Dolphins Activate RB De’Von Achane
The Dolphins have officially activated their electric rookie running back, De’Von Achane from injured reserve in advance of tomorrow’s matchup with the Raiders. The team announced the move along with a number of other Saturday transactions in preparation for Week 11. 
The rookie back was placed on IR in Week 6, a move which guaranteed at least a month-long absence. Achane was able to return to practice earlier this week in order to be activated as soon as possible. Head coach Mike McDaniel even hinted that Achane could have continued playing through the injury with a knee brace, but the team chose to exercise caution with the health of their 22-year-old phenom.
Achane has now missed the four games required for an IR stint and will hope to pick up where he left off. Before landing on IR, Achane displayed an outstanding three-game stretch in which he accounted for 518 scrimmage yards and seven touchdowns. He returns to a position group that has been anchored by Raheem Mostert in his absence, with Jeff Wilson and Salvon Ahmed serving as change of pace backs.
Miami had waived wide receiver Robbie Chosen in anticipation of Achane’s activation, but the team will bring him back on a practice squad contract and elevate him on Sunday as a standard gameday elevation. In order to make room for the veteran receiver, the Dolphins released running back Jake Funk from their practice squad. Offensive guard Chasen Hines will join Chosen as a practice squad elevation for tomorrow.
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/17/23
Today’s only minor moves:
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed to active roster: T Jason Peters
Free Agent
- Retired: C Daniel Munyer
The Seahawks signed Peters to their practice squad early on in the year after seeing starting right tackle Abraham Lucas head to injured reserve. The team opted to start Stone Forsythe in Lucas’ place, but eventually, Forsythe started dealing with some issues of his own, missing parts of the Seahawks’ last three games. Peters had been a standard gameday elevation for the last three weeks. In order for him to be called into game action any more this year, a move to the active roster was necessary. The post by Peters’ representation claims that he’ll be on the active roster for the remainder of the season, but there’s still a chance that after this week, Seattle could waive Peters and re-signed him to a new practice squad deal that would allow him to be called up three more times. With all players hitting the waiver wire after the trade deadline, though, they would have to count on no other teams making a claim on him for him to return.
Munyer announced his retirement in an Instagram post this evening. Having most recently played for the Titans, the former undrafted free agent out of Colorado started one game in his career (for the Cardinals) while making an appearance in 21 total contests over his time in Tennesse, Arizona, and Kansas City. A reason for his departure from the league was not proffered, as he solely stated in the caption of the photo that he is “on to the next chapter.” From all of us here at Pro Football Rumors, good luck to Munyer on all his future endeavors.
49ers Work Out CB Jason Verrett
After 32-year-old cornerback Jason Verrett parted ways with DeMeco Ryans, who served as his defensive coordinator in San Francisco and his head coach in Houston, Verrett looked to return to his home of the past four years. The 49ers hosted Verrett for a workout this week, and according to Nick Wagoner of ESPN, the team is hoping to add the veteran to their practice squad. 
Verrett, a former first-round pick for the Chargers back in 2014, has had a career defined by injury. Currently in his tenth season of NFL play, Verrett has never appeared in every game of a season. In fact, he’s only appeared in at least half of a team’s games in any given year twice. Not counting the time he’s spent on the Texans’ practice squad this season, Verrett has only made an appearance in 40 of a possible 146 career games.
In his rookie year, it was a shoulder injury as he would require surgery for three labrum tears and a tear to his rotator cuff, missing 10 contests due to the injuries. In a Pro Bowl sophomore campaign, Verrett missed one game with a foot injury before sitting out of the team’s season finale. In 2016, Verrett started the first four games of the season but is believed to have played through a partially torn ACL for the latter half of that time before being placed on season-ending injured reserve. After a Week 1 start in 2017, continued knee soreness forced Verrett towards another surgery that would hold him out for the remainder of that season. His 2018 season was over before it began after Verrett suffered a torn Achilles tendon on the first day of training camp.
