Rams Waive Return Man Pharoh Cooper
When last year’s Pro Bowl rosters were unveiled, Pharoh Cooper was honored as the NFC’s return specialist. When the latest batch of Pro Bowl invites are announced Tuesday night, Cooper will be without a team.
The Rams cut the 2017 All-Pro return man today, sending him to the waiver wire. Cooper’s accolades would make him an intriguing waiver claim, but his 2018 season has not gone as expected.
A Week 1 injury sent Cooper to IR, but the Rams used the first of their two IR-boomerang slots on him last month. But Cooper did not get his punt-return job back, only returning kicks. This cut also comes after new punt returner Jojo Natson fumbled to impede a Rams comeback bid Sunday night.
A 2016 fourth-round pick, Cooper averaged 12.5 yards per punt return last season and returned a kick for a score. He struggled during Los Angeles’ playoff loss but was still prioritized by the NFC West champions this season. Now, another team could pick up Cooper’s through-2019 contract.
Jets Move Rishard Matthews To IR
Rishard Matthews‘ rough 2018 season will conclude early. The Jets placed the veteran wide receiver on IR on Tuesday.
This ends what has been been the most disappointing campaign of Matthews’ career. The former Dolphins and Titans starter will wrap up his seventh NFL season with just five receptions for 24 yards.
No longer attached to his Titans extension, with Tennessee having released him and Gang Green then signing him for the league minimum, Matthews will be a free agent at season’s end.
Going into this season, Matthews had been the Titans’ No. 1 wideout for two years and enjoyed a solid contract year with the Dolphins to earn him that Tennessee deal. He signed a one-year Tennessee extension in August. A knee surgery this offseason looks to have damaged Matthews’ value.
The former seventh-round pick stands to enter the market in March at 29 and hoping a team will view him as a bounce-back candidate. In 2017, Matthews caught 65 passes for 945 yards and nine touchdowns.
Raiders To Place G Gabe Jackson On IR
Gabe Jackson‘s fifth NFL season will come to a close early. The Raiders will place the veteran guard on IR, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
Battling an elbow injury, Jackson missed last week’s Raiders game and will now miss their final two. Prior to last week, Jackson had only missed four games in five seasons.
The former second-round pick-turned-interior-line anchor joins tackle Donald Penn on IR. Both players comprised what was long the Raiders’ best unit, with Jackson (signed to a five-year, $55MM contract) being a key component of Oakland’s front, despite not receiving the Pro Bowl accolades Penn, Rodney Hudson and Kelechi Osemele have.
Reggie McKenzie‘s method of structuring contracts leaves the Raiders an out if the now-Jon Gruden-led organization would like to move on from another of the since-fired GM’s deals. However, the 27-year-old blocker would not seem like a release candidate — even for a franchise that has gutted most of the previous regime’s work. Four years remain on Jackson’s deal.
Rams To Sign C.J. Anderson
C.J. Anderson will soon be part of a fourth team this year. The longtime Broncos starter will land with the Rams, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com reports (on Twitter).
Rams starter Todd Gurley is day-to-day with knee inflammation, and Anderson — who surpassed 1,000 yards in 2017 but has not been able to stick with a team this year — would provide far more experience than Los Angeles’ current cadre of backups does.
With top Gurley backup Malcolm Brown out for the season, only sixth-round rookie John Kelly and former UDFA Justin Davis resided on L.A.’s roster. They have five career carries between them.
A four-year starter in Denver, Anderson played a key role for the franchise’s past two playoff-qualifying teams and stayed healthy throughout the 2017 season to gain 1,007 yards on the ground on an otherwise poor offense. But the Broncos released him in April, and Anderson’s subsequent Panthers affiliation did not last long. Carolina cut Anderson in November, and the Raiders employed him for merely a week.
This Rams stay may be short, too, or, considering the lack of experience behind Gurley, the team may eye the 27-year-old back as a stretch-run No. 2 behind its All-Pro.
Packers Place RB Aaron Jones On IR
Aaron Jones‘ season is over. On Tuesday, the Packers placed the running back on injured reserve, ruling him out of the final two games of the regular season. 
