HEADLINES

Month: November 2024

AFC Notes: Hopkins, Gordon, Bills, Lewis

December 28th, 2017 at 9:50pm CST by GregGoldstein

Even with poor quarterback play for much of the year, Texans wideout DeAndre Hopkins has solidified his place in the top tier of NFL receivers. At 25 years old, Hopkins eclipsed the 1,300 yard marker and has managed double-digit touchdowns in a season for the second time in his career. But perhaps one of the most impressive things about Hopkins is that he’s never missed a game. The former first-round pick has played in 79 straight contests, but that streak is expected to end on Sunday, reports Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).

Wilson notes that Hopkins is currently dealing with a calf injury and was forced to miss practice on Thursday afternoon. It’s not a good sign when a player misses practice late in the week and that is no exception even for a player like Texans number one wideout. Hopkins produced perhaps his best season yet in 2017 because of the offensive situation he had to deal with. It’ll be a shame if he doesn’t end up going on Sunday because of his ability to make insane catches at any time, like the one he pulled off against the Steelers in Week 16.

Here are more stories we’re following from the AFC as Week 17 approaches:

  • While Melvin Gordon‘s Week 17 status was more uncertain at the beginning of the week, it appears as if the talented running back is “optimistic” he’ll be able to go on Sunday, a source tells to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). The third-year back is dealing with an ankle sprain, but swelling is minimal, according to Rapoport. The Chargers would love to have Gordon available vs. the Raiders because their playoff hopes are still very much alive. The team does not have much depth behind their surefire number one back with Branden Oliver representing the only true backup on the depth chart. The Chargers have not signed an additional runner to the roster just yet, so it appears as if the team may think Gordon will be able to give to a go this weekend.
  • The Bills also face a must-win scenario in Week 17 in order to make the postseason. Two critical players in wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin and cornerback E.J. Gaines have been dealing with injuries throughout the week, but both look like they are trending in the right direction with gameday fast approaching, according to the team’s website. “He looks like he’s ready to go,” said head coach Sean McDermott of Gaines. The rookie head coach was hedging his bets a bit more regarding his number one wideout, stating that, “He practiced today and did some good things, we’ll get a better feel tomorrow.” In order to reach the playoffs, Buffalo needs to beat Miami on the road and get a Ravens loss, or have the Titans and Chargers both lose on Sunday afternoon.
  • Bengals longtime head coach Marvin Lewis is currently working through heavy speculation that he will be relieved of his duties come Monday morning. However, the coach told reporters yesterday that he has not discussed his current contract situation with owner Mike Brown, per Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Terrell passes along that the two do speak everyday. So if they do talk about his future with the team, they are not making it public at this time. The Bengals have fought through what will be the Bengals second straight losing season, and without any playoff wins to show in 15 years with the franchise, it appears likely the two sides will part ways at some point this offseason. Though it should be stated that Lewis has been able to stick around for this long even with an 0-7 playoff record to his name, so I guess anything is possible.

Reactions To The Giants Hiring Dave Gettleman

December 28th, 2017 at 8:27pm CST by GregGoldstein

The Giants were able to move quickly in their search for a new general manager when they officially hired former Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman on Thursday afternoon. The move was met with positive feedback across the football world, with many of local and national pundits crediting New York for making the hire before the New Year so they can hit the ground running with their head coaching search following the end of the regular season.

Here are some specific takes on the team’s decision to hire Gettleman:

