NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/25/2017
Today’s practice squad updates:
Carolina Panthers
- Released: WR Austin Duke
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: OL Victor Salako
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: DE Stansly Maponga
Indianapolis Colts
- Claimed off waivers: C Dillon Day
New England Patriots
- Signed: DT Mike Purcell
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: OL Nate Theaker
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: DE Jhaustin Thomas
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: LB Don Cherry
- Released: DE Alex McCalister
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: DT Rodney Coe
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: CB Isaiah Johnson, DE Marquavius Lewis
Randy Gregory Reinstatement Unlikely Until 2018
Cowboys defensive end Randy Gregory is unlikely to seek reinstatement from his one-year substance abuse suspension until 2018, sources tell Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk. Earlier today, Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports reported the NFL wasn’t expected to reinstate Gregory in November, which is when he’d first be eligible to apply for reinstatement.
Gregory could theoretically apply for re-entry to the NFL 60 days before his ban ends on January 6, but the former second-round pick is still working through personal issues, per Robinson. While at least one report indicated Gregory had failed a drug test in April, he attended a rehab facility over the summer and passed substance tests as late as September of this year. The Cowboys and their security team have been keeping an eye on Gregory, who’s been working out in the Dallas area, according to Robinson.
Given the NFL’s apparent disinterest in clearing Gregory in November, the Cowboys edge defender could take further action in order to convince the league he’s ready to play again. Waiting until 2018 to seek reinstatement could be one such step, while Gregory has also considered undergoing more counseling or serving another stay at rehab, per Robinson.
Gregory, 24, exhibited a variety of off-field question marks heading into the 2015 draft, but the Cowboys selected him in the second round anyway. It’s clear why Dallas overlooked Gregory’s issues, as the Nebraska product managed 16.5 sacks over two collegiate seasons and ranked as a top-10 athlete among edge rushing prospects. But he’s appeared in just 14 games in the NFL (zero starts), and has posted only one professional sack.
NFL Workout Updates: 10/24/17
Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account unless otherwise noted:
Buffalo Bills
- WR Rod Streater; TE Jason Croom (link)
Carolina Panthers
- Ks Roberto Aguayo, Mike Meyer, Younghoe Koo (link via Mike Garafolo of NFL.com)
Dallas Cowboys
- LS Trent Gow (link)
Detroit Lions
- WR Jake Kumerow (link)
Green Bay Packers
- FB Joe Kerridge; DL Paul Boyette, Casey Sayles; CBs Jeremy Boykins, Jarnor Jones; S Orion Stewart (Twitter links)
Houston Texans
- DEs Sterling Bailey, Patrick Gamble; DT Mike Purcell; LBs Akeem Ayers, Jelani Jenkins (link)
Indianapolis Colts
- WRs Anthony Nash, Francis Owusu, Domonique Young; DE Armonty Bryant; CB Jeremy Boykins (link)
New Orleans Saints
- RBs Malcolm Johnson, Marquez Williams; OL Jake Eldrenkamp, Storm Norton, Nate Theaker (link)
Oakland Raiders
- QB Joel Stave; WRs Devin Lucien, Jordan Payton; TEs Brandon Barnes, Eric Wallace; LBs Jeremy Cash, Jayson DiManche, Jason Thompson; CB Jarnor Jones; DBs Jordan Moore, James Sample, Orion Stewart (Twitter links)
Cowboys To Cut DE Damontre Moore
The Cowboys are signing Mike Nugent while also keeping injured kicker Dan Bailey on the roster. That means someone has to go, and that someone is Damontre Moore. The defensive end is being released, per a team announcement. 
[RELATED: Cowboys Sign K Mike Nugent]
The Cowboys signed Moore this offseason with the knowledge that he would likely have to serve a suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. After a two-game ban, the 25-year-old tallied just five tackles in three games. He was left off of the roster on Sunday against the Niners and he’s now back on the free agent pile.
A 2013 third-round pick, Moore has yet to put it all together at the NFL level. In 2016, he suited up in only four games for the Seahawks. In the previous two seasons for the Giants and Dolphins, however, he managed nine sacks in total.
Cowboys To Sign K Mike Nugent
The Cowboys are signing kicker Mike Nugent, as Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. Nugent will step in for the injured Dan Bailey. 
A groin injury took Bailey out of action on Sunday, forcing Dallas to use defensive back Jeff Heath as their placekicker. Of course, that wasn’t sustainable, so Dallas auditioned Nugent, Jason Myers, Sam Irwin-Hill, and Younghoe Koo for the role. Nugent came out on top, and he’ll be the team’s stand in starting with Sunday’s game against the Redskins.
There is no timetable for Bailey’s return – all we know right now is that he is expected to miss several weeks of action. The 29-year-old has nailed 89.9% of his field goals, so the bar will be set pretty high for Nugent.
