Minor NFL Transactions: 11/2/19
Today’s minor moves:
Chicago Bears
- Promoted from practice squad: LB James Vaughters
- Waived: TE Bradley Sowell
Los Angeles Chargers
- Promoted from practice squad: S Shalom Luani
- Waived: CB Tevaughn Campbell
Lions Give LB Christian Jones Two-Year Extension
The Lions are locking up one of their own. Detroit is giving linebacker Christian Jones a two-year contract extension, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link).
Jones’ contract will now run through the 2021 season. Financial terms were not immediately disclosed, but we’ll keep you posted as soon as we hear those. Jones originally entered the league as an undrafted free agent back in 2014, and spent his first four years with the Bears. He jumped to the NFC North rival Lions before last season, and ended up starting all 16 games in Matt Patricia’s first year as coach. So far this season he has started all seven games for Detroit, racking up 28 tackles, two sacks, and four passes defended.
Jones signed a two-year, $6.35MM deal last offseason, and will presumably be getting a raise now. The Florida State product has been a solid inside linebacker this year while also contributing on special teams. The Lions are 3-3-1 and struggling to stay afloat in a highly competitive NFC North. They have a pivotal game against the Raiders coming on Sunday.
Titans Activate Succop, Waive Parkey
The Titans will have their kicker back when they take the field in Week 9. Barely a week after designating Ryan Succop as one of their IR-return players, the Titans activated him.
Succop will reclaim his job, one Cairo Santos and Cody Parkey filled in his absence. The Titans waived Parkey in a corresponding move Saturday.
A knee injury sidelined Succop just before the season. This will be the veteran’s sixth year with Tennessee, which initially acquired him after the 2014 Chiefs opted for Santos over him out of training camp. Santos made just 4 of 9 field goal tries this season, with the Titans cutting him after a four-miss showing against the Bills in Week 5. Parkey made all three of his Titans field goal tries, bouncing back after his infamous playoff miss led to his Bears exit, but will head to the waiver wire.
Succop, 33, played in every Titans game from 2014-18. Last season, he went 26-for-30 on field goals and 28-for-31 on PATs. He will rejoin a Titans team that has won its past two games to enter Week 9 at 4-4.
The Titans also activated defensive back Joshua Kalu from their IR list, meaning the team has used both of its 2019 IR-return designations. Tennessee waived defensive back Tye Smith to make room for Kalu’s return.
Lions Place RB Tra Carson On IR
Another change for the Lions’ running back group. The team’s starter in the first game following Kerryon Johnson‘s IR designation, Tra Carson will now join the team’s original 2019 starter on the Lions’ IR list.
The Lions sent Carson to IR, effectively ending the recent waiver claim’s season. Detroit promoted running back Paul Perkins to take Carson’s roster spot.
Carson worked through two limited practices this week with a hamstring injury, so this could lead to an injury settlement once the ex-Packer is healthy. Carson finished his Week 8 start with 12 carries for 34 yards in the Lions’ 31-26 win over the Giants.
A former Giant, Perkins came to Detroit as a waiver claim earlier this season. The Lions were able to pass the UCLA product through to their practice squad recently but will bring him back to their 53-man roster because of more backfield injury trouble. He took C.J. Anderson‘s roster spot. The Lions’ backfield now consists of sixth-round rookie Ty Johnson, ex-Seahawk J.D. McKissic and Perkins.
Packers To Activate TE Jace Sternberger
With Aaron Rodgers in the running for his third MVP award, he will have another weapon to target. Third-round rookie tight end Jace Sternberger will come off the Packers’ IR list, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
The Packers placed Sternberger on IR in early September but will use one of their two return slots on the Texas A&M alum. Sternberger was one of this draft’s top tight end prospects, having completed a breakout season for the 2018 Aggies.
Green Bay spent most of its top offseason resources to help out its defense, signing Za’Darius Smith, Preston Smith and Adrian Amos before using both of its 2019 first-round picks on defenders (Rashan Gary and Darnell Savage). Sternberger went off the board at No. 75 overall, doing so after a 48-reception, 832-yard, 10-touchdown junior season. The 6-foot-4 tight end had only caught one pass in his previous two seasons in College Station.
Sternberger returned to Packers practice earlier this month. He joins a tight end corps housing 10th-year veteran Jimmy Graham and 14th-year talent Marcedes Lewis.
Steelers To Waive Donte Moncrief
After a strong offseason, Donte Moncrief quickly lost his job as the Steelers’ No. 2 wide receiver. Weeks after his demotion, Moncrief will now be on the waiver wire.
The Steelers will part ways with the veteran wideout, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Although Moncrief is a vested vet, all players cut after the trade deadline head to waivers. Running back Tony Brooks-James will take Moncrief’s roster spot.
Moncrief signed a two-year, $9MM deal in March and was then believed to be Pittsburgh’s top supporting-caster in its post-Antonio Brown receiving corps. The signing did not work out. The former third-round pick dropped several passes in his first two games as a Steeler, with a drop against the Seahawks in Week 2 leading to a demotion.
Rookie Diontae Johnson has since stepped into the Steelers’ No. 2 receiver role, with second-year player James Washington filling in alongside JuJu Smith-Schuster as well. This release will tag the Steelers with a seven-figure dead-money hit, but it obviously pales in comparison to the cap penalty the Brown trade brought.
This move stands to benefit the Steelers’ 2020 draft haul as well, with Moncrief’s departure set to balance out the franchise’s compensatory formula. Similar to the Ravens’ release of Justin Bethel, the Steelers’ Moncrief decision will give the Steelers a comp pick next year. Only in this case, Pittsburgh is expected to gain a third-rounder from the Jets’ Le’Veon Bell signing. Moncrief needed to be on the Steelers’ roster for 10 games to cost the team that compensatory slot. This stands to help a Steelers team that traded its 2020 third-rounder to the Broncos in the Devin Bush deal.
