Giants, Washington Have COVID-19 Positives
We continue to see a steady uptick in COVID-19 cases around the league, although fortunately they have been mostly isolated incidents with no full-blown outbreaks. Tuesday morning we got word of two more teams with players testing positive, both in the NFC East. The Giants and the Washington Football Team are the latest to be hit with the virus.
The Giants’ player is kicker Graham Gano, Paul Schwartz of the New York Post tweets. Thankfully New York is on bye this week, so Gano should be able to kick by the next time the Giants play a game in Week 12 against Cincinnati assuming there are no complications, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network tweets. The Giants are finally starting to pick up a little steam, so hopefully this remains an isolated incident that has minimal implications because of the bye.
Washington also had a player test positive, and also thankfully it sounds like somewhat of a best-case scenario. The unidentified player hasn’t been in the facility in the past few days and didn’t travel with the team for their game in Detroit last week, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network tweets. That’s because the player is currently on injured reserve, Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post tweets.
Washington is going into the intensive protocol, but since he didn’t play in the game the Lions won’t have to and hopefully no other Washington players caught it. Interestingly, as Pelissero noted in a follow-up tweet, Washington was one of only three teams who hadn’t placed a player on the reserve/COVID-19 list during the regular season before now. The only two remaining are the Rams and Seahawks.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/17/20
We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: LB Jake Carlock
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: TE Luke Wilson
Carolina Panthers
- Cut: TE Seth DeValve
Cincinnati Bengals
- Cut: OT O’Shea Dugas
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: DE Breeland Speaks
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: P Johnny Townsend
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: DT Ryan Glasgow
- Cut: DE Will Clarke
New York Giants
- Signed: TE Nate Wieting
New York Jets
- Signed: TE Connor Davis
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: RB Adrian Killins
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: TE Charles Jones
- Released: LB Ray Wilborn
San Francisco 49ers
- Placed on practice squad IR: DB Jared Mayden
Chiefs, 49ers Interested In DeAndre Baker
The armed robbery charges against former Giants cornerback Deandre Baker have been dropped and he’s already drawing interest from a handful of NFL teams. The Chiefs, Bengals, 49ers, and Jaguars are all in on Baker, according to Paul Schwartz of the New York Post (on Twitter). The Cowboys, he adds, “could also be in play.” 
[RELATED: Robbery Charges Against DeAndre Baker Dropped]
The Giants, who immediately distanced themselves from Baker following the allegations from Florida, are not interested in a reunion, Schwartz says. Giants head coach Joe Judge effectively confirmed that when speaking with reporters on Monday.
“[We] wish him the best luck in the future,” Judge said. “We’ve made the decision we think is best for the program. That is all I have to say about that.”
The Giants traded up from the second round in 2019 to draft Baker towards the back-end of the first round. A standout at Georgia, Baker was widely regarded as the top cornerback in the class. The 5-foot-11 athlete turned in a standout 2018 season with the Bulldogs, compiling 40 tackles, two sacks, nine passes defended, and two picks. However, he struggled to grasp the playbook as a rookie and wound up benched late in the season. All in all, he had 55 stops, zero interceptions, and lots of headache-inducing game tape.
On the other hand, Baker is still young and represents a low-risk, high-reward signing for teams like the Chiefs and 49ers. He’s free to sign with any team, though NFL discipline could still be in his future.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/16/20
We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: LBs Terrance Smith, Stephone Anthony
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: QB Tommy Stevens
Denver Broncos
- Signed: TE Jordan Leggett
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: WR John Hurst, RB Derrick Gore
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: LS Rex Sunahara
New England Patriots
- Signed: QB Jake Dolegala
- Released: TE David Wells
New York Giants
- Signed: CB Quincy Wilson, OL Kenny Wiggins, RB Taquan Mizzell
Washington Football Team
- Signed: DE Jalen Jelks
The Panthers were going to land Stevens as an UDFA back in April before the Saints snagged him in the seventh-round. He was recently cut from New Orleans’ practice squad last week. Stevens is a diverse athlete who played a Taysom Hill-esque role at Penn State before transferring to Mississippi State for the 2019 college season. His signing could be an indication the Panthers are worried about Teddy Bridgewater‘s status for Sunday, but since they had previous reported interest in Stevens it could be completely unrelated.
Robbery Charges Against DeAndre Baker Dropped
The four armed robbery charges against DeAndre Baker have been dropped, per an announcement from Florida prosecutors. Meanwhile, the attorney for three of Baker’s accusers has been arrested on extortion charges (via Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post). 
Laywer William Dean represented three of Baker’s accusers — all of whom recanted their statements last week. There was a fourth accuser who wasn’t represented by Dean, and he did not appear for a hearing in October. Reportedly, Dean tried to pry as much as $1.5M from Baker in exchange for his clients changing their statements.
A quick refresher: Baker was alleged to have robbed a party at gunpoint in May. Originally, Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar was charged as his accomplice, but the Broward State Attorney’s office declined to pursue charges against him. The story has only gotten stranger from there, including payoff allegations against attorney Michael Grieco, who was once representing Dunbar. The charges against Dunbar have since been dropped.
The Giants kept their distance from Baker throughout the process before formally waiving him in September. He is now a full-fledged free agent and free to sign with any club, though he could still be subject to fines or suspensions from the league office.
Giants Extend Graham Gano
On the heels of David Bakhtiari‘s extension, we’ve got another one to pass along. Although it’s not nearly as large, kicker Graham Gano is getting an extension that runs through the 2023 season from the Giants, the team announced Sunday.
Gano signed a one-year, $2.5MM deal with the Giants back in August that was set to expire at the end of the season. He’ll now get three additional years tacked on. Those three years will come with $14MM in new money, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets. Of that, $9MM is guaranteed, so the Giants are tied to Gano for a whlie. He’s been on fire recently, and has an active streak of 20 consecutive field goals going.
An UDFA in 2009, Gano spent his first couple of seasons as Washington’s kicker before signing with Carolina in 2012. He held down the Panthers’ job for the next seven seasons, making the Pro Bowl in 2017. He missed all of last season with a knee injury, and the Panthers cut him back in July.
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.