Bengals Place DT Josh Tupou On IR, Sign DT Niles Scott
The injuries for the Bengals’ defense just keep piling up. The team placed defensive tackle Josh Tupou on injured reserve today, ending his season, the team announced via Twitter.
To take his spot on the 53-man roster, the team signed defensive tackle Niles Scott away from the Broncos’ practice squad. Tupou’s injury was a torn pec that he suffered in practice on Wednesday, according to Geoff Hobson of the Bengals.com (Twitter link). It’s the latest in a long string of defensive injuries for the Bengals, as several starters have already missed significant time this season.
A 2017 undrafted free agent from Colorado, Tupou was a deep reserve to start the season. However, he had begun playing heavy snaps in the past couple of weeks due to all the injuries. He played around 50 percent of the snaps the past couple of weeks as a run-stuffer inside, so it’s a pretty significant loss.
Scott is a rookie undrafted free agent who has bounced around a bit. From tiny Division III school Frostburg State, Scott originally signed with the 49ers and spent training camp with San Francisco. After a sting on the 49ers’ practice squad, he wound up in Denver, where he’d been until today. It’s always cool to see a D-3 guy get a chance, and he has a realistic chance to earn some playing time on this depleted Bengals squad.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/21/18
Here are Wednesday’s practice squad decisions:
Denver Broncos
- Signed: CB Linden Stephens
Detroit Lions
- Signed: CB Andre Chachere
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: Arthur Maulet
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: CB Arrion Springs
Saints To Activate WR Tommylee Lewis
The 9-1 Saints will soon receive more help. They are activating wide receiver Tommylee Lewis, their primary return man, from IR, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
New Orleans will waive offensive lineman Chaz Green to make room. Lewis was designated as an IR-return player earlier this month. He has not played since Week 2 due to a knee injury.
Lewis served as the Saints’ kick- and punt-return specialist from 2016-17, primarily working as a kick returner. With the Saints waiving Green, whom they recently signed, it appears they’ll be going with a six-wideout group entering their Week 12 matchup with the Falcons.
New Orleans lost Dez Bryant days after signing him but added Brandon Marshall and Keith Kirkwood and are now bringing back Lewis. So, New Orleans is now much deeper at wideout than it was two weeks ago.
A former UDFA out of Northern Illinois, Lewis caught 10 passes for 116 yards last season. The Saints have used third-string quarterback-turned-gadget dynamo Taysom Hill as their primary kick returner in Lewis’ absence. Alvin Kamara has returned the bulk of the punts.
Bears To Promote QB Tyler Bray, Cut CB Marcus Cooper
Marcus Cooper‘s second Bears season did not feature much work. The veteran cornerback logged just three defensive snaps in 2018, and his time with Chicago may be ending.
The Bears, who are facing the prospect of being without Mitch Trubisky for their Thanksgiving Day game against the Lions, promoted quarterback Tyler Bray from their practice squad, Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune tweets.
Trubisky was sore this morning and didn’t have as much shoulder movement as he expected to, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets, adding it’s likely Chase Daniel will start in Detroit. This would be Daniel’s first start with the Bears. He did see action in blowout wins over the Buccaneers and Bills, however. Trubisky is listed as doubtful, pointing to a Daniel start in a key game for the NFC North-leading Bears.
Chicago may well have the quarterback depth chart the Chiefs once did behind Alex Smith for a three-year stretch earlier this decade. Both Daniel and Bray were Kansas City backups during a few of Matt Nagy‘s seasons in Kansas City. Despite being a 2013 UDFA, Bray — a Tennessee product — has only thrown one pass in a game. He signed with the Bears this offseason.
Cooper re-signed with the Bears on a one-year, $1.5MM deal this year as well. He started in four games and played in 15 last season, making 30 tackles. The 28-year-old corner missed time this year with a hamstring injury but has been buried on Chicago’s depth chart. He will head to waivers.
Texans Designate Dylan Cole For IR Return
The first Texans IR-recall move will involve backup linebacker Dylan Cole. The team announced the second-year player will be designated to come off IR.
Cole dislocated his left wrist in Week 3, and could return for the Texans’ Dec. 2 game at the earliest. Houston has 21 days to activate him. If Cole is not activated by that time, he must spend the rest of the season on IR.
An undrafted defender out of Division I-FCS Missouri State, Cole played in 12 Texans games last season and started one. He intercepted two passes — returning one for a touchdown — and registered a sack to go along with 25 tackles. This season, Cole made nine stops in three games.
Houston still has another IR move to make, and ESPN.com’s Sarah Barshop points out (via Twitter) Kevin Johnson remains a possibility. The former first-rounder’s been on IR since Sept. 11 because of a concussion, so he’s eligible to return at any point. The fact that a brain injury has kept him out this long is obviously concerning, however.
Kayvon Webster, on IR with a quad injury, also could profile as an IR-return cog. Will Fuller and Seantrel Henderson are out for the season.
