Jaguars Drop Phillip Dorsett
The Jaguars have released wide receiver Phillip Dorsett from their practice squad (Twitter link via Field Yates of ESPN.com). The 28-year-old could potentially return after some roster jockeying, but it’s not clear if that’s in the cards. 
[RELATED: Jaguars Trade CJ Henderson To Panthers]
Dorsett joined the Jags in the spring but he did not make it through final cuts. Despite his on-and-off relationship with Urban Meyer & Co., Dorsett still offers an impressive resume including two trips to the Super Bowl and a ring from in SB LIII with the Patriots. The veteran only hauled in 73 receptions for 881 yards and eight touchdowns in 45 games for New England, but he still offers special teams upside.
To date, 2016 stands as Dorsett’s most productive year. In 15 games with a career-high seven starts, Dorsett caught 33 receptions for 528 yards and a pair of TDs with the Colts.
Panthers Promote Rashaan Melvin
The Panthers have signed Rashaan Melvin to the active roster (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). After moving between the practice squad and the gameday roster, the veteran cornerback will dress for this week’s game. 
[RELATED: Panthers Trade For Jags’ CJ Henderson]
Melvin, 31, has appeared in two of the Panthers’ three games so far. Now, he’ll be tasked with providing depth in the wake of Jaycee Horn‘s injury. The
Melvin is now a six-team veteran, having previously played for the Ravens, Patriots, Colts, Raiders and Lions. He was on track to play for the Jaguars last season too, but he opted out during the pandemic.
His last live action came with the Lions, when he was a 12-game starter in 2019. To date, he has 40 career starts under his belt.
Melvin will be joined in the secondary by former first-round pick C.J. Henderson. Earlier today, the Panthers sent tight end Dan Arnold and a third-round pick to the Jaguars in exchange for the UF product and a fifth-round choice.
Jaguars Trade C.J. Henderson To Panthers
The Jaguars have agreed to trade former first-round pick C.J. Henderson and a fifth-round choice to the Panthers (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). In return, the Panthers will send tight end Dan Arnold and a third-round pick to the Jaguars. 
[RELATED: Panthers’ Horn To Miss Time]
Henderson will provide immediate help in the secondary, since the Panthers are going to be without Jaycee Horn for a while. Through his first three pro games, the No. 8 overall pick showed promise as he notched three tackles and one interception to his credit. Henderson, meanwhile, has struggled to find his footing as a pro.
The Jaguars’ old regime made Henderson the No. 9 overall pick in 2020. He went on to appear in just eight games, due to a reserve/COVID-19 list stint and shoulder labrum surgery. Reportedly, even when he was there, the ex-Florida Gator appeared to be disinterested at Jags practice. Still, teams were interested in acquiring him this summer, including the Saints.
With Henderson out of the picture, the Jaguars will move forward with Shaquill Griffin and Tre Herndon as their boundary corners with Chris Claybrooks in the slot. Meanwhile, Urban Meyer & Co. will focus on developing rookie second-rounder Tyson Campbell for a larger role.
On the other side of the ball, Arnold provides Trevor Lawrence with an intriguing weapon. Last year, Arnold finished with 31 grabs for 438 yards and four touchdowns for the Cardinals. He went on to sign a two-year, $6MM deal with the Panthers, but he’s seen just eleven targets through three games while rookie Tommy Tremble has gotten more of the attention.
Giants’ Blake Martinez Done For Year
Blake Martinez‘s season is over. On Monday morning, the Giants linebacker was diagnosed with a torn ACL (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo). 
This was the immediate fear after Martinez was forced out of Sunday’s game with a non-contact injury. It’s a bad blow for the Giants, on the heels of their latest defeat and a gruesome leg injury for offensive lineman Nick Gates. The Giants are now 0-3, without two of their team captains for the rest of the year.
Martinez moved on from the Packers last year to ink a three-year, $30.75MM deal with the Giants. Installed as the Giants’ left inside linebacker, he tallied 151 tackles, three sacks, five passes defensed, two forced fumbles, and one interception in his Big Blue debut. This year, he’ll finish with 23 stops in three games.
Martinez, 28 in January, will focus on recovery as he looks ahead to his next walk year in 2022. In theory, the Giants will have an escape hatch once Martinez gets medical clearance next year. He’s due to carry a $14MM cap number, but they can save $8.525MM with $5.5MM in dead money if they drop him. But, given his production while healthy, they’ll likely keep him in the fold.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/27/21
Today’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Placed on IR: LB Daelin Hayes
Carolina Panthers
- Promoted: CB Rashaan Melvin (story)
Denver Broncos
- Signed (off Raiders practice squad): WR David Moore
Las Vegas Raiders
- Waived: RB Trey Ragas
New York Giants
- Signed (off WFT practice squad): G Wes Martin
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Activated off Reserve/COVID-19 list: LB Kevin Minter
Saints Elevate WR Kenny Stills
Thin at wide receiver, the Saints are promoting a familiar player to help fill the void. The team elevated Kenny Stills from its practice squad Saturday.
Should the Saints dress Stills for their Week 3 game against the Patriots, it will mark his first game with the team since 2014. Like former teammate Brandin Cooks, Stills has been involved in multiple trades since his most recent game as a Saint. New Orleans traded Stills to Miami in 2015; the Dolphins sent him to the Texans in 2019.
Stills’ most recent Saints slate remains his best yardage total to date, with the former fifth-round pick accumulating 931 in his second season. The veteran deep threat has 37 touchdown catches and 4,843 receiving yards as a pro. Much has changed since Stills’ last stint on New Orleans’ active roster. Only Cameron Jordan and Terron Armstead remain from that period.
