NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/16/19
Today’s practice squad moves:
Detroit Lions
- Signed: WR Tom Kennedy
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: RB Damarea Crockett, CB Tremon Smith
- Cut: TE Ethan Wolf
Houston Texans
- Signed: OT Kyle Murphy
- Cut: C Marcus Henry
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: RB Derrick Gore
- Cut: RB Detrez Newsome, OT Tyree St. Louis
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: DB Jayson Stanley
New York Jets
- Signed: LB Frankie Luvu
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: C Keegan Render
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: WR Deontay Burnett
- Cut: WR Malik Henry
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: C Anthony Fabiano, WR Ishmael Hyman, RB Aca’Cedric Ware
Washington Redskins
- Signed: RB Josh Ferguson
Dolphins Revert To Ryan Fitzpatrick
One week ago, Dolphins coach Brian Flores said Josh Rosen would be his starting quarterback for the rest of the season. On Sunday, he had a change of heart midway through and went with Ryan Fitzpatrick. On Wednesday, Flores announced that Fitzpatrick will lead the charge the rest of the way. 
That’s not quite in line with the “rest of the season” vow made to Rosen, but then again, the Dolphins’ season is more or less over here in October. On the plus side – the Dolphins showed serious signs of life on Sunday against the Redskins and nearly came from behind to win with Fitzpatrick under center.
After a few days of evaluating in practice, Flores says Fitz will be his guy. Or, at least, he’ll be Flores’ QB against the Bills on Sunday. What happens after that is TBD.
If it’s any consolation to Rosen – even under the best of circumstances, the Dolphins were, and are, still planning to take a quarterback in the first round of the 2020 draft.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/15/19
Here’s a rundown of early-week minor NFL moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: OL John Wetzel
- Waived/Injured: P Matt Wile
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: S Bennett Jackson (from Jets’ practice squad)
- Placed on IR: S DeShon Elliott
Carolina Panthers
- Waived: WR Ray-Ray McCloud
Chicago Bears
- Promoted from practice squad: OL Alex Bars
Cincinnati Bengals
- Claimed: OL Fred Johnson (from Steelers)
- Placed on IR: DE Kerry Wynn
Detroit Lions
- Promoted: DT John Atkins
- Waived: WR Tom Kennedy
Green Bay Packers
- Promoted: TE Evan Baylis
- Released: CB Tremon Smith
Houston Texans
- Signed: T Dan Skipper (from Patriots’ practice squad)
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: DT Carl Davis
Miami Dolphins
- Claimed: CB Ryan Lewis (from Eagles)
Minnesota Vikings
- Waived: DE Tashawn Bower
New England Patriots
- Signed: TE Eric Tomlinson
- Placed on IR: FB Jakob Johnson
- Waived: QB Cody Kessler
New York Jets
- Signed: S Blake Countess
- Waived: CB Arthur Maulet
Philadelphia Eagles
- Waived: CB Ryan Lewis
- Released from IR via injury settlement: TE Alex Ellis
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: DE L.T. Walton
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Waived: LB Devante Bond, WR Bobo Wilson
Washington Redskins
- Signed: FB Michael Burton
- Placed on IR: TE Jerome Cunningham
Dolphins To Release DB Johnson Bademosi
One of the players acquired in the Laremy Tunsil deal, Johnson Bademosi received notice the Dolphins will release him, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter).
In addition to the draft picks the Texans sent to the Dolphins for Tunsil and Kenny Stills, they also dealt Bademosi and tackle Julie’n Davenport. Bademosi played in four Dolphins games but missed Sunday’s with an ankle injury.
A regular special-teamer, Bademosi spent time with the Browns, Lions, Patriots and Texans prior to the trade. He played mostly special teams in Miami but did see 30 defensive snaps between Weeks 3-4.
The Texans signed Bademosi in March 2018. Interestingly, Sunday was the first regular-season game the 29-year-old defender/special-teamer has missed in his eight-season career.
Rosen Benched, Will Start Moving Forward
- The Dolphins benched Josh Rosen during their close loss to the Redskins today, and Ryan Fitzpatrick provided a spark off the bench. Fitzpatrick led two late touchdown drives and had Miami within a two-point conversion of their first win of the season, but he won’t be holding the job moving forward. Speaking after the game head coach Brian Flores confirmed Rosen would remain the team’s starter next week against the Bills, according to Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com. Flores had said recently Rosen would be the team’s starter for the rest of the year barring injury, so this isn’t surprising. Still, Fitzpatrick undeniably played much better Sunday. Obviously winning isn’t the top priority for Miami right now so it sounds like they’ll continue to take a long look at the UCLA product, although it won’t be shocking if he gets pulled again soon.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/12/19
Here are Saturday’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Released: OL John Wetzel
Los Angeles Chargers
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Jason Moore
- Waived: TE Stephen Anderson
Los Angeles Rams
- Promoted from practice squad: RB John Kelly
- Waived: WR Nsimba Webster
Miami Dolphins
- Promoted from practice squad: CB Nik Needham
- Waived: S Doug Middleton
Minnesota Vikings
- Promoted from practice squad: LB Cameron Smith
- Waived: WR Davion Davis
New York Giants
- Re-signed: QB Alex Tanney
- Waived: RB Austin Walter
Seattle Seahawks
- Promoted from practice squad: TE Jacob Hollister
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Placed on IR OG Zack Bailey
Latest On Josh Rosen, Dolphins
The Dolphins might be a dumpster fire, but they’re Josh Rosen‘s dumpster fire. Head coach Brian Flores announced recently that barring injury, Rosen will start the team’s final 12 games no matter what. Rosen realizes he has a limited window to make his mark, and acknowledged as such in some interesting comments the other day. “The way I am sort of approaching this year is I feel like I am really just trying out for the team,” Rosen said Wednesday, via Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. “I feel like I am auditioning and I am trying to put my best foot forward and prove to everyone upstairs and coach Flo and Mr. Grier that I am the man moving forward.”
