De’Vante Bausby

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/31/20

Here is the league’s avalanche of Halloween minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/27/20

We’ll keep track of the practice squad moves from the past day here:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Jacksonville Jaguars

  • Released: T Jared Hilbers

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

  • Signed: K Austin MacGinnis

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

Broncos Promote Nigel Bradham, Activate DeMarcus Walker From IR

On the Broncos’ practice squad for nearly three weeks, Nigel Bradham will return to an NFL active roster. The veteran linebacker will rise from Denver’s taxi squad to its game-day roster.

This will be Bradham’s fourth NFL team, though the longtime Eagles and Bills starter was only with the Saints in training camp. Bradham has been an NFL starting linebacker 96 times since his 2012 rookie season. While the Broncos have Alexander Johnson and Josey Jewell in place as their three-down ‘backers, Bradham should see time Sunday against the Chiefs.

Denver still has Mark Barron on its IR list. The longtime starter has dealt with multiple injuries since arriving in Colorado. Bradham, a three-down player with the Eagles for the past four seasons, will join Joe Jones as a backup Broncos inside ‘backer.

In addition to activating A.J. Bouye and defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones off IR, the Broncos will have D-lineman DeMarcus Walker available Sunday. A fourth-year rotational cog, Walker saw a calf injury send him to IR after Week 2. He registered four sacks last season and did not play much from 2017-18, but Denver may need the former second-round pick more this season after letting Derek Wolfe walk in free agency and losing Jurrell Casey for the season. Although Casey and Von Miller are out, this is the healthiest the Broncos’ defense has been since Week 1.

The Broncos also released cornerback De’Vante Bausby, promoted running back Jeremy Cox and re-signed defensive tackle Sylvester Williams to their practice squad. Denver cut Williams from its active roster Friday.

Broncos Sign 15 To Practice Squad

The Broncos will feature one of the more traditional practice squads, at least to start the season. No big-name veterans appear on Denver’s initial practice squad. Instead, a host of developmental players populate the unit.

However, veteran cornerback De’Vante Bausby — who was one of Denver’s final cuts Saturday — will stick with the team as part of this 15-man practice squad. The Broncos acquired Bausby after his stint in the Alliance of American Football in 2019. He played in five Broncos games last season, after previously seeing spot work with the Bears and Eagles in 2016 and ’18, but wound up on IR for much of the slate.

Joining the four-year veteran will be ex-UDFA Brett Rypien, who resided on Denver’s practice squad last season. Here is the Broncos’ full list:

AFC Contract Details: Bulaga, Cobb, Collins

Here are the latest contract details as of Sunday night. We will focus on the AFC here.

  • Bryan Bulaga, T (Chargers): Three years, $30MM. $19.25MM guaranteed; $10MM signing bonus. Bulaga’s salaries in 2020 ($1.5MM) and 2021 ($7.75MM) are guaranteed. A $2.5MM roster bonus is due on Day 3 of the 2022 league year, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets.
  • Randall Cobb, WR (Texans): Three years, $27MM. $18MM guaranteed; $6MM signing bonus. Base salaries in 2020 ($3.75MM) and ’21 ($8.25MM) are guaranteed; non-guaranteed salary of $7.9MM in 2022. Wilson notes (on Twitter).
  • Rodney Gunter, DL (Jaguars): Three years, $18MM. $11.15MM guaranteed; $4.25MM signing bonus. 2020 and ’21 base salaries of $2MM and $4.9MM are guaranteed. Non-guaranteed 2022 base of $5.4MM, per Wilson (on Twitter).
  • Vic Beasley, OLB (Titans): One year, $9.5MM. The $9.5MM is guaranteed and includes a $6MM signing bonus. $2.5MM worth of sack-based incentives exist in the deal, Wilson adds (on Twitter).
  • Maliek Collins, DT (Raiders): One year, $6MM. $5.75MM guaranteed. Deal includes a $1.5MM sack-based incentive, Wilson tweets.
  • De’Vante Bausby, CB (Broncos): One year, $825K. The deal contains no guaranteed money, Mike Klis of 9News tweets.

Broncos To Let Adam Gotsis Hit FA

Not too long ago, it seemed as if he Broncos and defensive lineman Adam Gotsis would be entering into a multi-year contract. But Gotsis struggled in 2019 after a promising 2018 campaign, and Mike Klis of 9News.com says Denver will let the 2016 second-rounder hit the open market (Twitter link).

Klis also confirmed that the surgery that ended Gotsis’ 2019 season prematurely was to repair Gotsis’ ACL, and that he may miss the first month of the 2020 season. So Gotsis will almost certainly need to settle for a one-year prove-it deal in an effort to rebuild his value, and it does not like such a deal will be coming from the Broncos.

In other Mile High news, Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that the Broncos will not be bringing back linebacker Corey Nelson. Denver selected Nelson in the seventh round of the 2014 draft, and he entered his second tour of duty with the team when he signed a free agent pact last September. But his season ended after seven games due to a torn bicep.

Similarly, the Broncos are not planning to tender RFA corrner De’Vante Bausby, per Troy Renck of Denver7 (Twitter link). Bausby suffered a frightening neck injury in October that was ultimately diagnosed as a cervical sprain, but he has flashed some ability and is reportedly healthy, so he should find a new home at some point this spring.

Though they are preparing to part with Gotsis, Nelson, and Bausby, the Broncos are interested in bringing back linebacker Jeremiah Attaochu, as Klis notes in a separate tweet. In his first year with Denver in 2019, Attaochu started a career-high five games while recording 3.5 sacks, also a career best. However, it does not sound as though the Broncos will re-sign him prior to the opening of free agency and will instead wait until after the first wave of FAs have signed.

