NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/7/19
Today’s practice squad updates:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: WR Sean Modster
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: DT Greg Gilmore
- Placed on IR: DT Bijhon Jackson
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: OT Antonio Garcia
- Released: DE Dewayne Hendrix
New York Jets
- Signed: DL Bronson Kaufusi
- Released: LB Jamey Mosley
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: WR Robert Davis
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Released: QB Taryn Christion
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: LB Demone Harris
- Released: WR Ishmael Hyman
Latest On Bengals’ A.J. Green
Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green has been ruled out for yet another week, coach Zac Taylor announced. Green is still expected to return, Taylor says, but his timetable remains murky. 
Here’s what we do know: Green won’t play against the Ravens this week. He’s still recovering from surgery to repair torn ligaments in his left ankle and will need more time before practicing, even though he shed his protective boot in September.
Green missed seven games last season. Already this season (including the Baltimore tilt), he’s down six games. It’s not what the 0-5 Bengals envisioned for this year, nor is it what Green envisioned as he looks ahead to free agency.
Green pushed for an extension prior to the season, but the two sides were unable to get anything done before training camp, when Green suffered the injury. Now, he’s in limbo – with a limp.
Green, one of the game’s most productive WRs since entering the league in 2011, earned Pro Bowl honors in each of his first seven seasons and has topped 1,000 yards six times.
Titans To Sign Cody Parkey
The Titans have a new kicker. The club will sign Cody Parkey after cutting ties with Cairo Santos, according to Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (Twitter link). 
Santos lost his job after missing four field goal tries in Sunday’s loss to the Bills. Enter Parkey, who hasn’t been heard from much since his split with the Bears in February.
The 27-year-old missed a potential game winner against the Eagles in the opening round of the playoffs following the 2017 season, putting him on thin ice. He later made an appearance on NBC’s Today show that rubbed head coach Matt Nagy the wrong way. The veteran struggled during the 2018 regular season, connecting on only 76.7-percent of his field goal attempts.
Next up for the Titans (and Parkey): a Sunday afternoon showdown against the Broncos in Denver.
Titans Drop Cairo Santos
The Titans have released kicker Cairo Santos, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. This doesn’t come as a big surprise after Santos missed four field goals in Sunday’s 14-7 loss to the Bills. 
Santos joined the Titans in early September, replacing the injured Ryan Succop. Since then, he’s missed five of nine field goal tries, with most of those misses coming on Sunday.
In seven games for the Bucs in 2018, Santos made 9-of-12 field goals and nailed all 17 of his extra points. Santos also saw time in a pair of games for the Rams last year.
Santos will now look to peddle his feet someplace else as the Titans move on to a new place kicker.
Injury Updates: Chiefs, Giants, Shepard
Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones suffered a groin strain in Sunday night’s game, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. After the results of his MRI come in, the Chiefs will know whether Jones will miss games.
Jones, 25, has two sacks through five games this year. Last season, he was phenomenal and finished with a career-high 40 tackles and 15.5 sacks. Pro Football Focus ultimately ranked him fifth among 112 interior defenders, with his pass-rushing score ranking second at the position.
While we wait to hear whether Jones will miss the Chiefs’ Week 6 game against the Texans, or anything beyond that, here’s more from around the NFL:
- Chiefs defensive tackle Xavier Williams has a badly sprained ankle, Rapoport tweets. It’s a certainty that he’ll miss time, but the timetable has yet to be fleshed out.
- Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard is back in the concussion protocol, yet again (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Dan Duggan). This is Shepard’s second concussion this season, so it could be a while before he gets back on the field. Shepard had five catches for 49 yards against the Vikings in Week 5, bringing his season stat line to 25/267/1.
- In more positive Chiefs news: guard Andrew Wylie (ankle) got good news on his Monday X-rays.
Patriots To Cut Benjamin Watson
That’s a wrap on Ben Watson‘s second stint with the Patriots. The Pats have declined to activate Watson and will release him, making him a free agent (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss). 
We’ve seen Bill Belichick tinker with the roster before, so it’s theoretically possible that Watson could return to the Pats later this season, perhaps at a cheaper rate. But, for the time being, the club will cut ties and save $2MM against the cap.
