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Ravens Suspend WR Diontae Johnson

December 4th, 2024 at 10:02pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Ravens have suspended veteran wide receiver Diontae Johnson for one game, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.

General manager Eric DeCosta issued the following statement on the team’s decision, one that stems from Johnson refusing to enter the team’s Week 13 game against the Eagles.

“We have made the difficult decision to suspend Diontae Johnson for our upcoming game against the New York Giants for conduct detrimental to the team,” DeCosta said. “Diontae’s suspension stems from refusing to enter our game against the Philadelphia Eagles.”

DeCosta added that the Ravens would not have any additional comment on the situation moving forward.

Johnson did not play a single snap in the Ravens’ Week 13 loss to the Eagles despite a knee injury that knocked starter Rashod Bateman out of the game. Head coach John Harbaugh declined to elaborate on Johnson’s absence after the game, though his comments hinted at the sort of internal issue that DeCosta’s statement revealed.

Johnson has been active for all five games since his arrival in Baltimore, but only played 39 snaps on offense with just one catch for six yards on five targets. Bateman’s injury appeared to be an opportunity for the veteran wideout to see more targets from Lamar Jackson, but Johnson refused to enter the game, leading to his suspension. Nelson Agholor and Tylan Wallace filled in for Bateman instead, with Agholor unable to reel in his two targets while Wallace caught both of his for 14 yards.

The suspension continues a tumultuous contract year for Johnson in which he was averaging 51.0 yards per game in Carolina before his trade to the Ravens. Johnson quickly grew frustrated with his minimal role in Baltimore’s offense, though it is unclear why he would turn down the opportunity for more snaps when it arose.

The Ravens’ decision to suspend Johnson signals that the team is considering moving on from the veteran receiver. Baltimore still thinks that Johnson “could help them down the stretch,” according to FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz, especially if Bateman misses time. However, a team with strong playoff chances and Super Bowl aspirations needs “everyone to be fully committed and team-focused,” per Schultz, forcing the Ravens to determine if Johnson is worth keeping around.

Baltimore has some time to weigh their options with a bye week before their Week 15 matchup against the Giants in which Johnson will be ineligible to play. Keeping him on the roster after the bye would indicate that the Ravens have resolved the situation with Johnson.

This is not the first internal issue the Ravens have dealt with this season. Marcus Williams has been reduced to a healthy scratch multiple times after his struggles in coverage, and Eddie Jackson was released after refusing to travel with the team to Pittsburgh in Week 11.

Jaguars Place Trevor Lawrence On IR

December 4th, 2024 at 10:00pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

10:00pm: While Lawrence technically could have returned in time for the Jaguars’ season finale, he’ll indeed be out for the rest of the season. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport says the quarterback will have surgery to repair the “significant” AC joint sprain in his non-throwing shoulder. By going under the knife now, Lawrence should be ready to go for the start of the 2025 campaign.

3:05pm: The Jaguars have placed Trevor Lawrence on injured reserve, per an official team announcement, likely ending the veteran quarterback’s season after he suffered a concussion against the Texans in Week 13.

Lawrence was carted off the field after being hit while sliding by linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, who was suspended for three games for the play. Lawrence will be sidelined until at least Week 18, but with an existing shoulder injury and virtually no shot at the playoffs, Jacksonville may instead choose to shut down its franchise quarterback for the year.

Lawrence has been considering surgery for an AC joint sprain in his non-throwing shoulder, though he opted to return to the field in Week 13 after taking the Jaguars’ Week 12 bye to heal up. Now that he’s already on injured reserve, Lawrence can now undergo his surgery and get a head start on his recovery for next season.

Jacksonville saw Lawrence battle a few injuries last season, a campaign that involved a concussion. The team slid from 8-3 to 9-8 but still bet big on its quarterback during the first offseason he was extension-eligible. The Jags picked up Lawrence’s fifth-year option, but rather than wait for the QB to prove it for another season like the Dolphins did with Tua Tagovailoa, the team paid the going rate by extending Lawrence at a then-record $55MM per year.

This came during an offseason in which the Jaguars also extended Josh Hines-Allen and Tyson Campbell, with the two defenders respectively collecting the second- and third-largest contracts in franchise history. With the Jags tumbling to 2-10 after this spree of extensions, this has proven a wildly disappointing season — one that will almost definitely result in Doug Pederson’s firing. It remains to be seen if GM Trent Baalke will be booted as well, but that is believed to be in play.

If Lawrence is indeed done for the year, it will mark the end of his worst season since he led the Jaguars to a 3-14 record as a rookie. His 204.5 passing yards per game are a career-low, as were his 17.2 completions and 28.4 attempts per game. Mac Jones is slated to start the rest of the season under center for the Jaguars, with former Lawrence backup C.J. Beathard set to reprise his QB2 role.

Jaguars Claim WR Josh Reynolds

December 4th, 2024 at 9:53pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Jaguars have claimed veteran receiver Josh Reynolds after he was waived by the Broncos on Tuesday, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.

With an available spot on their 53-man roster after placing Trevor Lawrence on injured reserve, the Jaguars opted to add veteran reinforcements at receiver with Christian Kirk and Gabriel Davis currently on IR.

Reynolds has been through a tumultuous season, initially landing on injured reserve in October due to finger surgery before being wounded in a shooting in Denver later that month. He only made 12 catches for 183 yards and a touchdown in his five games pre-injury, though his 9.6 yards per target represented a career-high.

Reynolds was designated to return from injured reserve on November 13, but the Broncos opted to waive him rather than use one of their three remaining IR activations.

Denver has found a rhythm in their passing game over the last month with young wideouts Devaughn Vele and Marvin Mims. Rather than retain Reynolds in a reserve role, the Broncos waived him to give him a chance to earn more targets with another team.

Indeed, Reynolds could be in line for some immediate playing time in Jacksonville. Rookie wideout Brian Thomas leads the team with 46 catches for 765 yards, but the next-best healthy Jaguars receiver is Parker Washington with just 16 catches for 221 yards in 12 games. Reynolds nearly surpassed that production in his five games already this year, and his recent history with five different teams since 2020 suggests that he should be able to integrate into his new offense quickly.

The Jaguars will owe Reynolds just over $623K for the rest of the season, per the Denver Gazette’s Chris Thomasson, while the Broncos save the same amount against their salary cap. Reynolds is under contract for $3.99MM in base salary next year with an additional $510k in per-game roster bonuses, though none of that money is guaranteed, per OverTheCap. If he impresses his new team, he could stick around in Jacksonville in 2025, but the Jaguars could still cut him without any dead cap hit after this season.

Chargers Designate LB Junior Colson For Return

December 4th, 2024 at 8:58pm CST by Ben Levine

It sounds like Junior Colson will soon resume his rookie season. The Chargers linebacker is expected to return to practice this week, coach Jim Harbaugh told reporters (including Daniel Popper of The Athletic).

[RELATED: Chargers Place Junior Colson On IR]

Colson suffered an ankle injury in Week 9 that’s sidelined him for the past four weeks. Based on Harbaugh’s comments today, there’s a chance the player only requires a minimum stay on injured reserve. The Chargers will have 21 days to activate the rookie to the active roster.

A former standout at Michigan, the linebacker was selected in the third round of this past year’s draft. Thanks to an unrelated hamstring injury that knocked him out for Week 3 and Week 4, Colson has only made six appearances this season. In three of those games, he exceeded a 50-percent snap count, and he collected 11 of his 14 tackles during that stretch.

Colson could be in line for some playing time during the stretch run of the season. Daiyan Henley will continue to lead the depth chart, but the rookie should compete with Denzel Perryman (who is nursing his own groin injury) for leftover snaps. Colson’s return could also knock Troy Dye to mostly a special teams role.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/4/24

December 4th, 2024 at 8:31pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Dallas Cowboys

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

  • Signed: CB Jason Maitre

Minnesota Vikings

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/4/24

December 4th, 2024 at 8:25pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Kansas City Chiefs

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

  • Designated for return: LB Dyontae Johnson

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

Spencer Shrader‘s hamstring injury will knock him out for the next four weeks, and with Harrison Butker eventually set to return, the fill-in kicker’s stint with the Chiefs has likely come to an end. Temporarily, the team will turn to their third kicker in Matthew Wright. The veteran filled in for Shrader this past weekend, connecting on four of his five field goal tries.

Former Dolphins second-round pick Cam Smith landed on IR today, likely ending his disappointing sophomore campaign. The cornerback did get more run in 2024 vs. his rookie season, but he was still limited to only 16 tackles in six games thanks to a pair of IR stints. This time, it’s a shoulder issue that will put the South Carolina product on the shelf.

Saints safety Roderic Teamer was hit with a three-game ban today for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston. Mike Triplett of NewOrleans.football notes that Teamer’s unpaid ban is “the conclusion of his DUI arrest” in 2023 (when he was with the Raiders). Teamer was limited to only a pair of appearances this season, with all of his snaps coming on special teams.

Titans lineman Jaelyn Duncan returned to practice today after missing the past six games while nursing a hamstring injury. The former sixth-round pick could actually see a significant role upon his return, with Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com noting that the second-year player could get a look at right tackle once he’s fully healthy.

