Lions Re-Sign LB Josh Bynes
The Lions didn’t waste any time in finding a new linebacker after trading Kyle Van Noy to the Patriots, as the club announce that they’ve re-signed veteran Josh Bynes. Bynes had been on the free agent market since being waived from Detroit’s injured reserve list earlier this year.
[RELATED: Detroit Lions Depth Chart]
Bynes, 27, started 11 games for the Lions in 2015, racking up 54 tackles and five passes defensed. All told, Bynes has appeared in more than 50 games during his career with Detroit (and before that, Baltimore), acting mostly as a reserve and special teams option. He’ll join a Lions linebacking unit that boasts Tahir Whitehead and Armonty Bryant, and help cover for the absence of DeAndre Levy.
PFR reported last month that Bynes had reached a four-week injury settlement with the Lions. Under the NFL’s rules, a player must wait the duration of the settlement plus an additional three weeks before re-signing with the club that cut him. That period of time has now passed, so Bynes was free to rejoin Detroit.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/25/16
Today’s practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: WR Chris Hubert
- Cut: OT Martin Wallace
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: WR Dobson Collins
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: TE Gerald Christian, WR Mose Frazier, CB Joe Powell
- Cut: WR Corey Washington
Cleveland Browns
- Cut: OL Mike Liedtke
Detroit Lions
- Signed: OT Matt Rotheram
- Cut: RB Mike James
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: CB Keith Baxter
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: S Doran Grant (Twitter link via Howard Balzer), DT Louis Nix
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: DL Bobby Richardson
- Cut: LB Deion Barnes
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: DT Sterling Bailey, OT Austin Shepherd, DB Cedric Thompson
- Cut: TE Kyle Carter, TE Brian Leonhardt, QB Joel Stave
New England Patriots
- Signed: S Shamiel Gary, DT Anthony Johnson (Twitter link via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com)
New York Jets
- Signed: LB Reshard Cliett (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle)
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: OT Keavon Milton
- Cut: TE Rashaun Allen
Seattle Seahawks
- Cut: RB Zac Brooks
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: WR Donteea Dye
Washington Redskins
- Signed: WR Matt Hazel
Saints Waive Chris McCain
The Saints have waived defensive end Chris McCain, reports Herbie Teope of NOLA.com (Twitter link). McCain had just been promoted from the practice squad before Sunday’s game against the Chiefs.
[RELATED: Saints To Bring Sheldon Rankins Back From IR]
McCain, 24, is in his NFL third season, but hadn’t contributed much during his first two years in the league. He’s appeared in 20 games, but he’s been more of a special teams player than a defensive stalwart. McCain picked up a sack and a forced fumble in 2015, but only played on 113 total snaps (43 on defense).
Traded to the Saints days before the start of the regular season, McCain was subsequently waived and has bounced on and off New Orleans’ roster. He’s appeared in one game, but hasn’t registered a statistic.
Dolphins To Sign Bacarri Rambo
The Dolphins are signing safety Bacarri Rambo, a source tells Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (Twitter link). Miami worked out a group of safeties earlier today, including veteran James Ihedigbo, Major Wright, and Sergio Brown, but Rambo will be the defensive back putting pen to paper.
[RELATED: Miami Dolphins Depth Chart]
Rambo, 26, appeared in 15 games (eight starts) for the Bills last season, but wasn’t tendered as a restricted free agent once the year concluded. A 2013 sixth-round pick, Rambo began his career with Washington, playing 13 games for the Redskins over one-plus years before signing on with Buffalo midway through the 2014 campaign. All told, Rambo has posted 77 tackles and three interceptions during his three-year career.
The Dolphins had been on the lookout for defensive back help since losing safety Reshad Jones for the season last week. Rambo will join Michael Thomas and Walt Aikens as Miami’s options to play opposite Isa Abdul-Quddus.
Browns’ Josh McCown Could Return Next Week
Josh McCown has a “chance” to return to the field in time for the Browns’ Week 8 matchup against the Jets, head coach Hue Jackson told reporters, including Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link). Jackson added that Cleveland will evaluate the quarterback position further on Monday.
