Friday’s practice squad moves from around the NFL:
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: Darrell Greene, Matt Rotheram
- Cut: Don Cherry, JaCorey Shepherd
San Diego Chargers
- Signed: DT Ryan Carrethers (via Eric D. Williams of ESPN.com)
After missing the first four games of the season because of a hamstring strain, Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa will make his highly anticipated NFL debut Sunday, he told Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
“This has been a long time coming. I’m finally going to play my first snap. But I’m going to stay calm and treat it like another game,” said Bosa.
With Bosa set to crack the lineup against the AFC West rival Raiders, the 1-3 Chargers will finally get a glimpse of the third overall pick in a game situation. Bosa previously missed each of the Chargers’ four preseason contests and all of training camp on account of a months-long contract battle between him and the team. The former Ohio State Buckeye and his representatives fought with San Diego over offset language and signing bonus distribution in his deal. They eventually agreed to a compromise Aug. 29, but only after publicly trading blows.
Given that Bosa just became a full participant in practice this week, the Chargers will likely limit his snap count against the Raiders, per Gehlken. For the Bolts, though, any impact from Bosa would be welcome against Oakland – which is 3-1 and in possession of one of the league’s top offenses. The Chargers have struggled defensively and are banged up at cornerback, but their Bosa-less pass rush has fared well. San Diego ranks tied for 12th in the league in sacks (nine) and third in hurries (27).
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The Chargers will promote cornerback Trevor Williams from their practice squad in advance of Sunday’s game against the Raiders, a source told Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link). The 1-3 Bolts are banged up at corner, which could pose a problem in trying to stop the AFC West rival Raiders (3-1) and their high-flying attack.
In addition to Jason Verrett, who suffered a season-ending ACL tear in Week 4, the Chargers are dealing with injuries to Brandon Flowers and Craig Mager. Flowers missed the Chargers’ 35-34 loss to the Saints last Sunday with a concussion and hasn’t practiced this week, while a shoulder injury limited Mager on Thursday.
With Verrett, Flowers and Mager ailing, the door is now open for Williams to make his NFL debut. The Chargers signed Williams as an undrafted free agent from Penn State on April 30. After Williams failed to make San Diego’s final roster on Sept. 3, he quickly joined its practice squad. Williams intercepted five passes in his three years with the Nittany Lions and was an All-Big Ten honorable mention in both 2014 and 2015.
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Here are today’s minor moves.
- The Chargers signed cornerback Steve Williams and released nose tackle Ryan Carrethers, as Eric Williams of ESPN.com tweets.
- The Bears promoted fullback Paul Lasike from the practice squad to the 53-man roster, as Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune tweets.
- Ravens tight end Daniel Brown has been promoted from the taxi squad to the active roster, as Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun tweets.
- The Browns signed offensive lineman Anthony Fabiano off of their practice squad and waived defensive lineman Gabe Wright, as Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com tweets.
Today’s tests revealed some bad news for Chargers cornerback Jason Verrett. The starter has suffered a partially torn ACL and will undergo surgery to fix the issue, Verrett told Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego (on Twitter). Verrett added that his “season is done with.” 
Earlier today, it was reported that Verrett feared that he had been playing on a torn ligament in his knee for the last two weeks. While his toughness is admirable, that’s obviously unsustainable. Verrett will face a lengthy rehab process after going under the knife with an eye on playing in 2017.
Verrett, who is often assigned to the other team’s top receiver, earned his first career Pro Bowl nod in 2015. In 14 games last year, Verrett had 47 total tackles, three interceptions, and 12 passes defensed.
Through four games, Verrett has 13 tackles, three pass deflections, and one interception. The advanced numbers at Pro Football Focus pegged him as just No. 71 out of 114 qualified corners in the NFL. That’s an indication that Verrett has been held back quite a bit by his injury.
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Chargers cornerback Jason Verrett fears that he has been playing with a torn knee ligament through the last two games, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter. He is meeting with doctors today to determine the extent of the injury and whether or not he can play through it. If he does in fact have a torn ligament, that could mean a lengthy absence for one of San Diego’s top corners. 
