Dolphins To Bring Back DE Melvin Ingram
Unable to secure as several veteran edge rushers came off the free agency board this summer, Melvin Ingram paid a visit to one of his former teams. This will lead to the Dolphins bolstering their edge-rushing contingent.
The Dolphins brought in the former Pro Bowler for a Tuesday workout, ESPN.com’s Field Yates tweets. This will lead to a quick agreement, per Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz, who reports the Dolphins and Ingram have a deal in place.
[RELATED: Dolphins C Connor Williams Out For Season]
Miami has been without top sack artist Jaelan Phillips for the past two games; Phillips suffered an Achilles tear in Week 12. Ingram operated as a rotational edge rusher for the Dolphins last season. The team used Ingram as a three-game starter in 2022, doing so after signing him to a one-year deal worth $4MM. Ingram, who recorded six sacks (his most since 2019) last season, discussed a contract with the Browns this offseason. But Cleveland completed a trade with Minnesota for Za’Darius Smith.
As players like Leonard Floyd, Frank Clark, Yannick Ngakoue and Jadeveon Clowney signed between May and August, Ingram has been in free agency since his Dolphins contract expired. But the 11-year veteran will make a late-season return to an NFL roster.
Now 34, Ingram is a three-time Pro Bowler who spent his best years with the Chargers. After a 2021 separation from the Bolts, Ingram has bounced around the AFC. The former first-round pick caught on with the Steelers as a third rusher, but he ended up dissatisfied with the role. Pittsburgh traded Ingram to Kansas City before the 2021 deadline, and the veteran’s arrival helped the Chiefs abandon an ill-fated effort to slide Chris Jones to defensive end. Ingram started six games for the Chiefs, forcing a key fumble that helped the Chiefs to a Week 18 win.
Ingram will rejoin Bradley Chubb, Emmanuel Ogbah and Andrew Van Ginkel in Miami. Christian Wilkins is also having a strong contract year, leading the team with 7.5 sacks. Post-Phillips, however, the Dolphins obviously feature a less potent pass rush. They will bring in Ingram to help compensate for the key loss.
Making the Pro Bowl from 2017-19, Ingram excelled both before and after Joey Bosa‘s Southern California arrival. He posted 10.5-sack seasons in 2015 and ’17, signing a big-ticket extension in between. Last season, Ingram recovered two fumbles — returning one for a score — and forced one. This will not be as smooth a transition as it would appear, as the Dolphins hired a new defensive coordinator — Vic Fangio — this offseason. Ingram has managed to fit into a few defenses in his career, so it would surprise if he is not on the field for the AFC East leaders soon.
Browns Place DL Maurice Hurst On IR
The injuries keep piling up in Cleveland, and the Browns will now play the rest of the season without a key defensive lineman. The Browns have placed defensive tackle Maurice Hurst on injured reserve, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston.
[RELATED: Browns T Dawand Jones To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery]
The veteran defensive lineman will miss the rest of the season while nursing a pectoral injury. Hurst was limited to a season-low 28 percent of his team’s defensive snaps during Sunday’s win over the Jaguars.
“My 2023 season is over, and the frustration is unbearable,” Hurst tweeted earlier today. “However I am grateful to my teammates, coaches, staff, and the city of Cleveland for welcoming me and making me a part of this family…. I’ll be back better than before.”
Hurst caught on with Cleveland this past offseason and has seen time in 13 games while appearing in about 40 percent of his team’s defensive snaps. He’s compiled 22 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and five QBs, and more notably, he’s graded as the 11th-best interior defender among 131 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus. The site also gave him a top-10 positional grade for his run-stopping ability.
Hurst spent three seasons with the Raiders to begin his career, collecting eight sacks in 40 games. He got into two games with the 49ers in 2021, and after re-signing with the organization, a torn bicep kept him off the field for the entire 2022 campaign.
With Hurst out of the lineup, the Browns could simply hand out his weekly snaps to the other DTs on the roster. Dalvin Tomlinson has led the position grouping in snap count this season (491), but Jordan Elliott (309), Shelby Harris (306), and Hurst (304) have pretty much rotated in and out of the lineup.
