Vikings Place Sam Bradford On IR
The Vikings have placed quarterback Sam Bradford on injured reserve following knee surgery. Given that we are halfway through the season, that move will wrap up his 2017 campaign. 
[RELATED: Vikings To Activate Teddy Bridgewater]
The Vikings had to clear a roster spot to make room for the return of Teddy Bridgewater and that forced them to make a tough decision. Fill-in Case Keenum has been surprisingly sharp as the starter, so keeping him is a no-brainer. In theory, the Vikings could have released young quarterback Kyle Sloter, but they would have almost certainly lost him to waivers if they tried to sneak him through and re-sign him to the practice squad. Rather than losing Sloter and hoping that Bradford could maybe return to the field this year, the Vikings are parking the veteran on IR.
Bradford looked sharp in the Vikings’ season opener, completing 27 of 32 passes for 346 yards and three touchdowns. Unfortunately, knee issues sidelined him until Week 5. In that game, he completed 5 of 11 passes before being forced out in the first half.
Keenum is expected to continue as Minnesota’s starter with Bridgewater as the backup. If Keenum falters, however, that order could change quickly.
Giants Eyeing QBs In Draft
With a 1-7 record, the Giants are understandably looking towards the future. Part of that vision could include a new young quarterback. Several weeks ago, owner John Mara told his front office to start looking closely at the top college quarterbacks in the 2018 draft, sources tell ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan. 
The directive, in part, came because Odell Beckham Jr. had suffered a broken ankle. Although it was early in the season, Mara had a feeling that the Giants might end up picking high in the draft as a result. Right now, it looks like the 1-7 Giants are going to be right at the top, along with the winless Niners and Browns.
The Giants could target UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen after sending vice president of player evaluation Marc Ross to scout him in recent weeks. Ross runs the Giants’ draft, so it’s notable that he was the one to take a close look at Rosen in the fall.
Other top names available include USC’s Sam Darnold and Wyoming’s Josh Allen. Louisville’s Lamar Jackson and Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield, two non-traditional QBs, are also available.
Broncos Place OT Menelik Watson On IR
The Broncos announced that they have placed right tackle Menelik Watson on injured reserve with a foot injury. To take his place, they have signed Cyrus Kouandjio. 
Watson came to Denver on a three-year, $18.75MM contract this offseason. Although he is talented, he is no stranger to missing time. Heading into 2017, Watson had already missed 37 of a possible 64 regular-season games due to various injuries over the course of four seasons, including an entirely lost 2015. With his 2017 over, the tally is now up to 48 missed games out of 80 possible appearances.
Watson lost a significant amount of weight in the offseason in an attempt to stay healthy, but he is still in search of his first complete season. The former second round pick of the Raiders has yet to play in more than 12 games in any given campaign.
The Broncos have first-round pick Garett Bolles starting at left tackle with Donald Stephenson and Elijah Wilkinson in reserve. Stephenson has been sidelined thanks to a calf injury he suffered prior to Week 7, so Wilkinson or Kouandjio could conceivably draw the next start at RT.
Bengals Sign OT Eric Winston
Eric Winston is back with the Bengals. The team announced that they have signed the offensive tackle. To make room, fellow tackle Jake Fisher has been moved to the NFI/Reserve list, ending his 2017 season. 
Winston, the president of the NFLPA, was released by the Bengals in early September. The Bengals, at the time, were looking to kickstart a youth movement on the offensive line with the likes of Cedric Ogbuehi and Jake Fisher as the club’s starting tackles with youngsters such as Christian Westerman and J.J. Dielman in support. With needs on the offensive line midway through the season, they’re bringing him back to the fold.
Winston was with the Bengals from the end of the 2014 season all the way through 2016. In total, he appeared in 33 games with six starts.
Meanwhile, the team has yet to disclose Fisher’s illness.
“He’s (dealt with this) as we’ve been going through the season,” head coach Marvin Lewis said recently (via Jay Morrison of the Dayton Daily News). “It’s something that the doctors are monitoring very closely. (Sunday) they thought they needed to pull him from the game and run some tests, so they took him to the hospital to run tests. It’s not as serious as I would think it is, yet, it took him out of the game.”
