Broncos, WR Tim Patrick Agree On Extension
Entering the season with two key contract-year wide receivers, the Broncos made the move Friday to extend one of them. They agreed to terms with Tim Patrick on a three-year deal, Mike Klis of 9News tweets.
The former UDFA will collect a nice payday, with Tom Pelissero of NFL.com noting the contract carries a max value of $34MM and includes $18.5MM guaranteed (Twitter link). While Courtland Sutton remains unsigned beyond 2021, Denver is keeping its other outside wideout in the fold long-term.
Despite his undrafted status and complementary role with the Broncos, Patrick has become one of the NFL’s most dependable wideouts. He did not drop a pass last season and grades as Pro Football Focus’ No. 3 overall receiver against man coverage this season. Patrick’s drop-less streak extends to the 2019 season, with Field Yates of ESPN.com noting the ex-Utah Ute has not dropped a pass since Week 13 of that slate (Twitter link).
The 6-foot-4 wideout has been essential for the Broncos this season, with the team having lost K.J. Hamler for the year and having been without Jerry Jeudy for a chunk of it. Patrick has 37 receptions for 523 yards and four touchdowns this season; he led the Broncos with six TD grabs in 2020.
The Broncos initially signed Patrick in 2017, after three other teams cut him, and he became an auxiliary piece for a team still rostering Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders. Patrick became part of Denver’s solution after those Pro Bowlers left via trade. The team placed a second-round RFA tender on Patrick this offseason, and the soon-to-be 28-year-old target opted to bypass a free agency run to collect a Broncos payday early.
It remains to be seen if new GM George Paton will also extend Sutton, who will carry a higher price tag. Paton did refer to Sutton as a core player earlier this year. But the Broncos have Jeudy and Hamler tied to rookie deals through 2023, with Jeudy’s contract including a fifth-year option, and Patrick locked down through the ’24 season.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/19/21
Today’s taxi squad moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Released: G Joe Sculthorpe
Detroit Lions
- Signed: OT Dan Skipper
Minnesota Vikings
- Released: DE Nate Orchard
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: DT Montravius Adams
Bears’ Khalil Mack Done For Year
Khalil Mack‘s season is over. The Bears’ All-Pro pass rusher is set for foot surgery that will sideline him for the rest of the year, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport 
(Twitter link).
[RELATED: Bears’ Trevathan Done For Year]
Mack missed the two Bears two games previous to their Week 10 bye. The Bears were optimistic that the former Defensive Player of the Year would be able to play this weekend, but the specialists have said otherwise.
Mack, 30, got off to a strong start this year with six sacks across the first six weeks of the season. Up until the foot injury, he had only missed two games during his three-plus-seasons in Chicago.
Acquired via a 2018 blockbuster trade with the Raiders, Mack has been the centerpiece of the past four Bears defenses. The former DPOY has delivered on the Bears’ investment, even though the gaudy Oakland sack totals have not followed him to Chicago. And, even though Mack’s double-digit sack streak ended after 2018, but was well on pace to post his fifth 10-plus-sack slate this year. Pro Football Focus graded Mack as its No. 1 edge defender in 2020, despite his lower sack (9) and QB-hit (13) totals.
Mack, who will be absent from the Pro Bowl list for the first time in a long time, remains under club control through the 2024 season. For right now, the Bears find themselves at 3-6, down both Mack and longtime defensive leader Danny Trevathan.
Bears’ Danny Trevathan Done For Year
The Bears have placed Danny Trevathan injured reserve, per a club announcement. This marks the veteran linebacker’s second trip to IR, which will officially shut him down for the rest of the season. In related moves, the Bears have officially signed linebacker Bruce Irvin while promoting fellow LB Cassius Marsh to the 53-man roster. 
[RELATED: Bears Sign Bruce Irvin]
Trevathan, 31, has been with the Bears since 2016. A training camp knee injury camp sidelined him to start the year, but the 10th-year linebacker returned after missing the first four games. His presence alongside Roquan Smith figured to strengthen Chicago’s defense, but he wasn’t able to stick around for long. Appearing mostly as a reserve, Trevathan registered just 19 tackles across five games and appeared in roughly one-quarter of Chicago’s snaps. That’s a big drop from last year when Trevathan turned in a full slate, registered 113 stops, and lifted the Bears to the playoffs.
Even with Trevathan in the lineup, the Bears have sunk to 3-6 on the year. Now, they’re out to stop their four-game skid against the Ravens without one of their key defenders.
Trevathan is no stranger to injuries, having missed a ton of time since 2016. Still, he’s been a starter for most of his Bears tenure and remains under contract through 2022, thanks to the three-year pact he inked in 2020.
Eagles Sign Dallas Goedert To Four-Year Extension
The Eagles have signed Dallas Goedert to a four-year contract extension, per a club announcement. The deal positions Goedert as one of the three highest-paid tight ends in the NFL on a yearly basis (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo) and ties him to the club through 2025. 
Before the deal, Goedert was on course for free agency in March, where he would have commanded top dollar. “There’s going to be no discount on Dallas Goedert,” Eagles GM Howie Roseman confessed in October, the same week in which he traded one-time star Zach Ertz to the Cardinals.
