Jets’ Nathan Shepherd Facing Ban
Jets defensive lineman Nathan Shepherd wasn’t on the active roster for the Jets’ season opener against the Bills. As it turns out, Shepherd was left out of the game due to a pending six-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs, as Tom Pelissero of NFL.com writes. 
When popped for PEDs, players typically say that they did not knowingly take a banned substance. That’s not the case with the 2018 third-round pick, who celebrated his 26th birthday today.
“All that was going on, I was coming off of a subpar season and a new coaching staff, new playbook, new everything,” said Shepherd, a holdover from one of ex-GM Mike Maccagnan‘s last drafts in office. “In my mindset, I didn’t feel very confident with how everything had gone thus far. In my mind, I was so prepared to come into this offseason and have a successful offseason and train very hard. I felt that because of these limitations, I wasn’t going to be able to do that. I made a rash decision, an unwise decision and a selfish decision to look to certain PEDs in order to help me with that recovery process so I would be ready to go.”
Shepherd explained that he tested positive on June 27 and again on July 25 while rehabbing from shoulder and groin injuries. His shoulder may eventually require surgery and a snag in his sports hernia surgery recovery left him with a herniated L4-L5 disc in his back.
The suspension has not been formally announced yet by the NFL, but that should be coming any moment now. Shepherd’s public confession, in all likelihood, means that he is either not filing an appeal or has already lost his appeal.
Last year, Shepherd tallied 15 tackles while appearing in all 16 games for Gang Green, including five starts.
Jets To Sign K Sam Ficken
The Jets are set to sign kicker Sam Ficken, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Ficken will replace Kaare Vedvik, who missed a field goal and an extra point in the team’s 17-16 loss to the Bills on Sunday. 
Ficken served as Greg Zuerlein‘s injury replacement, but the Rams cut him prior to Zuerlein recovering. Ficken’s brief trial period ended after he missed two of three field goal tries between Weeks 3 and 4 last season. This offseason, he had stints with the Seahawks and Packers, but wound up back on the free agency pile when he missed the cut in Green Bay.
Vedvik, a hybrid kicker/punter specialist, has had a rough offseason. After being traded from the Ravens to the Vikings for a fifth-round pick, he was hoping to fill the Jets’ void at kicker. Instead, he’s now looking for his fourth team in four weeks.
Texans Sign Nick Martin
The Texans have signed center Nick Martin to a three-year, $33M extension, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The pact includes $18.35MM guaranteed, giving Martin some solid security on the pact. 
Martin has been the Texans’ starting man in the middle since 2017. Initially, he was primed for a big role as a second-round rookie in 2016, but an ankle injury wiped out his would-be frosh season. Along the way, the Texans have considered moving him to guard, but he has remained the battery mate of quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Prior to this extension, Martin was set to reach the open market after the 2019 season. That ’19 year will remain in tact, but he’ll see a serious pay bump after he collects on his $1.1MM base and $418K prorated bonus. With an average of $11MM/year, Martin will become one of the five highest-paid centers in the NFL.
With Martin under center, the Texans suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Saints on Monday night. Next up, they’ll try to get to .500 when they face the Jaguars in Houston on Sunday.
Eagles’ Malik Jackson Done For Season
Eagles defensive tackle Malik Jackson is expected to miss the season with a Lisfranc injury suffered on Sunday against the Redskins (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport). Jackson is slated to undergo surgery next week and will be placed on injured reserve this week. 
Fortunately, for the Eagles, they have depth on the defensive line outside of Jackson – Tim Jernigan is there to help fill in the interior gap while Vinny Curry and Josh Sweat are on hand to help on the bookends. In the coming days, it seems likely that the Eagles will also add another big man to help.
Jackson joined the Eagles on a five-year, $50MM deal in the offseason, though it’s really more like a two-year deal giving the Eagles flexibility on the remaining three. The pact includes $17MM guaranteed.
Last year, Jackson notched just 32 tackles and 3.5 sacks for the Jaguars, with Pro Football Focus ranking him 85th among 112 interior defenders. However, he was a Pro Bowler as recently as 2017 and enjoyed a solid first season in Jacksonville. Jackson also racked up 14.5 sacks across his final three years in Denver, despite only spending one of those campaigns as a full-time starter.
