Saints To Re-Sign John Kuhn
The Saints have re-signed John Kuhn, as Nick Underhill of The Advocate tweets. The fullback has yo-yo’d on and off the roster over the past few weeks. 
The Saints released Kuhn after roster cutdowns in early September. On Sept. 6, Kuhn was re-signed, but he was cut again on Sept. 21. Now, he’s back with the team in advance of their game in London on Sunday against the Dolphins.
Kuhn was with the Saints in Charlotte for Sunday’s game against the Panthers, so it was expected that he would be back with the team before long. If the Saints want to do some more roster jockeying, this might not be the last time they add/drop the 35-year-old this year.
NFC Notes: Panthers, Benjamin, Vikings
Panthers wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin gave fans a scare on Sunday when he re-injured his surgically repaired left knee. Fortunately, the early word on the ailment is positive and it appears he did not suffer a major injury, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. One source added that he is “fine.”
It sounds like Benjamin, who missed the 2015 season with a torn ACL, will not be out of action for long, if at all. That’s good news for Carolina, particularly since the injury bug already has them without center Ryan Kalil and tight end Greg Olsen.
Here’s more from the NFC:
- The Vikings still don’t know whether they’ll have Sam Bradford in action on Sunday when they face Detroit, Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press writes. “It’s day to day, and we’ll go from there,’’ coach Mike Zimmer said. The good news for the Vikings is that Case Keenum looked great against Tampa Bay this weekend, completing 25 of 33 passes for a career-high 369 yards and three touchdowns. He could get the call again in Week 4 if Bradford’s knee is not in good shape.
- Should the Seahawks trade for offensive line help? That’s what one reader asked Brady Henderson of ESPN.com, but the beat writer says that’s harder than it sounds. First of all, the NFL has an overall shortage of quality offensive linemen, meaning that the Seahawks are far from the only team with needs up front. Yes, the Seahawks have made two trades for offensive linemen in the past five weeks, but Matt Tobin and Isaiah Battle are both backup types. To acquire a starter, they’d have to part with much more than a fifth or seventh round pick. The Seahawks’ best chance to boost the offensive line was in March or April. Now, the 1-2 Seahawks pretty much have to get by with what they have.
Seahawks LB Dewey McDonald Done For Year
Seahawks special teamer Dewey McDonald is believed to have torn his ACL on Sunday, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). An MRI today will confirm the injury, ruling him out for the season.
[RELATED: Dolphins Had Interest In Richard Sherman]
McDonald is in his second season with the Seahawks, with whom he logged a personal-best 14 appearances last year and played 63.3 percent of special teams snaps. He was retained in the spring as an exclusive rights free agent.
After losing to the Titans on Sunday, the Seahawks are 1-2 through three weeks. Next up is a Sunday night showdown with the Colts.
Eagles’ Darren Sproles Has Torn ACL
Darren Sproles‘ outlook for 2017 has gone from bad to worse. In addition to a broken arm, it turns out the running back also suffered a torn ACL on the same play on Sunday, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The torn ACL will rule Sproles out for the season, forcing the Eagles to place him on injured reserve. 
Sproles, 34, indicated that 2017 would be his final NFL season. The serious knee injury likely seals that decision for the veteran running back.
In three games this year, Sproles had 15 carries for 61 yards, good for a respectable 4.1 yards-per-carry average. He also caught seven passes for 73 yards. He was expected to have a big role as the Eagles’ pass-catching specialist out of the backfield, but he wasn’t utilized all that much.
The Eagles will move forward with Wendell Smallwood and signed LeGarrette Blount as their top backs while UDFA Corey Clement will be asked to play a larger role. They may want to add a running back to the mix to help replace Sproles’ hands, particularly in light of the team’s overall RB issues in September.
Sproles totaled the most carries of his career last year with 94 and he also caught 52 passes. The 965 yards were the diminutive runner’s third-most in his career.
Latest On Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott
The Cowboys will have Ezekiel Elliott in uniform when they face the Cardinals on Monday night. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals will not hold oral arguments until Monday, October 2, sports attorney Daniel Wallach has learned (Twitter link). 
The NFL was pressing the Fifth Circuit for an emergency stay in the Elliott case, essentially reversing a previous decision from a lower court. The league was hoping for a ruling sooner rather than later, but Roger Goodell & Co. will have to wait longer to see if/when they can enact the six-game suspension on the running back.
Had the league won the decision on Friday, a suspension for Monday night would have been in play. In theory, the league may have even suspended Elliott hours before kickoff with a legal victory during business hours on Monday. Now they won’t have the opportunity to bench Elliott until October, at least. At minimum, we’ll see Elliott on the field through Week 4 when the Cowboys face the Rams.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/22/17
Today’s minor moves:
- The Patriots are promoting defensive end Geneo Grissom to the active roster, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The Pats have been paying Grisson handsomely by taxi squad standards – $36,716 per week – and they think rather highly of the former third-round pick. Given the way the Pats’ pass rush was depleted over the offseason, they could use his production. The 25-year-old has appeared in 26 games for the Patriots over the last two years but has yet to really make a mark.
- The Browns have promoted practice squad wide receiver Jordan Leslie in advance of Sunday’s game (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). Given Corey Coleman’s injury, Leslie should be in for some playing time. To make room, Cleveland waived wide receiver Reggie Davis.
- The Bengals have waived wide receiver Jake Kumerow from injured reserve.
