D.J. Reed won’t have to wrestle his opt out decision between now and Thursday. Unfortunately, his torn pectoral muscle has made the call for him. The Niners have waived Reed with a non-football injury designation, per Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area (via Twitter). Assuming Reed clears waivers, which he is almost certain to do, he will revert to San Francisco’s reserve/NFI list and will miss the season.
Reed, 23, has appeared in 31 games for the Niners over the last two seasons. His playing time dipped in 2019, but, at minimum, he was set to serve as a versatile reserve in the secondary and a valuable special teams player.
Kwon Alexander suffered a torn pectoral muscle last year and miraculously returned to practice two months later. That’s not the typical timetable, of course, so it’s not a surprise to hear that Reed is done for the season. 49ers GM John Lynch considered keeping Reed on the roster, but it wasn’t feasible for the team to tie up a spot for several months.
In addition, the Raiders also formally placed tight end Gabe Holmes on IR.
McCaffrey, of course, is the son of former Denver wide receiver Ed McCaffrey. Max, a Duke product, turned heads when he posted a 4.46 second 40-yard dash at his pro day earlier this year.
The Broncos have signed linebacker Dekoda Watson to a one-year deal, Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com tweets. Watson appeared in three games for the Patriots last year as he was yo-yo’d on and off of the team’s roster.
Eagles guard/tackle Matt Tobin has signed a two-year deal with the team, a source tells Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitterlinks). Tobin was previously set to play out this year on his one-year restricted free agent tender. Now, his new deal will lower his base salary for this season.
Washington waived linebacker Reggie Northrup, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Interestingly, Northrup is represented by rapper Lil Wayne.
The Seahawks have waived/injured linebacker Christian French and signed fellow linebacker Khairi Fortt to take his place on the 90-man roster, Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times tweets.
The Bengals are set to sign former University of Buffalo quarterback Joe Licata, as Tyler Dunne of The Buffalo News tweets. To make room, rookie quarterback Matt Johnson has been waived.
The Browns signed defensive back Eric Patterson, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets. The 23-year-old entered the NFL last year as a UDFA with New England. The Ball State product appeared in two games for Indianapolis and one with St. Louis.
The Bears announced they have signed Donovan Williams, an offensive lineman from Louisiana-Lafayette (Twitter link via Brad Biggs of The Chicago Tribune). The Bears have also released center Dan Buchholz, wide receiver/tight end Marcus Lucas, and wide receiver Nathan Palmer (link).
The Bears waived defensive end Bruce Gaston, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com writes. Demovsky suggests that Gaston, who made Green Bay’s opening day roster last season, could get another look from the Packers.
The Chargers have signed former Arizona State guard Vi Teofilo to a three-year deal, a source tells Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego. The 6’3″, 205-pound lineman will look to compete for a practice squad spot. The Chargers waived guard Sebastian Johansson, an undrafted rookie guard from Marshall, in a corresponding move. They also waived-injured linebacker Brock Hekking.
The Saints waived safety Michael Caputo and quarterback Griffin Neal after this weekend’s rookie minicamp, Evan Woodbery of The Times-Picayune tweets. According to Wilson (on Twitter), the team has also cut receiver Shane Wynn.
In a related move, the Saints inked linebacker Tony Steward (Twitter link via Woodbery). Steward played at Clemson and was a fifth-round pick of Buffalo in 2015.
The Saints signed JakeLampman, Wilson tweets. The Ferris State product caught 52 passes for 731 yards and eight touchdowns last season.