Vikings To Sign Josh Doctson
The Vikings have agreed to sign Josh Doctson, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The Vikings initially elected to keep four receivers on their roster, but Doctson will occupy the fifth spot to support Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen, Chad Beebe, and Olabisi Johnson.
Fun fact: Doctson was selected one spot ahead of Laquon Treadwell in the 2016 draft. The Vikings dropped Treadwell over the weekend and, effectively, swapped him for Doctson.
Doctson has history with Kirk Cousins, which suggests that he could be in line for more targets than your average WR5. On the other hand, they didn’t exactly set the world on fire either – in 18 games with Cousins at QB, Doctson caught just 37 balls for 568 yards and six scores.
Doctson has started 26 games over the past two years for Washington, but this has only resulted in 79 total catches for 1,034 yards and eight touchdowns. Last year, he placed 96th out of 107 qualifying wideouts in yards per route run last season, according to Pro Football Focus.
In a corresponding move, Minnesota released center Brett Jones, though Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets that the Vikings could end up re-signing Jones at some point if he is not signed by another club.
Seahawks Re-Sign Jaron Brown
The Seahawks brought back Jaron Brown, just one day after releasing him. The veteran will take the place of tight end Ed Dickson, who has been placed on injured reserve.
Brown was one of the most surprising cuts of Sunday, since he is projected to serve as the team’s No. 2 wide receiver while D.K. Metcalf recovers from his knee injury. Alas, the Seahawks had him in the plans all along and simply put him in limbo for a moment so that they could leave the door open for Dickson to play.
Doctors believe that Dickson could recover in time to return this season. In the near term, they’re expected to use tackle George Fant at tight end on occasion to help fill in the gap.
Broncos Place Lock, Butt, Riddick On IR
The Broncos have placed quarterback Drew Lock, tight end Jake Butt, and running back Theo Riddick on injured reserve, per a team announcement. All three will be eligible to return to game action after eight weeks, but the Broncos can only activate up to two players from IR, not the whole trio.
The moves will clear the way for three signings: linebackers Keishawn Bierria and Corey Nelson and cornerback Davontae Harris. Bierria and Nelson (see story here) will receive one-year deals while Harris gets a two-year pact.
If all three players return to full health, and Joe Flacco plays well, Butt and Riddick could be the leaders in the clubhouse for the Broncos’ IR-DTR spots.
Texans To Sign Logan Paulsen
His name was Logan Paulsen, and he was cut by the Falcons over the weekend. On Monday, he agreed to a brand new deal with the Texans, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter).
The 32-year-old joined the Falcons in the 2018 offseason and proceeded to appear in 15 games (ten starts). The tight end didn’t contribute much in the passing game, finishing with nine catches for 91 yards and one touchdown. However, Paulsen did contribute as a blocker, with Pro Football Focus giving him solid grades for his pass-blocking. Ultimately, the site ranked the veteran 39th among 70 eligible tight ends.
Paulsen has had previous stints with the Redskins, Bears, and 49ers. Now, he adds a new jersey to his collection with an opportunity to catch passes from Deshaun Watson. As of this writing, the Texans have Jordan Akins, Jordan Thomas, Darren Fells, third-round pick Kahale Warring, and Jerell Adams on the 53-man roster. In the coming hours, one of those TEs will likely be displaced.
Browns Re-Sign Greg Robinson
One of the most surprising cuts of Sunday has been un-done. The Browns re-signed Greg Robinson, per the league’s transactions wire.
Robinson was, and is, expected to start at left tackle for the Browns. However, in order to reshuffle their roster, they exploited the vested-veteran loophole regarding guaranteed money. Because Robinson was not subject to the waiver wire, they were able to take advantage and come away with the 53-man roster they wanted.
The former No. 2 overall pick has not come close to living up to that draft slot, but he did well in the Browns’ first post-Joe Thomas season. He’ll look to build off of that this year following his 24-hour unemployment stretch.
Raiders Place Nathan Peterman On IR
The Raiders placed quarterback Nathan Peterman on injured reserve, per a team announcement. With that, the Raiders are back to having three quarterbacks: Derek Carr, Mike Glennon, and newcomer DeShone Kizer.
