HEADLINES

Cowboys’ Dak Prescott Likely Heading To IR

November 6th, 2024 at 5:15pm CST by Adam La Rose

NOVEMBER 6: Prescott may be looking at a longer absence than four weeks. The initial diagnosis revealed a partial avulsion of his hamstring tendon — an injury in which the hamstring tendon is partially torn off the bone — NFL.com’s Jane Slater reports. Prescott is seeking additional opinions, but the Cowboys want a definitive timeline before acting here.

This sounds somewhat similar to the injury that knocked Tyron Smith out of most of the 2022 season. The then-Cowboys left tackle went down with an avulsion fracture, tearing a hamstring tendon during a late-August practice. He did not return until December that year, obviously opening the door to a reality in which Prescott does not return this season. But the Cowboys will wait on more information.

NOVEMBER 5: The hamstring injury which forced Dak Prescott to exit Dallas’ Week 9 loss threatens to sideline him for a notable stretch. Owner Jerry Jones said on Tuesday (via Jon Machota of The Athletic) the team’s franchise quarterback is likely headed to injured reserve.

Testing which took place yesterday revealed the injury is worse than the Cowboys originally thought. As a result, a multi-game absence was already expected, but that would be ensured by a stint on IR. Such a move would leave Prescott unavailable for at least the team’s next four contests, a stretch which includes games against each of the other three teams in the NFC East.

Given their current state of affairs, the Cowboys – losers of three straight – would have faced a difficult path back to postseason contention even with Prescott available. With him out of the fold for any notable period, attention would no doubt quickly turn to the offseason with a playoff berth becoming increasingly out of reach. Of course, Prescott’s absence would create opportunities for Cooper Rush (and potentially Trey Lance) to see time under center.

2020 marked the first and only time (for now, at least) that Prescott found himself on IR. He managed to miss only five contests since then prior to Sunday’s hamstring injury, one which represents an unwanted development on a number of fronts. Sitting at 3-5 on the year, Dallas already faced a steep climb to a wild-card spot, and reaching the postseason will be more difficult without last year’s MVP runner up in the lineup. Prescott secured an historic extension on the eve of the regular season, landing a four-year pact averaging $60MM per year – a $5MM bump from the previous top of the QB market.

Given the massive financial investment made in Prescott, his health over the long and short term will remain a central priority for the Cowboys. In his absence, Rush, 30, will look to add further to his 30 career appearances (including six starts) ahead of a trip to free agency. Lance is also on track to reach the open market this spring, and he could rebuild his value to a degree by seeing game action in Prescott’s absence.

Wideout CeeDee Lamb‘s AC joint sprain is not seen as serious, and he may be able to suit up in Week 10 against the Eagles. The same could also be true of edge rusher Micah Parsons, whose return would mark a notable boost on defense. In spite of that, the Cowboys’ chances of turning their season around are on track to take a hit with a Prescott IR stint.

Broncos Designate C Luke Wattenberg, LB Drew Sanders For Return

November 6th, 2024 at 4:49pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Broncos are 5-4 but did make a seller’s trade, unloading Baron Browning (to the Cardinals) for a sixth-round pick. This came shortly after the team extended fellow outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper.

Cooper and Nik Bonitto will continue to anchor Denver’s edge rush, while third-round rookie Jonah Elliss figures to see his snaps increase. But the Broncos also may have a boost coming from a 2023 third-rounder soon. Drew Sanders is now back at practice, returning to work months after suffering an Achilles tear.

While Sanders is in the PUP-return window, center Luke Wattenberg has received a return designation as well. Wattenberg spent the past four weeks on IR, but he is moving toward being one of the Broncos’ injury activations. Denver has used four and still has Josh Reynolds as a likely candidate to count for a spot. The free agent wide receiver pickup has not returned to practice. While he was in line to be back from the finger injury that landed him on IR, being wounded in an October shooting delayed the timetable.

Sanders will not count toward Denver’s eight activations, having resided on the PUP list all season. He went down soon after the Broncos started their offseason program in April, providing a runway toward a return this season. Last season, Sanders played in all 17 games and made four starts. At Arkansas in 2022, Sanders finished with 9.5 sacks and 103 tackles. His versatility could present options for his pro team as well.