However, Salguero writes that Rosen is mistaken. The UCLA product is “very much in the team’s plans for 2020” whether he plays well or not because of his guaranteed cheap salary for the next couple of years, Salguero writes. But “even if he improves exponentially,” the Dolphins are still going to take a quarterback in the first round next April, he reports. Salguero writes that he has been “told this over and over and over by Dolphins sources,” and that they aren’t wavering from their plan to draft a signal-caller early no matter how well Rosen plays down the stretch.
That being said, that doesn’t mean Rosen won’t have the chance to still be Miami’s quarterback of the future. Salguero thinks that Rosen will enter training camp next year in a battle with whoever the Dolphins draft, and that he’ll have a legit and fair chance to win the starting job. Whoever wins the starting job should be in much better shape than Ryan Fitzpatrick and Rosen were this year, as the team openly tanked and shipped out veteran players left and right.
Salguero writes that the Dolphins are “definitely not” tanking in 2020, and that they “expect to use a sizable portion” of the massive amount of salary cap space they’ve saved up “to field a much more veteran and competitive team.” The Dolphins, of course, sit at 0-4 and while Rosen has shown flashes at times, he hasn’t been consistent enough to warrant too much praise. Obviously he isn’t surrounded by much talent, and he’s already had a ton of passes dropped. The tenth overall pick of the 2018 draft by the Cardinals, Rosen has had a very unusual career-path thus far. It’ll be very interesting to see how the rest of his Dolphins tenure plays out.
Josh Rosen Is Fins' Rest-Of-Season QB1
- Do not look for the 0-4 Dolphins to cut Josh Rosen‘s audition short. Brian Flores said (via the Miami Herald’s Armando Salguero, on Twitter) his quarterback situation is “settled” for the rest of 2019, with Rosen set to keep the job that once belonged to Ryan Fitzpatrick. Rosen played well in the first half against the Chargers, and even though the Dolphins have been outscored 81-0 in four second halves this season, the 2018 No. 10 overall pick does not have to worry about looking over his shoulder.
- It does not sound like one of Rosen’s former Cardinals teammates, Robert Nkemdiche, is ready to return from the Dolphins’ PUP list. But Miami DC Patrick Graham expects the defensive tackle to be back on the field by early November, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Nkemdiche’s 2018 season ended because of an ACL tear.
- Look for running back Mark Walton and tackle Isaiah Prince to see more time for the rebuilding Dolphins soon, with Jackson noting Miami’s staff wants to integrate Walton into its Kenyan Drake–Kalen Ballage rotation and was impressed by some of Prince’s Week 4 start against the Chargers. While Jesse Davis is back at practice this week after missing the Bolts game, pointing to his return at left tackle, the Dolphins figure to get Prince — a sixth-round rookie — plenty of reps this season on the right side as they continue in evaluation mode.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/7/19
Today’s practice squad updates:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: WR Sean Modster
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: DT Greg Gilmore
- Placed on IR: DT Bijhon Jackson
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: OT Antonio Garcia
- Released: DE Dewayne Hendrix
New York Jets
- Signed: DL Bronson Kaufusi
- Released: LB Jamey Mosley
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: WR Robert Davis
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Released: QB Taryn Christion
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: LB Demone Harris
- Released: WR Ishmael Hyman
Dolphins' Comp Pick Could Get Downgraded
- The Dolphins are worried that a day-two pick in the 2020 NFL Draft they’d been banking on might get downgraded, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Miami was projected to receive a third-round compensatory pick for losing tackle Ja’Wuan James to the Broncos in free agency, but that’s now in danger of becoming a fourth-rounder. Jackson cites Nick Korte of Overthecap.com’s analysis, who notes that because James has now missed a handful of games with a knee injury, his contract might be deemed less valuable in the NFL’s complex compensatory pick formula. James signed a massive four-year, $52MM deal this offseason, but he’s been sidelined since Week 1 with a knee injury. He appears to be nearing a return, but if he misses much more time it could have negative implications for his former team. The Dolphins have been stockpiling draft assets as they tank, and they’ve been counting on having four day-two picks next April.