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Minor NFL Transactions: 11/23/22

November 23rd, 2022 at 8:53pm CST by Adam La Rose

Today’s minor moves around the league:

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

New York Giants

Thanksgiving will mark McKinley’s Cowboys debut after he signed to Dallas’ practice squad last week. The veteran will seek to be more productive in his reunion with Dan Quinn than his previous stops following the end of his Falcons tenure, while providing depth to a Cowboys edge group which has produced a league-leading 42 sacks this season.

Hobbs returning to the fold in the near future will be a welcomed sight for the Raiders’ secondary. The 2021 fifth-rounder was a full-time starter through the first five weeks of the season before landing on IR with a broken hand. Vegas has struggled against the pass, allowing more than 247 yards per game through the air in 2022. The team has three weeks to activate him before he becomes ineligible to play again this season.

Rams Rule Out Matthew Stafford For Week 12

November 23rd, 2022 at 7:29pm CST by Adam La Rose

After being placed in the concussion protocol once again, it comes as little surprise that the Rams will be without their starting quarterback for the second time in three weeks. The team has ruled out Matthew Stafford for their Week 12 matchup against the Chiefs, though the reason being cited could be cause for additional concern.

Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic tweets that, in addition to being in concussion protocol, Stafford has undergone neck and spine testing. The Rams believe that he is currently dealing with a neck strain, ESPN’s Adam Schefter adds (Twitter link). That would add further to Stafford’s injury problems which have been ever-present this campaign.

The 34-year-old faced concerns over his throwing elbow in the lead-in to the season, his second with the Rams. The ailment has been understood as something to simply be dealt with throughout the campaign, rather than one requiring surgery and an extended absence. Then, in Week 10, Stafford was sidelined by a concussion.

Coming off a massive extension signed this offseason, the former Lion has struggled considerably this year relative to his Super-Bowl winning campaign of 2021. The same is true as a whole for the Rams’ offense, which ranks 29th in the league in both yards and points per game. Injuries suffered along the offensive line, and by wideout Cooper Kupp, leave the unit with a much more bleak outlook for the remainder of the season than their performance last season and summer expectations would have suggested.

In the immediate future, attention will turn not to John Wolford – who filled in for Stafford in Week 10 – but rather rookie Bryce Perkins. With the former also banged up, the latter is expected to receive first-team reps in practice this week (Twitter link via NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport). Perkins, a UDFA out of Virginia, saw the field for five snaps during the Rams’ loss to the Cardinals 10 days ago, but he will now be in line for his first career start.

The undermanned Rams will face a tough challenge in attempting to snap their four-game losing streak when they visit Kansas City on Sunday. The intermediate- and long-term health of their starting quarterback will remain a more important situation to monitor regardless of the outcome of the game, however.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/23/22

November 23rd, 2022 at 5:32pm CST by Adam La Rose

Today’s taxi squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Cincinnati Bengals

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Rams

  • Signed: QB Case Cookus

Pittsburgh Steelers

Rams Waive RB Darrell Henderson, OLB Justin Hollins

November 22nd, 2022 at 2:50pm CST by Sam Robinson

Another starter-caliber running back will join Melvin Gordon on the waiver wire. The Rams cut Darrell Henderson on Tuesday. They also waived outside linebacker Justin Hollins.

Henderson spent much of last season as Los Angeles’ starter, playing ahead of Sony Michel for an extended stretch to begin the team’s Super Bowl-winning slate. The former third-round pick is playing out the final season of his rookie contract. Just more than $412K remains on that deal.

With the Rams connected to cutting Cam Akers for weeks, this Henderson move surprises. But Akers remains with the team and has surpassed Henderson in carries (76-70). Henderson’s 283 yards, however, still lead the team. That is not a particularly notable distinction, with the Rams’ run game ranking 31st. The team had reduced Henderson’s workload in recent weeks. Despite starting each of the past two Rams games, Henderson logged just eight carries.

In 2021, Henderson totaled 688 rushing yards on 149 totes. He started 10 games for the Rams and rushed for at least 70 yards in four of those contests. A COVID-19 contraction and MCL sprain ended Henderson’s run as L.A.’s starter. The team pivoted to Michel following Henderson’s COVID bout, and the Memphis alum’s knee injury kept him out until Super Bowl LVI. Henderson was fairly productive for the Rams against the Bengals, catching three passes for 43 yards.