  • Ian Rapoport of NFL.com posted a video on Twitter after the news broke mentioning how the hiring of a guy like Gettleman as “rare” at this point in the NFL calender. Rapoport noted that teams don’t normally have the chance to hire accomplished executives before the regular season ends. But it’s actually happened twice this season with the hirings of Gettleman and new Browns general manager John Dorsey. Rapoport also pointed out that the move was a signal that the franchise wouldn’t drastically change the way they conduct business. New York just simply wanted a new voice leading the football operations. Gettleman is familiar with the organization having worked for the team from 1998-2012 before accepting his former position in Carolina.
  • James Kratch of NJ Advance Media attempted to point out some differences between Gettleman and former general manager Jerry Reese. Kratch points out Gettleman’s philosophy to build from the lines out, while Reese put more of emphasis on acquiring quality skill players. Kratch also touches on how Gettleman comes from a more pro personnel background rather than Reese’s history as a scout for the NFL draft. The two also have differences in dealing with players and the media with Gettleman forming better relationships with people covering the team, while Reese showed more of a track record for getting along with the roster, including star players. Finally, Kratch mentions that Gettleman has shown much more of a tendency to wheel and deal on draft night, while Reese was more or less set on taking players at the team’s original draft pick.
  • On a different note, while he wasn’t killing the decision by any means, Paul Schwartz of the New York Post focused on how the Giants made the hire everyone was expecting to make. Schwartz notes that the Giants haven’t made an executive hire of anyone from outside the organization in the last 40 years. The team didn’t break this mold even after one of the worst years in franchise history. Gettleman has a long history with the Giants, which made him a clear front runner for the position. Overall, Schwartz expresses that Gettleman is accomplished and deserving, but doesn’t bring a sense of outside the box thinking to the organization.
  • Ralph Vacchiano of SNY concludes that Gettleman was the right hire because of his “eye for talent and knowledge of building a winning team”. Vacchiano expresses that while the search was primarily an in-house affair with ESPN analyst Louis Reddick representing the only candidate from outside the Giants organizational tree. Though that doesn’t mean that the front office will simply get a Reese 2.0 football operations department with Gettleman at the helm. He’ll likely make enough changes to ease the concerns of Giants fans, while maintaining much needed stability as well. The beat reporter likes his tendency to get good players in the trenches too. In the end, the writer believes that ownership didn’t need to take any unnecessary risks, and that Gettleman gives the front office exactly what it needs moving forward.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/28/17

December 28th, 2017 at 7:31pm CST by GregGoldstein

Here are today’s minor moves around the NFL:

Buffalo Bills

Cleveland Browns

Houston Texans

 

Here are today’s practice squad updates:

Cincinnati Bengals

  • Signed: K Jonathan Brown

Houston Texans

  • Signed: OG Erik Austell
  • Released: OG Dorian Johnson

NFC North Notes: Vikings, Nelson, Trubisky

December 28th, 2017 at 7:00pm CST by GregGoldstein

Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer was hired to his post mostly because of his mastery in calling an NFL defense. Zimmer was the Bengals defensive coordinator for six seasons before making the jump to the head coaching ranks in 2014. Although, he’s still been calling Minnesota’s defensive plays for the past four years. However, that is something that may change come 2018, reports Andrew Krammer of the Star Tribune.

Krammer passes along that Zimmer almost gave up his playing calling duties this past year to defensive coordinator George Edwards. He ultimately decided against the move largely because of his success at calling defensive schemes for the past 18 years. Zimmer did express that Edwards is the main orchestrator of the team’s defensive game plan for the most part anyway.

“George does everything,” Zimmer said. “He helps with the game plan. He runs a lot of the meetings, the defensive meetings. Him and I really sit down and talk about all the different things that are going on. He studies the game just like he’s calling the game. So he’ll come in and talk to me about second down-and-whatever. ‘They’re doing this,’ or, ‘they’re doing that.’ Really, he does everything other than call the game on Sunday.”

Edwards used to call plays for the Bills back in 2011, but has taken a backseat in that regard in order to work as a member of Zimmer’s staff. This dynamic could be a subplot as we approach next year’s training camp because Zimmer appears to be letting go of the idea that he has to be the one making the final defensive decisions on Sundays.

“It’s a lot of work when you sit down and do it,” Zimmer said of calling plays. “I’ve done it for a long time. And because I have confidence in George, as well. I think maybe just the fact that, um, you know, I don’t know – I guess I’m just getting older.”

Here’s more stories from around the NFC North:

