Titans Designate Julio Jones For Return
The Titans have designated wide receiver Julio Jones for return from injured reserve. Jones will be eligible to practice starting today, which means that he can be activated any time within the next 21 days.
[RELATED: Former Titans S Kenny Vaccaro Retires From NFL]
A hamstring injury has limited Jones to just six games so far this season. Last month, the Titans moved to place him on IR, freeing up an additional roster spot for a few weeks.
Jones, who has a history of hamstring trouble, has caught 21 passes for 336 yards and no touchdowns so far in his first Titans season. The good news is that the Titans are still 8-4, despite playing most of the year without Jones or star running back Derrick Henry.
The 11th-year receiver could come back as soon as Sunday, the Titans’ first game off of their bye week. A win will put them one step closer to officially clinching the AFC South and, potentially, capturing a first-round bye.
Jets To Sign Eddy Pineiro
Sounds like the Jets are moving on from Alex Kessman. After his two missed two extra points on Sunday, the Jets are signing kicker Eddy Pineiro, according to agent Drew Rosenhaus (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). 
The Jets had an early lead over the Eagles when Kessman sent his second extra point wide left. Things only got worse from there as the Birds went on to win 33-18.
“Just gotta make them,” Kessman said (via the New York Post). “It’s what I do for a living, and I gotta make those kicks. There’s no excuses…I gotta control what I can control. If they send me out there to kick, I go out there and kick. Doesn’t matter where from, what time. I go out there and do my job, and I didn’t do my job today. Plain and simple. … I’m not gonna let two kicks define me and the kicker I am.”
Gang Green will in fact hold him accountable for his missed XPs. Now, Pineiro will become the Jets’ ninth kicker since 2017.
Pineiro lost the Colts’ kicking competition this year and hasn’t seen live action since 2019. That year, spent with the Bears, he went 23-of-28 on field goals (82.1%) and 27-of-29 on XPs.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/6/21
Today’s taxi squad moves:
Dallas Cowboys
- Released: DE Breeland Speaks
Houston Texans
- Signed: CB Cre’Von LeBlanc
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: QB James Morgan
New York Giants
- Signed: S Natrell Jamerson
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: WR Austin Mack, LB Curtis Robinson
- Released: WR Devin Funchess, LB Justin March
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: LB Tuzar Skipper
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/6/21
Today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Waived: P Dustin Colquitt
Carolina Panthers
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: OL Trent Scott
Cleveland Browns
- Designated for return: LB Jacob Phillips
Las Vegas Raiders
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: RB Jalen Richard
Los Angeles Chargers
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: WR Keenan Allen
New York Jets
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: LB Blake Cashman
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Placed on IR: LS Zach Triner
Tennessee Titans
- Released: LB John Simon (story)
Raiders’ Kenyan Drake Done For Year
The season is over for Raiders running Kenyan Drake (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). After suffering an ankle fracture on Sunday, Drake will be shut down for the year and placed on the injured reserve list. 
Drake, the Raiders’ second-leading rusher behind starter Josh Jacobs, had to be carted off midway through the second quarter against Washington. WFT was leading 7-0 at the time and went on to win 17-15.
“I know he’s had significant injuries in the past,” said Jacobs (via ESPN.com). “So, I’m just praying for him right now and praying for his family. His whole family was here at the game.”
Drake’s year will end with 254 rushing yards, two touchdowns, and a solid 4.3 yards per carry average. He also added 29 grabs for 283 receiving yards and one TD through the air.
The Raiders may add another RB to join Jacobs and Peyton Barber, though Jalen Richard could be ready to return from the COVID-19 list soon. Down to 6-6 on the year, the Raiders are set for a must-win game against the Chiefs next week.
Panthers Fire OC Joe Brady
The Panthers have fired offensive coordinator Joe Brady, the team announced. Senior offensive assistant Jeff Nixon, along with the rest of the offensive coaching staff, will take over Brady’s duties for the remainder of the season.
Brady spent two seasons as an offensive assistant for the Saints from 2017-18 and truly made a name for himself as the passing game coordinator for LSU in the Tigers’ record-setting 2019 season that featured otherworldly performances from future first-round draft picks like quarterback Joe Burrow, running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, and wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson. That afforded him the opportunity to join Matt Rhule‘s first staff in Carolina in 2020.
The Panthers finished in the bottom half of the league last season in terms of total offense, though subpar QB play and a three-game season from star running back Christian McCaffrey certainly played a role in that. NFL clubs were still high on Brady’s ability, as he received five interviews for head coaching positions in this year’s cycle. As Albert Breer of SI.com tweets, Brady interviewed well, and a number of execs involved in those interviews believed he was a lock for an HC gig in 2022.
Unfortunately, Carolina suffered more of the same problems this year. McCaffrey is now out for the season after having played seven games, and an injury to starting quarterback Sam Darnold also helped to derail the Panthers’ once-promising season. A four-game losing streak earlier this year led some to believe that Brady would be stripped of his play-calling duties, and while that did not happen, Brady is now out of a job completely.
This year, the Panthers have slipped to 28th in total offense, and Brady’s creative mind has not been enough to consistently overcome what opposing defensive coordinators have thrown at him. He is still only 32 years old, but his meteoric rise has come to an abrupt halt, and he may have to rebuild his stock back at the college level.
Rhule said, “I met with Joe this morning and informed him that I have decided to make a change. I’m very grateful to him for his time and effort in helping us get established over this past year and a half.”
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/5/21
We will keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Las Vegas Raiders
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: RB Jalen Richard
RB Trey Sermon Placed On IR
The 49ers will be without rookie running back Trey Sermon for at least the next three weeks. Sermon was knocked out of San Francisco’s win over the Vikings after suffering an ankle injury. After Sermon was carted off of the field, head coach Kyle Shanahan said he had suffered a bad ankle sprain.
Since being drafted in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft, Sermon has spent much of his rookie season as a special teams player. Early in the season, as San Francisco experienced injuries to it’s top three projected running backs – Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson, and Elijah Mitchell – Sermon was called upon to carry the load. As soon as Mitchell was available again, Sermon was relegated back to a mostly special teams role.
Sermon’s absence is just latest of a litany of injuries in their running back room as they’ve seen Mostert, Wilson, Mitchell, Sermon, and Jamycal Hasty all miss time this year. San Francisco will hope that the severity of Sermon’s condition is limited and that he will be able to return after three games. If so, Sermon will rejoin a roster slowly starting to get healthy as they make a push for playoff contention.
Lions Place OLB Trey Flowers On IR
Linebacker Trey Flowers‘ season has come to an end. The Lions’ pass rusher has been unable to stay on the field all year, missing four out of eleven games this season.
Flowers joined the Lions in 2019 after signing a substantial five-year deal worth $90MM. Flowers had racked up 21.0 sacks and 25 tackles for loss in three full seasons with the Patriots after missing all but one game of his rookie season. Flowers showed the production his contract promised in his first year with Detroit tallying 7.0 sacks and 8 tackles for loss. His injury troubles would begin the following year, though, as he only played in 7 games, a total he was only able to match and not surpass this season.
The Lions will now have to consider what the future holds for Flowers in Detroit. Flowers holds a cap hit in the 2022 season of $23.24MM, with about $12.85MM being potential dead money. It’s hard to say the Lions have been able to move on without Flowers this season. Despite Flowers’ limited production only resulting in 1.5 sacks this year, that total is still good for fourth on the team.
Still, the Lions may decide that the risk of losing Flowers to injury may not outweigh the significant cap space he’ll take up. For now, shutting him down allows Flowers a chance to get healthy as the Lions take time to determine his value.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/4/21
Here are Saturday’s practice squad moves:
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: WR Dillon Stoner (elevated to active roster)
- Released: WR Jeff Badet