NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/15/21
Today’s taxi squad moves:
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: TE Nick Guggemos, WR Alexander Hollins, OT Elijah Nkansah
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: DT Justin Hamilton
Denver Broncos
- Signed: S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and WR Travis Fulgham
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: C Michal Menet
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: S Will Redmond
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: C Will Clapp
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: CB Lavert Hill, OT Wyatt Miller
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: DB Josh Jones
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: CB Nate Brooks
Washington Football Team
- Signed: QB Jordan Ta’amu, DT Tyler Clark
Cardinals Sign CB Breon Borders
Breon Borders is heading to Arizona. The Cardinals have signed the veteran cornerback off the Titans practice squad, reports Aaron Wilson (via Twitter).
The defensive back spent most of the 2020 and 2021 seasons with the Titans organization. He started five of his six appearances in 2020, finishing with 27 tackles, five passes defended, and one interception.
After getting waived during the offseason, Borders re-signed with Arizona, and he’s spent much of the 2021 campaign bouncing between their active roster and the practice squad. In total, he’s seen time in 11 games this season, collecting five tackles. The 26-year-old played mostly on special teams this year, and he hasn’t played a defensive snap since late October.
Borders will presumably see a similar role in Arizona. Byron Murphy Jr., Robert Alford, Marco Wilson, and Antonio Hamilton seem to have secured their spots atop the depth chart. The organization also has Kevin Peterson and Jace Whittaker stashed on the practice squad.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/13/21
Today’s minor moves:
Buffalo Bills
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: LB Tyrel Dodson
Dallas Cowboys
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: WR Cedrick Wilson
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Nahshon Wright
Denver Broncos
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: C Brett Jones
Detroit Lions
- Claimed off waivers (from Titans): S Brady Breeze
Kansas City Chiefs
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: WR Josh Gordon
New England Patriots
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: TE Dalton Keene
New Orleans Saints
- Waived: C Will Clapp
New York Giants
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: OT Kyle Murphy
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: WR Kadarius Toney
New York Jets
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Justin Hardee
Philadelphia Eagles
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: RB Jason Huntley, WR Quez Watkins
San Francisco 49ers
- Waived: CB Saivion Smith
Washington Football Team
- Claimed off waivers (from Bills): G Jamil Douglas
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/11/21
Here is how teams finalized their Week 14 rosters:
Atlanta Falcons
- Activated from IR: TE Hayden Hurst
- Promoted: RB Qadree Ollison, S Shawn Williams
- Waived: RB Wayne Gallman
Baltimore Ravens
- Promoted: CB Robert Jackson, T David Sharpe
Buffalo Bills
- Activated from IR: G Jon Feliciano
- Promoted: DE Eli Ankou, DT Brandin Bryant, LB Joe Giles-Harris
Carolina Panthers
- Activated from IR: T Cameron Erving
- Promoted: RB Reggie Bonnafon, LB Frankie Luvu, OL Patrick Omameh
Chicago Bears
- Promoted: LB Charles Snowden
Cincinnati Bengals
- Promoted: LB Austin Calitro, LB Keandre Jones
Cleveland Browns
- Activated from IR: LB Jacob Phillips
- Promoted: DB Herb Miller, DB Jovante Moffatt, WR JoJo Natson
- Waived: WR Ja’Marcus Bradley
Dallas Cowboys
- Promoted: TE Ian Bunting, RB JaQuan Hardy, S Darian Thompson
- Waived: DT Justin Hamilton
Denver Broncos
- Activated from IR: LB Micah Kiser, CB Michael Ojemudia
Detroit Lions
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Mark Gilbert, CB Ifeatu Melifonwu
- Promoted: CB Corey Ballentine, LB Curtis Bolton, DE Bruce Hector, CB Parnell Motley, RB Craig Reynolds, CB Nickell Robey-Coleman, RB Rodney Smith, TE Shane Zylstra
Houston Texans
- Promoted: DB Grayland Arnold, WR Phillip Dorsett, DL Chris Smith
Kansas City Chiefs
- Promoted: DB Dicaprio Bootle, DB Josh Jackson
- Placed on IR: DB Chris Lammons
Los Angeles Chargers
- Placed on IR: LB Kyler Fackrell
- Promoted: DB Ben DeLuca, LB Emeke Egbule, WR Jason Moore
Miami Dolphins
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: RB Salvon Ahmed
New Orleans Saints
- Activated from IR: DB Chauncey Gardner-Johnson
- Promoted: G James Carpenter, LB Chase Hansen, WR Kevin White, WR Easop Winston, TE Ethan Wolf
New York Giants
- Promoted: WR Pharoh Cooper, DB Jarren Williams
New York Jets
- Activated from IR: CB Brandin Echols
- Promoted: DE Ronald Blair, TE Dan Brown, WR D.J. Montgomery, WR Vyncint Smith
San Francisco 49ers
- Placed on IR: RB Trenton Cannon, CB Emmanuel Moseley
- Promoted: WR River Cracraft, RB Brian Hill, CB Saivion Smith, S Jarrod Wilson
Seattle Seahawks
- Promoted: LB Edmond Robinson
Tennessee Titans
- Activated from IR: S Dane Cruikshank, WR Racey McMath
- Placed on IR: TE Tommy Hudson; this is Hudson’s second IR trip, ending his season
- Promoted: WR Cody Hollister, DL Kevin Strong
- Waived: S Brady Breeze
Washington Football Team
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Darryl Roberts, DE James Smith-Williams
- Placed on IR: G Wes Schweitzer
- Promoted: DE William Bradley-King, LB De’Jon Harris, S Jeremy Reaves, C Jon Toth
Titans To Activate WR Julio Jones From IR
Julio Jones will be in uniform for the Titans tomorrow when they take on the Jaguars. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter), the Titans plan to activate the veteran wide receiver off injured reserve. Jones returned to practice earlier this week.
A hamstring injury has limited Jones to just six games so far this season. Last month, the Titans moved to place him on IR, freeing up an additional roster spot for a few weeks. Jones missed time in previous seasons with a hamstring ailment, as well. Fortunately, Rapoport says Jones’ latest hamstring injury “has healed.”
Jones was limited to only nine games and 771 yards in 2020, but he was a 1,000-yard receiver as recently as 2019 (when he was a second-team All-Pro after finishing with 99 receptions for 1,394 yards and six touchdowns). So, the Titans were naturally expecting big things this past offseason when they acquired Jones (along with a sixth-round pick) from the Falcons for a second-round pick and a future fourth-round pick. However, in the veteran’s six games this season, he’s averaging only 56 receiving yards per game, a major dip from his previous career-low (73.8 yards during his rookie campaign in 2011).
Still, Jones will be welcomed back with open arms by a Titans offense that had to go without Jones, A.J. Brown, and Derrick Henry in their most recent loss to the Patriots.
Titans Claim Zach Cunningham Off Waivers
Zach Cunningham has a new home in the NFL. After being waived by the Texans on Wednesday, the linebacker has been claimed by the Titans, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter). 
The Titans could easily afford that figure for now, with just over $3.7 MM in cap space before the move. Cunningham’s cap number jumps into eight figures starting in 2022 and continuing through to 2024, and includes $500,000 per game roster bonuses throughout. For now at least, the Titans could use his services. They have been without Rashaan Evans since Week 7, and Jayon Brown has missed five games throughout the campaign.
The Titans could have Cunningham as early as this Sunday’s game when they host the Jaguars.
Titans Add RB Jordan Wilkins To Practice Squad
As the Titans continue to roll forward without Derrick Henry, the team has added another running back option. The team announced that they’ve signed running back Jordan Wilkins to the taxi squad.
Wilkins was a fifth-round pick by the Colts in 2018, and he saw time in 45 games (four starts) through his first three seasons in the NFL. The running back had at least 350 yards from scrimmage in each of his first three NFL seasons, including a 2020 campaign where he collected 413 yards and one touchdown on a career-high 96 touches. Wilkins saw time in each of Indy’s first four games this season, with the majority of his snaps coming on special teams. He was waived by the team back in October, and he’s since had a brief stint on the Jaguars practice squad.
The Titans have cycled through a number of options at running back since Henry suffered an injury in Week 8. D’Onta Foreman, Adrian Peterson, and Dontrell Hilliard have all started games for Tennessee, while fellow RB Jeremy McNichols has 43 touches of his own.
The Titans made a handful of additional practice squad moves today, including the signing of defensive back Rodney Clemons. The former SMU standout went undrafted during the 2020 draft, and he spent much of his rookie season on the Chiefs practice squad. To make room on the practice squad, the Titans released running back Rodney Smith and placed linebacker Jamal Carter on the practice squad injured list.
Titans Cut John Simon
Julio Jones is on his way back. To help make room for him — as well as wide receiver Racey McMath and safety Dane Cruikshank — the Titans have released linebacker John Simon.
[RELATED: Titans Designate J. Jones For Return]
Simon joined the Titans in July, replacing fellow pass rusher Tuzar Skipper on the offseason roster. Before that, he spent three years with the Patriots. In 2020, he started in all 16 games and registered 53 stops with two sacks. This year, he’s been on-and-off of the Titans’ roster, resulting in two appearances with four total tackles.
All in all, he’s got 99 appearances and 52 career starts to his credit for the Ravens, Texans, Colts, Patriots, and Titans. Now, he could be en route to yet another NFL club, though the Titans have made a habit of bringing him back to Nashville.
The Titans dropped their last two games before the bye, but they’re still 8-4 and atop the AFC South. On Sunday, they’ll look to get back in the win column when they host the Jaguars.
Titans Designate Julio Jones For Return
The Titans have designated wide receiver Julio Jones for return from injured reserve. Jones will be eligible to practice starting today, which means that he can be activated any time within the next 21 days.
[RELATED: Former Titans S Kenny Vaccaro Retires From NFL]
A hamstring injury has limited Jones to just six games so far this season. Last month, the Titans moved to place him on IR, freeing up an additional roster spot for a few weeks.
Jones, who has a history of hamstring trouble, has caught 21 passes for 336 yards and no touchdowns so far in his first Titans season. The good news is that the Titans are still 8-4, despite playing most of the year without Jones or star running back Derrick Henry.
The 11th-year receiver could come back as soon as Sunday, the Titans’ first game off of their bye week. A win will put them one step closer to officially clinching the AFC South and, potentially, capturing a first-round bye.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/6/21
Today’s taxi squad moves:
Dallas Cowboys
- Released: DE Breeland Speaks
Houston Texans
- Signed: CB Cre’Von LeBlanc
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: QB James Morgan
New York Giants
- Signed: S Natrell Jamerson
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: WR Austin Mack, LB Curtis Robinson
- Released: WR Devin Funchess, LB Justin March
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: LB Tuzar Skipper