NFL Workout Updates: 10/31/17

Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account unless otherwise noted:

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

New England Patriots

New York Giants

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Redskins

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/31/17

Today’s practice squad updates:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Detroit Lions

  • Released: T Storm Norton

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

Washington Redskins

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/31/17

Today’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

  • Promoted to active roster: OL Maurquice Shakir
  • Released: WR Griff Whalen

Buffalo Bills

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Miami Dolphins

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Ravens’ Danny Woodhead To Come Off Of IR

Ravens running back Danny Woodhead has officially returned to practice, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The plan is for Woodhead to return from injured reserve. Danny Woodhead (vertical)

The Ravens parked Woodhead on IR in September when he was taking longer than expected to recover from a hamstring strain. With some extra time to recover, Woodhead should be able to give Baltimore’s running game a boost. As an added bonus, he’s entering the midway point of the season with fresh legs.

Woodhead signed with the Ravens on a three-year, $8.8MM deal with $4.25MM guaranteed back in March. It remains to be seen whether he can truly earn his salary given his age and injury troubles.

Woodhead missed most of last season and played in only three games for the 2014 Chargers due to injury. In 2015, however, Woodhead totaled 1,091 yards from scrimmage and nine touchdowns.

Redskins Sign Orlando Franklin, Arie Kouandjio

Orlando Franklin‘s Washington workout will produce a signing, with Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reporting (via Twitter) the UFA offensive lineman agreed to terms with the Redskins.

Needing more offensive line help due to injuries depleting their group, the Redskins also signed Arie Kouandjio off the Ravens’ practice squad, Schefter reports.

Franklin, 29, has not played this season after the Saints released him in August but auditioned for the Redskins earlier this week. He started for six seasons leading up to this one, however, lining up as a right tackle for three years and a left guard for the previous three.

Center Spencer Long and tackle Ty Nsekhe are out for Sunday’s game against the Cowboys. Trent Williams, Morgan Moses and Brandon Scherff are listed as questionable.

The brother of Cyrus Kouandjio, Arie Kouandjio spent two seasons with Washington after the franchise selected the Alabama blocker in the fourth round of the 2015 draft. He started two games at left guard for the 2016 Redskins but could not make this year’s roster. The Ravens signed the older of the two NFL Kouandjios in September and stashed him on their practice squad.

The Chargers cut Franklin after two seasons earlier this year, doing so after signing him to five-year deal in March 2015.

Joe Flacco In Concussion Protocol

Joe Flacco has entered concussion protocol, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter). This comes less than 15 minutes after Kiko Alonso delivered a controversial hit to the Ravens quarterback’s head on a Flacco slide attempt.

The Ravens ruled Flacco out for the remainder of the game with a concussion.

This comes as little surprise to those watching Thursday night’s Dolphins-Ravens game, given the impact of Alonso’s penalized hit, and Ryan Mallett has taken over for Flacco. The Ravens are up 20-0, with Mallett having thrown a touchdown pass after being summoned in the red zone, but the team’s chances obviously take a hit without their starter.

Although Flacco has struggled this year, he’s been mostly durable during his 10-year career. He missed time earlier this year due to a back injury, but it didn’t cost him any regular-season time. A severe knee injury shelved him for six games in 2015, but Flacco has started every other regular-season contest since the Ravens picked him in the 2008 first round.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/24/17

Today’s practice squad updates:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

  • Signed: WR Kenny Bell
  • Released: TE Gabe Holmes

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

  • Signed: DT Jarrod Clements

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

  • Signed: OL Brandon Thomas
  • Released: OL Norman Price

Kansas City Chiefs

New York Jets

Oakland Raiders

  • Signed: CB Tevin Mitchel

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Ravens Sign TE Gavin Escobar

The Ravens have signed tight end Gavin Escobar and released offensive lineman Tony Bergstrom, the club announced today.Gavin Escobar (vertical)

Escobar, 26, never lived up his to second-round draft status, as he managed only 30 receptions and 333 yards over four seasons with the Cowboys. He inked a minimum salary benefit contract with the Chiefs in March, but was part of the club’s final cutdowns in September. Since then, Escobar has been on the workout circuit, and while he’s auditioned for a number of clubs, he hadn’t found a deal until now.

