Patriots To Place Julian Edelman On IR
The Patriots will not have their top pass catcher or defender available against the Bills. While the team traveled to Buffalo without Stephon Gilmore, Julian Edelman will land on IR Saturday.
Edelman has run into knee trouble and underwent surgery this week. While Edelman will be out for at least three weeks — perhaps longer — Bill Belichick expects him to return this season, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).
New England’s already limited passing attack will be down N’Keal Harry as well, creating one of the thinnest Patriot receiving crews in Belichick’s 21-year tenure. Edelman, who posted a career-high 1,117 receiving yards last season, leads the Pats with 315 this year. However, 179 of those came in Week 2 against what turned out to be a bottom-end Seahawks defense. Harry has 19 receptions for 172 yards. Damiere Byrd — the only non-Edelman Patriot with more than 200 receiving yards this season — and Jakobi Meyers are in line to be Cam Newton‘s top receivers against the Bills.
Gilmore suffered a knee injury in practice this week. Although the reigning defensive player of the year contracted the coronavirus, this will be his first missed game this season. Gilmore has not missed any time since the 2017 season.
This injury comes at an interesting time for the former Bills first-round pick. Gilmore landed in trade rumors during draft time and before training camp, and with the Patriots at 2-4 and not looking like a Super Bowl contender for the first time in over a decade, the 30-year-old stalwart’s name has come up again. The Pats gave Gilmore a raise ahead of this season, but considering where the cornerback market has gone, the premier boundary defender will likely push for a new deal in 2021. For what it’s worth, Gilmore rumors did not point to a pre-deadline trade prior to this injury news surfacing.
Patriots Unlikely To Trade Stephon Gilmore?
Before the early afternoon games on Sunday, the Patriots were mentioned as trade deadline buyers. A few hours later, they were clobbered by the 49ers, a sobering defeat that dropped them to 2-4 and made their deadline plans difficult to predict.
There is plenty of speculation that, if New England falls to the Bills this weekend, the Pats will look to trade away some veteran assets in exchange for draft capital. And perhaps the biggest name that could be available in a deal is star cornerback Stephon Gilmore.
The Pats reportedly shopped Gilmore before this year’s draft and during training camp, but then they gave the 2019 Defensive Player of the Year what was called a pay raise in September. As Albert Breer of SI.com writes, however, the team actually just moved $4.5MM from Gilmore’s 2021 salary to his 2020 pay. That indicated to other clubs that 2020 was going to be Gilmore’s last year in Foxborough, and if the Patriots do indeed lose to Buffalo, they should expect their phones to start ringing off the hook. According to Breer, they have already told teams that they would be willing to listen to offers for almost anyone currently on the roster.
That said, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com has not heard of any new developments on the Gilmore front (via Ricky Doyle of NESN.com). While that could certainly change at any time, there is nothing imminent just yet. Plus, talks could be complicated by the knee injury that has put Gilmore’s availability for this weekend’s divisional battle in doubt.
In addition to the high-level draft picks that a Gilmore trade would entail, the acquiring team must also be prepared to pony up a massive extension soon. Gilmore’s contract runs through the 2021 campaign, and even though he is not performing at the same level this year as he was in 2019, he will surely demand a top-of-the-market contract this offseason.
Patriots’ Julian Edelman Has Knee Injury
The Patriots will be without Julian Edelman for at least a little while. After undergoing a procedure for his nagging knee injury, the wide receiver will be out for Sunday’s crucial game against the Bills, at minimum (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). 
Last year, Edelman tallied 100 receptions for 1,117 yards and six touchdowns. Even in his age-34 season, he remains a key player in the Patriots’ offense. Through six games, Edelman has 21 catches for 315 yards — less than his usual pace, though his 15.0 yards per grab represents a career watermark. Edelman opened the year with a solid showing against the Dolphins, followed by an eight-catch, 179-yard performance against the Seahawks. Since then, he’s been limited, but the hope is that the minor surgery will help him get back to his old form.
The timing is less-than-ideal for the Patriots, who have dropped three straight games and fallen to 2-4 on the year. After their 33-6 defeat at the hands of the Niners, they badly need a W against the division-leading Bills.
