Titans To Release Or Trade Kamalei Correa
Titans linebacker Kamalei Correa demanded a trade after being inactive on Tuesday night, according to Mike Garafolo and TomPelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). The Titans will oblige — they try to trade Correa, and they’ll release him if they can’t find a taker. 
Correa has seen just 39 defensive snaps and 24 special teams plays this season. After spending time on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, he was eager to get back on the field this week. In 2019, the Boise State product saw the most action of his career, appearing in all 16 games and starting five of them. He played in about 40% of the Titans’ defensive snaps and served as a major special teams contributor. Although Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics considered him an average pass rusher, he did pick up a career-high five sacks.
Lauded for his coverage abilities, the former Ravens second-round pick was a favorite of former Titans defensive coordinator Dean Pees. When Pees retired this year, Correa lost one of his biggest supporters. Still, Correa agreed to a new one-year, $3.5MM deal with the Titans in April, hoping that he’d still be a defensive regular.
Cardinals’ Chandler Jones Done For Year
Cardinals linebacker Chandler Jones is done for the year, according to head coach Kliff Kingsbury. Jones was hoping to avoid it, but he’s now set to undergo season-ending biceps surgery. 
Jones, 30, managed 19 sacks in 2019 and led the league with eight forced fumbles. A first-round pick of the Patriots back in 2012, Jones hasn’t missed a game since joining the Cardinals in 2016. Before the injury, Jones started a perfect 69 games in a row. That streak is now over — ditto for his run of four straight seasons with at least eleven sacks.
Arizona is above .500 and in the thick of the NFC playoff hunt, but two of their three wins have come against the likes of the Washington Football Team and the Jets. They’ve looked bad in their two losses to the Lions and Panthers, and reserves like Jordan Phillips won’t be able to replace Jones’ production.
Jones was hoping to start extension talks with the Cardinals sometime soon, but those discussions will be tabled for a while. The veteran, 31 in February, is under contract for 2021 with a $15.5MM base salary.
The Cardinals – sans Jones – will face the Cowboys on Monday night.
Jets Release Le’Veon Bell
The Jets announced that they will release Le’Veon Bell from his contract on Tuesday night. The release is now official, and the former All-Pro running back is free to sign with any team. 
“After having conversations with Le’Veon and his agent and exploring potential trade options over the past couple of days, we have made the decision to release Le’Veon,” the team said in a Tuesday night statement. “The Jets organization appreciates Le’Veon’s efforts during his time here and we know he worked hard to make significant contributions to this team. We believe this decision is in the best interests of both parties and wish him future success.”
The Jets signed Bell to a four-year, $52.5MM free agent deal in the 2019 offseason. A few months later, they fired GM Mike Maccagnan. Then, before the trade deadline in October, new GM Joe Douglas attempted to trade him. There were no viable deals then, and there were no takers this time around. The Jets were willing to eat some of the $6MM left on this year’s base salary, but teams were warded off by Bell’s $8MM injury guarantee, plus a number of other red flags.
Last year, Bell averaged a career-low 3.2 yards per carry. Gase and Bell butted heads throughout the season, which saw the multiple-time Pro Bowler put up the worst numbers of his career. Bell ran for just 789 yards and three touchdowns on 229 carries – that comes out to just 3.3 yards per tote, a sharp contrast from his best work in Pittsburgh, which included back-to-back 4.9-yard averages. His 66 catches for 461 yards and one score weren’t too shabby, but that’s still a notch or two below expectations. With the Steelers, Bell averaged 8.5 yards per reception and averaged 80 grabs in each of his final two seasons with his former team. Soon, Bell will have an opportunity to start fresh with his third pro team.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/13/20
Here are Tuesday’s practice squad moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: LB James Burgess
Denver Broncos
- Signed: DB Chris Cooper
Detroit Lions
- Signed: WR Victor Bolden
- Released: RB Tavien Feaster
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: WR Kalija Lipscomb
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: DT Eric Banks
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: DE Eddie Yarbrough
Seattle Seahawks
- Released: LB Tim Williams
Jets Place WR Chris Hogan On IR
Add Chris Hogan to the list of absent Jets wide receivers. The team is placing Hogan on injured reserve due to a recent high ankle sprain the veteran AFC East target suffered, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets.
Hogan, 32, has played in each of the Jets’ five games this season. He played in Sunday’s loss to the Cardinals despite being questionable with knee and rib injuries. But an ankle malady will pause Hogan’s season. Although it likely will not end Hogan’s ninth NFL slate, it represents the latest in a string of issues for Gang Green’s receiving corps.
The Jets, who were without No. 1 wideout Jamison Crowder for two weeks with a hamstring injury, have been without second-round rookie Denzel Mims all season. They are currently without Breshad Perriman, who has not played since Week 2 because of an ankle injury. Vyncint Smith is also on IR.
The Jets signed Hogan in August, doing so after Mims went down with the injury that has delayed his NFL debut. A former Bills and Patriots wideout, Hogan has 14 receptions for 118 yards this season. He spent the 2019 season with the Panthers. An IR stay shortened his Carolina season to seven games.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/13/20
Here are Tuesday’s minor moves. While the Titans are moving some players off their reserve/COVID-19 list, other teams have placed players on their respective coronavirus lists.
Atlanta Falcons
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: DT Marlon Davidson; the rookie defensive lineman tested positive for the coronavirus, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com tweets.
