NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/5/19
Today’s practice squad moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: OL Anthony Coyle, S C.J. Reavis
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: OL Brandon Hitner
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: DE Michael Onuoha
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: LB Brady Sheldon
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: QB Kyle Shurmur
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: DB Tevaughn Campbell
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: DT Bryan Mone
- Released: WR Cody Thompson
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: DE Quinton Bell
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: WR Rashard Davis
Titans Place Malcolm Butler On IR
The Titans are losing a key piece of their secondary, as the team is placing cornerback Malcolm Butler on injured reserve today, they announced in a release. To replace him on the roster they’re re-signing cornerback Tye Smith, who was waived over the weekend.
Butler was an every down player for the Titans, so this is a big loss. He broke his wrist during Sunday’s loss to the Panthers, and will now miss the rest of the season unless Tennessee is making a playoff run and he’s able to come back in eight weeks. Butler, the hero of Super Bowl XLIX, signed a massive five-year $61MM contract with the Titans last offseason. His first year with Tennessee was a bit of a disappointment, but he had been better so far this season.
Through nine games, Butler had 32 tackles, nine passes defended, and a pair of interceptions. The Titans had been rejuvenated by the insertion of Ryan Tannehill under center, but their momentum has now been blunted by the loss to Carolina, and losing Butler certainly won’t help an inconsistent defense. Smith was drafted by the Seahawks in the fifth-round back in 2015, and has been with the Titans for the past three seasons.
Titans’ Malcolm Butler Done For Season?
Titans cornerback Malcolm Butler could be done for the season, head coach Mike Vrabel says (Twitter link via Jim Wyatt of the team’s website). Butler broke his wrist on Sunday and that could spell a bad break for the 4-5 Titans.
Surgery is a possibility for Butler, who is in Year 2 of a five-year, $61MM deal. So far this year, he has two interceptions and 32 tackles to his credit with starts in every game.
Butler landed awkwardly after trying to defend against Panthers wide receiver Curtis Samuel in the end zone. Samuel scored, Butler grabbed his wrist, and the Panthers went on to win 30-20.
The sixth-year veteran has started every game for the Titans over the past two seasons. This year, Butler ranks as Pro Football Focus’ No. 43 overall cornerback. The Titans have devoted considerable resources to this position, with Butler joining fellow eight-figure-per-year player Logan Ryan and recent first-rounder Adoree’ Jackson. The latter two will have to pick up the slack in Tennessee.
Andy Dalton Eager To Be Traded In 2020
The fact that the Bengals decided to bench quarterback Andy Dalton right before last Tuesday’s trade deadline did not give Dalton’s agent enough time to find a trade partner, so the Red Rifle will remain with Cincinnati through the 2019 campaign and will serve as rookie Ryan Finley‘s clipboard holder.
Dalton expressed his disappointment with the team’s decision to demote him, and Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports says the 32-year-old signal-caller is eager to be traded this offseason. 2020 is the last year of Dalton’s current contract — and Cincinnati can cut him without incurring any dead money penalties — but his $17.5MM salary next year is relatively palatable, and a number of QB-needy clubs could be interested in sending some draft capital to the Bengals to secure Dalton’s services.
Several GMs that La Canfora spoke with named the Buccaneers as a potential landing spot for Dalton. Indeed, Tampa Bay has plenty of talent at wide receiver and tight end and a strong enough O-line, and Dalton has proven that he can be successful with a solid grouping of talent around him. Plus, Bucs head coach Bruce Arians is not likely going to want to rebuild with a rookie QB, and trading for Dalton is looking like a better option than re-signing Jameis Winston at the moment.
The Titans and Bears may also be interested in Dalton, and depending on what Tom Brady and Philip Rivers decide to do, the Patriots and Chargers could end up as potential suitors as well. La Canfora’s sources say the Bengals should be able to net a 2020 second-round pick in exchange for their 2011 second-rounder.
Titans Activate Succop, Waive Parkey
The Titans will have their kicker back when they take the field in Week 9. Barely a week after designating Ryan Succop as one of their IR-return players, the Titans activated him.
Succop will reclaim his job, one Cairo Santos and Cody Parkey filled in his absence. The Titans waived Parkey in a corresponding move Saturday.
A knee injury sidelined Succop just before the season. This will be the veteran’s sixth year with Tennessee, which initially acquired him after the 2014 Chiefs opted for Santos over him out of training camp. Santos made just 4 of 9 field goal tries this season, with the Titans cutting him after a four-miss showing against the Bills in Week 5. Parkey made all three of his Titans field goal tries, bouncing back after his infamous playoff miss led to his Bears exit, but will head to the waiver wire.
Succop, 33, played in every Titans game from 2014-18. Last season, he went 26-for-30 on field goals and 28-for-31 on PATs. He will rejoin a Titans team that has won its past two games to enter Week 9 at 4-4.
The Titans also activated defensive back Joshua Kalu from their IR list, meaning the team has used both of its 2019 IR-return designations. Tennessee waived defensive back Tye Smith to make room for Kalu’s return.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/31/19
Today’s minor moves:
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Promoted from practice squad: CB Brandon Watson
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: C Hroniss Grasu
- Waived: WR Darius Jennings
Designated To Return: Broncos, Lions, Titans
With roughly half of the 2019 campaign in the books, NFL clubs have started to exercise their right to return players from injured reserve. Each team is allowed to bring two players back from IR, but said players must have been retained on their respective club’s initial 53-man roster. Once an IR player returns to practice, his club will have three weeks to decide whether to activate him to their 53-man roster; if he’s not activated, the player will remain on injured reserve for the remainder of the season.
Here are three players who have been designated to return from IR this week:
- Broncos wide receiver Tim Patrick has returned to practice and has been designated to return, as Mike Klis of 9News tweets. A 2017 undrafted free agent, Patrick suffered a broken hand in Week 1 of the 2019 campaign but is now ready for action. Patrick broke out in the final month of last season, posting 19 receptions for 242 yards during the last quarter of the campaign. When he returns to game action, Patrick could see a significant role in a now Emmanuel Sanders-less receiving corps.
- The Lions have designated defensive end Austin Bryant to return from IR, and he practiced Wednesday, the club announced today. Bryant was selected in the fourth round of the 2019 draft, so he’s yet to play an NFL snap. During his final two seasons at Clemson, Bryant posted 17 sacks and 30.5 tackles for loss. If activated, Bryant could help a Detroit defensive line that currently ranks bottom-seven in both adjusted line yards and adjusted sack rate, per Football Outsiders.
- Defensive back Josh Kalu has been designated to return from IR by the Titans, per Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com (Twitter link). An undrafted free agent out of Nebraska in 2018, Kalu spent most of last year on Tennessee’s practice squad before being promoted in December. He played in five games and saw action on 48 special teams snaps.
More NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/30/19
Today’s practice squad updates:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: QB Danny Etling
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: T Victor Salako
- Released: LB Nate Hall
Chicago Bears
- Signed: LB James Vaughters
- Placed on injured list: LB Fadol Brown
Detroit Lions
- Signed: OL Casey Tucker
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: TE Evan Baylis, WR Darrius Shepherd
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: CB Jordan Brown
- Released: LB Sutton Smith
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: T Tyree St. Louis
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: RB Darrin Hall
- Released: TE Kevin Rader
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: TE Codey McElroy
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: CB Kareem Orr
Washington Redskins
- Signed: DE Carroll Phillips
NFL Workout Updates: 10/29/19
Here is an update on workouts around the league:
Baltimore Ravens
- P Jack Fox, WR De’Anthony Thomas
Buffalo Bills
- LB Keishawn Bierria, DL Raymond Davison, LB Del’Shawn Phillips
Indianapolis Colts
- LB Christian Sam, DT Adolphus Washington, CB Kyle Wilson
Jacksonville Jaguars
Seattle Seahawks
Tennessee Titans
- WR Jeff Badet, WR K.J. Brent, WR Rashard Davis, QB Taylor Heinicke, QB Josh Johnson, QB Chase Litton
Titans Won’t Trade Marcus Mariota
The Titans aren’t looking to trade recently downgraded quarterback Marcus Mariota, Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com tweets. By the same token, the Titans’ former starter isn’t looking for a way out of Nashville, either.
The Titans benched the former No. 2 overall pick against the Broncos a couple of weeks back and, in Week 7, they stuck with Ryan Tannehill as the starter. Mariota’s Titans future is very much in flux, but the team hasn’t given up on him yet.
Mariota has had his moments, but he’s struggled for the most part over the last three seasons. After lobbing 26 TD passes in 2016, the Oregon product has just 21 in his past 35 games. He posted a 50.6 QBR figure in 2018, but he left the Titans’ starting lineup with a 30.8 number — 29th out of 30 qualified quarterbacks.
Joining Jameis Winston as the first quarterbacks to play out fifth-year option seasons, Mariota may be in his final months with the Titans. He is a free agent at year’s end and has not come especially close to living up to his No. 2 overall draft slot. He remains a key depth piece for a Titans team that has won two straight in an AFC that is short on locked-in contenders. It’s understandable they would like to keep Mariota around for a possible playoff push.