Vikings To Place Andre Smith On IR
It’s official – the Vikings are placing offensive tackle Andre Smith on IR. Coach Mike Zimmer told reporters today that the veteran will have surgery tomorrow, likely ending his season in October. 
On Friday, we learned that Smith’s elbow injury could be a season-ender. Minnesota has been ravaged by injuries this year, but they have powered through and now sit atop the league with a 5-0 record. After topping the Texans 31-13 at home, the Vikings will rest up before traveling to Philadelphia in Week 7.
Smith came to the Vikings on a one-year, $3.5MM deal this offseason. While he was brought in to hold down the right tackle spot, reserve tackle Jeremiah Sirles has actually been outperforming him according to the advanced metrics. Pro Football Focus has Smith ranked as just the 71st best tackle out of 75 qualified players. Meanwhile, Sirles is No. 15.
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Buccaneers Place Charles Sims On IR
The Buccaneers are placing running back Charles Sims on IR, a source tells ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson (via Twitter). The move will create room for the previously reported promotion of running back Russell Hansbrough. 
Sims was considered unlikely to play tonight and it turns out that he won’t be suiting up for at least two months. The Bucs will have the option of reinstating Sims to the roster if he proves to be healthy, but the team can only make one such maneuver per season.
Sims entered the season as Doug Martin‘s primary backup and some expected him to have a near-even share of the carries this year. In four games, the 26-year-old drew 41 carries but averaged just 2.8 yards per attempt. He also caught 14 passes for 112 yards.
Tonight, the Bucs will have Jacquizz Rodgers as the lead back with Peyton Barber and Hansbrough in support. The team will hope to have Martin back on the field on the other side of their Week 6 bye.
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49ers Sign CB JaCorey Shepherd
The 49ers announced that they have signed cornerback JaCorey Shepherd. Shepherd will take the place of cornerback Chris Davis, who was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury. 
The signing reunites Shepherd, a 2015 draft pick of the Eagles, with coach Chip Kelly. In college, Shepherd started out as a wide receiver but didn’t find his footing until he was turned into a defensive back as a sophomore. As a junior, Shepherd had 45 total tackles, including two tackles for a loss, and ten pass deflections, putting him on the map nationally. His stats dropped a bit as a senior, but he still showed enough to become a late draft pick.
Davis, a cornerback/kick returner, was forced out of Thursday night’s game against the Cardinals. He was initially listed as questionable for this Sunday against the Bills, but he is now likely done for the season.
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Bucs To Promote Russell Hansbrough
The Buccaneers are promoting running back Russell Hansbrough from the practice squad to the active roster, Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. Hansbrough will be in uniform as the Buccaneers get set to face the Panthers tonight. 
Top running back Doug Martin and main backup Charles Sims are listed as doubtful for tonight’s game and neither player is expected to take the field. That leaves former Falcon Jacquizz Rodgers as the Bucs’ starting running back tonight with Peyton Barber and Hansbrough is support.
Hansbrough, a Missouri product, joined the Bucs as an undrafted free agent in May. Barber was able to position himself ahead of Hansbrough in the summer, but both players now find themselves on the 53-man roster.
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Redskins Host Terrance Knighton On Visit
Could Pot Roast return to D.C.? Today, the Redskins are hosting Terrance Knighton on a visit, as Mike Jones of The Washington Post tweets. With Knighton and Phil Taylor in town, the Redskins are clearly looking to bolster the interior of their defensive line. 
[RELATED: Redskins Hosting Phil Taylor On Visit]
After finishing his contract in Denver, Knighton was expected to cash in following the 2014 season. Instead, he found a mild free agent market and settled for a low-priced one-year deal with the Redskins. As a nose tackle in Washington’s 3-4 scheme, Pot Roast logged 29 tackles and 1.5 sacks in 2015. Although he didn’t have quite the same impact last year that he did during his final season as a Bronco, Knighton ranked in the top half of Pro Football Focus’ list of qualified interior defenders, placing 58th out of 123 players. Predictably, PFF assigned Knighton a much better grade as a run defender than as a pass rusher.
