HEADLINES

Month: November 2024

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/2/20

November 2nd, 2020 at 4:19pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Detroit Lions

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Philadelphia Eagles

Washington Football Team

Seahawks DE Damontre Moore Suspended Six Games

November 2nd, 2020 at 3:35pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Seahawks just bolstered their lackluster pass-rush by trading for Carlos Dunlap, but now the unit is getting hit with a blow to their depth. Defensive end Damontre Moore has been suspended for six games for violating the league’s PED policy, the NFL announced Monday.

A third-round pick of the Giants back in 2013, Moore had a couple of reasonably productive years in New York. He was waived in the middle of the 2015 season for violating team rules, then had stints with the Dolphins, Raiders, and Seahawks. He latched on with the Cowboys in 2017, and received a two-game suspension for a substance abuse policy violation while in Dallas.

He was in the ill-fated AAF for a while and then played in a couple of games with the 49ers last year after that league folded. He only re-signed with Seattle on September 3rd right at the start of the season, but he’s been playing a sizable role on defense so far. He’s played about 32 percent of the snaps through seven games, notching eight tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble. The Texas A&M product will be eligible to return in Week 15.

Lions Place Trey Flowers On IR

November 2nd, 2020 at 3:21pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Lions lost to the Colts on Sunday, and they picked up a couple of significant injuries while doing so. Defensive end Trey Flowers is going on injured reserve and as such will miss at least the next three games, the team announced Monday.

Meanwhile star receiver Kenny Golladay picked up a hip injury that will sideline him this week and have him week to week moving forward, sources told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). Rapoport noted in a follow-up tweet that IR is a possibility for him as well. The team views Flowers’ stint as a short-term one, Tim Twentyman of the team’s official site tweets.

It sounds like he’ll be back before too long, but it’s still a big blow. Signed to a five-year, $90MM pact last March, Flowers is the anchor of Detroit’s already underwhelming pass-rush. The former Patriot has two sacks and two forced fumbles through seven games this year. Fortunately the team just traded for Everson Griffen, and now they’ll really need him.

Golladay of course is the team’s top receiver, and this is a big setback for the offense. Golladay missed the first couple of games of the season with a hamstring issue, but had at least 105 yards in back to back games before going down against the Colts. Hopefully both will be back on the field as soon as possible.

Bears’ Javon Wims Suspended Two Games

November 2nd, 2020 at 2:43pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The league is coming down swiftly on Bears receiver Javon Wims for the punches he threw at Chauncey Gardner-Johnson Sunday. Wims is being suspended for two games, the NFL announced Monday.

You can read the full explanation in the league’s release here. Wims was ejected after bizarrely attacking the Saints cornerback and swinging wildly at him. Wims told team officials that Gardner-Johnson spit on him and ripped his mouthpiece out earlier in the game prior to the incident, sources told Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link).

The Georgia product plans to appeal his suspension, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network notes (Twitter link). Gardner-Johnson apparently has a knack for getting under people’s skin, as he was on the receiving end of teammate Michael Thomas‘ punch during practice that got Thomas suspended for a game by the Saints.

Wims is a 2018 seventh-round pick from Georgia who played a significant role on offense last year. Appearing in all 16 games with six starts, he turned 39 targets into only 18 receptions for 186 yards and one touchdown. So far this year he has five catches for 35 yards and a score.

George Kittle, Jimmy Garoppolo Both To Miss Extended Time

November 2nd, 2020 at 2:27pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The 49ers just can’t seem to catch a break. Already one of the most banged up teams in the league, San Francisco will now be without two of their most important pieces moving forward.

Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo aggravated the high ankle sprain that has been bothering him for weeks during their loss to the Seahawks Sunday and is expected to miss “an extended period of time,” sources told Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (Twitter link). Meanwhile Kittle has a “small fracture” in his foot and will also miss extended time, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets. Garoppolo is expected to be out a minimum of six weeks and “possibly longer” if he ends up needing surgery, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.

