2016 September - Pro Football Rumors

Knee Surgery For Vikings DT Sharrif Floyd

September 23rd, 2016 at 9:39am CST by Zachary Links

FRIDAY: Floyd underwent a successful right knee arthroscopy on Thursday, the team announced. He’ll miss roughly six weeks, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (Twitter link).

THURSDAY: Vikings defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd is having a procedure done on his injured knee, according to coach Mike Zimmer (via Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press on Twitter). Specifics of the procedure are not yet known, but it’s not a good sign after Floyd was pulled from Minnesota’s season opener with knee trouble.

Floyd, 25, was a first-round pick in the 2013 draft. At the NFL level, he has appeared in 44 games with 24 starts, missing two games in 2014 and three games in 2015. Of course, the Vikings are already banged up and they can’t afford to lose another player of note. Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is done for the year after a freaky leg injury and Adrian Peterson‘s season might be over after suffering a torn meniscus.

If Floyd has to miss time, the Vikings will continue to use Shamar Stephen as a starter on the interior line. They may look out of house for support as Tom Johnson is the last defensive tackle on the bench behind Stephen and Linval Joseph.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Joey Bosa Unlikely To Debut Sunday

September 23rd, 2016 at 9:18am CST by Connor J. Byrne

The strained hamstring that Chargers rookie defensive end Joey Bosa has battled this month will likely prevent him from making his NFL debut this Sunday, according to Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The Chargers, who face the Colts this week, do have a plan for when the third overall pick will crack their lineup, per Gehlken, but the earliest date could be Week 4 against New Orleans.

Thanks to a contentious, lengthy holdout over the summer, Bosa missed all of training camp and sat out each of the Chargers’ four preseason games, which placed him behind the 8-ball. The ex-Ohio State Buckeye and the Chargers fought over offset language and signing bonus distribution in Bosa’s deal before eventually agreeing to a compromise Aug. 29.

Bosa has progressed toward seeing his first pro action lately, as the 21-year-old engaged in back-to-back practices Wednesday and Thursday for the first time since early June. Before this week, the Chargers’ Aug. 30 practice was the only one he had participated in since the spring.

San Diego has started 1-1 without Bosa, a two-time All-American who combined for 51 tackles for loss and 26 sacks during his three-year college career. The Chargers’ Bosa-less defense racked up two sacks and a pair of interceptions in the team’s 38-14 win over Jacksonville last Sunday.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pats Notes: QBs, McDaniels, Defense, Kickoffs

September 23rd, 2016 at 8:59am CST by Connor J. Byrne

With Tom Brady amid a suspension and Jimmy Garoppolo too injured to play Thursday, the Patriots made the risky decision of entering their game against Houston with third-string rookie Jacoby Brissett and wide receiver Julian Edelman as their only options at quarterback. It ended up working out, as the Pats shellacked the Texans, 27-0, and didn’t have to turn to Edelman. Brissett had an uneventful night through the air in his first NFL start, going 11 of 19 for 103 yards, but he rushed for 48 yards on eight attempts and added a 27-yard score.

Before the game, team president Jonathan Kraft explained why the Patriots didn’t sign a free agent signal-caller earlier in the week, telling 98.5 The Sports Hub (via Phil Perry of CSNNE.com), “If you were to sign another quarterback, you’d have to cut a player that’s on your 53-man roster that you like. Odds are he’s going to have to clear waivers, and odds are if he’s leaving our organization, he very well might not. And we like the 53 men on this team, the 46 that are dressed tonight, and we understand the things that might happen. It’s football, and I think everyone feels like this gives our team the best chance of winning the football game.”

The Pats worked out free agents T.J. Yates and Sean Renfree on Tuesday, but they opted against signing either. Now, with extra time to prepare for its Week 4 game against Buffalo, New England could get Garoppolo back from a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder. Brady will then come off the suspended list in Week 5.

More on the NFL’s first 3-0 team of 2016:

Head coach Bill Belichick has gotten the lion’s share of the credit for Brady-less New England’s undefeated start, but Ryan Hannable of WEEI posits that offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels might deserve just as much praise. McDaniels has had two QBs, Garoppolo and Brissett, make their first career starts this year, and he had to get the latter ready on a short week. Nevertheless, both Garoppolo and Brissett have held their own this year. “He ultimately gets everyone ready to play. It’s fun,” receiver Danny Amendola said of McDaniels, who’s seemingly on the fast track to another head coaching job, as Hannable writes. McDaniels’ first try, in which he went 11-19 in Denver from 2009-10, failed, but the 40-year-old has further established himself as one of the league’s top assistants since.
The Patriots’ defense might be even more terrifying for the rest of the league than Brady’s forthcoming return, argues Lorenzo Reyes of USA Today. The unit embarrassed the Brock Osweiler-led Texans, holding him to 196 yards and an interception on 24 of 41 passing. Additionally, running back Lamar Miller totaled a subpar 3.8 yards per carry on 21 attempts, while elite receiver DeAndre Hopkins recorded only four catches for 56 yards. “We were shocked. We couldn’t get anything going,” said Texans tight end Ryan Griffin.
Belichick is among the coaches who have exploited the league’s new touchback rule this year, writes Reyes. Moving the ball from the 20 to the 25 on touchbacks was done to limit kick returns, but the Patriots’ Stephen Gostkowski intentionally booted two kicks short of the end zone. The Texans fumbled on both returns, and New England recovered deep in Houston territory on each occasion. “Our kickoff guys are doing a great job. It would be dumb just to kick it out of the end zone every time right now,” stated Gostkowski. Said Belichick, “It seemed like (the Texans) had to go 90 yards every time they had the ball. Our kickoff team, once again, came up big with field position; two turnovers. That’s a very aggressive unit.”

