Ravens Suspend WR Diontae Johnson

The Ravens have suspended veteran wide receiver Diontae Johnson for one game, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.

General manager Eric DeCosta issued the following statement on the team’s decision, one that stems from Johnson refusing to enter the team’s Week 13 game against the Eagles.

“We have made the difficult decision to suspend Diontae Johnson for our upcoming game against the New York Giants for conduct detrimental to the team,” DeCosta said. “Diontae’s suspension stems from refusing to enter our game against the Philadelphia Eagles.”

DeCosta added that the Ravens would not have any additional comment on the situation moving forward.

Johnson did not play a single snap in the Ravens’ Week 13 loss to the Eagles despite a knee injury that knocked starter Rashod Bateman out of the game. Head coach John Harbaugh declined to elaborate on Johnson’s absence after the game, though his comments hinted at the sort of internal issue that DeCosta’s statement revealed.

Johnson has been active for all five games since his arrival in Baltimore, but only played 39 snaps on offense with just one catch for six yards on five targets. Bateman’s injury appeared to be an opportunity for the veteran wideout to see more targets from Lamar Jackson, but Johnson refused to enter the game, leading to his suspension. Nelson Agholor and Tylan Wallace filled in for Bateman instead, with Agholor unable to reel in his two targets while Wallace caught both of his for 14 yards.

The suspension continues a tumultuous contract year for Johnson in which he was averaging 51.0 yards per game in Carolina before his trade to the Ravens. Johnson quickly grew frustrated with his minimal role in Baltimore’s offense, though it is unclear why he would turn down the opportunity for more snaps when it arose.

The Ravens’ decision to suspend Johnson signals that the team is considering moving on from the veteran receiver. Baltimore still thinks that Johnson “could help them down the stretch,” according to FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz, especially if Bateman misses time. However, a team with strong playoff chances and Super Bowl aspirations needs “everyone to be fully committed and team-focused,” per Schultz, forcing the Ravens to determine if Johnson is worth keeping around.

Baltimore has some time to weigh their options with a bye week before their Week 15 matchup against the Giants in which Johnson will be ineligible to play. Keeping him on the roster after the bye would indicate that the Ravens have resolved the situation with Johnson.

This is not the first internal issue the Ravens have dealt with this season. Marcus Williams has been reduced to a healthy scratch multiple times after his struggles in coverage, and Eddie Jackson was released after refusing to travel with the team to Pittsburgh in Week 11.

Texans LB Azeez Al-Shaair Issued Three-Game Suspension

DECEMBER 4: Al-Shaair’s three-game suspension has been upheld by hearing officer Ramon Foster. Foster, a former Steelers offensive guard from 2009-19, was jointly appointed by the NFL and NFLPA and declined to give Al-Shaair any leniency after his hit on Lawrence virtually ended the quarterback’s season.

DECEMBER 3: A decision has been made on a suspension for Azeez Al-ShaairThe Texans linebacker has received a three-game ban, the NFL announced on Tuesday. Al-Shaair will appeal, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.

“Your lack of sportsmanship and respect for the game of football and all those who play, coach, and enjoy watching it, is troubling and does not reflect the core values of the NFL,” a letter from NFL VP of football operations Jon Runyan reads in part. “Your continued disregard for NFL playing rules puts the health and safety of both you and your opponents in jeopardy and will not be tolerated.”

As Runyan’s letter notes, Al-Shaair’s history of personal fouls in recent years played a role determining the length of the ban. This will be the 27-year-old’s first NFL suspension, one which many felt could be handed down in the wake of his hit on Jaguars quarterback Trevor LawrenceAfter the play, Al-Shaair was involved in a brawl which led to multiple players (including himself) being ejected from the game, which was another factor in the league’s suspension decision. The FAU product has since publicly apologized for his actions.

Lawrence was carted off the field following the hit, and he is now in concussion protocol. That has left his availability for the remainder of the season, while in Al-Shaair’s case today’s news will leave him sidelined until Week 18. If he were to win his appeal though, the ban would be reduced which would open the door to a return earlier in the Texans’ remaining schedule. The team’s bye will take place in Week 14 before a stretch where Houston will look to secure the AFC South.

Al-Shaair has been a full-time starter in 2024, his first season as a Texan. The former UDFA spent four seasons with the 49ers, playing under DeMeco Ryans during that time. After a single campaign with the Titans, Al-Shaair signed a three-year deal with Houston which allowed him to reunite with Ryans. He has posted 68 tackles and pair of sacks to date, and replacing that production will be challenging for the Texans over the near future.

Sitting at 8-5 on the year, a divisional title is firmly within reach for Houston. The team is on track to reach the postseason as a result, and even if Al-Shaair’s appeal is unsuccessful he will be available once the playoffs begin.