  • In other Vikings news, wide receiver Jarius Wright is reported to have restructured his deal at the beginning of the season, which dropped his base salary from $2.5MM to $1.05MM, according to Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune (Twitter link). Goessling notes that Wright has earned weekly roster bonuses of about $93k in order to get back his original salary figure. With that in mind, he’ll have earned back the rest of his money by the time Week 17 kicks off.
  • Packers longtime receiver Jordy Nelson appears to be stuck in limbo with the organization the drafted him back in 2008, opines Rob Demosvky of ESPN.com. Nelson, who’ll turn 33 over the summer has seen a major drop off in production in his 10th year in the NFL. Demovsky suggests that the veteran wideout may hinder the team’s ability to re-sign the more productive and younger Davante Adams, who’ll be a free agent this offseason. Nelson will collect about $10MM in salary and bonuses in 2018, which will make him more difficult to cut or trade in the next few months. Randall Cobb is signed long-term as well, but is five years Nelson’s junior, which makes him a better piece to have moving forward. Not being able to sign Adams would be a major blow for a Packers team that saw what life is like without Aaron Rodgers this year. This puts the Packers in a very difficult position entering a crucial offseason with the team having missed the playoffs for the first time since 2008.
  • Mitch Trubisky has had his moments during his rookie campaign, but has largely faced a lot of difficulty in his first season in the NFL. It’s expected that the Bears coaching staff and roster will have a lot of turnover this offseason, but the young signal caller expects to take a “big jump” in 2018, reports Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune. “I’m always motivated to get better,” Trubisky said. “I expect to make a big jump from Year 1 to Year 2. The experience I got this year, I’m definitely going to carry that with me into the offseason and expect to have a lot of momentum and just a full head of steam going into next year.” While he experienced a number of challenges in 2017, Trubisky emphasized “growth and development” in his reflection of his first foray into professional football. Expect the Bears to put an emphasis on surrounding Trubisky with more talent this offseason. He’s had to work with patchwork receiving groups all year long, which certainly does not bode well for his outlook moving forward. The former first round pick comes into Week 17 completing under 60% of his passes, while throwing just as many touchdowns as interceptions at seven apiece.

 

Assistant GM Kevin Abrams Likely To Stay With The Giants

December 28th, 2017 at 6:02pm CST by GregGoldstein

The Giants announced today that they’ve hired former Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman to lead the team’s football operations for the foreseeable future. However, just because the team has brought in a new face to be the head of the front office, doesn’t mean all of the previous decision makers will be on their way out the door. It’s expected that Gettleman will keep current assistant general manager Kevin Abrams on board for next season, according to Ralph Vacchiano of SNY (Twitter link).

Dave Gettleman (vertical)

Abrams was one of two internal candidates to interview for the general manager position. Marc Ross, the team’s vice president of player evaluation, also spoke to ownership, although nothing has been reported as of yet in regards to his future.

As the presumptive number two in command under former GM Jerry Reese, Abrams was primarily involved with the team’s working of the cap, which will help him to remain a crucial part of the Giants decision making process this offseason. Abrams has been with the organization for past 16 years, so he should help make Gettleman’s transition into the lead role a lot smoother in the weeks ahead.

Gettleman offers experience and a track record as the leader of a front office, but Abrams should continue to have a major footprint in how the team conducts its business in the months to come.

 

Bills Activate Colt Anderson From IR

December 28th, 2017 at 5:20pm CST by GregGoldstein

The Bills will welcome back another defender for their Week 17 matchup vs. the Dolphins. The team announced on Thursday afternoon that they had activated safety Colt Anderson from the injured reserve and released safety Trae Elston in a corresponding roster move.

Colt Anderson

Anderson, 32, last played for the Bills back in Week 4 against the Falcons. He fractured his forearm in the contest and has been recovering on IR for the majority of the season. It’s been a rough past few years for Anderson in terms of injuries. The eight-year vet missed most of last year after breaking his left arm early on in his 2016 campaign. However, he’s referred to by Bills coaches as a “core special teamer”, which should help to limit big plays in a game that has playoff implications for the franchise.

Anderson will back up safeties Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde in the defensive backfield on Sunday. The Bills enter Week 17 with the possibility of making the playoffs for the first time since 1999 with a win and some help.

Saints Claim LB Kasim Edebali

December 28th, 2017 at 4:31pm CST by GregGoldstein

The Saints have added a familiar face as the team gets ready for its first postseason appearance since 2013. The team has claimed linebacker Kasim Edebali off waivers from the Rams, according to Josh Katzenstein of the The Times-Picayune. To free up a roster spot, New Orleans has placed linebacker Hau’oli Kikaha on injured reserve.

Kasim Edebali (Vertical)

Edebali, 28, had previously been employed by the Saints from 2014-16. His best year in New Orleans came in 2015 when he racked up five sacks in a full season of work. Edebali has bounced around a bit this season, having started the year with the Broncos, before making stops with the Lions, Rams and now the Saints after being cut on three different occasions.

