2016 September - Pro Football Rumors

RG3 To Miss Multiple Games?

September 12th, 2016 at 12:33pm CST by Zachary Links

On Sunday, RG3 suffered a shoulder sprain and told reporters after the game that it wasn’t a significant injury. Apparently, the shoulder is in worse shape than the quarterback realized. Griffin is hurt and could be out for a while, according to Peter Schrager of FOX Sports (on Twitter).

The full extent of Griffin’s injury is not yet known. If he misses games, the Browns are fortunate to have veteran Josh McCown ready to step in. This offseason, Cleveland fielded interest from clubs who wanted to trade for the 37-year-old, but they rebuffed those offers knowing that Griffin is extra susceptible to injuries with the way he plays. The Browns told teams they wanted a high draft pick for McCown, a price that no team was willing to meet.

Griffin, a fifth-year pro, set NFL rookie records for passer rating (102.4), interception percentage (1.27), and rushing yards by a quarterback (815) en route to being named the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2012. Starting 13 games in 2013, Griffin recorded a career-high 3,203 passing yards and became the fifth quarterback in NFL history to record 3,000 passing yards in each of his first two seasons. He was hoping to be reignited by a change of scenery in Cleveland, but it sounds like he may have suffered a setback to start off the 2016 season.

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Saints’ Delvin Breaux Out Six Weeks

September 12th, 2016 at 12:09pm CST by Zachary Links

The Saints’ worst fears were confirmed today with regards to cornerback Delvin Breaux. The 26-year-old suffered a broken fibula and will be sidelined for six weeks, as Josh Katzenstein of the Times-Picayune tweets.

Breaux was carted off the field during the second quarter of Sunday’s contest against the Raiders. The Saints had to go the rest of the game without their best cornerback and they could have more high-scoring affairs in their future if he is sidelined. Without Breaux, the Saints are left with P.J. Williams, Sterling Moore, and a pair of UDFAs. It stands to reason that the Saints will explore their options at cornerback in the coming days.

Breaux, a New Orleans native and CFL import, started 15 games for New Orleans last season and had 19 pass deflections with three interceptions.

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Eagles’ Ertz, McKelvin Suffer Injuries

September 12th, 2016 at 11:33am CST by Zachary Links

We’re one game into the season and the Eagles are already a little bit banged up. Today, coach Doug Pederson told reporters that tight end Zach Ertz and cornerback Leodis McKelvin are both week-to-week after suffering injuries (Twitter link via Eagles’ team account). Ertz suffered an especially painful-sounding injury as one of his ribs has displaced itself under his collarbone. McKelvin, meanwhile, has a hamstring strain that could sideline him for multiple games.

Ertz, the 35th overall pick in the 2013 draft, is coming off a career year in which he caught 75 passes for 853 yards in 2015. This offseason, he was rewarded with a lucrative extension that should keep him in Philly through the 2021 season. On Sunday against the Browns, Ertz caught six of his seven targets for 58 yards. The Eagles have Brent Celek and Trey Burton on the depth chart behind the 6’5″, 249 pound tight end.

In the case of McKelvin, the Eagles could simply promote from within by calling up C.J. Smith from the practice squad. Pederson acknowledge that as a possibility while also adding that the team will explore its options at cornerback if McKelvin has to miss significant time.

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Bills To Re-Sign Jerome Felton

September 12th, 2016 at 10:05am CST by Zachary Links

Weeks after cutting him, the Bills have agreed to re-sign Jerome Felton, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Felton was a roster casualty when the Bills trimmed down to a 53-man roster.

Felton was signed as a free agent last offseason to a four-year pact worth $9.2MM with $4MM guaranteed. Known as a great lead blocker, Felton put himself on the map as he cleared the way for Adrian Peterson in his 2012 MVP campaign. This offseason, however, he found himself leapfrogged by Glenn Gronkowski, a younger and cheaper fullback option.

In other Bills news, we learned today that the team could be without Sammy Watkins for multiple games as the wide receiver is experiencing pain in his surgically-repaired foot.

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Sammy Watkins To Miss Multiple Games?

September 12th, 2016 at 9:17am CST by Zachary Links

In the past, Sammy Watkins has managed to play through some serious pain. However, the pain he is now experiencing in his surgically repaired foot could cause him to miss several weeks of action, sources tell Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. The good news here, however, is that x-rays did not reveal any new fractures.

After having a perfect attendance record in his rookie season, Watkins was forced to miss three games in 2016. In the spring, Watkins suffered what was termed as a minor foot fracture and had to have a screw inserted. In his 13-game season, Watkins hauled in 60 passes for 1,047 yards and nine touchdowns in his shortened season.

