Packers OL Sean Rhyan Draws PED Ban
The NFL handed one of the Packers’ Day 2 rookies a six-game suspension Friday. Sean Rhyan will miss most of the Packers’ remaining games due to violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy.
This might not affect the Packers’ gameday plans too much, as Rhyan has played all of one snap this season (a special teams play against the Lions), but it will strip the team of a depth piece along its offensive line.
The Packers chose Rhyan 92nd overall out of UCLA, but fourth-round rookie Zach Tom has seen more action this season. Tom has made two starts and played extensively as a backup in two other games. Despite Elgton Jenkins‘ delay and David Bakhtiari‘s continued uncertainty, the Packers have been healthier up front than they were last season. That has allowed for a Rhyan developmental year.
Green Bay has chosen an O-lineman on Day 2 in three of the past four years, though Jenkins and 2021 second-round pick Josh Myers became quick studies. Rhyan worked as the Bruins’ starting left tackle for most of his college career, helping the likes of Joshua Kelley and 2023 prospect Zach Charbonnet to 1,000-yard rushing seasons. The Packers have attempted to use him inside.
This suspension will essentially close the book on Rhyan practice work until the 2023 offseason. Although Rhyan has not been needed up front this year, this absence certainly stands to affect his development.
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/23/22
Today’s minor moves around the league:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed to active roster: WR Frank Darby
Buffalo Bills
- Elevated: DE Mike Love, WR Tanner Gentry
Dallas Cowboys
- Elevated: T Aviante Collins, DE Takk McKinley
Detroit Lions
- Elevated: LB James Houston, C Ross Pierschbacher
Green Bay Packers
- Designated for return from NFI list: T Caleb Jones
- Claimed off waivers (from Rams): LB Justin Hollins
- Waived: RB Patrick Taylor
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Designated for return from IR: OLB K’Lavon Chaisson
Las Vegas Raiders
- Designated for return from IR: CB Nate Hobbs
Los Angeles Chargers
- Designated for return from IR: RB Joshua Kelley
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: DT Justin Zimmer
New York Giants
- Signed to active roster: OL Devery Hamilton, S Trenton Thompson
- Elevated: S Terrell Burgess, OL Korey Cunningham
- Waived: LB Austin Calitro, OLB Quincy Roche
Thanksgiving will mark McKinley’s Cowboys debut after he signed to Dallas’ practice squad last week. The veteran will seek to be more productive in his reunion with Dan Quinn than his previous stops following the end of his Falcons tenure, while providing depth to a Cowboys edge group which has produced a league-leading 42 sacks this season.
Hobbs returning to the fold in the near future will be a welcomed sight for the Raiders’ secondary. The 2021 fifth-rounder was a full-time starter through the first five weeks of the season before landing on IR with a broken hand. Vegas has struggled against the pass, allowing more than 247 yards per game through the air in 2022. The team has three weeks to activate him before he becomes ineligible to play again this season.
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/17/22
Today’s minor moves:
Green Bay Packers
- Promoted: LB Ladarius Hamilton
Tennessee Titans
- Signed to active roster: WR C.J. Board
- Promoted: DB Davontae Harris, DB Greg Mabin
- Placed on IR: CB Lonnie Johnson Jr.
Both roster additions were made in anticipation of tonight’s game between the Packers and Titans. Board has got into one game for the Titans this season, returning four punts. Hamilton has seen time in two games this season after getting into six contests for Green Bay in 2021.
Johnson suffered a hamstring injury during Tennessee’s Week 10 win against the Packers. The 27-year-old has appeared in eight games this season, collecting five tackles.
Packers Activate WR Randall Cobb From IR
Randall Cobb will make one of the quickest returns from IR possible. The Packers are following through with their rumored activation; the team announced the veteran wideout’s return to the active roster Thursday.
Placed on IR because of a high ankle sprain, Cobb missed the minimum four games and became eligible to return this week. The Packers designated him for return Tuesday. Despite the team having a Thursday-night game, Cobb is not going through a practice ramp-up period. He will be in uniform against the Titans.
