Jets Beat Dolphins, Ravens, Others For Pat Elflein
The Jets, at least, have achieved something this year. On Monday, the Jets beat out five other NFL teams on the waiver wire when they picked up former Vikings offensive lineman Pat Elflein, a source tells Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The Jaguars, Bears, Dolphins, Ravens, and the Washington Football Team all tried to claim the veteran, but the Jets’ 0-9 record gave them the upper hand. 
Elflein started 15 games at guard in 2019, and he started the 2020 season opener before suffering a torn thumb ligament. That injury forced him to the injured reserve list. And, after returning to practice three weeks ago, his IR-DTR window had recently come to an end. Therefore, the Vikings had no other choice than to activate Elflein. One day later, they released the 26-year-old lineman.
The former third-rounder earned a spot on the All-Rookie Team in 2017 after starting 14 games at center for the Vikings. He played the same role in 2018, but he was switched to guard in 2019 after Minnesota drafted Garrett Bradbury in the first round of that year’s draft.
Elflein’s injury has hindered him, but he now says that he’s fully healthy. And, although his rookie contract will expire at the end of the year, the Jets will have the opportunity to evaluate him and potentially lock him up before he can reach the open market in March. The advanced metrics have never been fond of Elflein’s work, but quality linemen are in short supply, and plenty of teams were eager to take the low-cost risk before the Jets won out.
Ravens’ Nick Boyle Done For Year
Ravens tight end Nick Boyle will be out for the year after suffering a gruesome knee injury on Sunday night, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said (Twitter link via Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic). The severity of the injury was immediately apparent as Boyle’s left leg bent in the wrong direction.
[RELATED: Ravens Tried To Claim Ballentine]
“It’s hard to really quantify what Nick does for us as an offense and as a team,” said Ravens tight end Mark Andrews (via ESPN.com’s Jamison Hensley). “He’s a person that people gravitate towards. For me, he’s meant a ton to me, and it sucks. It sucks for him; he’s worked so hard to get to where he’s at.”
“Everyone in this locker room loves him to death, and he’s one of the most loved people on this team. We’re going to miss him dearly. We know he has our backs, and we have his. It’s just sad. It’s sad to see.”
Boyle has never been one to light up the stat sheet, but his blocking prowess has made him an integral part of the Ravens’ offense. Last year, he set new career highs with 31 catches for 321 yards and two scores. Through nine games this year, he caught 14 balls from Lamar Jackson for 113 yards and two TDs. The advanced metrics have underscored Boyle’s importance to the team, however — he often places in the top 30 at his position, even though he’s rarely targeted.
The Ravens could call on one of their practice squad tight ends — Xavier Grimble or Sean Culkin — to replace Boyle on the active roster.
Ravens Tried To Claim Ballentine
- The Jets just got cornerback Corey Ballentine off waivers from the Giants, and they weren’t the only AFC teams interested. The Ravens and Texans also put in claims for the young corner, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets. The Texans are toward the top of the waiver wire themselves, but they couldn’t beat out the winless Jets. Ballentine was drafted in the sixth-round by the Giants in 2019. He started two games as a rookie and the first two games of this season before quickly falling out of favor with Joe Judge’s staff.
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/14/20
Here are Saturday’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Activated from IR: G J.R. Sweezy
- Promoted: DL Trevon Coley, RB D.J. Foster, CB Jace Whittaker
- Placed on IR: DL Leki Fotu
Atlanta Falcons
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: DE Dante Fowler
Baltimore Ravens
- Promoted: S Geno Stone
Carolina Panthers
- Activated from IR: S Juston Burris
- Promoted: RB Rodney Smith
Denver Broncos
- Promoted: T Quinn Bailey, TE Troy Fumagalli, LB Josh Watson
Detroit Lions
- Promoted: DT Frank Herron, T Dan Skipper
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Activated from IR: S Andrew Wingard
- Promoted: S Doug Middleton, LB Joe Giles-Harris, WR Terry Godwin, OL K.C. McDermott
- Waived: DL Caraun Reid
- Placed on IR: S Josh Jones
Los Angeles Chargers
- Promoted: CB Quenton Meeks
Los Angeles Rams
- Activated from IR: S Jordan Fuller, OL Joseph Noteboom
Minnesota Vikings
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: LS Austin Cutting
New England Patriots
- Activated from IR: OL Jermaine Eluemunor
- Promoted: LB Terez Hall, LB Cassh Maluia
- Waived: DL Nick Thurman
- Placed on IR: LB Shilique Calhoun
Philadelphia Eagles
- Promoted: CB Michael Jacquet, DT T.Y. McGill, TE Caleb Wilson
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Promoted: S Antoine Brooks
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: OL Kevin Dotson
San Francisco 49ers
- Promoted: TE Daniel Helm, S Jared Mayden
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: WR Cyril Grayson, WR Jaydon Mickens
Washington Football Team
- Promoted: LB Jordan Kunaszyk
Another Ravens DB Is COVID-Positive
- Iman Marshall tested positive for the coronavirus Thursday, Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com reports. He becomes the second Ravens defensive back to test positive in two weeks, following Marlon Humphrey. The latter’s positive test resulted in several Baltimore defenders missing each Ravens practice last week. Marshall, however, cannot play this season due to the Ravens placing him on IR in August. The Ravens announced the infected player, without identifying him, had no high-risk close contacts among the team. Humphrey is no longer on the team’s reserve/COVID-19 list.
