Bills Move OL Jon Feliciano To IR
Jon Feliciano will miss some time for the Bills, who placed the starting guard on IR. A calf injury will sideline Feliciano for at least the next three games.
The veteran blocker has established himself as a steady starter in Buffalo, after having been a four-year Raiders backup. The Bills have used Feliciano as a first-stringer in all 31 games during his tenure, but injuries have intervened in each of the past two seasons.
Feliciano missed a game earlier this year and was down for nearly half of last season. A torn pec sustained last summer delayed Feliciano’s 2020 season by seven games, but he did not miss any time after returning to Buffalo’s lineup.
The Bills have some depth up front, but both Feliciano and rookie Spencer Brown — a third-round rookie who has started the past three games — are out for Sunday’s game against the Jaguars. Brown is not on Buffalo’s IR, but the small-school product will miss Week 9 due to a calf injury. Cody Ford and Ike Boettger remain healthy guard options for the AFC East leaders. While Ford, Boettger and Brown have each been part-time starters, Feliciano has not given up his starting spot.
In addition to the Feliciano move, the Bills placed Mitchell Trubisky on their reserve/COVID-19 list. Trubisky has served as Josh Allen‘s backup this season. Davis Webb will play that role Sunday, being bumped up from the practice squad. Jake Fromm remains on Buffalo’s coronavirus list. The Bills also elevated offensive lineman Jamil Douglas and tight end Quintin Morris from their practice squad.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/16/21
The Week 6 Saturday minor move blitz:
Carolina Panthers
- Promoted: RB Spencer Brown, G Michael Jordan
Chicago Bears
- Promoted: G Dieter Eiselen, RB Artavis Pierce
Cincinnati Bengals
- Promoted: LB Joe Bachie, RB Trayveon Williams
- Placed on IR: G D’Ante Smith
Cleveland Browns
- Promoted: DT Sheldon Day, CB Herb Miller, T Alex Taylor
- Released from IR via injury settlement: TE Connor Davis
Dallas Cowboys
- Promoted: FB Nick Ralston, TE Jeremy Sprinkle
- Waived: T Brandon Knight
Denver Broncos
- Placed on IR: CB Mike Ford
Green Bay Packers
- Promoted: WR Juwann Winfree
Houston Texans
- Activated from IR: WR Nico Collins
- Promoted: QB Jeff Driskel, G Lane Taylor, OL Cole Toner
- Placed on IR: T Laremy Tunsil (story)
- Released: LB Joe Thomas
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Promoted: OL K.C. McDermott, WR Laquon Treadwell, K Matthew Wright
Kansas City Chiefs
- Promoted: DE Demone Harris
Las Vegas Raiders
- Promoted: DL Kendal Vickers
Los Angeles Chargers
- Promoted: LB Cole Christiansen, DL Breiden Fehoko
Los Angeles Rams
- Promoted: CB Donte Deayon
Minnesota Vikings
- Promoted: TE Luke Stocker
New England Patriots
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: T Isaiah Wynn
- Promoted: OL James Ferentz
New York Giants
- Activated from IR: LB Cam Brown
- Promoted: T Korey Cunningham, WR Dante Pettis
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Activated from IR: T Zach Banner
- Placed on IR: J.J. Smith-Schuster (story)
Seattle Seahawks
- Activated from IR: CB Tre Brown, C Ethan Pocic
- Promoted: WR Phillip Dorsett, QB Jake Luton
Washington Football Team
- Promoted: WR Antonio Gandy-Golden, T David Steinmetz
Wednesday NFL Transactions: NFC South
Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline Tuesday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters. In addition to waiver claims, teams can begin constructing their 16-man practice squads today. These moves for the Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers and Saints are noted below.
Here are Wednesday’s NFC South transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day.
