Minor NFL Transactions: 9/8/23
Here are some minor transactions for today from around the league:
Atlanta Falcons
- Released from IR with injury settlement: CB Cornell Armstrong
Carolina Panthers
- Signed to active roster: LB Chandler Wooten
Indianapolis Colts
- Waived from IR with injury settlement: OLB JoJo Domann
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Released from IR with injury settlement: T Josh Wells
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived from IR with injury settlement: CB Shaun Jolly
Minnesota Vikings
- Released: RB Myles Gaskin
New England Patriots
- Released from IR with injury settlement: T Conor McDermott
San Francisco 49ers
- Released: DE Austin Bryant
Washington Commanders
- Signed: DE William Bradley-King
- Placed on IR: WR Dax Milne
The releases of Armstrong and Wells are interesting. Armstrong ended last year as a starting cornerback for the Falcons but will now have to continue striving to stay in the NFL. Wells’ release ends a short reunion with the team that drafted him.
Gaskin is reportedly expected to remain in Minnesota and sign to the team’s practice squad to be elevated on Sunday. This is likely a familiar tactic teams use in order to avoid guaranteeing the full value of low-cost veterans’ salaries. Those on the 53-man roster for Week 1 will be guaranteed, while players signed to the active roster after this week will only be guaranteed 35 percent.
Bryant’s short tenure in San Francisco ends as the team makes room for Nick Bosa, who will be activated from the reserve/did not report list after signing his five-year, $170MM extension.
Milne’s move to IR could be an explanation for why the Commanders felt the need to go out and acquire Jamison Crowder following his release from New York.
Raiders To Place CB Brandon Facyson On IR
Although Chandler Jones will miss Sunday’s game due to the events of this week, the Raiders carry a thin injury report into their season opener. Only two players carried injury designations into Friday, but one of them — Brandon Facyson — will be moved off the roster for the time being.
Facyson is dealing with a shin injury, and the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore notes the veteran cornerback will head to IR. This will sideline Facyson for at least four games while opening a roster spot for Josh Jacobs. For a second straight year, teams have eight IR activations to use over the course of a season.
The Raiders reunited with Facyson this offseason, signing the Gus Bradley favorite to a two-year deal worth $6.5MM. Facyson, who turns 29 today, has only played for Bradley over his first five NFL seasons. He spent the first three years of his career with the Chargers but made his way to the Raiders in 2021, doing so after the team hired Bradley as its DC. The Colts hired Bradley to run their defense in 2022, and a Facyson signing commenced. Facyson’s first tour of duty without Bradley calling the signals will be on hold.
Facyson started nine games with the Raiders in 2021. He Joined Marcus Peters, David Long and Duke Shelley as Raiders UFA corner pickups this offseason. But the former UDFA did not win a starting job out of training camp. Fourth-round rookie Jakorian Bennett is set to start alongside Peters and Hobbs. The Raiders did not keep Shelley, who is now with the Rams. Long remains on Las Vegas’ roster as a backup.
Last season, the Colts used both Facyson and Isaiah Rodgers as boundary defenders opposite Stephon Gilmore. Facyson only made four starts but played on defense throughout the season. Prior to his gambling suspension, Rodgers was in Indianapolis’ plans to stay a starter. But he is now gone (with the Eagles), joining Gilmore and Facyson in exiting. Bradley’s Indy unit features some young options alongside Kenny Moore.
Giants, K Graham Gano Agree On Extension
Graham Gano‘s New York stay will extend beyond this season. The veteran kicker signed an extension to stay with the Giants, who now have him under contract through 2026.
The Giants will bet on Gano holding his form into his late 30s, as he is going into his age-36 season. It is a $16.5MM deal, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets, adding the agreement also includes $11.3MM fully guaranteed. An additional $2MM in injury guarantees are also part of this deal. Gano had been attached to a three-year, $14MM pact.
Formerly with Washington and Carolina, Gano has been the Giants’ kicker since 2020. Though, this marks the experienced specialist’s third contract with the Giants. After signing him to a one-year deal in 2020, Big Blue extended him during his first season with the team. Gano has now signed extensions with both the Dave Gettleman and Joe Schoen regimes. Considering his performance and Schoen’s willingness to bet on Gettleman-era acquisitions, this latest agreement is unsurprising.