[RELATED: Cleveland Browns Depth Chart]
If McCown is able to go next week, it’s possible that he would start under center, given that Cody Kessler left today’s game against the Bengals with a concussion. If Kessler can’t clear the league’s concussion protocol by next Sunday, McCown would likely start if healthy. If McCown needs more time, Cleveland would start Kevin Hogan, who threw for 100 yards and rushed for 104 more today.
The Browns’ quarterback situation this season has almost become comical, as injuries have forced the club to run through a multitude of options. Robert Griffin III, McCown, Kessler, Charlie Whitehurst, Hogan, and wide receiver Terrelle Pryor have all seen time at QB as Cleveland tries to find a healthy signal-caller.
McCown, 37, went 1-7 as a starter for the Browns last season. In his one game under center for Cleveland this year, the veteran completed 20 of his 33 passes and threw two touchdowns with two interceptions.
5 Key Stories: 10/16/16 – 10/23/16
The Giants mishandle domestic violence. The Giants are one of the more respected franchises in the NFL, but they were embarrassed last week as they erred in dealing with the Josh Brown/domestic violence situation. After reports indicated 
that Brown had admitted to abuse in the past, New York first stood by its embattled kicker, who had already been suspended for the season opener. Once the pressure escalated, the Giants subsequently signed fellow kicker Robbie Gould, and Brown won’t kick for the club again. Brown has been placed on the exempt list, but other teams were irked by what they viewed as preferential treatment of Brown and the Giants organization.
Down goes Big Ben. Ben Roethlisberger suffered a torn meniscus in last week’s loss to the Dolphins, and now faces an absence of undetermined time. The Steelers QB has undergone surgery, and the club says it’s confident Roethlisberger isn’t dealing with a long-term injury. Still, one report indicates that Roethlisberger could miss as many as six weeks — another report this morning, however, said Big Ben could be back following Pittsburgh’s Week 8 bye. Landry Jones is filling in today against the Patriots, and will hold down the fort until Roethlisberger can return.
The return of Cutler? Brian Hoyer had been playing extremely well in the absence of Bears starting quarterback Jay Cutler, so much so that Cutler might have had a difficult time reclaiming his job. However, any questions Chicago 
may have faced subsided last week when Hoyer broke his non-throwing arm, meaning he’ll be shelved for some time. Cutler will take the reins once he returns from injury, but the Bears still plan to move on from him after the season.
Viva Las Vegas. The Raiders plan to officially file for relocation in January, and team owner Mark Davis appears to be moving full-steam ahead with his plan to move his club to Las Vegas. Nevada approved $750MM in public money for a $1.9MM domed stadium in Las Vegas, clearing a significant financial hurdle. Still, Davis would still need his other owners to approve such a move, but at least one report indicated that the league’s stakeholders could be agreeable to voting yes.
Packers reshuffle backfield. Green Bay placed Eddie Lacy — who had reportedly regained weight — on injured reserve last week, and with backup James Starks already hurt, the club needed a boost in its backfield. The Packers traded for the Chiefs’ Knile Davis, and promoted Don Jackson from the practice squad, but the real shot in the arm came from converted wide receiver Ty Montgomery. Lining up primarily in the backfield, Montgomery rushed nine times for 60 yards, and added 10 receptions for 66 yards.
NFL Interested In Developmental League
The NFL has continued to consider the possibility of launching a developmental league, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Such a league would serve as a training ground for players who currently aren’t getting many reps as they languish on the back end of rosters.
“We’ve talked about it,” commissioner Roger Goodell said last week. “Some of you may have heard we spent a fair amount of time at the [quarterly] meeting on what we call the 2020 plan, which is talking about how we plan for the future and the things we want to accomplish. One of them is obviously the game, and how do we improve the game? A developmental league could be something that we want to do to try to help develop players.