In 2019, San Francisco took a flier on Verrett. Unfortunately, they would only get 14 snaps out of the defensive back before he was placed on season-ending IR with an ankle injury. 2020 finally saw a return to play for Verrett. He started 13 games for the 49ers, broke up seven passes, and intercepted two. His lucky streak would end there, unfortunately, as Verrett would tear his ACL once again in a Week 1 start of the 2021 season. He spent the first two months of the 2022 season on the physically unable to perform list as he continued to recover, but about two weeks after his activation, Verrett would once again tear his Achilles tendon, ending his season early for an appalling seventh time and marking the second season in his career in which he would fail to make a regular season appearance due to injury.
According to David Bonilla of 49ers Web Zone, head coach Kyle Shanahan admitted to keeping track of the updates to Verrett’s recovery from the Achilles injury during his time in Houston. “I heard they were good in Houston,” Shanahan said about the reports on his former player’s injury. “And they’ve been, when we worked him out, everyone said it was good…so it’s amazing that he’s even back and able to do that stuff. So, if we got a chance, we’d love to get him in here.”
It sounds like the team is optimistic about where Verrett’s health is at during this stretch of his career, but there may be a bit of homework left to do. Shanahan told reporters that while they “don’t have him signed yet,” they’ll “work through that over this weekend and see how it ends up for next week.”
Regardless of his injury history, Verrett’s perseverance made him a locker room favorite among 49ers players. His impression on the team over the years was so strong that there were reportedly seven or so of his former teammates watching and supporting him during his tryout. If he gets to rejoin them in the locker room, it sounds like we’ll find out about it sometime after the weekend.
Joining Verrett in a team tryout today was free agent quarterback Chris Streveler, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Streveler, who started a game for the Jets last season, also has in-game experience with the Cardinals. New York waived the 28-year-old during the preseason this year.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/17/23
Friday’s only practice squad transactions:
Chicago Bears
- Signed: OL Doug Kramer
- Released: G Matt Farniok
Houston Texans
- Signed: WR Jared Wayne
Kramer returns to Chicago after spending a little over a week in Arizona. The Cardinals had claimed Kramer after he was waived in order to make room for left tackle Braxton Jones on the Bears’ active roster. Arizona waived Kramer on Wednesday, and after clearing waivers, Kramer has found his way back to Chicago.
Farniok should find his way onto someone’s roster. The third-year interior lineman started two games for the Cowboys last year and appeared in 19 games over his first two seasons.
Giants Not Ready To Give Up On QB Daniel Jones
The Giants 2023 NFL season has seemingly gone off the rails. After snapping their four-game losing streak from earlier in the year, New York has started a new losing streak, dropping their last three contests. Their 2-8 record currently qualifies them for the second-overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. With USC quarterback Caleb Williams and North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye likely to be locked in as the first two college passers taken in the draft, are the Giants going to pass up a top college arm in the top 2? 
According to Ralph Vacchiano of FOX Sports, “it’s far from guaranteed that the Giants would actually” draft Williams or Maye to replace starting quarterback Daniel Jones. There are several factors that play into the team’s loyalty to the veteran passer, but essentially, they haven’t given up on hopes that he will be the long-term answer for New York at quarterback.
The first clear sign of this is the fact that, only four months ago, the Giants signed Jones to a four-year, $160MM contract extension. The team expressed their support for the 26-year-old at that point, and though things haven’t panned out thus far, they’re not ready to give up on him yet.
Jones earned that extension after showing tremendous improvement under the tutelage of new head coach Brian Daboll and new offensive coordinator Mike Kafka last year. The new coaching took some of Jones’ biggest weaknesses, namely turnovers, and turned them into a strength. After throwing 29 interceptions and fumbling the football 36 times in his first three seasons, Jones led the league in lowest percentage of pass attempts resulting in an interception after throwing just five picks and fumbled the ball a career-low six times in 2022. Beyond that, Jones teamed up with his backfield mate, running back Saquon Barkley, to lead the Giants to their first postseason berth since 2016.
