Jaguars Place Travis Etienne On IR
2:33pm: Etienne’s injury Monday night will knock him out for the season. The Jaguars placed the Clemson product on injured reserve. While the NFL is again allowing players to return from IR after three weeks, that only applies after the season begins. Due to landing on IR now, Etienne cannot play for the Jags until 2022. This certainly marks a brutal blow for a player who was on the 2020 first-round radar but opted to return for his senior season.
Jacksonville has the depth to withstand this blow, but after surprisingly selecting Etienne in Round 1, the team is now down a key asset that stood to help Trevor Lawrence. Etienne and Lawrence starred together at the ACC powerhouse for the past three years. Etienne’s four-year, $12.898MM rookie contract is fully guaranteed.
1:31pm: Jaguars first-round running back Travis Etienne has been diagnosed with a serious Lisfranc injury that will sideline him for several months (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). Doctors will monitor his progress from here, but the injury is a potential season ender. 
The injury forced him out of Monday night’s preseason loss to the Saints. At minimum, doctors say Etienne will be out for 12 weeks following surgery. Considered a top prospect in the 2020 class, the Clemson product surprised many by returning for his senior season. His yards-per-carry figure dropped from 7.8 to 5.4, which probably helped the Jaguars secure him at No. 25 overall.
Despite the dropoff, the Jags were excited to add him given his upside, 1,600-yard seasons (2x), and 70 career rushing TDs. Even though he was outshined by Alabama’s Najee Harris last year, he’s a solid prospect in his own right. Some scouts say that Etienne even improved in certain parts of the game, like receiving and pass blocking.
Fortunately, the Jaguars are still well equipped at RB with rising star James Robinson and veteran Carlos Hyde leading the way. They also plan to deploy him him at WR occasionally when he returns, but they’ve got D.J. Chark, Marvin Jones, and Laviska Shenault to hold down the fort in the interim.
Seahawks To Acquire Texans CB John Reid
Rather than cutting John Reid, the Texans found an 11th-hour taker for the second-year cornerback. The Seahawks are acquiring Reid, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. The Texans had planned to merely waive the 2020 draftee ahead of the 3pm CT deadline for teams to trim their rosters to 80 players, but they will now obtain something in return.
Seattle will send Houston a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2023 draft. This marks the second straight day the Texans have made a trade involving both a cornerback and a seventh-round pick. Houston sent a 2022 seventh to Green Bay for Ka’Dar Hollman on Monday — a move that helped pave Reid’s way out of town.
The Penn State product, however, generated interest and will have a chance to stick with the Seahawks. Reid played in 13 Texans games last season and made 13 tackles. Houston used Reid on 145 defensive snaps during his rookie year. Reid checks in at just 5-foot-10, which is a bit shorter than the corners the Seahawks usually target. He did have a four-season role with the Nittany Lions, intercepting seven passes from 2015-19.
The Seahawks, who lost Shaquill Griffin in free agency, have made a few additions at this position this year. They signed Ahkello Witherspoon, brought back Damarious Randall — whom they are moving back to corner after his years-long run at safety — and drafted Tre Brown in Round 4.
Panthers Extend Robby Anderson
The Panthers will keep Robby Anderson around for a while. On Tuesday, the wide receiver agreed to a two-year, $29.5MM re-up (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). The deal gives him $14.75M per year and more than $20MM guaranteed at signing. 
This marks yet another lucrative short-term deal for Anderson, who inked a two-year, $20MM contract with the Panthers last year. Now set to enter his age-28 season, the former UDFA will have a chance to cash in all over again before his 30th birthday.
After reconnecting with old Temple pal Matt Rhule, Anderson set new career highs in receptions (95) and yards (1,096). In fact, the 95 catches were 32 more than the 6’3″ wideout ever totaled in a single season. He also had three touchdowns, a mark that he could easily top in 2021.
Anderson was always a downfield threat with the Jets, but he really put it all together in Joe Brady‘s Panthers offense. Together with D.J. Moore, the WRs combined for nearly 2,300 yards in their first season together. The Panthers are expecting more of the same going forward, though they’ll have to address Moore’s deal beyond 2022.
Panthers Cut DT Caraun Reid
The Panthers have released defensive tackle Caraun Reid and defensive end Kendall Donnerson, per a club announcement. Combined with their three cuts from Monday, the Panthers are now down to the 80-man max in advance of today’s deadline. 
Reid has played for seven NFL teams since coming into the league in 2014. The veteran now has a chance to accomplish a rare NFL feat. Should he make a new team’s 53-man roster, he’ll have played for six teams in the past six years.
The 29-year-old (30 in November) bounced on and off the Jaguars’ active roster in 2020. He saw time in seven games with Jacksonville last season — all as a backup. Before that, he started three games for the 2019 Cardinals and played for the Cowboys, Lions and Chargers in the three previous years. Reid also spent time with the Colts and Washington but never saw regular season action with those teams. Overall, the Princeton alum has played in 54 games and started 16.