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/7/17
Today’s practice squad moves:
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: S Derron Smith
- Cut: TE Scott Orndoff
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: DT Joe Vellano
Indianapolis Colts
- Cut: CB Channing Stribling
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: OL Cole Toner
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: OL Willie Beavers
- Cut: RB Bronson Hill
New England Patriots
- Signed: DT Mike Purcell
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: S Tre Sullivan
- Cut: LB Don Cherry
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: T Jake Rodgers
- Cut: WR Justin Thomas
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: OL Isaiah Battle
Bears Place TE Zach Miller On IR
As expected, the Bears are placing tight end Zach Miller on injured reserve. This was the only possible outcome after he had major surgery on his dislocated knee. To take his place on the roster, fellow tight end Ben Braunecker has promoted from the practice squad. Taking Braunecker’s place on the taxi squad will be tight end Colin Thompson. 
Initially, there was concern that Miller could lose his leg in surgery. However, the Bears announced last week that Miller’s operation was “successful,” so he is hopefully out of the woods in that regard. In a statement released on Twitter on Tuesday, Miller said that he has been “down before” but he “will do whatever it takes to get back up.”
In 2016, Miller caught a career-high 47 passes and 486 yards with four touchdowns. At the time of his injury, he was on pace for similar numbers with 20 receptions for 236 yards and two scores.
The Bears are expected to move forward with Dion Sims and second-round pick Adam Shaheen as their top TEs with Daniel Brown in support. They’ll try to improve on their 3-5 record on Sunday when they face the rival Packers in Chicago.
Chargers To Sign TE Jeff Cumberland
The Chargers are signing tight end Jeff Cumberland, Adam Caplan of SiriusXM tweets. He was with the Bolts until the 53-man deadline in early September. 
Cumberland, 30, missed the entire 2016 season with a torn Achilles. He’s now being called on to support top tight ends Hunter Henry and Antonio Gates. His addition may result in either Sean McGrath or Sean Culkin being shown the door.
Cumberland is a blocking specialist, but he did catch 78 passes for the Jets from 2012 to 2014. He also started 38 games for the team in that span and scored ten touchdowns. In 2015, his offensive usage dipped as Ryan Fitzpatrick didn’t use his tight ends much. The veteran had just five receptions on 14 targets in that season.
Texans Cut Matt McGloin, Add Josh Johnson
The Texans announced that they have waived quarterback Matt McGloin. To take his place, they have replaced him with fellow QB Josh Johnson. In a related move, the Texans have also released defensive lineman Kendall Langford. 
McGloin was signed shortly after starting quarterback Deshaun Watson went down with an ACL tear. However, it was T.J. Yates – signed the day after McGloin – who dressed as Tom Savage‘s backup over the weekend.
All indications are that Savage will continue as the Texans’ starter, even after Houston’s 20-14 defeat at the hands of the Colts. Johnson may or may not get the nod over Yates as the primary backup.
Johnson has not played in a regular season NFL game since 2013. Since then, he has signed 13 contracts with eight different teams, as Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter) notes.
The Texans are also expected to activate tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz from injured reserve this week, so the release of Langford could make room for him on the 53-man roster.
Lions Waive Tim Lelito
The Lions have waived guard Tim Lelito from the Reserve-Injured list. Lelito is now free to sign with any team, though he might need some time to heal up first. 
Lelito was dropped by the Titans in early September and hooked on with the Lions later that month. Unfortunately, after just two games in uniform, he found himself on IR.
Last year, Lelito graded out as the No. 49 guard in the league for his work with the Saints, according to Pro Football Focus. PFF gave him a solid mark for his pass blocking with a lower score on running plays.
Lelito was said to be struggling in the preseason with the Titans and it’s possible that injuries played a role in that. Once he’s healthy, we’ll find out what the 28-year-old has to offer.
Texans Work Out WR Josh Huff
The Texans worked out wide receiver Josh Huff on Tuesday, according to a league source who spoke with Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle. It marks Huff’s first known audition since mid-September. 
[RELATED: Texans Have Internally Discussed Colin Kaepernick]
Huff, 26, was a third-round pick of the Eagles under the Chip Kelly administration. Last year, the Oregon product made headlines for the wrong reasons following a gun- and marijuana-related arrest. He hooked on with the Bucs, but only appeared in three games and wound up missing the Week 1 cut in 2017.
Following his release from Tampa Bay, Huff auditioned for the Saints and Jets but left both workouts without a deal.