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49ers To Place OL Ben Bartch On IR

December 9th, 2024 at 5:57pm CST by Ben Levine

The injury woes continue for the 49ers. Ben Bartch has been a bright spot for the 49ers over the past few weeks, but the offensive lineman will now miss the remainder of the regular season. The guard is expected to land on injured reserve later this week, per ESPN’s Nick Wagoner.

Bartch suffered a high ankle sprain during yesterday’s win that will require an IR stint. The fifth-year player will now have to miss at least the next four games. With only four contests remaining on the schedule, Bartch’s only hope of playing again during the 2024 campaign would be in the playoffs.

A former fourth-round pick by the Jaguars, Bartch moved around the offensive line in Jacksonville, shifting in and out of the starting lineup. He was snagged by the 49ers off the Jaguars practice squad midway through the 2023 season, and he managed to get into five games down the stretch in San Francisco.

The 26-year-old was buried on the depth chart to begin the 2024 campaign and only recently got into the lineup after left guard Aaron Banks suffered a concussion. Bartch started each of the past two games for the 49ers, and he’s appeared in 65 snaps across the past three weeks. In his small sample size, Bartch has graded as the second-best OL on the 49ers this season, per Pro Football Focus.

When Bartch went down with his injury yesterday, Spencer Burford stepped in at LG. Fortunately for the 49ers, Banks passed concussion protocol and could also be inserted back into the starting lineup for Week 15 (per Wagoner).

Commanders WR Jamison Crowder Returns To Practice

December 9th, 2024 at 4:11pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Commanders will have a returner option available as early as Week 15. The team announced on Monday that  Jamison Crowder has been designated for return.

The veteran will also be in place as a depth receiver once he is back in the fold, of course. Crowder now has 21 days to be activated and avoid reverting to season-ending injured reserve. He has been out of the picture since he suffered a calf injury in Week 3.

The 31-year-old spent last season in Washington, where he began in NFL career. Crowder made only 20 catches in 2023, but he totaled 35 punt returns and posted an average of 7.9 yards per return. Once back on the roster, he will be a candidate to reprise that special teams role (although before getting injured Crowder did not register any kick or punt returns this season).

The former fourth-rounder was a regular offensive contributor during his first stint in the nation’s capital, and that remained the case during his three seasons with the Jets. Crowder only made four appearances with the Bills in 2022, and expectations were low when he took a one-year Commanders deal last September. His level of play on special teams led to another modest commitment, though, this time from Washington’s new regime led by general manager Adam Peters.

As Crowder looks to carve out a depth role on offense and/or special teams, Washington will prepare for a key stretch to close out the campaign. Sitting at 8-5 on the year, the Commanders are in a wild-card spot but are far from guaranteed to have a postseason berth with the Rams only one game back. Coming off the bye, the team will have another healthy option in place in time for its next contest provided Crowder is activated in the next few days. Once he is brought back, the Commanders will have four IR activations remaining on the year.

Texans Designate Christian Harris, Kenyon Green For Return

December 9th, 2024 at 3:10pm CST by Adam La Rose

Coming off their bye week, the Texans could have a pair of reinforcements. Linebacker Christian Harris and guard Kenyon Green have been designated for return, per a team announcement.

Harris has not played this season while recovering from a calf injury. Houston used an IR/designated for return slot during roster cutdowns, committing one of the team’s eight IR activations in the process. General manager Nick Caserio said last week Harris could be back shortly, and today’s news is an encouraging sign in that respect.

Harris and Green both have 21 days to be brought onto the active roster now that they have begun to practice. Harris’ return will be welcomed given his importance to Houston’s defense. The 2022 third-rounder has started 23 of his 28 career games, and in 2023 he eclipsed the 100-tackle mark. Especially with Azeez Al-Shaair facing a three-game suspension (pending appeal), getting Harris back in time for Week 15 would be critical for the Texans.

