HEADLINES

Month: November 2024

Lions Sign Alex Henery

September 22nd, 2014 at 11:23am CST by Luke Adams

11:23am: Speaking to reporters, including Birkett (Twitter link), head coach Jim Caldwell acknowledged today that the Lions have signed Henery and waived Freese.

10:27am: After using one of their eight draft picks this spring on a kicker, the Lions have decided to move on from that player – Nate Freese – after just three regular-season games. According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter), the team plans to sign former Eagles kicker Alex Henery later today.

While Birkett doesn’t specifically say that Freese will be waived, that seems like the only logical corresponding move for the signing of Henery. Freese, a rookie out of Boston College, has struggled early in the NFL career, missing at least one field goal in each of the Lions’ games so far, including a 41-yarder yesterday against Green Bay. Detroit auditioned Henery and other free agent kickers last week to prepare for the possibility of replacing Freese, who has converted just three of his seven attempts this season.

Henery had struggles of his own during the preseason with the Eagles, ultimately losing out on the job in Philadelphia to rookie Cody Parkey. However, the 27-year-old was fairly effective in three previous seasons with the club. From 2011 to 2013, Henery made 86.0% of his field goal tries and all but one of 117 extra-point attempts.

Steelers Notes: Taylor, Shazier, Jones

September 22nd, 2014 at 10:09am CST by Luke Adams

The Steelers headed into Carolina as underdogs last night, but thoroughly outplayed the home team en route to a 37-19 victory. However, Pittsburgh didn’t escape the game unscathed. A handful of players left the contest with various injuries, and while we’re still waiting for official updates from the club, a few reports have surfaced today on the severity of those injuries. Let’s check in on the latest updates….

  • Cornerback Ike Taylor suffered a broken forearm last night, as Alan Robinson of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes. While Robinson doesn’t specify a timetable, suggesting that Taylor will be sidelined “indefinitely,” Mark Kaboly of the Tribune-Review tweets that the recovery time will likely be six to eight weeks. As our tracker shows, the Steelers have yet to use their IR spot with the designation to return, so Taylor would appear to be a strong candidate for that.
  • A pair of linebackers also sustained injuries last night, and according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Ryan Shazier has a strained MCL, while Jarvis Jones will likely require wrist surgery that will keep him out indefinitely. Shazier is undergoing an MRI today, and we should know Jones’ status with more certainty soon, but it looks as if the club may need to add some reinforcements to their linebacking corps.
  • One longtime Steelers linebacker announced his retirement recently, but could be a good candidate to rejoin the team if he’s open to restarting his career. However, Scott Brown of ESPN.com (Twitter link) hears from James Harrison‘s agent Bill Parise that the club has not reached out at this point.

King’s Latest: Stanton, Ravens, Bowles

September 22nd, 2014 at 8:59am CST by Luke Adams

As usual, Peter King of TheMMQB.com tackles a number of topics in his weekly Monday Morning Quarterback column, and we’ll round up several of the highlights from his latest piece below. Let’s dive in….

  • In the wake of Drew Stanton‘s second straight victory for the Cardinals, King takes a look at how Stanton ultimately ended up in Arizona. The signal-caller signed with the Jets in 2012 expecting to be Mark Sanchez‘s backup, but when the team signed Tim Tebow, Stanton was sent to the Colts, where he began working with offensive coordinator Bruce Arians. As King writes, “Stanton loved the guy, and Arians loved him back,” which led to the Cardinals head coach bringing the quarterback with him to Arizona.
  • Asked by King if he pushed to have the Ravens release Ray Rice back in February, head coach John Harbaugh didn’t answer yes or no. “That is such an unfair characterization,” Harbaugh said. “It is not fair to the organization. We said all along that the facts would determine the consequences, and that was my stance from the start of this.”
  • Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles has emerged as a head-coaching candidate based on the job he’s doing with the team’s defense, which is missing several key pieces, says King.
  • King expects commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA chief DeMaurice Smith to meet early this week – likely Tuesday – to discuss the new personal conduct committee Goodell vowed on Friday to create. In King’s view, it will likely be made up of former players, current players, an owner or two, and others from the business world who have past experience constructing similarly complicated personal conduct policies.
  • The fact that Goodell was willing to give up decision-making power in the drug appeals process in the league’s new policy bodes well for the future relationship between the NFL and the NFLPA, according to King, who breaks down how that new policy was a win for both the league and the players.
  • In light of Jameis Winston‘s off-field issues at Florida State, there’s a possibility he won’t be a first-round pick when he enters the draft, writes King.

