Browns Place David Njoku On IR
The Browns have placed tight end David Njoku on the injured reserve list, per a club announcement. The good news is that Njoku is expected to miss only three weeks with a with a sprained MCL, according to a source who spoke with ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). 
[RELATED: Browns Promote K Cody Parkey]
Njoku reeled in three catches for 50 yards before exiting Sunday’s loss to the Ravens. His one-yard touchdown catch represented their only score in the 38-6 drumming. The Browns will now lean even more on No. 1 TE Austin Hooper, with support from fourth-round rookie Harrison Bryant and Stephen Carlson.
Njoku missed more than half of the 2019 season with a broken wrist. Now, he’s out for at least the next few games against the Bengals, the Washington Football Team, and the Cowboys. He’ll be eligible to return on Oct. 11, when the Browns face the Colts in Cleveland.
The 24-year-old requested a trade in July, only to rescind it in early August. With a backseat to Hooper, Njoku is under contract through 2021, with manageable salaries of $1.76MM this season and $6MM next year. When he returns, he’ll look to get back to the form he exhibited in 2018 when he tallied 56 grabs for 639 yards and four scores.
Packers’ Lane Taylor Done For Year
That’s a wrap on Lane Taylor‘s season. On Monday, the Packers placed the right guard on IR with a right knee injury. 
[RELATED: Packers, Aaron Jones Working On New Deal]
It’s especially unfortunate for Taylor, who lost his 2019 season to a biceps tear. This year, he reclaimed his starting RG job, only to exit midway through the season opener. Taylor was playing on a reworked contract — originally set to earn a non-guaranteed base salary of $3.8MM, he agreed to earn just $1.5MM, with a $100K signing bonus. Before the revision, Taylor was viewed as a likely release candidate.
The former undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma State started 45 games for the Packers between 2016 and 2018. After this year, he’ll be eligible for free agency.
After their 43-34 win over the Vikings, the Packers will turn their attention to the Lions on Sunday afternoon. Interior swingman Lucas Patrick is next in line to start and the club will likely add another blocker in support.
Cowboys’ Blake Jarwin Done For Year
As expected, Cowboys tight end Blake Jarwin has been diagnosed with an ACL tear (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). On the plus side, the MRI showed a “clean tear” for the 26-year-old with no other major issues in his right knee.
[RELATED: Cowboys Place LVE On IR]
The Cowboys re-upped Jarwin on a three-year, $24.25MM extension back in March so he won’t have to worry about marketing himself to teams after a lost season. In 2019, Jarwin reeled in 31 catches for 365 yards (both career highs) and three touchdowns. Between ’18 and ’19, Jarwin has totaled 58 receptions for 678 receiving yards and six scores.
With Jason Witten out of the picture, the Cowboys are left thin at the position. Blake Bell, a blocking tight end who signed a cheap deal back in March, and 2018 fourth-rounder Dalton Schultz are the next two guys up. Neither has topped 186 yards in their respective pro careers.
It stands to reason that the Cowboys will explore some of the available out-of-house options that remain on the market. Delanie Walker, a 36-year-old vet with ample experience, headlines the current crop of free agent TEs. Other available notables include Charles Clay and Clive Walford.
Browns Promote K Cody Parkey
The Browns have called Cody Parkey up from the practice squad, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). Parkey, presumably, will replace kicker Austin Seibert who had a rough outing on Sunday.
This marks a return to Cleveland’s active roster for Parkey, who kicked in 14 Browns games in 2016. Parkey, a 2014 Pro Bowler with the Eagles, made 80% of his field goals that year.
The Browns watched Seibert miss a 41-yard field goal try and an extra point in their 38-6 blowout loss to the Ravens. His two kickoff tries left much to be desired, as well. The Browns used a fifth-round pick on the Oklahoma product just one year ago, but they’re leaving nothing to chance as they try to turn things around in 2020. As a rookie, Seibert nailed 86.2% of his field goal tries and was perfect inside of the 40. His XP completion rate was spotty, however – the youngster missed five of his 35 attempts.
The Browns and Parkey will try to get to .500 on Thursday night when they face the Bengals in Cincinnati.
Cowboys To Place Leighton Vander Esch On IR
Cowboys linebacker Leighton Vander Esch suffered a broken collarbone in Sunday’s loss to the Rams (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). The Cowboys will place LVE on IR, though he’ll be able to return after 6-8 weeks.
[RELATED: Torn ACL For Cowboys TE Blake Jarwin]
Vander Esch went down in the first quarter of Sunday’s game, after notching three stops to open up the 2020 season. This is, unfortunately, familiar territory for the third-year ‘backer. Last year, a neck injury sidelined Vander Esch for seven games.
