Rams DL Sebastian Joseph-Day To Undergo Chest Surgery
The Rams bolstered their front seven by adding Von Miller to a group that already houses Aaron Donald and Leonard Floyd. But the team will be without one of its role players up front for a while — perhaps the rest of the season.
Sebastian Joseph-Day is now on IR, and the Rams announced the young defensive lineman is set to undergo surgery to repair a pectoral injury. Sean McVay said Joseph-Day aggravated the injury that forced him to miss the Rams’ Week 8 game in Houston.
It is not known if Joseph-Day tore a pectoral muscle, but McVay said it is uncertain if he will play again this year. A torn pec would sideline the third-year D-lineman for the year. Joseph-Day’s surgery will take place in the next few days.
A third-year starter up front with the Rams, Joseph-Day has already hit a sack career-high with three this season. Joseph-Day has started 38 games in his young career. Sunday will mark just his second absence as a pro. The former sixth-round pick’s 48% run-stop rate ranks second among defensive tackles, per ESPN.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/5/21
Today’s taxi squad moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: K Elliott Fry
- Released: WR Juwan Green
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: WR Brandon Powell, RB Mekhi Sargent
New York Giants
- Signed: RB Dexter Williams
- Released: TE Jake Hausmann
WR DeSean Jackson Clears Waivers
DeSean Jackson is officially a free man. The veteran wideout cleared waivers today, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). Jackson is now free to sign with any team.
The Rams were unable to find a taker for Jackson prior to the trade deadline, so the team made the expected move and cut the player on Tuesday. The lack of trade (and waiver) interest doesn’t necessarily mean Jackson won’t have any suitors; rather, teams were anticipating his release and were willing to take their chances in free agency.
Since Jackson went unclaimed, the Rams will be left with the balance of Jackson’s $2.75MM base salary on the books. The receiver joined the Rams on a one-year, $4.5MM deal this past offseason.
However, the 34-year-old struggled to carve out a definitive role during his short stint in Los Angeles, seeing the field for about one-third of L.A.’s snaps. Jackson didn’t top 25 snaps in any of his games this year, and his playtime continued to dwindle, leading to a four-snap appearance against the Lions in Week 7. After that, the Rams held him out of action against the Texans to avoid a trade-scuttling injury.
Even at the age of 34, Jackson has torched the opposition for 27.6 yards per catch (albeit on only eight receptions), so a receiver-needy team will certainly appreciate his big-play ability. For his career, Jackson has 620 catches for 10,877 yards and 57 touchdowns.
Chargers, Cardinals Tried To Claim Jonah Williams
New Vikings defensive end Jonah Williams was pretty popular on the waiver wire. After he was cut by the Rams, the Chargers and Cardinals also submitted claims on him. (Twitter link via Field Yates of ESPN.com). 
[RELATED: Rams Have Discussed Extension With Miller’s Camp]
The Vikings won out, thanks to their 3-4 record. As a refresher, the league’s waiver priority goes by inverted current season record at this stage of the league year, rather than previous year’s record. Therefore, the Chargers (4-3) and Cardinals (7-1) were further down the list.
Williams, 26, saw time in all eight of the Rams’ games before he was cut loose. If not for the arrival of Von Miller, the Rams likely would have kept him for the year. Miller marks a significant upgrade for the Rams’ front seven and they’re already discussing his future beyond 2021.
The Vikings could still use some DL support, now that Danielle Hunter has been ruled out for the year with a torn pectoral muscle. The Cardinals — who are without J.J. Watt — will also keep an eye out for available linemen.
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/3/21
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: WR A.J. Green, TE Demetrius Harris
Dallas Cowboys
- Activated from IR: TE Sean McKeon
Houston Texans
- Promoted: LB Hardy Nickerson
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: WR JJ Koski, LB Christian Rozeboom
- Designated for Return: DB Darious Williams
Minnesota Vikings
- Claimed off waivers (from Rams): DE Jonah Williams
New York Giants
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: RB Saquon Barkley, S Xavier McKinney
San Francisco 49ers
- Designated for return: K Robbie Gould, TE George Kittle
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/3/21
Today’s taxi squad moves:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: DT Treyvon Hester
- Released: OL Aaron Monteiro
Chicago Bears
- Signed: LB Cassius Marsh
- Released: RB Chris Thompson
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: DE Bradlee Anae
Denver Broncos
- Signed: TE Caleb Wilson
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: DL Auzoyah Alufohai, RB Ryquell Armstead
Houston Texans
- Signed: DL Chris Smith
Los Angeles Rams.
- Signed: WR Warren Jackson
New York Giants
- Signed: WR Pharoh Cooper
Rams Have Discussed Extension With Von Miller’s Camp
Von Miller is due to be a first-time free agent in March and may be headed for a third NFL team at that point. But the Rams, who traded for the 11th-year pass rusher Monday, figure to factor into that equation. They have already broached the topic of Miller being in Los Angeles beyond this season.
GM Les Snead said Tuesday he has spoken with Miller’s representatives about an extension, via ESPN.com’s Lindsey Thiry. The Broncos are paying $9MM of the $9.7MM remaining on Miller’s current contract, but the Rams surrendered second- and third-round picks in the 2022 draft — a price well north of where anyone else was willing to go. That points to the team viewing Miller as more than a rental.
“We’re actually looking at this from a standpoint of how soon can he help us, can he help us if we’re fortunate enough to continue going and make the 2021 tournament, how can he help us there,” Snead said. “And then there’s a long-term vision for Von as well.”
Los Angeles has Aaron Donald and Leonard Floyd signed, respectively, to $22.5MM- and $16MM-AAV contracts. Although many changes will take place, the Rams are projected to again be near the bottom in cap space. Cap constraints, however, have not exactly deterred them from making impact moves previously during the Snead regime. The team also has the matter of what will likely be a monster Matthew Stafford extension; the MVP candidate’s Lions-constructed deal runs through 2022. A Stafford deal could free up some money, though the prospect of Miller staying in L.A. for his age-33 season and beyond will largely hinge on his performance down the stretch.
Miller’s 110.5 sacks are the most among active players, and the future Hall of Famer sits at 4.5 this season. The Broncos engaged the Rams on the prospect of a Miller trade, Snead said, and the negotiations took place shortly after the teams agreed on a lower-profile deal that sent linebacker Kenny Young to Denver.
“[Broncos GM] George [Paton] reached out at the end of the week and we just couldn’t take on, based on what we’ve done in the past with our cap situation, just can’t take on Von Miller, so that’s when we discussed what it would take from each side,” Snead said of the trade talks. “I think as they were analyzing their situation, we were analyzing ours and we came up with what we felt like was something that was good for the Rams and the Broncos.”
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/2/21
Today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Promoted: LB Daren Bates, LB James Vaughters
- Waived: LB Dorian Etheridge
Baltimore Ravens
- Released via injury settlement: T Andre Smith
Cleveland Browns
- Waived: FB Johnny Stanton
Dallas Cowboys
- Placed on IR: LB Jabril Cox (story)
- Waived: DE Bradlee Anae
Detroit Lions
- Designated for return: T Taylor Decker, DL Devin Strong
Green Bay Packers
- Promoted: LS Steven Wirtel
- Waived: LS Hunter Bradley
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed off Chiefs’ practice squad: LB Christian Rozeboom
- Placed on IR: WR Tutu Atwell (story), LB Travin Howard
- Waived: LB Jonah Williams
New York Jets
- Designated to return: LB Hamsah Nasirildeen
- Promoted: S Jarrod Wilson
- Waived: LB Noah Dawkins
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Promoted: LB Taco Charlton
San Francisco 49ers
- Waived: LB Tyrell Adams, K Joey Slye
Washington Football Team
- Designated for return: TE Logan Thomas
- Waived: TE Jace Sternberger
Broncos GM: Two Other Teams Called On Von Miller
The Broncos’ post-Peyton Manning decline led to Von Miller landing in trade rumors ahead of recent trade deadlines, and first-year GM George Paton pulled the trigger this year by sending the future Hall of Fame edge rusher to the Rams on Monday. Other teams showed interest, but the Rams won out.
