NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/9/19
Here are Wednesday’s practice squad decisions:
Detroit Lions
- Signed: RB Wes Hills
- Released: DE Eric Lee
Houston Texans
- Released via non-football illness designation: TE Jerell Adams
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: TE Ben Koyack
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: S Shalom Luani
- Released: TE Matt Sokol
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: RB Darius Jackson, QB Chad Kanoff
Buccaneers Release LB Deone Bucannon
The Buccaneers linebacker Deone Bucannon on Wednesday morning, as ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets. Bucannon was preparing to face the Panthers in London this week, but he’ll now have to shift his focus to finding new employment.
Bucannon, a former first round pick of the Cardinals, might not be out of work for long. He offers some dual-position potential as a safety and, despite the ups and downs of his career, is still only 27.
The Bucs were hoping that Bucannon would pay off on an inexpensive one-year, $2.5MM deal. He did not do much to replace Kwon Alexander in his short run, however, and saw just eight snaps through five games.
Last year, Bucannon finished as one of Pro Football Focus’ worst-graded linebackers in a limited sample of 389 snaps. He’s still looking to reprise the 2015 season in which he broke out with 109 tackles, three sacks, and an interception.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/8/19
Here are today’s minor moves:
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: RB Senorise Perry
Oakland Raiders
- Released from IR: DT Justin Ellis
- Waived: WR Marcell Ateman
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Waived: RB Tony Brooks-James, QB Nick Fitzgerald
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: RBs Dalyn Dawkins, Rod Smith
- Waived: OL Hroniss Grasu
NFL Workout Notes: 10/8/19
Here are today’s workout updates. There are a number of notable names on this list, so pay attention!
Arizona Cardinals
- LB Shane Ray
Baltimore Ravens
- DE Fadol Brown, S Demetrious Cox, DE Dewayne Hendrix, S A.J. Howard (signed to practice squad), DB C.J. Reavis
Buffalo Bills
- DE Alex Barrett, RB Senorise Perry (signed to 53-man roster), LB Wyatt Ray (signed to practice squad)
Carolina Panthers
Cleveland Browns
- WR Jeff Badet
Denver Broncos
- CB David Amerson, CB Chris Campbell, CB Deatrick Nichols, CB Shareece Wright
Detroit Lions
- WR Quincy Adeboyejo, WR Bennie Fowler, WR Emanuel Hall
Green Bay Packers
- TE Rico Gathers, DL Mike Pennel, DL Adolphus Washington, TE Cole Wick, DT Sylvester Williams, TE Ethan Wolf (signed to practice squad)
Houston Texans
- C Marcus Henry, DT Willie Henry, DT Brian Price, C Keegan Render
Indianapolis Colts
- DT Carl Davis, LB Obum Gwacham, DE Eli Harold, DL Joel Heath, DL Damontre Moore, LB Pita Taumoepenu, DL Ethan Westbrooks
Jacksonville Jaguars
- TE Brian Parker, TE Eric Tomlinson, TE Will Tye
Los Angeles Chargers
- S Shalom Luani, S Tre Sullivan
New England Patriots
- DB Brian Allen, K Nick Rose, DT Eddie Vanderdoes
Oakland Raiders
- DE Andre Branch, LB Kasim Edebali, OL Datone Jones, DE Terrence Fede, LB Nate Orchard
Philadelphia Eagles
- WR Penny Hart, LB Paul Worrilow
Seattle Seahawks
- CB Adonis Alexander, DB Brian Allen, CB Saivion Smith
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- WR Cyril Grayson, RB Darius Jackson, QB Chad Kanoff, WR Caleb Scott, RB David Williams
Tennessee Titans
- RB Jeremy McNichols, RB Zach Zenner
Washington Redskins
- OL Malcolm Bunche (signed to practice squad), LB Darrell Williams
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/7/19
Today’s practice squad updates:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: WR Sean Modster
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: DT Greg Gilmore
- Placed on IR: DT Bijhon Jackson
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: OT Antonio Garcia
- Released: DE Dewayne Hendrix
New York Jets
- Signed: DL Bronson Kaufusi
- Released: LB Jamey Mosley
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: WR Robert Davis
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Released: QB Taryn Christion
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: LB Demone Harris
- Released: WR Ishmael Hyman
NFC South Notes: Payton, Brees, Quinn
The extension that Saints head coach Sean Payton signed last month is a whopper. Payton was making $9MM per year under his previous contract, but Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes that the offensive guru will now be pulling down around $13MM per season. That deal is one of the largest among coaches of North American professional sports, and it obviously will put an end to speculation concerning Payton’s long-term future in the Big Easy.
Now for more from the NFC South, starting with the other face of the Saints:
- Drew Brees is throwing a football again, as shown on a video that the Saints star posted on Instagram. Brees managed to avoid a trip to the IR, and last week we learned that he is making progress in his recovery from thumb surgery. New Orleans is 2-0 with Brees’ backup, Teddy Bridgewater, at the helm, and the club will try to make that 3-0 against Tampa Bay this afternoon. Previous reports suggested that Brees could return for the club’s November 10 matchup with the Falcons.
- Falcons head coach Dan Quinn is on the hot seat, and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk says an Atlanta loss to the Texans today could expedite Quinn’s ouster. After all, a loss would drop the team to 1-4, and with difficult games against the Rams and Seahawks following the Falcons’ matchup with the Cardinals next week, Atlanta could be looking at a 2-6 record after the first half of the season. Atlanta has three former head coaches on its staff — offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter, tight ends coach Mike Mularkey, and receivers coach Raheem Morris — and owner Arthur Blank may be thinking about putting one of them in charge to finish out the season if Quinn can’t right the ship immediately.
- Greg Auman of The Athletic observes that the Buccaneers could be in line for a third-round compensatory pick to offset the loss of Kwon Alexander in free agency and a fourth-rounder to offset the loss of Adam Humphries. As it currently stands, Tampa Bay signed enough outside free agents to negate those compensatory picks, but given that some of those free agents are underperforming (or barely playing), the Bucs could cut them loose prior to Week 9 to put themselves back on track for the compensatory selections. That means that Deone Bucannon, Breshad Perriman, and Bradley Pinion could all be in danger of being cut.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/5/19
Here are Saturday’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Released: OL John Wetzel
Baltimore Ravens
- Promoted from practice squad: DE Zach Sieler
Buffalo Bills
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Duke Williams
Chicago Bears
- Promoted from practice squad: QB Tyler Bray
- Released: TE Bradley Sowell
Green Bay Packers
- Promoted from practice squad: RB Tra Carson
- Waived: DE Fadol Brown
Indianapolis Colts
- Promoted from practice squad: CB Shakial Taylor
Oakland Raiders
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Marcell Ateman, G Lester Cotton
- Placed on IR: G Jordan Devey
Philadelphia Eagles
- Released from IR with injury settlement: DT Aziz Shittu
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Released from IR with injury settlement: TE Xavier Grimble
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Waived: LB Demone Harris
NFL Workout Updates: 10/1/19
Here’s a look at the latest workouts from around the NFL:
Arizona Cardinals
- DL Joel Heath
- DL Zach Kerr
- DL Mike Pennel
- DL Caraun Reid
- DL Anthony Zettel
Atlanta Falcons
- LB Andrew Dowell
- LB Ahmad Thomas (signed with ATL p-squad)
Baltimore Ravens
- LB Josh Bynes
- LB Mason Foster
- DL Jeremiah Ledbetter
- DL Domata Peko
- LB Vincent Rey
- LB Dekoda Watson
Buffalo Bills
- WR Deontay Burnett
- DT Willie Henry
- DT T.Y. McGill
- WR Kermit Whitfield
Cleveland Browns
- TE C.J. Conrad
- OT Cody Conway
- DL Frank Herron
- DL Jeremiah Ledbetter
- C Daniel Munyer
Bucs' Jack Cichy To Miss 2-4 Weeks?
- Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians says linebacker Jack Cichy “could [miss] 2 to 4 weeks,” though his diagnosis is pending an MRI (Twitter link via the Bucs’ team website). That would be a welcome bit of news for Cichy, whose arm was twisted badly in Sunday’s win over the Rams.
Details On JPP Contract Rework
Those sack goals are pretty lofty for only ten games, and it’s unlikely he makes the max value. Because JPP suffered a non-football injury, the Buccaneers weren’t obligated to pay his 2019 salary at all and could’ve voided his guarantees. But as Auman writes, “the team wouldn’t look good not paying a player whose injury came in a car accident in which he wasn’t even cited,” so the two sides came to an agreement. It’s unclear if he’ll actually be ready to go in Week 8 after the Bucs’ bye, as we haven’t gotten an update on his neck in a while.
Jason Pierre-Paul restructured his contract with the Buccaneers yesterday, and now we have the details. Originally scheduled to make $13.65MM in 2019, his new base salary will be just $3MM, according to Greg Auman of The Athletic. He’s eligible to come off the NFI list and return for the final ten games of the season, and he’ll receive a $200K bonus for each of those games that he plays in. He’ll get an additional $200K for every game he plays at least 50 percent of the defensive snaps and another $200K for each game he plays 75 percent of the defensive snaps. If he’s able to hit eight sacks he’ll get a $500K bonus and another $1MM if he reaches ten sacks, pushing the maximum value to $10.5MM.
Those sack goals are pretty lofty for only ten games, and it’s unlikely he makes the max value. Because JPP suffered a non-football injury, the Buccaneers weren’t obligated to pay his 2019 salary at all and could’ve voided his guarantees. But as Auman writes, “the team wouldn’t look good not paying a player whose injury came in a car accident in which he wasn’t even cited,” so the two sides came to an agreement. It’s unclear if he’ll actually be ready to go in Week 8 after the Bucs’ bye, as we haven’t gotten an update on his neck in a while.