NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/13/18
Today’s practice squad updates:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: OL Justin Evans
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: DB Ashton Lampkin
- Placed on injured list: DB Robert Jackson
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: G Oni Omoile
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: DT DeShawn Williams
- Released: DE Anthony Winbush
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: WR C.J. Board
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: WR Martez Carter
New York Giants
- Signed: DL Woodrow Hamilton
Washington Redskins
- Signed: OL Roubbens Joseph
- Placed on injured list: OL Casey Dunn
Zach Brown Expects To Be Cut By Redskins
Linebacker Zach Brown doesn’t expect to return to the Redskins in 2019, as Michael Phillips of the Richmond Times-Dispatch writes. Brown is under contract through 2020, but he was pulled from the starting lineup on Sunday and sees that as a sign. 
According to coaches, Brown missed his first start of the year because he missed practice during the week. However, the linebacker says that doesn’t wash.
“I mean, if a guy’s sick, he’s sick,” Brown said. “What was I supposed to do, go out there and throw up for you? I had a stomach virus. Wasn’t nothing I can do. Last year I didn’t practice at all until Friday or Saturday with my knee injury, so it’s kind of contradictory what they’re saying.”
Brown joined the Redskins on a three-year, $21MM deal in March, but the Redskins can save $5.75MM by releasing him this offseason. The move would leave them with $3MM in dead money, but Brown believes the Redskins will make that tradeoff.
“I think they’re just going in a different direction towards everything,” Brown said. “I’m going this direction, they’re going that direction. I’ll talk to them, but right now I’ve just got to focus on beating Jacksonville.”
The 6-7 Redskins still have a 10% chance of reaching the playoffs, according to Five Thirty Eight, but they’ll need a few breaks plus three straight wins against the Jaguars, Titans, and Eagles to salvage the season. With journeyman Josh Johnson under center, that may be tough to pull off. If the Redskins fall short, major changes are likely coming, and that could include parting ways with Brown.
Latest On Redskins RB Derrius Guice
There could be an issue in D.C. Running back Derrius Guice‘s rehab from a torn ACL has been delayed by an infection in his leg (via Kareem Copeland of the Washington Post). 
After surgery, Guice developed an infection that lasted two months and required three separate procedures to address the compromised tissue. During this time, he had to stay close to orthopedic surgeon James Andrews in Florida rather than being with his teammates in D.C.
“It really sucks, man,” Guice said. “Everywhere you go, you either have people asking how your knee is, how your rehab is going . . . or asking why you’re in Louisiana. ‘Why are you not with your team?’”
Because of the setback, Guice is unsure about when he’ll be able to resume football activities. He hopes to be ready by the time the Redskins’ organized team activities begin in early summer, but there are no guarantees.
Word of Guice’s issue comes days after we learned of quarterback Alex Smith‘s battle with a gruesome infection in his broken leg. Guice, by all accounts, is out of the woods, but Smith’s infection and subsequent surgeries have put his football future in jeopardy.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/12/18
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Buffalo Bills
- Promoted from practice squad: RB Keith Ford, S Dean Marlowe
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: G Nico Siragusa (from Ravens practice squad)
- Placed on IR: G Byron Bell
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: OL Jamil Demby (from Lions practice squad)
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: G/C Hroniss Grasu
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed off Texans’ practice squad: DE Daeshon Hall
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: LB Emmanuel Ellerbee
Washington Redskins
- Signed off Texans’ practice squad: G Kyle Fuller
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/11/18
Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: LB Jonathan Anderson
- Signed from Seahawks’ practice squad: DT Vincent Valentine
- Placed on IR: LB Thurston Armbrister
Buffalo Bills
- Placed on IR: CB Taron Johnson
Los Angeles Rams
- Promoted from practice squad: LB Trevon Young
- Placed on IR: Dominique Hatfield
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: OL Cameron Hunt, OL Denver Kirkland
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed off Cowboys’ practice squad: S Tyree Robinson
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Promoted from practice squad: TE Tanner Hudson
- Placed on IR: LB Kevin Minter
Washington Redskins
- Signed off Texans’ practice squad: G Kyle Fuller
- Waived: C Demetrius Rhaney
NFL Workout Updates: 12/11/18
Here’s the latest from the NFL’s workout circuit, all links going to NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account (unless otherwise noted). The first day teams can sign players to reserve/futures contracts is New Year’s Eve.
Arizona Cardinals
- DT Toby Johnson (link)
Buffalo Bills
- LB Marquis Flowers (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Mike Rodak)
Cleveland Browns
- WR Chance Allen, WR Devin Lucien, WR Brandon Reilly, T Dakoda Shepley, LB Alex Singleton (link)
Denver Broncos
- WR Shay Fields, LB Chris Frey, CB Kameron Kelly, LB Hau’oli Kikaha, CB Trevon Mathis, QB Bo Levi Mitchell (CFL tryout), DL Henry Mondeaux, LB Tegray Scales, LB Robert Spillane, WR Greg Ward (Twitter links)
Detroit Lions
- DT Joshua Frazier, DT Greg Gilmore, DE Alec James, T Jarron Jones, LB Jacob Pugh, DT Elijah Qualls, DE Jonathan Wynn (link)
Green Bay Packers
- DB Tevaughn Campbell (link)
Houston Texans
- LB Kennan Gilchrist, CB Josh Hawkins (Twitter links)
Indianapolis Colts
- CB Johnathan Alston, T William Poehls, DT DeShawn Williams (link)
Jacksonville Jaguars
- WR C.J. Board, LB Farrington Huguenin, DE Alec James, TE Marcus Lucas, TE Troy Mangen, WR Jordan Veasy, LB Antwione Williams (link)
Los Angeles Rams
- LB Sam Eguavoen (CFL tryout) (link)
New York Jets
- LB Zaire Anderson, LB Kwaku Boateng (CFL tryout), RB Joel Bouagnon, RB Mack Brown, RB Martez Carter, LB Jonathan Celestin, LB Avery Ellis (CFL tryout), LB Manase Hungalu, K Ty Long (CFL tryout), T Ryker Mathews (CFL tryout), WR Bryant Mitchell (CFL tryout), RB Akrum Wadley, WR D’haquille Williams (CFL tryout) (link)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- LB Emmanuel Smith (link)
Tennessee Titans
- T Cornelius Lucas, G/T Austin Pasztor (Twitter links)
Washington Redskins
- G Kaleb Johnson, G Jordan Morgan, T Norman Price (link)
Jordan Reed Sprains Foot
- The Redskins have had some of the worst injury luck in the league, and got even more bad news today. Tight end Jordan Reed sprained his foot, Schefter notes, and will presumably miss some time. Reed has been plagued by injuries the past few years, but had been able to stay healthy so far this year. He’s dealt with foot injuries in the past, so this could very well wind up ending his season. The Redskins are looking to finish strong with new quarterback Josh Johnson, and this will make things significantly more difficult for the offense.
