HEADLINES

Raiders Rumors

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/13/23

September 13th, 2023 at 9:10pm CST by Adam La Rose

Today’s taxi squad moves around the league:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons 

Carolina Panthers

  • Signed: WR Michael Strachan

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

New England Patriots

  • Signed: QB Ian Book, DB William Hooper

New Orleans Saints

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/11/23

September 11th, 2023 at 6:58pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are today’s practice squad transactions from around the league:

Carolina Panthers

Las Vegas Raiders

Seattle Seahawks

The veteran linebacker, Jones, lands back with the team he spent the preseason with after getting released in final roster cuts two weeks ago. The former Falcons defensive staple failed to really catch on last year after getting traded to the Browns, failing to amass over 100 tackles for only the second time in his NFL career, the first time being when he only played six games (and already had 53 tackles). While he failed to crack the 53-man roster in an impressive returning group of linebackers in Carolina, he’ll hope to work his way back onto the field from the practice squad.

2023 Offseason In Review Series

September 9th, 2023 at 10:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

Quarterback acquisitions generated top headlines this offseason, while the slew of developments affecting the running back market moved that position’s value to a precarious point. On that note, our latest Offseason In Review series is in the books. Here are the PFR staff’s looks at how teams assembled their 2023 rosters:

AFC East

AFC North

AFC South

AFC West

NFC East

NFC North

NFC South

NFC West

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/9/23

September 9th, 2023 at 6:47pm CST by Ely Allen

We have our first flood of pregame transactions of the season today as teams across the league with games tomorrow utilize their two permitted practice squad elevations:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Promoted from practice squad: LB Brevin Allen

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

  • Promoted from practice squad: RB Myles Gaskin, OLB Benton Whitley

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Raiders To Place CB Brandon Facyson On IR

September 8th, 2023 at 5:09pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although Chandler Jones will miss Sunday’s game due to the events of this week, the Raiders carry a thin injury report into their season opener. Only two players carried injury designations into Friday, but one of them — Brandon Facyson — will be moved off the roster for the time being.

Facyson is dealing with a shin injury, and the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore notes the veteran cornerback will head to IR. This will sideline Facyson for at least four games while opening a roster spot for Josh Jacobs. For a second straight year, teams have eight IR activations to use over the course of a season.

The Raiders reunited with Facyson this offseason, signing the Gus Bradley favorite to a two-year deal worth $6.5MM. Facyson, who turns 29 today, has only played for Bradley over his first five NFL seasons. He spent the first three years of his career with the Chargers but made his way to the Raiders in 2021, doing so after the team hired Bradley as its DC. The Colts hired Bradley to run their defense in 2022, and a Facyson signing commenced. Facyson’s first tour of duty without Bradley calling the signals will be on hold.

Facyson started nine games with the Raiders in 2021. He Joined Marcus Peters, David Long and Duke Shelley as Raiders UFA corner pickups this offseason. But the former UDFA did not win a starting job out of training camp. Fourth-round rookie Jakorian Bennett is set to start alongside Peters and Hobbs. The Raiders did not keep Shelley, who is now with the Rams. Long remains on Las Vegas’ roster as a backup.

Last season, the Colts used both Facyson and Isaiah Rodgers as boundary defenders opposite Stephon Gilmore. Facyson only made four starts but played on defense throughout the season. Prior to his gambling suspension, Rodgers was in Indianapolis’ plans to stay a starter. But he is now gone (with the Eagles), joining Gilmore and Facyson in exiting. Bradley’s Indy unit features some young options alongside Kenny Moore.

Chandler Jones Continues Tirade Against Raiders; DE Ruled Out For Week 1

September 8th, 2023 at 1:35pm CST by Ben Levine

SEPTEMBER 8: McDaniels confirmed on Friday that Jones will not play in the Raiders’ season opener. That comes as no surprise given the ongoing tension between player and club in this bizarre situation. The absence of Jones will put added emphasis on fellow starter Maxx Crosby and first-round rookie Tyree Wilson in the pass-rush department against the Broncos. McDaniels added that cornerback Brandon Facyson will miss Sunday’s game as well.