An Alabama transfer, Sanders has spent time at OLB and in an off-ball linebacker spot. A role as a pass rusher would help the Broncos, who could effectively have him replace Browning, though the team also lost top tackler Alex Singleton for the season. Justin Strnad has worked as Singleton’s primary replacement alongside Cody Barton.

Wattenberg beat out Alex Forsyth for the center job following Lloyd Cushenberry‘s free agency defection. Pro Football Focus has viewed Forsyth as having been the better option this season, ranking the 2023 seventh-round pick — who snapped to Bo Nix at Oregon during the 2022 season — 11th compared to Wattenberg’s 28th-place ranking. It will be interesting to see how the Broncos proceed here. If nothing else, the player edged out of the starting lineup would represent important depth.

Steelers Inquired On Seahawks’ D.K. Metcalf

November 6th, 2024 at 3:53pm CST by Sam Robinson

Had Christian Kirk not gone down with a broken collarbone, the Jaguars wide receiver may well have become the Steelers’ long-sought-after wide receiver solution. With Kirk’s Week 8 injury taking him out of the equation, Pittsburgh zeroed in on the Jets’ roster.

The Steelers had targeted Davante Adams, among many others, this year but assumed during talks with the Raiders that the Jets would end up with the ex-Aaron Rodgers target. They were right, leading to the Williams pursuit. While some posturing may have taken place on the Jets’ part after Allen Lazard‘s IR trip, but the Steelers sending over a fifth-round pick finished the deal to end a months-long WR pursuit.

Known more for selling than buying at the receiver position, the Steelers conducted a search that moved beyond Kirk, Adams and Williams. It involved both Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, and after having trade parameters in place with the 49ers on Aiyuk, that failed deal preceded Cooper Kupp inquiry. The Steelers’ NFC West effort did not stop with the California teams; they are believed to have asked about D.K. Metcalf as well, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler notes.

When a recent report surfaced indicating teams were inquiring with the Seahawks on Metcalf, it was safe to assume the Steelers were part of that mix. It does not seem like the Seahawks ventured as far down the trade road compared to the Rams or 49ers with their respective receivers, as Fowler adds Seattle closed the door on such a transaction quickly.

Having slipped to the back of the second round in 2019, Metcalf joined Samuel, A.J. Brown, Terry McLaurin and Diontae Johnson as higher-end starters from Day 2 of that draft. That batch all signed extensions during the 2022 offseason, with Metcalf tied to a three-year, $72MM deal that runs through 2025. This timeline gives the Seahawks an extra year to evaluate Metcalf in Ryan Grubb‘s offense, and while it would stand to reason teams will check in again come 2025 — perhaps the Steelers, as Williams’ contract expires at season’s end — the sixth-year veteran will not be easy to pry away.

The Seahawks saw Jaxon Smith-Njigba take a step forward in Metcalf’s absence Sunday, but the latter has been the team’s top wideout for a couple years. The big-bodied target has three 1,000-yard seasons on his NFL resume. Tyler Lockett is now 32, with Metcalf profiling as the more logical piece who will be tabbed to play alongside Smith-Njigba going forward. Metcalf, 26, is tied to an $18MM base salary in 2025. Three void years are on the contract, which would spike the dead money to $21MM in the event of a Hawks trade next year.

Williams will attempt to assimilate into Arthur Smith‘s offense alongside George Pickens, who becomes extension-eligible in 2025. The Steelers’ search for a longer-term WR2 figures to involve the draft, where the organization typically finds its receiver answers. Between this past draft and Tuesday’s trade deadline, however, the Steelers searched far and wide for a veteran to help Pickens in their now-Russell Wilson-led offense.

Panthers Activate RB Jonathon Brooks

November 6th, 2024 at 2:04pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Panthers have slow-played Jonathon Brooks‘ return, but the second-round pick will be eligible to debut as a rookie. Carolina is activating the running back prospect off the NFI list today, Dave Canales said. The move is now official.

Carolina needed to activate Brooks by today; otherwise, this year’s top RB draftee would have needed to be transferred to season-ending IR. While Canales is not committing to Brooks debuting Sunday in Germany, the Texas product is now on the team’s 53-man roster.

