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.

NFL Workout Updates: 10/20/17

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

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Ravens Sign WR Griff Whalen

The Ravens announced that they have signed wide receiver Griff Whalen. In related moves, the team cut offensive lineman Tony Bergstrom and released cornerback Sheldon Price from injured reserve. Griff Whalen (vertical)

Whalen, 27, spent the first four years of his career with the Colts before taking a mini-tour around the league in 2016. The bulk of his action last year came in eight games with the Chargers. He spent this past summer with the Ravens, but he missed the final cut in early September. He has now been called back at a time when Baltimore is in desperate need of wide receiver depth. Breshad Perriman is in concussion protocol while Jeremy Maclin and Mike Wallace have not been able to practice fully.

The Ravens traded a conditional draft pick to the Cardinals in September to acquire Bergstrom. After the offensive lineman played in just 32 snaps on offense and 13 on special teams, the conditions for the pick transfer might not have been met.

CB Maurice Canady Returns To Practice

Patriots LB Shea McClellin headlines the list of IR-DTD players who started practicing this week, which comes courtesy of Ben Volin of the Boston Globe (Twitter Link). McClellin has been recovering from an undisclosed injury he suffered during training camp. It’s an encouraging development for Bill Belichick as the Pats are heavily in need of capable pass rushers. The three other players who returned to practice were Chargers LB Denzel Perryman, Ravens CB Maurice Canady and Falcons LB LaRoy Reynolds.

Ravens Sign LB Steven Johnson

The Ravens have made a change at linebacker, as they’ve signed free agent Steven Johnson and released Jonathan Freeny, the club announced today.Steven Johnson (Vertical)

Johnson should be familiar to Baltimore not only because he’s worked out for the club twice in the past month, but because he’s spent the past year-plus with the division rival Steelers. The 29-year-old Johnson, who’s also played for the Titans and Broncos during a six-year NFL career, has bounced on and off the Pittsburgh roster this season. He’s been active for only seven games over the past two years, and he’s played exclusively on special teams thus far in 2017.

The same can be said of Freeny, whose 35 total snaps this year have all come on special teams duty. Freeny, a five-year NFL veteran, started his career as a special teams player in Miami, but his most notable time came with the Patriots from 2015-16. During that time, Freeny appeared in 18 games and started 11 contests before going down with a shoulder injury last October.

NFL Workout Updates: 10/16/17

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

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Detroit Lions

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

San Francisco 49ers

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