NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/22/22
Today’s practice squad transactions:
Atlanta Falcons
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: LB Arron Mosby
- Released: QB D’Eriq King
Chicago Bears
- Signed: DB Breon Borders
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: S Bubba Bolden, T Will Holden
- Released: C Jordan Meredith
Denver Broncos
- Signed: RB Tyreik McAllister, LB Ray Wilborn
- Released: LB Harvey Langi
Houston Texans
- Signed: DB D’Angelo Ross
Indianapolis Colts
- Released: LB Tyrell Adams
New York Giants
- Signed: TE Nick Vannett
New York Jets
- Signed: DL Marquiss Spencer
Philadelphia Eagles
- Released: WR Auden Tate
- Released from IR: OT Jarrid Williams
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Released: DB Quincy Wilson
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/22/22
Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Released from IR: RB Jonathan Ward
Cincinnati Bengals
- Waived: OL Isaiah Prince
- Signed from practice squad: WR Trenton Irwin
Denver Broncos
- Placed on IR: RB Chase Edmonds (story)
- Signed off Browns’ practice squad: LB Dakota Allen
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed off Bengals’ practice squad: DE Khalid Kareem
- Waived: S Trevor Denbow
New York Giants
- Signed to active roster: WR/TE Lawrence Cager
Seattle Seahawks
- Designated for return: LB Jon Rhattigan
Tennessee Titans
- Designated for return: K Caleb Shudak
Washington Commanders
- Designated for return: LB Milo Eifler
The Bengals both designated Prince for return from IR and activated him Monday. This marks the second time this year the defending AFC champions have used one of their injury activations on a player only to waive him a day later. This first happened with Kareem, who then moved to the Bengals’ practice squad ahead of this Colts poaching. A former Dolphins sixth-rounder, Prince played in 15 Bengals games last season and started four. He has not played this year. It will be somewhat interesting if the Bengals keep Prince via a P-squad agreement, provided no waiver claims emerge.
Eifler, Rhattigan and Shudak have three weeks from Tuesday to be activated. The Seahawks, Titans and Commanders had seen their number of activation-eligible players pile up in recent weeks. Each of these teams have five injury activations remaining.
The Titans waived Week 11 kicker fill-in Josh Lambo on Monday. Primary Tennessee kicker Randy Bullock missed the game but is not on IR. Bullock suffered a calf injury during pregame warmups in Week 10. Shudak, a rookie UDFA out of Iowa who has spent the season on the Titans’ reserve/PUP list, would stand to represent insurance this week.
Browns’ Ethan Pocic To Miss Multiple Weeks
The Browns will be without a starter along the offensive line for an extended stretch. Head coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed that center Ethan Pocic will miss multiple weeks as a result of a knee injury. The team has since announced that he will be placed on IR.
Pocic had played every snap so far this season before going down during the first drive of Cleveland’s loss to the Bills on Sunday. Along the way, the 27-year-old established himself as a vital member of the Browns’ offensive front, one which has paved the way for the fifth-ranked rushing attack in the league this season.
Individually, Pocic has enjoyed by far the best season of his career in terms of PFF rating. His overall grade of 83.0 is a new personal mark, up from the 67.3 he registered last season in Seattle. The LSU alum has also yet to commit a penalty across 630 snaps.
Pocic signed in Cleveland this offseason to provide experienced depth at the position, one which saw plenty of turnover for the Browns. Veteran J.C. Tretter was released in a cost-cutting move, which opened the door to Nick Harris taking on the starting role. He suffered a major knee injury during the preseason, however, forcing Pocic into the first-team spot.
While the loss of the latter will certainly be felt by the Browns given his effectiveness (particularly in the run game), the team still has its top option available at every other o-line position (tackles Jedrick Wills and Jack Conklin, along with guards Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller). Stefanski said veteran Hjalte Froholdt will slide over from right guard to center to fill in for Pocic moving forward, as he did on Sunday. Cleveland is signing veteran Greg Mancz with the roster spot opened up by Pocic’s IR placement.
Sitting at 3-7 on the year, the Browns will test out their new combination up front against the Buccaneers in Week 12 before, in all likelihood, seeing quarterback Deshaun Watson suit up for the first time this season the following week.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/21/22
Today’s practice squad transactions:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: TE John Raine
- Placed on IR: OL Justin Shaffer
Cincinnati Bengals
- Released: LB Tegray Scales
Cleveland Browns
- Released: G Jordan Meredith
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: DT R.J. McIntosh
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: LB Benton Whitley
New England Patriots
- Signed: K Tristan Vizcaino
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: DT Jarrod Hewitt
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: WR Chris Conley, OL Eric Smith
- Released: TE Anthony Auclair
Browns Activate DE Chase Winovich
The Browns made a handful of roster moves this morning. The team announced that they’ve activated defensive end Chase Winovich from injured reserve and placed guard Michael Dunn on IR. The team also promoted linebacker Jermaine Carter Jr. and safety Mike Brown from the practice squad.
Winovich had 11 sacks through his first two seasons in the NFL but was in New England’s dog house in 2021, leading to an offseason trade to Cleveland. The defensive lineman got into two games this season with the Browns before suffering a hamstring injury in September. The injury ultimately landed Winovich on injured reserve for a few months, with the defensive end returning to practice earlier this month.
Dunn has appeared in eight games (two starts) for Cleveland this year. A back issue forced the offensive lineman to miss Week 10, and the injury will now require him to miss at least four more games. Drew Forbes and Hjalte Froholdt can help soak up some of the snaps at offensive guard.
Defensive backs D’Anthony Bell and Greg Newsome are recovering from concussions, so Brown will provide some extra depth in the secondary. The former Miami (Ohio) product joined the Browns practice squad back in October. Carter had 88 tackles in 17 starts for the Panthers last season. The linebacker was promoted for Cleveland’s Week 10 loss to the Dolphins and finished with a pair of special teams tackles.
