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
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/14/21
Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:
Cincinnati Bengals
- Released from IR via injury settlement: CB Donnie Lewis
Detroit Lions
- Waived: G Tommy Kraemer
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed off Bears practice squad: DT Damion Square
New Orleans Saints
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: WR Michael Thomas; Thomas tested positive for COVID-19
- Signed: DL Montravius Adams, S Jeff Heath
- Waived: FB Adam Prentice
New York Jets
- Placed on IR: LB Blake Cashman, DB Lamarcus Joyner (story), P Braden Mann
- Signed: OL Isaiah Williams, S Jarrod Wilson
Philadelphia Eagles
- Released from IR via injury settlement: S Obi Melifonwu
San Francisco 49ers
- Promoted: CB Dontae Johnson
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: LB Jon Rhattigan
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Released from IR via injury settlement: OL Earl Watford
Washington Football Team
- Promoted: LB Jared Norris
WFT To Place Ryan Fitzpatrick On IR
It was the fear yesterday, but now it’s official. Washington quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick suffered a hip subluxation during the team’s loss to the Chargers on Sunday, head coach Ron Rivera confirmed. The veteran is expected to miss the next six to eight weeks, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter).
Rivera announced that Fitzpatrick will be placed on injured reserve, sidelining him for at least the next three games. That means that it’ll be Taylor Heinicke under center when Washington takes the field in just a few days for a Thursday Night Football game against the Giants. It also means it’ll be Heinicke leading the team for the foreseeable future. If there’s any good news, it’s that Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets that there’s “no indication yet that it’s season ending.”
Rivera said Fitzmagic is getting second opinions to determine the severity. For now it’ll be Kyle Allen backing up Heinicke. Washington is coming off a division title and had high expectations for this season, leading many to speculate they could look to add a veteran signal-caller.
Recently release Cam Newton, of course, is very well acquainted with Rivera from their days in Carolina together, although it looks like for now the plan is to roll with Heinicke and see how he fares. Beat reporters at the press conference say Rivera was firm about staying in-house for now. If the former UDFA struggles, then it wouldn’t be surprising for Washington to look outside the building.
It’s a tough blow for Fitz, who was injured in the first half of the first game with his new team. He’ll turn 39 in November, so it’s fair to wonder how easy of a recovery this will be for him. Here’s to hoping he gets back as soon as possible.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/13/21
We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: CB Corn Elder, S Jalen Julius, CB Rashaan Melvin
- Released: WR Omar Bayless
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: WR Robert Foster , K Lirim Hajrullahu
- Placed on IR: CB Deante Burton, S Darian Thompson
Kansas City Chiefs
- Released: WR Maurice Ffrench
Miami Dolphins
- Released: FB Carl Tucker
New Orleans Saints
- Reverted to practice squad: K Aldrick Rosas, S Jeff Heath
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: S Chris Cooper
Washington Football Team
- Signed: QB Kyle Shurmur
Shurmur will give WFT another option as Ryan Fitzpatrick recovers from his hip injury. For now, this likely means that Taylor Heinicke will serve as their starter. Heinicke stepped in for Fitz against the Chargers on Sunday, completing 11-for-15 passes for 122 yards and a touchdown.
Hip Injury For WFT’s Ryan Fitzpatrick
Ryan Fitzpatrick is believed to have suffered a hip subluxation (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). The Washington quarterback will know more after a Monday morning MRI, but the training staff is hopeful that nothing was broken. 
Fitzpatrick was forced out in the second quarter against the Chargers on Sunday. Taylor Heinicke took over in his stead, completing 11-for-15 passes for 122 yards and a touchdown. Ultimately, that wasn’t enough for the WFT — the Bolts walked away with a 20-16 win.
Heinicke hasn’t started a regular-season game since the end of 2018, but he’s on track to be first string in Week 2. Of course, he also managed 306 yards and a touchdown against the Bucs in the playoffs. They’ll be facing the Giants, who are coming off of a 27-13 loss to the Broncos.