Around the Combine, word emerged Brooks would be ready for training camp. But that did not come to pass. Carolina held Brooks out of camp and stashed him on the reserve/NFI list, mandating a four-game absence. More than a month after Brooks was first eligible to come back, he will do so.

A recent report from ESPN.com’s David Newton pointed to Brooks being on track to debut against the Giants on Sunday, and he has now logged four full practices — including today’s. Brooks has been on the shelf since going down in November 2023. Nine- to 12-month recoveries typically cover ACL rehabs, though every injury is obviously different. Given the Panthers’ standing, it is understandable they would want to be patient here.

The Panthers traded in front of the Giants to nab Brooks at No. 46. New York’s second-round window opened at No. 47, though the team was believed to be interested in cornerback help by that point. But GM Dan Morgan had aimed to outflank former coworker Joe Schoen here. The Giants did end up with promising rookie Tyrone Tracy in the fifth round, but Brooks was the only RB chosen in the first or second round this year, pointing to a higher ceiling.

The Panthers have Brooks signed through 2027, while starter Chuba Hubbard is in a contract year. Miles Sanders loomed as a trade candidate, but the former Eagles starter remains on the Carolina roster. Brooks should still be expected to garner steady work once he debuts, with the Panthers again trudging through a rebuild campaign.

Steelers’ Preston Smith Requested Trade From Packers

November 6th, 2024 at 1:37pm CST by Sam Robinson

After rostering the likes of Melvin Ingram and Markus Golden as key OLB backups in recent years, the Steelers now have Preston Smith in that role. They traded a seventh-round pick to the Packers for the proven veteran, capping a two-trade day.

At 6-3, the Packers were not exactly in a seller’s position. But Smith had seen his playing time decline in Jeff Hafley‘s defense. As it turns out, Smith said (via The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo) he approached the Packers with a trade request — one aimed at finding his way back to a 3-4 defense. After more than 10 years in a 3-4 scheme, Green Bay converted to a 4-3 base alignment under Hafley this offseason.

While base schemes do not matter on the level they once did due to the rise of sub-packages, they do still affect certain players. Edge rushers are among them, and Smith had spent his career as a 3-4 OLB — both in Green Bay and Washington. He will head to a Steelers team that has long used this defensive setup, being set to play a key rotational role behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith.

Smith, who will turn 32 next week, had played six seasons with the Packers. The former Washington draftee joined fellow deadline trade piece Za’Darius Smith in signing with the Pack in 2019, and the Smiths played central roles in Green Bay booking three straight playoff byes from 2019-21. Preston Smith outlasted Za’Darius, whom the Packers cut in 2022. That came as the team re-signed Preston to a four-year, $52.5MM deal. That contract runs through the 2026 season.

Preston Smith started every Packers game this season, which still makes it a bit surprising the team signed off on this swap. The 10th-year edge rusher — made a defensive end under Hafley — had played 54% of Green Bay’s defensive snaps; that rate is down from his previous seasons with the team. Smith played 71% of the Pack’s defensive snaps in their opener and eclipsed 60% in two of the team’s next three games, but he dipped below 45% in two of the previous three Green Bay contests.

For the season, Smith has 2.5 sacks and just four QB hits. Prior to this year, the ex-second-round pick had given the Packers reliable work on the edge. He tallied between eight and nine sacks between the 2021 and ’23 seasons and notched 12 during his first Packers slate. He will take over the role the Steelers had hoped Golden would play again, but Golden changed those plans by retiring shortly after re-signing in August. Smith has been a more consistent player than Golden, and coupled with Nick Herbig — who is recovering from injury but still on Pittsburgh’s active roster — the recent import should be positioned to make an impact for a suddenly deep OLB corps.

The Packers have Lukas Van Ness seemingly earmarked to take over alongside Rashan Gary. Thanks to the former’s fifth-year option, the Packers can keep both on their current contracts through 2027. Van Ness has played 41% of Green Bay’s defensive snaps this season, though the 2023 first-rounder has just one sack and two QB hits. Kingsley Enagbare will also be positioned to see more playing time, though it is interesting the Packers made this move considering their record and that Gary has not quite recaptured his form. No Packer rusher enters Week 10 with more than three sacks.

