Today’s practice squad moves:
Cleveland Browns
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
Minnesota Vikings
New England Patriots
Seattle Seahawks
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Washington Commanders
Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
Baltimore Ravens
Carolina Panthers
Chicago Bears
Cleveland Browns
Minnesota Vikings
New England Patriots
New Orleans Saints
Washington Commanders
Designated for return last week, Deion Jones is expected to make his Browns debut against the Ravens in Week 7. That will now be the start of a contract year for the veteran linebacker.
Following his Atlanta-to-Cleveland trade, Jones agreed to remove the 2023 season from his contract, Field Yates of ESPN.com notes (on Twitter). Jones entered the season on his 2019 Falcons extension — a four-year, $57MM deal — that ran through 2023, but this is now his walk year.
Jones was due a nonguaranteed $11.99MM in 2023. The six-year starter will attempt to rebuild his value toward a third NFL contract. The Browns are now attached to less than $1MM in Jones payments; Jones’ September restructure reduced his 2022 base salary to $1.14MM. But Cleveland also will have some questions at linebacker beyond 2022. Two-year starter Anthony Walker is also a free agent, after having signed another one-year deal this offseason.
Although Jones started throughout the 2021 season in Dean Pees‘ defense, the Falcons’ offseason moves and the steady trade buzz surrounding the former second-round pick revealed he was falling out of favor with the new regime. The Falcons, who used Jones and Foyesade Oluokun as their primary off-ball ‘backers last season, have now moved on from both this year. They are still tied to considerable Jones dead money ($11.36MM this year and $12.14MM in 2023), but the Matt Ryan trade — which brought a record $40MM in dead money — showed Atlanta’s current regime is not hesitating regarding cap penalties.
Jones will turn 28 next month. This trade, a 2024 pick swap, has shown a value drop compared to where the LSU alum’s stock resided in 2019. The second half of this Browns season provides a window for the 83-game starter to rebuild it.
A few younger off-ball ‘backers are poised for free agency in 2023 as well. Tremaine Edmunds and Roquan Smith may not both hit the market, but they are eligible to do so as of now. Lavonte David‘s third Buccaneers contract is up after 2022, while Denzel Perryman is also tied to an expiring deal. The Raiders have discussed an extension with the eighth-year defender, however. It will be interesting if Jones and the Browns huddle up about a potential re-up at some point before his deal expires in March.
Greedy Williams is set to make his season debut tomorrow against the Patriots. According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com (on Twitter), the Browns have activated the cornerback from injured reserve. The team has also promoted cornerback Herb Miller and wide receiver Chester Rogers from the practice squad.
Williams suffered a hamstring injury that led to him being placed on IR in early September, and he returned to practice earlier this month. After missing the entire 2020 season with a shoulder injury, the former second-round pick started eight of his 16 games for Cleveland in 2021, collecting 41 tackles, 10 passes defended, and a pair of picks. It won’t take long for Williams to make his way back into the lineup, especially with Denzel Ward ruled out for tomorrow’s game with a concussion.
“Everything has been crisp and clean,” Williams said of his recovery (via Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal). “Just out there making plays and re-establishing myself. I build that trust back with the team, and they see I am ready. That is all that matters.”
Meanwhile, the Browns will not activate recently acquired linebacker Deion Jones from IR this week. The Falcons sent Jones to the Browns for a minimal trade haul (a sixth-round pick swap in 2024), unloading his through-2023 contract to Cleveland. The Browns designated Jones for return this week.
Cleveland acquired a six-year starter in Jones, 27, but a player who has spent the season on IR. Jones underwent shoulder surgery in May, and although he returned to practice in August and played in a preseason game, the Falcons still stashed him on IR. He is expected to be ready to debut for his new team in Week 7, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com notes (on Twitter).
Miller will likely see a special teams role tomorrow, with the 24-year-old only seeing only nine defensive snaps across 10 games with Cleveland over the past two years. Rogers joined Cleveland’s practice squad in September and has been active for two games, returning two punts and three kicks. The veteran is a year removed from a 30-catch campaign with Tennessee.
The Browns will be without their top cornerback on Sunday against the Patriots, but another starter at the position will make his season debut. The team announced on Friday that Greedy Williams will be activated from IR in advance of their Week 6 matchup. 
[RELATED: Browns Designate LB Jones For Return]
Williams missed the beginning of the season due to a hamstring injury. That added further to the ailments he has battled thus far in his career, and left the team shorthanded in the secondary. The former second-rounder missed one-quarter of his rookie campaign in 2019, then the entirety of the following season with a shoulder injury. His size and college pedigree, not to mention Cleveland’s current CB situation, could see him take on the large role he was expected to carry upon entry to the NFL.
