Minor NFL Transactions: 9/19/23
Today’s minor moves:
Carolina Panthers
- Waived from IR: CB Mac McCain
Cincinnati Bengals
- Waived from IR: CB Marvell Tell
Cleveland Browns
- Waived from IR: CB Thakarius Keyes, WR Anthony Schwartz
Detroit Lions
- Signed to active roster: OL Kayode Awosika
- Promoted: RB Bam Knight
Houston Texans
- Released: DL Michael Dogbe
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed to active roster: G Arlington Hambright
- Waived: OL Ryan Hayes
Minnesota Vikings
New Orleans Saints
- Waived: WR Kirk Merritt
Tennessee Titans
- Signed to active roster: DL Kyle Peko
- Waived: DL Jayden Peevy
Michael Dogbe, a former seventh-round pick, got into 40 games for the Cardinals through the first four seasons of his career. This included 2021 and 2022 campaigns where he appeared in 29 games, collecting 55 tackles and one sack. He caught on with the Texans last week and proceeded to appear in about 25 percent of the team’s defensive snaps this past weekend.
Kyle Peko will bring 31 games of experience to the Titans defensive line. The veteran has already been promoted by the Titans twice this season and started both of his appearances, collecting four tackles. He’ll be taking the spot of Jayden Peevy, who got into two games across two seasons with the organization.
Ravens Place DB Ar’Darius Washington On IR
The Ravens will be without one of their top defensive backs for the next few weeks. According to ESPN’s Jamison Hensley, the Ravens have placed Ar’Darius Washington on injured reserve.
Washington will be sidelined for at least the next four weeks while recovering from a chest injury. It’s uncertain when exactly the defensive back suffered his injury during Sunday’s win over the Bengals.
With the Ravens dealing with a long list of injuries on their secondary, Washington has seen a significant role over the first two weeks of the season, including a Week 2 appearance where he appeared in 95 percent of Baltimore’s defensive snaps. Listed as a safety on the official roster, Washington has been called on to serve as the slot cornerback during the early parts of the 2023 campaign.
The former UDFA saw time in six games through his first two seasons in the NFL. Washington was an undrafted free agent out of TCU in 2021.
This is yet another hit to Baltimore’s secondary. Marlon Humphrey continues to recover from his foot surgery, while Marcus Williams is sidelined with a pectoral injury. The Ravens have also been without Damarion Williams (ankle) and Trayvon Mullen (toe), meaning the Ravens have had to dig deep into their depth chart.
Arthur Maulet could be a candidate to take on a larger role in at least Week 3. After signing a two-year extension with the Steelers last offseason, Maulet was cut by Pittsburgh this offseason, leading to him landing in Baltimore. The veteran has seen time in 68 career games in stints with the Saints, Colts, Jets, and Steelers.
Per Hensley, the Ravens used their open roster spot to sign center Sam Mustipher from the practice squad. The offseason pickup was already elevated for both of Baltimore’s first two games, with the lineman earning one start.
Patriots Cut QBs Matt Corral, Ian Book
SEPTEMBER 19: Corral has spent time on the Panthers’ offseason roster, Carolina’s IR list, along with the Patriots’ 53 and New England’s exempt/left squad list. After his second stay on waivers, the 2022 third-round pick is now a first-time free agent. No one claimed Corral by Tuesday afternoon’s deadline, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets.
SEPTEMBER 18: The Patriots’ flier on Matt Corral produced an early speedbump, with the former third-round pick being placed on the exempt/left squad list. Days later, Corral is no longer with the team.
New England waived Corral from the exempt/left squad list and also released Ian Book from its practice squad. Book landed on the Pats’ P-squad last week, after he had worked out for multiple teams.
Corral missed multiple Pats practices leading up to Week 1 and was absent from team meetings. The Patriots could circle back to Corral as a practice squad addition, assuming he clears waivers, but it is not known if the Ole Miss alum is in the team’s plans any longer. It will be interesting to see if the Panthers pick up Corral for their P-squad. Frank Reich indicated the team was interested in adding him to its taxi squad following the late-August cut. Two weeks ago, Bill Belichick called Corral a “good, young developing player,” but the Pats — for the time being, at least — have moved on.