This is the Packers’ fourth injury activation this season, giving them four left. The team’s Cobb move also represents its second receiver IR-return transaction this season. Sammy Watkins came off the injured list last month. Cobb and Watkins stand to help Green Bay’s cause against Tennessee, with a 4-6 start leaving the Packers little room for error down the stretch.
Thursday marks Cobb’s second IR-return transaction in his two seasons back with the Pack. A core muscle injury cost him time last season, but teams had unlimited IR activations from 2020-21, making such roster moves less important. The Packers have dealt with extensive receiver injury trouble this season; their top five targets have missed time. But the team is fairly healthy at the position for Week 11, with only rookie Romeo Doubs, who is also dealing with a high ankle sprain, out against Tennessee.
Cobb, 32, is on a better pace compared to 2021. The former Packers Day 2 draftee has 18 receptions for 257 yards this season. The slot player’s 42.6 yards per game are well north of his 2021 number (31.3). Of course, the Packers trading Davante Adams and losing Marquez Valdes-Scantling in free agency freed up some targets. The Packers will see if their Cobb-Watkins-Allen Lazard–Christian Watson quartet can generate some consistency at what has been one of the NFL’s more inconsistent positions this season.
Packers Designate Randall Cobb For Return
NOVEMBER 17: Green Bay is expected to activate Cobb off IR in time for Thursday night’s game, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com notes (video link). Initially feared to have suffered a season-ending injury, Cobb is now looking set to return after missing just four games.
NOVEMBER 15: The Packers’ shorthanded receiving corps received a breakthrough performance from Christian Watson in Week 10, helping the team upset the Cowboys. Green Bay may have another weapon available soon.
Randall Cobb returned to practice Tuesday, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. While expecting the veteran to return off IR in time for Thursday’s game against the Titans might be a tough ask, the veteran is eligible to do so. The Packers have three weeks to activate Cobb, who has gone through a midseason IR stay for the second straight year.
A high ankle sprain has sidelined Cobb, 32, this season. The 12th-year wideout was feared to have suffered a broken ankle, but additional testing confirmed a less severe injury. With the subsequent exams opening the door to Cobb coming back, this stands to bolster a Packers passing game that has seen all of its key principals miss time this season.
Romeo Doubs is currently out due to a high ankle sprain; the rookie remains on Green Bay’s 53-man roster. The Packers already used one of their injury activations on Sammy Watkins, who went on IR early this season. The team waived 2021 third-round pick Amari Rodgers earlier Tuesday. Watson and Allen Lazard have also missed time, though neither has gone on IR. The Packers have five injury activations remaining.
Plagued by injuries and inconsistency throughout his first year with the Packers, Watson emerged for a three-touchdown game — Green Bay’s first rookie-year game featuring three receiving TDs since Hall of Famer James Lofton accomplished the feat in 1978 — to lift the team past the Cowboys. Lazard and Watson figure to be the Packers’ lead contributors against the Titans. Watkins and Cobb profile as auxiliary targets at this point.
Brought back via trade at Aaron Rodgers‘ request late last summer, Cobb missed five games in 2021 because of a core muscle injury. Prior to going on IR this year, Cobb caught 18 passes for 257 yards. Cobb, 32, can move past Max McGee into the top 10 in all-time Packers receiving yardage with 190 more this season. Cobb’s Texans-constructed, Packers-altered contract expires in March.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/15/22
Today’s practice squad transactions:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: DL Michael Dogbe
- Released: OL Sage Doxtater, LB Blake Lynch
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: DB Devon Key
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: CB T.J. Carrie
- Released: S Kenny Robinson
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: DE Isaac Rochell
- Released: WR Cyril Grayson
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: WR Antonio Callaway, C Brock Hoffman
- Released: DE Mika Tafua
- Placed on IR: C Alec Lindstrom
Denver Broncos
- Signed: WR Victor Bolden Jr.
