Raiders Place OT Trent Brown On IR
The Raiders have placed offensive tackle Trent Brown on injured reserve. With that, his first season in silver and black will end a few weeks early. 
Brown has been absent from the team’s last two games with a pectoral injury. Up until then, he was having a fantastic season. The veteran started eleven games at right tackle in 2019 en route to a Pro Bowl selection.
Thanks to the four-year, $66MM deal he inked with the Raiders last March, Brown will be under contract for another three seasons. Fun fact: Brown structured his deal to earn $15MM in 2019 with a jump to $21.5MM in 2020, when the Raiders move to Las Vegas, Nevada, where there’s no state income tax in Nevada). On the other side of the coin, Brown has no guaranteed money on his deal after the 2020 season.
In other Raiders news, running back Josh Jacobs is unlikely to play against the Chargers this week as he heals up from his shoulder injury. Jacobs might play in Week 17 against the Broncos, if the Raiders are willing to risk it.
Saints Sign D.J. Swearinger
D.J. Swearinger will march with the Saints. On Wednesday, the Saints officially signed the veteran and made room by dropping fellow safety T.J. Green. 
Swearinger becomes the second defensive back to join the Saints this week, following former Giants standout Janoris Jenkins. For the 28-year-old, it’s his third team of 2019.
Swearinger started the year with the Cardinals, but was dropped in late September. He hooked on with the Raiders in early November, but was jettisoned earlier this month along with Preston Brown and Terrell McClain. All in all, he has 48 tackles across eight games this season.
Green was promoted to the active roster just before the Saints Monday night win over the Colts. If he clears waivers, the Saints will be able to re-sign him to the practice squad.
Seahawks Sign Dekoda Watson
On Wednesday, the Seahawks signed linebacker Dekoda Watson. The indefinite ban of wide receiver Josh Gordon freed up a roster spot, so no cuts were needed to add the veteran defender. 
[RELATED: NFL Bans Seahawks’ Josh Gordon]
Watson, 31, had a brief run with the Seahawks earlier this year. He was dropped before he could even play in a game, however, to make room for Gordon’s arrival off waivers.
Watson’s hasn’t seen live action since he suited up for the 49ers last year. In 2018, he played in four games and finished out with five tackles and two sacks.
The nine-year pro has also played for the Broncos, Patriots, Cowboys, Jaguars and Buccaneers over the course of his career. He’ll rejoin the Seahawks with an eye on making a difference in the final two games of the regular season and the playoffs.
Jaguars Waive Marcus Gilchrist
The Jaguars waived veteran safety Marcus Gilchrist, per a club announcement. To take his place, they promoted safety Doug Middleton from the practice squad. 
Gilchrist joined the Jags in late November and appeared in each of the team’s last three games. His Jacksonville stint ends with two tackles on 53 defensive snaps and 19 special teams plays. The 31-year-old has started in 98 games as a pro for the Chargers, Jets, Texans, and Raiders.
Middleton, meanwhile, has 12 total NFL games on his resume, including seven last year for the Jets. For his career, he has 28 tackles and four passes defensed.
Titans Place Ryan Succop On IR
The Titans are placing kicker Ryan Succop on injured reserve, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Succop will be replaced by Greg Joseph, who agreed to a three-year deal with the club earlier this week. 
A knee injury sidelined Succop just before the season and kept him on IR until early November. In his sixth year with the Titans, Succop went just 1-6 on field goal tries in six games – clearly, he’s been far below 100% health.
The Titans have cycled through kickers this year – Cairo Santos and Cody Parkey struggled mightily as Succop’s early fill-ins, so they’re hoping to get much better results out of Joseph.
