Cardinals Sign LB Zach Brown
Zach Brown has a new home. On Friday, the Cardinals signed the veteran linebacker, per a club announcement. 
The deal gives the Cardinals some much needed help and adds to the Cardinals’ collection of ex-Eagles ILBs. With Brown, Joe Walker, and Jordan Hicks on the roster, they’ve got three former Iggles on board.
Brown, a second-round pick of the Titans in 2012, was cut by the Eagles in October after he wrote checks that his tuchus couldn’t cash. Before all of that, he turned in a solid 2018 season with the Redskins and earned a spot as a Pro Bowl replacement in 2016 with the Bills.
For his career, Brown has 80 starts, 17.5 sacks, and seven interceptions to his credit. He’ll look to build on that in Arizona and add to his 2019 total of 29 tackles.
Brown will take the roster spot of running back Alfred Morris, who was cut loose earlier in the day. Morris, who had a super short stay with the Cardinals, will be subject to the waiver wire as a post-deadline cut.
Broncos Place Joe Flacco On IR
The Broncos are placing Joe Flacco on injured reserve, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). This will mark the end of the quarterback’s season and, possibly, his time in Denver. 
Flacco is owed $20.5MM in 2020, but the Broncos can save $10MM by cutting him loose beforehand. In eight games for the Broncos this year, Flacco completed 65.3% of his passes, but threw just six touchdowns against five interceptions. The completion percentage marked a career high for Flacco, but the TD/INT ratio is his worst ever.
Injuries have dogged the former Super Bowl champ for much of his career – he missed time in 2015 and 2018 and also dealt with back pain in 2017. With his 35th birthday on the horizon in January, there’s no telling what’s next for Flacco.
The silver lining is that Flacco’s neck injury is not believed to be a career-threatening injury. Flacco could still continue playing in 2020, it seems, provided that he is willing to play for much less than his current contract.
With Flacco out of the picture, the Broncos will start Brandon Allen on Sunday against the Browns. He’ll be backstopped by Brett Rypien, who was recently promoted from the practice squad.
Cardinals Cut Alfred Morris
The Cardinals have informed running back Alfred Morris of his release (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). It was a super short stay in Arizona for the veteran, who was only just signed to the roster. 
Morris was squeezed out by the arrival of Kenyan Drake, who came over via trade with the Dolphins. In Drake’s Thursday night debut, he rattled off 110 yards on 15 carries, good for a 7.33 ypc average. Suddenly, the Cardinals no longer feel the need to have the safety net of Morris.
Morris’ 2019 Cardinals run ends after three snaps and one carry for four yards. He’ll look to new work and playing time elsewhere, but not before hitting the NFL’s waiver wire. Morris has the service time of a veteran, but all players released after the trade deadline are subject to the wire. If Morris clears, he’ll be free to sign with any club of his choosing.
49ers’ Kwon Alexander Done For Year
That’s a wrap on Kwon Alexander‘s season. The 49ers linebacker will miss the remainder of the season with a torn pectoral muscle, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. 
Earlier today, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters that he was nervous about the MRI. After doctors reviewed the scans, they confirmed his (and Alexander’s) worst fears.
The Niners signed Alexander to a four-year, $54MM deal in March with $27MM guaranteed. Former Bucs star and current 49ers GM John Lynch was high on Alexander – perhaps a touch higher than other clubs this offseason – but things haven’t gone according to plan in the 25-year-old’s first season with SF. After missing 14 games between 2017 and 2018, he’ll miss the second half of the ’19 campaign, plus the playoffs.
Through eight games, Alexander rates as Pro Football Focus’ No. 33 ranked linebacker in the NFL (though, PFF’s metrics have never been high on his work). At the time of his season-ending ACL tear in 2018, PFF had him as the 53rd-ranked LB in the league.
On the plus side – Shanahan believes that tight end George Kittle’s knee injury is a short-term issue. Also, the 49ers are 8-0 – that also helps to ease the pain of losing one of their defensive starters.
The 49ers topped the Cardinals on Thursday night to keep their undefeated streak going. On Monday Nov. 11, they’ll return to action to face another division rival when they take on the Seahawks.
Dolphins Designate OT Julien Davenport To Return
The Dolphins have designated offensive tackle Julien Davenport to return from injured reserve, the club announced today.
Davenport, a fourth-round pick of the Texans in the 2017 draft, started 19 games for Houston over his first two seasons in the NFL. He was packaged alongside two first-round picks, a second-round pick, and defensive back Johnson Bademosi in the deal that sent Laremy Tunsil, wide receiver Kenny Stills, and fourth- and sixth-round selections to the Texans.