The Raiders claim of Kizer on Sunday was something of a head-scratcher, but now it makes perfect sense. There’s no word yet on Peterman’s injury, but he’ll now get at least two months of rest. Even if he’s able to play, he might stay parked on IR for the entire season, barring injury to Carr, Glennon, or Kizer. Teams are only permitted to bring two players back from IR each year and they’ll probably have better candidates to choose from than the No. 3 QB.
Peterman was counted out by many, but he came roaring back in the preseason by completing 60 of 84 passes for 475 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions across four games.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/2/19
We’ll keep track of Monday’s practice squad moves here:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: LB Jamal Carter, WR Brandon Powell
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: G Sam Jones
- Released: QB Drew Anderson, WR A.J. Richardson
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: QB Davis Webb, WR Tyron Johnson, LB Nate Hall
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: OT Wyatt Miller
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: WR Ventell Bryant, QB Clayton Thorson
Detroit Lions
- Signed: LB Jason Cabinda
- Released: TE Austin Traylor
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: LB Jamal Davis, RB Quinton Flowers, DT Brian Price, WR Chad Williams
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: QB Chase Litton
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: DB Alex Brown, LB Emmanuel Smith, DE Cameron Malveaux, DB Torry McTyer
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: OT Zach Sterup, LB Terrill Hanks
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: WR Davion Davis
New England Patriots
- Signed: DE Gerri Green, G Najee Toran, G Colby Gossett
- Released: OT Tyree St. Louis
New York Giants
- Signed:CB Corn Elder, WR David Sills
New York Jets
- Signed: RB Josh Adams and TE Ian Bunting WR/KR Greg Dortch
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: WR Marcell Ateman, DE Quinton Bell, G Lester Cotton, Sr., RB Damarea Crockett, WR Rico Gafford, CB Dylan Mabin, CB Nick Nelson, LB Justin Phillips, DT Anthony Rush, TE Eric Saubert
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: CB Craig James
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: WR Johnny Holton
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: OT Ryan Pope
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: CB Ryan Neal, OL Kahlil McKenzie, DE Jachai Polite
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: TE Jordan Leggett, RB Tony Brooks-James
Washington Redskins
- Signed: LB Chris Odom
Patriots Re-Sign WR Demaryius Thomas
Demaryius Thomas didn’t leave New England long enough for the team to even miss him. On Monday morning, the Patriots and Thomas agreed to a new one-year deal, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
[RELATED: Patriots Place Harry On IR]
This was likely the plan all along. The Patriots wanted to place rookie N’Keal Harry on injured reserve while leaving the door open to his return in the second half of the season. That would not have been possible had they placed Harry on IR over the weekend. So, instead, they cut Thomas, placed Harry on IR on Monday, and re-signed Thomas moments later.
Thomas isn’t the player he once was, but he did show glimpses of his old self in preseason. In the Pats’ preseason finale, he caught seven passes for 87 yards and two scores.
Patriots Place N’Keal Harry On IR
The Patriots are placing rookie first-round pick N’Keal Harry on injured reserve, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The wide receiver has been battling an ankle injury all summer and he’ll need at least the rest of the fall to heal up.
The good news is that Harry is still expected to return this season. Per league rules, Harry must sit out a minimum of eight weeks before suiting up.
Harry has been sidelined since suffering an injury in the preseason opener. You wouldn’t know it from talking to him, but Bill Belichick is enthused to see what he can do once he’s on the field. Before taking the Arizona State product, Belichick had never before used a first round pick on a wide receiver.
Without Harry, look for the Patriots to lean even more on Julian Edelman and Josh Gordon. That is, if Edelman’s thumb heals up in time to take on the Steelers on Sunday.
Cardinals Add QB Kyle Sloter
Kyle Sloter, a preseason standout of the last few years, wasn’t out of work for long. The quarterback has agreed to join the Cardinals’ practice squad, according to Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press. Sloter has since confirmed the move on social media.
The Vikings dropped Sloter and elected to go with just two quarterbacks in starter Kirk Cousins and backup Sean Mannion. Meanwhile, they added an additional layer of backup by adding UDFA Jake Browning to the practice squad.
Sloter’s latest preseason heroics came in the Vikings’ 20-9 win over the Cardinals, so the team saw what he’s capable of first hand. In the fourth quarter, alone the QB connected on six of his seven passes and threw for 102 yards and a TD.
The Cardinals weren’t the only team to show interest in Sloter – six teams called, Tomasson hears, including the Lions. Sloter will work to impress Arizona brass as he looks to make his first career regular season appearance.