Minor NFL Transactions: 11/9/19
Here are Saturday’s minor moves:
Chicago Bears
- Promoted from practice squad: RB Ryan Nall, LB James Vaughters
- Waived: TE Bradley Sowell
New York Giants
- Promoted from practice squad: OL Evan Brown
- Waived: DL Olsen Pierre
Tennessee Titans
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Cody Hollister
- Waived: OL Aaron Stinnie
Giants Put In Claim On Jennings
The Seahawks waived rookie fourth-round pick Gary Jennings earlier this week, and many immediately speculated the Dolphins would claim the young receiver. That’s exactly what happened, and Miami was awarded the West Virginia product. If they hadn’t submitted a claim Jennings wouldn’t have tumbled very far though, as the Giants put in a claim for him as well, a source told Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The Giants are obviously toward the top of the waiver priority, and just barely missed him. With Sterling Shepard on the shelf for the foreseeable future, their interest makes plenty of sense. Jennings never appeared in a game for Seattle, and will likely see some run with the Dolphins, especially after Preston Williams‘ ACL tear.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/7/19
Today’s practice squad updates:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: OL Marcus Applefield
- Released: WR Sean Modster
Chicago Bears
- Signed: LB James Vaughters
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: Tim Williams
- Released: G Ben Braden
Kansas City Chiefs
- Released: P Jack Fox
New York Giants
- Signed: S Sean Chandler
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: RB Darrin Hall
- Released: LB Sutton Smith
Latest On Giants’ Sterling Shepard
After suffering two concussions this season, the Giants sent Sterling Shepard to see a specialist in Pittsburgh for further examination. There’s concern that the wide receiver will miss the remainder of the season or, perhaps, won’t be able to continue playing at all, SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano hears from Shepard’s teammates. 
“If you tell me I’ve got to get a hip replacement in 10 years, all right, fine, I’ll deal with that in 10 years,” Golden Tate said on Wednesday. “But if you tell me, ‘Hey, there’s a chance you might not be able to remember a lot of your career, or your childhood, or your children’s childhood? That’s scary, man. It gives me chills.”
Shepard was set to play after a three-week absence, but another round of symptoms led him to pump the breaks on his return. He’s only 26, but some teammates fear that this is the end of the line for Shepard’s NFL career.
“This is a serious injury, and in my mind, it requires a serious response,” Giants coach Pat Shurmur said on Tuesday. “I think we have to use good judgement and we need to be very deliberate about guys coming back from injuries such as this. At some point, we just have to use our gut.”
The 2-6 Giants will have a bye after their Sunday showdown with the Jets, which could give Shepard time to heal up. Then again, with little to play for this year, it might not make sense for the Giants to activate Shepard under any circumstances.
Evan Engram Getting Second Opinion On Foot
The Giants will send an MRI of tight end Evan Engram‘s foot to Dr. Robert Anderson for a second opinion, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Engram will not play on Sunday against the Jets, reports Ralph Vacchiano of SNY (Twitter link), but he hopes to return soon after that.
Speaking to reporters today, head coach Pat Shurmur didn’t sound overly optimistic on Engram’s status. Shurmur said Engram is currently in a walking boot and called the third-year tight end “day-to-day, week-to-week,” as Dan Duggan of The Athletic tweets. However, Engram says he does not have a Lisfranc injury, tweets Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post. For now, New York is calling Engram’s injury a mid-foot sprain, per Paul Schwartz of the New York Post (Twitter link).
A first-round pick in the 2017 draft, Engram broke out with 64 receptions and 722 yards in his rookie campaign, but fell back to earth in a injury-riddled 2018 season. This year, Engram was once again posting another outstanding year and had been on pace to surpass his previous career highs in catches and yards, but his most recent health issues may prevent that from happening.
The Giants have yet to field their full set of skill position players for a game, and it doesn’t appear that will occur any time soon. Not only is Engram hurt, but wide receiver Sterling Shepard is being sent to Pittsburgh to meet with concussion experts, tweets Vacchiano. Shepard has already been concussed twice this season and hasn’t played since Week 5.
Giants Activate Sam Beal
The Giants activated cornerback Sam Beal on Tuesday, per a team announcement. To make room, they waived safety Sean Chandler. 
The Giants took Beal in the third round of the 2018 Supplemental Draft, but he was forced to redshirt his rookie year after shoulder surgery. There was some talk that Beal could start in 2019, but a hamstring issue cost him most of training camp and the entire preseason and the club was forced to place him on injured reserve in September.
Fun fact: Beal was only the third supplemental draft player ever selected by the Giants in franchise history. In July of 2018, he joined quarterback Dave Brown (first round, 1992) and cornerback Tito Wooten (fourth round, 1994) in the record books.
The 6’1″ cornerback ran a 4.47-second 40-yard-dash leading up the draft and the Giants will finally get to see his speed in action. His debut could come on Sunday, when the Giants face their parking lot rivals (the Jets).