Henderson, 25, averaged 4.5 and 4.6 yards per carry, respectively, in 2020 and ’21. He is at 4.0 per rush this year. The former No. 70 overall pick, Henderson averaged a staggering 8.9 yards per tote as both a sophomore and junior at the AAC school. As a junior in 2018, Henderson rushed for 1,909 yards and totaled 25 touchdowns.

It would surprise if the former yards-per-carry college dynamo did not land with another team soon. The Broncos, following their Gordon separation, would seemingly be an interested party. If no one claims Henderson, he passes through to free agency. Regarding the Rams, they still have Akers and fifth-round rookie Kyren Williams, who recently came off IR after a multi-injury 2022. Akers and Williams are now the only two backs on the defending champions’ 53-man roster. Malcolm Brown and rookie UDFA Ronnie Rivers reside on L.A.’s practice squad.

A former Broncos draftee, Hollins has started five games this season. He has totaled just one sack. The Rams aggressively attempted to keep Von Miller in free agency and made a monster offer for Brian Burns at the deadline, attempting to give Leonard Floyd a proven edge-rushing partner. The team instead went into the season limited at the position. Hollins will wrap his L.A. stay with three sacks and four QB hits in 18 games with the team.

Rams QB Matthew Stafford Back In Concussion Protocol

November 21st, 2022 at 9:31pm CST by Ben Levine

Matthew Stafford is back in concussion protocol. Days after exiting the multi-step process, the Rams have once again placed their QB in concussion protocol, according to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com (on Twitter). Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic tweeted yesterday that Stafford would undergo further testing in Los Angeles to determine the next step.

Stafford exited yesterday’s loss to the Saints during the third quarter and didn’t return. The veteran QB previously entered concussion protocol following Los Angeles’ Week 9 loss to the Buccaneers. At the time, coach Sean McVay said he wasn’t aware of Stafford’s concussion symptoms during that game, but doctors later determined that it was “appropriate” for the QB to enter protocol, per ESPN’s Sarah Barshop.

The veteran QB had just exited concussion protocol on Friday after missing Week 10, and it seems like the organization may be proceeding with the utmost caution. Considering today’s development, it sounds like Stafford is at risk of missing another game.

“Yesterday, when we went into the tent, (we) got his symptoms, he checked out feeling pretty good, but we wanted to be over-precautious,” McVay said earlier today (via the team’s website). “But where he’s at right now, as it relates to his status, still in evaluation to see if we are going to put him in the protocol.”

Following last season’s Super Bowl championship, Stafford has struggled in 2022, perhaps due to lingering elbow issues. The Rams are 3-6 in Stafford’s nine starts, with the QB completing 68 percent of his passes for 2,087 yards, 10 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. Bryce Perkins filled in for Stafford on Sunday, completing five of his 10 pass attempts for 64 yards while adding another 39 yards on the ground. John Wolford, who is currently dealing with a neck injury, started in place of Stafford during LA’s Week 10 loss to the Cardinals.

Cooper Kupp To Undergo Surgery; Rams Lose Two More O-Linemen

November 20th, 2022 at 11:03am CST by Sam Robinson

NOVEMBER 20: Kupp is expected to miss six to eight weeks, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. As we are presently in Week 11 of the season, that timeframe means that, if the 3-6 Rams cannot climb back into the postseason race, Kupp will be shelved for the remainder of the year.

NOVEMBER 15: Cooper Kupp avoided missing any time after his Week 8 ankle injury, but his latest issue will force an extended absence. The All-Pro wide receiver is heading to IR, Sean McVay said Tuesday.

The Rams’ top weapon will undergo surgery to repair his high ankle sprain Wednesday. Kupp must miss at least four games. With the Rams having already had their bye week, the reigning Offensive Player of the Year will be out until at least Week 14. This will be Kupp’s longest absence since his 2018 ACL tear.

While that Rams team withstood Kupp’s knee malady and trekked to Super Bowl LIII, this edition has been Kupp-dependent throughout the season. Kupp’s 812 receiving yards are more than double the Rams’ second-leading pass catcher. The defending champions have neither been able to run consistently nor have they found UFA addition Allen Robinson as reliable as the likes of Robert Woods or Brandin Cooks, the since-traded receivers who helped the Rams’ 2018 team push past Kupp’s setback. Given a three-year, $46.5MM deal with $30MM fully guaranteed, Robinson has 29 receptions for 292 yards and two touchdowns this season.

Kupp, 29, has also become a different player since his previous injury. The former Division I-FCS prospect posted one of the all-time great receiving seasons in 2021, catching 145 passes for 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns. He topped that triple crown regular season with 478 playoff yards. Only Larry Fitzgerald (546 in 2008) has accumulated more in one postseason. Kupp’s 2,425 cumulative receiving yards last season shattered an NFL record, and the Super Bowl LVI MVP parlayed that staggering leap into top-five receiver money.

