NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/16/20
We’ll keep track of the latest practice squad moves here:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: DT Braxton Hoyett, WR Gary Jennings
- Released: RB Tommy Bohanon
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: RB John Kelly
Detroit Lions
- Signed: RB Jordan Scarlett, QB Jordan Ta’amu
- Released: P Arryn Siposs
Houston Texans
- Signed: LS Anthony Kukwa
Indianapolis Colts
- Placed on practice squad reserve/COVID-19 list: S Ibraheim Campbell
Jacksonville Jaguars:
- Signed: C Evan Boehm
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: WR Marcell Ateman
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: WR Andre Patton
New England Patriots
- Signed: OL Earl Watford
- Released: DB Dayan Lake
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: S Blake Countess
San Francisco 49ers
- Released: DL Willie Henry
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: WR Jaydon Mickens
Louis Riddick Interviewing For Texans GM Job; Jaguars Interested
The Monday Night Football booth may see more turnover. Three of the teams that fired their GMs this season are interested in Louis Riddick, a former NFL front office executive-turned-TV analyst.
Ahead of his meeting with the Lions, Riddick is interviewing with the Texans, Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com report (on Twitter). The Texans are interviewing Riddick on Wednesday, while the Lions are scheduled to do so Friday.
The Jaguars have also expressed interest, Schefter adds (on Twitter), but have yet to schedule a meeting. The Jags fired Dave Caldwell a day after the Lions axed Bob Quinn. Both teams appear set to construct rebuilds, and one of the projects could mean ESPN again changing up its Monday-night booth.
A former NFL defensive back, Riddick worked as the Eagles’ director of player personnel from 2010-13. He spent nine years with Philadelphia. Before that, he broke into the scouting world with Washington from 2001-04. Riddick has been with ESPN for several years and joined Brian Griese and Steve Levy in the network’s latest reprise of its Monday Night Football team this season.
The Texans are using a search firm headlined by ex-coaches-turned-analysts Tony Dungy and Jimmy Johnson. They are moving on from a tumultuous GM period, with coach-GM Bill O’Brien making several splashy and scrutinized moves during his year and change in power. The Texans and 12-year GM Rick Smith parted ways after the 2017 season, and Houston employed Brian Gaine for barely a year before giving O’Brien personnel power. As a result, the Texans do not have a bevy of cornerstone players under contract beyond Deshaun Watson and J.J. Watt. The latter may well be traded next year.
Jacksonville shifted front office structures during Caldwell’s tenure, using Tom Coughlin as its top decision-maker from 2017-19, but kept the former employed for nearly eight seasons. During that time, seven double-digit loss campaigns sandwiched the Jags’ outlier 2017 AFC championship game run. The next Jags GM is projected to inherit the NFL’s most cap space in 2021, and he will have two first-round picks — the first of those likely coming at No. 1 or No. 2 overall — to use to construct a rebuild.
Jaguars Move C Brandon Linder To IR
The Jaguars will be without their top offensive lineman for the rest of the season. They placed center Brandon Linder on IR Wednesday.
Linder did not play in Jacksonville’s loss to Tennessee, with an ankle injury sidelining the veteran blocker. He will join guard Andrew Norwell on the Jags’ IR list. The Jags did designate Norwell to return from IR Wednesday, however.
Pro Football Focus’ No. 3-ranked center, Linder has missed some time this season. He has suited up for nine games in his sixth NFL slate but will now be shut down. The Jaguars have Linder under contract through 2022. He is due a non-guaranteed $8MM base salary next season.
Linder will now see a season capped at nine games for the second time in three years. A knee injury sidelined him midway through the 2018 campaign. The 28-year-old snapper has only played one 16-game season (2019) in his career.