Deadline Fallout: Harris, Jets, L. Williams
Despite a great deal of hype, Tuesday’s trade deadline went out with a whimper. As Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes, that was largely because the presumed sellers — most notably the Bengals, Redskins, and Broncos — overvalued their assets. It was expected that Cincinnati’s and Washington’s stubbornness could torpedo potential deals, but Denver was similarly obstinate. For instance, the Broncos were asking for a second-round draft pick for CB Chris Harris when the market dictated that a fourth-rounder would be an appropriate return.
Now for more deadline fallout:
- Jets RB Le’Veon Bell recently said that his former club, the Steelers, were interested in re-acquiring him in advance of the trade deadline, and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com confirms that Pittsburgh did indeed speak with the Jets about Bell. However, when it became clear that the shoulder injury that James Conner sustained in the Steelers’ win over Miami last Monday wasn’t as serious as it first appeared, talks with Gang Green cooled. Bell wasn’t the only RB the Steelers were interested in, per Schefter, but he was easily the most prominent.
- At least one team tried to blow the Jets away with an offer for defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, as Schefter writes in a separate piece. The unnamed club thought New York would be unable to turn down the blockbuster package of draft picks, but Williams was deemed untouchable by the Jets’ front office, and Gang Green stuck to its guns.
- We already heard that the Giants would try to work out a contract extension with the newly-acquired Leonard Williams, but Schefter says Big Blue will open negotiations before Thanksgiving. Of course, it could be difficult for player and team to agree on Williams’ value, and Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com believes that Williams is going to test free agency (Twitter link).
- The Rams traded Aqib Talib to the Dolphins in a pure salary dump, as they gave Miami a 2020 fifth-rounder just to take on the remainder of Talib’s contract. Peter Schrager of the NFL Network says Talib believes he will be healthy enough to return to the field this season but is unsure as to whether he will suit up for Miami (Twitter link). He may elect to cool his heels before he hits the open market in March, but he holds no ill will towards LA.
NFC East Notes: Williams, Gettleman, Hill
The NFL and NFLPA will conduct a joint investigation into claims made by Washington’s LT Trent Williams, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Williams has been one of the best left tackles in football since entering the league in 2010. After solidifying the blindside in Washington for nearly a decade, Williams had been holding out for all of the 2019 season.
The team refused to move Williams before the trade deadline, but the tackle finally reported to the team on Tuesday. However, he has since failed his physical and publicly accused the team of failing to recognize the severity of a cancerous growth on his head this past summer. The team has since denied Williams’ claims of wrongdoing and called for a third-party evaluation. According to Rapoport, the collective bargaining agreement calls for a joint investigation amidst such accusations.
Here’s more from around the NFC East:
- Giants general manager Dave Gettleman needs to answer for his trade deadline decisions, according to Darryl Slater of NJ.com. Since the second day of training camp in late July, Gettleman has not answered questions from any reporters. Even more concerning, a Giants spokesperson said he is not currently scheduled to address the media again this season, per Slater. Currently at 2-6, many were surprised to see the team give up draft assets for impending free agent Leonard Williams. Moreover, the team recouped no draft capital for any of their veteran players. Slater maintains it is “part of the job” for Gettleman to take questions from the media regardless of how popular his decisions are.
- Cowboys rookie second-round pick Trysten Hill has become a problem, according to Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News. Per Watkins report, the defensive tackle has recently been sent home after arriving late to practice and fell asleep in the middle of a speech by Hall of Fame basketball player Isiah Thomas. Dallas has not been publicly critical of Hill, but Watkins notes that even after losing starting defensive tackle Tyrone Crawford for the season, Hill remains outside the rotation.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/31/19
Today’s practice squad updates:
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: CB D.J. White
Green Bay Packers
- Released: WR Keon Hatcher
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: S Doug Middleton
New York Giants
- Signed: P Sean Smith
More Minor NFL Transactions: 10/30/19
Today’s minor moves:
Cincinnati Bengals
- Promoted from practice squad: CB Greg Mabin
- Placed on injured reserve: DT Ryan Glasgow
Cleveland Browns
- Claimed off waivers (Giants): LB Tae Davis
Denver Broncos
- Promoted from practice squad: QB Brett Rypien
Detroit Lions
- Signed off Cowboys’ practice squad: CB Michael Jackson
- Waived: RB Paul Perkins
Houston Texans
- Signed: CB Briean Boddy-Calhoun
- Placed on injured reserve: DE J.J. Watt (story)
Los Angeles Chargers
- Promoted from practice squad: CB Tevaughn Campbell
Miami Dolphins
- Claimed off waivers (Saints): CB Ken Crawley
- Signed: TE Clive Walford
- Waived: WR Isaiah Ford
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Promoted from practice squad: TE Jordan Leggett
- Placed on injured reserve: LB Jack Cichy
Washington Redskins
- Placed on injured reserve: LB Cassanova McKinzy