In a follow-up tweet, Rapoport noted that it’s unclear if Kittle will be able to return this season. Either way, it sounds like both are headed for a stint on injured reserve (minimum three-game absences). Kittle is expected to be out eight weeks, Schefter tweets. It would be hard for things to be much worse from an injury standpoint for the defending NFC champions right now.

The 49ers have already dealt with significant injuries to key players like Nick Bosa, Deebo Samuel, Raheem Mostert, Richard Sherman, and many others. Nick Mullens played well in relief of Jimmy G agains Seattle and will presumably start moving forward, although he was temporarily replaced by C.J. Beathard as the number two a couple of weeks ago.

Kittle is one of the league’s best players and critical in both the run and pass games. He missed a couple of contests earlier this year with a knee injury. The NFC West is tougher than ever, and at 4-4 San Fran is in danger of slipping out of the playoff race. Their trade of Kwon Alexander for a draft pick Monday could signal they realize 2020 isn’t their year. Kyle Shanahan has gotten it done under bad circumstances in the past, but he really has his work cut out for him now.

Patriots DT Beau Allen Won’t Play In 2020

November 2nd, 2020 at 1:59pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Patriots have fallen to 2-5 after their fourth straight loss Sunday, and the hits keep on coming. Defensive tackle Beau Allen won’t play this season, head coach Bill Belichick announced Monday.

New England signed Allen to a two-year, $8MM deal back in March, and he won’t end up playing a down in 2020. The Patriots signed the big run-stuffer to help replace Danny Shelton, who signed with Detroit, but they placed him on injured reserve at the beginning of the season. It’s never been clear exactly what injury Allen is dealing with, and we still don’t have that information, so there’s some mystery here.

Without the projected starter the Patriots have been thin on the interior, and they’ve struggled to stop the run as a result, giving up the sixth-most rushing yards per game. A seventh-round pick of the Eagles in 2014 Allen spent his first four years in Philly, winning Super Bowl LII with the team. He then signed a three-year, $15MM deal with Tampa Bay in 2018, although the last year of that contract was voided.

Packers Expressed Interest In Antonio Brown

November 2nd, 2020 at 1:06pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Antonio Brown has, of course, been reunited with Tom Brady in Tampa Bay. But before he signed the Buccaneers apparently weren’t the only NFC contender to express interest. 

The Packers made a call and “checked in” with Brown to “see if he would have any interest in going to Green Bay,” Adam Schefter of ESPN.com said Monday during an appearance on the Pat McAfee show (Twitter video link). Schefter makes clear that nothing was ever particularly close to happening, but it’s interesting nonetheless. Schefter reported a couple of weeks ago that a number of teams were digging into him, and it sounds like the Packers were one of those.

The Seahawks publicly acknowledged their interest a couple of times, and before now they were the only other identified suitor. Green Bay has struggled to find a consistent number two option in their passing game behind Davante Adams, so their interest makes sense.

The Packers are widely believed to be poking around available receivers ahead of tomorrow’s trade deadline, and they reportedly inquired on the Texans’ Will Fuller recently. It looks like Brown’s first choice was always to join Brady in Tampa, and nothing was going to sway him off that.Depending on how the embattled former All-Pro pans out with the Bucs, Packers fans will either be bummed they missed out or relieved that they dodged a bullet.

The Packers aren’t known as an organization that likes to take the most risks, and the fact that they reached out at all is a sign of the slightly more aggressive path new GM Brian Gutekunst has chosen after taking over a couple of seasons ago. Brown is eligible to make his 2020 debut this coming week against he Saints on Sunday Night Football after completing his eight-game suspension.

Chargers Trade Desmond King To Titans

November 2nd, 2020 at 12:03pm CST by Zachary Links

The Chargers have agreed to send Desmond King to the Titans, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Los Angeles is getting a sixth-round pick back in exchange for the cornerback/return specialist. 

King, 26 in December, was a healthy scratch for Sunday’s game against the Broncos. Now, we know that the Bolts were safeguarding against injury in order to trade him before the deadline. There was speculation that the Cardinals would trade for him, giving them a potential Patrick Peterson replacement for 2021. Instead, the Titans have emerged with the former All-Pro returner.

