Jaguars Activate LB Jake Ryan From NFI List
Out of game action for nearly two full seasons, Jake Ryan appears set to return to the field. The Jaguars activated the veteran linebacker from their NFI list Saturday, clearing the way for Ryan’s first game since the Packers’ 2017 regular-season finale.
The former Green Bay starter tore an ACL during the 2018 offseason and entered free agency on the heels of a lost season. Although the Jaguars expected Ryan to be ready for Week 1, an August setback shelved him for nearly three more months.
A fourth-round pick out of Michigan, Ryan started 27 games with the Packers. The ACL tear damaged his stock going into free agency, but the Jaguars — who hired ex-Packers DC Dom Capers this offseason — opted to take a chance on him via two-year, $8MM deal. Ryan’s injury likely prompted the Jags to guarantee him just $1MM and include a $5.5MM option bonus — due on the 22nd day of the 2020 league year — in the event he can display his old form.
On a Jaguars team that lost Telvin Smith in the offseason, Ryan will have a chance to convince the Jaguars to pick up that option. He combined for 160 tackles between the 2016-17 seasons, during which he served as a primary Green Bay starter at inside linebacker.
To make room on the 53-man roster, the Jags placed running back Tyler Ervin on IR.
Texans To Place T Tytus Howard On IR
The Texans will be without their starting right tackle the rest of the way. They are placing first-round pick Tytus Howard on IR, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. A torn meniscus will end Howard’s season, and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport notes (via Twitter) the rookie will soon undergo surgery.
Howard previously carried a doubtful designation into Sunday night’s game against the Patriots, but the Texans will remove him from their 53-man roster. The small-school lineman will end his season with eight games (all starts). He had previously missed time due to a partially torn MCL.
The only first-round pick in GM Brian Gaine‘s brief Texans tenure, Howard was moved to guard before becoming Houston’s starting right tackle for most of this season. He graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 52 overall tackle. While that is a middle-of-the-pack position, Howard marked an improvement from the embattled tackle situation the Texans featured last season.
Houston has used Roderick Johnson as a fill-in for Howard previously this season. The former Browns draft pick has played in 11 games, with two starts, and has been given 201 snaps. The Texans also have veteran Chris Clark, a journeyman who has filled in at multiple junctures for the team. Clark has started games at both left and right tackles with Houston.
The Texans promoted defensive lineman Eddie Vanderdoes from their practice squad to take Howard’s roster spot. A former third-round Raiders pick, Vanderdoes caught on with the Texans’ taxi squad late last month.
Lions Sign Joe Callahan To Practice Squad
Joe Callahan has thrown just seven passes since entering the league as a 2016 UDFA, but the quarterback is now on a seventh team. The Lions’ Saturday quarterback moves included bringing Callahan onto their practice squad.
The Division III product has done well to stay on the NFL radar, having been on active rosters, practice squads and a mainstay on the workout circuit.
The Lions placed Jeff Driskel on IR and signed Kyle Sloter off the Cardinals’ practice squad. With Matthew Stafford dealing with back injuries, and seemingly an IR candidate himself, Detroit added some insurance in Callahan. Sloter and David Blough are Detroit’s only healthy passers on its active roster.
Since coming into the league as a Wesley College (Del.) product, Callahan has previously been with the Saints, Packers, Browns, Eagles, Buccaneers and Redskins. His game action came during a 2017 Packers contest, during which he completed 5 of 7 passes for 11 yards.
Broncos Activate Drew Lock Off IR
Weeks after being eligible to come off the Broncos’ IR list, Drew Lock will return to the team’s active roster. Denver will activate its second-round pick in advance of its Week 13 game, James Palmer of NFL.com tweets.
The team officially made the move and cleared the roster spot by waiving rookie UDFA quarterback Brett Rypien, Mike Klis of 9News tweets. Rypien has served as Denver’s backup during the past three games. The Broncos intend to re-sign Rypien to their practice squad, should he clear waivers, Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic tweets.
The Broncos have not announced if they will start Lock against the Chargers, but they have given him approximately 75% of the reps in practice this week, Klis notes. Lock returned to practice before Week 11, and it would certainly benefit the Broncos to start their rookie soon given their current status.
