Today’s minor moves:
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: DT Marquise Copeland
New Orleans Saints
- Promoted: OL Will Clapp
The Cowboys won’t have their two best wide receivers for today’s game against the Raiders. CeeDee Lamb has been ruled out due to his concussion, according to Tom Pelissero and Jane Slater of NFL.com (Twitter link). Meanwhile, as previously reported, Amari Cooper will be held out per the league’s COVID-19 protocols.
[RELATED: Cowboys Designate Lawrence For Return]
Lamb hit the ground head-first last week when Chiefs cornerback Charvarius Ward drove him to the ground. After being checked out by team doctors, he was ruled out for the rest of the game. Now, he’ll miss at least one more contest, leaving Dak Prescott with Michael Gallup, Cedrick Wilson, Malik Turner and Noah Brown at WR in the interim.
Lamb, 22, has notched 50 catches for 740 yards and six touchdowns this year. Hopefully, he’ll be cleared in time for Week 13, when the Cowboys face the Saints in a Thursday night matchup.
In other Cowboys news, defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence has been designated for return. Lawrence, 29, has yet to replicate the gaudy stats that he posted in 2017 and 2018, but he should provide a boost for Dallas’ run defense. It’s also worth noting that Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics have positioned him as a top-tier edge defender, despite the dropoff in sacks.
On this date in 2016, the Panthers placed Michael Oher on injured reserve. The move, in essence, capped Oher’s NFL career. 
The left tackle had suffered a serious concussion, just months after inking a brand new three-year, $21.6MM extension. The new portion of that deal was set to start in 2017, but he never played a snap on that pact. Oher, of “Blind Side” fame, later ran into personal trouble. In the spring of ’17, he was alleged to have fought an Uber driver. Later on, he posted a picture to social media with what appeared to be prescribed medication for brain injuries.
In July of that year, the Panthers released Oher with a failed physical designation, which allowed him to collect injury compensation. Oher’s contract was over before it even began, and his NFL career was finished after just eight seasons in the NFL. Oher overcame adversity throughout his life to become a first-round pick and found his second wind with the Panthers after some rocky years with the Ravens and Titans.
The Panthers reached Super Bowl 50 with Oher as Cam Newton‘s protector and they hoped to keep him in that spot through at least 2019. Instead, Oher would see his last NFL down at the age of 30 and leave the game after starting in all 110 of his games.
The Dolphins added a veteran safety Wednesday, signing sixth-year man Will Parks off of the 49ers’ practice squad. This will be Parks’ fifth team since the start of the 2020 season.
A four-year Broncos contributor, Parks spent the offseason with the Chiefs before being released in August and signing on with the 49ers’ practice squad in early November. He did not play in a game with San Francisco and has not seen game action since last season.
The former sixth-round pick out of Arizona has seen considerable playing time as a pro, starting 10 games for the Broncos and playing in all but two in his first four years. After signing a one-year deal with the Eagles as a free agent, the Philadelphia native ended up being waived due to injuries. He did, however, land back in Denver via waiver claim. Parks played in four more games with the Broncos last season but was again not retained in free agency.
Parks will add a veteran presence alongside Eric Rowe in a safety room that includes young players in Sheldrick Redwine, Brandon Jones, and Jevon Holland. Because the Dolphins plucked Parks off another team’s practice squad, he must remain on their active roster for at least three weeks.
Parks, 27, will reunite with ex-Broncos teammate Phillip Lindsay in Miami, with the Dolphins having claimed the running back off waivers from the Texans on Wednesday.
The Bears have never fired a coach in-season, and chairman George McCaskey is the latest to offer pushback on a report suggesting such a move was on tap.
In a meeting with players and coaches Wednesday, McCaskey said there is no truth to the report Matt Nagy will be fired after the team’s Thanksgiving Day game in Detroit, Dan Pompei of The Athletic tweets. This comes after a subsequent report indicated Nagy did not convey confidence about his rest-of-season status to the players.
