Minor NFL Transactions: 11/28/17
Here are today’s minor moves.
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed off Saints’ practice squad: LB Gabe Martin
- Signed: RB Bronson Hill
- Waived: S Harlan Miller
- Waived: G/T Vinston Painter
Chicago Bears
- Waived: WR Tre McBride
Denver Broncos
- Released from IR: TE A.J. Derby
Indianapolis Colts
- Claimed: TE Ross Travis
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: TE Orson Charles
New England Patriots
- Signed off Ravens’ Practice Squad: LB Nicholas Grigsby
- Signed: OL Jason King
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: WR Isaac Whitney
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: DT Rodney Coe
- Waived: DT Garrison Smith
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: WR Bobo Wilson
- Signed: FB Alan Cross
- Waived: TE Luke Stocker
NFL Workout Updates: 11/27/17
Here are today’s NFL workouts, with all credit going to Adam Caplan of Sirius XM unless otherwise noted.
Detroit Lions
New England Patriots
- DT Marcus Hardison (Mike Reiss of ESPN.com) (Twitter link)
New York Giants
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WR’s Corey Brown, Jeremy Ross; DT Khyri Thornton; CB Darryl Morris; P Jeff Locke (Twitter link)
Philadelphia Eagles
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QB Matt Simms; TE’s Gabe Holmes, Jevoni Robinson (Twitter link)
Practice Squad Updates: 11/27/17
Here are today’s practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: LB Kevin Snyder
- Cut: LB Connor Harris
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: CB Lorenzo Doss
- Waived: OL Will Pericak
Chicago Bears
- Signed: DB Alex Carter
- Waived: WR Mario Alford
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: DL Josh Tupou
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: DB Jacob Hagen
Detroit Lions
- Signed: WR Jace Billingsley, DB Stefan McClure
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: DT Jeremy Liggins
- Waived: G Ian Silberman
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: DE Francis Kallon
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: LB Brooks Ellis, WR Jaelen Strong
- Waived: DL Marcus Hardison
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: TE Johnny Mundt, DB Marcus Sayles
- Waived: OL Jeremiah Poutasi
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: RB De’Veon Smith
New England Patriots
- Waived: DT Mike Purcell
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: FB Kyle Coleman, LB Kache Palacio
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: WR Jake Lampman, T Givens Price, CB David Rivers
Patriots To Place Martellus Bennett On IR
Martellus Bennett‘s controversial exit from Green Bay led to two games with the Patriots. Those look like the only two Bennett will play for New England this season.
Bennett has been battling a shoulder injury all season, and the Patriots are set to place the veteran tight end on IR, Jim McBride of the Boston Globe tweets.
Ian Rapoport of NFL.com also reports (on Twitter) the tight end is headed for IR and surgery, noting a hamstring problem may be the bigger reason behind this move. Rapoport adds Bennett will have shoulder surgery, at long last.
Bennett has been dealing with a tear in one of his hamstrings, Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald tweets, noting he’d planned to play through the rotator cuff and labrum problems he’d dealt with in his shoulder since last season.
The Packers waived Bennett earlier this month, and the 30-year-old pass-catcher accused the team of attempting to convince him to avoid having a surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff he said worsened this season. He passed a Pats physical, clearing the way for the defending Super Bowl champions’ waiver claim, and played Week 10 and Week 11, catching six passes for 53 yards. With his season likely being finished, Bennett will close with 286 air yards and no touchdowns.
After a season in which Bennett became the team’s primary tight end after a Rob Gronkowski injury, the Patriots are in better shape at tight end. They still have Gronkowski and Dwayne Allen healthy.
Bennett also said earlier this season he would likely retire at its conclusion. There are two years remaining on Bennett’s deal. Bennett being on the Pats’ roster as of March 14 triggers a $2MM bonus, so the Pats will make a decision on the pass-catcher before free agency, Howe tweets.
Pats DB/ST Nate Ebner Placed On IR
Patriots special teamer Nate Ebner suffered a knee injury on a fake punt in Week 12 and has officially been placed on IR, according to Jim McBride of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). 
