After landing on injured reserve with a concussion Friday, it’s possible Panthers left tackle Michael Oher has played his final snap, David Newton of ESPN.com suggests. Oher emphatically shot down that notion on Instagram a few weeks ago, however. At the very least, the soon-to-be 31-year-old is done for 2016, having last appeared in a game Sept. 25. Oher is under contract through 2019 on the three-year, $21.6MM extension he signed in June.
More from the NFC:
- The Vikings’ early September decision to send a first- and fourth-rounder to the Eagles for quarterback Sam Bradford is hard to justify after 11 games, writes Bill Barnwell of ESPN.com. In acquiring Bradford to replace the injured Teddy Bridgewater, the Vikings overestimated the chances of everything else goes right for their offense from a health standpoint, Barnwell argues. Instead, not only has running back Adrian Peterson missed most of the season, but Minnesota’s O-line has also dealt with several injuries. And while Bradford hasn’t played poorly, he also hasn’t made much of a difference during the Vikings’ 6-5 start. Looking ahead to the offseason, it’s possible the Vikings could flip Bradford – who’s under contract for one more year – and either give the reins back to a healthy Bridgewater or acquire someone else (Tony Romo, for instance), Barnwell notes.
- Redskins tight end Jordan Reed suffered a Grade 3 AC joint separation in his left shoulder in the team’s loss to Dallas on Thanksgiving, per Liz Clarke of The Washington Post (on Twitter). Coach Jay Gruden hopes Reed can play next week against Arizona, but he’s currently day-to-day. If the injury’s severe enough, Reed could deal with pain for up to six weeks, according to Dr. David Chao of Sirius XM (Twitter link). Reed didn’t show any ill effects Thursday, catching a whopping 10 passes for 95 yards and two touchdowns. He leads potentially playoff-bound Washington in receptions (59) and targets (80), and is second on the team in TDs (five).
- Safety Earl Thomas will miss the Seahawks’ game against the Buccaneers on Sunday because of a hamstring injury, thus ending an iron man streak that dates back to his 2010 entrance into the NFL. The four-time Pro Bowler had appeared in and started 106 straight games prior to this week. In the history of the Seahawks, only former guard John Gray (121) has started more games consecutively, tweets Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
The annoying thing about the Vikings is that they only really got genuinely outplayed in a few of those losses. Between Blair Walsh and the o-line it’s been a long season already.