Raiders To Retain Jordy Nelson For 2019
Jordy Nelson appears to have a second Raiders season on tap. The longtime Packers wide receiver signed a two-year deal with the Raiders, but some speculation existed about the rebuilding team moving on after one season.
Jon Gruden confirmed Friday that Nelson will return next season. The Raiders also moved up a $3.6MM Nelson roster bonus to be paid today rather than in 2019, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
“If you watched Jordy play carefully the last four weeks when he’s been healthy, you see what he’s capable of doing, … I think you can even see better and better days ahead,” Gruden said, via Scott Bair of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter links). “So yeah, he’ll be back. … Normally when you hand out a bonus for next year’s season, there’s a pretty good chance those guys are coming back.”
That puts Tahir Whitehead, tight end Lee Smith and linebacker Kyle Wilber in line to be Raiders in their to-be-determined city next season. The Raiders paid Whitehead his $3.325MM bonus, with Smith collecting $1.1MM and Wilber $500K, Yates adds. These moves will spread out said bonuses’ cap hits across 2018 and ’19.
Nelson will be 34 when next season starts. He said earlier this week (via Bair, on Twitter) he wanted to play at least one more season. Jared Cook leads the Raiders in receiving, but Nelson has, to some degree, bounced back from a dismal 2017 with 661 receiving yards on one of the NFL’s worst offenses, bumping his yards-per-catch average from a career-low 9.1 (in the largely Aaron Rodgers-less ’17 Packers slate) to 12.2 with Derek Carr. While the latter figure is still below his prime work, Nelson is one of the NFL’s oldest wideouts.
Jets Sign WR Quincy Enunwa To Extension
The Jets are locking up one of Sam Darnold‘s weapons longterm, signing Quincy Enunwa to a multi-year contract extension, the team announced Friday. A source told Brian Costello of the New York Post that Enunwa, who was set to become a free agent at the end of the year, is getting a four-year $36MM deal (Twitter link). Rich Cimini of ESPN noted in a tweet that the deal includes “about $20MM in guarantees.”
Enunwa missed the enitre 2017 season with a neck injury and appeared in only 11 games this year, so the team clearly thinks very highly of him to sign him to this deal despite his injury history. $20MM guaranteed is a lot of money to commit to any player, yet alone one who hasn’t been able to stay healthy. Enunwa broke out in 2016, his last full season, when he caught 58 passes for 857 yards and four touchdowns. Along with Robby Anderson, he’s formed a solid receiver duo for the team to build on around Darnold, although reports have consistently indicated that the team values Enunwa more than Anderson.
“Quincy is a key part of our foundation, and we are thrilled that this contract will keep him here for years to come,” Jets GM Mike Maccagnan said in a statement given to the team’s official website. Although he’s been plagued by injuries the past couple of seasons, Enunwa has been a consistent target for Darnold when he’s been out there. He was ruled out for Week 17 with an ankle injury earlier today, meaning he’ll finish the 2018 season with 38 catches for 449 yards and one touchdown.
A 2014 sixth round pick from Nebraska, Enunwa had at least eight targets and 50 yards in each of the Jets’ first four games this season, but a serious high ankle sprain quickly derailed his year. It was reported last month that the two sides were discussing a deal, and things finally got ironed out just before the end of the year. While coach Todd Bowles is looking like a lock to be fired, it seems as if Maccagnan, who announced the new deal, will get at least one more year at the helm to try and right the ship.
Bengals Place Tyler Boyd, Two Others On IR, Promote 3 Players From Practice Squad
As Week 17 approaches, the Bengals made a flurry of moves. The team is placing receiver Tyler Boyd, cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick, and linebacker Jordan Evans on injured reserve, according to Paul Dehner Jr. of The Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link).
To fill their spots on the roster, the team is promoting running back Quinton Flowers, offensive tackle Kent Perkins, and receiver Hunter Sharp from the practice squad. It’s the end of a breakout 2018 season for Boyd, who emerged as one of the top receivers in the league this year. He’ll finish the season with 76 catches for 1,028 yards and seven touchdowns. He shined in the absence of A.J. Green, and said recently he’s open to signing an extension with Cincinnati.
Kirkpatrick is one of the Bengals’ biggest name defensive players but struggled at times this year, earning barely average grades from Pro Football Focus. Evans has played around 50 percent of snaps on defense for the Bengals this year, and the Bengals will be very shorthanded for their finale against the Steelers without all of them. The practice squad players all have some level of intrigue, as Flowers was a college quarterback at South Florida who made a transition to running back for the pros.
Sharp is a 2016 UDFA who has spent time with five teams already. He was on the active roster at times for the Broncos and Giants last year, and caught five passes for 54 yards and a touchdown. Perkins is a 2017 UDFA who has been on Cincinnati’s practice squad for most of the past two seasons. As Katherine Terrell of ESPN points out (Twitter link), the moves will allow the Bengals to have these players under contract going into the offseason, to prevent them from being poached.
Steelers Place K Chris Boswell On IR
The Steelers are making a significant change ahead of their biggest game of the season. ESPN’s Field Yates reports (via Twitter) that the team is placing kicker Chris Boswell on injured reserve. The team has signed kicker Matt McCrane to take his place.
After making the Pro Bowl last season, Boswell has struggled mightily in 2018. Through 15 games, Boswell has converted only 13 of his 20 field goal attempts, with his 65-percent mark ranking dead last among eligible kickers. The 27-year-old even struggled on extra points; after having made at least 94-percent of his attempts through the first three seasons of his career, that number dropped to 89.6-percent (43-for-48) in 2018.
