Minor NFL Transactions: 9/26/23
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Promoted: DT Roy Lopez
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed off Steelers practice squad: WR Simi Fehoko
- Placed on IR: WR Mike Williams (story)
Minnesota Vikings
- Released: RB Myles Gaskin
Seattle Seahawks
- Waived from IR: WR Ra’Shaun Henry
Tennessee Titans
- Promoted: OL Justin Murray
- Placed on IR: S Mike Brown, RB Julius Chestnut
The Chargers officially placed Mike Williams on injured reserve today, opening a roster spot. The front office didn’t take long filling his spot on the depth chart, snagging receiver Simi Fehoko from Pittsburgh’s practice squad. The former fifth-round pick spent the first two seasons of his career with the Cowboys, where he hauled in three catches in 10 games. The Stanford product also had a significant role on special teams during his time in Dallas.
Roy Lopez looked to be entrenched in Houston’s defense for the foreseeable future, with the former sixth-round pick starting 29 of his 33 appearances between 2021 and 2022. However, after collecting only 67 tackles and two sacks across those two seasons, he was waived/injured by the Texans at the end of the preseason. The defensive lineman caught on with Arizona’s practice squad late last week.
NFC West Notes: 49ers, Adams, Cards, Rams
Recent restructures have vaulted the 49ers past the Browns for cap space. San Francisco’s $42.1MM leads the NFL by more than $7MM. GM John Lynch did not rule out some of these funds being used to add a trade piece, but the 49ers are planning roll over the bulk of the space to 2024.
“Really, we always look at the cap for three years out,” Lynch said, via NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco. “Obviously, we have all that room this year. But really it’s to create room for future years because we roll everything over. It helps us in future years because it creates some room we’re going to need. … We’ve pretty much done what we’re going to do this year, but you never know with the trade deadline and all that.”
The 49ers created some space by extending Nick Bosa, though the team authorized a record-smashing accord that will show up on future caps, but Brock Purdy‘s rookie contract runs through 2025. During the Lynch-Kyle Shanahan era, the 49ers have not been shy about adding at the deadline, as the Christian McCaffrey and Emmanuel Sanders trades illustrate. In place as a Super Bowl contender once again, the 49ers will have some ammo to accommodate a bigger salary if they choose. For now, however, they are viewing the restructures to help down the road. Even with the projected carryover, the 49ers currently are projected to hold barely $17MM in 2024 cap space.
Here is the latest from the NFC West:
- The Seahawks will not delay Jamal Adams‘ return for another week. Pete Carroll pronounced his highest-paid safety as “ready to go” for the team’s Week 4 Monday-night matchup against the Giants. Adams suffered a torn quadriceps tendon during the Seahawks’ season-opening Monday-nighter against the Broncos last year. The seventh-year veteran spent most of training camp on the Seahawks’ active/PUP list, and while he avoided the reserve/PUP designation, he still was expected to miss regular-season time. Additionally, Carroll said Riq Woolen and Charles Cross have a good chance to return in Week 4. Cross has missed the past two games, while Woolen was down for Week 3.
- In 2020, the Cardinals had both CeeDee Lamb and Tristan Wirfs on their radar when they held the No. 8 overall pick. Many in the Cards’ war room believed it would be a Wirfs-or-Lamb decision, GOPHNX.com’s Howard Balzer notes. Isaiah Simmons instead became the selection. While Simmons did not pan out in Arizona, being traded to the Giants for a seventh-round pick last month, he was viewed as an elite-level prospect. The Lions and Giants were linked to Simmons at Nos. 3 and 4, while Wirfs and Lamb did not go off the board until Nos. 13 and 17. Simmons represents another Steve Keim misstep at linebacker. The Cardinals missed on Deone Bucannon (2014) and had slotted Haason Reddick (2017) as an off-ball player for most of his Arizona run. Zaven Collins (2021) has since been moved to the outside. Simmons moved around the Cardinals’ formation, finishing his desert run as a safety.