Three seasons remain on Corral’s rookie contract, but last year’s No. 94 overall pick is trending downward despite having recovered from the Lisfranc injury that ended his rookie year before it started. Trade rumors emerged early this offseason, and the team then signed Andy Dalton and traded up for the No. 1 overall pick, which became Bryce Young. The Panthers have only Young and Dalton on their active roster; they are not carrying a QB on their practice squad.
Viewed as a raw prospect, Corral generated buzz to be drafted much higher than 94th. On what became a tough night for Corral, Desmond Ridder and Malik Willis, the Panthers traded a 2023 third-round pick to move up (via the Patriots) to No. 94. The Pats hired ex-Panthers player personnel director Pat Stewart this offseason, and while that undoubtedly helped lead to the team claiming Corral on waivers, the second-year passer is back on the wire.
Bailey Zappe sits behind Mac Jones on New England’s 53-man roster, and rookie UDFA Malik Cunningham resides on the practice squad. The team could be on the lookout for a new option. The Pats had checked on Colt McCoy and discussed Case Keenum with the Texans recently.
Lions Place S C.J. Gardner-Johnson, DE James Houston On IR
The injuries C.J. Gardner-Johnson and James Houston sustained in Week 2 will lead to two key defenders moving off the Lions’ roster. The team placed the veteran safety and young defensive end on IR on Tuesday.
Initially reported as an ankle ailment, Houston is actually dealing with a fibula injury, Dan Campbell said (via the Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett). Additionally, Halapoulivaati Vaitai may be facing a multiweek absence. Campbell said the team’s right guard starter could be out for a bit, though he added (via the Detroit News’ Justin Rogers) it does not look like an IR move will be necessary.
Gardner-Johnson may be on track to miss the rest of the season. The fifth-year DB is feared to have suffered a torn pectoral muscle. With Houston suffering a fracture, he may also miss the rest of the year.
Despite the Eagles expressing interest in re-signing Gardner-Johnson this offseason, he ended up with the Lions on a surprising deal. Gardner-Johnson, who denied a report of the Eagles submitting a multiyear offer, signed a one-year, $6.5MM deal. While players have landed big-ticket contracts despite season-ending injuries in the recent past — Allen Robinson, Bud Dupree and Dak Prescott are three of note — Gardner-Johnson was aiming to use this season as a trampoline toward a more lucrative pact. A surgery taking place would wound those aspirations. The Lions have exclusive negotiating rights with CJGJ until March of next year.
Houston’s injury will blunt some surprising early-career momentum. Houston went from sixth-round pick to Detroit’s practice squad, debuting on Thanksgiving Day. The Jackson State product managed to rack up eight sacks after that late start. He started one game for the Lions this season.
While it is not known if Gardner-Johnson and Houston are both done for the season, it obviously represents good news Vaitai avoided a serious injury. A back issue sidelined Vaitai throughout last season, leading to a pay cut. The former Eagles draftee also considered retirement this offseason. The Lions have Graham Glasgow back in place as insurance, and although Vaitai beat out the returning blocker for the RG post, Glasgow has been a starter for most of his career. While the Broncos released Glasgow to pick up cap space in March, he started 33 games for the team — at guard and center — from 2020-22. Glasgow, 30, has started 91 career contests.
49ers To Sign CB Anthony Brown
Released from the Steelers’ practice squad last week, Anthony Brown has another deal in place. This one will provide a spot on a 53-man roster.
The 49ers are signing Brown to their active roster, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. A six-year Cowboys contributor, Brown is attempting to come back from a December 2022 Achilles tear.
San Francisco saw two of its corners — starters Deommodore Lenoir and Ambry Thomas — exit during its Week 2 win in Los Angeles. Lenoir was cleared from concussion protocol, returning to the game and intercepting a Matthew Stafford pass, but Thomas did not return to action. With the 49ers preparing to host the Giants in a Thursday-night matchup, they are short on time to have the third-year corner back in action.
Lenoir has worked as San Francisco’s nickel starter in each of the first two games but moved outside when Thomas went down against the Rams, bringing offseason addition Isaiah Oliver back into the mix. The 49ers closed the game with a Lenoir-Oliver-Charvarius Ward corner combination. Brown is on track to become a depth piece.
Brown, 29, spent much of his Cowboys tenure as the team’s primary slot corner. He fared well enough to earn a second contract with the team. The Cowboys re-signed Brown to a three-year, $15.5MM deal in 2020 and kept him in place as a regular during Dan Quinn‘s first two seasons. Last year’s tear has thrown the 2017 sixth-rounder’s career off course, but the 49ers evidently feel comfortable with his form.
