Today’s minor moves:
Cleveland Browns
- Promoted: CB Herb Miller
Houston Texans
- Promoted: CB Cre’Von LeBlanc
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Promoted: OL K.C. McDermott
- Placed on IR: Jay Tufele
Here are Thursday’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Promoted: OL Danny Isidora, OL Zack Johnson, DL Josh Mauro, LB Joe Walker
Carolina Panthers
- Placed on IR: DT Daviyon Nixon
Chicago Bears
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: LB Caleb Johnson
Cleveland Browns
- Waived: OL Alex Taylor
Detroit Lions
- Waived: DL Eric Banks
Green Bay Packers
- Activated from IR: TE Dominique Dafney
- Promoted: OL Ben Braden
Minnesota Vikings
- Placed on IR: TE Ben Ellefson
Oct. 24: According to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, swelling in Mayfield’s shoulder has made it impossible for the fourth-year passer to sufficiently rehab the injury. He is in danger of missing the club’s Week 8 matchup against the Steelers, and because a harness alone may not prevent further damage if Mayfield is hit from behind and unable to adequately protect himself, he could be sidelined even longer than that.
Keenum — who navigated the team to a 17-14 victory over the Broncos on Thursday night — will obviously continue to get the nod in Mayfield’s absence.
Oct. 21: Baker Mayfield‘s shoulder injury sounds like it’s more serious than initially thought. Jay Glazer of FOX reports (via Twitter) that the Browns quarterback fractured the humerus bone in his shoulder.
[RELATED: QB Case Keenum To Start For Browns]
While it’s uncertain when Mayfield suffered the injury, it occurred when his shoulder popped out of its socket, which vicariously caused the fracture. The quarterback suffered a shoulder injury back in mid-September, but he reportedly aggravated the injury during the Browns’ loss to the Cardinals on Sunday. The fracture is limiting Mayfield’s rotator cuff, per Glazer, and that led to the QB being inactive for tonight’s game against the Broncos.
“I need that fracture to heal for me to get back out there,” Mayfield told Glazer (Twitter link). The QB is still hoping that his return will come next weekend, but that will depend on how quickly the fracture heals.
After being listed as inactive tonight, Mayfield will officially miss his first game since taking over as the Browns starting quarterback in 2018. The QB had started each of Cleveland’s first six games this season, completed 67.1-percent of his passes for 1,474 yards, six touchdowns, and three interceptions.
The Browns have backup Case Keenum under center in Mayfield’s stead, and the veteran will likely continue starting as long as Mayfield is out of the lineup.
11:44am: Landry is indeed back on the Browns’ 53-man roster for Week 7. The Browns activated him from injured reserve, providing Case Keenum with a key weapon tonight.
9:56am: The Browns will be missing their all-world backfield duo and Baker Mayfield against the Broncos on Thursday night, but they should have at least one of their starting wideouts available for this game.
Jarvis Landry is likely to return from IR tonight, James Palmer of NFL.com tweets. Landry has missed the past four games due a knee injury sustained on the Browns’ opening drive of their Week 2 contest. While the five-time Pro Bowler would reasonably benefit from an extra 10 days to prepare, the Browns appear prepared to deploy him to help a shorthanded offense tonight. Landry returned to practice last week.
A Landry re-emergence would be crucial for a Browns team down both Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, who is now on IR, and one that may not have Odell Beckham Jr. available. The shoulder injury OBJ sustained last week marked a “significant” setback, per Palmer, who notes the injury-prone pass catcher has an uphill battle to play against Denver. The Browns have yet to rule Beckham out, however.
Beckham did not practice during Cleveland’s short week but did play through the injury in the team’s loss to Arizona, catching five passes for a season-high 79 yards in Week 6. Beckham and Landry have not played together in nearly a year; Beckham suffered a torn ACL in Week 7 of last season.
Cleveland’s tackle situation appears to break down similarly. One of the team’s two starters, left tackle Jedrick Wills, is set to be available. Jack Conklin is not expected to play, Palmer tweets. Conklin logged a limited practice Wednesday but missed the Browns’ first two workouts this week. He is battling a knee injury. Swing tackle Chris Hubbard is out for the season; the Browns started rookie James Hudson at right tackle against the Cardinals.
Baker Mayfield will officially miss his first game since taking over as the Browns starting quarterback in 2018. The Browns announced that they’ll be without their starting QB tomorrow against the Broncos. Cleveland will have backup Case Keenum under center.
Keenum will have a chance to start against his former team, as the veteran started all 16 games for Denver back in 2018. He went 1-7 in eight starts with Washington in 2019, but he still got a three-year, $18MM deal from the Browns in 2020. In one-plus seasons with the team, the 33-year-old has seen time in four games, completing six of his 13 pass attempts for 52 yards.
“We have full confidence in him to lead us and do the things necessary to put us in position to win,” coach Kevin Stefanski said of Keenum. “Baker fought really hard to play, he’s a competitor and obviously wants to be out there but just couldn’t make it on a short week. We know he will continue to do everything in his power to return as quickly as possible.”
Mayfield suffered a shoulder injury back in mid-September, but he’s continued to play through the injury. He aggravated the injury during the Browns’ loss to the Cardinals on Sunday, and ESPN’s Jake Trotter writes that Mayfield was advised not to play by both team doctors and his own personal doctor.
Earlier this week, Mayfield clarified that he wouldn’t see the field if he ever thought he’d be hurting his team’s chances.
“Only I know how my body feels,” Mayfield said (via Trotter). “If anyone questions whether I am hindering the team and going out there injured, that’s just not right. It’s my decision. I get to say whether I am able to play or not, and that’s just how it is.”
The Browns are pretty banged up. Running back Kareem Hunt‘s calf injury is “pretty significant,” according to head coach Kevin Stefanski (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). Meanwhile, linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah is also dealing with a calf strain. Both injuries generally require 4-6 weeks of recovery, leaving Cleveland short-handed on both sides of the ball.
Both players are likely to be placed on injured reserve, allowing the Browns to restock their roster. Per league rules, they can return in as little as three weeks, but it sounds like they’ll be shelved until late November or early December.
The Browns were already hurting in the backfield, thanks to Nick Chubb‘s calf injury. They’re down to just two RBs now — D’Ernest Johnson and sixth-round rookie Demetric Felton.
Hunt saw a much larger role in 2020, his second Browns season. He totaled 1,145 yards from scrimmage and eleven scores, plus three touchdowns in two playoff games. Hunt remains under contract through the 2022 season while Chubb is signed through 2024 thanks to his three-year, $36.6MM extension.
Through six games, Chubb has 361 rushing yards off of 69 carries, good for an average of 5.2 yards per tote. He’s also registered 20 grabs for 161 yards — roughly half of last year’s receiving totals.
The Week 6 Saturday minor move blitz:
Carolina Panthers
- Promoted: RB Spencer Brown, G Michael Jordan
Chicago Bears
- Promoted: G Dieter Eiselen, RB Artavis Pierce
Cincinnati Bengals
- Promoted: LB Joe Bachie, RB Trayveon Williams
- Placed on IR: G D’Ante Smith
Cleveland Browns
- Promoted: DT Sheldon Day, CB Herb Miller, T Alex Taylor
- Released from IR via injury settlement: TE Connor Davis
Dallas Cowboys
- Promoted: FB Nick Ralston, TE Jeremy Sprinkle
- Waived: T Brandon Knight
Denver Broncos
- Placed on IR: CB Mike Ford
Green Bay Packers
- Promoted: WR Juwann Winfree
Houston Texans
- Activated from IR: WR Nico Collins
- Promoted: QB Jeff Driskel, G Lane Taylor, OL Cole Toner
- Placed on IR: T Laremy Tunsil (story)
- Released: LB Joe Thomas
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Promoted: OL K.C. McDermott, WR Laquon Treadwell, K Matthew Wright
Kansas City Chiefs
- Promoted: DE Demone Harris
Las Vegas Raiders
- Promoted: DL Kendal Vickers
Los Angeles Chargers
- Promoted: LB Cole Christiansen, DL Breiden Fehoko
Los Angeles Rams
- Promoted: CB Donte Deayon
Minnesota Vikings
- Promoted: TE Luke Stocker
New England Patriots
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: T Isaiah Wynn
- Promoted: OL James Ferentz
New York Giants
- Activated from IR: LB Cam Brown
- Promoted: T Korey Cunningham, WR Dante Pettis
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Activated from IR: T Zach Banner
- Placed on IR: J.J. Smith-Schuster (story)
Seattle Seahawks
- Activated from IR: CB Tre Brown, C Ethan Pocic
- Promoted: WR Phillip Dorsett, QB Jake Luton
Washington Football Team
- Promoted: WR Antonio Gandy-Golden, T David Steinmetz
One half of the NFL’s top rushing duo will miss Week 6. The Browns have ruled out Nick Chubb for their key interconference Cardinals matchup due to a calf injury.
