Golden Tate Not Eager To Leave Giants
- For the first time since Week 14 of last season, Alshon Jeffery will suit up for a game. The Eagles did not give Jeffery an injury designation going into Week 10, putting the ninth-year wideout on track to make his season debut against the Giants. The Eagles shopped Jeffery for several months, but given the injury-prone receiver’s contract, the team was essentially forced to hang onto the 30-year-old target and wait for his recovery from a Lisfranc injury. Jeffery also battled a calf ailment this season. Jeffery will join previously injured cogs Jalen Reagor, Miles Sanders and Dallas Goedert in Philadelphia’s lineup. It will be easily the healthiest Eagles skill-position group this season.
- The Giants deactivated Golden Tate for their Week 9 game, citing his recent effort and performance. They shopped Tate ahead of the trade deadline, and Tate’s wife expressed frustration about her husband’s role on Instagram. Tate liked another Instagram post championing a change of scenery for him. The 11th-year wide receiver, however, said Friday he did not want to be traded. “No, I wouldn’t say I was trying to get traded,” Tate said, via the New York Post’s Paul Schwartz (on Twitter). “I love this organization, to be honest. I love everything it stands for, and I want to do my part and help us win any way I can.” Waiving Tate would cost the Giants a few million in dead money, but the team is expected to cut or trade him in 2021.
- Patrick Graham has impressed many around the NFL with his work leading the Giants’ defense this season, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com notes. The former Dolphins DC and Patriots assistant may soon receive looks for HC opportunities. While the Giants’ defense ranks 22nd in DVOA, that is up from 28th last season. New York entered the season thin at cornerback and at edge rusher but still has one of the league’s best defensive lines.
- The Giants worked out two former second-round cornerback picks Friday. Former Florida teammates Quincy Wilson and Teez Tabor reunited for a Giants workout. The Jets acquired Wilson from the Colts earlier this year but cut him. Tabor has not played since the 2018 season.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/13/20
Here are Friday’s practice squad decisions:
Dallas Cowboys
- Placed on practice squad reserve/COVID-19 list: DT Walter Palmore
New England Patriots
- Placed on practice squad injured list: OL Caleb Benenoch
- Released: TE Dylan Cantrell, QB Jake Dolegala
New York Giants
- Signed: OT Kyle Murphy
- Waived: TE Eric Tomlinson, G Kenny Wiggins
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/13/20
Here are Friday’s minor moves:
Buffalo Bills
- Placed on IR: LB Del’Shawn Phillips
Carolina Panthers
- Placed on IR: RB Reggie Bonnafon, DE Stephen Weatherly
Miami Dolphins
- Promoted: DT Benito Jones, TE Chris Myarick
New Orleans Saints
- Activated from IR: LB Chase Hansen
New York Giants
- Promoted: DB Montre Hartage, RB Alfred Morris
Giants To Place Devonta Freeman On IR
The Giants will place running back Devonta Freeman on injured reserve, according to a source who spoke with NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). If all goes well, he’ll be able to return after the minimum three-week period. 
Freeman joined the Giants on a one-year deal worth up to $3MM in late September. The deal came with a base value of just $1.07MM (prorated to $944K), however, with $280K in per-game active roster bonuses and other incentives. Freeman will miss out on nearly $900K in pay while he heals up, and possibly more depending on how things go from here.
The 28-year-old has averaged just 3.2 yards per carry with the G-Men and it’s been a while since he’s shown his Pro Bowl form. Injuries limited Freeman to just two games in 2018, and he averaged a meager 3.6 yards per carry in 14 games last season. That underwhelming performance led to him being ranked 41st among 43 running backs in success rate, per Football Outsiders, and his divorce from the Falcons.
The Giants have done about as well as you’d expect without Saquon Barkley on the field, though Freeman was hoping for a stronger showing given the opportunity. The 2-7 Giants will try their hand against the Eagles this week before their Week 11 bye.
