Jeremy McNichols will take the spot of Senorise Perry, who was placed on IR.
The Tennessee Titans have placed running back Senorise Perry on Injured Reserve and will promote fellow running back Jeremy McNichols from the practice squad to the active roster, the team announced on Wednesday.
We first got word that McNichols was being added to the 53-man roster by NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, although it wasn’t clear whose spot he was going to take.
We initially thought this might be bad news for rookie Darrynton Evans, who has been hampered by a hamstring injury and has yet to make his NFL debut.
Perry has been active for both games for the Titans this season, but has played mostly on special teams. He did get a pair of carries in Week 2, turning them into nine yards.
McNichols has been protected on Titans’ practice squad for each of the first games, but has been activated on game day for both with Evans out. He carried the ball twice for seven yards in Week 2.
Until Evans makes his debut, which could come this week, McNichols will get the scraps behind starter Derrick Henry, who has dominated the touches as expected through the first two weeks.
For Titans rookie Isaiah Wilson, this is his second stint on the COVID-19 list.
The Tennessee Titans announced four more roster moves on Sunday, one of which included placing rookie offensive tackle Isaiah Wilson on the Reserve/COVID-19 list.
On top of the move to place Wilson on the COVID-19 list, the Titans also placed defensive back Dane Cruikshank on IR and agreed to terms with cornerback Chris Milton and running back Senorise Perry.
Milton and Perry will join Tennessee’s active roster, taking the spots originally occupied by Cruikshank and Wilson.
This is the second time Wilson has been put on the COVID-19 list. He started off training camp there before later being removed. Players on that list have either contracted the virus or come in contact with someone who has.
It remains to be seen if Wilson will be ready in time for the Titans’ season-opener on September 14. Thankfully for Tennessee, they aren’t depending on him to be the starter at right tackle, as all signs are pointing to Dennis Kelly winning the job.
Cruikshank had missed several practices in a row, and on Saturday Paul Kuharsky reported the defensive back was expected to have a brief stint on IR, so this isn’t a surprise.
Milton and Perry were on the Titans’ roster during training camp, but did not make the initial 53-man roster when cuts were announced on Saturday.
Perry has made 59 appearances on his NFL career, and has posted 32 career special teams tackles. He could definitely be a factor on special teams, and has returned 23 kickoffs for 456 yards.
He’ll join star rusher Derrick Henry, Appalachian State’s Darrynton Evans, Dalyn Dawkins, Shaun Wilson and fullback Khari Blasingame.
Here’s the Buffalo Bills running back situation room entering the 2019 offseason.
Here is Bills Wire’s position-by-position breakdown of the team’s roster, continuing with the running backs, including the season that was and projecting forward:
The Buffalo Bills’ running backs situation took on new life this season, as four-year starter LeSean McCoy was released by the team ahead of the 2019 campaign. Buffalo’s ground attack started with veteran Frank Gore as the lead back early in the 2019 season.
Gore started eight games for the Bills, but his production slipped as the seasons progressed. He surpassed Barry Sanders for third on the all-time rushing list this season as his crowning achievement. The veteran also surpassed the 19,000-yard mark for yards from scrimmage mark.
However, it was easy to see that Devin Singletary’s explosiveness would catapult him into feature back territory eventually. The rookie finally did so and led the team with 775 rushing to the tune of 5.1 yards per carry. He also caught 29 passes this year as well.
Senorise Perry and TJ Yeldon also provided depth. Perry’s contributions were viewed most prominently on special teams. Yeldon ended up being the odd man out, failing to dress for 10 games this season.
Frank Gore #20. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
Contract situation
Singletary is under contract for at least three more seasons, as he is playing under his rookie contract. His cap hit will be $675,000 this year, a bargain if he reproduces his numbers from last year.
Yeldon, for his part, is signed through the 2020 season. He’ll count $1.9 million against the cap next year. His presence on the roster does give the team a solid pass-catching option out of the backfield, if necessary. But Yeldon was seldom found in the team’s active roster on game day in 2019..
Gore signed a one-year deal, as did Perry, during the offseason. Both were team-friendly deals. Gore still hasn’t decided if he’s going to retire or not, and who knows if the Bills would welcome him back? Perry played a mostly special teams role, but Buffalo’s unit did see a big improvement under now special teams coordinator Heath Farwell this season.
Christian Wade, who remains Bills property via international allocation, is also in the fold as he signed a reserve/ futures contract following the season.
The future
Outside of Singletary, this group is largely up in the air. While Gore was an ideal mentor to Singletary, his production late in the season makes it hard to think Buffalo would re-sign the veteran.
Perry could return as an essential part of the team’s special teams unit. However, he offers minimal out of the backfield.
Yeldon could never gain strong footing on a depth job. With Singletary’s emergence as a pass-catcher, this could continue to squeeze Yeldon from snaps, as Yeldon’s primary duty is to provide a receiving presence out of the backfield. His cap hit is reasonable at $1.9 million, but his dead cap hit is only $250,000. Buffalo could easily make this move if they find a replacement.
But one thing is for certain, Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott said he believes the NFL is a two-back league. So the Bills would have a spot for another without Gore.
The Bills will need to look for a reserve player (or players) to spell Singletary when he needs a breather. Buffalo looks to veterans for depth on the team, so there’s a good chance that the Bills would sign a veteran to backup Singletary. They could look to the draft as well, but the organization’s track record of finding veterans means they’ll test the free agency market.
