Chiefs Place S Bryan Cook On IR
The Chiefs will welcome back a starting linebacker this weekend, but they’ll be down a starting safety for the foreseeable future. The team announced that they’ve placed safety Bryan Cook on injured reserve. The move makes room for linebacker Nick Bolton, who will be returning from IR.
[RELATED: Chiefs Activate Nick Bolton From IR]
Cook suffered an ankle injury last weekend that limited him to a season-low 22 defensive snaps. Coach Andy Reid already ruled out the defensive back for tomorrow’s game against the Bills, but Cook will now be sidelined for at least the next four games. He’ll be eligible to return for the regular season finale.
The 2022 second-round played mostly as a backup during his rookie season, starting only one of his 16 appearances while getting into about 32 percent of his team’s defensive snaps. In 2023, he’s started all 12 games for the Chiefs, collecting 42 tackles, two passes defended, and two fumble recoveries (including one for a score). Pro Football Focus currently has him ranked 40th among 83 qualifying safeties.
With Cook out of the lineup, the team will likely lean more on Mike Edwards opposite Justin Reid. Edwards has already seen a significant defensive role in 2023, and there have been some weeks where he’s out-snapped Cook.
As ESPN’s Field Yates points out, it’s notable that the Chiefs didn’t place running back Isiah Pacheco on IR. The running back is dealing with a shoulder issue that will sideline him for at least Week 14, and Reid admitted this week that he’s uncertain how much time the starter will miss.
Additionally, the Chiefs announced their two standard gameday practice squad elevations. Suiting up with the active roster against the Bills this weekend will be safety Deon Bush and running back Deneric Prince.
Chiefs Activate Nick Bolton From IR
DECEMBER 9: The Chiefs have officially activated Bolton from injured reserve. Per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the linebacker is expected to play on Sunday with a small cast that’s intended to protect his wrist.
DECEMBER 8: After seeing its defense sustain multiple injuries in a loss to the Packers, the Chiefs will have their top linebacker available once again. Weeks after wrist surgery, Nick Bolton will come off IR.
The Chiefs are officially activating the third-year defender ahead of their Week 14 game against the Bills, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets. This will only be Kansas City’s second IR activation this season; six more such moves remain available to the defending champions.
Kansas City has lost three games without Bolton, who has missed time due to multiple injuries this season. The Chiefs have been without the prolific tackler for the past five games. The team has lost three of those — to the Broncos, Eagles and Packers — to drop to 8-4. Having Bolton active will certainly help the AFC West leaders, who now trail the Dolphins and Ravens in the race for AFC home-field advantage.
While overshadowed by the Chiefs’ two future Hall of Famers on offense and Chris Jones on defense, Bolton has become one of the league’s top young linebackers. The former second-round pick reeled off a 180-tackle season (along with two interceptions and two sacks) in 2022 and scored a touchdown in Super Bowl LVII, coming a split-second away from a second TD in that game. Bolton, however, has only played in four games this season. He missed three earlier this year due to an ankle injury.
This activation will be a timely one for Kansas City, which ruled out Drue Tranquill for Sunday’s game. Tranquill suffered a concussion against Green Bay. Bolton and Willie Gay, however, have operated as the Chiefs’ top linebackers for the past three years. The latter is in a contract year. With Gay’s Missouri future uncertain, Bolton profiles as an extension candidate, joining fellow 2021 second-round pick Creed Humphrey in that regard. Both players will be eligible to discuss new deals in January.
