NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/17/21
Here are Friday’s practice squad decisions:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: K Elliott Fry
- Released: OL Danny Isidora
Dallas Cowboys
- Placed on practice squad IR: WR Osiris Mitchell
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: LB Wynton McManis
Washington Football Team
- Signed: WR Marken Michel, WR Dalton Schoen
- Released: T Evin Ksiezarczyk
Titans Add Ryan Santoso To Practice Squad
Ryan Santoso will be with a third team in less than a month. After being traded from the Giants to the Panthers, the young kicker agreed to a practice squad deal with the Titans on Friday. Tennessee cut offensive lineman Christian DiLauro from its P-squad to make room.
This will be a return trip. The Titans gave Santoso his first game experience in 2019, bringing him in amid a turbulent kicking season. Santoso, however, was not one of the four Titans to attempt a field goal that year. The Titans used him as a kickoff specialist during his previous Nashville stay, which lasted three games.
The Panthers quickly cut bait on the third-year specialist, who made both his field goal attempts but missed an extra point in the team’s 19-14 Week 1 win over the Jets. Zane Gonzalez is now in place as Carolina’s kicker.
Tennessee also ditched its Week 1 kicker, Michael Badgley, and promoted its previous practice squad specialist — Randy Bullock — to its active roster. Santoso, 26, will now be in place behind Bullock.
A former Minnesota Golden Gopher, Santoso brings an interesting skill set that gives him additional appeal for a practice squad slot. The 26-year-old specialist has extensive punting experience as well, serving as the Big Ten program’s punter as a junior and senior. Santoso’s last season as a full-time kicker came in 2015. He has only worked as a kickoff man and a placekicker in the pros.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/17/21
Today’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Placed on IR: CB Chris Westry (story)
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: OLB LaDarius Hamilton (from Buccaneers practice squad)
New Orleans Saints
- Promoted: FB Alex Armah
Chargers Place Bryan Bulaga On IR
The Chargers have placed starting tackle Bryan Bulaga on the injured reserve list, per a club announcement. To take his place on the roster, they’ve added guard/tackle Michael Schofield III. 
Bulaga spent ten seasons in Green Bay, up until 2020 when he joined the Bolts. The 32-year-old stepped into the right tackle role last year, starting in all ten of his games. He resumed his role for Week 1, but his hip flexor hasn’t cooperated.
“It’s just more discomfort than anything. The MRIs are negative,” head coach Brandon Staley said recently (via the Associated Press). “We’re trying to give him adequate rest and the mobility recovery that he needs so he can go into this game feeling good.”
The 12th-year pro has battled injuries throughout his career, though he did manage 16 games in 2019 and 14 in 2018. The Chargers hope he’ll be back soon and healthy in the long-term as well. His three-year, $30MM deal runs through the 2022 campaign.
Packers Place Za’Darius Smith On IR
The Packers have placed edge rusher Za’Darius Smith on injured reserve, according to head coach Matt LaFleur (Twitter link via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com). The Packers initially hoped to have him ready for Week 2, but his back hasn’t healed as quickly as expected.
“We’re going to have to shut him down for a while,” LaFleur said. “[It’s a matter of,] do you keep him in a limited or do you shut him down for a while and try to get him up to the snap count we’d like him to be.”
Smith came off Green Bay’s active/NFI list August 9 but suffered setbacks shortly after. The Packers plan to exercise caution here, shelving Smith for at least another three games.
Smith, 28, also took issue with how the Packers restructured his contract earlier year. However, club officials have made it clear that Smith’s absence is strictly injury-related.
In theory, the two-time reigning NFC North champs are well equipped to handle Smith’s absence, given the presence of Preston Smith and former first-round pick Rashan Gary. Still, they didn’t look great in any facet last week as the Packers were crushed 38-3 by the Saints.
Browns Place Anthony Walker On IR
The Browns will place starting linebacker Anthony Walker on injured reserve with a hamstring strain (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). Fortunately, it’s expected to be a short-term matter, which means that Walker should return in three weeks. 
[RELATED: Browns Work Out Reuben Foster]
Walker started alongside Darius Leonard for three seasons with the Colts. Working as Indianapolis’ primary middle linebacker, he registered 321 tackles from 2018-20 and did not miss a game. He also posted 18 tackles for loss in that span, including 10 in 2018. Pro Football Focus did not grade Walker particularly well last season, slotting him near the bottom of its linebacker hierarchy.
Still, the Browns saw potential in the former fifth-round pick and moved quickly to sign him to a one-year, $3MM deal in March. He should resume his starting role on the other end of this IR stint and can return as soon as 10/10 against the Chargers.
