Rams’ Cooper Kupp Suffers Torn ACL
The Rams’ worst fears have been confirmed. Wide receiver Cooper Kupp has been ruled out for the season with a torn ACL, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). 
Kupp, 25, was in the midst of another strong season with 40 catches for 566 yards and six touchdowns in eight games. Unfortunately, the injury that forced him out of Sunday’s game against the Seahawks will end his season and leave the 9-1 Rams without one of their best weapons.
The third-round pick out of Eastern Washington was a pleasant surprise for the Rams last season as he racked up 62 catches for 869 yards and five scores. This year, before the injury, he was on pace for about 70 catches for 985 yards and ten scores.
The Rams still have plenty of pass-catching ammo thanks to Brandin Cooks and Robert Woods, but each player will attract more attention without Kupp on the field. Josh Reynolds, JoJo Natson, KhaDarel Hodge, and Nick Williams are also on the roster, so the Rams might not have to sign another receiver.
Saints To Sign Brandon Marshall
Veteran wide receiver Brandon Marshall is signing a one-year deal with the Saints, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Marshall will step in for Dez Bryant, who suffered a season-ending Achilles tear just hours after inking his contract with the team. 
Marshall hooked on with the Seahawks this offseason, and while he found the end zone in Week 1 of the regular season, his playing time quickly diminished. He was targeted just twice during his last three games with Seattle and was let go on October 30. He’s clearly lost a step or two, and probably doesn’t have the same upside as a healthy Bryant, but the Saints feel that he can offer quality support behind top receivers Michael Thomas and Tre’Quan Smith.
Marshall is a six-time Pro Bowler, but he hasn’t played at an elite level since the 2015 season in which he posted 109 receptions, 1,502 yards, and a league-leading 14 touchdowns for the Jets. Injuries have limited his effectiveness and overall production, and Marshall appeared in only five games a year ago before going on injured reserve with a ankle injury. With the Saints, he’ll have a chance to prove he can still be a difference-maker.
As Schefter notes, Marshall has never made a playoff game in his 13-year career, but he now has a good chance of seeing the postseason for the first time. After a 51-14 throttling of the Bengals, Marshall and the Saints will face the Eagles in New Orleans on Sunday.
Bills Cut LB Ramon Humber
A Week 10 depth move will result in the Bills cutting 10-year veteran linebacker Ramon Humber.
The Bills announced they will part ways with Humber, a third-year Buffalo contributor, and promoted wide receiver Robert Foster from their practice squad. Humber will venture to the waiver wire.
Tremaine Edmunds cleared concussion protocol and will be back in action in Week 10, lessening the need for help at linebacker. However, Humber played in all nine Buffalo games this season and started nine games for the 2017 Bills. He registered just nine tackles this season but made a career-high 83 last year.
A part-time starter for the Colts’ 2009 AFC championship team and a member of six Saints squads, Humber caught on with the Bills in August 2016 and re-signed to stay in western New York in 2017 and ’18. The 31-year-old ‘backer was making just more than $1MM this season.
A rookie out of Alabama, Foster’s seen action in six Bills games this season. He has two receptions for 30 yards.
Saints Place Dez Bryant On IR
The bad news coming out of New Orleans on Friday turned out to be true. Dez Bryant did tear an Achilles’ tendon, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Bryant’s rehab timeline is tentatively set at eight months, per Schefter.
The Saints are placing their recently acquired wide receiver on IR, per Nick Underhill of The Advocate (on Twitter). They will end up promoting a wideout from their practice squad, with Underhill tweeting Keith Kirkwood will make the move up to the 53-man roster. This move was expected prior to Bryant’s injury, per Underhill (on Twitter).
New Orleans previously housed only three healthy wideouts — Michael Thomas, Tre’Quan Smith and Austin Carr. Bryant, who was a member of this healthy contingent for less than two days, joins Ted Ginn, Tommylee Lewis and Cameron Meredith on the Saints’ IR list. Although, Lewis has resumed practicing and could be activated soon.
