2022 October - Pro Football Rumors

Month: December 2024

Giants Activate OLB Elerson Smith, Place OL Ben Bredeson On IR

October 29th, 2022 at 4:58pm CST by Ely Allen

The Giants have shuffled some players onto and off of the injured reserve list today, according to Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network, activating second-year pass rusher Elerson Smith from IR and placing offensive lineman Ben Bredeson on IR.

Smith missed the first eight games of his rookie season, as well, while dealing with hamstring issues. In very limited defensive snaps when he returned, Smith only amassed eight total tackles but flashed some ability with a forced fumble and two quarterback hits. Near the end of his rookie season, Smith was placed on IR with a neck injury, but that wasn’t the issue heading into this season. This year a lower leg ailment has held Smith out of the first seven games of the year. He is set to make his season debut, subbing in behind Jihad Ward and Leonard Williams.

Bredeson has been a starting guard for the Giants this season after getting traded from the Ravens last year. Bredeson first got a taste of the starting offense last year when filling in for Nick Gates and was named the starting left guard to start the year after an injury to Shane Lemieux in the preseason. With Bredeson set to miss extended time, the Giants can turn to Gates, rookie third-round pick Joshua Ezeudu, or another former Raven in Tyre Phillips.

The Giants made two gameday elevations from the practice squad today, in addition to the IR moves. Veteran safety Landon Collins and converted tight end Lawrence Cager will be active for Sunday afternoon’s matchup with the Seahawks.

Steelers Sign Practice Squad K Nick Sciba; Chris Boswell Ruled Out

October 29th, 2022 at 4:29pm CST by Ely Allen

The Steelers included kicker Chris Boswell on their injury report yesterday as he deals with a groin injury, and it appears that injury will hold him out of tomorrow’s contest in Philadelphia, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. Without Boswell, Pittsburgh did not have a healthy kicker on its roster, forcing the team to make some last second roster adjustments.

The emergency situation resulted in the signing of former Wake Forest kicker Nick Sciba to the team’s practice squad. Sciba spent the offseason in Pittsburgh, after going undrafted, knowing that his performance evaluations would likely be most useful to other teams around the league in need of a kicker, as the Steelers had just rewarded Boswell with a shiny new contract. Still, Sciba composed himself well enough throughout camp to warrant a phone call from the team when they needed him most.

Sciba was extremely reliable through four years in college, missing only 9 of 89 attempted field goals and setting the NCAA record for career field goal percentage with 89.9%. He also set a college football record with 34 made field goals in a row. He never missed a single extra point, converting all 193 attempts. The question for Sciba comes from his leg strength. Through his first three years at Wake Forest, Sciba never hit a field goal over 46 yards, and over his whole career with the Demon Deacons, he never hit a field goal of 50 yards or longer. He did make a 52-yard kick in the Hula Bowl all-star game, but teams still had questions about his leg strength coming into the NFL.

Boswell is missing time for the first time since he sat out of three games in 2020. The last-second nature of the ruling seems to indicate that he shouldn’t be expected to be out long, but the Steelers will have Sciba to lean on either way.

Sciba will be one of the Steelers’ gameday elevations along with defensive lineman Carlos Davis, according to Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network. In order to make room for Sciba on the practice squad, the Steelers released practice squad wide receiver Josh Malone.

Titans To Start Malik Willis At QB; Ryan Tannehill Ill

October 29th, 2022 at 2:25pm CST by Ely Allen

With starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill missing three days of practice this week due to illness, along with an ankle sprain, the Titans are set to give rookie third-round pick Malik Willis the first start of his career, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. After extended time leading the offense in the preseason, Willis will face the Texans this Sunday afternoon for his first full game of NFL football.

Willis started all three preseason games for the Titans this August. In his playing time, Willis was able to display the dual-threat ability that made him such an attractive draft pick. In three games, Willis completed 28 of 51 pass attempts for 318 yards, throwing two touchdowns and one interception. On the ground, he was able to add 159 rushing yards and a touchdown on only 14 attempts.

Willis’ regular season action has been extremely limited as Tannehill holds a pretty secure grip on the starting job. He did, though, make his NFL debut late in a Week 2 blowout loss to the Bills. Head coach Mike Vrabel threw Willis right into the fire against one of the league’s best defenses, and it didn’t go great. Willis completed one of four pass attempts for only six yards in garbage time. He was able to get some production out of his legs, gaining 16 yards on four rushes, but lost a fumble in the process.

Willis didn’t get a ton of time with the team’s top receivers in his preseason play but was afforded the opportunity to work with the first team offense all of this week in practice. Unfortunately for Willis, quarterback isn’t the only position affected by injury in Tennessee. The Titans are one of the league’s more battered teams with 13 players currently on injured reserve, six of those being on offense and three of those being his pass catchers. In addition to those 13, the Titans have two players, fullback Tory Carter and pass rusher Rashad Weaver, who are set to sit out this weekend.