On Sunday, Watkins had four catches for 43 yards in Buffalo’s loss to the Ravens. Losing Watkins for any length of time would be devastating for Buffalo, particularly given the holes they have on the other side of the ball already. It doesn’t help that this is a short week for the Bills as they face off against the rival Jets on Thursday night.

Beyond Watkins, the Bills have Robert Woods, Marquise Goodwin, Greg Salas, Brandon Tate, and Walt Powell at wide receiver. Buffalo also has a pair of receivers on the practice squad in Matt Hazel and Dez Lewis.

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Latest On Larry Fitzgerald

September 12th, 2016 at 8:30am CST by Zachary Links

On Sunday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com heard that Larry Fitzgerald was telling close friends that this season would likely be his last. However, the Cardinals’ wide receiver has no plans to retire after this year, sources tell Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

Fitzgerald signed an extension just last month that will keep him under contract through the 2017 season, though it is guaranteed for injury only. Of course, the 33-year-old is still producing at a high level. Last year, Fitzgerald turned in his best stat line in some time as he hauled in 109 catches for 1,215 yards and nine touchdowns. Last night, he caught eight passes for 81 yards and two scores against the Patriots. To put it simply – it looks like the nine-time Pro Bowler has a lot of football left in him.

This year, Fitzgerald is earning $11MM, tying him for tenth amongst all wide receivers in the NFL in terms of yearly compensation. If Fitzgerald continues playing beyond 2016 and the Cardinals keep him on the roster, he’ll earn $11MM once again in 2017.

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AFC Notes: Allen, DeCastro, Osweiler, RG3

September 11th, 2016 at 7:51pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Chargers are not yet ready to confirm a torn-ACL diagnosis for Keenan Allen, but Mike McCoy acknowledged there is speculation about that likely season-ending injury, Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets.

The fourth-year wideout who signed a four-year, $45MM extension this summer will have an MRI done on Monday. But the widespread notion remains the Bolts’ No. 1 target will join Stevie Johnson on IR.

San Diego, which has two wideouts on its practice squad, could opt to bring back James Jones, whom the team cut after signing him following the Johnson injury. Or, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk points out, the Chargers could look at other available wideouts like Roddy White, Brian Hartline or Aaron Dobson. Florio also posits the Chargers could attempt to trade for Josh Gordon, given that they’ve lost two of their top four targets over the past several weeks.

Here’s the latest from around the AFC as Week 1 moves into its Sunday-night game.

Signed to a five-year, $50MM deal earlier this week, Steelers All-Pro guard David DeCastro called the commitment “a weight off his shoulders,” according to Ralph Paulk of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The fifth-year guard who was previously entering a contract year also said he would have considered other options had the Steelers and his camp not come together on the extension. “I tried not to think about it early on, but I was really hoping I could stay here,” he said. “Obviously, when we were getting close, it was harder to push back. Now we can move forward and worry about what’s important.”
Robert Griffin III said he sprained his shoulder during the Browns‘ 29-10 loss to the Eagles today. “I can move my left arm. I’m in pain, but it will be OK, just have to monitor it,” Griffin said, via Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “We’ll see more tomorrow and see how my shoulder is feeling and just move on from there.” Griffin, who made his first start since 2014 on Sunday, finished the game and expects to play in Week 2.
Texans owner Bob McNair gave new starter Brock Osweiler a glowing endorsement today after the Texans’ Week 1 win over the Bears. “I think he’s everything we thought he would be,” McNair said via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. “He performed under pressure. Several times he escaped. He completed some passes after getting pressure. He has good composure and he’s poised.” The fifth-year passer and recipient of a four-year, $72MM deal completed 22-of-35 passes for 235 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in his Houston debut.
The Patriots‘ clearing out $2.8MM in cap space thanks to Devin McCourty‘s restructure will help them retain their key defenders playing on expiring contracts, Doug Kyed of NESN.com writes. An in-season extension for impending UFA Dont’a Hightower, thus lowering his $7.75MM 2016 cap hit, would be a way to help the Patriots sign both 2017 UFA Jamie Collins and RFA Malcolm Butler, Kyed offers. New England possesses more than $11MM in cap space for 2016 and stands to possess more than $60MM come 2017. Jabaal Sheard, Logan Ryan and Sebastian Vollmer join Hightower and Collins as key UFAs for the seven-time defending AFC East champions.

