Jaguars Place DJ Chark On IR
The Jaguars have placed D.J. Chark on the injured reserve list following his ankle fracture. They’ve also done the same with offensive lineman A.J. Cann (knee injury) while activating offensive tackle Walker Little from the COVID-19 list. 
Chark’s ankle bent backwards in last week’s game against the Bengals. Afterwards, he was unable to put weight on his leg and ultimately had to be carted off the field.
Chark, a former second-round pick, enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2019, finishing with 1,028 yards from scrimmage and eight touchdowns. His numbers took a step back in 2020, and through the first three games of the 2021 campaign, he hauled in only seven receptions for 154 yards and two touchdowns. There’s no word yet on his timetable, but it’ll be a while before he retakes the field. In the meantime, Trevor Lawrence will feed to top receivers Marvin Jones and Laviska Shenault.
Cann has spent his entire career with the Jags, serving as a starter in each of his seven seasons. He’s hardly missed time along the way, but his Thursday night injury left him with no other choice.
Now at 0-4, the short-handed Jaguars will try their luck against the Titans this week.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/4/21
Today’s taxi squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Released: G Shaq Calhoun
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: DB Mazzi Wilkins
- Released: DB Linden Stephens
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: WR Matt Cole
- Released: DB Jalen Julius
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: WR Lawrence Cager
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: DB J.R. Reed
- Released: OL Jared Hocker
Minnesota Vikings
- Released: WR Whop Philyor
Lions’ Romeo Okwara Done For Year
The Lions’ fear has been confirmed. Edge rusher Romeo Okwara has been diagnosed with a torn Achilles that will rule him out for the remainder of the season (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). 
The Lions will place Okwara on the injured reserve list, opening up a new spot on the 53-man roster. Replacing his production will be a different matter. Now at 0-4, the Lions’ odds of righting the ship have gone down drastically. They’ve already lost cornerback Jeff Okudah — also an Achilles tear — and they’re still awaiting Trey Flowers‘ return from shoulder and knee issues. Plus, Lions center Frank Ragnow was also forced out this week with a toe injury, though that seems to be a short-term matter.
Doctors — and non-medical professionals — could immediately tell that Okwara was in bad shape. The pass rusher was in obvious pain on Sunday and couldn’t put weight on his left leg as he hobbled off the field.
Okwara registered a career-high ten sacks last year with 44 stops, three forced fumbles, and 18 total quarterback hits. And, through the first three games this year, he was Detroit’s most productive defender. The Lions will be counting on Flowers (if healthy), Charles Harris, Julian Okwara, and Austin Bryant for support as they search for win No. 1.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/4/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Promoted: S Chris Banjo
- Waived: OL Koda Martin
Atlanta Falcons
- Promoted: P Dustin Colquitt
Carolina Panthers
- Promoted: LB Kamal Martin
- Waived: G Michael Jordan
Indianapolis Colts
- Claimed off waivers (from Buccaneers): DT Khalil Davis
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: DL Forrest Merrill
- Promoted: DL Breiden Fehoko
- Placed on IR: DL Justin Jones, LB Kenneth Murray Jr.
Minnesota Vikings
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Cameron Dantzler
Seattle Seahawks
- Designed for return: DB Tre Brown
Washington Football Team
- Placed on IR: CB Torry McTyer
Buccaneers Sign Richard Sherman
Oct. 3: As Doug Kyed of Pro Football Focus reports (via Twitter), Sherman’s base salary checks in at just $1MM. He can earn up to $350K in per-game roster bonuses ($25K per game over the final 14 games of the season) and another $900K in playing-time incentives.
He will collect the first per-game roster bonus and start chipping away at his playing-time incentives tonight. Though Sherman only signed with Tampa Bay a few days ago, he reportedly picked up the defense more quickly than expected and will be in the starting lineup against the Pats (Twitter link via Rapoport).
Sep. 29: The Buccaneers have signed Richard Sherman, according to the cornerback himself (Twitter link). After a prolonged stint in free agency, Sherman gets a one-year, $2.25MM deal with $500K guaranteed (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport).