The Patriots have Edelman under contract through 2021 thanks to the two-year, $15.5MM add-on he signed last year. This year, he counts for roughly $9.7MM against the cap. In ’21, the Pats have him on a more affordable $6.7MM cap figure.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/28/20
Here are Wednesday’s minor moves:
Houston Texans
- Activated from IR: WR Isaiah Coulter
Los Angeles Rams
- Placed on IR: S Terrell Burgess
Minnesota Vikings
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Cameron Dantzler
New England Patriots
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: C James Ferentz
- Placed on IR: LB Brandon Copeland
New Orleans Saints
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Ken Crawley
New York Jets
- Activated from IR: LB Jabari Zuniga
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/28/20
Here are Wednesday’s practice squad decisions:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: RB Khalfani Muhammad, DL Daniel Wise
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: LB Deon Lacey
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: G Ben Braden, CB KeiVarae Russell
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: OL Bryan Witzmann
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: DE Jessie Lemonier, WR Jason Moore
- Released: DT Lee Autry
Los Angeles Rams
- Placed on practice squad IR: CB Donte Deayon
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: C Brett Jones
New England Patriots
- Placed on practice squad IR: TE Jake Burt
New York Jets
- Released: QB David Fales
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: DE Alex Barrett, WR Chris Finke, DB Parnell Motley
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: LB Quinton Bell
Washington Football Team
- Signed: WR Trevor Davis
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/27/20
We’ll keep track of the practice squad moves from the past day here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: CB De’Vante Bausby
Baltimore Ravens
- Released: S Marcus Gilchrist
Carolina Panthers
- Released: CB Josh Hawkins
Chicago Bears
- Signed: WR Dwayne Harris
- Released: DT Terry Beckner
Cincinnati Bengals
- Released: CB Jalen Davis
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: OT Alex Taylor
- Released: DE Jalen Jelks
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: P Hunter Niswander
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Released: T Jared Hilbers
Kansas City Chiefs
- Released: QB Jordan Ta’amu
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: DB Kemah Siverand
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: K Austin MacGinnis
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: CB Marcus Sayles
- Released: LB Cale Garrett
New England Patriots
- Signed: T Jordan Steckler
- Released: G Jordan Roos
New York Giants
- Signed: WR Corey Coleman, DB Montre Hartage, TE Rysen John
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: WR Anthony Johnson
- Released: WR Amara Darboh
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: OL Tony Bergstrom, DL Willie Henry
- Released: CB Brian Allen, OL Cody Conway, DL Adam Shuler
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: OL Paul Adams, LB Will Compton
Washington Football Team
- Released: DE Gerri Green, DB Manny Patterson, LB Donald Payne
Patriots LB Brandon Copeland Done For The Year
The Patriots got steamrolled on Sunday when they lost 33-6 to the 49ers, and now they’ll be without a key depth piece moving forward. Linebacker Brandon Copeland has told teammates he has a torn pec and is done for the season, a source told Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com (Twitter link).
Copeland, signed to a cheap one-year deal back in March, is a core special teamer but has also been playing a real role on defense this year. He’s played a decent chunk of the defensive snaps in a few games, and is credited with four starts. His 2020 season will conclude with 12 tackles, one for a loss.
The Penn product signed with the Ravens as an UDFA back in 2013, but he didn’t make his regular season debut until 2015 with the Lions. After two years in Detroit as a special teamer he tore a pec in the 2017 preseason, and signed with the Jets the following year where he earned a big role on defense. In 16 games and 10 starts with New York in 2018, he racked up five sacks, two passes defended, and eight tackles for loss.
Newton Not Getting Benched
The Patriots took an ugly loss Sunday as they got demolished 33-6 by the visiting 49ers. Things got so bad that Jarrett Stidham came in and replaced Cam Newton somewhat early in the fourth quarter and played the rest of the game. Newton had just 98 yards and three interceptions before exiting, but he isn’t in any danger of losing his starting job at the moment. Head coach Bill Belichick said after the game that Newton was “absolutely” still his starter.
He added that he just wanted to get the youngster Stidham some more game experience by throwing him out there in a contest that was already decided. Newton now has five interceptions and no passing touchdowns over his past two games since returning from catching COVID-19. It’s unclear whether the virus messed with his conditioning or if anything else is ailing him, but his play has dropped off dramatically from his hot start as a member of the Patriots. Whatever the case, it doesn’t sound like Belichick is planning on making a switch under center anytime soon.
Trade Rumors: Giants, Ryan, Fuller
After dealing Markus Golden to the Cardinals, it appears the 1-6 Giants have officially declared themselves sellers at this year’s trade deadline. Though GM Dave Gettleman may be reluctant to trade away veteran talent that could theoretically help Big Blue win a few games — and perhaps save Gettleman’s job in the process — players like Evan Engram, Kevin Zeitler, and Golden Tate could be available, as Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post writes (though Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says the club is unlikely to deal Engram).
