NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/22/19
Here are Tuesday’s practice squad decisions:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: Demone Harris
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: WR Braxton Miller
Houston Texans
- Signed: DT Javier Edwards
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: LB Sutton Smith
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: DT Braxton Hoyett
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: WR Penny Hart
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: DL Jeremiah Ledbetter
- Suspended four games: DT Terry Beckner
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/22/19
Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Released: LB Ramik Wilson.
Carolina Panthers
- Promoted from practice squad: WR DeAndrew White
- Placed on IR: CB Natrell Jamerson
Chicago Bears
- Waived: DE Jonathan Harris
Cleveland Browns
- Signed off Jaguars’ practice squad: DT Eli Ankou
Houston Texans
- Signed: WR Steven Mitchell
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: LB Donald Payne
- Promoted from practice squad: LB Joe Giles-Harris
- Placed on IR: LB D.J. Alexander, TE Geoff Swaim
- Waived: CB Parry Nickerson
Minnesota Vikings
- Released: CB Marcus Sherels
New England Patriots
- Waived: S Jordan Richards
New Orleans Saints
- Released: LB Ray-Ray Armstrong, RB Zach Zenner
New York Giants
- Signed: LB Devante Downs
- Waived: TE Garrett Dickerson, LB Tuzar Skipper
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: DE Kasim Edebali
San Francisco 49ers
- Waived: LS Garrison Sanborn
Chargers To Sign DT Sylvester Williams
Sylvester Williams will head back to an AFC West team. The former Broncos first-round pick agreed to terms with the Chargers, according to his agency (Twitter link). Williams worked out for the Chargers this week, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter).
While the 2013 No. 28 overall selection has not quite lived up to that billing, he has continued to receive calls from defensive tackle-seeking teams. Williams has played for the Titans, Lions and Dolphins since leaving Denver. The Saints rostered him briefly this summer.
Williams worked out for the Bears this week, according to Sirius XM Radio’s Adam Caplan (on Twitter), but the Chargers ended up adding him. The Chargers worked out defensive lineman Adolphus Washington, ex-Raider starter Justin Ellis and P.J. Johnson but are going with Williams.
The 30-year-old lineman started four games for the Lions last season and 11 for the 2017 Titans. In Denver, Williams started 48 games and was a first-stringer in two Super Bowls.
Both starting defensive tackles, Brandon Mebane and Justin Jones, missed Sunday’s game due to injuries — two of many maladies to affect the Chargers’ starting lineup this season. The Bolts now have seven defensive tackles on their 53-man roster, including two rookies and recently signed T.Y. McGill. It’s possible the Williams move will precede another at this position.
Patriots To Sign DB Justin Bethel
4:34pm: This visit apparently went incredibly well. The Patriots are signing Justin Bethel, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Bethel will add firepower to the Patriots’ special teams units. The Ravens’ recent release of Bethel will benefit the AFC’s perennial Super Bowl favorites.
4:27pm: A day after the Ravens released Bethel for procedural purposes, the veteran cornerback/special-teamer visited the Patriots, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
Although Bethel did not work out as the Cardinals’ starting corner opposite Patrick Peterson, he has become a top special-teamer. Bill Belichick has been known to value that skill, and the 20th-year Patriots coach/exec is taking a look at one of this year’s top AFC rivals’ recently discarded assets.
Bethel, 29, made two tackles in seven Ravens games and recovered a fumble. John Harbaugh, a former special teams coordinator, called the veteran the best special teams player in the league. Bethel made the Pro Bowl three times for his special teams acumen, doing so from 2013-15 in Arizona. It will be interesting to see where he lands. The Patriots already employ a seven-time Pro Bowl special-teamer in Matthew Slater.
Because defensive lineman Brent Urban did not last on the Titans’ roster until Week 10, the Ravens lost their shot at a fourth-round compensatory pick. By dropping Bethel, they resumed their place in the queue. Baltimore values compensatory picks immensely, and it cost the franchise a key specialist in a 5-2 season.
Lions Trade Quandre Diggs To Seahawks
The Lions will ship defensive back Quandre Diggs and a 2021 seventh-round pick to the Seahawks for a 2020 fifth-round draft pick, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. 
Diggs, 26, was asked to carry more of the load this year after the Lions moved on from Glover Quin. The safety started in five contests this year, notching 20 tackles in total. For his work, Pro Football Focus has him graded as just the No. 61 ranked safety in the NFL, but, historically, PFF’s advanced metrics have held him in high regard.
Diggs is signed through the 2021 campaign thanks to the three-year, $20.4MM extension he signed with Detroit back in 2018. Still, the Seahawks can easily escape his deal, if they want to, after this season.
The Seahawks’ secondary is a long way from the Legion of Boom days and an experienced player like Diggs was badly needed in Seattle. Still, the Seahawks’ training staff will have to give Diggs some attention if they want him to stay on the field – the former sixth-rounder has seen limited snaps since Week 4 due to hand and hammy issues.
With Diggs in Seattle, the Lions will move forward with Tracy Walker, Tavon Wilson, and Will Harris as their top guys.
Cardinals To Sign RB Alfred Morris
The Cardinals have agreed to sign running back Alfred Morris, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. To make room, they’ve dropped linebacker Ramik Wilson. 
Morris is on hand to help man the running back position while David Johnson nurses an ankle injury. He edged out Thomas Rawls and Zach Zenner in a recent audition as he looks to get his career back in track.
Morris, 30, played 12 games with the 49ers last season. This offseason, Morris reunited with the Cowboys, but Ezekiel Elliott‘s early September return left A-Mo without a job.