Atlanta Falcons
Claimed:
- G Colby Gossett (from Browns)
Signed to practice squad:
- OL Willie Beavers, LB Quinton Bell, LB Emmanuel Ellerbee, RB D’Onta Foreman, WR Juwan Green, RB Caleb Huntley, S Dwayne Johnson, OL Sam Jones, OL Ryan Neuzil, LB George Obinna, TE John Raine, DL Chris Slayton, WR Austin Trammell, TE David Wells, CB Chris Williamson
Carolina Panthers
Release from IR:
Signed to practice squad:
- WR Omar Bayless, RB Spencer Brown, DL Frank Herron, CB Jalen Julius, WR Keith Kirkwood, CB Rashaan Melvin, OL Aaron Monteiro, QB James Morgan, S Kenny Robinson, WR C.J. Saunders, RB Rodney Smith, TE Stephen Sullivan, OL Sam Tecklenburg
New Orleans Saints
Released:
- K Aldrick Rosas; Rosas is expected to re-sign later this week, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets
Claimed:
- RB Adam Prentice (from Broncos)
Signed to practice squad:
- FB Alex Armah, WR Kawaan Baker, OT Caleb Benenoch, DT Josiah Bronson, DT Albert Huggins, LB Wynton McManis, DB Bryan Mills, DB KeiVarae Russell, WR Kevin White, WR Easop Winston, TE Ethan Wolf
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Signed to practice squad:
- S Andrew Adams, WR Cyril Grayson, QB Ryan Griffin, WR Travis Jonsen, TE Codey McElroy, WR Jaydon Mickens, CB Herb Miller, DL Benning Potoa’e, DL Kobe Smith, RB Darwin Thompson, OL Brandon Walton, TE Deon Yelder
Bills’ Dion Dawkins Not Close To Full Strength After COVID-19 Hospitalization
Dion Dawkins has not participated in team drills throughout Bills training camp, and Sean McDermott said the team’s starting left tackle is not close to being ready to return to full work. Dawkins landed on the team’s reserve/COVID-19 list July 28 and required hospitalization after contracting the virus, Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN.com reports.
The 6-foot-5, 320-pound lineman was hospitalized for four days after developing severe COVID-19 symptoms. Dawkins lost 16 pounds and may have an uphill battle to be ready by the time the Bills begin their season.
“He’s not close to where he needs to be to play and help us,” McDermott said. “So he’s got a long road here. … He’s going to control what he can control, and so are we. He’s got to continue to work hard to get himself back to where he’s — I mean, this is what, going on Week 4 of training camp at this point, so he’s missed a lot of time.”
The Bills activated Dawkins off their reserve/COVID list late last week, and he has begun doing conditioning work. Dawkins, 27, was not considered fully vaccinated at the time of the hospitalization. Dawkins’ hospitalization marks another rough step for the Bills on the virus front. Tight end Tommy Sweeney missed all of the 2020 season after developing myocarditis, a heart condition associated with COVID-19.
Dawkins’ status, of course, will have a bigger impact on the Bills. He is in the first season of a four-year, $68MM extension and has been the team’s left tackle starter since 2017. Buffalo has given third-round rookie Spencer Brown the bulk of its left tackle reps during camp. The team drafted Brown out of Northern Iowa with the No. 93 overall pick.
NFL Draft Pick Signings: 7/20/21
Here are today’s draft pick signings:
Baltimore Ravens
- OL Ben Cleveland (Georgia, third round)
Buffalo Bills
- OT Spencer Brown (Northern Iowa, third round)
Jacksonville Jaguars
- CB Tyson Campbell (Georgia, second round)
- OT Walker Little (Stanford, second round)
New England Patriots
- DE Ronnie Perkins (Oklahoma, third round)
Pittsburgh Steelers
- OL Kendrick Green (Illinois, third round)
The pair of Jaguars rookies are the most notable names on the list. The Georgia product rebounded from an injury-plagued 2019 campaign, finishing with 29 tackles, five passes defended, and one interception. The Jaguars selected Campbell with the first selection of the second round, and he should compete for a starting gig right away. Meanwhile, Little was selected with the 45th pick of the draft following a standout collegiate career that saw him earn first-team All-Pac-12 honors. He’ll likely have to work his way into playing time behind Cam Robinson and/or Jawaan Taylor.
Meanwhile, the Steelers’ signing of Green means the team has officially inked their entire draft class to rookie contracts.