Broncos To Add LB Avery Williamson To Practice Squad
The Broncos are adding another experienced linebacker. After bringing Micah Kiser in, the team is signing veteran Avery Williamson to its practice squad, Ryan O’Halloran of the Denver Post tweets.
Denver worked out Williamson and Dylan Cole on Tuesday, Mike Klis of 9News tweets, and will give the taxi squad spot to the former.
This has been a mostly quiet year for Williamson, whom the Jets traded to the Steelers just ahead of last year’s deadline. After not being connected to a team this offseason, Williamson did audition for the Jets’ new regime recently. He will join a Broncos team that is down starter Josey Jewell for the season.
Denver has used second-year linebacker Justin Strnad in place of Jewell alongside Alexander Johnson as a starter on the inside but has added Kiser and will now have Williamson in the fold. Williamson, 29, has started 85 games as a pro, doing so with the Titans, Jets and Steelers.
The Jets gave Williamson a nice contract in 2018, signing the former fifth-round pick for three years and $22.5MM. He has four 100-plus-tackle seasons, with the most recent coming last season (111) after a missed 2019 campaign due to an ACL tear. Although Williamson is an off-ball linebacker, he has also been fairly prolific in rushing the quarterback. Williamson has 15.5 career sacks, with the 2020 season being the only one in which he did not record multiple QB drops.
Should Williamson be elevated to the Broncos’ active roster ahead of Sunday’s game, he would face the Steelers, who used him as a four-game starter following last year’s trade. Kiser and rookie third-rounder Baron Browning, however, are currently the team’s second-string linebackers. But reinforcements have been necessary across Denver’s lineup, which is missing several starters after an injury-plagued stretch.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/5/21
We’ll keep tabs on today’s taxi squad moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: RB Tavien Feaster
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: K Elliott Fry, S Shawn Williams
Denver Broncos
- Signed: WR Josh Malone, LB Avery Williamson
- Released: G Harry Crider, CB Rojesterman Farris
Houston Texans
- Signed: OL Jake Eldrenkamp, OL Jordan Steckler
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: DT T.J. Smith
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: TE Jordan Matthews
- Released: LB Curtis Bolton, RB Kerryon Johnson, RB Chris Thompson
Washington Football Team
- Signed: K Chris Blewitt, WR Damion Willis
Falcons CB Isaiah Oliver Out For Season
The Falcons will be without one of their top cornerbacks the rest of the way. Isaiah Oliver suffered a knee injury in Sunday’s loss to Washington and will miss the remainder of the season, D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes.
Oliver, who is in a contract year, is set to undergo surgery Wednesday, Ledbetter adds. The former second-round pick played 81% of Atlanta’ defensive snaps in the team’s Week 3 win and has been a starter for much of his career.
This represents a major blow for Oliver, who had fared better to start his fourth season. After back-to-back rough years, Oliver will head to IR having rated as a top-15 cornerback (per Pro Football Focus). The Colorado alum allowed quarterbacks to complete 66 and 70% of their passes, respectively, in 2019 and ’20. This season, albeit in a smaller sample size, passers have only connected on 53% of the passes thrown in Oliver’s direction. Oliver, 25, has also forced a fumble this season.
Atlanta has 2020 first-round pick A.J. Terrell and offseason pickup Fabian Moreau as its top corners. Fourth- and fifth-round rookies Darren Hall and Avery Williams may also see more time as a result of Oliver’s injury. Williamson stepped into a larger role in Week 4, with Oliver’s injury leading to the Day 3 rookie playing 50 defensive snaps Sunday.
The Falcons are also placing punter Cameron Nizialek on IR due to a hamstring injury. They promoted recently acquired punter Dustin Colquitt to their active roster earlier today.
49ers To Sign Joey Slye, Place Robbie Gould On IR
The 49ers have agreed to sign kicker Joey Slye (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero). The veteran kicker will fill in for Robbie Gould, who will miss some period of time with a groin injury. Gould will miss at least three games. The 49ers placed him on IR Tuesday, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter), and will move Slye into his roster spot.
The 49ers scratched their longtime kicker just before kickoff Sunday and were forced to use punter Mitch Wishnowsky in double duty. Wishnowsky missed an extra point and a field goal in San Francisco’s loss to Seattle and will give way to a more experienced kicker in Week 5.
Slye, 26, spent some time with the Texans this year, pinch-kicking for Ka’imi Fairbairn. He wound up completing four of his five field goals while going 7-for-8 on extra points. Previously to that, he was with the Panthers, succeeding Graham Gano as the starting kicker in 2019 and keeping the gig through 2020. He 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.
His first game with the 49ers will come this week against the Cardinals. This will be Slye’s third team in 2021; Gould, 38, has been San Francisco’s kicker since 2017. He is attached to a four-year, $19MM contract that runs through next season.
Saints, K Cody Parkey Agree To Deal
The Saints are making another change at kicker. They are signing veteran Cody Parkey, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. This would stand to signal the end of Aldrick Rosas‘ New Orleans run.
Rosas has made just 1 of 4 field goal tries this season, having missed his past three kicks. The most recent came Sunday in a loss to the Giants. Parkey has not yet kicked during the 2021 season.
This deal appears set to be temporary. Primary Saints kicker Wil Lutz is only expected to miss a couple more games while recovering from his groin injury, Mike Triplett of ESPN.com tweets. Lutz aggravated a groin issue in early August. He has been New Orleans’ primary kicker since 2016.
