wide receiver Anthony Johnson.

Giants Re-Sign WR T.J. Jones

September 11th, 2019 at 4:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

Sterling Shepard is uncertain for Sunday’s Week 2 Giants-Bills game, so Big Blue is turning back to recently released receiver. The Giants brought back T.J. Jones on Wednesday.

Jones was with the Giants during the preseason but did not make their 53-man roster. In moving him to the roster now, the Giants placed outside linebacker Kareem Martin on IR.

While Jones has experience as a receiver and return man from his Lions run, the Giants may need him as a pass catcher Sunday. Shepard is in concussion protocol and did not participate in Wednesday’s practice, and Golden Tate‘s suspension runs three more games. The Giants are down to former Broncos backups-turned-second-year Giants Cody Latimer and Bennie Fowler, along with fellow Year 2 Giant Russell Shepard.

Playing behind Tate and Marvin Jones in 2017, T.J. Jones established career highs in receptions (30) and yards (399). T.J. Jones caught 19 passes for 190 yards in 15 games last season.

The Giants signed Martin to a three-year, $15MM deal in 2018. One of James Bettcher‘s former Cardinals charges, Martin suffered a knee injury Sunday that Pat Shurmur indicated (via Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com, on Twitter) would take weeks to heal. The sixth-year pass rusher has notched just 1.5 sacks in 17 Big Blue games. Martin will be eligible to return after eight weeks.

NFL To Meet With Antonio Brown’s Accuser Next Week

September 11th, 2019 at 4:02pm CST by cwcrouse

The NFL is conducting an investigation on the accusations against Antonio Brown that will begin with the league sitting down with his accuser, Britney Taylor, next week, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link).

Taylor, who previously worked with Brown as a personal trainer, is willing to meet with the league as soon as she can. She is getting married this week and the league will wait until that happens before sitting down with her. The NFL has no power to compel non-employees to cooperate, so Taylor meeting with the league is on her own accord and outside of the responsibilities of her lawsuit.

“We are aware of the civil lawsuit that was filed earlier today against Antonio Brown, as well as the response by Antonio’s representatives,” the Patriots said in a statement on Tuesday night. “We take these allegations very seriously. Under no circumstances does this organization condone sexual violence or assault. The league has informed us that they will be investigating. We will have no further comment while that investigation takes place.”

Brown is being accused in civil, not criminal court. There was a report earlier today that authorities were looking into the matter criminally, though from the Allegheny County District Attorney stating that neither the police department nor the DA’s office was contacted about Taylor’s lawsuit, as Ben Volin of the Boston Globe reports (Twitter link). The DA did say that their office had looked into another incident involving Brown but after checking it out, they did not move forward with the case.

The NFL, as we reportedly earlier, is considering putting Brown on the commissioner’s exempt list, which would amount to a paid-leave of sorts. The delay in interviewing Taylor may cause complications with placing Brown on this list. However, Roger Goodell has the power to take action first and ask questions later.

Jets Claim DL Jordan Willis, Send Quincy Enunwa To IR

September 11th, 2019 at 3:45pm CST by PFR Staff

The Jets have claimed DL Jordan Willis off of waivers, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). New York is placing WR Quincy Enunwa on IR in order to accommodate the move.

Willis was a third-round of the Bengals back in 2017 and he played in 32 games during his time with the club. The Jets weren’t the only team to put in a waiver claim for Willis. The Dolphins also tried to land the defensive lineman, Field Yates of ESPN tweets.

Enunwa has a neck injury and was deemed out for the year so the news to place him on injured reserve comes as no surprise. The franchise recently traded for Demaryius Thomas to add to their depth at wide receiver.

 

Hunter Henry Out Indefinitely With Knee Injury

September 11th, 2019 at 2:33pm CST by cwcrouse

Chargers TE Hunter Henry has suffered a tibia plateau fracture to his left knee, Eric Williams of ESPN relays (Twitter link). Henry suffered the injury during Sunday’s contest against the Colts.

The tight end will continue to be evaluated and the timeline for his return has not yet been set. However, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets that the Chargers believe Henry will be sidelined for 4-6 weeks.

Los Angeles worked out Luke Wilson today, which makes sense given Henry’s ailment. Last season, Henry suffered an ACL injury and missed the entire season, which prompted the franchise to pry Antonio Gates out of retirement.

AFC West Notes: Abram, James, Brown

September 11th, 2019 at 1:18pm CST by cwcrouse

Raiders first-round pick Jonathan Abram will seek a second opinion on his shoulder, Josina Anderson of ESPN tweets. The rookie apparently injured his shoulder on Monday night against the Broncos but continuing playing, showing no signs of injury during the game. Now, after undergoing exams, it appears Abram could land on injured reserve.

