Minor NFL Transactions: 10/27/20
Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Placed on IR: DL Zach Allen, LB Isaiah Irving
- Waived: TE Evan Baylis
Buffalo Bills
- Promoted: LB Andre Smith
- Released from reserve/retired list: DB Isiah Brown
Denver Broncos
- Promoted: DT Sylvester Williams
- Placed on IR: DT Mike Purcell (story), LB Derrek Tuszka
Minnesota Vikings
- Released: C Brett Jones
New York Giants
- Promoted: LB Trent Harris
San Francisco 49ers
- Released from IR: WR Tavon Austin
Seattle Seahawks
- Waived: DT Anthony Rush
Tennessee Titans
- Promoted: LB Daren Bates, OL David Quessenberry
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/27/20
We’ll keep track of the practice squad moves from the past day here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: CB De’Vante Bausby
Baltimore Ravens
- Released: S Marcus Gilchrist
Carolina Panthers
- Released: CB Josh Hawkins
Chicago Bears
- Signed: WR Dwayne Harris
- Released: DT Terry Beckner
Cincinnati Bengals
- Released: CB Jalen Davis
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: OT Alex Taylor
- Released: DE Jalen Jelks
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: P Hunter Niswander
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Released: T Jared Hilbers
Kansas City Chiefs
- Released: QB Jordan Ta’amu
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: DB Kemah Siverand
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: K Austin MacGinnis
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: CB Marcus Sayles
- Released: LB Cale Garrett
New England Patriots
- Signed: T Jordan Steckler
- Released: G Jordan Roos
New York Giants
- Signed: WR Corey Coleman, DB Montre Hartage, TE Rysen John
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: WR Anthony Johnson
- Released: WR Amara Darboh
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: OL Tony Bergstrom, DL Willie Henry
- Released: CB Brian Allen, OL Cody Conway, DL Adam Shuler
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: OL Paul Adams, LB Will Compton
Washington Football Team
- Released: DE Gerri Green, DB Manny Patterson, LB Donald Payne
Panthers Release CB Eli Apple
Eli Apple‘s hamstring trouble only allowed him to play in two games with the Panthers. They released the former top-10 pick Tuesday.
Apple began the season on IR and aggravated the hamstring malady upon debuting in Week 4. After making his second return in Week 7 against the Saints, the ex-New Orleans corner left Carolina’s Tuesday practice because of a hamstring strain, David Newton of ESPN.com tweets.
While Apple would be entitled to an injury settlement, the Panthers are cutting the cord and turning their outside coverage effort over to younger talent. Carolina has third-year corner Donte Jackson, fourth-year man Corn Elder and former Eagle Rasul Douglas at this position. All three have graded as top-25 corners, in the view of Pro Football Focus, through seven games. The Panthers also drafted Troy Pride in Round 4 and Stantley Thomas-Oliver III in Round 7 this year. Douglas, however, resides on the team’s reserve/COVID-19 list.
Apple played just 28 defensive snaps with the Panthers — all against the Saints on Sunday — and just 34 overall. This marks another setback for the 2016 No. 10 overall pick. Apple has bounced from the Giants to the Saints to the Raiders to the Panthers and back to free agency. In May, the Panthers signed him to a one-year deal after his previous Raiders pact — a one-year, $6MM contract agreed to on the first day of free agency — fell through.
The Ohio State alum is still just 25, however, and started 15 games for the Saints last season. He will almost certainly receive another opportunity.
Cowboys Trade Everson Griffen To Lions
Shortly after Everson Griffen trade rumors emerged, the veteran defensive end is on the move. He will return to the NFC North.
The Cowboys are trading Griffen to the Lions for a draft choice, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Griffen spent 10 seasons with the Vikings and will now be headed to Detroit to help the 3-3 team’s pass rush. The Lions will send the Cowboys a conditional sixth-rounder for Griffen, Rapoport adds (on Twitter). The pick would top out as a 2021 fifth, per ESPN.com’s Todd Archer.
Griffen signed a one-year, $6MM deal with the Cowboys during training camp. But Dallas’ defense, despite featuring several veterans, has experienced consistent struggles this season. One of the 2010s’ best pass rushers, Griffen will head to a Lions team that just placed the younger of its two pass-rushing Okwaras, Julian, on IR. The Lions will be responsible for nearly $2MM of Griffen’s base salary.
