AFC Notes: Jaguars, Patriots, Randall
The Jaguars will be without several players on Sunday against the Texans, Michael DiRocco of ESPN recaps on Twitter. S Ronnie Harrison is listed as questionable with an ankle injury. CB A.J. Bouye, WR Marqise Lee, DE Yannick Ngakoue and LT Cam Robinson have all already been ruled out of the contest.
Last week, Jacksonville lost starting QB Nick Foles, who suffered a broken left clavicle in Week 1 and has been placed on injured reserve. The franchise’s collective health has put a damper on what should have been a bounceback year for the Jags. As the team carries on in Houston, let’s take a look around the AFC:
- The Patriots worked out several players ahead of their game against the Dolphins, a source tells Nick Underhill of The Athletic (Twitter link). OT Caleb Benenoch, NT Carl Davis, DT Willie Henry, DB Josh Jones and DB Adarius Pickett worked out for New England.
- Browns S Damarious Randall has been ruled out of Monday’s game, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Randall showed up to Cleveland’s facility with a concussion and was placed in the concussion protocol.
- A.J. Green, who injured his ankle during the Bengals‘ training camp, is out of his walking boot and feels like is he ahead of schedule in his recovery, as Tyler Dragon of the Cincinnati Enquirer relays. “I’m only six weeks out and I’m already walking,” Green said. “You never know what the next two weeks or three weeks are going to bring to where I can start back putting on shoes and actually running and doing some on the field stuff. You never know.”
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/12/19
Today’s practice squad updates:
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: TE Nate Becker
- Released: LB Nate Hall
Chicago Bears
- Signed: DL Abdullah Anderson
- Released: LB James Vaughters
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: G Colby Gossett
- Released: CB Donnie Lewis
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: G Ben Braden
Houston Texans
- Signed: CB Cornell Armstrong
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: WR Terry Godwin
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: TE Brandon Dillon, WR Alexander Hollins
New England Patriots
- Signed: S Obi Melifonwu
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: DT Mitchell Loewen
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: CB Ajene Harris
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: CB Parry Nickerson
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: RB Dalyn Dawkins
- Placed on injured list: QB Logan Woodside
Washington Redskins
- Signed: TE Donald Parham
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/11/19
Here are Wednesday’s minor moves:
Chicago Bears
- Released from IR via injury settlement: TE Dax Raymond
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: LB LaRoy Reynolds
- Released from IR via injury settlement: QB Jeff Driskel
Cleveland Browns
- Released from IR via injury settlement: OL Kyle Kalis
Denver Broncos
- Signed: WR River Cracraft
- Placed on IR: WR Tim Patrick
Detroit Lions
- Signed: RB David Williams
- Waived: QB Chad Kanoff
Indianapolis Colts
- Promoted from practice squad: S Rolan Milligan
- Released from IR via injury settlement: LB Ahmad Thomas
New York Giants
- Released from IR via injury settlement: WR Alex Wesley
Philadelphia Eagles
- Promoted from practice squad: CB Craig James
- Released from IR via injury settlement: TE Richard Rodgers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Released from IR via injury settlement: DL Jeremiah Ledbetter
NFL Workout Updates: 9/10/19
We’ve got another busy day of workouts, with many teams across the league hosting players.
Arizona Cardinals
- S Briean Boddy-Calhoun; CBs Andre Chachere, De’Vante Harris
Buffalo Bills
- QBs Keller Chryst, Taylor Heinicke; WRs Tommylee Lewis, Joe Parker, Terrance Williams; CB Marcus Sherels, WR Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi
Cleveland Browns
Detroit Lions
- DEs Jesse Aniebonam, Andrew Ankrah, Markus Jones; S Josh Jones; CB Jeff Richards
Indianapolis Colts
- RBs Bruce Anderson, Darrin Hall; S Chris Banjo; DTs Earl Mitchell, Mike Pennel
Miami Dolphins
- DB Jordan Brown; Ts Christian DiLauro, Storm Norton, Chidi Okeke; CB Deatrick Nichols
New York Giants
- CBs Derrick Baity, Picasso Nelson; LBs Reshard Cliett, LaTroy Lewis; WRs Jamal Custis, Trenton Irwin; RBs Josh Ferguson, Austin Walter; DT P.J. Johnson; DEs Carroll Phillips, Kevin Wilkins; QB Jordan Ta’amu
New York Jets
- WRs Carlton Agudosi, Amara Darboh, Krishawn Hogan, Joe Horn, DeAndre Thompkins, Jordan Veasy, Kendall Wright; TEs Stephen Anderson, Donald Parham, Ross Travis; QBs Taryn Christion, Tyree Jackson, Mike White, Ks Elliott Fry, Greg Joseph, Younghoe Koo, Tristan Vizcaino
Philadelphia Eagles
Seattle Seahawks
Tennessee Titans
Washington Redskins
Browns Waive TE Rico Gathers
The Browns will waive tight end Rico Gathers, according to ESPN’s Tony Grossi (on Twitter). Gathers was suspended for the first game of the season, but the Browns did not feel the need to drop someone else on the 53-man roster to bring him back into the fold for Week 2.
