JaMycal Hasty was waived by the Jaguars this past weekend following a year-plus with the organization. The running back had 320 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns during his first season in Jacksonville but was limited to only three games and zero touches this year. He’ll be hard pressed to carve out a role in New England with Rhamondre Stevenson and Ezekiel Elliott leading the depth chart.
With Kyler Murraynot being activated from injured reserve this week, the Cardinals are heading into Week 9 with Clayton Tune as the only quarterback on their active roster. Driskel will be called up for the week as a standard gameday elevation to back up Tune.
With Matthew Stafford listed as questionable for tomorrow’s game, the Rams are adding some depth at the quarterback position. Dresser Winn had a breakout 2022 campaign at UT Martin, tossing 18 touchdowns while adding another three scores on the ground. He joined the Rams as an UDFA but was cut at the end of the preseason. He had a brief stint in the Canadian Football League before rejoining the Rams practice squad earlier this week. If Stafford can’t go, Brett Rypien will get the call under center for the Rams.
Peters will be elevated for the second straight week in Seattle. The 41-year-old, playing in his 19th NFL season, split snaps with right tackle Stone Forsythe last week against Cleveland.
Reagor has been called up as a standard gameday elevation three times now for the Patriots, the maximum under a single practice squad contract. It remains to be seen if he will stick on the team’s active roster, but if he’s going to see any more game action this year, the promotion was a necessary one. He’s obviously able to play while on the active roster, but if the team were to release him and re-sign him to the practice squad, he would have the ability to be elevated three more times on the new deal.
The Bills and Buccaneers are making their standard gameday elevations for Thursday Night Football tonight. Veterans Isabella and Norman will both be making their season debuts if they see the field tonight in Buffalo, as will LeCounte and Senat for the Bucs. Norman has a good chance to see the field with Kaiir Elam out and Tre’Davious White still on injured reserve. Senat likewise should get a chance to rotate in for Tampa with Vita Vea currently inactive.
Two months shy of his 36th birthday, Josh Norman looks to have secured another gig. The Bills are reuniting with their former starting defender, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero. This is a practice squad agreement.
The three-time reigning AFC East champions have seen multiple CB injuries transpire over the past two weeks. Tre’Davious White is lost for the season, and slot corner Taron Johnson left Sunday’s Jaguars matchup with a knee injury. Johnson walked off the field and is not among the Bills’ growing number of defenders lost for the year, but he did not leave the team’s concerning London trip unscathed. Christian Benford is also dealing with an injury, though Sean McDermott labeled the second-year starter day-to-day with a shoulder issue.
Norman, who played for McDermott in Carolina and then Buffalo, was last with the Bills in 2020. He played nine games for McDermott’s team that season. The well-traveled veteran spent last season back with the Panthers.
Buffalo used a first-round pick on a cornerback in 2022, but Kaiir Elam has not seized a starting job. Elam was a healthy scratch over the Bills’ first four games. Even after White’s exit, the team has experience in place, rostering the likes of Dane Jackson, Siran Neal and Cameron Lewis. Elam, however, started against the Jaguars and played 80 defensive snaps in the narrow loss.
Norman saw action in two Panthers games last season. He is best known for his original stint in Charlotte and subsequent run in Washington. Norman parlayed a contract-year breakout — one that occurred during Carolina’s 15-1 season that ended in Super Bowl 50 — into a record-setting deal with Washington. The then-Bruce Allen-run team authorized a five-year, $75MM extension for Norman shortly after the then-Dave Gettleman-led Panthers rescinded his franchise tag. Norman, though, did not live up to his Washington pact and ended up a 2020 cap casualty.
The Bills gave Norman a one-year, $6MM deal in 2020, hoping he could lock down their other boundary post opposite White. Norman failed to do so, going down with a hamstring injury early in his tenure and only starting three Bills contests that year. Norman spent the 2021 season with the 49ers, a year that included one of the most unusual stat lines in recent NFL history. Norman is credited with forcing seven fumbles during his 2021 San Francisco one-off, which did include 14 starts. Not much free agency interest followed, however, leading him back to Carolina as a late-season pickup.
5:00pm: To little surprise, a deal has indeed been finalized. The Panthers announced that Norman is officially back in the fold, joining the team’s practice squad for now. An elevation to the 53-man roster in time for Week 17 is expected to take place.
2:42pm: With the Panthers dealing with a significant loss in their secondary, a familiar face could be back in the fold soon. Veteran Josh Norman is set to workout with the team today, and a deal bringing him back in the fold is a distinct possibility (Twitterlinks via Joe Person of The Athletic).
The news comes not long after interim head coach Steve Wilks announced that fellow cornerback Jaycee Hornwill undergo wrist surgery on Tuesday. A determination will be made after that procedure regarding whether or not the 2021 first-rounder will be able to return at any time this season. It is not expected at this point that he will be able to suit up before 2023.
Horn’s presumed season-ending absence has opened up a spot at the position, and Norman would represent an experienced addition should his visit result in a deal. The 35-year-old began his career as a fifth-rounder of the Panthers in 2012. He enjoyed his best seasons there, including the 2015 campaign which saw him earn Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors after notching four interceptions. He played an instrumental role in the team’s run to the Super Bowl that year.
The Coastal Carolina alum departed for Washington the following offseason, and spent four years there. He tallied seven interceptions and 43 pass deflections during that tenure, demonstrating his continued ability to make plays on the ball into the latter stages of his career. His Washington stint was followed by one-year deals with the Bills and 49ers.
