Broncos Release WR John Brown
With the Broncos on track to have Jerry Jeudy back in Week 8, they are sending John Brown back to free agency. The Broncos released Brown from their practice squad Tuesday.
Denver added Brown earlier this month. The team had lost both Jeudy and K.J. Hamler in September and has played without both over the past four games. While Hamler is done for the year, Jeudy is on track to return from his high ankle sprain Sunday against Washington.
Days after signing the accomplished wideout, the Broncos bumped Brown up from their practice squad to their active roster. Brown, 31, reverted to the Broncos’ taxi squad after each of their past two games. The two-time 1,000-yard receiver did not make a catch as a Bronco. His one target resulted in a Teddy Bridgewater underthrown pass and an interception during Thursday’s loss in Cleveland.
After playing with the Cardinals, Ravens and Bills from 2014-20, Brown caught on with the Raiders this offseason. However, that stay ended after Brown requested his release late this summer. After spending several weeks in free agency, Brown landed an opportunity in Denver. The former third-round pick has 4,748 career receiving yards and 31 touchdown grabs.
The Broncos also designated tight end Albert Okwuegbunam to return from IR. The second-year pro serves as Denver’s No. 2 tight end and an auxiliary pass catcher. He caught nine passes for 57 yards in the Broncos’ first four games this season but missed time with a hamstring injury. The Mizzou product is eligible to come off IR ahead of Week 8. He and Jeudy would give Denver some much-needed receiving help in a key game for the team’s fading playoff hopes.
Packers Place Allen Lazard On Reserve/COVID-19 List
Ahead of their biggest game of the season to date, the Packers are likely to be severely shorthanded at wide receiver. Allen Lazard is now on Green Bay’s reserve/COVID-19 list.
This news comes a day after Davante Adams landed on the team’s coronavirus list. Lazard is unvaccinated and qualifies as a high-risk close contact of Adams, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. This means Lazard will be away from the Packers for at least five days, knocking him out of their Week 8 game against the Cardinals. Adams still has an outside shot to play, being vaccinated, but he faces an uphill battle.
Lazard has been a key role player in Green Bay over the past three seasons. He has scored two touchdowns in the past two games. With Marquez Valdes-Scantling still on IR, this leaves a deep Green Bay receiving corps decimated ahead of the team’s Arizona trip. While Valdes-Scantling is eligible to come off IR ahead of Thursday’s game, the Packers are not certain to activate him. Slot players Randall Cobb and Amari Rodgers serve as the Packers’ top available receivers going into Week 8.
Retained via ERFA tender this offseason, Lazard has caught 15 passes for 184 yards this year. Although his production has dipped a bit this season, the 6-foot-5 target has seen his usage increase in recent weeks. Lazard is coming off his top game this season, when he caught five passes for 60 yards and a touchdown in Green Bay’s win over Washington.
Raiders To Release WR Willie Snead
The Raiders are moving on from Willie Snead. The veteran wide receiver requested his release, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter, and the team will grant it (Twitter link).
Snead has played a lesser role in Las Vegas compared to his jobs in New Orleans and Baltimore, and the Raiders — like they did with John Brown just before the season started — agreed to release a veteran wideout. The seventh-year slot receiver had only caught three passes for 32 yards as a Raider.
Because Snead is being cut ahead of the trade deadline, he will go straight to free agency. Had the Raiders cut him after next week’s deadline, the veteran would have been subject to waivers.
A late-March signing, Snead profiled as a depth player for the Raiders. He logged only 8% of their offensive snaps through seven games. This marked a sharp decline from his Ravens role last season, when he played 63% of their offensive snaps.
Snead, 29, played three seasons with the Saints and Ravens. His most productive years came in New Orleans, when he topped 890 receiving yards in his first two seasons, and the former UDFA has been a serviceable auxiliary wideout in the years since. Snead caught 33 passes for 432 yards in Baltimore’s run-heavy offense last season. The Raiders added Snead and Brown earlier this year but have used homegrown targets Henry Ruggs, Hunter Renfrow and Bryan Edwards as their primary receivers this season.
Dolphins Add Duke Johnson To Practice Squad
The Dolphins are signing running back Duke Johnson to the practice squad (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). Johnson has yet to play in 2021 and this marks his first deal since the start of the season.
Johnson, 28, auditioned for the 49ers, Panthers, and Saints this fall but did not sign with any of those clubs. The Saints workout went down about three weeks ago when he showed his stuff alongside Lamar Miller, Duke Johnson, Brian Hill, Ito Smith, and Ryquell Armstead.
Johnson has excelled as a passing-down back, eclipsing 400 receiving yards in each of his first five NFL seasons. He was once a focal point of the Browns offense and even signed an extension in 2018, but the addition of Kareem Hunt pushed him down the pecking order. He went on to enjoy a productive 2019 with the Texans, averaging 4.9 yards per carry and totaling 820 scrimmage yards. Last year, however, he was limited to just eleven games, 235 rushing yards, and 28 catches for 249 yards.
After losing Malcolm Brown to a quad injury, the Dolphins’ RB group currently consists of Myles Gaskin, Malcolm Brown, and Salvon Ahmed. Johnson will serve as extra insurance until Brown is able to return.
Ravens Designate Derek Wolfe To Return
Derek Wolfe has been designated for return from the injured reserve list, per a club announcement. The defensive end has yet to play this season but could make his 2021 debut inside of the next three weeks. 
