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NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/5/17

December 5th, 2017 at 7:38pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s practice squad updates:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: TE Robert Tonyan

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

New England Patriots

Oakland Raiders

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Redskins

Bills Place Matthews, Lawson On IR

December 5th, 2017 at 3:29pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bills are shutting down two of their starters for the rest of their seasons. Wide receiver Jordan Matthews and defensive end Shaq Lawson have been placed on injured reserve. Jordan Matthews (vertical)To fill their spots, the Bills have promoted defensive end Cap Capi and wide receiver Brandon Reilly to the active roster.

Matthews was the Eagles’ leading receiver in 2016, but Philly spent much of the offseason looking to unload him. In August, they found a taker in the Bills, who shipped Sammy Watkins to the Rams on the same day. Buffalo gave up cornerback Ronald Darby to receive Matthews and a 2018 third-round pick.

Unfortunately, injuries have held Matthews back all year long. Matthews recovered from a broken thumb and fractured sternum, but he has been dealing with a knee issue in recent weeks.

In ten games, the wide receiver had just 25 catches for 282 yards and one touchdown. That pales in comparison to the 73 catches for 804 yards and three touchdowns he had in 2016 and the career-high numbers (85 grabs, 997 yards, eight touchdowns) he put up in the previous year. Matthews is scheduled for free agency in March and he was hoping for a much better platform when he arrived in Buffalo.

Lawson, meanwhile, sprained his ankle last Sunday and had to be carted off of the field. The No. 19 overall pick in the 2016 draft has appeared in just 21 games in his first two NFL seasons.

Latest On Tyrod Taylor’s Injury

December 3rd, 2017 at 6:27pm CST by GregGoldstein

The Bills fell back to .500 this season after losing to the Pats this afternoon. Head coach Sean McDermott went back to his veteran quarterback Tyrod Taylor a week ago with some success, but saw his now starter leave game action once again today because of an injury to his knee. However, Taylor appears to have avoided a major setback, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).

Tyrod Taylor (vertical)

Rapoport reports that Taylor has told people close to him that “he’s going to be OK”, but he will undergo tests tomorrow to know for certain that he’ll avoid major surgery.

Taylor, 28, has had a roller coaster type season so far. He’s led Buffalo to a 5-2 record, then was benched for his rookie backup, and now will have to deal with an injury for the rest of the regular season. Taylor’s numbers have been solid, but unspectacular this year, throwing for 12 touchdowns and three picks, while accumulating a QBR of 53.7.

The former sixth round pick restructured his contract this past offseason, which made the signal caller only under contract for the next two seasons. Originally the contract would have ran through 2021. Although, there is a potential out in the deal after this offseason for just a modest cap hit of $8.64MM, which for a QB is not too much money to move on from.

It seems likelier that the Bills will opt to release Taylor given what’s transpired this season. If that’s the case, this recent news indicates that he will likely go into free agency mostly healthy rather than needing the offseason to rehab a more long-term ailment.

Practice Squad Updates: 11/27/17

November 27th, 2017 at 9:33pm CST by GregGoldstein

Here are today’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

  • Signed: DB Jacob Hagen

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Green Bay Packers

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Kelvin Benjamin Has Torn Meniscus

November 27th, 2017 at 1:40pm CST by Sam Robinson

Some confusion emerged about Kelvin Benjamin‘s status on Monday, but Sean McDermott belatedly confirmed a torn meniscus is sidelining his top wide receiver.

The first-year Bills coach first said Benjamin didn’t tear a meniscus but then clarified that is what the injury is, Mike Rodak of ESPN.com tweets. McDermott said he initially thought a question about a meniscus tear was regarding ligament damage, which the coach said has not occurred in Benjamin’s injured knee.

McDermott called Benjamin “day-to-day,” which seems slightly optimistic considering the injury happened eight days ago. This injury generally shelves players for weeks.

The Bills have not gotten much from their No. 1 pass-catcher after making a deadline-day deal to acquire him. Benjamin has missed two of the four games of his Bills tenure and has four catches as a Bill. Buffalo nonetheless beat the Chiefs in Kansas City on Sunday and remains in the thick of the AFC wild-card race.

Bills To Stick With Taylor

November 26th, 2017 at 4:40pm CST by Zachary Links
  • Bills coach Sean McDermott says “Tyrod Taylor is “our quarterback for next week,” (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). On Sunday, Taylor led Buffalo to victory over Kansas City, a win that snapped a three-game losing streak. It’s no surprise that Taylor will remain at the helm given the W and Nathan Peterman‘s ugly five-interception game last week. If the Bills continue to win with Taylor, it could push the team to reverse course and stick with him for 2018. The Bills have the option to retain Taylor for 2018 with a reasonable $10MM salary and a $6MM roster bonus. If they want to go in a different direction, they can cut him before the bonus date in March and eat just $1MM.

Kelvin Benjamin Out Vs. Chiefs

November 25th, 2017 at 4:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

Residing atop the “In the Hunt” section of AFC playoff picture graphics, the Bills will have a tougher time rebounding from their rough road trip to Los Angeles. Kelvin Benjamin isn’t traveling to Kansas City with the team, per the Bills, due to a knee injury. This could be the start of a multi-game absence for the former Panthers wideout, who avoided an ACL tear but did not get off free of lingering knee pain when injured against the Chargers. Benjamin has only played in two of the four Buffalo games since the Bills acquired him at the trade deadline. He has four receptions for 62 yards as a Bill.

Bills To Start Tyrod Taylor At QB

November 22nd, 2017 at 9:15am CST by Zachary Links

After a disastrous game, the Bills are pulling the plug on the Nathan Peterman experiment. Starting this week, the Bills will reinstall Tyrod Taylor as the starting quarterback. Tyrod Taylor (vertical)

“It’s the right thing for our team. It was my decision and it will always be about what’s best for our team,” McDermott told reporters.

The Bills shocked everyone last week when they announced that Taylor would be benched in favor of the rookie QB. Taylor has admittedly been shaky this season, but the change seemed risky and a bit too future-minded for a team still in the thick of the playoff chase. After Peterman had a historically bad outing against the Chargers, the Bills are flip-flopping and hoping that it’s not too late to land themselves a wild card spot.

Taylor’s performance in these final six games (assuming he holds on to the starting job) will impact the Bills’ playoff chances as well as his own future with the team. The Bills can keep Taylor at an affordable $10MM salary for 2o18 with a $6MM roster bonus due in March. Alternatively, the Bills can cut him early in the league year, leaving them on the hook for just $1MM.

Taylor’s first assignment will be to lead the Bills to victory over the Chiefs on Sunday. According to Football Outsiders, the 5-5 Bills still have a 23.7% chance of making the playoffs.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/21/17

November 21st, 2017 at 10:10pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are today’s minor moves.

Arizona Cardinals

Cleveland Browns

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Rams

New England Patriots

  • Signed off Bills’ practice squad: OLB Eric Lee

Washington Redskins

  • Placed on IR: G Shaun Lauvao

NFL Workout Updates: 11/21/17

November 21st, 2017 at 9:12pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here’s the workout news from Tuesday.

Buffalo Bills

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

New England Patriots

New York Jets

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