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/11/20
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: LB Devon Kennard, CB Byron Murphy
- Placed on IR: Kevin Peterson
Baltimore Ravens
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Marlon Humphrey
Carolina Panthers
- Promoted: RB Reggie Bonnafon
- Placed on IR: LB Adarius Taylor
Cleveland Browns
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: QB Baker Mayfield
Dallas Cowboys
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: DL Tyrone Crawford
- Claimed off waivers from Colts: DL Ron’Dell Carter
Denver Broncos
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: G Graham Glasgow
Indianapolis Colts
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: LB Matthew Adams
Kansas City Chiefs
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: WR Mecole Hardman
Miami Dolphins
- Placed on IR: WR Preston Williams (story)
New York Jets
- Claimed off waivers from Giants: CB Corey Ballentine
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/10/20
We’ve got a long list of all the minor transactions from the last day or so:
Arizona Cardinals
- Waived: CB De’Vante Bausby
Atlanta Falcons
- Promoted: LB Edmond Robinson
Chicago Bears
- Signed: DT Anthony Rush
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: Deon Bush, Lachavious Simmons
Cincinnati Bengals
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: DL Margus Hunt
Denver Broncos
- Claimed off waivers from Cardinals: CB De’Vante Bausby
Detroit Lions
- Placed on IR: CB Tony McRae
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: LB Jarrad Davis
Green Bay Packers
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: QB Jordan Love, LB Kamal Martin, RB Jamaal Williams
Houston Texans
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: LB Dylan Cole, LB Whitney Mercilus, G Max Scharping
- Placed on IR: LB Kyle Emanuel, LB Brennan Scarlett
- Claimed off waivers from Washington: DE Nate Orchard
Indianapolis Colts
- Waived: DL Ron’Dell Carter
- Promoted: WR DeMichael Harris
Kansas City Chiefs
- Activated from reserve/PUP list: T Martinas Rankin
- Waived: DE Demone Harris
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived: LB Natrez Patrick
Minnesota Vikings
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: LB Todd Davis
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: LS Austin Cutting
- Waived/failed-physical: LB Ben Gedeon
- Placed on IR: DB Holton Hill
New England Patriots
- Claimed off waivers from Cardinals: TE Jordan Thomas
- Waived: LB Cassh Maluia
- Placed on IR: TE Dalton Keene
New York Giants
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: G Will Hernandez
- Waived: CB Corey Ballentine
New York Jets
- Activated off NFI list: CB Bryce Hall
- Waived: QB Mike White
- Placed on IR: TE Trevon Wesco
San Francisco 49ers
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: WR Kendrick Bourne
Washington Football Team
- Promoted: WR Jeff Badet
- Waived: WR Tony Brown
2020 NFL Cap Space, By Team
The trade deadline is in the rear view mirror, but teams are still keeping a watchful eye on their salary cap figures. For contenders, the available dollars can be used for late-season signings. For all clubs, a portion of the unspent dollars can be rolled over into future seasons, giving them a larger budget to work with in the first wave of free agency.
Here are the most recent figures for each team, via Over The Cap:
- Cleveland Browns – $31MM
- New York Jets – $30.4MM
- Dallas Cowboys — $28MM
- Jacksonville Jaguars– $26.3MM
- Philadelphia Eagles– $23.9MM
- Washington Football Team – $23.3MM
- New England Patriots – $21.8MM
- Denver Broncos – $19.8MM
- Miami Dolphins – $15.6MM
- Detroit Lions – $14.2MM
- Cincinnati Bengals– $12.3MM
- Indianapolis Colts – $10.7MM
- Los Angeles Chargers — $8.4MM
- New York Giants – $8MM
- Chicago Bears – $7.6MM
- Houston Texans – $7.5MM
- Los Angeles Rams – $6.9MM
- Pittsburgh Steelers – $6.9MM
- Green Bay Packers – $6.7MM
- Arizona Cardinals– $6.2MM
- New Orleans Saints – $6MM
- Las Vegas Raiders – $6MM
- Kansas City Chiefs – $5.7MM
- Carolina Panthers – $5.5MM
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers – $5.3MM
- Tennessee Titans – $4.6MM
- Minnesota Vikings – $3.8K
- San Francisco 49ers – $3.7MM
- Seattle Seahawks – $3.3MM
- Baltimore Ravens – $3.3MM
- Buffalo Bills – $3MM
- Atlanta Falcons – $1.8MM
Packers Tried To Trade For DT Dalvin Tomlinson
The Packers may have been trying to pry wide receiver Will Fuller from the Texans in advance of the trade deadline, and they were also looking to bolster their defense. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter), Green Bay offered a mid-round pick to the Giants in exchange for defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson.
New York, though, declined the offer, even though Tomlinson is playing out the final year of his rookie contract and despite the fact that the two sides have not made much progress in contract talks. As Dan Duggan of The Athletic observes, head coach Joe Judge did not want to trade “foundational pieces,” and he clearly sees Tomlinson as a key part of the team’s future (Twitter link). Duggan says the club also rejected overtures for tight end Evan Engram, and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports that Big Blue was not going to deal Engram for anything less than a first-round pick.
The decision to keep Tomlinson makes plenty of sense. The Giants selected him in the second round of the 2017 draft, and unless they were convinced they would be unable to re-sign him, dealing a young, talented interior defender for a mid-round selection wouldn’t necessarily have aided in the club’s rebuilding process.
You can’t fault Green Bay for making a play for Tomlinson, though. The Packers are gearing up for a playoff push, but their run defense is among the worst in the NFL, and the 26-year-old Alabama product would have gone a long way towards solidifying their defensive front. Pro Football Focus currently ranks Tomlinson as the 14th-best interior defender in the league, and though he has just one sack this year, his pass rushing grade is almost as high as his run defense score.