[RELATED: Bears GM Ryan Pace Could Return In 2022]
While Nagy is undoubtedly on thin ice and almost certainly will not be back with the Bears next season, franchise precedent and the McCaskey comments point to the team keeping the fourth-year HC beyond Thanksgiving. A loss to the winless Lions, however, may change things for Bears ownership.
Losers of five straight for a second consecutive season, the Bears are 3-7 and again are having extensive issues on offense. They rank 31st in total offense, despite a two-pronged offseason effort to upgrade the quarterback position. Andy Dalton is set to start in place of an injured Justin Fields against the Lions. Among qualified QBs, Fields ranks last in QBR.
Nagy handed off play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Bill Lazor for a second straight season, but the pivot has not been as effective this year. As far as possible interim options, special teams coordinator Chris Tabor has been an NFL staffer since 2008 — including two Bears stints. Ex-Browns HC Mike Pettine is the only other staffer with head coaching experience, though he arrived only this year and serves as a senior defensive assistant alongside first-year DC Sean Desai in Chicago.
The Buccaneers continue to take steps toward having their top set of cornerbacks back in uniform together. They moved closer to that goal Wednesday, designating Carlton Davis to return to practice.
This opens a 21-day window during which Davis will be able to practice with the team without counting against the 53-man roster. At any point during that window, Davis can be activated back to the 53-man roster from IR.
A fourth-year starter, Davis landed on IR after suffering a calf injury during a Week 4 win in New England. The Bucs will be happy to see the return of the NFL’s leader in passes defensed (37) over the 2019 and 2020 seasons. The 2018 second-round pick started the season off with one interception and five passes defensed, adding to his total of six interceptions and 46 passes defensed over his career.
With the return of Sean Murphy-Bunting on Monday, following an eight-game absence, the Buccaneers hope to soon have their three starting corners (Davis, Murphy-Bunting, and Jamel Dean) back on the field together. Davis will be a much-needed addition, with two other cornerbacks — newly signed Richard Sherman and Rashard Robinson — still on IR.
Here are Wednesday’s minor moves:
Chicago Bears
- Promoted: WR Isaiah Coulter, LB Sam Kamara
Denver Broncos
- Designated for return: LB Micah Kiser
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: OL Austin Schlottmann
Detroit Lions
- Promoted: G Parker Ehinger
- Placed on IR: CB A.J. Parker
Green Bay Packers
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: OLB Jonathan Garvin
Houston Texans
- Promoted: DL Derek Rivers
Las Vegas Raiders
- Promoted: FB Sutton Smith
Los Angeles Rams
- Placed on IR: WR Robert Woods (story)
Miami Dolphins
- Promoted: LB Vince Biegel
- Placed on IR: CB Jamal Perry, LB Brennan Scarlett
- Designated for return: OL Michael Deiter
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed off Patriots’ practice squad: DE Tashawn Bower
New York Giants
- Placed on IR: DB Nate Ebner
- Promoted: TE Chris Myarick
New York Jets
- Promoted: FB Nick Bawden
Philadelphia Eagles
- Placed on IR: LB Davion Taylor
Tennessee Titans
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: QB Logan Woodside
Here are Wednesday’s practice squad moves:
Denver Broncos
- Signed: OL Zack Johnson
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: OL Jon Dietzen
Houston Texans
- Signed: LB Connor Stachan
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: LB Wynton McManis
New York Jets
- Signed: QB James Morgan
- Released: CB Natrell Jamerson
- Activated from practice squad IR: LB LaRoy Reynolds
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: LB Christian Elliss
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: CB Luq Barcoo
- Released: WR Austin Watkins Jr.
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: RB B.J. Emmons
- Released: WR Cade Johnson
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: WR John Hurst
Washington Football Team
- Signed: G Deion Calhoun, C Tyler Gauthier
3:35pm: This unfortunate situation appears to have ended on a positive note. The Vikings released a second statement regarding Griffen, indicating the veteran defensive end came out of his home peacefully and is now receiving care (Twitter link).
