2017 August - Pro Football Rumors

West Notes: Raiders, Garnett, Broncos

August 5th, 2017 at 8:24pm CST by Sam Robinson

Donald Penn appears to be dug in on his holdout from Raiders camp. The Pro Bowl left tackle has scheduled some workouts in St. Louis with Hall of Fame tackle Orlando Pace, Steve Wyche of NFL.com reports, perhaps an indication Penn doesn’t expect to report to Napa, Calif., anytime soon. Penn spent recent time working out with another Rams Hall of Fame tackle in Jackie Slater but did so in southern California. The 34-year-old left tackle wants to be paid top-10 money at his position and has been absent from Raiders camp for over a week. Reggie McKenzie refused to address his left tackle’s contract publicly, but Oakland is now working with two new tackle starters — Marshall Newhouse and Vadal Alexander — after cutting Austin Howard and observing Penn hold out. The 11th-year player has never missed a regular-season game but will continue to push for more money. Penn signed a two-year, $14MM deal — one that will pay him $5.8MM in base salary this season — last year.

Here’s more from Oakland and other Western-division camps.

Malcolm Smith‘s pectoral injury dealt a significant blow to the 49ers defense, but their offense won’t have the services of Joshua Garnett for a while. The second-year guard is expected to miss a “period of time” because of a knee injury Kyle Shanahan said could require surgery. Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com reports the 2016 first-round guard is not believed to have damaged his ACL, but his chances of competing for a starting job appear to be over during camp. Brandon Fusco and Zane Beadles are now working as San Francisco’s first-team guards. Shanahan described the uncertainty around Garnett by saying he “hoped” the interior lineman could help the team this season, via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter).
Raiders backup safety Keith McGill suffered a Jones fracture in his right foot Saturday and will have surgery, Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. McGill’s status for Week 1 is uncertain, but he will miss the rest of training camp, Gehlken writes. A former cornerback, McGill is entering his fourth season and is a consistent special teams presence for Oakland. He and Obi Melifonwu are expected to be the second-string safeties.
Broncos camp still has a ways to go, but Vance Joseph has identified his punt returner already. Five-foot-7 Isaiah McKenzie won the job, the first-year coach said, via Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com. Although Joseph views McKenzie as too small for kick-return responsibilities, the Broncos drafted him with a punt-return role in mind. They remain hopeful he can have an impact on offense as well. McKenzie returned five punts for touchdowns during three seasons at Georgia.
The Cardinals lost running back and return man T.J. Logan to a dislocated wrist. The rookie will be placed on IR.

Jets Waive Bruce Ellington

August 5th, 2017 at 6:03pm CST by Sam Robinson

Bruce Ellington‘s Jets stay didn’t last through the weekend. The Jets waived the wide receiver with an injury designation, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News tweets.

The Jets claimed Ellington off waivers from the 49ers on Friday. A day later, they’re moving on. Gang Green signed fullback Algernon Brown to fill Ellington’s shortlived roster spot.

Ellington served mostly as a return specialist for the 49ers, although he did factor in on the 2014 and ’15 teams’ receiver equations as a reserve component. However, a severe hamstring injury ended Ellington’s 2016 season before it began.

It’s unclear at this time if the 25-year-old wideout is still struggling with the hamstring malady or if another injury caused him to fail a physical. The 2014 fourth-round pick played in 13 games in each of his first two seasons in San Francisco.

Brown initially signed with the Seahawks in May as a UDFA, but Seattle cut the BYU product last weekend.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/5/17

August 5th, 2017 at 5:35pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are today’s minor moves.

After working out tight end Emanuel Byrd, the Packers signed the talent out of Marshall, the team announced. They played cornerback Herb Waters on IR. The Chiefs initially signed Byrd as a UDFA in May but released him earlier this week.
The Dolphins are signing guard Isame Faciane, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports (on Twitter). He’s spent time with both the Bills and Vikings, the Minnesota stint ending after the Vikes released him from their practice squad following a DUI arrest, per Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (on Twitter). Faciane finished last season on the Buffalo taxi squad. A biceps injury will sideline recently signed interior lineman Ted Larsen for a while.
Miami also waived tackle Terry Poole, per Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (on Twitter). Poole was originally a Seahawks fourth-round pick in 2015; he has yet to play in an NFL game.
Wide receiver Rasheed Bailey will sign with the Browns, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports (via Twitter). Cleveland also signed tight end Nate Lese and waived defensive lineman Jamal Marcus and wide receiver James Wright with injury designations, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal tweets. The Eagles cut Bailey in May. He’s been with the Eagles and Chargers and spent time in the CFL.
The Texans signed wideout Marcus Leak, Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com reports. Houston won’t have the services of Will Fuller for months after the 2016 first-round pick broke his collarbone this week. The Colts waived Leak in June.
Kansas City signed cornerbacks Jacoby Glenn and Larry Scott, Terez Paylor of the Kansas City Star tweets. The Chiefs waived Keith Baxter. Glenn spent parts of the past two seasons with the Bears, mostly on the practice squad before being waived in May. A Chargers UDFA addition out of Oregon State in 2016, Scott ended up with the Colts but was cut in May.
Tackle Martin Wallace cleared waivers and will revert to the Saints‘ IR, Nick Underhill of The Advocate tweets.

