Bills Rework S Jordan Poyer’s Contract
The Bills opened up some cap space today by reworking one of their veteran’s contracts. The team converted $5.2MM of safety Jordan Poyer‘s base salary into a signing bonus, according to ESPN Field Yates (via Twitter). The move will save Buffalo $2.6MM against the cap.
Thanks to the move, the organization has a bit more financial breathing room with about $4MM in cap space. Poyer’s cap hit will be reduced for the 2021 season, but it will jump from around $7.7MM to $10.3MM in 2022.
Poyer has spent the past four seasons in Buffalo, starting each of his 63 games. The former seventh-round pick signed a two-year extension with the organization in 2020, keeping him in Buffalo through at least the 2022 season.
The 30-year-old had one of his most productive NFL season in 2020. In 16 starts, the safety finished with a career-high 124 tackles to go along with two sacks, two forced fumbles, and two interceptions. Poyer also started each of Buffalo’s three playoff games, collecting another 20 stops.
Texans To Promote K Joey Slye From Practice Squad
Joey Slye is the Texans starting kicker … at least for the time being. The team will elevate the kicker from their practice squad today, reports Aaron Wilson (via Twitter).
Slye joined Houston’s practice squad earlier this week, and today’s move seemed all but inevitable when starting kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn landed on injured reserve. Per Wilson, Slye secured his spot as the Week 1 starter following a good week at practice, and the 25-year-old established a good rapport with long snapper Jon Weeks and holder Cameron Johnston.
Slye succeeded Graham Gano as the Panthers starting kicker in 2019, and he kept the gig through the 2020 season. The kicker improved a bit during his second full season, connecting on 29 of his 36 field goal attempts and 33 of his 36 extra point tries. After Carolina added Gano’s Giants camp competitor (Ryan Santoso) via trade, Slye landed on the waiver wire in late August and went unclaimed.
While Slye will temporarily hold the starting gig, he doesn’t have a firm grasp on the job. The organization signed Fairbairn to a four-year extension in 2020, and he’ll likely reclaim his gig once he recovers from a pulled muscle. The team also recently worked out ex-Chargers kicker Michael Badgley, so they have at least one backup plan if Slye struggles while Fairbairn is sidelined.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/10/21
Here are Friday’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: WR Antoine Wesley
Carolina Panthers
- Promoted: WR Alex Erickson
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Promoted: WR Jaydon Mickens
- Waived: S Chris Cooper
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/10/21
We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: K Elliott Fry
- Placed on practice squad IR: DL George Obinna
Baltimore Ravens
- Released: T Andre Smith
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: LB Kamal Martin
- Released: CB Jalen Julius
New York Jets
- Signed: OL Ross Pierschbacher
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: S Kai Nacua
- Released: LB Rashad Smith
Tennessee Titans
- Released: OL Christian DiLauro
Colts, RB Nyheim Hines Agree On Extension
The Colts continue to lock up cogs from their standout 2018 draft class. They added Nyheim Hines to the list Friday, signing the situational running back to an extension Friday, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
Hines agreed to a three-year, $18.6MM deal with $12MM guaranteed, per Yates. A big chunk of that total — $10.3MM — is guaranteed at signing, USA Today’s Josina Anderson tweets. In a backfield with Jonathan Taylor and Marlon Mack, Hines is now the Colts’ highest-paid ball-carrier — by a significant margin. A former fourth-round pick, Hines was going into a contract year. The Colts now have the Taylor-Hines tandem locked up for at least three more seasons.
This deal comes after the Colts locked down 2018 second-rounders Darius Leonard and Braden Smith earlier this summer. The big fish from that draft haul (Quenton Nelson) remains unsigned, but given the work Indianapolis has done to retain the supporting-casters from that group, a monster Nelson extension in 2022 appears likely.
Indianapolis slotted Hines as a passing-down back during his rookie year and added return duties to his plate in 2019. The team has kept Hines in these roles since, and the elusive North Carolina State alum has become one of the league’s best off-the-bench backs. He caught 63 passes as a rookie and added a second 63-catch season in 2020, amassing a career-high 862 yards from scrimmage last year.
At $6.2MM per year, Hines checks in among the top 12 highest-paid backs. A sizable gulf between the eight-man group earning north of $12MM annually and the field has emerged. Among backs on veteran contracts, only Melvin Gordon makes between $6.5MM and $12MM per year. But Hines did quite well for himself, with his new deal surpassing Chargers starter Austin Ekeler‘s AAV, and is set to aid Carson Wentz‘s transition this season.
Saints Place WR Tre’Quan Smith, CB Ken Crawley On IR
Jameis Winston‘s debut as the Saints’ starting quarterback will come without another of his top wide receivers. Tre’Quan Smith will begin the season on IR, Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.football tweets.
The Saints added Smith to their injury report Thursday, and the hamstring injury the fourth-year wideout has battled will shelve him for at least three games. Additionally, New Orleans placed veteran cornerback Ken Crawley on IR. Crawley is also dealing with a hamstring malady.
This injury has dogged Smith for several weeks. He has now tried and failed to come back from it twice. It caused the former third-round pick to miss extensive training camp time. It also comes, of course, at a key point for New Orleans’ passing attack, which will feature a new quarterback for the first time in 15 years. Michael Thomas‘ belated offseason ankle surgery will sideline him for at least the season’s first six games; the All-Pro is on the Saints’ reserve/PUP list.
Crawley represents key depth for a Saints team that has been undermanned at corner this year. The team traded for Bradley Roby earlier this week, however. That acquisition, pairing Roby with fellow ex-Ohio State standout Marshon Lattimore, looms larger now.
