NFL Workout Updates: 9/17/18
Today’s workout updates, with all links going to NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s of Twitter account unless otherwise noted:
Baltimore Ravens
- G Jonathan Cooper, G Dillon Day, G Jamil Douglas, C T.J. Johnson, G Austin Pasztor, G Ian Silberman, T Darrell Williams. (Twitter link via ESPN’s Jamison Hensley)
Cincinnati Bengals
- S Quin Blanding, DT Joshua Frazier, S Mike Mitchell, DT Elijah Qualls, DE Charles Tapper (Twitter links via Balzer and Sirius XM’s Adam Caplan)
Cleveland Browns
Dallas Cowboys
- S Andrew Adams, CB David Amerson, CB Alex Carter, CB Michael Hunter, CB Jeremy Lane (via the Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson, on Twitter)
Indianapolis Colts
- CB Johnathan Alston, CB De’Vante Bausby, S Kurtis Drummond, Jackson Porter, CB Josh Shaw (Visit, link)
Jacksonville Jaguars
- P Joseph Davidson (link)
New York Jets
- CB De’Vante Bausby, DT Michael Bennett, WR Jace Billingsley, T Gerhard de Beer, LB Azeem Victor, Adolphus Washington (link)
Philadelphia Eagles
- G Kofi Amichia, G Spencer Drango, G Kaleb Johnson, T Rees Odhiambo (link)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- TE Nick O’Leary (link)
Tennessee Titans
- WR Nick Williams (link)
Washington Redskins
- TE Evan Baylis, TE Pharaoh Brown, TE Vince Mayle, WR Tre McBride, QB Josh Woodrum (link)
Carson Wentz To Start In Week 3
Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz has been medically cleared and will start against the Colts on Sunday, the club announced today.
Wentz is roughly nine months removed from tearing his ACL, so it’s no surprise Philadelphia used a cautious approach with its franchise signal-caller. While he’d been cleared for 11-on-11 drills, Wentz hadn’t been cleared for full contact until today. Eagles head coach Doug Pederson has previously indicated Wentz will need a week of full contact practice before he’ll be re-inserted as the club’s starter.
The Eagles had the luxury of deploying Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles during their first two games and managed to post a 1-1 record. Foles wasn’t very effective during Philadelphia’s Week 1 win over the Falcons, as he completed just 56% of his passes for 117 yards and one interceptions. He performed much better against the Buccaneers on Sunday (73% completion rate, 334 yards, one touchdown), but the Eagles still lost 27-21.
Wentz, of course, was playing at an MVP pace before going down last December. In 13 starts, Wentz posted 3,296 passing yards, 33 touchdowns, and just seven interceptions and was named second-team All-Pro despite missing three games. Among the 26 quarterbacks with at least 350 attempts in 2017, Wentz ranked second in ESPN’s Total Quarterback Rating, fourth in passer rating, and fourth in adjusted yards per attempt.
Wentz won’t return with his full arsenal at hand, as wide receiver Alshon Jeffery is still recovering from shoulder surgery while Mike Wallace injured his ankle on Sunday. However, Jeffery is expected to practice on a limited basis this week, tweets Josina Anderson of ESPN.com, so he could return to game action in the near future. And Wallace will not be placed on injured reserve after fracturing his fibula, Pederson said today, which means the Eagles may believe he could return later this year.
Eagles WR Mike Wallace Possibly Done For Season?
Eagles wideout Mike Wallace is out indefinitely after suffering an ankle injury during Week 2, and could potentially miss the remainder of the season, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (Twitter link) was the first to report Wallace is dealing with a serious ankle issue.
Philadelphia could ill afford another blow to its wide receiver depth, as the club is already without Mack Hollins — who was placed on injured reserve earlier this month — and Alshon Jeffery, who is still working his way back from shoulder surgery. Jeffery indicated on September 7 that he was still multiple weeks away from returning to the field.
