Saints Release DT John Jenkins
The Saints are releasing defensive tackle John Jenkins, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Now that we’re past the trade deadline, Jenkins will be subject to waivers before becoming a free agent.
At one point in time, Jenkins was a starter for New Orleans. This year, he was bumped to a reserve role and he apparently was not playing up to coaches’ expectations through the first half of this season. In seven games (one start), Jenkins has ten total tackles and zero sacks. Pro Football Focus has Jenkins rated in the bottom 20% of all qualified interior defenders this year.
Jenkins was only on the field for 33% of the Saints’ defensive snaps this season and was inactive for last week’s game against the 49ers. Now, the team will draw from a DT group of Nick Fairley, rookie Sheldon Rankins, David Onyemata, and Tyeler Davison.
Jenkins saw his salary boosted by about $1MM this year thanks to the proven performance escalator in his rookie deal. Initially due to reach the open this spring, the Saints are giving him a five month head start.
Vikings To Stick With Kicker Blair Walsh
The Vikings worked out multiple kickers today, but they won’t be signing any of them at this time. Minnesota is planning to stick with Blair Walsh, a league source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). 
In last year’s Wild Card round, Walsh missed a chip shot field goal at the end of the game and ended the Vikings’ season. Before that, he was 30-for-31 on field goal attempts inside of 30 yards for his career. Since then, Walsh’s struggles have continued.
Most recently, Walsh missed an extra point attempt and had a field goal blocked as the Vikings lost to the Lions 22-16. This season, Walsh is just 12-16 on field goal attempts, giving him a completion percentage that puts him in the bottom third of the NFL.
Kai Forbath and Randy Bullock were among the kickers to audition for Minnesota.
Dolphins Waive CB Bene Benwikere
For the second time in two months, Bene Benwikere is out of a job. The Dolphins are waiving the cornerback, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today Sports (on Twitter). The team has confirmed the move via press release.
In October, Benwikere was torched by Julio Jones for 228 yards as the Panthers fell to the Falcons. Days later, Carolina dropped the player who was projected to be their No. 1 corner this year. The Dolphins, who were 1-4 at the time, used their high waiver priority to grab Benwikere. Now, they’re throwing him back out on the waiver wire.
Before Miami grabbed Benwikere, the Redskins and Titans both put in claims on the 25-year-old. It stands to reason that they could consider him again.
This year, Pro Football Focus has Benwikere ranked as just the No. 96 corner out of 117 qualified players.
Vikings Activate QB Taylor Heinicke
The Vikings have released tight end MyCole Pruitt, as Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press tweets. The move will allow Minnesota to activate quarterback Taylor Heinicke. 
To date, Heinicke has spent the season on the non-football injury list after foot injury in July. Heinicke, 23, returned to practice earlier this month, starting the clock on a three-week window during which the Vikings must place him on the 53-man roster. The deadline was tomorrow, but Minnesota has decided to put him on the roster a day early. After recently waiving quarterback Joel Stave from the taxi squad, Heinicke should now have plenty of opportunities to shake off the rust in practice.
Pruitt suffered a sprained MCL late in the preseason and has been largely hampered by injuries this year. The 24-year-old has been cut after appearing in just two games this year.
Heinicke will now slot in as the No. 3 quarterback on the depth chart behind starter Sam Bradford and primary backup Shaun Hill. Meanwhile, the Vikings will now move ahead with three tight ends: starter Kyle Rudolph, Rhett Ellison, and rookie David Morgan II.
Lions Activate WR Corey Fuller From PUP
The Lions announced that they have activated wide receiver Corey Fuller from the PUP list. To make room, the team waived tight end Khari Lee. 
Fuller, 26, has appeared in 28 games for Detroit over the last two years. Unfortunately, he has been slow to recover from foot surgery but it now sounds like he’ll be able to suit up for Week 11 against the Jaguars. In total, Fuller has caught 18 of his 40 career targets for 288 yards and one touchdown. He’ll give Detroit a fifth receiver, something they haven’t really had all season long. The Lions have Golden Tate as their top WR target along with Golden Tate, Anquan Boldin, and Andre Roberts. It will be interesting to see where Fuller fits in with that group of big names.
