2017 December - Pro Football Rumors

Chiefs To Start Patrick Mahomes In Week 17

December 27th, 2017 at 11:56am CST by Sam Robinson

The Chiefs won the AFC West in back-to-back seasons for the first time in franchise history, and they’ll have a unique opportunity to gauge their first-round pick’s development because of their spot in the AFC standings.

Being locked into the No. 4 seed, the Chiefs will start Patrick Mahomes against the Broncos, Andy Reid said (via B.J. Kissel of KCChiefs.com, on Twitter). Mahomes has yet to play this season, but with the 9-6 Chiefs guaranteed to play in the 4-5 game next weekend, it marks an interesting chance to see Mahomes in action.

Alex Smith has been the Chiefs’ starter for the past five seasons. Smith’s been the longest-tenured Chiefs starter since Trent Green, but he has just one season remaining on his contract and saw Kansas City trade up from No. 28 to No. 10 to select Mahomes — their first first-round quarterback investment since 1983. Reid said Smith is having an “MVP-caliber” season and understands the team’s situation going into a meaningless Week 17 game in Denver (Twitter link via Terez Paylor of the Kansas City Star).

So, it doesn’t sound like the Chiefs will have a Doug Flutie/Rob Johnson situation on their hands this weekend, regardless of how Mahomes performs (the 1999 Bills played Johnson in a meaningless regular-season finale then started the younger player over the incumbent in the Music City Miracle loss to the Titans in what’s turned out to be their most recent playoff game).

Mahomes will take the first-team reps in practice this week, with Smith running the scout team, Reid said (via Paylor, on Twitter). The Texas Tech product will face the Broncos’ 2016 first-round pick, Paxton Lynch, who will be making his second start of the season. While Lynch will be going against a backup-laden Chiefs defense, with Reid set to rest starters (Twitter link via Paylor), Mahomes will face a Broncos defense that’s been one of the best in the NFL this season.

Sam Bradford Expected At Practice Next Week

December 27th, 2017 at 11:38am CST by Sam Robinson

Sam Bradford‘s mandated two months on IR are just about up, and the Vikings expect their Week 1 starting quarterback to return to practice next week, Mike Zimmer said (via Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com).

While Zimmer is unsure if Bradford would be available during the playoffs, the Vikings would be able to activate him. Zimmer said Bradford told him his injured left knee feels good, and the fourth-year Vikings HC added (via Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press) his initial 2017 starter has been throwing recently.

Bradford has not played since Week 5 and has only suited up for two games this season. He would be eligible for reactivation by the time the Vikings begin their playoff slate. But this would obviously require the eighth-year veteran to show he’s healthy enough to suit up again, which may be a lot to ask given how his season’s unfolded.

Case Keenum took over for Bradford midway through an October win in Chicago and has put to rest any quarterback controversy that emerged for a team that has two former first-round picks under contract. Bradford, like Keenum and Teddy Bridgewater, will see his Vikings contract expire at season’s end.

Bradford’s experienced knee trouble throughout his career but was considered the Vikings’ preferred starter until around midseason, when Keenum started to thrive as a legitimately viable option rather than the career backup he’d profiled as prior to 2017. Bradford experienced knee pain prior to Week 2 and was a last-minute scratch. He missed the next two Minnesota games before returning at far less than 100 percent during a victory over the Bears, after which the Vikes shut him down.

He’s thrown just 43 passes this season, a year after playing in 15 games — his most since 2012 — and setting the NFL’s completion percentage standard at 71.6 percent.

While the 30-year-old quarterback wouldn’t be expected to earn his job back, his dominant Week 1 performance in a win over the Saints notwithstanding, it would provide possible insurance. However, Bridgewater has been Keenum’s backup since being activated. So, it’s unclear how the pecking order would end up in a rare scenario where all three of Minnesota’s quarterbacks are active.

Colts To Send Rashaan Melvin To IR

December 27th, 2017 at 11:23am CST by Sam Robinson

By far the Colts’ highest-graded cornerback this season, in the opinion of Pro Football Focus, Rashaan Melvin has missed all of December with a hand injury. That won’t change in Week 17.

The Colts will place Melvin on IR, Chuck Pagano confirmed (via Mike Chappell of IndySportsCentral.com, on Twitter). Melvin will finish his season with 10 games played but having made a career-high 10 starts. The fourth-year player will be an unrestricted free agent after this season.

Melvin started nine games for the Colts in 2016 as well. This year, he currently is PFF’s No. 19-graded corner. The Colts are paying him $775K. Odds are, he’s going to make a lot more than that next season — either in Indianapolis or elsewhere.

A former UDFA out of Northern Illinois, Melvin made 36 tackles and deflected 13 passes this season. He grabbed three interceptions as well.

Eli Manning Wants To Stay With Giants

December 27th, 2017 at 11:00am CST by Sam Robinson

The Giants are guaranteed a top-three draft choice in 2018, and they could well be in position to land their next franchise quarterback — just as they did the last time they ended up in the top five of a draft.

However, Eli Manning still has two years remaining on his contract and was reinstated as the starter despite being benched this season. And the soon-to-be 37-year-old passer does not want to leave, despite the Giants being set to finish with either a 2-14 or 3-13 record and further away from a playoff run than some other teams with quarterback needs.

“This is what I love to do. I love playing football; I love playing quarterback, and I want to continue to do it for the Giants,” Manning said during a WFAN radio interview (via Tom Rock of Newsday). “This is the only team I ever wanted to play for and I don’t want to change.

“I do understand how this season has gone and new people [are] coming in. If they want to make a change, then we’ll go down that road.”

This follows John Mara‘s comments about wanting Manning to stay with the team. However, the owner did not guarantee that when asked about the subject earlier this month. Manning is due to carry a $22.2MM cap number in 2018, and he’s in line for a $5MM roster bonus on the third day of the ensuing league year.