Patriots Extend Ninkovich, Restructure McCourty

September 11th, 2016 at 6:15pm CST by Rory Parks

The Patriots have signed suspended and injured defensive end Rob Ninkovich to a one-year extension, as Ben Volin of The Boston Globe tweets. Ninkovich is now effectively playing on a two-year, $4.27MM deal, and the extension will save him approximately $117K in suspension-related fines. Ninkovich, already slated to miss several weeks to start the season after suffering a torn triceps injury, was suspended four games earlier this month for a violation of the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs.

Ninkovich has been a boon to the New England pass rush during his tenure with the club, racking up at least 6.5 sacks per year since the 2011 season. The extension therefore helps the club ease some of the financial strains Ninkovich will face as a result of his suspension while keeping one of its more important defensive players under club control for 2017 at a reasonable rate.

The Patriots also restructured Devin McCourty‘s contract on Friday, according to Volin (via Twitter). The team converted $3.74MM of McCourty’s base salary into a signing bonus, thereby creating $2.8MM of cap space in 2016. As a result, Volin tweets, the team adds a fairly palatable $935K to McCourty’s cap number for each of the 2017-19 seasons.

McCourty signed a five-year $47.5MM deal last March as the top safety on the free agent market, but he started his professional career as a corner. The Rutgers product excelled at that position in 2010, his rookie season, grading as the league’s seventh-best CB that year, per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics. However, even though he remained effective against the run in 2011, his coverage grade lagged and he dropped to 57th on PFF’s cornerback rankings.

In 2012, therefore, he began splitting his snaps between corner and safety, and he was named an All-Pro safety in 2013. He has remained a stalwart at that position ever since. Prior to reworking the contract, the Patriots had a little more than $6.5MM in cap room (per OverTheCap.com), so they did not necessarily need to create more space, but the move does give the club a bit more of an operating budget for 2016.

Ninkovich will have a cap hit of $4.77MM this season after this new deal, giving the experienced Patriot a $367K increase from the previous ’16 figure, Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald reports. As for 2017, Ninkovich’s cap hit will be $2.25MM ($1MM base salary). The deal includes a $400K roster bonus ($25K per game), according to Howe. Ninkovich’s $1MM base for 2017 is guaranteed.

All in all, Ninkovich can earn up to $3.5MM in new money as a result of this extension, which Howe reports was signed on Monday. He’ll receive a $1.5MM signing bonus as well.

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Saints Fear Delvin Breaux Broke Fibula

September 11th, 2016 at 5:35pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Saints could be without their best cornerback for some time, if their worries are proved justified. The team fears Delvin Breaux suffered a broken fibula during Sunday’s 35-34 loss to the Raiders, Nick Underhill of The Advocate reports.

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link) confirms Underhill’s report and notes the 26-year-old corner will miss significant time.

Breaux suffered an injury during the second quarter, requiring the standout coverage man to be carted off the field. His loss would leave a gaping hole in the secondary of a defense that’s attempting to shake off an ignominious 2015 performance. The Saints yielded an NFL-record 45 touchdown passes, besting the league’s second-worst mark by nine in 2015.

New Orleans cut former stalwart Keenan Lewis this offseason and parted ways with two-year contributor Brian Dixon. P.J. Williams, a 2015 third-rounder, Sterling Moore and two UDFAs — Ken Crawley and De’Vante Harris — comprise the remainder of the Saints’ cornerback contingent.

A former CFL talent, Breaux broke out in the United States last season and became the Saints’ most reliable corner. He started 15 games, deflected 19 passes and intercepted three.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Kyle Long To Play Season With Torn Labrum

September 11th, 2016 at 5:28pm CST by Sam Robinson

Kyle Long started for the Bears today in their season-opening loss to the Texans, but the cornerstone guard will be playing through pain this season. The fourth-year starter suffered a torn labrum in his left shoulder, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports.

The injury is expected to affect Long’s performance this season, per Schefter, but the recently extended Chicago blocker will attempt to play through the malady.

Schefter reports the tear occurred last month, so the Bears gave the three-time Pro Bowler a four-year extension worth $40MM after the diagnosis surfaced. Long was able to practice this past week in a limited capacity for the first time since the injury.

The move back to guard after spending the 2015 season at right tackle will serve Long better overall, since that is the position at which he’s performed better. But the relocation back inside might affect him more this season due to the strength requirements of the guard spot. Nevertheless, the Bears have bet on Long to be their anchor up front for the decade’s remainder. He’s missed just one game in his four-year career, playing all 16 in both 2013 and ’15.

Chicago now houses one of the league’s premier guard tandems after its 11th-hour acquisition of Josh Sitton, who is under contract through 2018 after the Packers release enabled a signing with their chief rivals.

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