Morris did his best work early on with the Redskins, including a stellar 1,600-yard rookie season. In 2013 and 2014, he earned back-to-back Pro Bowl nods and eclipsed 1,000 yards each time. There have been signs of life more recently than that, however. In 2017, Morris managed 4.8 yards per carry in a small-but-not-that-small sample of 115 totes.
The Cardinals, who have a 3-3-1 record, will face the Saints on Sunday.
Lions Place Kerryon Johnson On IR
Kerryon Johnson won’t see the field for a while. The running back has been placed on injured reserve, according to head coach Matt Patricia.
Johnson was forced out of the first quarter of Sunday’s game with a right knee injury and further testing revealed that he’ll need surgery to help jumpstart his recovery. Per league rules, Johnson can return after eight missed weeks. Patricia says that’s the plan, though that’ll hinge on the pace of Johnson’s recovery. That’ll also hinge on the Lions’ place in the playoff chase, though Patricia did not vocalize that part.
Johnson’s early career has been defined by potential and bad injury luck. Last year, he missed six games with a left knee injury, though he showed some promising flashes.
In six games this year, Johnson ran for 308 yards and two touchdowns. Through the air, he added another score and 126 receiving yards off of nine catches.
With the 2018 second-round pick out of action, the Lions will likely turn to Ty Johnson and J.D. McKissic. There’s also No. 3 RB Tra Carson on the active roster and Paul Perkins may be considered for a promotion.
Giants Sign Deone Bucannon
The Giants have signed former Cardinals and Buccaneers linebacker Deone Bucannon, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The deal reunites the former first-round pick with James Bettcher, his old friend and defensive coordinator in Arizona. 
Bucannon offers some dual-position potential as a safety and, despite the ups and downs of his career, is still only 27. There’s upside here for the G-Men and little risk as this is likely a low-cost deal.
The Bucs also had some hope for Bucannon after inking him to an inexpensive one-year, $2.5MM pact. He didn’t do much to replace Kwon Alexander in his short run, however, and saw just eight snaps through five games.
Last year, Bucannon finished as one of Pro Football Focus’ worst-graded linebackers in a limited sample of 389 snaps. He’s still looking to reprise the 2015 season in which he broke out with 109 tackles, three sacks, and an interception.
Broncos Trade Emmanuel Sanders To 49ers
The Broncos have traded wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders to the 49ers, according to Mike Klis of 9News (on Twitter). The deal will send Sanders and a 2020 fifth-round pick to the Niners with 2020 third- and fourth-round picks going to Denver, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. 
The trade talk around Sanders has been percolating for some time. The Niners, meanwhile, have been on the hunt for a game-changing wide receiver. Mohamed Sanu, one of the top available WRs leading up to the trade deadline, was snagged by the Patriots in a Tuesday morning trade. Instead, the 49ers pivoted to Sanders, who offers a lengthy playmaking resume.
Through seven games, Sanders has 30 catches for 367 yards and two touchdowns. While those aren’t bad numbers, he’ll aim to get back towards his old form. Last year, Sanders managed 71 catches for 868 yards and four touchdowns in just 12 games. In 2014, his first season with the Broncos, he set career highs of 101 grabs for 1,404 yards and nine TDs. Sanders’ best ball might be behind him, but he’s still plenty dangerous, the potential is there for him to be a difference-maker as one of Jimmy Garoppolo‘s top targets.
In this deal, the Broncos managed to acquire draft capital while giving up a 32-year-old player in the final year of his deal. It was a solid move for GM John Elway, who likely isn’t done working the phones. There’s still a week to go before the trade deadline and the Broncos are clearly willing to sell after their loss to the Patrick Mahomes-less Chiefs. At this point, all eyes are on cornerback Chris Harris Jr. Elway has implied that Harris, Von Miller, and Derek Wolfe are staying put, but he said roughly the same thing about all of the team’s big “names” just days ago, and that group certainly included Sanders.
Outside of tight end George Kittle, the Niners were lacking proven receiving talents. In fact, none of the 49ers wide receivers have eclipsed the 200-yard mark or scored more than one touchdown this season. Sanders knows a thing or two about finding the end zone, however – he’s scored 39 career touchdowns for the Steelers and Broncos across his NFL career. If Sanders can produce – and mentor Dante Pettis and Deebo Samuel – he’ll be well worth the price. The Niners will be in even better shape if Trent Taylor returns to action later this year.
Sanu and Sanders are spoken for, but A.J. Green (Bengals), Taylor Gabriel (Bears), and DeVante Parker (Dolphins) are still available for trade between now and Tuesday buzzer.
Jaguars To Sign Malcolm Smith
The Jaguars are set to sign linebacker Malcolm Smith, a league source tells ESPN.com’s Michael DiRocco (on Twitter). Smith will help replenish the club’s depth after a costly victory against the Bengals on Sunday. 
Smith spent the last two seasons in San Francisco. Years before that, he reached the pinnacle of the game with the Seahawks, capturing the Lombardi Trophy and the Super Bowl XLVIII MVP award.
Things, unfortunately, haven’t been the same since that February night.The one-time Super Bowl MVP was forced to take a pay cut in the offseason after two injury plagued seasons with the Niners and, ultimately, did not make it through final cuts.
Smith’s first year with the 49ers wiped out by a torn pectoral muscle. Then, in 2018, he registered just 35 tackles and one pass defensed in 12 games (five starts). His Pro Football Focus grade of 63.4 was an improvement over his 2015 and 2016 showings with the Raiders, but that placed him as the 53rd best linebacker in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus.