NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/12/20
Here are Saturday’s practice squad moves:
Houston Texans
- Signed: TE Pharaoh Brown, TE Troy Fumagalli
New England Patriots
- Signed: OL Caleb Benenoch
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/12/20
Here are Saturday’s minor moves. Many of these roster decisions involve practice squad promotions. Under the new CBA, teams are permitted to promote two P-squad players without corresponding roster moves per week. Teams can carry 55 players on their rosters for game days and can have up to 48 active.
Arizona Cardinals
- Promoted: RB D.J. Foster
Baltimore Ravens
- Promoted: S Jordan Richards
Chicago Bears
- Promoted: K Cairo Santos
Cincinnati Bengals
- Promoted: DE Amani Bledsoe, S Trayvon Henderson
Cleveland Browns
- Promoted: CB Robert Jackson
Detroit Lions
- Promoted: G Kenny Wiggins, RB Jonathan Williams
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: LB Krys Barnes
- Promoted: LB Tipa Galeai, TE John Lovett
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Promoted: RB Nathan Cottrell, TE Ben Ellefson
Los Angeles Chargers
- Promoted: G Ryan Groy, FB Gabe Nabers
Miami Dolphins
- Released from IR via injury settlement: DB Nate Brooks
Minnesota Vikings
- Promoted: LB Hardy Nickerson
- Signed: DB Nate Meadors
New England Patriots
- Promoted: K Nick Folk, DT Xavier Williams
- Placed on IR: WR Gunner Olszewski
New Orleans Saints
- Promoted: WR Bennie Fowler, DL Margus Hunt
- Released from IR via injury settlement: DE Anthony Lanier
New York Jets
- Signed: QB Mike White
- Promoted: RB Josh Adams, WR Josh Malone
Philadelphia Eagles
- Promoted: DT T.Y. McGill, G Sua Opeta
San Francisco 49ers
- Promoted: C Hroniss Grasu, CB Dontae Johnson
Seattle Seahawks
- Promoted: T Chad Wheeler
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Promoted: WR Cyril Grayson, DB Mazzi Wilkins
Washington Football Team
- Promoted: WR Cam Sims
Pay Raise For Patriots’ Stephon Gilmore
Today’s a good day for Stephon Gilmore. The Patriots have given the cornerback a $5MM pay raise for 2020, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (Twitter link). 
Gilmore, the reigning defensive player of the year, has two years to go his current deal. In 2020, he’s now slated to earn $15.5MM, with an additional $2MM bonus if he repeats as the NFL’s DPOY. For now, his 2021 remains unchanged – he’s scheduled to make $11.5MM in base pay, plus $8MM+ in bonuses.
Gilmore skipped a handful of practices over the summer, leading some to speculate about a potential holdout. Later, we learned that his absence was not contract-related. Gilmore presumably wants a new deal, but he’s not pressing the Patriots to make it happen with two years left on his current pact.
After spending the first five seasons of his career with the Bills, Gilmore joined the Patriots on a five-year, $65MM deal ($31MM guaranteed) prior to the 2017 season. The former first-rounder had an up-and-down campaign during his first season in New England, but he’s delivered some incredible performances ever since.
At the time of signing, Gilmore’s deal made him the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history. Since then, the market has shifted dramatically. Before the pay bump, Gilmore’s average annual salary ranked him No. 11 among CBs, far behind new positional leader Jalen Ramsey.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/11/20
Today’s practice squad moves:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: S T.J. Green
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: DL Joey Ivie, DT Tanzel Smart
- Cut: T Brady Aiello, RB Benny LeMay
Houston Texans
- Signed: QB Alex McGough
New England Patriots
- Cut: OL Corey Levin
Washington Football Team
- Signed K Brett Maher
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/10/20
Here are Thursday’s minor moves:
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: DT Daylon Mack
- Released from IR via injury settlement: DT Treyvon Hester
Houston Texans
- Promoted: RB Scottie Phillips
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Placed on IR: RB Devine Ozigbo
New England Patriots
- Placed on IR: T Yodny Cajuste
New York Giants
- Released from IR via injury settlement: S Montre Hartage
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/9/20
We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad updates here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: DL Michael Dogbe
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: LB Deone Bucannon
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: OL Jordan Devey, DE Chris Slayton
- Released: RB Antonio Williams
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: LB Keandre Jones, G Keaton Sutherland
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: T Greg Senat
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: RB Elijah McGuire, T Eric Smith
Detroit Lions
- Signed: RB Kerrith Whyte
- Released: WR Victor Bolden
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: WR Robert Foster, LB De’Jon Harris
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: S Ibraheim Campbell
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: OT Jaryd Jones-Smith
New England Patriots
- Signed: G Corey Levin
- Released: FB Paul Quessenberry
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: DE Marcus Willoughby
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: DT T.Y. McGill
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: DT Anthony Rush, WR John Ursua
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: LB Cameron Batson, LB Malik Jefferson
Aqib Talib Retires From NFL
Longtime NFL cornerback Aqib Talib is calling it a career. Talib announced his retirement on his talk show, where he’ll be turning his full attention. 