This development, interestingly, shouldn’t affect the Saints too much, which is rare for a sequence featuring a high-profile player going down. They’ve won seven straight games and were betting Bryant could provide a boost of some sort. But the Saints have a top-10 offense that will take the field in Cincinnati featuring the same cast that spearheaded a 45-35 win over the Rams last week.
Bryant’s trajectory, obviously, has been significantly altered after going down on the final play of his second Saints practice.
Instead of going into free agency on the heels of being a cog in a Drew Brees-led passing attack, he’ll have a months-long rehab effort to complete before being ready to contribute again. He won’t be ready by the time the new league year begins and may have to wait deep into the 2019 offseason to sign.
Bryant’s most recent work sample, a 16-game season with the 2017 Cowboys, featured his fewest yards per game (52.4) since his rookie season. This injury certainly won’t have teams aggressively pursuing him. It’s a brutal blow for a player who spent months as an outspoken free agent and one who hoped to have a better shot at cashing in next year.
Kirkwood has yet to play an NFL down. He played at Hawaii and Temple from 2013-17, finishing his career with back-to-back 600-yard receiving seasons, totaling 11 aerial touchdowns in those years.
Jets Promote QB Davis Webb
With Sam Darnold doubtful for tomorrow’s contest against the Bills, the Jets are added a reinforcement. ESPN’s Field Yates reports (via Twitter) that New York is planning on promoting quarterback Davis Webb from the practice squad.
The Jets followed through with the move. Webb is back on a New York active roster. Gang Green placed tight end Neal Sterling on IR to make room for Webb, per the New York Post’s Brian Costello (on Twitter).
Darnold is currently dealing with a foot sprain that was already expected to sideline him for this weekend’s game. The Jets have a Week 11 bye, but there isn’t a lot of optimism that the rookie quarterback will be back in time for the team’s Week 12 matchup against the Patriots. In that case, Darnold could end up being sidelined until the beginning of December. Barring some unexpected signing, the Jets will surely roll with veteran Josh McCown as their starter until Darnold is healthy.
Webb certainly has the draft pedigree to earn some snaps, but he hasn’t been able to put it together as a professional. The 2017 third-rounder didn’t end up seeing the field as a rookie for the Giants, although there were rumblings that he was going to eventually replace Eli Manning. However, plans changed when the Giants fired both head coach Ben McAdoo and general manager Jerry Reese.
While Webb seemed to have the support of interim coach Steve Spagnuolo, he was seemingly on the outside looking in when the team hired Pat Shurmur. The Giants ended up waiving Webb at the end of the preseason, and he subsequently caught on with the Jets practice squad.
Giants Cut OL Patrick Omameh
The Giants have cut bait with one of their offseason signings. Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports that New York has released offensive lineman Patrick Omameh. The team has promoted receiver/returner Quadree Henderson from the practice squad to take the open roster spot.
After having spent the previous two seasons with the Jaguars, Omameh inked a three-year, $15MM contract with the Giants during the offseason. The 28-year-old proceeded to start six of his seven games this season, but he’s disappointed during his stints in the lineup. Pro Football Focus ranks the Michigan product 61st out of 75 eligible guards. Today’s move will leave the Giants with $3.5 million in dead money on next year’s cap.
Omameh’s roster spot was clearly in jeopardy, especially after he was benched in favor of veteran John Greco. The team also recently brought in former Rams guard Jamon Brown, and he’s expected to slide into the starting lineup for Monday’s game against the 49ers. The Giants will presumably roll with Brian Mihalik and Evan Brown as their two reserve linemen.
Henderson, an undrafted rookie out of Pittsburgh, spent the entire preseason with the Steelers. He had a brief stint with the Giants earlier this season, returning five kicks (for 112 yards) and six punts (for 47 yards) in two games.
