Seahawks To Place Russell Wilson On IR
Russell Wilson‘s injury absence will extend to at least Week 10. The Seahawks are placing their 10th-year starting quarterback on IR, Pete Carroll said Friday.
Wilson suffered a ruptured middle finger tendon in his throwing hand last week. He underwent surgery last Friday. Sunday will be the first absence of his NFL career, halting a run of 149 straight regular-season starts.
The Seahawks have a Week 9 bye, giving Wilson extra time to heal before a potential return in November. Longtime backup Geno Smith will start against the Steelers on Sunday night. Smith has not started a game since 2017 with the Giants. Barring injury, Smith will make consecutive starts for the first time since his stint as the Jets’ QB1 ended after the 2014 season.
While Wilson’s status threatens to sink the Seahawks (2-3) in a competitive NFC West race, a Week 10 return would beat the six- to eight-week timetable initially floated. Given Wilson’s ironman start to his career, it obviously should not be ruled out he will be back when first eligible in Week 10.
The perennial Pro Bowler will miss games against the Steelers, Saints and Jaguars. The Seahawks will travel to Green Bay in Week 10. That Nov. 14 game will mark five weeks and two days from Wilson’s injury.
Eagles Trade Zach Ertz To Cardinals
The Eagles have traded Zach Ertz to the Cardinals in exchange for rookie cornerback Tay Gowan and a 2022 fifth-round draft pick. The deal is now official, per an announcement from both clubs. 
Ertz was once a focal point of the Birds’ offense, but he’s been relegated to a secondary role behind Dallas Goedert. With one season left on his five-year, $42.5MM deal, the Eagles have turned their surplus into draft capital.
Ertz, 31 in November, finished last year with just 36 catches for 335 yards and one touchdown in eleven games. But, before that, he made three straight Pro Bowls from 2017-19 and consistently performed as one of the league’s best tight ends. So far this year, the veteran has 18 catches for 189 yards and two scores in six games.
The Cardinals will be responsible for the rest of Ertz’s salary, approximately $5.5MM. Ideally, he’d like an extension, but that’ll probably wait until after the season. The Cardinals will have much more utility for Ertz than the Eagles did since they’ve lost Maxx Williams for the year with a knee injury. Ertz will likely serve as the Cardinals’ TE1 with support from Darrell Daniels and Demetrius Harris. Beyond those three, the Cards also have Ross Travis on the practice squad, though they released recently-acquired veteran Richard Rodgers from the p-squad in the wake of the Ertz deal.
After years of iffy tight end production, Arizona finally has a proven option in Ertz. He delivered 335 yards in a down year with five missed games; the Cardinals haven’t had a TE top 600 yards in a season since moving to Arizona in 1988.
Browns Designate Jarvis Landry For Return
The Browns have designated Jarvis Landry for return, per a club announcement. The wide receiver will be eligible to play as soon as Sunday, when the Browns face the Cardinals. 
Landry went down with a knee injury during the Browns’ Week 2 opening drive. The Browns still went on to beat the Texans 31-21, but they lost Landry for the following games against the Bears, Vikings, and Chargers. Fortunately, they got Odell Beckham Jr. back at the exact same time — he snagged five passes for 77 yards in his debut. OBJ has been quieter the last two weeks, but he should benefit from the attention that’ll be paid to Landry.
Through two games (really, one game and change), Landry has six catches off of six targets for 80 yards. He also notched a rushing touchdown — the fourth rushing TD of his career — against the Chiefs in Week 1.
Per league rules, the Browns will have a 21-day window to activate Landry. It’s a use-it-or-lose-it proposition, but there’s no reason to think that Landry won’t return in the coming days. If he can’t go against the Cardinals, he’ll likely be ready for Week 7 against the Broncos.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/14/21
Today’s taxi squad moves:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: P Ryan Winslow
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: WR Daurice Fountain
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: K Michael Badgley (story)
- Released: C Joey Hunt
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: DL Andrew Brown, T Foster Sarell
- Released: LB Nate Hall
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: CB Dontae Johnson
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/14/21
Today’s minor moves:
Carolina Panthers
- Promoted: S Kenny Robinson
- Placed on IR: Joseph Charlton
New England Patriots
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: G Michael Onwenu
New York Giants
- Placed on IR: CB Rodarius Williams
Philadelphia Eagles
- Promoted: T Le’Raven Clark, TE Noah Togiai
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Promoted: TE Deon Yelder
Bengals Claim CB Tre Flowers
The Bengals added a cornerback with extensive starting experience Thursday, doing so without giving up an asset. They claimed Tre Flowers off waivers.
The Seahawks cut Flowers earlier this week, ending a three-plus-season tenure. That run included 40 starts, with three of those coming this season. Flowers fell out of favor with the team recently, being benched for Sidney Jones. Flowers will have the opportunity to rebuild his stock in Cincinnati.
Flowers’ rookie contract runs through the end of this season. The Bengals have considerable capital invested at corner, with veteran free agency additions Trae Waynes, Chidobe Awuzie and Mike Hilton on the team. Waynes, however, has been unable to stay healthy and is currently on IR with a hamstring injury.