Austin Seferian-Jenkins Facing Two Misdemeanor Charges

September 23rd, 2016 at 8:35am CST by Connor J. Byrne

8:35am: In a series of tweets, Auman offers further details on Seferian-Jenkins’ arrest. He’s actually facing two misdemeanor charges – one for DUI and another for violating the Ignition Interlock Device restriction from his 2013 arrest. Prior to being pulled over, Seferian-Jenkins was driving between 75 to 80 mph in a 55 mph zone and cut off a state trooper, per Florida Highway Patrol. He was also “agitated” and declined a breath sample.

7:50am: Buccaneers tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence around 4.a.m. ET Friday, according to Greg Auman and Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. Seferian-Jenkins has been in jail since 6 a.m. ET.

Seferian-Jenkins previously pleaded guilty to a DUI charge in 2013 while at the University of Washington. A year later, the Buccaneers used a second-round draft pick on him. Seferian-Jenkins has since amassed 45 receptions for 603 yards and seven touchdowns in 18 games (12 starts). The 23-year-old started the Bucs’ first two games this season and picked up three catches for 44 yards and a score.

Extra Points: Ingram, Saints, Cousins, Gruden

September 22nd, 2016 at 9:59pm CST by Zachary Links

Chargers outside linebacker Melvin Ingram, who is in his contract year, has changed representation, Liz Mullen of SBJ tweets. Ingram has left Athletes First to join up with Ari Nissim, Kim Miale, and John Thornton of Roc Nation. Ingram, 27, is earning $7.751MM in 2016 under the terms of his fifth-year option. Last season, Ingram posted the best results of his career, racking up 10.5 sacks.

Here’s more from the NFL:

The Saints auditioned defensive back Shak Randolph, a source tells Nick Underhill of The Advocate (on Twitter). Randolph, an SMU product, was signed by the Chiefs as an UDFA earlier this year, but Kansas City cut him from its practice squad earlier this month. New Orleans, which was already thin in the secondary, has experienced a rash of defensive back injuries lately. The club also worked out 2015 third-round cornerback D’Joun Smith today.
Some anonymous Redskins players have reportedly voiced frustration with quarterback Kirk Cousins‘ 2016 performance, but defensive lineman Ricky Jean-Francois isn’t pleased with any such talk. “Like I’ve said before, and hopefully one of my teammates is listening to me right now, don’t be anonymous,” Francois told Master Tesfatsion of the Washington Post. “Just step out and tell us how you really feel about Kirk. At the end of the day, that man is going to be our quarterback. At the end of the day, if you’re going to talk about that man, there’s no need for you to be in our damn locker room.”
While they’ve been dealing with internal exasperation, the Redskins have also been fielding shots from former players, as now-Giants linebacker Keenan Robinson — who played for Washington last year — accused the club of “finger-pointing.” But head coach Jay Gruden disputes that notion, noting that the Redskins battled back from a 5-7 start to win the NFC East in 2015, as Tom Pelissero of USA Today writes.

Practice Squad Updates: 9/22/16

September 22nd, 2016 at 8:38pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:

Cleveland Browns

Cut: P Michael Palardy

Dallas Cowboys

Signed: C Shane McDermott
Cut: C Jake Brendel (Twitter link via Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News)

Denver Broncos

Signed: DL Kyle Peko
Cut: S Ryan Murphy (Twitter link via Mike Klis of 9NEWS)

San Diego Chargers

Signed: WR Isaiah Burse
Cut: WR Jonathan Krause (Twitter link via Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego)

North Notes: Williams, Browns, Ansah, Bears

September 22nd, 2016 at 7:53pm CST by Zachary Links

Cornerback K’Waun Williams has filed a grievance through the NFLPA asking the Browns to pay for his ankle surgery plus his full $600K salary for ’16, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com writes. During the offseason, Williams and the Browns were locked in a heated battle as he refused to play through painful bone spurs in his ankle. The Browns suspended the corner for two weeks and later waived him. He was claimed by Chicago, but later released when he failed the physical.