[RELATED: Packers Claim RB Kapri Bibbs]
Jones’ season started off with a two-game suspension, but he has made up for lost time in recent months. Through Week 15, Jones led the league in yards-per-carry (5.6) and posted career highs in rushing yards (720), rushing touchdowns (eight) and receptions (26).
The Packers have a number of issues to address this offseason, but their starting running back situation is more or less settled with the 2017 fifth-round pick in the fold. His rookie contract runs through 2020 and it’s one of the league’s better values at his position.
Without Jones, the Packers will turn to Jamaal Williams as their top back. They’ll look to avoid a winless season on the road when they face the Jets on Sunday.
Colts Sign J.J. Wilcox
The Colts signed free agent safety J.J. Wilcox, according to a team announcement. In related moves, the club placed linebacker Skai Moore (neck) and defensive lineman Al Woods (foot) on injured reserve. 
Wilcox, 6’0″, 212-pound veteran, has 75 career games to his credit with the Jets (2018), Steelers (2017) and Cowboys (2013-16). He didn’t do much for the Jets in his five games this season, but he’ll look to rebuild his stock for a Colts team that is pushing to make the playoffs.
Woods, 31, left the Titans in March of 2017 to sign with their divisional rival. This is the final year of his two-year, $5MM deal, so it’s possible that he has played his final game for Indianapolis. Before the foot injury, Woods appeared in all 14 games (eight starts) for the Colts and tallied 24 tackles, a tackle for loss, and one pass defensed.
If the Colts can top the Giants and Titans in the next two weeks, they’re nearly guaranteed a spot in the postseason. These injuries may thin out their defense a bit, but they’re still one of the hottest teams in the league at this juncture.
Texans Release WR Sammie Coates
Texans wide receiver Sammie Coates has been released, according to a source who spoke with Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). came to Houston after being waived by the Browns in March, but he was hardly used in 2018. 
Coates’ best season to date came in 2016 with the Steelers when he had 21 catches for 435 yards and two scores. In 2017, however, he had just six catches for 70 yards and zero touchdowns for Cleveland. His production dipped even further this year with the Texans as he had just one catch for 12 yards.
Coates’ 37 snaps this year marked a career low and the former third-round pick is undoubtedly frustrated with how things have gone over the last couple of years. Still, he handled his exit from Houston with class.
“Thank you Houston!!,” Coates wrote on social media. “Good Luck to y’all guys!”
Coates will hit the waiver wire, making him and his contract available to the league’s other 31 teams. If he is not claimed within 24 hours, he will be an unrestricted free agent.
The Texans, meanwhile, will work to clinch the division without Coates on the depth chart. They have two games left against the Eagles and Jaguars, and they’ll sew up the AFC South with a win in either contest. The Texans can also clinch the division this week even if they fall to Philly if the Titans and Colts both lose their respective games.
Titans Place Logan Ryan On IR
It’s official now. On Tuesday, the Titans placed cornerback Logan Ryan on season-ending injured reserve. 
Ryan suffered a broken fibula on Sunday, which automatically 86’d him for the season. It’s a bad blow for the Titans, who are still fighting for a playoff spot with two games remaining in the regular season. Through 15 weeks of action, the 27-year-old had a career high of four sacks plus 76 tackles and eight passes defensed.
Without Ryan, the Titans will need some vintage performances from Malcolm Butler and quality support from reserves Leshaun Sims and Joshua Kalu. Adoree’ Jackson, who is having the best season of any Titans corner, now stands as the club’s unquestioned CB1.
To help fill the void, the Titans promoted cornerback Kenneth Durden from the practice squad to the active roster. Durden, 26, appeared in five games for the Titans earlier this year, and those contests represent the entirety of his NFL experience.
The Titans, without Ryan, face the Redskins this week before a crucial showdown with the Colts in Week 17.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/17/18
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/17/18
Here are Monday’s practice squad decisions:
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: LB Christian Kuntz
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: QB J.T. Barrett
- Cut: RB Martez Carter
New York Jets
- Signed: WR DeAngelo Yancey