Texans Place RT Tytus Howard On IR
Tytus Howard appeared to be nearing a return to full health which would have allowed him to miss minimal game time. Instead, he will now be shut down for at least the first month of the season. 
The Texans announced on Wednesday that their right tackle starter has been placed on injured reserve, a move which guarantees a four-week absence. The news comes as a surprise considering the progress Howard had been making; he was expected to miss the regular season opener, but not much (if any) time beyond that while recovering from surgery on a broken hand.
Howard, 27, underwent the procedure on August 7, and was given a four-to-six week return timetable. That seemed to leave the door open to a potential Week 1 return (or one taking place shortly thereafter), but the team will proceed with caution. The Texans signed Howard to a three-year, $56MM extension not long before the injury, confirming that he will be mainstay on the team’s O-line for the foreseeable future.
That deal was one of many Houston worked out over the course of the offseason aimed at ensuring stability at the tackle spots and boosting the offensive front as a whole. The unit suffered a major blow with 2022 first-round guard Kenyon Green being shut down for the season with a shoulder injury, though. Howard’s absence through September will leave the Texans particularly shorthanded along the O-line.
The team will have an experienced fill-in option, however. George Fant, who was signed in late July, will operate as a starter at the RT spot. Fant signed a one-year deal worth up to $4MM, and he will now have the opportunity to prove his worth over an extended stretch. The 31-year-old has 60 starts to his name, including 36 from his three-year Jets stint which preceded his Texans signing. Fant will join trade acquisition Josh Jones as a backup thrust into first-team duties when Houston begins the campaign in Baltimore on Sunday.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/5/23
Today’s practice squad transactions:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: S Lukas Denis
- Placed on IR: OT Barry Wesley
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: WR Dezmon Patmon
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: TE Zach Gentry, LB Garrett Nelson
- Released: LB Tyler Murray
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: WR Keelan Cole Sr.
- Released: WR Antoine Wesley
The Raiders added a veteran wideout to their practice squad in Keelan Cole Sr.. The 30-year-old spent the majority of the 2022 campaign in Las Vegas, hauling in 10 catches for 141 yards and one touchdown. He was productive in 31 games with the Jaguars and Jets between 2020 and 2021, catching 83 passes for 1,091 yards and six touchdowns.
Cole will be taking the spot held by Antoine Wesley, who earned his walking papers today. The former UDFA got into 15 games for the Cardinals in 2021, finishing with 19 catches for 208 yards and three touchdowns.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/5/23
Today’s minor moves:
Las Vegas Raiders
- Waived from IR: CB Jordan Perryman, WR Isaiah Zuber
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived from IR: DB Shaun Jolly
Minnesota Vikings
- Waived from IR: LB Abraham Beauplan
San Francisco 49ers
- Released from IR: K Zane Gonzalez
- Waived from IR: WR A.J. Parker
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Waived from IR: CB Don Gardner
Today’s minor moves consistent exclusively of players getting released/waived from injured reserve. If players are placed on IR during the preseason, they’re not allowed to be activated by their team during the regular season. However, getting released from IR allows them to sign elsewhere and play immediately.
The most notable name on the list is kicker Zane Gonzalez, who has seen time in 63 career games. He most recently got into 12 games for the Panthers during the 2021 campaign, connecting on 20 of his 22 field goal attempts and 22 of his 23 extra point tries. The veteran will likely need an injury to hit before he gets another gig.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/4/23
Here are Monday’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Re-signed: LS Aaron Brewer
Denver Broncos
- Released from IR via injury settlement: OLB Christopher Allen
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Released from IR: WR Jaray Jenkins
Las Vegas Raiders
- Released from IR: WR Chris Lacy
Los Angeles Rams
- Released from IR: S Rashad Torrence
Seattle Seahawks
- Promoted: G Ben Brown
- Placed on IR: WR Dareke Young
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Released from IR: TE Dominique Dafney, S Kedrick Whitehead
Tennessee Titans
- Released from IR: TE Alize Mack
The injury settlements will sever ties between these players and their respective teams. While IR designations ahead of roster-cutdown day make these players ineligible for in-season activations, these settlements open the door to the players playing elsewhere this season. Young heading to IR in-season means he will be sidelined for at least four games. The Seahawks can use one of their eight allotted activations to bring the 2022 seventh-round pick off IR this season.
