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.
No Offset Language In Boone's Vikes Deal
- No offset language existed in Alex Boone‘s Vikings contract, Joel Corry of CBS Sports notes (on Twitter), so Minnesota will be stuck with $3.5MM in dead money on this year’s cap. Terms of Boone’s Cardinals deal are not yet disclosed, but it won’t go toward helping the Vikings offset dead money remaining on the four-year, $26.8MM contract they authorized for Boone last year.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/4/17
NFL teams began forming their practice squads on Sunday, but they’re tinkering with them today as they will throughout the season. We’ll keep track of Monday’s practice squad moves here:
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: TE MyCole Pruitt, G Will Pericak, LB Zach Vigil
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: CB Sojourn Shelton, G Cole Toner
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: LB B.J. Bello, OL Travis Averill
Detroit Lions
- Signed: DE Earl Okine
- Cut: DT Derrick Lott
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: CB Stanley Jean-Baptiste, OLB/DE Carroll Phillips
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: DT Gabe Wright
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: C Cornelius Edison, OT Cedrick Lang
New England Patriots
- Signed: WR Demarcus Ayers
New York Jets
- Signed: CB Terrell Sinkfield, DL Patrick Gamble, OLB Geoff Gray, WR JoJo Natson, OLB Freddie Bishop, RB Marcus Murphy
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: C James Stone, DE Max Valles
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: QB Trevone Boykin, WR David Moore, LB Austin Calitro, OT Jarron Jones
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: WR Zach Pascal
Washington Redskins
- Signed: QB Alek Torgersen, WR Dres Anderson, OL Anthony Fabiano
Vikings Made Claim For Michael Schofield
- A two-position starter for the Broncos during the past two seasons, Michael Schofield attracted widespread interest on the waiver wire. The Chargers won out due to their position in the waiver hierarchy, but the Lions, Redskins, Vikings and Saints also put in claims on the fourth-year guard/tackle, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. A 2014 third-rounder, Schofield started for the Broncos at right tackle during their Super Bowl season and lined up at right guard throughout 2016. While Denver didn’t sport particularly effective O-lines during those seasons, Schofield clearly has believers out there.
Vikings Outbid Others For Sloter
- The Vikings gave quarterback Kyle Sloter an above-average salary of $20K/week to join the practice squad, allowing them to outbid the Broncos, Redskins, Eagles, Falcons, and others, Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press tweets. Sloter excelled in the preseason, but the Broncos went in a different direction to solidify their quarterback void.
Sunday NFL Transactions: NFC North
Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four NFC North teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions for the Bears, Lions, Packers, and Vikings are noted below.
Additionally, as of 12:00pm CT today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.
Here are Sunday’s NFC North transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:
Chicago Bears
- Claimed:
- LS Andrew DePaola
- WR Tre McBride
- RB Taquan Mizzell
- Cut:
- TE Ben Braunecker
- RB Jeremy Langford
- LS Jeff Overbaugh
Detroit Lions
- Claimed:
- G Zac Kerin
- T Brian Mihalik
- Cut:
- T Cornelius Lucas
- G Brandon Thomas
- Signed to practice squad:
- LB Thurston Armbrister
- CB Adairius Barnes
- WR Jace Billingsley
- WR Dontez Ford
- C Leo Koloamatangi
- DT Derrick Lott
- S Rolan Milligan
- T Storm Norton
- DE Pat O’Connor
- TE Cole Wick
Green Bay Packers
- Claimed:
- DE Chris Odom
- Placed on IR:
- OL Don Barclay
- Signed to practice squad:
- G Kofi Amichia
- CB Donatello Brown
- QB Joe Callahan
- WR Michael Clark
- LB Reggie Gilbert
- DT Izaah Lunsford
- LB Derrick Mathews
- G/T Adam Pankey
- S Jermaine Whitehead
- WR DeAngelo Yancey
Minnesota Vikings
- Claimed:
- TE Blake Bell
- Waived/injured:
- TE Bucky Hodges
- Signed to practice squad:
- DT Dylan Bradley
- TE Kyle Carter
- RB Bronson Hill
- WR Cayleb Jones
- LB Elijah Lee
- DE Ifeadi Odenigbo
- CB Horace Richardson
- QB Kyle Sloter
Vikings’ 53-Man Roster Set
The Vikings made their mandatory cuts to pare their roster down to the 53-man ceiling. Here are the rearrangements Minnesota made to set its regular-season roster.