Lions Designate CB Emmanuel Moseley, S Ifeatu Melifonwu For Return

November 6th, 2024 at 1:24pm CST by Sam Robinson

The most significant of the Lions’ defensive injury matters will not clear up anytime soon, but beyond Aidan Hutchinson, the team should have some pieces back for Aaron Glenn‘s unit soon. Both Emmanuel Moseley and Ifeatu Melifonwu are returning to practice.

Dan Campbell said Wednesday (via ESPN.com’s Eric Woodyard) the veteran cornerback and safety’s IR-return clocks will start. Both will have 21 days to return to the Lions’ 53-man roster. Moseley has been on the shelf since going down early in training camp; Melifonwu also suffered an injury during practice, his occurring in early September.

This is familiar territory for Moseley, who has proven a resilient player. The former 49ers starter suffered an ACL tear midway through the 2022 season and needed more time to recover than the Lions expected. Moseley finally returned but ended up sustaining another ACL tear two plays into his Detroit debut. The Lions still re-signed the veteran boundary corner, and they still have him in their 2024 plan despite the latest injury — a torn pec.

The Lions initially gave Moseley a one-year, $6MM deal in 2023, with Brad Holmes noting he likely would have been out of their price range had the 2022 ACL setback not occurred. Moseley ended up needing a second procedure last summer but was ready to debut by Week 5 of last season. Expected to play a regular role as a boundary defender, Moseley went down once again.

Signed to a one-year, $2.88MM deal this offseason, Moseley was not on the Lions’ active/PUP list to start training camp this year. He suffered the pec tear during the second week of camp. The Lions did not place him on IR until setting their 53-man roster, however, keeping the door open to an in-season return.

Detroit’s CB equation has changed considerably since Moseley’s initial signing. The team ditched Cameron Sutton after his domestic violence arrest and used first- and second-round picks on corners (Terrion Arnold, Ennis Rakestraw). That came after a trade for Carlton Davis. It will now be interesting to see what kind of a role Moseley will play. When he was last healthy for an extended stretch, the former UDFA started for the 49ers. Moseley has 33 starts on his NFL resume.

A former third-round pick, Melifonwu has not yet played this season. He suffered the ankle setback shortly before the Lions’ opener. The Syracuse alum started the Lions’ final six games last season and worked with the first-stringers during each playoff contest. The Lions did not bench him when C.J. Gardner-Johnson returned from his pec tear in Week 18, keeping the free agency addition on the bench.

The NFC North leaders, however, have moved Brian Branch to safety to play with ascending talent Kerby Joseph. Both are having strong years, with Pro Football Focus ranking them at Nos. 1 and 2 at the position. Melifonwu, who is in a contract year, now looks to have a ceiling as a depth piece.

Cowboys Not Considering Starting Trey Lance Over Cooper Rush

November 6th, 2024 at 12:41pm CST by Sam Robinson

Trey Lance has been on the Cowboys’ roster for more than 14 months. Dallas added the former San Francisco starter after Sam Darnold had beaten him out for the 49ers’ QB2 job in 2023, effectively going forward with a roster stash. But Lance has not made much progress with his second NFL team.

The former No. 3 overall pick entered this season as the Cowboys’ third-stringer, doing so after being inactive throughout the 2023 slate. Any notions of him factoring into the team’s 2025 starter conversation were buried once the team gave Dak Prescott a record-smashing extension (four years, $240MM). With Prescott moving to IR, the door is open for Lance. For the time being, however, a 3-5 Cowboys team does not appear to have designs on starting him.

[RELATED: Micah Parsons Expected Back In Week 10]

Cooper Rush is the locked-in starter over Lance, according to ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano, who indicates the team believes the veteran provides a better chance to win. Lance-specific packages may be implemented, but Graziano adds no consideration is being given to him leapfrogging Rush on the depth chart for a potential extended look. This comes after Stephen Jones kept the door open for Lance work amid Prescott’s hamstring injury.

With the Cowboys teetering on the brink of dropping out of the playoff chase during a season in which Mike McCarthy is a lame duck, it is certainly understandable the coaching staff is not interested in long-term evaluations just yet. Whether ownership could eventually intervene could be an interesting subplot for this year’s Cowboys edition, especially if the team’s current losing streak continues without Prescott, who is guaranteed to miss at least four games.

