Bengals Move CB Trae Waynes To IR
By October’s end, Trae Waynes will have played in just two of the Bengals’ past 24 games. The veteran cornerback is heading to IR with a hamstring injury, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.
Waynes aggravated the hamstring issue that previously forced him to miss Cincinnati’s first three games this season. The former Vikings cornerback missed all of last year.
The Bengals paid Waynes handsomely last year, signing the former first-round pick to a three-year, $42MM deal. That pact has not worked out to this point. Waynes missed the 2020 season due to a torn pectoral muscle suffered last August. He will now be down for the next three Bengals games. Waynes, 29, missed just six games over the course of his five-year Vikings tenure.
Cincinnati was busy at cornerback this year, adding outside cover man Chidobe Awuzie and slot man Mike Hilton in free agency. Neither’s deal is in Waynes’ ballpark, however, with Awuzie signing for $7.25MM per year and Hilton leaving Pittsburgh for $6MM on average. The Bengals let William Jackson walk in free agency rather than use its franchise tag to retain him.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/12/21
Today’s taxi squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Released: CB Luq Barcoo, WR Josh Doctson
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: TE Parker Hesse
- Released: K Elliott Fry, OLB George Obinna
Baltimore Ravens
- Suspended six games (PEDs): T Adrian Ealy
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: OL Austen Pleasants
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: RB Elijah Holyfield
Cleveland Browns
- Activated off practice squad/COVID-19 list: CB Tim Harris
- Signed: T Alex Taylor
Denver Broncos
- Signed: WR John Brown (story) CB Rojesterman Farris
- Released: WR Josh Malone, LB Avery Williamson (story)
Houston Texans
- Signed: OL Cole Tonerm
- Released: DB Shyheim Carter
Indianapolis Colts
- OT Greg Senat, DT Antwaun Woods
- Placed on IR: S Ibraheim Campbell
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: RB Kerrith Whyte, OL Jared Hocker, WR Josh Imatorbhebhe
- Released: OL Austen Pleasants, RB Wendell Smallwood, WR Devin Smith
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: RB Elijah McGuire, LB Darius Harris
Las Vegas Raiders
- Released: QB Kyle Sloter
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: WR Travis Fulgham
New Orleans Saints
- Released: OT Derrick Kelly, LB Wynton McManis
New York Jets
- Signed: OL Dru Samia
- Released: S Sheldrick Redwine
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: DT Isaiah Mack
- Released: NT Eli Ankou
Bengals’ Jordan Evans Done For Year
Bengals linebacker Jordan Evans has been diagnosed with a torn ACL (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero). That’ll be a season-ender for the fifth-year pro, so the Bengals will place him on the injured reserve list later today. 
Evans went down late in the second quarter on Sunday. The Bengals went on to lose to the Packers in OT, dropping them to 3-2 on the year. His season will end with five tackles in five games.
Evans, a 2017 sixth-round pick, has appeared in 64 games with nine career starts. They’ve mostly used him on special teams since 2019; some believed that he would see more defensive snaps this year. That didn’t happen through five games, and the ACL tear means he won’t get an opportunity to crack the rotation.
All in all, Evans has 110 tackles, 3.5 sacks, seven pass defenses, and two interceptions as a pro. He could still hold interest as a special teamer in the spring — last year, Pro Football Focus assigned him a special teams grade of 77.6, good for No. 3 on the Bengals.
Bengals Activate Ricardo Allen
The Bengals have activated safety Ricardo Allen from the injured reserve list. To make room on the roster, they’ve placed guard Xavier Su’a-Filo on IR.
Allen signed with the Bengals in March. Before that, he operated as a first-string safety for the Falcons from 2015-2020, including a start in Super Bowl LI. Despite losing his 2018 season to injury, the 29-year-old was mostly healthy between ’19 and ’20. A hamstring strain coupled with a broken hand forced him to IR in September, but he’s bounced back in time for this week’s game against the Packers. In his 12 games last season, Allen registered 25 stops and a pair of interceptions.
This is familiar territory for Su’a-Filo, who missed ten regular season games last year. Injuries have limited the lineman for years now — from 2018-2020, he’s played in just 25 total contests. This time around, he’s dealing with a knee injury.
Meanwhile, the Bengals have received some good news on Joe Mixon. The running back is trending towards playing in “some capacity” against Green Bay, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/6/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: TE Darrell Daniels
Cincinnati Bengals
- Designated for return: S Ricardo Allen
Cleveland Browns
- Designated for return: LB Anthony Walker
Detroit Lions
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: K Austin Seibert
Green Bay Packers
- Signed off Cardinals’ practice squad: CB Rasul Douglas
Houston Texans
- Activated off reserve/COVID-19 list: LB Zach Cunningham
- Designated to return: LB Kevin Pierre-Louis
- Signed off Browns’ practice squad: WR Davion Davis
Miami Dolphins
- Designated for return: DT Raekwon Davis
New England Patriots
- Placed on IR: DL Henry Anderson (story)
New Orleans Saints
- Placed on IR: RB Tony Jones Jr.
New York Jets
- Designated for return: LB Blake Cashman
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/5/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Atlanta Falcons
- Promoted: DT Mike Pennel
Chicago Bears
- Waived: WR/KR Nsimba Webster
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: S Michael Thomas
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: OL Hjalte Froholdt (from Texans’ practice squad)
Detroit Lions
- Signed: OL Ryan McCollum (from Texans’ practice squad)
Kansas City Chiefs
- Designated for Return: LB Willie Gay
- Placed on IR: DE Joshua Kaindoh
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: CB Brandon Facyson (from Chargers’ practice squad)
Minnesota Vikings
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Harrison Hand
New York Jets
- Placed on IR: LB Hamsah Nasirildeen
- Promoted: OL Isaiah Williams
Washington Football Team
- Promoted: CB Danny Johnson, LB Jordan Kunaszyk
Bengals RB Joe Mixon “Week To Week”
The injury bug has hit Joe Mixon once again. The Bengals running back is dealing with a low-grade ankle sprain “that will leave him week to week,” reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter).
While Schefter’s tweet seems to indicate that Mixon won’t be in the lineup on Sunday against the Packers, coach Zac Taylor classified his starting running back as “day-to-day” and indicated Mixon could play this weekend.
“I know he wants to play and will do everything he can to put himself in that position,” Taylor said (via ESPN’s Ben Baby).
Mixon suffered the injury late during Thursday’s win over the Jaguars. Up to that point of the season, the 25-year-old had collected 382 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. Since entering the league as a second-round pick in 2017, Mixon has missed 14 regular season games, including 10 in 2020.
If Mixon does miss any time, the team would likely turn to running backs Samaje Perine and Chris Evans.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/30/21
Here are Thursday’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Waived: DB Luq Barcoo
Cincinnati Bengals
- Promoted: DB Trayvon Henderson
Cleveland Browns
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Tim Harris
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Activated from IR: WR Tavon Austin (story)
- Promoted: K Matthew Wright
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/30/21
Here are Thursday’s practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: OL Zack Johnson
Cincinnati Bengals
- Placed on practice squad IR: TE Thaddeus Moss
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: DB Bryan Mills
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Released: T Jonathan Hubbard
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