Giants To Bring Back LB Jaylon Smith
Jaylon Smith is back with the Giants. The veteran linebacker, who started two games with the NFC East squad last season, rejoined the team Monday, according to his agent (on Twitter).
The longtime Cowboys starter has bounced around since his Dallas stay abruptly ended early during the 2021 campaign, but teams have continued to offer opportunities. Smith, 27, played for three teams — the Cowboys, Packers and Giants — in 2021. This move comes ahead of the Giants’ Week 3 game against the Cowboys.
This could well be a practice squad agreement, but in the 16-player P-squad era, those transactions have regularly led to promotions for veterans. Teams are allowed to carry six vested veterans on practice squads. A 2016 second-round pick, Smith has 58 career starts (56 as a Cowboy) and certainly would upgrade the Giants’ experience on their defensive second level.
The Cowboys gave Smith a five-year, $63.75MM deal in 2019. Smith made the Pro Bowl that year and tallied a career-high 154 tackles in 2020, but the Cowboys went in another direction under 2021 DC hire Dan Quinn. The team has cut costs along its linebacking corps, which is now built around star hybrid player Micah Parsons‘ rookie contract.
The new Giants regime made a late-summer roster tweak by releasing two-year starter Blake Martinez, leaving an uncertain lot of defenders at this position group under new DC Don Martindale. The team has Tae Crowder positioned as its top off-ball linebacker but has not established a second full-timer at the position thus far this season.
Although Smith at his best would easily profile as a starter-caliber player in New York, teams have not viewed the former Notre Dame star as a starter-caliber player since his Cowboys release. The Packers released Smith not long after signing him last year, and the Giants did not opt to bring him back in free agency after the parties’ late-season partnership. Smith made 19 tackles and registered a sack during his four-game Giants cameo last season.
49ers, LB Dre Greenlaw Agree To Extension
Prior to the 49ers’ game yesterday, the team finalized an extension with one of their ascending defenders. Linebacker Dre Greenlaw has signed a two-year extension worth nearly $19MM, and with $10MM in guaranteed money (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL Network). 
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The 2019 fifth-rounder quickly emerged as a starter during his first two seasons in the Bay Area. He racked up 178 tackles, two sacks, three pass breakups and an interception over that span. His production made him an effective compliment to Fred Warner in the team’s linebacking corps, and led to heightened expectations going into last season.
A groin injury suffered in Week 1 required surgery and limited Greenlaw to just three games, however. Back to full health now, the 25-year-old has played every defensive snap in each of the team’s first two contests, making 13 stops and two tackles for loss. That bodes well for his prospects in 2022, and made the team’s decision to extend him a logical one.
Greenlaw will play out the final year of his rookie contract this season. Once the extension kicks in, his roughly $9.5MM AAV will rank in the top 15 in the league amongst middle linebackers. It will add significantly to San Francisco’s second-level investment, of course, with Warner already averaging just over $19MM per season on his 2021 mega-deal.
Greenlaw and the 49ers’ vaunted front seven will look to build off of their dominant performance yesterday and try to stabilize the team as it transitions back to Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback for the rest of the year. Regardless of how smoothly that goes, Greenlaw will be on the books through 2024.
Restructure Details: Brockers, Butker, Clark
Here’s a roundup of a few recent contract restructures:
- Michael Brockers, DT (Lions): Detroit converted $4MM of Brockers’ 2022 base salary into a signing bonus, which opened up $2MM of cap room, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Brockers signed a three-year, $24MM deal with the Lions in March 2021, and he appeared in 16 games (all starts) in his first year in the Motor City. However, he recorded just one sack and earned an abysmal 40.6 overall grade from Pro Football Focus.
- Harrison Butker, K (Chiefs): Butker injured his ankle in Kansas City’s Week 1 win over the Cardinals and missed the club’s Week 2 victory over the Chargers as a result. According to Yates, Butker agreed to convert $2.19MM of his 2022 base salary into a signing bonus, thereby giving KC an additional $1.46MM of cap room (Twitter link). Butker is signed through 2024 and is the league’s 10th-highest-paid kicker by measure of AAV.
