2016 September - Pro Football Rumors

Poll: Who Will Win The AFC East?

September 15th, 2016 at 7:01pm CST by Sam Robinson

Of all the NFL’s divisions, the AFC East has offered the least in terms of parity during the 2010s. Every other NFL division has featured at least two teams claiming a title and this one still features a Patriots team that will deploy the Bill Belichick–Tom Brady duo for a large chunk of the season.

The Patriots have won seven straight AFC East crowns and 13 of the past 16. New England is set to return its 39-year-old future Hall of Fame quarterback in Week 5, where he’ll again team with one of the best tight ends in NFL history. Still, Rob Gronkowski has yet to make his 2016 debut yet and the Pats still have questions on defense due to injuries, suspensions, and the trade of Chandler Jones. However, the Jimmy Garoppolo-led outfit still showed enough to beat one of the league’s best teams in Week 1 despite a host of key inactives.

Both the Jets and Dolphins upset the Patriots last season to deprive them of home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs, and each played a returning playoff team close in Week 1. Last season’s second-place finisher, the Jets bring back arguably the best defensive line in football and, after some arduous negotiations, they have Ryan Fitzpatrick back on the other side of the ball.

The most recent non-Patriots division champion (in 2008), the Dolphins continue their first season under offensive wunderkind Adam Gase with a trip to Massachusetts on Sunday. The Fins haven’t made the playoffs since that ’08 campaign but added veterans in Arian Foster and Mario Williams, and drafted once-projected No. 1 pick Laremy Tunsil in Round 1.

Despite finishing with at least eight wins the past two seasons, the Bills own the longest playoff drought in football at 17 years. Their offseason extension for Tyrod Taylor and re-signing of Richie Incognito became overshadowed by a host of suspensions, injuries, and cuts.

So, in advance of the AFC East’s first matchups, who will win the division this season?

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Ex-Chargers GM: Team Will Stay In San Diego

September 15th, 2016 at 5:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Chargers seem to be fighting an uphill battle in an effort to see their downtown stadium proposal pass on November 8. The measure failing will give them the same choices they had when it started: work with San Diego on another venture or move to Los Angeles.

Former Chargers GM A.J. Smith does not see the team relocating, even if the downtown-stadium measure fails in two months.

“The Chargers aren’t going anywhere,” Smith said to the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Kevin Acee during a radio interview (via Eric Williams of ESPN.com). “So the fear factor of the local fans, rest assured the Chargers will be here. There is no option to go to L.A.”

The Chargers’ GM from 2003-12, Smith is essentially calling the franchise’s Los Angeles leverage a bluff, saying the league and Rams owner Stan Kroenke do not want them to move to Inglewood. The Chargers reached an agreement with the Rams earlier this year but soon announced plans to go forward with a San Diego project.

That project absorbed a blow when a California Supreme Court ruling determined, for now, the measure needs a two-thirds majority rather than to merely clear the 50% threshold. As recently as last month, the Chargers have mentioned leaving for Los Angeles if the measure fails. Smith doubts the sincerity of that proclamation.

“The reality is, there is no option,” he said, via Tom Krasovic of the Union-Tribune. “There is an option, but it will never be exercised. … San Diego is coveted by the National Football League and the owners. The league wants a team here. They want them to stay here.”

Even if the Chargers moved, they’d seemingly be paddling upstream since the team already saw the Rams gain publicity by moving to L.A. first earlier this year. The Chargers played in Los Angeles in 1960 but, unlike the Rams or Raiders, don’t have a connection to the city other than that.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Raiders’ Vegas Stadium Takes Step Forward

September 15th, 2016 at 4:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

A Thursday decision from the Southern Nevada Tourism and Infrastructure Committee represents another step toward the Raiders moving to Las Vegas. The committee tasked with presenting a funding plan for a prospective $1.9 billion stadium approved $750MM in public money to be used for this project, doing so after months of negotiations, according to an Associated Press report.

This proposal will still need to see approval from Nevada governor Brian Sandoval and the state legislature, but after the figure above brought some dispute within the SNTIC, today’s decision represents a hurdle cleared in this process.

“We are excited and thanks to the committee,” Mark Davis said via text to USA Today Sports (via ESPN.com).

Sheldon Adelson and Las Vegas Sands threatened to withdraw financial support if the $750MM threshold was not met; the committee needed to do so this month to meet a predetermined deadline, one that was already extended. We’d also previously heard the Raiders and Vegas were going to move on if the SNTIC didn’t approve these funds, but the sides are clearly serious about this venture.

The plan for collecting public money stems from a hotel tax raise, similar to the Chargers’ downtown stadium proposal in San Diego, and the Raiders are slated to contribute $500MM. Adelson is planning to put $650MM toward the venture, one that proponents of today’s ruling hope to accelerate in order for Sandoval and the legislature to green-light it in time for an NFL vote in January.

The Raiders, who haven’t been shy about relocating sans-sufficient NFL support, would still need to receive the customary 24 votes from the owners to move. Once thought to be against this proposal due to the gambling component, the NFL likely won’t stand in the way of this project if it makes it through the state hurdles, Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News tweets.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Bengals Claim KeiVarae Russell Off Waivers

September 15th, 2016 at 3:43pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bengals have claimed rookie defensive back KeiVarae Russell, according to Rand Getlin (on Twitter). The Chiefs surprised everyone in the football world when they released the third-round rookie earlier this week. To make room, the Bengals cut guard Trey Hopkins.