Gano made 90.6% of his field goal tries last season and connected on 96.7% of them in his first year with the Giants. Even in an unideal kicking environment, Gano hit almost 88% of his tries in 2021. The Giants gave Gano the opportunity to relaunch his career after a missed 2019. Gano, who once hit a 63-yard game-winner to beat the Giants in 2018, suffered a fractured femur late in the 2018 season. Carolina doctors are believed to have initially misdiagnosed that injury. The malady led to him missing all of the 2019 campaign as well. Matt Rhule‘s 2020 Carolina arrival led to Gano being cut, and he soon found a new home in New York.
With Mason Crosby, Robbie Gould and Ryan Succop not on rosters, Gano enters this season as the NFL’s third-oldest active kicker. Only Matt Prater (39) and Nick Folk (37) surpass him in that category. But Gano connected on 8 of 9 attempts from 50-plus yards last season; he was a combined 12-for-16 from 50-plus from 2020-21. It is understandable the Giants were interested in extending this partnership.
This marks Schoen’s fourth major agreement with a Gettleman-era acquisition this year. It follows the Daniel Jones, Dexter Lawrence and Andrew Thomas re-ups. While Gano’s checks in on a lower-profile level, this contract will give him an opportunity to approach the 20-season mark.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/7/23
Today’s practice squad moves:
Chicago Bears
- Signed: C Matt Farniok
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: LB Kyron Johnson, CB Tiawan Mullen
- Released: WR Joseph Ngata, TE Brady Russell
Matt Farniok brings some experience to Chicago’s practice squad. The offensive lineman saw time in 19 games for the Cowboys over the past two seasons, including a pair of starts. The former seventh-round pick also has some special teams experience.
Kyron Johnson got into 16 games for the Eagles in 2022, with the majority of his snaps coming on special teams. He finished the season with eight tackles.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/7/23
Today’s minor transactions:
Green Bay Packers
- Waived from IR: RB Lew Nichols
Kansas City Chiefs
- Promoted: TE Matt Bushman, DT Matt Dickerson
Los Angeles Chargers
- Waived from IR: WR Milton Wright
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived from IR: LB Ryan Smenda
Minnesota Vikings
- Waived from IR: CB Tay Gowan
Tennessee Titans
- Waived from IR: DT Tyler Shelvin
The Chiefs hinted at Travis Kelce‘s status for tonight’s season opener when they added a tight end to the active roster. Matt Bushman was undrafted out of BYU in 2021 and has spent much of the past two years on the Chiefs’ practice squad. With Kelce inactive, Bushman could make his NFL debut tonight, although he’ll be behind Noah Gray and Blake Bell on the depth chart.
Vikings, S Josh Metellus Agree On Extension
The Vikings have another deal in place. After reaching an agreement with Danielle Hunter to start training camp and then bringing T.J. Hockenson back into the fold with a big-ticket contract, Minnesota will keep one of its top special-teamers around beyond 2023.
Josh Metellus agreed to terms on a two-year extension worth up to $13MM, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets. The contract will guarantee the fourth-year safety $6MM. A 2020 sixth-round pick, Metellus was going into a contract year.
[RELATED: Vikings Eyeing 2023 Justin Jefferson Extension]
This offseason involved Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah shedding a few contracts. Rick Spielman-era investments Eric Kendricks, Adam Thielen and Dalvin Cook are out of the picture, while one of Adofo-Mensah’s early pickups — Za’Darius Smith — became a one-and-done. The Vikings also moved on from cornerbacks Patrick Peterson, Cameron Dantzler and Chandon Sullivan. They will field a much younger secondary this season, and Metellus is expected to play a bigger role.
The three starts Metellus made last year marked his first as a pro, but ESPN’s Kevin Seifert notes DC Brian Flores is expected to use Metellus alongside starters Harrison Smith and Lewis Cine in three-safety looks. Metellus received an opportunity in the slot this summer, though UFA addition Byron Murphy is on track to reprise his Cardinals role by moving inside in sub packages.