Green started each of Houston’s first nine games this season, a positive development after he missed all of last year. The former first-rounder struggled at left guard when in the lineup, though, as PFF charged him with five sacks and 27 pressures allowed. A dislocated shoulder was expected to result in a lengthy absence, and Green was indeed moved to IR in November. Pass protection has been an issue for the Texans, a team which did not make any O-line moves at the trade deadline. Green’s return would give them another healthy option up front.

Houston has only two IR activations remaining, one of which will be used to bring Green into the fold. The Texans sit at 8-5 on the year and hold a two-game advantage over the Colts for top spot in the AFC South. Getting healthier in advance of the postseason will be critical over the coming weeks, and seeing Harris and Green return to the lineup will be notable in that regard.

Saints Activate Kendre Miller, Place Nick Saldiveri On IR

December 7th, 2024 at 9:01pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Saints’ offense will once again have another option in the backfield starting tomorrow. Running back Kendre Miller has been activated from injured reserve, per a team announcement.

Miller made a pair of appearances in October upon returning to action the first time this season. He was given the IR/designated for return designation many other players received during roster cuts this summer, ensuring missed time at the start of the campaign. Miller healed in full from his offseason hamstring injury, but he was again sidelined not long after making his season debut.

Now, the 2023 third-rounder will again have the opportunity to see playing time upon being activated from IR. Miller only received nine carries when he was in the lineup, but veteran Jamaal Williams has seen between zero and three carries per contest each game since Week 3. At least a somewhat notable workload could be in place for Miller moving forward while serving as a complement to Alvin Kamara.

In a corresponding move, guard Nick Saldiveri has been moved to IR. The 2023 fourth-rounder made only four appearances (and no starts) during his rookie campaign, but he has been a much more prominent O-line figure this year. Saldiveri has made six starts amongst his 11 total games in 2024, all of which have come at left guard. He currently ranks 60th out of 73 guards in terms of PFF grade, but his absence will add further to the injuries which have been felt at multiple spots up front this year in New Orleans.

The Saints have only two IR activations remaining for the season, and with five games left in the campaign Saldiveri (who will miss at least the next four contests) will likely not return in 2024. New Orleans’ latest changes on offense come as the 4-8 team prepares to play the Giants on Sunday.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/7/24

December 7th, 2024 at 8:17pm CST by Ely Allen

Saturday’s minor transactions, including gameday practice squad elevations:

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Eagles starting tight end Dallas Goedert has been placed on injured reserve, so Jenkins will come up from the practice squad for a little added depth.

Titans Activate Chidobe Awuzie, Place Logan Bruss On IR

December 7th, 2024 at 6:43pm CST by Adam La Rose

Chidobe Awuzie is set to see his first game action since September. The veteran corner was activated from injured reserve on Saturday, per a Titans announcement.

Awuzie went down with a groin injury in Week 3, and he was quickly moved to IR. He has remained out of the picture since then, but by returning to practice last week it was clear he would soon be an option to be activated. Plenty of time still remained on Awuzie’s 21-day window to be brought back into the fold, but today’s news means he will be available for Tennessee’s Week 14 matchup.

The 29-year-old had a three-year run with the Bengals which included 32 starts and 37 appearances. Fully recovered from his 2022 ACL tear, Awuzie took a free agent deal with the Titans this offseason which allowed him to continue working under former Cincinnati OC Brian Callahan. Given the nature of that three-year, $36MM pact, expectations were high for the former second-rounder but his injury interrupted his debut Tennessee season. Awuzie should return to the starting role he held at the start of the campaign now that he is healthy.

The Titans are out of playoff contention, but they rank No. 1 in the NFL against the pass and No. 2 in total defense this season. Getting Awuzie back will provide a boost to the team’s secondary (which is without L’Jarius Sneed) down the stretch and allow him to see game action ahead of 2025. Tennessee has six IR activations remaining on the year.