- Chuck Clark, S (Ravens): There are no specifics on this one, though Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic tweets that Baltimore gave Clark a bit of a raise this year and also added some incentives to his deal. The Ravens doled out a big-ticket free agent contract to safety Marcus Williams in March and selected Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton in the first round of the draft, and Clark subsequently requested a trade. However, it eventually became clear that Clark would continue to play a prominent role on the defense in 2022, and in the team’s Week 1 victory over the Jets, the Virginia Tech product played in all 84 defensive snaps and tallied eight tackles and a forced fumble while continuing to wear the green dot. He is under club control through 2023 and was slated to earn $1.25MM in base pay this year. Per Zrebiec, this transaction represents a show of appreciation for how Clark handled himself this offseason.
- Desmond King, DB (Texans): The Texans have converted $911K of King’s 2022 salary into a signing bonus, thereby creating $455K of cap space (Twitter link via Yates). King re-signed with Houston this offseason after appearing in 16 games (12 starts) for the club in 2021 and posting 93 tackles to go along with three interceptions. His two-year contract is worth $7MM.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/17/22
Today’s minor moves around the league, including practice squad elevations for tomorrow’s action:
Arizona Cardinals
- Promoted from practice squad: LB Devon Kennard, CB Jace Whittaker
Atlanta Falcons
- Promoted from practice squad: RB Caleb Huntley, DL Abdullah Anderson
- Placed on IR: RB Damien Williams (story)
Baltimore Ravens
- Promoted from practice squad: CB Daryl Worley, WR Raleigh Webb
Carolina Panthers
- Promoted from practice squad: LB Arron Mosby
Chicago Bears
- Promoted from practice squad: C Dieter Eiselen
Cleveland Browns
- Promoted from practice squad: LB Jordan Kunaszyk, DT Roderick Perry
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed to active roster: QB Cooper Rush, K Brett Maher (story)
- Promoted from practice squad: QB Will Grier, C Alec Lindstrom
- Placed on IR: DE Tarell Basham
- Waived: DT John Ridgeway
Denver Broncos
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Kendall Hinton, G Netane Muti
Detroit Lions
- Promoted from practice squad: LB Anthony Pittman, T Dan Skipper
Green Bay Packers
- Promoted from practice squad: RB Patrick Taylor
Houston Texans
- Promoted from practice squad: QB Jeff Driskel, WR Chris Conley
Indianapolis Colts
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Keke Coutee, K Chase McLaughlin (story)
Las Vegas Raiders
- Promoted from practice squad: G Alex Bars, S Matthias Farley
Los Angeles Rams
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Jacob Harris
Miami Dolphins
- Promoted from practice squad: T Larnel Coleman, WR River Cracraft
New York Giants
- Promoted from practice squad: S Tony Jefferson, CB Fabian Moreau
New York Jets
- Promoted from practice squad: OL Grant Hermanns, TE Kenny Yeboah
New Orleans Saints
- Promoted from practice squad: DT Christian Ringo
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Promoted from practice squad: LB Delontae Scott
Seattle Seahawks
- Promoted from practice squad: CB Xavier Crawford
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Kaylon Geiger, LB Kenny Young
Washington Commanders
- Promoted from practice squad: G Wes Martin, DT Benning Potoa’e
Colts Elevate WR Keke Coutee, K Chase McLaughlin
The wide receiver and kicker positions are in flux in Indianapolis at the moment, so it comes as no surprise that each are being addressed with their two allotted practice squad elevations. Per a team announcement, the Colts are bringing up Keke Coutee and Chase McLaughlin to the active roster. 