Willis’ healthy targets will consist of receivers Robert Woods, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Cody Hollister, and Chris Conley and tight ends Geoff Swaim and Austin Hooper. He should also be assisted by a rookie quarterback’s best friend: a strong run game. Having star running back Derrick Henry to draw a defense’s focus should open up the field for the rookie quarterback to find some success in his first start.

Tannehill is listed as questionable and is likely available to play in case of emergency, but the illness may be a blessing in disguise, letting the Titans rest their starting quarterback while allowing his sprained ankle a little extra time to heal. Likely a step between Willis and emergency, the Titans have elevated quarterback Logan Woodside from the practice squad. They will elevate defensive lineman Larrell Murchison for the weekend, as well.

The Titans currently reside atop one of the NFL’s weaker divisions at 4-2. With the second-place Colts undergoing a transition at quarterback, Tennessee should feel fairly comfortable with their division lead, allowing them to make this play at quarterback. Tannehill will get some rest and Willis will get some experience.

Texans WR Brandin Cooks Could Give Up Money To Facilitate Rams Trade

October 29th, 2022 at 12:33pm CST by Ben Levine

Brandin Cooks is emerging as a popular name leading up to Tuesday’s trade deadline. We heard yesterday that the Chiefs, Packers, and Rams were among the squads looking into the veteran receiver, but it sounds like Cooks may have a preference for where he lands.

A source told Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com that Cooks could be willing to sacrifice some of his 2023 salary “in order to escape the Texans and return to the Rams.” Cooks has a fully-guaranteed $18MM salary coming his way in 2023, a factor that’s complicated trade talks so far. The financials of a trade would be a whole lot easier if Cooks was willing to give up some of that money, and Florio suggests the Texans could also eat some of the contract. Indeed, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com writes, Houston is willing to deal Cooks. Schefter adds the Giants and Vikings as potential landing spots.

Florio compares the situation to that of the Browns and Odell Beckham Jr. from 2021. Cleveland ultimately couldn’t find a taker for OBJ, but the wide receiver willingly gave up a significant chunk of his contract to get off the squad. There doesn’t seem to be any indication that Cooks is looking to get out of Houston at any cost, but it sounds like he’d consider reducing his salary to help facilitate a trade.

Cooks spent two seasons with the Rams in 2018 and 2019. He had one of his most productive seasons during his first year in Los Angeles, hauling in 80 receptions for 1,204 yards and five touchdowns. He was limited to only 583 yards in 14 games in 2019, and he was dealt to Houston the following offseason. Since joining the Texans, Cooks has had a pair of 1,000-yard receiving seasons. In six games this year, the veteran has hauled in 28 receptions for 281 yards and one touchdown.

Cooper Kupp leads the way for Rams receivers, but Allen Robinson hasn’t been able to click during his first season in Los Angeles. The Rams will soon welcome back Van Jefferson at the position, but per Florio, the team still wants more speed at WR.

Zac Taylor: WR Ja’Marr Chase Won’t Be Placed On IR

October 29th, 2022 at 12:04pm CST by Ben Levine

It sounds like there’s some optimism around Ja’Marr Chase‘s ability to return from a hip injury. Zac Taylor told reporters that his star receiver will not be placed on injured reserve,per Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic on Twitter. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport clarifies (on Twitter) that Chase is now considered week-to-week.

This is an about-face from what we heard the other day. Chase’s hip flexor strain was expected to keep him off the field for at least four weeks, making an IR stint likely. It never sounded like surgery was an option, which provided a bit of hope that the WR would simply return whenever he felt good enough to play. Ultimately, the Bengals are banking on Chase being ready to go at some point over the next four contests.

Chase has already been ruled out for Monday’s game against the Browns, and it seems unlikely he’ll take the field in Week 9. The Bengals have a bye during Week 10, so perhaps the organization is eyeing a Week 11 or Week 12 return.

“The timing,” Taylor said when asked about the decision to keep Chase off IR (via Dehner on Twitter). “The bye week helps. The overall prognosis of how it could play out factors in to that.”

Chase suffered the injury back in Week 6 against the Saints. He still managed to take the field for Week 7, hauling in eight receptions for 130 yards and two touchdowns. Fortunately for the Bengals, the team has a relatively deep grouping of receivers to help pick up the slack while Chase is out of the lineup. Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd will lead the way, but Cincy is also rostering the likes of Trent Taylor, Mike Thomas, and Stanley Morgan.

Chiefs RB Ronald Jones Wants To Be Released?