Ebner, 28, is in the midst of his sixth season in New England, but he’s never played a large role on the defensive side of the ball. Although he’s appeared in 82 career games, Ebner has never made a start, as most of his action has come on special teams. In nine games this season, Ebner hadn’t played a single defensive snap, but had seen time on 60% of the Patriots’ special teams plays.
Scheduled to become a free agent at season’s end, Ebner ranked as one of the NFL’s best special teamers in 2016, per Pro Football Focus. As a whole, New England is typically excellent on special teams: they’ve ranked as a top-five unit by DVOA in six of the past seven seasons.
Brandin Cooks Wants To Stay With Pats
Brandin Cooks has made the successful transition from Drew Brees‘ top deep threat to Tom Brady‘s, not that it was in too much doubt this could happen. As a result, Cooks would like to extend his Patriots stay far into the future. The fourth-year wide receiver said, via Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald, he would “absolutely” like to play the rest of his career in New England. Multiple obvious caveats come with this statement, though. The first being Cooks’ contract runs through the 2018 season, via the fifth-year option the Pats picked up. After that, it will probably take a high-end WR1 contract to keep Cooks in the Boston area. And the Patriots have not exactly been the kind of team that doles those out. Secondly, Brady’s age naturally makes it a year-to-year proposition the Patriots have a dominant passing game. But for now, Cooks likes where he’s stationed. He’s on pace for another 1,100-plus-yard season, with the 786 he’s at actually putting him on track for a career-high figure.
- The Dolphins might have to again turn to Matt Moore on Sunday. Jay Cutler remains in concussion protocol. But the team hopes its starter is cleared Friday or Saturday, with Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reporting (on Twitter) Cutler is on track to face the Patriots. Cutler hasn’t been able to practice much this week, but Adam Gase said he would feel comfortable putting the 34-year-old passer out there because he’s a veteran, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald notes. Moore has played well in relief of Cutler twice this season but bombed in a 40-0 loss to the Ravens as a starter. Miami’s backup did fare better as a starter in 2016, however.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/22/17
Here are today’s practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: WR Alonzo Russell
Chicago Bears
- Signed: WR Demarcus Ayers
Denver Broncos
- Signed: OLB Stansly Maponga
Detroit Lions
- Signed: CB Adairius Barnes
New England Patriots
- Signed: WR Bernard Reedy
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/21/17
Here are today’s minor moves.
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: WR Carlton Agudosi
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: S Justin Currie
- Signed: DE Tyrone Holmes
- Placed on IR: DT Jamie Meder
Houston Texans
- Waived: QB Josh Johnson (according to agent Doug Hendrickson, on Twitter)
- Signed: WR Cobi Hamilton
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived: TE Johnny Mundt
New England Patriots
- Signed off Bills’ practice squad: OLB Eric Lee
Washington Redskins
- Placed on IR: G Shaun Lauvao
NFL Workout Updates: 11/21/17
Here’s the workout news from Tuesday.
Buffalo Bills
- DT Stefan Charles (per Mike Rodak of ESPN.com, on Twitter)
Houston Texans
Jacksonville Jaguars
- LB Ben Boulware, LB Carl Bradford, LB Brooks Ellis, LS Derek Hart, WR Lucky Whitehead (per NFL reporter Howard Balzer, on Twitter)
New England Patriots
- LB Darnell Sankey, WR R.J. Shelton (via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com, on Twitter)
New York Jets
- CB Will Likely, TE Gabe Holmes, S Kelcie McCray, WR Eric Rogers (Twitter links via Wilson and ESPN.com’s Adam Caplan)
Patriots Cut Cassius Marsh
The Patriots have released defensive end Cassius Marsh. The move did not come with much warning, though Marsh played just two snaps against the Raiders on Sunday. To take his place, the Patriots have signed fellow DE Eric Lee off of the Bills’ practice squad. 
The Patriots acquired defensive end Marsh from the Seahawks in September. In the deal, New England shipped a fifth-round pick and the seventh-round pick it already acquired from Seattle in exchange for sending cornerback Justin Coleman back to the Seahawks. Marsh was expected to provide depth at defensive end as well as special teams help, but his role dwindled over time. In nine games with the Pats, he recorded 16 total tackles and one sack.
He is signed through the year at an affordable rate of $690K, so he would be a low-cost addition for another club on waivers.