Here’s more from the NFL’s two North divisions:

Lions defensive end Ziggy Ansah is getting a second opinion on his high ankle sprain, a source tells Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Typically, that’s not a great sign. Lions running back Ameer Abdullah got a second opinion on his sprained foot earlier this week and wound up being ruled out for at least two months. With fellow defenders Devin Taylor and DeAndre Levy also nursing injuries, Detroit can’t afford to lose its star playmaker in Ansah.
The Browns are bringing former BYU wide receiver Mitch Mathews in for a visit/workout on Friday, agent Brett Tessler tweets. Mathews spent this preseason with Kansas City. He auditioned for New England in early September but left without a deal.
The Bears worked out free agent punter Cody Webster, according to Caplan (Twitter link). Per Caplan, Webster is the latest in a line of punters that has auditioned for Chicago. That could indicate that the club isn’t happy with incumbent specialist Pat O’Donnell, who ranks 26th in the league in net punt average.

Bears’ Jay Cutler “Pushing To Play” Sunday

September 22nd, 2016 at 7:00pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Bears quarterback Jay Cutler is angling to play on Sunday night against the Cowboys, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link), who adds that Cutler is “politicking” coaches in an effort to suit up. However, given that the initial reports following Cutler’s thumb injury indicated that he’d miss two or three weeks, it’s probably a longshot that he could return to the field so soon.

Cutler hurt this thumb in the Bears’ season opener against the Texans. He played through the pain in Week 2 against the Eagles, but he wound up making the problem worse. Now, the Bears will use Brian Hoyer under center under Cutler is ready to take the field again.

With Hoyer starting, Chicago promoted former Eagles draft pick Matt Barkley from its practice squad to the active roster. He’ll backup Hoyer until Cutler can return, and then likely be sent back to the taxi squad.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Vikings Notes: Peterson, Coleman, Zimmer

September 22nd, 2016 at 5:55pm CST by Dallas Robinson

After Vikings running back Adrian Peterson underwent surgery on his meniscus today, initial reports indicated that he’d miss a minimum of three-to-four months, with the possibility looming that he could be sidelined for as many as six months. Two surgeons (who, it should be noted, did not operate on Peterson), confirmed that general timeline to Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press, who writes that Peterson is unlikely to return before December, if at all.

Had Peterson opted to have the injured portion of his meniscus removed rather than repaired, he could have returned to the field in weeks, not months, according to one of the surgeons. But doing so could have presented problems for Peterson later in his career and during his post-football life, as such a procedure can lead to arthritis in the knee.

Peterson’s 2016 season may be over prematurely, and his career with the Vikings could be coming to a close as well, opines Chip Scoggins of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Even setting aside his injury, Peterson never looked like a great bet to return to Minnesota in 2017 barring some sort of contract adjustment, as he’s set to count for an untenable $18MM on next year’s cap. All of that total can be cleared out by releasing him, and given that Peterson isn’t a perfect fit for offensive coordinator Norv Turner‘s scheme, it seems logical that he’ll be playing for a new club next season.
Head coach Mike Zimmer admitted that the Vikings made a “mistake” when they released safety Kurt Coleman prior to the 2014 season, as Tomasson writes in a separate piece. Coleman signed a one-year deal with Minnesota during Zimmer’s first year as coach, but the veteran defensive back never played a down for the club. In the years since, he’s blossomed into an excellent player with the Panthers, and recently inked a three-year extension. For his part, Coleman says he has “no hard feelings” about the decision, as Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer writes.
Peterson isn’t the only Viking on the mend, as we learned earlier today that defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd is also undergoing a knee operation. Specifics of the surgery aren’t yet known, but it’s not a great sign for Floyd, who is signed through 2017 thanks to his fifth-year option.
In case you missed it, the Vikings yesterday placed left tackle Matt Kalil on injured reserve and signed former Broncos running back Ronnie Hillman.

Patriots To Activate Rob Gronkowski

September 22nd, 2016 at 4:15pm CST by Zachary Links

The Patriots are set to activate tight end Rob Gronkowski for tonight’s game against the Texans, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Gronk has yet to take the field this season.

Gronkowski has been dealing with a hamstring injury for much of the offseason but he’s coming back just in the nick of time for New England. Tonight, the Pats are without Tom Brady (suspended) and Jimmy Garoppolo (injured), leaving third-stringer Jacoby Brissett under center. Inexperienced quarterbacks often look to their tight ends as security blankets, and there is no better offensive tight end in the NFL than Gronkowski.

In 2015, Gronk caught 72 passes for 1,176 yards and 11 touchdowns across 15 regular season games. For yet another season, Gronkowski established himself as one of the most lethal tight ends in the game today. For his efforts, Gronk earned his third First-Team All-Pro selection and his fourth Pro Bowl nod.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.