“Aqib Talib is officially retired, and I’m bringing my talents to the booth,” Talib said (Twitter link). “Football gave me so much in life. Once that negative thought crossed my mind, I was like, my heart, my competitive edge … like, I ain’t really in it like that no more… I just wasn’t feeling it no more, honestly.”
Talib, 34, appeared in five games with the Rams last year before suffering a rib injury. Then, just before the October trade deadline, he was shipped to the Dolphins. The deal was effectively a salary dump for Denver – Talib never suited up in Miami, and the Dolphins got a fifth-round pick out of the swap.
Still, there were opportunities for the hard-nosed veteran. Talib claims the Patriots offered him a one-year deal worth up to $6MM to help cover tight ends in specific packages. Ultimately, Talib turned it down, because the fire wasn’t there.
Talib entered the league as a first-round pick of the Buccaneers in 2008 and starred for them up until 2012, when he was shipped to the Patriots in a midseason trade. Talib captured his first Pro Bowl nod with the Pats in 2013 and later won a championship ring with the Broncos in Super Bowl 50. He leaves the game with 462 career tackles, 125 pass breakups and 35 interceptions across 148 games.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/8/20
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: DL Angelo Blackson
- Waived: DL Michael Dogbe
Carolina Panthers
Chicago Bears
- Signed: DE Mario Edwards
- Placed on IR: K Eddy Pineiro
Denver Broncos
- Released from IR via injury settlement: TE Troy Fumagalli
New England Patriots
- Promoted: LB Cassh Maluia, RB J.J. Taylor
- Placed on IR: RB Damien Harris, DL Beau Allen
Seattle Seahawks
- Promoted: WR Penny Hart
- Waived: WR John Ursua
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/7/20
Today’s minor moves:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: TE Colin Thompson
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: CB C.J. Goodwin, LB Justin March, LB Joe Thomas
- Placed on IR: WR Ventell Bryant
New England Patriots
- Placed on IR: DT Beau Allen
New York Jets
- Placed on IR: WR Jeff Smith
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: CB Cre’Von LeBlanc
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: FB Nick Bellore
- Placed on IR: G Phil Haynes
AFC East Notes: Gilmore, Bell, Callaway
Patriots star CB Stephon Gilmore is set to earn $10.5MM this year, which is quite a bargain when considering that the top of the CB market now features average annual values in the $17MM range. But it does not appear that Gilmore is pushing for a new deal at this time, and though he missed five practices in a row last month, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com says the absence was not contract-related.
Now for a few more AFC East items:
- For months, Jarrett Stidham looked like he would be the Patriots‘ starting QB and would serve as the heir apparent to Tom Brady. But now, Reiss says Stidham might actually be the third-stringer behind Cam Newton and Brian Hoyer, and his inability to generate any momentum in training camp has cast his long-term future in doubt.
- In the same piece linked above, Reiss says that Jermaine Eluemunor has definitively seized the Patriots’ RT job.
- Despite plenty of evidence to the contrary, Jets RB Le’Veon Bell says he has no issues with head coach Adam Gase. In his first comments since his publicly questioning Gase’s decision to pull him out of a recent scrimmage, Bell said, “I don’t understand why everybody is trying to put me and Gase against each other. We’re not against each other. I don’t understand why it’s so hard to believe, but we actually like each other” (via Rich Cimini of ESPN.com). Though Bell may not make it past this year’s trading deadline with Gang Green, it is in his and Gase’s best interests to limit the drama and focus on getting Bell back to his old form.
- Former Browns receiver Antonio Callaway recently tried out for the Dolphins, as Albert Breer of SI.com notes (via Twitter). Callaway, a 2018 fourth-round pick, has plenty of promise but has had a very rocky start to his pro career, including two separate suspensions for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. He hooked on with the XFL’s Tampa Bay Vipers in January but suffered a leg injury shortly after signing, and this is the first time we have heard his name in NFL circles since then.
- The Dolphins just waived QB Josh Rosen, and as Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald tweets, the team could now reunite with Jake Rudock, who spent last season on the Miami practice squad.