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/7/20
Here are Saturday’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Activated from IR: TE Maxx Williams
- Promoted: DL Michael Dogbe, RB D.J. Foster, CB Jace Whittaker
- Waived: TE Jordan Thomas
Atlanta Falcons
- Activated from IR: CB Darqueze Dennard
- Promoted: LB Edmond Robinson, LB Pita Taumoepenu
- Placed on IR: CB Jordan Miller
Buffalo Bills
- Activated from IR: LB Del’Shawn Phillips
- Promoted: CB Dane Jackson, WR Jake Kumerow
Carolina Panthers
- Activated: DE Yetur Gross-Matos, RB Christian McCaffrey (story)
Chicago Bears
- Promoted: QB Tyler Bray, OL Dieter Eiselen, WR Dwayne Harris, DL Daniel McCullers, Badara Traore
Dallas Cowboys
- Placed on IR: P Chris Jones
- Promoted: P Hunter Niswander, RB Sewo Olonilua, QB Cooper Rush, CB Saivion Smith
Denver Broncos
- Promoted: S Alijah Holder
Detroit Lions
- Activated from reserve/PUP list: DE Austin Bryant
- Promoted: OL Marcus Martin
- Placed on IR: CB Darryl Roberts
Houston Texans
- Promoted: LB Nate Hall, DL Corey Liuget, OL Greg Mancz
Indianapolis Colts
- Activated from IR: LB Matthew Adams
- Promoted: WR Daurice Fountain, WR DeMichael Harris
- Placed on IR: WR Ashton Dulin
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Promoted: LB Joe Giles-Harris, S Doug Middleton, CB Josh Nurse
- Placed on IR: LB Shaquille Quarterman
Kansas City Chiefs
- Promoted: WR Gehrig Dieter, G Bryan Witzmann
Las Vegas Raiders
- Activated from IR: DT Daniel Ross
- Added to active roster: DE Chris Smith
- Waived: WR Rico Gafford
Los Angeles Chargers
- Promoted: RB Kalen Ballage, DE Jessie Lemonier, DB Quenton Meeks
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Brandon Facyson
Miami Dolphins
- Activated from IR: T Austin Jackson
- Promoted: WR Kirk Merritt
Minnesota Vikings
- Promoted: DT Abdullah Anderson, C Brett Jones
New York Giants
- Activated from IR: CB Brandon Williams
- Promoted: DB Montre Hartage, RB Alfred Morris, G Chad Slade
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Promoted: S Antoine Brooks, LB Jayrone Elliott
- Waived: RB Trey Edmunds, OL Stefen Wisniewski
Seattle Seahawks
- Activated from IR: DE Rasheem Green
- Promoted: RB Alex Collins, CB Jayson Stanley
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: DL William Gholston
Tennessee Titans
- Promoted: WR Cameron Batson, CB Breon Borders, RB D’Onta Foreman, LS Matt Overton, LB Wyatt Ray, DL Teair Tart
- Placed on IR: CB Tye Smith
- Waived: OL Daniel Munyer
Washington Football Team
- Activated from IR: WR Steven Sims
- Promoted: WR Jeff Badet, OL Ross Pierschbacher
- Waived: DE Nate Orchard
Giants Not Planning To Cut Golden Tate?
A Giants-Golden Tate divorce is starting to appear imminent, though it might not happen this season. The team announced Saturday it will face Washington without the veteran wide receiver, indicating Tate will not make the trip. Issues with effort and performance are behind the Giants deactivating Tate, Kim Jones and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com report (on Twitter).
Tate will be given the chance to return to New York’s lineup next week, Jones adds, and an in-season release does not currently appear to be on the table, per Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com. Tate is still on track to collect more than $4MM in base salary this season. Were he to be cut this season, he would head to the waiver wire since the trade deadline has passed.
The Giants did shop him ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline but found no takers. They will not carry his $8.5MM salary on their 2021 books, Ralph Vacchiano of SNY notes. The Giants could save $6.1MM by releasing Tate in 2021.
A 2019 free agent signing, Tate began his Giants career with a four-game PED suspension that voided future guarantees. Although he caught a crucial touchdown pass late in Monday night’s loss to the Buccaneers, he voiced frustrations about his lack of targets during the game. This preceded an Instagram post from Tate’s wife regarding her husband’s role in New York’s offense and Tate liking another Instagram post indicating he should be cut and given a chance with another team. Tate saw time on New York’s scout team in practice this week, Raanan adds.
Through seven games this season, Tate has 22 receptions for 226 yards and two touchdowns. While both those scores came over the past two games, Tate has only been targeted five times in those contests. He has worked as the Giants’ clear No. 3 wide receiver since Sterling Shepard‘s return from IR. Tate has three 1,000-yard seasons on his resume (all with Detroit) and made the Pro Bowl in 2014.