Denver lost Joe Flacco to injury midway through the season and has given longtime backup/practice squad talent Brandon Allen the past three starts. While Allen played well considering his history against the Browns and Vikings, the Broncos posted their lowest total yardage figure since 1992 against the Bills in Week 12. Lock debuting would help the Broncos determine how dire their quarterback need still is going into the offseason.
Lock enjoyed an uneven preseason and was knocked out of the Broncos’ fourth exhibition game with a thumb injury. That malady delayed his season and left Flacco unchallenged for Denver’s starting job. With Flacco perhaps having played his final down in Denver, the Broncos may soon enter a fifth straight offseason without quarterback stability.
Lock may need to play extremely well to deter the Broncos from considering quarterbacks in the 2020 first round. The Kansas City, Mo., native did start four seasons at Missouri, however, and was considered a borderline first-rounder leading up to this year’s draft. The Broncos were linked to Lock early in this year’s pre-draft process. He may have a five-game audition starting Sunday.
Eagles Promote TE Josh Perkins
With Zach Ertz ailing, the Eagles have added some tight end reinforcement. SiriusXM’s Adam Caplan reports (via Twitter) that tight end Josh Perkins has been promoted to the active roster. Philly also activated cornerback Cre’von LeBlanc off injured reserve. Zach Berman of The Athletic tweets that the Eagles have waived defensive tackle Albert Huggins.
Perkins, a former undrafted free agent out of Washington, spent the first two seasons of his career with the Falcons. He appeared in nine games for the Eagles last season, hauling in five catches for 67 yards. After getting waived after the 2019 preseason, Perkins caught on with Philly’s practice squad.
The Eagles were one of the few NFL teams rostering two tight ends. If Ertz is ultimately sidelined with a hamstring injury, the team would have needed another healthy body besides Dallas Goedert. While Goedert would presumably get the majority of snaps at tight end in Ertz’s hypothetical absence, there’s still a good chance that Perkins would make his 2019 debut against the Dolphins.
The Eagles added LeBlanc to their roster last November, and he proceeded to collect 24 tackles and one pass defended in eight games (four starts) with Philly. The 25-year-old inked a one-year extension with the team back in September, and he was later placed on injured reserve with a foot injury. He was designated to return earlier this week.
Huggins was signed off the Texans practice squad back in October. The defensive tackle ended up playing in four games for Philadelphia, compiling three tackles.
Chargers Activate Derwin James, Adrian Phillips
While the Chargers’ playoff hopes are dim, they’ll be receiving some much-needed reinforcement for the stretch run. The team announced today that they’ve activated safeties Derwin James and Adrian Phillips from injured reserve.
James suffered a stress fracture of the fifth metatarsal of his right foot in August after a screw that was originally inserted during his freshman year at Florida State bent back. The injury required a surgical operation, and a new screw has since been placed. James has been running without any pain for several weeks now, and he presumably won’t have any limitations tomorrow against the Broncos. The 17th overall pick in the 2018 draft started all 16 games for Los Angeles during his rookie campaign, posting three interceptions, 13 passes defensed, and 3.5 sacks during that time. Pro Football Focus graded James as the league’s seventh-best safety, and he also garnered a first-team All-Pro nod.
Phillips suffered a broken forearm in a September loss to the Lions, knocking him out of action. The 27-year-old earned his first career Pro Bowl nod last year, with the hybrid safety/linebacker finishing with 94 tackles, nine passes defended, and one interception. He had compiled 14 tackles in two games this season before going down with an injury.
With James and fellow safeties Adrian Phillips and Nasir Adderley on IR, the Chargers have primarily deployed Rayshawn Jenkins and undrafted rookie Roderic Teamer in the back end. So far, the results have been lackluster; after finishing 8th in defensive DVOA in 2018, Los Angeles now ranks 25th in the same metric.
Bengals Waive OT Andre Smith
Andre Smith‘s third stint with the Bengals has come to an end. Tyler Dragon of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports (via Twitter) that Cincinnati has waived the veteran offensive tackle. The Bengals promoted tight end Mason Schreck from the practice squad to take the open roster spot.
The Bengals selected Smith with the sixth-overall pick in the 2009 draft, and the Alabama product ended up spending his first seven seasons with the organization. Smith has bounced around the NFL a bit since that time, spending time with the Vikings, Bengals (second stint), and Cardinals. Since 2016, he’s landed on the injured reserve twice with tricep and knee injuries.
