Today’s practice squad updates:
Dallas Cowboys
Jacksonville Jaguars
New York Giants
New Orleans Saints
Miami Dolphins
Washington Redskins
Jonathan Stewart‘s season might not be over. The Giants designated the running back to return to practice, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. 
A foot injury landed Stewart on injured reserve in September and the Giants have been cautiously optimistic about getting him back on the field. The Giants have a three-week use-it-or-lose-it window to activate the veteran starting today. If he is not placed on the 53-man roster by Dec. 6, he will be barred from playing for the Giants this year.
Of course, the Giants aren’t playing for much at this juncture of the year. Even after their win against the 49ers, the G-Men are 2-7 and likely ticketed for another high draft pick.
Rookie Saquon Barkley continues to impress and Stewart didn’t see a whole lot of work before his injury, so it will be interesting to see how he’s used when/if he comes back. In nine games, Barkley has averaged 4.5 yards per carry while adding 62 catches for 530 yards and seven touchdowns in total. In Stewart’s three games before the injury, he logged six carries for 17 yards.
The Giants have Stewart under contract through next year, but they can save $2.625MM by releasing him with just $250K in dead money. This could be Stewart’s chance to cement his place on the Giants’ 2019 roster and avoid going through free agency as a 32-year-old running back.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Fires are raging through California right now, and they could wind up having an impact on the NFL slate this week. The Rams’ practice facility is very close to some of the fires, but their game against the Seahawks is expected to go on without interruption. That may not be the case for the 49ers, who host the Giants on Monday night.
“Postponement of Monday night’s game against the Giants could potentially happen”, according to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk. According to Florio, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan acknowledged that postponement or relocation were very real possibilities, and said the team had to cut practice short on Friday because of the air quality. It’s a situation that bears watching over the course of the weekend.
The Giants have cut bait with one of their offseason signings. Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports that New York has released offensive lineman Patrick Omameh. The team has promoted receiver/returner Quadree Henderson from the practice squad to take the open roster spot.
After having spent the previous two seasons with the Jaguars, Omameh inked a three-year, $15MM contract with the Giants during the offseason. The 28-year-old proceeded to start six of his seven games this season, but he’s disappointed during his stints in the lineup. Pro Football Focus ranks the Michigan product 61st out of 75 eligible guards. Today’s move will leave the Giants with $3.5 million in dead money on next year’s cap.
Omameh’s roster spot was clearly in jeopardy, especially after he was benched in favor of veteran John Greco. The team also recently brought in former Rams guard Jamon Brown, and he’s expected to slide into the starting lineup for Monday’s game against the 49ers. The Giants will presumably roll with Brian Mihalik and Evan Brown as their two reserve linemen.
Henderson, an undrafted rookie out of Pittsburgh, spent the entire preseason with the Steelers. He had a brief stint with the Giants earlier this season, returning five kicks (for 112 yards) and six punts (for 47 yards) in two games.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
The Giants have yet to engage in extension negotiations with pending free agent safety Landon Collins, as he explained to Ryan Dunleavy of NJ.com. Collins admitted to Ralph Vacchiano of SNY that he’s not sure the Giants even want to re-sign him after he was dangled in trade talks last week.
“It surprised the hell out of me,” Collins said of being mentioned in trade rumors. “It was a big eye-opener. If they’re rebuilding, they can rebuild without me. And I’m so young still, but they could still try to find younger and put the money elsewhere, into whatever they need to put it into to rebuild their team.”
New York dealt both defensive tackle Damon Harrison and cornerback Eli Apple prior to last week’s trade deadline, but ultimately held onto Collins despite reported interest from multiple clubs. The Giants were looking for a second-round pick in exchange for the 24-year-old defensive back, and while the Chiefs, Packers, and 49ers all inquired on Collins’ availability, none were apparently willing to meet Big Blue’s asking price.
Although they haven’t talked about a new contract for Collins, the Giants still seemingly have every intention on keeping him in their 2019 plans. Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reported earlier this week that New York will deploy the franchise tag on Collins next spring if it fails to ink him to a long-term agreement. Collins, who will almost surely aim to top Eric Berry‘s $13MM annual average (the highest among safeties) in 2019, could be retained via the franchise tag at a one-year cost of ~$12MM, but he won’t be pleased if New York does opt to use that tender, as he told Vacchiano.
“Honestly I don’t want it,” Collins said of the tag. “I know what type of player I am. I’m going to bring forth hard-work, talent, play-making abilities to the game each and every week. Why would I want to play under a one-year deal? If something happens I’m not guaranteed. And even though I’m guaranteed that for a year, I’m still not guaranteed.”
If the Giants reverse course and don’t use the franchise tag on Collins (and don’t come together on an extension), he’d be entering a free agent market that includes a stellar crop of available safeties. The safety market, of course, was incredibly stagnant this past offseason, and Collins would be hitting free agent alongside options such as Earl Thomas, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Lamarcus Joyner, Adrian Amos, and the group of safeties that were forced to ink one-year deals in 2018 (Tre Boston, Eric Reid, Kenny Vaccaro, George Iloka, and Tyrann Mathieu).
Collins, a second-round pick in the 2015 draft, has been a full-time starter for the Giants since entering the league. A two-time Pro Bowler, Collins has 62 tackles, four passes defensed, and a forced fumble this season while grading as the NFL’s 13th-best safety, per Pro Football Focus.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:
Buffalo Bills
Minnesota Vikings
New England Patriots
New York Giants
San Francisco 49ers
Today’s practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
Cleveland Browns
Detroit Lions
Los Angeles Chargers
New England Patriots
New York Giants
New York Jets
Seattle Seahawks