Jaguars Cut LB Malcolm Smith
The Jaguars are cutting veteran linebacker Malcolm Smith, per a team announcement. The Jags signed Smith at the end of October, and he lasted two games with the team. He did not register a statistic with Jacksonville, and he appeared in 29 special teams snaps.
The last couple of years have been rough for Smith, who memorably took home the Super Bowl XLVIII MVP award as a member of the Seahawks. He signed a two-year, $7.5MM pact with the Raiders in March 2015, and though he was a full-time starter for the Silver-and-Black and compiled over 100 tackles in both of his seasons in Oakland, advanced metrics were not terribly fond of his play.
Nevertheless, he was able to parlay his strong raw statistics with the Raiders into a five-year, $26.5MM deal with the 49ers in March 2017. But he missed the entire 2017 campaign due to a torn pectoral muscle, and he was cut by the 49ers before the start of the 2019 campaign despite having agreed to a pay cut earlier in the year. The 30-year-old will now look to catch on with another club in need of veteran LB depth.
In a related move, the Jags signed fellow linebacker Joe Giles-Harris to their practice squad. Jacksonville cut Giles-Harris over the weekend to make room for wideout Michael Walker, but they clearly want to keep him in the fold.
More transactions could be in the offing, as the club has an open spot on its 53-man roster and on its practice squad.
Jets To Promote RB Josh Adams, Sign LB Paul Worrilow
The Jets are promoting running back Josh Adams from the practice squad to the active roster, as Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reports. Adams was the Eagles’ leading rusher in 2018 — his rookie season — having compiled 511 rushing yards on a 4.3 yards-per-carry average and three TDs. However, after adding Jordan Howard and Miles Sanders this offseason, Philadelphia waived Adams during final cutdowns in August.
Jets GM Joe Douglas, who is reportedly high on Adams, was quick to scoop him up after he cleared waivers. In fact, the club was paying Adams $25K per week while he was on the practice squad, which is a nice income for a p-squad player.
Adams’ promotion naturally led some to wonder about Le’Veon Bell‘s health, as Bell reportedly sustained a knee injury during the team’s loss on Sunday. However, Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network tweets that another team was interested in signing Adams to its own active roster, and the Jets’ decision to call him up was triggered by that outside interest and not by Bell’s health. Indeed, both Mehta and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com say that Bell’s injury is not believed to be significant (Twitter links).
Mehta adds that Gang Green will get more clarity on Bell’s status later this week, and in the meantime, the 1-7 club might as well see what it has in Adams, a former UDFA from Notre Dame. That is especially true since the other team that was interested in Adams may have been the division-rival Dolphins, who recently lost Mark Walton to a four-game ban.
Garafolo also reports that the Jets have signed linebacker Paul Worrilow (Twitter link). Worrilow, a former UDFA himself, was a starter for the Falcons from 2013-15 and also started eight games for the Lions in 2017. However, he lost the entire 2018 season to injury, and the Eagles cut him in August due to health concerns.
Worrilow quickly caught on with the Ravens after the Eagles released him, but he announced his retirement shortly thereafter. He obviously changed his mind, though, as he worked out for the Eagles twice since the season started, and he worked out for the Jets on Friday. New York obviously was impressed enough to give him a shot, and it’s worth noting that Douglas was in Philadelphia during Worrilow’s tenure with the Eagles.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/4/19
Today’s practice squad updates:
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: DE Porter Gustin
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: LB Dakota Allen
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/4/19
Here are today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Promoted from practice squad: DT Jacob Tuioti-Mariner
Buffalo Bills
- Waived: LB Tyrel Dodson
Chicago Bears
- Signed: TE Bradley Sowell
- Waived: OLB James Vaughters
Indianapolis Colts
- Claimed off waivers (from Bills): DT Kyle Peko
- Waived: DT Carl Davis
Raiders Waive Brandon Marshall, Activate CB Isaiah Johnson
The Raiders will use one of their IR-return spots, elevating rookie cornerback Isaiah Johnson to their 53-man roster. This will result in the team cutting Brandon Marshall again. The team announced the transactions.
Johnson returned to practice in mid-October and will likely make his debut in Week 10. The Raiders placed their fourth-round pick on IR just before the season’s outset. A facial fracture and concussion shelved Johnson, but he will join fellow rookie Trayvon Mullen in a revamped Oakland corner corps.
Marshall re-signed with Oakland last week but was not active for the Raiders’ Week 9 game against the Lions. The former Broncos starter dealt with knee trouble this offseason but has since recovered. Although Marshall is a vested veteran, post-trade deadline rules stipulate he must be placed on waivers.
The Raiders traded Gareon Conley to the Texans just before the deadline and are now using Mullen and Daryl Worley as their starters. The team has not featured a reliable secondary, though, so Johnson will represent an intriguing depth piece.
Panthers Claim WR Donte Moncrief
Donte Moncrief will head south again. The Panthers submitted a successful waiver claim for the recently cut Steelers wideout, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
The Steelers waived Moncrief on Saturday, doing so in an effort to recoup a compensatory pick after the arrangement with the veteran wide receiver did not work out. Still just 26, Moncrief will have a chance to rebound in Carolina.
A former third-round Colts pick who was one of the 2018 Jaguars’ top targets, Moncrief earned a Steelers starting job. But one of Pittsburgh’s key post-Antonio Brown solutions sputtered quickly, with Moncrief dropping several passes. A Week 2 drop resulted in the Steelers benching Moncrief and burying him on their depth chart.