October 29th, 2022 at 9:54am CST by Ben Levine

It sounds like Chiefs running back Ronald Jones wants out of Kansas City. The veteran took to Twitter last night and wrote that he “sure would like a RELEASE right about now.”

This isn’t an overly shocking development considering Jones’ lack of playing time. After spending the first four seasons of his career in Tampa Bay, Jones joined the Chiefs this offseason and was expected to pair with Clyde Edwards-Helaire in the backfield. The RB acquisition inked a one-year, $1.5MM deal with $500K guaranteed, and there was up to $3.5MM worth of incentives on the deal.

However, after joining the organization, the Chiefs added running back Isiah Pacheco in the seventh round and re-signed veteran Jerick McKinnon. Andy Reid and the Chiefs coaching staff have been rolling with CEH, Pacheco, and McKinnon through the first chunk of the season, with Jones being inactive for each of the team’s seven games. With no opportunities at playing time on the horizon, it sounds like Jones would like a fresh start elsewhere.

Of course, it remains to be seen if Jones can still be a contributor. He struggled to hold on to the starting gig during his time in Tampa Bay, and the one-year contract he got from Kansas City is probably indicative of his market (although he may have taken a discount to join a contender). The last time we saw the 25-year-old, he got into 16 games (three starts) for the Buccaneers in 2021, finishing with 492 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns. Jones had two-straight 1,000-yard seasons between 2019 and 2020.

Lions TE T.J. Hockenson Discusses Trade Speculation

October 29th, 2022 at 9:39am CST by Ben Levine

The Lions are sitting with the worst record in the NFL at 1-6, leading to speculation that the front office could shop their veterans prior to the trade deadline. T.J. Hockenson would be one of Detroit’s more valuable trade pieces, and there have been plenty of pundits who have hinted that the tight end could be on the move before Tuesday. However, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press writes that the Lions have not fielded any calls on Hockenson as of Friday.

Despite the Lions’ assertion that they’re not shopping Hockenson, that hasn’t stopped the player from joking about the situation.

“It’s just like, ‘Hey’d you hear I’m getting traded?'” Hockenson told Birkett of the trade rumors. “It’s more me laughing about it than anything. I mean, if that — like I said, I love everybody in this locker room, I love being here in Detroit. I mean, but more importantly and most importantly I love playing football and so I’m going to have the opportunity to do that and that’s really what my whole role in this entire league is to do is to play football. So as long as I have that opportunity I’m good.”

Per Birkett, Hockenson said he hasn’t talked to coach Dan Campbell or general manager Brad Holmes about the rumors, and he expects to stay in Detroit through the trade deadline. On the flip side, the tight end also understands that the NFL is a business and he’s one of the more appealing trade targets on his squad.

“Listen, I’m not stupid, I know what I can bring to another team and I know here that they could, if they want something, if they want to do things for the future then I’m not stupid in that sense,” Hockenson said. “It is a business and whatever they have to do upstairs they’re going to do. And that doesn’t — there’s no hard feelings about it. There’s no, ‘Hey, I don’t like him personally’ or anything about that. That’s just how it is. So I’m not dumb or naïve in that fact.”

The 25-year-old was on pace to set career-highs in 2021 before tearing the UCL in his thumb in December. In six games this year, he’s hauled in 23 receptions for 315 yards and three scores, although a lot of that production came in a Week 4 contest that saw him finish with eight receptions for 179 yards and two touchdowns. Hockenson has a year-plus remaining on his contract, with a bit more than $500K still due in 2022 and $9.39MM due in 2023.

49ers RB Jeff Wilson Drawing Trade Interest

October 28th, 2022 at 10:21pm CST by Adam La Rose

The 49ers have already been major players on the trade front with respect to the running back position, and they could be making another move soon. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler tweets that San Francisco has fielded calls about the availability of Jeff Wilson.

Not surprisingly, Fowler adds that the 49ers are willing to entertain offers on the 26-year-old. The team added a new No. 1 to their backfield last week when they acquired Christian McCaffrey from the Panthers. That, coupled with the fact that Elijah Mitchell is nearing a return, leaves them with an impending logjam at the position. With the latter being under contract for two more seasons after 2022, Wilson represents the logical trade candidate.

Wilson has spent his entire career in San Francisco. Since signing as an undrafted free agent in 2018, Wilson has ridden his tenure out on a series of one-year contracts, the most recent being signed this past March. He’s never been the de facto No. 1 back in San Francisco, but a litany of injuries has given him plenty of run as a lead back over the years. After starting 14 of the 44 games he’s played in over the past five years (five of those starts coming this season), Wilson has established himself as a dependable backup.

