Minor NFL Transactions: 10/24/18
Today’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Promoted from practice squad: G Jermaine Eluemunor
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: LB Ray-Ray Armstrong
- Waived: LB Xavier Woodson-Luster
- Waived from injured reserve: LB James Burgess
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Promoted from practice squad: CB Dee Delaney
- Placed on injured reserve: LB Donald Payne
Philadelphia Eagles
- Promoted from practice squad: CB Chandon Sullivan
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/24/18
Here are Wednesday’s minor moves:
Houston Texans
- Released from IR via injury settlement: LB Tyrell Adams
Miami Dolphins
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Leonte Carroo
Philadelphia Eagles
- Released from IR via injury settlement: DT Destiny Vaeao
Eagles Looking For Cornerback Help
- Patrick Peterson is either off the market, or the Cardinals are orchestrating an impressive smokescreen, so cornerback-needy teams will need to look elsewhere. Some are gauging whether the Raiders would trade another Reggie McKenzie first-round pick, with Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweeting teams are inquiring about Gareon Conley. Janoris Jenkins is the other player contenders are monitoring, but Conley is only in his second season. He is, however, one of the many Raiders who’ve seen their stock drop under Jon Gruden. The Raiders benched Conley prior to their London game; he’d started the previous five Oakland games after missing almost all of his rookie season due to a shin injury. However, the Raiders aren’t believed to be ready to part with Conley. JLC adds the Eagles, Patriots and Steelers are among the teams exploring what it would take to land a corner.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/23/18
We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: CB Deatrick Nichols
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: OG Sean Harlow
- Cut: C J.C. Hassenauer
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: LB Brandon Bell
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: RB Devante Mays
Denver Broncos
- Cut: OG Avery Gennesy
Houston Texans
- Signed: OLB Daeshon Hall
- Cut: RB Josh Ferguson
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: S Rolan Milligan
- Cut: QB Phillip Walker
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: LB Raymond Davison, T Pace Murphy
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: WR Austin Proehl
- Cut: WR Steven Mitchell
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: CB Jalen Myrick, OT Adam Bisnowaty
- Cut: DT Curtis Cothran
- Placed on injured list: DE Jonathan Wynn
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: RB Donnel Pumphrey
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: WR Aaron Burbridge
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: DB Justin Currie, OG J.J. Dielman
- Cut: RB Lavon Coleman, LB Azeem Victor
Eagles DE Derek Barnett Done For Year
Eagles defensive end Derek Barnett is done for the season thanks to a serious shoulder injury, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The former first-round pick recorded 2.5 sacks and 17 tackles before his season came to a premature end. 
Barnett, 22, was the No. 14 overall pick in last year’s draft. He compiled five sacks, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries as a reserve, and had a couple of key moments in the team’s run to a ring last year.
This year, Barnett earned a promotion to the starting lineup and was on his way to a fine follow-up effort. He’ll be missed, but the Eagles have an embarrassment of riches from which to draw from at defensive end. The backup unit includes former Pro Bowler Michael Bennett, Chris Long, and fourth-round rookie Josh Sweat.
The defending champs will face the Jaguars in London on Sunday – sans Barnett – before entering their Week 9 bye.
Eagles, Jets, Others Pursued Amari Cooper
The Cowboys did not wait for trade deadline week to make their move, unloading a first-round pick to land Amari Cooper from the Raiders. They look to have fought off several others to acquire the fourth-year wide receiver.
Reggie McKenzie said (via Vic Tafur of The Athletic, on Twitter) he spurned initial offers, but that five teams upped their offerings until the Cowboys parted with their next first-round selection. Teams were contacting the Raiders about Cooper as early as the offseason and continued to do so during the season’s opening weeks before recent media reports accelerated the process, McKenzie said (via NBC Sports Bay Area’s Scott Bair and the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Michael Gehlken, Twitter links).
One team that was in the thick of the pursuit: the Eagles. The defending Super Bowl champions were interested in Cooper, but Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (video link) other suitors ended up being scared off by the Raiders’ first-round demand. The Cowboys’ initial offer didn’t satisfy the Raiders, either, and they weren’t the first team to ask about Cooper. But executive VP Stephen Jones called McKenzie with the first-round offer and completed the deal Monday morning.