The Rams tore up both Kupp and Aaron Donald‘s deals this offseason, despite each having more than one season remaining. Kupp’s $26.7MM-per-year deal runs through 2026. The contract included $35MM fully guaranteed, but an additional $35MM will shift from an injury guarantee to a full guarantee in March 2023. While Kupp returning late in the season is not out of the question, the 3-6 Rams going through one of the worst Super Bowl title defenses in NFL history may prompt the team to be cautious and shut him down.

Additionally, the Rams encountered more injury trouble on their offensive line. Two of their latest batch of O-line starters — Alaric Jackson and Chandler Brewer — will be shut down. Jackson, who had worked at guard and left tackle this season, has a blood clot issue that will end his season. Brewer suffered an MCL sprain that, based on the Rams’ IR situation, will likely end his 2022 campaign. Jackson also missed Week 10 with a knee injury, but this blood clot issue — which will require blood thinner medication — has obviously become his central concern.

A former UDFA out of Iowa, Jackson has been a valuable contributor for a battered Rams front this season. After playing 61 offensive snaps as a rookie — for a much healthier Rams team — Jackson has started six games in his second NFL campaign. Pro Football Focus rates Jackson, who was not a Week 1 starter, just outside the top 40 among guards. He has seen time filling in for Joseph Noteboom at left tackle as well.

One of the many next men up for the Rams, Brewer — a UDFA out of Middle Tennessee State — has started the past two games at right guard. Brewer will undergo knee surgery, per McVay, likely ending his season.

The Rams have burned six of their eight injury activations already. The team now has Kupp, veteran left guard David Edwards and safety Jordan Fuller in the IR-return mix. McVay said Tuesday the Rams were hopeful to have Edwards, who has missed extensive time with a concussion, back this year. An Edwards return would leave just one injury activation available for the champs, who used two in Week 8 (Van Jefferson, Troy Hill) and three in Week 10 (guard Coleman Shelton, running back Kyren Williams, safety Quentin Lake), the rest of the way.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/19/22

November 19th, 2022 at 8:05pm CST by Ely Allen

The league’s minor moves leading up to gameday:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

  • Signed to active roster: TE Nick Muse
  • Promoted from practice squad: CB Tay Gowan
  • Waived: OLB Benton Whitley

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Washington Commanders

Matthew Stafford Cleared For Week 11 Return

November 18th, 2022 at 6:52pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Rams were on the losing end of an all-backup quarterback battle last week, but they are set to have their starter available under center on Sunday. Matthew Stafford has been removed from the team’s injury report and is in line to play against the Saints.

Stafford had missed Los Angeles’ loss to the Cardinals in Week 10 due to a concussion. He made steady progress in recent days, though, lining him up to be cleared in time for Sunday’s game. The Rams turned to backup John Wolford in Stafford’s absence, with the exception of a handful of snaps given to rookie Bryce Perkins.

Stafford being back at the helm will be a welcomed sight, despite that fact that his second season with the Rams has not gone as smoothly as his first. The 34-year-old has an 8:8 touchdown-to-interception ratio (after throwing five in the first two games, and one in three consecutive contests between Weeks 4 and 6) while averaging 46 fewer passing yards per game than 2021.

Overall, the Rams rank 17th in the league in that regard, as they have struggled mightily on offense. The run game has fared even worse, of course, but a healthy Stafford could especially be needed moving forward given the fact the the team’s most consistent contributor is now out of the picture.

Cooper Kupp‘s high ankle sprain required surgery and has landed him on IR, leaving him sidelined for at least four games. With the Rams sitting at 3-6, that has led to questions about whether the the reigning Offensive Player of the Year will see the field again in 2022. An offensive resurgence will be needed to bring the team back into playoff contention.

Stafford – who like Kupp and Aaron Donald – signed a big-ticket extension this offseason – entered the campaign with concerns over his throwing elbow, though the more significant concern has become the offensive line in front of him. On that note, ESPN’s Sarah Barshop reports that neither guard David Andrews nor center Brian Allen will be available against the Saints (Twitter links). That will induce even more alterations to the injury-ravaged unit, while the Rams look to end their three-game skid with the No. 1 QB back in the fold.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/16/22

November 16th, 2022 at 5:35pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor transactions:

Atlanta Falcons

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tennessee Titans

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