Josh Johnson Will Start For Redskins Moving Forward
The Redskins are making a quarterback change. The Mark Sanchez-era is over just after it got started, as the team will start Josh Johnson moving forward, coach Jay Gruden announced after the game (link via Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk).
Sanchez played awfully and put up zero points by the time he was benched, tossing two interceptions. Johnson came into the game and immediately provided a spark, leading two scoring drives and putting 16 points on the board to make the loss slightly less lopsided. Redskins players immediately responded to and rallied around Johnson, so the permanent switch to him isn’t a surprise.
Incredibly, Johnson hadn’t thrown a regular season pass since 2011 when he was suddenly thrust into the game. Johnson was only signed off the street less than two weeks ago after Colt McCoy‘s season ending injury, so his play was impressive. Johnson, who had been all set to join the San Diego Fleet of the upstart AAF league before getting the call from the Redskins, completed 11 of 16 passes for 195 yards, one touchdown and an interception, good for 12.2 yards per attempt.
Sanchez was six of 14 for 38 yards and two interceptions, including a pick-six, before exiting. He also struggled mightily last week when he came on in relief of McCoy on Monday Night Football. The Redskins’ season is quickly circling the drain after a surprising 6-3 start as they’ve been crippled by injuries. While still technically alive in the NFC East race, their playoff hopes have rapidly diminished, but perhaps inserting Johnson into the lineup can create some momentum and help them finish strong.
Redskins Discussed Colin Kaepernick; Latest On Team’s QB Outlook
The Redskins saw their once-promising 2018 season take a nosedive when starting QB Alex Smith broke his tibia and fibia in a loss to the Texans last month. Washington lost its next two games and also saw its backup signal-caller, Colt McCoy, suffer a season-ending injury of his own. So while the Redskins are technically still alive in the NFC playoff race, they now have to find a way to qualify for the postseason with Mark Sanchez under center.
The team recently signed Josh Johnson to serve as Sanchez’s backup, but Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports that the Redskins did discuss Colin Kaepernick before signing Johnson. Washington head coach Jay Gruden said Kaepernick was “talked about and discussed,” but the team ultimately did not reach out to him (in fact, Schefter says that no club has contacted Kaepernick to gauge his interest or arrange a workout this year).
Gruden, of course, said that the decision to not pursue Kaepernick was a purely football one. He said the Redskins would have needed to change their offense too much to accommodate Kaepernick’s skill set, and that it may have been a different story if the team needed a new QB in Week 1 rather than Week 14. He did suggest that Kaepernick, who has not played a regular season snap in nearly two years, would have been a backup to Sanchez anyway and would not have been a candidate for the starting job. Gruden said, “[w]hen you’re talking about a backup quarterback this late in the game you want someone with a similar skill set to the quarterback you have. Not that Colin can’t do some of the things we’ve talked about, but we want someone with a little more familiarity.”
Speaking of Smith, Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reports that the 34-year-old remains in the hospital (video link). Smith suffered an infection stemming from the above-referenced injury and had to undergo another procedure as a result. Rapoport suggests that Smith is still battling the infection, and no one has been able to definitively say that Smith will be able to play football again. At the very least, he seems highly unlikely to be ready for the start of the 2019 season, so the Redskins will need to acquire a QB either via free agency or the draft.
Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com explores Smith’s contract situation and the Redskins’ options with respect to that contract in excellent detail. Ultimately, he suggests that Washington may have to defer as much as much as $27.2MM to future years just to have enough money to conduct business in the 2019 and 2020 seasons, and the entire article is well-worth a read, especially for Redskins fans.
Redskins QB Options
Alex Smith‘s done for the season, and as he continues to battle an infection cause by his devastating leg injury, it’s no guarantee he’s back in 2019. As such, the Redskins could be in the market for a new starting quarterback next year, and will need to make some tough decisions soon. With the latest developments on Smith’s health, his “return in 2019 does not seem like a realistic option” according to JP Finlay of NBC Washington, who took a look at some options for Washington.
Finlay thinks the Redskins will consider the likes of Tyrod Taylor, Teddy Bridgewater, and Nick Foles, but that their best path is ultimately through the draft. He notes that the team doesn’t have a ton of cap flexibility, and with the limited number of free agent quarterbacks available, will likely get priced out. That being said, the team has already won six games and won’t have a top pick in the 2019 draft, so they might miss out on the top couple of draft prospects as well.