Installed as Miami’s starting right tackle in Week 1, Davenport suffered a hyperextended knee and a small crack in his tibia in practice sessions before Week 2. Because he’s required to miss eight games after being placed on injured reserve, Davenport will be eligible to return to the Dolphins’ active roster in Week 10.
With Davenport sidelined, Miami has deployed J’Marcus Webb at left tackle and Jesse Davis on the right side. It’s unclear if Davenport will immediately reclaim a starting role, but the Dolphins could certainly use help up front, as they rank bottom-eight league-wide in both pass- and run-blocking, per Football Outsiders.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/31/19
Today’s minor moves:
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Promoted from practice squad: CB Brandon Watson
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: C Hroniss Grasu
- Waived: WR Darius Jennings
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/31/19
Today’s practice squad updates:
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: CB D.J. White
Green Bay Packers
- Released: WR Keon Hatcher
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: S Doug Middleton
New York Giants
- Signed: P Sean Smith
Patriots To Release Josh Gordon
The Patriots are releasing Josh Gordon from injured reserve, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The Patriots feel that Gordon will not be healthy enough to play this season, but the wide receiver believes otherwise, so this move will give him the opportunity to hook on elsewhere. 
In Gordon’s estimation, he’ll be good to go sometime next week, or the week after. Because the move comes after Oct. 29, Gordon will be subject to the waiver wire. The league’s 31 other teams will have a crack at Gordon, and his contract, before he’s potentially able to hit the open market. Waiver priority, meanwhile, is determined by 2019 records.
By not releasing Gordon now, the Patriots may be banking on the talented pass catcher being claimed by a struggling team rather than one the defending Super Bowl champions will be competing with for this year’s title. Waiver priority is now sorted by teams’ 2019 records. The 0-8 Bengals will get the first shot at Flash, followed by the 0-7 Dolphins, and so on.
The former Browns All-Pro is dealing with two knee contusions, but his off-the-field trouble represents his biggest red flag for teams. On the other hand – he’s supremely talented and his contract has just $2MM salary attached.
So far this year, Gordon has 20 receptions for 287 yards and a touchdown.
Steelers’ Anthony Chickillo Removed From Commissioner’s Exempt List
Steelers linebacker Anthony Chickillo has been taken off the Exempt/Commissioner’s List by the league office, according to a statement from Steelers GM Kevin Colbert. With that, Chickillo will return to the Steelers’ 53-man roster.
“The league will continue to conduct an investigation of the incident, and we acknowledge that Anthony could still be subject to discipline by the League Office under the Personal Conduct Policy.”
Chickillo was charged with simple assault, criminal mischief, and harassment in October after an incident with his girlfriend. He’s no longer barred from playing after being removed from the exempt list, but a six-game ban could be in his future, if the NFL’s investigation finds him at fault.
Chickillo was originally drafted by the Steelers in the sixth-round of the 2015 draft. After playing out his rookie deal, he signed a two-year, $8MM deal to remain with the team this past March. Last season, Chickillo played around 28% of the team’s defensive snaps while also serving as a core special teamer.
Elliott has been on and off of the Steelers’ roster for the last couple of months. He’s out of work yet again, but history suggests that he might want to wait things out in the Pittsburgh area for a bit.
Designated To Return: Broncos, Lions, Titans
With roughly half of the 2019 campaign in the books, NFL clubs have started to exercise their right to return players from injured reserve. Each team is allowed to bring two players back from IR, but said players must have been retained on their respective club’s initial 53-man roster. Once an IR player returns to practice, his club will have three weeks to decide whether to activate him to their 53-man roster; if he’s not activated, the player will remain on injured reserve for the remainder of the season.
Here are three players who have been designated to return from IR this week:
- Broncos wide receiver Tim Patrick has returned to practice and has been designated to return, as Mike Klis of 9News tweets. A 2017 undrafted free agent, Patrick suffered a broken hand in Week 1 of the 2019 campaign but is now ready for action. Patrick broke out in the final month of last season, posting 19 receptions for 242 yards during the last quarter of the campaign. When he returns to game action, Patrick could see a significant role in a now Emmanuel Sanders-less receiving corps.
- The Lions have designated defensive end Austin Bryant to return from IR, and he practiced Wednesday, the club announced today. Bryant was selected in the fourth round of the 2019 draft, so he’s yet to play an NFL snap. During his final two seasons at Clemson, Bryant posted 17 sacks and 30.5 tackles for loss. If activated, Bryant could help a Detroit defensive line that currently ranks bottom-seven in both adjusted line yards and adjusted sack rate, per Football Outsiders.
- Defensive back Josh Kalu has been designated to return from IR by the Titans, per Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com (Twitter link). An undrafted free agent out of Nebraska in 2018, Kalu spent most of last year on Tennessee’s practice squad before being promoted in December. He played in five games and saw action on 48 special teams snaps.