2016 September - Pro Football Rumors

Workout Notes: Giants, Jets, Cardinals

September 29th, 2016 at 7:42pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Thursday’s tryouts from around the NFL:

The Giants auditioned four offensive linemen – Rob Crisp, Jason Weaver, Jon Halapio and Shahbaz Ahmed – reports Adam Caplan of ESPN (Twitter link). New York ended up signing Halapio to its practice squad. The Patriots selected Halapio in the sixth round of the 2014 draft, but he hasn’t seen any regular-season action. Crisp, Weaver and Ahmed are also devoid of experience.
The Jets worked out defensive end Sterling Bailey, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN (Twitter link). Bailey signed with Indianapolis in May as an undrafted free agent from Georgia, but the Colts cut him from their practice squad Monday.
The Cardinals tried out guards Kaleb Johnson and Martin Wallace, tweets Caplan. Both Johnson and Wallace have one game of pro experience under their belts.

8 Teams Reached Out To C.J. Spiller

September 29th, 2016 at 7:13pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Running back C.J. Spiller found no shortage of interest in his services during the two-plus weeks he was unemployed, reports Rand Getlin (Twitter link).

Spiller, whom the Saints released Sept. 13, signed with the Seahawks on Wednesday, but Seattle was only one of eight teams that reached out to him. Spiller could have joined any of those clubs a week ago, per Getlin, who tweets that the 29-year-old had the luxury of being selective because his $1.7MM salary with the Saints is guaranteed. New Orleans also paid Spiller a $1.55MM bonus after he cracked its opening roster, though the ex-Clemson star was inactive for Week 1 and on the outs two days later.

The Seahawks were one of at least three teams that met with Spiller, joining the Packers and Jets, and his visit went so well that Seattle immediately secured him to a deal. Their hope is that Spiller will serve as a quality complement to Christine Michael, who has been the lone bright spot in a running game that ranks 15th in the NFL in yardage and tied for 26th in yards per carry. Michael has averaged a terrific 5.2 yards per rush on 45 attempts, while Thomas Rawls, Alex Collins, Terrence Magee and C.J. Prosise have combined for a paltry 47 yards on 29 carries. Rawls is currently felled by a cracked fibula, and the Seahawks waived Magee after signing Spiller.

While Spiller hasn’t been much of a threat over the past couple years, the 2010 ninth overall pick is an upgrade on paper over the Seahawks’ contingent of non-Michael options. Spiller was at his best as a rusher and pass catcher in Buffalo from 2011-13, but his numbers declined in 2014 and he then inked a deal in free agency with the Saints. Spiller averaged just 3.1 yards per carry on 36 attempts last season, though he did catch 34 passes and two touchdowns during his 13-game Saints tenure.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Practice Squad Updates: 9/29/16

September 29th, 2016 at 7:03pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s practice squad moves:

Carolina Panthers

Signed: S Marcus Ball (Twitter link via Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer)

New York Giants

Signed: G Jon Halapio (Twitter link via Jordan Raanan of ESPN)

Dolphins Demote Byron Maxwell

September 29th, 2016 at 6:05pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Dolphins are demoting high-priced cornerback Byron Maxwell, report Adam H. Beasley and Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. Not only will the team reduce Maxwell’s playing time against the Bengals on Thursday, but it will also start Tony Lippett in his place, according to Beasley and Salguero.

Maxwell and Lippett have been polar opposites this year in terms of playing time, as the former has participated in all 244 of the Dolphins’ defensive snaps and the latter hasn’t yet taken the field. Maxwell hasn’t done enough to justify seeing as much action going forward in the eyes of either the Dolphins or Pro Football Focus, which ranks the 28-year-old a below-average 69th out of 104 qualified corners in overall performance this season.

Maxwell has disappointed since leaving Seattle as a free agent after the 2014 season and signing a six-year, $63MM contract with Philadelphia. After the 6-foot-1, 203-pounder didn’t live up to his deal with the Eagles last season, they elected in March to send him, linebacker Kiko Alonso and the 13th pick in this year’s draft to Miami for the eighth selection.

