2017 November - Pro Football Rumors

Giants Place D.J. Fluker, Three Others On IR

November 27th, 2017 at 4:18pm CST by Sam Robinson

Another offensive line regular will land on the Giants’ injured reserve list. The Giants placed D.J. Fluker on IR Monday, ending his season, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).

A toe injury will lead Fluker to IR, and the Giants’ IR list will now stand at 19 after Big Blue also placed linebacker Deontae Skinner on the season-ending list. Defensive back Donte Deayon and linebacker Curtis Grant are going on IR as well, per Caplan.

There are only three open roster spots because the Giants signed linebacker Jeremy Cash to help add depth on its defensive second level, James Kratch of NJ.com tweets.

Fluker started six games for the Giants after signing a one-year deal in a presumable attempt to re-establish his value. The Chargers backed out of his fifth-year option in March, and the Giants added him soon after.

Skinner played in three games for the Giants, and Grant suited up for 10. This continues a rough season for New York’s linebacking contingent. Big Blue attempted to bolster its group on Monday by claiming Ray-Ray Armstrong off waivers.

Giants Claim LB Ray-Ray Armstrong

November 27th, 2017 at 4:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

Waived by the 49ers last week, Ray-Ray Armstrong will make his way to the Big Apple. The Giants submitted a successful waiver claim for the linebacker, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

Armstrong played in 10 games for the 49ers, including the team’s win over the Giants earlier this month, before being cut. He started in five.

With the Giants, he’ll join a linebacking corps that’s struggled with injuries. B.J. Goodson‘s been plagued by maladies throughout the season. He missed Week 12 with an ankle injury. Big Blue also has J.T. Thomas, Keenan Robinson and Nigel Harris on IR, where Mark Herzlich has resided since Week 1.

A former Raiders starter, Armstrong made 53 tackles and recorded a sack during his 49ers tenure this season.

Patriots To Place Martellus Bennett On IR

November 27th, 2017 at 3:51pm CST by Sam Robinson

Martellus Bennett‘s controversial exit from Green Bay led to two games with the Patriots. Those look like the only two Bennett will play for New England this season.

Bennett has been battling a shoulder injury all season, and the Patriots are set to place the veteran tight end on IR, Jim McBride of the Boston Globe tweets.

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com also reports (on Twitter) the tight end is headed for IR and surgery, noting a hamstring problem may be the bigger reason behind this move. Rapoport adds Bennett will have shoulder surgery, at long last.

Bennett has been dealing with a tear in one of his hamstrings, Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald tweets, noting he’d planned to play through the rotator cuff and labrum problems he’d dealt with in his shoulder since last season.

The Packers waived Bennett earlier this month, and the 30-year-old pass-catcher accused the team of attempting to convince him to avoid having a surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff he said worsened this season. He passed a Pats physical, clearing the way for the defending Super Bowl champions’ waiver claim, and played Week 10 and Week 11, catching six passes for 53 yards. With his season likely being finished, Bennett will close with 286 air yards and no touchdowns.

After a season in which Bennett became the team’s primary tight end after a Rob Gronkowski injury, the Patriots are in better shape at tight end. They still have Gronkowski and Dwayne Allen healthy.

Bennett also said earlier this season he would likely retire at its conclusion. There are two years remaining on Bennett’s deal. Bennett being on the Pats’ roster as of March 14 triggers a $2MM bonus, so the Pats will make a decision on the pass-catcher before free agency, Howe tweets.

Texas T Connor Williams To Enter NFL Draft

November 27th, 2017 at 2:44pm CST by Sam Robinson

With the majority of college teams’ regular seasons having concluded, draft announcements are underway. One potential top-10 pick will be making the move to the pros come 2018.

Texas tackle Connor Williams will declare for the 2018 draft and will not play in the Longhorns’ bowl game, Williams announced (on Twitter). He will not play in the Longhorns’ to-be-determined bowl game, per the Longhorn Network (on Twitter).

