Raiders Release Doug Martin With Injury Settlement
Late last month, it was reported that the Raiders had released Doug Martin, though shortly thereafter another report indicated that Martin had been placed on IR. In short, it was clear that Martin would be released with an injury settlement, and as ESPN’s Field Yates tweets, that happened today. The club also waived/injured DE Alex Barrett.
Martin has been dealing with a shoulder injury, and once he gets healthy, he will be free to sign with any club. The Raiders could theoretically bring him back, though they would have to wait a minimum of three weeks to do so.
Martin, a former first-round pick of the Buccaneers, spent the first six years of his career with Tampa Bay before catching on with the Raiders in March 2018. In his lone season with the Silver-and-Black, Martin compiled 723 rushing yards on 172 carries — good for a respectable 4.2 YPC mark — and four touchdowns. It’s a far cry from his 2015 First Team All-Pro campaign, when he piled up 1,402 yards on the ground and 271 yards through the air, but he proved that he can still be a serviceable back.
For the time being, at least, the Raiders are set to roll with Josh Jacobs and DeAndre Washington as their 1-2 punch at RB.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/2/19
Today’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: DB Brynden Trawick
- Placed on IR: CB Iman Marshall
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: G John Jerry
- Placed on IR: G O’Shea Dugas
Detroit Lions
- Waived/Injured: WR Andy Jones
Green Bay Packers
- Released: LB James Crawford
Indianapolis Colts
- Waived: S Rolan Milligan
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: C Coleman Shelton
- Placed on IR: OLB Justin Lawler
New York Jets
- Signed: LB Albert McClellan
- Placed on IR: OL Brent Qvale
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: DE Josh Mauro, LB Kyle Wilber
- Placed on IR: Isaiah Johnson
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: FB Nick Bellore
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Claimed: RB T.J. Logan (from Cardinals) Waived: DL Pat O’Connor
Washington Redskins
- Signed: DT Treyvon Hester
- Claimed: LB Tanner Vallejo (from Cardinals)
Raiders Place Nathan Peterman On IR
The Raiders placed quarterback Nathan Peterman on injured reserve, per a team announcement. With that, the Raiders are back to having three quarterbacks: Derek Carr, Mike Glennon, and newcomer DeShone Kizer.
The Raiders claim of Kizer on Sunday was something of a head-scratcher, but now it makes perfect sense. There’s no word yet on Peterman’s injury, but he’ll now get at least two months of rest. Even if he’s able to play, he might stay parked on IR for the entire season, barring injury to Carr, Glennon, or Kizer. Teams are only permitted to bring two players back from IR each year and they’ll probably have better candidates to choose from than the No. 3 QB.
Peterman was counted out by many, but he came roaring back in the preseason by completing 60 of 84 passes for 475 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions across four games.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/2/19
We’ll keep track of Monday’s practice squad moves here:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: LB Jamal Carter, WR Brandon Powell
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: G Sam Jones
- Released: QB Drew Anderson, WR A.J. Richardson
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: QB Davis Webb, WR Tyron Johnson, LB Nate Hall
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: OT Wyatt Miller
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: WR Ventell Bryant, QB Clayton Thorson
Detroit Lions
- Signed: LB Jason Cabinda
- Released: TE Austin Traylor
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: LB Jamal Davis, RB Quinton Flowers, DT Brian Price, WR Chad Williams
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: QB Chase Litton
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: DB Alex Brown, LB Emmanuel Smith, DE Cameron Malveaux, DB Torry McTyer
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: OT Zach Sterup, LB Terrill Hanks
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: WR Davion Davis
New England Patriots
- Signed: DE Gerri Green, G Najee Toran, G Colby Gossett
- Released: OT Tyree St. Louis
New York Giants
- Signed:CB Corn Elder, WR David Sills
New York Jets
- Signed: RB Josh Adams and TE Ian Bunting WR/KR Greg Dortch
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: WR Marcell Ateman, DE Quinton Bell, G Lester Cotton, Sr., RB Damarea Crockett, WR Rico Gafford, CB Dylan Mabin, CB Nick Nelson, LB Justin Phillips, DT Anthony Rush, TE Eric Saubert
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: CB Craig James
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: WR Johnny Holton
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: OT Ryan Pope
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: CB Ryan Neal, OL Kahlil McKenzie, DE Jachai Polite
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: TE Jordan Leggett, RB Tony Brooks-James
Washington Redskins
- Signed: LB Chris Odom
Sunday NFL Transactions: AFC West
Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four NFC West teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions for the Broncos, Chargers, Chiefs and Raiders are noted below.
Additionally, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads today. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.
Here are Sunday’s AFC West transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day.
Denver Broncos
- Signed:
- Claimed:
- TE Andrew Beck
- CB Davontae Harris
- C Corey Levin
- WR Diontae Spencer
- Waived:
- WR River Cracraft
- T Jake Rodgers
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed to practice squad:
- WR Jody Fortson
- TE Nick Keizer
- RB Marcus Marshall
- C James Murray
- QB Kyle Shurmur
- WR Cody Thompson
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed to practice squad:
- OL Chris Brown
- OL Spencer Drango
- CB Kemon Hall
- DE Anthony Lanier
- WR Artavis Scott
- WR Jason Moore
- RB Detrez Newsome
- WR Andre Patton
- TE Matt Sokol
Raiders To Release DL Josh Mauro
The Raiders’ corresponding roster move for their DeShone Kizer waiver claim will not be a quarterback cut. Instead, Oakland will part ways with defensive lineman Josh Mauro, Vic Tafur of The Athletic tweets.