Alonso has bounced back from a dreadful 2015 to serve as one of the league’s top linebackers against the run this season, per PFF, but the Maxwell era in Miami hasn’t been as fruitful. As a result, he’ll cede playing time to Lippett, a converted receiver and a fifth-rounder in the 2015 draft, as the Dolphins face the A.J. Green-led Bengals on Thursday.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Latest On Dez Bryant

September 29th, 2016 at 5:48pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant missed an MRI exam and team meetings on Monday and Tuesday because he feared the worst with his injured right knee, head coach Jason Garrett revealed Wednesday (via Marc Sessler of NFL.com).

“He’s a very passionate guy, like we’ve talked about, and he really thought he was going to get some bad news when he got the MRI on Monday,” said Garrett. “Like some of us do in life, at times, he avoided it and didn’t come in to take care of his business on Monday or Tuesday. Then he came in on Wednesday and took care of that part of it (the MRI). We got the information. He suspected it was worse than the information that we got.”

Bryant’s decision to skip Monday and Tuesday opened him up to team-imposed fines, though there’s no word on whether the Cowboys will discipline him.

For his part, Bryant added in a tweet (sic), “I made a poor decision based on how I felt about my knee coach JG addressed it to me and I understood the consequences.”

Upon returning to the club Wednesday, Bryant underwent an MRI, as Garrett mentioned, and received the news of a hairline fracture. There’s a chance Bryant will be able to play against the 49ers on Sunday, but he could also miss multiple weeks. Bryant tweeted Thursday that his status is “day to day” and said he received “great feedback” on his knee from Dr. James Andrews.

Dallas played much of last season without either Bryant or quarterback Tony Romo and stumbled to a 4-12 record. The Cowboys are already halfway to matching that win total through three weeks, but they’ve gotten there without Romo. The back injury the veteran suffered during the preseason opened the door for fourth-round rookie Dak Prescott, who has held his own thus far. Still, the Prescott-led Cowboys obviously don’t want to go without their most accomplished wideout, Bryant, who has picked up 11 receptions, 150 yards and a touchdown this season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Terrelle Pryor Wants Extension From Browns

September 29th, 2016 at 5:18pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Browns’ Terrelle Pryor has played under head coach Hue Jackson with three different organizations since beginning his NFL career in 2011, and the wide receiver hopes the two remain together for the foreseeable future.

“I respect him very highly and if Hue Jackson’s here, I’d love to stay here,” Pryor told Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com on Thursday. “I want to be here if Hue’s going to be here for awhile, because I know this is a building process — and it’s not really. We’re right the there. We’re competing with everybody, we’ve just got to put teams away and I’d like to be where Hue’s at.”

Jackson holds similar reverence for Pryor, who’s scheduled to become a free agent at season’s end.

“There are a lot of things I know about Terrelle that maybe a lot of people don’t. I’m talking about as far as what he is really capable of doing,” said Jackson. “I would say to all of you that he hasn’t even scratched the surface of what he is. He’s growing each and every day as a football player, as a person. He’s getting better, and his best football’s still ahead of him by far.”

Pryor also spoke highly of Cleveland, but he isn’t aware of whether his representatives have begun extension talks with the team.

“Cleveland’s awesome. The fans are are awesome,” said the former Ohio State Buckeye. “But right now, I’m here and I’m going to try to get it done.”

Pryor was a quarterback in college, and he began his pro career there after the Raiders chose him in the third round of the 2011 supplemental draft. The Raiders’ coach at the time was Jackson, though Pryor didn’t debut until 2012. By then, Jackson was out of Oakland and serving as an assistant in Cincinnati, where Pryor ended up last year after flaming out as a signal-caller and converting to receiver.

Jackson was instrumental in Pryor’s position switch, notes Cabot, and the move is paying off for the Browns in 2016. Pryor has been a bright spot for the 0-3 club, having amassed 14 catches for 244 yards while occasionally factoring in as a rusher and passer. The 27-year-old is coming off a career-best showing, one in which he caught eight balls for 144 yards, ran four times for 21 yards and a touchdown, and completed 3 of 5 passes for 35 yards in a 30-24 loss to Miami.

As of now, Pryor looked primed to land a significant raise over his current $1.671MM salary, and it stands to reason the Browns could make an added push to retain him in light of fellow wideout Josh Gordon‘s decision to enter rehab Thursday. With the troubled Gordon likely out of the picture in Cleveland for good, the only potential high-end receiver the team has under its control beyond this season is rookie Corey Coleman. The first-round pick fared well over the season’s first two weeks before breaking his hand in practice on Sept. 21.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Dolphins Promote Jamil Douglas

September 29th, 2016 at 4:18pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Dolphins have promoted offensive lineman Jamil Douglas from the practice squad in advance of tonight’s game against the Bengals, according to James Walker of ESPN.com.