Baltimore currently has four tight ends on its roster, with Ben Watson, Nick Boyle, Maxx Williams, and Vince Mayle serving as the club’s depth at the position. Watson and Boyle have done most of receiving work for the Ravens this year, while Williams was inactive for Sunday’s contest with an ankle injury. Williams’ health questions could have conceivably led Baltimore to inking Escobar.

Bergstrom, meanwhile, was sent to Baltimore in a preseason trade but has since bounced on-and-off the Ravens’ roster. He’s appeared in four games this season but played just 32 total snaps.

Injury Notes: Bailey, Foster, Wallace, Spence

It was a dominant win for the Cowboys in San Francisco this afternoon, but the team did not escape the contest with their special teams intact. Kicker Dan Bailey was forced out of the game with a groin injury, according to the Dallas News. Bailey was reported to have suffered the injury in warmups, but it remains to be seen whether the news will force Dallas to bring in another kicker. In one of the more entertaining aspects of this week’s action, safety Jeff Heath was the emergency fill-in for today’s game, which included him clunking an extra point off the pole and through the uprights.

  • It’s been a trying rookie season for 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster so far. After missing a few games already with an ankle injury he suffered earlier in the season, the former Alabama defender was back on the sidelines after suffering an apparent rib injury in the third quarter. Foster seemed unsure of what was to come following the game.“I really don’t know, I’ve got to come in here (get an) MRI and treatment and just see what he doctors say about it. If they clear me, they clear me. If they don’t, they don’t,” he told Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee. It’s worth noting that Foster did return to the game initially, but was later taken out again for X-Rays. Barrows did add that Foster was cleared to return later in the fourth quarter by team doctors, but the coaches weren’t comfortable letting him back on the field at the end of a blowout.
  • The Ravens suffered another blow to their depleted wide receiver corps in today’s game vs. the Vikings when Mike Wallace was diagnosed with a concussion after taking a big hit on a pass over the middle of the field. However, Wallace was pleading to play following the hit, explains Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. The 31 year-old receiver was seen walking up-and-down the sideline trying to convince coaches to put him back in the game. However, head coach John Harbaugh said that Wallace staying out of the game “was a done deal”, tells Zrebiec. The Ravens play on Thursday next week, so Wallace would need to pass all the concussion protocol rather quickly in order to suit up. If not, the Ravens have just Michael Campanero, Chris Moore and Griff Whalen remaining on the depth chart.
  • Bucs rookie pass rusher Noah Spence left today’s contest with an apparent shoulder injury, reports Josh Reed of WIVB.com (Twitter Link). Reed passes along that Spence will likely require surgery and is probable to miss an extended period of time. He later added onto the initial report stating there is concern that the 2017 second round pick may end up missing the rest of the season. In his first six professional games, the linebacker had just nine tackles, including one strip sack.

Ravens Re-Sign OG Tony Bergstrom

The Ravens have added some reinforcement on the offensive line. According to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter), the team has re-signed offensive guard Tony Bergstrom. To make room on the roster, the Ravens have waived cornerback Tony McRae.

Tony Bergstrom (vertical)Baltimore has already placed three offensive lineman on the injured reserve this year, including Marshal YandaNico Siragusa, and Alex Lewis. Backup guard/center Matt Skura was also listed as a DNP on Thursday’s injury report due to a knee ailment, effectively leaving Luke Bowanko as the Ravens’ lone backup lineman.

Fortunately, Bergstrom is plenty familiar with Baltimore’s scheme. The 2012 third-round pick was traded to the Ravens in early September, with the organization sending a conditional seventh-rounder to Arizona. He proceeded to play in three games for the Ravens before being released earlier this week. Over his six-year career, the 31-year-old has appeared in 43 games (four starts). It’s worth noting that Bergstrom has only played 45 total snaps this season, and if continues to solely serve in a backup role, there’s no guarantee that the conditional pick will translate.

A 2016 undrafted rookie out of North Carolina A&T, McRae saw the field for five games this season, compiling a single tackle. His release leaves first-rounder Marlon Humphrey and undrafted rookie Jaylen Hill as the lone backups on the cornerback depth chart.

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