Watson, 38, missed the first four games of the season while serving a PED suspension. He returned to practice last week, but he was not added to the roster in time to face the Redskins on Sunday. The Patriots easily handled the Redskins, beating them 33-7 and sending Jay Gruden packing in the process.
For now, the Pats seem content to move forward with Matt LaCosse and Ryan Izzo as their tight ends. LaCosse played 73 offensive snaps for New England over the weekend and Izzo caught the first touchdown pass of his NFL career.
Redskins’ Bruce Allen On Firing Jay Gruden
Jay Gruden is out as the Redskins’ head coach. On Monday afternoon, president Bruce Allen discussed Gruden’s firing with the press and said that Gruden’s firing is “not for cause” – in other words, the team will not try to escape it’s financial obligations with Gruden by citing the recently circulated video of him allegedly smoking marijuana or anything else pertaining to off-the-field matters.
Here’s a look at more highlights from Allen’s presser.
Allen on why Gruden was fired
“It was necessary. Our 0-5 start is not just disappointing. We had much different expectations for the beginning of the season.”
Allen on why the team selected Bill Callahan as its interim head coach
“Under Bill’s leadership, the programs he’s going to put in, the discipline and execution, we believe we’re giving him the best opportunity to beat the Miami Dolphins, and the rest of the year.”
Allen on whether first-round pick Dwayne Haskins will take over as the team’s starting quarterback
“It’ll be up to Coach Callahan who plays at any position, the same way it was up to Coach Gruden who’s going to play. We’re thrilled to have Dwayne here. We think his future is really bright. Whatever gives Coach Callahan the formula for success [is], I’m sure he’s going to do.”
Allen on the team’s much-maligned culture
“The culture is actually pretty damn good.”
Jaguars TE James O’Shaughnessy Done For Year
Jaguars tight end James O’Shaughnessy suffered a torn ACL, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). A Monday morning MRI confirmed that he’ll need surgery once his swelling reduces. 
[RELATED: Jaguars Not Considering Jalen Ramsey Offers]
O’Shaughnessy is done for the season as a result of the injury and the Jaguars will place him on injured reserve to open up a roster spot. For now, the Jags will move forward with Geoff Swaim and Seth DeValve at tight end, plus third-round pick Josh Oliver, once he’s back from a hamstring ailment.
Before exiting Sunday’s game against the Panthers, O’Shaughnessy had three catches for a season-high 57 yards. His season ends after five games with 14 grabs for 153 yards and two touchdowns, including scores in wins against the Titans and Broncos.
Next up for the Jaguars: a Week 6 date with the Saints, in New Orleans.
XFL Draft Set For Next Week
Get your mock XFL drafts ready. On Tuesday Oct. 15 and Wednesday Oct. 16, the XFL will hold its first ever draft, allowing its eight teams to fill out its 71-man rosters.
Roughly 1,000 players are up for grabs and the draft pool will be formally unfurled on Friday. Landry Jones, and other quarterbacks, will not be a part of the general draft. Instead, one QB will be assigned to each club. After that, it sounds like backup QBs will be drafted by teams, though that’s not immediately clear from the XFL’s press release.
The draft will begin with the starting QB assignment, then unfold in five phases: (1) skill-position players; (2) offensive linemen; (3) defensive front seven; (4) defensive backs; and (5) open draft, for all positions and specialists. Ten players will be chosen in phases 1-4 and phase 5 will continue until all rosters are filled.
Teams will have just 90 seconds to make their picks, which should help move things along. The XFL’s inaugural season will commence in February 2020, with teams in Dallas, Houston, D.C., Tampa, Seattle, L.A., New York, and St. Louis.
Chargers Cut Trevor Williams
The Chargers released former starting cornerback Trevor Williams from injured reserve, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). It appears that Williams is healthy, or close to being healthy, because Schefter hears there’s a good chance that he’ll get claimed by another team. 
[RELATED: Chargers Place WR Dontrelle Inman On IR]
Williams was looking to bounce back from an injury-riddled 2018 campaign, but he landed on IR once again in September with a quad injury. After missing seven games with a knee malady, Williams has yet to see the field in 2019.
A UDFA out of Penn State, Williams started 15 Chargers games in 2017. It sounds like he’ll have more games, and possibly more starts, on the horizon in 2019.