In a corresponding move, offensive lineman Logan Bruss has been moved to injured reserve. The former third-rounder was claimed off waivers from the Rams last month, and he has made three appearances with Tennessee to date. This move guarantees at least a four-game absence, however, meaning Bruss will not be eligible to return until the final week of the regular season.

Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III Out For Sunday

December 7th, 2024 at 5:55pm CST by Ely Allen

The Seahawks have a big divisional matchup this week with only a one-game lead in the division and only a two-game lead on the last-place team in the division. Looking to sweep the Cardinals and establish a tiebreaker over them, Seattle will be heading into the game without leading rusher Kenneth Walker, who is set to miss the contest with ankle and calf issues.

Despite missing two games early on in the season, Walker is the team’s leading rusher with 542 yards and seven touchdowns. He also leads the running backs room with 38 receptions and 271 yards through the air. He was questionable just yesterday, but the team opted to officially rule him out today.

Luckily, Seattle has an effective backup in Zach Charbonnet was extremely effective in relief-duty when Walker was out earlier this year. In those two contests, Charbonnet had 129 rushing yards and three touchdowns. On the year, he’s second in the running backs room with 266 rushing yards and five touchdowns, adding 29 catches for 204 yards and a touchdown receiving, as well.

With Walker out, Charbonnet is likely to serve as the lead back for the team’s trip to Arizona. Second-year back Kenny McIntosh will back up Charbonnet and George Holani has been called up from the practice squad as a standard gameday elevation. It’s likely precautionary, but with Charbonnet also on the injury report, the depth could be crucial.

The other practice squad elevation for the week will be punter Ty Zentner. Zentner appeared in a game earlier this season for the Rams. This is likely a precaution, as well, as regular punter Michael Dickson is listed as questionable with a back injury.

49ers Activate S Talanoa Hufanga

December 7th, 2024 at 4:19pm CST by Ely Allen

The 49ers have been bombarded with injuries this year, but today they’ll get a bit of relief. San Francisco has officially made the move to activate safety Talanoa Hufanga from injured reserve. After attempting to make a comeback earlier this year, the hope is that, this time, Hufanga will be healthy enough and here to stay.

Hufanga’s initial return was from a torn ACL that he suffered just over a year ago. The team activated him from the active/PUP list just prior to the start of the regular season to ensure that he wouldn’t miss the first four games of the year. A limited runup to the season meant a limited snap share when he finally did return to the lineup, though, and after missing the first two games of the season, Hufanga made his official return in Week 3.

Hufanga missed a game after his 2024 debut before getting his second start, but he left that second game early and did not return. In the process of his comeback, Hufanga had suffered ligament damage in his wrist, necessitating an unfortunate return to IR. There was seemingly no guarantee that he would return this season, but the team ended up opening his practice window earlier this week. Hufanga, who is in a contract year, will not be 100 percent in his return as he still needs support for his injured wrist. With a potential free agency run coming, though, Hufanga will attempt to give it a go.

In order to make room on the 53-man roster for Hufanga, the Niners officially made the move to place running back Jordan Mason on IR. Joining Mason on IR will be backup safety George Odum, who has missed the past week of practice dealing with a knee issue that will seemingly end his season.

With an additional roster spot being made available, San Francisco will sign practice squad offensive tackle Sebastian Gutierrez to the active roster. Signed to the practice squad last week after some time in Indianapolis, Gutierrez was elevated for last weekend’s contest but hasn’t appeared in a game since 2022.

Joining Gutierrez for gameday from the practice squad will be linebacker Jalen Graham and running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn. As standard practice squad elevations, Graham and Vaughn will revert to the practice squad after the game, while Gutierrez will remain on the 53-man roster.

Chiefs Place WR Mecole Hardman On IR

December 7th, 2024 at 2:38pm CST by Ely Allen

Veteran wide receiver Mecole Hardman continues to struggle to live up to his second-round draft status with the Chiefs. His sixth NFL season appears to be coming to an early end as Kansas City places him on injured reserve with a knee issue that surfaced this week.