11:45am: We have a developing story on Vikings DE Everson Griffen. Early Wednesday morning, as Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune writes, Griffen posted to Instagram screenshots of text messages he sent to his agent, Brian Murphy. Those messages asked Murphy to call 911 because “people are trying to kill me.”
Around 3am, Griffen called police himself and requested assistance. He told the dispatcher that he had fired a round and that someone was with him, but police later said that no intruder was found and no one was injured.
Per the news release from the Minnetrista PD, which Lou Raguse of KARE 11 tweeted out, the police and Vikings staff members have been in contact with Griffen, but Griffen has refused to come out of his home. However, officers are confident that Griffen is alone in the house.
The team issued the following statement:
“Vikings representatives and the team’s mental health professionals have been on-site at Everson Griffen’s home since early this morning and are cooperating with law enforcement. Our only concern at this time is the safety and well-being of Everson and his family. We will have further comment at the appropriate time.”
Head coach Mike Zimmer did not offer any insight on the matter, saying, “the only thing I can comment on is for health and well being for [Griffen’s] family” (Twitter link via Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press). When asked whether Griffen was safe, Zimmer replied that he did not know. GM Rick Spielman will offer further updates at some point today (Twitter link via Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com).
Today’s events evoke memories of September 2018, when Griffen was involved in several bizarre incidents that led to his absence from the team for a few weeks. The soon-to-be 34-year-old later revealed in April 2020 that he lived in a sober house from October 2018 through the end of the 2018 season, and while he indicated that he was not diagnosed with a serious mental health issue like bipolar disorder, he was continuing to speak with a team of therapists, clinical psychologists, and a life coach.
He ended up earning a Pro Bowl bid in 2019 before opting out of his contract with the Vikings and splitting the 2020 season between the Cowboys and Lions. He returned to Minnesota in August, and he has been productive this year. In nine games, he has posted five sacks and has played well enough to regain his old job as the club’s starting RDE. He has started the last six contests, and while Pro Football Focus considers him a middle-of-the-road contributor overall, his 79.0 pass rush grade is a top-five mark among edge defenders.
Cronin was among those to tweet about Griffen’s social media posts before full-length pieces were published and the police report was released.
Phillip Lindsay‘s one-year contract did not last long on the waiver wire. Near the top of the priority list, the Dolphins submitted a successful claim, according to the running back’s agent (on Twitter).
The Dolphins will take on what is left of the $3.25MM Lindsay signed for in March. This continues a complex year for the former Broncos starter, who will now aim to contribute in Miami ahead of a likely free agency bid in 2022. The Dolphins were the only team to submit a claim on Lindsay, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
Houston waived Lindsay on Tuesday, but the fourth-year back did not make it far down the wire. At 4-7, the Dolphins moved to add to their backfield. Miami has used former seventh-round pick Myles Gaskin as its top back this season — one that has not featured a strong run game around Tua Tagovailoa. The Dolphins, who have continued to tinker with their offensive line, rank 31st in rushing.
Lindsay’s would-be free agency springboard season has not gone the way he’d hoped. The former UDFA success story is averaging a meager 2.6 yards per tote this season, which comes after an injury-plagued 2020. This has dinged Lindsay’s stock a bit, but the ex-Colorado Buffalo still attracted interest on the wire — likely due to his historic NFL entrance. Lindsay is the only UDFA to begin his career with consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons.
While Lindsay was expected to negotiate an extension with the Broncos after the 2019 slate, Denver hired a new OC in Pat Shurmur and signed Melvin Gordon to a two-year, $16MM deal. That created a logjam in the Broncos’ backfield and eventually led the team to rescind its original-round RFA tender on Lindsay in March, making him a free agent. The Texans signed him but also added Mark Ingram and Rex Burkhead to the mix. Although they traded Ingram to the Saints, the Texans used Burkhead and David Johnson as their top backs in Week 11.