Minor NFL Transactions: 11/21/22
Here are Monday’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Promoted: DL Michael Dogbe, TE Maxx Williams
Atlanta Falcons
- Placed on IR: DL Ta’Quon Graham
- Claimed (from Texans): DL Jaleel Johnson
Cincinnati Bengals
- Designated for return: T Isaiah Prince
- Waived: WR Michael Thomas
New England Patriots
- Waived: RB J.J. Taylor
New Orleans Saints
- Waived: T Yasir Durant, DB Bryce Thompson
New York Giants
- Placed on IR: WR Wan’Dale Robinson (story)
San Francisco 49ers
- Promoted: DL T.Y. McGill
Tennessee Titans
- Waived: K Josh Lambo
Commanders Activate DE Chase Young From PUP List
Stashed on the PUP list throughout the season, Chase Young is back on the Commanders’ 53-man roster. The team used the third of its eight allotted injury activations on Young, whose activation window was set to close Wednesday.
The third-year defensive end is not a lock to play against the Falcons in Week 12, however. Ron Rivera stopped short of indicating Young would suit up when first eligible. Dr. James Andrews has cleared Young medically, Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post tweets, but the Commanders will now determine if the former Defensive Rookie of the Year is in sufficient football shape to make a long-awaited return.
Practicing for the past two weeks and change, Young has been out of game action since going down with an ACL tear Nov. 14, 2021. The Commanders have slow-played the standout pass rusher’s return, and they have turned their season around in recent weeks. Young coming back could provide another boost for a team attempting to go from 1-4 to the postseason.
While Young has been eligible to come off Washington’s PUP list since Week 5, the former Heisman Trophy finalist underwent reconstructive surgery that required a graft from his left patellar tendon. That contributed to this extended timeline. This is on the long end for ACL recoveries, but given Young’s long-term importance, Washington did not try to rush him back. Buffalo has taken this approach with Tre’Davious White, who suffered a torn ACL on Thanksgiving 2021. Despite landing on the Bills’ active roster weeks ago, White has not yet made his debut. It does not sound like the Commanders plan to wait too much longer here, however.
“We will work him with the intent if he’s ready to play he’ll play,” Rivera said, via ESPN.com’s John Keim. “If not, we’ll wait another week.”
It will be interesting to see how Washington deploys Young when he does return to action. The Ohio State product was a full-time player during his first and second seasons, logging 78% and 80% defensive snap rates when available those campaigns. Young, 23, may not hit those thresholds this year but could obviously help the team even if used in a part-time capacity. Young will have plenty to prove upon return. He took a step back last season, registering just 1.5 sacks and four quarterback hits in nine games. In 15 games as a rookie, Young posted 7.5 sacks, 14 QB hits, four forced fumbles and return touchdown.
The Commanders padded their sack totals in Week 11 against the Texans. Montez Sweat and Jonathan Allen recorded two sacks apiece in Houston; each has 6.5. Daron Payne has six. None of the trio has missed a game this season, helping Washington emerge as a wild-card contender despite a poor start. Young’s replacement, James Smith-Williams, has two sacks but has contributed 12 QB hits.
Lions Designate WR Jameson Williams For Return
Fresh off a victory which extended their winning streak to three games, the Lions could have a significant addition coming soon. The team announced on Monday that they have opened rookie wideout Jameson Williams‘ practice window. 
That gives him three weeks to be activated from the NFI list. If he does not return within that timeframe, he will be ineligible to play in 2022. Today’s news represents an encouraging step towards a debut in the near future, though. It also falls in line with what the team had indicated last week.
“I would say probably after Thanksgiving sometime… I think that’s tentatively what we’re looking at,” head coach Dan Campbell had said at that time on the question of bringing Williams into the fold. ” We’ll see where it goes. He’s progressing, there’s no setbacks.”
Detroit traded up in the first round to select the Alabama product with the No. 12 pick, despite knowing that his ACL tear would leave him unavailable for most of the season. The team had initially aimed for a return to the field around the midway mark of the campaign, but that proved too optimistic. Any game action from Williams would likely do wonders for the team’s offense, given the production he put up in his final college season.
The 6-2, 190-pound speedster racked up 1,572 yards and 15 touchdowns while helping lead the Crimson Tide to the national title game. It was there that he suffered the injury, though it did little to hurt his draft stock. A healthy Williams would provide the Lions with their top trio at the position for the first time, joining Amon-Ra St. Brown and DJ Chark (who himself was just activated from IR).