Since making the Pro Bowl and earning second-team All-Pro honors as a return man his rookie year, Hardman’s role in the NFL has continued to evolve. While he maintained his role in the return game, his targets as a receiver increased over the years immediately following his rookie season. While his yardage increased, he never matched the six touchdowns he caught in his first year. In the last year of his rookie deal, Hardman’s role seemed to be on a similar pace until an injury saw him miss the final nine games of the season.

As a free agent, Hardman signed a deal to join the Jets, but his turbulent five games in New York only amounted to three targets and one catch for six yards. He was traded back to the Chiefs, despite their lack of plans to re-sign him in the prior offseason, and spent the rest of the season as a minor piece of the offense, missing a five-game stretch with injury. This year, Hardman’s role on the offense is virtually nonexistent as he currently ranks 10th on the team in targets, but he has served as the Chiefs’ primary punt returner while splitting kickoff return duties with Carson Steele and Samaje Perine.

With Steele and Perine able to handle kick return responsibilities in Hardman’s absence, the focus will be on filling his role as a punt returner. Hardman is the only player on the team to return a punt this year, but practice squad wide receiver Montrell Washington got some experience in the role last year.

It looks like the Chiefs will favor a different option, though, as they moved to sign second-year undrafted receiver Nikko Remigio to the active roster from the practice squad. As a graduate transfer at Frenso State after four years with Cal, Remigio broke out with the Bulldogs recording 852 receiving yards and six touchdowns on 74 catches. Perhaps more importantly, Remigio led the Mountain West conference with 259 yards and two touchdowns on 13 punt returns. He looks to have earned an opportunity to field punts in his NFL debut with Hardman out.

Joining Remigio off the practice squad tomorrow will be linebacker Swayze Bozeman and tight end Baylor Cupp. Their promotions are simply standard gameday practice squad elevations, so while Remigio will remain on the 53-man roster following the game, Bozeman and Cupp will revert to the practice squad.

Browns Place OL Jedrick Wills On IR

December 7th, 2024 at 12:14pm CST by Ben Levine

Jedrick Wills‘ disappointing 2024 campaign has likely come to an end. The Browns announced today that they’ve placed the former starting lineman on injured reserve.

[RELATED: Browns To Demote LT Jedrick Wills]

After dealing with a nagging knee injury to start the season, Wills suffered a hyperextended knee in Week 7 that’s sidelined him for four of the past five weeks. While the lineman has been a mainstay on the injury report over that span, it sounds like he wouldn’t have seen the field even if he was healthy.

With Dawand Jones running with the LT gig, Kevin Stefanski revealed that Wills would serve as a backup when he was healthy enough for the 53-man roster. The former first-round pick’s knee injury made sure the backup plan never came to true fruition, but it was already clear that Wills was out of Cleveland’s plans for the 2024 campaign.

Wills has been the Browns’ full-time LT since joining the organization in 2020. He stayed relatively healthy through his first three seasons in the NFL, but he’s struggled to stay on the field in 2023 and 2024. An MCL injury limited him to only eight contests last year, and he’ll likely end his 2024 campaign with only five appearances. This is especially poor timing for the lineman, as Wills is set to hit free agency after this season.

The Browns weren’t done making moves today. The team announced that defensive tackle Maurice Hurst has also landed on IR. Hurst suffered injuries to both his ankle and foot on Monday night, and the issues will likely sideline him for the rest of the campaign. Both Wills and Hurst will be eligible to return for the regular season finale, but there’s a good chance the team opts to play younger players vs. forcing a veteran back from injury.

In corresponding moves, the Browns signed wideouts Kadarius Toney and Michael Woods from the practice squad to the active roster. Defensive tackle T.Y. McGill and receiver James Proche earned standard promotions from the practice squad.

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