Thomas and Smith’s absences will leave Drew Brees‘ successor with a much lower-profile receiving corps. Although Marquez Callaway impressed throughout the Saints’ summer work, the team did not draft a wideout this year and has only return man Deonte Harris, third-year UDFA Lil’Jordan Humphrey and veteran Chris Hogan — who recently left the game to give lacrosse another try — at the position. Running back/wideout Ty Montgomery remains on New Orleans’ roster, and Kevin White resides on the team’s practice squad.
Titans To Add K Michael Badgley To P-Squad
After working out for the Texans earlier this week, Michael Badgley landed a gig with another AFC South team. The Titans are signing the former Chargers kicker to their practice squad, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.
Badgley lost his job to second-year kicker Tristan Vizcaino in camp but may have a chance to resurface soon. The Titans have experienced issues at kicker over the past two seasons and are going with another new one, former Jet Sam Ficken, to start this year. Ficken, however, is dealing with a groin injury that had him limited in Friday’s practice.
The Bolts’ kicker for most of the past three seasons, Badgley made nearly 94% of his attempts as a rookie in 2018 — including a 59-yarder — but saw that number dip to 72.7% in 2020. The Chargers kept Badgley on their active roster in 2019, despite an eight-game injury absence to start the year, when the NFL utilized stricter IR rules. But they did not greenlight a fourth season, going instead with Vizcaino, who has one career game under his belt.
Badgley, 26, worked out for the Texans this week, but the team went with ex-Panther Joey Slye. Slye will now fill in for an injured Ka’imi Fairbairn to start the season. Badgley will represent Ficken insurance and in-house competition.
Ficken, 28, kicked in 15 games for the Jets in 2019 and in nine last year. A former Greg Zuerlein injury replacement in Los Angeles, Ficken landed in Tennessee via waiver claim in early August. Tennessee used Stephen Gostkowski as its kicker last season, but the former Pro Bowler made less than 70% of his field goal tries. In 2019, the Titans endured a historically bad kicking campaign, using five kickers and seeing that quintet go a combined 8-for-18.
Washington Puts Curtis Samuel On IR
The Washington Football Team will place Curtis Samuel on the injured reserve list today (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). It’ll be a short-term IR stint for the wide receiver, allowing him to return after just three missed games.
Samuel joined Washington on a three-year deal this year that could pay him up to $35.25MM with $24.5MM guaranteed. Unfortunately, he’s been saddled by a groin injury that will prevent him from starting the year with his club. At best, Samuel can return for Week 4 against the Falcons. On the plus side, head coach Ron Rivera says that he won’t need surgery.
Washington struggled to find a second receiver to pair with top wideout Terry McLaurin in 2020. Samuel was — and still is — expected to round out the group.
The 2017 second-round pick has progressively improved his numbers during each of his four NFL seasons. His best came in 2020 when he finished with a career-high 1,051 yards from scrimmage to go along with five touchdowns for the Panthers. Samuel also garnered a career-high 41 rushing attempts, showcasing his ability to serve as a Swiss Army Knife-type weapon.
Without Samuel, Washington is left with McLaurin, Adam Humphries, third-round pick Dyami Brown, DeAndre Carter, Cam Sims, and seventh-round rookie Dax Milne at WR.
Ravens Place Nick Boyle On IR
Another one down for the Ravens. On Friday, the team placed tight end Nick Boyle on short-term injured reserve. 
[RELATED: Ravens To Sign Murray]
Boyle is still healing up from the knee injury he suffered in November of last year. He also had microscopic surgery on the knee recently, but that only elongated his rehab. The good news is that Boyle is expected to return this year. The league’s short-term IR list allows for players to return after three games and that’s a feasible timetable, per head coach John Harbaugh.
“[We just want to] get his knee right, get his body right,” Harbaugh told reporters on Friday. “We expect him to be back Week 4, Week 5, somewhere in there, whenever he gets back.”
It’s just the latest blow to an offense that’s already without running backs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards. Without Boyle, the Ravens will be leaning more on tight ends Mark Andrews and Eric Tomlinson, though Tomlinson is more of a blocker than a pass catcher, and not as strong of a protector as Boyle.
Boyle’s best season as a receiver came in 2019, when he had 31 catches for 321 yards and two touchdowns. The Ravens have him under contract through 2023 thanks to the two-year, $13MM extension he inked back in January.
Ravens, RB Latavius Murray Agree To Deal
The Ravens have agreed to sign Latavius Murray (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). It’s a one-year deal for the running back, giving Baltimore yet another accomplished veteran in the backfield. 
The Ravens recently added Le’Veon Bell and Devonta Freeman to their practice squad, giving them the most star-studded 16-man unit in the league. There’s no doubt that they needed the reinforcements after losing J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards, and Justice Hill to season-ending injuries. Now, they’ve got UDFA Ty’Son Williams, recent pickup Trenton Cannon, and Murray as their three RBs on the main roster.
Murray averaged 4.0 yards per carry in his two seasons as the Raiders’ primary starter. While he rushed for 12 touchdowns in 2016, Murray saw Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington eat into his workload. That led him to the Vikings in 2017 followed by a four-year, $14.4MM deal with the Saints in 2019.
Missing just one game during his two-year Saints stay, Murray totaled 1,293 rushing yards with the team. He scored eleven touchdowns as a Saint, filling in for an injured Alvin Kamara at times in both seasons. The Saints moved on from the 31-year-old earlier this week, but the Ravens were happy to put him to work.
Between Murray, Freeman, Bell, and quarterback Lamar Jackson, the Ravens now employ four players with a 1,000+-yard rushing season on the resume.