Minor NFL Transactions: 9/9/17
Here are the today’s minor moves.
- With a ruptured Achilles’ tendon set to end Eric Berry‘s season, the Chiefs officially placed the eighth-year safety on IR Saturday. The team also signed offensive lineman Jordan Devey and safety Steven Terrell. Both Devey and Terrell went to training camp with Kansas City. The Chiefs cut both last weekend. Terrell started in five games as Earl Thomas‘ replacement with the Seahawks last season.
- The Colts cut safety Earl Wolff with an injury settlement, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. A 2013 fifth-round Eagles pick, Wolff hasn’t played in a regular-season game since 2014. The Redskins signed Wolff to a reserve/futures deal in January but waived him earlier this month.
- To fill Matt Jones‘ roster spot, the Colts promoted guard Adam Redmond from their practice squad. Redmond signed with the Colts as a UDFA in 2016. He’ll join Deyshawn Bond as a center option for the team, which will be without starter Ryan Kelly to start the season.
- For now, the Broncos won’t go with a two-Peko setup on their defensive line. They waived defensive tackle Kyle Peko, Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post tweets. The Broncos signed Domata Peko to be their starting nose tackle and have until Sunday afternoon to replace his cousin on the roster in advance of their Monday-night game. Kyle Peko missed time this summer because of an injury.
- The Lions signed offensive lineman Storm Norton off their practice squad and waived linebacker Nick Bellore, Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com reports. Rothstein adds this news could mean tackle Corey Robinson — brought off the PUP list last week — may not be ready to play in Week 1. Robinson missed the preseason with an injury.
- The Saints released outside linebacker Bryan Braman off IR with an injury settlement, Caplan reports (on Twitter).
Broncos Outbid Three Teams To Sign Jonathan Williams
The Broncos will pay Jonathan Williams a massive practice squad salary, but they had to outbid at least three teams for the right to add the running back to that unit.
Williams joined the Broncos on a $510K salary — $30K weekly, well north of the practice squad minimum — but Mike Klis of 9News reports (on Twitter) the Chiefs, Jets and Vikings also pursued Williams for their respective practice squads.
The Bills cut Williams after the preseason and will supplement LeSean McCoy with a new cadre of backs after also allowing Mike Gillislee to depart as an RFA. No team claimed Williams, a 2016 fifth-round pick, on waivers.
The Chiefs made for an understandable fit after the loss of Spencer Ware, an event that caused the team to explore trades, Tom Pelissero of USA Today tweets. Instead Kansas City entered its season opener with just two running backs — Kareem Hunt and Charcandrick West — after cutting C.J. Spiller. Kansas City added rookie back Devine Redding to its taxi squad.
Minnesota employs Jerick McKinnon as its third-stringer and re-signed Bronson Hill to its practice squad. Behind Matt Forte and Bilal Powell, the Jets have sixth-round rookie Elijah McGuire. Running back/return man Marcus Murphy now resides on Gang Green’s practice squad.
Williams will sit as the Broncos’ fifth running back — behind C.J. Anderson, Jamaal Charles, Devontae Booker and rookie De’Angelo Henderson — but do so on a team that’s seen each of its top three backs suffer major injuries within the past year. Booker is currently recovering from a wrist injury.
Broncos Add Jonathan Williams To P-Squad
The Broncos have signed running back Jonathan Williams to the practice squad, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. He’s receiving a sizable salary that equals out to $510K over the course of the season, which indicates that there was a healthy market for him after the Bills cut him loose. The minimum practice squad salary is just over $7K per week.
Early on this offseason, Williams seemed poised to step into Mike Gillislee‘s role as LeSean McCoy‘s top backup. He lost ground in that competition, however, and the Bills decided to cut him loose rather than pay out the full value of his contract. The Broncos and 30 other teams declined to pick him up off of waivers, thereby picking up his deal and giving him a roster spot, but multiple teams wanted him on the taxi squad. The Broncos won out over the competition.
The Broncos will roll into the season with C.J. Anderson, Devontae Booker, Jamaal Charles, and De’Angelo Henderson at running back. Booker’s status is up in the air to start the season, so there’s already a potential roster opening for Williams if that injury lingers.
Broncos Told T.J. Ward's Agent No Extension Was Planned
John Elway spoke with T.J. Ward‘s agent earlier this summer and informed him the team did not intend to sign the veteran safety to an extension, with the GM telling media (including Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post) a Ward re-up was not in the team’s plans “at that point of time.” The Broncos made Ward one of the highest-profile cuts of the roster-slashing weekend, but Jhabvala reports the team did not come to a decision on Ward until last week. The rise of second-year safeties Justin Simmons and Will Parks, along with Ward’s injury history, played a role in the departure.
