Falcons DE Takkarist McKinley Says He Won’t Be Traded
The Falcons aren’t trading Takkarist McKinley…according to Takkarist McKinley. The defensive end took to Twitter this evening and said he’ll be staying in Atlanta.
“The Atlanta Falcons aren’t trading me,” McKinley tweeted. “They have declined a handful of offers.”
Of course, this could mean nothing, and the Falcons front office may currently be rolling their eyes as they continue to field calls for the defensive end. Alternatively, McKinley could also be passing along information he’s received firsthand from the front office (of course, we’d be wary of even taking that at face value).
If true, this will be a change of course from what we heard a few days ago. Last Wednesday, there were reports that the Falcons had discussed offers for the former first-rounder, and some teams were convinced he’d be dealt prior to tomorrow’s trade deadline.
Instead, it’s sounding like the 25-year-old will stick in Atlanta, at least for the time being. After declining his fifth-year option this past offseason, there’s a good chance the two sides go their separate ways in 2021. After all, McKinley has generally disappointed since being selected with the No. 26 pick in the 2017 draft.
While he combined for 13 sacks through his first two seasons in the league (not including a pair of playoff sacks during his rookie campaign), the defensive end managed only 3.5 sacks in 2019. He’s compiled only eight tackles and one sack in four games this season, and he hasn’t played more than 40-percent of his team’s defensive snaps since Week 1.
Lions Work Out Mohamed Sanu
The Lions will audition Mohamed Sanu on Monday afternoon (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Field Yates). Sanu could provide depth for the Lions i the wake of with Kenny Golladay’s hip injury. 
Sanu has bounced around quite a bit lately. The veteran underwhelmed in his eight regular season games (six starts) with the Patriots last year, hauling in 26 receptions (on 47 targets) for 207 yards and one score. He was also invisible during New England’s playoff loss to the Titans as he caught just one pass for eleven yards.
The Patriots dropped Sanu in the fall to save money, leading him to a reunion with Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco. That was short-lived — Sanu was let go in early October just as Deebo Samuel and Richie James returned to action.
Sanu isn’t the player he once was, but he still represents a solid midseason boost for a Lions team that could use an extra set of hands. Golladay is Detroit’s No. 1 receiver, and his skills were on full display recently in back-to-back 105 yard games. At minimum, he’ll be out for this Sunday against the Vikings. And, from the sound of it, he’ll need additional time to recover too.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/2/20
We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: S Darron Lee
- Released: LB Ahmad Gooden
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: WR Shelton Gibson
- Released: K Taylor Bertolet
Detroit Lions
- Signed: RB Dalyn Dawkins
- Released: DT Albert Huggins
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: C Evan Boehm
- Suspended: FB Bruce Miller (six games, PED violation)
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: TE Matt Sokol
Miami Dolphins
- Released: CB Cordrea Tankersley
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: TE Hakeem Butler, LB Rashad Smith
- Released: WR Marcus Green, LB Dante Olson
Washington Football Team
- Signed: CB Jordan Brown
Seahawks DE Damontre Moore Suspended Six Games
The Seahawks just bolstered their lackluster pass-rush by trading for Carlos Dunlap, but now the unit is getting hit with a blow to their depth. Defensive end Damontre Moore has been suspended for six games for violating the league’s PED policy, the NFL announced Monday.
A third-round pick of the Giants back in 2013, Moore had a couple of reasonably productive years in New York. He was waived in the middle of the 2015 season for violating team rules, then had stints with the Dolphins, Raiders, and Seahawks. He latched on with the Cowboys in 2017, and received a two-game suspension for a substance abuse policy violation while in Dallas.
He was in the ill-fated AAF for a while and then played in a couple of games with the 49ers last year after that league folded. He only re-signed with Seattle on September 3rd right at the start of the season, but he’s been playing a sizable role on defense so far. He’s played about 32 percent of the snaps through seven games, notching eight tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble. The Texas A&M product will be eligible to return in Week 15.
Lions Place Trey Flowers On IR
The Lions lost to the Colts on Sunday, and they picked up a couple of significant injuries while doing so. Defensive end Trey Flowers is going on injured reserve and as such will miss at least the next three games, the team announced Monday.
Meanwhile star receiver Kenny Golladay picked up a hip injury that will sideline him this week and have him week to week moving forward, sources told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). Rapoport noted in a follow-up tweet that IR is a possibility for him as well. The team views Flowers’ stint as a short-term one, Tim Twentyman of the team’s official site tweets.
It sounds like he’ll be back before too long, but it’s still a big blow. Signed to a five-year, $90MM pact last March, Flowers is the anchor of Detroit’s already underwhelming pass-rush. The former Patriot has two sacks and two forced fumbles through seven games this year. Fortunately the team just traded for Everson Griffen, and now they’ll really need him.
Golladay of course is the team’s top receiver, and this is a big setback for the offense. Golladay missed the first couple of games of the season with a hamstring issue, but had at least 105 yards in back to back games before going down against the Colts. Hopefully both will be back on the field as soon as possible.
Bears’ Javon Wims Suspended Two Games
The league is coming down swiftly on Bears receiver Javon Wims for the punches he threw at Chauncey Gardner-Johnson Sunday. Wims is being suspended for two games, the NFL announced Monday.
You can read the full explanation in the league’s release here. Wims was ejected after bizarrely attacking the Saints cornerback and swinging wildly at him. Wims told team officials that Gardner-Johnson spit on him and ripped his mouthpiece out earlier in the game prior to the incident, sources told Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link).
The Georgia product plans to appeal his suspension, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network notes (Twitter link). Gardner-Johnson apparently has a knack for getting under people’s skin, as he was on the receiving end of teammate Michael Thomas‘ punch during practice that got Thomas suspended for a game by the Saints.