“No discount” is right. Goedert’s new four-year deal is worth $59MM with $35.7MM guaranteed, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). That’s a sizable — and well-deserved — bump up from his current $1.24MM salary.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk provides the full details on the contract, pointing out that “only” about $14.92MM is guaranteed at signing (in the form of a $10.22MM signing bonus, $408K 2021 salary, $3.22MM option bonus for 2022, and $1.08MM base salary for 2022). However, Goedert’s $12.92MM option bonus for 2023 and his $1.08MM base salary for 2023 — which are both guaranteed for injury already — become fully guaranteed this coming March, so unless something unforeseen happens over the next few months, Goedert’s practical full guarantee is about $29MM.
With Ertz out of the picture, Goedert has served as the undisputed top dog in the club’s tight end room. Through nine games played, the 26-year-old has 29 catches for 429 yards and two touchdowns.
In his 26 games between 2019 and 2020, Goedert tallied 104 catches for 1,131 yards and eight TDs. He’s also been highly efficient throughout his career, having caught more than 70% of his targets over the last four years.
Goedert’s new average annual value slots him ahead of Ravens TE Mark Andrews for third at the position. He trails only George Kittle ($15MM/year) and Travis Kelce ($14.3MM), which makes sense given his production and age. Goedert, who won’t turn 27 until January, already has 166 catches for 1,894 yards and 14 touchdowns to his credit — numbers that are even more impressive given his previous split with Ertz.
Bills Sign Bobby Hart
The Bills have signed offensive lineman Bobby Hart, per a club announcement. He’ll help fill in for right tackle Spencer Brown, who was placed on the COVID-19/Reserve list earlier this week. 
Hart has managed to stick in the NFL for seven seasons despite being selected in the seventh round of the 2015 draft. The lineman started 21 games for the Giants between 2015 and 2017. He later started 45 games (out of 46 appearances) for the Bengals between 2018 and 2020.
The Bengals dropped Hart in March and he’s been making the rounds ever since, spending time with the practice squads of the Bills and Dolphins. The Titans also picked him up for a bit, using him in three games this year. Now, the 6’5″, 330-pound lineman is back in Buffalo with a chance to play.
The Bills will likely start Daryl Williams alongside Dion Dawkins while Brown is out. They’ll be supported by Hart and fifth-round rookie Tommy Doyle.
The Bills advanced to 6-3 last week, cruising past the Jets 45-17. Next up, a Sunday afternoon tilt against the Colts in Buffalo.
Bruce Irvin Signs With Bears
Bruce Irvin has found his next gig. The veteran linebacker has signed with the Bears, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter). Irvin confirmed the signing himself on Twitter.
Irvin made a name for himself back in Seattle, collecting 22 sacks between the 2012 and 2015 seasons. He later spent two-plus seasons with the Raiders (adding another 18 sacks), and after finishing the 2018 campaign with the Falcons, Irvin compiled another 8.5 sacks with the Panthers in 2019.
Irvin returned to Seattle prior to the 2020 season, and he started each of the team’s first two games. However, he suffered a season-ending ACL tear, and he’s remained unsigned throughout the entire 2021 campaign.
Now 34, Irvin will have a tough time replicating the pass-rushing prowess he displayed earlier in his career. However, he will add some reinforcement to a banged up Bears edge. Khalil Mack missed the Bears two games prior to their Week 10 bye, and his foot injury has lingered into this week. However, the team is optimistic that the former Defensive Player of the Year will be able to play this weekend.
Falcons Place TE Hayden Hurst On IR
The Falcons will make an adjustment to their two-tight end sets in the weeks to come. They placed Hayden Hurst on IR due to the ankle injury he is battling.
Hurst did not practice this week. The fourth-year tight end played 23 snaps in Atlanta’s loss to Dallas and has played alongside Kyle Pitts in every Falcons game this season.
Blocking tight end Lee Smith, however, is good to go for Thursday’s game, according to the team. Smith missed the Cowboys game due to a back issue. Atlanta also elevated tight end Parker Hesse from its practice squad ahead of its game against New England.
Atlanta traded for Hurst last year, but the team’s new regime replaced him as the primary tight end by selecting Pitts fourth overall in April. Hurst caught 56 passes for 571 yards and six touchdowns in 2020. While Pitts is now the leader of this group and has emerged as one of the NFL’s most promising rookies, Hurst still has 20 receptions through nine games.
Although the Falcons traded second- and fifth-round picks for Hurst last year, they declined the ex-minor league baseball player’s fifth-year option. Hurst, 28, is due to be a free agent in March. The former first-round pick would have a few games at the end of this season to make a final impression for tight end-seeking teams.
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/18/21
Here are Thursday’s minor moves, with the list being updated throughout the day:
Buffalo Bills
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: OL Spencer Brown
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: WR Jake Kumerow
Cincinnati Bengals
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: LB Markus Bailey
Cleveland Browns
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: RB John Kelly
Dallas Cowboys
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: K Greg Zuerlein
Detroit Lions
- Activated from IR: CB Corey Ballentine
Kansas City Chiefs
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: WR Marcus Kemp
Minnesota Vikings
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: LB Ryan Connelly
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Designated for return: DL Carlos Davis
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/18/21
Here are Thursday’s practice squad moves, with the list being updated throughout the day:
Detroit Lions
- Released: WR Travis Jonsen, CB Parnell Motley
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: WR Tyron Johnson
- Released: WR Marcell Ateman
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: S Sheldrick Redwine
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: DE Chris Slayton
- Placed on injured list: DT Darrion Daniels