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NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/3/19

December 3rd, 2019 at 4:28pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s practice squad moves:

Cleveland Browns

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

  • Signed: LB Reshard Cliett

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

David Njoku Will Miss Week 13

November 30th, 2019 at 7:06pm CST by Sam Robinson
  • This will not be the week David Njoku returns to the Browns’ skill-position arsenal. The Browns did not activate their top tight end by Saturday afternoon’s deadline, so he will miss another game. With Njoku having returned to practice on Nov. 20, the Browns do not have to activate him until Dec. 10. If Njoku is not activated by then, he will spend the rest of the season on IR. The third-year tight end underwent surgery for a broken wrist during his IR stay.
  • Cleveland will be without left tackle Greg Robinson as well. The oft-scrutinized former No. 2 overall pick did not practice this week and will remain in concussion protocol through Week 13. Kyle Murphy started for Robinson at left tackle when he was benched earlier this year. The Browns, however, gave the sixth-year blocker his job back soon after.

Browns To Scratch Damarious Randall Vs. Steelers

November 30th, 2019 at 2:41pm CST by Sam Robinson

Prior to the now-infamous conclusion to this season’s first Browns-Steelers game, Damarious Randall was ejected for delivering a helmet-to-helmet hit. Although Randall was not suspended, he will join Myles Garrett in missing the Pittsburgh leg of this series.

The Browns will make Randall a healthy scratch, having departed for Pennsylvania without the starting safety, according to a team announcement. Freddie Kitchens‘ choice to leave Randall in Cleveland instead stems from an unknown incident that occurred this week, Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Randall was ejected after a hit on Diontae Johnson resulted in the Steelers rookie suffering a concussion. Randall played against the Dolphins last week, doing after saying he’d received death threats because of his hit on Johnson. The former Packers defender has started 22 games since being traded to the Browns in 2018. He’s made seven starts this season, missing four games due to injury.

Cleveland has already lost its other starting safety, Morgan Burnett, for the season. The team has consistently had to play backups in the secondary this season, due to injuries and now a surprise scratch.

NFL Workout Updates: 11/27/19

November 27th, 2019 at 7:53pm CST by Marc Delucchi

Here is the latest from the workout circuit on Wednesday:

Baltimore Ravens

Cleveland Browns

Miami Dolphins

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

Washington

Browns Cut Devaroe Lawrence

November 26th, 2019 at 11:56am CST by Zachary Links

The Browns have released Devaroe Lawrence, per a club announcement. The release of Lawrence will open up a spot for fellow defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi, who is returning from suspension.

[RELATED: NFL Upholds Larry Ogunjobi’s Suspension]

Cutting Lawrence wasn’t necessarily an easy call for the Browns. Prior to his release, Lawrence appeared in all eleven games for Cleveland while appearing in 30% of the team’s snaps.

Per league rules, he’ll hit the waiver wire as a post-trade deadline cut. The league’s 31 other teams will have a 24 hour window to claim him and it’s possible that he could get picked up. Lawrence would only cost the prorated portion of his $570K salary for 2019 and is slated to make just $660K next year.

Lawrence, 27, has eight tackles and one fumble recovery to his credit this year.

Giants S Jabrill Peppers Suffers Fracture

November 25th, 2019 at 5:01pm CST by Marc Delucchi

Giants safety Jabrill Peppers was diagnosed with a traverse process fracture, according to a team press release. While it is not uncommon for fractures to end a player’s season, Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post reports that head coach Pat Shurmur told reporters he does not expect the injury to be season ending. The training staff does not seem to think that Peppers would be at greater risk of suffering a major injury if he played with the injury, but pain is still a large concern.

In the third season of his professional career, Peppers has avoided missing time with any major injuries, starting 40 of his team’s 43 games. Acquired last offseason in the trade that sent Odell Beckham Jr. to the Browns, Peppers has been one of the most productive players on New York’s defense. He has recorded 76 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 5 passes defended, and one pick-six.

