Jonathan Greenard

Texans Place RB Dameon Pierce On IR

Dameon Pierce‘s season has come to an end. The Texans have placed the rookie running back on injured reserve, reports ESPN’s Field Yates (via Twitter).

Pierce suffered a high ankle sprain during Houston’s Week 14 loss to the Cowboys, although initial reports indicated that the injury was mild. It was believed that the rookie RB may only have to miss a game or two, which wouldn’t necessitate a move to IR. Instead, the Texans decided to shut down Pierce for the year.

The fourth-round rookie has quickly established himself as an offensive focal point in Houston. He’s started all 13 games for the Texans, and he leads all rookies with 939 rushing yards. In total, the Florida product has contributed 1,104 yards from scrimmage and five touchdowns. With Pierce out for the final four games, the Texans will likely turn to Rex Burkhead and Dare Ogunbowale to lead their RB room. Royce Freeman will also be signed to the active roster, according to Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com (on Twitter).

Cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. and defensive tackle Taylor Stallworth are also heading to IR, per Yates. Stingley, the third-overall pick in this year’s draft, hasn’t played since Week 10 while recovering from a hamstring injury. He started each of his nine appearances for the Texans this season, collecting 43 tackles and one interception. After starting the season in Kansas City, Stallworth got into one game for Houston in 2022.

There is some good news on the injury front. According to Wilson (on Twitter), the Texans have also activated defensive lineman Jon Greenard from IR. Greenard had eight sacks in 12 starts last season, and he started each of Houston’s first four games this year before landing on IR. To round out their moves, the Texans signed defensive back Jacobi Francis to the 53-man roster and have promoted defensive back Will Redmond and tight end Mason Schreck from the practice squad.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/7/22

Here are Wednesday’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Ellefson came off IR just last week and did not play in the Vikings’ matchup against the Jets. A nagging groin injury will send the third-year tight end back to IR. Although the new IR rules allow for players to be activated twice from IR, Minnesota’s injury-return math may come into play by the time Ellefson’s second activation window opens (Week 18).

In Darden, Browns snagged the NFL’s punt-return yards leader. The 2021 Bucs fourth-rounder has not seen much action on offense, with Tampa Bay oozing experience at the receiver position. But he has been Tampa Bay’s primary punt returner. Darden has totaled 330 punt-return yards this season. A 2021 third-round pick, Schwartz sustained a concussion that has sent him to IR. Ragland has spent the past month on the Raiders’ taxi squad. The Browns are the former second-round pick’s fifth team in four seasons; the ex-Jets draftee was with the Chiefs, Lions and Giants from 2019-21. After losing Anthony Walker and Jacob Phillips earlier this year, the Browns moved Sione Takitaki to IR with an ACL tear this week.

A rotational cog for the Saints, Colts and Chiefs during his five-year career, Stallworth played only 14% of Kansas City’s defensive snaps this season. He committed a third-down roughing-the-passer penalty during a Bengals touchdown drive in Week 13. The Texans had already used one of their injury activations on Dwumfour; the 1-10-1 team has three remaining. Greenard, who led the 2021 Texans with eight sacks, has been on the shelf since going down with a calf injury in an October practice.

Texans Place DE Jonathan Greenard On IR

The Texans will be without one of their top pass rushers for the next month-plus. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that Houston is placing defensive end Jonathan Greenard on the injured reserve.

The defensive end injured his calf this week during practice. The injury is expected to sideline Greenard for four to six weeks. The pass rusher missed Week 5 with an ankle injury but was expected to be back on the field after Houston’s bye week. Instead, while preparing for Week 7, Greenard suffered an injury that will keep him off the field for at least the next four games.

The 2020 third-round pick made a name for himself in 2021. In 12 starts for Houston, Greenard finished with 33 tackles, eight sacks, and a pair of forced fumbles. Through four games this season, he collected 1.5 sacks and five tackles for loss, with Pro Football Focus ranking him 78th among 116 qualifying edge rushers. The 25-year-old graded out much better in the past, ranking 11th in 2021.