QB Rumors: Cutler, Browns, Lynch, Texans

August 5th, 2017 at 4:51pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Dolphins‘ quarterback situation has surged to the NFL news forefront this week, and on Saturday, the latest coming out of the possible Jay Cutler/Adam Gase reunion indicates the quarterback is leaning toward staying in the broadcast booth. One of the key elements in Cutler’s decision-making process will be his family, with Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reporting the 34-year-old passer is having a hard time making a commitment that would keep him away from them throughout this season.

ESPN’s James Walker adds a Ryan Tannehill surgery could shift Gase into a more aggressive recruiting mode for Cutler, with whom the Dolphins HC worked on the 2015 Bears. Cutler threw 25 touchdown passes compared to 11 interceptions for an injury-depleted Chicago offense that year. Matt Moore remains the Miami backup. Colin Kaepernick, Robert Griffin III and Shaun Hill are among the top options in free agency if the Dolphins and Cutler don’t end up making an emergency-circumstance contract work.

But there are other fluid quarterback situations, some on teams expected to be contenders. Here’s the latest on the league’s signal-caller battles.

The Broncos held a scrimmage on Saturday, and they exited the workout with Trevor Siemian in a better place on his quest to hold off first-round pick Paxton Lynch. Siemian remained consistent, per Troy Renck of Denver7, who adds Lynch continued to struggle in that department. Renck notes Lynch has shown the kind of promise associated with a first-round talent at times during camp but has encountered noticeable lapses. Vance Joseph called Lynch’s outing Saturday “very solid” outside of an interception.
Hue Jackson will collaborate with second-year Browns power-structure heads Sashi Brown and Paul DePodesta, seeking input on which quarterback he chooses to start the season, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports. “I’d love to have their input,” Jackson said. “I want to see what they’ve seen and how they feel about it and we’ll kind of go from there.” Unlike last season, this quarterback competition is between players chosen by the new-era Browns front office. Cabot also suggests Jackson provided more signals he will tab DeShone Kizer for first-string work. Despite Kizer struggling in a Saturday scrimmage, Cabot expects the second-round pick to earn the start in the Browns’ preseason opener against the Saints next week. Jackson added “it’s fair to assume” he will have his starter in place by the Browns’ third preseason game.
Brock Osweiler, though, performed better than Kizer on Saturday, and ESPN Cleveland’s Tony Grossi notes indications point to the trade acquisition being given elevated to starting status against the Saints. This would be a rather startling development considering Osweiler was acquired as a trade chip the Browns attempted to subsequently unload. Cody Kessler, Cleveland’s first-unit passer throughout the offseason, has struggled during camp, per Grossi. PFR’s readers voted Osweiler as the player the Browns should go with this season.
Equipped with a dominant defense, the Texans are expected to make a strong push to win a third straight AFC South title. They aren’t 100 percent decided on their quarterback, but John McClain of the Houston Chronicle notes (on Twitter) Tom Savage has been “clearly No. 1” ahead of Deshaun Watson. DeAndre Hopkins also threw his support behind the fourth-year player, whom the fifth-year receiver said “does everything well.” Bill O’Brien and, to a lesser degree, Rick Smith said before camp Savage will be the Texans’ Week 1 starter.

49ers Fear Malcolm Smith’s Season In Jeopardy

August 5th, 2017 at 3:39pm CST by Sam Robinson

The 49ers signed Malcolm Smith to a five-year deal this offseason, and the recent Raiders starter entered training camp expected to start at weakside linebacker in San Francisco.