Citing a lack of clarity during the process, Ward on Monday called the Broncos “completely unprofessional” regarding the separation. The divorce came with one season remaining on the 30-year-old defender’s four-year contract. The eighth-year safety will earn up to $5MM with the Buccaneers this season. Ward missed all of Denver’s preseason games with a hamstring injury and missed six games due to injury in three Broncos campaigns — two of which producing Pro Bowls. Mike Klis of 9News described the process as Simmons — a 2016 third-round pick who served as Denver’s third safety last season — Wally Pipp’ing Ward (Twitter link). Klis notes Elway gave Ward “every chance” to make this year’s team.
- A two-position starter for the Broncos during the past two seasons, Michael Schofield attracted widespread interest on the waiver wire. The Chargers won out due to their position in the waiver hierarchy, but the Lions, Redskins, Vikings and Saints also put in claims on the fourth-year guard/tackle, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. A 2014 third-rounder, Schofield started for the Broncos at right tackle during their Super Bowl season and lined up at right guard throughout 2016. While Denver didn’t sport particularly effective O-lines during those seasons, Schofield clearly has believers out there.
Broncos Were Outbid For Sloter
- The Vikings gave quarterback Kyle Sloter an above-average salary of $20K/week to join the practice squad, allowing them to outbid the Broncos, Redskins, Eagles, Falcons, and others, Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press tweets. Sloter excelled in the preseason, but the Broncos went in a different direction to solidify their quarterback void.
Sunday NFL Transactions: AFC West
Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four AFC West 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 Broncos, Chiefs, Chargers, and Raiders 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 AFC West transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:
Denver Broncos
- Signed:
- DT Kyle Peko
- Signed to practice squad:
- DB Dymonte Thomas
- DT Tyrique Jarrett
- CB Marcus Rios
- T Elijah Wilkinson
- LB Jerrol Garcia-Williams
- LB Deiontrez Mount
- WR Hunter Sharp
- C Dillon Day
- TE Austin Traylor
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed:
- Placed on IR:
- Signed to practice squad:
- TE Orson Charles
- OL Joseph Cheek
- WR Gehrig Dieter
- WR Marcus Kemp
- G Damien Mama
- S Leon McQuay
- RB Devine Redding
- LB Marcus Rush
Los Angeles Chargers
- Claimed:
- DB Jeff Richards
- OL Michael Schofield (story)
- Signed to practice squad:
- G Brett Boyko
- CB Michael Davis
- CB Randall Evans
- WR Andre Patton
- DE Whitney Richardson
- WR Artavis Scott
- RB Andre Williams
Oakland Raiders
- Signed to practice squad:
- DB Breon Borders
- DE Fadol Browl
- TE Pharaoh Brown
- LB Shilique Calhoun
- WR Keon Hatcher
- RB Elijah Hood
- G Jordan Simmons
- WR Issac Whitney
Chargers Claim Michael Schofield Off Waivers
Michael Schofield was claimed by the Chargers, as Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post tweets. The Broncos waived the offensive lineman on Saturday as they cut down to a 53-man roster.
Schofield has appeared in and started in 29 contests for the Broncos over the last two years. This summer, he asked for a trade when it became clear that he would not make the cut. The Broncos tried, but could not find any takers.
Last year, Schofield finished out as the No. 48 ranked guard in the NFL out of 75 qualified players. He’s not a world beater by any means, but the Bolts need all the help they can get on the offensive line. Second round pick Forrest Lamp is out for the year with a torn ACL and interior lineman Max Tuerk is suspended through Week 4 after violating the league’s PED policy.
Broncos Place LB Shane Ray On IR
The Broncos have officially placed linebacker Shane Ray on injured reserve. The good news is that Ray should be able to come back during the season as one of the Broncos’ two players designated for return. 
“It’s kind of what we thought,” GM John Elway said (via Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post). “With the surgery and where it falls is good for us, and here’s why we decided to go with it: He has to be on IR for eight weeks. The bye week counts and then our eighth game is on a Monday night. With that being on a Monday night, the eighth Sunday counts as a game. So we’ll get him back for the Kansas City game (on Oct. 30). So he’s only going to miss six games. We didn’t want to use that spot. He was not going to be back any earlier than that, and when he does come back he’ll be really ready to go. Having that fall that way for us helped us with that extra slot.”
