Today’s practice squad updates:
Atlanta Falcons
Denver Broncos
Jacksonville Jaguars
Los Angeles Chargers
New England Patriots
New Orleans Saints
Here is Tuesday’s summary from the workout circuit:
Atlanta Falcons
Chicago Bears
Houston Texans
Jacksonville Jaguars
Los Angeles Chargers
New England Patriots
New York Giants
Philadelphia Eagles
Seattle Seahawks
The Falcons’ fire sale is underway, but it sounds like Austin Hooper will be staying put. Even though the tight end is bound for unrestricted free agency as the Falcons look to manage salary cap issues, club officials still believe they can re-sign him this offseason, Jeff Schultz of The Athletic tweets. 
With that in mind, there’s little motivation for the Falcons to trade Hooper, who has been one of the few major bright spots for the Falcons during an otherwise dismal year. To date, Hooper has reeled in 46 catches for 526 yards and four touchdowns, putting him on pace to blow past last year’s 71/660/4 stat line. And, just a couple of weeks ago, he reminded everyone in Atlanta of just how dangerous he can be with eight catches, 117 yards, and a touchdown against the Rams.
Hooper, 25 in November, is earning just $2.025MM in base pay in the final year of his rookie contract. The 6’4″ target is in line for a major pay day in March, but the Falcons seem willing to be the ones writing the check.
There could be even more targets and opportunities for Hooper in the second half of the year. Mohamed Sanu, who drew 42 looks in seven games, was shipped to the Patriots on Tuesday morning in exchange for a second-round pick.
The Falcons have traded Mohamed Sanu to the Patriots in exchange for a second-round pick, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The deal gives the 7-0 Patriots even more offensive firepower and brings them a wide receiver that they’ve long coveted.
The Patriots were one of several teams looking to trade for Sanu during the draft. The Falcons brushed those clubs off, but things changed after their 37-10 loss to the Rams dropped them to 1-6 on the year. With days to go before the trade deadline, the Falcons jumped at the chance to build for 2020 and beyond.
Sanu missed out on a New Jersey homecoming when the Patriots steamrolled the Jets on Monday night, but he will get to reunite friends in New England, including former Rutgers teammates Jason McCourty and Devin McCourty. He also figures to pad the stat sheet. So far this year, Sanu has 33 catches for 313 yards and one touchdown. It stands to reason that with nine games to go on New England’s slate, he could top last year’s career high of 838 yards and find pay dirt many times over.
Speaking of pay – Sanu has two years to go on his current deal. The Pats will have him at a $7.65MM cap figure this year and a $7.9MM number in 2020, though they could theoretically release him without fiscal penalty next year.
With Sanu, the Patriots boast one of the scariest receiver groups in the NFL and enough weapons to (almost) make Tom Brady forget that Rob Gronkowski isn’t around anymore. The WR depth chart, at present:
Meanwhile, the Falcons figure to continue their fire sale between now and next Tuesday’s deadline. They’d like to move defensive end Vic Beasley and they figure to field offers for the likes of edge rusher De’Vondre Campbell and tight end Austin Hooper.
If the Falcons had their way, they’d trade defensive end Vic Beasley. However, it sounds like wideout Mohamed Sanu might be tougher to pry away. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that rival teams could pursue either of these players from the 1-6 Falcons, but one would naturally be easier to acquire than the other.
According to Rapoport, teams tried to acquire Sanu during the draft, but the Falcons resisted those overtures. With the team struggling and Sanu playing in the second-to-last season of his contract, some have wondered if the receiver could be available. The 30-year-old would naturally be attractive to teams that need a wideout. After setting a career high with 838 receiving yards last season, Sanu has hauled in 33 receptions for 313 yards and one score in seven games this season.
Beasley’s availability makes a lot more sense, as the 27-year-old is still set to make more than $6.5MM through the rest of this season. Plus, his onfield production hasn’t justified the money; after Pro Football Focus graded Beasley as its worst full-time edge defender in 2018, the former first-rounder is struggling again in 2019. In seven games, Beasley has compiled 14 tackles and 1.5 sacks.
We heard earlier this month that impending free agents like Beasley, De’Vondre Campbell and Austin Hooper are on some teams’ radars. Projected to be more than $10MM over the 2020 cap, the Falcons will almost certainly have to let some of these UFAs-to-be walk if they are not traded. However, the Falcons could fetch 2021 compensatory picks for them, potentially complicating trade talks.
The trade deadline is next Tuesday, October 29th.
With eight days to go before the 2019 trade deadline, here’s a look at the cap space possessed by each team, via ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter):
1. Colts: $43.5M
2. Browns: $32.9M
3. Dolphins: $28M
4. Bills: $24.7M
5. Cowboys: $24M
6. Titans: $23.7
7. Chiefs: $23.1M
8. Raiders: $22.4M
9. Eagles: $22.2M
10. Texans: $21.6M
11. Lions: $18.9M
12. Bears: $17M
13. 49ers: $14.4M
14. Panthers: $14.2M
15. Bengals: $13.6M
16. Redskins: $13.5M
17. Jaguars: $10.3M
18. Broncos: $10M
19. Packers: $9.5M
20. Seahawks: $7.8M
21. Buccaneers: $6.5M
22. Jets: $6.1M
23. Rams: $4.6M
24. Cardinals: $4.1M
25. Chargers: $4.1M
26. Steelers: $3.4M
27. Patriots: $2.5M
28. Giants: $2.2M
29. Ravens: $2.1M
30. Saints: $1.9M
31. Falcons: $1.7M
32. Vikings: $623K
The latest injury updates from around the league:
A look at the latest NFL practice squad moves:
Atlanta Falcons
Baltimore Ravens
Buffalo Bills
Chicago Bears
Kansas City Chiefs
Los Angeles Chargers
Los Angeles Rams
Minnesota Vikings
New England Patriots
New York Giants
Oakland Raiders
Philadelphia Eagles
Pittsburgh Steelers
San Francisco 49ers
Seattle Seahawks
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tennessee Titans
Washington Redskins
Here’s a rundown of early-week minor NFL moves:
Atlanta Falcons
Baltimore Ravens
Carolina Panthers
Chicago Bears
Cincinnati Bengals
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
Houston Texans
Indianapolis Colts
Miami Dolphins
Minnesota Vikings
New England Patriots
New York Jets
Philadelphia Eagles
Pittsburgh Steelers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Washington Redskins
While Falcons head coach Dan Quinn may be on the hot seat, it sounds as if he will have at least a couple more weeks to save his job. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says that club owner Arthur Blank wants to see progress over the next three games before Atlanta’s Week 9 bye, but if he does not like what he sees during that time, Quinn could be axed.
Atlanta, which was humiliated by the Texans last week, will take on the Cardinals in Arizona today, followed by difficult games against the Rams and Seahawks. Luckily for Quinn and his Falcons, the LA and Seattle contests are at home, but given the way Quinn’s club has looked this season, Atlanta will probably be underdogs for both of those matchups just the same.
But Blank does not like to make midseason coaching changes, and he would prefer to keep Quinn on until at least the end of the season. Rapoport says that Blank has not had discussions about Quinn’s future just yet, but that could change soon. Speculatively, it sounds as if the Falcons may need to beat the Cardinals and at least one of the Rams or Seahawks for Quinn to keep his job beyond the Week 9 bye.
After all, Quinn fired all three of his top coordinators this offseason and is now serving as his own defensive coordinator. The fact that the Falcons have allowed the second-most points in the league is not exactly helping his case.