But the veteran off-ball ‘backer suffered a chest injury during practice Saturday the team fears is serious enough to put his season in jeopardy, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com reports. Smith went in for an MRI today, but Kyle Shanahan said the malady could keep Smith sidelined for “a while.”

Smith signed a five-year, $26.5MM deal this offseason. He and new 49ers DC Robert Saleh worked together in Seattle. Maiocco notes this injury could summon first-round pick Reuben Foster into the starting lineup sooner than expected, writing this is likely to bring the Alabama product onto the first unit at weakside ‘backer.

Smith served as the Raiders’ chief presence at off-ball linebacker over the past two seasons. He made more than 100 tackles in each of the past two seasons and missed just one game for Oakland in that span.

Latest On Dolphins’ QB Quandary

August 5th, 2017 at 2:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

Adam Gase attempted to provide clarity on the Dolphins’ quarterback situation on Saturday, but the position is far from solidified after the latest Ryan Tannehill injury occurrence.

Gase confirmed he’s spoken with Jay Cutler about being a possible emergency-circumstance addition, but the second-year coach said only one conversation has occurred. Gase did say Cutler expressed his interest in a Miami job, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reports. Gase said Cutler did not seek an arrangement where he’d only leave his Fox post for a guaranteed starting job, per Salguero.

“He was interested,” Gase said of Cutler’s status, via Salguero. “I think he’s just trying to figure out everything. … He didn’t demand anything.”

Salguero offers that a reunion between Gase and Cutler, who worked together for the 2015 Bears, remains the most likely conclusion to the Dolphins’ sudden passer crisis.

Meanwhile, both Salguero and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk are hearing matters are not calm on the Tannehill front. Salguero said he’s been told “over and over” reports of the 29-year-old quarterback having avoided structural damage are not correct. The Miami-based reporter adds the team is considering all options, including a season-ending ACL surgery for Tannehill. That’s the buzz Florio is getting, offering (on Twitter) the feeling is it’s “quietly becoming a given” the sixth-year starter will undergo surgery.

Tannehill, of course, did not undergo surgery for the partial tear he suffered late last season.

Jeff Darlington of ESPN.com, though, threw some cold water on a Cutler/Dolphins pact. The ESPN reporter tweeted Cutler is “leaning heavily” toward staying retired and beginning a broadcasting career. But this situation has brought unique intrigue for Cutler, whom Darlington reports (on Twitter) would only consider the Dolphins as a return destination. Even though Miami’s supporting cast — Jarvis Landry/DeVante Parker/Kenny Stills/Julius Thomas/Jay Ajayi — would represent one of the better groups of Cutler’s career, it doesn’t look like the 34-year-old free agent would return to football (Twitter link). But Darlington adds, via Twitter, Cutler isn’t 100 percent certain about spurning this interest yet.

Cutler’s television agent, Mark Block, tweeted his client hasn’t decided anything yet.

NFC Notes: Stafford, Donald, Packers, Cards

August 5th, 2017 at 2:14pm CST by Ben Levine

There have been talks throughout the offseason that the Lions are confident that they’ll get franchise quarterback Matthew Stafford to ink an extension. General manager Bob Quinn expressed those same sentiments to fans on Saturday prior to the team’s “mock game.”

“Matt has taken this situation with his contract in stride,” Quinn said (via ESPN.com’s Michael Rothstein). “It doesn’t bother him and it doesn’t bother me. I’m confident we’ll get something done.

“There’s a long way to go on that, but it’s good on both sides.”

Stafford, 29, is set to enter the final year of his contract, and Rothstein writes that the former No. 1 overall pick could be in line to become the NFL’s highest-paid player. We learned earlier this week that there was still a “substantial gap” between Stafford’s asking price and Detroit’s offer.