“I went with the best offer I had, the best opportunity to go out there and put some tape on, to lead another group,” said the multiple-time Pro Bowler. “I feel comfortable and confident in my abilities to go out there and execute and help that team win…This was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”
Sherman, a five-time Pro Bowler, will the Bucs and old rival Tom Brady in time for this week’s game against the Patriots. The Bucs had a clear need after losing Sean Murphy-Bunting (elbow), Jamel Dean (knee), Carlton Davis (abdomen; ribs), and other key defensive backs in recent weeks. Dean should return sometime soon, but he probably won’t be ready for New England.
In 2019, Sherman’s last healthy season, he recorded 61 tackles and three interceptions. Then, his 2020 was sidetracked by a calf injury, limiting him to just five games. Fortunately, Sherman is said to be 100% healthy and down 15 pounds from last year.
To make room for Sherman on the roster, the Bucs have placed wide receiver Scotty Miller (turf toe) on injured reserve (Twitter link via Rapoport).
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/2/21
Here is Saturday’s batch of minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Activated from IR: LB Dennis Gardeck
- Promoted: S Chris Banjo, OL Eric Smith
Buffalo Bills
- Promoted: CB Cam Lewis
Carolina Panthers
- Promoted: S Kenny Robinson, RB Rodney Smith
Dallas Cowboys
- Activated from IR: WR Malik Turner
- Promoted: DT Austin Faoliu, DT Justin Hamilton, RB Nick Ralston, TE Jeremy Sprinkle
Denver Broncos
- Promoted: LB Curtis Robinson, OL Austin Schlottmann
Detroit Lions
- Promoted: K Ryan Santoso
Green Bay Packers
- Activated from IR: WR Equanimeous St. Brown
- Placed on IR: WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling (story)
Houston Texans
- Promoted: QB Jeff Driskel, DB A.J. Moore, LB Hardy Nickerson
- Activated from IR: K Ka’imi Fairbairn
Kansas City Chiefs
- Promoted: DB Dicaprio Bootle
Los Angeles Rams
- Activated from IR: LB Ogbonnia Okoronkwo
- Promoted: RB Buddy Howell, LB Justin Lawler
- Waived: S J.R. Reed
Miami Dolphins
- Promoted: C Cameron Tom
Minnesota Vikings
- Promoted: G Dakota Dozier, CB Parry Nickerson
New Orleans Saints
- Promoted: C Will Clapp, T Jordan Mills, WR Kenny Stills
New York Giants
- Promoted: C Jonotthan Harrison
New York Jets
- Activated from IR: S Ashtyn Davis, S Sharrod Neasman
- Promoted: OL Isaiah Williams
- Waived: RB Josh Adams
Philadelphia Eagles
- Activated from IR: OL Jack Driscoll, CB Josiah Scott
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Promoted: OT Chaz Green, WR Cody White
San Francisco 49ers
- Promoted: DL Maurice Hurst
Seattle Seahawks
- Promoted: WR Cody Thompson
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Promoted: CB Pierre Desir, TE Codey McElroy, CB Rashard Robinson
- Waived: DL Khalil Davis
Tennessee Titans
- Promoted: DL Amani Bledsoe, FB Tory Carter
Giants Activate WR John Ross From IR
The Giants will be relying fully on offseason acquisitions at wide receiver Sunday, having ruled out both Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton. One of their outside hires will make his season debut in Week 4.
John Ross is off the Giants’ IR list, moving onto the team’s active roster after the mandatory three weeks. The Giants placed Ross on IR with a hamstring injury, one he suffered early in training camp. After extensive rehab, Ross will have a chance to begin his second-chance effort.
Ross will join Kenny Golladay, first-round pick Kadarius Toney and late-summer waiver claim Collin Johnson as the Giants’ top receivers against the Saints. Shepard and Slayton are on the shelf due to hamstring injuries sustained in Week 3.
Despite Ross not coming particularly close to justifying the top-10 investment the Bengals made, the Giants gave him $2.25MM this offseason. They signed Ross before coming to terms with Golladay, and the team later drafted Toney. Ross still holds the Combine’s 40-yard dash record time — 4.22 seconds — but he did not pan out in Cincinnati and has run into frequent injury trouble during his career.
Ross did show promise in 2019, averaging 63.3 yards per game over an eight-game sample, but that was the only season in which he cleared 250 yards.