According to Paul Schwartz of The New York Post, Peppers suffered the injury after returning a kickoff in the first half of the Giants 19-14 loss to the Bears. Normally, Peppers only handles the team’s punt returning duties, but convinced special teams coach Thomas McGaughey to give him a shot. He had returned a punt for 40 yards earlier and felt like he was in a good spot to make a big play.

Julian Love replaced Peppers on Sunday, but defensive back Michael Thomas is listed as the backup strong safety on the team’s website. Thomas is a veteran special teamer and may be hesitant to remove him from that role. Furthermore, Love, a fourth-round selection in the 2019 draft, recorded an interception in his first extended playing time on the defensive side of the ball.

La Canfora’s Latest: Rivers, Garrett, Smith

November 24th, 2019 at 10:54am CST by Rory Parks

CBS Sports scribe Jason La Canfora published his usual Sunday slate of items from around the league, including reports on the future of Panthers HC Ron Rivera in Carolina and the Titans‘ potential desire to re-sign QB Ryan Tannehill. Let’s take a look at a few more notes from JLC:

  • Chargers QB Philip Rivers is eligible for free agency at season’s end, and in light of his struggles in 2019, there has already been plenty of speculation about his future with the Bolts. La Canfora says the team is currently not planning on having any extension talks with Rivers’ camp, and for his part, Rivers has shown no desire in promoting the team’s move to Los Angeles (he still lives in San Diego and spends up to four hours a day commuting to and from the Chargers’ facility). La Canfora suggests that the Chargers, who may not be picking high enough in the 2020 draft to land a top collegiate passer, could move on from Rivers but may pursue a veteran signal-caller like Cam Newton.
  • La Canfora details all of the steps the league took to investigate Browns‘ DE Myles Garrett‘s claim that Steelers QB Mason Rudolph used a racial slur in the lead-up to the now infamous brawl between the two clubs, and the NFL did not find a shred of corroborating evidence. The good news for Cleveland is that the league currently has no intention of extending Garrett’s suspension into the 2020 season. Garrett will be required to schedule a meeting with the league and the union to have a “check-in” of sorts, but assuming that goes well, he should be reinstated without incident.
  • Former Texans GM Rick Smith left the team after the 2017 season when his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer, but he is open to returning to the league in 2020 should the right opportunity emerge. He is apparently ready and able to assume all duties that go along with running a franchise, and since there may be fewer elite GM candidates in 2020 than in years past, Smith could be appealing to a number of clubs. Although Houston is currently without a GM, La Canfora says a reunion between the two sides is not in the cards.

NFL Workout Updates: 11/23/19

November 23rd, 2019 at 10:00pm CST by Marc Delucchi

Here’s the most recent updates from the workout circuit:

Cleveland Browns

  • S Jake Thieneman

Detroit Lions

New York Jets

Myles Garrett Told Teammates About Slur

November 23rd, 2019 at 3:32pm CST by Sam Robinson

While last week’s focus on the brawl that ended with an indefinite suspension for Myles Garrett centered on his ugly on-field act, this week produced an explosive allegation from the Browns defensive end. Although Garrett did not accuse Mason Rudolph of using a racial slur publicly after the fight, he did say that occurred when pleading his case to the NFL. However, Garrett also told some of his Browns teammates the Steelers quarterback used the slur, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports. Freddie Kitchens added that he believes Garrett, who is not permitted to communicate with the Browns until he’s reinstated. The Steelers have denied the slur occurred, as did Rudolph’s attorney. Garrett’s statement indicated Rudolph’s alleged slur does not excuse his actions, but with the Browns and Steelers set to play again next week in Pittsburgh, with Rudolph presumably under center, this is likely to come up again soon.

  • Rudolph, Garrett and Maurkice Pouncey led the way in fines for this ugly scene, but overall, the league doled out a whopping $716K in total fines assessed to the teams and players involved. While Larry Ogunjobi was suspended for a game, the Browns defensive tackle was not fined by the league for his role in the skirmish. Overall, 32 players were fined for varying roles in the fight, with most of them being charged just more than $3K, per Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter).
  • The Browns worked out former Colts safety Jake Thieneman this week, according to the Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson (on Twitter).
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