That could help provide some stability in the passing game for the 4-6 Lions. The team ranks mid-pack with an average of 245 yards per game through the air for the season, but has fallen short of 200 yards three times in the past five games. In the near future, though, the Lions’ full array of wideouts should be available.
Broncos Place LB Jonas Griffith On IR, Activate LS Jacob Bobenmoyer
The Broncos made a number of moves leading up to their matchup with the Raiders tomorrow afternoon, according to the team’s managing editor Ben Swanson. Denver placed starting linebacker Jonas Griffith on injured reserve, replacing his roster spot with long snapper Jacob Bobenmoyer after activating the special teamer from IR. The team signed offensive tackle Quinn Bailey to the active roster from the practice squad and promoted wide receiver Brandon Johnson and linebacker Harvey Langi as standard gameday elevations. 
Griffith has earned a place on one of the league’s top defenses after going undrafted in 2020 out of Indiana State. After bouncing between San Francisco and Indianapolis during his rookie season, Griffith was traded to the Broncos due to a stellar preseason before the 2021 season. An impressive first year in Denver with four starts in 13 game appearance led the team to tender him an exclusive-rights free agent offer. In his second season with the team, Griffith has started eight of the Broncos’ nine games. He’s nearly matched his entire production from last season at just past the halfway point of this season.
Unfortunately, that may be all of the season that Griffith sees. After aggravating a foot injury this week in practice, Griffith is headed to IR and expected to stay there for the remainder of the season, according to Mike Klis of 9NEWS. His injury piles onto a season-long issue for the Broncos who now have 13 players on IR and have seen missed time from several other contributors. In his absence, Alex Singleton will likely take the starting spot next to Josey Jewell at inside linebacker, possibly getting some help from Langi who could make his Broncos debut after joining the team’s practice squad over a month ago.
Bobenmoyer is set to return after sitting out the four games required before returning from IR. Bobenmoyer found himself on the injured list after suffering an injury to the hand/wrist area in a Week 5 overtime loss to the Colts. Bobenmoyer was replaced by practice squad long snapper Mitchell Fraboni who filled in well during the four weeks Bobenmoyer was out until getting placed on IR himself with a fractured finger. Bobenmoyer’s return comes just in time, helping the Broncos avoid the use of a third long snapper in just one season.
Johnson could make his NFL debut this week as a gameday elevation. The undrafted rookie, who caught 11 touchdowns for UCF last year, started the season on IR before getting waived with an injury settlement shortly after the start of the season. He returned to the practice squad about a month ago and could end up making an impact as starting wide receivers Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler have been listed as out for tomorrow, Tim Patrick remains on IR, and Kendall Hinton is listed as questionable with a shoulder injury. Denver could be operating with a total of four healthy receivers in Courtland Sutton, Jalen Virgil, Montrell Washington, and Johnson if Hinton is not available.
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/19/22
The league’s minor moves leading up to gameday:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed to active roster: RB Corey Clement
Atlanta Falcons
- Promoted from practice squad: OL Ryan Neuzil, WR Frank Darby
Baltimore Ravens
- Promoted from practice squad: CB Daryl Worley
Buffalo Bills
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Tanner Gentry, CB Xavier Rhodes
Chicago Bears
- Promoted from practice squad: RB Darrynton Evans
Dallas Cowboys
- Promoted from practice squad: G Dakoda Shepley
Detroit Lions
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Stanley Berryhill
- Waived: S JuJu Hughes
Houston Texans
- Activated from IR: Michael Dwumfour
- Promoted from practice squad: DB Jacobi Francis, DB Will Redmond
- Waived: DL Jaleel Johnson
Indianapolis Colts
- Promoted from practice squad: DE Kameron Cline, TE Nikola Kalinic
Kansas City Chiefs
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Marcus Kemp, WR Cornell Powell
Las Vegas Raiders
- Promoted from practice squad: CB Tyler Hall
Los Angeles Chargers
- Activated from NFI: TE Stone Smartt
- Signed to active roster: DL Joe Gaziano
- Promoted from practice squad: K Cameron Dicker, T Foster Sarell
- Waived: WR Keelan Doss
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed to active roster: WR Jacob Harris
- Promoted from practice squad: T AJ Arcuri, G Jeremiah Kolone
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed to active roster: TE Nick Muse
- Promoted from practice squad: CB Tay Gowan
- Waived: OLB Benton Whitley
New Orleans Saints
- Signed to active roster: G Yasir Durant, DB Bryce Thompson
- Promoted from practice squad: DE Jabari Zuniga
- Waived: TE J.P. Holtz, Nick Vannett
New York Giants
- Promoted from practice squad: TE Lawrence Cager
New York Jets
- Promoted from practice squad: DL Tanzel Smart, OL Conor McDermott
Washington Commanders
- Promoted from practice squad: LB Nathan Gerry
- Placed on IR: TE Armani Rogers
Panthers Activate S Jeremy Chinn From IR
The Panthers will have Jeremy Chinn back in uniform in Week 11. They activated the veteran safety from injured reserve Saturday. Chinn has missed more than the four-game IR minimum, having last played in Week 4.
