2017 November - Pro Football Rumors

Dolphins DL William Hayes Done For Season

November 27th, 2017 at 12:09pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Dolphins defensive end William Hayes will miss the remainder of the 2017 campaign after suffering a hamstring injury, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, who adds Hayes will likely undergo surgery.

Miami acquired Hayes on the cheap this spring, picking up the veteran lineman from the Rams in exchange for moving down from pick No. 206 to No. 223. The results have been excellent, as while Hayes has posted only one sack while playing 43% of the Dolphins’ defensive snaps, he’s been outstanding against the run. All told, the 32-year-old Hayes ranks as the NFL’s No. 15 edge defender, per Pro Football Focus.

Hayes’ absence will certainly be felt, but Miami does have other options available to step in at defensive end. Rookie first-round pick Charles Harris, notably, could see his playtime percentage increase down the stretch of what has become a lost Dolphins season, while Terrence Fede might also get more snaps.

The Dolphins reworked Hayes’ contract after acquiring him earlier this year, deleting his 2018 season in exchange for a pay reduction in 2017. While the concession will allow Hayes to hit the open market next spring, he’ll now be doing so entering his age-33 campaign and coming off a season-ending injury.

Seahawks S Kam Chancellor Out For Year

November 27th, 2017 at 11:48am CST by Dallas Robinson

As expected, Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor will be sidelined for the remainder of the 2017 season, head coach Pete Carroll said during an appearance on 710 ESPN (Twitter link).

Chancellor originally suffered a neck injury during Seattle’s Week 10 game against the Cardinals, but Carroll didn’t rule out the possibility of Chancellor returning at some point later this year. However, the ailment is serious enough that hard-hitting defensive back won’t play again in 2017, and Carroll also hinted that Chancellor’s long-term future could be in doubt, noting that beyond this season, “it’s up to [Chancellor]” to determine his outlook.

With Chancellor out, the Seahawks have turned to Bradley McDougald — a former Buccaneer who inked a one-year contract this spring — to fill in at safety opposite Earl Thomas. But the club’s vaunted Legion of Boom has now taken two serious hits, as Chancellor joins fellow stalwart Richard Sherman on injured reserve.

Seattle signed Chancellor to a three-year, $36MM extension in August that contains $13MM guaranteed. As such, the notion that the 29-year-old Chancellor will retire at any point in the near future seems far-fetched, as he’d simply be leaving too much money on the table.

Vikings, Case Keenum Haven’t Discussed Extension

November 27th, 2017 at 11:11am CST by Dallas Robinson

Although Case Keenum has led the Vikings to a 9-2 record while posting the best statistical season of his career, Minnesota has not opened extension talks with the veteran quarterback, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.

The Vikings are facing a free agent predicament in 2018, as Keenum, Teddy Bridgewater, and Sam Bradford are all scheduled to hit the open market next spring. However, general manager Rick Spielman & Co. have no plans to work out new deals with any of those signal-callers until the 2017 campaign comes to a close, per Florio.

Depending on how the remainder of the season plays out, the 29-year-old Keenum could potentially be in for a contract that pays him $15MM annually, a significant bump over his 2017 base salary of $2MM. The Vikings could theoretically deploy the franchise tag on Keenum, but that tender will likely come with a cost north of $22MM.

Minnesota could also be forced to hire another offensive coordinator this offseason, as incumbent Pat Shurmur may draw head coaching interest in the coming months. Such a change could affect the Vikings’ preferences at quarterback, and could also add competition for Keenum, as Shurmur would presumably make a run at Keenum if he lands another head job.

Keenum, who had notably struggled for the majority of his NFL career, has now posted 14 touchdowns against only five interceptions this season, and ranks among the top-10 in both quarterback rating and adjusted net yards per pass attempt.

Dolphins RB Damien Williams To Miss Time

November 27th, 2017 at 10:11am CST by Dallas Robinson

Dolphins running back Damien Williams suffered a dislocated shoulder on Sunday and is now expected to miss time, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Williams will be sidelined for next week’s game against the Broncos, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, and could potentially be absent for further contests given that a dislocated shoulder typically requires a two-to-three week recovery period, per Rapoport.