Cut:
- G Willie Beavers
- WR Mortiz Böhringer
- G Alex Boone (story)
- DT Dylan Bradley
- CB Sam Brown
- TE Kyle Carter
- DT Jarrod Clements
- OL T.J. Clemmings (story)
- LB Noor Davis
- T Reid Fragel
- WR Isaac Fruechte
- QB Taylor Heinicke (waived/injured)
- RB Bronson Hill
- WR Cayleb Jones
- G Zac Kerin
- K Marshall Koehn
- LB Elijah Lee
- QB Mitch Leidner
- DE Sam McCaskill
- RB Terrell Newby
- DE Ifeadi Odenigbo
- CB Jabari Price
- TE Josiah Price
- CB Horace Richardson
- CB Tre Roberson
- LB Edmond Robinson
- WR R.J. Shelton (waived/injured)
- T Austin Shepherd
- CB Terrell Sinkfield
- DT Will Sutton (story)
- P Taylor Symmank
- G Freddie Tagaloa
- S Jack Tocho
- TE Nick Truesdell
Placed on IR:
- DL Datone Jones (story)
Placed on Reserve/PUP list:
- QB Teddy Bridgewater (story)
Placed on Reserve/NFI list:
Placed on Reserve/Suspended list:
- WR Michael Floyd (story)
Vikings To Release OL Alex Boone
In a surprising development, the Vikings will release starting offensive guard Alex Boone, according to Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
Boone was one of Minnesota’s most prized free agent additions just one year ago, as the former 49ers lineman agreed to a four-year, $26.8MM deal with the Vikings last spring. That deal contained $10MM in guaranteed money, a high price to pay for only a single season of work.
Boone’s contract does not contain offsets, meaning Minnesota won’t gain any salary relief if he signs elsewhere (Twitter link). The Vikings asked Boone to accept a paycut, but he refused, tweets Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune. Minnesota will take on $3.4MM in immediate dead money by cutting Boone.
A 14-game starter for the Vikings in 2016, Boone ranked as the NFL’s No. 37 guard among 75 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus, which assigned him high marks for his pass blocking but poor scores in the run game. With Boone gone, Minnesota figures to turn the interior of its offensive line over to some combination of Joe Berger, Nick Easton, and rookie Pat Elflein.
Vikings Place DE Datone Jones On IR
The Vikings are placing defensive end Datone Jones on injured reserve due to his shoulder injury, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). He’ll likely then reach an injury settlement with the team, allowing him to explore other options.
Recently, head coach Mike Zimmer indicated that Jones was on the roster bubble.
“At times he’s had a good stretch and then stretches where he reverts back,” Zimmer said in late August.
The Vikings gave Jones a one-year, $3.75MM deal in March. The pact included a $1.6MM signing bonus, so it’s a deal that the front office regrets. On the plus side, the team saved $2.19MM by cutting ties with him now.
Jones spent the first four years of his career with the rival Packers. A first round pick in 2013, he never fulfilled his promise in Green Bay. Last year, Pro Football Focus ranked him No. 70 out of 110 qualified edge defenders.
Vikings To Acquire Tramaine Brock
The Vikings are set to acquire cornerback Tramaine Brock from the Seahawks, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com. Minnesota will send a seventh-round pick to Seattle, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, and it’ll be a conditional selection in 2018, per Shawn Zobel of Zobel Sports Consulting (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN) and Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press.
This continues an action-packed 2017 for Brock, who will join his third team of the year when the trade goes through. The 49ers released Brock in April on the heels of a domestic violence arrest, one that led to a felony charge, but the case was dismissed Aug. 9. As many as 12 teams – including the Vikings – then courted Brock, who joined the Seahawks on a $980K deal on Aug. 16. Seattle acquired fellow cornerback Justin Coleman from the Patriots on Friday, helping to make Brock expendable in the team’s eyes.
While Brock’s off-field incident damaged his stock, he has been a superb on-field performer at times during his seven-year career. As such, this looks like a worthwhile move for the Vikings, who were in need of a quality complement to No. 1 corner Xavier Rhodes. Brock will serve as one if he continues to post production along the lines of his recent output. The 29-year-old started in all 31 appearances from 2015-16, including each of the the 49ers’ 16 games last season, and has combined for nine interceptions since 2013. He picked off one pass in 2016, finished second among 49ers defenders in snaps (1,102) and graded a respectable 21st in performance among Pro Football Focus’ 110 qualified corners (Rhodes was 29th).