When targeted in coverage the past two seasons, Flowers has struggled. Quarterbacks who threw Flowers’ way compiled a collective 78% completion rate in 2020 and a 77% success rate this season. Though, those coverage sample sizes were smaller compared to Flowers’ first two years, when he started a combined 30 games for the Seahawks in the wake of Richard Sherman‘s departure. As a full-time starter in 2019, Flowers allowed QBs to complete 60% of their passes when he was in coverage. Despite being targeted 101 times, the 6-foot-3 corner only gave up one touchdown in 2019.
Pete Carroll said Wednesday that Flowers did not request a Seattle departure, but the 12th-year Seahawks HC indicated it was time for a separation. Flowers will head to a Bengals team that, at 3-2, is off to its best start in three years.
Bears Place Damien Williams On Reserve/COVID-19 List
Amid what is expected to be a lengthy stretch without starter David Montgomery, the Bears may also be without their second-string running back in Week 6. Damien Williams is now on the team’s reserve/COVID-19 list.
Williams’ Thursday placement on the coronavirus list will make his suiting up against the Packers on Sunday a difficult task. Vaccinated players can return after a positive test if they receive two negative COVID tests 24 hours apart. Unvaccinated players who test positive are shut down for 10 days. Williams tested positive, Pro Football Focus’ Doug Kyed tweets.
[RELATED: Bears Move Montgomery To IR]
This development will likely force the Bears to give the ball-carrying keys to rookie Khalil Herbert. The sixth-round pick logged just three carries in Chicago’s first four games but split time with Williams against the Raiders, taking 18 handoffs and gaining 75 yards.
Williams was a COVID-19 opt-out last year, skipping the Chiefs’ 2020 season. He had previously been effective after stepping in as a starter post-Kareem Hunt in Kansas City, but the opt-out ended his run with the team. The Chiefs cut Williams earlier this year, leading the 29-year-old back to the Bears.
Through five games, Williams’ rushing total sits at 137 yards. He has added two touchdowns this season. Williams expressed hesitation on being vaccinated in June, though he said he expected to do so at some point. His October vaccination status is unclear.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/13/21
Here are Wednesday’s practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: CB Kevin Peterson, LB Joe Walker
Chicago Bears
- Signed: OLB Ledarius Mack, G Dareuan Parker, LB Rashad Smith
Houston Texans
- Signed: DT Michael Dwumfour
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: DB Tony Brown, T Dan Skipper
- Released: DB Robert Jackson
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: LB Nate Hall
- Released: DL Andrew Brown
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: TE Luke Stocker
- Released: OL Zack Bailey
New England Patriots
- Signed: S Sean Davis
New York Giants
- Signed: T Devery Hamilton
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: CB Linden Stephens
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: QB Danny Etling
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: LB Dylan Cole, DT Kyle Peko
Washington Football Team
- Signed: DB Cole Luke
- Released: K Chris Blewitt
Colts To Sign K Michael Badgley
The Colts’ kicker workout will lead to a signing. Michael Badgley agreed to terms to return to Indianapolis, per Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). He will join Indianapolis’ practice squad and serve as the backup option to Rodrigo Blankenship, who is battling a hip injury.
Badgley joined Brett Maher, Aldrick Rosas and Riley Patterson for the Wednesday audition. The Colts summoning Badgley for a physical was a fairly clear indicator he would be the pick, and they are bringing him back into the fold. Badgley began his career with the Colts, signing with the team as a UDFA in 2018. The Colts cut him after training camp, however, with Adam Vinatieri still thriving at that point.
An ex-Miami Hurricane, Badgley is best known for his three-year Chargers stint. The Money Badger kicked in 34 games for the Bolts from 2018-20. He made 94% of his field goal attempts as a rookie but connected on less than 73% of his tries in 16 games last season. The Titans cut Badgley after he missed a field goal and an extra point in Week 1.
Blankenship’s hip pain played a major factor in the Colts blowing a 19-point lead Monday night. The second-year kicker missed an extra point and two field goals in Indianapolis overtime loss. The Colts may well require their new emergency kicker’s assistance this week.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/13/21
Here are Wednesday’s minor moves, with the list being updated throughout the day:
Arizona Cardinals
- Promoted: S James Wiggins
Baltimore Ravens
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: OLB Jaylon Ferguson
Carolina Panthers
- Designated for return: G Pat Elflein
Chicago Bears
- Promoted: OLB Sam Kamara, RB Ryan Nall
Cincinnati Bengals
- Designated for return: DE Khalid Kareem
Dallas Cowboys
- Designated for return: CB Kelvin Joseph, TE Sean McKeon
Detroit Lions
- Designated for return: T Taylor Decker, DT Kevin Strong
Green Bay Packers
- Promoted: WR Equanimeous St. Brown
- Designated for return: TE Dominique Dafney
Houston Texans
- Designated for return: WR Danny Amendola, WR Nico Collins
Indianapolis Colts
- Designated for return: LB Jordan Glasgow
New England Patriots
- Promoted: LB Jahlani Tavai
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Promoted: TE Deon Yelder
Tennessee Titans
- Designated for return: S Amani Hooker
Washington Football Team
- Signed off Panthers’ practice squad: CB Corn Elder
- Placed on IR: CB Darryl Roberts