This past offseason, he hooked on with the Patriots but was released in late August. Knighton’s release came as something of a surprise, especially given the Pats’ depth concerns on the defensive line. Now, the Redskins need some veteran help on the D-Line and he could circle back there.
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Redskins Hosting DT Phil Taylor On Visit
The Redskins are hosting defensive tackle Phil Taylor for a workout today, Mike Jones of The Washington Post tweets. 
[RELATED: Josh Doctson Likely To Avoid IR]
A first-round pick in 2011, Taylor was cut by the Browns at his request before the 2015 season when it became clear that Danny Shelton would be the club’s starting nose tackle. Taylor did not find an NFL home after that and he remained in limbo until February of this year when the Broncos picked him up. Unfortunately, his knee issues popped up again over the summer and Denver ultimately tossed him back into the water.
Taylor, 28, was a starter on defense for Cleveland in 2013, but only played 555 defensive snaps, serving primarily as a run stopper. While he wasn’t a full-time player, Taylor’s performance against the run still placed him a solid 26th among 69 qualified defensive tackles, according to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics. He then played just 133 snaps in 2014 before being sidelined with a knee injury.
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Ravens Fire OC Marc Trestman
The Ravens are firing offensive coordinator Marc Trestman, league sources tell Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Baltimore is replacing him with Marty Mornhinweg. The team has since confirmed the move via press release.
Trestman’s firing comes one day after the Ravens suffered a 16-10 loss at home against the Redskins. After the game, quarterback Joe Flacco described the offense as “embarrassing” and said that the struggles so far this year have been “frustrating.” Apparently, team brass agreed and Trestman has been sacked five games into the season.
Trestman previously served as the Bears’ head coach from 2013 through 2014. After the Bears finished 8-8 in Trestman’s first year, they took a step back in 2014 with a 5-win season. Trestman was canned after the season, but the Ravens quickly scooped him up as their offensive coordinator.
Last year, the Ravens finished 14th in the NFL in total yards but placed in the bottom third of the league in points scored. Through five games this year, they’re roughly in the same position and the Ravens have opted to make a change. Mornhinweg, who previously served as Baltimore’s quarterbacks coach, will now get bumped up to OC. Mornhinweg has served as an offensive coordinator for three different teams (Jets, Eagles, and 49ers) in his career and is best known for his time as the head coach of the Lions, although that is a period he’d probably like to forget.
The Ravens will put a strong emphasis on maintaining balance on offense and sticking with the run game while reinforcing the downfield passing game, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com tweets. The Ravens can be expected to lean on Terrance West and they could also get Kenneth Dixon more involved as they look to spark their run game.
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Extra Points: Fitzpatrick, Romo, Chargers
Let’s take a look at some assorted notes from around the NFL as we wrap up the weekend…
- After having thrown nine interceptions over the past two weeks, Ryan Fitzpatrick didn’t have a turnover on Sunday. However, the Jets lost again, dropping their record to 1-4. Fortunately for the veteran, coach Todd Bowles said he isn’t planning on making a change at quarterback. However, as Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com notes, the coach did acknowledge that he’ll “examine everything.”
- Chargers coach Mike McCoy was facing a “critical two-game stretch” entering this weekend, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. A firing doesn’t appear to be imminent following his team’s loss to the Raiders, but a bad showing on Thursday could spell the end of McCoy’s tenure in San Diego. Rapoport adds that some within the organization thought “a change would be made” following last week’s loss to the Saints.
- It was a tough day for Chargers rookie punter Drew Kaser. His lone punt traveled only 16 yards, and he later fumbled the ball on a potential game-tying field goal. McCoy was non-committal when discussing the position after the game. “We’ll talk about that later on,” he said (via Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune on Twitter).
- Cowboys owners Jerry Jones said quarterback Tony Romo will get an MRI on Monday to check on the status of his back injury, according to David Helman of DallasCowboys.com (via Twitter). Jones was also emphatic that Romo remains the team’s top quarterback, even after rookie Dak Prescott‘s hot start.
Trevor Siemian Expected To Start Week 6?