A fifth-round pick in 2017, King broke out in 2018 with 62 tackles, three interceptions, a defensive TD, and ten passes defensed. So far this year, he hasn’t made the same kind of impact. At 2-5, the Chargers have opted to move on from him and recoup some value for ’21 and beyond.

Los Angeles has a ton of talent in their secondary, which made King more expendable. The Iowa product grew unhappy with his decreased role, and was vocal about it on social media.

It’s a nice low-risk move for the Titans as well, as they desperately needed help in their secondary. Young cornerbacks Adoree’ Jackson and Kristian Fulton are both hurt and unavailable at the moment, and Mike Vrabel’s defense has been getting torched.

They’re currently giving up the sixth-most passing yards per game, although that’s not all on the secondary as they’ve been unable to get much of a pass-rush going either. It wouldn’t be at all surprising if the Titans made another move on defense before tomorrow’s deadline, either for an edge rusher or another cornerback.

49ers Trade Kwon Alexander To Saints

November 2nd, 2020 at 11:58am CST by Zachary Links

The 49ers have agreed to trade linebacker Kwon Alexander to the Saints, as ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets. In exchange, the Saints will send fellow ‘backer Kiko Alonso and a conditional fifth-round pick to San Francisco. 

Alexander, 26, has three seasons left on his four-year, $54MM deal. The off-ball ‘backer is remarkably tough – he suffered a torn pectoral muscle in November and somehow managed to return for the Niners’ playoff run. Alexander also battled a biceps injury that required surgery in February. These maladies emerged after he missed much of the 2018 season with an ACL tear.

Those issues predictably dropped his trade value, preventing SF from offloading him over the summer. Now, they’ve found a deal for him, though it mostly amounts to a contract dump.

It’s not too often that you see two guys at the same position swapped. Alexander has once again been banged up in 2020 as he’s missed the past two games with an ankle injury, although that doesn’t seem like anything too long-term.

New Orleans has an elite defensive front but their linebacking group has left a bit to be desired, so this move makes plenty of sense. They lost A.J. Klein in free agency, and offseason acquisition Nigel Bradham didn’t pan out as he was cut before the season began. Alexander has graded out solidly from Pro Football Focus, but not at the level he was playing last year. Demario Davis is locked into his role at inside linebacker for the Saints, so Alexander could cut into Alex Anzalone‘s role.

The 49ers get some salary relief, the draft pick, and a player in Alonso who stared at least 15 games for Miami from 2016-18. Alonso was placed on the reserve/PUP list at the beginning of the year and missed the first six games. New Orleans then activated him, but he has yet to appear in a game this season. These teams play each other in just a couple of weeks, so both players will get their chance at revenge.

Packers’ A.J. Dillon Tests Positive For COVID-19

November 2nd, 2020 at 11:24am CST by Zachary Links

On Monday morning, the Packers announced that one of their players has tested positive for the coronavirus. That player is running back A.J. Dillon, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter).

[RELATED: Ravens’ Marlon Humphrey Tests Positive For COVID-19]

With that, the Packers’ Thursday night game against the 49ers is now in jeopardy. Dillon has been in especially close proximity with the team’s other RBs, heightening the odds of potential transmission. In any event, Dillon will be a no-go for this week.

Dillon played on ten offensive snaps and seven special teams snaps against the Vikings on Sunday. The hope is that there was no viral spread during his limited usage.

The league tests its players on Sunday morning before each game, but the results do not come in until Sunday night or Monday morning. Similar to the situation with the Ravens and star cornerback Marlon Humphrey, the team did not have knowledge of Dillon’s test results until after the game was played.

The Packers selected Dillon with the No. 62 overall pick in this year’s draft. Once projected to play linebacker at Boston College, he’s a promising talent as a power RB. So far this year, he’s averaging 4.2 yards per carry on a limited sample of 23 totes.

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