Fitzpatrick, now 38, led the Dolphins to a 9-11 record in 20 starts between 2019 and 2020. He completed 64.2% of his passes in that span, throwing for 5,620 yards, 33 touchdowns, and 21 interceptions. He also continued to produce on the ground, finishing with 150 rushing yards for the 10th time in the past 13 seasons. Washington is hoping for more FitzMagic, pending tomorrow’s MRI.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/11/21
Here are Saturday’s practice squad moves:
Detroit Lions
- Signed: WR Javon McKinley
Seattle Seahawks
- Released: TE DeShon Williams
Washington Football Team
- Released via injury settlement: K Eddy Pineiro
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/11/21
With Week 1 games on tap for 28 teams Sunday, here is Saturday’s extensive batch of minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Placed on IR: LB Dennis Gardeck
- Promoted: LB Kylie Fitts, CB Antonio Hamilton
Cleveland Browns
- Promoted: LB Elijah Lee, K Chris Naggar
Denver Broncos
- Promoted: RB Damarea Crockett, CB Nate Hairston
Detroit Lions
- Promoted: T Will Holden, G Tommy Kraemer
Houston Texans
- Promoted: TE Antony Auclair
Indianapolis Colts
- Promoted: S Sean Davis, C Joey Hunt
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Promoted: DB Brandon Rusnak, WR Devin Smith
Los Angeles Rams
- Promoted: DB Tyler Hall, LB Justin Lawler
Miami Dolphins
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: T Austin Jackson; Jackson is the first player to test positive for COVID-19 and be activated the same week, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets, with the second-year offensive lineman’s vaccinated status allowing him to return five days after landing on Miami’s coronavirus list
New Orleans Saints
- Waived: T Caleb Benenoch
New York Giants
- Promoted: WR C.J. Board
New York Jets
- Placed on IR: S Sharrod Neasman
- Promoted: S Adrian Colbert, LB Del’Shawn Phillips
San Francisco 49ers
- Released from IR via injury settlement: T Shon Coleman
Seattle Seahawks
- Promoted: LB Jon Rhattigan
Washington Football Team
- Promoted: LB Jared Norris
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.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/7/21
We’ve compiled today’s practice squad moves below:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: RB Qadree Ollison
- Released: C Sam Jones
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: CB John Brannon
Chicago Bears
- Signed: LB Josh Woods
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: QB Jake Browning
- Released: P Drue Chrisman
Denver Broncos
- Signed: CB Saivion Smith
Houston Texans
- Signed: CB Cre’Von LeBlanc
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: OT Bobby Hart
New York Giants
- Signed: WR C.J. Board, OT Korey Cunningham
- Released: DB Jordyn Peters, G Kenny Wiggins
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: DE Henry Mondeaux, LB Delontae Scott, WR Tyler Vaughns
- Moved to IR: WR Rico Bussey
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: CB Gavin Heslop
- Released: TE Mark Vital
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: K Jose Borregales
Washington Football Team
- Signed: OT Evin Ksiezarczyk
- Released: C Jon Toth
Cowboys, Washington Out On Cam Newton
Cam Newton being cut for a second straight year may produce another lengthy free agency stay. Neither the Cowboys nor Washington appear to be interested in adding the former MVP.
Following Newton’s New England exit, Ron Rivera said a reunion with the eight-plus-year Panthers starting quarterback popped up on his radar. But the second-year Washington HC was quick to indicate Ryan Fitzpatrick is his starter, via Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post (on Twitter). Rivera added Washington will move forward with Fitz, Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen. Dallas followed suit, with Mike McCarthy adding the Cowboys are “pleased with the group” they have (via NFL.com’s Andrew Siciliano, on Twitter).
The Cowboys cut Garrett Gilbert and Ben DiNucci this week but claimed former Panthers third-round pick Will Grier, who joins Cooper Rush as Dallas’ QBs behind Dak Prescott. Considering Prescott’s season-ending ankle injury and the shoulder issue that emerged early in this year’s camp, the Cowboys having a proven backup would make sense. It just does not seem like they want to add Newton.
“You know, most people in the NFL that are even in the personnel area I think have Cam Newton evaluated, and his pluses and his minus. You know, [former Cowboys OC] Norv Turner did a great job … when he was coordinator [in Carolina] with Cam Newton. So, I think he’s no secret as to what he does and does well,” Jerry Jones said, during an appearance on 105.3 The Fan (via Pro Football Talk), when asked if he spoke with Bill Belichick about Newton.
“And of course he was basically able to be evaluated if you want to look at it playing games and results and all of that as an evaluation. Cam Newton is not playing because everybody has evaluated it and they’re making a decision. … We were very, very easy to evaluate Cam.”
Newton, 32, lost the Patriots’ QB1 job to Mac Jones and is not only coming off a rough 2020 season but a general decline over the past several years. The 2015 MVP ranked 29th in cumulative Total QBR from 2016-19; a foot injury capped the last of those seasons at two games. The other two quarterbacks who saw time on that 2019 Carolina squad — Grier and Allen — join fellow ex-Newton teammate Heinicke in representing three-fourths of Dallas and Washington’s reserve QBs.
The Ravens have second-year UDFA Tyler Huntley as Lamar Jackson‘s lone active-roster backup, and Newton certainly would not pose a threat to Jackson’s job were the historically productive running quarterback to land with the game’s best active ball-carrying QB. But nothing has emerged on that front. It would make sense now if Newton waits for an injury to clear a path for a potential job.