Coutee, 25, is continuing his Colts tenure which began last season. The former Texans fourth-rounder spent three years in Houston, setting career highs in receptions (33), yards (400) and touchdowns (three) in 2020. His 11.3 yards-per-catch average throughout his time with his first team made the slot man an intriguing candidate for a reserve/futures deal.
While the 5-11, 180-pounder was among the Colts’ final roster cuts before the start of the season, he returned to their taxi squad. That left the door open to him playing a potential rotational role, but he could see a significant workload tomorrow given the injuries to top wideouts Michael Pittman Jr. and Alec Pierce. Coutee will join Parris Campbell, Ashton Dulin, Mike Strachan, and Dezmon Patmon in trying to replace those two.
McLaughlin, meanwhile, has obviously gotten the nod over undrafted rookie Lucas Havrisik to step in for Rodrigo Blankenship. The latter was waived earlier this week, after his struggles greatly contributed to the Colts having to settle for a Week 1 tie. McLaughlin finished the 2019 campaign in Indianapolis, making five of his six field goal attempts. The team will look for him to replicate that level of success, after he went just 15-for-21 with the Browns last season.
The Colts will lean on Coutee and McLaughlin tomorrow as they look to get in the win column against the Jaguars. The pair could play their way into a full-time roster spot with encouraging performances at positions of need, making their contributions a storyline to watch.
Falcons Place RB Damien Williams On IR
The depth in the Falcons’ running game will be tested somewhat over the next several weeks. The team announced on Saturday that Damien Williams has been placed on IR due to a rib injury, meaning that he will miss at least the next four games. 
Williams, 30, spent the first four years of his career in Miami. He operated strictly as a rotational rusher and special teamer, never registering a start. A much more productive, two-year stint in Kansas City followed, where he racked up over 1,100 scrimmage yards and 13 total touchdowns. The former UDFA put up less impressive numbers last season with the Bears.
As a free agent, Williams signed a one-year deal with the Falcons, whose front office now includes ex-Bears GM Ryan Pace. That provided the team with an experienced back to make up for the departure of Mike Davis, following his release. In his Falcons debut last week against the Saints, Williams received just a pair of carries and totaled two yards.
Atlanta will be able to move forward with Cordarrelle Patterson as their lead back in Williams’ absence, of course, but they will now exclusively rely on inexperienced options below him on the depth chart. 2021 fifth-rounder Avery Williams, as well as rookies Tyler Allgeier and practice squad elevation Caleb Huntley will operate as Patterson’s backups on Sunday.
With 120 rushing yards and a touchdown in the team’s season opener, Patterson may not need much in the way of support when the Falcons visit the Rams, or for the next several contests after that. If he does, though, the team will be missing one of its more experienced offensive contributors.
Cowboys Sign QB Cooper Rush, K Brett Maher To Active Roster
In anticipation of only his second career start, Cooper Rush is set to officially join the Cowboys’ 53-man roster. He is being signed from the practice squad, along with kicker Brett Maher, per a team announcement. 
Both players suited up last week, of course, but in that instance they were designated as the two taxi squad elevations each team is permitted every week. For Rush, the move confirms the fact that he will take over for Dak Prescott as the team’s starting signal-caller. The duration of Prescott’s absence could be shorter than initially expected, but for the time being, Rush is tasked with keeping the Cowboys afloat and improving on the team’s underwhelming offensive performance in Week 1.
The 28-year-old’s only other start resulted in a victory last season, but with just 63 career pass attempts, little will be known or expected of him. Dallas also has a weakened offensive line in front of him, and a less accomplished assortment of pass-catchers compared to 2021, so the challenge facing him will be significant. Not surprisingly, the Cowboys are elevating Will Grier from the practice squad to operate as Rush’s backup. With Prescott expected to be back relatively soon, that pair will be leaned on, instead of a stop-gap veteran addition.
