NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/11/17
Monday’s practice squad moves…
Denver Broncos
- Signed: DT Kyle Peko
Detroit Lions
- Signed: DT Daniel Ross
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: TE Tim Semisch
- Cut: Jerome Cunningham
Washington Redskins
- Signed: OL Alex Balducci
- Cut: OL Anthony Fabiano
Jonathan Cyprien Out “Several Weeks”
Jonathan Cyprien‘s first game as a Titan did not go well, and it doesn’t look like the veteran safety will be ready for his second Tennessee contest for a bit.
The Titans starting safety suffered a hamstring injury Sunday against the Raiders, one that Mike Mularkey said is expected to keep the fifth-year veteran out “several weeks.”
Cyprien started alongside Kevin Byard, and Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com expects Da’Norris Searcy to step in for Cyprien with the first-stringers. Searcy signed as a UFA two years ago but accepted a pay cut this offseason to stay in Tennessee. The 28-year-old Searcy started the past two seasons for the Titans.
Cyprien received a four-year, $25MM contract to further shore up Tennessee’s back line. The former Jaguars starter has never missed more than two games in a season. He started all 16 Jaguars contests last season.
Reuben Foster Suffers High-Ankle Sprain
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan announced Monday that rookie linebacker Reuben Foster suffered a high-ankle sprain in the team’s Week 1 loss to Carolina, per Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area adds that Foster could miss four to six weeks. 
Foster went down in the second quarter Sunday, and the first-round pick initially thought he had broken his ankle.
“It was pain(ful),” Foster said (via ESPN.com’s Nick Wagoner). “I was a little scared, but at the same time, trust me, if you can’t put no pressure on it, then you should be worried, but when you put enough pressure on it, then you have got some hope. That’s all I was just hoping for. It was painful, but at the same time, I knew nothing was seriously damaged.”
Foster was viewed as a potential top ten pick before injury concerns weakened his stock. The Niners were not as worried about his surgically-repaired shoulder as other clubs and landed him at No. 31 overall.
Foster’s latest setback is unfortunate, but the team now knows that it will not be a season-ender.
Ian Rapoport of NFL.com first reported the injury. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Redskins Work Out Travaris Cadet
The Redskins worked out free agent running back Travaris Cadet on Monday, ESPN’s Field Yates reports (on Twitter). A signing doesn’t seem imminent, though, as Yates notes that the audition was “due diligence” on Washington’s part.
The Redskins were woeful on the ground during their 30-17 loss to the Eagles on Sunday, when quarterback Kirk Cousins led the team with 30 yards on four carries. Running backs Robert Kelley and Chris Thompson were far less successful than Cousins, combining for a mere 34 yards on 13 attempts.
Sunday’s struggles notwithstanding, Kelley and Thompson still carry more appeal than Cadet, who has barely been a factor as a rusher since breaking into the NFL in 2012 with the Saints. The 6-foot-1, 210-pounder has never totaled more than 11 carries in a season and has only racked up 26 tries and 84 yards in his career. The 28-year-old Cadet has been effective as a pass catcher, though, having tallied 102 receptions and seven touchdowns. He set career highs in catches (40) and receiving TDs (four), to go with 241 yards, last year in New Orleans, which released him during cutdown weekend Sept. 3. Cadet hadn’t drawn any reported interest until the Redskins took a look at him.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/11/17
Monday’s minor moves from around the NFL:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: LB Philip Wheeler
- Waived: LB Scooby Wright
Carolina Panthers
- Released with injury settlement: WR Brenton Bersin, C Gino Gradkowski, OL Chris Scott
- Waived with injury settlement: S L.J. McCray
Denver Broncos
- Promoted from practice squad: DT Tyrique Jarrett
Detroit Lions
- Signed: LB Nick Bellore
- Waived: OT Storm Norton
Los Angeles Chargers
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Geremy Davis
- Waived: CB Jeff Richards
Minnesota Vikings
- Released with injury settlement: QB Taylor Heinicke
New Orleans Saints
- Promoted from practice squad: LB Adam Bighill
New York Jets
- Released with injury settlement: LB Corey Lemonier
- Waived with injury settlement: WR Lucky Whitehead
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Released with injury settlement: S Jordan Dangerfield
Texans, Duane Brown Not Talking
The Texans and holdout Duane Brown have not engaged in any discussions about a new contract since the left tackle has been away from the team, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports. Brown has been pushing for a raise dating back to the spring, and his dissatisfaction with his current compensation caused him to miss voluntary workouts in May, mandatory minicamp in June, all of training camp and the preseason, and the Texans’ Week 1 loss to the Jaguars.
Brown’s absence from training camp subjected him to a $40K-per-day fine, and it led the Texans to place him on the reserve/did not report list, thereby reducing his 2017 salary from $9.65MM to $9.4MM. He also lost his $411K game check Sunday, which will be the case for as long as he doesn’t show up. Brown will need to report by Week 8 in order to get credit for an accrued season, Florio notes. The 32-year-old indicated last week that he does plan to play in 2017.