Donnerson, a former seventh-round pick of the Packers, has also inked deals with the Raiders, Bengals, and Saints. However, he has yet to see live action.
Colts Cut Eddy Pineiro
The Colts have cut kicker Eddy Pineiro (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). That leaves Rodrigo Blankenship as Indy’s top leg moving forward and puts a decent kicker on the waiver wire just before the start of the season. 
Pineiro was perfect throughout the preseason but the Colts have decided to go in another direction. Pineiro joined the Colts back in May and seemed to have a real chance of unseating Blankenship. The UDFA out of Georgia was shaky throughout 2020, going just 1-of-3 from 50+ yards. Blankenship was supposed to be an accuracy kicker, but he also had a few critical misses from close range. To his credit, he did go 43 of 45 on extra point tries.
Pineiro appeared in all 16 of the Bears’ 2019 games, going 23-of-28 on field goals (82.1%) and 27-of-29 XPs. He’s perhaps best known for the trade that sent him from the Raiders to the Bears, furnishing Las Vegas with an extra seventh-round draft choice.
The rest of the league will have 24 hours to claim Pineiro. If he goes unclaimed, he’ll be free to sign with any club.
Falcons To Sign QB Josh Rosen
Shortly after the Falcons lost A.J. McCarron to a season-ending ACL tear, they have agreed to terms with Josh Rosen. The recently cut 49ers quarterback will head to Atlanta, per ESPN.com’s Jordan Schultz (on Twitter).
This will mark Rosen’s fifth team since 2018. The former Cardinals top-10 pick was in Miami by 2019 and spent the 2020 season in Tampa and San Francisco. The 49ers, however, made Rosen one of their first training camp cuts this year. The UCLA product cleared waivers shortly before McCarron’s injury, opening the door for this marriage of convenience.
Rosen has not played since the 2019 season, having spent the 2020 campaign on the Bucs’ practice squad and as a 49ers backup. The Falcons, however, have seen their QB room become light on experience behind Matt Ryan. Following longtime backup Matt Schaub‘s retirement, the Falcons signed McCarron. His ACL tear left rookie UDFA Feleipe Franks as Atlanta’s lone quarterback behind Ryan on the depth chart.
The fourth quarterback selected in 2018’s five-QB first round, Rosen has drawn some bad cards to start his career. He struggled on an overmatched Cardinals offense in 2018, and the franchise’s Kliff Kingsbury hire led to Rosen being traded to the Dolphins during the 2019 draft. Starting a rebuild, the Dolphins plugged in Rosen for three starts. Ryan Fitzpatrick held onto that job for most of the season. Rosen did not move up to the Bucs’ active roster during his time on what turned out to be a Super Bowl-winning team.
Overall, Rosen has not shown much to justify that original 10th overall draft position. The 24-year-old QB has completed just 55% of his passes (on 5.7 yards per attempt) and has thrown 12 touchdown passes compared to 19 interceptions. Rosen will attempt to learn a fifth offense, but Ryan has been one of the most durable players of his generation. The 14th-year Falcons passer has missed just three games in his career.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/23/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here. Teams have until 4pm ET/3pm CT Tuesday to reach the 80-man roster limit.
Arizona Cardinals
- Waived: CB Luq Barcoo (failed physical), TE Ian Bunting, WR Rico Gafford
Baltimore Ravens
Carolina Panthers
- Waived: G Marquel Harrell, WR Krishawn Hogan, DT Walter Palmore
Chicago Bears
- Released from IR via injury settlement: LB Ledarius Mack
Cincinnati Bengals
- Waived: DB Donnie Lewis
Cleveland Browns
- Waived: WR Alexander Hollins, CB Robert Jackson, OT Alex Taylor
- Placed on IR: TE Connor Davis, LB Montrel Meander
Dallas Cowboys
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: S Malik Hooker, WR CeeDee Lamb, S Israel Mukuamu, DT Carlos Watkins
Denver Broncos
- Signed: RB Stevie Scott
- Placed on IR: C Brett Jones
- Released: LB Pita Taumoepenu
- Waived: G Nolan Laufenberg
Detroit Lions
- Waived: DT P.J. Johnson, RB Javon Leake, OLB Robert McCray, QB Jordan Ta’amu
- Released: WR Darius Jennings
- Released from IR via injury settlement: OL Evan Boehm
Green Bay Packers
- Waived: TE Daniel Crawford
Houston Texans
- Waived: DT Auzoyah Alufohai, RB Darius Jackson, OL Drake Jackson
Indianapolis Colts
- Waived: DT Joey Ivie, LB Skai Moore, TE Andrew Vollert
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: OT Devery Hamilton
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived: RB Raymond Calais (injured), DB Paris Ford, QB Devlin Hodges
Minnesota Vikings
- Waived: LB Christian Elliss, QB Danny Etling, DT Jordon Scott (waived/injured)
New York Jets
- Placed on IR: DE Carl Lawson (story)
- Signed: DE Aaron Adeoye, OL Isaiah Williams
- Waived: CB Corey Ballentine
Philadelphia Eagles
- Waived: WR Jhamon Ausbon, WR Hakeem Butler, C Harry Crider, S Lavert Hill
Seattle Seahawks
- Placed on IR: WR John Ursua
- Waived: DT Cedrick Lattimore, QB Alex McGough
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: OT Jonathan Hubbard
- Released from IR via injury settlement: Sam Renner
Tennessee Titans
- Claimed (from Bengals): DL Freedom Akinmoladun
- Waived/injured: OL Paul Adams, K Tucker McCann, G Ross Reynolds
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: DT Anthony Rush
Texans To Waive CB John Reid
For the second straight day, the Texans will make a recent midround draft choice an early cut. They are waiving second-year cornerback John Reid, according to Sports Talk 790’s Aaron Wilson (on Twitter).
