Colts Sign QB Brad Kaaya Off Lions Practice Squad
The Colts signed rookie quarterback Brad Kaaya off the Lions’ practice squad on Tuesday, ESPN’s Mike Garafolo reports (Twitter link). 
It’s yet another move for the Miami product, who was drafted by the Lions and cut entering the regular season. He was then claimed by the Panthers on Sept. 3 and then released on Oct. 17. Detroit swooped in to reclaim him on Oct. 18, but was cut yet again just five days later. He rejoined the team and was assigned to the practice squad just days later and served there until the Colts snagged him.
With the Hurricanes, Kaaya appeared in 38 games in his first three seasons and amassed 9,968 yards before declaring for the draft following his junior season. Though he was projected as a third- or fourth-round pick in 2017, Kaaya slipped all the way to the sixth round.
With Andrew Luck set to return in 2018 and current starter Jacoby Brissett under contract through 2019, it seems unlikely Kaaya will contribute with the Colts in the future.
Saints Sign DT Tony McDaniel
After being released by the 49ers in mid-November, veteran defensive tackle Tony McDaniel has found a new home in New Orleans after signing with the Saints, Herbie Teope of The Times-Picayune writes. The team has placed defensive tackle John Hughes III to accommodate the signing, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
It is the 12-year lineman’s second stint with the Saints in 2017. McDaniel appeared in all four preseason games with the team before being released at the start of the season. He then signed with San Francisco and appeared in four games, making five tackles, before being released on November 13.
The Saints will mark the sixth team McDaniel has suited up for since entering the league in 2006 as an undrafted free agent out of Tennessee. After stays with Jacksonville and Miami, McDaniel enjoyed his breakout campaigns with Seattle in 2013 and 2014, winning a Super Bowl during that stretch. He made a stop in Tampa Bay, another round in Seattle before ending up with the Niners and Saints in 2017.
Jamaal Charles Wants Release From Broncos
After being held out of the Broncos’ Week 16 matchup with Washington, running back Jamaal Charles told Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post the team “might as well” release him. 
“I ain’t playing. Might as well,” he said. “No reason for me to just sit around and look at people play. It is what it is. I’m still going to be supportive of everyone on the team no matter what. I mean, they got my rights right now.”
The Broncos declared the veteran back inactive to get a look at rookie De’Angelo Henderson and could do the same when they take on Kansas City, Charles’ former team, in the season finale.
After an exceptional, albeit injury-riddled, career with the Chiefs that included four Pro Bowl selections and two First Team All-Pro nods, Charles signed a one-year deal with the Broncos in the offseason. Coming off multiple knee surgeries, he joined a crowded backfield that included C.J. Anderson and second-year back Devontae Booker and never established himself as the dominant force of years past. Through Week 16, Charles has tallied 69 carries for 296 yards and a touchdown.
Turning 31 years old on Wednesday, Charles is in the twilight of his career and hoping for a shot to catch on with a playoff-bound team. Broncos head coach Vance Joseph said releasing Charles has “not been a thought for us.”
Murray Suffered Third Degree MCL Tear
An MRI revealed that Titans running back DeMarco Murray has a third degree MCL tear, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). The veteran back believes he can play through the injury with the Titans aiming for a playoff spot. 
This is a change from Schefter original report on Sunday night that Murray sprained his MCL in the Week 16 tilt with the Rams. Murray’s status is still up in the air, with head coach Mike Mularkey saying on Sunday night the back was day-to-day and commenting on his toughness.
The Titans currently own the final wildcard spot in the AFC with an 8-7 record and just need a win vs. the Jaguars, or losses from both the Chargers and Bill, to get into the playoffs for the first time since 2008. Though in front for the final spot, Tennessee has dropped three consecutive games.
If Murray was to be held out of action, 2016 second-round pick Derrick Henry would assume the role of lead back. Henry has been the better back, out-gaining Murray by 34 yards on 36 fewer carries.
Collins Calls Eli Apple A “Cancer”
During an interview with ESPN Radio New York on Tuesday, Giants safety Landon Collins didn’t mince words about 2016 first-round pick Eli Apple when asked what changes he would make to the team’s secondary next season. 
“There’s one corner that … he needs to grow up, and we all know who that is,” Collins said. “That would be the only person I would change out of our secondary group. The other two guys, [Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie] and [Janoris Jenkins], I love those guys. They play hard, they love what they do. But that first pick, I don’t think … he’s a cancer.”
There is little doubt the corner in question is Apple, who has rubbed teammates the wrong way with his effor. In November, the cornerback nearly walked out of the Giants facility because he received criticism for his play vs. San Francisco. Later, Collins told reporters he had discussions with Apple about improving his play, which Apple later denied to the press.
