SAINTS
Long snapper acquired
NEW ORLEANS -- The Saints have acquired veteran long snapper Jon Dorenbos from the Philadelphia Eagles for a seventh-round draft pick in 2019.
Dorenbos is a two-time former Pro Bowl who is entering his 15th NFL season. His trade to New Orleans on Monday comes after another Saints long snapper, Justin Drescher, appeared to be injured during last Saturday night's preseason victory over Houston.
Howie Roseman, the Eagles' executive vice president of football operations, said the decision to trade Dorenbos was "one of the most difficult decisions" the club has had to make because of Dorenbos' "performance on the field for so many years" and his relationships within the organization and the Philadelphia community.
Dorenbos has been with the Eagles since late 2006. His 162 regular-season appearances for Philadelphia are the sixth most in franchise history.
Earlier in his career, Dorenbos played for Buffalo and Tennessee.
Saints Coach Sean Payton said Dorenbos will play in New Orleans' preseason finale against Baltimore on Thursday night.
TE Phillips on IR
Coach Sean Payton said the club has placed tight end John Phillips on injured reserve and released defensive end Jason Jones.
Payton has not disclosed Phillips' injury, which apparently occurred before Phillips was held out of New Orleans' third preseason game against Houston last Saturday night.
Phillips, a seven-year veteran, was acquired half way through last season.
Jones, a 10-year-veteran who has played with Tennessee, Seattle, Detroit and Miami, was signed by New Orleans as a free agent after training camp, playing in two preseason games and making one tackle.
COLTS
CB Davis week to week
INDIANAPOLIS -- Two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Vontae Davis is listed as week to week after Coach Chuck Pagano said he was diagnosed with a "pretty significant" groin injury.
Davis was injured Saturday at Pittsburgh. He missed practice Monday to get a second opinion.
On Tuesday, Pagano said Davis did not need surgery. And although he didn't provide a timetable for Davis' return, Pagano's wording usually indicates a player will miss multiple weeks.
The addition of Davis to the injury list is yet another complication with cut-downs looming Saturday.
Andrew Luck has not yet been activated, starting center Ryan Kelly is out following foot surgery and now the Colts' top defensive player is out.
STEELERS
TE McDonald acquired
The Steelers have traded a fourth-round draft pick to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for tight end Vance McDonald and a fifth-round pick.
Coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday the move was made because he has been unhappy with the consistency of the tight ends on the roster. Jesse James is the incumbent starter, and Xavier Grimble, David Johnson and Jake McGee had been serving as his reserves during training camp.
McDonald, a second-round pick in 2013, is entering his fifth NFL season and started 30 games for the 49ers during his first four NFL seasons, including 11 in 2016. He caught 24 passes for 391 yards and four touchdowns last season.
In 48 career games, McDonald has 64 receptions for 866 yards and 7 touchdowns.
CHIEFS
LB Ragland checks in
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Former Alabama standout Reggie Ragland reported to the Chiefs but was not on the practice field Tuesday, one day after the Buffalo Bills shipped the linebacker to Kansas City for a fourth-round draft pick.
Ragland was injured all of last season and had fallen out of favor in Buffalo, which is in the midst of switching from a 3-4 to a 4-3 defense. The Chiefs play a 3-4 similar to what the Bills ran with Rex Ryan when they chose Ragland in the second round of the 2016 draft.
Chiefs Coach Andy Reid would not say when he expects Ragland to make it on the field. The Chiefs play their preseason finale Thursday night against Tennessee.
Reid did say that kicker Cairo Santos, who has missed most of training camp with a groin injury, could try field goals against the Titans, but backup Sam Ficken would continue to handle kickoffs.
TITANS
Decker, Davis return
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee wide receivers Eric Decker and rookie Corey Davis have returned to practice, and Coach Mike Mularkey isn't ready to rule either out of the Titans' preseason finale Thursday night at Kansas City.
Mularkey said the Titans will practice again today and will see how both receivers feel after limited work.
Both could use work with quarterback Marcus Mariota. The Titans signed Decker after their offseason program ended in June, while Davis, the fifth overall pick in the draft, was limited through the offseason coming off ankle surgery.
Davis did more in the team's final minicamp the last week of the offseason, but he hurt his hamstring Aug. 3 after missing the opening day of training camp.
GIANTS
Odighizuwa waived
One day after the NFL announced a four-game suspension for DE Owa Odighizuwa, the Giants waived their former third-round pick.
The move ends what had been an awkward storyline between the player and the team dating back to Odighizuwa's cryptic postings on social media in the spring which hinted at his retirement. Odighizuwa did not participate in most of the team's offseason workouts and was not at the mandatory minicamp, but he did show up for the start of training camp.
"It's unfortunate that things have gone in this direction," General Manager Jerry Reese said in a statement Tuesday, "but we wish nothing but the best for Owa as we all move forward."
Odighizuwa was suspended for violating the NFL's policy on performance enhancing drugs. If he is claimed by or signs with a new team, Odighizuwa will still have to serve the four-game suspension.
He posted 6 tackles in 18 career games over 2 seasons, missing most of his rookie year with a foot injury.
RAVENS
Flacco tossing ball
Ravens Coach John Harbaugh said quarterback Joe Flacco has begun throwing again as he gets closer to returning to practice ahead of the Sept. 10 regular-season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals.
"I will say he has started to throw. He's started to move around, do football stuff in the last two days," Harbaugh said after the Ravens' workout Tuesday. "He's moving toward practice."
Flacco has not practiced at all because of a back injury that he reported to the team on the eve of the first training camp workout. The Ravens initially hoped he'd miss just a week, but they announced two weeks later that while Flacco wouldn't play in any preseason games, he would return to practice during the preseason.
Harbaugh said the team is just waiting medical clearance before Flacco gets back on the field.
"We don't know that date (and) when that's going to happen right now," Harbaugh said. "We believe it's going to be real soon in time to prepare for Cincinnati and then he'll be out there."
Sports on 08/30/2017