This year, the results have been drastically different, but realistically, the coaches and front office aren’t viewing the numbers in a vacuum. Sure, the team has the league’s second-worst record and only won one game in which Jones started, and yes, Jones’ touchdown-interception ratio of 2-6 and four fumbles in six games seems to show a regression of his strongest traits from last year, but these statistics aren’t solely the result of Jones’ play. First, of his six starts, three of them were without Barkley by his side and four of them were without starting left tackle Andrew Thomas protecting him. Second, a porous offensive line has led to the veteran passer taking a battering.
“It’s almost an unfair evaluation,” an NFC scout told Vacchiano. “He was getting battered. He had no time to run an offense before the rush was in his face. He didn’t look good, I’m not excusing him, but he didn’t have much of a chance. And I think (the Giants) know that.”
The disastrous offensive line resulted in Jones taking a beating. Whether related to the constant pressure or not, Jones ended up suffering a neck injury that would hold him out for three games. His short-lived return to play ended with him tearing his ACL, taking him out for the remainder of the season. Injuries, both to himself and to his teammates, paired with poor offensive play around him led to a decline in Jones’ performance this year. The Giants understand that and will likely continue giving him a chance to show he’s a franchise quarterback.
That decision also proves to be a bit self-serving for Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen. Despite the duo leading the team to the playoffs in their first year at the helm, Vacchiano states that in today’s cutthroat NFL, a serious step backward might not be something to two staffers could afford. Making the move to draft and rely on a rookie quarterback very often can result in a step backward, and after the disappointment of this season, another year of regression has the potential to spell doom for Daboll and Schoen. That being said, Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Report made it clear that, “barring something drastic,” both will return with Jones in 2024.
Still, the two aren’t ruling anything out. While proclaiming their faith in Jones, the Giants are still actively doing their homework on Williams and Maye. Schoen has reportedly already seen both college passers in person, and the personnel department will likely continue keeping a close eye on the two. Especially with the current unknown of Jones’ recovery time, quarterback may become a big offseason need for New York if Jones isn’t expected back in time for camp.
It’s an ugly situation and a difficult decision for the Giants to make. And, as of now, it’s not one they’ve decided on yet. They have reason and need to rely on Jones going forward, but it may become necessary at some point to bolster the position, just in case. They’re not ready to give up on Jones yet, but they need to be prepared to face that possibility should it arise.
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/15/23
Wednesday’s minor roster moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Waived: OL Doug Kramer
Cleveland Browns
- Designated for return from IR: G Michael Dunn
Dallas Cowboys
- Designated for return from IR: TE Peyton Hendershot
Detroit Lions
- Signed to active roster: LS Jake McQuaide
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Designated for return from IR: WR Parker Washington
Las Vegas Raiders
- Designated for return from IR: S Roderic Teamer
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed off Giants’ practice squad: OLB Justin Hollins
- Designated for return from NFI: S J.T. Woods
- Placed on IR: OLB Chris Rumph (story)
New York Jets
- Designated for return from IR: TE Kenny Yeboah
San Francisco 49ers
- Placed on IR: G Nick Zakelj
Tennessee Titans
- Claimed off waivers (from Panthers): G Calvin Throckmorton
- Placed on IR: LB Chance Campbell
So far this year, Zakelj, the second-year interior offensive lineman, has only appeared in four games on special teams, but the team intended for him to compete with free agent signing Jon Feliciano for the backup center job behind starter Jake Brendel. With Aaron Banks out last week, and with the coaches wanting to get Feliciano more involved at right guard anyway, according to Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports, Zakelj became a key backup at center. Unfortunately for Zakelj and the 49ers, a torn bicep will require surgery, taking Zakelj out for the remainder of the season.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/15/23
Today’s practice squad moves:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: TE Jordan Matthews
Dallas Cowboys
- Placed on practice squad IR: C Billy Price
Houston Texans
- Released: CB Jason Verrett
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: TE Stephen Anderson
New York Jets
- Signed: DT Tanzel Smart
- Released: CB Craig James
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: DT Breiden Fehoko
- Released: LB Tyler Murray
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: DT Spencer Waege
- Released: DE Austin Bryant
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: DT Ross Blacklock
Price was brought in to serve as center depth after an injury to starting center Tyler Biadasz. He ended up losing the backup center job to Brock Hoffman, who has played in nine games and started one of them for the Cowboys this year.
Verrett, a veteran cornerback, has been stuck on the Texans practice squad for just over a month now without making an appearance. Despite following former defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans to Houston, he reportedly didn’t fit the plan for the team moving forward, mostly due to the fact that he doesn’t play on special teams. This extends Verrett’s NFL absence as he has still not seen regular season action since September of 2021.
Patriots Unlikely To Pick Up QB Mac Jones’ Fifth-Year Option
The NFL career of Patriots quarterback Mac Jones started off hot. Following two years of apparent regression, though, he’s putting himself in a tough position for the future. With the team’s decision of whether or not to pick up the third-year passer’s fifth-year option looming this offseason, Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald finds it hard to believe that New England opts in for the extra year. 
After a Pro Bowl rookie campaign that saw Jones lead the Patriots to the playoffs while throwing for 3,801 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions, New England has struggled to match that success. In three fewer starts the next year, Jones would go 6-8 as a starter, throwing for just under 3,000 yards with 14 touchdowns to 11 interceptions. This season, his yards per game has continued to decline while he now holds an even ratio of 10 touchdowns to 10 interceptions.
Now, there are a few different areas that could contribute to this decline in performance. While Jones enjoyed some consistency in his receiving corps over his first two years in New England, his cast of receivers looks a bit different this year. The team allowed Jones’ favorite target, Jakobi Meyers, to walk in free agency, opting to replace him with free agent addition JuJu Smith-Schuster. Meyers has shown his usual consistency in Las Vegas, while Smith-Schuster has looked like a shadow of his former self, only racking up 140 yards in seven starts this year.
Another issue could potentially be the lack of consistent instruction. After playing under offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels in his rookie year, Jones led an offense devised by a strange mix of Bill Belichick, senior football advisor (and former defensive coordinator) Matt Patricia, and offensive assistant (and former special teams coordinator) Joe Judge. This year, Bill O’Brien has led the charge as offensive coordinator.
In reality, the excuses don’t amount to much. In a league that very much values the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately mindset, Jones hasn’t done much this year. In fact, with Belichick’s future with the franchise in doubt, what Jones has shown the league becomes that much more important. Jones won’t get the benefit of familiarity if an outside coach and a new general manager come in and look at his total body of work.
If those new team leaders look at this season alone, Jones has been benched three times, the third coming in today’s loss to the Colts. Kyed asserts that, if New England had better backup options behind him, Jones wouldn’t even be starting anymore after three benchings. The first two came in contests that were so out of range for the team that the move could’ve been viewed as protective of their starting passer. Today’s game, though, was very much in range. When the Patriots had an opportunity to drive down the field for a game-winning touchdown, Jones found himself on the bench as backup quarterback Bailey Zappe was shouldered with the task of leading the team to victory.
“To make people believe, you have to be better,” Jones told reporters when asked if he felt Belichick still believed in him, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “I’m not sure. I don’t know.”
In terms of what all of this means for the fifth-year option of Jones’ first-round rookie contract, it’s hard to believe that the Patriots are ready to commit to Jones for this current 2023 season or the 2024 season next year, let alone 2025. There’s still plenty of time this year for Jones to turn things around and prove that he deserves more time, but if Belichick is truly on his way out, Jones will just need to be that much more convincing for the next crew who takes over.
NFL Injury Roundup: Saints, Watson, Heinicke, Thibodeaux
The Saints played much of the second half of their loss to the Vikings today without quarterback Derek Carr after the veteran passer took a nasty-looking hit from Danielle Hunter. It was announced that he was out for the remainder of the game with an injury to his throwing shoulder and that he was being evaluated for a concussion, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
Further reports, provided by Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football, claimed that while the initial belief is that Carr avoided a major shoulder injury, he will undergo more tests in order to determine the severity. Head coach Dennis Allen told the media that Carr was only held out of the game because of a concussion, per ESPN’s Katherine Terrell, and refused to comment any further on the situation.