Boswell seemed to have a rebound game during last weekend’s loss to the Saints, as he made his two field goal attempts and two extra point tries. Many attributed the kicker’s struggles to the yips, and his placement on the IR doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s been dealing with a nagging injury throughout the campaign. It’s more likely that the coaching staff still didn’t feel good about Boswell’s prospects heading into Week 17 and the postseason, and his placement on the IR allowed the organization to keep him on the roster.
McCrane, an undrafted rookie out of Kansas State, has bounced around the NFL this season, spending time with the Cardinals and Raiders. He appeared in four total games with the two organizations, connecting on five of his nine field goal attempts and all five of his extra point tries.
Chiefs Sign RB Damien Williams To Extension
Damien Williams has had a recent stint as the Chiefs’ starting running back, and he’s parlayed that opportunity into an extension. Terez A. Paylor reports (via Twitter) that Williams has signed a two-year extension with Kansas City. The deal has a max value of $8.1MM (via Paylor on Twitter).
Williams started the year buried on the depth chart, as he ran for a single yard on two carries through the first 11 weeks of the season. Following Kareem Hunt‘s sudden release, the 26-year-old earned reps as Spencer Ware‘s backup, and he’s started the past two games with Ware out of the lineup. After rushing for a pair of touchdowns in Week 15, he ran for a career-high 103 yards last Sunday. Williams has also established himself as a reliable target in the Chiefs’ passing game, as he’s hauled in 13 receptions over the past two weeks.
The 2014 undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma is hoping he’s found a home in Kansas City. Williams spent the first four seasons of his career with the Dolphins, but he never garnered more than 46 carries in a single season. Now, the journeyman will have an opportunity to retain his starting job next year with the Chiefs. However, Paylor cautions that the organization could still pursue a running back via free agency or the draft, where the team is armed with four picks in the first three rounds.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/27/18
Here are today’s practice squad moves:
New York Giants
- Signed: P Brock Miller
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: WR Rashard Davis, CB Makinton Dorleant
Texans Re-Sign LB Josh Keyes
Josh Keyes is back with the Texans. ESPN’s Field Yates reports (via Twitter) that the linebacker has signed with Houston.
The 25-year-old spent the entire preseason with the Texans, compiling 23 tackles in four games. However, the Boston College product was cut prior to the regular season. He had a brief stint with the Redskins before re-signing with the Texans. He proceeded to compile five tackles in three games with Houston before being waived again in mid-November.
Keyes has appeared in 25 career games, including a career-high 10 games last season with the Browns and Chargers. The 2015 undrafted free agent has also had stints with the Buccaneers, Chiefs and Falcons.
The Texans could surely use some reinforcement at linebacker, especially with a trio of players (Brennan Scarlett, Dylan Cole, and Brian Peters) sitting on the injured reserve. Keyes will likely slide in behind Whitney Mercilus, Jadeveon Clowney, Duke Ejiofor, and Peter Kalambayi on the team’s outside linebacker depth chart.
Saints Re-Sign OT Derek Newton
Derek Newton is back with the Saints. On Thursday, the Saints re-signed the offensive tackle, along with fellow OT Cornelius Lucas. To make room, the club cut defensive back Josh Robinson and defensive lineman Mitchell Loewen.
The Saints signed Newton to a two-year deal in early December, even though he had not played since October 2016, then released him a few weeks later. The Saints needed healthy bodies up front due to a recent rash of injuries last week, but they’re now able to accommodate him on the roster.
A 2011 seventh-round pick out of Arkansas State, Newton was the Texans’ starting right tackle from 2012’s first game until that career-altering night in Denver when Newton shredded both of his knees. The Texans waived Newton via failed physical designation in April, and he filed a $500K grievance. This year, Newton worked out for the Jets, Cardinals, and Saints and showed enough in New Orleans to warrant an opportunity.
The Saints kept Newton on speed dial, and he now has a chance to contribute to a contender.
Redskins Place Reed, McCoy On IR
On Thursday, the Redskins placed quarterback Colt McCoy and tight end Jordan Reed on injured reserve. To take their places, they added defensive end Marcus Smith and defensive back Alex Carter. 
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The playoffs are out of reach for the Redskins, so there was little sense in jeopardizing the health of two key players for Sunday’s wrap-up game against the Eagles. Reed, who has missed the last couple of games with foot and ankle injuries, did not practice this week, so his IR placement does not come as a surprise. McCoy, meanwhile, was pushing to play roughly four weeks after suffering a broken fibula, but the club will now allow him to put himself in harm’s way for little gain.
Smith had a cup of coffee with the Redskins earlier this month and they may be curious to see what he can do in the final game of the season. At minimum, he’ll be an extra body over the next couple days of practice.
Jets Sign TE Clive Walford
The Jets signed tight end Clive Walford and placed fellow tight end Eric Tomlinson on injured reserve, according to a team announcement. The move will give them another target for Sunday’s finale against the Patriots, and, more importantly, may enable them to get a closer look at another player in a pivotal offseason. 
Walford’s only career action came with the Raiders, where he made 70 catches for 768 yards and six touchdowns over the course of three seasons. The Jets picked him up after his release in March, but he was unable to make Gang Green’s final cut.
This year, the 27-year-old joined the Colts in late November after the loss of Jack Doyle. Eric Ebron has been heavily involved in the Colts offense throughout the year, but Walford did not see any snaps at tight end during his brief stint in Indianapolis.
Heading into Week 17, the Jets are lined up for the No. 3 overall pick in the draft. The game is largely meaningless for Gang Green, but the outcome will greatly impact their offseason plans.