2017 October - Pro Football Rumors

Chiefs Activate CB Steven Nelson Off IR

October 30th, 2017 at 1:24pm CST by Zachary Links

The Chiefs announced that they have activated cornerback Steven Nelson off of injured reserve. Kansas City first decided to bring Nelson back last week, but it’s now official.

A core muscle injury sidelined Nelson in the summer, forcing KC to park him on IR for the first two months of the season. Now that he’s served his time, the Chiefs are using one of their two IR-DTR spots to bring him back.

Nelson, 24, started for the Chiefs last season and he could slide back into his old job rather quickly. Terrance Mitchell has filled in as a starting corner for Kansas City, but he’s struggled (No. 85 CB per Pro Football Focus), so Nelson would be the obvious choice to take over, provided that he is near 100% healthy.

Last year, Nelson played 90% of Kansas City’s defensive snaps opposite Marcus Peters. In his 15 games (14 starts), he had 64 tackles, two fumble recoveries, and 16 passes defensed.

The 5-2 Chiefs will face the Broncos on Monday night. If they win, they’ll enter a three-way tie with the Patriots and the Steelers for the top record in the AFC.

Texans’ Christian Covington Done For Season

October 30th, 2017 at 12:06pm CST by Zachary Links

The Texans have lost yet another member of the front seven. This time, it’s defensive end Christian Covington. His season is over thanks to a torn bicep, coach Bill O’Brien told reporters on Monday morning (Twitter link).

Covington, originally slated to be a backup, was thrust into the starting lineup when the Texans lost multiple starters to injury. Houston will now have to dig even deeper after losing defensive end J.J. Watt and outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus to long-term injuries. Defensive ends Kendall Langford (knee) and Joel Heath (knee), meanwhile, are still on the mend.

Covington appeared in seven games for the Texans this year, including two starts. He finishes out with 16 tackles and one sack. In his small sample of play (166 snaps), Pro Football Focus gave him an 82.2 overall score, putting him the top 30 for interior defenders.

Jets Notes: Watson, Wilkerson, Sanchez

October 30th, 2017 at 11:40am CST by Zachary Links

Did the Jets make a franchise-altering mistake by not taking quarterback Deshaun Watson? Some within the organization believe that’s the case, particularly those who lobbied hard for him during the draft, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News writes. Mehta hears that some Jets officials were willing to trade a 2018 first-round pick plus Muhammad Wilkerson to move back into the first round to select Watson.

One can’t help but wonder whether the inclusion of Wilkerson in a trade offer would have helped the Jets’ chances. Wilkerson was once one of the league’s best values on the defensive line, but that went out of the window when he signed a five-year, $86MM extension before the start of last season and regressed sharply in 2016. Jets fans can dream about a scenario in which a future first-round pick, Wilkerson, and perhaps other draft considerations would have been enough to sway the Browns or Saints, but it’s hard to totally buy into that idea.

Here’s more on Gang Green:

After the Bills managed to unload Marcell Dareus, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com wonders aloud if the Jets could move Wilkerson before Tuesday’s trade deadline. He rightly concludes that a trade is highly unlikely. Aside from his onerous contract, Wilkerson’s production has still not returned to 2015 levels and he is dealing with multiple nagging injuries.
Recently, former Jets coach Rex Ryan said that he never saw Mark Sanchez as a “franchise quarterback,” but felt that he was good enough to “win with.” Those comments stand in stark contrast with what he wrote in his 2011 book, as Mike Florio of PFT notes. Ryan wrote that Sanchez was going to be “extraordinary in the NFL” and explained the thought process behind trading up to the No. 5 pick in the draft to get him. Ryan, it seems, is looking to rewrite history a little bit. This all may be part of an effort to to work his way back towards becoming an NFL head coach, but that seems unlikely at the moment.

Latest On Bears TE Zach Miller

October 30th, 2017 at 9:21am CST by Zachary Links

On Monday, Bears tight end Zach Miller had major surgery on his dislocated knee. As first reported by ESPN.com’s Chris Mortensen (video link), the injury put him at risk for potentially losing his leg. The early word on the operation is good, however, with the Bears terming it as “successful”.

