NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/10/19
Today’s practice squad moves will be posted here:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: RB Mark Thompson, CB Terrell Bonds
- Released: WR Sean Modster, LB Donald Payne
Los Angeles Chargers
- Released: DB Kemon Hall
Miami Dolphins
- Released: OT Zach Sterup
New York Jets
- Signed: LB James Burgess, OL Ben Braden
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: QB Devlin Hodges
Washington Redskins
- Released: LB Darrell Williams
Chargers’ Melvin Gordon Plans To Report
The Chargers remain without Melvin Gordon as the running back is holding out for a new contract. Sources tell Ian Rapoport of NFL.com that Gordon will not sit out the entire season like Le’Veon Bell did last year. Instead, he plans to report between Weeks 6 and 8. 
Gordon will play on the $5.6MM fifth-year option of his contract this season, though that amount will be prorated based on how many games he plays. He must report before Week 10 in order to qualify for free agency next season.
Gordon’s plan to sit out for up to half of the season is a risk management tactic, as he wants to mitigate the chances of injury heading into free agency. He’s missed nine games because of injuries in his four years, though he’s played hurt in several games.
Los Angeles has already fined Gordon over $1MM and previously gave him permission to seek a trade. The Eagles were among the interested teams in his services, though the Chargers found their offer underwhelming. Austin Ekeler and Justin Jackson will split touches while Gordon is away.
Restructured Contract Details: Flacco, Solder, Panthers
With the majority of the NFL beginning their 2019 campaigns tomorrow, a number of teams have slightly tweaked contracts in an effort to open some extra cap space. We’ve compiled some of the notable restructured contracts from this morning, along with some details on some recently-completed deals.
- The Broncos converted $17MM of Joe Flacco‘s base salary into a signing bonus, reports NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (via Twitter). The front office also added a pair of voidable years to the contract, thus opening around $13.6MM in 2019 cap space. The veteran quarterback is still on the books for $20.25MM in 2020 and $24.25MM in 2021.
- The Giants made a similar move with offensive tackle Nate Solder, according to Pelissero (on Twitter). The front office converted $7.5MM of the veteran’s base salary to a fully-guaranteed roster bonus, opening up $5MM in cap space. Solder will still earn the same amount of money over the next two years ($13MM in 2019, $14MM in 2020).
- One more from Pelissero (via Twitter): the Panthers restructured the contracts of defensive tackle Kawann Short and offensive lineman Trai Turner, opening $13MM in cap space. While the team could use that open money for extensions, Joe Person of The Athletic tweets that the transaction is “more about taking cap space into next year.” Linebacker Shaq Thompson and cornerback James Bradberry are impending free agents, while running back Christian McCaffrey and quarterback Cam Newton could be eyeing lucrative extensions.
- The Rams converted $2.25MM of punter Johnny Hekker‘s base salary into a bonus, reports ESPN’s Field Yates (via Twitter). The move opens up around $1.69MM in cap space, allowing the team is better accommodate the recent extensions for quarterback Jared Goff and tight end Tyler Higbee.
- Center Mike Pouncey‘s one-year, $9MM extension with the Chargers will guarantee him $5MM in new money, tweets ESPN’s Dan Graziano (via Twitter). The guarantees include a $2.5MM signing bonus and $2.5MM guaranteed salary in 2020 (the full base salary is $6MM). The veteran’s cap number is now $10MM in 2019 and $7.75MM in 2020.
- Jacoby Brissett‘s two-year, $30MM extension with the Colts includes an $11MM signing bonus, reports Ben Volin of the Boston Globe (on Twitter). The quarterback has a $2MM salary for 2019, $2MM in per-game roster bonuses (for both years), and a $7MM roster bonus that’s guaranteed in March. As Volin notes, the 26-year-old will likely earn around $13MM to $15MM this season before renegotiating next offseason.
- Josh Doctson‘s deal with the Vikings is for one year at the league minimum of $720K, reports Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune (via Twitter). The deal includes no guaranteed money. Following the signing of the wideout and punter Britton Colquitt, Minnesota is now sitting with around $1.17MM in cap space.