Here’s more from the AFC:

  • RT Ja’Wuan James will miss some time with the knee injury he suffered but Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link) reports that it is not season-ending. James joined the Broncos this offseason.
  • Coach Vic Fangio spoke about the Broncos difficulty in facing Chicago’s pass-rush this week, as Troy Rench of ABC7 in Denver relays (Twitter link). “We’ll give [our tackles] some help but there’s going to be times like in any game where they are going to have to stand up and block without any help,” the coach said.
  • Broncos WR Tim Patrick suffered a clean break in his hand, Mike Klis of 9News Denver (Twitter link). Patrick’s timetable is 6-to-8 weeks and Denver is considering whether to place him on IR.
  • Agent Drew Rosenhaus said there was no collusion with regard to Antonio Brown‘s exit from the Raiders. “There was no fix,” Rosenhaus said (h/t Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports). “We did try to make it work with the Raiders.”

Latest On Patriots’ Antonio Brown

September 11th, 2019 at 11:28am CST by Zachary Links

Bill Belichick faced the media on Wednesday afternoon to discuss Antonio Brown but, as expected, he was light on details regarding the embattled wide receiver. The Patriots’ head coach said that he expected Brown to practice on Wednesday, but would not say whether Brown would be permitted to suit up on Sunday.

Brown was accused of rape in a federal lawsuit, which could result in NFL discipline, among other more serious consequences. That is to say, Brown could be barred from playing by the league office via paid leave, taking the decision out of the Patriots’ hands.

Here’s the latest on Brown:

  • In an interview on ESPN, agent Drew Rosenhaus came to the defense of his client: “I wouldn’t be doing this interview if I didn’t believe Antonio. These allegations are false. He denies everyone of them. I’m very confident his legal team has facts that will prove this.”
  • Rosenhaus went on to say, “I’ll repeat this. This is a money grab. I believe this: this is a money grab.” The phrase “money grab” also appeared in an official statement from Brown’s attorney on Tuesday night.
  • Here’s a snippet from Belichick’s less-than-informative presser: “On Antonio’s situation, both Antonio and his representatives have made statements, so I’m not going to be expanding on any of those. They are what they are. We’ve looked into the situation. We’re taking it very seriously, all the way through the organization. I’m sure there are questions but I’m not going to be entering into any discussion about that.”
  • The language of Brown’s contract may allow the Patriots to escape his guarantee, as to Albert Breer of The MMQB tweets. Reportedly, $10MM of Brown’s $15MM 2019 salary is, or was, locked in.

Jets’ Quincy Enunwa Done For Season

September 11th, 2019 at 9:44am CST by Zachary Links

Jets wide receiver Quincy Enunwa will miss the remainder of the season with a neck injury, Brian Costello of the New York Post tweets. Sadly, given Enunwa’s previous neck injury, this could be a career-ender for the 27-year-old. 

This is the second time in three seasons that Enunwa’s season ended prematurely due to a neck injury. In 2017, it cost him the entire campaign.

Enunwa suffered the injury in the first quarter of the Jets’ season-opening loss to the Bills. Somehow, he managed to return to action later on, but was targeted just three times in total.

The Jets inked Enunwa to a four-year, $36MM extension back in December. There is no good news here, but the silver lining is that Enunwa will collect on at least $10MM, the fully-guaranteed amount of the pact. He also has $6MM guaranteed for injury in 2020.

The Jets traded for Patriots wide receiver Demaryius Thomas this week, a move that was a bit of a head-scratcher at the time. Now, we know that the deal was about more than Adam Gase reuniting with an old friend – Thomas will attempt to step in for Enunwa, one of the Jets’ most talented offensive players.

NFL Considering Paid Leave For Antonio Brown

September 11th, 2019 at 9:36am CST by Zachary Links

The NFL will give serious consideration to placing Antonio Brown on paid leave via the commissioner’s exempt list, multiple people tell Mark Maske of the Washington Post. Brown has been accused of rape and sexual assault in a federal lawsuit filed in Florida and the NFL may take action against him as the legal process begins.

[RELATED: Antonio Brown Accused Of Rape In Lawsuit]

If placed on the exempt list, Brown would be barred from playing. It’s a decision is expected to come this week, after some investigating by the league office, before the Pats take on the Dolphins in Miami. Then again, the NFL could theoretically allow Brown to play for the Pats while the investigation is underway, then later decide to place him on paid leave.

Brown reported to the Patriots’ facility on Wednesday with the expectation that he would participate in practice and meetings. The wide receiver, though his attorney, has denied any wrongdoing and termed the lawsuit as a “money grab.”

The league has used the commissioner’s exempt list to park other notable players in recent years, including Greg Hardy and Adrian Peterson.

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