The Cowboys were – and still are – banking on big plays from Vander Esch, who earned a Pro Bowl nod as a rookie. In 2018, the Boise State product racked up 140 tackles and two interceptions. This year, new Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy planned to have the 24-year-old manage the defense from the inside of the linebacker formation. Now, Joe Thomas figures to step into his ILB role, with veteran Justin March serving as his primary backup.
Per the league’s modified IR rules, Vander Esch will be eligible to return after three weeks. However, his fractured collarbone will require a longer stint on the sidelines. It’s a tough break for the Cowboys, who have also placed veteran linebacker Sean Lee on IR.
Colts’ Marlon Mack Suffers Torn Achilles
The Colts’ fears have been confirmed. On Monday morning, doctors diagnosed running back Marlon Mack with a torn Achilles (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero). Mack will be placed on injured reserve and shut down for the remainder of the season. 
Mack went down in the middle of the Jaguars’ 27-20 upset win over the Colts. His game – and his season – came to an end after four carries for 26 yards plus three grabs for 30 yards. For Mack, it’s devastating for obvious reasons, but also for contractual reasons. The tailback is in his walk year and he was aiming for a big payday in the spring.
Last year, Mack went off for a career-high 1,091 yards despite missing a pair of games. The Colts, meanwhile, didn’t engage in serious extension talks before the start of the season. Instead, they drafted Jonathan Taylor in the second round, an indication that they were already thinking about going younger/cheaper. Taylor and Nyheim Hines figure to lead the way for Indy’s backfield moving forward while Mack concentrates on rehab.
Philip Rivers and his new-look backfield will try to get in the win column on Sunday when they face the Vikings.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/13/20
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Expected to sign: CB Josh Nurse
This move won’t process until early this week, but Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets that it’s expected to happen. Nurse is a rookie UDFA who was in camp with the Ravens. He was only a one-year starter with the Utes. The Jags have completely remade their secondary after trading away Jalen Ramsey, A.J. Bouye, and Ronnie Harrison and it’s now one of the youngest units in the league, so it makes sense that they’re taking all possible flyers.
Saints Sign LB Demario Davis To Three-Year Extension
Alvin Kamara isn’t the only Saint with a big new deal. New Orleans has signed linebacker Demario Davis to a three-year extension, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets. (FOX’s Erin Andrews was first to report the news).
Rapoport notes that the deal has a base value of $27MM, with $18.35MM of that being guaranteed. He’ll also have Pro Bowl incentives of $500K in each of the three seasons. Davis signed in New Orleans on a three-year, $24MM deal back in March of 2018, and had been scheduled to become a free agent after the year.
As Tom Pelissero of NFL Network tweets the Saints recently tweaked defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins’ deal to clear up $4MM in cap space, perhaps helping to facilitate this deal. A third-round pick of the Jets in 2012, Davis spent the first four years of his career in New York, then spent a year with the Browns, then went back to the Jets.
A first-team All-Pro selection last season, Davis has never missed a game in his eight-year career. In 16 starts last year he had 111 tackles, four sacks, an interception, and 12 passes defended. New Orleans’ defense looked pretty good against Tom Brady in Week 1, and Davis will be a big part of that unit moving forward.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/13/20
We’ll post today’s practice squad moves here:
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: LB Daren Bates
Tennessee is adding some veteran insurance to their defense. An UDFA back in 2013, he’s bounced around the league the last handful of years. He spent 2017-19 with the Titans, playing mostly on special teams, so there’s plenty of familiarity here.
Lions Restructure Matthew Stafford’s Contract
The Lions have reworked QB Matthew Stafford‘s contract. Per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, the Lions will convert $7.8MM of Stafford’s 2020 base salary into a signing bonus (Twitter link).
As Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press observes, Stafford’s renegotiation in 2019 gave the Lions the ability to exercise a $7.2MM option bonus by yesterday (Twitter link). That would have resulted in a $15MM total salary, so the club instead elected to make $7.8MM of that amount a signing bonus in order to spread out the cap charge a bit.
Stafford, 32, was the subject of trade speculation earlier this year, though Lions GM Bob Quinn was quick to shoot down those rumors. There was also some thought that Detroit could use its No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 draft to select a future heir to Stafford, but that didn’t happen either. As of right now, it seems as if Stafford will remain in Detroit at least through the end of his current contract, which expires after the 2022 season (with a voidable year in 2023 for cap purposes).
The No. 1 overall pick of the 2009 draft was in the midst of a very strong season in 2019 before a serious back injury suffered in November put an end to his streak of 136 consecutive starts and ultimately landed him on IR. Prior to that, he had compiled nearly 2,500 passing yards and 19 TDs against just five interceptions, good for a career-best 106.0 QB rating.
Stafford is now fully healthy and is ready to lead his team against the division-rival Bears in this afternoon’s season opener.