In Carr’s absence, former starter Jameis Winston performed admirably. He only completed just over half of his pass attempts for 122 yards and threw two interceptions, but he also threw the team’s two touchdowns in order to bring the Saints within spitting distance of the Vikings. Despite Winston’s seemingly superior effectiveness, Allen assured the media that, when Carr is healthy, there is no quarterback competition.
Lastly, veteran cornerback Marshon Lattimore left the game, as well, with what is believed to be an ankle sprain, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. He will undergo an MRI tomorrow in order to determine the severity of his ankle injury.
Here are a few other injury updates from around the NFL:
- Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson was forced to leave the field at times today during the Browns come-from-behind victory over the division-rival Ravens. He suffered an ankle injury late in the first half of the contest and, though he remained in the game for stretches at a time, he was noticeably limping at times. After the game, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reported that Watson was in a walking boot. Watson claimed that while “he doesn’t feel great now…(he’ll) be fine” and should be ready to go next weekend.
- Yet another quarterback was forced to leave their game today due to injury when the Falcons‘ new starting passer, Taylor Heinicke, was forced to leave early in the fourth quarter with a hamstring injury, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. This required Atlanta to return to former starter Desmond Ridder for the remainder of the contest. Ridder was fairly effective, leading the Falcons on a touchdown drive before failing to convert the two-point attempt that would’ve given the team a three-point lead. The team would go on to lose by those two points after Arizona kicked a game-winning field goal. This likely doesn’t change the team’s quarterback situation, if Heinicke is healthy enough to play, but hamstring injuries can be lingering and might open up more opportunities for Ridder.
- In a blowout loss to Dallas this afternoon, Giants outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux was knocked out of the game with a concussion, per NFL Network’s Jane Slater. Thibodeaux’s absence opened up some playing opportunities for Boogie Basham, who saw an increased role due to injuries last week, as well.
Latest On Bengals’ WR Corps
NOVEMBER 12: Chase will be active for today’s bout with the Texans. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says that Chase “did what was necessary” in his warmups this morning to get the green light.
NOVEMBER 11: Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow will be a bit shorthanded coming into a battle with an excited Texans team. We know that much. We learned yesterday that the team’s second-leading receiver, Tee Higgins, will be held out as he deals with a hamstring injury. Today, it was confirmed that rookie receiver and return specialist Charlie Jones, who has been on injured reserve for Cincinnati’s last five games, has been downgraded from questionable to out, per Jay Morrison of Pro Football Network. 
Already down two wide receivers, things could potentially become even more dire for the Bengals offense if star wideout Ja’Marr Chase is unavailable to play tomorrow. According to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, Chase, who is listed as questionable after being limited in practice while dealing with a back injury, will be a true gametime decision, working out Sunday morning in order to determine whether or not he will be able to play.
If Chase is unable to go tomorrow, that will leave Cincinnati with an active roster lineup of Tyler Boyd, Trenton Irwin, and sixth-round rookie Andrei Iosivas. That trio has combined for 51 catches, 424 receiving yards, and four touchdowns. Chase alone has 64 receptions for 697 yards and four touchdowns. His presence against the Texans could be crucial in keeping a hot Bengals team rolling.
Knowing that they will be extremely short-staffed, Cincinnati has elected to promote two practice squad wide receivers as their standard gameday elevations, choosing Stanley Morgan and undrafted rookie Shedrick Jackson. Morgan has been with the team for the last five seasons, catching five balls for 29 yards over that time. Jackson would be making his NFL debut tomorrow after averaging 13.2 yards per catch over a five-year college career at Auburn.
We should know more tomorrow about the Bengals’ full situation at wide receiver, most notably Chase’s availability. Burrow and the rest of the offense will have to be at their best knowing that the wide receiver corps will be a bit thin.