Dolphins Promote OL Isaac Asiata
With three offensive linemen on the injury report for this weekend’s game against the Packers, the Dolphins have added some reinforcement. ESPN’s Cameron Wolfe reports (via Twitter) that Miami has promoted offensive guard Isaac Asiata from the practice squad. To make room on the roster, the Dolphins waived linebacker Martrell Spaight.
Dolphins left guard Ted Larsen is currently listed as doubtful, while fellow linemen Laremy Tunsil and Ja’Wuan James are both listed as questionable. In comes Asiata, a 2017 fifth-round pick out of Utah. The 25-year-old only appeared in a single game as a rookie, and he was waived by the organization prior to this season.
He subsequently caught on with the practice squad, where he’s spent the entire season. For the time being, Asiata will slide into the bottom of the depth chart with fellow bench linemen Zach Sterup, Jake Brendel, Sam Young, and Wesley Johnson.
Spaight, 25, had spent the first three seasons of his career with the Redskins. This included a 2017 campaign where he compiled 75 tackles and two passes defended. He was surprisingly cut by Washington at the end of the preseason, and he caught on with the Dolphins in mid-September. He proceeded to play in four games with the Dolphins, compiling a single tackle. With Spaight out of the picture, Stephone Anthony and Mike Hull are now the Dolphins’ lone backup linebackers.
Patriots Release RB Josh Ferguson From PS
The Patriots have replaced one offensive weapon with another. NESN.com’s Doug Kyed reports that the team has signed wideout Damoun Patterson to the practice squad. The team released running back Josh Ferguson to make space on the roster.
Ferguson is the more notable of the two players, as the former undrafted free agent out of Illinois has 26 career games under his belt. The 25-year-old’s best season came in 2016, when he hauled in 20 receptions for 136 yards. He also added another 15 carries for 20 yards.
Ferguson joined the Patriots’ practice squad earlier this week. He’d have had an uphill battle to join the 53-man roster, but he surely had a shot considering the Patriots injured running backs corps. Jeremy Hill and Rex Burkhead are currently sitting on the injured reserve, and Sony Michel is hoping to return this weekend after a two-week layoff. Otherwise, the team has been relying on a combination of James White, wideout Cordarrelle Patterson, and Kenjon Barner.
Patterson, an undrafted rookie out of Youngstown State, has spent time with both the Steelers and Buccaneers this season. He had nine receptions for 112 yards with Pittsburgh during the preseason. It’s likely that the 24-year-old won’t be promoted to the active roster, as each of the Patriots’ six healthy wideouts have a role either on offense or special teams.
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/9/18
Here are Friday’s minor moves:
Dallas Cowboys
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Lance Lenoir
Washington Redskins
- Promoted from practice squad: LB Cassanova McKinzy
- Waived: C Casey Dunn
Colts Cut RB Robert Turbin
The Colts made four second-round picks in this year’s draft but have not had much time to evaluate one of those selections. That will change Sunday after Friday’s activation of defensive lineman Tyquan Lewis.
Additionally, Indianapolis added another front-seven player in promoting linebacker Skai Moore from its practice squad. To make room on their roster, the Colts cut veteran running back Robert Turbin and wide receiver Steve Ishmael.
Turbin spent parts of three seasons with the Colts, playing in 23 games with the team since 2016. However, Marlon Mack‘s return and the late-round additions of Nyheim Hines and Jordan Wilkins didn’t leave much room for the seventh-year player. His season delayed by a suspension, Turbin played in just two 2018 games and received just four carries.
Set to turn 30 next month, Turbin has played for four teams — the Seahawks, Browns and Cowboys coming before a lengthy Colts stay. His most relevant NFL work came for the 2016 Colts, with whom he rushed for seven of his nine career touchdowns. Turbin, though, hasn’t exceeded three yards per carry since that season. He hasn’t topped 4.0 in a full season since 2015.
The Colts designated Lewis as an IR-return player last week and look set to deploy him for the first time on Sunday. Lewis went on IR because of a foot injury. The Colts view Lewis, who played defensive end with the Buckeyes, as a three technique in the long-term, per SI.com’s Albert Breer (on Twitter).