Let’s take a look at some more notes from around the NFL…

We learned last night that the Rams and Aaron Donald remain on “amicable” terms despite the interior defender’s holdout. Despite the relative optimism, head coach Sean McVay said not much as changed in regards to negotiations. “Not to this point,” McVay said (via Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com). “Kind of still same as. Hopeful and waiting for some day when we get that good news, but in the meantime we move on and like we’ve said before – confident that he’s working hard while he’s not here and trust that when we do get that worked out hopefully he’ll be ready to go and there won’t be any setbacks. It’ll be good to get him if we’re able to come to that decision and get that thing done.”
Cardinals linebacker Deone Bucannon is on track to return for Week 1, Bruce Arians said (via Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com). Bucannon is on the Active/PUP list presently after undergoing ankle surgery in May, and while Arians hopes the safety-turned-linebacker can have a 10-day preparation period before the regular season, the goal remains Week 1.
Tight end Emanuel Byrd will be auditioning for the Packers, reports Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). The undrafted free agent out of Marshall initially signed with the Chiefs in May, but he was waived by the organization in late July.
Hall of Famer and former Eagles executive Jim Gallagher died Saturday at the age of 88 (via Philly.com’s Paul Domowitch). Gallagher started working for the organization back in 1949, and he served as the Eagles’ personnel director, public relations director, director of sales and marketing, and director of alumni relations until his retirement in 1995. “Jim was one of the kindest and most remarkable men you could ever meet,’’ Eagles owner Jeff Lurie said. “His dedication to this organization went far beyond the 46 years he spent here, and his impact was far-reaching…Everyone who was fortunate enough to meet Jim knows how much he loved the Eagles, but also how much he truly cared for and invested in the lives of others. To borrow one of his famous phrases, Jim was a ‘first-round pick.”

Sam Robinson contributed to this report.

Cardinals RB T.J. Logan IR-Bound

August 5th, 2017 at 1:37pm CST by Sam Robinson

Cardinals running back T.J. Logan may not see a chance to factor into his first NFL season. The rookie suffered a dislocated wrist during Thursday’s NFL preseason opener.

Logan will miss approximately 12 weeks, per Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com, and Bruce Arians said he will be placed on IR. The fifth-round pick out of North Carolina will require surgery. Arians said the tentative plan would be to bring back Urban from IR around Week 8.

The NFL again adjusted its IR policy this offseason. Teams can now bring two players off the injured list as opposed to one. This increases Logan’s chances of making a midseason return and salvaging some of his first NFL season. That said, the Cardinals’ situation at running back and their other injury issues could have a large say in that.

Arizona re-signed Chris Johnson recently to play behind David Johnson, and the Cards shuttled Andre Ellington back to running back after a brief wide receiver experiment. The team also has Kerwynn Williams as a backup candidate. Logan was vying for a roster spot in this mix.

Vikings, Linval Joseph Agree To Extension

August 5th, 2017 at 12:28pm CST by Ben Levine

The Vikings have once again extended a key member of their defense. According to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter), the organization has signed defensive tackle Linval Joseph to a four-year, $50MM extension. The deal reportedly contains $31.5MM in guaranteed money.

Following the team’s signing of defensive end Everson Griffen and cornerback Xavier Rhodes to extensions, we heard that Joseph was next of the docket. The Pro Bowler was reportedly seeking similar money to Griffen’s four-year, $57.9MM extension, and he came up just short with his current deal. Either way, Joseph still earned himself quite the payday, as the guaranteed money will only rank him behind Ndamukong Suh, Marcell Dareus, Fletcher Cox, Kawann Short among defensive tackles.

The 2010 second-round pick has established himself as one of the linchpins of the Vikings defense over the past several years. 2016 was arguably the best season of the 28-year-old’s career, as Joseph compiled career-highs in tackles (77), sacks (four), and forced fumbles (three). Pro Football Focus was particularly fond of his performance, ranking him 14th among 125 qualified interior defensive linemen.

As our own Connor Byrnes noted earlier this week, the Vikings shouldn’t have been in any rush to sign the defensive tackle. Prior to signing this contract, Joseph still had two seasons remaining on the five-year, $31.25 million contract he signed back in 2014. Still, the organization has clearly prioritized locking up their core. Besides signing both Rhodes and Griffen to extensions, the team also extended safety Harrison Smith last offseason.

49ers Sign LB Jayson DiManche

August 5th, 2017 at 12:01pm CST by Ben Levine

Following a brief stint with the organization earlier this offseason, the 49ers have once again signed journeyman linebacker Jayson DiManche. The 26-year-old will be taking the roster spot held by wideout Bruce Ellington, who was cut by the 49ers earlier this week.

Following a successful career at Southern Illinois University, DiManche entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He ultimately caught on with the Bengals, and he proceeded to play in 28 games for Cincy between 2013 and 2014, compiling 28 tackles and one forced fumble. DiManche has also spent time with the Chiefs, Browns, and Lions. He signed with the 49ers in early April, but he was released by the organization less than a month later.

DiManche is probably a long shot to make the 49ers roster considering the team’s depth at linebacker. The team already added several players to the unit this offseason, including first-rounder Reuben Foster and veteran free agents Malcolm Smith and Elvis Dumervil.