Brewer has been the Cardinals’ long snapper since 2016. He re-signed with the team in June. The Cardinals placed another long snapper, Matt Hembrough, on IR before cutdown day. Although Brewer was left off Arizona’s 53-man roster, teams often make this move with marginal vested veterans, who do not have to pass through waivers. This allows clubs to protect younger players from the waiver wire. Only left tackle D.J. Humphries has been with the team longer than Brewer, who is going into his age-33 season.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/4/23
Here are Monday’s practice squad transactions:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: CB Quavian White
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: CB Tae Hayes
- Released: QB Anthony Brown
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: G Arlington Hambright
- Released: T Dan Skipper
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: DL Ross Blacklock
- Released: DL Tommy Togiai
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: OL Hroniss Grasu
- Released: OL Vitaliy Gurman
New England Patriots
- Signed: DL Jeremiah Pharms Jr.
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: TE Tommy Hudson
- Released: OL Mark Evans
New York Giants
- Signed: WR Cam Sims
- Placed on practice squad injured list: WR Cole Beasley
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: LB Nicholas Morrow, OL Tyre Phillips
- Released: LB Kyron Johnson, CB Tiawan Mullen
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: FB Zander Horvath
San Francisco 49ers
- Released: RB Brian Hill
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: QB Holton Ahlers, S Brady Breeze
- Released: RB Bryant Koback
The Giants are not certain to have Wan’Dale Robinson available in Week 1. The 2022 second-round pick just came off the team’s active/PUP list, a sign the team believes he can return at some point during the season’s first four weeks. Beasley did not make the Giants’ 53-man roster but resided as a possible P-squad elevation option as Robinson protection. This moves nixes that path, as Beasley cannot play until Week 5.
Morrow has gone from potential Eagles starting linebacker to a player who did not make the defending NFC champions’ active roster. But the team still has the former Raiders and Bears starter in its plans. Morrow, who had signed a one-year deal worth the league minimum this offseason, is now positioned as a depth piece who could be elevated ahead of Week 1. Teams can use two P-squad elevations each week, in addition to standard promotions — which require corresponding roster moves — ahead of the Saturday-afternoon deadline.
Better known as the player chosen with the second-round pick obtained for DeAndre Hopkins, Blacklock moved from Houston to Minnesota via trade in August 2022. But he did not make the Vikings’ 53-man roster this year. The fourth-year D-lineman will be a depth option for the Jaguars.
Patriots Place T Riley Reiff On IR
Riley Reiff made it through last season unscathed, but the veteran tackle will spend time on IR for the second time in three years. The Patriots shifted Reiff to IR on Monday and promoted tight end Pharaoh Brown from the practice squad.
The 12th-year blocker suffered a right leg injury in the Pats’ preseason finale. Although Reiff’s timetable is not known, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport notes the issue is not believed to be one that will end the veteran’s season. Still, this stands to affect the Patriots’ offensive line configuration to start the season.
Both tackle spots loomed as concerns for the Patriots this offseason, with perennial injury risk Trent Brown having missed time earlier this year. New England had also experienced issues at guard, with Michael Onwenu coming off the active/PUP list in late August. Cole Strange has also missed notable preseason time. Reiff now must miss at least four games. He will factor into the Pats’ IR-return mix; teams have eight such activations available in-season.
Reiff has only played tackle in games as a pro, but the former first-round pick was working at guard — a position he slid to at points in practice for the then-guard-limited Pats — when the injury occurred, Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald notes. Reiff signed a one-year, $5MM deal in March, coming over after spending 2022 in Chicago. A Bears backup to start last season, Reiff eventually replaced Larry Borom in the 3-14 team’s lineup and started 10 games.
The well-traveled blocker has not run into substantial injury problems over the course of his career, only missing more than four games in a season once. That came in 2021, when an ankle injury sidelined him for the Bengals’ final five games. Working as Cincinnati’s starting right tackle that year, Reiff did not return for the team’s Super Bowl LVI run. Reiff, 34, will begin this season having started 149 career games.
This development creates uncertainty for the Pats, who were connected to a bigger investment at the position than the ones they eventually made. Rumored to be eyeing one of the top right tackles, the Pats instead added Reiff and ex-Broncos swing tackle Calvin Anderson. The team has rookie Sidy Sow as an option, and Kyed notes Onwenu moving back to tackle — a position he played earlier in his career with the Patriots — could be an emergency avenue. That would create a right guard vacancy.
