Broncos Claim QB Brandon Allen
The Broncos have claimed quarterback Brandon Allen off waivers, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). Allen was dropped by the Rams on Saturday, making him available to the league’s 31 other teams.
Allen is now set to serve as Joe Flacco‘s primary backup. Drew Lock was supposed to be the top clipboard holder, but a hand injury will keep him sidelined for a while. Kevin Hogan, an internal candidate to fill that void, was dropped over the weekend.
In addition to Allen, the Broncos have also been awarded the following players off waivers:
- TE Andrew Beck (Patriots)
- C Corey Levin (Titans)
- WR Diontae Spencer (Steelers)
Rams Reach Roster Max
The Rams reached the roster max of 53 with the following moves on Saturday:
Waived:
Dakota Allen, LB
Chandler Brewer, OT
Marquise Copeland, DT
Justin Davis, RB
Donte Deayon, DB
Landis Durham, DE
John Franklin, DE
Khadarel Hodge, WR
John Kelly, RB
Jeremiah Kolone, G
Steven Parker, DB
Kevin Paterson, DB
John Wolford, QB
Waived/Injured:
Alex Bachman, WR
Josh Carraway,LB
Dominique Hatfield, DB
Trevon Young, LB
Placed on IR:
Micah Kiser, LB
Packers Reach 53-Man Max
The Packers have released the following players to reach the 53-man limit:
G Dejon Allen
TE Evan Baylis
FB Tommy Bohanon
RB Tra Carson
G Anthony Coyle
T Gerhard de Beer
CB Kabion Ento
K Sam Ficken
LB James Folston
RB Keith Ford
S Natrell Jamerson
LB Markus Jones
CB Jocquez Kalili
WR Allen Lazard
DL James Looney
S Tray Matthews
TE Pharoah McKever
WR J’Mon Moore
T Yosh Nijman
G/T Adam Pankey
CB Jackson Porter
LB Randy Ramsey
WR Teo Redding
CB Nydair Rouse
DL Olive Sagapolu
LB Brady Sheldon
DL Deon Simon
WR Malik Taylor
QB Manny Wilkins
The Packers’ previously announced release of DeShone Kizer leaves the club with just two quarterbacks – Aaron Rodgers and Tim Boyle – on the roster. Meanwhile, they’ll carry six wide receivers on the initial 53: Davante Adams, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Geronimo Allison, Trevor Davis, Jake Kumerow, and Darrius Shepherd.
Equanimeous St. Brown, meanwhile, is not on that WR list. He was initially thought to have suffered a mild ankle sprain, but now, he’ll be out for the season.
Colts, Texans, Browns Lead NFL In Cap Space
On Tuesday morning, the NFL released a report of every team’s cap space. The total number accounts for the top-51 cap numbers on every team’s roster. Therefore, these numbers will naturally change before next week as teams set their 53-man rosters (although the 52nd- and 53rd-ranked cap numbers (and beyond) for each team will hardly change anything).
It’s also worth noting that there have been a handful of extensions, trades, signings, and cuts since this report was released. However, there weren’t any significant moves that would drastically alter these rankings.
Why are these numbers important at this time of year? Well, rosters will be trimmed on Saturday, meaning an influx of players will hit the open market. While we can’t imagine any roster casualties earning a lucrative contract from a new team, these numbers can help illustrate the monetary advantage one organization has over another. These numbers are also useful in regards to any potential trades or extensions.
With help from TheMMQB.com’s Albert Breer on Twitter, we’ve listed the league’s cap space totals (as of Tuesday morning) below:
- Indianapolis Colts: $56.6MM
- Houston Texans: $37.0MM
- Cleveland Browns: $34.6MM
- Dallas Cowboys: $26.1MM
- Tennessee Titans: $26.0MM
- San Francisco 49ers: $25.5MM
- Buffalo Bills: $23.3MM
- Miami Dolphins: $22.1MM
- Chicago Bears: $22.1MM
- Washington Redskins: $21.7MM
- Detroit Lions: $21.5MM
- Kansas City Chiefs: $21MM
- Cincinnati Bengals: $19.7MM
- Seattle Seahawks: $19.5MM
- Philadelphia Eagles: $18.6MM
- Jacksonville Jaguars: $18.2MM
- Oakland Raiders: $17.3MM
- Los Angeles Chargers: $16.4MM
- Green Bay Packers: $15.2MM
- New York Jets: $14.9MM
- New England Patriots: $14.1MM
- Baltimore Ravens: $13.4MM
- New Orleans Saints $7.5MM
- Carolina Panthers $5.9MM
- Los Angeles Rams $5.6MM
- New York Giants $5.5MM
- Pittsburgh Steelers $4.9MM
- Minnesota Vikings $4.7MM
- Arizona Cardinals $4.7MM
- Denver Broncos $4.4MM
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers $4.3MM
- Atlanta Falcons $3.4MM
Rams LB Josh Carraway Tears Achilles, OL Aaron Neary Fractures Ankle
The Rams’ depth took a blow in their most recent preseason game. Linebacker Josh Carraway tore his Achilles while offensive lineman Aaron Neary fractured an ankle, per Lindsey Thiry of ESPN.com (Twitter link). 
Both players will now undergo surgery and miss the entire 2019 season. As Thiry points out, they were both fighting to make the team. Neary was suspended for the first four games of the season back in June, which wasn’t going to help his cause of making the initial 53, although it’s a moot point now. Neary originally entered the league as an undrafted free agent with the Broncos back in 2016.
He started for the Rams at center back in Week 17 of 2017, the only regular season appearance of his career so far. He’s spent most of the past two seasons on the Rams’ practice squad. The Rams are going with unproven second-year player Brian Allen as their starting center this year, and now they’re pretty thin at the position.