- Sean McVay remains the Rams‘ play-caller, but he allowed new OC Mike LaFleur to implement new concepts upon coming over from the Jets. LaFleur added elements from the Jets and 49ers’ offenses that were not previously in the Rams’ scheme, Dan Pompei of The Athletic writes (subscription required). McVay indicated LaFleur — a Shanahan assistant from 2014-20, with the Browns, Falcons and 49ers — has earned the autonomy he received this offseason, when he came to Los Angeles shortly after a Jets separation.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/23/23
Here are the various practice squad elevations and other minor moves from around the league:
Arizona Cardinals
- Elevated: DL Ben Stille
- Placed on IR: DL Carlos Watkins
Atlanta Falcons
- Elevated: DL Timmy Horne, OL Tyler Vrabel
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed to active roster: OLB Jeremiah Moon
- Elevated: RB Melvin Gordon, RB Kenyan Drake
Carolina Panthers
- Elevated: CB Dicaprio Bootle, QB Jake Luton
Chicago Bears
- Elevated: DL Daniel Hardy, S A.J. Thomas
- Placed on IR: LB Khalid Kareem
Cleveland Browns
- Elevated: T Ty Nsekhe
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed to active roster: CB C.J. Goodwin
- Elevated: C Sean Harlow, C Brock Hoffman
- Placed on IR: CB Trevon Diggs (story)
Denver Broncos
- Elevated: RB Dwayne Washington
Detroit Lions
- Elevated: S Brandon Joseph, OL Dan Skipper
Green Bay Packers
- Elevated: CB Corey Ballentine, RB Patrick Taylor
Houston Texans
- Elevated: DT Khalil Davis, T Austin Deculus
- Placed on IR: CB Derek Stingley Jr. (story)
Indianapolis Colts
- Elevated: G Ike Boettger, WR Juwann Winfree
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Elevated: WR Jacob Harris
Kansas City Chiefs
- Elevated: LB Cole Christiansen, WR Montrell Washington
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed to active roster: DE Isaac Rochell
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed to active roster: OL Zack Bailey
- Elevated: S Dean Marlowe
- Waived: S A.J. Finley
Miami Dolphins
- Elevated: WR Robbie Chosen, LB Cameron Goode
Minnesota Vikings
- Elevated: WR Trishton Jackson
New Orleans Saints
- Elevated: S Jonathan Abram, CB Cameron Dantzler
New York Jets
- Signed to active roster: LB Sam Eguaveon
- Elevated: OL Chris Glaser
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Elevated: RB Qadree Ollison
Seattle Seahawks
- Elevated: LB Jon Rhattigan, S Teez Tabor
Tennessee Titans
- Elevated: DL Jaleel Johnson, OL Justin Murray
Washington Commanders
- Elevated: FB Alex Armah
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/23/23
Saturday’s taxi squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Released: DL Jacob Slade
Cincinnati Bengals
- Released: DE Garrett Nelson
New York Jets
- Signed: RB Xazavian Valladay
Cardinals To Sign DT Roy Lopez
Not long after his time with the Texans came to an end, Roy Lopez has found a new home. The defensive tackle is set to join the Cardinals, reports Aaron Wilson of KPRC2. 
Lopez was given an injury designation during final roster cuts, then waived with an injury settlement shortly thereafter. As part of that agreement, he would not have been able to re-join the Texans for four weeks, something which would have been unlikely given his chances of finding another opportunity by then. Wilson reported at the time that Lopez was garnering interest as a free agent, and that has now produced this Arizona pact.
The 26-year-old will begin on the Cardinals’ practice squad, Wilson adds. With Lopez having recovered from the strained hamstring which ended his time in Houston, however, he could soon find himself on the team’s active roster. The former sixth-rounder has logged 33 appearances and 29 starts in the NFL, so he should be able to carve out a role for himself before long.
Lopez has posted defensive snap shares of 46% and 48%, recording at least 30 tackles in each campaign. He had just one sack in both 2021 and ’22, though his pressure totals doubled from his rookie season (three) to last season (six). In spite of that production, the New Mexico State and Arizona alum has drawn poor reviews from PFF, something he will look to improve upon with a fresh start.
A native of Tempe, Arizona, Lopez’s deal represents a homecoming in addition to a depth addition for the team. The Cardinals currently have the likes of Jonathan Ledbetter, Kevin Strong, Carlos Watkins and Leki Fotu in place along the defensive interior. Lopez will look to find a spot among them and in doing so earn an extended stay in the desert or at least boost his free agent stock amongst other potential suitors in the spring.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/22/23
The league’s practice squad transactions heading into the weekend:
Arizona Cardinals
- Released from practice squad IR with injury settlement: S Jovante Moffatt
Carolina Panthers
- Released from practice squad IR: CB Stantley Thomas-Oliver
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: QB Reid Sinnett
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: T Ryan Hayes
- Released: T James Tunstall
New York Jets
- Signed: OL Chris Glaser
- Released: RB Xazavian Valladay
With starting quarterback Joe Burrow still nursing a calf injury that has hampered him throughout the first two weeks of the season, the signing of Sinnett becomes significant. Burrow’s status is reportedly still up in the air for this Sunday, and with practice squad quarterback Will Grier getting signed away to the Patriots’ active roster yesterday, Sinnett would now serve as QB2 to Jake Browning if Burrow can’t go.