Wims is a 2018 seventh-round pick from Georgia who played a significant role on offense last year. Appearing in all 16 games with six starts, he turned 39 targets into only 18 receptions for 186 yards and one touchdown. So far this year he has five catches for 35 yards and a score.
George Kittle, Jimmy Garoppolo Both To Miss Extended Time
The 49ers just can’t seem to catch a break. Already one of the most banged up teams in the league, San Francisco will now be without two of their most important pieces moving forward.
Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo aggravated the high ankle sprain that has been bothering him for weeks during their loss to the Seahawks Sunday and is expected to miss “an extended period of time,” sources told Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (Twitter link). Meanwhile Kittle has a “small fracture” in his foot and will also miss extended time, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets. Garoppolo is expected to be out a minimum of six weeks and “possibly longer” if he ends up needing surgery, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
In a follow-up tweet, Rapoport noted that it’s unclear if Kittle will be able to return this season. Either way, it sounds like both are headed for a stint on injured reserve (minimum three-game absences). Kittle is expected to be out eight weeks, Schefter tweets. It would be hard for things to be much worse from an injury standpoint for the defending NFC champions right now.
The 49ers have already dealt with significant injuries to key players like Nick Bosa, Deebo Samuel, Raheem Mostert, Richard Sherman, and many others. Nick Mullens played well in relief of Jimmy G agains Seattle and will presumably start moving forward, although he was temporarily replaced by C.J. Beathard as the number two a couple of weeks ago.
Kittle is one of the league’s best players and critical in both the run and pass games. He missed a couple of contests earlier this year with a knee injury. The NFC West is tougher than ever, and at 4-4 San Fran is in danger of slipping out of the playoff race. Their trade of Kwon Alexander for a draft pick Monday could signal they realize 2020 isn’t their year. Kyle Shanahan has gotten it done under bad circumstances in the past, but he really has his work cut out for him now.
Patriots DT Beau Allen Won’t Play In 2020
The Patriots have fallen to 2-5 after their fourth straight loss Sunday, and the hits keep on coming. Defensive tackle Beau Allen won’t play this season, head coach Bill Belichick announced Monday.
New England signed Allen to a two-year, $8MM deal back in March, and he won’t end up playing a down in 2020. The Patriots signed the big run-stuffer to help replace Danny Shelton, who signed with Detroit, but they placed him on injured reserve at the beginning of the season. It’s never been clear exactly what injury Allen is dealing with, and we still don’t have that information, so there’s some mystery here.
Without the projected starter the Patriots have been thin on the interior, and they’ve struggled to stop the run as a result, giving up the sixth-most rushing yards per game. A seventh-round pick of the Eagles in 2014 Allen spent his first four years in Philly, winning Super Bowl LII with the team. He then signed a three-year, $15MM deal with Tampa Bay in 2018, although the last year of that contract was voided.
Packers Expressed Interest In Antonio Brown
Antonio Brown has, of course, been reunited with Tom Brady in Tampa Bay. But before he signed the Buccaneers apparently weren’t the only NFC contender to express interest. 
The Packers made a call and “checked in” with Brown to “see if he would have any interest in going to Green Bay,” Adam Schefter of ESPN.com said Monday during an appearance on the Pat McAfee show (Twitter video link). Schefter makes clear that nothing was ever particularly close to happening, but it’s interesting nonetheless. Schefter reported a couple of weeks ago that a number of teams were digging into him, and it sounds like the Packers were one of those.
The Seahawks publicly acknowledged their interest a couple of times, and before now they were the only other identified suitor. Green Bay has struggled to find a consistent number two option in their passing game behind Davante Adams, so their interest makes sense.
The Packers are widely believed to be poking around available receivers ahead of tomorrow’s trade deadline, and they reportedly inquired on the Texans’ Will Fuller recently. It looks like Brown’s first choice was always to join Brady in Tampa, and nothing was going to sway him off that.Depending on how the embattled former All-Pro pans out with the Bucs, Packers fans will either be bummed they missed out or relieved that they dodged a bullet.
The Packers aren’t known as an organization that likes to take the most risks, and the fact that they reached out at all is a sign of the slightly more aggressive path new GM Brian Gutekunst has chosen after taking over a couple of seasons ago. Brown is eligible to make his 2020 debut this coming week against he Saints on Sunday Night Football after completing his eight-game suspension.
Chargers Trade Desmond King To Titans
The Chargers have agreed to send Desmond King to the Titans, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Los Angeles is getting a sixth-round pick back in exchange for the cornerback/return specialist. 
King, 26 in December, was a healthy scratch for Sunday’s game against the Broncos. Now, we know that the Bolts were safeguarding against injury in order to trade him before the deadline. There was speculation that the Cardinals would trade for him, giving them a potential Patrick Peterson replacement for 2021. Instead, the Titans have emerged with the former All-Pro returner.
A fifth-round pick in 2017, King broke out in 2018 with 62 tackles, three interceptions, a defensive TD, and ten passes defensed. So far this year, he hasn’t made the same kind of impact. At 2-5, the Chargers have opted to move on from him and recoup some value for ’21 and beyond.
Los Angeles has a ton of talent in their secondary, which made King more expendable. The Iowa product grew unhappy with his decreased role, and was vocal about it on social media.
It’s a nice low-risk move for the Titans as well, as they desperately needed help in their secondary. Young cornerbacks Adoree’ Jackson and Kristian Fulton are both hurt and unavailable at the moment, and Mike Vrabel’s defense has been getting torched.
They’re currently giving up the sixth-most passing yards per game, although that’s not all on the secondary as they’ve been unable to get much of a pass-rush going either. It wouldn’t be at all surprising if the Titans made another move on defense before tomorrow’s deadline, either for an edge rusher or another cornerback.