Quinn used Brown as a full-time player up until the injury, using the 5-foot-11 cover man on at least 90% of Dallas’ defensive snaps in each of the past two seasons. Helping the Cowboys rebound from a dreadful 2020 defensive effort, Brown played a career-high 1,048 defensive snaps in 2021. He intercepted three passes that year, giving him nine for his career. The Cowboys, who also lost Jourdan Lewis to a season-ending injury last year, traded for Stephon Gilmore in March and are using 2022 Brown replacement DaRon Bland as their slot defender this year.
DL Byron Cowart To Sign With Dolphins
Byron Cowart has found another new home in 2023. The veteran defensive lineman has agreed to terms on a deal with the Dolphins, his agency announced on Tuesday. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald notes this will be a practice squad arrangement. 
Cowart began his career with the Patriots in 2019, and he made five appearances as a rookie. His playing time saw a notable spike the following year, as he started all 14 games he played in while logging a 48% snap share. An injury in 2021 cost him that entire season and led to the eventual end of Cowart’s tenure in New England, however, and his career has seen him bounce around the AFC since then.
The 27-year-old spent last season with the Colts. He played every game with Indianapolis, though he did so while seeing the field for only 20% of the team’s defensive snaps. Cowart totaled 12 tackles during the campaign, and he received by far the worst overall PFF grade (30.4) of his brief career. It thus comes as little surprise that he has struggled to find a full-time opportunity throughout the past several months.
Cowart signed with the Chiefs in March, but he was let go shortly thereafter. That allowed him to join the Texans in a return to the AFC South. Houston’s general manager, Nick Caserio, was with New England when Cowart was drafted. That familiarity did not pay off for the latter, however, as he was among the Texans’ final roster cuts. After a few weeks on the open market, he will now get another opportunity to crack an active roster.
The former fifth-rounder will likely be elevated on gamedays from the Dolphins’ taxi squad as he looks to find playing time in a depth capacity. Miami has leaned heavily on Zach Sieler and Christian Wilkins along the defensive front, and that will continue so long as they are both healthy. Seiler is on the books through 2026 after inking a three-year, $30.75MM extension last month. Wilkins, however, was not able to come to terms on a new Dolphins deal in the summer and his contract talks will be paused until the offseason. With a strong showing, Cowart could play his way into an extended look in South Beach.
Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes Agree To Restructured Deal
The Chiefs have revisited the contract in place with their star quarterback, agreeing to a signficant raise in the short- and intermediate-term future. Patrick Mahomes has agreed to a revised contract in which his compensation through 2026 is guaranteed, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Schefter notes that Mahomes will receive $210.6MM between now and 2026, the most in league history across a four-year span. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network adds the two-time Super Bowl MVP can earn up to $218.1MM over that stretch via escalators. He and the Chiefs will reconvene after the 2026 campaign to address their relationship, as that year now essentially marks the end of his monster extension first signed in 2020. 
That 10-year. $450MM pact has regularly led to speculation a signficant revision would be coming at some point down the road. After several (less accomplished) passers inked mega-deals of their own which exceeded his $45MM AAV, plenty have pointed to this offseason as a time when the defending champions may bring their passer back toward the top of the pecking order in terms of annual compensation. Schefter adds that Mahomes – who sat ninth in that regard after Joe Burrow‘s Bengals extension was signed – will now move “near the top” of the pile.
Knowing the likes of Burrow, Jalen Hurts, Lamar Jackson and Justin Herbert would be in line for enormous second contracts this offseason, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said in April that Kansas City would wait for those pacts to be signed before addressing the Mahomes situation. Each member of that quartet took turns holding the title of the league’s highest-paid player on a per-year basis, eclipsing the $51MM AAV mark along the way.
A report emerged in May indicating the Chiefs may have an agreement in place by Week 1 ensuring Mahomes moved back to the top of the heap. That timeline has proven to be slightly off, but the just-turned 28-year-old will now carry on with the 2023 season knowing his future for the remainder of the campaign (and the three following it) is in a more certain position. The move comes not long after All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones signed a revised one-year deal to end his holdout in Kansas City.
