NFL Workout Updates: 11/19/19
Today’s updates from the workout circuit:
Buffalo Bills
Chicago Bears
- RBs Matthew Dayes
Cincinnati Bengals
Denver Broncos
- S Corrion Ballard, DT Daryle Banfield, DE Tashawn Bower, LB Tre’ Crawford, CB Davante Davis, DL Willie Henry, S P.J. Locke, S Tray Matthews, DB Picasso Nelson, LB Gimel President, DE Wyatt Ray, S Tyree Robinson, S Kahani Smith, LB Pita Taumoepenu, NT Jay-Tee Tiuli, S Isaiah Wharton
Dallas Cowboys
- OLs Marcus Henry, Storm Norton
Indianapolis Colts
Jacksonville Jaguars
Kansas City Chiefs
- DE Terrence Fede, DE/OLB Nate Orchard
New England Patriots
New Orleans Saints
- LBs Curtis Akins, Devante Bond, Andrew Dowell, LB Alvin Jones
Washington Redskins
- LB Obum Gwacham, DE Eli Harold
Chiefs Place DE Emmanuel Ogbah On IR
Emmanuel Ogbah‘s contract year will conclude with an IR trip. A week after the fourth-year defensive end suffered a torn pectoral muscle, the Chiefs placed him on IR.
Kansas City promoted wide receiver Gehrig Dieter from its practice squad to take Ogbah’s roster spot. Dieter played in four games with the Chiefs last season.
The Chiefs acquired Ogbah in an offseason trade with the Browns. The former second-round pick recorded five sacks in 10 games, doing so despite mostly coming off the bench behind Frank Clark and Alex Okafor. Ogbah is due for unrestricted free agency in 2020, having registered 18 sacks in his career.
With Clark dealing with a pinched nerve and Okafor out, the Chiefs are suddenly limited at defensive end. Breeland Speaks, a 2018 second-round pick, is also on IR. This would stand to elevate 2017 second-rounder Tanoh Kpassagnon into the Chiefs’ starting lineup for Monday night’s game against the Chargers in Mexico City.
Latest On Colin Kaepernick Workout
Free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick completed one of the most unique workouts in NFL history this afternoon. The NFL offered to stage a workout for the quarterback earlier this week. However, Kaepernick’s team became weary of the league’s intentions when his representatives were refused in their requests to open the event to the public. In a last minute decision, Kaepernick’s representation moved the event from the Falcons facility to a public location on their own.
Here’s the latest on the workout and its aftermath:
- When the venue was changed, the NFL released a public statement on NFL.com that expressed they were “disappointed” with Kaepernick’s choice not to participate in the workout they had organized. They claimed “Twenty-five (25) clubs were present for the workout, and all 32 clubs, their head coaches, general managers, and other personnel executives would have received video footage of the interview and workout.” The league also felt the need to note they “made considerable effort to work cooperatively with Colin’s representatives,” among a list of other points that attempted to counter some narratives that the league had been purposely opaque in their negotiations.
- The league also tweeted out from the league’s official account a thread reiterating some main points from the press release. One key point from the league’s perspective, “Colin moved his workout to a facility an hour from Atlanta Falcons Flowery Branch facility. No one got a heads up until NFL saw the Twitter statement.”
- Former Raiders and Browns head coach Hue Jackson was scheduled to run the workout orchestrated by the NFL. However, while Kaepernick’s team invited Jackson to run the workout at the new venue, Jackson returned to the airport, according to Michael Silver of NFL.com.
- WR Bruce Ellington, WR Brice Butler, WR Jordan Veasy, TE/WR Ari Werts, and Panthers S Eric Reid were on the field with Kaepernick for the workout, according to Kaylee Harung of ABC News. The free-agent receivers were likely hoping to catch the eyes of scouts present to view Kaepernick, while Reid has been one of the most consistent advocated for Kaepernick in the league.
- One claim in the announcement made by Kaepernick’s representatives was that the league required he sign an agreement that included language to limit his ability to bring claims against the league. Of course, given Kaepernick’s previous collusion lawsuit against the league, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk argues the workout was a ploy by the league to put Kaepernick “in legal checkmate.”
- In the end, there were not nearly as many teams present at Kaepernick’s workout as the NFL claimed would have been present for the workout they had planned. The Washington football team, Eagles, 49ers, Chiefs, Jets, Titans, and Lions were the teams present for his workout, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports.
- The 2-hour workout was streamed on YouTube and consistently maintained roughly 45,000 viewers. On the field, one NFL executive described Kaepernick’s arm talent as “elite” and on the same level as “when he came out of college,” according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
- Teams that had personnel present for the workout noted that the workout consisted of 60 throws and “Basically showed he’s the same guy he was,” according to Albert Breer of MMQB. After the workout, Kaepernick did not hold any formal interviews, but in his closing remarks said he would hold an interview with any team. He also thanked his fans for their support and reiterated, “I’ve been ready. I’m staying ready. And I’ll continue to be ready….The ball’s in their court. We’re ready to go.”