While the Jaguars are 1-12 and reside as the only non-Jets team with a realistic chance of securing the No. 1 overall pick (widely expected to be the Trevor Lawrence slot), rookie UDFA running back James Robinson has already cleared 1,000 yards and sits third in rushing yards this season. Linder certainly played a key part in Robinson’s breakout and should be expected to reprise that role next year.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/15/20
Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Placed on IR: QB Trace McSorley
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: WR Dez Bryant, DB Geno Stone
- Promoted: TE Eric Tomlinson
Houston Texans
- Claimed off waivers from Browns: RB Dontrell Hilliard
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: OL Ben Bartch
Los Angeles Chargers
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: S Derwin James; James remains on IR
Minnesota Vikings
- Placed on IR: CB Kris Boyd
- Activated off IR: CB Mark Fields
New Orleans Saints
- Claimed off waivers from Raiders: G Patrick Omameh
New York Giants
- Waived: CB Brandon Williams
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed off Washington’s practice squad: C Ross Pierschbacher
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed off Chiefs’ practice squad: OL Danny Isidora
Tennessee Titans
- Activated from IR: CB Kristian Fulton
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: P Bradley Pinion, K Ryan Succop, LS Zach Triner
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/14/20
The latest practice squad moves from around the NFL:
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: CB Lafayette Pitts
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: WR Ventell Bryant
- Waived: K Lirim Hajrullahu
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: TE Isaac Nauta
Houston Texans
- Released: K Brett Maher
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed:L OT J’Marcus Webb
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: TE Bug Howard, LB Aaron Patrick
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: DT Niles Scott
- Released: DT Lee Autry
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: P Lachlan Edwards
- Released: WR Manasseh Bailey
Los Angeles Rams
- Placed on COVID-19 list: TE Kendall Blanton
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: WR Isaiah Ford
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: RB Khalfani Muhammad
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/14/20
We’ll keep track of the latest minor moves here:
Baltimore Ravens
- Promoted from practice squad: TE Eric Tomlinson
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: CB Lafayette Pitts
Cleveland Browns
- Promoted: WR Ja’Marcus Bradley
- Waived: RB Dontrell Hilliard
Denver Broncos
- Signed: CB Parnell Motley
- Placed on COVID-19 list: K Brandon McManus
Indianapolis Colts
- Placed on COVID-19 list: LB Jordan Glasgow
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Waived: LB Reggie Gilbert
Las Vegas Raiders
- Waived: G Patrick Omameh
New York Giants
- Waived: DB JaQuarius Landrews
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed off Washington’s practice squad: C Ross Pierschbacher
Jaguars To Start Gardner Minshew
It’s the return of Minshew Mania in Jacksonville. On Monday, Doug Marrone named Gardner Minshew as his starting quarterback moving forward. 
Marrone gave Mike Glennon the hook in the third quarter of their loss to the Titans. It was too-little-too-late, as the Jags went on to lose 31-10, but Minshew made an early statement with a touchdown on his first drive and 178 passing yards to close out the game. Still, Marrone was hesitant to anoint Minshew as the No. 1 QB in the immediate aftermath.