Playing both safety and linebacker during his two-plus seasons as a pro, Chinn has been one of Carolina’s most productive players since entering the league as a second-round draftee. The Panthers included Chinn among their top assets ahead of the trade deadline, protecting him alongside the likes of Brian Burns, D.J. Moore, Derrick Brown and Jaycee Horn.
Unlike that batch of recent first-round picks, Chinn has missed much of this season. He went down six plays into Carolina’s Week 4 game with a hamstring injury he later admitted was more severe than he initially realized. This abbreviated season stands to stall Chinn’s run of 100-tackle campaigns. He joins only linebackers Luke Kuechly and Jon Beason among Panthers who have begun their careers with consecutive 100-stop slates.
Chinn will slot back in alongside Xavier Woods at safety. The Panthers’ primary Chinn fill-in, Myles Hartsfield, is out for Sunday’s game against the Ravens because of an ankle injury. Carolina is still in good shape in terms of injury activations; the Chinn move only represents the team’s third of its allotted eight this season.
In addition to the Chinn activation, the Panthers signed linebacker Joel Iyiegbuniwe to their active roster from the practice squad and made cornerback T.J. Carrie and defensive tackle Phil Hoskins their two gameday elevations. Iyiegbuniwe will take the roster spot of linebacker Arron Mosby, whom the team waived Saturday.
Patriots Place P Jake Bailey On IR, Sign P Michael Palardy
The Patriots will shut down their punter for a while. They placed Jake Bailey on IR and signed veteran Michael Palardy from their practice squad to the active roster, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
Midway through his fourth season as the Patriots’ punter, Bailey is battling a back injury. The team will need to have other plans at punter for at least four games. These will be Bailey’s first missed games as a pro.
Despite veteran Ryan Allen engaging in a rather high-stakes punting duel with perennial All-Pro Johnny Hekker in Super Bowl LIII, the Pats made a change at that position ahead of the 2019 season. They drafted Bailey in the fifth round and jettisoned their six-year incumbent. Bailey has become one of the league’s better punters since taking over.
A Stanford product, Bailey earned first-team All-Pro recognition in 2020, when he averaged a career-high 48.3 yards per punt. After posting a 47.3-yard average last season, Bailey has seen his per-boot number drop to 42.1 this year — last in the league. Bailey finished fourth and ninth in this category in 2020 and ’21, respectively.
Palardy, 30, has not punted in a game this season. He has held steady gigs previously, most recently serving as the Dolphins’ punter in 16 games last season. Also Carolina’s punter from 2016-19, Palardy averaged 44.7 yards per punt with Miami. New England added Palardy to its practice squad earlier this month.
Saints Bump David Johnson To Active Roster
NOVEMBER 19: Johnson could soon see game action. Three days after adding him on a practice squad deal, the Saints are promoting the veteran running back to their active roster. Johnson has not played since last season.
NOVEMBER 16: Five months after visiting the Saints, David Johnson reached an agreement with the team. The former All-Pro running back will join New Orleans’ practice squad Wednesday, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets.
This move comes shortly after the Saints released Jordan Howard and Derrick Gore from their 16-man P-squad. Johnson, 30, met with the team in mid-June. While the sides could not agree on terms at that point, the former Cardinals and Texans back will settle for a practice squad spot months later.
Despite Johnson’s experience and somewhat distant past as an All-Pro-caliber producer, he was not connected to any other teams this offseason. He played out his contract with the Texans last season, after agreeing to rework it, and took his time in free agency. Johnson’s price was too high for the Saints in June, leading to him spending the season’s first half without a team.
The former third-round pick, however, has done very well for himself on the contract front. He parlayed a dominant 2016 slate (2,118 scrimmage yards, 20 touchdowns) into a three-year, $39MM Cardinals extension ahead of the 2018 season. The Cardinals included him in 2020’s DeAndre Hopkins trade, and while the Texans adjusted his deal, Johnson still locked in $4.25MM guaranteed in 2021.