Both of Derek Carr‘s featured-on-Hard Knocks backups, Mike Glennon and Nathan Peterman, remain on the Raiders’ roster. Mauro joined the Raiders earlier this year as a free agent and may well be back.
The team plans to re-sign the veteran defender, per Greg Auman of The Athletic (on Twitter). Teams often make pre-Week 1 cuts of lower-profile vested veterans for contract guarantee purposes, and moving Mauro off the roster will enable the Raiders to avoid having to expose a non-vested vet to the waiver process.
Mauro spent the 2018 season with the Giants, going to New York after four years with Arizona. Known mostly for his run-stopping acumen, Mauro came into the NFL as a UDFA. He played 270 snaps with the Giants in 2018.
Raiders Claim QB DeShone Kizer
The Raiders claimed quarterback DeShone Kizer off waivers from the Packers, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter).The move gives Oakland four quarterbacks as of this writing, though one of their signal callers will almost certainly be displaced to make room for the Notre Dame product.
A second-round selection in 2017, Kizer was pegged as a green talent that had high upside. Unfortunately for him, he was taken by the Browns, who proceeded to lose every game that season. At year’s end, he was shipped to Green Bay. Now, at the age of 23, he’s moving on to his third career NFL team.
The Raiders seemed set at quarterback with Derek Carr, Mike Glennon, and Nathan Peterman. Now, it looks like Peterman will be squeezed out to make room for Kizer. The Raiders would probably like to stash Peterman on the practice squad, but he’d have to clear waivers first.
Raiders Get Down To 53 Players
The Raiders have made their slew of cuts. They placed defensive tackle Justin Ellis on injured reserve, meaning he’ll miss the entire season. After starting 14 games in 2017, Oakland signed Ellis to a three-year, $15MM extension. Injuries limited him to just six games last season, so he’ll have barely played through the first two years of that extension.
Former Rams defensive lineman Ethan Westbrooks also got the boot. He started nine games for Los Angeles in 2017 and racked up four sacks. Last year he had a smaller role, although he did appear in all 16 games for the Rams. ‘Hard Knocks’ star Keelan Doss unfortunately failed to make the roster. He’s an undrafted rookie receiver from UC Davis. Additionally Keith Smith, who served as the team’s fullback last season, was released.
Waived:
WR Marcell Ateman
DE Quinton Bell
RB James Butler
LB Jason Cabinda
LB Te’von Coney
G Lester Cotton Sr.
WR Keelan Doss
LB Koa Farmer
WR Rico Gafford
WR Keon Hatcher
G/T Denver Kirkland
CB Dylan Mabin
T Justin Murray
CB Nick Nelson
WR De’Mornay Pierson-El
T Tyler Roemer
DT Anthony Rush
Released:
FB Keith Smith
DE Ethan Westbrooks
LB Kyle Wilber
Waived/injured:
TE Paul Butler
Placed on season-ending injured reserve:
DT Justin Ellis
Rolando McClain Gets Conditional Reinstatement
Linebacker Rolando McClain, conceivably, could make a return to the NFL. After three full seasons away from the sport, the league has granted him a conditional reinstatement (Twitter link via Mike Florio of PFT).
McClain, a talented former first-round pick of the Raiders, has battled off-the-field demons for years. The Cowboys gambled on him after the Raiders gave up on him and, for a period, that gamble paid off.
In 2014, the Cowboys acquired McClain via trade and used him in 13 games. He finished that season with 81 tackles, one sack, and one forced fumble. After that, he was hit with his first – but not last – NFL suspension. In 2015, he was limited to just eleven games, though he still tallied 80 tackles and a pair of sacks.
After signing another one-year deal with the Cowboys during the 2016 offseason, McClain was handed a ten-game suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. He then failed another drug test midway through the season, and the NFL slapped him with an indefinite suspension. After his third ban in two years, McClain was cuffed on a 2017 arrest for firearm and drug charges.
We haven’t seen McClain on the field since the 2015 season, but the door is at least open for him to sign with a club for the upcoming year. It remains to be seen whether the 30-year-old is in game shape, however.
Raiders Cut LB Brandon Marshall
The Raiders have released linebacker Brandon Marshall, according to PFT’s Mike Florio (on Twitter). Marshall joined the Raiders in late March, but could not make the cut.
Marshall, who compiled 102 tackles and three sacks in 2017, was supposed to boost a linebacker group that also added Vontaze Burfict on a low-cost deal. For one reason or another, he couldn’t stick.
Marshall battled through injuries during the 2018 season and appeared in just eleven games. He finished out the campaign with only 42 tackles, his lowest total since he became a starter during the 2014 season.
Still, the former fifth-rounder has shown that he can be a difference maker when he’s at full strength – Marshall finished with at least 100 tackles in each of his three healthiest seasons.