Carraway was drafted in the seventh round by the Titans in 2017. He spent some time on the active roster but only appeared in one game. After langing on Washington’s practice squad last year, he signed with the Rams back in May. A productive pass-rusher at TCU, Carraway was facing an uphill battle to make the team.
Long-Term Plans May Affect Rams' CB Corps
- The contract-year statuses of Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters may force the Rams to consider the big picture when finalizing their roster. Les Snead could well keep an extra corner this season because of the potential 2020 departures of the team’s starting corners, Vincent Bonsignore of The Athletic writes (subscription required). In addition to Talib and Peters, slot starter Nickell Robey-Coleman, Troy Hill and third-round pick David Long will be roster locks. That leaves one or two spots left for a host of players who have shown well in camp, with Bonsignore singling out 2018 waiver claim Darious Williams and 2017 UDFA Kevin Peterson as the leaders to round out the corner corps. The latter missed all of 2018 due to injury, but both players have had standout camps. In addition to the Colts, Patriots and Saints, the Rams may begin receiving trade calls on some corners.
Rams Rookie LB Undergoes Surgery
- Going into their preseason slate, the Vikings have leaned toward Sean Mannion being Kirk Cousins‘ primary backup. That is not surprising, given Mannion’s status as the Rams’ QB2 recently. Mannion and 2017 UDFA Kyle Sloter were rotating No. 2 reps recently, but Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press points out Sloter is now rotating with rookie UDFA Jake Browning with Minnesota’s third-team offense. Both backups are playing for league-minimum money.
- Rams rookie linebacker Justin Lawler underwent foot surgery Tuesday, Lindsey Thiry of ESPN.com tweets. The Rams drafted Lawler in the seventh round out of SMU. He profiles as a full-season IR candidate. Teams must carry players through to the 53-man roster for them to be eligible for IR-return status during the season.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/6/19
Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: T Jarron Jones
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: OL Tommy Doles
- Placed on IR: QB Kurt Benkert
Cleveland Browns
- Released from IR: WR Blake Jackson
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: OL Lukayus McNeil
Detroit Lions
- Signed: CB Johnathan Alston
- Waived/injured: Tarvarus McFadden
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Placed on IR: LB James Onwualu
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: P Brock Miller
New York Jets
- Waived: TE Nick Truesdell
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: DE Kasim Edebali, CB Ajene Harris
- Placed on IR: DE Joe Ostman
- Waived/injured: T Casey Tucker
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: CB Jermaine Ponder
- Waived: CB Derrek Thomas
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: LB Chris Worley
- Waived: WR Nyqwan Murray
Why Rams Extended McVay, Snead
The Rams recently extended both head coach Sean McVay and general manager Les Snead through the 2023 season, and Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com reports club owner Stan Kroenke was the “driving force” behind the dual deals. McVay was set to enter the upcoming campaign as one of the lowest-paid head coaches in the NFL, and — given the youthful coach’s success — Kroenke wanted to reward him. Additionally, Kroenke wanted McVay and Snead’s contract to align and run through the same season, per Breer. It’s unclear exactly how far into the future Snead had previously been under contract, but it was for fewer than the three years McVay had remaining.
- In case you missed it, the Rams gave wideout Robert Woods a raise for the 2019 season. In a rare NFL occurrence, Los Angeles handed Woods an extra $1MM in base salary and a new $2MM roster bonus with no strings attached.
Extra Points: Gurley, Longacre, CBA
In his first day on the field at Rams training camp, Todd Gurley looked like vintage Gurley, The Athletic’s Vincent Bonsignore writes.
The All-Pro back looked like his old self early, showing an ability put plenty of weight on his knee and cut without any apparent issue. That knee, of course, underwent reconstructive surgery in college and gave him issues down the stretch in 2018, leading to C.J. Anderson‘s breakout stint in the playoffs.
As Bonsignore writes, that he looked good doesn’t mean much at this point. It’s all about getting him on the field and keeping him there over the course of a 16-game season. The Rams will be sure to take it easy with Gurley, but this is a great first step for one of the league’s most dynamic playmakers.
A healthy Gurley, who led the league in rushing touchdowns for a second consecutive season in 2018, would make the reigning NFC champions the conference’s favorites once again thanks to its loaded offense and talent-rich defense.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Buccaneers safety Orion Stewart was carted off the field on Sunday with an apparent serious right knee injury, Eduardo Encina of the Tampa Bay Times writes. The safety was covering Cameron Brate when their legs tangled, leading Stewart to come down awkwardly. A free agent acquisition in 2019, Stewart was working with the Bucs’ second unit.
- Colts defensive end Jabaal Sheard suffered a knee injury in training camp and is expected to “miss some time,” Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio writes. Just how long that “some time” is remains unclear, but the defensive end didn’t return to practice on Friday due to swelling and soreness. Colts head coach Frank Reich said the injury isn’t season-ending.
- Just four days after the Cardinals signed linebacker Matt Longacre, the team released him on Sunday, Florio writes. The move comes just a day after the team activated Brooks Reed from the physically unable to perform list. In 2018, Longacre appeared in 13 games with the Rams, recording one sack and 17 tackles.
- Lions defensive lineman Mike Daniels said he received interest from 13 teams but decided to join Detroit because he wanted to play for head coach Matt Patricia, Florio writes. Though the pair have never worked together before, Daniels called the coach “a genius.”
- Originally, a meeting was to be held on Monday to discuss the Collective Bargaining Agreement between owners and the NFLPA. That will no longer take place, as the meeting has been rescheduled for early August, Florio writes.