“As far as moving forward, I haven’t spoken to both guys so just out of respect for them, obviously I have in my mind what I want to do but I’m actually going to make sure I speak to them first, before I do something through the media,” Marrone said (via ESPN.com). “[Glennon] threw some good balls and we left some plays out there and he had some drops. I think it’s not on one person. I mean, I think everyone can see that. ”
Minshew — who is now fully or mostly recovered from his injured thumb — will be fighting for his future. The Jaguars may look to draft a passer in the first round, though they’re also second in the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/12/20
Here is Saturday’s usual barrage of minor moves:
Buffalo Bills
- Activated from IR: LB Tyrel Dodson
Carolina Panthers
- Activated from IR: LB Adarius Taylor
- Promoted: DT Woodrow Hamilton, WR Marken Michel, DT Mike Panasiuk
- Waived: LB Chris Orr
Cincinnati Bengals
- Promoted: S Trayvon Henderson, DT Kahlil McKenzie, WR Stanley Morgan
Dallas Cowboys
- Activated from IR: C Tyler Biadasz
- Promoted: T William Sweet, CB Chris Westry
- Waived: C Adam Redmond
Denver Broncos
- Activated from IR: LB Derrek Tuszka
- Promoted: TE Troy Fumagalli, CB Nate Hairston, S Alijah Holder, LB Josh Watson
Detroit Lions
- Promoted: Kareem Martin, S Bobby Price, T Dan Skipper
Green Bay Packers
- Promoted: G Ben Braden, TE Dominique Dafney, WR Juwann Winfree
Houston Texans
- Promoted: CB Anthony Chesley, WR Chad Hansen, WR Steven Mitchell Jr., S Jonathan Owens
- Waived: LB Nate Orchard
Indianapolis Colts
- Promoted: P Ryan Allen, C Joey Hunt
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Promoted: CB Quenton Meeks, K Aldrick Rosas, OL Tre’Vour Wallace-Simms
- Waived: K Chase McLaughlin
Kansas City Chiefs
- Promoted: DB Chris Lammons, OL Stefen Wisniewski
Las Vegas Raiders
- Promoted: DE Vic Beasley, DE Chris Smith
- Placed on IR: S Jeff Heath
Los Angeles Chargers
- Activated from IR: RB Justin Jackson
- Promoted: LB B.J. Bello
- Waived: LB Asmar Bilal
Los Angeles Rams
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: LB Jachai Polite; Polite tested positive for the coronavirus, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates (via Twitter)
Minnesota Vikings
- Promoted: LB Blake Lynch, LB Hardy Nickerson
- Waived: S Curtis Riley
New Orleans Saints
- Activated from IR: CB Justin Hardee
- Promoted: WR Juwan Johnson, WR Tommylee Lewis
- Placed on IR: CB Patrick Robinson
New York Giants
- Promoted: CB Jarren Williams
New York Jets
- Activated from IR: CB Bless Austin, TE Trevon Wesco
- Promoted: WR Lawrence Cager, LB Noah Dawkins, S Saquan Hampton, WR Jaleel Scott
- Placed on IR: S Ashtyn Davis, S Bennett Jackson, G Greg Van Roten
Philadelphia Eagles
- Placed on IR: OL Jason Peters (story)
- Promoted: CB Jameson Houston, CB Kevon Seymour, LB Rashad Smith
San Francisco 49ers
- Promoted: DL Alex Barrett, CB Briean Boddy-Calhoun, DL Darrion Daniels, OL Dakoda Shepley
Seattle Seahawks
- Promoted: LB Ray-Ray Armstrong, T Chad Wheeler
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Promoted: CB Herb Miller
Tennessee Titans
- Activated from IR: CB Kareem Orr
- Promoted: LB Wyatt Ray, LB Tuzar Skipper
- Placed on IR: CB Breon Borders
Washington Football Team
- Placed on IR: DE Ryan Anderson
- Promoted: RB Javon Leake, T David Steinmetz
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/8/20
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Activated from reserve/COVID list: WR Larry Fitzgerald
Baltimore Ravens
- Activated off IR: CB Anthony Averett
Cleveland Browns
- Placed on reserve/COVID list: OL Wyatt Teller
- Activated from reserve/COVID list: DE Porter Gustin
- Placed on IR: WR Taywan Taylor
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Claimed off waivers from Raiders: DT Daniel Ross
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed off Bills’ practice squad: CB Daryl Worley
Washington Football Team
- Signed to active roster off practice squad: TE Marcus Baugh
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/7/20
A handful of practice squad moves to pass along:
Baltimore Ravens
- Released: FB Tommy Bohanon
Denver Broncos
- Signed: K Taylor Russolino
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: CB Quenton Meeks, CB Trevor Williams, WR Damion Willis, DT Gabe Wright
Los Angeles Chargers
- Released: P Lac Edwards, K JJ Molson