Metellus’ 929 special teams snaps are the third-most among Vikings since 2020. He was on the field for 258 defensive plays last season, marking a substantial increase from his first two years. The Michigan product made 42 tackles and deflected five passes.
Saints QB Jake Haener Suspended 6 Games
The Saints’ rookie quarterback Jake Haener has reportedly been suspended for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances, according to Katherine Terrell of ESPN. Haener will miss the first six games of the season, making him unavailable until Monday, October 16. 
Haener was drafted to New Orleans in the fourth round this year out of Fresno State, where he spent most of his college career after transferring from Washington. Haener made the team’s initial 53-man roster and was expected to take a role as the Saints’ third, emergency quarterback behind starter Derek Carr and backup Jameis Winston.
New Orleans recently made an announcement that hybrid quarterback/tight end Taysom Hill would officially be listed as a quarterback, according to another post from Terrell. Many were surprised by the move as he’s seen continued time in a heavily split role. With Haener becoming unavailable for a decent stretch of time, Hill’s official designation makes a little more sense. Until Haener returns for a Week 7 matchup against the Jaguars, Hill will likely fill the emergency quarterback role for roster purposes.
Haener claimed ignorance when addressing the violation, saying in a statement posted to his X account that he does “not know how the substance got into (his) body, as none of (his) supplements or prescribed medications contain the banned ingredient.” He went on to take responsibility for the failed test, nonetheless, accepting the punishment to come. The suspension will be an unpaid one, meaning Haener will miss out on $250K of his $750K base salary in his rookie year, according to Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/6/23
Minor moves from around the league as we prepare for tomorrow’s season opener:
Chicago Bears
- Released from IR with injury settlement: WR Isaiah Ford, WR Dante Pettis
Detroit Lions
- Waive/injured: RB Jermar Jefferson
Green Bay Packers
- Waived from IR with injury settlement: RB Tyler Goodson, LS Broughton Hatcher
- Released from IR with injury settlement: S Tarvarius Moore
Indianapolis Colts
- Released from IR with injury settlement: TE Ricky Seals-Jones
Kansas City Chiefs
- Waived from IR with injury settlement: G Jerome Carvin
Los Angeles Rams
- Reverted to IR: CB Shaun Jolly
Miami Dolphins
- Released from IR with injury settlement: TE Eric Saubert
New York Jets
- Waived from IR with injury settlement: CB Jimmy Moreland
San Francisco 49ers
- Waived from IR with injury settlement: S Tayler Hawkins
Seattle Seahawks
- Waived from IR with injury settlement: LB Vi Jones
Dolphins Extend LS Blake Ferguson
Although it used to be something of a rarity, drafting a long snapper has become an annual phenomenon in recent years. Results of using such an important acquisition opportunity on a special teamer that doesn’t kick have been mixed since 2015, but the Dolphins represent as one of the teams to have found success in the risk. Miami solidified Blake Ferguson as their long snapper of the future with an extension today, according to the team’s X account. 
Ferguson was a member of the 2019 national champion LSU team before heading to the NFL. Like many of his teammates, the former Tigers team captain was fortunate enough to hear his name called in the draft and found himself heading to Miami. He took over the starting job as a rookie and hasn’t looked back, playing in all 50 possible games over his first three years.
With Ferguson heading into a contract year, the Dolphins decided to get ahead of his free agency by inking him before the season got underway. While we don’t yet have details on the numbers, the team’s post claims he’ll be under contract through the 2026 season, giving him an extra three years in South Beach.
While teams like the Lions, Steelers, Packers, and Vikings proved poor examples to follow in the years before Miami drafted Ferguson, the Dolphins have replicated the success found by their division rivals in New England, who drafted Joe Cardona in the fifth-round back in 2015. Like Cardona, Ferguson has minimized mistakes while staying on the field, helping him to land his second big-league deal.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/6/23
Today’s tax squad moves:
Houston Texans
- Signed: S Scott Nelson, RB Larry Rountree
- Placed on IR: S Brandon Hill
Washington Commanders
- Signed: S Keidron Smith
- Released: DE William Bradley-King, C Nolan Laufenberg