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NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/27/20

October 27th, 2020 at 5:40pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

We’ll keep track of the practice squad moves from the past day here:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Jacksonville Jaguars

  • Released: T Jared Hilbers

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

  • Signed: K Austin MacGinnis

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

Browns’ Odell Beckham Jr. Done For Year

October 26th, 2020 at 9:39am CST by Zachary Links

Odell Beckham Jr.’s season is over. The Browns star confirmed that he tore his ACL on Sunday against the Bengals (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson). 

Beckham is in his second season with the Browns, and he has yet to live up to expectations in Cleveland. He finished with 1,035 yards and four touchdowns last year, respectable numbers, but easily the worst in his career for a full season. His name has continuously popped up in trade rumors, with the team emphatically shooting down the latest round of speculation just a few weeks ago.

His production so far this season has been relatively disappointing, as the Browns have transitioned to a run-first offense that doesn’t have Mayfield chuck it too much. He didn’t top 81 yards in any of the seven games he’s played in, and outside of one three-touchdown outburst has been mostly quiet. After being forced out early from Sunday’s game, he’ll now be forced to put a lid on his season.

Cleveland traded first and third-round picks, as well as safety Jabrill Peppers and offensive lineman Kevin Zeitler for Beckham and pass-rusher Olivier Vernon back in March of 2019. Beckham is signed through the 2023 season, and there’s no easy escape hatch for the Browns. He’s set to earn $15.75MM in total compensation with $12.971MM guaranteed for injury. That’ll transition to a full guarantee if he’s on the roster the third day of the league year in the spring.

The Browns are 5-2, but they’ll have to forge ahead without their most talented offensive weapon. There should be more targets headed towards Jarvis Landry, Rashard Higgins, Donovan Peoples-Jones, and Taywan Taylor. The Browns may also look to install one of their practice squad receivers on the 53-man roster – either Ja’Marcus Bradley or Elijah Benton.

Odell Beckham Jr. Has Major Knee Injury

October 25th, 2020 at 4:43pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Browns improved to 5-2 for the first time in ages with their thrilling comeback win over the Bengals, but they didn’t escape Cincinnati unscathed. Star receiver Odell Beckham Jr is “feared to have suffered a major injury,” a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).

Rapoport added that Beckham will have an MRI tomorrow to tell the full story, but that the “early indications aren’t good.” It’s unclear what exactly the injury is, but most often when it’s something serious like an ACL for example the team knows right away from physical exams and the MRI is only for confirmation. Whatever it turns out to be, if Baker Mayfield wants to keep the magic going in Cleveland it sounds like he’s going to have to do it without his top weapon moving forward.

Beckham is in his second season with the Browns, and has had a tumultuous time with the team. He finished with 1,035 yards and four touchdowns last year, respectable numbers, but easily the worst in his career for a full season. His name has continuously popped up in trade rumors, with the team emphatically shooting down the latest round of speculation just a few weeks ago.

His production so far this season has been relatively disappointing, as the Browns have transitioned to a run-first offense that doesn’t have Mayfield chuck it too much. He didn’t top 81 yards in any of the seven games he’s played in, and outside of one three-touchdown outburst has been mostly quiet.

Cleveland traded first and third-round picks, as well as safety Jabrill Peppers and offensive lineman Kevin Zeitler for Beckham and pass-rusher Olivier Vernon back in March of 2019. Beckham is signed through the 2023 season.

Baker Mayfield’s Job Not In Jeopardy

October 25th, 2020 at 8:29am CST by Rory Parks

Browns QB Baker Mayfield‘s inconsistent play this season, combined with his disappointing sophomore campaign in 2019, has led to plenty of speculation that the former No. 1 overall pick could be benched in favor of backup Case Keenum. However, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com says that’s not going to happen.

Per Cabot, Mayfield will get the final 10 games of the season to prove himself. Though she does add that he may not keep his job if he continues to throw a high number of interceptions, the Browns are still high on Mayfield and believe his performance will improve.

Mayfield obviously offers far more upside than Keenum, and Cleveland has far more invested in the third-year passer, so the decision is not an especially difficult one. Still, the fact that Mayfield has played well against poor defenses in 2020 and has struggled mightily against the better teams is cause for concern. He did play through sore ribs in last week’s blowout loss to the Steelers and had only one full day of practice leading up to the game, so perhaps there is reason for optimism moving forward.

After all, the 4-2 Browns have the easiest remaining schedule in the NFL, and after they battle the Bengals this afternoon, they will have a bye next week. At that point, Mayfield should be completely healthy and ready to lead a talented offense towards a playoff berth.

If he does play well down the stretch, Cabot says Cleveland will certainly pick up his fifth-year option, though the team’s evaluation may be made more difficult by the relatively low level of competition that Mayfield will be facing. If he does not play well, or if he continues to be hit-or-miss, new GM Andrew Berry will have a very tough call to make.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/20/20

October 20th, 2020 at 5:07pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

  • Signed: CB Prince Smith

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

  • Released: WR Kalija Lipscomb

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

San Francisco 49ers

  • Signed: LB Jonas Griffith

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

David Njoku Wants To Be Traded Again

October 19th, 2020 at 2:06pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

David Njoku has changed his mind once again. The Browns’ tight end originally requested to be traded back in July, only to rescind that request in August.

He has apparently now flipped back the other way, as a source told Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com that Njoku once again wants to be dealt. Kay Cabot writes that so far the Browns haven’t been inclined to trade him, but that could change if they get a good offer. The trade deadline is November 3rd, two weeks from tomorrow. The 29th overall pick of the 2017 draft, Njoku had three catches for 50 yards in Cleveland’s opener before going down with a knee injury.

