NFL Postpones Ravens-Steelers Due To COVID-19
Thursday’s game between the Ravens and Steelers has been postponed due to a rash of positive COVID-19 tests. Now, the two teams are set to meet on Sunday afternoon, though the league will continue to monitor the situation between now and then.
We learned yesterday that Baltimore was dealing with 10 total coronavirus cases, including five players. As Dan Graziano of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter), the Ravens have actually had seven players test positive over the past three days: RBs Mark Ingram and J.K. Dobbins — which we already knew about — QB Trace McSorley, OLB Pernell McPhee, DE Calais Campbell, C Matt Skura, and G/C Patrick Mekari, all of whom will be placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. As such, the league really had no other choice but to push back the game.
Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network points out that the league did not make the decision because the Ravens would have been extremely shorthanded. After all, the players who tested positive won’t be allowed to play on Sunday either. Instead, a number of Baltimore players are (obviously) close contacts with those who tested positive, and the NFL wants to make sure the spread is contained (Twitter link).
Unfortunately, things could get worse for the Ravens. Per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the league and the team know how the outbreak began, and there is a chance more players will test positive. By Friday, the NFL expects to know if everything is under control or if the game will need to be postponed again.
If another postponement becomes necessary, this game will likely be the first one set in on the novel Week 18. The Ravens are scheduled to play the Cowboys next Thursday, so the league will not make them play a game on Monday or Tuesday before a Thursday night contest.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Cardinals Sign Seth DeValve To Practice Squad
The Cardinals have signed 
Seth DeValve to the practice squad, per a club announcement. The tight end became a free agent when the Panthers dropped him from the taxi squad last week, and he’s yet to see live action in 2020.
The 27-year-old first joined the Panthers in March after a one-year stint in Jacksonville. That deal lasted just a few months, thanks to a lingering toe injury. In June, Carolina dropped DeValve with a failed physical designation.
DeValve logged more snaps that any other Jaguars tight end in 2019, but he was rarely targeted. He finished out with 12 catches for 140 yards off of 18 opportunities. His best season to date came in 2017, when he posted career highs of 33 receptions and 395 yards.
The Cardinals currently have three tight ends on the varsity squad in Darrell Daniels, Dan Arnold, and Maxx Williams. If an injury or opportunity arises, they’ll DeValve on call.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/24/20
We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Released: LB Stephone Anthony, T Rick Leonard, RB Khalfani Muhammad
Carolina Panthers
- Released: K Taylor Bertolet
Houston Texans
- Signed: C Cohl Cabral
- Released: DE Kendal Futrell
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: S Doug Middleton
Kansas City Chiefs
- Released: S Lavert Hill
New York Giants
- Signed: TE Nakia Griffin-Stewart
- Released: WR Corey Coleman
New York Jets
- Signed: QB Mike White
Philadelphia Eagles
- Released: RB Adrian Killins
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed LB/LS Christian Kuntz
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: S Kai Nacua, WR Shawn Poindexter
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: K Sam Sloman
- Released: P Ryan Allen, K Giorgio Tavecchio
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/24/20
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: S Deionte Thompson
Baltimore Ravens
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: OLB Pernell McPhee
Buffalo Bills
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Josh Norman
Chicago Bears
- Waived: DT Anthony Rush
Cleveland Browns
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: DE Joe Jackson
Denver Broncos
- Activated from IR: RB LeVante Bellamy
- Waived: T Jake Rodgers
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed off Cardinals’ practice squad: LB Reggie Gilbert
- Promoted: RB Nathan Cottrell
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: K Chase McLaughlin
- Placed on IR: CB D.J. Hayden, S Daniel Thomas
Kansas City Chiefs
- Placed on IR: WR Byron Pringle
Los Angeles Rams
- Claimed off waivers from Patriots: DE Derek Rivers
New Orleans Saints
- Waived: LB Chase Hansen
New York Jets
- Promoted: RB Josh Adams
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: TE Vance McDonald
- Promoted: TE Kevin Rader
Tennessee Titans
- Placed on IR: T Ty Sambrailo
- Waived: P Trevor Daniel, CB Greg Mabin
The Jets’ addition of Adams makes a lot of sense after rookie running back La’Mical Perine suffered a high ankle sprain that is expected to sideline him for at least a couple games. A 2018 UDFA out of Notre Dame, Adams played a significant role with the Eagles as a rookie, when he started five of 14 games and carries the ball 120 times for 511 yards and three touchdowns. Despite the reasonably productive first season, he was waived at final cuts last year.
Jets Place K Sam Ficken, RB La’Mical Perine On IR
The Jets are sending a couple of important players to injured reserve, they announced Tuesday. Kicker Sam Ficken and running back La’Mical Perine will both be hitting the shelf for at least the next three games.
Ficken opened the year as the team’s kicker but got hurt during Week 6 and missed the next handful of games. He just returned this past week but seems to have rushed himself back, as he missed two of his four extra point attempts against the Chargers and apparently re-aggravated his groin injury. Sergio Castillo, who filled in recently, will now take over the kicking duties once again. Ficken is a Penn State product who spent parts of 2017-18 with the Rams before landing the Jets’ job last season.
Perine is a promising rookie who many Jets fans were hoping would blossom into the running back of the future after the Le’Veon Bell saga. He suffered a high ankle sprain against Los Angeles that will knock him out, but hopefully the fourth-rounder from Florida will be able to return for the last couple games to make his case.
For now ageless wonder Frank Gore will take on an even more prominent role, and the team already signed former Eagles running back Josh Adams off the practice squad to replace Perine. They also announced they were signing tight end Ross Travis off the practice squad to take Ficken’s place.
Vikings Place WR Adam Thielen On Reserve/COVID-19 List
Following one of his best performances of the 2020 campaign, Vikings star wideout Adam Thielen has landed on the reserve/COVID-19 list (per an announcement from the organization).
The team didn’t provide any specific details on Thielen’s status, but we can assume the receiver either tested positive for COVID-19 or was within close contact of someone who did test positive.
The Vikings have recently placed six players on the COVID-19 list, but we know of only two players who definitively tested positive (linebacker Todd Davis and guard Dru Samia). ESPN’s Courtney Cronin observes that wide receivers coach Andrew Janocko wasn’t on the sideline for Sunday’s loss to the Cowboys, but there was no explanation for his absence.
The 30-year-old Thielen is having a bounce-back season, hauling in 49 catches for 646 yards and a league-leading 11 touchdowns (including two on Sunday). As Andrew Kramer of the Star Tribune writes, the “NFL requires a minimum five-day quarantine for high-risk close contacts and asymptomatic cases.” That means Thielen could be back in the lineup on Sunday against the Panthers.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/23/20
Today’s practice squad moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: RB Tony Brooks-James, WR Devin Gray
Las Vegas Raiders
- Released: DT Datone Jones
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: CB DeMarkus Acy, C Brad Lundblade
- Placed on IR: RB Bo Scarbrough, TE/DE Stephen Sullivan
Washington Football Team
- Placed on COVID-19 list: RB Javon Leake
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/23/20
Today’s minor moves:
Houston Texans
- Activated from Reserve/Injured list: TE Kahale Warring
- Claimed: OL Hjalte Froholdt (from Patriots)
Los Angeles Rams
- Claimed: DE Derek Rivers (from Patriots)
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Placed on IR: TE Zach Gentry
Raiders Add Vic Beasley To Practice Squad
The Raiders are stocking up on former Falcons notables. In addition to adding Takkarist McKinley, the Raiders will also sign edge rusher Vic Beasley, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). While McKinley seems ticketed for the active roster, Beasley will head to the practice squad.
Despite signing Beasley to a one-year, $9.5MM deal this offseason, the Titans cut ties with him earlier this month. The former first-round pick showed up late to camp, clashed with team brass, and failed to record a single sack as a Titan. While he saw his playing time gradually increase throughout the season, Beasley still mostly produced in a platoon role, finishing with three tackles and one forced fumble in five games.
Despite the underwhelming performance in Tennessee, this represents the ultimate low-risk, high-reward scenario for Jon Gruden & Co. After all, he’s not that far removed from 2016, when he notched 15.5 sacks en route to a 2016 All-Pro selection. He also managed eight sacks in 2019 — good enough to land that ill-fated platform deal in Tennessee. For reference, the Raiders have the second-fewest sacks in the NFL (11), and the rank in the bottom 10 in QB hits, tackles for loss, and sack percentage.
Just moments ago, the Raiders claimed McKinley off waivers from the 49ers. Assuming the defensive end passes his physical (which is a big assumption, considering his failed physicals with the Bengals and 49ers), the 25-year-old should get a spot on the active roster.
Raiders Claim DE Takk McKinley
The Raiders have claimed defensive end Takkarist McKinley off waivers, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. This marks McKinley’s fourth NFL team this month. After he was dropped by the Falcons, he failed physicals with both the Bengals and 49ers.
The Niners were still said to be interested in the former-first rounder, but they couldn’t find room for him on the active roster while he nurses a groin injury. McKinley has 17.5 career sacks to his credit, though just one of those have come in 2020. The UCLA product has had an up-and-down career as a pro. He registered 13 sacks over his first two seasons but, since 2019, he’s logged just 4.5 in total.
There’s plenty for Jon Gruden and the Raiders to like about him still, especially since he notched seven QB hits in just 85 snaps for the Falcons this year. As a team, the Raiders have collected only 46 QB hits, which is a bottom-10 mark this season.
Maxx Crosby and Arden Key are currently slotted in as the Raiders’ starting defensive ends. McKinley will likely have to battle with several other veterans for playing time, a grouping that includes Carl Nassib and practice squad players Chris Smith and David Irving.