“Everything has been crisp and clean,” Williams told reporters on the topic of his return. “Just out there making plays and re-establishing myself. I build that trust back with the team, and they see I’m ready. That’s all that matters.”
No. 1 cover man Denzel Ward has been ruled out with a concussion, after he exited the Browns’ Week 5 loss to the Chargers early. That will leave a significant hole in the team’s defense, as Ward has notched one interception (returned for a touchdown) and six pass breakups this season. Williams could immediately take on his perimeter duties, though the team will no doubt seek to ease him back into action. The Browns will also have Greg Newsome and Martin Emerson available as starters at corner.
They will not, however, have both elements of their starting pass-rush tandem. After returning to game action last week, Jadeveon Clowney will once again be sidelined in Week 6. That will mark the second missed contest this season for the veteran, although Myles Garrett was able to log a usual snap share in his return from a car accident last Sunday.
With a number of moving parts on their defense, the Browns will join New England in trying to improve to .500 on the campaign, while, in Williams’ case, looking to move past a plethora of injury concerns.
11:50am: The NFL will monitor this lawsuit, according to spokesman Brian McCarthy (via Cabot). While McCarthy indicated Watson’s status is unchanged as of now, the prospect of additional punishment under the league’s personal conduct policy could be on the table.
8:58am: Deshaun Watson is facing another civil lawsuit from a woman alleging sexual misconduct during a massage therapy session. The woman accuses the then-Texans quarterback of pressuring her into oral sex during a December 2020 appointment, Claire Geary and Camryn Justice of News5Cleveland.com report.
This marks a 26th lawsuit filed against the Browns QB, who is midway through an 11-game suspension that came as a result of the dozens of lawsuits that emerged between March 2021 and June 2022. Watson, 27, entered the week with one outstanding lawsuit, which will be addressed — barring a settlement — in 2023. This latest matter may come up at that point as well.
The unnamed accuser, who is represented by attorney Anissah Nguyen, alleges Watson contacted her via Instagram and arranged an appointment at a Houstonian hotel room. Following a session in which the accuser claims Watson attempted to have sex with her and, per the lawsuit, pressured her into oral sex, he paid her $300 — more than double her usual massage rate — according to News5Cleveland. The accuser filed the lawsuit in Harris County (Texas).
Nguyen seeks to depose Watson this year, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports. Given the agreement Watson’s counsel and Tony Buzbee — the attorney for the other civil accusers — reached regarding Watson being deposed in-season, it would not surprise if a similar understanding pushed a Watson deposition in this case to 2023 as well.
Two grand juries, the first in Harris County, did not proceed with criminal charges against Watson last year, leading to the trade sweepstakes taking off. Jointly appointed disciplinary officer Sue Robinson subsequently ruled Watson committed nonviolent sexual assault, which led to the NFL appealing and pushing for a full-season suspension. An NFL-NFLPA settlement in August produced Watson’s 11-game suspension. Because this new civil suit alleges similar behavior and is from the timeframe as the others, Watson’s suspension is not expected to be impacted, Cabot and Dan Labbe of cleveland.com note.
The most recent Watson accuser’s suit states she is seeking “minimal compensatory damages” but indicates she has “suffered severe depression and anxiety” as a result of her encounter with Watson. As other suits against Watson alleged, this one accuses him of continually pressuring the accuser to “massage his private area.” While Watson settled with 23 accusers, the Texans settled with 30 women who alleged the former Houston starter committed sexual misconduct and/or sexual assault during massage therapy sessions. A June report indicated Watson saw at least 66 masseuses from fall 2019 to spring 2021. That report indicated Watson arranged for massage sessions at the Houstonian.
Watson, who has denied any wrongdoing amid this high volume of accusations, returned to the Browns’ facility this week. While his tone shifted from contrition back to defiance following the settlement, the recently traded passer is undergoing mandatory counseling during his suspension. Successfully navigating the treatment program will lead to Watson returning to Browns practice Nov. 14 and debuting for his new team in Week 13 in Houston.
Today’s practice squad transactions:
Arizona Cardinals
Baltimore Ravens
Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland Browns
Denver Broncos
Detroit lions
Jacksonville Jaguars
New England Patriots
New Orleans Saints
Pittsburgh Steelers
San Francisco 49ers
Seattle Seahawks
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Today’s minor NFL transactions:
Arizona Cardinals
Chicago Bears
Cleveland Browns
Green Bay Packers
Houston Texans
Jacksonville Jaguars
Kansas City Chiefs
Miami Dolphins
San Francisco 49ers
Seattle Seahawks