NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/8/18
Here are today’s practice squad moves:
Indianapolis Colts:
- Signed: QB Phillip Walker
Titans TE Jonnu Smith Done For Year
Titans tight end Jonnu Smith is going to miss the rest of the season with an MCL injury, a source tells ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Smith, 23, went down while blocking for Derrick Henry on his historic 99-yard touchdown run and the injury proved to be serious. He’ll be placed on injured reserve this week in order to open up a spot on the roster.
Smith has largely been utilized as a blocker in Tennessee, though he has flashed his hands on occasion. In a November loss to the Colts, Smith had six grabs for 44 yards. He also scored three touchdowns during the month of November. His season ends with 20 catches for 258 yards and three TDs,
Smith, a third-round pick in the 2017 draft, has two more years to go on his rookie contract. He’s scheduled to count for $845K next season and $933K in 2020, the final year of his deal.
The Titans kept their playoff hopes alive with Thursday’s win, thanks in large part to an all-time great performance from Henry. They currently have a 27% chance of reaching the postseason, according to Five Thirty Eight, with a pair of winnable matchups on deck against the Giants and Redskins.
NFL Suspends Jets’ Darron Lee
Jets linebacker Darron Lee has been suspended for four games due to a violation of the league’s substance abuse policy. There are only four games left in the Jets’ season, so the ban ends his 2018 campaign. 
[RELATED: Major Rift Between Jets’ Bowles, Maccagnan]
This has been a trying year for the Jets, but Lee was enjoying the best season of his professional career. In 12 games (all starts), the former first-round pick amassed 74 tackles, three interceptions, and a pick six. He ranks as Pro Football Focus’ No. 20 ranked linebacker in the NFL, which is leaps and bounds better than his previous showings. The four-game absence will cost the linebacker $655,934, according to Overthecap.com (Twitter link).
Without Lee, the Jets will have to do some shuffling in their 3-4 scheme. Neville Hewitt is the only true inside linebacker on the bench, but the club could also find a way to get Frankie Luvu or Kevin Pierre-Louis on the first team with some creative reorganization.
The Jets aren’t playing for much at this point of the season, but they are eager to avenge their embarrassing Nov. 11 loss against the Bills this Sunday. Unfortunately, have to try and get that done without one of their better defenders.
Colts Waive TE Clive Walford
Clive Walford‘s time with the Colts has come to an end. On Friday, the Colts waived the tight end and promoted wide receiver Daurice Fountain from the practice squad to the 53-man roster. 
Walford, 27, joined the Colts in late November after the loss of Jack Doyle. While Eric Ebron has been heavily involved in the Colts offense, Walford did not see any snaps at tight end during his brief stint in Indianapolis.
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.
Fountain, a Northern Iowa product, was taken in the fifth round of this year’s draft by the Colts. He didn’t make the final cut, but the Colts stashed him on the practice squad in an effort to hone his athletic potential. Fountain put himself on the NFL radar last year with 66 catches for 943 yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior and the Colts feel that he can be a contributor down the road.
The Colts are still clinging to slim odds of making the postseason, but Fountain could see some burn if they fall out of contention in the coming weeks.
Chiefs Waive DE Jarvis Jenkins
The Chiefs waived defensive end Jarvis Jenkins on Friday morning. The move created room for the newly-acquired Kelvin Benjamin, who is set to make his Chiefs debut on Sunday against the Ravens. 
Jenkins was a hot commodity after he notched four sacks in the 2015 season. He didn’t live up to his two-year, $7MM contract with $3MM guaranteed, but he found a role with the Chiefs after Gang Green let him go in November of 2016. Over the last two years and change, Jenkins has appeared in 30 games for the Chiefs, compiling 20 tackles.
Jenkins will be subject to the waiver wire since the trade deadline has passed. If no one picks him up in the next 24 hours, he’ll be free to sign with any club.
Panthers Sign K Chandler Catanzaro
The Panthers signed former Bucs kicker Chandler Catanzaro, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Catanzaro will serve as insurance for kicker Graham Gano, who was limited in practice on Thursday. 
To make room for Catanzaro, the Panthers placed guard Amini Silatolu on IR with a knee injury. The 30-year-old has been dealing with a concussion and doctors were unable to clear him before this week’s contest against the Browns. Silatolu appeared in 47 games and made 31 starts between 2012-2017 for the Panthers, but saw time in just six games this year as a reserve.
