NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/12/17
Tuesday’s practice squad moves…
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: QB Josh Woodrum
- Cut: TE Ryan Malleck
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: WR Malachi Dupre
- Cut: WR Daikiel Shorts
Chicago Bears
- Signed: WR Mario Alford
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: LB Johnathan Calvin, WR Devin Lucien
- Cut: WR Fred Brown, S Ronald Martin
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: DL Rickey Hatley
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: RB Daniel Lasco
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: LB Max Valles
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: T Victor Salako, CB De’Vante Bausby
- Cut: CB C.J. Smith, WR Greg Ward
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: DB Jarnor Jones
- Cut: LB Ben Boulware
Seattle Seahawks
- Cut: WR Kenny Lawler, OT Jarron Jones
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: TE Tim Semisch, OL Cody Wichmann
- Cut: TE Jerome Cunningham, OL Steven Moore
Jaguars Sign WR Max McCaffrey
The Jaguars have signed wide receiver Max McCaffrey, the team announced. McCaffrey, the brother of Panthers rookie running back Christian McCaffrey, was plucked from the Saints’ practice squad. 
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Jacksonville was in desperate need of depth at wide receiver after losing star Allen Robinson for the season to a torn ACL. With Oklahoma product Dede Westbrook also on IR, the Jaguars will plug McCaffrey in as their fifth wide receiver behind Marqise Lee, Allen Hurns, Arrelious Benn, and UDFA Keelan Cole.
The Jaguars enjoyed a surprisingly strong start to the season when they toppled the Texans 29-7 on Sunday. Rookie Leonard Fournette did most of the damage with 100 rushing yards plus three catches for 24 yards while Hurns led all receivers with three grabs for 42 yards. If the Jaguars want to continue their winning ways, they’ll probably need to do more through the air going forward.
Cardinals Sign RB Chris Johnson
With star running back David Johnson set to undergo wrist surgery, the Cardinals are turning to a familiar face. Arizona signed running back Chris Johnson today, the team announced. Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com first reported the signing.
The 31-year-old rushed for 814 yards and three touchdowns before giving way to David Johnson as the club’s starting running back in 2015. Unfortunately, he missed the bulk of last year due to injury.
CJ2K missed the team’s initial 53-man cut this year. Luckily for the Cardinals, he was still available when they needed him. The former Titans star now profiles as an insurance addition. This marks his latest go-round with the team, and the backfield looks similar to how it did during Johnson’s productive 2015 slate.
Chris Johnson, Andre Ellington and Kerwynn Williams each remain on the team and will likely be expected to form an emergency committee in place of David Johnson. Each has been with the Cards for at least three seasons, with Ellington now in his fifth Arizona campaign. Ellington served as the Cardinals’ primary starter in 2014 before CJ2K relegated him to backup work a year later.
But the Cards now possess plenty of experience for a team that experienced the setback they did. While none of their replacement options is on David Johnson’s level, the Cardinals may be able to use this depth to reasonably withstand this seminal development collectively.
Cardinals’ David Johnson To Have Wrist Surgery
Cardinals running back David Johnson will undergo wrist surgery this week, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. He’s expected to miss between two and three months of action. The Cardinals will place him on IR with the hope that he’ll be able to return during the season.
Sunday will represent Johnson’s first missed game as a pro, and while the Cardinals — who are now signing Chris Johnson — have some veterans who will take over, none are on David Johnson‘s level. While David Johnson sat behind both Chris Johnson and Andre Ellington as a rookie in 2015, he’s taken massive leaps as the latest Arizona third-round success story.
David Johnson must spend at least eight weeks on IR, so Week 10 would profile as his earliest return window. The Cardinals play both Seahawks games in the second half, with Week 10 being the NFC West contenders’ first meeting.
The Cardinals hoped the second opinion Johnson sought could prevent this, but AZCardinals.com’s Darren Urban categorized the attempt as a “hail mary” (Twitter link).
The 2016 first-team All-Pro was Arizona’s top weapon and its most reliable factor in making a potential playoff return. But this changes the Cardinals’ season before Week 2 even begins. The third-year back totaled over 2,100 yards from scrimmage and scored 20 touchdowns last season.
In addition to Ellington and Chris Johnson, the Cardinals employ Kerwynn Williams — who’s functioned as a backup in Arizona for four seasons — and just signed D.J. Foster off the Patriots’ practice squad. Arizona also has 2016 UDFA Elijhaa Penny, although with CJ2K now back in the fold, this five-running back setup may not last — especially now that David Johnson will be on IR.
Saints RT Zach Strief Suffers MCL Sprain
Saints tackle Zach Strief suffered an MCL sprain during Monday night’s game against the Vikings and is expected to miss a few weeks, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. It’s a bad break for the 0-1 Saints who are already without left tackle Terron Armstead. 
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When Strief exited the game, he was replaced by reserve Senio Kelemete. Unless the Saints add a tackle in the coming days, they’ll probably head into their Week 2 contest with Kelemete and rookie Ryan Ramczyk starting at left tackle. That’s not the O-Line you want against the Patriots, even though their pass rush is shaky.