Viewed as a top-tier offensive line prospect, Williams is a junior and was a first-team All-American as a sophomore. The 6-foot-6, 315-pound lineman was projected to go inside the top 10 on Bleacher Report draft analyst Matt Miller’s most recent mock.

Considering what happened to Jake Butt last season in Michigan’s bowl game, and the fact Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey skipped theirs and went in the top 10, the bowl-skipping trend could be a widespread tactic this year.

“My family and I have decided it is my best interest to forgo the bowl game and my senior season to begin preparing for my professional football career,” Williams said in a statement (via TexasSports.com). “One of the reasons I worked so hard to come back from my injury was to help the team reach its goal of playing in a bowl game, and I’m proud we were able to accomplish that.”

Williams missed time this season with an MCL injury.

Amari Cooper Also Dealing With Sprained Ankle

November 27th, 2017 at 2:16pm CST by Sam Robinson

On the same Darian Stewart hit that concussed Amari Cooper, the Raiders wide receiver suffered a sprained ankle, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).

Cooper will now have to surmount concussion protocol and recover sufficiently from this ankle malady in order to play against the Giants on Sunday.

The Raiders beat the Broncos despite missing both of their wide receivers for much of the contest, and Oakland could face the prospect of being without Cooper and Michael Crabtree again. Crabtree could face a suspension, although nothing has been announced yet, for his actions in the fight with Aqib Talib.

Beyond Cooper and Crabtree, the Silver and Black have Cordarrelle Patterson, Seth Roberts and Johnny Holton on their roster. The Raiders did not have to deal with any in-case-of-emergency receiver situations in their 12-4 2016 season; both Cooper and Crabtree started all 16 games. Cooper has never missed a game in his three-season NFL career.

Paxton Lynch Suffers High Ankle Sprain

November 27th, 2017 at 1:54pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Broncos’ late-season audition plan for Paxton Lynch hit a snag in the first of those starts, and the injury that caused Lynch to leave the Raiders game Sunday will force the team to start another quarterback against the Dolphins.

Lynch suffered a high ankle sprain, Mike Klis of 9News reports (on Twitter). He will not play against the Dolphins, Klis reports. Trevor Siemian will start in Miami.

Vance Joseph announced Lynch suffered this injury (per James Palmer of NFL.com, on Twitter) and said he will miss between two and four weeks, so this stalls a crucial evaluation for the second-year passer. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (on Twitter) this figures to be a minimum three-game absence for Lynch.

By Week 13, the Broncos will have started three different quarterbacks in three games. They appear set to revert to their original lineup, with Brock Osweiler backing up Siemian. But this stalls a Lynch evaluation process that’s already overdue, considering the franchise invested a first-round pick in him last year.

Lynch has started just three games, and this meaningless stretch for the 2017 team could have doubled as a test run for the Broncos to determine if they can put faith in Lynch next season or if they need to re-enter the quarterback market. This injury further muddies that prospective decision.

As he has at just about every juncture of their overlapping tenures as Broncos, Siemian fared better than Lynch on Sunday, leading the team to two touchdowns in the second half. Lynch finished 9 of 14 for 41 yards (2.9 per attempt) and left the game with the Broncos down 21-0 in Oakland.

Kelvin Benjamin Has Torn Meniscus

November 27th, 2017 at 1:40pm CST by Sam Robinson

Some confusion emerged about Kelvin Benjamin‘s status on Monday, but Sean McDermott belatedly confirmed a torn meniscus is sidelining his top wide receiver.

The first-year Bills coach first said Benjamin didn’t tear a meniscus but then clarified that is what the injury is, Mike Rodak of ESPN.com tweets. McDermott said he initially thought a question about a meniscus tear was regarding ligament damage, which the coach said has not occurred in Benjamin’s injured knee.

McDermott called Benjamin “day-to-day,” which seems slightly optimistic considering the injury happened eight days ago. This injury generally shelves players for weeks.