Chubb’s ailment kept him out of practice all week. Listed on Cleveland’s injury report with knee and wrist issues, Kareem Hunt missed two practices but went through Friday’s workout in a limited capacity. Hunt is questionable to play Sunday.
Both Chubb and Hunt rank in the top 10 in rushing through five games. Chubb operates as the Browns’ starter, however, and his 523 rushing yards trail only Derrick Henry this season. Chubb amassed a season-high 161 yards in the Browns’ 47-42 loss to the Chargers but came into this week with the calf malady.
During his four-year career, Chubb has only missed one previous stretch — due to the MCL sprain he suffered midway through last season. He returned from that four-game absence to make a second straight Pro Bowl and power the Browns to their first playoff berth since 2002. Chubb signed a three-year, $36.6MM extension this summer.
The Browns have listed several starters — including Myles Garrett, Denzel Ward and Jedrick Wills — as questionable. Neither Wills nor right tackle Jack Conklin practiced Friday, putting them in jeopardy of missing Sunday’s game. Wills missed Cleveland’s shootout loss with an ankle injury, while Conklin left the game with a knee issue.
Luckily, Chubb is not expected to go on IR, as Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network reports (via Twitter). In fact, head coach Kevin Stefanski indicated that Chubb could be back on the field for Cleveland’s Thursday night matchup against the Broncos.
The Browns have designated Jarvis Landry for return, per a club announcement. The wide receiver will be eligible to play as soon as Sunday, when the Browns face the Cardinals. 
Landry went down with a knee injury during the Browns’ Week 2 opening drive. The Browns still went on to beat the Texans 31-21, but they lost Landry for the following games against the Bears, Vikings, and Chargers. Fortunately, they got Odell Beckham Jr. back at the exact same time — he snagged five passes for 77 yards in his debut. OBJ has been quieter the last two weeks, but he should benefit from the attention that’ll be paid to Landry.
Through two games (really, one game and change), Landry has six catches off of six targets for 80 yards. He also notched a rushing touchdown — the fourth rushing TD of his career — against the Chiefs in Week 1.
Per league rules, the Browns will have a 21-day window to activate Landry. It’s a use-it-or-lose-it proposition, but there’s no reason to think that Landry won’t return in the coming days. If he can’t go against the Cardinals, he’ll likely be ready for Week 7 against the Broncos.
Today’s taxi squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Released: CB Luq Barcoo, WR Josh Doctson
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: TE Parker Hesse
- Released: K Elliott Fry, OLB George Obinna
Baltimore Ravens
- Suspended six games (PEDs): T Adrian Ealy
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: OL Austen Pleasants
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: RB Elijah Holyfield
Cleveland Browns
- Activated off practice squad/COVID-19 list: CB Tim Harris
- Signed: T Alex Taylor
Denver Broncos
- Signed: WR John Brown (story) CB Rojesterman Farris
- Released: WR Josh Malone, LB Avery Williamson (story)
Houston Texans
- Signed: OL Cole Tonerm
- Released: DB Shyheim Carter
Indianapolis Colts
- OT Greg Senat, DT Antwaun Woods
- Placed on IR: S Ibraheim Campbell
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: RB Kerrith Whyte, OL Jared Hocker, WR Josh Imatorbhebhe
- Released: OL Austen Pleasants, RB Wendell Smallwood, WR Devin Smith
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: RB Elijah McGuire, LB Darius Harris
Las Vegas Raiders
- Released: QB Kyle Sloter
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: WR Travis Fulgham
New Orleans Saints
- Released: OT Derrick Kelly, LB Wynton McManis
New York Jets
- Signed: OL Dru Samia
- Released: S Sheldrick Redwine
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: DT Isaiah Mack
- Released: NT Eli Ankou