“I’ve always said I worry about legacy and winning rings more than making money at this moment,” Mahomes said in the spring. “We see what’s going on around the league, but at the same time, I’ll never do anything that’s going to hurt us from keeping the great players around me. So it’s kind of teetering around that line.”
With Jones back in the fold – and open to a new Chiefs deal keeping him in place beyond 2023 – and cost certainty now having been attained with Mahomes – Kansas City can proceed with a clearer financial outlook. The team’s Super Bowl window will likely remain open as long as the latter is healthy, but efforts to maintain as many core pieces as possible will remain a top priority with Mahomes occupying a large portion of its cap sheet.
The two-time league MVP will continue to face massive expectations given not only the success he has enjoyed to begin his career, but also the move on the Chiefs’ part to accelerate substantial cash flow over a relatively short period of time. With the end of the 2026 season now looming as a (practical) end to his deal, it will be worth watching how he performs until that point with respect to his future earning potential.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/18/23
Here are Monday’s practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: S Joey Blount
- Placed on practice squad injured list: OL Hayden Howerton
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: DL Demone Harris
- Released: OLB Kemoko Turay
Houston Texans
- Signed: DE Derek Rivers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Released: G John Molchon
Steelers Move WR Diontae Johnson, RB Anthony McFarland To IR
Coming into this season, Diontae Johnson had only missed two games in four years. He will double his absence count because of a Monday transaction. Johnson is now on the Steelers’ IR list.
A hamstring injury sustained in Week 1 will sideline him for at least four games. Johnson will head to IR for the first time in his career. Pittsburgh making this move before its Week 2 game will allow for its top wideout to come back by Week 6. The Steelers also moved backup running back Anthony McFarland to IR ahead of their Monday-night tilt with the Browns.
Teams are allotted eight IR activations per season. Johnson will undoubtedly be one of the Steelers’ activations. A knee injury sidelined McFarland, whose return timetable is uncertain. Given Johnson’s injury, it would be a bit of a surprise if he were not ready to return when first eligible. Mike Tomlin had recently stopped short of indicating Johnson would miss multiple games.
The former third-round pick became immediately productive for the team — one that has consistently developed second- and third-round receiver picks — and has become the rare Steelers wideout to receive an extension. Although JuJu Smith-Schuster signed a one-year deal after the expiration of his rookie pact in 2021, Johnson joined Antonio Brown and Hines Ward as the only Steelers starting wideouts given multiyear extensions during their rookie deals. Johnson signed a two-year, $36.71MM deal before last year’s training camp, joining A.J. Brown, D.K. Metcalf, Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel as 2019 Day 2 wideout draftees to sign extensions before the 2022 season started.
Johnson, 27, led the Steelers in receiving yards during each of the past three seasons, helping the team to the AFC North title in 2020 and posting a career-high 1,161 yards in 2021. Last season, Johnson aided Kenny Pickett‘s development but famously did not find the end zone during an 86-catch, 882-yard season. The Toledo alum will need to wait a bit before having the chance to return to the end zone this year.
Pittsburgh will need to lean on George Pickens, the acrobatic catch maven beginning his second season, and trade acquisition Allen Robinson. The 10th-year vet has struggled for the past two seasons, disappointing on a Bears franchise tag and in his lone Rams season. The Rams are paying part of Robinson’s contract. The former 1,000-yard receiver did catch five passes for 64 yards in the Steelers’ opener. Calvin Austin, a slot player who spent last season on IR, also stands to see his role grow while Johnson recovers.
To replace McFarland behind Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, the Steelers elevated running back Qadree Ollison from their practice squad.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/18/23
Here are Monday’s minor moves:
Carolina Panthers
- Elevated: OL Justin McCray
Denver Broncos
- Signed off Patriots’ practice squad: DE Ronnie Perkins
New Orleans Saints
- Elevated: RB Tony Jones Jr., LB Ty Summers
The Broncos will take a flier on a former third-round pick. Perkins arrived as a 2021 Patriots third-rounder, coming out of Oklahoma. Injuries intervened for the St. Louis native, who has yet to play in a regular-season game. After not playing for three-plus months to start his rookie season, Perkins landed on IR. The Pats then placed him on season-ending IR in August 2022. Perkins did not make New England’s 53-man roster this year but stuck around via a practice squad invite. Because the Broncos are poaching Perkins off a P-squad, they must keep him on their active roster for at least three weeks.