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Cowboys To Place DT Jordan Phillips On IR

September 18th, 2024 at 11:16am CST by Sam Robinson

One of two 30-something defensive tackles the Cowboys acquired just before the season, Jordan Phillips will not make it to Week 3 on the team’s active roster. The team is placing the veteran D-lineman on IR, per the Dallas Morning News’ Calvin Watkins.

A wrist injury will move Phillips off the roster. This is familiar territory for the well-traveled veteran, who finished last season on IR due to a wrist ailment. The Giants traded Phillips to the Cowboys in mid-August, with that transaction preceding the team’s Linval Joseph addition.

The Cowboys are planning to sign Carlos Watkins to take Phillips’ roster spot, All City DLLS’ Clarence Hill tweets. Watkins is currently on the Commanders’ practice squad, meaning he must spend at least three weeks on the Cowboys’ 53-man roster due to this poaching. Watkins played the 2021 and ’22 seasons in Dallas before moving on.

Offering an interesting take on this development, Phillips said Wednesday (via Hill) nothing is wrong with his wrist. As such, his status with the organization will be worth monitoring after two games in uniform. The Cowboys are, however, calling this a sprained wrist and are exercising caution, Calvin Watkins adds. Phillips underwent surgery following his 2023 injury, per the Dallas Morning News’ David Moore, but is not expected to need another procedure. This is an interesting back-and-forth, though Phillips’ place on the backup tier reduces its relevance.

Phillips, who will turn 32 this week, must miss at least four games. He has played in both Cowboys contests as a backup, recording two tackles on 34 defensive snaps. The Cowboys brought in Phillips and Joseph to help shore up their run defense. That effort has not gone especially well, with the Saints rampaging for 190 yards on the ground in their stunning Week 2 romp. Joseph has logged 37 snaps as a backup DT.

The Giants signed Phillips, whose Bills tenure overlapped with Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll, this offseason but dealt him to their division rivals in a low-end pick-swap agreement. The Cowboys sent a 2026 sixth-round pick to the Giants for Phillips and a 2026 seventh-rounder. By playing in two games, Phillips has already satisfied the conditions of the trade in order for the picks to transfer.

Buffalo turned back to Phillips as a starter following DaQuan Jones‘ pec tear last season, and the multi-stint Bill started nine games with the team. Pro Football Focus rated Phillips as one of the league’s worst interior D-linemen in 2023. Phillips’ best work came in 2019, when he led the Bills with 9.5 sacks ahead of a nice Cardinals contract. Arizona bailed on that deal after two seasons, leading the former Dolphins second-round pick back to Buffalo in 2022.

Watkins, 30, also brings extensive experience to the equation. One of a few ex-Cowboys to rejoin Dan Quinn in Washington, Watkins landed in the nation’s capital after the Rams cut him late last month. Watkins joined Washington’s practice squad soon after. Watkins started 18 Cowboys games from 2021-22. He played in one Commanders game this season but will now be set to join Joseph, Mazi Smith and Osa Odighizuwa on Dallas’ DT depth chart.

Dolphins To Place Tua Tagovailoa On IR

September 17th, 2024 at 10:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

Tua Tagovailoa is not planning to reconsider retirement, but the Dolphins are planning to give their starting quarterback plenty of time to recover from the latest concussion he sustained.

Miami is placing Tagovailoa on IR, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo report. With Miami’s bye occurring during this window, the earliest the fifth-year QB can return will be Week 8. This is not especially surprising, but it does represent a change from how the Dolphins handled their quarterback during his concussion-marred 2022 season.

[RELATED: Tagovailoa To Visit Neurologists, Not Planning To Retire]

The Dolphins did not use IR during Tagovailoa’s concerning ’22 slate, which featured two confirmed concussions and most likely three head injuries. Tua rehabbed on Miami’s active roster that year, though the team did shut him down after his Week 16 injury. The player who spent most of the time replacing Tagovailoa at QB that season — former seventh-round pick Skylar Thompson — is now in position to start for the Dolphins. The team, though, did bring in Tyler Huntley this week.

This plan certainly changes the equation for the Dolphins, who had seen Tagovailoa submit a quality 2023 season — a 17-game campaign devoid of concussion recurrences — and earn a four-year, $212.4MM extension this offseason. Tagovailoa received $93.2MM guaranteed at signing and is protected in the event he is not cleared from his latest head injury. Tua will need to return to action, however, if cleared in order to collect the bulk of the money from his lucrative extension.

A collision with Bills safety Damar Hamlin brought instant concerns from Dolphins and Bills players, and Miami confirmed its fifth-year starter sustained a concussion soon after. This sequence came just less than two years after the handling of a potential Tua concussion — one the team did not end up confirming, leading to an immediate return in a Week 3 win over the Bills — changed the NFL’s protocol. Players regularly return from concussions soon after the injuries, even with the enhanced protocols, but the Dolphins have their passer’s past and future to consider. This is a significant step, as it will undoubtedly have a major impact on the team’s 2024 season.

Tagovailoa has not been on IR since 2021, when a rib injury led him out of the mix. He did miss five regular-season games and the team’s wild-card tilt in 2022. (Tua also suffered a concussion at Alabama.) In addition to the initial review of the Dolphins’ handling of Tua’s injury against the Bills in September 2022, the team was the subject of another probe due to leaving Tagovailoa in a Packers matchup in which he sustained another concussion. Tua did not report symptoms until the following day, and the second investigation soon cleared the Dolphins. But they are back in familiar territory nearly two years later.

Thompson, 27, saw action in 2022 due to Teddy Bridgewater suffering multiple injuries — including a concussion — as well. He completed just 57.1% of his regular-season passes — at a mere 5.1 yards per attempt — but gave the favored Bills a scare in the wild-card round. Thompson beat out 2023 Tua backup Mike White this summer and will be given the first chance to lead an explosive Dolphins offense.

Huntley has far more experience, starting nine games in place of Lamar Jackson from 2021-23. Huntley, however, did not draw extensive free agency interest. The Browns ended up cutting the four-year Ravens backup, who made his way back to Baltimore — on a practice squad deal — before the season. Because the Dolphins signed Huntley off the Ravens’ P-squad, he must remain on Miami’s active roster for at least three weeks. This could set up a QB competition, but for now, it will be Thompson at the controls.

Big picture-wise, the Dolphins’ immediate QB plans are not especially important. The team has Tagovailoa signed through 2028, and his recovery will be monitored closely. The left-hander’s eventual reinsertion into Miami’s starting lineup will prompt natural outside concerns about his future, and Tua did consider retirement following that 2022 season. But he secured a big-ticket extension after staying healthy in 2023. The Dolphins are planning to have their starter back at some point, and it will be interesting to see when he is cleared from this latest concerning injury.

Chiefs To Bring Back Kareem Hunt

September 17th, 2024 at 10:09pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although the Chiefs’ first partnership with Kareem Hunt ended badly, the former rushing champion resurfaced on Kansas City’s radar in light of Isiah Pacheco‘s injury. The Chiefs are expected to move fast here.

Hunt is on track to return to the Chiefs, according to veteran reporter Jordan Schultz. Both Pacheco and Clyde Edwards-Helaire are out of the picture for the Chiefs, who exited Sunday’s Week 2 escape with rookie UDFA Carson Steele and recently added passing-down back Samaje Perine rounding out their RB room.

This will be a practice squad agreement, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. The Cowboys made this move with Dalvin Cook recently. Hunt had resided in free agency since his latest Browns contract expired. After the Browns brought Hunt back when Nick Chubb went down in Week 2 of last year, the Chiefs will take the same route due to the Pacheco development.

While Chiefs fans may remember Hunt as a burgeoning top-tier running back, he has not displayed that form in a while. He finished last season with a 3.0-yard average per carry (on 135 totes) while teaming with Jerome Ford to replace Chubb. Hunt’s minus-101 rushing yards over expected doubled as the NFL’s third-worst number (per Next Gen Stats) last season.

The two-year Chiefs starter had operated effectively as a Chubb complementary piece in Cleveland, having sought a more lucrative contract in 2022. Hunt, 29, had requested a trade that year but did not end up being moved. The Browns had planned to move on in 2023, only to see Chubb’s injury change the team’s thinking. Despite Chubb landing on the reserve/PUP list due to the severe knee injury he sustained last September, the Browns did not bring Hunt back.

Hunt won the 2017 rushing title as a rookie, and the former third-round pick was on his way to a better 2018 season before video surfaced of him pushing a 19-year-old woman to the ground and kicking her while she was on the floor. This incident occurred during the 2018 offseason at a Cleveland hotel. The Chiefs kept Hunt rostered months after the incident occurred, but video surfacing prompted the team to act. At the time, the Chiefs had indicated Hunt lied to them regarding the events depicted in the video.

Hunt went unclaimed on waivers, but ex-Chiefs GM John Dorsey (then in place as Browns GM) gave him a second chance in free agency in 2019. The Browns extended Hunt — who received an eight-game suspension — on a two-year, $12MM deal in 2020. Hunt signed the extension after Dorsey’s ouster and played four seasons under the Andrew Berry–Kevin Stefanski pairing.

Having accumulated 1,202 scrimmage yards in just 11 games in 2018, Hunt was on course for a second Pro Bowl at the time he was waived. He had already scored 14 touchdowns for a historically explosive Chiefs offense, one that employed Tyreek Hill and a prime version of Travis Kelce. The Chiefs narrowly missed Super Bowl LIII that season but have since won three championships with low-cost RB situations. Hunt may well have been on an extension track — for a team that has become known for being quite lenient when it comes to off-field trouble — in Kansas City, but he settled into a backup role in Cleveland and saw his trajectory change.

Although Hunt played a key role in the Browns’ 2020 playoff return by compiling 1,145 yards from scrimmage and working as the team’s passing-down option, he has not eclipsed 700 scrimmage yards in a season since. Injury trouble intervened in 2021, and he averaged just 3.8 yards per handoff during a disappointing 2022 season. While last year brought a career-low YPC number, Hunt still rushed for nine touchdowns to help the Browns to the playoffs despite Chubb, Deshaun Watson and both starting tackles going down.

The same Chiefs power structure is in place from the time Hunt was cut, though GM Brett Veach was not yet in charge when the Toledo alum was drafted in 2017. Hunt will likely move to Kansas City’s active roster soon, with Steele fumbling Sunday and Perine profiling as more change-of-pace back and pass catcher than workhorse. A committee should be expected here.

Edwards-Helaire is out of the mix on the reserve/non-football illness list. Pacheco suffered a fractured fibula against the Bengals and is heading to IR. While Pacheco is not expected to miss the season, the third-year back will miss much of it. Hunt will be asked to help the Chiefs get by in the meantime.

Packers Place Rookie RB MarShawn Lloyd On IR

September 17th, 2024 at 9:27pm CST by Ely Allen

Packers running back Josh Jacobs has been extremely impactful on his new team so far this season, despite not having reached the end zone yet. 104 total yards in Week 1 followed by a 151-yard rushing performance this weekend show that Green Bay seems to have hit on the free agent market at running back. Jacobs can’t rush 32 times a game like he did last week, though, making depth at running back crucial. That depth took a hit today when rookie third-round pick MarShawn Lloyd was placed on injured reserve, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

Lloyd sat out of the team’s season opener, appearing on the injury report as questionable with a hamstring issue. After a week of limited practice, Lloyd made his NFL debut this past weekend, despite still appearing on the injury report. In his lone game appearance, Lloyd ran as the RB2 behind Jacobs. He played three fewer snaps than second-year back Emanuel Wilson but earned one more carry and a target in the passing game.

With Lloyd now joining A.J. Dillon on injured reserve, Wilson will be stepping into a much bigger role as RB2 behind Jacobs. Jacobs can shoulder most of the work, but Wilson will likely need to contribute more than the 14 carries for 85 yards that he had as an undrafted rookie last year.

Joining Wilson on the depth chart will be Chris Brooks, who was signed from the practice squad to take Lloyd’s place on the active roster. Also an undrafted rookie in 2023, Brooks spent last year with an explosive Dolphins’ running backs crew, rushing for 106 yards on just 19 carries.

Brooks and Wilson will try to help make sure that Jacobs’ yoke isn’t too heavy as a workhorse. With Lloyd out for at least four weeks and Dillon perhaps not in the Packers’ long-term plans for the season, it will be important to keep Jacobs fresh however they can.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/17/24

September 17th, 2024 at 7:42pm CST by Ely Allen

Tuesday’s practice squad transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

  • Signed: T Marcellus Johnson
  • Released: T Ricky Lee

New England Patriots

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Washington Commanders

Woods joins the Falcons’ practice squad after a workout last week that also included veterans Kwon Alexander and Rashaan Evans.

The Browns are adding Freeman after the seven-year veteran was released by the Cowboys before the regular season. Freeman could potentially pitch in as the team keeps working without Nick Chubb.

Yeast becomes the next former-Rams defensive back to join the Panthers. Current Carolina defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero used to serve as the secondary coach in Los Angeles, and Yeast joins Jordan Fuller, Nick Scott, and Troy Hill as former students of Evero to sign a deal with the Panthers.