Miami traded starting running back Jay Ajayi to the Eagles on October 31, and Williams has split time with second-year pro Kenyan Drake over the past four weeks. Since Week 9, Williams has handled 34 carries to Drake’s 32, while both have managed 12 receptions. On the ground, Drake has been the more effective player, as he’s averaged 5.47 yards per carry while Williams sits at 4.38 yards per attempt.

With Williams out of the picture, Drake will now take on a full-time role. Senorise Perry now becomes the Dolphins’ No. 2 back, and the club could look to add an outside option to the 53-man roster (Miami doesn’t currently have a running back on its practice squad). The Dolphins have only a 1% chance of earning a postseason berth following yesterday’s loss to the Patriots, so inking a veteran back isn’t necessarily a requirement, as the team may use this opportunity to look at a younger player.

Williams, 25, will become an unrestricted free agent in 2018. He’s playing the 2017 campaign on a restricted free agent contract, and received interest from New England during the offseason.

Pats DB/ST Nate Ebner Placed On IR

November 27th, 2017 at 8:53am CST by Dallas Robinson

Patriots special teamer Nate Ebner suffered a knee injury on a fake punt in Week 12 and has officially been placed on IR, according to Jim McBride of the Boston Globe (Twitter link).

Ebner, 28, is in the midst of his sixth season in New England, but he’s never played a large role on the defensive side of the ball. Although he’s appeared in 82 career games, Ebner has never made a start, as most of his action has come on special teams. In nine games this season, Ebner hadn’t played a single defensive snap, but had seen time on 60% of the Patriots’ special teams plays.

Scheduled to become a free agent at season’s end, Ebner ranked as one of the NFL’s best special teamers in 2016, per Pro Football Focus. As a whole, New England is typically excellent on special teams: they’ve ranked as a top-five unit by DVOA in six of the past seven seasons.

West Notes: Lynch, Staley, Buchanon

November 26th, 2017 at 10:08pm CST by GregGoldstein

The Broncos turned to another quarterback, but got the same results in today’s loss to Oakland. Second-year signal caller Paxton Lynch was the latest passer to rack up a defeat during the team’s seven game losing streak. However, the loss was not the only thing the former first round pick suffered on Sunday.

Lynch was forced to exit the game in the third quarter after an apparent right ankle injury, reports Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post. The quarterback was seen very emotion on the sideline when he learned that his day would be done. It’s a crushing development for Lynch, who’d been waiting for his chance to get on the field as he’d been recovering from a shoulder injury he suffered in the preseason.

Trevor Siemian was good in relief, but with the team at 3-8 and clearly out of the playoff hunt, I’m sure head coach Vance Joseph wanted to see what he had in his young gunslinger. It remains to be seen just how serious the injury actually is, though it appears to be distinct possibility that the team will have to switch starters again in Week 13.

The 49ers have dealt with a variety of injuries this year, but seemed to avoid another to one of the team’s best players. Left tackle Joe Staley left the game for just one play after an apparent leg injury, but was able to return without much issue. The veteran lineman clarified after the game that he simply hyperextended his knee and is fine, according to Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link).
Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians confirmed that linebacker Deone Bucannon has injured right leg, says Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com. While the news is concerning on its own, there is added negativity because it’s the same leg that Bucannon had surgery on during offseason, which forced him to miss the first three games of the year. It’s not known just how long it’s expected to keep the 25-year-old out, but the team does have three reserves in Josh Bynes, Scooby Wright and Bryson Albright to take those snaps should the injury force Bucannon to miss time.
The Seahawks came out of their win over the 49ers with few injuries of their own. Head coach Pete Carroll said that defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson was “Ok” after leaving in the fourth quarter, reports Brady Henderson of ESPN.com. However, Henderson also passes along that second-string tight end Luke Willson suffered a bit more serious of an injury after he was removed in the second quarter with a concussion. Carroll did mention to reporters that the tight end has a chance to play in next week’s game, but he obviously must pass concussion protocol first. In the meantime, both Jimmy Graham and third-stringer Nick Vannett were able to find the end zone without Willson in the lineup.