2017 second-round DT Dalvin Tomlinson could also be on the move, per Dunleavy. Tomlinson is playing out the last year of his rookie contract, and while he has expressed interest in staying with the Giants long-term, there has been little progress in contract talks.
As we creep closer to the November 3 deadline, let’s round up a few more trade rumors from around the league:
- Big names like Falcons QB Matt Ryan and WR Julio Jones are not going to be moved, as Rapoport writes in the same piece linked above. The same can be said for Jets QB Sam Darnold (though Darnold could be dealt this offseason). Gang Green may be more open to trading DT Quinnen Williams, but thus far interested teams have only offered a single second-round pick. That will not be enough to convince GM Joe Douglas to trade the talented interior defender.
- The 1-5 Vikings look like sellers after they traded Yannick Ngakoue, and Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports says Minnesota is open to dealing S Harrison Smith, TE Kyle Rudolph, and LT Riley Reiff. However, those players are not generating much interest, and the players that rival execs really want — WR Adam Thielen and TE Irv Smith Jr. — seem likely to stay put.
- Another 1-5 outfit, the Texans, also anticipate making a trade or two, per La Canfora. Houston is in desperate need of draft capital, and receivers Brandin Cooks and Will Fuller are coming up in discussions. Sources expect at least one of those players to be moved, and the team is also gauging the market for edge defender Whitney Mercilus.
- One team that could have an eye on the Texans’ receivers is the Patriots, who are once again looking for a pass catcher, as La Canfora writes. One year after the team’s ill-fated trade for Mohamed Sanu, New England wants to get a weapon for QB Cam Newton, and Cooks, Fuller, and Thielen could all be options.
- Washington QB Dwayne Haskins might be on the trade market, but the club hasn’t received much interest. According to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, Haskins could be had for anything more than a sixth-round pick, but Washington hasn’t even gotten an offer that good yet. Although pass rusher Ryan Kerrigan has been the most-discussed Washington trade chip outside of Haskins, Rapoport says Ryan Anderson is more likely to be traded.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/24/20
Here is another spree of Saturday minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Promoted: DL Trevon Coley
Atlanta Falcons
- Promoted: DE Austin Edwards, LB Edmond Robinson
Buffalo Bills
- Placed on IR: LB Tyrel Dodson
Carolina Panthers
- Promoted: G Mike Horton, WR Marken Michel
Chicago Bears
- Moved from IR to reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Michael Joseph
Cincinnati Bengals
- Activated from IR: DT Mike Daniels
- Promoted: CB Winston Rose
- Waived: DT Kahlil McKenzie
Dallas Cowboys
- Activated from IR: OL Cameron Erving
- Promoted: T Jordan Mills, C Adam Redmond
- Placed on IR: T Brandon Knight
Green Bay Packers
- Activated from IR: LB Kamal Martin
- Promoted: S Henry Black, G Ben Braden, RB Dexter Williams, DL Billy Winn
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Activated from IR: RB Devine Ozigbo
- Promoted: S Doug Middleton, TE Eric Saubert
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: RB Chris Thompson
Kansas City Chiefs
- Promoted: OL Danny Isidora, WR Marcus Kemp
- Placed on IR: DL Khalen Saunders
Las Vegas Raiders
- Promoted: CB Dylan Mabin
New England Patriots
- Promoted: LB Tashawn Bower, DT Nick Thurman
New Orleans Saints
- Promoted: WR Austin Carr, OL Will Clapp, WR Juwan Johnson
New York Jets
- Activated from IR: OL Cameron Clark
- Promoted: K/P Sergio Castillo, LB Bryce Hager
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Promoted: FB Trey Edmunds, LB Jayrone Elliott
San Francisco 49ers
- Promoted: S Johnathan Cyprien, S Jared Mayden
Seattle Seahawks
- Promoted: LB Ray-Ray Armstrong
Tennessee Titans
- Activated from IR: S Dane Cruikshank
- Promoted: LB Darren Bates, OL David Quessenberry
Washington Football Team
- Promoted: WR Jeff Badet, WR Tony Brown, DT Devaroe Lawrence
- Placed on IR: OL Saahdiq Charles, WR Antonio Gandy-Golden