This past offseason, the Bengals found themselves needing some offensive line depth after starting left tackle Jonah Williams suffered a season-ending injury and eight-year starter Clint Boling retired. The team brought in Smith, and the 32-year-old proceeded to appear in six games (five starts) for Cincy. Smith has only been active for one of the team’s last six games, but the Bengals presumably could have used another lineman after placing Alex Redmond on injured reserve yesterday.
Schreck joined the Bengals as a seventh-round pick out of Buffalo in 2017. The tight end appeared in six games as a rookie before landing on the injured reserve with a knee injury. He was waived by Cincy back in August and later landed on the Bengals’ practice squad.
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/29/19
One minor move to pass along:
Carolina Panthers:
- Placed on IR: RB Jordan Scarlett
- Promoted from practice squad: OL Brad Lundblade
Scarlett’s rookie season is over. The fifth-round rookie from Florida played sparingly during his time with the team. He’ll be back to compete for a role behind Christian McCaffrey next year.
Falcons Activate Matt Bosher, Cut Ryan Allen
The Falcons made a couple of roster moves on Black Friday. The team announced they’ve waived punter Ryan Allen and linebacker Jermaine Grace. They’re activating punter Matt Bosher off injured reserve, who had been designated as one of their return players.
Bosher was the punter to start the season, but went down with a groin injury after just a few games. Bosher has been Atlanta’s punter since 2011, so it’s not surprising that the former sixth-round pick had his job waiting for him when he got healthy. The Falcons have used four different punters this season, and hopefully the cycling through can stop now. Allen had been the Patriots’ punter for six seasons up until he was cut this past August in favor of rookie Jake Bailey.
Allen latched on with Atlanta just a few weeks ago, after Matt Wile and Kasey Redfern had previously filled in. Grace entered the league as an UDFA back in 2017, and has already spent time with four different teams. Grace had played only a handful of defensive snaps, but had been a key special teamer all year, playing almost 70 percent of special teams snaps. Grace missed the block on Taysom Hill‘s punt block during last night’s loss to the Saints, which apparently sealed his fate.
Eagles, Lane Johnson Agree To Extension
The Eagles and Lane Johnson agreed on a record extension Friday. In a year featuring several re-ups for Eagles offensive linemen, Johnson agreed to a four-year, $72MM deal, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com reports (on Twitter).
Johnson will receive a staggering $54.595MM guaranteed in this contract, per Garafolo. In terms of per-year value ($18MM), this is the most lucrative contract given to an offensive lineman. The seventh-year lineman’s guarantee also tops the league, making this a banner day for Johnson and the oft-overlooked right tackle position.
This marks a near-$7MM-per-year raise for Johnson, who was previously signed to a five-year, $56.25MM deal that ran through the 2021 season. The 29-year-old blocker is now signed through 2025.
This pact follows a spree of 2019 extensions, with the Eagles planning far ahead with their O-line. Philadelphia has extended Johnson, Brandon Brooks, Jason Kelce and Isaac Seumalo this year. Four members of Philly’s current front five are locked up into the mid-2020s, with only 37-year-old Jason Peters on a year-to-year setup at this point. While the Johnson deal represents the biggest number, the Eagles are showing tremendous faith in their current blockers.
Philly now employs the highest-paid tackle and guard in the league, with Brooks’ $14MM-per-year deal edging Zack Martin‘s pact earlier this month. Johnson’s new contract eclipses Trent Brown‘s $16.5MM-AAV price set earlier this year. The NFL’s two highest-paid offensive linemen, interestingly, now each play right tackle. The highest-paid left tackle, Taylor Lewan, signed for $16MM annually last year. Johnson’s deal figures to move that market, however.
Taken in a 2013 draft that produced several top-10 busts, Johnson is the rare Pro Bowl right tackle. Twice given the honor that almost exclusively goes to left tackles, Johnson has helped the Eagles form one of the league’s top lines. Pro Football Focus grades Johnson as this season’s No. 2 overall tackle.
He has dealt with suspension and injury issues, however. Johnson has missed 14 career games due to two PED bans, the most recent of which in 2016. He earned first-team All-Pro honors the next year and helped the Eagles to their first Super Bowl title. Helping to explain the record-smashing contract: in Carson Wentz‘s four-year career, his QBR figure drops by more than 20 points without Johnson in the lineup. He is set to return to Philadelphia’s lineup this week after missing Week 12 with a concussion.