Dallas has held its own with Rush at the helm in the past, going 5-1 with the former UDFA as the starter. Rush, who is five years into his second Cowboys stint, replaced Prescott in September 2022 — after the longtime starter suffered a thumb injury. Prescott missed five games that season, and Rush earned praise by going 4-1 as a starter during that stretch. He completed less than 59% of his passes, however, at just 6.5 yards per clip. Prescott already exited Week 9 ranked 25th in QBR, highlighting issues with the quarterback’s performance and the team around him. It will be interesting to see how Rush fares in this situation, as he now holds the keys to the Cowboys reentering playoff discussions or moving toward the NFC basement.

An midsummer report indicating Lance had a chance to usurp Rush did not precede such a move, as Rush held onto the No. 2 QB gig during training camp. The Cowboys gave Lance extensive preseason work, as the North Dakota State alum has a historically thin resume — for a top prospect, at least — in terms of game work post-high school. The Cowboys were tied to a fully guaranteed $5MM on Lance’s contract by trading for him, but they joined the Steelers (Justin Fields), Jaguars (Mac Jones) and Broncos (Zach Wilson) in declining the fifth-year option on a traded first-round QB from the 2021 class.

With Rush a fairly known commodity at 30, any Lance work would immediately generate more interest in Dallas. Lance, 24, has not seen any regular-season action since a fractured ankle sustained in Week 2 of the 2022 season moved him out of the 49ers’ starting lineup. The 49ers had reached a renegotiated deal with Jimmy Garoppolo as Lance insurance that year, after the team spent the offseason dangling Garoppolo in trades. With Lance proving unready, Garoppolo (and then Brock Purdy) piloted San Francisco back to the NFC championship game. Darnold then beat out Lance, who had effectively lost his job to a former seventh-round pick, leading him to Dallas.

The Cowboys have now given up fourth-round picks in trades for Lance and Jonathan Mingo, the latter transaction occurring Tuesday. While Mingo is signed through 2026, Lance is not headed toward 2025 free agency with any momentum. The Cowboys could potentially provide some by greenlighting some game work, but more than a year into his Dallas tenure, it is notable the team is not looking into moving him past an eighth-year backup to replace Prescott.

Bears’ Andrew Billings To Undergo Surgery

November 6th, 2024 at 12:16pm CST by Sam Robinson

While the Bears used two Day 2 picks on defensive tackles last year, they have kept veteran Andrew Billings in the starting lineup. Billings, who signed an extension last year, has started all eight Chicago games this year.

Billings’ run will pause, however, with Matt Eberflus indicating (via The Athletic’s Adam Jahns) the eighth-year D-tackle will require surgery to repair a pectoral injury. Although the NFL saw a few players return after early-season pec tears last year, Billings having suffered a tear would almost definitely sideline him for the season. It is not known if a full tear occurred, though.

The Bears gave Billings a two-year, $8MM extension last November; he has started 25 straight games since joining the team as a 2023 free agent. Billings, 29, initially caught on with the Bears via a one-year, $2.75MM deal. He has provided a good return on that investment, having played 60% of the Bears’ defensive snaps this season — his highest total since 2018.

Pro Football Focus has Billings slotted just inside the top 50 overall among interior D-linemen but has him graded as a top-10 player at the position in the pass-rushing department — even if the seasoned pro has just one sack and three QB hits this season. An IR placement would shelve Billings for four games, but it sounds like his upcoming absence will last longer.

Chicago drafted Gervon Dexter in the 2023 second round and Zacch Pickens in the third. The team traded for former Eberflus Colts charge Chris Williams just before the season as well. Pickens and Williams figure to see more time alongside Dexter moving forward. Dexter has joined Billings in making eight starts for a Bears team that was linked to DT additions this offseason.

Giants Designate K Graham Gano For Return

November 6th, 2024 at 11:53am CST by Sam Robinson

Graham Gano needed an IR stint for a second straight season, as the Giants have not seen their September 2023 extension result in much game work from their veteran kicker. Graham has missed seven games this season, coming after he missed nine in 2023.