The Browns also announced that they’ve placed offensive lineman Dawand Jones on IR. The right tackle suffered a knee injury at practice last week that will require season-ending surgery.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/12/23
Today’s practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: WR Andre Baccellia
- Released: CB William Hooper
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: TE Chris Pierce
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: WR Thyrick Pitts
- Released: LB Austin Ajiake
Houston Texans
- Signed: WR Chase Cota
- Released: K Matt Ammendola
Kansas City Chiefs
- Activated from IR: LB Cole Christiansen
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: CB Matt Hankins
Los Angeles Rams
- Released: K Mason Crosby
Minnesota Vikings
- Released: WR Daylen Baldwin
New York Jets
- Signed: OT Obinna Eze
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: CB Keenan Isaac
- Released: LB Vi Jones
Mason Crosby‘s stint with the Rams has already come to an end. The veteran kicker was added to the practice squad with Lucas Havrisik struggling, and there was speculation that the long-time Packers kicker was going to get the start when he was promoted to the active roster. Crosby ended up being inactive against the Ravens, the first time in his career that he earned that designation.
Crosby will now look to continue his career elsewhere. The Packers moved on from their all-time scoring leader following a 2022 season where Crosby connected on 86.2 percent of his field goal attempts and 37 of his 39 XP tries.
Chase Cota is the son of former NFL safety Chad Cota, and he’s also the cousin of fellow Texans practice squad safety Brady Breeze. The wide receiver spent four years at UCLA before transferring to Oregon for the 2022 campaign. He finished that season with career-highs in receptions (36), receiving yards (497), and touchdowns (three). He spent the preseason with the Lions before catching on with the Chiefs practice squad. He spent the majority of the 2023 season in Kansas City before getting cut from the taxi squad last week.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/12/23
Today’s minor moves:
Cleveland Browns
- Signed to active roster: DE Sam Kamara
Green Bay Packers
- Waived: CB Kyu Blu Kelly
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed to active roster: OT Brandon Parker
- Placed on IR: LB Kana’i Mauga
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed to active roster: QB Max Duggan
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: LS Carson Tinker
- Placed on IR: TE Hunter Long (story), LS Alex Ward
With Justin Herbert landing on IR, the Chargers have added some depth to the roster in Max Duggan. The rookie seventh-round pick landed on the team’s practice squad after the preseason, and he’s spent the entire season off the active roster. He’ll now have a chance at some game action, although Easton Stick is expected to get the first shot at the starting gig.
Duggan spent four years as TCU’s starter, culminating in a breakout senior campaign where he went 12-2 while tossing 32 touchdowns vs. eight interceptions. That performance helped his draft stock, with the Chargers making him the last QB off the board during the 2023 draft.
Saints Add RB James Robinson To Practice Squad
James Robinson‘s busy 2023 campaign has brought him to New Orleans. The running back is signing with the Saints, according to Nick Underhill. It’s a practice squad deal for Robinson, according to Luke Johnson of NOLA.com.
Robinson inked a two-year, $8MM deal with the Patriots back in March, but a failed physical and health concerns ultimately led to his release. He caught on with the Giants for the preseason but didn’t make the roster, and he later had a handful of stints on the Packers practice squad before getting cut a final time last week. He ended up getting into one game for Green Bay, garnering two touches.
The Illinois State product had a memorable rookie season, with his 1,414 yards from scrimmage setting the record for the most scrimmage yards by an undrafted rookie. His volume was down a bit in 2021, but Robinson was just as productive, averaging 5.1 yards per touch. However, he suffered a torn Achilles towards the end of that campaign that served as a setback for the following year.
He got into seven games with the Jaguars in 2022 before getting shipped to the Jets to finish the campaign. In 11 games between the two squads, Robinson compiled 476 yards from scrimmage and five touchdowns.
The Saints aren’t in urgent need of RB depth with Alvin Kamara and Jamaal Williams leading the depth chart. Rookie Kendre Miller hasn’t seen the field since Week 9 while nursing an ankle injury, opening up an opportunity for Adam Prentice to get some extra snaps at the position. Per Katherine Terrell, Robinson was one of several RBs to audition for the Saints today, with the group also including Jerrion Ealy, John Lovett, and Ty Montgomery.
Chargers Activate Josh Palmer From IR
DECEMBER 12: The Chargers will use the roster spot opened by Herbert’s IR placement to activate Palmer. While the landscape between Palmer’s return to practice and his return to the Bolts’ active roster has changed significantly, the third-year wideout will be set to make his return Thursday night. Their reputation as perhaps the NFL’s most injury-prone team notwithstanding, this is the Bolts’ first IR activation this season.
DECEMBER 6: Justin Herbert has operated without two of his top three receivers over the past several weeks, leaving Keenan Allen as the team’s lone reliable target. This has been a steady issue for the star quarterback, as the Chargers have sunk to 5-7.
While the Bolts will face an uphill battle to return to the playoffs, they may soon have one of Herbert’s primary weapons back in uniform. The team will designate Josh Palmer for return Wednesday, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. The former third-round pick has been out with a knee sprain.
