2014 September - Pro Football Rumors

Extra Points: Hall, Pryor, Ravens, Rambo

September 22nd, 2014 at 10:02pm CST by Zachary Links

Now that his season is over prematurely, Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall will focus on making his younger teammates better, writes Zac Boyer of The Washington Times. “I was just trying to coach them up — just trying to let them know, ‘Now is the time,’” Hall said. “It’s their time to go out there and make plays. We need them. We need them now more than ever.” Here’s tonight’s look around the NFL..

The Buccaneers worked out quarterback Terrelle Pryor but they did not sign him, tweets Ira Kaufman of the Tampa Bay Tribune. There may not be a match with Pryor, but he won’t be the last quarterback Tampa Bay looks at. Pryor was cut by the Seahawks in late August and even though the Rams showed some interest, nothing came of that. The Bucs also worked out wide receivers Juron Criner and Louis Murphy, according to Howard Balzer of USA Today (on Twitter).
Ravens coach John Harbaugh says his club plans to bolster the tight end position, tweets Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Baltimore look out-of-house after losing Dennis Pitta for the season.
The Bears worked out three defensive backs on Saturday: Bacarri Rambo, former Seahawks safety Dion Bailey, and Bryan McCann, tweets Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Rambo, a sixth-round pick in the 2013 draft, was waived by the Redskins last week. He was expendable for Washington since Brandon Meriweather is back from his two-game suspension. Tight end Ryan Otten was also in the workout, Biggs tweets.
The Dolphins tried out tight ends Brandon Barden and Konrad Reuland, according to Howard Balzer of USA Today (on Twitter).

Minor Moves: Monday

September 22nd, 2014 at 9:20pm CST by Luke Adams

We’ll keep tabs of today’s minor transactions from around the NFL right here, with the latest moves added to the top of the page throughout the day:

The Dolphins have signed Marcus Thigpen to their practice squad, writes Omar Kelly of the Sun Sentinel. Thigpen spent one week on the Patriots’ practice squad beore being cut last week. Thigpen, a former CFL standout, contributed 1,910 kickoff return yards, 580 punt return yards, and scored three touchdowns for the Dolphins in the past two seasons.
The Redskins will sign center Tevita Stevens to their practice squad tomorrow, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (on Twitter).
Steelers linebacker Jarvis Jones, who injured his wrist last night, has been placed on Pittsburgh’s injured reserve list with the designation to return, according to Brian McIntyre (via Twitter). The designation means that Jones will be sidelined for at least the next eight weeks of game action.
In advance of tonight’s game against the Jets, the Bears have waived wide receiver Josh Bellamy and promoted linebacker Terrell Manning from their practice squad to the 53-man roster, tweets Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.
Linebacker Keith Smith has been cut by the Cowboys, the team officially announced today (via Twitter). For now, the club has an opening on its 53-man roster.
The Ravens are filling the 10th and final opening on their practice squad by re-adding defensive tackle A.J. Pataiali’i, reports Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
After being cut from the team’s active roster before this weekend’s contest against the Colts, safety Craig Loston has rejoined the Jaguars‘ practice squad, tweets John Oehser of Jaguars.com.
Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson is set to join the Vikings‘ practice squad, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter). When the move becomes official, Minnesota will need to cut or promote someone off the practice squad to clear a spot for Bethel-Thompson.
The Buccaneers have removed Rashaan Melvin from their injured reserve list with a settlement, says Wilson (via Twitter).

Chargers Looking To Sign Running Back

September 22nd, 2014 at 8:24pm CST by Zachary Links

In the wake of Danny Woodhead‘s season-ending injury, the Chargers will waste little time in adding another tailback. Head coach Mike McCoy says that the sooner the his team can add a third healthy running back to roster, the better, tweets Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego. He added that he wants to finalize his decision in the next 24 hours.

Woodhead suffered a high ankle sprain and a fracture fibula during Sunday’s game against the Bills and needs surgery to fix the damage. Few would have expected the Bolts to be in the market for an RB in September since they entered the year with a talented three-headed backfield of Ryan Mathews, Woodhead, and Donald Brown. Mathews, of course, is out with an MCL sprain and while he’ll be back, it won’t be for at least a few weeks.