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/11/20
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: LB Devon Kennard, CB Byron Murphy
- Placed on IR: Kevin Peterson
Baltimore Ravens
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Marlon Humphrey
Carolina Panthers
- Promoted: RB Reggie Bonnafon
- Placed on IR: LB Adarius Taylor
Cleveland Browns
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: QB Baker Mayfield
Dallas Cowboys
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: DL Tyrone Crawford
- Claimed off waivers from Colts: DL Ron’Dell Carter
Denver Broncos
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: G Graham Glasgow
Indianapolis Colts
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: LB Matthew Adams
Kansas City Chiefs
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: WR Mecole Hardman
Miami Dolphins
- Placed on IR: WR Preston Williams (story)
New York Jets
- Claimed off waivers from Giants: CB Corey Ballentine
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/10/20
Here are the NFL’s recent practice squad moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: Nate Brooks, T R.J. Prince
Carolina Panthers
- Activated from practice squad injured list: RB Reggie Bonnafon
- Signed: DT Woodrow Hamilton
- Released: K Taylor Bertolet, DT Mike Panasiuk
Chicago Bears
- Signed: OL Eric Kush, QB Kyle Sloter
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: CB Stephen Denmark, TE Kyle Markway, C Javon Patterson
- Released: C Evan Brown, T Timon Parris, CB Prince Smith
- Placed on practice squad injured list: WR Ryan Switzer
Denver Broncos
- Signed: TE Troy Fumagalli, C Jon Halapio
Detroit Lions
- Signed: TE Khari Lee
Houston Texans
- Signed: LB Curtis Bolton, LB Kendall Futrell
- Released: WR Devin Smith
- Placed on practice squad injured list: LB Davin Bellamy
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: WR Rico Gafford, S Rashaan Gaulden
Los Angeles Rams
- Released: C Cohl Cabral
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: CB Cordrea Tankersley
New England Patriots
- Signed: TE Dylan Cantrell, TE David Wells
- Released: DT Ryan Glasgow
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: DT Treyvon Hester
- Released: RB Adrian Killins
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: WR Chris Finke
Seattle Seahawks
- Released: DE DeMarkus Acy
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: DL Miles Brown, CB Greg Mabin, OL Daniel Munyer, K Giorgio Tavecchio
Ravens Sign CB Tramon Williams
Tramon Williams‘ Ravens visit last week will produce a deal, and the timing of the parties’ initial meeting will allow for the veteran cornerback to be in uniform Sunday night.
The longtime Packers defender signed with the Ravens on Tuesday. Williams visited the team six days ago and began taking COVID-19 tests, according to The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec (on Twitter). That will put him on track not only to be in uniform against the Patriots on Sunday but to begin practicing with his new team when the Ravens begin their Pats preparations Wednesday.
This will be Williams’ 14th NFL season. He spent 10 prior campaigns in Green Bay, working as a key Packer defender from 2007-14 and over the past two seasons — after stays in Cleveland and Arizona. Williams, 37, has started 153 career games — including 23 in his second Packers stint — and will reclaim his place as the league’s oldest active cornerback.
Baltimore remains without All-Pro Marlon Humphrey, who tested positive for the coronavirus. This affected the Ravens’ practices last week, with several defenders missing most or all of those workouts. The Ravens are planning ahead this week.
To make room on their 53-man roster, the Ravens placed cornerback Khalil Dorsey on IR.
Ravens, Tavon Young Rework Contract
Ravens cornerback Tavon Young agreed to a reworked deal, as ESPN.com’s Field Yates tweets. Now, $2.514MM of his 2020 base salary will be converted to a signing bonus. Meanwhile, his non-guaranteed $5.5MM base salary in 2021 was reduced to a guaranteed $2.65MM. 
It seems like a reasonable tradeoff for Young, who has been plagued by injuries. The Temple product missed all of last season with a neck injury in 2019. This year, a Week 2 injury forced him out of action. He also missed the entire 2017 season with a torn ACL, so his injury history is now pretty extensive.
Young started eleven games as a rookie in 2016, then played a big role in 2018 again while making six starts. His contributions as the team’s slot corner earned him a three-year, $25.8MM extension in February of 2019. To date, he’s played just two games since inking deal, which runs through the 2022 season.
The Ravens, meanwhile, have picked up some much-needed cap space in the wake of their recent big-money extensions.
Calais Campbell To Miss Multiple Weeks
It looks like the Ravens will be without a key part of their defense for the time being. Defensive tackle Calais Campbell has a calf strain that will likely sidelined him for multiple games, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets.
Fortunately, Rapoport reports that there are no structural issues and it’s not considered a particularly major injury at this time. Campbell left yesterday’s win over the Colts very early with the injury. In a separate video tweet, Rapoport says it’s expected to be 2-3 weeks, with a “worst case scenario” of four weeks. Calf issues can linger, so Baltimore will likely be cautious with the big fella. The veteran is 34 now, so there’s no reason for him to rush back from an injury like this.
The Ravens made a deal with Jacksonville to trade for Campbell back in March, and signed him to a two-year extension worth up to $27MM immediately after. That deal will run through next season and since almost all of it is guaranteed, he’ll almost certainly be back in 2021 no matter what.
Campbell has remained very productive even at his relatively advanced age, racking up 24 tackles, four sacks, and a whopping six passes defended in only seven-plus games. He’s made the Pro Bowl in five of the past six seasons, and was a first-team All-Pro in 2017. He’s also a vocal leader in the locker room and on the field, so his absence will be felt in more ways than one.