Browns Designate CB Terrance Mitchell For Return
The Browns designated cornerback Terrance Mitchell for return, per a team announcement. Mitchell has not been on the field since suffering a broken wrist in Week 4. 
Mitchell took the practice field on Wednesday, but league rules mandate that he must sit out for two more games before seeing live action. He’s the first Browns player designated to return from IR this season.
Mitchell, joined the Browns in March as a free agent and secured a starting job in the team’s revamped secondary. In the first month of the season, he recorded 19 tackles, one interception, three passes defensed, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery.
After Mitchell was knocked out of action, E.J. Gaines stepped into his role. Unfortunately, Gaines has since been lost for the season due to multiple concussions, leading to some serious shuffling in the secondary.
After sitting out the next two games against the Bengals and Texans, Mitchell will be eligible to play on Dec. 9 against the Panthers.
Raiders Promote Johnny Holton
The Raiders are set to promote Johnny Holton from the practice squad, according to Michael Gehlken of the Review-Journal (on Twitter). Holton is likely to see time as a special teams gunner, though he may also serve as depth in the secondary.
Holton played wide receiver at the University of Cincinnati and in his 31 games as a member of the Raiders from 2016-2017. But, when he missed the team’s final cut to 53 this year, the club asked him to join the practice squad as a defensive back. He admits that there’s an adjustment, but he’s not completely out of his depth.
“Not really, because I knew the receiver splits,” Holton said in September when asked if anything has surprised him about the new position. “So, wherever they’re lining up at, I pretty much know what kind of route they’re about to run, and things like that by being a receiver myself. So being at DB, I can just read their splits and kind of just tell what route they’re [going to] run.”
All in all, Holton has embraced the change and he’s excited to make his first career play on defense.
“It’ll be a pretty cool moment,” he said. “I know the guys in the locker room will love to see that, and joke about that, and things like that.”
Holton’s first play on D may come on Sunday if he’s active against the Ravens.
Broncos Promote Brendan Langley
The Broncos promoted cornerback Brendan Langley from the practice squad on Wednesday. The 2017 third-round pick did not make the team’s initial cut this year, but he may finally be on the verge of making his 2018 debut. 
Langley, a converted wide receiver out of Georgia, did not make the 53-man roster in September even after the Broncos parted ways with Aqib Talib. The arrival of Adam Jones had something to do with that, but a spot opened up for the youngster when Pacman was cut loose this week.
Langley didn’t have the best camp or preseason in Denver. In four preseason games, Langley allowed five catches off of seven targets and his covered man averaged 15 yards per reception in that admittedly small sample. On the plus side, he did show some skills on special teams, and he has apparently impressed the Broncos in practice.
The 4-6 Broncos are fighting to keep their slim playoff hopes alive, but they’re also evaluating players for next year’s roster. This could be Langley’s chance to make a strong impression on team brass and punch his ticket for next year’s squad.
Cardinals Sign Zane Gonzalez To Practice Squad
Zane Gonzalez has found a new gig. The Cardinals announced that they’ve signed the free agent kicker to their practice squad.
The 2017 seventh-round pick out of Arizona State hasn’t had the strongest start to his career. He appeared in 16 games as a rookie with the Browns, connecting on 15 of his 20 field goal attempts and 25 of his 26 extra point tries. The 23-year-old struggled in his two games this season, and the Browns released him following a dreadful Week 2 where he missed a pair of field goals and two extra points.
Later reports indicated that the kicker was dealing with a slightly torn groin, and Gonzalez ended up earning a $35K injury settlement from Cleveland. The injury had a recovery timeline of three weeks, so Gonzalez is presumably good to go.
Of course, he’ll have a tough time cracking the Cardinals roster. With Phil Dawson expected to return from injury this week, the team moved on from Matt McCrane yesterday. The 43-year-old Dawson hasn’t done anything to lose his job this season, but Arizona could be eyeing Gonzalez for 2019 should the veteran decided to hang up his cleats.
Colts Promote RB Jonathan Williams
Jonathan Williams is back in the NFL. Joel A. Erickson of the Indy Star reports (via Twitter) that the Colts have promoted the running back from the practice squad to the active roster.
The 2016 fifth-round pick hasn’t done a whole lot in the NFL since his rookie campaign. He finished that campaign with 92 rushing yards on 27 carries with the Bills, but he’s only garnered three carries since then. He spent the majority of the past two seasons with the Saints organization, but he was waived by the team in late September. He caught on with the Colts’ practice squad in early October.
Williams might end up seeing more of a special teams role in Indy, as it’ll be tough for him to get any playing time on a crowded running back depth chart. The 24-year-old will be the fourth back on the active roster behind Marlon Mack, Nyheim Hines, and Jordan Wilkins.
Earlier today, the Colts placed cornerback D.J. Killings on injured reserve and waived cornerback Arthur Maulet. Williams will be taking one of these roster spots, with the other opening going to offensive lineman Josh Andrews.