Raiders Designate Obi Melifonwu For Return
When the Raiders put Obi Melifonwu on injured reserve to start the year, they did so with the hope that he could return mid-season. His recovery went according to schedule, and the second-round safety has been designated to return from IR two weeks from now, as Scott Bair of NBC Sports Bay Area writes. 
Melifonwu, the 56th pick in this year’s draft, wowed Raiders scouts in workouts after a strong four-year stretch at UConn. On campus, he tallied eight career interceptions with four of those picks coming in his final season. Melifonwu also notched a personal-best 118 tackles as a senior. Before the draft, NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein compared him to the George Iloka of the Bengals.
Bair writes that Melifonwu’s primary task will be to cover tight ends and running backs in sub packages. Down the line, the team is hoping that he can step into a starting role.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/16/17
Today’s minor moves:
Carolina Panthers
- Promoted to active roster: QB Garrett Gilbert
- Waived: DB Dezmen Southward
Cincinnati Bengals
- Promoted to active roster: LB Hardy Nickerson
Kansas City Chiefs
- Waived: WR Marcus Kemp
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: LB Josh Keyes
- Waived: LB Nigel Harris
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: DT John Hughes
Oakland Raiders
- Waived: LB Tyrell Adams
Raiders To Sign NaVorro Bowman
NaVorro Bowman is already off of the market. The linebacker has agreed to a one-year, $3MM deal with the Raiders, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). 
Bowman seemed to have a free agent tour set up for this week, including a scheduled visit with the Cowboys. However, the Raiders did not let him leave without a deal. Currently in a four-game skid, the veteran Mike linebacker could help to fortify the front seven and turn their season around. Bowman, apparently, was not deterred by their recent slump.
Bowman was considered to be a world-class player not long ago and he was understandably frustrated by the Niners’ decision to rotate him with other middle linebackers this season. The team also drafted his eventual replacement in Reuben Foster, so it was clear that the two would be parting ways at some point. The Niners tried to trade Bowman and even had a potential deal lined up with the Saints, but they granted him his release when he requested that he be able to test free agency instead.
Leaving San Francisco was bittersweet for Bowman, but the lack of offset language in his contract probably made it a bit easier to swallow. Had their been offset language in his contract, the Niners would have been able to collect on whatever new salary Bowman signed for. In those cases, veteran players often wind up settling for the minimum salary (and, in a sense, playing for free) since the money just goes to the old team. However, Bowman was able to double-dip here, meaning that he has tacked $3MM on to his base pay for 2017. If he performs at a high level the rest of the way, he could collect on a lucrative free agent deal after the season.
The Raiders, currently at 2-4, have the second worst defensive DVOA in the league. They have allowed 117.2 rushing yards per contest and 233 passing yards per game.
Cowboys To Host LB NaVorro Bowman
The Cowboys will host free agent linebacker NaVorro Bowman following his visit with the Raiders, which will take place on Monday, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Meanwhile, the Saints have also emerged as a possible suitor for Bowman, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (Twitter link).
Dallas recently witnessed linebacker Anthony Hitchens return from injury, but All Pro Sean Lee missed Week 5 with a hamstring issue and could potentially be sidelined going forward. Former second-round pick Jaylon Smith, meanwhile, has struggled in his first live action since suffering a devastating knee injury in his final collegiate game. The Cowboys rank just 29th in defensive DVOA and are dead last in rush defense DVOA, so adding a free agent of Bowman’s caliber should be able to improve those marks.
New Orleans’ defense isn’t much better than the Cowboys’, as the Saints ranks 30th against the run per DVOA. They’ve dealt with injuries at linebacker as well, as rookie Alex Anzalone was recently placed on injured reserve, while the team lost a bit of depth by trading Stephone Anthony to the Dolphins earlier this season. A.J. Klein and Craig Robertson are currently garnering most of the second level snaps for New Orleans.
Given the level of interest he’s generated, Bowman is expected to sign quickly — he hopes to have a new deal in place by Wednesday, reports Florio.
49ers Agreed To Trade NaVorro Bowman To Saints
We learned last night that at least two teams had serious interest in trading for former 49ers linebacker NaVorro Bowman before he was released by San Francisco, and it turns out that one of those interested teams was the Saints. As ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports, the 49ers agreed to trade Bowman to New Orleans for a seventh-round draft pick, but the Saints learned the veteran linebacker preferred to be a free agent and talk to all teams before deciding on one. As such, the 49ers opted to grant Bowman’s wish and give him his release instead of going forward with the trade.
Schefter adds that San Francisco also engaged in trade talks with the Ravens, Browns, and Panthers, but none of those teams appear to be vying for Bowman’s services in free agency. Instead, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets, there is strong mutual interest between Bowman and the Raiders, and Bowman appears set to visit Oakland in the coming days.
In related news, Schefter reports that the 49ers have not had any trade talks involving running back Carlos Hyde — despite speculation to the contrary — and they do not plan to have any such talks. We heard just last week, of course, that San Francisco was attempting to extend the oft-injured RB, who is set to become a free agent at the end of the year.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/14/17
Here are today’s minor moves.
- Jack Mewhort‘s IR trip prompted the Colts to look outside the organization for help. They signed guard Isaiah Williams off the Chiefs‘ practice squad. Williams failed to make the Redskins’ roster out of camp in each of the past two summers but caught on with the Chiefs earlier this season. He’s yet to play in a regular-season game.