Nelson Agholor now leads a wide receiver contingent that also includes Kamar Aiken, DeAndre Carter, and Shelton Gibson, so the Eagles could look to add another pass-catcher in the near future. Markus Wheaton, who was with Philadelphia during the summer, is one obvious solution, while other available free agents include Dez Bryant, Jeremy Maclin, Breshad Perriman, Kenny Britt, Kendall Wright, and Jordan Matthews. Cleveland’s Josh Gordon is also available via trade, but there’s been no indication the Eagles have inquired on the Browns receiver.
Wallace, 32, inked a one-year, $1.915MM deal with the Eagles this spring in order to replace Torrey Smith as the club’s deep threat. After posting 52 receptions for 748 yards and four touchdowns with the Ravens in 2017, Wallace managed just three targets and zero catches for Philadelphia before going down.
Carson Wentz Could Be Cleared For Contact This Week; Eagles Will Not Rush Him Back
Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports that Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz could be cleared for contact this week, and that may put him on track to make his 2018 debut in Week 3, as was suggested last Sunday. But Rapoport says the team is in no rush to have Wentz return to game action, because it is more concerned about the next 10 to 15 years, not the next 10 to 15 minutes. As such, if the Eagles need to keep Wentz out longer to make sure he is fully recovered from his torn ACL and LCL, they are fully committed to doing so.
However, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports that Wentz is indeed on track to be back under center for the Eagles against the Colts next week, and he suggests that Philadelphia will have no issue in deploying Wentz as soon as he is cleared for contract.
NFC Injury Notes: Rodgers, Falcons, Eagles
Aaron Rodgers will enter Sunday with a questionable designation on the Packers‘ injury report. The two-time MVP can improve his chances of playing, obviously, by practicing Saturday — when the Packers do more than the typical walkthrough — but not doing so won’t prevent him from playing. Mike McCarthy said he’d have no issues deploying Rodgers even if he doesn’t practice all week, per Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. The 13th-year Green Bay coach said his quarterback feels better than he did at the beginning of the week. Despite Rodgers’ performance on Sunday against the Bears and his history of playing through left knee pain, he’s not a lock to face the Vikings.
Here’s the latest from the NFC’s injury situations.
- Another key Falcons cog won’t be available Sunday. After the losses of Keanu Neal and Deion Jones, Atlanta won’t have the services of starting running back Devonta Freeman. He’s been declared out due to the knee injury he suffered against the Eagles. Tevin Coleman will start. The Falcons have rookie Ito Smith and recently signed Brian Hill in place as backups.
- Once again, the Giants won’t have their top pass rusher available. While the Giants are hoping to have Olivier Vernon in Week 3, per Paul Schwartz of the New York Post (on Twitter), his high ankle sprain will keep him out against the Cowboys.
- Trai Turner‘s stay in Panthers concussion protocol will result in him missing this week’s game against the Falcons. He’s been declared out, putting Carolina down three starting offensive linemen — Turner and tackles Matt Kalil and Daryl Williams, both of whom residing on IR — going into its NFC South opener.
- The already-banged-up Eagles didn’t come out of Week 1 unscathed. Darren Sproles will miss Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers. The 34-year-old passing-down back sustained a hamstring injury against the Falcons. He’ll join Carson Wentz and Alshon Jeffery among Philadelphia’s high-profile Week 2 absences.
- Already without IR-stationed cornerback Vernon Hargreaves, the Bucs won’t have Brent Grimes available to cover Eagle wideouts, either. Tampa Bay used two second-round picks on corners, Carlton Davis and M.J. Stewart, and could see an extended glimpse of the rookies’ development to this point in their careers.
- The Lions–49ers game will see the visitors without top guard T.J. Lang and the hosts missing deep threat Marquise Goodwin. Both players have been declared out. Kyle Shanahan said (via Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area, on Twitter) Dante Pettis will start in place of Goodwin.
Eagles Release Markus Wheaton
The Eagles’ shuffling of their receiving corp continued this morning when they cut Markus Wheaton, the team announced via Twitter.
The Eagles just signed Kamar Aiken yesterday, so a move had to be made and the team decided to move on from Wheaton. Wheaton, a sixth-year wideout, was just re-signed himself last week. He played only two snaps in the team’s Week 1 win over the Falcons, but Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports he’ll receive his full salary as he was signed before the Week 1 deadline (Twitter link).