This won’t be the first NFL action for Douglas, who appeared in all 16 of the Dolphins’ regular-season games and started six as a fourth-round rookie last year. Despite the experience Douglas accrued in 2015, Miami cut the former Arizona State Sun Devil on Sept. 3 as it worked its way to the 53-man roster limit. The Dolphins then signed Douglas to their practice squad a day later.

The 1-2 Dolphins are dealing with injuries to multiple offensive linemen as they prepare for the 1-2 Bengals, which explains Douglas’ promotion. Douglas is capable of playing anywhere along the interior, where center Mike Pouncey has missed the entire season thus far because of a hip issue. Worsening matters, Anthony Steen, who filled in for Pouncey during the Dolphins’ first three games, is doubtful Thursday on account of an ankle injury.

Zach Links contributed to this report. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Randy Gregory Suspended Until Week 16

September 29th, 2016 at 3:48pm CST by Zachary Links

Randy Gregory has officially been hit with a ten-game suspension. The league announced that Gregory will not be eligible to return until Week 16 after having a ten-game ban tacked on to his existing punishment.

Of course, it’s not a given that Gregory will be in shape to return for the end of the season. At this point, Gregory has been off the field for some time and his substance issues cannot bode well for his overall conditioning. However, those close to the defensive end say that he has been clean for four months and is doing well.

As a rookie, Gregory was in uniform 12 contests and missed a good chunk of games due to an ankle injury. In total, he had 11 sacks. In the long run, the Cowboys are hoping that Gregory can fulfill his vast potential, but he’ll have to get his life together if he hopes to make that a reality.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Steelers Activate Le’Veon Bell

September 29th, 2016 at 3:31pm CST by Zachary Links

As expected, the Steelers have activated running back Le’Veon Bell to the 53-man roster (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). In a corresponding move, running back Daryl Richardson has been released, as Mark Kaboly of DKPittsburghSports.com tweets.

The Steelers got a roster exemption for Bell this week, giving them until this afternoon. Bell, of course, was suspended for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. Typically, that would carry a four-game ban, but Bell had the suspension bumped down to three games upon appeal. In his stead, veteran DeAngelo Williams has been exceptional running for more than 250 yards and two touchdowns on 66 carries with 14 receptions.

As good as Williams has been, the Steelers are obviously excited to have Bell back in the lineup. In Bell’s six game campaign last year, he averaged a career-best 4.9 yards per carry with 24 catches for 136 yards. With both Bell and Williams incorporated in the offense, the Steelers will look to get back on track when they face the Chiefs on Sunday night.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Extra Points: Broncos, Siemian, Seahawks

September 29th, 2016 at 2:27pm CST by Zachary Links

Could the Broncos use Trevor Siemian as trade bait? Adam Schefter of ESPN.com wonders aloud if Denver could shop the quarterback at some point given that Paxton Lynch is their signal caller of the future. The Broncos drafted the Memphis product with the idea that he could play right away and there are surely plenty of teams that would have interest in Siemian now that he has proven himself to be a capable QB. By the same token, the Broncos are 3-0 and they’re obviously not looking to jettison their starter right now.

Here’s more from around the NFL:

How does new acquisition C.J. Spiller fit into the Seahawks running back picture? ESPN.com’s Sheil Kapadia says that Spiller will take over on third downs and be used in the passing game. Meanwhile, it will be mostly Christine Michael as Thomas Rawls and C.J. Prosise heal up. Spiller didn’t do much with the Saints but he did have two 1,110+ yard seasons while with the Bills. Seattle is hoping that he still has a bit left in the tank.
Safety Michael Griffin and defensive tackle Kyle Love each got one-year deals when they signed with the Panthers, according to the team’s official announcement. Carolina agreed to sign both players on Tuesday afternoon.
The Packers tried out defensive tackles Brandin Bryant, Lars Koht, and Joey Mbu as well as offensive tackle Lawrence Walker, as Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets.
Defensive tackle John Hughes‘ deal with the Patriots is a one-year, $760K deal, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets. He gets a $428K injury split but no signing bonus or guaranteed money.
The Chiefs worked out former Idaho offensive tackle Jesse Davis yesterday, as Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star tweets.