Carson Wentz is back on the practice field with the Indianapolis Colts.
Wentz participated in Monday's session, his first in August since suffering a foot injury during the first week of training camp. The quarterback said afterward that he's "optimistic" about playing in the Colts' season opener versus the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 12.
"I've played through a lot worse, but it's going to come down to what the doctors say," Wentz said.
Three weeks after having foot surgery, getting Wentz back at practice is a good sign for his progress. Upon undergoing surgery, the Colts announced a wide rehab window for the starting quarterback, ranging from five to 12 weeks.
The team estimated this week (the third post surgery) would provide a better indicator about whether Wentz's return would be closer to five weeks than three months. So the next few days are big for the QB's availability for Week 1.
The key isn't how much work Wentz did Monday, but rather how his foot responds afterward that will indicate how long his rehab will be. Swelling or soreness in the next few days would suggest that he's not quite ready to push up the timetable. Given that the Colts put most of their apples in the Wentz basket this season, trusting that the QB would bounce back from struggling in 2020, it will be interesting to see how much they push the signal-caller in his return.
All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson, who underwent foot surgery the same week as Wentz for a similar injury, also returned to practice Monday.
Injuries/COVID-19
- Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne, one of the team's two rookie first-round picks, left Monday's game against the New Orleans Saints with a foot injury. He played just three snaps before his early exit. Following the game, head coach Urban Meyer said it's likely a sprained foot but would know for certain on Tuesday. Meyer added that starting left tackle Cam Robinson did not play due to a sprained ankle.
- New Orleans Saints tight end Adam Trautman was taken to the locker room with an apparent injury during Monday's game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
- Seattle Seahawks linebacker Ben Burr-Kirven suffered a torn ACL on Saturday night, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, per a source informed of the MRI results. The former fifth-round pick will miss the season after working with the starters in the preseason and impressing in camp, Rapoport added. The Seahawks placed Burr-Kirven and wide receiver John Ursua on injured reserve.
- The Dallas Cowboys placed wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, safety Malik Hooker and defensive back Israel Mukuamu on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
- Los Angeles Rams running back Darrell Henderson left Monday's practice early with a slight sprain of his thumb, Rapoport reported. Henderson is slotted as the team's RB1 with Cam Akers out for the season. The team later confirmed it was a sprain with no ligament damage and that Henderson is day to day.
- New York Jets coach Robert Saleh said linebacker Jarrad Davis will be sidelined until about the team's bye in Week 6 because of the ankle injury he suffered this past weekend versus the Packers.
- The Arizona Cardinals activated defensive end J.J. Watt and linebacker Dennis Gardeck from the physically unable to perform list and wide receiver Andy Isabella from the reserve/COVID-19 list.
- The Jacksonville Jaguars placed edge Josh Allen on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
- The Chicago Bears removed offensive lineman Germain Ifedi from the physically unable to perform list.
- The Washington Football Team activated tackle David Sharpe off the reserve/COVID-19 list.
- The Baltimore Ravens placed linebacker L.J. Fort on injured reserve after he suffered a torn ACL this past weekend versus the Panthers. Coach John Harbaugh said he's "very hopeful" that tight end Nick Boyle, who's on the physically unable to perform list with a knee injury, will be able to play in the Sept. 13 opener versus the Raiders.
- San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said defensive tackle Maurice Hurst (ankle) and linebacker Mychal Kendricks (turf toe) will be out "at least a month."
- The Tennessee Titans placed defensive lineman Anthony Rush on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
- Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur said quarterback Jordan Love (shoulder), who sat out Week 2 of the preseason, will return to practice Monday.
- The Minnesota Vikings placed defensive end Janarius Robinson on injured reserve.
- The Cleveland Browns placed kicker Cody Parkey (quad), tight end Conner Davis (shoulder) and linebacker Montrel Meander (Achilles) on injured reserve.
- The Buffalo Bills placed offensive lineman Forrest Lamp on injured reserve.
- The New York Jets placed defensive end Carl Lawson on injured reserve.
- The Denver Broncos played center Brett Jones on injured reserve.
Visits
- Former Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Geno Atkins is visiting the Seattle Seahawks on Monday, Rapoport reported. Atkins was cleared to return to action in June following rotator cuff surgery in June. Veteran tight end Luke Willson is also set to visit the Seahawks later this week, per Rapoport. Willson has had three stints with the team since being drafted by Seattle in 2013.
Roster signings
- The Minnesota Vikings signed defensive end Everson Griffen and running back Ito Smith.
- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed tackle Jonathan Hubbard.
- The Buffalo Bills signed running back Kerrith Whyte and cornerback Tim Harris.
- The New York Jets signed defensive end Aaron Adeoye and offensive lineman Isaiah Williams.
- The Las Vegas Raiders re-signed offensive tackle Devery Hamilton.
- The Tennessee Titans claimed former Bengals defensive lineman Freedom Akinmoladun off waivers.
- The Denver Broncos announced the signing of running back Stevie Scott III.
Roster cuts
- The Washington Football Team released receiver Steven Sims.
- The Minnesota Vikings waived quarterback Danny Etling and linebacker Christian Elliss and waived/injured defensive tackle Jordan Scott.
- The Los Angeles Rams waived quarterback Devlin Hodges and defensive back Paris Ford and waived/injured running back Raymond Calais.
- The Indianapolis Colts waived defensive tackle Joey Ivie, linebacker Skai Moore and tight end Andrew Vollert.
- The Kansas City Chiefs released defensive end Taco Charlton, defensive back Will Parks and guard Bryan Witzmann and waived linebacker Riley Cole and quarterback Anthony Gordon.
- The Tennessee Titans waived kicker Tucker McCann and offensive linemen Paul Adams and Ross Reynolds.
- The Detroit Lions released center Evan Boehm from injured reserve with an injury settlement. The team also released Darius Jennings, nose tackle P.J. Johnson, running back Javon Leake, linebacker Robert McCray and quarterback Jordan Ta'amu.
- The Arizona Cardinals released tight end Ian Bunting and wide receiver Rico Gafford and waived cornerback Luq Barcoo.
- The Cleveland Browns waived wide receiver Alexander Hollins and offensive tackle Alex Taylor.
- The Cincinnati Bengals waived cornerback Donnie Lewis.
- The Seattle Seahawks waived quarterback Alex McGough and defensive tackle Cedrick Lattimore.
- The Buffalo Bills waived wide receiver Duke Williams.
- The Green Bay Packers released tight end Daniel Crawford.
- The Baltimore Ravens released defensive back Jordan Richards, offensive tackle Andre Smith and wide receiver Michael Dereus.
- The New York Jets waived cornerback Corey Ballentine.
- The Las Vegas Raiders released cornerback Rasul Douglas and guard Parker Ehinger and waived punter Corliss Waitman.
- The Denver Broncos waived/injured running back Adrian Killins Jr., waived guard Nolan Laufenberg and released outside linebacker Pita Taumoepenu.
- The Philadelphia Eagles have waived wide receivers Jhamon Ausbon and Hakeem Butler, center Harry Crider and cornerback Lavert Hill.
- The Carolina Panthers waived wide receiver Krishawn Hogan, guard Marquel Harrell and defensive tackle Walter Palmore.
- The Houston Texans waived tight end Kahale Warring and released running back Darius Jackson.
Retirements
- The Minnesota Vikings placed linebacker Cameron Smith on the reserve/retired list. Smith announced his retirement last week.
Preseason News
- New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones will play in Sunday's preseason game against the New England Patriots, Giants head coach Joe Judge said Monday, adding his expectation was that Jones would "play at least the first half." Jones has not played in the preseason previously.