The Mizzou alum will be a pivotal component to the Chiefs’ latest effort to secure a first-round bye. The Chiefs have earned a bye in four of their five playoff runs with Patrick Mahomes at the helm. They have been able to play a record-setting five straight home AFC championship games, two of those due to that year’s No. 1 seed (the Ravens in 2019, Titans in 2021) losing in Round 2. The Chiefs have not flashed top form in a few weeks, but the Super Bowl contenders do not play a team with a winning record the rest of the way.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/8/23
Minor moves heading into the weekend:
Kansas City Chiefs
- Placed on reserve/suspended list: WR Justyn Ross
Tennessee Titans
- Placed on IR: LB Joe Jones, P Ryan Stonehouse
Ross was placed on the Commissioner Exempt List back in October after getting arrested on misdemeanor domestic battery and misdemeanor property damage charges. Adam Schefter of ESPN now reports that the ordeal will result in a six-game suspension by the NFL for violating the league’s Personal Conduct Policy. Since Ross has missed the past five games on the exempt list, those five games will count towards his six-game suspension, meaning that he may rejoin the team after their contest with the Bills this weekend. Unlike his time on the exempt list, though, the six-game suspension is meant to be unpaid, meaning that Ross will be required to pay back the game checks that he received over that five-game period.
We were told recently that Stonehouse would be out for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery. Today’s transaction sets that in stone as he’ll find his way to injured reserve alongside the former practice squad linebacker.
Patriots Waive RB/WR Ty Montgomery
For the second time this year, the Patriots have cut Ty Montgomery. Unlike the team’s decision to leave the versatile veteran off its 53-man roster in August, Montgomery will be exposed to waivers.
To make room for waiver claim Christian Elliss, the Patriots will move Montgomery off the roster Friday, ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss tweets. Montgomery has been with the Patriots since 2022.
New England claimed JaMycal Hasty off waivers from Jacksonville last month, and Reiss suggested the younger player was a threat to Montgomery’s roster spot. After Montgomery was part of a Pats special teams unit that allowed a blocked punt in the team’s upset win over the Steelers, the former third-round pick will hit the waiver wire. A Montgomery claim will not process until Monday.
The Pats gave Montgomery a two-year, $3.6MM deal in 2022, bringing the receiving specialist to town after he had bounced around the league. Best known for his time with the Packers, the 30-year-old veteran has also spent time with the Ravens, Jets and Saints since going off the 2015 draft board 94th overall.
While Montgomery logged 11 starts in the backfield from 2016-17 in Green Bay, he has been used as an off-the-bench weapon on offense and in the return game. The Stanford alum resided as the Pats’ primary kick returner this season. The team kept Montgomery around despite his one-game 2022 — a season shortened by injury — and could sign him back to the practice squad if he clears waivers. But Montgomery has offered minimal contributions on offense (13 touches, 62 yards) since joining the Patriots.
New England will make this move with Rhamondre Stevenson on the shelf with a high ankle sprain. This has moved summer signing Ezekiel Elliott back into a lead role. Elliott and Hasty are the only healthy RBs on the Pats’ 53-man roster presently. Second-year back Kevin Harris played as a practice squad elevation Thursday night.
Montgomery, who moved from receiver to running back early in his Packers career, totaled 805 scrimmage yards during a 2016 season in which he worked partially as Green Bay’s starting running back. The Pack waived Montgomery during the 2018 season, and after a stint in Baltimore, he signed three one-year deals (with the Jets and Saints) before his two-year Pats pact came to pass. While Montgomery has done well to play nine seasons as a part-time running back, he may soon be in search of a new team.
The Patriots also released kicker Matthew Wright from their practice squad. The team had signed the nomadic specialist after rookie Chad Ryland had missed multiple field goals from inside 40 yards.
Jaguars Place WR Christian Kirk On IR
Already known to be facing a multi-week absence, Christian Kirk is now in line to miss an extended stretch. The veteran wideout will be placed on injured reserve, head coach Doug Pederson said on Friday (via Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network). The team has since announced the move.
Kirk will undergo core muscle surgery, a procedure which will shut him down for a critical stretch in the season. With the surgery now confirmed, attention will turn to the 27-year-old’s recovery process. By virtue of being moved to IR, an absence of at least four weeks is now guaranteed. The Jaguars will be without a major part of their offense as a result.
Kirk leads Jacksonville in receiving yards (787) this season, and he also ranks first on the team amongst wideouts in receptions (57). A recovery timeline of up to eight weeks has been floated in his case, something which would end his season unless the Jaguars managed to make a run to the Super Bowl. Coming back along a shorter timeframe could still allow him to return to the lineup in time for the team’s regular season finale, though.