Jonathan Gannon Addresses Kyler Murray’s Return Timeline
All-Decade-teamers Adrian Peterson and Chris Harris rebounded from late-season ACL tears by Week 1 en route to All-Pro honors. More recently, Seahawks linebacker Jordyn Brooks made his way back from a New Year’s Day tear to start in Week 1. But these major knee are different, producing asymmetrical recovery timelines. Kyler Murray is now more than nine months removed from his ACL tear, but the Cardinals are proceeding cautiously with their starting quarterback.
Murray resides on Arizona’s reserve/PUP list, keeping him out until at least Week 5. The Pro Bowl passer pointed to a near-future return in a Tik Tok message this week, offering “soon” to close a series of captions describing his recovery effort. Though, Jonathan Gannon is stopping short of declaring him as a surefire candidate to come back when first eligible.
“He’s doing well. We know the timetable of when he can return to play, but that doesn’t mean he will return to play and open his window then,” Gannon said, via AZCardinals.com’s Darren Urban. “We’ll get him going when he is physically and mentally ready to play and knowing it will take some time and some weeks of practice to get comfortable with what he is doing. I’m not in a hurry with that. I’d love to have him out there; he’s itching to be back. But we’ll take that one day at a time.”
At the offseason’s outset, a timetable in which Murray did not come back until around the midseason point surfaced. Michael Bidwill then said he expected the franchise QB to make an early-season return. It seems like the former timeline will be how this plays out. Murray, 26, can return to practice in Week 3; it is unclear if the Cardinals will take that step just yet.
Gannon has consistently praised Murray and in February indicated he would not have taken Arizona’s HC job without the presence of the former No. 1 overall pick. Bidwill also included Murray in the decision-making process that produced Gannon as Kliff Kingsbury‘s replacement. As the season began with Josh Dobbs as the Cardinals’ starter, Gannon doubled down on his commitment to Murray.
The Cardinals had been expected to go with Colt McCoy as their Week 1 starter, but the team released the 37-year-old QB just before the season. Dobbs taking the snaps represented a surprise, considering he was with the Browns until a late-August trade reunited him with OC Drew Petzing, Cleveland’s former QBs coach. Mock drafts that lead off with the Cardinals drafting 2022 Heisman winner Caleb Williams continue to surface, and this has remained a talking point as the franchise crafts a rebuild. Murray’s presence would interfere with this purported plan, and a potential comeback around the midseason point would certainly give the Cardinals a better chance to win consistently.
For now, Murray remains in place as a rehabbing franchise centerpiece. An awkward departure storyline — barely a year after the organization gave Murray a five-year, $230.5MM extension — could heat up if the Cardinals have one of the NFL’s worst records around midseason, and Gannon’s latest comments do not make it look like Murray will be on the field in Week 5.
QB Notes: Dak, Ravens, Lance, Dobbs, Lions
Although a report earlier this month indicated the Cowboys and Dak Prescott had not begun contract negotiations, The Athletic’s Jeff Howe notes conversations occurred “throughout the offseason.” The Cowboys restructured Prescott’s deal in March, creating 2023 cap space but setting up a showdown of sorts in 2024. Because of the redo, Prescott carries what would be a record-shattering $59.5MM cap hit for 2024, the final year of his contract. Prescott, 30, will almost definitely not play on that number; no one has ever played on a cap number north of $45MM.
Because the Cowboys tagged Dak in 2020 and procedurally tagged him in 2021, part of the long-running negotiations that finally produced a deal in March 2021, they do not have a 2025 tag at their disposal. The Cowboys want to gain contract clarity with Prescott, Howe notes (subscription required), with CeeDee Lamb extension-eligible and Micah Parsons eligible in January. But the eighth-year QB will hold tremendous leverage, particularly if he can complete a bounce-back season, once the sides get serious about an extension.
Here is more on the QB front:
- The Cardinals have used Josh Dobbs as their starting quarterback through two games, doing so despite the veteran reserve not being acquired until late August. Although Dobbs had a history with ex-Browns QBs coach-turned-Cardinals OC Drew Petzing, the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Mary Kay Cabot notes the Cards surprised the Browns with an “out of the blue” trade proposal for their then-backup. Cleveland, which had brought back Dobbs in March, decided the offer — a 2024 fifth-rounder for Dobbs and a 2024 seventh — was good enough to bump up rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson into the QB2 role behind Deshaun Watson.