The Chargers haven’t had the best luck with injuries so far in this young season. Before Week 1, the team saw running back Branden Oliver go down with an Achilles tear. Then, in the first couple of weeks of the season, San Diego lost both Keenan Allen and Danny Woodhead to season-ending injuries. Losing Verrett would be another major blow for the 1-3 Chargers as they get ready to face the rival Raiders on Sunday.
Through four games, Verrett has 13 tackles, three pass deflections, and one interception. While that sounds like a solid stat line, the advanced numbers at Pro Football Focus seem to indicate that Verrett’s knee is slowing him down. He is currently ranked 71st out of 114 qualified corners in the NFL.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Here are today’s practice squad moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: P Michael Palardy (Twitter link via Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com)
- Cut: LB Davis Tull
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: WR Corey Washington
- Cut: WR Matt Hazel
Chicago Bears
- Signed: RB Raheem Mostert (Twitter link via Brett Tessler)
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: OL Mike Liedtke (Twitter link via Tessler)
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: S Lee Hightower (Twitter link via Mike Chappell of FOX59)
New York Giants
- Signed: QB Logan Thomas
- Cut: LB Deontae Skinner
New York Jets
- Signed: S Ronald Martin
- Cut: FB Julian Howsare
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: DE James Cowser
- Cut: DL Demetrius Cherry, LB Darnell Sankey (Twitter link via Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com)
San Diego Chargers
- Signed: T Brett Boyko, LB Deon King, WR Kevin Norwood
- Cut: TE Austin Traylor
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: DE Sterling Bailey
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: RB Russell Hansbrough (Twitter link via Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times)
- Cut: WR Jonathan Krause (Twitter link via Auman)
Fourteen players will return from four-game suspensions this week, according to Howard Balzer (Twitter links: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). The most high-profile returnee, of course, is quarterback Tom Brady, who will re-join the 3-1 Patriots on Sunday against the Browns.
The following players have completed their suspensions:
- QB Tom Brady, Patriots
- DL Armonty Bryant, free agent (waived by the Browns today)
- CB Jalen Collins, Falcons
- LB Aaron Colvin, Jaugars
- DT Marcell Dareus, Bills
- T Seantrel Henderson, Bills
- DE Arthur Jones, Colts
- DE Demarcus Lawrence, Cowboys
- LB Aaron Lynch, 49ers
- DE Rob Ninkovich, Patriots
- G Chris Scott, Panthers
- DL Damion Square, Chargers
- T Zach Sterup, free agent
- TE Darren Waller, Ravens
The club that employs each player will receive a short roster exemption that ends the day following the team’s Week 5 game. that means the 49ers’ exemption for Lynch ends Friday, the Panthers’ exemption for Scott ends next Tuesday, and the rest end next Monday.
Sterup, meanwhile, was on the Chiefs’ practice squad when he was banned, but he hasn’t completed the PED reinstatement requirements, according to Balzer. So although he can sign with a new club, Sterup can’t practice or play until he’s approved by the league.
- Chargers first-round pick Joey Bosa has been ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Saints, but the defensive end is confident that he’ll be making his debut very soon. “I’m very close,” Bosa told ESPN.com’s Eric D. Williams. “We’re getting there. We’re just being smart. There’s no point to rush someone back, and then you get hurt and you’re out for longer when we’ve got a really long season ahead of us.” The third-overall pick has been hampered by a hamstring injury.
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The Chargers signed linebacker Korey Toomer off of the Raiders’ practice squad. Today, Toomer took to Twitter to announce the news. 
“Thanking god for all my opportunities that I’ve had this journey has been a wild one thank you Raiders and #Raidernation hello @Chargers,” Toomer tweeted.
Recently, the Chargers lost Manti Te’o for the season when he tore his Achilles. The Bolts immediately started looking for outside help at linebacker and they found some depth in Toomer. The inside linebacker will have a chance to show his former team what he can do when the Chargers play the Raiders in Week 5.
Toomer, 28 in December, appeared in ten games for the Raiders last season. In 2014, he saw his first NFL action with the Cowboys (one game) and the Rams (seven games).
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