The Browns picked up Gathers off waivers from the Cowboys in August, giving them a potential depth option behind starter David Njoku. The former Baylor basketball player has upside, but he’s yet to really do much at the pro level.
Last year, Gathers appeared in 15 games (four starts) for Dallas. He caught just three passes for 45 yards.
The league’s other 31 teams will have an opportunity to pick up Gathers on the waiver wire over the next 24 hours or so. If Gathers clears waivers, he’ll be free to sign with any team.
Mayfield Injury Minor
- Baker Mayfield had a rough game in his highly anticipated 2019 debut. He threw three interceptions, and to make matters worse also hurt his hand. Mayfield had his wrist and hand wrapped and went for an X-Ray after the Browns’ to the Titans, sparking some concern. Fortunately he suffered only a bruise and the injury is “not considered serious,” a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).
Several Teams Had Interest In Antonio Brown
Several teams were interested in signing Antonio Brown prior to him agreeing to a deal with the Patriots, Chris Mortensen reports on ESPN. Mort lists the Seahawks and Browns among the teams that were eyeing the wide receiver. QB Russell Wilson worked out with Brown during the offseason.
As a vested veteran, Brown was not subjected to waivers, meaning he was able to sign anywhere he pleased once the Raiders released him. Here’s more on the Brown-saga:
- The Patriots attempted to trade for Brown back in March but the Steelers rebuffed those inquiries as they didn’t want to send him to a rival, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. New England was willing to give up picks for him then but now, after the signing him as a free agent, they were able to land Brown without surrendering compensation.
- According to Mortensen (above link), the Patriots were willing to give the Steelers a first-round pick for Brown during the offseason. Pittsburgh ultimately didn’t want to trade Brown to a place they would have to face him.
- Antonio Brown sought advice from social media consultants on how he could accelerate his release from the Raiders, per Mortensen (same link). Posting the letter from GM Mike Mayock that stated he would be fined was among the moves Brown made on social media leading up to his release.
- Brown could be suspended by the league office, as we passed along on Saturday. It was reported that the Raiders were considering suspending him prior to him finding his way to the free agent market.
NFL Workout Updates: 9/7/19
We’ve got another big batch of workouts, all courtesy of veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer (on Twitter).
Cleveland Browns
- DT Ricky Walker
Houston Texans
- Ps Ryan Allen, Matt Wile; LB Christian Kuntz; LS Carson Tinker
Indianapolis Colts
- LB Tre’ Crawford; DE Jamell Garcia-Williams; CBs Quenton Meeks, Jackson Porter; S Jonathan Owens
Jacksonville Jaguars
- WRs Terry Godwin, Ishmael Hyman; RB Jeremy McNichols; P Brock Miller
Minnesota Vikings
- Safeties Briean Boddy-Calhoun, C.J. Reavis; DT Anthony Zettel
New England Patriots
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Safeties Andrew Adams, Chris Banjo; OTs Dino Boyd, Pace Murphy, Josh Wells; G Bryan Witzmann
The Texans could be looking for specialist help, as they worked out a pair of punters and a longsnapper. Boddy-Calhoun, who worked out for the Vikings, is probably the biggest name on this list. He started at least seven games for the Browns each of the past three seasons, but was released by Houston at final cuts.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/7/19
Today’s practice squad moves:
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: CB Donnie Lewis
- Released: OT Paul Adams
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: OT Tyree St. Louis
- Released: RB Quinton Flowers
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: QB Cardale Jones
- Released: OT Elijah Nkansah
The big name here is Jones, who now has a new home after getting cut by the Chargers. The former Ohio State star was drafted by the Bills in the fourth-round back in 2016, then traded to Los Angeles after a year. He spent last season on the practice squad, then lost out to Easton Stick in the competition to be the Chargers’ third-string passer this summer. The Seahawks had room for a developmental quarterback after waiving Paxton Lynch.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/7/19
Here are today’s minor moves on the eve of regular season openers:
Arizona Cardinals
- Promoted from practice squad: TE Darrell Daniels
- Released: OL Jeremy Vujnovich
Cleveland Browns
- Released from IR: CB Phillip Gaines
Philadelphia Eagles
- Released from IR: WR Charles Johnson
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Johnny Holton
- Waived: LB Tuzar Skipper
Tennessee Titans
- Promoted from practice squad: G Aaron Stinnie
- Waived: WR Kalif Raymond
Washington Redskins
- Promoted from practice squad: TE J.P. Holtz