While holding out has backfired on Brown to this point, it’s clear the Texans need the three-time Pro Bowler. Their offense was in disastrous form on Sunday against Jacksonville, which dubbed itself #Sacksonville on Twitter after taking down Texans quarterbacks Tom Savage and Deshaun Watson 10 times in a 29-7 rout. Unsurprisingly, Pro Football Focus assigned horrid grades to Texans tackles Kendall Lamm and Breno Giacomini for their roles in the loss. The outlet has typically given favorable reviews to Brown, a nine-year veteran who has started in all 132 career appearances.
Brown’s under Texans control through next season at a combined $19.15MM, though it’s clear that figure doesn’t suffice for the longtime franchise linchpin.
Allen Robinson Done For Season
Jacksonville crushed AFC South rival Houston to open the season on Sunday, but if the Jaguars are going to continue to thrive in 2017, they’ll have to do it without their top wide receiver. The team confirmed Monday that Allen Robinson suffered a torn ACL in his left knee Sunday and will miss the remainder of the season, per the Associated Press.
This seemed like the probable outcome for Robinson after he went down with a non-contact injury in the first quarter against the Texans and was quickly ruled out for the rest of the game. While the Robinson-less Jaguars still managed to coast to a 29-7 victory, having to make do without him for the remainder of the year will be a tall order.
Robinson posted at least 73 catches, 151 targets, 883 yards and six touchdowns in each of the previous two years, for one, and the Jags’ receiving corps already took a hit earlier this month when they placed rookie fourth-round pick Dede Westbrook on injured reserve. They’re now down to Marqise Lee and Allen Hurns, the latter of whom has fallen out of favor since last season, as their top options in a passing game that doesn’t inspire much confidence with Blake Bortles at the helm.
The 24-year-old Robinson, meanwhile, may have played his final game as a member of the Jaguars. The 2014 second-round pick is scheduled to hit free agency after the season and could’ve made a case for a monster contract with another big year. Instead, thanks to his knee injury, he’ll enter the offseason in a less-than-ideal position.
Rams Extend Johnny Hekker
The Rams have signed punter Johnny Hekker to a record extension that will tie him to the team for the next six seasons, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports (on Twitter). It’s a two-year deal featuring $10MM in guarantees, the most ever for a punter.
Hekker was already under Rams control through 2020 on the six-year, $18MM extension he inked in 2014. That deal still stands as a record pact for a punter and included $7.38MM in guarantees. Combining that accord and his new contract, Hekker stands to rake in $21MM through 2022, according to Schefter (Twitter link).
The 27-year-old Hekker has been resoundingly successful since the Rams pulled him off the scrapheap as an undrafted free agent from Oregon State in 2012. The seventh-year man has racked up three Pro Bowl bids and first-team All-Pro nods apiece, including in each of the previous two seasons, and was a second-team All-Pro in 2014. Hekker led the NFL in average yards per punt (47.9) two years ago and paced the league in net yardage per attempt (46.0) last season, when Football Outsiders ranked him as the game’s premier punter.
While the Rams cruised to a 46-9 rout over the Colts on Sunday, they still had to deploy Hekker five times in their season opener. He averaged 43.6 yards per boot on those kicks.
Andrew Luck To Miss Week 2
The Colts have already ruled out Andrew Luck for Sunday’s game against the Cardinals, coach Chuck Pagano told reporters on Monday. Pagano added that he does not know if the quarterback will be able to practice this week, further casting doubt on when he will be able to take the field again. 
Scott Tolzien got the start in Week 1 in place of Luck and it was not pretty. Tolzien is now 0-3-1 as a starter in his career after going 9-of-18 on passing attempts for 128 yards with two interceptions. He was also sacked four times behind the Ryan Kelly-less offensive line.
The Colts benched the veteran in favor of recently-acquired QB Jacoby Brissett in the fourth quarter and he ran a successful drive for a touchdown. Although the TD was ultimately meaningless, Brissett’s ability to lead the offense down the field versus Tolzien’s struggles cannot be overlooked. Pagano indicated that the team will consider starting Brissett over Tolzien against Arizona.
Both the Colts and Cardinals will be without their best offensive players when they meet. Arizona learned on Monday that running back David Johnson will be sidelined for an extended period due to his wrist injury.
Cardinals To Sign RB D.J. Foster
The Cardinals need a running back and an ASU alum is on his way to help. Arizona has signed D.J. Foster off of the Patriots’ practice squad, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. 
On Monday morning, the Cardinals learned that star David Johnson has suffered a dislocated wrist. Right now, the Cards are operating under the assumption that he’ll be out of action for approximately 12 weeks, meaning that he won’t be back on the field until December in a best-case scenario.
Foster missed the Patriots’ initial 53-man cut this year which wasn’t a huge surprise given their depth at the position. He signed on with the practice squad that same weekend, but it didn’t take long for another club to pry him loose.
Foster appeared in three games for New England last year. He totaled 24 yards off of seven attempts and also added one reception for two yards. His pass-catching ability may be his best quality – he had 59 receptions for 584 yards as a senior at ASU.