8:45pm: Kubiak said that Siemian was close to playing today, an indication that the quarterback should be ready for Thursday.
“He did everything he could for us all week, but we had to make a decision that at the end of the week, when it’s time to go, he tried to get there,” Kubiak told Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post. “He worked extremely hard to get there. We just didn’t think he was ready.”
7:20pm: Siemian is seemingly putting the brakes on the reports from earlier today. The quarterback told Troy Renck of TheDenverChannel.com that he’s unsure if he’ll be available on Thursday night, adding that he’ll continue his treatments and see how he feels (Twitter link).
2:49pm: While the Broncos will roll with first-round rookie Paxton Lynch against the Falcons today, Trevor Siemian is expected to be ready to start at quarterback on Thursday Night Football, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
[RELATED: Broncos To Start Paxton Lynch Week 5]
Siemian, 23, has performed better than many expected in his first action as a starter, completing two-thirds of his passes for more than 800 yards, six touchdowns, and three interceptions while helping the Broncos to an undefeated start. Had he been healthy enough to play today, there’s no question Siemian would have started. In other words, there’s no quarterback controversy in Denver as Siemian recovers from a sprained AC joint in his non-throwing shoulder.
In an interview on SiriusXM NFL Radio last week, head coach Gary Kubiak said that the team will play the situation by ear. “It’s going to be a day-to-day thing,” Kubiak said. “He’s very sore (Monday) and, obviously, it’s not going to affect his ability to throw the ball. But what happens, all the mechanics of your body and the movement, the torque, that’s what he’s going to have to work through.”
Still, Siemian’s injury does give the Broncos a convenient excuse to get a look at Lynch, whom they traded up in the draft to acquire. Atlanta shouldn’t provide much in the way of a challenge, as the Falcons rank 30th in both DVOA against the pass and adjusted sack rate, per Football Outsiders.
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NFC Notes: Bears, Lions, Gettleman, Baalke
Bears kicker Connor Barth missed a pair of field goals during his team’s six-point loss earlier today. Through five games, the 30-year-old has connected on five of his eight attempts, and Barth has been around the league long enough to recognize that the Bears will probably explore the kicker market.
“Nothing surprises me these days,” he told Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “It’s the NFL. So just gotta go back to work. Like I said, those are kicks I usually make. I gotta make them.”
Coach John Fox was non-committal when discussing Barth’s roster status, but he wasn’t ready to lay all of the blame on his kicker.
“We look at everything every week,” coach John Fox said. “But I don’t think that’s on one guy, by any stretch.”
The veteran was signed by the Bears right before the season, with the 30-year-old replacing long-time kicker Robbie Gould.
We took a swing around the AFC earlier today, now let’s round up a few more notes from around the NFC…
- Ezekiel Ansah has been dealing with a high ankle sprain since Week 2, but according to ESPN’s Adam Caplan (via Twitter), tests have revealed that the injury is no more serious than that. Caplan reports that Ansah will not require surgery and the Lions are optimistic we will begin practicing soon.
- Kyle Meinke of MLive.com does not expect Lions head coach Jim Caldwell to be fired mid-season, especially since he is still well-respected and even revered by his players. However, he will surely not survive into 2017 if the team does not show dramatic improvement over the remainder of the 2016 campaign.
- The Panthers’ secondary is a mess right now, and as David Newton of ESPN.com writes, there is really no one else to blame but GM Dave Gettleman. Newton observes that the one area Gettleman hasn’t spent money on is the secondary. He has put together that unit in piecemeal fashion with midrange draft picks and older veterans who came cheap, letting starters like Captain Munnerlyn and Josh Norman walk because they didn’t fit into his financial plan. Now, Gettleman’s approach is starting to catch up with him.
- Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com believes that 49ers GM Trent Baalke is on the hot seat, largely as a result of his repeated failure to address the team’s weaknesses at impact positions. The problem is that there is nothing Baalke can do to strengthen the team for the final 11 games, so if San Francisco does not improve on its own, Baalke’s tenure with the club could be over.
Ben Levine contributed to this post.