Two other teams called the Broncos on Miller, Paton said Tuesday (via The Athletic’s Lindsay Jones, on Twitter). However, the Rams are believed to have made by far the best offer. The other interested franchises did not offer the Broncos anything of substance for Miller, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes. This essentially put Paton to a decision on keeping the decorated sack artist for the stretch run and considering another extension or taking Los Angeles’ offer of two 2022 Day 2 picks — which came after the Broncos agreed to pay most of Miller’s prorated base salary.
Trade discussions began in earnest Friday and wrapped up Sunday night, Paton said (via The Athletic’s Nick Kosmider, on Twitter). Miller met with Paton, John Elway and CEO Joe Ellis on Monday morning. Paton said he wanted to “do right by” Miller, the Broncos’ all-time sack leader and by far the team’s longest-tenured player.
The eight-time Pro Bowler will now join Aaron Donald and Leonard Floyd on the Rams’ front seven and catch on with a 7-1 team. Miller missed the Broncos’ Week 8 game against Washington, which featured the team’s second-string edge rushers faring well, but is not believed to have suffered a serious injury in Denver’s Week 7 loss in Cleveland.
Miller, 32, is in the final months of the six-year, $114.1MM extension he signed with the Broncos at the 2016 franchise tag deadline. The Rams will have exclusive negotiating rights with Miller ahead of free agency, but they already have Donald and Floyd signed to big-ticket contracts. Being cuffed via the fifth-year option in 2015 and franchise-tagged in ’16, Miller has never been a free agent. His upcoming Rams performance will go a long way in shaping his 2022 market. Miller has 4.5 sacks this season, though none have come since Week 4.
After acquiring Miller and Matthew Stafford, the Rams now are without first- and second-round picks in 2022. While the Rams dealt the Broncos a third as well, the Lions hiring previous Rams college scouting director Brad Holmes as GM brought Los Angeles back an additional third-rounder in next year’s draft.
As for the Broncos, the 4-4 team is still without Bradley Chubb. Miller and Chubb each ran into significant injuries during their three-plus seasons together, and the duo last finished a game together in September 2019. Paton hopes Chubb can return after Denver’s Week 11 bye, NFL.com’s James Palmer adds (on Twitter). Chubb, who missed most of the 2019 season with an ACL tear, has undergone two ankle surgeries this year. Denver, which has lost both starting inside linebackers for the season, used Malik Reed and seventh-round rookie Jonathon Cooper as outside linebacker starters in Week 8. Recent trade acquisition Stephen Weatherly collected a sack in rotational duty.
Rams To Cut WR DeSean Jackson
The Rams will release DeSean Jackson this week (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). This was the expected move after the Rams were unable to find a trade for the veteran wide receiver. As a post-deadline drop, Jackson will be subject to the waiver wire for 24 hours after his release. If no one claims him, he’ll be free to sign with any club.
While Jackson drew interest on the market, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore (on Twitter), teams were anticipating a release and did not want to surrender any assets. That is somewhat interesting given Jackson’s post-deadline departure, which will not allow him to control his destination — at least, not initially. 
Jackson joined the Rams on a one-year, $4.5MM deal this year with the expectation that he’d be a focal point of the offense. Instead, he’s only been on the field for about one-third of L.A.’s snaps. That didn’t sit well with Jackson, who requested a change of scenery earlier this month.
If DJax goes unclaimed, the Rams will be left with the balance of Jackson’s $2.75MM base salary on the books. Either way, they’ll be without one of the game’s most prolific deep threats. Even at the age of 34, Jackson has torched the opposition for 27.6 yards per catch. Granted, the sample size is limited with just eight receptions, but there’s no question that DJax still has top-end speed.
Jackson has yet to top 25 snaps in any of his games this year. His playtime only dwindled from there, with four snaps against the Lions in Week 7. After that, the Rams held him out of action against the Texans to avoid a trade-scuttling injury.
For his career, Jackson has 620 catches for 10,877 yards and 57 touchdowns. Now, after parting ways with his fourth pro team, he’ll look to add to those totals elsewhere.