Lee was claimed off waivers from Chicago in early September. The 24-year-old appeared in all 16 regular season games for the Bears and even made seven starts, but his role didn’t involve a ton of pass-catching. He was tasked with a similar job in Detroit as he drew just one target this year.
49ers Won’t Activate CB Will Redmond
49ers defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil announced that the team will not be bringing cornerback Will Redmond back from injured reserve this year. A few weeks ago, the team designated Redmond as its short-term IR player for the season, but he apparently is not healthy enough to take the field. 
Redmond, a third-round pick out of Mississippi State, tore his ACL last October. The defensive back showed plenty of talent while in college, but the 49ers still weren’t convinced that he was fully healthy. The cornerback was late to sign his contract and did not put pen to paper with SF until June.
The 22-year-old (23 in December) saw action in three seasons for the Bulldogs, playing in 27 games and making seven starts — all of which coming during the 2015 season. He made 25 tackles and two interceptions for Mississippi State last season, and despite the lack of experience as a starter, left school early.
49ers Cut WR Keshawn Martin
The 49ers announced that they have waived wide receiver Keshawn Martin. Taking his place will be fellow wideout Chris Harper, who was promoted from the practice squad. 
Martin missed the cut as the Patriots dropped down to a 53-man roster this year. A few weeks later, he hooked on with San Francisco on a two-year contract. It’s not clear whether there was guaranteed money in the deal, but we’re guessing that the Niners aren’t going to be on the hook for much, if anything.
Last year, Martin averaged 11.2 yards per reception with New England, though that came on a limited sample size of 24 receptions. Prior to the 2015 season, Martin spent his first three seasons with the Texans and saw the field in every regular season contest from 2012-2014. For his career, Martin has averaged 25.2 yards per kick return.
Harper was promoted to the 49ers’ varsity squad for the season opener but was dropped immediately after, leading him back to the SF practice squad. The 22-year-old (23 in December), bounced on-and-off the Patriots’ 53-man roster during his rookie campaign in 2015, and ultimately appeared in five games with the club.
Bills C Eric Wood Done For Season
Bad news for the Bills as center Eric Wood is done for the season. After last night’s game, coach Rex Ryan announced that Wood suffered a broken leg in the 31-25 loss to Seattle. 
Ryan was dejected as he told reporters the news, calling Wood “the best center in the league.” That statement may be sprinkled with a little bit of bias, but there’s no questioning that Wood is an integral part of the Bills’ offensive line. The advanced stats at Pro Football Focus have Wood rated as just the No. 29 ranked center in the NFL out of 34 qualified players with a slightly higher score for run blocking than pass blocking.
When Wood exited the game in the fourth quarter, tackle/center Ryan Groy was used in the middle. He figures to be the team’s starting center going forward and they may add another offensive lineman to the roster this week.
Earlier this year, Wood restructured his deal to help create about $2.5MM in 2016 cap room for Buffalo.
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Vikings To Audition Kickers
The Vikings are set to audition a group of kickers on Tuesday, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today (on Twitter). The workout will include Kai Forbath, tweets Matt Vensel of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Randy Bullock is also likely to be a part of that group, but it’s not clear who else will be participating. In total, there should be four or five kickers in attendance, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (on Twitter).
On Sunday, Blair Walsh missed an extra point attempt and had a field goal blocked as the Vikings lost to the Lions 22-16. This year, Walsh is just 12-16 on field goal attempts, though it should be noted that three of those misses came from more than 40 yards away.
Bullock was part of a group of kickers that worked out for the Bengals recently, along with Zach Hocker and Forbath. As of right now, the Bengals have not made a change at kicker and are forging ahead with Mike Nugent. Bullock served as the Giants’ kicker in the season opener while Josh Brown served his (initial) one-game suspension.