Broncos Sign Coty Sensabaugh, Place De’Vante Bausby On IR

The Broncos are making a move to bolster their ailing defense. Denver is signing veteran cornerback Coty Sensabaugh, sources told Mike Klis of Denver 9 News (Twitter link).

Klis notes that the Broncos worked out several corners this morning, and Sensabaugh apparently won the competition. De’Vante Bausby, who was just recently inserted into the starting lineup, suffered a scary spine injury in their Week 5 win over the Chargers, and Klis reports in a separate tweet that he’s headed to injured reserve. Sensabaugh was a fourth-round pick of the Titans back in 2012, and he brings a lot of starting experience.

For his career, the Clemson product has appeared in 101 games while making 43 starts. After playing out his initial rookie deal in Tennessee, he landed a three-year, $15MM deal from the Rams. He started a couple of games early on, but was surprisingly released after just a month in Los Angeles. He spent the past two seasons in Pittsburgh, and started ten games for them last season.

Bausby was ultimately diagnosed with a cervical sprain, and thankfully was back in the locker room today moving around well and speaking to reporters. He shared some frightening details, including that he was partially paralyzed for the first 30 minutes after taking a friendly-fire hit, via Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic (Twitter link). Hopefully Bausby continues to make a full recovery, and it sounds like that’s what is expected.

Injury Updates: Rudolph, Bausby, Hicks, Gallman, Sproles

Some key injuries around the league from today’s action:

  • There was a scary scene in Pittsburgh, when Mason Rudolph was knocked unconscious by a hit from Ravens safety Earl Thomas. Rudolph was knocked out cold, and was visibly disoriented even after waking up. He was diagnosed with a concussion, and taken to a local hospital as a precaution. Fortunately, Rudolph was cleared to go home from the hospital and is “doing well,” a source told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Undrafted rookie Devlin Hodges took over for Rudolph, and he looked surprisingly competent. The Samford product, recently signed from the practice squad after Ben Roethlisberger‘s injury, will start against the Chargers next week if Rudolph can’t go.
  • Speaking of scary injuries, Broncos cornerback De’Vante Bausby suffered one as well. Bausby was taken to a hospital, and Denver initially said they were waiting on MRI results for his “head and neck area before determining whether it’s safe for him to fly home or stay a night for observation,” according to a tweet from Mike Klis of Denver 9 News. Klis notes that head coach Vic Fangio said he was told Bausby “cleared the serious stage,” but wouldn’t say much more. Fortunately, Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic later tweeted that Bausby had been released from the hospital and would make the flight back to Denver with the team. Broncos spokesman Patrick Smyth tweeted that Bausby was diagnosed with a cervical sprain. Hopefully everything turns out alright for the former AAF star, who was recently inserted into the starting lineup.
  • The Bears lost as big favorites to the Raiders in London, and their day got even worse. Star defensive lineman Akiem Hicks hurt his elbow, and it doesn’t look good. Speaking after the game, head coach Matt Nagy didn’t sound overly optimistic. “I don’t think it is, but I don’t – again, I’ll get into more and find out more details,” Nagy said, when asked if the injury was season-ending, via Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Hicks made the Pro Bowl last year, and is a key cog in Chicago’s elite defense. Fortunately they have their bye in Week 6, but it sounds like Hicks is going to miss some time.
  • The Giants’ running back situation just got even more dire. Of course, they were missing workhorse Saquon Barkley, who is sidelined with an ankle injury. Wayne Gallman took over for Barkley as their lead back, and he was quickly ruled out with a concussion during their Week 5 loss to the Vikings. New York plays on Thursday Night Football against the Patriots this week, so Gallman will have a tough time getting cleared in just a few days. There’s been some talk Barkley could return for that game, although that still seems unlikely. Rookie quarterback Daniel Jones will be looking to pull off a shorthanded miracle.
  • Eagles running back Darren Sproles reached a new milestone in his illustrious career, but then got nicked up shortly after. During Philly’s win over the Jets Sproles moved into fifth place on the all-time all purpose yards list, but then left the game with a quad injury. Sproles hasn’t been playing too big of a role so far this season as the Eagles look to keep the 36-year-old fresh, but this is still something to monitor. There was no word on the severity right away.

Broncos’ Bryce Callahan Out At Least 4 More Weeks

Bad news for the Broncos, as they’ll continue to be without cornerback Bryce Callahan for the foreseeable future. Callahan is undergoing a “non-surgical procedure on his troublesome left foot,” a source told Mike Klis of Denver 9 News.

Klis reports that the procedure will sideline Callahan for at least the next four weeks. The expected timetable is 4-6 weeks, tweets Troy Renck of Denver ABC 7. The Broncos signed Callahan to a three-year deal worth $21MM with $10MM guaranteed back in March, and he’s yet to appear in a game for them. Callahan broke his foot toward the end of last season, and was recovering well until he re-aggravated it in training camp when another player stepped on it.

The team still isn’t placing him on injured reserve, signaling they expect to have him back within that timetable. If they had placed him on IR at the beginning of the season, his current timetable would’ve lined up nicely with the first eight games he would’ve had to miss. Callahan had a big season with the Bears last year, and he followed his defensive coordinator in Chicago Vic Fangio to the Broncos.

Callahan is going to start when healthy, and Denver’s secondary needs him. Isaac Yiadom had been starting at corner but was struggling mightily, and he got pulled for De’Vante Bausby last week against the Packers. Klis writes that the team is expected to give Bausby, an AAF standout, his second-career NFL start this Sunday against the Jaguars.