New England also has Tyrone Wheatley Jr. and recent trade acquisition Vederian Lowe on its 53-man roster. Wheatley has yet to suit up for an NFL game; Lowe played in four as a Vikings backup last season. Sow arrived this year as a fourth-round pick out of Eastern Michigan. Anderson is the most experienced Patriots backup tackle. The Broncos’ tackle issues led to Anderson starting a career-high seven games last season. He has made 12 career starts but spent much of training camp on the active/non-football illness list.
Dolphins To Retain WR Robbie Chosen Via Practice Squad
SEPTEMBER 4: As is the case with a number of players recently let go by their respective teams, Anderson has remained with the Dolphins by signing to their practice squad, ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques notes. The veteran will thus be eligible to be elevated from the practice squad for gamedays or to work his way onto the active roster depending on Miami’s depth at the WR spot. To make room on the taxi squad, defensive end Randy Charlton was released.
AUGUST 29: With his third team and on his third name in the past three years, Robbie Chosen received word he did not make the Dolphins’ 53-man roster. Miami is releasing the veteran wide receiver, Jordan Schultz of The Score tweets. 
The former Robby Anderson/Robbie Anderson/Chosen Anderson had moved from the Panthers to the Cardinals to the Dolphins since the 2022 trade deadline. He signed a one-year, $1.32MM deal with Miami this offseason. The Dolphins guaranteed the former Jets starter just $153K.
Anderson, 30, had reached out to the Dolphins about a deal in the spring. During an offseason in which Miami also brought in Braxton Berrios, the team worked out a deal. But Anderson will not be part of a veteran-laden receiving corps. Berrios joins Tyreek Hill and Cedrick Wilson Jr. as receivers on veteran deals in Miami. Two years remain on Jaylen Waddle‘s rookie contract. River Cracraft and 2022 fourth-round pick Erik Ezukanma remain with the team as well.
After a strong showing with the Jets over the course of his own rookie pact, Anderson landed a multi-year free agent deal with the Panthers. His time there began as planned, as he recorded a career-best 95 catches for 1,095 yards. That performance offered reason for optimism moving forward, but things took a turn for the worse starting in 2021. The former UDFA saw a notable drop in production despite an uptick in playing time that year.
Dissatisfaction with his usage led to increasing tension with then-head coach Steve Wilks this past campaign. An episode on the sidelines resulted in Anderson being removed from the game, and his trade to the Cardinals took place one day later. The Temple product was unable to lock down a spot in Arizona or Miami. He will thus join the group of veterans eligible to sign with a new team if sufficient interest exists. He could also be a practice squad candidate to start the year if he winds up remaining with the Dolphins.
Texans Waive DT Roy Lopez
After two seasons as a regular along the Texans’ defensive interior, Roy Lopez is now eligible to find a new home. Houston waived the former sixth-rounder from injured reserve, as noted by KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. 
Lopez, who has been dealing with a strained hamstring, negotiated a four-week injury settlement as part of the move which will see him hit the waiver wire on Monday. If he goes unclaimed, he will be free to sign anywhere as a free agent. Wilson adds that the 26-year-old is drawing interest from multiple teams, so he will likely not need to wait long to find a new home.
The Arizona product has logged 29 starts across his 33 appearances in Houston. With snap shares of 46% and 48% during that time, his absence will certainly be noticeable this season on a new-look Texans defense. DeMeco Ryans‘ squad has seen a number of changes take place along the defensive interior, including the arrivals of Sheldon Rankins and Hassan Ridgeway in free agency. Their presence will go a long way in making up for Lopez’s lost playing time.
The latter has recorded similar production in each of his two campaigns to date, totaling 67 tackles (including 11 for loss), two sacks and nine QB pressures. Those numbers has not resulted in high PFF evaluations so far, however, with tackling issues representing a cause for poor overall grades. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see how many teams are prepared to put in a waiver claim on Lopez or show interest in adding him via free agency.
Of course, a reunion with the Texans could still be possible, but that would require Lopez remaining on the open market for the course of the four-week period. Houston also moved on from offensive lineman Keaton Sutherland via an injury settlement, after the latter suffered an adductor strain.