Bucs OC Todd Monken On Mississippi State’s Radar

November 26th, 2017 at 9:51pm CST by GregGoldstein

There’s going to be a lot of moving and shaking in the college coaching ranks now that the college football regular season is in the rearview mirror. One premier head coaching job that has opened up is at Mississippi State now that former head coach Dan Mullen has bolted for Florida.

One NFL name that is gaining buzz for this position is Buccaneers offensive coordinator Todd Monken, according to Roy Cummings of Florida Football Insiders. Monken makes for a solid fit given his prior experience as a head coach at Southern Mississippi. The coordinator has also worked in the SEC before as a wide receivers coach at LSU for two years before making the jump to the professional ranks with the Jaguars in the same role.

Tampa Bay hasn’t been an offensive juggernaut despite some notable talent across the roster. But, it’s not unordinary for high level colleges to target NFL coaches with the hopes of swaying them under the guise of being their own boss in a sense.

It’s unknown just how interested Monken would be in making a career change back to the college game, but it’s certainly a story to follow, especially because of the ramifications it would mean for the Tampa Bay coaching staff if Monken were to eventually leave.

Poll: Should The Chiefs Start Patrick Mahomes?

November 26th, 2017 at 8:33pm CST by GregGoldstein

The Chiefs looked to be one of the best teams in the NFL after a 5-0 start. However, the team has taken a nosedive as of late, losing three straight games and dropping five out of their past six.

A major reason for the hot start had been the outstanding play they’d been getting from veteran quarterback Alex Smith. Known as one of the better game managers at the position, Smith had been criticized for his inability to carry the Chiefs to victory on his own. However, Smith was a legit MVP candidate earlier in the year, throwing the ball down field more, while continuing to limit mistakes. The team already had a solid roster across the board, considering that they finished as the AFC’s second best team heading into the playoffs last season. Smith also was given exciting playmakers in TE Travis Kelce, WR Tyreek Hill and rookie RB Kareem Hunt.

Still, even with all these weapons and a weak conference, the Chiefs find themselves in a real fight to just make the playoffs. This has led to speculation that Kansas City could turn to rookie backup Patrick Mahomes for a little shot in the arm. Although the team clearly thinks highly of their 2017 first round pick, head coach Andy Reid stayed committed to Smith after the Chiefs loss today.

That’s not where I am at right now,” Reid said in today’s postgame press conference (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com).

Reid is notably close to the vest, but even he can’t deny that his team is in a bad way right now. Replacing Smith with Mahomes would be a huge risk considering that despite his great raw ability, the former Texas Tech QB was classified as incredibly raw coming into the draft.

It’s a storyline that we didn’t think would hold any credence given the Chiefs fast start, but there might be increased noise to make this move if Kansas City can’t turn things around in the weeks to come.

NFC Notes: 49ers, Fox, Reed, Fisher

November 26th, 2017 at 7:39pm CST by GregGoldstein

It was a long awaited day for 49ers fans, as they got their first look at newly acquired quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in today’s loss to the Seahawks. The former Pats backup signal caller got into the game because rookie starter C.J. Beathard was forced to exit with an injury. Garoppolo made good use of his mild playing time, throwing a nice touchdown pass as time expired.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan chose not to shed much light on how he’s thinking about the QB position moving forward. Although, he did mention that Beathard’s leg injury was not too serious, reports Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). While Beathard’s injury does not appear to affect his playing status moving forward, he will get additional testing tomorrow. Nevertheless, it’s notable that Shanahan wouldn’t commit to a starter for Week 13 either way, according to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee (Twitter link). However, Barrows did also tweet that the 49ers coach didn’t think about pulling his rookie starter while he was healthy.

It’ll be a tough decision considering the way Garoppolo played when he entered the game and the high pick the front office gave up to get him. Shanahan hasn’t caved into public pressure as of yet, so it’s a decision that seems to remain truly up in the air.