Getlin reported yesterday that it was a “special teams numbers game” that led to Russell’s release. It’s fair to say that there is some agent-driven spin involved in that take. While there may be some truth to that, it’s extremely rare to see a third-round pick released in September. Any way you slice it, the selection of Russell was a failure by the Kansas City front office.

Russell racked up 60 tackles, two interceptions, two forced fumbles, and six pass deflections in his final season at Notre Dame. The cornerback ran a 4.43 second 40-yard-dash at his Pro Day, helping to solidify his draft stock in the spring.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Giants FB Nikita Whitlock Suspended

September 15th, 2016 at 3:11pm CST by Zachary Links

Giants fullback Nikita Whitlock has been suspended for the team’s next ten games, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Whitlock apparently committed a violation of the NFL policy on performance enhancing substances.

Whitlock, who is on IR after suffering a foot injury this offseason, will not be paid while serving his 10-game ban. Whitlock, 25, appeared in 14 games and started in five contests for the Giants last season. This year, he was expected to clear the way for tailbacks Rashad Jennings and Shane Vereen before being shut down for the year. Now, his Giants future is very much in question.

Whitlock was suspended for four games in November 2014 for a violation of the PED policy. As a repeat offender, he faces a much stiffer punishment this time.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Latest On Rams’ Jeff Fisher, Les Snead

September 15th, 2016 at 2:25pm CST by Zachary Links

Extensions for Rams GM Les Snead and Jeff Fisher have yet to be finalized, but they are still expected to get done despite how poorly things went for L.A. in Week 1, ESPN.com’s Alden Gonzalez tweets. A previous report indicated that the contracts are on hold after the brutal loss against San Francisco. On Thursday, the Rams formally announced their new deal with defensive tackle Michael Brockers, so it stands to reason that extensions for Fisher and Snead might not be far off.

We’ve been hearing about new deals for Fisher and Snead all offseason long but, so far, nothing has been finalized. While some have questioned whether they deserve extensions given the lack of success they have had in recent years, Stan Kroenke & Co. believe that the organization is headed in the right direction. The franchise also probably wants to maintain some continuity as it breaks into a new market.

Under Fisher, the Rams have gone 27-37-1 and haven’t done better than seven wins in any season. The Rams haven’t reached the postseason in more than ten years.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Rams Sign DT Michael Brockers To Extension

September 15th, 2016 at 1:57pm CST by Zachary Links

The Rams announced that they have officially signed defensive tackle Michael Brockers to a three-year contract extension. The agreement was first reported by Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (on Twitter) earlier this week. The deal is worth upwards of $33M with more than $16MM in guarantees, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

Los Angeles reportedly waited to announce the extension because of the team’s disappointing loss to the 49ers to start the season. The Rams likely would have made everything official on Tuesday, but the timing seemed off after the 28-0 drumming on Sunday night.

Brockers, 25, recorded 3.0 sacks and 44 tackles for Los Angeles last season. While the Rams have issues to address in other facets of the game (particularly on the other side of the ball), they have invested heavily in their defensive line and it shows. Brockers would have drawn tons of interest on the open market next spring and the Rams did not want to risk losing him.

Prior to this deal, Brockers was slated to make $6.146MM before potentially reaching free agency after the season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

PFR’s Impact Rookies Series

September 15th, 2016 at 1:49pm CST by Zachary Links

All summer long, longtime scouting consultant Dave-Te Thomas of The NFL Draft Report has been breaking down the draft class of every team in the league and identifying the players that can immediately make a difference. The Impact Rookies series, which wrapped up today with a look at the Seahawks, provides unique insight to this year’s NFL freshman class from a veteran guru who worked closely with several teams around the league leading up to the draft.

Here is the full rundown of the Impact Rookies series:

AFC East

AFC North

AFC South

AFC West

NFC East

NFC North

NFC South

NFC West

Chris Ivory Returns To Jaguars

September 15th, 2016 at 11:20am CST by Zachary Links

Chris Ivory is out of the hospital and back with his team. Today, the running back issued a statement thanking fans for their support and indicated that his undisclosed medical issue is behind him.

“I returned to the stadium this morning to rejoin my coaches and teammates as we continue to prepare for the San Diego Chargers on Sunday. This past weekend was a challenging time for my family and me because of an emergency medical condition that developed while I was with my team at the hotel. I am now grateful to be back in the facility and able to refocus on the game that I love.

I want to extend a special thanks to the Jaguars medical staff, the first responders and everyone at Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville for their assistance over the past couple of days.

I appreciate everyone’s sensitivity during this personal matter, and I’m ready to be back out on the field and look forward to doing so in the near future. Thank you for all for your support. I want you to know that I read each and every message and I’m thankful for them all.”

Ivory, 28, was forced to miss the Jaguars’ season-opener against the Packers last weekend. Without their prized free agent acquisition in the lineup, the Jags’ running game was stagnant. The team will hope to have Ivory back in the lineup for Sunday’s contest against the Chargers, but it’s not immediately clear if Ivory will be ready in time. Ivory’s statement says that he will “prepare for” the Chargers on Sunday, but it’s not a given that he’ll be activated.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pro Football Rumors On Social Media, RSS

September 15th, 2016 at 11:10am CST by Zachary Links

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