Palmer has been required to play a bigger role over the past two seasons. A nagging Allen hamstring injury forced him into the WR2 role for Los Angeles’ AFC team, and Mike Williams going down with a season-ending ACL tear in September forced another Bolts adjustment. While the Chargers drafted Quentin Johnston in the first round, the TCU product has not proven dependable just yet. With Johnston struggling to establish consistency, Palmer’s absence has been felt over the past five weeks.
Regularly needed in an injury-prone receiving corps, the Canadian wideout caught 72 passes for 769 yards and three touchdowns last season. OC Kellen Moore‘s arrival has resulted in longer-range Palmer targets, with the third-year pass catcher’s yards-per-catch number moving north by nearly six yards. Palmer is averaging 16.4 yards per grab (23/377) this season.
The Bolts have used Johnston and Jalen Guyton as Allen complementary cogs, with the latter coming back after an ACL tear sidelined him for more than a year. Johnston has caught 26 passes for 242 yards, but the 6-foot-4 target — who had worked behind Palmer in the Chargers’ aerial pecking order earlier this season — has been slow to develop thus far. A Johnston fourth-quarter drop proved costly for the Bolts in a close loss to the Packers last month.
Allen, 31, has done well to pick up the slack. His 102 receptions lead the NFL, and the 11th-year veteran has posted 1,175 yards. He is on pace to eclipse his career high (1,393, from 2017) this season. But the Bolts will aim to give Allen more help as they attempt a last-ditch wild-card push. Los Angeles sits two games back in a crowded AFC playoff race.
Ravens To Move Devin Duvernay To IR, Sign Malik Cunningham Off Pats’ Practice Squad
The Patriots have regularly passed quarterbacks through waivers to their practice squad this season, but they will bid farewell to one of those arms. Rather than sign Malik Cunningham to their active roster once again, the Pats will let him head elsewhere.
Cunningham will trek to Baltimore; the Ravens are signing the rookie UDFA to their 53-man roster, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets. This will mark a reunion for Cunningham and Lamar Jackson. Despite the superstar QB being in his sixth NFL season, he and Cunningham were teammates at Louisville in 2017. Cunningham, who was at the ACC school for six years, redshirted during the ’17 slate.
As the Ravens add a quarterback, they will lose a wide receiver. Devin Duvernay sustained a back injury in Week 14, and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports the former All-Pro return man will head to IR. Though, Rapoport adds the fourth-year wideout will not require surgery and is expected to be ready to return in the playoffs. Duvernay will be eligible for activation to start Baltimore’s playoff journey, whenever that point comes. But he is done for the regular season.
Emerging as an intriguing gadget-type player during the preseason in New England, Cunningham did not make the Pats’ 53-man roster out of training camp. The team took a chance on exposing Cunningham to waivers on cutdown day, waiving both he and Bailey Zappe. Cunningham indeed passed through waivers and stayed in Foxborough on the Pats’ practice squad.
Cunningham will join a Ravens team that has used a Jackson-Tyler Huntley QB depth chart for the past three seasons. The team now has four QBs on its active roster, with journeyman extraordinaire Josh Johnson still with the team. This could point to a versatile role for Cunningham, for whom the Patriots had designed special packages this season. Even as the Pats moved from Mac Jones to Zappe and designed a package of plays for Cunningham recently, the athletic rookie has played only six regular-season snaps — all against the Raiders in Week 6.
This move will ensure Cunningham stays on Baltimore’s active roster for at least three weeks, though Schefter adds it could be a play for next season as well. Given an original-round RFA tender this offseason, Huntley will be a UFA in 2024. Cunningham, 25, can be kept through the 2026 season before he hits unrestricted free agency. Though, it remains to be seen if the ex-Louisville star will pan out as a QB2 option.
A thinner Ravens wide receiver depth chart last year required regular Duvernay contributions, but Baltimore reloaded at the position this offseason. The team signed Nelson Agholor and Odell Beckham Jr. and drafted Zay Flowers in Round 1. With Rashod Bateman recovering from his 2022 foot injury, the Ravens have a solid top four at receiver. Tylan Wallace also became a memorable fill-in for Duvernay at punt returner, notching only the fourth overtime punt-return walk-off in NFL history.
While Duvernay caught 37 passes for a career-high 407 yards last season, he exited Week 14 with just four grabs for 18 yards. The former third-round pick had operated as Baltimore’s primary kick- and punt-return option this season. Duvernay, who is set for free agency in 2024, also finished last season on IR (due to a foot injury).