Running back Marion Grice was a candidate to be called up from the the taxi squad for that role, but the Chargers will definitely be going out-of-house for their third halfback now that the ASU product has signed with the Cardinals. Since the team was carrying just 52 players at the time of Woodhead’s injury, there are currently two openings on the 53-man roster.

Injury Updates: Monday

September 22nd, 2014 at 4:54pm CST by Luke Adams

Teams around the league today are assessing the damage from Week 3’s games, and in some cases the news is sobering. At Pro Football Rumors, we don’t cover every injury, but we’ll keep tabs on the major ones that could result in a player heading to injured reserve or in his team adding a replacement via free agency or trade. Here are the latest Monday updates on those major injuries from this week:

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Panthers running back Mike Tolbert has sustained a hairline fracture in his leg, while Jonathan Stewart has a sprained knee. Tolbert, who also has a bone bruise, won’t require surgery but may miss more than a month, a source tells Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link). With DeAngelo Williams also banged up, expect the Panthers to add some help for the backfield this week.

Earlier updates:

Like Jason Kelce, whose injury is noted below, Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph will undergo surgery for a sports hernia, reports Albert Breer of the NFL Network (Twitter links). Rudolph is expected to miss about six weeks, which might make him a candidate for the injured reserve list with the designation to return.
Saints center Jonathan Goodwin has been diagnosed with a high ankle sprain, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). While an MRI today will determine the severity of the injury, the team anticipates that Goodwin will miss time.
As first reported by Howard Eskin of 94WIP Radio in Philadelphia (Twitter link), Eagles center Jason Kelce has a sports hernia injury and is expected to require surgery, writes Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. It’s the latest blow for an increasingly depleted Eagles line, which is already missing Evan Mathis and Allen Barbre and may require an outside addition, as both Eskin and McLane point out. McLane reports that Kelce could end up missing about two months.
Lions head coach Jim Caldwell confirmed today that linebacker Stephen Tulloch will be placed on injured reserve after sustaining a torn ACL (Twitter link). As if the season-ending injury wasn’t bad enough, it happened while Tulloch was celebrating a sack of Aaron Rodgers by performing his version of the “Discount Double Check” act.
Bills wideout and special-teams ace Marcus Easley has suffered a sprained MCL, and will likely be sidelined for four to six weeks, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.com. Buffalo has yet to use its IR-DTR spot, but Easley may not be a candidate for that designation, since he could return within a month.
We rounded up some news on Steelers injuries earlier this morning.

Dennis Pitta Has Hip Surgery, Out For Year

September 22nd, 2014 at 4:10pm CST by Zachary Links

4:10pm: Head coach John Harbaugh confirmed to reporters that Pitta underwent hip surgery today and is out for the season (Twitter link via Tom Pelissero of USA Today).

MONDAY, 2:27pm: Pitta will undergo surgery to repair the damage to his dislocated hip, and team sources believe he also suffered a fracture, says Wilson (via Twitter).

SUNDAY, 4:56pm: Pitta suffered a dislocated hip and tests tomorrow will check for a fracture, tweets Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports.

4:16pm: The Ravens fear that Pitta is done for the season, tweets Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun.

2:53pm: Ravens tight end Dennis Pitta was carted off of the field in in the second quarter of Sunday’s game against the Browns and Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun writes that he appears to have injured the same right hip that cost him most of his 2013 campaign. There’s no official word on Pitta’s status just yet, but it’s clearly bad news for the talented tight end.

Pitta suffered a fracture and dislocation of his hip in July of 2013 and didn’t see the gridiron until December. Pitta emerged as a true offensive talent in 2012 when he hauled in 61 catches for 669 yards and seven touchdowns. His strong play continued into the postseason, where he hauled in touchdown passes in three of the Ravens’ four playoff contests, including their Super Bowl XLVII wn over the 49ers. In the Super Bowl win, Pitta had four receptions for 26 yards and a score.

The 29-year-old was off to a strong start through two weeks this season, including a ten catch, 83 yard performance in the opener against Cincinnati. Pitta had three catches for 12 yards against Cleveland today before his injury.

In the interim, without Pitta, the Ravens will have to rely heavily on two-time Pro Bowl tight end Owen Daniels. The veteran hauled in two touchdowns against the Steelers but isn’t quite as explosive as a healthy Pitta.

