One team made a practice squad addition on Saturday.
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: QB J.T. Barrett
- Cut: DB Chris Lammons
- Teddy Bridgewater is also in a walk year, and the timing of the Saints‘ trade to acquire the Jets reserve passer suggests they’ll be interested in attempting to convince the former first-round pick to stay as Drew Brees‘ successor. But next year’s quarterback market doesn’t look to be as strong as this year’s, and Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com doesn’t expect Bridgewater to be with the Saints in 2019. Bridgewater signed with the Jets for one year and $6MM, with an incentive package that can now be classified as NLTBE. Prior to any major cuts, Bridgewater and Tyrod Taylor stand to be the centerpiece attractions in the 2019 free agent quarterback class. Katzenstein expects Bridgewater to wait and sign for far more money than the Saints, with Brees still operating in high gear, will be willing to pay him.
Ted Ginn‘s season may not be over. The Saints view the veteran wide receiver as a player who has a good chance of returning from injured reserve.
Sean Payton said (via NOLA.com’s Josh Katzenstein) the possibility of Ginn coming back this season is “very realistic.” A Ginn knee injury prompted the Saints to move him to IR, but he’s already undergone arthroscopic surgery, Katzenstein notes.
Ginn played through the injury early in the season before inflammation shelved him, and he now won’t be able to return until Week 15. The Saints can attempt to rely on Cameron Meredith and Tre’Quan Smith as their top Michael Thomas sidekicks, but Ginn played well in this role a season ago. New Orleans has not brought anyone off IR yet, making the 33-year-old wideout a logical choice to be one of the two players that resurfaces in 2018.
The 12th-year veteran posted 787 yards last season, his most since 2008, and caught four touchdowns. He’s in the second season of a three-year, $11MM deal. With the Saints having returned to the playoffs last year and being on a four-game win streak, it would be shocking if they weren’t in position to contend for the NFC South title again this season, so veteran IR-return candidates would make sense for the reigning division champs.
Ted Ginn‘s season may be over. On Thursday, the Saints placed the wide receiver on injured reserve, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
Ginn missed the Saints’ Week 5 win over the Redskins with a knee injury, apparently, did not recover much over the Week 6 bye. It’s a bad blow for the Saints, but they got by just fine against Washington thanks to rookie Tre’Quan Smith, Cameron Meredith, and the return of pass-catching tailback Mark Ingram. The Saints would prefer to have Ginn on the field, but they certainly have enough weapons to survive.
Ginn, 33, never quite justified his selection at No. 9 overall in 2007, but he has been a valuable receiver and return man since joining the Saints in 2017. Last year, the speedster had a career-high 787 yards off of 53 catches, plus four touchdowns. In four games this year, Ginn had 12 grabs for 135 yards and two touchdowns.
Ginn, in theory, could return after eight weeks of inaction, but that will all depend on his recovery and whether or not he needs surgery. The Saints’ first game without the veteran will come on Sunday against a resurgent Ravens defense.
The Saints re-signed veteran offensive lineman Michael Ola, according to a league source who spoke with Josh Katzenstein of the The Times-Picayune. The deal may be an indication the Saints will be without a lineman or two this week.
Left tackle Terron Armstead (knee) and left guard Andrus Peat (head) were both limited in practice on Wednesday, so the status of one or both players may be in doubt for Sunday’s late slate tilt against the Ravens. The Saints, ideally, do not want to shuffle a front five that has been among the league’s best this year.
The 4-1 Saints lead the league in scoring with 36 points per game and the O-Line has allowed quarterback Drew Brees to get sacked just eight times so far. Meanwhile, Alvin Kamara and the recently activated Mark Ingram have been the beneficiaries of wide running lanes, resulting in a team average of 4.1 yards per carry.
Ola, 30, was with the Saints this offseason and was a backup with the team in Week 1. This time, he’s hoping to take off his coat and stay a while.
Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:
Cleveland Browns
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Da’Mari Scott, LB Xavier Woodson-Luster
- Waived/injured: LB James Burgess
New Orleans Saints
- Waived: CB Demetri Goodson
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: CB Dexter McDougle
- Waived/injured: DT Destiny Vaeao
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: LB Devante Bond
- Released: WR Freddie Martino
We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: OL Jake Eldrenkamp, WR Blake Jackson
Green Bay Packers
- Cut: WR DeAngelo Yancey
Houston Texans
- Signed: RB Josh Ferguson
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: WR K.J. Brent
- Cut: QB Phillip Walker
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: CB Craig James
- Cut: CB Jalen Myrick
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: DB Chris Campbell, WR Shane Wynn
- Cut: DB Darius Hillary, WR Tanner McEvoy
New York Giants
- Signed: WR Kalif Raymond, DE Myles Humphrey
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: LB B.J. Bello, DT Winston Craig
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: WR Keenan Reynolds
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: OL Ruben Holcomb, CB David Rivers
- Cut: OT Jarron Jones, RB Dare Ogunbowale
Today’s minor moves:
Detroit Lions
- Promoted from practice squad: LB Trevor Bates
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: DT Jay Bromley
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: WR Rashad Greene
- Placed on IR: WR Jaydon Mickens
San Francisco 49ers
- Promoted from practice squad: TE Ross Dwelley
- Waived: DL Ryan Delaire
- The Saints added two voidable years to quarterback Teddy Bridgewater‘s contract after acquiring him from the Jets earlier this year, and Nick Underhill of the Advocate (Twitter link) has provided a few more details on the restructure. Bridgewater’s deal will automatically void 10 days prior to the start of the 2019 league year next March, so his 2019 and 2020 base salaries — each of which is valued at $22MM — will never factor into New Orleans’ books. However, once Bridgewater’s contract voids, his future signing bonus proration will immediately accelerate onto the Saints’ salary cap, meaning the club will take on an extra $2.71MM next spring.
Here’s the latest from the workout circuit, courtesy of veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer:
Arizona Cardinals
- WR Rishard Matthews (story), K Daniel Carlson, K Kai Forbath, QB Malik Zaire
Baltimore Ravens
- LB Alvin Jones
Buffalo Bills
- WR Aaron Burbridge, WR Bennie Fowler, QB Landry Jones, P Drew Kaser, P Brad Nortman
Carolina Panthers
- LB Thurston Armbrister, LB Brandon Chubb, LB Josh Keyes
Cincinnati Bengals
- TE Blake Bell, TE Khari Lee, TE Clive Walford
Cleveland Browns
- OT Brant Weiss
Detroit Lions
- LB Garret Dooley, LB John Timu, LB Aaron Wallace, DT Jamie Meder, DT David Parry
Green Bay Packers
- RB Tra Carson (signed to practice squad), WR Keon Hatcher (signed to PS), WR Devin Lucien, WR Teo Redding
Houston Texans
Indianapolis Colts
- S Mike Mitchell (signed, story)
Jacksonville Jaguars
- RB Jamaal Charles (signed, story), RB Charcandrick West, LS Jon Condo, LS Matt Overton, LS Zach Triner, TE Pharoah McKever (signed to PS), WR Breshad Perriman, QB Josh Woodrum
Kansas City Chiefs
- LB Nate Orchard, LB Gimel President, LB Frank Zombo (signed, story)
New Orleans Saints
- WR Quan Bray, WR Rashad Greene, WR Jordan Leslie, WR Brandon Reilly, WR Lucky Whitehead, WR Shane Wynn, CB Chris Campbell, LB Kennan Gilchrist, LB Manase Hungalu, LB Greer Martini, DB Lardarius Webb
Oakland Raiders
- LB Josh Carraway, DE Anthony Lanier, CB Quinten Rollins
San Francisco 49ers
- RB Matthew Dayes (signed to PS), RB Andre Ellington, RB Jeremy McNichols, RB Shane Vereen, RB Charcandrick West (story), QB Jack Heneghan
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- OG Kofi Amichia, WR Jace Billingsley, Fred Brown, Corey Coleman, Damoun Patterson, Austin Proehl, QB Joe Callahan, OT De’Ondre Wesley
Tennessee Titans
- LB B.J. Bello, LB Nigel Harris (signed to PS), LB Tegray Scales