Cowboys, Terence Steele Agree To Extension
SEPTEMBER 4: Steele will collect a signing bonus of $15MM, per Schefter’s colleague Todd Archer. The new pact is guaranteed in full for the first two years, and his 2025 base salary ($13.25MM) will become guaranteed on the fifth day of that league year. The deal will not alter Steele’s cap hit for this season, so that figure will remain at $4.3MM before jumping in later years given the sizable raise from his previous earnings. $1.25MM in escalators are included for the years 2025-28, and he can earn roster bonuses of $750K annually beginning in 2024.
SEPTEMBER 3: The Cowboys and right tackle Terence Steele have agreed to a five-year, $86.8MM extension, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. The deal includes $50MM in guarantees and can max out at $91.8MM.
This represents a major vote of confidence in a player whose 2022 season was cut short by ACL and MCL tears. But as head coach Mike McCarthy recently told reporters, including Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News, he has never seen a player recover quite like Steele.
“He hasn’t missed a day, and it’s just Terence,” McCarthy said. “He’s in there the same time every day, doing the rehab. It feels like he never left. Terence is a stud.”
Steele, 26, signed with Dallas as an undrafted free agent in 2020. Over his three seasons with the club, he has appeared in 45 games (40 starts), with most of his work coming at right tackle. His level of play at that spot allowed Dallas to move on from La’el Collins and commit to Steele on a full-time basis in 2022. Steele took a step forward in Pro Football Focus rating for the third straight year, generating an overall grade of 73.9.
Despite the ACL and MCL injuries, the Cowboys placed the second-round RFA tender, worth $4.3MM, on Steele this offseason. Reports on Dallas’ O-line plans in the spring suggested that the Texas Tech alum could operate as the swing tackle behind Tyron Smith and Tyler Smith, with Tyron Smith lining up at RT and Tyler Smith on the blindside. However, the club has consistently maintained that it wants to field its best five offensive lineman, and that group includes Steele. As such, Tyler Smith eventually kicked inside to left guard, Tyron Smith has assumed his familiar LT post, and Steele has been reinserted at right tackle.
Along with Tyler Biadasz at center and Zack Martin at right guard, the Cowboys boast a strong contingent of blockers in front of quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Tony Pollard. With Tyron Smith set to become a free agent at season’s end, it is certainly possible that Tyler Smith could move back to left tackle in 2024, but the team has the RT position set for the foreseeable future.
Steele’s new money AAV of $17.36MM ranks as the eighth-highest figure among the league’s right tackles. His $50MM in guaranteed money, however, ranks as the fourth-highest number, so he did quite well for a former UDFA who has yet to make a Pro Bowl and who is coming off a major knee injury.
The Cowboys were eyeing extensions for players like CeeDee Lamb, Trevon Diggs, and Steele this year, and they have now struck accords with Diggs and Steele. They also gave Martin a raise that ended his holdout and will now presumably turn their attention to Lamb and Prescott, whose cap number balloons to over $59MM next year.
Vikings Sign WR N’Keal Harry To Practice Squad
N’Keal Harry was let go by the Vikings not long before last week’s roster cutdowns. The former first-round receiver is back with the organization, however. Harry has signed with Minnesota’s practice squad, per a team announcement. 
After suffering an injury in warmups before a preseason contest, the Vikings waived Harry with an injury designation. The 25-year-old went unclaimed, to no surprise, and he was not picked up on any teams’ active rosters or taxi squads as a free agent. Given today’s news, he can now resume his role as a developmental project for the Vikings.
Harry entered the league with high expectations as a Day 1 selection, but his time with the Patriots did not produce consistent production. The Arizona State alum’s best year came in 2020, when he posted a 33-309-2 statline. His playing time fluctuated in New England, though, and injuries have hindered his development.
Chicago traded for him last summer in an effort to revive his career and give the team some upside in its receiving corps. An injury delayed his Bears debut, however, and Harry was limited to seven games played and only seven receptions. His latest deal with an NFC North outfit could see him elevated to the active roster on gamedays depending on Minnesota’s depth chart at the receiver spot.
Starting roles are in place for Justin Jefferson and K.J. Osborn, as well as first-round rookie Jordan Addison. If healthy, Harry could play his way into a complimentary role if he remains in the Vikings’ organization long enough. Of course, he will be free to sign with another team’s active roster while he remains on Minnesota’s taxi squad, though.
In a corresponding move to the Harry signing, undrafted rookie center Alan Ali was released from the practice squad.