NFL Cap Space By Team For 2019
With hours to go before the start of the 2019 NFL season, here’s a rundown of how much cap room each NFL team has (via ESPN.com’s Field Yates, on Twitter):
- Indianapolis Colts – $42.1MM
- Cleveland Browns – $32.7MM
- Miami Dolphins – $31.9MM
- Houston Texans – $29.5MM
- Buffalo Bills – $24.8MM
- Tennessee Titans – $24.1MM
- Dallas Cowboys – $22.3MM
- Detroit Lions – $19.2MM
- San Francisco 49ers – $18.7MM
- Chicago Bears – $17.3MM
- Carolina Panthers – $16.6MM
- Washington Redskins – $15.9MM
- Philadelphia Eagles – $14.8MM
- Cincinnati Bengals – $13.3MM
- Kansas City Chiefs – $12.4MM
- Oakland Raiders – $12MM
- Denver Broncos – $11.2MM
- Green Bay Packers – $10.8MM
- Los Angeles Chargers – $10.2MM
- Jacksonville Jaguars – $9.5MM
- New York Jets – $9.3MM
- Seattle Seahawks – $8.6MM
- Baltimore Ravens – $8.2MM
- Pittsburgh Steelers – $6.3MM
- New England Patriots – $4.9MM
- Arizona Cardinals – $2.7MM
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers – $1.2MM
- Minnesota Vikings – $1.2MM
- Los Angeles Rams – $852K
- New Orleans Saints – $604K
- Atlanta Falcons – $493K
- New York Giants – $457K
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/4/19
Here are Wednesday’s minor moves:
Buffalo Bills
- Released from IR via injury settlement: RB Senorise Perry
Dallas Cowboys
- Released from IR via injury settlement: WR Codey McElroy
Houston Texans
- Released from IR via injury settlement: LB B.J. Bello
Kansas City Chiefs
- Released from IR via injury settlement: CB Michael Hunter
Los Angeles Chargers
- Released from IR via injury settlement: TE Ben Johnson
Miami Dolphins
- Released from IR via injury settlement: LB Quentin Poling
Mike Pouncey Initiated Chargers Deal
- Mike Pouncey asked his agent, Joel Segal, to pursue a new deal with the Chargers, Eric Williams of ESPN.com notes. The Pro Bowl center signed a one-year, $9MM re-up; the 30-year-old blocker wanted to stay with a team he felt had Super Bowl aspirations rather than try to maximize his value on the open market. “At this point of my career, this team gives me the best chance to win,” Pouncey said, via Williams. “For me to want to leave here in Year 10 and go somewhere else, it didn’t make any sense to me, no matter what the number was in salary. I felt like whenever we got done with training camp and the offer was there, we jumped on it.” Pouncey, who did not play in a playoff game in seven Dolphins seasons, started 16 games for the Bolts last year.
Eagles, Chargers Discuss Melvin Gordon
Melvin Gordon could be on the move and the Eagles, for the right price, would be interested in acquiring him. The Eagles offered up a trade in which they would send Jordan Howard to Los Angeles and swap mid-round picks, Albert Breer of The MMQB tweets. In the proposed swap, the Chargers would also eat a portion of Gordon’s salary. Unsurprisingly, the Chargers declined the offer. 
Howard, at one point in time, was a powerful rusher with juke ability for the Bears. However, he eventually lost his footing in Chicago, thanks in part to the emergence of Tarik Cohen. This year, the Bears shipped Howard to the Eagles for a draft choice and went on to add their new starting running back in the first round.
The Chargers are unwilling to extend Gordon this year and are, in theory, willing to trade him. The latest word – with at least one team, they’ve pitched a Gordon trade that would call for a 2020 first-rounder or a 2020 fifth- and 2021 first-rounder in exchange.
Latest On Chargers, Melvin Gordon
The Chargers recently gave disgruntled RB Melvin Gordon permission to seek a trade, and now we have the first concrete report of outside interest. Per ESPN’s Josina Anderson, one team has been in contact with LA to discuss a potential deal (Twitter link).
However, Anderson said those discussions were preliminary, and it sounds as if the Bolts’ asking price is quite high. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk says that the Chargers have told at least one other team that they want a first- and fifth-round pick in exchange for the two-time Pro Bowler, and Anderson says in a separate tweet that LA has indeed proposed a 2020 first-rounder or a 2020 fifth- and 2021 first-rounder.
As Florio observes, the ask contradicts the Chargers’ own approach to the Gordon situation. Los Angeles is unwilling to extend him this season and do not want to pay him over $10MM per year, and when combined with the fact that an acquiring team would probably have to give Gordon a new contract worth near $13MM per year, the demand for a first- and fifth-round seems much too rich.
Of course, there’s no harm in aiming high and then adjusting as trade negotiations continue, but as of right now, it’s hard to say if the Chargers are really interested in trading Gordon. The team has all the leverage, so the Bolts may just be waiting for Gordon to cave and return early enough to be eligible for unrestricted free agency next year.
Chargers, Mike Pouncey Agree To Extension
The Chargers are signing center Mike Pouncey to a one-year, $9MM extension that ties him to the team through the 2020 season, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Pouncey, one of the best centers in the game, was originally set to reach free agency after the 2019 campaign. 
The Bolts picked up Pouncey in March of 2018 with a two-year, $15MM deal that included $10MM fully guaranteed. Pouncey earned his fourth Pro Bowl nod last year and the deal proved to be a brilliant one for LA. This time around, Pouncey gets a pay bump, but it’s still a worthwhile investment for GM Tom Telesco & Co.
Even though the club worked something out with their center, they’re still refusing to talk with star Melvin Gordon about a possible extension.
In other Bolts news – the club was forced to place safety Derwin James on injured reserve over the weekend. Fortunately, James is expected to recover in time to return in the middle of the season.
Sunday NFL Transactions: AFC West
Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four NFC West teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions for the Broncos, Chargers, Chiefs and Raiders are noted below.
Additionally, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads today. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.
Here are Sunday’s AFC West transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day.
Denver Broncos
- Signed:
- Claimed:
- TE Andrew Beck
- CB Davontae Harris
- C Corey Levin
- WR Diontae Spencer
- Waived:
- WR River Cracraft
- T Jake Rodgers
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed to practice squad:
- WR Jody Fortson
- TE Nick Keizer
- RB Marcus Marshall
- C James Murray
- QB Kyle Shurmur
- WR Cody Thompson
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed to practice squad:
- OL Chris Brown
- OL Spencer Drango
- CB Kemon Hall
- DE Anthony Lanier
- WR Artavis Scott
- WR Jason Moore
- RB Detrez Newsome
- WR Andre Patton
- TE Matt Sokol