The Jets were involved as well, with Rich Cimini of ESPN.com tweeting Gang Green had some interest in a player current team brass loved coming out of the draft in 2015. Just as in the case of Khalil Mack, though, the Jets chose not to part with the kind of draft compensation a trade ultimately required. It’s unclear, however, if the Jets made an offer, per Cimini.
Both the Redskins and Colts were rumored to be interested as well. The Jets are banged up at wide receiver and don’t have much in the way of long-term options at that spot. The Eagles just paid up for Alshon Jeffery and have Nelson Agholor on the books for 2019 via fifth-year option. Cooper now stands to be on the Cowboys’ 2019 payroll via $13MM-plus fifth-year option.
Saints, Eagles In On Patrick Peterson
Two NFC teams are attempting to pry Patrick Peterson away from the Cardinals. The Saints and Eagles have been calling the Cards for weeks about the three-time All-Pro cornerback, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets.
The Saints, in particular, may be a team to watch. Former NFL cornerback Bryant McFadden, Peterson’s cousin, said New Orleans is the preferred destination (Twitter link). Peterson, of course, went to college at LSU en route to becoming a top-five pick.
New Orleans has 2017 defensive rookie of the year Marshon Lattimore anchoring its cornerback corps but has not received much in the way of consistency on the other side. Patrick Robinson is expected to miss the rest of the season, and Ken Crawley and P.J. Williams are two of Pro Football Focus’ 10 lowest-graded full-time cornerbacks. Peterson sits fourth on this list through seven games.
Philadelphia is obviously not averse to splashy moves, either, and the defending Super Bowl champion is reeling after dropping to 3-4 on Sunday. Ronald Darby is in a contract year, and younger Philly corners Sidney Jones and Rasul Douglas have not exhibited much consistency this season.
The Eagles sit 24th in pass defense; the Saints 28th. Philadelphia restructured Fletcher Cox‘s contract with the purpose of adding 2019 funds to potentially keep more in-house talent long-term. However, that reworking now has the team holding $10MM-plus in 2018 cap space. The Saints have less than $2MM, which would make fitting Peterson’s $6.47MM remaining ’18 cap figure more difficult.
Eagles Have Discussed DeVante Parker With Dolphins
The trade deadline is just nine days away, and earlier this morning, we learned that the Saints and Eagles could be two of the most aggressive teams as they seek to bolster their rosters for a potential championship run. Here are a few more notes from the trade market:
- In addition to Cooper, the Cowboys are monitoring Dolphins WR DeVante Parker and Bills WR Kelvin Benjamin, according to Dan Graziano of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The Eagles have also spoken to Miami about Parker, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (via Twitter).
Saints, Eagles Could Be Aggressive At Trade Deadline
The Saints and Eagles are expected to be among the most aggressive teams in advance of the October 30 trade deadline, per Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, who adds that the two clubs are interested in a few of the same players.
Interestingly, La Canfora writes that Philadelphia is still monitoring the trade markets for Le’Veon Bell and LeSean McCoy, though recent reports surrounding both running backs suggest that they will be staying with their current teams. Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer says it would not cost much to get McCoy, despite what the Bills have been saying, but it does not seem likely that the Eagles will reunite with their former star. Instead, in keeping with previous reports, it sounds as if the Eagles are content with their running back situation, and Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets that the team sees a defensive tackle, secondary help, and a field-stretching wide receiver as bigger priorities.
La Canfora also writes that the Eagles are seeking another receiving option and a quality corner, and he says the Saints are looking for upgrades at the same positions. The Raiders are said to be shopping Amari Cooper, who is probably the best wide receiver who could be had at the deadline, but Larry Fitzgerald and Emmanuel Sanders may also be in play. Meanwhile, Eli Apple, Gareon Conley, and Bradley Roby are some of the corners who have been attracting the interest of rival clubs.
The Saints are currently 4-1 and are atop the NFC South, and they are clearly in win-now mode as they hope to bring home another Lombardi Trophy before Drew Brees, 39, hangs up the cleats. The defending champion Eagles are just 3-3 but are very much alive in the wide open NFC East.
Eagles To Have Least Salary Cap Space In 2019
- Speaking of the cap, salary cap expert Jason Fitzgerald of Overthecap.com tweeted out his projections for which teams will have the most and least salary cap space in 2019. The Colts currently project to have the most space with $119MM while the Eagles project to have the least, coming in $15MM over the cap before they make necessary cuts.