Jaguars Release RB Duke Johnson
Duke Johnson‘s stay in Jacksonville may end up being brief. The Jaguars released the veteran running back from their practice squad Thursday, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
After a lengthy free agent stay, the former Browns and Texans passing-down back caught on with the Jags last nine days ago. Johnson is now back on the market.
Johnson, 27, did not play against his former team in Week 1, residing as an insurance option behind the likes of James Robinson, Carlos Hyde and Dare Ogunbowale. The Jags also have Devine Ozigbo on their 16-man practice squad.
A former third-round pick, Johnson landed a midlevel extension with the Browns. The team traded its longtime outlet option to Houston during John Dorsey‘s GM tenure, which featured the Browns landing ex-rushing champion Kareem Hunt to pair with Nick Chubb, and Johnson played two seasons with the Texans. With the Texans changing regimes this offseason, Johnson ended up being released in February.
The former Miami Hurricane began his career with five straight seasons of 400-plus receiving yards, topping out at 693 for the 2017 Browns, despite having started just 12 games in that span.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/16/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Baltimore Ravens
- Promoted: RB Devonta Freeman (story)
Detroit Lions
- Claimed (from Jets): CB Corey Ballentine
- Promoted: OT Will Holden
Houston Texans
- Placed on IR: LB Kevin Pierre-Louis
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: OL Charlie Heck
New York Giants
- Promoted: WR C.J. Board, TE Chris Myarick
New York Jets
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: WR Jamison Crowder
Giants Place G Shane Lemieux On IR
The knee injury Shane Lemieux suffered in late July has continued to plague him, and the Giants will give the young guard time to recover. They placed Lemieux on IR Thursday.
Inserted into the Giants’ starting lineup after Will Hernandez‘s COVID-19 contraction last year, Lemieux did not give up the job the rest of the way. After New York released Kevin Zeitler this offseason, Lemieux and Hernandez started in Week 1. Surgery may be in the cards for Lemieux, though that is not yet certain. The 2020 fifth-round pick playing again this season would be a surprise, per Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
[RELATED: Giants Promote Matt Skura]
Lemieux’s injury will force the Giants to get creative on their offensive line. They are set to start recent trade acquisition Billy Price at center and slide Nick Gates to left guard, Raanan notes. Such a promotion occurring in Week 2, which features a short week and a trip to Washington, will represent a stiff challenge for Price. The former first-round pick could not stick in the Bengals’ lineup, despite the team’s lofty investment, and was traded to the Giants for a late-round pick.
Lemieux could not make it through the first half against the Broncos, playing only 17 snaps. Ben Bredeson, the other O-line trade acquisition the Giants made ahead of the season, replaced him in the lineup. But the ex-Raven is set to return to a reserve role tonight.
Considering the issues the Giants had up front with their starting five available over the past several weeks, the team needing to make changes ahead of a Thursday road tilt is certainly bad news. The Giants are looking to avoid an 0-2 start for the first time since 2016.
DeMarcus Lawrence To Miss 6-8 Weeks
Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence had surgery on his broken foot earlier today, according to head coach Mike McCarthy (Twitter link via Todd Archer of ESPN.com). The recovery will rule him out for the next 6-8 weeks, but McCarthy believes Lawrence will be back before the season is through.
The Cowboys have placed Lawrence on IR. The league’s short-term IR allows players to return after as little as three missed games, though the Cowboys won’t see Lawrence until November, at the earliest.
“Obviously, losing DeMarcus, he’s a prime-time player for us. I thought he had a nice start in Tampa,” McCarthy said. “You hate to see these injuries to any of your guys, but what it does is it gives opportunities to the other players. How we will spread that out will be done through game plan. We’ll work on that today, tomorrow and Saturday. Specifically, we’ll get into that when we play the game.”
In the near term, they’ll have to get by without Lawrence and possibly Randy Gregory after his positive COVID-19 test. Dallas was already in an iffy spot with their D-Line — they were just one of two NFL teams without a sack in Week 1. That leaves them with less appealing options, such as Dorance Armstrong and Tarell Basham, backed by reserve DEs Bradlee Anae and Chauncey Golston.
Lawrence, a two-time Pro Bowler, notched 25 sacks between 2017 and 2018. He hasn’t approached that production since, but he was still solid in 2019 and 2020, collecting 11.5 sacks and 26 QB hits in 32 games (31 starts). From his sole game this year, he’s got five tackles and one forced fumble.