Chosen’s time off the Dolphins’ practice squad could be a short one. Chosen was called up as a standard gameday elevation twice in the first two weeks of the season, reaching his limit for the year. If the team re-signs him to a new practice squad contract, his count should start over.

Reagor saw 11 games and a start last year for New England, catching seven passes for 138 yards as a deep threat. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the Patriots will be giving him similar opportunities this year after this release.

Pierre played a big part in the Steelers’ secondary in 2021 and 2022, starting six games and logging an interception in each season. His role was extremely reduced last year with the arrivals of Joey Porter Jr.. and Patrick Peterson, but his experience could be crucial in a position room that only rosters five cornerbacks as Cameron Sutton remains on suspension.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/17/24

September 17th, 2024 at 5:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Denver Broncos

Pittsburgh Steelers

A transaction mainstay since being included in the 2017 trade that brought Ronald Darby to Philadelphia from Buffalo, Matthews has since moved to tight end and been with the Panthers since 2023. Matthews later made it back to Philly and has been with five NFL teams since being a 2014 second-round pick. He started one game for the TE-depleted Panthers this season. Franks is a converted quarterback who has played in Carolina’s first two games as a gameday elevation. A 2023 Panthers UDFA, Leota logged a 2024 start and recorded a sack. But the second-year player is now on the wire.

Colts Place DT DeForest Buckner On IR

September 17th, 2024 at 3:42pm CST by Sam Robinson

DeForest Buckner sustained an ankle injury against the Packers, and the Colts will not have their top defensive lineman available for a while. Buckner will head to IR.

This marks a change of pace for the durable defensive tackle, who entered this season having missed all of two games since his 2016 rookie season. A Monday report from NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport indicated X-rays revealed Buckner suffered a sprained ankle that was not considered serious, and while the Pro Bowler’s season is not in jeopardy, he is out for at least four games.

An MRI affected this situation, Rapoport adds. The Colts signed defensive end Genard Avery to their active roster and added D-tackle Adam Gotsis to the practice squad. Indianapolis also signed cornerback Gregory Junior and defensive end Titus Leo to the practice squad, releasing D-tackle McTelvin Agim and corner Ameer Speed from the P-squad.

Buckner, 30, has rewarded the Colts for the trade they made with the 49ers four years ago. As San Francisco determined second contracts for both Buckner and Arik Armstead were not viable, the team dealt the former to Indianapolis for a 2020 first-round pick. While the 49ers did not do well to replace Buckner with that choice (Javon Kinlaw), the Colts enjoyed consistent production from the 2016 first-round pick. Buckner has made three Pro Bowls as a Colt, ascending to first-team All-Pro status in 2020 as well.

The Colts have seen Buckner spearhead their pass rush, with UFA addition Samson Ebukam and recent draftees Kwity Paye and Dayo Odeyingbo coming along to help the cause last season. Buckner has 1.5 sacks this year, though the Colts are 0-2. Replacing the ninth-year standout will be a tall order, as the team has not needed to play without him much. Buckner played through a UCL tear in his left elbow in 2022 and signed an extension (two years, $46MM, $43.25MM guaranteed) this offseason.

Indy re-signed nose tackle Grover Stewart and hybrid D-lineman Tyquan Lewis this offseason. The team also re-signed Taven Bryan and added former Dolphins DT Raekwon Davis. Buckner’s presence, however, has helped the team’s pass rush on the whole. With Ebukam out with a torn Achilles, the Colts look set for an uphill battle. They can activate Buckner in Week 7.

Giants Work Out Four Kickers, To Add Greg Joseph Off Lions’ Practice Squad

September 17th, 2024 at 2:58pm CST by Sam Robinson

Graham Gano‘s injury changed the Giants’ gameday procedure, costing them dearly in a narrow loss to the Commanders. After not attempting any extra points once Gano went down, the Giants will make their expected addition.

With Gano set to miss at least four games, New York worked out four kickers. The team, however, will take another course. The Giants are signing Greg Joseph off the Lions’ practice squad, per his agency. The team must keep Joseph on its 53-man roster for at least three weeks due to poaching him off another team’s P-squad. Gano is now on IR, per a Giants announcement.