Jaguars Place Trevor Lawrence On IR

10:00pm: While Lawrence technically could have returned in time for the Jaguars’ season finale, he’ll indeed be out for the rest of the season. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport says the quarterback will have surgery to repair the “significant” AC joint sprain in his non-throwing shoulder. By going under the knife now, Lawrence should be ready to go for the start of the 2025 campaign.

3:05pm: The Jaguars have placed Trevor Lawrence on injured reserve, per an official team announcement, likely ending the veteran quarterback’s season after he suffered a concussion against the Texans in Week 13.

Lawrence was carted off the field after being hit while sliding by linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, who was suspended for three games for the play. Lawrence will be sidelined until at least Week 18, but with an existing shoulder injury and virtually no shot at the playoffs, Jacksonville may instead choose to shut down its franchise quarterback for the year.

Lawrence has been considering surgery for an AC joint sprain in his non-throwing shoulder, though he opted to return to the field in Week 13 after taking the Jaguars’ Week 12 bye to heal up. Now that he’s already on injured reserve, Lawrence can now undergo his surgery and get a head start on his recovery for next season.

Jacksonville saw Lawrence battle a few injuries last season, a campaign that involved a concussion. The team slid from 8-3 to 9-8 but still bet big on its quarterback during the first offseason he was extension-eligible. The Jags picked up Lawrence’s fifth-year option, but rather than wait for the QB to prove it for another season like the Dolphins did with Tua Tagovailoa, the team paid the going rate by extending Lawrence at a then-record $55MM per year.

This came during an offseason in which the Jaguars also extended Josh Hines-Allen and Tyson Campbell, with the two defenders respectively collecting the second- and third-largest contracts in franchise history. With the Jags tumbling to 2-10 after this spree of extensions, this has proven a wildly disappointing season — one that will almost definitely result in Doug Pederson’s firing. It remains to be seen if GM Trent Baalke will be booted as well, but that is believed to be in play.

If Lawrence is indeed done for the year, it will mark the end of his worst season since he led the Jaguars to a 3-14 record as a rookie. His 204.5 passing yards per game are a career-low, as were his 17.2 completions and 28.4 attempts per game. Mac Jones is slated to start the rest of the season under center for the Jaguars, with former Lawrence backup C.J. Beathard set to reprise his QB2 role.

Bears Considering Thomas Brown For Full-Time HC Post; Latest On Matt Eberflus’ Firing

Over the past seven offseasons, only one team (the Raiders) has moved an interim HC to the full-time post. Antonio Pierce is 2-10 to start his stay in that role. The Bears are still high on their interim option and are planning to give him a true look.

Thomas Brown will be considered to replace Matt Eberflus on a full-time basis, ESPN.com’s Courtney Cronin notes. The team has bumped Brown from pass-game coordinator to OC to interim HC over the past month, representing a significant bounce back for a staffer who had been a one-and-done Panthers OC.

The Bears moved the 38-year-old coach into this role after making their first in-season firing, booting Eberflus soon after he was allowed to speak with media the morning after a late-game breakdown in a narrow Thanksgiving loss. Eberflus’ tense postgame meeting with players has been well chronicled, with several — most notably cornerback Jaylon Johnson — speaking up about the nature of the loss to the division-leading Lions. Johnson cut off Eberflus mid-speech, Cronin adds, with a profane rant eventually leading to the three-year HC’s exit from the locker room.

Eberflus offered explanations to the press about the sequence that cost the Bears a chance to attempt a game-tying field goal in Detroit, doubling down Friday in his last comments as Bears HC. He had defended the decision not to call a timeout as the offense slowly operated while the clock ticked into single digits, and while Bears brass met about Eberflus’ future during his speech, Cronin indicates his Friday presser had “zero” impact on the firing.

Still, the optics of Eberflus speaking to the media at 9am CT and then being canned not long after did not paint a portrait of stability. Bears president Kevin Warren soon admitted the team could have handled this situation better. Warren said (via 670 The Score’s David Haugh) the team was trying to be respectful when asked why the team let its HC address reporters roughly 90 minutes before his ouster. Warren has gone on to say the Bears’ job will be the most desired on next year’s market. Unlike the Jets’ Robert Saleh firing, which went around then-GM Joe Douglas, NFL Network’s Peter Schrager confirms GM Ryan Poles was part of the Friday-morning meeting that sealed Eberflus’ fate.

The Bears are not firing Poles, who was initially hired two days before Eberflus. Poles did not have a chance to run that search, only offering late input into the process. Warren and Poles were believed to have a good relationship, and that report has preceded the president — whom the Bears hired after their Poles and Eberflus hirings — giving his GM the reins in the team’s latest HC search. The heat will certainly be on Poles if this next hire fails, but for now, his seat is fairly cool.