- Dobbs was not the only QB who relocated via trade in August, as the 49ers-Cowboys Trey Lance swap outflanked the above-referenced move for headlines. The Ravens were mentioned as a Lance suitor, but Eric DeCosta said the team was not interested. “If somebody calls you and asks if you’re interested in a player and you say ‘No’ does that mean you’re interested in that player?” DeCosta said, via Ravens staff writer Kyle Phoenix Barber. The Ravens did pursue Baker Mayfield in March, when Lamar Jackson was on the franchise tag, but Tyler Huntley remains Jackson’s backup.
- Baltimore also rosters Josh Johnson…again. The journeyman (the term sells Johnson’s travels short) ventured to San Francisco last year following Jimmy Garoppolo‘s injury, being poached off Denver’s practice squad to become Brock Purdy‘s backup. Shortly after landing in the Bay Area, Johnson said (via ESPN.com’s Jenna Laine) the Ravens attempted to sign him. This sequence transpired in December, when Jackson’s knee injury left Huntley and Anthony Brown as the Ravens’ QBs. Johnson, 37, is on stint No. 3 with the Ravens presently; he was with the team in 2016 and 2021.
- On the subject of the 2022 49ers, the team’s Lance hedge — via the Garoppolo contract reworking just before last season — came about because Garoppolo was still viewed as the better quarterback. The 49ers aimed for Lance — the unquestioned starter going into Week 1 — to pass the veteran after a season’s worth of growth, SI.com’s Albert Breer notes. Lance suffered a fractured ankle in Week 2, requiring two surgeries, and is back on the developmental track in Dallas. The Cowboys have the former No. 3 overall pick stationed as their third-stringer.
- In 2021, the Lions were beginning another rebuild — one that soon involved a trade of Matthew Stafford. The 12-year Lions QB had requested a trade before the team made its GM hire, and The Athletic’s Colton Pouncey writes Detroit brass did not inform candidates of the request. The Lions had shot down Stafford trade talk in 2020, but after the veteran passer requested a move as the team reloaded around Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell in January 2021, the thinking changed. Holmes was unfazed by Stafford’s wish to be dealt, per Pouncey. After negotiating with several teams, the Lions collected two first-round picks, a third and current starter Jared Goff in that seminal swap with the Rams.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/20/23
Wednesday’s practice squad transactions:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: WR Jeff Smith
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: RB Carlos Washington Jr.
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: CB Robert Rochell
- Released: CB Mark Milton
Chicago Bears
- Signed: T Austen Pleasants
Detroit Lions
- Signed: OLB Mitchell Agude, RB Devine Ozigbo, CB Darius Phillips, T Dan Skipper
- Released: DE Chris Smith
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: CB Cameron Dantzler
New York Jets
- Signed: WR Irvin Charles
- Released: DT Tanzel Smart
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: LB Kyron Johnson, RB Bryant Koback
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: WR Duece Watts
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: DT Carl Davis, WR Tyjon Lindsey, CB Teez Tabor
- Released: WR Matt Landers, CB Robert Rochell
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: DT Deadrin Senat
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: DT Jaleel Johnson
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/19/23
Today’s practice squad transactions:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: DL Jacob Slade
- Released: WR Daniel Arias
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: LB Milo Eifler
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: S Matthias Farley
- Released: DB Eric Rowe
Detroit Lions
- Signed: OT Dan Skipper
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: DB Darius Rush
- Released: NT Danny Shelton
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: LB Mykal Walker
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: DT Cory Durden
- Released: P Brandon Wright
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: S Verone McKinley
- Released: S Joshua Kalu
New England Patriots
- Signed: QB Matt Corral
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: CB Tiawan Mullen
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: DB Chris Steele
- Released: WR Matt Landers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: G Logan Stenberg
Tennessee Titans
- Released: DE Michael Dwumfour
According to Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald, Matt Corral has landed back with the Patriots after going unclaimed on waivers. It’s been a busy few months for Corral, who has bounced on and off the Panthers and Patriots rosters. He’ll now return to New England as the organization’s third QB behind Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe.
Eric Rowe didn’t last all that long in Carolina after landing on the team’s practice squad in late August. The veteran defensive back spent the past four seasons in Miami, starting 39 of his 63 appearances. He’ll be replaced by Matthias Farley, who brings 100 games of experience to the Panthers. The safety has bounced around the league recently but didn’t miss a game between 2020 and 2022.
It took Mykal Walker a few weeks to find a new gig after getting cut by the Bears on roster deadline day. The former fourth-round pick spent the first three seasons of his career with the Falcons, including a 2022 campaign where he finished with 107 tackles. He was surprisingly waived by Atlanta in mid-August before getting scooped up by Chicago. Now, he’ll have a chance to revive his career in Las Vegas.