Maher wasn’t initially in the Cowboys’ kicking plans this offseason. Not long after the team began looking for outside options, however, the 32-year-old returned to Dallas. The Cowboys’ kicker in 2018 and 2019, Maher was responsible for the team’s only points in Week 1, making his only attempt. For his career, he has converted 77.6% of his field goals, a figure which, coupled with his familiarity with the organization, allowed him to make a late push to operate as Greg Zuerlein‘s successor.
Rush, Maher and the Cowboys will look to get into the win column on Sunday against the defending AFC champion Bengals.
49ers Extend P Mitch Wishnowsky
The 49ers may be facing long-term questions at the quarterback position, but a key member of their special teams unit will remain in the fold for the foreseeable future. The team announced on Friday that they have extended punter Mitch Wishnowsky on a four-year deal. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets that the contract will pay him just under $3MM annually and has a maximum value of $13MM. 
A fourth-rounder in 2019, Wishnowsky has one year remaining on his rookie contract. This new pact will not only represent a sizable increase in compensation relative to his 2022 pay, it could make him the second highest-paid punter in the NFL if it reaches the $3.25MM-per-year mark, behind only Seattle’s Michael Dickson.
The 30-year-old Australian has yet to miss a game so far in his career, and has been consistent across his three seasons in the league. His busiest campaign came in 2020, when he punted 66 times for an average of 46.9 yards, his personal watermark in that regard to date. In addition to punting, Wishnowsky has also handled kickoff duties, doing so 219 times in the regular season.
The Utah alum will now be on the books through the 2026 season, giving San Francisco some long-term stability at one of their specialist positions. Both kicker Robbie Gould and long snapper Taybor Pepper are set to hit free agency at the end of the year; the former’s age (40) in particular could leave his future in doubt. The latter, meanwhile, has just begun his third season in the Bay Area after making appearances with the Packers and Dolphins previously.
In what should be far better conditions than he had to face during the 49ers’ Week 1 loss in Chicago, Wishnowsky will look to help get his team back on track when they host the Seahawks on Sunday knowing that his long-term future is secure.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/16/22
Just one taxi squad move took place today as attention turns towards Week 2 action:
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: T Jarrid Williams
Titans Add Takk McKinley To Practice Squad
Dealt a tough blow with Harold Landry‘s injury, the Titans are adding a piece to their edge-rushing equation ahead of Week 2. Takkarist McKinley is joining Tennessee’s practice squad.
A former first-round pick, McKinley has been on the radar for a bit now. The Cardinals and Cowboys hosted McKinley on visits during training camp. McKinley, 26, is attempting to bounce back after a December Achilles tear ended his Browns campaign.
While McKinley’s stock has fallen since his early NFL days, he does bring a high draft pedigree (26th overall in 2017) and considerable experience (60 games, 27 starts). The former Falcons draftee has 20 career sacks, though 13 of those came between the 2017 and ’18 seasons.
Landry’s loss left the Titans without their top edge defender. Although the team has rising star defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons anchoring its pass rush, Landry has been Tennessee’s top sack artist for years. Bud Dupree is now in place in that role, with supporting casters Rashad Weaver — a 2021 fourth-rounder — and Olasunkanmi Adeniyi rounding out the rotation. Adeniyi started alongside Dupree in Week 1, but Weaver accumulated two sacks in a rotational role.
Despite McKinley’s sack totals dropping in recent years, the UCLA product has continued to generate interest. The 2020 season showed that. After attempting to trade McKinley ahead of that year’s deadline, the Falcons waived him. Claims kept coming in for McKinley, who saw the Bengals, 49ers and Raiders take a look. After failing physicals with Cincinnati and San Francisco, McKinley did catch on in Las Vegas. However, a November groin injury ended his Raiders tenure without any game action.
The Browns signed him in 2021 and used him in 11 games. McKinley notched 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble with Cleveland, working mostly as a rotational player behind Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney. To clear room on their 16-man practice squad, the Titans promoted defensive back Chris Jackson to their 53-man roster.