Florida Notes: Tannehill, Dolphins, Jaguars

September 22nd, 2014 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Matt Moore is one of the highest-paid backup quarterbacks in the league, and the Dolphins may be reaching a point where they’re not just paying him to sit on the bench. According to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald, after another poor performance from Ryan Tannehill on Sunday, the club is mulling the possibility of changing quarterbacks. As Salguero notes, head coach Joe Philbin was evasive when asked about Tannehill’s job security today, and while a change isn’t necessarily imminent, the team is at least considering it.

If Tannehill were to lose his job, it wouldn’t bode well for his next contract. After this season, the Dolphins will have to make a decision on the signal-caller’s fifth-year option for 2016, and could even sign him to an extension if they so choose. While that option would almost certainly be exercised if Tannehill has a big 2014, it’s not looking good at the moment for him.

Here’s more on Tannehill, along with a couple more items on the NFL’s Florida teams….

Predictably, Tannehill was one of the three players Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap named in his weekly look at players whose potential future earnings have taken a hit based on their recent performances.
While the Dolphins haven’t looked great on the offensive side of the ball over the last two weeks, the defense hasn’t been any better, and according to Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald, Miami players are getting frustrated. One source tells Beasley that many of the defenders are “beyond furious, irate” with defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle‘s game plans and play calls.
Assuming Blake Bortles stays healthy and remains the No. 1 quarterback in Jacksonville, the Jaguars will receive a $1.25MM credit on their cap, according to Joel Corry of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). Those savings would be a result of Chad Henne not reaching the playing-time incentives on his deal with the club.

Danny Woodhead Out For Season

September 22nd, 2014 at 3:42pm CST by Luke Adams

MONDAY, 3:42pm: Chargers head coach Mike McCoy confirmed today that Woodhead will be out for the season, and is being placed on injured reserve (Twitter link via Eric Williams of ESPN.com). Since the team had already been carrying just 52 players, there are now two openings on the 53-man roster.

SUNDAY, 5:28pm: Chargers running back Danny Woodhead suffered a high ankle sprain and a fracture fibula during today’s game against the Bills, reports Alex Marvez of FOX Sports (via Twitter). According to Marvez, Woodhead will likely undergo season-ending surgery to repair the damage.

While San Diego entered the season with a wealth of talent at the running back position, including Woodhead, Ryan Mathews, and Donald Brown, the team’s backfield has taken a hit in recent weeks. In addition to seeing Woodhead go down this week, the Chargers also had Mathews suffer an MCL sprain, which is expected to sideline him for multiple games.

We’ll have to wait for an official announcement from the club on Woodhead’s status, which figures to come on Monday, but it looks like the injured reserve list is a strong possibility for the former Patriot. The Chargers just used their IR spot with the designation to return yesterday on linebacker Melvin Ingram, so that won’t be an option for Woodhead.

If the Chargers decide to replace Woodhead on their 53-man roster with another running back, Marion Grice is a candidate. Grice is currently the only back on the team’s practice squad.

DeAngelo Hall Placed On IR With Torn Achilles

September 22nd, 2014 at 3:16pm CST by Luke Adams

3:16pm: The Redskins have announced a series of roster moves: Hall and fellow defensive back Duke Ihenacho, who has a broken heel, have been placed on injured reserve; Minnifield has been promoted to the active roster; and linebacker Darryl Sharpton has been cut from the IR list with a settlement (Twitter link).

1:47pm: Minnifield will indeed be promoted to the 53-man roster from the practice squad to take Hall’s roster spot, Jones confirms (via Twitter).

12:37pm: The Redskins’ fears were confirmed today, according to Dianna Russini of NBC4 in Washington, who reports (via Twitter) that DeAngelo Hall suffered a torn Achilles in yesterday’s game, and will undergo surgery within the next few days. The veteran cornerback will miss the remainder of the 2014 season, Russini adds (via Twitter).

Hall, 30, avoided free agency back in February by signing a new four-year, $17MM deal with the Redskins. Only about a third of that money was guaranteed, so Washington won’t necessarily be obligated to keep Hall on the roster for the 2015 season, but I’d expect the cornerback to return to the team as long as his surgery and recovery goes well.