The Giants initially attempted a free agency path here, with NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo indicating the team worked out Zane Gonzalez, Randy Bullock, Riley Patterson and Tanner Brown. Instead, it will be Joseph, who will head to team No. 3 this year. Joseph signed with the Packers early this offseason but did not make their 53-man roster, joining the Lions’ practice squad as Jake Bates insurance. But an immediate opportunity will come his way in New York.

Joseph, 30, spent the past three seasons as the Vikings’ kicker. He drilled a 61-yard game-winning field goal to beat the Giants in Week 16 of the 2022 season. Like Gano, who made a 63-yarder to beat the Giants as a Panther in 2018, Joseph will make his way to the NFC’s New York franchise.

Joseph made 86.8% of his field goals in 2021 but did not clear the 80% barrier in either of the past two seasons. He made 80% of his tries last season, missing three from between 40 and 49 yards, and saw the Vikings take a different route this year.

As for Gano, this is the second time he has landed on IR in as many seasons. Gano has suffered two injuries since the Giants gave him a three-year, $16.5MM extension ($11.34MM guaranteed) in September 2023. Gano, 37, missed nine games last season. The Giants will hope to have their regular specialist back from his hamstring injury this season, but they will need to use an IR activation to make that happen.

Bullock served as the Giants’ Gano replacement in six games last season, while Patterson could not secure a spot as the Commanders’ kicker in the preseason. (Gonzalez has not kicked since the 2021 season.) The Commanders, who settled on Austin Seibert as their latest kicker, became the first NFL team to win a game despite scoring zero touchdowns to their opponent’s three.

Bengals To Sign DL Lawrence Guy

September 17th, 2024 at 2:06pm CST by Sam Robinson

Lawrence Guy‘s effort to return to the NFL included workouts with two AFC North teams. After auditioning for the Ravens — one of his former squads — Guy participated in a Bengals showcase today. The latter effort will produce a deal.

The Bengals are signing Guy to their 53-man roster, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. This will put Guy on a path toward a 13th NFL season, giving Cincinnati some experience as it attempts to crawl out of another 0-2 hole. Guy’s presence will undoubtedly be aimed at helping against the run, where the Bengals rank 26th.

Entering the NFL as a seventh-round Packers pick, Guy has now been in the league for 14 seasons. Though, he did not see any action as a rookie. Guy, 34, still went on to become a mainstay in Baltimore and New England. The Ravens met with their former D-line contributor a few weeks back but did not sign him. This opened the door for Guy to join a sixth NFL team.

This signing comes shortly after both Bengals starting D-tackles — B.J. Hill and Sheldon Rankins — sustained hamstring injuries against the Chiefs. Cincinnati also let high-end nose tackle D.J. Reader walk in free agency; Reader joined the Lions, making his debut with his new team in Week 2. The Bengals worked out both Guy and Albert Huggins today, per Pelissero, but will add the more experienced piece.

Guy lasted seven seasons in New England, starting for the team’s Super Bowl LII and LIII teams and remaining in place as a central Pats cog through Bill Belichick‘s final season. Although de facto GM Eliot Wolf valued many Belichick pieces considerably well this offseason via re-signings and extensions, Guy joined Adrian Phillips as mid-February cap casualties. The 315-pound D-lineman had signed two four-year deals with the Patriots, being a core Belichick player but one deemed expendable as Jerod Mayo took the reins.

The Pats gave Guy 102 starts from 2017-23. Not known as a pressure artist inside, Guy did accumulate 10.5 regular-season sacks as a Patriot and dropped Blake Bortles in New England’s comeback win over Jacksonville in the 2017 AFC championship game. Guy spent two-plus years in Baltimore prior to that 2017 New England signing, and he will return to the AFC North to help a Bengals team in need.

No IR moves involving Hill or Rankins have come to pass yet, but the Bengals did waive defensive end K.J. Henry from their active roster to clear a spot for Guy, ProFootballNetwork.com’s Jay Morrison tweets. Cincy had claimed Henry, a 2023 fifth-round pick, off waivers from Washington. Rather than go through with the increasingly common practice squad ramp-up route, the Bengals intend to put Guy to work immediately as they attempt their latest turnaround effort.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/16/24

September 16th, 2024 at 9:00pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Baltimore Ravens

  • Signed: TE Zaire Mitchell-Paden

New England Patriots

Mark Perry was cut by the Texans practice squad last week, and Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston notes that the organization wanted him back. Instead, the safety has landed in New England. Perry put himself on the NFL map with two impressive seasons at TCU where he compiled 142 tackles and six passes defended.

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