Saturday’s transaction marks another setback for a once-promising wideout. Moncrief, 26, showed flashes early in his Colts run, hauling in 13 touchdowns between the 2015-16 seasons. He also finished with 668 receiving yards last season, despite catching passes from Blake Bortles and Cody Kessler. As a Steeler, Moncrief caught four passes for 18 yards.
Brooks-James will help patch up a Steelers running back corps that is without Benny Snell and is expected to be without starter James Conner. The latter is doubtful to face the Colts on Sunday due to a shoulder injury.
Chiefs Activate QB Chad Henne
Chad Henne is back on an active roster. The Chiefs announced that have activated the veteran quarterback from the injured reserve. The team also promoted defensive tackle Joey Ivie from the practice squad, placed offensive tackle Greg Senat on injured reserve, and waived quarterback Kyle Shurmur.
Henne suffered a broken ankle during the preseason, forcing him out of action. Patrick Mahomes is listed as questionable for tomorrow’s game against the Vikings, but that doesn’t necessarily mean Henne will force his way into the lineup. Rather, Matt Moore will likely get the start should Mahomes sit out. Moore got the start last weekend, throwing for 267 yards and two scores.
Henne signed a two-year deal with the Chiefs back in 2018. He got into a single game last year, completing two of his three pass attempts. His last extended stint as a starter came in 2013 when he started 13 games for the Jaguars. The 34-year-old will hit free agency this offseason.
Ivie, a 2017 seventh-rounder out of Florida, spent all of the 2018 campaign on Kansas City’s practice squad. He made the Chiefs opening-day roster, but he was waived and added to the practice squad in mid-September.
Senat, a former sixth-round pick, was claimed off waivers from the Ravens back in September. Shurmur, a former Vanderbilt standout, was promoted from the Chiefs’ practice squad following the injury to Mahomes.
Patriots Activate WR N’Keal Harry
The Patriots constantly-changing receiver corps will be adding an intriguing weapon. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that New England has activated rookie N’Keal Harry off the injured reserve.
The first-round rookie started practicing with the Patriots in mid-October, meaning they had until this afternoon to add him to their active roster. The Arizona State product was relatively quiet during the preseason, hauling in only a pair of catches for 36 yards. He later landed on injured reserve with an ankle injury.
Back in September, it was uncertain if Harry would even play during his rookie year, as the team was rostering the likes of Julian Edelman, Antonio Brown, and Josh Gordon. Now, the team’s receiving depth chart is led by Edelman, Phillip Dorsett, and the recently-acquired Mohamed Sanu. While the rookie is unlikely to unseat any of those three, he’ll at the very least provide Tom Brady with another tall (6-foot-4) red-zone target.
Harry was a standout during his three years at Arizona State, including a 2018 campaign where he hauled in 73 receptions for 1,088 yards and nine touchdowns. He ended up being selected by New England with the 32nd-overall pick, making him the second wideout off the board (behind Ravens draft pick Marquise Brown). He was also the first receiver to be taken in the first round during Bill Belichick‘s tenure with the organization.
Jaguars Promote WR Michael Walker
The Jaguars needed some reinforcement at receiver, so they’ve turned to their practice squad. ESPN’s Michael DiRocco reports that the team has promoted wideout Michael Walker. The Jaguars cut linebacker Joe Giles-Harris to make room on the active roster.
Walker, a 23-year-old rookie out of Boston College, will likely slide to the back of the depth chart. More notably, his addition to the roster is an indication that Dede Westbrook might not be ready to go for tomorrow’s London showdown against the Texans. The 25-year-old suffered a shoulder and neck injury during the Jaguars’ Week 8 victory over the Jets.
The Jaguars placed wideout Marqise Lee on the injured reserve earlier this week. If Westbrook is unable to play, Gardner Minshew will be eyeing a limited receivers corps led by DJ Chark, Chris Conley, and Keelan Cole.
Giles-Harris joined the Jaguars as an undrafted free agent out of Duke this past offseason. He was added to the practice squad following the preseason, and he was promoted to the active roster in late October. There’s a good chance the 22-year-old lands back on the practice squad.
Seahawks Claim Josh Gordon
The Seahawks have claimed Josh Gordon off waivers from the Patriots. With that, they’ve added one of the game’s most lethal wide receivers for the home stretch of the 2019 season.
Things have never been simple or straightforward for the simultaneously kind-hearted, troubled, and immensely talented Gordon. This year was no exception.
Gordon had his highs, including six catches for 83 yards in a September blowout of the Jets. Then, unfortunately, came the lows. Late last month, the Patriots placed Gordon on injured reserve due to left knee and ankle trouble. The Pats felt that Gordon would not be able to play again this season. Gordon, meanwhile, says he’ll be ready to play sometime next week or the week after. The disagreement led to divorce, but the Patriots refused to let him go until after Tuesday’s trade deadline, when he would be subject to waivers and, in theory, kept away from contenders.
So much for that. The Seahawks, with a 6-2 record and No. 28 priority in the NFL’s waiver queue, landed Gordon, must to the surprise and delight of head coach Pete Carroll. Quarterback Russell Wilson is elated too – he suddenly has another playmaker to help stretch the field and give fits to opposing defenses.
Gordon, 28, tallied 20 catches for 287 yards and one touchdown in six games this year. At times, he flashed (get it?) the ability that propelled him to an absurd 87/1,646/9 stat line in 2013, a campaign that resulted in Pro Bowl and First-Team All-Pro nods.