- Chris Conley‘s nationally televised Achilles’ tendon rupture sent the third-year wide receiver to IR, and the Chiefs replaced him on the roster with practice squad wideout Marcus Kemp. The Chiefs signed Kemp as a UDFA out of Hawaii in May and stashed him on their practice squad after the preseason.
- The Raiders will bring their 2016 third-round pick back to the active roster, re-signing linebacker Shilique Calhoun and placing cornerback Antonio Hamilton on IR, Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com tweets. Hamilton underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus. The second-year player played in four games this season for the Raiders, primarily as a special-teamer. Calhoun played in 10 Oakland games last season but landed on the team’s practice squad to start this campaign.
- The 49ers promoted tight end Cole Hikutini to their active roster from the practice squad. A rookie UDFA out of Louisville, Hikutini’s resided in San Francisco’s practice squad since the preseason concluded. Hikutini will take NaVorro Bowman‘s roster spot.
- The Texans cut safety Marcus Cromartie and replaced him with practice squad safety Kurtis Drummond, Mark Berman of Fox 26 tweets. Cromartie played the past three seasons as 49ers depth piece. Although Drummond played in four Houston games this season, the team cut him to make room for waiver claim Ben Heeney last week.
NFL Considering Moving Chargers-Raiders Game Out Of Oakland
The NFL is looking into the possibility of relocating Sunday’s Chargers-Raiders game scheduled to be played at Oakland Coliseum. Contingencies are being discussed because of air quality stemming from the wildfires that have occurred in northern California recently, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
Schefter adds the air quality is currently deemed to have reached an unacceptable level, per an NFL executive, and a decision on this matter is expected soon. As of 8:44pm CT, the game remained scheduled to occur in Oakland, according to the Raiders.
The 49ers’ Levi’s Stadium is an option, with the NFL checking into its availability, according to Tim Kawakami of The Athletic San Francisco (on Twitter). Levi’s Stadium is available, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). The 49ers play a road game against the Redskins this weekend.
Levi’s Stadium is just more than 30 miles south of Oakland Coliseum. The wildfires occurred in areas north of San Francisco, but the 49ers play in Santa Clara, Calif.
Interestingly, San Diego would be open to hosting the game, according to Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune. However, San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer’s office has yet to receive a request of this sort, according to his chief of staff. This scenario would obviously be quite interesting due to the Chargers having bolted San Diego for Los Angeles earlier this year.
Should this game be moved out of the Coliseum, the Raiders would be down to just six regular-season games there. They already have a neutral-site game against the Patriots scheduled for Mexico City this season.
NFL Workout Updates: 10/10/17
Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account unless otherwise noted:
Arizona Cardinals
- DT Mike Purcell; CBs Trevin Wade, B.W. Webb (link)
Buffalo Bills
- DBs Lonnie Ballentine, Antone Exum (link via Adam Caplan)
Detroit Lions
- DT Will Sutton (link via Caplan)
Green Bay Packers
- WR Tevaun Smith; G Cameron Hunt; DL Sean Daniels; DBs Charlie Miller, Ahmad Thomas (link via Rob Demovksy of ESPN.com)
Houston Texans
- QB Connor Shaw; WRs Rivers Cracraft, Paul Turner; T Steven Moore; DBs J.R. Nelson, Marcus Sayles (link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle)
Indianapolis Colts
Jacksonville Jaguars
- RB Lamar Atkins; FB Glenn Gronkowski; C Taylor Boggs; DBs Anthony Cioffi, K.J. Dillon (link)
Oakland Raiders
- DEs Sterling Bailey, Patrick Gamble, Jaye Howard; DT Toby Johnson (link)
Seattle Seahawks
- T Andrew Lauderdale; LB Josh Forrest (link)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- LBs Johnathan Calvin, Jayrone Elliott; DE Cashaud Lyons (link)
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/10/17
Today’s practice squad updates:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: C Derrick Nelson, DT Kapron Lewis-Moore
- Released: TE Ryan Malleck, S Ronald Martin
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: TE Ryan O’Malley, C Adam Redmond
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: TE Matt Lengel
- Released: TE J.P. Holtz
New England Patriots
- Signed: G Cole Toner
- Released: QB Taylor Heinicke, G Jason King
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: DT Woodrow Hamilton, LB Shayne Skov
- Released: CB Bradley Sylve
New York Giants
- Signed: OL Ethan Cooper, WR Kalif Raymond
- Released: OL Anthony Fabiano
New York Jets
- Signed: RB Jahad Thomas
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: LB Deontae Skinner
- Released: LB Boseko Lokombo
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: DE Alex McCalister
- Released: WR Rashard Davis
San Francisco 49ers
- Released: DE Noble Nwachukwu
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: DE Larry Webster
- Released: FB Austin Johnson
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/10/17
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: LS Justin Drescher
- Placed on injured reserve: LS Aaron Brewer
Atlanta Falcons
- Promoted to active roster: DT Taniela Tupou
Cleveland Browns
- Released from IR: T Matt McCants
Houston Texans
- Claimed off waivers: CB Marcus Williams
- Released: CB Johnthan Banks, T Jah Reid
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Released from IR: CB Josh Johnson
New Orleans Saints
- Waived: LB Gabe Martin
New York Giants
- Promoted to active roster: WR Ed Eagan
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: CB Demetrius McCray
San Francisco 49ers
- Placed on IR: CB Asa Jackson