Extra Points: Davis, Brown, Williams

September 21st, 2014 at 10:49pm CST by Rob DiRe

Rams head coach Jeff Fisher has been adamant that Shaun Hill will be the starting quarterback when healthy, but with Austin Davis delivering strong performances the last two weeks, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com believes the long time coach needs to reconsider. With the team approaching their bye week, Wagoner thinks some reflection will make it clear the Davis is the superior choice going forward.

Here are some other notes from around the NFL as the third Sunday of football wraps up:

  • Where some questioned the Chargers‘ decision to sign Donald Brown to a three-year contract, they put the former Colt to work as he came up big in their victory over the Bills today, writes Eric D. Williams of ESPN.com. The team already had Ryan Mathews and Danny Woodhead, so adding Brown only crowded the backfield. Now that Mathews is gone for at least another month, and Woodhead possibly done for the season, Brown could be a key piece in the team’s offense going forward.
  • Eagles‘ cornerback Cary Williams was critical of the coaching staff after the game today, despite pulling in the victory over the Redskins. He spoke about being overworked in practice and mentioned that many players were tired on game day, according to Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter). “A lot of guys had no legs,” said Williams. “We got to start taking care of our guys throughout the week in order for us to be more productive and have more energy on Sundays.”
  • The Chiefs are struggling to find reliable pass catchers on their offense, and Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com suggests that if they can find a decent player they should make a move to try to acquire him (via Twitter). Mid-season trades are unusual and often do not bring in great production, but Fitzgerald must see this situation as exceptionally barren.
  • Bills‘ fans are excited about their new ownership group, and the next move is to get a new stadium. Jerry Zremski of BuffaloNews.com outlines how the Bills could pay for a new home field.

Bridgewater, Bortles In Line To Start

September 21st, 2014 at 10:09pm CST by Rob DiRe

Two quarterbacks chosen at opposite ends of the first round this offseason got their first opportunities at some live game action this Sunday. The Vikings traded back into the tail end of the first round to select Teddy Bridgewater, but did not give him the starting job many fans and pundits believed he earned coming out of the preseason.

Today, Matt Cassel was forced out of the matchup against the Saints with a broken foot. Bridgewater came into the game and failed to ignite the offense. Completing 12 of his 20 passes for 150 yards, he was able to survive, but not thrive, in his NFL debut. Considering the success that Matt Ryan and Brian Hoyer had against what looked to be an overrated Saints’ defense, Bridgewater came up short. Without Cassel for the immediate future, the team will have to play Bridgewater whether they want to or not, writes Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press.

The Vikings struggled on offense the last two weeks without Adrian Peterson, but rolled to a huge blowout victory over the Rams with their starting running back in week one. With Peterson tied up in his child abuse case, he will not be back with the team for a significant amount of time if at all. Bridgewater will get his first start this Sunday at home against the Falcons.

Blake Bortles was selected third overall, and like his counterpart in Minnesota, the Jaguars took a patient approach with him. The plan was to use his rookie season to leave him on the bench and groom him to take over the team in 2015. That plan was accelerated during the blowout loss to the Colts.

Chad Henne completed only four of seven passes for 33 yards in the first half, before being replaced by Bortles. The fans in Jacksonville have been waiting to see their future play, and now that he has, the sense is that they will not go back to Henne, writes Michael DiRocco of ESPN.

Bortles completed 14 of 24 passes for 223 yards, and added two touchdowns to go with two interceptions in garbage time of the 44-17 defeat. He should have a difficult assignment should he get his first start next week on the road against the Chargers, a difficult place for a team with a rookie quarterback to look to lead his team to the first win of the season.

Injury Updates: Sunday

September 21st, 2014 at 8:43pm CST by Rob DiRe

The NFL is almost through another week of football, and the injuries are piling up yet again. An unfortunate reality of the league is that no team will leave healthy from week to week.

