49ers’ K’Waun Williams Suffers ACL Injury
49ers cornerback K’Waun Williams played through a somewhat rare ACL sprain on Sunday, but he won’t need surgery to correct the issue, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. If rehab goes well, Williams could be back in action in as little as three weeks. For now, he’ll be shelved on the injured reserve list.
[RELATED: Torn Biceps For 49ers’ Ziggy Ansah]
That’s relatively good news, though the Niners are already shorthanded due to a rash of injuries. Hopefully, Williams is able to make a quick recovery while also healing up from his previous hip issue. Fellow cornerback Richard Sherman might not be back for a little while either, putting more pressure on Jason Verrett and the rest of the group to keep a lid on things. Starter Emmanuel Moseley remains in concussion protocol and the Niners are waiting to see if Ahkello Witherspoon‘s hamstring will allow him to play this week.
Williams, 29, has started in 26 of his 47 games since joining the 49ers. Last year, he set a new personal watermark with two interceptions and also tallied his fourth career sack.
The Niners dropped to 2-2 on Sunday as the Eagles pulled ahead in the fourth quarter. This week, they’ll look to get over the .500 mark against the Dolphins, who are rolling with Ryan Fitzpatrick as their starter.
O.J. Howard Has Torn Achilles
The Buccaneers pulled off an impressive comeback to beat the Chargers on Sunday, but they didn’t escape unscathed. Tight end O.J. Howard suffered a torn achilles and will be done for the year, head coach Bruce Arians announced after the game. As expected, the Bucs will place Howard on season-ending injured reserve, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. 
It’s a brutal blow for a Bucs offense that is already banged up. Leonard Fournette and Chris Godwin both didn’t play Sunday, and Arians said he doesn’t expect Godwin to play in Week 5 either. Howard was starting to develop a real rapport for Brady, and he had 50 yards and a touchdown against Los Angeles before going down. The 19th overall pick of the 2017 draft, Howard had his fifth-year option exercised by the team back in April.
Fortunately for him that option year is guaranteed for injury and since he likely won’t be healthy by the start of next league year, he should be locked into that $6MM salary. The Alabama product has been solid through his first few years, but never really broke out with Jameis Winston.
His best year was in 2018 when he had 565 yards and five touchdowns in only ten games. Last year he took a bit of a step back, with 459 yards and only one score in 14 games. With Howard on the shelf Rob Gronkowski, who hasn’t had a huge role in the passing game, should see an increase in targets.
Falcons’ Damontae Kazee Done For Year
Falcons safety Damontae Kazee suffered a torn Achilles in last night’s game against the Packers, according to ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler (on Twitter). Unfortunately, the diagnosis didn’t come as a huge surprise after Kazee was carted off the field. 
Kazee, 27, was hoping for a big platform season in the final year of his rookie contract. The opportunity was there for him, too, with a slew of injuries in the secondary. Now, he’ll focus on rehab so that he can showcase himself to teams — or land a fresh deal with the Falcons — in the spring.
The versatile former fifth-rounder has started in 34 of his 52 career games for the Falcons, including virtually all of his appearances from 2018-2020. In 2018, Kazee made some serious noise as he led the league with seven interceptions. Last year, he followed up with three INTs, plus 74 total stops.
The Falcons dropped to 0-4 on Monday night without the services of cornerbacks A.J. Terrell and Darqueze Dennard or safeties Keanu Neal and Ricardo Allen. Now, they’ll turn their attention to the Panthers in Week 5.
Broncos, Mike Purcell Agree To Extension
The Broncos have agreed to a brand new deal with defensive tackle Mike Purcell, as Mike Klis of 9News tweets. The new pact, which the Broncos announced Tuesday afternoon, will keep Purcell under contract through the 2023 season.
The deal is worth $14.8MM and will guarantee the nose tackle $6.8MM, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Not bad for a former UDFA whose journeyman career whose final pre-Broncos stop came with the Alliance of American Football. 
[RELATED: Broncos Add LB Nigel Bradham To Practice Squad]
Purcell has been on a nationwide tour for much of his NFL career. After playing for six different teams, being released 10 times over, and having a cup of coffee with the AAF’s Salt Lake Stallions, Purcell found a home with the Broncos. Now, he has a home in Denver for years to come.
While Purcell isn’t much of a pass-rusher, he’s excellent as stopping the run. In fact, Pro Football Focus ranked the 6’3″, 330-pounder as the league’s best run-defending interior player in 2019. Purcell, 29, played in 13 games (seven starts) for the Broncos last season while posting 48 tackles (eight for loss).
The new three-year deal will begin with the 2021 season. For now, the former UDFA will earn $3.259MM, per the terms of his restricted free agent tender.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/5/20
Today’s practice squad updates will be posted here:
New York Giants
- Signed: WR Alex Bachman, DT David Moa
- Cut: WR Johnny Holton
New York Jets
- Signed: QB Mike White
White was a fifth-round pick of the Cowboys out of Western Kentucky in 2018. He signed with the Jets’ practice squad the following year and spent most of the 2019 season there. He was on the active roster for a bit this season before being cut last week. Holton has spent time with the Raiders, Eagles, and Steelers, and he had 218 yards and three touchdowns with the Raiders in 2017. He was a special teamer in Pittsburgh last year.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/5/20
On the heels of the Texans’ surprise firing of Bill O’Brien, we’ve got some much more tame moves to pass along. Here are today’s minor transactions:
Green Bay Packers
- Signed to 53-man roster from practice squad: WR Reggie Begelton
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Waived: S Doug Middleton
Philadelphia Eagles
- Waived: RB Adrian Killins
With Davante Adams and Allen Lazard both out, it makes sense why the Packers are bolstering the receiving corp. Begelton is a 2016 UDFA from Lamar who spent the past three seasons in the CFL. If he gets on the field for the Packers, it’ll be his first NFL action. Killins is an undrafted rookie from UCF, who made his pro debut on Sunday Night Football last night. He carried the ball once for -12 yards and caught one pass for two yards. He’ll likely head back to the practice squad if he clears waivers.