Wilson has displayed a decent amount of success and production in the Niners’ system. San Francisco has operated in a running-back-by-committee type of offense, though not exactly by choice. Over the years, injuries to running backs such as Matt Breida, Tevin Coleman, Raheem Mostert, Mitchell, and Wilson have made it impossible to formulate an entire offense around one feature back. The addition of star running back Christian McCaffrey is intended to remedy this situation, despite McCaffrey’s recent injury troubles.

Regardless, the arrival of McCaffrey, along with the eventual return of Mitchell and the development of third-round rookie Tyrion Davis-Price, makes Wilson an expendable asset. Since many other teams expressed their interest in McCaffrey when he was made available, it stands to reason that those teams may still have interest in a running back, albeit one of a lower tier of production so far in his career, so it’s little surprise that teams have inquired about Wilson.

Expect this potential trade to be treated like the Jimmy Garoppolo trade situation. The 49ers have shown that they are willing to be patient when offering up a trade asset that still holds value to them. They will continue to utilize Wilson, like they have Garoppolo, until someone gives them an offer they feel matches Wilson’s worth.

Ely Allen contributed to this post.

Lions OL Halapoulivaati Vaitai Likely To Miss Rest Of Season

October 28th, 2022 at 9:58pm CST by Ely Allen

Lions starting guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai was placed on injured reserve shortly after Detroit finalized its initial 53-man roster with little-to-no information as to why. Soon after, it was revealed that back issues had been ailing the seven-year veteran, leading to back surgery that pointed towards a lengthy absence. Head coach Dan Campbell gave an update recently, claiming that Vaitai’s odds of returning this season are “very slim to none right now,” according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.

Vaitai has missed time here and there during his tenure with the Lions, but this extended absence will be the first of his career. Vaitai was set to head into the season as the right guard of a rather impressive offensive line. If healthy, a defender looking at the line from left to right would see Penei Sewell, Vaitai, Frank Ragnow, Jonah Jackson, and Taylor Decker. Through seven weeks, though, Vaitai has remained on IR while Jackson has played less than half of the team’s offensive snaps.

Due to the absences of Vaitai and Jackson, as well as the center Ragnow, Detroit has been forced to rely on the efforts of backup linemen Logan Stenberg, Evan Brown, and Dan Skipper. Stenberg got the start in Week 1 for Vaitai. When Jackson and Ragnow sat out Week 2, Skipper and Brown came in to replace each, respectively, leaving only two of the Lions’ original starting lineman in the lineup. When Ragnow returned the next week, Brown stayed in the lineup and Stenberg found himself on the sideline. The Lions stuck with that lineup until Jackson returned, pushing Skipper to the bench, while trying their hand at Stenberg, again. Brown would come in for Stenberg in Week 5 and, after a Week 6 bye, Brown remained as the only backup lineman in a starting role.

It appears that Brown, initially tabbed as the team’s backup center, is who the Lions have decided to trust with Vaitai’s empty spot. Jackson still appears on the injury report, but, if he can stay healthy, the Lions should be able to roll forward with that line for the rest of the season.

Vaitai is only in the third year of a five-year deal and is under contract through the 2024 season. The season-long injury absence may lead to a contract restructure of some sort, but, as long as Vaitai can return to full health, he should remain the Lions’ top option at right tackle for the future. Brown, on the other hand, is on a one-year deal and could play himself into a new contract elsewhere or even, potentially, with the Lions, making Vaitai a potential trade chip.

Broncos Place S Caden Sterns On IR

October 28th, 2022 at 9:10pm CST by Ely Allen

After missing the Broncos’ last two games, safety Caden Sterns has been placed on the injured reserve list, according to Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Focus. Sterns will now be forced to miss four more games before he can return to play for Denver.

Sterns is planted firmly in a backup role behind one of the NFL’s better starting safety duos: Kareem Jackson and Justin Simmons. Sterns showed his value as the next man up, though, as Simmons spent four weeks recovering from a quad injury earlier this year. Sterns made the most of his opportunities, registering two interceptions and four passes defensed in his time spelling Simmons.

With Simmons returning back to the lineup, Sterns was set to go back to a rotational role, subbing in for certain packages or when Simmons or Jackson need a breather. Unfortunately, Sterns experienced a flare up with a hip issue that had been ailing him since the preseason. The ongoing issue has reared its ugly head and will now hold Sterns out through most of November.

Denver will move forward with its top two safeties carrying the brunt of the work at the position. Backup safety P.J. Locke will serve as the primary backup safety. The team also has fifth-round rookie Delarrin Turner-Yell, who has mostly played on special teams this year, and veteran Anthony Harris on the practice squad.

If the Broncos designate Sterns to return, he will be eligible for the team’s Week 13 matchup in Baltimore.

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