Patriots Place OL Isaiah Wynn, RB Rex Burkhead On IR
A trio of Patriots players landed on injured reserve today. ESPN’s Field Yates reports (via Twitter) that New England has placed running back Rex Burkhead, left tackle Isaiah Wynn, and nose tackle Carl Davis on IR.
The Burkhead move isn’t overly surprising; the veteran RB suffered a torn ACL last weekend, ending his season. Now in his fourth year with New England, the veteran was having another solid season as a change-of-pace back. Through 10 games, the 30-year-old collected 274 yards and three touchdowns on 67 carries. He had another 25 receptions for 192 yards and three scores.
While the Patriots will surely miss Burkhead’s veteran presence, the team does have a number of options at running back. Damien Harris has emerged as a solid option in the running game, and Cam Newton can still turn to pass-catcher James White. The team is also rostering former first rounder Sony Michel, who could return this weekend after having been sidelined since Week 3.
Wynn, a 2018 first-rounder, was limited to only eight games through his first two seasons in the NFL. However, in 2020, he’s emerged as one of New England’s best offensive lineman, and he’s shown versatility by playing both offensive tackle and offensive guard. The 24-year-old suffered a knee injury during last weekend’s loss to the Texans, but the lineman could theoretically return before the season is over.
Davis, 28, joined the Patriots after being signed off the Jaguars practice squad in October. The defensive lineman has seen time in three games for New England this season, collecting three tackles. He’s appeared in 39 career games (13 starts) with the Patriots, Ravens, Browns, Jaguars, and Colts.
Ravens Sign WR Dez Bryant To 53-Man Roster
After having been promoted twice, Dez Bryant will no longer have to ride the Ravens’ practice squad shuttle. The veteran wideout announced on Twitter that he’s been signed to Baltimore’s active roster.
The 32-year-old joined the Ravens practice squad in late October. He was promoted for Baltimore’s Week 9 win over the Colts, but he only played a pair of snaps. He saw much more playing time when he was promoted for the Ravens’ Week 11 loss to the Titans, hauling in four catches for 28 yards while appearing in 54 percent of his team’s offensive snaps.
Along with tight end Mark Andrews, receivers Marquise Brown and Willie Snead will continue to lead Baltimore’s inconsistent receiving corps. However, Bryant could continue seeing a role ahead of the likes of Miles Boykin, Devin Duvernay, and James Proche.
“We’ll just keep working, and we’ll see where that leads moving forward,” offensive coordinator Greg Roman said last week (via ESPN’s Jamison Hensley). “I don’t think there’s any real timeline right now, but I do think that if Dez keeps progressing, he will definitely become a factor in what we do.”
Bryant missed all of the 2018 and 2019 seasons, so despite having three 1,000-yard seasons (plus a pair of 800-plus-yard campaigns) on his resume, the veteran had to settle for a practice squad deal in 2020. While there certainly wasn’t much risk for either side, the move has clearly worked out for both the player and the organization.
Chiefs Cut S Tedric Thompson
Tedric Thompson‘s stint with the Chiefs has come to an end. NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero of NFL.com’s reports (via Twitter) that Kansas City is cutting the safety. The team will elevate practice squad wideout Marcus Kemp to the active roster to take the open roster spot, via Herbie Teope of the Kansas City Star (on Twitter).
Thompson, a fourth-round pick in 2017, spent the first three seasons of his career with the Seahawks. He started 16 games for Seattle between the 2018 and 2019 seasons, collecting 76 tackles and three interceptions. However, a shoulder injury limited him to only six games in 2019, and he was released by the Seahawks back in March.
He ultimately landed with the Chiefs, where he’s served mostly in a rotational role. He’s fallen down the depth chart in recent weeks; since Week 5, he’s only played 22 defensive snaps, and he’s been a healthy scratch for the past two games. Thompson’s stint with the Chiefs will end with him having compiled 13 tackles in eight games.