Parkey has become a well-traveled specialist, having kicked for five teams as a pro. After two straight years as the Eagles’ kicker to start his career, which included a Pro Bowl nod in 2014, Parkey has not been with the same team in consecutive seasons since. He bounced to Cleveland in 2016, Miami in ’17, Chicago in ’18, Tennessee in ’19 and back to Cleveland last season. The Bears stint serves as Parkey’s most memorable stay, with the infamous “double doink” game spotlighting their kicker position throughout the following offseason.
The Saints have, in fact, cut Rosas. They initially signed the ex-Giants Pro Bowler as Lutz’s replacement during the preseason. Rosas, who kicked in six games with the Jaguars last season, continues to see his career trend in the wrong direction. While he missed a difficult field goal in the Saints’ loss to the Giants — from 58 yards out — he missed 36- and 52-yard tries in Week 3.
Parkey, 29, made 19 of 22 attempts to help the Browns to the playoffs. He did miss four extra-point tries in his second Cleveland stay and has not made a 50-yard field goal since 2019. The Browns placed him on IR earlier this year with a quad injury but reached an injury settlement in August, opening the door for Parkey to kick for another team this season.
Titans Add John Simon, Caraun Reid To P-Squad
The Titans have signed outside linebacker John Simon and defensive tackle Caraun Reid to the practice squad. Both veterans are now one injury away from making their 2021 debuts.
Simon first joined the Titans in July, replacing fellow pass rusher Tuzar Skipper on the offseason roster. Before that, he spent three years with the Patriots. In 2020, he started in all 16 games and registered 53 stops with two sacks. All in all, he’s got 97 appearances and 52 career starts to his credit for the Ravens, Texans, Colts, and Patriots.
Reid, meanwhile, 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 the Titans, 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 reserve. Overall, the Princeton alum has 54 appearances to his credit, including 16 starts.
Cardinals Cut CB Quinton Dunbar From Practice Squad
Quinton Dunbar‘s time with the Cardinals has come to an end. The club released him from the 16-man practice squad on Tuesday, making him a full-fledged free agent.
Dunbar joined the Cards just one week ago to backstop the team’s Byron Murphy-headed cornerback corps. Before that, he spent the offseason with the Lions and later showed his stuff for the Bills.
The Cardinals have been working with Murphy and fourth-round rookie Marco Wilson as their starting corners with some help from Robert Alford and others. Darqueze Dennard is out of the picture following his release – ditto for Malcolm Butler, who currently resides on Arizona’s reserve/retired list.
Two years ago, Dunbar broke out with Washington via a four-interception season that ended with the former UDFA allowing just a 61.2 passer rating while targeted. Washington’s new regime traded Dunbar to Seattle in 2020, and an injury ended a less successful season after six games. The six-year veteran will now look to bounce back elsewhere.
Chiefs Promote Josh Gordon
The Chiefs have promoted Josh Gordon to the 53-man roster, per a club announcement. With that, the wide receiver could debut as soon as this Sunday night against the Bills. 
“I‘m just gonna play it by ear and see how he feels,” head coach Andy Reid said earlier this week (via Sam McDowell of The Kansas City Star). “Really, it’s more of a comfort thing with the offense. I don’t want to put him in a bad situation out there.”
The early word has been promising. Despite his well-documented troubles and past difficulties with grasping the playbook, Gordon has been clicking with his new club on the practice field.
The Chiefs, as always, have been scoring with ease this year, but Gordon will give opposing defenses another headache to contend with. Even though he’s years removed from his best work, Gordon is one of the most naturally talented receivers of his generation. To this day, his 14-game 2013 campaign sits sixth on the NFL’s receiving yards-per-game list (117.6).
If Gordon plays in Week 5, it’ll mark his first live NFL action since December of 2019.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/5/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Atlanta Falcons
- Promoted: DT Mike Pennel
Chicago Bears
- Waived: WR/KR Nsimba Webster
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: S Michael Thomas
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: OL Hjalte Froholdt (from Texans’ practice squad)
Detroit Lions
- Signed: OL Ryan McCollum (from Texans’ practice squad)
Kansas City Chiefs
- Designated for Return: LB Willie Gay
- Placed on IR: DE Joshua Kaindoh
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: CB Brandon Facyson (from Chargers’ practice squad)
Minnesota Vikings
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Harrison Hand
New York Jets
- Placed on IR: LB Hamsah Nasirildeen
- Promoted: OL Isaiah Williams
Washington Football Team
- Promoted: CB Danny Johnson, LB Jordan Kunaszyk
Dolphins Trade Jakeem Grant To Bears
The Dolphins are trading wide receiver Jakeem Grant to the Bears (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero). In exchange, the Bears will ship a 2023 sixth-round draft pick to the ‘Fins. 
Grant survived the Dolphins’ final round of cuts, but only after agreeing to a reworked deal. The receiver’s new contract is both cheaper and shorter. He was set to be under club control for two more seasons. Now, he’s got just one more year to go, so he’ll be a free agent in the spring of 2022. The revised pact — now owned by the Bears — leaves him with a one-year deal worth up to $3MM via incentives.
Grant registered 36 receptions for 373 yards and one touchdown through 14 games in 2020. Then, a high-ankle sprain in December cut his season short. Before he was placed on IR, Grant stood as the league leader in punt return yards (330) and per-return average (11.4). He also added to his highlight reel with a punt return for a TD against the the Rams in November —a difference-maker in their 28-17 win.
He didn’t factor much into the Dolphins’ early-season offense, catching two passes for a net loss of seven yards. On special teams, he’s got eight punt returns for 59 yards (7.4 on avg) and two kick returns for 46 yards (23.0 avg).
In Chicago, Grant will likely take over KR/PR duties from Khalil Herbert and Nsimba Webster.