The Vikings ended Day’s three-month free agency stay in December, adding the veteran D-lineman to their practice squad. Day, 28, did not see any action with the team this season, but he will stick around ahead of the 2023 league year. Day saw 46% of the Browns’ defensive snaps in 2021 and was a regular 49ers contributor in the late 2010s. Although injuries bumped him up to such status, Day worked as a starter in each of San Francisco’s three 2019 playoff games.
The rare Day 2 draft choice to be traded before he played a down with the team that selected him, Bowden spent the season on the Patriots’ practice squad. The former Raiders draftee-turned-Dolphins trade acquisition loomed as a trade candidate in August but ended up being waived. Bowden, 25, has played in just one game over the past two seasons. But he spent the full season on New England’s P-squad. The Pats will keep him around ahead of Bill O’Brien‘s first offseason back in Foxborough.
After rising from the practice squad to starter during his second Patriots stint, Marcus Cannon will be shut down for a while. The Patriots placed their first-string right tackle on IR on Saturday.
Cannon is believed to have suffered a concussion during the week, Ben Volin of the Boston Globe tweets. He joins Brian Hoyer as Patriots to be placed on IR after concussions this season. Cannon must miss at least four games. Despite Hoyer being eligible to return from IR, the Patriots have not activated the veteran backup yet. The Patriots have six injury activations remaining this season; one of those should be expected to be reserved for Cannon down the line.
Isaiah Wynn‘s struggles upon shifting to right tackle — an unexpected offseason switch between he and Trent Brown — led the Pats to bench the former first-round pick and dangle him in trades. No team came forward, and Wynn remains with the Patriots. A New England trade involving Wynn would have been fairly risky, given Brown and Cannon’s recent injury pasts. Wynn is now in position to start for the Pats again.
The Patriots reacquired Cannon, 34, by signing him to their practice squad this year. After a four-game 2021 season with the Texans — one that saw Cannon go on IR ahead of a Week 5 Patriots matchup — the former Pats right tackle re-emerged as a viable New England starter. Coming off back surgery, Cannon returned to the Pats’ starting lineup in Week 5. After breaking back into the lineup as a sixth O-lineman, Cannon replaced Wynn in Week 7.
From 2012-22, Cannon — a fifth-round Pats pick in 2011 — has made 73 starts with the team. He worked as their right tackle starter in Super Bowls LI and LIII as well.
Wynn had allowed three sacks during his four-start 2022, committing an NFL-high eight penalties. But the contract-year blocker should be expected to have another chance. Wynn, who also has a fairly extensive injury history, shifted to the role of a sixth blocker in Week 8. He played 25 snaps. The Pats used one of their injury activations on Yodny Cajuste recently, but the 2021 third-round pick did not play any offensive snaps against the Jets.
The Pats also signed running back J.J. Taylor to their active roster, moving him up from their practice squad, and elevated wideout Lynn Bowden and offensive lineman Kody Russey.
Both Preston Williams and Lynn Bowden came up in recent trade rumors, but no deals emerged. Instead, each young wide receiver is now on the waiver wire.
The Dolphins cut both on Tuesday, per ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter and NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (Twitterlinks). Miami’s trade inquiries did not fall entirely on deaf ears, at least in Williams’ case. Multiple teams reached out about the former UDFA, Pelissero adds. But he can now be acquired via waiver claim.
One year remains on Williams’ contract, while Bowden’s rookie deal has two years left. Williams, whose NFL path has been a bit complicated based on his rookie-year offseason, has two years left on his initial NFL deal.
The Raiders drafted Bowden in the 2020 third round but traded him to the Dolphins before he played a down in Las Vegas. The gadget-type weapon was one of many 2020 Raider draftees not to be long for the organization. He caught 28 passes for 211 yards for the Dolphins as a rookie but did not play in 2021.
Williams emerged as a quick study in 2019, when he caught 32 passes for 428 yards in just eight games. That Dolphins team was light at receiver alongside DeVante Parker, but it became even lighter when Williams suffered a torn ACL. Williams has never seen his value restored since that injury, and the Lisfranc problem he encountered in 2020 compounded his health issues. Over the past two seasons, Williams has not matched his rookie-year yardage total.
The Dolphins, who nontendered Williams as an RFA this year before re-signing him at a reduced rate, also added some talent at receiver (Tyreek Hill, Cedrick Wilson Jr.) this offseason.
The Dolphins will cap Jermaine Eluemunor‘s Miami stay at less than three months. After signing the veteran tackle in June, the team opted to cut him on Tuesday, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. Miami is also placing wide receiver Lynn Bowden on IR, per Pelissero (on Twitter).
Eluemunor, who spent the past two seasons with the Patriots, was vying for a backup tackle gig in Miami. The Dolphins have done some shuffling on their offensive line, but they will move on without the four-year veteran ahead of the deadline for teams to cut their rosters down to 80 players.
This move comes days after the team acquired third-year tackle Greg Little from the Panthers. The Dolphins have now parted ways with multiple veteran O-linemen since the start of training camp. They placed D.J. Fluker on IR and reached an injury settlement to jettison the guard.
Eluemunor started eight games for the Pats last season, filling in for a team that again was down Isaiah Wynn for a stretch and one that lost Marcus Cannon to an opt-out choice. Pro Football Focus graded Eluemunor as a middle-of-the-road tackle, slotting him 47th at the position in 419 snaps. Eluemunor visited the Broncos earlier this year, but Denver opted to sign Bobby Massie and Cameron Fleming to fill its Ja’Wuan James-created void at right tackle.
The Dolphins acquired Bowden from the Raiders last summer, marking a strange NFL path for the 2020 third-round pick. Bowden contributed in a few Fins games, catching 28 passes for 211 yards for a receiver-deficient team. Miami expanded its wideout group this year, signing Will Fuller and draftingJaylen Waddle in Round 1. Albert Wilson‘s return gave the Dolphins more depth, and Bowden was battling for a roster spot.
While the Dolphins could keep Bowden on IR all season and develop him, players who land on IR at this time of the year are often subsequently released from teams’ injury lists via injury-settlement payments. It is unclear if the Dolphins play to remove Bowden from IR via that transaction, but Tuesday’s move ensures he cannot play for the team in 2021.
The Dolphins also waived wideouts Robert Foster and Isaiah Ford, cutting the former with an injury designation.
The Raiders have wrapped up their 2020 NFL Draft class. Following their reported agreement with first-round wide receiver Henry Ruggs, the Raiders formally announced deals for the rest of the class. Here’s the full rundown, via PFR’s tracker:
Per the terms of his slot, Arnette will receive a four-year deal worth $13.4MM, including a signing bonus of ~$7.3MM. Beyond that, the Raiders will hold a fifth-year option to keep him under club control through the 2024 season. Arnette wasn’t expected to go in the middle of the first round, but the Raiders aren’t afraid to buck conventional thought.
Arnette took a while to develop and reach Ohio State’s starting lineup, but once he got there, he provided the Buckeyes with a solid partner opposite star Jeff Okudah. With the ability to play on the inside or the outside, the Raiders believe that Arnette has what it takes to make it at the next level. His 4.56 second 40-yard-dash didn’t necessarily impress evaluators, but his ability to jam receivers at the line is a major plus.