Kemp has spent most of the past four seasons with the Chiefs organization. The 2017 undrafted free agent out of Hawaii has seen time in 24 career games, including seven this season. The 25-year-old has eight career tackles and a pair of catches on his resume.
Ravens, Steelers Place 3 Players On Reserve/COVID-19 List
5:52pm: While a sixth straight day did produce a Ravens positive coronavirus test, just one player’s test came back positive Friday. Practice squad offensive lineman Will Holden tested positive, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter). Holden will become the 15th player on Baltimore’s reserve/COVID-19 list. This will continue to be the NFL situation to monitor over the next few days.
3:28pm: The Ravens and Steelers each moved three players to their respective reserve/COVID-19 lists Friday. This comes shortly after the NFL pushed the AFC North’s top rivalry back to Tuesday night.
Stephon Tuitt, defensive lineman Isaiah Buggs and offensive lineman Jerald Hawkins are now on the Steelers’ virus list, while the Ravens moved fullback Patrick Ricard, long snapper Morgan Cox and defensive tackle Justin Madubuike to theirs. Lamar Jackson also landed on Baltimore’s COVID list. The reigning MVP tested positive for the coronavirus Thursday; Ricard confirmed (via Twitter) he tested positive as well.
For the Ravens, this increases their COVID list to 14 players — including key cogs Jackson, Ricard, Calais Campbell, Brandon Williams, Matt Skura, Pernell McPhee, Mark Ingram and J.K. Dobbins. This concerning number resulted in the NFL moving the Ravens-Steelers rematch for a second time. The 7pm Tuesday slot, however, represents conceivably the final Week 12 window for this game. Another delay would test the NFL in a way previous virus issues have not.
It is not known if Tuitt tested positive. If he did not, he could still play Tuesday. Depending on when the standout defensive lineman’s last contact with a COVID-19-positive person occurred, he could still be activated in time for the Steelers’ Tuesday game. With the NFL moving Week 13’s Ravens-Cowboys game to Monday, Dec. 7, Jackson could be activated. Had the NFL kept that game on Thursday — which it will if the Steelers-Ravens tilt cannot be played Tuesday — Jackson would have been ineligible to return for that contest.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/27/20
Here are Friday’s practice squad moves:
Denver Broncos
- Signed: RB LeVante Bellamy
New England Patriots
- Suspended six games: LB Michael Pinckney
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: WR Jordan Matthews
- Released: WR Chris Finke
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: T Marshall Newhouse
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/27/20
Here are Friday’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: WR Trent Sherfield
Chicago Bears
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: S Eddie Jackson
Cleveland Browns
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: DE Porter Gustin; Gustin tested positive for the coronavirus, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports.
Denver Broncos
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: WR Diontae Spencer; Spencer tested positive for the coronavirus.
Philadelphia Eagles
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: RB Corey Clement, DE Vinny Curry
San Francisco 49ers
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: DT Javon Kinlaw
Raiders To Place Takk McKinley On IR
Takkarist McKinley‘s busy month of transactions continued Friday. The Raiders are placing the recently acquired defensive end on IR, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
This move comes after the Raiders submitted a third waiver claim for McKinley. After watching the Bengals and 49ers send him back to waivers following failed physicals, the Raiders will work around that process by placing the pass rusher on IR.
McKinley is dealing with a groin injury, but the Raiders are clearly high on the former first-round pick. They will stash him on IR for at least three games. McKinley will not be eligible to debut for Las Vegas until Week 15.
McKinley’s November has included: the Falcons shopping him, McKinley accusing the team of turning down trades, the Falcons waiving him, the Bengals claiming him and waiving him, the 49ers claiming him and waiving him, and the Raiders claiming him. The Raiders and Browns each submitted three waiver claims for McKinley. After Sunday night’s loss to the Chiefs, the Raiders held a higher waiver priority.
Despite Takk’s rookie deal expiring at season’s end, the Raiders are in need of pass-rushing help. He will now profile as a hopeful mid-December boost for the AFC playoff contenders.
Chargers Activate Chris Harris, Place Melvin Ingram On IR
A Pro Bowl defender will be available for the Chargers against the Bills, but the team will also be without one. The Bolts activated Chris Harris on Friday but cleared the roster spot by placing Melvin Ingram on IR.
Harris has been out since Week 2 with a foot injury, but the All-Decade cornerback returned to practice last week. The Chargers signed the longtime Broncos slot corner to a two-year deal this offseason, but their squadron of All-Pros in the secondary has largely failed to materialize.
Derwin James is out for the season, and the Chargers traded 2018 All-Pro Desmond King to the Titans. Casey Hayward will also miss the Bills game with a groin injury, interestingly leaving Harris as the only member of that would-have-been All-Pro quartet on track to suit up in Buffalo.
The Chargers previously ruled Ingram out for Week 12 with a knee injury. This will be the second time the ninth-year edge rusher has landed on IR this season. He missed time earlier this year because of knee trouble. These setbacks have damaged Ingram’s 2021 free agency stock. After lobbying for a new contract in August, Ingram returned to practice. The 31-year-old defensive end’s multi-injury season — one that has yet to produce a sack — and the expected cap reduction could severely affect his market come March.
Texans To Cut WR Kenny Stills
The waiver wire will soon feature a proven pass catcher. The Texans are cutting Kenny Stills, Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).
Despite Houston trading for the former New Orleans and Miami wide receiver last year, the team has not featured him much this season. The eighth-year veteran has just 11 catches for 144 yards, having taken a backseat to other veteran targets Will Fuller, Brandin Cooks and Randall Cobb. Even with Cobb on IR now, Stills played just four snaps on Thanksgiving.
With the trade deadline having passed, Stills will head to the wire. A 28-year-old deep threat, he profiles as an interesting late-season piece for a contender. Stills’ contract expires at season’s end. In 117 career games (77 starts), Stills has 310 receptions for 4,843 yards and 37 touchdowns.
Stills enjoyed a bigger role last season, playing alongside Fuller and DeAndre Hopkins. He caught 40 passes for 561 yards and four touchdowns. The former fifth-round pick produced two 700-plus-yard seasons with the Dolphins, earning a four-year, $32MM extension in 2017. Barely $1MM remains on that deal. With the Saints, Stills led the NFL with 20.0 yards per catch in 2013 and posted a career-high 931 yards in ’14. The Saints traded him to the Dolphins in 2015.
The Texans, who acquired Stills in 2019’s Laremy Tunsil blockbuster deal, tried to trade Stills prior to this year’s deadline. But they ended up hanging onto each member of their veteran receiving quartet. Now, Houston will have just Fuller and Cooks from that crew down the stretch. Keke Coutee has resurfaced as an auxiliary cog.
Bucs’ A.Q. Shipley To Retire?
Buccaneers center A.Q. Shipley is done for the year after injuring his neck. It’s especially serious and it appears to be a career-ender, according to head coach Bruce Arians. The Bucs placed Shipley on IR Friday.
“I feel bad because I love A.Q,” Arians told SiriusXM. “He’s one of my favorite players of all time and was playing good for us. But I think it was a previous injury that might have just got aggravated in his neck.”
Shipley entered the league as a seventh-round pick of the Steelers in 2009, but he didn’t make his regular-season debut until 2012 when he hooked on with the Colts. After that, he spent a year with the Ravens and returned to Indy before joining the Cardinals in 2015.
Shipley’s best seasons came under Arians, with Pro Football Focus grading him as one of the game’s top centers during the Cards’ 13-3 season in 2015. Last year, PFF assigned him just the 29th overall grade among snappers, a sign that his 2018 ACL tear had slowed him down. Still, Arians was happy to bring him to the Bucs, where Ali Marpet‘s injury recently opened a starting spot for him.
After 110 career games played, Arians sees the unfortunate injury as the start of Shipley’s coaching career.