The Giants do have some good news at kicker, however, having designated Gano for return from IR on Wednesday. Gano has been out since suffering a hamstring injury on the opening kickoff in the Giants’ Week 2 loss to the Commanders. Gano had come into that game with a groin injury as well, and his injury cost the Giants in a winnable matchup over a Washington team that has since soared to a 7-2 record.

Last season, Gano headed to IR because of a knee injury that required surgery. He missed the rest of the season. While the 36-year-old specialist’s future in New York is certainly in question considering his sudden unreliability, the Giants should be expected to have their kicker back soon. Gano has 21 days to be activated.

New York placing fill-in Greg Joseph on IR last week provides a decent indication Gano is moving toward returning, though the team’s bye week comes after its Week 10 Germany trip. The Giants also made an interesting kicker transaction, elevating Jude McAtamney — a Gaelic football player from North Ireland — to their active roster. McAtamney went 1 of 1 on field goals and extra points in the Giants’ rematch with the Commanders in Week 9. Because he was a gameday elevation, McAtamney is back on Big Blue’s practice squad.

Gano signed a three-year, $16.5MM deal that came with $11.34MM guaranteed at signing. Gano had stabilized the Giants’ kicker situation earlier this decade, coming over from the Panthers and settling in as New York’s kicker in 2020. A full-season 2019 absence preceded Gano’s move to the Big Apple, however, and injuries figure to make him a cut candidate in 2025. The Giants would save $4.5MM by releasing the experienced leg next year. But Gano is poised to suit up again for the 2-7 Giants during this season’s second half.

DT Jordan Phillips Re-Signs With Bills

November 6th, 2024 at 10:05am CST by Sam Robinson

Two Bills defensive tackle reunions will take place Wednesday. Jordan Phillips joined Quinton Jefferson in being released Tuesday, and the recent Cowboys defender will make his return to Buffalo as well.

Not long after coming to terms with Jefferson, the Bills announced they have brought back Phillips. Both are back on one-year deals. The Phillips addition comes after his Instagram post indicated (h/t AllDLLS.com’s Clarence Hill) he would welcome a return to Buffalo. This will be the 10th-year D-lineman’s third stint with the team. This agreement will also mark a third 2024 employer for Phillips, who has moved from the Giants to the Cowboys back to the Bills.

The Bills rostered Phillips from 2018-19 and again from 2022-23, first claiming him off waivers from the Dolphins and then coming to terms on reunion No. 1 after a Cardinals release. This agreement comes after the Cowboys moved Phillips out of their IR-return window and into free agency. Dallas had acquired Phillips via trade from the Giants but only used him in two games.

Phillips and Jefferson filled two open roster spots, one of which created by the team placing D-end Dawuane Smoot on IR on Tuesday. The AFC East leaders now roster six DTs, joining a group already housing Ed Oliver, DaQuan Jones, Austin Johnson and Zion Logue. The Bills also hope rookie DT DeWayne Carter will come off IR at some point this season, The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia notes. The Bills placed the fourth-round rookie on IR nearly two weeks ago.

This DT infusion comes as the Bills completed the season’s first half 17th in run defense. Although Buffalo sits eighth in points allowed, its now-Bobby Babich-run defense has seen some issues develop in the run game. Phillips, 32, stepped in as Jones’ primary replacement last season and should now be expected to play a depth role behind Oliver and Jones upon returning. Phillips has played just 34 defensive snaps this season, going on IR with a wrist injury in Dallas.

Phillips’ 2023 season ended due to a dislocated wrist, capping a nine-start campaign. He signed a one-year, $1.75MM Giants deal, putting off retirement, only to be traded within the NFC East in August. Phillips disputed the Cowboys’ decision to place him on IR in September, claiming his wrist was not damaged. Having been back at Cowboys practice for two weeks now, Phillips appears ready to join Jefferson — a healthy scratch over the past four Browns games — as well-rested cogs familiar with Sean McDermott‘s scheme.

The Bills saw Phillips lead their 2019 playoff team in sacks, with 9.5, but that turned out to be an outlier season. He has been more of a run stopper since, not eclipsing three sacks in a season during the 2020s. Jefferson operates as more of an interior rusher, and the Bills will cover multiple bases with their Wednesday reunions.

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