Nugent has been up and down over the course of his career with the Jets and Bengals, but he does have experience with 153 appearances over his 12-year NFL career. The former second-round pick has been looking for work all fall after losing the Giants’ kicking competition to Aldrick Rosas in the summer. He has made 80.8% of his field goals and 96.9% of his extra points since entering the league in 2005. The 35-year-old seemingly took a step back in 2016, making only 79.3% of field goals and a career-low 79.3% of XPs.
NFL Team Hoping To Sign DeMarcus Ware
DeMarcus Ware says he’s done with football, but football won’t stop trying to pull him back in. The former defensive end tells Rich Eisen of FOX Sports Radio (Twitter link) that he received a text from a team on Tuesday morning asking him to join the squad and suit up on Sunday. Ware did not reveal that team’s identity, but he might be giving some thought to a return. 
“Should I do it?,” Ware wondered aloud in a Twitter reply.
It’s not immediately clear if Ware is open to playing again or if he is just having some fun with the idea of a comeback. At the age of 35, Ware has lots of mileage on him and little to prove. Over the course of his career, Ware earned an eye-popping nine Pro Bowl nods plus four First Team All-Pro selections. While with the Cowboys from 2005-13, he amassed a franchise-record 117 sacks. He was injured for his final two years in Denver, but he still managed 11.5 sacks in those campaigns and 21.5 overall in his three seasons with the club.
Ware is eighth on the NFL’s all-time sack list (138.5) and he could conceivably climb higher if he makes a return. In September, he teased that he would listen if the Cowboys came calling, but we don’t know how serious he was about that sentiment or whether he would also consider opportunities from one of the league’s 31 other teams.
Cowboys Working Out Kickers
The Cowboys had to resort to using defensive back Jeff Heath as their placekicker on Sunday after incumbent Dan Bailey went down with a groin injury, but the club won’t ask Heath to play the role of kicker any longer. Dallas is working out free agent kickers Mike Nugent, Jason Myers, Sam Irwin-Hill, and Younghoe Koo, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Bailey is expected to miss several weeks after sustaining a groin strain, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Replacing the 29-year-old certainly won’t be easy, as Bailey owns a 89.9% field goal success rate for his career, and hasn’t missed a field goal or an extra point this season. The Cowboys have garnered 4.1 points of field position from Bailey’s work on field goals and extra points, good for seventh in the NFL per Football Outsiders.
Nugent is — by far — the most experienced of the kickers Dallas is working out, as he’s appeared in 153 games during his 12-year NFL career. He lost out to Aldrick Rosas in the Giants’ kicking battle this summer. Myers and Koo, meanwhile, were released this season after struggling with the Jaguars and Chargers, respectively. Irwin-Hill has never appeared in an NFL game, but he did spend the summer in Cowboys’ camp.
NFL’s Request For Expedited Ezekiel Elliott Hearing Denied
A judge has denied the NFL’s request for an expedited hearing in Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott‘s suspension case, according to legal analyst Daniel Wallach (Twitter link). The league had been pushing for an October 27 hearing, but the case will instead be heard on October 30 as originally planned.
The most immediate impact of Judge Katherine Failla is that Elliott will be available to play in Dallas’ Week 8 contest against the Redskins, which takes place just one day before the October 30 hearing date. That’s an incredibly important NFC East matchup, especially given that the Cowboys now sit at 3-3 after Sunday’s thrashing of the 49ers (Washington, meanwhile, is 3-2 pending the result of Monday Night Football).
Following that game, Elliott and his team will take his case to Failla. Elliott, of course, is facing a six-game suspension stemming from domestic violence allegations, but last week was granted a temporary restraining order against the NFL that allowed him to stay on the field. If Ellliott’s ban sticks after Week 8, he would miss critical games against the Falcons, Chiefs, Eagles, and Redskins, and wouldn’t be able to return until Week 15.
Elliott is fresh off his best performance of the season, as he totaled 219 yards from scrimmage and scored three times against San Francisco. If Elliott is suspended, the Cowboys would likely turn to a combination of Alfred Morris and Darren McFadden in the backfield.
Injury Notes: Bailey, Foster, Wallace, Spence
It was a dominant win for the Cowboys in San Francisco this afternoon, but the team did not escape the contest with their special teams intact. Kicker Dan Bailey was forced out of the game with a groin injury, according to the Dallas News. Bailey was reported to have suffered the injury in warmups, but it remains to be seen whether the news will force Dallas to bring in another kicker. In one of the more entertaining aspects of this week’s action, safety Jeff Heath was the emergency fill-in for today’s game, which included him clunking an extra point off the pole and through the uprights.
- It’s been a trying rookie season for 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster so far. After missing a few games already with an ankle injury he suffered earlier in the season, the former Alabama defender was back on the sidelines after suffering an apparent rib injury in the third quarter. Foster seemed unsure of what was to come following the game.“I really don’t know, I’ve got to come in here (get an) MRI and treatment and just see what he doctors say about it. If they clear me, they clear me. If they don’t, they don’t,” he told Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee. It’s worth noting that Foster did return to the game initially, but was later taken out again for X-Rays. Barrows did add that Foster was cleared to return later in the fourth quarter by team doctors, but the coaches weren’t comfortable letting him back on the field at the end of a blowout.