Wheaton signed with the Eagles back in May, was cut September 1st at final cuts, brought back on September 4th just in time for the game, and now released again to make room for Aiken. With Alshon Jeffery still out for likely multiple more weeks, receiver is a major concern for the Eagles. They also recently signed former Texans third round pick Braxton Miller to the practice squad, as well as a pair of other practice squad receivers.
Wheaton showed a lot of promise over a couple of years in Pittsburgh, catching 44 passes for 749 yards and 5 touchdowns in 2015, but never could put it all together. He was a massive free agent bust in Chicago last year, catching only three passes for the Bears all season despite a hefty salary.
Eagles Work Out QB Paxton Lynch
The Eagles auditioned quarterback Paxton Lynch and a host of other free agents on Tuesday, according to Adam Caplan of SiriusXM (Twitter link).
Philadelphia, of course, has already brought in one failed early-round quarterback this year in Christian Hackenberg, who didn’t make it through final cutdowns. Lynch, a first-round selection in the 2016 draft, has already met with the Bills and Lions since being cut by the Broncos last week.
Lynch, 24, failed to beat out seventh-round signal-caller Trevor Siemian in Denver for two consecutive seasons, and though he ultimately did make starts for the Broncos, his performances were abysmal. In four career starts, Lynch has completed only 61.7% of his passes for 792 yards, four touchdowns, and four interceptions, and was dreadful again during the 2018 preseason.
The Eagles don’t necessarily need another quarterback on their roster, as Nate Sudfeld is currently backing up temporary starter Nick Foles. Carson Wentz, still recovering from a 2017 ACL tear, is expected to be sidelined for a few more weeks.
Here’s the list of other players worked out today by Philadelphia, per Caplan:
- RB Fitzgerald Toussaint
- RB Martez Carter
- WR Shane Wynn
- LB Albert McClellan
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/11/18
Today’s practice squad updates:
Buffalo Bills
- Released: OL Gerhard de Beer
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: WR DeAndrew White
- Released: S Dezmen Southward
Denver Broncos
- Signed: DL Niles Scott
- Released: DT Kyle Peko, DT DeShawn Williams
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: CB Will Redmond
- Released: S Marwin Evans
Houston Texans
- Signed: CB Breon Borders, WR Malachi Dupre
- Released: DT Darius Kilgo
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: G Sean Harlow, CB Tarvarus McFadden
- Released: OL Jamil Douglas
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: LS Lucas Gravelle
- Released: DL Cameron Mavlveaux
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: WR Johnny Holton
- Released: DB Terrell Sinkfield
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: S Tre Sullivan
- Released: CB De’Vante Bausby
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: CB Simeon Thomas, WR Mailk Turner
- Released: DT Frank Herron
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: CB Jeff Richards
- Released: LB Azeem Victor
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: OL David Quessenberry
Washington Redskins
- Signed: WR Teo Redding
Eagles Re-Sign WR Kamar Aiken
The Eagles have re-signed wide receiver Kamar Aiken, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Philadelphia originally inked Aiken to a pact this summer, but released him during final cutdowns. He didn’t garner any known interest over the past week, except from the Eagles, who worked him out on Monday.
Aiken, 29, posted a disappointing 2017 campaign: instead of running with the Colts’ second wide receiver job, Aiken managed only 155 receptions and 133 yards in 15 games (seven starts). His last meaningful production came in 2015, when the former undrafted free agent put up nearly 1,000 yards with the Ravens
Philadelphia currently has six receivers on its roster, but Alshon Jeffery is expected to be sidelined for several more weeks. Nelson Agholor, Mike Wallace, and DeAndre Carter saw most of the work in the Eagles’ season opener, while Shelton Gibson and Markus Wheaton are also on the club’s roster.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/10/18
Today’s practice squad moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: WR Christian Blake
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: DT Kendrick Norton
- Cut: QB Kyle Allen
Denver Broncos
- Reinstated: Carlos Henderson
- Cut: WR River Cracraft
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: WR Reggie Davis, WR Dorren Miller
- Cut: TE Billy Brown