With the Vikings from 2010-19, Griffen accumulated 77 sacks. He did so after spending the 2010-13 seasons as a backup. The ex-Viking cog registered 2.5 sacks in seven games as a Cowboy this season.
Griffen, 32, will need to pass six days’ worth of coronavirus tests before practicing with his new team. This will stand in the way of a 17-game season for the acclaimed edge defender. The Lions have already had their bye week, meaning Griffen’s first game with the team would be against the Vikings next week.
Although the Lions gave Trey Flowers a lucrative deal last year, they rank 28th with only eight sacks this season. Flowers and veteran Romeo Okwara have combined for six of those. Griffen finished with eight sacks and 24 QB hits for the Vikings last season and took his time choosing his next team in free agency. The Cowboys, however, will deal away one of their veteran defenders after a 2-5 start. The team recently redeployed Randy Gregory after his latest suspension ended, and Aldon Smith has produced for the Cowboys despite being out of the NFL for nearly five years.
Bills Activate G Jon Feliciano From IR
The Bills are set to have one of their 2019 starting offensive linemen back. Despite suffering a torn pectoral muscle in late July, Jon Feliciano is back on Buffalo’s active roster.
Feliciano will come off IR, per the Bills on Tuesday, and return to the team’s 53-man roster. The Bills waived linebacker Deon Lacey to make room.
A former Raiders backup, Feliciano helped the Bills make a significant improvement up front in 2019. He started 16 games for the playoff-bound squad. Feliciano, a 2015 fourth-round pick who signed a two-year deal with the Bills in 2019, returned to practice earlier this month.
Returning to game action after three months would represent a solid recovery pace after a torn pec. This would also be a bonus for a Bills team that is already somewhat deep up front.
However, this year’s team ranks 29th in rushing after seven games. Last year’s Bills finished eighth on the ground. This season, the Bills have used 2019 second-round pick Cody Ford and ex-Jet Brian Winters at guard. Despite Buffalo’s 5-2 record, Football Outsiders grades its offensive line 30th in adjusted line yards.
Rams Release K Sam Sloman
Sam Sloman‘s time as the Rams’ kicker has come to an end after seven games. Los Angeles is cutting the rookie, the team announced Tuesday.
The Rams signed veteran Kai Forbath last week after Sloman struggled out of the gates, but the rookie got one more shot to prove himself on Monday Night Football last night. Low kicks have been an issue for him all season as he’s gotten several blocked, and a blocked 48-yarder against the Bears likely sealed his fate.
The Rams drafted Sloman in the seventh-round this past April to replace Greg Zuerlein, who had been their kicker for the previous eight seasons before signing with Dallas this offseason. The Miami of Ohio product will finish his first NFL stint having gone 8/11 on field goals with a long of only 42 while missing three of his 21 extra point attempts.
The kicking game has been an issue all season long, and the Rams probably wish they had Zuerlein back right about now. Forbath has plenty of experience and looked pretty good with the Cowboys down the stretch last season, so hopefully he’ll provide some more stability at the position.
Ravens Sign Dez Bryant To Practice Squad
It’s official. Dez Bryant is back in the NFL — this time, with the Ravens’ practice squad (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). This was the anticipated news following the wide receiver’s workout with the team late last week. 
The former Cowboys All-Pro first auditioned for the Ravens over the summer, marking his first showing since he suffered an Achilles tear in 2018. The Ravens’ interest in Bryant goes back much further than that, however. Bryant famously rejected their three-year, $21MM offer after his divorce from Dallas. Then, he lingered in free agency for several months before signing a far less lucrative one-year deal with the Saints. That, unfortunately, didn’t last long – Bryant’s season ended on the practice field before he could suit up for New Orleans in live action.
Bryant, now in his age-32 season, has not played since the 2017 campaign. Before all of that, he posted at least 1,200 yards in three seasons for Dallas (2012-2014) and earned three Pro Bowl trips (2013, 2014, 2016). His 2014 showing – 88 catches for 1,320 yards and a league-leading 16 touchdowns – earned him a five-year, $70MM extension.