Patriots To Activate WR N’Keal Harry
N’Keal Harry will begin his third season with the Patriots on Sunday. The team intends to activate the former first-round pick from IR, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
Teams playing Sunday have until 4pm CT Saturday to arrange their Week 4 rosters, and Harry will soon be on New England’s. He missed the first three weeks of the season with a shoulder injury but will return after missing the minimum amount of time.
The Arizona State alum will return to a reconfigured Pats skill-position corps but one that has not yet found its footing. Offseason addition Nelson Agholor has just 110 receiving yards in three games, while New England’s new tight ends — Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry — have also not been major factors in the passing game early. Former UDFA Jakobi Meyers leads the Patriots in receiving (176 yards).
Harry requested a trade this offseason, but the Pats did not move in that direction. The 6-foot-4 wideout has not panned out thus far, totaling 45 receptions for 414 yards in two seasons. Harry has also missed 14 games through two seasons and change due to injury. It is unclear what Harry’s role will be, but he represents another potential weapon for the team as Mac Jones‘ run begins.
The Pats also elevated linebacker Jahlani Tavai and defensive back Myles Bryant from their practice squad. New England picked up Tavai, a former Lions second-round pick, shortly after his late-summer Detroit exit.
Ravens Elevate RB Le’Veon Bell
Le’Veon Bell‘s Ravens debut could be coming soon. The team elevated the former All-Pro running back to its active roster Saturday, doing so while placing Derek Wolfe on IR.
Amid a brutal run of injuries at running back, the Ravens worked out Bell shortly before Week 1 and signed him to their practice squad. Baltimore promoted Devonta Freeman ahead of the ex-Steelers star but now will have Bell on its active roster as well in Week 4.
Bell joins Freeman, Ty’Son Williams and Latavius Murray on Baltimore’s 55-man Week 4 roster. Teams can dress up to 48 players each week. The Ravens have gone with a committee approach at running back, using Williams and Murray mostly. Freeman has seen sporadic work behind the team’s top duo.
To label Bell’s past three-plus years as underwhelming would be quite the understatement. Following Bell’s 2018 full-season holdout, the lucrative Jets deal he inked failed spectacularly. The Jets dropped Bell midway through last season. While the Chiefs picked him up, Bell saw scant action in the playoffs and was a healthy scratch for both the AFC championship game and Super Bowl LV. The Ravens extended the two-time All-Pro another chance, however, and Bell will likely soon begin his age-29 season.
Wolfe has not played this season and will miss his Denver homecoming game. The eight-year Broncos starter signed with the Ravens in 2020 and played in 14 games, but back and hip injuries have sidelined him since August. The veteran defensive lineman will be out through at least Week 6.
Baltimore also elevated tackle Andre Smith and cornerback Kevon Seymour from its practice squad, with Smith being named a COVID-19 roster replacement for Jaylon Ferguson, who will miss a second straight game after having tested positive. The Ravens did not activate receivers Rashod Bateman or Miles Boykin.
Seahawks Place RB Rashaad Penny On IR
Some Seahawks Saturday roster reshuffling will bring in multiple reinforcements but move former first-round pick Rashaad Penny back to a familiar place. Penny is back on IR, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times tweets.
Penny’s contract year is off to a rough start, with the former San Diego State standout having played just seven snaps — all in Week 1 — before going down with a calf injury. He is now out for Seattle’s next three games.
While the Penny pick surprised most at the time, he has impressed at points. But he has not overtaken former seventh-round pick Chris Carson in Seattle’s lineup and has run into extensive injury misfortune. Penny tore an ACL late in the 2019 season and did not return until December 2020. He underwent another knee surgery this offseason. The Seahawks declined Penny’s fifth-year option in May.
Better news comes at other positions for the 1-2 Seahawks. They activated tackle Cedric Ogbuehi and tight end Colby Parkinson off IR. Parkinson suffered a foot fracture for the second straight summer. His return will help a team that has Gerald Everett on its reserve/COVID-19 list. Everett tested positive for the coronavirus this week and has not submitted a negative test yet. Ogbuehi’s return to work comes at a key juncture, with starting right tackle Brandon Shell ruled out for Week 4 with an ankle injury.
A fourth-round pick out of Stanford last year, Parkinson has played in just six games as a pro. But this year’s foot fracture was not as serious as the injury he suffered in 2020. Parkinson’s return stands to help a Seahawks team that has seen extensive tight end unavailability over the past few seasons.