Norman has not played since he made 15 appearances (including 14 starts) with San Francisco last year. While expectations would certainly need to be tempered relative to the last time in played for Carolina, he could step in and play at least a rotational role for the final two weeks of the season – a stretch which carries far more significance at this point than many would have expected given the team’s start to the campaign.
The Panthers sit at 6-9 on the season, putting them just one game behind the Buccaneers for top spot in the NFC South. The two teams will face off against each other on Sunday in a pivotal matchup, one which could include the beginning of Norman’s reunion with his original NFL team.
Despite suffering a brutal chest injury last weekend, 49ers cornerback Josh Norman was still hoping that he’d be able to play this weekend. However, head coach Kyle Shanahan tempered expectations during yesterday’s press conference.
“Right now, I’ll see how it is when I talk to the doctors today, but I would pretty much think it’s pretty doubtful,” Shanahan said (h/t to 49erswebzone.com). “We’re hoping he can get out there. He’s trying to condition. Any time you get an injury like that when it’s in your lungs area and stuff like that, when you do heal up, you’ve got to get your stamina back. You’ve got to get your breath back. Any time you mess with the lungs, it’s a little bit scary for anybody, let alone an athlete, out there working hard and doing stuff like that. We’ll be able to condition him the most today that we’ve been able to in the last five days, and if he responds real well, then I think he’ll have a chance. So, hopefully, we have a good day today.”
The veteran had to go to the hospital last weekend after reportedly spitting up blood. He was later diagnosed with bruised lungs and tissue damage.
Norman caught on with the 49ers right before the start of the regular season. He’s started two games this year, collecting three tackles and one forced fumble. The 33-year-old got into nine games for the Bills in 2020. Before that, Norman was one of the best corners in the league. His best work came during his time with the Panthers. He dominated in 2015, playing a key role in their run to Super Bowl 50. He intercepted four passes that year, taking two back for touchdowns. It remains one of the best contract-year performances in modern NFL history.
September 10th, 2021 at 10:51pm CST by Sam Robinson
One of two Cardinals linebackers mentioned in trade rumors this offseason, Jordan Hicks will join Chandler Jones in being with the team when it begins its season Sunday. The Cardinals gave Hicks permission to seek a trade in May, after drafting Zaven Collins in Round 1 and anointing him the starter alongside Isaiah Simmons. But nothing materialized. GM Steve Keim said Hicks, despite his demotion, will play “a strong role” on this year’s Arizona defense, via Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com. Citing Simmons’ positional flexibility, Keim said there will be times when Simmons, Collins and Hicks line up together. The Cards have devoted considerable resources to their off-ball linebacker spots, drafting Simmons and Collins in the first round — after taking Haason Reddick in the 2017 first round and slotting him off the ball for most of his run — and signing Hicks to a four-year, $36MM deal in 2019. Hicks accepted a $3MM salary cut in March, and the 32-game Cardinal starter’s workload will certainly be reduced from the 100% and 92% defensive snap rates of the past two seasons.
Here is the latest from the NFC West:
The Rams still reside near the bottom of the NFL in cap space, but they created some breathing room by restructuring Tyler Higbee‘s deal. The team added $1.65MM in space by moving some of Higbee’s base salary into a signing bonus, Lindsey Thiry of ESPN.com tweets. Prior to this move, the franchise held less than $1MM in cap room. Higbee signed a four-year, $31MM extension in 2019. This week’s move dropped his 2021 base salary to just more than $1MM.
Josh Norman is set to play a 10th NFL season and do so with a fourth team, having signed with the 49ers this week. However, Norman’s camp and the 49ers discussed a deal for months, the veteran cornerback said Friday (via KNBR). Norman, 33, has played with Carolina, Washington and Buffalo. He will join a 49ers team that was already thin at cornerback before listing Emmanuel Moseley as doubtful for Week 1. San Francisco has injury-prone Jason Verrett stationed as its other top outside corner. Norman, who has not returned to a Pro Bowl since his standout 2015 contract year, played 344 defensive snaps with the Bills last season.
The 49ers will begin their season without one of their assistant coaches. Linebackers coach Johnny Holland recently stepped away from the team due to a battle with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com notes. This is the second time Holland has left the 49ers because of his cancer battle; he did so in 2019 after initially being diagnosed. The fifth-year 49ers assistant began treatment this week. Holland, 56, has been an NFL assistant for more than 20 years, beginning in 1995 with the Packers, for whom he played linebacker in the late 1980s and early ’90s. Holland has worked with Kyle Shanahan dating back to their days as Texans assistants in the 2000s.
September 5th, 2021 at 6:21pm CST by Zachary Links
The 49ers have agreed to sign cornerback Josh Norman, according to Jay Glazer of FOX Sports (Twitter link). The former Pro Bowler can earn up to $2.5MM on the one-year pact, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears.
We haven’t heard much about Norman in recent months, but he’s secured a new deal with just days to go before the start of the season. The veteran signed a one-year, $6MM deal with the Bills last year, making him one of several ex-Panthers to rejoin Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane in that cycle. However, a hamstring injury and a stint on the COVID-19 list cost him much of the year games. Norman finished 2019 with 24 stops and one interception in nine games.
Before that, Norman was once considered one of the best corners in the league. His best work came during his time with the Panthers. He dominated in 2015, playing a key role in their run to Super Bowl 50. He intercepted four passes that year, taking two back for touchdowns. It remains one of the best contract-year performances in modern NFL history. The Panthers rescinded Norman’s franchise tag in April 2016, leading to his five-year, $75MM Redskins pact. He did not match that play in Washington, a tenure that ended with the Redskins benching him.
Now, the 31-year-old will look to bounce back in SF where he’ll support starters Jason Verrett and Emmanuel Moseley.