Browns Waive TE Rico Gathers
The Browns will waive tight end Rico Gathers, according to ESPN’s Tony Grossi (on Twitter). Gathers was suspended for the first game of the season, but the Browns did not feel the need to drop someone else on the 53-man roster to bring him back into the fold for Week 2.
The Browns picked up Gathers off waivers from the Cowboys in August, giving them a potential depth option behind starter David Njoku. The former Baylor basketball player has upside, but he’s yet to really do much at the pro level.
Last year, Gathers appeared in 15 games (four starts) for Dallas. He caught just three passes for 45 yards.
The league’s other 31 teams will have an opportunity to pick up Gathers on the waiver wire over the next 24 hours or so. If Gathers clears waivers, he’ll be free to sign with any team.
Cardinals To Sign Jordan Mills
The Cardinals have agreed to sign tackle Jordan Mills, according to Mike Florio of PFT. When finalized, it’ll be a one-year deal worth $1.25MM. 
Mills worked out for the Cardinals on Monday and they liked what they saw. The veteran will help reinforce an offensive line that will be without right tackle Marcus Gilbert for at least another week.
Justin Murray got the start in Gilbert’s stead last week when the Cardinals came roaring back to finish out with a tie against the Lions. He figures to also start this week as the Cards take on the Ravens in Baltimore.
We’ll be tuning in to see if Mills attempts to leap over a defender and accidentally takes down Kyler Murray, as guard J.R. Sweezy did on Sunday.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/9/19
One lone practice squad move to pass along:
New England Patriots
- Released: TE Stephen Anderson
Anderson was actually one of the Patriots more interesting practice squad stashes, as he was one of the only active tight ends in the organization. The 26-year-old has 36 career receptions for 342 yards and one touchdown. The Patriots moved on from another tight end today when they cut veteran Lance Kendricks.
Buccaneers To Waive OL Caleb Benenoch
A 16-game starter for the Buccaneers last season, Caleb Benenoch did not open with Tampa Bay’s first unit on Sunday. He will not be with the team in Week 2, with Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reporting (via Twitter) the fourth-year blocker will be waived.
Benenoch joined the Bucs as a fifth-round pick three years ago but struggled in his first full-season audition. He allowed 10 sacks and finished with one of Pro Football Focus’ lowest guard grades. The Bucs intend to sign former Jaguars lineman Josh Wells.
One year remains on Benenoch’s contract. With linemen consistently generating interest (and, as Rapoport notes, various former Benenoch Tampa Bay coaches residing with other teams), the Nigerian may have a new team by Tuesday.
Second-year guard Alex Cappa started at right guard Sunday, while Benenoch saw action on special teams. The Bucs also added Earl Watford, a former Bruce Arians charge with the Cardinals, in free agency and brought in Zack Bailey as a rookie UDFA.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/9/19
Here are Monday’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: OL Jeremy Vujnovich
- Waived: TE Darrell Daniels
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: OL John Wetzel
New Orleans Saints
- Promoted from practice squad: DE Mitchell Loewen
- Released: DE Wes Horton
New York Giants
- Claimed off waivers (from Steelers): LB Tuzar Skipper
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: QB Devlin Hodges
Steelers Trade Josh Dobbs To Jaguars
The Jaguars have a new quarterback. On Monday, the Jaguars traded a fifth-round pick to the Steelers in exchange for Joshua Dobbs, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
The Jaguars lost their brand new starter, Nick Foles, to a clavicle fracture in the first quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Chiefs. After that, Gardner Minshew and performed well, even though the team was unable to keep up with the Chiefs’ relentless offense.
Minshew will continue as the Jags’ starter, but Dobbs will be on hand to hold the clipboard in support. Prior to the trade, the Jags did not have another QB on the roster.
Dobbs, a former fourth-round pick, was Ben Roethlisberger‘s top backup last year and appeared in five games as a reserve. This year, he lost his footing to Mason Rudolph, making his superfluous in Pittsburgh.
Minshew, with Dobbs as his backup, will lead the Jaguars against the Texans in Week Two.