Raiders To Cut Nevin Lawson
The Raiders will release cornerback Nevin Lawson today in order to fill other areas of need (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). If Lawson goes unclaimed, the Raiders will try to bring him back to the practice squad.
Lawson, who began his career with the Lions, joined up with the Raiders in 2019. He didn’t have the best debut year. If he had enough snaps to qualify, his 60.8 overall score from Pro Football Focus would have placed him somewhere around the No. 70 CB mark. Still, the Raiders stuck with him and got better results in 2020. Last year, he started in nine of his 14 games and registered 61 tackles, four passes defensed, two forced fumbles, and one sack.
The 30-year-old was gearing up to return in Week 3, following his two-game suspension. Rather than activating him, they’ll pad out the rest of their badly-bruised roster. In recent days, the Raiders have watched guard Denzelle Good, running back Josh Jacobs, quarterback Marcus Mariota, defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, and other key players head to the trainer’s room.
The Raiders, without Lawson, will try to stay undefeated on Sunday when they face the Dolphins in Vegas.
Latest On Colts’ Carson Wentz
Colts quarterback Carson Wentz is dealing injuries to both of his ankles (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). Wentz will undergo tests today to learn more, but this doesn’t bode well for his future availability. 
Wentz was forced out in the fourth quarter against the Rams on Sunday. That’s when his right ankle twisted underneath Aaron Donald.
“He rolled it up pretty bad,” Colts coach Frank Reich said (via ESPN.com). “I had a sense when he walked off the field. It didn’t look good. Sometimes if you go back in right away when it’s still warm you can maybe gut out a few more plays. The longer we were off the field, it stiffened up and he tried, but there was no chance.”
Now, we know that Wentz’s left ankle is also in bad shape. Second-year quarterback Jacob Eason — who stepped in and went on to lob an interception — will likely start for the Colts in Week 3 and possibly longer.
“Felt it right away. Tried to tape it up and do everything I could to finish the game,” Wentz said. “I’ve sprained my ankle probably 100 times since I was a kid. This one I just couldn’t play on it.”
The Colts, now at 0-2, badly need to get in the win column. They’ll likely be without Wentz on Sunday when they face the Titans in Nashville. After that, they’ve got two more road games before they return home to Indy.
Tyrod Taylor Suffers Hamstring Injury
Texans quarterback Tyrod Taylor was forced out of Sunday’s game early with a hamstring injury. Tomorrow’s MRI will give a fuller picture, but the QB has already been ruled out of Thursday night’s contest against the Panthers. (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). 
Taylor was replaced by rookie Davis Mills as the Browns went on to win 31-21. It’ll be Mills once again on Thursday night, making his first ever NFL start. When speaking with reporters, head coach David Culley declined to say whether Deshaun Watson could wind up on the 53-man roster for Week 3. But, based on the way things have been going, we’d be shocked to see Watson activated for Thursday night.
Mills, a third-round pick, finished the day going 8-of-18 for 102 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Taylor, before his early exit, completed 10 of 11 throws for 125 yards and one TD.
The Texans will head into Thursday night with a 1-1 record, thanks to their Week 1 victory over the Jaguars.
Falcons To Cut Punter Cameron Nizialek
The Falcons will waive punter Cameron Nizialek, as Jeff Schultz of The Athletic tweets. This comes hours after a brutal day for the youngster against the Buccaneers.
Nizialek shanked two of his punts on Sunday. The latter of the two came in the fourth quarter when the Falcons were down by just three. Nizialek’s 33-yard punt quickly turned into a Tampa touchdown and the three-point deficit turned into a 48-25 rout.
Nizialek, a Virginia native, spent time in the Alliance of American Football before making the NFL rounds in 2019. He should be back on the workout circuit again, especially since he offers the ability to serve as both a punter and an emergency kicker. For now, he’s waiving a resume with just ten punt attempts for Atlanta.
Torn Achilles For Eagles’ Brandon Graham?
The Eagles believe that defensive end Brandon Graham has suffered a torn Achilles (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). He’ll undergo additional testing tomorrow to confirm, but team doctors are pretty sure about this one.
Graham was forced out of Sunday’s game against the Niners and the Eagles went on to lose 17-11. Even though they can turn to accomplished veteran Ryan Kerrigan and Josh Sweat, it’s still a bad blow to the Eagles’ pass rush.
“Terrible. He’s one of the best humans, best guys I’ve played with. He’s the heartbeat of this team,” longtime teammate Lane Johnson said (Twitter link via Josh Tolentino of the Philadelphia Inquirer).
Graham, who’s been with the Eagles since 2010, inked a three-year, $40MM extension with the Birds in 2019. He delivered some of his best work last year, notching eight sacks and 46 stops en route to his first — and long overdue — Pro Bowl nod. Unfortunately, his Achilles tear will effectively wipe out his 2021 season. And, after this year, he’ll be out of contract.
The Eagles are also awaiting word on Brandon Brooks‘ chest injury. The early word is that it’s a torn pec (Twitter link via RapSheet), but the guard’s availability will hinge on the severity of the tear. If it’s only a partial tear, the Eagles could see him back on the field before the season is through.
Raiders Place Marcus Mariota On IR
SATURDAY: The Raiders will indeed place their backup quarterback on IR. Mariota will be out until at least Week 5 because of this decision, moving Peterman into position as Carr’s backup. Linebacker Marquel Lee will take Mariota’s place on Las Vegas’ active roster, ascending from the practice squad.
THURSDAY: Marcus Mariota is expected to be out multiple weeks with an aggravated quad injury (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). The Raiders quarterback will miss a few weeks, at minimum, making him a candidate for the short-term injured reserve list.
Mariota saw a single snap on Monday night and took it for a 31-yard run. Unfortunately, he was forced out immediately after that play. Although Mariota isn’t the starter in Las Vegas, he was expected to serve a key change-of-pace role in the offense. They’ll have to find that spark elsewhere for at least the next few weeks.
Nathan Peterman will now step into the QB2 role for the Raiders, holding the clipboard for starter Derek Carr. The Raiders can free up a roster spot by moving Mariota to the injured reserve list but they don’t necessarily need to fill his spot with another signal caller.
Mariota appeared in one game in place of an injured Carr last season and showed fairly well against the Chargers on national TV, completing 17 of 28 passes for 226 yards a touchdown and an interception. He also added 88 yards and another score rushing. This year, he took a pay cut in order to stay with the Raiders through 2021. After his one-year, $3.5MM deal lapses, he’ll be eligible for free agency in the spring of 2022.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/17/21
Today’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Placed on IR: CB Chris Westry (story)
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: OLB LaDarius Hamilton (from Buccaneers practice squad)
New Orleans Saints
- Promoted: FB Alex Armah
Chargers Place Bryan Bulaga On IR
The Chargers have placed starting tackle Bryan Bulaga on the injured reserve list, per a club announcement. To take his place on the roster, they’ve added guard/tackle Michael Schofield III. 
Bulaga spent ten seasons in Green Bay, up until 2020 when he joined the Bolts. The 32-year-old stepped into the right tackle role last year, starting in all ten of his games. He resumed his role for Week 1, but his hip flexor hasn’t cooperated.
“It’s just more discomfort than anything. The MRIs are negative,” head coach Brandon Staley said recently (via the Associated Press). “We’re trying to give him adequate rest and the mobility recovery that he needs so he can go into this game feeling good.”
The 12th-year pro has battled injuries throughout his career, though he did manage 16 games in 2019 and 14 in 2018. The Chargers hope he’ll be back soon and healthy in the long-term as well. His three-year, $30MM deal runs through the 2022 campaign.
Packers Place Za’Darius Smith On IR
The Packers have placed edge rusher Za’Darius Smith on injured reserve, according to head coach Matt LaFleur (Twitter link via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com). The Packers initially hoped to have him ready for Week 2, but his back hasn’t healed as quickly as expected.
“We’re going to have to shut him down for a while,” LaFleur said. “[It’s a matter of,] do you keep him in a limited or do you shut him down for a while and try to get him up to the snap count we’d like him to be.”
Smith came off Green Bay’s active/NFI list August 9 but suffered setbacks shortly after. The Packers plan to exercise caution here, shelving Smith for at least another three games.
Smith, 28, also took issue with how the Packers restructured his contract earlier year. However, club officials have made it clear that Smith’s absence is strictly injury-related.
In theory, the two-time reigning NFC North champs are well equipped to handle Smith’s absence, given the presence of Preston Smith and former first-round pick Rashan Gary. Still, they didn’t look great in any facet last week as the Packers were crushed 38-3 by the Saints.
Latest On Jets’ Mekhi Becton
Jets tackle Mekhi Becton will miss anywhere between four to eight weeks after undergoing knee surgery, according to head coach Robert Saleh. This is already a longer timetable than initially projected — early reports pegged Becton at 4-6 weeks.
The promising left tackle went through with a second opinion, which confirmed season-ending surgery would not be required. The Jets instead will hope this cartilage cleanup procedure, which is scheduled for Wednesday, will allow Becton to return this season (Twitter link via ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler).
Becton, the Jets’ 2020 first-round pick, went down early in the season opener against the Panthers. The Jets went on to lose 19-14. Becton will be sorely missed for the next month or two, starting with Sunday’s tilt against the Patriots.
The Jets will deploy George Fant at left tackle while Morgan Moses mans the right side. The Jets are surely glad that they picked up the longtime Washington starter in June. Ideally, Moses would be serving as the No. 3 tackle behind Becton and Fant. But, with Becton out of action for several weeks, he’ll be playing a much more key role on the front five.
Moses went six straight seasons without missing a game for the Washington Football Team, but they opted revamp their tackle group with rookie Samuel Cosmi and ex-Bears LT Charles Leno. According to the advanced metrics, 2020 might have been Moses’ best year yet as he placed top-20 for tackles, per Pro Football Focus. Before that, the advanced metrics framed him as a middle-of-the-road blocker from 2017 through 2019.
In a best case scenario, the Jets could have Becton return after their bye. The next week, on 10/24, they’ll face the Pats for a second time.