“We pick up on the rosters from the start of the season to the end of the season, probably three to four hundred players on average. Having those players ready to play as quickly as possible and developed so that their skill set’s furthered are all positive things about the long-term future of the game. I particularly have an interest in that and would like to make sure we’re evaluating that as something that can help improve the game and improve our players.”
As Florio notes, a developmental league would not only allow players to see more practice and game action, but serve as a venue for coaches, referees, and scouts to hone their craft. The key question, then, would be if such a league would be profitable. NFL Europe wasn’t, observes Florio, so the NFL eventually shut down that venture.
The Fall Experimental Football League (FXFL), which operated in 2014 and 2015, was intended to be something of a minor league system for the NFL, but the league ended its operations in September of this year.
Latest On Tony Romo
Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is no lock to return even in Week 8 following Dallas’ bye, and could quickly be ruled out for Week 9 as well, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. The club has “no expectation” that Romo will be ready to even serve as a backup when the Cowboys face the Browns in Week 9, sources tell La Canfora.
[RELATED: Cowboys, Doug Free Restructure Contract]
MRIs have continued to indicate that Romo is progressing well in his recovery from a preseason back injury, but the veteran QB hasn’t yet been cleared to practice. Romo, 36, could be forced to undergo more MRIs before he’s allowed to get back on the practice field, reports La Canfora. Once Romo is able to return, the Cowboys and head coach Jason Garrett would then be faced with a choice between Romo and rookie signal-caller Dak Prescott.
Prescott, of course, is playing exceptionally well thus far in his rookie campaign, and will force the Cowboys to make a tough call if and when Romo is healthy. Through six games, Prescott has led Dallas to a 5-1 record while completing 68.7% of his passes for seven touchdowns and one interception. The fourth-round rookie has added another three scores on the ground.
Rams Sticking With Case Keenum At QB
The Rams won’t make a quarterback change despite Case Keenum‘s poor performance against the Lions in London today, head coach Jeff Fisher told reporters after the game, per Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com (Twitter links). In fact, Fisher said he was more likely to alter his receiving corps than make a switch at QB.
[RELATED: Los Angeles Rams Depth Chart]
Keenum tossed four interceptions today against New York, including one on Los Angeles’ final offensive play as the club was attempting to drive and tie the game. An obvious miscommunication took place, as wide receiver Brian Quick broke off his route while Keenum threw the ball into the end zone and into the waiting arms of Giants defensive back Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Heading into today’s contest, Keenum had completed 62.5% of his passes for 1,417 yards, seven touchdowns, and six picks.
Having dropped three straight games, the Rams are now 3-4 and, pending the results of tonight’s game between the Seahawks and Cardinals, could be well behind Seattle in the NFC West. If Keenum continues to struggle, the calls for Los Angeles to play No. 1 overall pick Jared Goff will only get louder.
Giants To Sign Robbie Gould
SATURDAY, 8:20am: The Giants have officially announced the Gould signing.
THURSDAY, 7:14pm: Free agent kicker Robbie Gould is hopping on a plane tonight and will fly to London to meet up with the Giants, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Gould will be New York’s kicker on Sunday against the Rams.
[RELATED: Josh Brown Admitted To Domestic Abuse]
The Giants need a new kicker, of course, because incumbent Josh Brown won’t be traveling with the team after new revelations surfaced regarding his history of domestic violence. Brown, who was already suspended for the first game of the season, is now set to be investigated by the NFL and could be facing an even longer ban. As such, it’s possible that Gould could be Big Blue’s kicker for an extended period of time, per Rapoport (Twitter link).
Gould had spent the past 11 seasons with the Bears, converting 85% of his field goals and 99% of his extra points before being released earlier this year. After a disappointing 2014 campaign where he only made 12 appearances and finished with a career-low field goal percentage, the Gould seemed to have bounced back in 2015. Gould connected on nearly 85% of his field goals, and his kickoffs continued to be as consistent as ever.
However, Gould struggled down the stretch last season, and those inconsistencies carried into the 2016 preseason. In the team’s final preseason game, Gould missed a pair of extra points.