When Greenard was out of the lineup in Week 5, Mario Addison made his season debut and ended up playing 64 percent of his team’s defensive snaps. Rasheem Green has also seen his role grow, culminating in him seeing a season-high in defensive snaps in Week 5. The duo will likely fill in for Greenard at defensive end opposite Jerry Hughes, with Demone Harris and Ogbonnia Okoronkwo also there to soak up some snaps.

NFL COVID-19 List Updates: 12/29/21

Several key players returned to practice Wednesday. Here are the latest COVID-19 updates from around the league:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Activated from practice squad/COVID-19 list: WR Rico Bussey

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

NFL COVID List Updates: 12/20/21

A long list of players were placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. We listed the players who landed on the list today, as well as those who were activated off the list:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New York Giants

New York Jets

  • Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: DE John Franklin-Myers, DB Sharrod Neasman

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

NFL COVID List Updates

We are trying our best here at Pro Football Rumors to keep up with all of the updates throughout the league concerning players on the reserve/COVID-19 list. A lot of teams had high hopes during today’s testing as they were trying to get players activated in time for Sunday’s slate of games.

Here are updates as of 8:30 PM ET, Sat 12/18:

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: DT Eddie Goldman
  • OC Bill Lazor, DC Sean Desai, STC Chris Tabor in COVID-19 protocols

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: DB P.J. Locke

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

  • Four Coaches in COVID-19 protocols

New York Giants

New York Jets

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Football Team

NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/13/20

We’ll keep track of today’s mid- to late-round signings here:

  • The Texans and third-round pick Jonathan Greenard have come to terms, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The former Louisville and Florida linebacker was tangentially involved in some draft-day drama between Houston and the Lions, as the Texans reportedly believed they had a deal in place to send the No. 90 pick to Detroit only to have the Lions back out at the last moment (which the Lions vehemently deny). The Texans kept the pick and selected Greenard, who posted 10 sacks in his final collegiate season and who hopes to become a part of Houston’s pass-rushing rotation. Greenard’s four-year deal is worth about $4.5MM and includes a signing bonus of roughly $900K.
  • The Colts have signed sixth-round choice Isaiah Rodgers, per Josh Alper of PFT. Rodgers, a UMass product, will battle for a spot on Indianapolis’ cornerback depth chart and on the clubs’ special teams unit. He is set to earn $3.44MM over the course of his four-year deal, which includes a $145K signing bonus.
  • The Titans inked fifth-round pick Larrell Murchison, per a club announcement. Murchison, an NC State product, made a name for himself as a disruptor on the defensive line after transferring over from a JUCO program.

Latest On Dolphins’ Draft Plans

We heard earlier this morning that the Dolphins and Lions are expecting to execute a trade that will allow Miami to jump up to the No. 3 overall selection while shipping the No. 5 pick to Detroit. The ‘Fins had hoped to keep their No. 5 pick and trade from their other draft assets, but Lions GM Bob Quinn isn’t biting on that.

So if the trade is consummated, it’s unclear what other draft picks will be heading to Motown. Though recent buzz has suggested that the Dolphins will take Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa with their No.5 selection if they don’t engineer a trade-up, the team will likely grab a left tackle if it lands the No. 3 pick. After all, the Giants, who hold the No. 4 overall selection, are also in the LT market, and a move to No. 3 would allow the Dolphins to select the player of their choice at that position.

But that would leave the club with a notable vacancy at QB. Per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, there are still execs and scouts within the Dolphins’ front office that like Oregon passer Justin Herbert, so if Miami stays put at No. 5, Herbert can’t be ruled out. And if he is still on the board when the Dolphins are on the clock with the No. 18 overall pick — and if they haven’t picked a different QB by then — Herbert obviously becomes even more of a possibility.

In addition to QB and LT, the Dolphins have plenty of other needs to fill. And while WR is not necessarily the most pressing of those needs, a young receiving talent can’t be ruled out in the bottom of the first round. Baylor wideout Denzel Mims could still be available when the team makes its No. 26 overall selection — assuming, of course, it hasn’t been traded — and a Baylor football official tells Jackson that the Dolphins “really like” the raw but talented prospect.

Per Jackson, Miami has also shown interest in UVA wide receiver Hasise Dubois, Auburn safety Daniel Thomas, and Florida edge defender Jonathan Greenard.