Zach Links and Luke Adams have already discussed some of the bigger names to go down. Matt Cassel‘s foot injury paved the way for Vikings‘ first-round pick Teddy Bridgewater‘s NFL debut. Dennis Pitta left the Ravens‘ win with a dislocated hip, and Chargers‘ tailback Danny Woodhead could miss the rest of the season with a high ankle sprain and fractured fibula.

Here are some other injury notes from around the NFL:

Adrian Peterson Hopes To Return In 2014

September 21st, 2014 at 7:18pm CST by Rob DiRe

It was reported that Vikings’ All Pro running back Adrian Peterson would miss the season after being placed on the Commissioner’s exempt list while waiting for the results of his trial.

It was originally thought that the case would not go to trial until 2015, but Peterson’s camp is seeking an accelerated process that would move the trial date up significantly, reports Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.

If the trial date is moved closer, and Peterson is cleared of the charges, there is hope that he will be able to return to the field in a Vikings’ uniform this season.

As of now, Peterson has been placed on the Commissioner’s exempt list, which keeps him off the field but serves as a paid suspension from the team. With an accelerated trial, the Vikings’ star risks exposing himself to additional penalties under the player conduct policy, including fines and possibly a lengthy unpaid suspension from the NFL.

It also remains to be seen whether or not the team would want him back, or if at this point they have decided to move on from the face of their franchise. Florio notes that he expects more information to surface this week about the possibility of an accelerated trial date.

Week In Review: 9/14/14 – 9/21/14

September 21st, 2014 at 6:45pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are the notable headlines you may have missed during the last week at PFR:

Major news:

Signed:

Waived/Released:

Placed on IR:

Other significant injuries:

Extended:

Other news:

Matt Cassel Suffers Broken Foot

September 21st, 2014 at 3:13pm CST by Zachary Links

Matt Cassel went down in today’s 20-9 loss and the Vikings got some bad news about their starting quarterback after the game. At the postgame press conference, head coach Mike Zimmer told reporters that the QB has several fractured bones in his foot, according to Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press (via Twitter).

It’s not known how much time Cassel will be sidelined for, but it’s safe to assume that rookie Teddy Bridgewater, who took over under center after Cassel’s exit, will be the starter next week against the Falcons. The Vikings also have former first-round pick Christian Ponder on the active roster, so they probably won’t have to scramble for an out-of-house option. Still, it’s conceivable that Minnesota could look into signal callers for their practice squad. The ten-team taxi squad doesn’t feature any QBs.

Cassel emerged out of the Vikings’ three-headed QB battle this offseason to win the starting job when some expected Bridgwater to win the competition. In three games this season (or, rather, two-and-change), Cassel completed 59% of his passes for 372 passing yards, three touchdowns, and four interceptions. All of those picks came last week against the Pats.

The 32-year-old re-signed with Minnesota on a two-year, $10MM in March.

West Notes: McKenzie, Broncos, Woodhead

September 21st, 2014 at 12:32pm CST by Rory Parks

As the early afternoon games get underway, let’s have a look at some items from the league’s west divisions:

  • With the sale of the Bills for $1.4 billion to be voted on by team owners within the next few weeks, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes that there is a growing sense that the Raiders could fetch at least $2 billion and wonders if owner Mark Davis would sell.
  • Citing a team source, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that the Raiders appear willing to let head coach Dennis Allen “coach his way out” of the team’s early struggles, at least until late in the season.
  • Rapoport adds (via Twitter) that Raiders‘ GM Reggie McKenzie is in no danger of losing his job.
  • David Migoya of the Denver Post writes that the NFL has said it will not allow the Broncos‘ search for a new owner to go on indefinitely, so the Pat Bowlen Trust will have to determine within the next two years which of Bowlen’s seven children will step into his shoes. If that does not happen, the team will have to be sold.
  • Eric D. Williams of ESPN.com describes how the Chargers will go about replacing Ryan Mathews, who will be sidelined for an extended period of time with an MCL knee strain. Although Donald Brown and Danny Woodhead were expected to share the majority of the workload, Woodhead’s injury today (he was carted off the field, per a tweet from La Canfora) means that undrafted rookie free agent Branden Oliver could be seeing action sooner than anticipated.
  • Kent Somers of AZCentral.com describes how the Cardinals’ depth is being tested to an extreme degree in 2014 and how the team has overcome early-season adversity thus far.
Load More Posts