Johnson has not come especially close to replicating that monster sophomore slate. A wrist injury knocked him out for almost all of the 2017 campaign, and by the time he returned in 2018, Bruce Arians had retired and the Cards suddenly sported the league’s worst offense. The Northern Iowa product missed eight games during his Texans stay, again becoming part of a rebuilding situation. After totaling 1,005 scrimmage yards as Houston’s featured back in 2020, Johnson took a backseat last season, when he finished with 453 yards on just 99 touches.
When Johnson visited the Saints this summer, speculation swirled about the team needing more insurance alongside Mark Ingram — Johnson’s ex-Texans teammate — against a potential Alvin Kamara suspension. Arrested in Las Vegas in connection with an alleged assault, Kamara has seen his hearing continually delayed. It has since been tabled again, according to WDSU’s Fletcher Mackel (on Twitter). The perennial Pro Bowl back is next scheduled to appear in court Jan. 23, seemingly putting him in the clear of a suspension sidelining him this season.
The Saints have been on the lookout for backs this week. Prior to this Johnson addition, they tried to claim Eno Benjamin on waivers, ESPN.com’s Field Yates tweets. They joined the Chiefs and Seahawks in doing so. Instead, Benjamin — a Cardinals draftee a month after the Johnson trade — will traverse the Johnson path, going from Arizona to Houston.
Giants Activate OL Shane Lemieux From IR
3:25pm: The Giants have used one of their injury activations on Lemieux, who has not played since September 2021. The third-year veteran is expected to see steady action in his Week 11 debut.
9:42am: Shane Lemieux has been limited to only one game over the past two seasons, but the Giants lineman should be back on the field this weekend. The Giants are expected to activate the offensive guard from injured reserve today, according to Art Stapleton of NorthJersey.com (on Twitter). Lemieux is expected to immediately start for New York.
Lemieux suffered a foot injury during the Giants’ preseason opener, and that issue (and the subsequent surgery) ended up keeping the offensive lineman off the field for months. The 25-year-old returned to practice earlier this month, and now he’ll be thrown right into the fire as he’s expected to start against the Lions.
The former fifth-round pick immediately had a role for the Giants as a rookie, starting nine of his 12 games that season. While sites like Pro Football Focus weren’t particularly fond of his performance in 2020, he was still expected to play a significant role on the offensive line in 2021. However, a knee injury ended up limiting Lemieux to only a single appearance last season. Lemieux was once again expected to play an important role in 2022, but his foot injury derailed that plan.
“It’s been a hard couple years,” Lemieux recently told Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post. “I’m a ballplayer. I love football. Being on the field is the best feeling in the world. When you get taken away from the game, you realize how important it is to you. I’m ready to get back out there, for sure.”
The Giants offensive line has struggled with injuries all season, but the unit is slowly and surely getting healthier. In addition to Lemieux, Evan Neal and Ben Bredeson are both expected to soon return from their respective knee injuries.
Lions Activate WR DJ Chark From IR
After suffering an early-season injury for the second straight year, DJ Chark will be have a chance to re-establish some value down the stretch. The Lions used one of their injury activations on the veteran wide receiver Saturday.
Chark ran into more ankle trouble this season. After suffering a broken ankle four games into the 2021 slate, the former second-round pick injured the same ankle in Week 3. The Lions waited a bit to place Chark on IR but ended up doing so. Chark, 26, has missed the past six games.
The Lions gave Chark a one-year, $10MM deal (fully guaranteed) to sign in March, adding him to a receiver group now centered around Amon-Ra St. Brown. The Lions have not had the chance to use their optimal receiving corps — one featuring St. Brown, Chark and Jameson Williams — due to their No. 12 overall pick still recovering from an ACL tear sustained in the national championship game. Detroit is aiming for Williams to begin practicing after Thanksgiving, but it is not certain at this point if the Alabama product will play this season.
Chark is the only Jaguars receiver to surpass 1,000 yards in the past six seasons, totaling 1,008 yards alongside Gardner Minshew in 2019. He posted 706 yards for a worse Jags squad in 2020 and did not see much action during the franchise’s Urban Meyer season due to the injury. This season, the LSU product has seven catches for 98 yards and a touchdown.
This upcoming stretch will be pivotal for Chark’s post-2022 value. The ankle fracture he suffered last year led to a reduced free agency market. The 6-foot-4 pass catcher will need to show he can stay healthy in order to create a decent market for himself next year. The 2023 free agent receiver class is not especially strong; Chark could be a key factor on next year’s market if he can fare well in the second half of his Lions campaign.