Derwin James To Undergo Surgery, Miss Extended Time
Chargers safety Derwin James will undergo surgery on his foot and is expected to miss roughly three months of action, according to Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network (Twitter link). It’s a stress fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his right foot, as we passed along on Friday. The injury occurred during practice earlier this week.
The team should have a firmer timeline after the surgery, though a mid-November return appears to be the most optimistic scenario. The surgery will be performed by ankle specialist Robert Anderson. Anderson is on the NFL’s Injury and Safety Panel.
James started all 16 games for the Chargers last season after the team drafted him in the first round out of Florida State. He was a strong candidate for the NFL’s Defensive Rookie Of The Year award last season, notching 105 tackles while adding 3.5 sacks.
“We’re going to miss him a lot,” Lynn said after the injury. “But we’re a team. We have a good team and we have guys that will step up, and we’ll be fine.
Jaguars Sign Elijah Hood, Cut Tanner Lee
The Jaguars are signing running back Elijah Hood, according to the team’s website. The franchise had planned on giving Alfred Blue a shot at the backup RB spot, though Blue suffered an ankle injury during the team’s second preseason game.
Hood was selected by Oakland in the seventh round of the 2018 draft. The Raiders cut him at the beginning of training camp last year and he caught on with the Panthers later in the summer. Hood tore his ACL during last year’s preseason and spent the season on injured reserve.
Jacksonville has released quarterback Tanner Lee to make room for Hood. Lee was a sixth-round pick in 2018 who mostly participated with the Jags’ practice squad. Rookie Gardner Minshew, who was selected in the sixth round this year, will man the QB spot behind Nick Foles.
Eagles To Sign Josh McCown
The Eagles will sign Josh McCown to man their backup quarterback spot, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (Twitter link). It’s a one-year, $2MM deal with $1.7MM in base compensation, a $300K signing bonus, and $3.4MM available through playing time incentives (Twitter link via SiriusXM’s Adam Caplan). 
Philadelphia entered the preseason with Nate Sudfeld and Cody Kessler competing for the No. 2 spot on the QB depth chart. Sudfeld broke his wrist during the team’s first preseason game while Kessler suffered a concussion during their second preseason contest. The franchise also has fifth-round pick Clayton Thorson on the squad. The rookie completed 16-of-26 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown in extended play vs. the Jaguars on Thursday.
Sudfeld is expected to return this season and his roster spot seems secure. Kessler’s future with the team is less certain with the McCown signing and it’s hard to envision a scenario where Thorson is on the squad come week 1.
With Nick Foles departing this offseason, the Eagles lacked a strong option at the back-up QB position. McCown, who spent the last two seasons with the Jets, will provide Philadelphia with a solid veteran who is capable of a spot start or two if needed.
McCown announced his retirement this offseason and was pursing a broadcasting career with ESPN. He’ll resume that career next year after serving as an insurance policy of sorts for Carson Wentz in Philadelphia this upcoming season.
McCown’s contract will be a one-year deal with a $2MM base salary that is fully guaranteed, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (Twitter link) hears that the deal could be worth as much as $5.4MM with incentives.
The Eagles will be the 40-year-old’s 10th team of his 17-year career. He spent the last two seasons with the Jets where he appeared in 17 contests for the club. McCown also previously spent time in the UFL, where he played for the Hartford Colonials.
Ravens Sign Kicker/Punter Cameron Nizialek
The Ravens have signed kicker Cameron Nizialek, according to the team’s Twitter feed. According to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic (Twitter link), Nizialek was brought in to ease the reps on Justin Tucker, so he doesn’t appear to be any threat to Tucker’s roster spot.
Nizialek, who is from Virginia, most recently played in the American Football Alliance before the league shut down. He can serve as both a kicker and punter, as he did the latter during his time at the University of Georgia. Baltimore waived punter Sean Smith earlier this week, so it’s possible Nizialek could make the team in that capacity.
Prior to his stop in Georgia where he was a graduate student, Nizialek spent four years at Columbia University. During his time in the Ivy League, he handled both kicking and punting duties.
Bucs Signed Jason Licht To Five-Year Extension
Buccaneers GM Jason Licht isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. According to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, the executive inked a five-year contract extension with the franchise this offseason.
The deal, which wasn’t reported until now, was signed in January just days after the team made Bruce Arians its head coach. Arians and Licht have been good friends for quite some time and Arians likely wouldn’t have joined Tampa Bay if not for their relationship. Arians’ deal is also for five seasons, so the Bucs have tethered the pair’s future together.
Tampa Bay hasn’t been great since Licht took over back in 2014. The team is 27-53 in the five seasons since he took the GM gig with poor defense and inconsistent quarterback play plaguing the team.
Arians is expected to help with the quarterback issues. He’s helped get the best out of a number of quarterbacks, including Andrew Luck and Carson Palmer. The defense is another story, as the Bucs finished dead last in defensive DVOA last year and didn’t make any major moves this offseason to improve their putrid pass rush.