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/11/19
Here are Monday’s minor moves:
Chicago Bears
- Re-signed: T/TE Bradley Sowell
Houston Texans
- Signed: DE Joel Heath
- Waived: OL Dan Skipper
Kansas City Chiefs
- Placed on IR: T Martinas Rankin
- Signed off Colts’ practice squad: T Jackson Barton
New York Giants
- Signed off Panthers’ practice squad: CB Corn Elder
- Waived: OL Evan Brown
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Claimed off waivers from Titans: OL Aaron Stinnie
- Waived: C Nate Trewyn
Chiefs’ Emmanuel Ogbah Has Torn Pec
The Chiefs are suddenly struggling, and they suffered a huge injury during their loss to the Titans on Sunday. Defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah tore his pec, head coach Andy Reid announced after the game.
He will almost certainly miss the rest of the season. Ogbah had been playing a huge role and was playing well, so this is a big loss. Ogbah had 5.5 sacks on the year before going down, which was easily the most on the team. A second-round pick of the Browns back in 2016, he was shipped from Cleveland to Kansas City in April. Fellow pass-rusher Frank Clark said after the game that he has been dealing with a pinched nerve in his neck which slowed him down.
Clark was questionable for the game, and the Chiefs’ defensive front is now pretty banged up. Ogbah is in a contract year and will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason, so the injury is especially brutal. Fortunately for him he likely showed enough through ten games to earn a relatively large payday in free agency.
Kansas City also had a couple of offensive line injuries during the game, and we’re awaiting updates on those. The Chiefs have lost four of their last six games, and are now only a half-game ahead of the Raiders for first place in the AFC West. Ogbah will be sorely missed during their divisional showdown against the Chargers next week on Monday Night Football in Mexico City.
AFC West Notes: McCoy, Bolles, Joseph
The Chiefs listed running back LeSean McCoy as a healthy scratch for their 35-32 loss to the Titans as part of a predetermined schedule to rest him, according to James Palmer of NFL.com. Without McCoy, Damien Williams received a larger portion of snaps and had a costly fumble in the team’s upset loss.
Given the outcome Kansas City may have second thoughts about their decision, but the organization wants to have McCoy as fresh as possible for the last season and playoff push. At 6-4, the Chiefs remain atop the AFC West and will hope McCoy can make up for their loss in future contributions.
Here’s some more from around the AFC West:
- Left tackle Garett Bolles has struggled mightily for the Broncos this season. In his weekly mailbag, Ryan O’Hallaran of The Denver Post explained that the early-season injury to right tackle Ja’Wuan James might have saved his job. James’ injury forced swing tackle Elijah Wilkinson into full-time duty and left Denver without a solid Plan B behind Bolles. If James finds his way back onto the field, Wilkinson may be able to push for snaps on the opposite side of the line.
- Safety Karl Joseph had begun establishing himself as a difference-maker in the Raiders secondary this season before he suffered a season-ending injury. With his contract set to expire at the end of the season, the Raiders might have been inclined to negotiate an extension. However, given the uncertainty surrounding his health, Jerry McDonald of The Mercury News expects the team to let him hit free-agency this season and try to re-sign him at market value.
Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes To Play Vs. Titans
Patrick Mahomes is back. On Sunday, the Chiefs quarterback will return to action to face the Titans, head coach Andy Reid announced. 
Mahomes recovered freakishly fast from a dislocated kneecap just a few weeks ago. The early fear was that Mahomes would miss the remainder of the season. Then, there were whispers of a faster recovery, but a quick bounce back still seemed unlikely given Mahomes’ reliance on speed and mobility.
The Chiefs franchise star has done the impossible yet again. After splitting their last two games, the Chiefs will have Mahomes under center as they look to improve from 6-3 to 7-3.
In seven games this year, Mahomes has completed 65.1% of his throws for 15 touchdowns against one interception. He also ran for seven first downs while averaging 4.8 yards per attempt on the ground. There’s nothing that Mahomes can’t do and, apparently, that includes healing up at warp speed.
Mahomes’ rookie deal runs through 2020 and the Chiefs hold his fifth-year option to take him through 2021. The Chiefs, naturally, want to lock Mahomes up for the long haul, and that contract could be the league’s first $200MM+ contract.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/7/19
Today’s practice squad updates:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: OL Marcus Applefield
- Released: WR Sean Modster
Chicago Bears
- Signed: LB James Vaughters
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: Tim Williams
- Released: G Ben Braden
Kansas City Chiefs
- Released: P Jack Fox
New York Giants
- Signed: S Sean Chandler
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: RB Darrin Hall
- Released: LB Sutton Smith
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/6/19
Today’s practice squad moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: RB Byron Marshall
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: LB Tyrel Dodson
- Released: DE Wyatt Ray
Detroit Lions
- Signed: RB Bo Scarbrough, P Matt Wile
- Released: LB Anthony Pittman
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: DE Chuck Harris
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: TE Alize Mack
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: LB Cameron Smith
New York Jets
- Signed: OL James Murray
Pittsburgh Steelers
- LB Sutton Smith
Chiefs Extend Team President
The Chiefs announced today that they signed team president Mark Donovan to a long-term extension.
“I’d like to congratulate Mark and his family on this well-deserved recognition,” Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt said. “Because of Mark’s leadership over the past decade, the business operations of the Chiefs are among the best in professional sports, and he and his team have worked tirelessly to create the best fan experience in the National Football League. Mark is an innovative leader and a talented executive who is widely respected in our industry and in the Kansas City community. I am thrilled that he will continue to be a key part of the leadership of the Chiefs for many years to come.”