Catanzaro got the boot from the Bucs in November, one day after he missed two of three field goal attempts against the Redskins. At the time, Catanzaro said that he was working to identify the issue.
“I’m trying to find (the reason for the misses),” Catanzaro said after sending two of his tries wide right in the 16-3 loss. “The ball is just not going through the yellow poles right now. It’s got to do that. I’m not sure (what’s wrong). I just try to take it one kick at a time. … Something’s wrong, and I’ve done my best to fix it, and up until now, it hasn’t been fixed.”
So far, the veteran has a subpar 73.3% conversion rate on field goal tries and four missed extra point attempts on the year.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/6/18
Today’s practice squad updates:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: WR Malachi Dupre, OL Denver Kirkland, DT Pasoni Tasini
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: T Andrew Lauderdale, WR Da’Mari Scott
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: S Kai Nacua, G Ian Silberman, WR DeAndrew White
- Released: CB Josh Thornton
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: OL Mason Gentry, WR Daniel Williams
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: TE Billy Brown, T De’Ondre Wesley
- Placed on injured list: TE Je’Ron Hamm
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: T Isaiah Williams
- Released: QB J.T. Barrett
New York Giants
- Signed: P Brock Miller
New York Jets
- Signed: DB Tyvis Powell
Chiefs To Sign WR Kelvin Benjamin
The Chiefs have agreed to sign free agent wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Benjamin’s deal will run through the end of the 2018 season.
Kansas City had been on the lookout for wide receiver depth as Sammy Watkins continues to battle a foot injury. Watkins played only a handful of snaps in the Chiefs’ Week 11 loss to the Rams, and — even following a bye in Week 12 — was still unable to play in Week 13. He’s put in limited practice sessions so far this week, but Kansas City needed reinforcements behind Tyreek Hill, where the Chiefs are light on options outside out of Chris Conley.
Benjamin, 27, went unclaimed on waivers after the Bills cut him earlier this week, but that was hardly surprising given his contract. As a former first-round pick, Benjamin was locked into a guaranteed base salary that didn’t necessarily reflect his current market value. Any team that claimed him would have been responsible for the remainder of that salary, which would have come out to roughly $2MM. Now, the Chiefs are likely signing Benjamin at the league minimum rate, while the Bills — provided typical NFL contract language was used — will receive a small cap credit in 2019 thanks to offset language.
Even factoring in his draft pedigree, Benjamin doesn’t offer much in the way of upside and has historically had problems with his conditioning. Additionally, nearly every wide receiver metric has Benjamin near the bottom of the list. Among wideouts with at least 50 targets this season, Benjamin ranks dead last in catch rate (his 37.1% rate is more than eight percent greater than the next-worse pass-catcher). He’s 61st among 66 qualifiers in Football Outsiders’ DYAR, which measures value over a replacement level player, and 64th in DVOA, which measures value on a per-play basis.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/6/18
Today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: LS Jon Condo
Carolina Panthers
- Promoted from practice squad: G Taylor Hearn
- Placed on injured reserve: G Brendan Mahon
Cleveland Browns
- Promoted from practice squad: OL Kyle Kalis
New York Giants
- Promoted from practice squad: DB Kenny Ladler
Redskins Place CB Quinton Dunbar On IR
The Redskins have placed cornerback Quinton Dunbar and wide receiver Trey Quinn on injured reserve, the club announced today. In addition, Washington announced it has signed center Demetrius Rhaney, and also confirmed the previously-reported signings of quarterback Josh Johnson, guard Zac Kerin, and defensive end Marcus Smith.
Dunbar missed Weeks 10 and 11 while dealing with a nerve issue in his shin, and struggled when he returned to the lineup in Week 12. He sat out again this past Monday night, and the Redskins have decided to call it a season for the 26-year-old defensive back. A first-time starter in 2018, Dunbar graded as the league’s No. 46 corner among 113 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus. Football Outsiders, meanwhile, ranked Dunbar 33rd among 69 cornerbacks in yards per pass allowed, but just 54th in success rate, meaning he wasn’t effective at stopping receivers short of the sticks.
Washington and Dunbar agreed to a three-year, $10.5MM contract in January that superseded his status as a restricted free agent. He should return to the nation’s capital in 2020 at a base salary of $3MM, although the Redskins could save $2.25MM by releasing him. In the near term, Washington will turn to Fabian Moreau and Greg Stroman at cornerback behind No. 1 option Josh Norman.