Apple still has two more years fully guaranteed on his contract, but when the team’s two-time Pro Bowl safety and leader in the clubhouse wants you gone, it’s hard to see a scenario in which Apple can return to the team. Both Jenkins and Rodgers-Cromartie are candidates for release or trade once the team hires a new general manager and head coach.
Apple has played in 11 games this season with New York, registering 49 tackles and eight passes defensed.
Justin Pugh To Avoid Surgery
On Thursday, the Giants placed guard Justin Pugh on season-ending injured reserve with a back injury. The good news for the fifth-year lineman is that he will not require surgery, Newsday’s Tom Rock reports. 
Rock notes that Pugh, who is a free agent at the end of the season, could have played in his last game with the franchise that drafted him in 2013. With a new general manager and head coach in the future for the Giants, the new management could decide a new guard is also in the plans. Pugh is the longest-tenured member of the team without a Super Bowl ring.
Since entering the league, Pugh has started in all 63 of his games but hasn’t suited up for a full 16-game season since his rookie campaign. He appeared in eight games this season and graded out as the No. 52 guard in the league, per Pro Football Focus. Though he has endured a down season, Pugh placed in the top 20 among all guards in his previous two seasons.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/16/17
Here are today’s minor moves:
Buffalo Bills
- Signed off Raiders‘ practice squad: CB Breon Borders
San Francisco 49ers
- Promoted to active roster: CB Tyvis Powell
Fournette Ruled Out For Week 15
Jaguars rookie running back Leonard Fournette will not suit up for the team’s Week 15 matchup with division rival Houston, reports ESPN’s Chris Mortensen and Michael DiRocco. 
This doesn’t come as too much of a surprise after the burgeoning star did not practice all week due to a quad injury. In addition to that injury, DiRocco also notes Fournette is still suffering from a lingering ankle injury. In November, Fournette claimed the ankle could bother him the rest of the season.
At 9-4 entering the tilt with Houston, the Jaguars can clinch their first postseason appearance since 2007 with a win or a tie/loss and some help from a handful of teams. It isn’t ideal for the team that Fournette will miss the chance to clinch, but it has to make sure the star running back is close to 100 percent when they do enter the playoffs.
This will be the third game the LSU product has missed this season. He missed Week 7 with an injury and was inactive in Week 9 for violating a team rule. Chris Ivory and T.J. Yeldon will shoulder the load.
Jameis Winston Addresses Rift With Koetter
On Sunday, reports surfaced from NFL.com’s Ian Rappoport that the relationship between Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston and head coach Dirk Koetter was “not in a good place.” Winston addressed the reports before the team’s Week 15 showdown with Atlanta, saying, “there’s nothing to see here,” according to NFL.com’s Jeremy Bergman. 
Winston told reporters, including the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud (Twitter link), “When you lose, people are always trying to find something to nitpick and nag at, and definitely attacking the relationship of a head coach and a quarterback is a way to get this locker room in a panic. We don’t condone that at all.”
Rappoport attributed the fractured relationship to Winston not feeling supported properly when he was playing through an injury early in the season. Buccaneers offensive coordinator Todd Monken added his own thoughts to the source of the issue:
“You know what the strain is? The frustration of being 4-9. That’s a frustration. When you put everything into it, what you’ve got is a quarterback that’s very competitive, a guy that wants to be great and has had a frustrating year, probably some things on and off the field, and a head coach that does an unbelievable job coaching our players and quarterback. And that becomes news? Holy cow! News flash! We’ve got a strain in our relationship. There’s not one person that can’t say that’s ever happened before. That is a flat-out joke that that even becomes news.”
The Buccaneers entered the 2017 season with high hopes thanks to a young offense that appeared on the verge of breaking out. That hasn’t happened and it is easy to see why the team’s star quarterback would be frustrated. Whether the stain is the record or the lack of support, it’s a story that might not go away too soon.
Giants To Interview Interim GM Kevin Abrams
Giants interim general manager Kevin Abrams confirmed he will interview for the full-time job, reports Newsday’s Tom Rock.
A longtime assistant to former GM Jerry Reese, who was fired on Dec. 4, Abrams is expected to meet with owners John Mara and Steve Tisch some time next week though Abrams only confirmed it will take place before the season is over.
One piece of information that gives Abrams a leg up on the competition is the fact New York hasn’t hired a GM from outside the organization since it tabbed George Young in 1979. Abrams joined the Giants 15 years ago and has worked prevalently with the salary cap, though he claims, “I wasn’t raised to be a cap guy; it was just the opportunity that was given to me.”
Shortly after the firing of Reese, who had served as GM since 2007, the MMQB’s Peter King talked with several NFL executives who named Minnesota’s George Paton, Green Bay’s Eliot Wolf and Philadelphia’s Joe Douglas as three of the top new candidates from around the league. He also mentioned former Chiefs GM Scott Pioli and Ravens assistant GM Eric DeCosta among the veterans who could surface in the search.