A quick promotion could lead to Bryant’s debut this Sunday against the Steelers. Otherwise, he’ll be at the ready for the 5-1 Ravens.
Packers To Sign WR Seth Roberts
The Packers are set to sign wide receiver Seth Roberts, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com (Twitter link). To make the numbers work, he’ll first be added to the practice squad before promoted to the varsity squad.
Roberts got a one-year, $3.75MM deal from the Panthers back in March, and ended up only catching four passes for 31 yards for the team. The Panthers started shopping Roberts in August, but they couldn’t find any takers. He lasted nearly half-a-season before being released earlier this week.
A 2014 UDFA from West Alabama, Roberts spent the first five years of his career in Oakland. He had some real success with the Raiders, notching at least 397 yards in four straight seasons from 2015-18. He also had five touchdowns in two of those campaigns. He spent last year with the Ravens and finished with 271 yards and two scores. All in all, Roberts has notched 183 catches, 2,128 yards, and 15 touchdowns over the course of his career.
Roberts’ Green Bay debut could come on Sunday when the 5-1 Packers face the 1-5 Vikings.
Buccaneers Officially Sign Antonio Brown
It’s a done deal. On Tuesday, the Buccaneers formally inked Antonio Brown to a one-year contract, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. 
[RELATED: Reactions To Antonio Brown Signing With Buccaneers]
Brown is officially in the fold, though he won’t be eligible to play until Week 9. His one-year pact will pay just $1MM in base salary and bonuses, with the potential to reach as much as $2.5MM. If the Bucs win the Super Bowl, AB will receive a $750K bonus, and he has three separate $250K bonuses for receptions, yards, and TD milestones. Those incentives are only in play if the Bucs reach the playoffs.
Brown, 32, will be eligible to join the club at their team facility on Wednesday, once he’s cleared COVID-19 testing. He can’t practice until Week 9, but he can attend meetings and train with the team’s conditioning staff in the interim.
There was pushback, but Tom Brady talked Tampa Bay into adding the multiple-time Pro Bowler. Bucs head coach Bruce Arians was insistent that the team would not add Brown. Ultimately, Brady got his way.
The Bucs didn’t necessarily need Brown a few months ago, given their wealth of receiving talent. However, injuries for Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Scott Miller, and O.J. Howard changed things. There’s reason to worry about the balance of the locker room with Brown, though offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, offensive assistant Antwaan Randle El, and outside linebackers coach Larry Foote all played with the mercurial veteran. There’s hope that, together, they can keep Brown on the right track.
On the field, Brady arguably has the best receiving cast of his career. With Godwin, Evans and Rob Gronkowski, the future Hall of Famer has a wealth of weapons at his disposal.
Vikings Designate Pat Elflein, Troy Dye To Return
The Vikings are in the midst of an abysmal campaign at 1-5, but they at least have some reinforcements on the way. Minnesota is designating guard Pat Elflein and linebacker Troy Dye to return from injured reserve, they announced Monday.
Each can return to practice, and the team now has a three-week window to activate either player. If they are not activated in that span, they’ll be ineligible to return for the remainder of the year. Those weren’t the only roster moves the Vikings made following their bye week, as they also claimed cornerback Chris Jones off waivers from the Lions and signed cornerback Mark Fields to the active roster from the practice squad. Clearly, the Vikings feel they need help in the secondary, and it’s hard to argue with that given what we’ve seen so far.
Elflein became the Vikings’ starter at center his first two years in the league, then switched to guard last season and started 15 games there. He played every snap in Week 1 but was placed on injured reserve with a knee issue shortly thereafter. Elflein has never been viewed too positively by most evaluators, but it can’t hurt to get a starter back.
Dye is a fourth-round rookie from Oregon who could help with a defense that has been struggling mightily. He started to get defensive snaps in Week 2 after Anthony Barr picked up his season-ending injury, but then promptly went down with a foot injury of his own.
Jones is a 2018 UDFA from Nebraska who appeared in 11 games with three starts for the Cardinals last year. He had 22 tackles and six passes defended. Fields is a 2019 UDFA from Clemson who spent most of last year on Minnesota’s practice squad and has been shuffling back and forth between there and the active roster this season.