Before all of this, Succop played in every Titans game from 2014-18. In 2018, he went 26-for-30 on field goals and 28-for-31 on PATs. He’ll turn 34 just prior to the 2020 season, when he’s slated to count for $4.1MM against the cap.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/17/19
We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:
Denver Broncos
- Signed: S P.J. Locke, DL Jay-Tee Tiuli
Detroit Lions
- Signed: LB Christian Sam, DT Olive Sagapolu
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: DE Dewayne Hendrix, RB Jeremy McNichols
New York Giants
- Signed: OT Nate Wozniak
New York Jets
- Signed: WR Keon Hatcher
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: CB Kareem Orr
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/17/19
Today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: DE Austin Larkin
Cincinnati Bengals
- Promoted from practice squad: LB Brady Sheldon
- Waived: DE Anthony Zettel
Denver Broncos
- Promoted from practice squad: DB Aljiah Holder
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: LB Calvin Munson
- Placed on IR: LB Raekwon McMillan
New York Jets
- Placed on IR: OL Chuma Edoga, WR Jeff Smith
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Placed on IR: WR Scott Miller
Tennessee Titans
- Waived: K Ryan Santoso
Titans To Sign K Greg Joseph Off Panthers’ Practice Squad
Plagued by kicking woes this season, the Titans will add another reinforcement to this embattled position group. They are signing Greg Joseph off the Panthers’ practice squad, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (on Twitter).
Tennessee waived kickoff man Ryan Santoso earlier Tuesday but still has veteran Ryan Succop rostered. Succop is just 1-for-6 on field goals this season. As a team, the Titans are a woeful 8-for-18 on three-point tries, having used Succop, Cairo Santos and Cody Parkey in 14 games.
Joseph last kicked for the 2018 Browns, signing early in the season after Zane Gonzalez‘s rough day in New Orleans. He latched on with Carolina’s practice squad earlier this season. Joseph made 17 of 20 field goal tries last season.
This is Succop’s sixth Titans season. He began the campaign on IR. Since returning, he’s made 24 of 25 extra points but has made just one field goal in six games.
The Titans are on pace to miss more field goals than they’ve made and, per PFT, would become the first team to do so since the 1987 Vikings. Said Vikings team went 14-for-29 during a strike-shortened season that featured unsatisfactory work from both their regular kicker and three-game scab specialist.
Cowboys To Sign Malcolm Smith
The Cowboys have signed Super Bowl XLVIII MVP Malcolm Smith, according to ESPN.com’s Todd Archer (Twitter link). Smith will give the Cowboys some much needed reinforcement at linebacker as they make their playoff push in the final two games of the season. 
Smith, who has ties to passing game coordinator Kris Richard, figures to see reps as Joe Thomas (knee), Sean Lee (pec, thigh) and Leighton Vander Esch (neck) work through injuries. He no longer profiles as an elite defender, but he offers experience and familiarity with Richard’s schemes.
Smith has not played since Week 9, when he was dropped by the Jaguars after a two-game stint. Over the years, he’s appeared in 102 games with 51 starts with totals of 393 tackles, six sacks, four interceptions, and nine forced fumbles.
If the Cowboys beat the Eagles on Sunday, they’ll clinch the NFC East and punch their ticket to the playoffs. If they lose, they’ll need a win over the Redskins and a Giants victory over the Eagles in Week 17 to reach the postseason.
Lions Place Matthew Stafford On IR
The Lions have placed Matthew Stafford on IR. With that, the quarterback’s season is officially over. 
[RELATED: Lions To Retain Matt Patricia, GM Bob Quinn For 2020]
Stafford started 136 consecutive games before missing Detroit’s Week 10 contest again the Bears in November. In eight starts, the 31-year-old Stafford threw for nearly 2,500 yards, 19 touchdowns, and five interceptions while ranking eighth in ESPN’s Total Quarterback Rating.
Meanwhile, the Lions have sagged to a 3-10-1 record. There was little sense in jeopardizing Stafford’s health in the final games of the season, so the move to IR was widely expected, even as Stafford pushed for a return.
“Because this is what I do,” Stafford said in November, when asked why he wants to play this year. “I understand your question, but this is what I love to do. I love playing football. I appreciate all the hard work that all the guys in this locker room and in this organization put into going out there and trying to win games on Sunday and I love being a part of that.”
“It’s tough for me to sit there without the pads on and not be able to impact the game on the field the way I’m used to doing,” Stafford said. “That’s driving me to get back out there, and whenever we all deem it’s the right time for me to get back out there, I’ll be out there.”
Stafford will be back out there in 2020, when he continues on his five-year, $135MM deal with the Lions. Stafford is tied to the club through 2022 and will count for a $31.5MM cap figure next season.