The Bills have not gotten much from their No. 1 pass-catcher after making a deadline-day deal to acquire him. Benjamin has missed two of the four games of his Bills tenure and has four catches as a Bill. Buffalo nonetheless beat the Chiefs in Kansas City on Sunday and remains in the thick of the AFC wild-card race.

Blaine Gabbert To Remain Cardinals’ QB

November 27th, 2017 at 1:28pm CST by Sam Robinson

Blaine Gabbert‘s two-game performance has earned him a promotion. Bruce Arians confirmed Monday the previous third-string quarterback has leapfrogged Drew Stanton on the depth chart.

Arians said (via Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com, on Twitter) Gabbert will be the starter and Stanton the backup going forward. Carson Palmer is not expected to return this season.

Stanton suffered a knee sprain that sidelined him and let Gabbert into the lineup the past two weeks, and the former first-round pick led the Cardinals to an upset win over the AFC South-leading Jaguars on Sunday. Gabbert’s thrown for 498 yards and five touchdown passes, while completing 61 percent of his passes, in the two games he’s started.

With Palmer having not committed to a 2018 return, Arians said considering how Gabbert’s playing right now he would feel “very confident” in starting him next season if that came to pass, per Urban (via Twitter).

Stanton counts $4.15MM against Arizona’s cap this season. Gabbert is making less than $1MM. Both players’ contracts expire after this season.

Lions S Tavon Wilson Done For Year

November 27th, 2017 at 12:53pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Lions safety Tavon Wilson will require shoulder surgery that will end his 2017 season, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter links).

Wilson, 27, had started nine games and played on three-quarters of Detroit’s defensive snaps so far this season, but he hadn’t been effective, as he graded as a bottom-15 NFL safety, per Pro Football Focus. However, Wilson had been a solid starter as recently as 2016, and it’s fair to wonder if injuries — Wilson has now hurt his shoulder three times this year, per Birkett — have affected his level of performance.

Without Wilson on the active roster, the Lions will turn to 2016 fourth-round pick Miles Killebrew to play safety opposite Glover Quin. Killebrew has played roughly half of Detroit’s snaps in 2017 (and posted better results than Wilson, at least according to PFF’s metrics). With Quin playing at a Pro Bowl level as a deep safety, Killebrew will be asked to play closer to the line of scrimmage.

Wilson, a second-round pick of the Patriots in 2012, is scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency next spring when his current two-year contract expires.

University Of Tennessee Eyeing Jon Gruden

November 27th, 2017 at 12:32pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The University of Tennessee is interested in hiring ESPN commentator Jon Gruden to fill its head coaching vacancy, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com.

The Volunteers thought they had their new head coach over the weekend, as the university had agreed to terms with former Rutgers/Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano. However, Tennessee backed out of the deal following backlash to the Schiano announcement, per Pete Thamel of Yahoo! Sports, who reports some of the adverse reaction was tied to Schiano’s reported involvement in the Penn State/Jerry Sandusky scandal. (To be clear, Schiano was alleged to have seen Sandusky “doing something” in a shower, but was never charged with a crime or sued, and the rumors are largely viewed as hearsay.)

Tennessee has in fact discussed its head coaching job with Gruden, and are open to a deal that would pay the Super Bowl winning coach $10MM annually, per La Canfora. Gruden has never been a head coach at the collegiate level, but he did work as a graduate assistant for the Volunteers from 1986-87 and his wife is a former Tennessee cheerleader.

Sources tell La Canfora that Gruden may prefer an NFL job, and a reunion involving the Buccaneers could be possible if Tampa Bay fires incumbent Dirk Koetter. Indeed, some Tennessee boosters don’t believe a deal with Gruden is realistic, especially given that the college has pursued Gruden without results in the past. Still, Gruden didn’t rule out a return to coaching when the subject was broached earlier this month.

Gruden isn’t the only coach with NFL ties that appears to be on Tennessee’s radar, as the university has also expressed interest in Jets defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers.