NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/5/17
Today’s practice squad transactions:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: G Jamil Douglas
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: CB Tony McRae, C Matt Skura
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: LB Eric Lee
- Released: S B.T. Sanders, CB Marcus Sayles
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: FB Alex Armah
Chicago Bears
- Signed: TE Ben Braunecker
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: WR Rashard Higgins, CB Darius Hillary, S Kai Nacua
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: LB Mark Nzeocha
- Released: WR Brian Brown
Houston Texans
- Signed: LB LaTroy Lewis
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: S Ronald Martin
- Released: S Andrew Williamson
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: CB Raysean Pringle
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: RB Akeem Hunt
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: LB Joseph Jones, CB Craig Mager
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: TE Johnny Mundt, CB Kevin Peterson
- Released: OL Michael Dunn, DL Louis Trinca-Pasat
New England Patriots
- Signed: OL Willie Beavers
- Released: LB Trevor Bates, DT Darius Kilgo
New York Giants
- Signed: LB Nordly Capi, WR Travis Rudolph
New York Jets
- Signed: DL Lawrence Thomas
- Released: DL Patrick Gamble
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: LB Ben Boulware, RB Jeremy McNichols
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: CB Kenneth Durden
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/5/17
Today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: LB Jordan Tripp
- Placed on IR: LaRoy Reynolds
Chicago Bears
- Released from IR: S Chris Prosinski
Detroit Lions
- Released from IR: DB Tramain Jacobs
Houston Texans
- Signed: CB Marcus Burley
- Released from IR: WR Wendall Williams
Los Angeles Chargers
- Waived: LB Nick Dzubnar
Los Angeles Rams
- Released from IR: WR Nelson Spruce
New England Patriots
- Released from IR: DE Corey Vereen
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: T Bryce Harris
New York Giants
- Released from IR: S Duke Ihenacho, S Mykkele Thompson
New York Jets
- Signed: TE Neal Sterling
- Waived: FB Julian Howsare
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: S Erik Harris, LB Xavier Woodson-Luster
- Placed on IR: OL Denver Kirkland, S Obi Melifonwu
Philadelphia Eagles
- Placed on IR: DE Alex McCalister, S Tre Sullivan
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: DL Will Clarke, LS Garrison Sanborn
- Placed on IR: QB Ryan Griffin
- Waived: DL Channing Ward
Bears Sign DT John Jenkins
Here today, gone tomorrow, and back again. That’s the story of the Bears and defensive tackle John Jenkins who was released on Saturday and re-signed on Monday. Jenkins takes the place of safety Deiondre’ Hall on the roster after he was placed on injured reserve. 
Jenkins, 28, first signed on with the Bears in March. He’ll help to provide depth behind starting nose tackle Eddie Goldman in Vic Fangio‘s 3-4 set. Jenkins bounced around in 2016 but he was a 12-game starter for New Orleans as recently as 2015.
The Bears also signed nine players to the practice squad:
- WR Tanner Gentry
- OT Brandon Greene
- OT Dieugot Joseph
- NT Rashaad Coward
- LB Jonathan Anderson
- LB John Timu
- LB Isaiah Irving
- S DeAndre Houston-Carson
- G Cameron Lee
Sunday NFL Transactions: NFC North
Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four NFC North teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions for the Bears, Lions, Packers, and Vikings are noted below.
Additionally, as of 12:00pm CT today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.
Here are Sunday’s NFC North transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:
Chicago Bears
- Claimed:
- LS Andrew DePaola
- WR Tre McBride
- RB Taquan Mizzell
- Cut:
- TE Ben Braunecker
- RB Jeremy Langford
- LS Jeff Overbaugh
Detroit Lions
- Claimed:
- G Zac Kerin
- T Brian Mihalik
- Cut:
- T Cornelius Lucas
- G Brandon Thomas
- Signed to practice squad:
- LB Thurston Armbrister
- CB Adairius Barnes
- WR Jace Billingsley
- WR Dontez Ford
- C Leo Koloamatangi
- DT Derrick Lott
- S Rolan Milligan
- T Storm Norton
- DE Pat O’Connor
- TE Cole Wick
Green Bay Packers
- Claimed:
- DE Chris Odom
- Placed on IR:
- OL Don Barclay
- Signed to practice squad:
- G Kofi Amichia
- CB Donatello Brown
- QB Joe Callahan
- WR Michael Clark
- LB Reggie Gilbert
- DT Izaah Lunsford
- LB Derrick Mathews
- G/T Adam Pankey
- S Jermaine Whitehead
- WR DeAngelo Yancey
Minnesota Vikings
- Claimed:
- TE Blake Bell
- Waived/injured:
- TE Bucky Hodges
- Signed to practice squad:
- DT Dylan Bradley
- TE Kyle Carter
- RB Bronson Hill
- WR Cayleb Jones
- LB Elijah Lee
- DE Ifeadi Odenigbo
- CB Horace Richardson
- QB Kyle Sloter
Bears Make Cuts, Reach 53
The Bears took time to announce their 53-man roster, but they got it done before the deadline. Here’s how:
Released:
- DB Johnthan Banks
- OL Taylor Boggs
- DL John Jenkins
- LB Dan Skuta
- DB B.W. Webb
- DL C.J. Wilson
Officially Placed On IR:
- RB Ka’Deem Carey
- LB Lamarr Houston
- WR Cameron Meredith
- OL Jordan Morgan
- DB Chris Prosinski
Waived:
- LB Jonathan Anderson
- WR Daniel Braverman
- DL Rashaad Coward
- WR Titus Davis
- WR Tanner Gentry
- OL Brandon Greene
- DB DeAndre Houston-Carson
- WR Alton Howard
- LB Isaiah Irving
- DB Harold Jones-Quartey
- OL Dieugot Joseph
- OL Mitchell Kirsch
- OL Will Poehls
- TE MyCole Pruitt
- DB Rashaad Reynolds
- OL Cyril Richardson
- RB Josh Rounds
- FB Freddie Stevenson
- LB John Timu
Waived/Injured:
- QB Connor Shaw
Bears To Take LB Pernell McPhee Off PUP
The Bears will take linebacker Pernell McPhee off the physically unable to perform list to begin the season, reports Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link).
McPhee has dealt with injuries since joining the Bears prior to the 2015 campaign, and it’s a knee injury that’s kept him sidelined this time around. He’s missed nine games over the past two seasons, but he’s been effective when on the field. McPhee has posted 10 sacks since 2015 while earning positive marks from Pro Football Focus.
While McPhee will earn a place on the Bears’ roster and won’t be forced to miss the season’s first six games, that doesn’t mean he won’t need time to ramp up. Chicago will use 2016 first-round pick Leonard Floyd and veteran Willie Young at outside linebacker while McPhee adjusts, while the club also has depth options in reserve. However, the Bears are currently shopping ‘backers Dan Skuta and Sam Acho.
Bears Likely To Release Lamarr Houston
The Bears will place edge rusher Lamarr Houston on injured reserve with the intention of reaching an injury settlement, tweets Tom Pelissero of USA Today.
Houston, who has torn his ACL twice in the past, doesn’t have any structural damage to his knee this time around, per Pelissero, but he’ll go on IR nonetheless. An injury settlement would pay Houston for the time it takes him to recover, and allow him to sign with any club when the settlement timetable expires.
Long an underrated player with the Raiders, Houston hasn’t been able to contribute much after inking a five-year, $35MM contract with Chicago prior to the 2014 campaign. In three seasons with the Bears, the 30-year-old Houston has appeared in just 26 of a possible 48 games and made only 10 starts. He’s managed nine total sacks in Chicago, but eight of those came in 2015, his only healthy year with the Bears.
Chicago will create $6MM in cap room by releasing Houston, but it will also incur nearly $1MM in dead money in each of the next two seasons.
Bears Cut DE Jaye Howard
The Bears have told defensive end Jaye Howard that he is being released, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune tweets. Howard has been dealing with a hip issue, though Biggs notes that he has been feeling better as of late. 
In May, the Bears inked Howard to a one-year deal that included a $775K base with up to $4MM in incentives. With an eye on cashing in next year, he switched representation to David Canter in July. The 28-year-old is now going to have to find somewhere else to showcase his skills for the next year.
Howard only suited up eight times for the Chiefs last year before his hip shut him down in November. During his limited action in 2016, Howard recorded 23 tackles and a sack. He ranked 55th in performance among Pro Football Focus‘ 127 qualified interior defensive linemen.
Bears Place RB Ka’Deem Carey On IR
The Bears will place running back Ka’Deem Carey on injured reserve, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). Because he’s being shifted to IR before making Chicago’s initial 53-man roster, Carey isn’t a candidate to return later this year.
Carey, a fourth-round pick in 2014, has appeared in 36 games over three season with the Bears, but has only made one career starter. Last season, the 24-year-old averaged 3.9 yards per carry on 32 touches. While he won’t play for Chicago in 2017, it’s possible Carey agrees to an injury settlement and becomes a free agent.
The Bears are set at running back without Carey, as starer Jordan Howard is backed up by Jeremy Langford and rookie Tarik Cohen.
Extra Points: Steelers, Bell, Bears
Here’s a quick look around the NFL:
- Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell passed his physical yesterday after showing up at the team’s facility, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. He did not sign his franchise tag yet, but he will, Rapoport adds. Bell’s Steelers open up the season in Cleveland on Sept. 10.
- The Bears were the only team to put in a waiver claim on kicker Roberto Aguayo after the Bucs cut him earlier this month, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. They’re now likely going to be stuck paying his $428K guarantee after releasing him on Saturday.
- The Redskins are still trying to trade Derek Carrier and two teams are currently in on him, Mike Jones of The Washington Post (on Twitter) hears. It’s still unclear how likely a deal is, however. Carrier has been traded before – he came to Washington via a swap with San Francisco in 2015.
- The Cardinals will pursue punter Andy Lee now that he is a free agent, Kent Somers of The Arizona Republic tweets. This makes sense considering that the Cardinals considered trading for him this week prior to his release.
- The Packers are looking for help at offensive guard, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle hears (Twitter link). Green Bay will start Lane Taylor and Jahri Evans at the two guard spots.