While Hall has yet to officially be placed on injured reserve, the team will open a roster spot when that move is finalized. According to Mike Jones of the Washington Post, the Redskins are leaning toward promoting cornerback Chase Minnifield from their practice squad to the active roster. However, Minnifield has yet to hear anything on that front (Twitter links).

For now, with Hall out, it appears Bashaud Breeland will be in line for a more significant role in Washington’s secondary.

Ravens Issue Rebuttal To ESPN Report

September 22nd, 2014 at 3:12pm CST by Luke Adams

The Ravens have issued a lengthy press release, in which various team officials, including owner Steve Bisciotti, respond to ESPN’s investigative report into the team’s handling of the Ray Rice situation. The release includes 15 excerpts from the ESPN story, accompanied by responses from the Ravens explaining their side of the story. You can read the full statement at their website, but here are a few of the notable points:

Based on Rice’s initial explanation of the incident to the Ravens, the team was under the impression that the running back slapped his then-fiancée with an open hand, rather than punching her. It wasn’t until the club saw the TMZ video that officials realized how violent the incident was.
Ravens director of security says the description of the elevator video he received from Atlantic City police suggested that “Janay appeared to initiate the altercation, but they both spit at and struck each other, resulting in Janay falling and hitting her head against the wall railing.”
Head coach John Harbaugh said he didn’t recommend releasing Rice back in February, as ESPN’s report suggests. “I was very disturbed by that [first] tape, and I told people that the facts should determine the consequences,” Harbaugh said. “When I saw the second videotape, I immediately felt that we needed to release Ray.”
Bisciotti, team president Dick Cass, and GM Ozzie Newsome all indicate they didn’t ask commissioner Roger Goodell to levy no more than a two-game suspension on Rice.
Cass admitted that the team didn’t continue to investigate the incident throughout the summer: “We decided that we would await the outcome of the criminal case and the NFL disciplinary hearing and to leave the fact-finding to others. We should not have done that.”
Bisciotti, addressing the idea that he was offering Rice a job with the team later in his career if he kept quiet about the Ravens’ handling of the incident: “I cannot believe that Ray ever thought I was suggesting he keep quiet, when he got the texts or later on. They were not an insult. To the contrary, I think he knew these were messages from the heart, as were his responses to me.”

On the heels of issuing this statement, Bisciotti also addressed reporters on the issue. In the view of the Baltimore owner, the sources for ESPN’s Outside the Lines report were predominantly connected to Rice — either his friends or people who work for or with him (Twitter link). Biscioitti added that he’s “very confident” that no one currently with the Ravens will lose their jobs over this incident (Twitter link).

Extra Points: Rice, Chancellor, Cards, Walker

September 22nd, 2014 at 2:11pm CST by Luke Adams

When the NFLPA filed an appeal of Ray Rice’s indefinite suspension on behalf of the running back, the union noted that Rice had the right to a hearing within 10 days. However, the NFLPA and Rice’s camp may be trying to postpone that process until after Robert Mueller completes his investigation into what the league did and didn’t know, according to Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports.

As Garafalo points out, it makes sense for Rice to want to wait until after the investigation concludes to move forward with his grievance, since it would only help his case if Mueller uncovered damning evidence against the league.

Here’s more from around the NFL:

Within Garafolo’s piece, the FOX Sports scribe also writes that Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor had been mulling a procedure to clean up bone spurs in his ankle, which would have sidelined him for several weeks. However, after his big game against the Broncos yesterday, Chancellor said that he felt “great,” and isn’t expected to miss any time.
Appearing on Arizona Sports 98.7 earlier today, Cardinals general manager Steve Keim indicated that his team is still on the lookout for help at outside linebacker, but that there aren’t many great options out there (Twitter link via Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic). The Cards are, of course, without John Abraham, who went on injured reserve last week.
Free agent guard Josh Walker, who was cut from the Colts’ practice squad last week, worked out for the Chiefs today and has an audition with the Packers up next, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
At Over The Cap, Jason Fitzgerald’s Week 3 list of players who boosted their stocks in key contract years is heavy on the NFC East — Fitzgerald names Nick Foles, Jeremy Maclin, and Dez Bryant as three players whose values are on the rise.