Detroit Lions
- Signed: CB AJ Parker
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: DE Tim Ward
Houston Texans
- Signed: WR Alex Bachman, S Will Redmond
- Released: WR Michael Young
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: LB Tyrell Adams
- Released: TE Darrell Daniels
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: RB Malcolm Brown
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: CB Parry Nickerson
New England Patriots
- Released: WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey
New Orleans Saints
- Released: RB Derrick Gore, RB Jordan Howard
New York Giants
- Signed: DL Vernon Butler, OL Devery Hamilton
Philadelphia Eagles
- Released: WR Auden Tate
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Released: LB Hamilcar Rashed
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: QB Jacob Eason, WR Dazz Newsome
- Released: QB Kurt Benkert
- Placed on IR: WR Tajae Sharpe
Seattle Seahawks
- Released: WR Kevin Kassis
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: DB Davontae Harris, K Josh Lambo, DB Greg Mabin, LB Andre Smith
- Released: DB Shyheim Carter, OL Eric Smith
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/15/22
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed to active roster: OL Rashaad Coward
- Released: K Tristan Vizcaino
Chicago Bears
- Waived: DE Kingsley Jonathan
Cleveland Browns
- Signed off Dolphins practice squad: DT Ben Stille
- Waived: DT Roderick Perry II
Green Bay Packers
- Signed to active roster: RB Patrick Taylor
Houston Texans
- Waived: CB Isaac Yiadom
Seattle Seahawks
- Activated off PUP: CB Tre Brown
Packers Waive Amari Rodgers, Kylin Hill
Less than two seasons into his Packers rookie contract, Amari Rodgers is no longer with the team. Green Bay waived the former third-round pick Tuesday.
This move comes after Rodgers muffed a punt against the Cowboys, continuing a rough season in this role. The Packers also waived running back Kylin Hill, who joined Rodgers in being part of their 2021 draft class.
Not only was Rodgers unable to carve out a role in Green Bay’s receiving corps, he struggled consistently in the special teams gig he earned. Rodgers has fumbled five times this season, losing two of those. The Clemson product’s five fumbles lead all non-quarterbacks this season. With the exception of Melvin Gordon, no other non-QB has more than three fumbles in 2022.
It is still somewhat surprising the Packers moved past demoting Rodgers, 23, from his return role to taking him off the roster altogether. The slot receiver represented a key investment by a team famous for not reaching for first-round pass catchers. From 2019-21, Rodgers was the only wideout the Packers selected. But Rodgers failed to make strides in the team’s offense this offseason, one that featured three receiver investments in the draft. All three of those cogs — Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs and Samore Toure — have played ahead of Rodgers on offense.
The Amari Rodgers pick (No. 85 overall) came at a pivotal point on the franchise’s timeline. A day earlier, Aaron Rodgers‘ trade request became public. Lack of investment at wide receiver was among Aaron Rodgers’ issues with the franchise, one that passed on a wideout move to trade up for Jordan Love in 2020. Amari Rodgers wraps his Packers career with eight receptions for 95 yards and no touchdowns.
It will be interesting to see if another team takes a flier on the former Trevor Lawrence college target. Playing alongside the likes of Tee Higgins and Justyn Ross at Clemson, Rodgers worked as a regular during Lawrence’s three-year run as the Tigers’ starter. In 2020, he improved his stock with a 77-catch, 1,020-yard, seven-touchdown campaign. Even as injury and performance issues plagued this year’s Packers receiver crop, Rodgers did not secure a notable role. He has played 98 offensive snaps this year.
As for Hill, he has spent much of his career battling back from injury. A former seventh-round pick, Hill suffered an ACL tear midway through last season. The injury recovery dragged into this season. The Packers did use one of their injury activations on the Mississippi State product this season, taking Hill off the reserve/PUP list. It will be interesting to see if Hill is a candidate to stay with Packers via a practice squad agreement. He must clear waivers in order to be eligible for that path.
Hill, 24, zoomed onto the draft radar with a 1,350-yard 2019 season, but he opted out of the 2020 campaign and ended up becoming a seventh-round pick. The 214-pound back has 11 career carries for 31 yards as a pro.