Carolina added Chris Hogan this offseason but has used homegrown youngsters D.J. Moore and Curtis Samuel as its top pass catchers, along with Christian McCaffrey. Hogan resides on IR currently.
Moncrief has produced two 650-plus-yard seasons — in 2015 and ’18, respectively — but has not delivered much consistency. He caught 48 passes for 688 yards and three touchdowns in Jacksonville in 2018 but has just four receptions for 18 yards this year. With the Panthers claiming Moncrief’s contract, he is still signed through the 2020 season.
DeSean Jackson To Undergo Surgery
UPDATE, 3:39pm, 11/5/19: The Eagles ended up placing Jackson on injured reserve, the team announced on Twitter. The receiver could potentially return for a playoff run, although it seems more likely that his season is over. He’ll likely end the 2019 campaign having appeared in just one full game plus a couple of snaps last week.
2:40pm, 11/4/19: Following a two-touchdown Week 1, DeSean Jackson has seen an injury define his 2019 season. The premier deep threat’s rebound opportunity will have to wait, and such a chance may not happen at all this year.
Jackson will undergo core muscle surgery Tuesday in Philadelphia, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Jackson returned to action after six missed games Sunday but aggravated the abdominal injury that has plagued him for weeks.
While it’s certainly not a lock Jackson will play again this season, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com notes (via Twitter) this surgery is expected to sideline him for at least six weeks. That would put a possible late-regular-season return, or a playoff cameo should the Eagles get that far, in play. Still, this is a blow for an Eagles passing game that peaked in Week 1 with Jackson healthy.
The Eagles sent the Buccaneers a sixth-round pick for Jackson, a 2008 second-rounder who rose to prominence in Philadelphia. After dominating in his first game back with Philly, Jackson could not shake this injury he suffered in Atlanta. While the team initially decided to treat this injury with rehab, the parties opted for surgery after the aggravation.
Jackson had one season remaining on his Bucs contract at the time of the trade, but he and the Eagles agreed on a three-year, $27MM deal shortly after. Realistically, Jackson is tied to the Eagles through at least 2020. He’s on their books through 2021, but the dead-money hit reduces to $5MM-plus after the ’20 season.
Philadelphia has struggled to generate consistent play from its receivers. Jackson replacement Mack Hollins and Nelson Agholor have contributed little to the cause in weeks, with Alshon Jeffery averaging just 10.8 yards per reception.
Falcons To Sign P Ryan Allen
Having not punted since his strong Super Bowl LIII performance, Ryan Allen will receive an opportunity with the Falcons. The veteran agreed to terms on a deal with Atlanta on Monday, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
Allen will become fifth Falcons punter this season. The last-place NFC South team will exit its bye week with new personnel at kicker and punter, with Younghoe Koo having replaced Matt Bryant recently as well.
The Patriots released Allen after he lost a punting battle with rookie Jake Bailey. Allen will become the Falcons’ fifth punter this season, following Matt Bosher, Matt Wile, Sam Irwin-Hill and Kasey Redfern. Bosher had been the Falcons’ punter for most of this decade. He’s currently on IR. Irwin-Hill did not see game action for the Falcons, but Bosher Wile and Redfern each punted in at least two games.
A UDFA out of Louisiana Tech, Allen spent six seasons with the Patriots. Allen averaged 45.1 yards per punt last season and will now play in some dome games as he attempts to retain another NFL gig. He joins Koo as a recent Patriots to make the move to Georgia.
Redskins Sign Deshazor Everett To Extension
The Redskins and safety Deshazor Everett have agreed to a three-year extension, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The deal carries $6MM in base value, plus additional incentives, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (Twitter link).
Everett was playing out the final year of the two-year, $2.6MM pact he signed with Washington in March 2018. At the time, he was coming off a 2017 campaign in which he set career highs in starts (eight), tackles (52), passes defensed (five), and forced fumbles (one). The Texas A&M product saw an increased role in the Redskins’ secondary that season due to injuries to the club’s other DBs, but his defensive snaps have fallen off considerably since.
Nonetheless, he remains a valuable special teams contributor, and the Redskins have elected to keep him under contract as a result. He has missed the last three games with an ankle injury, but that does not appear to be a major concern going forward.
Everett has compiled four tackles this year but has not registered any other statistics.
Browns Cut Jermaine Whitehead
The Browns are done with Jermaine Whitehead. On Sunday, Whitehead went on a Twitter tirade that resulted in his banishment from the platform. On Monday morning, the Browns released the safety, per a club announcement. 
[RELATED: Browns To Revert To Greg Robinson At LT]
The Browns, who previously said the rant was “totally unacceptable and highly inappropriate” cut him loose with a terse statement that was way under 280 characters. Whitehead will now be subject to the NFL’s waiver wire, but it remains to be seen whether any club will want to take a gamble on him at this time.
Whitehead on played every snap of the Brown’s 24-19 loss to the Broncos but did not record a single stop. When he was heckled for his performance, Whitehead responded poorly, and the Browns responded by dropping him from the roster.
Whitehead, a second-year pro, leaves the Browns after 41 tackles across eight games (all starts) in 2019. For his career, Whitehead has 34 appearances to his credit, including ten starts.