Patriots Place Sony Michel On IR, Activate Damien Harris
The Patriots are doing some major shuffling with their backfield. New England is placing running back Sony Michel on injured reserve and activating fellow running back Damien Harris off IR, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). The team also activated receiver Gunner Olszewski and placed safety Cody Davis on injured reserve.
With the new rules this year, Michel will have to miss at least three games before returning. It’s a bummer for Michel since he was coming off by far his best game of the season, when he rushed for 117 yards on only nine carries against the Raiders. He had been a disappointment through the first couple of weeks, and will now be hitting the shelf. Fortunately, Rapoport noted in a follow-up tweet that he was told Michel could be activated relatively quickly and it’s not a season-ending injury.
A third-round pick last year, Harris barely played as a rookie and was a healthy scratch most weeks. He reportedly had a strong summer though, and was looking like he might be the Patriots’ starter to open the year before a hand injury sent him to IR. Now he’s back and figures to be in the mix tonight against Kansas City, although with James White and Rex Burkhead also present it’s unclear how much run he’ll get.
That being said, with Michel hitting injured reserve there’s a clear lane for Harris to shine if he can make the most of the opportunity. With Cam Newton out due to COVID-19 and Brian Hoyer getting the start at quarterback, the Pats figure to be running the ball frequently on Monday night. A first-round pick in 2018, Michel impressed as a rookie before taking a step back last year. This quad injury he picked up against Las Vegas certainly isn’t what he needed to get back on track.
Olszewski, a 2019 UDFA, served as New England’s punt returner for half of last season. Davis is a core special teamer who has yet to play a defensive snap this season.
Jets Release RB Kalen Ballage
Kalen Ballage‘s stint with the Jets didn’t end up lasting too long. New York is releasing the running back, the team announced Monday afternoon.
The Jets originally agreed to a trade with the Dolphins to land Ballage at the end of August, then canceled the deal after he failed his physical. Then they signed him as a free agent a few weeks ago, and he appeared in each of their last three games. He played a sizable role on passing downs, and had five catches for 44 yards in Week 3 against the Colts. Ballage was familiar with head coach Adam Gase from their time in Miami together.
His release is a good sign that the Jets expect Le’Veon Bell to be ready to return from his hamstring injury this week when they take on the Cardinals. A fourth-round pick out of Arizona State in 2018, Ballage seemed decent enough as a rookie before putting up dreadful numbers last year.
In 12 games and six starts in 2019, he mustered only 135 yards on 74 carries, good for a pitiful 1.8 yards per attempt. Still only 24, he should get another shot from someone else soon.
Browns Place Nick Chubb On IR
The Browns placed running back Nick Chubb on injured reserve with with an MCL injury, head coach Kevin Stefanski announced. Fortunately, the injury is not season-ending, so Chubb is expected to return later on this year. Doctors believe Chubb will miss about six weeks, according to a source who spoke with ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter).
Chubb got rolled up on in scary fashion on Sunday when his knee twisted under a Cowboys defender. Fortunately, the injury was nowhere near as bad as it looked. An MRI on Monday morning confirmed that Chubb is only dealing with mild MCL damage and not a torn ACL.
Chubb, 25 in December, has been off to a tremendous start in 2020. Through four games, he’s got 335 rushing yards off of 57 carries, good for 5.9 yards per tote. Since entering the league as a second-rounder in 2018, Chubb has averaged an eye-popping 5.2 yards per attempt. Last year, Chubb came six yards shy of 1,500 en route to his first ever Pro Bowl selection.
Per league rules, Chubb will have to sit out for at least three weeks. At minimum, Chubb will miss upcoming games against the Colts, Steelers, and Bengals. In theory, he’ll be eligible to return on Nov. 1 when the Browns face the Raiders in Cleveland, but it’s likely that he’ll need additional time to recover. In the meantime, Kareem Hunt will assume RB1 duties, with support from D’Ernest Johnson, Dontrell Hilliard, and fullback Andy Janovich.
Broncos Add LB Nigel Bradham To Practice Squad
The Broncos will sign linebacker Nigel Bradham to their practice squad, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The 31-year-old will provide depth for an inexperienced LB group in Denver. 
[RELATED: Broncos’ Noah Fant To Miss Time]
Bradham, 31, was a four-year starter for the Eagles. He’s got 96 NFL starts to his credit, having played as a full-time starter in seven of his eight NFL seasons. He has two 100-tackle seasons on his resume and registered 97 in 2018. Last season, however, he only played in 12 games. The Eagles dropped Bradham to save money in this past offseason, and the Saints released him before the final cut.
Despite his age, and his injury-shortened 2019 season, there’s reason to believe that Bradham can be a worthwhile contributor. The veteran graded as a top-35 linebacker, per Pro Football Focus, in three of his four seasons in Philly — including the Eagles’ 2017 Super Bowl slate.
After dropping Todd Davis prior to the season opener, the Broncos have deployed Alexander Johnson and Josey Jewell as their three-down linebackers. Mark Barron, a late-summer pickup, has yet to play and remains on injured reserve.