In any event, Kirk’s absence will be acutely felt on an offense which has struggled to consistently produce through the air this season. The former Cardinal has eclipsed 84 receiving yards five times in 2023, his second season in Duval County. His first year with Jacksonville – brought about by the four-year, $72MM deal which raised plenty of eyebrows at the time it was signed – produced a career-best statline of 84-1,108-8.
Year 2 with the Jaguars was likewise proving Kirk’s presence as an integral member of the team’s passing attack. The presence of trade acquisition Calvin Ridley will help offset Kirk’s absence, though a sizeable gap exists between Ridley and Jacksonville’s next most productive wideout (Zay Jones, who has posted 186 yards on 18 catches). Tight end Evan Engram and running back Travis Etienne will be increasingly counted upon with Kirk not in the picture.
Of course, quarterback Trevor Lawrence‘s status is also up in the air after he left Monday’s game with a high ankle sprain. The former No. 1 pick has not been ruled out for Week 14, but he has work to to during practice to convince the coaching staff to continue his streak of having not missed a game in his career. Regardless of who is under center for Jacksonville in the immediate future, though, Kirk will not be available.
Dolphins, Austin Jackson Agree On Extension
After missing almost all of the 2022 season, Austin Jackson has been in place for the Dolphins’ offensive surge this year. The team did not pick up its right tackle’s fifth-year option, but it has seen enough to reinvest via an extension.
The Dolphins and Jackson are in agreement on a three-year deal, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports. The extension is worth $36MM in base value and includes $20.7MM guaranteed. Although Jackson was months from free agency, he will lock in a nice contract now.
This represents a significant turnaround for the 2020 first-round pick. Jackson missed 15 games last season, playing all of 84 snaps. A Week 1 ankle injury derailed Jackson’s first right tackle season, and an attempt to come back led the USC product to season-ending IR. A year later, Jackson has been a constant on an injury-plagued offensive line.
As the only right tackle to be protecting a quarterback’s blindside this season, Jackson has played in all 12 Dolphins games. This season has also brought rare continuity for a player the team had once identified as its post-Laremy Tunsil left tackle. Miami traded Tunsil to Houston in August 2019, as it shed talent during an aggressive rebuild. Jackson, however, bounced from left tackle to guard to right tackle over his first three seasons, never settling at one spot. This offseason brought his first opportunity to play the same position in consecutive years.
Pro Football Focus ranks Jackson 36th among tackles this season, but his availability has been important for a Dolphins O-line that has seen every other starter miss time. Big-ticket UFA addition Terron Armstead has again battled injuries, while left guard Isaiah Wynn is likely out for the season. Connor Williams, who angled for a new deal this offseason, has missed multiple games. Right guard Robert Hunt, who also looms as an extension candidate, has battled a hamstring injury. Despite Jackson’s ankle issue and nomadic positional past leading the Dolphins to pass on his $14.18MM fifth-year option, he will lock in an upper-echelon RT deal seven months later.
This is not a top-tier RT accord. The Texans gave 2019 first-rounder Tytus Howard a more lucrative three-year deal this summer; that pact checked in at $18.7MM per year, putting Howard in the top five at the position. Jackson’s deal profiles as a team-friendly contract. The AAV puts the 24-year-old blocker 11th among right tackles. While Jackson could have attempted to bet on himself and maximize his leverage by heading toward the market or hitting free agency in March, he opted to lock in Dolphins-favorable terms now.
Adding intrigue to Jackson’s decision, two right tackles — Jawaan Taylor and Mike McGlinchey — signed deals north of $17.5MM per year as free agents this offseason. Jackson’s deal, however, does check in north of the contract the Falcons gave Kaleb McGary (three years, $34.5MM) on the market. Considering Jackson does not have a multiyear sample size of quality play, this could be looked at as a reasonable middle ground for team and player.