Jets Open Practice Window For Allen Lazard, Wes Schweitzer

December 4th, 2024 at 2:50pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Jets have opened the practice window for wide receiver Allen Lazard and offensive guard Wes Schweitzer to return from injured reserve, per ESPN’s Rich Cimini.

Lazard landed on injured reserve at the end of October due to a chest injury after a solid start to the year. With 412 yards and five touchdowns in seven games, he already surpassed his 2023 production and was on pace for career-highs in both categories. Lazard was also leading the Jets’ receivers with a 63.6% receiving success rate and still made four catchs for 58 yards in Davante Adams‘ Jets debut despite the increased competition for targets.

Schweitzer was placed on injured reserve before Week 1 with a hand injury, his second year in a row with an IR stint after appearing in just six games in 2023. He started two games at right guard, plus fill-in duties at center and right guard in Week 8, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

The Jets are currently 3-9 with virtually no chance of making the playoffs, so returns from Lazard and Schweizter won’t have much of an impact. Lazard is still under contract for 2025 and 2026 but has no guaranteed money remaining on his deal, so he could be a cap casualty in the offseason. Schweizter, meanwhile, is set to be a free agent after this season. While neither player can change the course of the Jets’ season, returning to the field could be crucial for both players’ value in free agency this offseason.

Both Lazard and Schweizter will have three weeks to practice with the team before they must be activated to the 53-man roster or revert to season-ending injured reserve.

Bengals To Sign K Cade York

December 4th, 2024 at 1:11pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Bengals have signed kicker Cade York to their practice squad after Evan McPherson suffered a groin injury, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.

McPherson will be sidelined for a few weeks with a groin injury, per Garafolo, which forced Cincinnati to work out some veteran free agents on Wednesday morning. York had the most successful tryout, and he will take over as the Bengals’ kicker while McPherson heals up.

A stint on the sidelines might be a blessing in disguise for the struggling McPherson, who, like his AFC North counterpart Justin Tucker in Baltimore, is having the worst year of his career. He’s made just 72.7% of his kicks, a significant drop from his 83.9% conversion rate over his first three seasons. Crucially, McPherson has missed four field goals in three Bengals’ losses that were decided by one possession. Whether the problem is physical or mental, the 2021 fifth-rounder could benefit from a few weeks of rest. He signed a three-year extension with the Bengals before the regular season that the team may already be regretting.

That doesn’t mean that York is an upgrade. He entered the regular season as the Commanders’ kicker, but lost his job after missing both of his attempts in Week 1. Since then, he has worked out for the Bills and the Jets (twice), though he was unable to win either available opportunity. York spent the 2023 seasons shuttling between practice squads, but appeared in every game for the Browns as a rookie in 2022 with a disappointing 75.0% conversion rate after Cleveland drafted him in the fourth round.

York will reunite with former LSU teammates and fellow 2019 national champions Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase in Cincinnati, where he will hope to re-establish his place in the NFL. The Bengals will likely use up his practice squad elevations over the next three weeks with the hope that McPherson can return before the end of the regular season.

Bills Bring Back S Micah Hyde

December 4th, 2024 at 1:40am CST by Sam Robinson

1:41pm: Hyde told reporters that he plans to retire after this season, per NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe. He aims to help the Bills finally win secure an elusive Super Bowl victory to cap off his impressive 12-year career.

11:11am: A long-rumored reunion is coming to pass. The Bills separated from many core players this offseason, with Micah Hyde one of the longtime starters not brought back. But the team kept its longtime safety on the radar. Months after those return rumors began, they will lead to deal.

Hyde is indeed coming back to the Bills. Sean McDermott said Wednesday that the seven-year safety starter is rejoining the team on a practice squad deal. Despite Buffalo cutting Mike Edwards recently, there will be room for Hyde as an insurance piece.

In Hyde and Jordan Poyer, Buffalo featured one of the longest-running safety tandems in NFL history. The 2017 free agency additions played central roles in the Bills’ McDermott-era ascent. Added in McDermott’s first offseason in charge, the pair played seven seasons together. Poyer, however, is now in Miami. Hyde will still join some former teammates, as Damar Hamlin and 2023 UFA addition Taylor Rapp are in place as starters.

Turning 34 later this month, Hyde has been out of football since his most recent Bills contract expired. The 11-year veteran had said it was Bills or retirement for him in 2024. The Bills did not expect him to retire this year, and the now-five-time reigning AFC East champions will see to it that an NFL exit is put on hold for at least a few more months.

This marks Hyde’s third Bills contract. The team gave him a five-year, $30.5MM deal in 2017 and later extended him at two years, $19.25MM. Wednesday is a new chapter for Hyde, who will now be attached to P-squad money. The Bills added Cole Bishop via second-round pick this offseason as well, and while Rapp will be limited in practice today, McDermott said the Hyde signing is unrelated to the sixth-year veteran’s minor injury.

Hyde has made 95 starts for the Bills. That ranks fourth in team history at safety, behind Poyer (107), 1990s bastion Henry Jones (129) and all-time leader Steve Freeman (134). Hyde missed most of the 2022 season with a neck injury, being limited to two starts. While he returned to practice months later, the Bills never activated him from IR. The former Packers draftee bounced back last season, starting 14 games and being available — when many Bills defenders were not — for both playoff contests. Hyde has 16 career interceptions with the Bills, including five apiece in 2021 and 2017, a Pro Bowl season that ended a near-two-decade Bills playoff drought.

The Bills cut Poyer, Tre’Davious White and Mitch Morse this offseason, doing so just before letting Gabe Davis walk in free agency. They then traded Stefon Diggs, signaling what many expected to be a transition year. Buffalo has bucked those expectations, starting 10-2 and putting heat on Kansas City for the AFC’s No. 1 seed. The team will now have a leadership presence back in the building, and it will be interesting to see if Hyde returns to action soon.

Broncos Waive WR Josh Reynolds From IR

December 3rd, 2024 at 10:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

Rather than use one of their injury activations on Josh Reynolds, the Broncos are moving on. The team had a few options with the recovery wideout, and 9News’ Mike Klis notes he will be cut.

Denver, which has three injury activations remaining, had signed Reynolds to a two-year, $9MM deal this offseason. The veteran receiver, however, went down early with a finger injury and then suffered minor wounds in a scary shooting incident in October. That caused a longer-than-expected IR stint, but Reynolds was moving toward a return. The Broncos needed to activate him by Wednesday or place him on season-ending IR; the eighth-year WR now would be in line to return for another team.

[RELATED: Broncos Planned To Trade Jerry Jeudy Regardless Of WR’s Request]

The Broncos could conceivably circle back to Reynolds as a practice squad option, though that would be an interesting move considering the parties agreed on a $4.5MM-per-year contract in March. Reynolds is due just more than $500K in remaining base salary, so a waiver claim should not be considered out of the question in this case. This cut will ensure the Broncos take a $1MM dead money hit in 2025.

This continues a pattern for Sean Payton‘s team this year. Since early March, the Broncos have moved on from Jerry Jeudy, Tim Patrick and now Reynolds. This will keep snaps open for the batch of rookie-deal wideouts on Denver’s roster. Seventh-round pick Devaughn Vele has shown promise early, while the Broncos have seen increased contributions from 2023 second-rounder Marvin Mims. Ex-Bo Nix teammate Troy Franklin, whom the team traded up for in Round 4, has also played a regular role among this batch of Courtland Sutton sidekicks. It appears the Broncos viewed Reynolds as a potential progress-stopper. Ex-Payton Saints charge Lil’Jordan Humphrey also profiles as veteran insurance in Denver.

Like Zach Ertz last season, Reynolds is being waived from IR. The Broncos could have let Reynolds’ 21-day practice window close or activate him. They chose a somewhat unexpected third option, which will let the 29-year-old receiver catch on elsewhere before season’s end. Reynolds will wrap his season with five games played, having caught 12 passes for 183 yards and one touchdown.

Denver added Reynolds before Franklin and Vele were in the picture, with the longtime Jared Goff target effectively representing insurance for the Broncos. Seeing Vele move to the lead of the Broncos’ WR2 committee, the team apparently prefers not to have Reynolds around to take away snaps from its developing crop. As the Broncos will take a chance on using only rookie-deal cogs to support Sutton, this transaction adds an interesting name on the waiver wire for WR-needy teams in the process.

The Lions, who signed Patrick after the Broncos cut him in August, made Reynolds an offer to stay. Though, it came in south of the Broncos’ proposal. It will be interesting to see if Detroit shows interest, given Jameson Williams‘ volatility. The NFL could suspend Williams still, even though a gun charge was ultimately never filed after an October incident. Williams has been suspended twice already and missed most of his rookie season due to injury. Patrick has worked as Detroit’s No. 3 option, but Reynolds played ahead of Williams for much of last season, finishing with 40 receptions for 608 yards and five TDs. Multiple drops in the NFC championship game ended Reynolds’ Lions tenure on a sour note, but the ex-Rams draftee played with Goff in two cities.

The Broncos have now passed on activating both Reynolds and safety Delarrin Turner-Yell; the latter’s practice period closed and he reverted to season-ending IR. Denver does not have another obvious IR-return candidate, though running back Tyler Badie is eligible to be activated. The team, which is entering a bye week, will opt to save some activations for the stretch run.

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