Last year, the 33-year-old Strief played more than 97% of the Saints’ offensive snaps and posted perhaps the best campaign of his career. He graded as the No. 12 overall tackle in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus, which gave him excellent marks in the run and pass game.
Strief, a 12-year veteran, has not missed significant time since the 2012 season.
Reuben Foster Suffers High-Ankle Sprain
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan announced Monday that rookie linebacker Reuben Foster suffered a high-ankle sprain in the team’s Week 1 loss to Carolina, per Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area adds that Foster could miss four to six weeks. 
Foster went down in the second quarter Sunday, and the first-round pick initially thought he had broken his ankle.
“It was pain(ful),” Foster said (via ESPN.com’s Nick Wagoner). “I was a little scared, but at the same time, trust me, if you can’t put no pressure on it, then you should be worried, but when you put enough pressure on it, then you have got some hope. That’s all I was just hoping for. It was painful, but at the same time, I knew nothing was seriously damaged.”
Foster was viewed as a potential top ten pick before injury concerns weakened his stock. The Niners were not as worried about his surgically-repaired shoulder as other clubs and landed him at No. 31 overall.
Foster’s latest setback is unfortunate, but the team now knows that it will not be a season-ender.
Ian Rapoport of NFL.com first reported the injury. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Andrew Luck To Miss Week 2
The Colts have already ruled out Andrew Luck for Sunday’s game against the Cardinals, coach Chuck Pagano told reporters on Monday. Pagano added that he does not know if the quarterback will be able to practice this week, further casting doubt on when he will be able to take the field again. 
Scott Tolzien got the start in Week 1 in place of Luck and it was not pretty. Tolzien is now 0-3-1 as a starter in his career after going 9-of-18 on passing attempts for 128 yards with two interceptions. He was also sacked four times behind the Ryan Kelly-less offensive line.
The Colts benched the veteran in favor of recently-acquired QB Jacoby Brissett in the fourth quarter and he ran a successful drive for a touchdown. Although the TD was ultimately meaningless, Brissett’s ability to lead the offense down the field versus Tolzien’s struggles cannot be overlooked. Pagano indicated that the team will consider starting Brissett over Tolzien against Arizona.
Both the Colts and Cardinals will be without their best offensive players when they meet. Arizona learned on Monday that running back David Johnson will be sidelined for an extended period due to his wrist injury.
Cardinals To Sign RB D.J. Foster
The Cardinals need a running back and an ASU alum is on his way to help. Arizona has signed D.J. Foster off of the Patriots’ practice squad, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. 
On Monday morning, the Cardinals learned that star David Johnson has suffered a dislocated wrist. Right now, the Cards are operating under the assumption that he’ll be out of action for approximately 12 weeks, meaning that he won’t be back on the field until December in a best-case scenario.
Foster missed the Patriots’ initial 53-man cut this year which wasn’t a huge surprise given their depth at the position. He signed on with the practice squad that same weekend, but it didn’t take long for another club to pry him loose.
Foster appeared in three games for New England last year. He totaled 24 yards off of seven attempts and also added one reception for two yards. His pass-catching ability may be his best quality – he had 59 receptions for 584 yards as a senior at ASU.
Cardinals’ David Johnson To Miss Time
This is not the way the Cardinals wanted to start their season. After losing to the Lions on Sunday, the Cardinals have learned that running back David Johnson will be out for an extended period of time with a wrist injury. 
Cardinals coach Bruce Arians tells reporters Johnson’s initial prognosis is the same as T.J. Logan. That’s a bad sign since the rookie was ruled out for approximately 12 weeks after suffering a wrist injury in early August.
The early word is that Johnson will require surgery, but he’ll get a second opinion this week to determine the best course of action. If he recovers within the expected timeframe, he could be a candidate to return from IR later this year.
Arians says that the Cardinals will consider re-signing running back Chris Johnson to help fill in the gap. Johnson was released by the team just prior to the 53-man deadline. Fortunately for them, CJ2K is still available. The 31-year-old rushed for 814 yards and three touchdowns before giving way to D. Johnson as the club’s starting running back in 2015. He missed the bulk of last year due to injury.
Broncos, Brandon McManus Agree To Extension
The Broncos and Brandon McManus have reached agreement on a new deal. It’s a three-year extension that will take him through 2020. 
“Brandon [has] made a lot of big kicks and is an important weapon for our team,” general manager John Elway tweeted on Monday morning.
McManus was tendered at the second round level this offseason. He waited a while to put pen to paper in hopes that he would get a long-term deal instead. It took a little while longer than he wanted, but McManus got his extension.
The new pact will start in the 2018 season. The new money portion is worth $11.254MM, including $6MM guaranteed, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. McManus now stands as one of the highest-paid kickers in the NFL. In terms of yearly average, Stephen Gostkowski of the Patriots is the league’s highest-paid kicker with $4.3MM per season. Justin Tucker of the Ravens leads the way in terms of total guarantees with $10.8MM and isn’t far behind in average annual value at $4.2MM/year.
McManus has connected on 68-of-82 field goal tries his three seasons with Denver.