Chicago is expected to target an offensive-minded coach to work with Caleb Williams. Teams regularly pivot in the other direction after a firing, and the team’s offense-defense yo-yo would continue in that event. Dating back to Lovie Smith, the team has gone defense-offense-defense-offense-defense — in terms of coaching background — with its past five hires (Smith, Marc Trestman, John Fox, Matt Nagy, Eberflus). A lean toward offense will give Brown a shot, and while a source told Cronin that Brown is the “real deal,” the modern NFL rarely sees teams give interims strong consideration. Pierce’s struggles offer another warning.

In terms of outside hires, Lions OC Ben Johnson and Commanders play-caller Kliff Kingsbury, per Cronin, are indeed viewed as candidates. We heard as much Sunday, with Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman also coming up. Warren’s past as a college commissioner could certainly make him more open to such a hire.

Johnson has been connected to the team for a bit now, and the selective coordinator will again be courted by most (if not all) of the HC-needy teams. Kingsbury did coach Williams, but the Bears already passed on him for their OC gig this year to hire Shane Waldron. An eight-hour meeting — one previously viewed as somewhat of an intel-gathering session on Williams, rather than a true interview about the job — led to Kingsbury exploring other jobs.

The Bears also passed on Brown for that job initially, but he has gained considerable ground after initially signing on in a lower role. A convoluted Panthers plan impacted Brown’s first OC foray, as the Panthers attempted to blend Sean McVay‘s offense with Frank Reich‘s. Brown was in the crosshairs, being elevated to a play-calling role before being demoted before once again calling plays — during a 2-15 Panthers season — once Reich was fired. This season has brought more significant changes to Brown’s job description, but the ex-Rams position coach does appear to have more momentum now than he did coming off the Carolina one-and-done.

Jaguars Claim WR Josh Reynolds

The Jaguars have claimed veteran receiver Josh Reynolds after he was waived by the Broncos on Tuesday, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.

With an available spot on their 53-man roster after placing Trevor Lawrence on injured reserve, the Jaguars opted to add veteran reinforcements at receiver with Christian Kirk and Gabriel Davis currently on IR.

Reynolds has been through a tumultuous season, initially landing on injured reserve in October due to finger surgery before being wounded in a shooting in Denver later that month. He only made 12 catches for 183 yards and a touchdown in his five games pre-injury, though his 9.6 yards per target represented a career-high.

Reynolds was designated to return from injured reserve on November 13, but the Broncos opted to waive him rather than use one of their three remaining IR activations.

Denver has found a rhythm in their passing game over the last month with young wideouts Devaughn Vele and Marvin Mims. Rather than retain Reynolds in a reserve role, the Broncos waived him to give him a chance to earn more targets with another team.

Indeed, Reynolds could be in line for some immediate playing time in Jacksonville. Rookie wideout Brian Thomas leads the team with 46 catches for 765 yards, but the next-best healthy Jaguars receiver is Parker Washington with just 16 catches for 221 yards in 12 games. Reynolds nearly surpassed that production in his five games already this year, and his recent history with five different teams since 2020 suggests that he should be able to integrate into his new offense quickly.

The Jaguars will owe Reynolds just over $623K for the rest of the season, per the Denver Gazette’s Chris Thomasson, while the Broncos save the same amount against their salary cap. Reynolds is under contract for $3.99MM in base salary next year with an additional $510k in per-game roster bonuses, though none of that money is guaranteed, per OverTheCap. If he impresses his new team, he could stick around in Jacksonville in 2025, but the Jaguars could still cut him without any dead cap hit after this season.

Chargers Designate LB Junior Colson For Return

It sounds like Junior Colson will soon resume his rookie season. The Chargers linebacker is expected to return to practice this week, coach Jim Harbaugh told reporters (including Daniel Popper of The Athletic).

[RELATED: Chargers Place Junior Colson On IR]

Colson suffered an ankle injury in Week 9 that’s sidelined him for the past four weeks. Based on Harbaugh’s comments today, there’s a chance the player only requires a minimum stay on injured reserve. The Chargers will have 21 days to activate the rookie to the active roster.

A former standout at Michigan, the linebacker was selected in the third round of this past year’s draft. Thanks to an unrelated hamstring injury that knocked him out for Week 3 and Week 4, Colson has only made six appearances this season. In three of those games, he exceeded a 50-percent snap count, and he collected 11 of his 14 tackles during that stretch.