The Saints likely made this move to help replace Kikaha as a reserve pass rusher for the remainder of the season. The third-year player out of Washington University had appeared in 12 games with the Saints, collecting four sacks behind the likes Manti Te’o and Michael Mauti on the depth chart. The former 2015 third-round pick had suffered an ankle injury in last week’s win over the Falcons, which surely prompted his move to the IR.

Giants Hire Dave Gettleman As GM

December 28th, 2017 at 3:12pm CST by Zachary Links

The Giants have themselves a new GM. The team announced the hiring of Dave Gettleman on Thursday afternoon. He’ll be formally introduced to local media at a Thursday morning news conference. Dave Gettleman (vertical)

“Given where we are as a team, we thought it was important to bring in someone with experience as a General Manager and a proven track record,” president John Mara and chairman Steve Tisch said in a joint statement. “Dave’s experience is unparalleled. He did an outstanding job as general manager in Carolina, and he was vital to our success during his tenure here. Dave is going to bring his own approach to our organization in how we draft and acquire players through free agency.”

Gettleman takes the wheel during a critical time for the Giants. After losing their three top receivers to injury in the opening weeks of the season, the Giants have had one of their worst seasons in franchise history. Heading into Week 17, the G-Men have one of the league’s worst records at 2-13.

Finding a new coach will be at the top of Gettleman’s to-do list. Ownership has indicated that interim coach Steve Spagnuolo will be among those interviewed for the job, but the rest will likely be up to Gettleman. This year’s top candidates include Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, and Panthers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks. It’s possible that Wilks could have a leg up on the rest given his history with Gettleman.

Beyond that, the Giants will have to figure out how to handle the Eli Manning situation. The team’s previous regime ignited a firestorm of controversy by benching Manning this year in favor of backup Geno Smith. Days later, Manning was re-installed as the starter while Reese and coach Ben McAdoo were shown the door. Manning says he wants to stay in New York, but the team owes him a $5MM roster bonus in March. The Giants can escape that obligation by releasing him, though they do not have an obvious replacement in-house. Smith, of course, is not a viable option and rookie Davis Webb has yet to see the field.

Gettleman boasts 30 years of experience in the NFL, including four seasons as the Panthers’ GM and 15 seasons in the Giants organization. His history with the team and close relationship with Ernie Accorsi, who served as a hiring consultant in the team’s search, helped him land the job.

The Giants also interviewed interim general manager Kevin Abrams, vice president of player evaluation Marc Ross, and former NFL executive and current ESPN analyst Louis Riddick for the position. Accorsi has a history of guiding teams to a quick hire, but it was widely expected that a new GM would not be appointed until the New Year. However, it appears that the Giants were unwilling to risk losing Gettleman to another team in need of a GM.

Gettleman, 66, first came to the Giants in 1998 as as assistant to then-pro personnel director Tim Rooney. Soon after, he was promoted into Rooney’s role. He remained with the organization until 2013 when Accorsi, acting as a hiring consultant for the the Panthers, pushed Carolina to hire him as GM.

Gettleman is the Giants’ fourth GM since 1979, following the lengthy runs of George Young, Accorsi, and Jerry Reese.

Cowboys, Zack Martin To Discuss Extension

December 28th, 2017 at 2:28pm CST by Zachary Links

The Cowboys and right guard Zack Martin will take another stab at extension talks this offseason, as ESPN.com’s Todd Archer writes. This time around, the two sides will get down to business much sooner in the offseason, according to a source. Zack Martin (Vertical)

Last year, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said that a new long-term deal for Martin was his top priority. That’s the case once again this year and, with any luck, something will come together before the start of free agency in March. If the Cowboys have Martin’s contract accounted for, they’ll have a better idea of how much money they can spend in the open market.

Martin has earned a Pro Bowl nod in each of his four NFL seasons, including two First-Team All-Pro selections. This season, he rates as the second-best guard in the entire NFL according to Pro Football Focus, second only to Steelers standout David DeCastro. Although he has been among the league’s very best interior linemen since 2014, his 90.5 overall score is a career-high.

If the Cowboys and Martin can agree to a new deal, it is expected to top the five-year, $60MM deal (with $31.5MM guaranteed) that Kevin Zeitler signed with the Browns as a free agent last year. If they cannot come to terms, then Martin will play out his fifth-year option for 2018 worth $9.3MM.

Load More Posts