SEPTEMBER 7: Chandler Jones‘ tirade against the Raiders continued late last night, with the pass rusher claiming on social media that the organization sent a crisis team to his house. As relayed by ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez, Jones posted a series of since-deleted Instagram stories explaining the events and questioning why he isn’t allowed to play this weekend.

[RELATED: Latest On Raiders, Chandler Jones]

In one post, Jones showed a picture of a “badge belonging to a member of the Vegas CRT,” with the player claiming the individual said he was a “danger.” Jones also showed a series of texts with Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels, where the player added a note that he “won’t share anything else” if the Raiders let him play (via Vic Tafur of The Athletic).

“Now I understand why players turn to social media,” Jones wrote. “At first I frowned upon it. But it’s out only outlet. If I didn’t do this, it would’ve been kept under wraps.”

These late-night social media posts were a continuation of Jones’ bizarre outburst against the Raiders that began earlier this week. Jones started his rant by claiming he was locked out of the Raiders practice facility and had to work out at a local gym. In since-deleted posts, Jones also claimed he no longer wanted to play under head coach Josh McDaniels and GM Dave Ziegler.

Jones has missed practice and team meetings this week, making it increasingly unlikely that he’ll be active in Denver on Sunday. McDaniels declined to say whether Jones will be in uniform for the season opener.

“We’ve never really gone into those kind of things, so I’m going to steer away from that,” McDaniels said earlier this week (via Gutierrez).

Jones is in the second year of a three-year, $51MM pact he signed with the Raiders in 2022.

Latest On Raiders, Chandler Jones

September 6th, 2023 at 12:01pm CST by Sam Robinson

Chandler Jones‘ Instagram account caused a bit of a controversy this week. Reacting to being locked out of the Raiders’ facility and then going to work out on his own at a public gym, the former All-Pro lashed out at Josh McDaniels and GM Dave Ziegler.

The 12th-year pass rusher attempted to contact McDaniels and Ziegler by phone on Tuesday, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore, but was unsuccessful. Jones then said — in since-deleted posts — he no longer wants to be a Raider as long as McDaniels and Ziegler are in charge. The All-Decade-teamer also mentioned he would prefer DC Patrick Graham be the team’s head coach.

This strange development continued to Wednesday, when McDaniels indicated (via ESPN.com’s Field Yates) Jones will not be with the team at practice today. The Raiders gave Jones a three-year, $51MM deal in 2022. McDaniels said this is a private matter and declined to say if the veteran defender would play in the team’s opener, via The Athletic’s Vic Tafur. Jones, 33, also did not attend Raiders team meetings Tuesday, Tafur adds.

“It’s a shame that I am a top athlete with 112 sacks in the NFL and I have to go to a local gym to work out during the season for no apparent reason,” Jones said in a different post (h/t Bonsignore), “this is wild to me Josh and you know it you need to do what’s right [sic].”

Although Jones signed with the Raiders last year, he has been on several teams with McDaniels in place as a prominent staffer. Both were with the Patriots from 2012-15, with Jones on his rookie contract and McDaniels in his second stint as New England’s OC. Ziegler was with the Patriots for much of Jones’ Foxborough tenure as well. McDaniels famously alienated a few cornerstone Broncos during his time as their head coach, with one of those conflicts leading to 2009’s blockbuster Jay Cutler trade. A subsequent issue with Brandon Marshall led to a 2010 trade. Considerable time passed in between McDaniels’ HC opportunities, but his Colts about-face in 2018 reinforced a polarizing reputation within the league.

Still, it would be strange if Jones was not in uniform for the Raiders’ opener Sunday in Denver. The team did bring in Tyree Wilson as a likely Jones starter replacement for 2024, but the No. 7 overall pick is expected to supplement Jones and Maxx Crosby this season. The Raiders guaranteed Jones $32MM at signing. He already collected an $8.5MM roster bonus for this year and has $9.67MM in additional salary guarantees in his contract. No guarantees remain on Jones’ deal into 2024.