If the Bears fire John Fox this offseason, Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com believes that Eagles quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo should be considered for the job. DeFilippo would be an out-of-the-box hire since he is not a coordinator, but the feeling in Philadelphia is that no one has been more instrumental in Carson Wentz‘s development than the 39-year-old. It’s possible that DeFilippo could be the guy to help rookie QB Mitch Trubisky reach his full potential. And, with anywhere from 7-10 teams potentially looking for a new head coach this offseason, DeFilippo can be expected to draw some interest.
Redskins star tight end Jordan Reed has missed a lot of time in 2017 and looks to miss another game in Week 13, according to John Keim of ESPN.com. Keim notes that Reed didn’t practice or do any side running today as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury. Coach Jay Gruden confirmed that Reed would be held out for the next few days as well. “We’re going to take off that part of it here for a couple days, see where he’s at,” Gruden said. While there will still be some time for Reed to get on the field after, it’s tough to expect him to heal quick enough to be effective in game action considering his past injury problems.
With the Rams surging to an 8-3 record under first-year head coach Sean McVay, a lot of criticism has been tossed at former head coach Jeff Fisher for the way he handled the offense. Fisher appeared on the Amazon show All or Nothing over this past summer and expressed desire to get back on the sideline for the 2018-19 season. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk opines that despite Fisher’s recent track record, he does bring a ton of experience in the game and has the skills to impress in the interview room. Florio hears that his name has already “bubbled up” for coaching jobs, so there’s some potential for interest to come from the NFL as well. They’ll also be a number of coaching jobs open, both head coach and as a coordinator. It’ll be a tough sell considering what has transpired in Los Angeles this season, but Fisher is clearly still held in high regard among the football community, so anything is possible.

AFC Notes: Raiders, Jags, Bengals

November 26th, 2017 at 6:28pm CST by GregGoldstein

There was a team-wide brawl that took place between the Raiders and Broncos this afternoon, started by Raiders wide receiver Michael Crabtree and Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib. The two have a had a go of it in the past, when both engaged each other during a game last season. However, this fight was capped off by Crabtree throwing and partly landing a punch at the head of Talib. Both players were immediately ejected from the game, which forced the veteran wideout to watch the rest of the contest from a suite, according to Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com.

The Raiders receiving corps took a further hit in the AFC West battle as they lost Amari Cooper for the game with a concussion, Gutierrez also passes along. The 23-year-old wideout suffered the injury when he was hit in the head by Broncos safety Darian Stewart on a collision over the middle of the field. There appeared to be no malicious intent behind the play, even though there was a personal foul penalty given. Nevertheless, Oakland may be without both their top receivers for next week’s game because of what transpired today versus Denver. The Raiders would need extra contributions from the likes of Seth Roberts, Johnny Holton and Cordarrelle Patterson should Crabtree get suspended and Cooper not pass concussion protocol.
The Jaguars were hit with a concussion of their own as starting linebacker Telvin Smith did not return after suffering the injury, reports Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com. Smith has been one of many key contributors in what has turned into perhaps the best defense in football. This situation will certainly be worth monitoring throughout the upcoming practice week.
Bengals running back Joe Mixon had the best game of his professional career in the team’s blowout of the Browns. The second round pick tallied over 160 yards from scrimmage, while averaging exactly five yards per carry. Mixon had already been getting a lot of work in recent weeks, but finally broke through with a performance that he and the team were waiting for. “It feels great,” said Mixon, “The offensive line was great and the receivers did a great job blocking on the perimeters and we just went out and finished.” (Quote courtesy of Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com). Look for Mixon to continue to be a big part of the Cincinnati offense in the last five games of the season.
In other Bengals news, backup quarterback A.J. McCarron was seen mingling with Browns head coach Hue Jackson and owner Jimmy Haslam before Sunday’s game. This is notable considering Cleveland tried to trade for the signal caller right before the deadline, but it’s not something that McCarron really focused on when discussing the interaction after the contest. “No point talking about the trade. It didn’t happen and it’s not going to happen now,” McCarron said. “I saw Mr. Haslam just to say hey to him. I’ve known Mr. Haslam through the whole draft process. I took a visit there. He’s a good Tennessee guy and you know the love between Tennessee and Alabama.” (Quote courtesy of Hobson).