- Promoted: CB Tyler Hall
Buffalo Bills
- Promoted: CB Dane Jackson, LB Andre Smith
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed off Browns’ practice squad: QB Garrett Gilbert
Green Bay Packers
- Placed on IR: TE Josiah Deguara, C Jake Hanson
Kansas City Chiefs
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: FB Anthony Sherman; the 10th-year veteran did not test positive for the coronavirus, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter).
Los Angeles Rams
- Promoted: S JuJu Hughes
- Placed on IR: S Jordan Fuller
Minnesota Vikings
- Waived: Hercules Mata’afa
New York Jets
- Promoted: CB Lamar Jackson
Philadelphia Eagles
- Waived: DB Grayland Arnold, DE Casey Toohill
San Francisco 49ers
- Claimed off waivers from Buccaneers: CB Parnell Motley
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Promoted: CB Ross Cockrell, LB Chapelle Russell
Tennessee Titans
- Activated off reserve/COVID-19 list: LB Kamalei Correa, CB Kristian Fulton
- Promoted: LB Darren Bates, WR Cody Hollister, CB Kareem Orr, OL David Quessenberry
Cardinals Sign CB Prince Amukamara To Practice Squad
Prince Amukamara is officially headed to the desert. We heard last week that the Cardinals were hoping to sign Amukamara once he cleared COVID-19 protocols, and now Dan Graziano of ESPN.com tweets that the deal is official. 
Interestingly, it’s a practice squad deal and he won’t be on the active roster initially. To make room on the practice squad Arizona released another veteran, receiver Jaron Brown. Amukamara was cut by the Bears back in February to clear cap space, then released by the Raiders shortly before the start of the regular season. Arizona has struggled in coverage at times and Amukamara has loads of starting experience, so this match makes some sense.
The Nebraska product has started 30 games over the past two seasons, and at 31 he should still have something left in the tank physically. The Cardinals of course have Patrick Peterson, but have struggled at corner outside of him.
The 19th overall pick of the 2011 draft, Amukamara will likely be on the active 53 before too long. The Giants were reportedly interested in bringing him back, but for whatever reason it didn’t work out. Brown was with the Cardinals from 2013-17, and has often showed flashes of promise as a deep threat during his career. With the Seahawks last season, he had 16 catches for 220 yards and two touchdowns. The year before that he had five scores with Seattle.
Giants Cut Damion Ratley, Promote Austin Mack
The Giants are shuffling around their receiving corp. They’re waiving receiver Damion Ratley and promoting receiver Austin Mack from the practice squad, the team announced Tuesday.
Ratley had actually been playing a fairly sizable role lately, especially after the injury to Sterling Shepard, so this is somewhat surprising. A sixth-round pick of the Browns in 2018, Ratley was waived by Cleveland at final cuts this year and claimed by the Giants the next day. He started a few games in each of his two years with the Browns, and had 200 yards and a touchdown last season.
So far with the Giants Ratley had played about 40 percent of the offensive snaps through five games, so that’s a decent amount of playing time that will now be available to Mack and others. He didn’t catch a pass this past week against the Giants, but had three receptions for 34 yards the week before against the Rams.
He’ll likely get a shot with someone else before too long. Mack is an undrafted rookie who signed with the Giants back in April and was added to the practice squad after final cuts. He’s an Ohio State product.
Buccaneers Place Vita Vea and Jack Cichy On IR
On Tuesday, the Buccaneers officially placed defensive tackle Vita Vea on injured reserve. The former first-round pick will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a broken leg against the Bears. 
[RELATED: Bucs Contacted Snacks After Vea Injury]
Vea started in all 16 of the Bucs’ games last year and all five of this year’s contests. Thanks in part to Vea, the Bucs have boasted one of the league’s best run defenses. Playing at the nose tackle spot, he managed two sacks this season to bring his career total to 7.5. One of those sacks came on Thursday night, prior to the season-ending injury.
The injury is unfortunate for obvious reasons, but also for contractual reasons. Vea will be extension-eligible after the 2020 season — he’ll also be light on leverage. The Bucs will probably let things play out, since they have Vea under contract in 2021 at a cap figure of $4.7MM. Meanwhile, Will Gholston and Rakeem Nunez-Roaches will likely take on larger roles up front.
Vea will be joined on IR by linebacker Jack Cichy, who suffered a hamstring injury. Fortunately, that injury doesn’t look like a season-ender and he’ll be eligible to return in as little as three weeks.
Jaguars Sign Jabaal Sheard
The Jaguars have added Jabaal Sheard to their practice squad, per a club announcement. Sheard will be at the ready for a Jaguars’ edge unit lacking in experience and lagging in production as of late. 
[RELATED: Jaguars Release K Stephen Hauschka, Promote K Jon Brown]
Sheard has 103 starts and 51.5 sacks for his career, including a recent three-year stint with the Colts. The Colts let him walk this offseason, and he didn’t generate a ton of buzz once he hit the open market. He wasn’t a world-beater in 2019, but he did grade as one of the better run defenders among edge players, per Pro Football Focus, during his first two seasons with Indy.
Despite having recent first-round picks Josh Allen and K’Lavon Chaisson in the lineup, the Jags have just five sacks through five games. On Sunday, the front seven managed to put some pressure on Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, but it wasn’t enough to make up for the team’s offensive shortcomings. Now 1-4, the Jaguars will look to stop their four-game slide against the Lions on Sunday.