He missed the next three games, but has been back for the last couple, only racking up two catches for 13 yards the last two weeks. The Browns like to use a lot of multiple tight end sets, but the offseason signing of Austin Hooper and drafting of Harrison Bryant in the fourth-round have made Njoku more expendable.

The Miami product has all the physical skills in the world, but he’s been unable to harness his athletic potential consistently. He looked to be on the verge of a breakout in 2018 when he started a full season and had 56 catches for 639 yards and four touchdowns, but a broken wrist limited him to just four games last year.

The new regime has no real ties to Njoku, and there’s been a clear rift for a while. They picked up his fifth-year option this past offseason, which is only guaranteed for injury.

2020 NFL Cap Space, By Team

October 19th, 2020 at 11:24am CST by Zachary Links

As shown by Le’Veon Bell‘s recent deal with the Chiefs, big name free agents can come available at any point throughout the season. His contract wasn’t particularly pricey, but teams like to keep cash on hand during the year, especially when mulling potential trades before the deadline. Excess cap room can also be rolled over from year-to-year and give clubs the opportunity to lock up their most valuable players with extensions.

Here are the most recent figures for each team, via Over The Cap:

  1. Cleveland Browns – $33.1MM
  2. New York Jets – $27.9MM
  3. Dallas Cowboys — $23.9MM
  4. Washington Football Team – $23.6MM
  5. Jacksonville Jaguars– $22.9MM
  6. New England Patriots – $22.9MM
  7. Denver Broncos – $19.7MM
  8. Detroit Lions – $17MM
  9. Philadelphia Eagles– $18MM
  10. Miami Dolphins – $15.8MM
  11. Indianapolis Colts – $10.4MM
  12. Pittsburgh Steelers – $9.6MM
  13. Cincinnati Bengals– $9MM
  14. Baltimore Ravens – $9MM
  15. Arizona Cardinals– $8.9MM
  16. Chicago Bears – $8.4MM
  17. Tennessee Titans – $8.3MM
  18. Houston Texans – $8.1MM
  19. Los Angeles Chargers — $8MM
  20. New Orleans Saints – $8MM
  21. Green Bay Packers – $7.7MM
  22. New York Giants – $7.2MM
  23. Los Angeles Rams – $7MM
  24. Las Vegas Raiders – $6.3MM
  25. Carolina Panthers – $6.2MM
  26. Kansas City Chiefs – $5.8MM
  27. Buffalo Bills – $5MM
  28. San Francisco 49ers – $4MM
  29. Seattle Seahawks – $4MM
  30. Atlanta Falcons – $2MM
  31. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – $1.4MM
  32. Minnesota Vikings – $158K

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/17/20

October 17th, 2020 at 4:50pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Saturday’s minor moves:

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Indianapolis Colts

Miami Dolphins

New York Giants

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

Browns Notes: Garrett, OBJ, Mayfield

October 17th, 2020 at 10:31am CST by Ben Levine

On Sunday, Browns defensive end Myles Garrett will face off against the Steelers for the first time since last year’s infamous contest. During the final moments of Cleveland’s win over Pittsburgh last November, Garrett ripped off the helmet of Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph and proceeded to hit him over the head with the object. The fracas resulted in a season-ending suspension for Garrett.

The 2017 first-overall pick told Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com that he considered walking away from the game during his ban.

“I would’ve been OK,” Garrett said. “I love football. I love competing, I love my teammates, and I definitely want to win, but at the end of the day, I’m still a guy. I’m still a young man who has a lot of life to live and my life is much more than football. I just would’ve moved onto something else I enjoy and found another way to save my competitive nature, whether it would’ve been trying out for a basketball team or going to play baseball like [Michael] Jordan.

“I would’ve found something else I love to do, whether I was a writing coach or whatever. I would’ve left with my head held high and I wouldn’t have looked back.”

Garrett hasn’t missed a step following his return to the field. Through the first five games of the 2020 campaign, the 24-year-old has 15 tackles, six sacks, and a league-leading three forced fumbles.

Some more notes out of Cleveland:

  • Garrett also told Cabot that he’d welcome a face-to-face meeting with Randolph. “If it were to happen, I’d be fine with it,” he said. “Not just fine, but I wouldn’t mind it and I’d be happy to make it happen, if there were a way. I’m not sure how I’d go about that, how I’d broach that. I’m not even sure if he’d want to do that but I wouldn’t have a problem sitting down with him and just not talking about the incident, just talking man-to-man, how we move forward, and just being better men and football players and not letting something like that happen again…Whether we can do that, I’m not sure, but I’d be willing to extend the olive branch and make that happen.”
  • Cabot tweets that wideout Odell Beckham Jr. had his second COVID-19 test come back negative today. As a result, he’s been cleared to play against the Steelers tomorrow. The receiver was sent home Thursday after coming down with an illness, and he stayed away from the team facility on Friday. ESPN’s Jake Trotter notes that Beckham continued to participate in meetings remotely. Following a three-touchdown performance in Week 4, Beckham had five receptions for 58 yards during last week’s win over the Colts.
  • After suffering a rib injury during last weekend’s win, Baker Mayfield was a limited participant at practice on Wednesday and Thursday. Fortunately, he was back to full participation on Friday, and despite his questionable tag for tomorrow’s game, it sounds like the quarterback is on track to play. “Like we’ve been saying all along, he’s improving every day,” said head coach Kevin Stefanski (via the team’s website).

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/14/20

October 14th, 2020 at 5:56pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Wednesday’s minor moves:

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

New England Patriots

  • Signed off Jaguars’ practice squad: DL Carl Davis

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

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