The Texans drafted Reid in the 2020 fourth round and used him as a starter in a game last season. Of course, considerable changes have taken place in Houston since. Many of the franchise’s Bill O’Brien-era draft picks are no longer on the roster. Three years remain on Reid’s contract, should another team use a waiver claim on last year’s No. 141 overall pick.
[RELATED: Packers Trade CB Ka’Dar Hollman To Texans]
Reid’s departure comes a day after the Texans informed former third-round tight end Kahale Warring he did not make it through their second round of cuts. Teams have until 3pm CT Tuesday to slash their rosters from 85 to 80.
A Penn State product, Reid played in 13 Texans games last season and made 13 tackles. Houston used Reid on 145 defensive snaps during his rookie year. New GM Nick Caserio did not draft any corners this year but did add Desmond King, Terrance Mitchell and Tavierre Thomas this offseason, creating a more crowded mix for the team’s holdovers to navigate. Monday’s Hollman acquisition further increased the Texans’ numbers here, and Reid wound up on the wrong side of the roster crunch.
Ravens Release T Andre Smith, S Jordan Richards
Two experienced players comprised part of the Ravens’ second wave of cuts Monday. The team released both tackle Andre Smith and safety Jordan Richards. Baltimore also waived wide receiver Michael Dereus. Teams have until 3pm CT Tuesday to trim their rosters from 85 to 80 players.
Smith had been with the Ravens since before their 2019 postseason began. Baltimore signed the former top-10 pick in January 2020 and re-signed him shortly after that season ended. However, Smith opted out of the 2020 season. The 34-year-old blocker is back in free agency, which has been a familiar place for him in the latter part of his career.
Smith’s initial Bengals run ended after the 2015 season. The team, however, did bring Smith back in 2017 and 2018 — following single- and half-season stints with the Vikings and Cardinals, respectively — and used him as a five-game starter in 2019. Cincinnati’s most recent Smith partnership ended with a November 2019 release.
The veteran tackle has started 98 career games, but the Ravens have 2020 third-round pick Tyre Phillips behind starters Ronnie Stanley and Alejandro Villanueva. Baltimore also rosters Ja’Wuan James, though he is not expected to be healthy for months after tearing his Achilles this offseason.
A six-year veteran, Richards played in all 18 Ravens games last season. His primary contributions came on special teams; the Ravens used Richards on 79% of their special teams plays. Richards, 28, re-signed with the Ravens in January. He initially caught on with Baltimore midway through the 2019 season, after his second Patriots stint ended.
Packers To Trade Ka’dar Hollman To Texans
New Texans GM Nick Caserio continues to wheel and deal. Houston has agreed to a trade to acquire cornerback Ka’dar Hollman from the Packers, a source told veteran NFL reporter Aaron Wilson (Twitter link). The Texans will send back a 2022 seventh-round pick via the Bears for Hollman, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
Caserio has made several trades recently, and this isn’t even his first one with Green Bay. The two teams recently worked out a deal for receiver Randall Cobb, at the behest of Aaron Rodgers. Caserio just traded corner Keion Crossen to the Giants last week, so Hollman can essentially be seen as a replacement in the secondary.
The Packers drafted Hollman in the sixth-round out of Toledo in 2019. He barely saw the field as a rookie, but took on a real role this past season. He appeared in 14 games for Green Bay, and even started one.
Hollman ended up playing a bit over 10 percent of the defensive snaps, finishing with 10 tackles and three passes defended. He was also a contributor on special teams, and is a bit on the older side for a third-year pro as he’ll turn 27 next month. Caserio is certainly being aggressive if nothing else as he continues to completely remake Houston’s roster.