Tristen Hoge

Broncos Place DT DeShawn Williams On IR

DeShawn Williams is out for the season. The Broncos have placed their starting defensive tackle on injured reserve. Williams’ elbow injury will knock him out of the lineup for Denver’s final two games of the season.

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Williams was an undrafted free agent out of Clemson in 2015, but he’s found a home in Denver over the past two years. After starting 11 games for the Broncos in 2020, he’s started eight of his 15 contests in 2021. The 28-year-old has compiled 39 tackles, one sack, five QB hits, and one tackle for loss. Williams saw a season-high 35 defensive snaps during Denver’s loss to the Raiders on Sunday.

To help fill the void (and for extra insurance in case of COVID protocols for Mike Purcell), the Broncos signed Justin Hamilton off the Cowboys practice squad. The defensive tackle has spent most of the past two seasons with the Cowboys, getting into 19 games. He’s appeared in nine games this season, collecting 10 tackles and two QB hits.

The Broncos made a handful of additional moves today, signing guard Tristen Hoge, defensive end Deyon Sizer, and defensive tackle Akeem Spence to the practice squad.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/28/21

Today’s taxi squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Cleveland Browns

Cincinnati Bengals

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts 

Jacksonville Jaguars 

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Browns Work Out Three RBs

The Browns have one of the best running back pairings in the NFL, but that didn’t stop the team from auditioning some backs this week. According to Aaron Wilson (via Twitter), the Browns worked out running backs Brian Hill, Ryquell Armstead, and Artavis Pierce. That trio was joined by five other players, including linebacker Reuben Foster.

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Hill, 25, has the most experience among that grouping of running backs. The veteran had spent most of his career in Atlanta, and he finished his stint with the Falcons by having a career year. Hill finished the 2020 campaign having collected a career-high 664 yards from scrimmage to go along with one touchdown. Hill signed with the Titans this past offseason but landed on IR before the conclusion of the preseason. He was released from IR earlier this month.

Armstead got into 16 games as a rookie with the Jaguars in 2019, finishing with 252 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. He sat out the 2020 season while dealing with issues from COVID-19, and after getting claimed by the Giants in May, he was waived by his new team in June. Pierce, a 2020 undrafted free agent out of Oregon State, saw time in five games with the Bears last season, rushing for 34 yards and one touchdown on six carries.

The Browns also worked out safety Josh Shaw and guards Tristen Hoge, Sam Jones, and Chad Slade.

Jets Place Vinny Curry On Reserve/NFI List

More bad news for the Jets’ pass rush. They placed defensive end Vinny Curry on their reserve/non-football injury list Tuesday. This will sideline Curry for the entire 2021 season.

The veteran edge rusher underwent an undisclosed offseason surgery and did not participate during the Jets’ training camp, residing on the team’s active/NFI list. Gang Green moving the ex-Eagle to the reserve/NFI list marks more unavailability for its thinning pass rush, with the move coming after the team lost Carl Lawson for the season due to an Achilles tear.

The Jets signed Curry in late March, giving him a one-year, $1.3MM deal that includes $1.1MM fully guaranteed. Curry has 32.5 career sacks in nine NFL seasons. The 33-year-old defensive end has spent all but one season with the Eagles but signed with the Jets to be a role player in Robert Saleh‘s new scheme. The Jets’ edge-rushing group is now even lighter on experience, and the team is looking into trades.

Beyond ex-49er Ronald Blair, who has not played since midway through the 2019 season due to injury, New York is down to the likes of John Franklin-Myers (two career starts; five career sacks) and struggling third-round pick Jabari Zuniga (zero, zero) on the edge. Kyle Phillips (seven, 1.5) is on the team’s active/PUP list. The team will almost certainly add an edge rusher or two in the coming days.

Just ahead of the deadline for teams to pare their rosters from 85 to 80 players, the Jets also waived four — wide receivers Josh Malone and Manasseh Bailey, tackle Tristen Hoge and linebacker Edmond Robinson.

Jets Cut WR Josh Doctson

The Jets are doing some spring cleaning. On Friday, the Jets released six players from their offseason roster, including wide receiver Josh Doctson. Meanwhile, they also welcomed 12 new undrafted free agents. Here’s the full rundown:

Released:

Signed:

Doctson, a former first-round pick of the WFT, joined the Jets in February as a street free agent. In August, he exercised his right to opt out, tolling his one-year pact to 2021. While Doctson did not deliver on Washington’s investment, he did post multiple 500-plus-yard seasons from 2017-18 and profiled as a somewhat interesting candidate to factor into the Jets’ wideout mix last season. Now, he’ll seek employment elsewhere.