The 29-year-old target has, however, hit a bit of a rough patch since the Texans acquired Cooks and reconfigured their receiving corps last year. Stills has not played in a game since the Texans faced the Patriots in Week 10 of last season. Houston released Stills last November. While the Bills signed him to their practice squad late last season, Stills did not suit up for Buffalo.
The Saints reacquired Stills on a practice squad deal last week. He will join a receiving corps in need. The Saints are down Michael Thomas until at least Week 7, due to his belated ankle surgery, and also have Tre’Quan Smith stashed on IR. New Orleans also elevated center Austin Reiter for Sunday’s game. Starter Erik McCoy remains out with a calf injury.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/25/21
Here are today’s practice squad decisions:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: RB Nate McCrary
Denver Broncos
- Released: LB Pita Taumoepenu
Detroit Lions
- Signed: LS Beau Brinkley, P Lachlan Edwards
- Released: WR Javon McKinley, TE Jared Pinkney
New England Patriots
- Released: G Jake Eldrenkamp
Seattle Seahawks
- Released: TE Michael Jacobson
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/25/21
The weekly Saturday bunch of minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Promoted: WR Juwan Green
Baltimore Ravens
- Promoted: LB Josh Bynes, DL Reginald McKenzie, CB Kevon Seymour, T Andre Smith
Chicago Bears
- Promoted: DL Margus Hunt
Cincinnati Bengals
- Promoted: S Sean Davis
Cleveland Browns
- Promoted: TE Jordan Franks
Detroit Lions
- Promoted: K Ryan Santoso
- Placed on IR: DE Kevin Strong
Indianapolis Colts
- Promoted: WR DeMichael Harris, QB Brett Hundley
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Promoted: WR Phillip Dorsett
Las Vegas Raiders
- Promoted: RB Trey Ragas
Los Angeles Chargers
- Promoted: OLB Emeke Egbule, DL Joe Gaziano
Los Angeles Rams
- Promoted: DB Tyler Hall, RB Buddy Howell
Minnesota Vikings
- Promoted: RB Ameer Abdullah, G Dakota Dozier, CB Parry Nickerson
- Waived: T Blake Brandel
New England Patriots
- Promoted: LB Jahlani Tavai
New York Giants
- Promoted: WR C.J. Board, C Jonotthan Harrison
- Placed on IR: LB Cam Brown
New York Jets
- Promoted: OL Isaiah Williams
San Francisco 49ers
- Placed on IR: DL Kevin Givens
Seattle Seahawks
- Promoted: DT Robert Nkemdiche, WR Cody Thompson
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Promoted: CB Rashard Robinson, TE Deon Yelder
Tennessee Titans
- Promoted: FB Tory Carter, DL Woodrow Hamilton
Raiders Elevate Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Patrick Onwuasor
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix has moved closer to an opportunity to play in his first game since the 2019 season. The Raiders are elevating the veteran safety from their practice squad for Week 3.
Las Vegas signed Clinton-Dix to its practice squad last week, doing so after he failed to make San Francisco’s final 53. The 49ers cut Clinton-Dix less than three weeks after signing him this summer. He has not played since his one-season Bears tenure.
Although Clinton-Dix auditioned for several teams this year, the Raiders represented his first visit of 2021. The Cowboys signed the former Pro Bowler in 2020 but released him before the start of the regular season. Prior to these struggles landing a steady gig, Clinton-Dix did not miss a game from 2014-19. He worked as a starter throughout that stretch, making the Pro Bowl with the Packers in 2016 and ranking as an upper-echelon safety (per Pro Football Focus) with the Bears in ’19.
The Raiders are also adding yet another veteran linebacker to the mix. They elevated former Ravens first-stringer Patrick Onwuasor along with Clinton-Dix. Onwuasor landed on the Jets’ IR list twice last year but was a three-season Ravens starter from 2017-19. The Raiders auditioned Onwuasor in late August.
Onwuasor joins Denzel Perryman and K.J. Wright as new additions to the Vegas linebacking corps in the past month. The Raiders also have Cory Littleton and Nick Kwiatkoski, though Nicholas Morrow is on IR.
49ers Elevate RB Kerryon Johnson
The 49ers’ running back carousel keeps spinning. Kerryon Johnson will be the latest to move up to the team’s active roster, and he will replace JaMycal Hasty.
Signed to San Francisco’s practice squad last week, Johnson will rise to the 49ers’ 55-man gameday roster. Hasty suffered a high ankle sprain in the 49ers’ Week 2 win. He will join Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson as unavailable San Francisco backs, with the former out for the season and the latter on the PUP list.
With Hasty out for at least three games, the 49ers do not have a halfback on their active roster who was with them last season. Jerick McKinnon and Tevin Coleman are elsewhere. The 49ers also are not expected to have new starter Elijah Mitchell against the Packers. The sixth-round rookie is doubtful with a shoulder injury. Trey Sermon, however, has cleared concussion protocol and may be in line to start. The 49ers also claimed XFL alum Jacques Patrick off the Bengals’ practice squad. Johnson will join these two and Trenton Cannon on the team’s active roster.
A former second-round pick, Johnson has been part of a few transactions this year. The Lions waived him this offseason, and the Eagles added him with a waiver claim. An injury settlement led to Johnson’s Philadelphia exit.
Knee trouble has plagued the former Auburn standout. Johnson did average 5.4 yards per carry as a rookie with the Lions, totaling 854 scrimmage yards in just 10 games. While Johnson stayed healthy in 2020, the Lions had effectively moved on by signing Adrian Peterson and drafting D’Andre Swift in Round 2. The 49ers will give the fourth-year veteran another chance.