Raiders To Place Maliek Collins On IR
Maliek Collins has started throughout his first Raiders season but will see an injury pause his initial post-Cowboys campaign.
The Raiders are placing the first-string defensive tackle on IR Wednesday, per The Athletic’s Vic Tafur (on Twitter). Collins has started in the 10 games in which he’s played this year but must miss at least the next three. Collins was listed on the Raiders’ injury report with ankle and hamstring issues, but Jon Gruden said the D-lineman has a shoulder injury as well (Twitter link via Tafur).
While the Raiders gave Collins a one-year deal worth $6MM, he has struggled. Pro Football Focus currently has the fifth-year veteran slotted as the league’s worst full-time interior defender. Collins has yet to record a sack and has just one quarterback hit this season.
Working under current Raiders defensive line coach Rod Marinelli in Dallas, Collins recorded multiple sacks in each of his first four seasons. He also notched at least eight QB hits in each of his Cowboy campaigns, creating a mid-level market for himself this offseason.
Ravens Promote 10 From Practice Squad
Ravens warmups featured Robert Griffin III taking snaps from Trystan Colon-Castillo, who will play his first NFL game. But Baltimore promoted a host of reinforcements that will provide depth at other positions.
The Ravens elevated 10 players from their practice squad ahead of Tuesday’s game, filling out a roster decimated by the coronavirus and the NFL’s virus protocols.
Using the COVID-19 replacement designation, the Ravens elevated linebacker Aaron Adeoye, defensive tackle Aaron Crawford, tight end Sean Culkin, quarterback Tyler Huntley, long snapper Nick Moore, offensive lineman R.J. Prince, defensive end Chauncey Rivers, tight end Eric Tomlinson, running back Ty’son Williams and tight end Luke Willson. They also added safety Geno Stone to the reserve/COVID-19 list.
This extensive batch of pregame moves will supply the Ravens with a third-string quarterback and running back depth. Lamar Jackson is one of 17 players still on Baltimore’s reserve/COVID list, forcing today’s visiting team to promote nearly its entire practice squad. The team activated Trace McSorley from the virus list Tuesday, and Huntley — a rookie UDFA — will play behind he and RG3. Williams will slide in behind Gus Edwards and Justice Hill, with Mark Ingram and J.K. Dobbins ruled out.
But the Ravens’ point-of-care coronavirus tests came back negative Wednesday. After three postponements and 10 straight days of Ravens positive tests, the NFL’s first Wednesday game in eight years (and second in the past 60 seasons) is a go.
Bengals’ Auden Tate Done For Year
The season is over for Auden Tate. The Bengals wide receiver will be placed on injured reserve following shoulder surgery, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter). 
Tate, 23, was fighting for targets in a group that also includes Tyler Boyd, Tee Higgins, and A.J. Green. He made the most of his opportunities in Week 9, catching all seven of his looks for 65 yards, helping the Bengals to top the Titans. In total, he’ll finish the year with a stat line of 14/150 and zero TDs. That’s not quite the follow-up he wanted after notching 40 catches for 575 yards and a touchdown in 2019.
The banged-up Bengals are down to 2-8-1 after falling to the Giants this past week. They’ll have some decent opportunities to win with a final stretch that includes the Cowboys and Texans, but that would also knock them down the draft board. If the season ended today, the Bengals would own the No. 3 overall pick, behind only the Jets and Jaguars.
Lions Place Desmond Trufant, Danny Shelton On IR
The Lions have placed cornerback Desmond Trufant and defensive tackle Danny Shelton on injured reserve, per a club announcement. With the season winding down and the Lions out of the playoff picture, this could mark the end of their seasons. 
The Lions picked up Trufant in March after he was released midway through his five-year, ~$69MM mega-deal with the Falcons. So far, he’s played in just six games under his more reasonable two-year, $21MM deal, which includes $14MM in guarantees. Last year, Trufant compiled four interceptions and seven passes defended despite being limited to only nine games. In 2020, he’s got one interception, four passes defended, and 20 total stops.
Shelton — who entered the league as the No. 12 pick in the 2015 draft — never lived up to his draft status, but he’s built a solid career as a run-stuffer. The 345-pound lineman played a key role with the Pats last year and found a home as the Lions starter this year. Unfortunately, after eleven starts, his season could be done thanks to a knee injury suffered against the Texans.
Down two defensive starters, the Lions will travel to Chicago this weekend to face the Bears.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/1/20
We’ll keep track of the NFL’s latest practice squad moves here:
Cleveland Browns
- Released: CB Stephen Denmark
Detroit Lions
- Signed: DT Kevin Strong
Indianapolis Colts
- Released: RB Darius Jackson
Minnesota Vikings
- Released: CB Marcus Sayles
New York Giants
- Released: WR Derrick Dillon, TE Nate Wieting
New York Jets
- Signed: RB Pete Guerriero
Philadelphia Eagles
- Released: Shareef Miller
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: K Matthew Wright
Washington Football Team
- Signed: QB Taylor Heinicke, T Rick Leonard, T Timon Parris
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/1/20
Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Activated from IR: DL Rashard Lawrence
Baltimore Ravens
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Khalil Dorsey, QB Trace McSorley, DT Brandon Williams, CB Tavon Young
Denver Broncos
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: QB Blake Bortles, QB Drew Lock, QB Brett Rypien
Green Bay Packers
- Waived: WR Darrius Shepherd
Minnesota Vikings
- Waived: LS Austin Cutting, LB Hardy Nickerson
New York Giants
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: T Matt Peart, WR Dante Pettis, TE Kaden Smith
- Waived: S Montre Hartage, K Ryan Santoso
Philadelphia Eagles
- Promoted: S Grayland Arnold
San Francisco 49ers
- Placed on IR: CB Jamar Taylor (story), CB Ken Webster
- Waived: S Chris Edwards
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: LB Will Compton
Giants Place LB Kyler Fackrell On IR
The Giants might be without quarterback Daniel Jones for a little bit, and it turns out Jones wasn’t the only significant player to go down during their win over the Bengals. The team has placed linebacker Kyler Fackrell on injured reserve with a calf injury, they announced Tuesday.
That means Fackrell will need to miss at least the next three games as the Giants make their push for the NFC East title. He’s played a big role in New York’s revitalized defense, appearing in all 11 games while starting eight and playing over 76 percent of the defensive snaps. He has three sacks on the year, tied for second-most on the team behind only Leonard Williams. The Utah State product landed a one-year, $4.6MM deal from Big Blue this offseason.
He entered the league as a third-round pick of the Packers in 2016, and was mostly quiet his first couple of years. He came out of nowhere in 2018 to have a breakout season and rack up 10.5 sacks, although he came back down to earth in 2019 with only one.
In addition to his three sacks this year, he also has 31 tackles, a forced fumble, two passes defended, and an interception which he returned for a touchdown. This is a big loss moving forward for a team with little margin for error.
Falcons Sign Laquon Treadwell To 53
A former first-rounder is back on an active roster. Receiver Laquon Treadwell has been activated off the practice squad COVID list and signed to the Falcons’ 53-man roster, the team announced Tuesday.
Fellow receiver Olamide Zaccheaus was placed on injured reserve with a toe injury in a corresponding roster move. The Vikings drafted Treadwell 23rd overall in 2016, but obviously that pick never panned out. He caught only one pass as a rookie, and never topped 302 yards during his four years in Minnesota. After his rookie deal expired (with his fifth-year option not being picked up), he signed with Atlanta back in March.
He was waived at final cuts, but quickly added back to the practice squad. Now with Zaccheaus headed to IR and Julio Jones nursing a hamstring injury that kept him on the sidelines in Week 12, Treadwell could manage to get some playing time. Still only 25, it’s nice to see the Ole Miss product get another opportunity.
Zaccheaus is a 2019 UDFA from Virginia. He made the 53-man roster as a rookie but played mostly on special teams, catching three passes for 115 yards. This time around he’d been playing a bigger role, and had a couple of huge games in Weeks 4 and 9 when he went off for 86 and 103 yards respectively. The unheralded wideout will be eligible to return in Week 16. If he doesn’t make it back, he’ll finish his sophomore campaign with 20 catches for 274 yards and a touchdown while making two starts.
Eagles Cut S Will Parks
In the wake of yet another disappointing defeat last night, the Eagles are making a change on defense. Philly is releasing safety Will Parks, a source told James Palmer of NFL Network (Twitter link).
Parks was in his first year with the team after signing a one-year, $1.6MM deal back in March. He suffered a hamstring injury right before the season started that caused him to miss the first handful of games, but he returned in Week 6 and started the game. His playing time dipped a bit after that, although he still started three games and played in all six he was active. He played only ten defensive snaps against the Seahawks last night, and apparently that was the final straw.
The timing is a bit odd, as it’s not like Parks has been noticeably terrible, and it’s possible there’s something behind the scenes at play here. That being said they’ve apparently wanted him gone for a bit, as Tom Pelissero of NFL Network tweets they tried to trade him at the deadline but found no takers.
The Vikings apparently offered Parks more money back in March, as Minnesota beat writer Darren Wolfson tweets. Wolfson also notes they had interest in trading for him at the deadline, so they’ll be a team to watch as Parks now hits waivers. A Philadelphia native, Parks took a discount to return home but it obviously didn’t work out.
A sixth-round pick of the Broncos in 2016, Parks became a real contributor in Denver and started seven games last year. He finished with 35 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble, two passes defended, and an interception in 14 games in 2019. The Arizona product is only 26 and will likely get scooped up by somebody before the end of the year.
Browns Place S Ronnie Harrison On IR, Activate Myles Garrett
The Browns have activated defensive end Myles Garrett from the reserve/COVID-19 list. To make room on the roster, they’ve placed safety Ronnie Harrison Jr. on injured reserve with a shoulder injury. 
Garrett was leading the NFL in sacks up until he was placed on the reserve list in November. After missing the last two games, his 9.5 sacks are still good for a second-place tie with Saints DE Trey Hendrickson. Rams star Aaron Donald now leads the pack with ten sacks.
The Browns have managed to stay hot without Garrett, beating the Eagles and Jaguars over the last two weeks. Now, they’ll have him back on the field just in the nick of time for this week’s game against the 8-3 Titans.
Harrison, 23, has been first string for the Browns since Week 5. Unfortunately, he went down on the very first play against the Jaguars — his former team — and his MRI revealed a serious tear. It’s just the latest blow to a Browns secondary that has also lost safety Grant Delpit and cornerback Greedy Williams to injury. Despite it all, the Browns are 8-3 and on track to snap the NFL’s longest playoff drought.