- The Ravens suffered another blow to their depleted wide receiver corps in today’s game vs. the Vikings when Mike Wallace was diagnosed with a concussion after taking a big hit on a pass over the middle of the field. However, Wallace was pleading to play following the hit, explains Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. The 31 year-old receiver was seen walking up-and-down the sideline trying to convince coaches to put him back in the game. However, head coach John Harbaugh said that Wallace staying out of the game “was a done deal”, tells Zrebiec. The Ravens play on Thursday next week, so Wallace would need to pass all the concussion protocol rather quickly in order to suit up. If not, the Ravens have just Michael Campanero, Chris Moore and Griff Whalen remaining on the depth chart.
- Bucs rookie pass rusher Noah Spence left today’s contest with an apparent shoulder injury, reports Josh Reed of WIVB.com (Twitter Link). Reed passes along that Spence will likely require surgery and is probable to miss an extended period of time. He later added onto the initial report stating there is concern that the 2017 second round pick may end up missing the rest of the season. In his first six professional games, the linebacker had just nine tackles, including one strip sack.
Latest On Colin Kaepernick, NFL Protests
One of the centerpieces of Colin Kaepernick‘s collusion grievance against the NFL will be President Donald Trump’s tweets and comments regarding his and other players’ racial inequality-themed protests and those words’ possible influence on owners, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports. La Canfora adds Kaepernick’s case will involve the numerous times the president has attempted to exert influence on owners regarding this matter, one that the quarterback is charging has him unemployed while numerous passers of lesser pedigrees are on teams’ rosters. Arguing certain inferior players are rostered while Kaepernick isn’t may not be enough to satisfy the CBA’s “burden of proof” element, so it appears Kaepernick’s side is taking a different approach.
Trump’s tweeted about having conversations with owners about protesting players and has discussed publicly his sway over them regarding this recent movement, and La Canfora writes Kaepernick’s lawyers could argue this has created a climate in which “numerous owners have colluded” to keep the quarterback from having a chance to sign as a free agent. Trump recently tweeted about speaking with Jerry Jones in late September regarding this issue, and the Cowboys owner made comments about the team benching protesting players in early October. Jones spoke about Trump discussing the game-day manual regarding anthem protocols as well, per La Canfora.
Kaepernick became a free agent in March by opting out of his 49ers contract, but San Francisco GM John Lynch said the team would have released him had he not done so.
Here’s the latest surrounding the Kaepernick grievance and the protest discussions that came out of the league meetings this week.
- Other owners wish Jones would refrain from making bold pronouncements like his anthem directive in an effort to preserve the goodwill fostered between them and the players this week, Charles Robinson of Yahoo.com reports, adding the owners would like the NFL to stay off Trump’s political agenda. Jones could be an outlier among owners who have expressed optimism about talks with the players on social activism, Robinson writes. The Cowboys owner did not make further remarks about this issue after the owners’ meetings. Considering Jones speaks with the media often, this issue will come up again soon.
- Michael Bennett said an early step toward further discussions with owners about social issues would be making sure Kaepernick signs with a team. “I think before we even negotiate anything about whether we sit, whether we stand [during the national anthem], it should be a negotiation about opening up the doors for Colin Kaepernick and giving him an opportunity again,” the Seahawks defensive end said, via Brady Henderson of ESPN.com. “Because I feel like through everything, that’s been lost.”
- However, other players may not see a Kaepernick job as an automatic end to the protests. One anonymous member of the NFL players coalition, assembled this year to help with criminal justice reform in these players’ respective communities, told Ed Werder (Twitter link) a Kaepernick signing won’t just stop the protests. The same player told Werder (Twitter link) the quarterback “continues to isolate himself from [the coalition]” with this grievance.
- The Jets player reps at this week’s owners’ meetings, Kelvin Beachum and Demario Davis, declined to answer questions about them. Davis did compose a statement, however. “I will say that the talks were very productive,” the linebacker said, via Daniel Popper of the New York Daily News. “It’s encouraging to me as an athlete to see so many athletes and owners so concerned about our country and pushing in the right direction. We have a tremendous platform in the NFL, and to whom much is given, much is required. And that’s why we simply can’t just play football.”
- Jaguars owner Shad Khan said Trump’s failure to buy an NFL team has led to this crusade against the league. “This is a very personal issue with him,” Khan said (via Jarrett Bell of USA Today). “… He’s been elected president, where maybe a great goal he had in life to own an NFL team is not very likely. So to make it tougher, or to hurt the league, it’s very calculated.” Trump attempted to buy the Bills in 2014, but Terry Pegula wound up acquiring the franchise.