NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/12/17
Tuesday’s practice squad moves…
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: QB Josh Woodrum
- Cut: TE Ryan Malleck
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: WR Malachi Dupre
- Cut: WR Daikiel Shorts
Chicago Bears
- Signed: WR Mario Alford
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: LB Johnathan Calvin, WR Devin Lucien
- Cut: WR Fred Brown, S Ronald Martin
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: DL Rickey Hatley
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: RB Daniel Lasco
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: LB Max Valles
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: T Victor Salako, CB De’Vante Bausby
- Cut: CB C.J. Smith, WR Greg Ward
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: DB Jarnor Jones
- Cut: LB Ben Boulware
Seattle Seahawks
- Cut: WR Kenny Lawler, OT Jarron Jones
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: TE Tim Semisch, OL Cody Wichmann
- Cut: TE Jerome Cunningham, OL Steven Moore
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/10/17
Today’s minor moves:
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed to practice squad: CB Taurean Nixon, LB Marcus Rush
Philadelphia Eagles
- Released from IR: DE Alex McCalister, S Tre Sullivan
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).
NFL Workout Updates: 9/8/17
Today’s NFL workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter unless otherwise noted:
Atlanta Falcons
- QBs Garrett Grayson and Mitch Leidner (link)
Carolina Panthers
- T Korren Kirven (link)
Detroit Lions
- QB Joel Stave; WR Malachi Dupre; OTs Landon Lechler and Givens Price; DT Taylor Harris; S James Sample (Twitter links)
Green Bay Packers
- G Darrell Greene; OTs Cornelius Lucas and Jeremiah Poutasi; DE Jhaustin Thomas (link)
Indianapolis Colts
- RB Kenjon Barner (link)
Kansas City Chiefs
- DB Akeem King (link)
New England Patriots
- WR Gabe Marks; TE Ryan O’Malley (Twitter links via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com)
New York Jets
- RB Cyrus Gray; TE Nick Truesdell; C Erik Austell; G Brandon Thomas; WRs K.J. Brent, Bug Howard, and Domonique Young; TE Robert Tonyan; DE Tyrone Holmes; DT Caraun Reid; LB Vontarrius Dora; CBs Elie Bouka, Jarnor Jones, Damian Swann, and Robert Nelson; S Trey Caldwell and K.J. Dillon (Twitter links: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
Philadelphia Eagles
- DBs De’Vante Bausby, Elie Bouka, Trey Caldwell, and Jarnor Jones (link)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- DE Jonathan Woodard; CBs Chris Humes and Sammy Seamster (link)
Tennessee Titans
- DB JaCorey Shepherd (link)
Chiefs Re-Sign RB C.J. Spiller
The Chiefs have re-signed running back C.J. Spiller after releasing him on Thursday, according to Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star (Twitter link).
Spiller’s return to the Kansas City surprise — as Paylor explained yesterday, the Chiefs cut Spiller prior to their Week 1 game so that his 2017 base salary would not become fully guaranteed. Now that Kansas City has completed its season opener (with a win to boot), Spiller is back on the roster. For more details on the mechanisms of such a move, read Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap‘s excellent breakdown of the reasoning behind cutting veterans early in the season.
Spiller might not get much run now that rookie Kareem Hunt firmly established himself with 246 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns on Thursday night against the Patriots. But the 30-year-old Spiller will slot in as the Chiefs’ third running back, and perhaps serve on kick and/or punt returns.
Chiefs’ Eric Berry Done For Season
Chiefs safety Eric Berry has suffered a ruptured Achilles, meaning his 2017 season is now over, head coach Andy Reid confirmed to reporters, including Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star (Twitter link).
The news doesn’t come as a complete surprise, as Reid indicated late last night that the Chiefs were expecting the worst. But it’s still a blow for both Berry and Kansas City, as the 28-year-old is not only an excellent defensive back (as evidenced by his erasing tight end Rob Gronkowski during the Chiefs’ surprise victory over the Patriots on Thursday), but also one of the club’s emotional leaders on and off the field.
Berry played a full 16-game season in 2016 and posted four interceptions, nine passes defensed, and one forced fumble. He graded out as the NFL’s No. 8 safety, per Pro Football Focus, which handed Berry top marks for pass coverage. In February, he re-signed with the Chiefs on a six-year, $78MM deal that made him the league’s highest-paid safety.
The Chiefs do have depth at safety, but clearly don’t have any players that can hope to replicate Berry’s production. Veteran Daniel Sorensen and 2016 fourth-rounder Eric Murray are candidates to take on more snaps, while Kansas City could speculatively re-sign defensive back Steven Terrell, whom the club released during final cutdowns. Other free agent safeties available on the open market include Will Blackmon, Jairus Byrd, Dwight Lowery, and Robert Blanton.
Chiefs’ Eric Berry Suffers Achilles Injury
The Chiefs crushed the defending champs on Thursday night, but it wasn’t all roses. Late in the game, star safety Eric Berry was carter off the field with what is feared to be an Achilles tear. The team is still waiting for tests, but head coach Andy Reid is bracing for the worst. 
“I don’t think it’s positive news,” Reid said.
If it’s a full on Achilles tear, then Berry’s season will end after three-and-a-half quarters of September football. From there, the Chiefs will consider promoting reserves Daniel Sorensen or Eric Murray to the starting lineup, but they may also want to look into some outside help.
Berry played a full 16 game season in 2016 and posted four interceptions, nine passes defensed, and one forced fumble. He graded out as the NFL’s No. 8 safety, per Pro Football Focus, which also handed Berry top marks for pass coverage. In February, he re-upped with KC on a six-year, $78MM deal instead of testing the open market.
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.
Chiefs Still Planning Mahomes Redshirt
Here’s the latest coming out of the West divisions before the defending AFC West champion Chiefs debut against the Super Bowl champion Patriots.
- Despite Patrick Mahomes‘ impressive preseason, the Chiefs‘ plan remains to shelve the rookie quarterback throughout the 2017 season, Rapoport notes (video link). Rapoport also said the possibility of Mahomes sitting to start next season remains in play, adding the team drafted the Texas Tech product knowing he’d be a one- or two-year project. Rapoport adds the Chiefs believed Mahomes was the draft’s best quarterback and they thought four teams would pull the trigger to select him had they not made the trade up to No. 10. Alex Smith‘s contract may also dictate the franchise’s decision. The Chiefs can save $17MM by moving on from their longtime starter after this season, but it’s clear they see a firm line between Smith and Mahomes’ present readiness levels.
Chiefs Cut RB C.J. Spiller
Poor C.J. Spiller. The running back was released on Thursday along with offensive lineman Jordan Devey, per a team announcement. 
This marks the second time inside of a week that Spiller has been cut by Kansas City. The veteran missed the team’s initial 53-man cut and was re-signed the same weekend only to get released hours in advance of the season opener.
Spiller and Devey’s contracts would have become guaranteed for the entire season if they were on the 53-man roster for the Chiefs’ first game, Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star notes. If they’re not scooped up by another team, the Chiefs could conceivably re-sign both players on Friday for the same deals, except non-guaranteed. That’s right – Spiller could wind up being released three times by the Chiefs within one week and back with the team in time for Week 2.
As of this writing, Kareem Hunt and Charcandrick West are the Chiefs’ only true running backs on the roster, not counting fullback Anthony Sherman. The Chiefs may look to promote undrafted Indiana product Devine Redding from the practice squad to round out the group.
Spiller, a first-round pick back in 2010, hasn’t had a truly productive season since 2013.