NFL Moves Browns-Bills Game To Detroit
With feet of snow expected for Buffalo this weekend, the NFL will relocate Week 11’s Browns-Bills matchup. The game is being moved to Detroit, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports (on Twitter).
The NFL announced earlier Thursday it was monitoring this game for a potential relocation, and Cabot reported earlier other venues were considered. But the Bills’ Thanksgiving game against the Lions offered some convenience. While this will cost Buffalo a home game, the contending team will now play two games in the Motor City in a five-day span.
Although the 2020 and ’21 seasons reintroduced rescheduling, the Bills having already had their bye week and being set to play on Thanksgiving removed that option from consideration. From Thursday through Saturday, the forecast calls for up to four feet of snow for the Buffalo area. Snow games obviously have a prominent place in NFL lore, with the Bills — including a 2007 game against the Browns — partaking in several such events. But “major to extreme impacts” are expected for this region, prompting the league to act.
The 17-game schedule being in its second season means NFC teams have the additional home game; Thursday’s news will reduce the number of Bills home tilts from eight to seven. The Bills will now be away from home for the next three games, with a Patriots matchup in Foxborough set for Dec. 1.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/16/22
Today’s practice squad transactions:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: T Julien Davenport, TE Chris Pierce
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: DT Roderick Perry II
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: DL David Moa
New England Patriots
- Signed: T Hunter Thedford
New York Giants
- Signed: T Devery Hamilton
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: S Marquise Blair
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/16/22
Today’s minor transactions:
Atlanta Falcons
- Designated for return: G Jalen Mayfield
Denver Broncos
- Placed on IR: LS Mitchell Fraboni
- Designated for return: LS Jacob Bobenmoyer
Houston Texans
- Waived: WR Tyron Johnson
- Designated for return: DL Michael Dwumfour
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed off Browns practice squad: DL Tyeler Davison
- Placed on IR: DL Christian Covington, DL Otito Ogbonnia (story)
Los Angeles Rams
- Designated for return: G David Edwards
- Placed on IR: T Chandler Brewer, T Alaric Jackson, WR Cooper Kupp (story)
Philadelphia Eagles
- Activated from PUP: TE Tyree Jackson
- Designated for return: DE Janarius Robinson
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Designated for return: DE DeMarvin Leal
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: K Josh Lambo
- Waived: WR Chris Conley
Deshaun Watson Participates In First Browns Practice
Today marked another important checkpoint for Deshaun Watson as he moves closer to his 2022 debut. The Browns quarterback took part in his first practice with the team on Wednesday. 
Watson’s suspension imposed limits on his involvement with the team leading up to his reinstatement later this season. The last milestone came in October, when he was first allowed to resume certain activities including meetings and individual workouts. Today marked the first day during which he was eligible to practice in full with the team.
By receiving clearance to take the field, Watson remains on track to meet all necessary criteria from the suspension agreed upon by the NFL and NFLPA in August. That deal included an 11-game ban, $5MM fine and mandatory counseling. He is in line to make his Cleveland debut in Week 13 against his previous team, the Texans.
The Browns brought in Jacoby Brissett to serve as the bridge starter between the start of the campaign and Watson’s return. The veteran has put up middling numbers – a 63.8% completion percentage, 8:5 touchdown-to-interception ratio and passer rating of 87.1. That essentially falls in line with expectations entering the season, one in which the Browns were always poised to lean heavily on their ground game.
Doing so has produced the league’s tenth-highest scoring offense, but only a 3-6 record to date. As a result, Brissett’s final two games as the starter could go a long way in determining the team’s postseason outlook. That presents a problem for the Browns with respect to managing each QB’s workload during practice. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, along with James Palmer of NFL Network (video link) note that Watson received some first-team reps in an attempt to get him acclimated.
Preparation for the 27-year-old will remain key given his year-long stint on the sidelines with the Texans last year, not to mention the Browns’ five-year, $230MM commitment to him which is fully guaranteed despite the sexual misconduct and sexual assault allegations which made him the league’s biggest offseason storyline. As he presumably takes on a larger workload in the coming days and weeks, the Browns will look to remain in contention by the time he makes his first regular season appearance.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/15/22
Today’s practice squad transactions:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: DL Michael Dogbe
- Released: OL Sage Doxtater, LB Blake Lynch
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: DB Devon Key
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: CB T.J. Carrie
- Released: S Kenny Robinson
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: DE Isaac Rochell
- Released: WR Cyril Grayson
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: WR Antonio Callaway, C Brock Hoffman
- Released: DE Mika Tafua
- Placed on IR: C Alec Lindstrom
Denver Broncos
- Signed: WR Victor Bolden Jr.
Detroit Lions
- Signed: CB AJ Parker
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: DE Tim Ward
Houston Texans
- Signed: WR Alex Bachman, S Will Redmond
- Released: WR Michael Young
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: LB Tyrell Adams
- Released: TE Darrell Daniels
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: RB Malcolm Brown
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: CB Parry Nickerson
New England Patriots
- Released: WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey
New Orleans Saints
- Released: RB Derrick Gore, RB Jordan Howard
New York Giants
- Signed: DL Vernon Butler, OL Devery Hamilton
Philadelphia Eagles
- Released: WR Auden Tate
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Released: LB Hamilcar Rashed
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: QB Jacob Eason, WR Dazz Newsome
- Released: QB Kurt Benkert
- Placed on IR: WR Tajae Sharpe
Seattle Seahawks
- Released: WR Kevin Kassis
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: DB Davontae Harris, K Josh Lambo, DB Greg Mabin, LB Andre Smith
- Released: DB Shyheim Carter, OL Eric Smith