Colson could be in line for some playing time during the stretch run of the season. Daiyan Henley will continue to lead the depth chart, but the rookie should compete with Denzel Perryman (who is nursing his own groin injury) for leftover snaps. Colson’s return could also knock Troy Dye to mostly a special teams role.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/4/24

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Dallas Cowboys

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

  • Signed: CB Jason Maitre

Minnesota Vikings

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/4/24

Today’s minor moves:

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Kansas City Chiefs

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

  • Designated for return: LB Dyontae Johnson

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

Spencer Shrader‘s hamstring injury will knock him out for the next four weeks, and with Harrison Butker eventually set to return, the fill-in kicker’s stint with the Chiefs has likely come to an end. Temporarily, the team will turn to their third kicker in Matthew Wright. The veteran filled in for Shrader this past weekend, connecting on four of his five field goal tries.

Former Dolphins second-round pick Cam Smith landed on IR today, likely ending his disappointing sophomore campaign. The cornerback did get more run in 2024 vs. his rookie season, but he was still limited to only 16 tackles in six games thanks to a pair of IR stints. This time, it’s a shoulder issue that will put the South Carolina product on the shelf.

Saints safety Roderic Teamer was hit with a three-game ban today for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston. Mike Triplett of NewOrleans.football notes that Teamer’s unpaid ban is “the conclusion of his DUI arrest” in 2023 (when he was with the Raiders). Teamer was limited to only a pair of appearances this season, with all of his snaps coming on special teams.

Titans lineman Jaelyn Duncan returned to practice today after missing the past six games while nursing a hamstring injury. The former sixth-round pick could actually see a significant role upon his return, with Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com noting that the second-year player could get a look at right tackle once he’s fully healthy.

Ohio State T Josh Simmons Declares For 2025 Draft

One of the 2025 draft’s top offensive tackle prospects has officially declared. Ohio State offensive tackle Josh Simmons is heading to the NFL for the 2025 campaign, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

[RELATED: LSU T Will Campbell Declares For 2025 Draft]

Simmons was once in contention to be the first lineman off the board in 2025. However, the prospect suffered a knee injury in October that ended his season prematurely, with Albert Breer of SI.com revealing that Simmons suffered a torn patellar tendon. The player later underwent surgery and should be back on the field this summer.

“Josh will be fully cleared for practice by the start of NFL training camp and he will be a high first-round pick,” his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, told ESPN.

Per Schefter, Simmons is “already ahead of schedule” with his rehab. Breer notes that the lineman was operated on by Rams’ team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache, and the reporter adds that it’s a “tough rehab” to overcome. Fortunately, the intended schedule should see Simmons fully recovered in time for training camp.

After two years at San Diego State, Simmons transferred to Ohio State and flourished under OL coach Justin Frye. The prospect was lauded for his agility, good hands, awareness, and elite strength during his one-plus seasons in Columbus, with the only knock surrounding the quality of his competition.

Thanks to the injury, Simmons will now have an uphill battle to be the first OL off the board. That title will likely go to LSU OT Will Campbell or Texas OT Kelvin Banks Jr., but the Buckeye could battle the likes of LSU’s Emery Jones and Minnesota’s Aireontae Ersery to be OT3.

Titans WR Treylon Burks Underwent ACL Surgery, Done For Season

The knee injury that landed Treylon Burks on IR back in October will ultimately end his season. The Titans wideout won’t be returning to the field in 2024 after undergoing ACL surgery, coach Brian Callahan told reporters (via Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com).

[RELATED: Titans Place WR Treylon Burks On IR]

Burks suffered his knee injury during an October practice, and it sounds like there was some initial uncertainty surrounding the severity of the issue. Callahan admitted that Burks was initially diagnosed with a “loose ACL,” but it was recently determined that the receiver would indeed have to go under the knife. ACL surgery would put Burks’ availability in doubt for the start of the 2025 campaign, and it could ultimately spell the end of his tenure in Tennessee.

The former 18th-overall pick hasn’t lived up to his draft billing with the Titans. He was limited to only 22 games between his first two seasons in the league, combining for 730 yards from scrimmage and one touchdown. 2024 was set to be a crucial season for Burks, but he barely saw a role through the first five games of the season. The wideout got into about half of his offense’s snaps, collecting 35 yards from scrimmage on six touches.

The organization will have to make a decision on the player’s fifth-year option in a few months. Considering the $15.28MM commitment, it seems like Burks will enter lame-duck status in 2025. The wideout could end up sticking around as an end-of-the-depth-chart option, but he’d once again have a tough time cracking the starting lineup.

Burks’ injury basically coincided with the DeAndre Hopkins trade, and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine has since taken advantage of his increased snaps; the former UDFA has hauled in eight touchdowns over the past eight weeks. With Calvin Ridley attached to a sizable contract, the Titans seem to have their top-two spots on the depth chart locked in for the 2025 campaign.