The Dolphins now have both their tackles signed through 2026, though Armstead’s injury troubles continue to impede him. Williams and Hunt are on track for 2024 free agency, leaving Miami with some work to do. But Jackson’s unavailability forced the team into some patchwork RT solutions last season — a year that brought Tua Tagovailoa concussion issues that overshadowed the team’s season. The ascending southpaw quarterback suffered two confirmed concussions, and an apparent head injury in Week 3 led to an overhaul of the NFL’s concussion protocol. Jackson was not on the field when any of these injuries occurred.
Tagovailoa and Jackson’s rebounds have coincided with Miami leading the NFL in total offense (second in points scored) and soaring to a 9-3 record, one that has the team three games up on Buffalo in the AFC East. The Dolphins are closing in on their first division title since the Chad Pennington-piloted 2008 season. With Tagovailoa likely on the cusp of an extension, the team now has his blindside blocker locked in.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/7/23
Today’s practice squad moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: WR Tarik Black
Houston Texans
- Signed: DE Kerry Hyder
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: DE Derek Rivers
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: WR Simi Fehoko
- Released: CB Matt Hankins
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: DT John Penisini
- Activated from IR: WR Shaquan Davis
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: RB Tyrion Davis-Price
- Released: WR Isaiah Winstead
As expected, Tyrion Davis-Price has landed back with the 49ers after getting cut by the big-league club earlier this week. The 2022 third-round pick has seen time in just one game for San Francisco this season, collecting 21 yards from scrimmage on six touches. He appeared in six games as a rookie, collecting 99 rushing yards. He’ll join Jeremy McNichols as the 49ers’ practice-squad options at RB.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/7/23
Today’s minor moves:
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Designated for return from IR: CB Christian Braswell
New England Patriots
- Claimed off waivers (from Eagles): LB Christian Elliss
- Promoted: QB Malik Cunningham, RB Kevin Harris
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Promoted: LB Kyron Johnson
Elliss was waived by the Eagles yesterday following the team’s signing of Shaquille Leonard. The linebacker spent the better part of the past three seasons in Philadelphia, getting into 19 total games. He appeared in a career-high 12 games this season, collecting 21 tackles while appearing in about 15 percent of his team’s defensive snaps. Elliss also had a significant role on special teams.
Since the Patriots play tonight, the move will be deferred to tomorrow, per ESPN’s Field Yates.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/6/23
Today’s minor transactions from around the league:
Dallas Cowboys
- Activated from IR: TE Peyton Hendershot
- Designated for return from IR: T Matt Waletzko
- Placed on IR: TE Sean McKeon
Houston Texans
Las Vegas Raiders
- Designated for return from IR: CB Brandon Facyson, LB Kana’i Mauga
New York Jets
- Activated from IR: TE Kenny Yeboah
Philadelphia Eagles
- Waived: LB Christian Elliss
Tennessee Titans
- Signed to active roster: LB Otis Reese
The Cowboys made some adjustments to their injured reserve list today. Waletzko returned to practice today as he continues to work his way back from a shoulder injury. McKeon was placed on IR in order to make room for Hendershot after the latter’s activation. This will give McKeon a chance to deal with an ankle injury that’s bothered him this year and a chance to serve as a potential activation candidate for the playoffs.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/6/23
Wednesday’s practice squad transactions:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: WR Jalen Camp, WR Cam Sims
Denver Broncos
- Signed: LB Durell Nchami
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: DT Justin Ellis
- Released: S Verone McKinley
New York Giants
- Signed: QB Matt Barkley
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: WR Greg Ward
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: RB SaRodorick Thompson Jr.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: DT C.J. Brewer
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: OLB JoJo Domann, P Ty Zentner
The Dolphins swapped out a young secondary defender for a veteran defensive lineman. McKinley came in to play as an undrafted rookie last year after some injuries to the secondary, starting two games and notching an interception. Ellis is a former starter for the Raiders, Ravens, and Giants and could add some serious depth to the Dolphins’ line.
Nchami comes in to fill the practice squad spot vacated when defensive tackle P.J. Mustipher was signed to the Saints’ active roster today.