NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/23/16
Wednesday’s practice squad changes:
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: CB Troy Hill (via Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com)
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: CB Aaron Grymes
San Diego Chargers
- Signed: OLB Chris McCain (Twitter link via Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune)
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: RB Malcolm Johnson (Twitter link via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times)
Chargers Promote CB Trovon Reed
- The Chargers have promoted cornerback Trovon Reed from the practice squad, the team announced. The former Auburn standout has yet to make an NFL appearance. The defensive back will be taking the roster spot of defensive tackle Brandon Mebane, who was placed on the injured reserve today.
Chargers Lose DL Brandon Mebane For Season
TODAY, 6:20pm: The Chargers have placed Mebane on the injured reserve, according to ESPN’s Eric Williams (via Twitter).
NOV. 14th, 2:03pm: Brandon Mebane tore his biceps and is out for the season, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). 
Mebane signed with the Bolts in free agency this spring. Upon joining the team, he spoke glowingly of the defense and how excited he was to be a part of it.
“I was telling guys, there’s more talent on this defense than in Seattle. If you look at the draft, you’ve got four first-round draft picks. You’ve got five second-round draft picks, all total on defense. In Seattle, we only had two first rounders and one second rounder. Everybody else was pretty much down in the draft or undrafted,” he said in May.
The longtime Seahawks defensive lineman spent his entire career in Seattle before joining San Diego this offseason. From 2007-2015, he missed only 13 games. Now, he’s pretty much going to miss the second half of the 2016 season.
Mebane earned an average rating from Pro Football Focus for his 2015 performance, placing him just inside the top-100 of the league’s interior defenders. This year, however, PFF has Mebane ranked as the 15th best interior defender in the NFL, ahead of notables such as Malik Jackson, Michael Brockers, Stephon Tuitt, Derek Wolfe, and Dominique Easley.
Chargers Claim Ronnie Hillman
It didn’t take long for Ronnie Hillman to find a new job. A day after getting waived by the Vikings, the running back has been claimed by the Chargers (via ESPN’s Field Yates on Twitter). Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets that the team has waived wideout Griff Whalen to make the necessary roster room.
This is a bit of a homecoming for the 25-year-old, as Hillman was a former standout at San Diego State. The running back signed a one-year deal to stay with the Broncos this offseason, but he was ultimately cut by the team in early September. Following Adrian Peterson‘s injury, the Vikings signed the four-year veteran. Before joining Minnesota, Hillman also auditioned for the Chargers.
In five games with Minnesota, Hillman compiled 50 yards on 18 carries. In 53 career games, the running back has averaged four yards per carry, and he has also hauled in 71 career receptions. 2015 was arguably Hillman’s best season, as the running back ran for 863 yards and seven touchdowns.
Despite the emergence of Melvin Gordon, the Chargers running backs have struggled with injuries in 2016. The team has already lost Danny Woodhead, Dexter McCluster, and Branden Oliver for the season. Hillman will presumably compete with undrafted free agent Kenneth Farrow for back-up running back carries.
Whalen played eight games for the Chargers this season, collecting two catches for 22 yards.
Rams’ COO: “No Hurdles Between Bolts, L.A.”
Although the Chargers announced they’re not making a decision on a potential Los Angeles relocation until after the season, they are talking to the Rams about the long-rumored move, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports.
Rams’ chief operating officer Kevin Demoff confirmed the two franchises are talking about a Chargers northern migration, one that became much more realistic after San Diego citizens resoundingly voted down the Bolts’ downtown stadium proposal on election day.
“There are no hurdles to any deal,” Demoff said, via Rapoport. “The relationship between the two owners is in a good place, and I believe the Chargers feel welcomed. Nothing stands in their way of moving if that is what they want to do. I would also say we have no insight on what their decision will be. It’s only that we have worked hard to make sure their L.A. option is a good one.”
The Chargers and Rams agreed to a deal in principle earlier this year just before Dean Spanos announced his team was going to play 2016 in San Diego, and the Bolts subsequently attempted to craft a desirable stadium deal. The latest coming out of San Diego is the city will continue to host Chargers games next season, but that’s not certain yet. Neither is the viability of Los Angeles being a two-team city, with Roger Goodell’s preference remaining to keep the Chargers and Raiders — who still have a Los Angeles path — in their respective markets.
The Rams and Chargers, though, have a green light to share Stan Kroenke‘s $2.6 billion stadium, which is set for a 2019 unveiling, thanks to the owners’ decision in January. Although the Bolts haven’t yet asked the league for an extension on deciding on L.A., they could do so soon. Should the Chargers pass on Inglewood by Jan. 15, that would give the Raiders the opportunity to move back. The Raiders remain committed to Las Vegas, but that venture isn’t certain yet either due to the likely relocation vote having no consensus yet and potential hiccups regarding the financing of the proposed stadium.
Moving parts remain, but Demoff’s comments represent a step for a Rams-Chargers union.
Latest On Futures Of Chargers, Raiders
It’s conceivable that either the Chargers or Raiders could relocate to Los Angeles in the coming years, but NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Thursday the “ideal” scenario is for the two teams to stay where they are (Twitter link via Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com). Goodell was in attendance when the Rams broke ground on their $2.6 billion stadium in Inglewood, Calif., where the Chargers have the option of sharing the soon-to-be built facility with the Rams. They must decide by Jan. 15 whether to do it, and while an extension is possible, the Chargers haven’t asked for one, Goodell revealed (Twitter link via Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News).
Chargers owner Dean Spanos said last week that he’s tabling relocation thoughts until the end of the season, which wouldn’t leave him much time to negotiate a deal with the Rams’ Stan Kroenke. His organization would gladly team with Spanos’ franchise, though, with Rams chief operating officer Kevin Damoff saying, “We’d welcome [the Chargers] with open arms” (Twitter link via Gonzalez).
If the Chargers stay in San Diego – which is possible for at least 2017 – and the Raiders’ Las Vegas plans fall through, there’s “growing support” within the league for the Silver and Black to return to LA, per Bonsignore. Although an October report indicated the NFL could force Raiders owner Mark Davis out, a high-ranking league official told Bonsignore that notion is “total BS.” On the contrary, there’s “growing admiration” for the job Davis has done since taking over the Raiders after his father, Al Davis, died in 2011.
While the league would be OK with the Raiders going back to LA, where they played from 1982-94, or staying in Oakland, Bonsignore writes that Las Vegas remains the likeliest option. The Raiders aren’t interested in remaining in Oakland, relays Bonsignore, as the city hasn’t made much known progress toward a new stadium to replace the 50-year-old Coliseum. Meanwhile, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval has already signed off on $750MM in public money toward a potential $1.9 billion Raiders facility.
Davis will file for relocation in January, and once that happens, he’ll need 23 approval votes from the league’s other 31 owners to make his Las Vegas dream a reality. Goodell isn’t fully on board with the Raiders going to Vegas, but Bonsignore doesn’t expect Davis to have difficulty garnering the necessary number of votes.
Chargers Work Out Three Linebackers
- The Chargers worked out linebackers Kevin Snyder, Ryan Langford and Reshard Cliett on Wednesday, according to ESPN’s Adam Caplan (Twitter link). Nobody from that group has suited up for a regular-season game in the NFL.
Chargers Waive/Injure Chris Watt
- The Chargers have waived center Chris Watt with a failed physical designation, a source tells Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union Tribune (Twitter link). Injuries limited the former third-round pick to 17 games in his first two years and prevented him from taking the field so far in 2016. Watt, who had been on the PUP list, will revert to IR if he clears waivers.
- The Colts announced that they have claimed linebacker Deon King off waivers from the Chargers and waived wide receiver Marcus Leak.
Chargers Waive Deon King, Promote Tyreek Burwell
- The Chargers should be getting healthier over the next few weeks with the return of linebackers Denzel Perryman and Jatavis Brown. As a result, the team has waived linebacker Deon King, reports Michael Gehlken of San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter). The team has promoted offensive tackle Tyreek Burwell from the practice squad to take King’s roster spot.
[SOURCE LINK]
Doubt Emerging On Rams-Chargers L.A. Deal?
San Diego citizens resoundingly disapproving Measure C on Tuesday sent a clear signal to the city’s desire for public funding to go toward a Chargers downtown stadium. Although the Chargers are currently leaning toward playing 2017 in San Diego, their long-term future seems to point toward Los Angeles.
The Chargers and Rams have agreed in principle on a deal to share a stadium in Inglewood, Calif., reaching that agreement fairly quickly after the Rams received the vote to relocate. But doubt has emerged on the teams following through on striking an official deal, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports. The concern resides at the league level regarding the teams’ ability to share a market and rebuild the Los Angeles fanbase. Rumors have not tabbed Stan Kroenke as being particularly enthusiastic about sharing the coveted market.
For the Rams, that’s a more natural fit given their history as the city’s longest-tenured occupant (1946-94, 2016). The Bolts, though, played in L.A. in 1960 before quickly moving to San Diego to begin their second year of existence. A move back, from a pure fan-interest standpoint, would be puzzling, even if it’s been long-rumored. The Chargers do not possess a top-flight team, having failed to win 10 games in a season since 2009 and would be the second franchise arriving in a market that was dormant for 21 seasons. It’s difficult to see the interest spawning immediately, especially if San Diego-based Chargers fans are reluctant to support a nearby team that left the city.
Nevertheless, the Bolts’ stadium measure failing on this level — it received 43.1 percent of the vote when a two-thirds majority was required — points them out of town. But Dean Spanos potentially keeping his team in San Diego in 2017 would allow the clock to expire on the NFL’s initial agreement, which gives the Chargers until Jan. 15 of next year to move before the Raiders receive that opportunity. An extension on this agreement seems likely, but the Raiders’ complex path to Las Vegas complicates this.
“If Dean stays, it’s not because he thinks he can get a stadium in San Diego,” one ownership source said, via Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. “It’s just because he doesn’t want to take the deal in Inglewood.”
Spanos’ franchise having suffered two stinging defeats regarding a stadium in 2016 lead owners to believe he will relocate to L.A., per La Canfora, with no stealth plan existing to make everyone happy in San Diego. Sources told the writer the Inglewood arrangement would be one Spanos is willing to live with, regardless of the team delaying a move as long as it can.
The Chargers putting a new proposal on a future ballot would give the team more of a chance to find a workable solution for the city since this one came about rather quickly. But unless a California Supreme Court decision results in the super-majority requirement being again reduced to the 50 percent threshold at which Measure C was previously set to face, the Bolts may not have a better option than joining the Rams in Los Angeles. Otherwise, it will mean continuing to play at a 49-year-old stadium they’ve long since resented.