Per league rules, Ray will be eligible to return after eight weeks on IR. By then, he should be fully recovered from his wrist surgery.
Ray broke out in 2016, racking up 48 tackles and eight sacks in his 664 snaps. Only two Broncos linebackers – Von Miller and Todd Davis – saw more action than Ray last year.
Extra Points: Broncos, Ward, Dorsett
The Broncos did not discuss a pay cut with safety T.J. Ward before releasing him on Saturday, Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post tweets. “It was a football decision,” a team source tells her, adding that the motivation was to give more playing time to Justin Simmons and Will Parks. Meanwhile, Broncos players are upset about losing Ward and his locker room presence, James Palmer of NFL.com tweets.
While Ward searches for a new home, here’s more from around the NFL:
- The Colts had offers for Phillip Dorsett from other teams, but those proposed swaps involved draft choices instead of netting a young player at a positional need, Mike Lombardi of The Ringer tweets. Lombardi doesn’t name teams, but Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (Twitter link) says the 49ers, Jets and Cardinals were among the teams that showed preliminary interest in him.
- The Jets are expected to be interested in running back Travaris Cadet now that he has been released by New Orleans, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets. The Jets showed interest in Cadet during free agency but ultimately lost out.
- T.J. McDonald‘s new deal with the Dolphins has built in protections for the team that will override his guarantees if he has another suspension issue, Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald tweets. The pact includes $10MM in “guarantees,” but McDonald can’t slip up if he wants to collect on all of it.
- Wide receiver Victor Cruz says that he got a “clean bill of health” on his MRI this week, Josina Anderson of ESPN.com tweets. He’s now a free agent after being released by Chicago.
- Chiefs GM Brett Veach says veteran running back C.J. Spiller could still end up on the Chiefs’ roster (Twitter link via BJ Kissel of Chiefs.com). Spiller was among the Chiefs’ mass cuts on Saturday as they trimmed down to 53.
Broncos Expected To Sign Brock Osweiler
The Broncos will reunite with Brock Osweiler, agreeing to sign the quarterback the Browns recently released, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports (on Twitter).
However, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter) the deal is not yet done. But he adds the Broncos hope to sign him, noting there are still details to sort through.
Osweiler would stand to slide into the backup spot behind Trevor Siemian for the time being. Paxton Lynch is expected to miss multiple regular-season games with a shoulder injury. Cabot reports the Browns are still going to be stuck with most of Osweiler’s guaranteed $16MM due this season.
Denver’s Osweiler decision signals Lynch could be out for a while, Troy Renck of Denver7 notes (on Twitter).
This will provide a reunion between Osweiler and the Broncos, obviously, but also with rehired OC Mike McCoy. While Osweiler saw his only relevant Denver game action in Gary Kubiak‘s offense, he worked with McCoy as a rookie in 2012 and developed in a similar system with Adam Gase from 2013-14.
The 26-year-old quarterback’s career has spiraled to a different place compared to March 2016, when he agreed to leave Denver for a four-year, $72MM Texans contract. John Elway, though, made a competitive offer to Osweiler during free agency. But the Texans proposed a better deal, enticing the quarterback to bolt for Houston. Denver would be getting Osweiler back for much cheaper than it was offering in the winter of 2016.
The Texans made a historic trade of Osweiler to Cleveland, having to give up a second-round pick to coax the Browns into taking on his contract.
Osweiler caught the Texans’ eye with a sporadically productive 2015 season, when he came on in relief of Peyton Manning to help the Broncos to the No. 1 seed in the AFC. The former second-round pick completed 62 percent of his passes and led Denver to key wins over the Patriots and Bengals to secure home-field advantage. However, Kubiak’s benching of the 6-foot-7 signal-caller midway through the 2015 regular-season finale was believed to be one of the causes of Osweiler’s exit.
Denver moved on and drafted Lynch in the 2016 first round but will again start Siemian, who was the third-string quarterback behind Manning and Osweiler as a rookie. Bill O’Brien benched Osweiler late last season, and the Browns tried to move his contract for another draft pick throughout the offseason but found no takers. DeShone Kizer won Cleveland’s starting job, and Cody Kessler will be his backup.
It remains to be seen if the Broncos would consider keeping their one-time starter once Lynch recovers, but in waiving preseason success story Kyle Sloter today, the team may merely be eyeing a temporary Osweiler arrangement until its preferred two-quarterback setup can be utilized.