“Successful surgery was performed immediately on Sunday by the UMC vascular surgeons to stabilize his injury,” the team said in a statement. “Zach remains at UMC, along with Bears medical personnel, where he will stay under further evaluation. We are thinking of Zach and his family and support from our entire organization goes out to them.”

A dislocated knee is a complicated injury and especially scary because of the arteries involved. When there is significant vascular damage, surgeons will sometimes have to graft an artery from one leg to the other. If proper circulation cannot be restored, then the patient may wind up losing the limb. Needless to say, Miller’s season is over and his football future is also in jeopardy, but he has a much larger battle to focus on at the moment.

Miller, who spent the first three seasons of his career as an afterthought in Jacksonville, has done his best work over the past three seasons with the Bears. In 2016, Miller caught a career-high 47 passes and 486 yards with four touchdowns. This year, he was on pace for similar stats with 20 grabs for 236 yards and two TDs.

Extra Points: Vikings, Zeke, Williams, Lynch

October 29th, 2017 at 9:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

Sam Bradford does not have a return timetable after making a brief cameo in Chicago earlier this month. The Vikings quarterback is still experiencing knee pain, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (video link). However, Minnesota may be set to finally have some quarterback depth again after its Week 9 bye. Teddy Bridgewater is expected to come off the PUP list after the bye, and Rapoport expects him to immediately compete with Case Keenum for the Vikes’ starting job. A mostly Keenum-led team this season, the Vikings lead the NFC North after their win over the Browns on Sunday. Bridgewater reclaiming his job might be a bit tricky considering where the team is in the standings and how long it’s been since the fourth-year passer was at the controls. But a Bridgewater return gives the Vikings options they don’t currently have with Bradford still on the mend.

Here’s the latest from around the league.

Ezekiel Elliott did not travel with the Cowboys back to Dallas on Sunday night, instead trekking to New York for his seminal court date, Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports (on Twitter). Elliott did not attend his previous hearing with New York’s Fifth Circuit Court in New Orleans earlier this month. The Cowboys star back rushed for more than 100 yards for a second straight week and has five touchdowns over the past two games but could see his suspension go into effect as early as next week if Monday goes poorly for his side.
Trent Williams is hoping the Redskins‘ bye week gives him time to heal his knee injury, but the Washington tackle isn’t certain that will do the trick, per John Keim of ESPN.com. Williams said earlier this month he’s hoping to put off surgery until after the season but revealed Sunday (via Keim) some doctors have told him that’s a six- to nine-month rehab process. Calling this a deep bone bruise, Williams added other medical personnel have said he can go the rest-and-recover route. So this bye week will be critical for the status of Washington’s injury-ravaged offensive line.
Speaking of left tackle injuries, Joe Staley suffered an orbital bone fracture Sunday. But the 11th-year 49ers edge blocker received a bit of good news, with Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee reporting (via Twitter) no surgery will be required. Still, this could end any Staley trade speculation and keep him in San Francisco for another full season.
Paxton Lynch is no longer on the Broncos‘ injury report, and the second-year quarterback could be in uniform Monday night for the first time this season, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes. The Broncos have not received much help from their offense the past three games and have fallen to 3-3. The team obviously would be interested in getting its 2016 first-rounder on the field at some point, but Trevor Siemian won the job in the preseason. However, if the Broncos slink out of the playoff race as a result of a brutal upcoming schedule — the Chiefs, Eagles and Patriots represent Denver’s ensuing three games — Lynch could be summoned for a full-on audition.
Devon Still is considering retirement. The former Bengals rotational defensive lineman told TMZ he plans to decide in a couple of weeks if he will pursue a shot at another opportunity or not. The 28-year-old interior defender is currently a free agent, having last played with 2016 Texans. The Jets cut Still in August.
T.Y. Hilton is rumored to be on the trade block. Florio hears from multiple sources the NFL’s reigning receiving-yardage leader is available. Florio opines a future Hilton-type talent could come out of a mid-round draft pick, allowing the Colts — now run by a decision-maker in Chris Ballard who did not draft the sixth-year wide receiver — to offload Hilton’s $13MM-AAV contract and improve the roster with the savings.

Coaching Notes: Falcons, Rams, Nagy, Fangio

October 29th, 2017 at 7:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Falcons let two top Kyle Shanahan lieutenants leave shortly after their upper-echelon OC took the 49ers job, with Matt LaFleur and Mike McDaniel both departing for NFC West jobs. And in the eyes of NFL execs, that has hurt the Falcons.

“Losing Kyle was bad enough,” one exec familiar with Shanahan’s system told Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, “but letting the other two walk is crushing them right now. [New OC Steve Sarkisian] doesn’t know what he’s doing in that offense. He’s running some of Kyle’s plays, but he’s not setting up things the way Kyle did. It’s Kyle’s plays but it’s not Kyle’s offense and they don’t have any other coach in that building who knows the scheme with LaFleur and McDaniel gone, too.”

LaFleur is now working under Sean McVay as the Rams‘ OC, but McVay is calling the plays for the resurgent team. McVay will likely be willing to let the 37-year-old LaFleur leave in the offseason for a team that will let him call plays, La Canfora reports, adding that many scouts and execs viewed LaFleur as Shanahan’s top sounding board in Atlanta. The Falcons still rank seventh in total offense, but their performance has dropped off dramatically from the 2016 historically dominant attack.

Here’s more from the coaching ranks as the schedule nears the midseason point.

The Colts are not expected to retain Chuck Pagano for a seventh season, and one name to monitor will be Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy. The second-year OC will be high (if not first) on Chris Ballard‘s list if/once he searches for his first head-coaching hire, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reports. The 39-year-old Nagy’s been on Andy Reid staffs for 10 seasons and is in his first as a solo OC; he and Brad Childress shared that title last season. Nagy does not call plays, but the Chiefs are operating one of the more innovative offenses in the game — one that ranks second through seven games. That figures to put Nagy on radars.
Much like Josh McDaniels has resettled with the Patriots, Matt Patricia may be difficult to pry out of New England as well. The longtime Pats defensive coordinator would need the “perfect situation” to leave for an HC gig, Pelissero notes. Patricia, 43, has been a monitored HC candidate for years.
Vic Fangio‘s contract with the Bears expires after this season, La Canfora reports, adding the 59-year-old DC will be in demand for a head-coaching position come hiring time. The Bears rank 13th in defensive DVOA despite not deploying a player who’s made a Pro Bowl, and Fangio’s unit helped win a game that included four Mitch Trubisky pass completions before holding Drew Brees without a touchdown pass a week later. The 49ers asked permission to interview their former DC for that job, but the Bears denied that request.
A report emerged earlier today Hue Jackson is tentatively expected to be the 2018 Browns‘ coach despite a historically awful start to his Cleveland career, but La Canfora is less certain he or the new-age front office will be asked back. Jackson is 1-23 since taking over last season, with only John McKay’s 1976-77 Buccaneers having compiled a worse 24-game mark, but the ex-Bengals OC joined a historic rebuilding experiment. La Canfora writes that experiment thus far failing so spectacularly will call for Jimmy Haslam to fire key front office staffers and Jackson.

Joe Staley, Jimmie Ward Sustain Injuries

October 29th, 2017 at 6:09pm CST by Sam Robinson

Both Joe Staley and Jimmie Ward did not finish Sunday’s Week 8 game for the 49ers. The former suffered an eye injury that will require an overnight stay in Philadelphia, and the latter could be out for a while because of a broken arm.

Ward sustained a broken forearm in San Francisco’s loss, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter). This stands to put Ward’s season in jeopardy. A starting defensive back in the 49ers secondary for the third season, Ward has finished two of his three previous NFL campaigns on IR.

The 49ers have not announced precisely what injury Staley is dealing with, but Rapoport notes the 11th-year tackle may have broken his orbital bone. Adam Schefter of ESPN.com confirmed this, tweeting Staley’s orbital bone is indeed broken. However, Schefter notes this is not believed to be a season-ending injury.

Staley’s injury occurred while on the other end of a Fletcher Cox block during an Eagles interception-return sequence.

Staley’s only missed three games since the start of the 2011 season. A report earlier today indicated the 49ers would be willing to move Staley, along with other veterans, before Tuesday’s trade deadline. This would stand to throw a wrench into any Staley deal. Staley’s said he would not like to be traded, despite the 49ers being in a full-scale rebuild.

Ward is under team control through 2018 via the fifth-year option.

Zach Miller Suffers Dislocated Knee

October 29th, 2017 at 5:32pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Bears’ pass-catching contingent continues to dwindle, and after the gruesome Zach Miller sequence Sunday, it was predictable he suffered a significant injury.

Miller headed to the hospital after suffering what John Fox called a dislocated left knee, per Patrick Finlay of the Chicago Sun-Times. The painful sequence occurred on a touchdown reception that was subsequently reversed.

Chicago addressed the tight end position through multiple avenues this offseason, signing Dion Sims and drafting Adam Shaheen in the second round, but Miller remained the Bears’ top receiving option at this position. The Nebraska-Omaha product is a pending free agent.

The Bears were already playing without wide receivers Kevin White, Cameron Meredith and Markus Wheaton and will now be operating without the 33-year-old Miller.

Miller’s spent the past three seasons with the Bears, posting the top seasons of his career after spending time as a backup with the Jaguars.

5 Key NFL Stories: 10/22/17 – 10/29/17

October 29th, 2017 at 4:44pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Trade deadline primer. With the NFL’s trade deadline only two days away, rumors are everywhere. Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton could possibly be available, while Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll strongly denied tight end Jimmy Graham could be used as a trade chit. Seattle is on the lookout for an offensive tackle, however, with the Bills’ Cordy Glenn and the Texans’ Duane Brown among the club’s possible targets. Meanwhile, clubs are asking the Lions about retired wideout Calvin Johnson‘s rights, while Detroit tight end Eric Ebron is also purportedly on the block.

Jaguars fortify their defense. Jacksonville made a massive — both in terms of magnitude and the player in question’s size — acquisition over the weekend by sending a 2018 sixth-round pick to the Bills in exchange for defensive tackle Marcell Dareus. The Jaguars, who already rank first overall in defensive DVOA, hope they’ll be able to motivate Dareus into improving their run defense. Buffalo, meanwhile, wasn’t actively shopping Dareus, but general manager Brandon Beane has now cleared a hefty contract from the Bills’ books while removing a player in Dareus who may not have bought into the club’s culture. In addition to acquiring Dareus, the Jaguars also inked linebacker Telvin Smith to a four-year, $44MM extension.

Stalwart left tackles go down. Joe Thomas had never missed a snap during his NFL career, but he’s now on injured reserve after suffering a torn triceps in Week 7. The Browns will now lose the opportunity to trade Thomas — something they likely had no interest in doing anyway — and will go forward with Spencer Drango at left tackle. The Eagles, meanwhile, lost their blindside protector when Jason Peters suffered a torn ACL, and could now be open to acquiring another left tackle via the trade market.

Anquan Boldin wants to play. Boldin surprisingly retired just weeks after signing a one-year deal with the Bills earlier this year, but now he wants back in the league. The only problem? Buffalo still controls his rights, and has no plans to release Boldin to the open market. While the Bills’ front office says there’s a small chance Boldin could return to Buffalo, the veteran wideout reportedly wants to play closer to his Florida home. The Bills are open to trading Boldin, but aren’t expecting much in the way of offers.

Dwight Freeney finds a home. At long last, Freeney is back in the NFL after agreeing to a one-year deal with the Seahawks. Seattle was on the hunt for defensive line depth after losing Cliff Avril for the rest of the season, and Freeney was among the best edge rushers available on the open market. Freeney, who said he was close to hanging up his cleats after garnering little offseason interest, will earn a prorated $1MM base salary, plus an additional $8K for each game he’s on the 53-man roster.

Latest On Colts QB Andrew Luck

October 29th, 2017 at 3:43pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Colts quarterback Andrew Luck began feeling pain after throwing several weeks ago and is now seeking further medical opinions related to the cause of his discomfort, tweets Jay Glazer of FOX Sports.

Reports of a Luck setback first surfaced earlier this month, and the Indianapolis signal-caller hasn’t participated in practice or thrown since. Instead, Luck — who hasn’t played at all this season as he recovers from offseason shoulder surgery — received a cortisone shot and ceased all football activity.

The Colts opted not to place Luck on the physically unable to perform list at the season’s outset, meaning he’s been accounting for a roster spot all year long. Whether or not a late-season Luck return is possible remains unclear, but Indianapolis is now 2-6 following today’s loss to the Bengals. FiveThirtyEight gives the Colts just a 1% chance of winning the AFC South and a 3% chance of earning a postseason berth.