Packers Hire Aubrey Pleasant
One assistant coach affected by 2022’s in-season firings has quickly found a new employer. Former Lions assistant Aubrey Pleasant is joining the Packers’ staff, per ESPN’s Rob Demovsky (Twitter link). The move has since been confirmed.
Pleasant was fired by Detroit two weeks ago, as a reaction to the Lions’ ongoing defensive struggles. The team still ranks last in the league in points and yards allowed, but changes had been expected for some time leading up to the decision. The move left Pleasant – who had served as Detroit’s secondary coach and defensive pass game coordinator – free to find a new NFL home.
That came via an intra-division change of scenery. Demovsky notes that Pleasant actually began working with the Packers’ staff last week, as he reunited with head coach Matt LaFleur. The pair worked together both in Washington and with the Rams. Pleasant will be working in a consultant role on the offensive side of the ball, applying the experience garnered from his defensive background, Demovsky tweets.
Prior to this season’s poor performance, Pleasant had been a relatively hot name on the defensive coordinator radar, interviewing for the Bengals’ DC post, and also those of the Vikings and Saints this past offseason. His dismissal after only one full year with the Lions will likely delay his next opportunity for such a role, but this Packers stint could prove useful as well.
Interestingly, this hire comes just one week after LaFleur stated that no coaching changes were coming for the Packers (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman). Green Bay sat at 3-6 at the time, and is still a distant second to the Vikings in the NFC North even after yesterday’s overtime win over the Cowboys. The team’s struggles on offense in particular have drawn criticism and led to questions about a significant shakeup of some kind taking place. Instead, the Packers will move forward with the status quo at the skill positions and a new voice amongst the team’s coaching staff.
Odell Beckham Jr. Hopes To Sign By End Of November; 49ers In Mix
OBJ watch remains in full effect. As Adam Schefter of ESPN.com writes, free agent wideout Odell Beckham Jr. is hoping to sign with a club by the end of November, and it appears there are five legitimate suitors: the Bills, Chiefs, Cowboys, Giants, and 49ers.
While the first four teams on that list have been mentioned as potential landing spots before, the 49ers are a new entrant in this year’s Beckham sweepstakes. The Niners were reportedly on OBJ’s shortlist of preferred destinations when he was cut by the Browns last November, but they had not been a part of the 2022 rumors. The 5-4 club currently occupies the seventh and final spot in the NFC playoff picture and made a bold move to acquire former Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey prior to the trade deadline. Beckham would further bolster a talented skill-position group that includes McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, and George Kittle.
Recent reporting indicates that the Cowboys have emerged as the frontrunners here, and neither Schefter nor Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports have said anything to contradict that. Indeed, Jones confirms that Beckham is looking to join a high-profile contender that plays in a warm-weather city, and the Cowboys meet all of those criteria. On the other hand, a cold-weather climate is not necessarily a dealbreaker, so Super Bowl favorites like the Bills remain in play. There is also the possibility that a dark horse candidate swoops in at the last minute, while disappointing would-be contenders like the Rams and Packers seem to have fallen out of the race.
Although Schefter reports that Dr. Neal ElAttrache is prepared to clear Beckham for all activities, one of Jones’ sources says the wideout might not be ready for game action until Week 14 or 15. Another executive told Jones that all of the rumors surrounding Beckham are “creating the illusion of a market,” and while it is fair to be skeptical of what Beckham can offer for the remainder of the 2022 season, the reports of widespread interest in his services appear legitimate.
In fact, Schefter’s sources say that Beckham could land a payout in line with those of Bucs WR Chris Godwin and Chargers receiver Mike Williams (albeit on a prorated basis). Godwin and Williams enjoy a $20MM AAV, and assuming the market for Beckham is as robust as it appears, he could earn a $5MM salary for the final quarter of the season. Beckham continues to push for a multi-year pact, and if a team is willing to honor that request, it would be better-equipped to absorb such a salary, which would otherwise be difficult to do at this point in the season.
Regardless of what he makes for the rest of the 2022 campaign, Beckham may need to accept a contract comprised primarily of non-guaranteed money in the future in order to secure a multi-year contract, as Jones observes.