Wolfe, an eight-year Broncos starter, signed with the Ravens in 2020 and played in 14 games. Unfortunately, back and hip injuries hindered him throughout the summer. Last year, Wolfe finished out with one sack, one fumble recovery, six tackles for loss, and two pass breakups.
The veteran has dealt with injuries throughout his career, including a scary neck injury that kept him out of Super Bowl XLVIII and related neck trouble in 2017. His 2019 season also ended prematurely due to an elbow injury. Still, he was productive in Denver and even managed a career-high seven sacks in ’19, despite playing in just 12 games.
On the other side of the ball, the Ravens are awaiting the return of tight end Nick Boyle. He was designated for return on Oct. 20, so the Ravens have a little over two weeks to return him to the active roster.
Saints’ Wil Lutz Done For Year
Wil Lutz will not return from the injured reserve list after all. On Tuesday, the Saints kicker announced that he has suffered a setback in his recovery that will shut him down for the rest of 2021.
“2021 has been filled with adversity, personally, but with adversity comes an exciting challenge,” Lutz wrote (Twitter link). “Unfortunately I had a setback during the rehab process that has forced me to shift my focus to being 100 percent healthy for the long term and shut it down for the season. I want nothing more than to be out there with my teammates helping us win games, and I look forward to doing that when healthy! Thank you to the best fan base in the country for the support and well wishes, we’ll be back stronger than ever.”
Lutz has served as New Orleans’ primary kicker since 2016. All in all, he’s made 86.6% of his field goal tries across his five-year career, positioning him as one of the best kickers in the game. He’s also made 253 out of 260 extra point attempts in the elongated XP era. Unfortunately, he aggravated his groin injury in early August and hasn’t improved over the last ~10 weeks.
First, the Saints turned to Aldrick Rosas, who went 1-4 on field goal tries. He was later replaced by Cody Parkey, who missed two extra field goal tries. That led them to undrafted rookie kicker Brian Johnson, who joined the team two weeks ago and just sank both of his FG tries to beat the Seahawks.
Dolphins To Place Jason McCourty, Malcolm Brown On IR
The Dolphins are placing two of their offseason additions on IR. Head coach Brian Flores told reporters that defensive back Jason McCourty and running back Malcolm Brown are heading to injured reserve.
Both players were injured during yesterday’s loss to the Falcons. McCourty suffered a foot injury that could require surgery, meaning he could be out longer than three weeks. Brown suffered a quad injury that forced him to exit the game.
After spending three seasons with the Patriots, McCourty joined the Dolphins this offseason. He started the first four games for Miami, but he’s seen a reduced role in recent weeks, appearing in only 69 defensive snaps between Week 5 and Week 7 (for comparison’s sake, he saw time in 70 defensive snaps in Week 4). Through seven games, the 34-year-old has collected 21 tackles and two passes defended. The Dolphins somewhat started planning for McCourty’s absence when they signed safety Sheldrick Redwine off the Panthers’ practice squad today.
Brown joined the Dolphins this offseason after spending the first six seasons of his career with the Rams. The 28-year-old got into the first seven games for Miami (including three starts), collecting 135 yards from scrimmage and one touchdown on 36 touches. The Dolphins will continue rolling with Myles Gaskin atop the depth chart, but Salvon Ahmed could see a larger role while Brown is sidelined.
Seahawks Release OL Cedric Ogbuehi
Cedric Ogbuehi‘s stint with the Seahawks has come to an end. Earlier today, Seattle released the veteran offensive tackle, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo (via Twitter).
The former first-round pick dealt with a biceps injury that forced him to miss the first chunk of the season. He was activated from IR when first eligible, and he started Week 4 while playing 86 percent of his team’s offensive snaps. He hasn’t seen the field since that time, and Seattle ultimately decided to move on from the 29-year-old.
Ogbuehi played just eight games with Seattle in 2020, starting four, but he did just enough to return to the Seahawks — his third NFL team. The Bengals drafted Ogbuehi in 2015, but after not meeting expectations, the Texas A&M product had to settle for a low-cost Jaguars deal in 2019 before coming to Seattle.
With 58 games (30 starts) on his resume, Ogbuehi will likely catch on with a squad that needs some extra depth on their offensive line.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/25/21
Today’s practice squad moves:
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: C Hroniss Grasu
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix
New York Giants
- Signed: TE Jake Hausmann
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: S Tony Jefferson
Seahawks Activate RB Rashaad Penny
Rashaad Penny is officially back. The Seahawks activated the running back from injured reserve ahead of tonight’s game against the Saints, reports Doug Kyed of Pro Football Focus (via Twitter).
A hamstring injury limited Penny to only one game this season, but he should have an opportunity to contribute on Monday night. With Chris Carson sidelined, Penny will join a running back grouping that includes Alex Collins, DeeJay Dallas, and Travis Homer. Collins is expected to lead the depth chart, but Penny should get some action in what’s expected to be a rain-soaked game.
Penny has dealt with his fair share of injuries since he was selected in the first round of the 2018 draft. The running back has been limited to only 28 games through four seasons, and he sat out the majority of the 2020 campaign while recovering from a torn ACL. Through his first two seasons in the NFL, Penny collected 947 yards from scrimmage and six touchdowns on 167 touches.
Prior to the season, the Seahawks declined the 25-year-old fifth-year option, meaning he’ll be a free agent following the 2021 campaign.