His game-winning touchdown on the Jakobi Meyers‘ lateral botch notwithstanding, Jones did not live up to his contract last season. He totaled 4.5 sacks in 15 games, though the former Cardinals standout tallied 15 QB hits. Both numbers were well off his 2021 Arizona showing (10.5 sacks, 26 QB hits), however. Jones looms as a 2024 release candidate, but he and the Raiders look to have some fence-mending to do before this season begins.

Restructured Contracts: Garoppolo, Bills, Wilson, Reed

September 5th, 2023 at 9:37pm CST by Ben Levine

Jimmy Garoppolo continues to help the Raiders carve out cap space. After reworking his deal earlier this offseason, the quarterback has once again restructured his deal, per ESPN’s Field Yates (via Twitter).

The move will create $17MM in cap space for the organization, making them cap compliant. As Vince Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal notes, the team previously converted an $11.25MM signing bonus into base salary, increasing Garoppolo‘s salary from $11.25MM to $22.5MM in the process. Bonsignore assumes the front office did some work today to reduce that newfound 2023 number.

Shortly after Garoppolo signed a three-year, $72.75MM deal, he underwent surgery to repair the fractured foot he sustained in early December. The Raiders’ first restructuring helped protect the organization in case the QB’s foot injury lingers into the regular season.

More financial notes from around the NFL…

  • The Bills opened a chunk of cap space today. The team opened $4.5MM in cap space by restructuring the contracts of guard Ryan Bates and cornerback Taron Johnson, per Yates. Bates turned into a full-time starter for the Bills in 2022, while Johnson has started 41 games for Buffalo over the past three seasons.
  • Cedrick Wilson Jr. reworked his contract with the Dolphins prior to cutdown day, per Jonathan Jones of NFL on CBS. The veteran wideout lowered his base salary to $2MM while receiving a $3MM signing bonus, equaling his $5MM in guarantees from last season. With incentives, Wilson can earn up to $7.25MM on his reworked contract.
  • The Vikings recently reworked the contract of guard Chris Reed, according to ESPN’s Ben Goessling. The offensive lineman’s base salary is now fully guaranteed at $1.165MM, an increase from the $1.4MM ($600K guaranteed) pact he was previously attached to. This was the second time this offseason that Reed agreed to a reworked contract.
  • Browns left tackle Jedrick Wills restructured his deal recently, converting $2.28MM of his base salary into a signing bonus, per Yates. The new deal also has three new void years, opening around $1.8MM in cap space.
  • The Cowboys restructured Neville Gallimore‘s contract, according to ESPN’s Todd Archer. The defensive tackle’s salary was reduced from $2.7MM to $1.5MM, and he can now earn $750K via incentives.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/5/23

September 5th, 2023 at 6:26pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Atlanta Falcons

  • Signed: S Lukas Denis
  • Placed on IR: OT Barry Wesley

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders added a veteran wideout to their practice squad in Keelan Cole Sr.. The 30-year-old spent the majority of the 2022 campaign in Las Vegas, hauling in 10 catches for 141 yards and one touchdown. He was productive in 31 games with the Jaguars and Jets between 2020 and 2021, catching 83 passes for 1,091 yards and six touchdowns.

Cole will be taking the spot held by Antoine Wesley, who earned his walking papers today. The former UDFA got into 15 games for the Cardinals in 2021, finishing with 19 catches for 208 yards and three touchdowns.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/5/23

September 5th, 2023 at 5:37pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

  • Waived from IR: LB Abraham Beauplan

San Francisco 49ers

  • Released from IR: K Zane Gonzalez
  • Waived from IR: WR A.J. Parker

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Today’s minor moves consistent exclusively of players getting released/waived from injured reserve. If players are placed on IR during the preseason, they’re not allowed to be activated by their team during the regular season. However, getting released from IR allows them to sign elsewhere and play immediately.

The most notable name on the list is kicker Zane Gonzalez, who has seen time in 63 career games. He most recently got into 12 games for the Panthers during the 2021 campaign, connecting on 20 of his 22 field goal attempts and 22 of his 23 extra point tries. The veteran will likely need an injury to hit before he gets another gig.

Load More Posts