Additionally, the Ravens will use one of their IR activations on cornerback Damarion Williams, The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec notes. The 2022 fourth-rounder played in 14 games as a backup last season but suffered an ankle injury this summer. The Ravens had expected Williams back around October. Regardless of the delay, the Houston alum will be in position to contribute. Williams will fill Mark Andrews‘ roster spot. The Ravens now have four IR activations remaining.
Chargers’ Justin Herbert Undergoes Season-Ending Surgery
Justin Herbert‘s finger injury will end his 2023 campaign. The Chargers quarterback underwent season-ending surgery on Tuesday, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. The Bolts have since played their franchise QB on IR.
This represents the expected outcome of this situation, with Herbert’s long-term health being weighed against the Chargers’ slim playoff chances. The 25-year-old consulted two hand specialists yesterday to gain additional opinions on the injury suffered to the index finger in his throwing hand in Week 14. It was reported last night that he would likely undergo surgery, a procedure which would determine his recovery timeline.
With Los Angeles sitting at 5-8 on the year and therefore on the outside of the AFC’s wild-card picture, electing to take the surgical route with Herbert makes sense. The former Offensive Rookie of the Year signed a five-year, $262.5MM extension this offseason as one of several young passers to land a mega-deal. Herbert is on the books through 2029 as a result, and the Chargers’ investment in him makes his long-term outlook an obvious priority.
With Herbert out of the picture, Los Angeles will continue to use Easton Stick under center. The former fifth-rounder took over after Herbert suffered the injury in Sunday’s loss to the Broncos. He totaled 179 scoreless yards on 13-of-24 passing upon entering the contest, which represented his first regular season action since 2020. The latter appearance saw him attempt just one pass, so he will now take on starting duties with very little in-game experience. Stick has never started an NFL game.
Being shorthanded on offense will hurt the Chargers’ chances of closing out the season on a high note. That, in turn, would likely lessen head coach Brandon Staley‘s chances of being retained in the offseason. The third-year coach has drawn signficant criticism over the course of his tenure, and the Chargers are on track to miss the postseason for the second time over the past three seasons. Shortcomings on both sides of the ball have led many to expect a change will be made on the sidelines soon.
Herbert’s presence would make the Chargers an attractive option to coaching candidates with an offensive background in particular. Ben Johnson – one of the top options in the 2024 hiring cycle – is believed to have a mutual interest in an L.A. agreement. Regardless of what happens on the coaching front, though, the Chargers’ offseason will have Herbert’s recovery as a notable storyline.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/11/23
Today’s practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: WR Jeff Smith
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: QB P.J. Walker
Indianapolis Colts
- Released: S Brandon Wilson
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: LB David Perales
- Released: RB Qadree Ollison
P.J. Walker has landed back on the Browns practice squad after getting cut from the active roster this past weekend. After spending the offseason with the Bears, Walker caught on with the Browns practice squad to begin the 2023 campaign. He ended up starting a pair of games for Cleveland, including a win over the 49ers. However, his one touchdown vs. five interceptions didn’t spark much optimism, and with Walker firmly behind Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Joe Flacco on the depth chart, the QB was demoted to the practice squad.
The former UDFA out of Temple spent the previous three seasons with the Panthers, starting seven of his 15 appearances. In 17 career games, Walker has completed 54.6 percent of his passes for 2,135 yards, six touchdowns, and 16 interceptions. He’s gone 5-4 in his nine career starts.
49ers Add CB Jason Verrett To Practice Squad
Jason Verrett is back in San Francisco. The 49ers announced that they’ve added the veteran cornerback to their practice squad. Jordan Schultz was first with the news.
A torn Achilles ended Verrett’s first stint with the 49ers, and the former Pro Bowler waited until October to finally catch on with the Texans practice squad. He spent about a month in Houston before getting cut in mid-November.
Verrett’s first stint with the 49ers was plagued by injuries. He was limited to only one game during his debut season thanks to an ankle injury, and after starting 13 games in 2020, an ACL injury wiped out his 2021 campaign. He re-signed with the 49ers for the 2022 season but didn’t get into a game before suffering his Achilles injury.
The defensive back has struggled to stay healthy throughout his career. The former first-round pick missed 55 games for the Chargers through his first five seasons in the NFL. His one healthy season was 2015, when he earned a Pro Bowl nod after compiling 47 tackles and three interceptions.
Verrett will have a chance to revive his career in San Francisco. According to Schultz, the player is still well regarded by coach Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers organization, so he might eventually earn a promotion to the active roster. Charvarius Ward suffered an injury during yesterday’s win over the Seahawks, so there’s a chance the 49ers may need some extra depth sooner than later.