A number of Texans players — including wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and running back D’Onta Foreman — left practice today following franchise owner Bob McNair‘s comments in an ESPN The Magazine article, in which he compared national anthem protests to “inmates running the prison,” according to Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com. Some of the players who left practice ultimately returned, but the Houston coaching staff had to convince the team not to stage a full-scale walkout. Head coach Bill O’Brien — who says he is “100% behind” his players — later staged a 90-minute meeting in which players could engage in “candid conversation,” per Barshop. Left tackle Duane Brown called the comments “ignorant” and “embarrassing,” and said “the situation’s not over,” an indication further protests or other repercussions could be coming.
Here’s more from around the league:
- The NFL hasn’t yet decided whether it will suspend Dolphins linebacker Kiko Alonso for his hit on Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, a source tells Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk. Alonso hit a sliding Flacco in the head, forcing Baltimore’s signal-caller to miss the remainder of Thursday night’s game and be placed in the concussion protocol. While he was penalized for unnecessary roughness, Alonso could now face a ban (as Bears linebacker Danny Trevathan did for his hit on Packers wideout Davante Adams earlier this year). Meanwhile, the league will not suspend Miami defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh for placing his hands around quarterback Ryan Mallett‘s neck nor forcing offensive lineman Ryan Jensen to the ground , per Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk.
- Colin Kaepernick will attend next week’s social activism-based meeting between NFL owners and players, as Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports reports. Kaepernick didn’t participate in the last session of talks even though other players invited him, as the free agent quarterback didn’t want to be a distraction. Multiple players determined that Kaepernick’s presence this time around was important, which makes sense given that he’s the progenitor of the league’s national anthem protests.
- The NFL’s trade deadline should either be pushed back or removed altogether, opines Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. This year’s deadline comes on October 31, and enough teams are still in contention that player movement could be limited. The league recently moved the deadline from the Tuesday after Week 6 to the Tuesday after Week 8, and extending that cutoff could result in more deals getting done if clubs believe they’re not in the running for a postseason berth.
- Speaking of the rapidly approaching deadline, both Joel Corry of CBSSports.com and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com designed a few hypothetical deals that could come together before Tuesday. Both pieces were written earlier this week, and Corry actually predicted the Dontrelle Inman/Bears trade, while Schefter guessed Marcell Dareus would be dealt.
Colin Kaepernick is a good human people, show him respect.
Nice grammar
Hes a piece of crap.
It’s just too bad that he was/is so much more concerned with trying to divide our nation than trying to learn how to divide an NFL defense
How is he trying to divide our nation? I was pretty sure this is a sports page. Take your righteous indignatude and appt it somewhere with more meaning.
Well he plays football soooo….
Let me reword that…he played football before he decided to become a sideshow circus act…my post obviously shows how I feel about the protests but it was implying that he also struggled to diagnose an NFL defense…there are plenty of other more politically oriented posts you can go police pal
I’m so tired of this stuff. Houston was devastated by a hurricane. People lost their lives, their homes, their possessions, etc… We witnessed a ton of people rising up to help complete strangers, from all walks of life. A Houston Texan player raised over $30M, from thousands of people.
And just a few weeks after witnessing what happened in the town where they are paid crazy money to play a game, players are thinking of walking out over a freaking figure of speech? Give me a break….
I remember once during a Lakers game when after an African American player dunked the ball, Chick Hearn said “he was up there long enough to grab a banana”…luckily at that point not everything someone said automatically made them a racist bigot…I am just glad that my judge sees no political party, skin color, bank accounts, etc…may God bless all of us
Granted, while being well compensated, I would consider playing for the Texans to being stuck in a prison… of mediocrity.
Good thing Kaepernick doesn’t “want to be a distraction.” LOL
Kap is a sub par player who got paid a lot more money than he’s worth. This protest b.s. Is turning away countless thousands of fans for televised games etc. The price these guys are going to pay has yet to be felt. It’s coming.
Exactly!
A lot of these players have no idea why they are kneeling. They are just followers.They talk about oppression.
Dictionary definition of oppression : to be subject to harsh conditions. The average NFl player receives a check every 2 weeks for 370k. I can see how thats very harsh.
A couple years ago , Mark Cuban predicted that the NFL was going to implode in on itself
and it looks like he’s going to be RIGHT!