PFR Glossary: Waivers
Here at Pro Football Rumors, you’ll see a number of stories posted on players being cut, waived, or released by their NFL teams. While these terms are often used interchangeably, they’re not quite synonymous. A player who is “cut” has been removed from his team’s roster, but whether he is “waived” or “released” generally depends on his NFL experience.
Between the day after the Super Bowl and the following season’s trade deadline, players with less than four years of service time – or “accrued seasons” – have to pass through waivers after they’re cut by an NFL team. The other 31 clubs around the league have a day to place a waiver claim on that player, adding him to their roster and taking on his contract. That’s why we refer to these players as having been waived, rather than released.
If a player with more than four years of service time is cut between the Super Bowl and the trade deadline, he is not subjected to the waiver process, meaning he becomes a free agent immediately, able to sign with a new team right away if he so chooses.
This isn’t the case all year round, however. Once the trade deadline passes, any player who is cut by his team must pass through waivers, regardless of how many accrued seasons are on his résumé. So if a team cuts loose a 12-year veteran in Week 10 of the coming season, that player must pass through waivers unclaimed before he’d be free to sign with a team of his choice.
Here are a few more details on the waiver process:
- If two teams place a waiver claim on the same player, he is awarded to the team with the higher priority. Waiver priority is determined by the previous season’s standings — this year, for example, the Browns have first dibs, while the Super Bowl champion Patriots have 32nd priority.
- However, the waiver priority order will change starting in Week 4. At that point, waiver priority is determined by records of the current season.
- The window to claim a player closes at the end of the NFL’s business day, which is at 3:00pm central. So if a player is waived by one team on Monday, the other 31 clubs have until Tuesday afternoon to submit a claim. Players cut on Friday clear waivers (or are awarded to a new team) on the following Monday.
- Prior to the first cutdown date in training camp, injured players with fewer than four years of service time cannot be placed on injured reserve until they pass through waivers. Teams will cut this sort of player with a waived-injured designation, allowing other teams to place a claim if they so choose. If the player goes unclaimed, his team can place him on IR or agree to an injury settlement, then fully release him from the roster.
Note: This is a PFR Glossary entry, modified from a previous post by Luke Adams. Our glossary posts explain specific rules relating to free agency, trades, or other aspects of the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. Information from Russell Street Report and SBNation.com was used in the creation of this post.
Colts Promote RB Matt Jones
Matt Jones is back on with the varsity team. The Colts have elevated Jones from the practice squad, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. To make room, guard Ian Silberman has been waived. 
Jones was once primed to be the main ball carrier in Washington, but the Redskins informed him this offseason that he would not be a real part of their plans. He pushed for a trade out of D.C. for months, but a deal never materialized. Finally, on Sept. 2, the Redskins waived him, allowing the Colts to add him to the roster. He was dropped just prior to the season opener, but was quickly re-signed to the practice squad. Now, he’s back on the 53-man roster in advance of Sunday’s game against the Browns.
There’s no word yet on whether Jones will be on the active game day roster this week. But with Marlon Mack nursing an injured shoulder and Christine Michael on IR, he’s a good bet to dress. He’s expected to slot behind Frank Gore and Robert Turbin.
Vikings’ Sam Bradford Won’t Play Sunday
Sam Bradford‘s knee could be a real problem. The Vikings quarterback is not expected to play on Sunday, according to Dan Graziano of ESPN.com (Twitter link). 
On Friday, Bradford will get a second opinion today on his left knee from Dr. James Andrews, Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears. Dr. Andrews performed Bradford’s first two ACL surgeries, so he’s quite familiar with his medical history.
The Vikings’ plan was to have Bradford practice this week and see how his knee responded to treatment. He found himself pretty limited and the Vikings have been forced shelve him once again. It’s not clear what their plan is for Bradford beyond this week. What we do know is that Case Keenum will be getting the start once again in Bradford’s absence. They’ll hope for better results than what they got against the Steelers in Week 2.
Bradford was sharp in the season opener, going 27 of 32 for 346 yards and three touchdowns as the Vikings topped Saints 29-19. That’s the kind of quarterbacking the Vikings will need if they hope to make a playoff run this year.
Last year, in his first season with the Vikings, Bradford arguably had a career year. The 29-year-old (30 in November) threw for 20 touchdowns versus only six interceptions while passing for more than 3,800 yards. He also led the league in completion percentage (71.6).
Ezekiel Elliott Rumors: Friday
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has yet to rule on the Ezekiel Elliott case, and that could be good news for the running back. The league has petitioned the court with urgent language to quickly deliver a ruling, but the judge is clearly not taking those directives to heart. That doesn’t mean that things will go Elliott’s way, per se, but it could be a prelude to an Elliott victory.
Here’s the latest on Elliott and his legal battle with the NFL:
- The league still won’t rule out suspending Elliott before Monday night’s game against the Cardinals if they win in court, a league spokesman tells PFT’s Michael David Smith. Today marks the last business day of the week, but if the ruling comes down before the lights shut off, commissioner Roger Goodell may put Elliott’s six-game suspension into effect immediately. In theory, if a ruling comes down on Monday, the league could enact the suspension before kickoff. If that’s the case, Elliott will be sidelined for games against the Cardinals, Rams, Packers, 49ers, Redskins, and Chiefs. He would not be eligible to return until Nov. 12 against the Falcons.