But Manning does want to play a 15th NFL season, even if it’s not with New York. The Tom Coughlin-overseen Jaguars have been mentioned by GMs as the most obvious suitor in case the Giants want to make a change.

“If they decide to move on … I don’t feel I’m ready to retire,” Manning said (via Paul Schwartz of the New York Post). “I feel I can still play at a high level and compete and make plays and love what I’m doing. I think I still have good football in me. I don’t want to stop playing football. This is all I want to do. I don’t have a backup plan; I don’t have something I’m looking forward to doing when this is done.”

Manning staying could well mean he’s the gatekeeper in front of Josh Rosen or Sam Darnold, should the Pac-12 quarterbacks declare for the draft. And that’s a situation from which he won’t shy away, he said. Manning was not given the Giants’ starting job in Week 1 of his first season; Kurt Warner began the 2004 season as the starter before Manning took over midseason and began his historic start streak.

“Whether they think Davis Webb is the quarterback or they get a quarterback and there’s competition, I can compete,” he said. “I don’t mind competition. I think that’s always part of it; you’re trying to compete for the starting job and get better. I do want to play.

“I don’t know how many more years I do have but I do think I can play at a high level and while I can, I want to be out there.”

Giants Move LB B.J. Goodson To IR

December 27th, 2017 at 9:48am CST by Sam Robinson

The Giants now have 22 players on IR after making the decision to place linebacker B.J. Goodson on the season-ending injured list Wednesday, Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv tweets.

Goodson’s been Big Blue’s starter at middle linebacker all season, but he’s only been available for seven games due to persistent leg injuries. An ankle malady will end his season. The Giants promoted wide receiver Marquis Bundy from their practice squad to fill the roster spot.

A fourth-round pick in 2016, Goodson began the season with an 18-tackle performance against the Cowboys. But he missed the next two games due to injury, and health troubles stuck with the Clemson product this season. He played in 15 games as a rookie, but this marked his first season as a starter. Goodson finished with 53 tackles this season.

The previous Giants regime was not big on investing in linebackers, so it will be interesting if the next one places a greater emphasis on this position. Goodson has two years remaining on his rookie deal and despite a malady-marred year figures to enter the offseason in the mix for a starting job come 2018.

Rams To Stick With Sam Ficken For Week 17

December 27th, 2017 at 9:08am CST by Sam Robinson

Sam Ficken won a deep competition to replace the injured Greg Zuerlein as the kicker for the NFC West champion Rams last week, but his first NFL game did not go well. The rookie missed a 36-yard field goal and an extra point in a four-point Rams win against the Titans.

Nine other kickers made the trip to Rams headquarters last week, but Sean McVay said he will stick with Ficken going forward.

“We’re going to continue to give him an opportunity, and we believe in Sam,” McVay said in team-issued quotes. “Like we said, we loved the way that he responded and I think this week will provide a great chance for him to continue to do some things for our team, and we’re going to move forward with confidence with him.”

McVay indicated the Rams would probably rest starters in Week 17, but Ficken will have possibly the highest-stakes game of any Ram in their regular-season finale against the 49ers. He made his other three extra points last week, but the Rams could pivot to one of the more experienced kickers who took part in the tryout — one that featured Dan Carpenter, Garrett Hartley and Jason Myers — if Ficken falters again on Sunday.

Zuerlein still leads the NFL with 158 points and was voted to his first Pro Bowl a day prior to the Rams placing him on IR.

Packers Place Jason Spriggs Back On IR

December 27th, 2017 at 8:49am CST by Sam Robinson

The Packers used both of their IR-return designations this season, and each player will end the year back on the injury list.

Following Aaron Rodgers‘ one-game cameo, the Packers made the decision to place tackle Jason Spriggs back on IR as well. While Rodgers did not suffer a new injury, being sent back to IR because of Green Bay’s position in the NFC standings, Spriggs did and will miss the Packers’ Week 17 game against the Lions.

Spriggs suffered a knee injury that required cart transportation against the Vikings. A hamstring malady sent him to IR in September. The Packers made Spriggs their first IR-return player this season, and the second-year tackle returned to action in November.

The former second-round pick played in just seven games this season but made a career-high five starts for a Packers team ravaged by tackle injuries.

Rams Place LB Matt Longacre On IR

December 26th, 2017 at 9:56pm CST by Micah Powell

Rams linebacker Matt Longacre will miss the rest of the season after the team decided to place the pass-rush specialist on injured reserve with a back injury, Dan Greenspan of the Associated Press reports.

The third-year product out of Northwest Missouri State ranks third on the team with 5 1/2 sacks, behind only Aaron Donald and Robert Quinn. After not recording a sack in his first two seasons, Longacre thrived in new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips’ pass-rushing scheme.

First-year head coach Sean McVay commented on the loss, saying, “it’s unfortunate that we’re not going to have him because of what he’s meant to our team.”

The Rams rank fourth in the NFL with 48 sacks heading into the season finale, behind only the Jaguars (52), Steelers (50) and Panthers (49). With the team gearing up for the postseason, it will turn to Donald, Quinn and veteran edge rusher Connor Barwin to fill the void left by Longacre. Not signed beyond this season, Longacre is sure to garner some attention on the free-agent market after his breakout campaign.

Job Security A Distraction For Bucs’ Koetter

December 26th, 2017 at 9:12pm CST by Micah Powell

After leading Tampa Bay to a 9-7 record in his first season as head coach, Dirk Koetter and the Buccaneers entered the 2017 season as breakout favorites in the NFC. Things have not gone according to plan, however, with the Buccaneers sitting at 4-11 entering the final week of the season. The dismal display has prompted talks about the coach’s future with the team, which have been a distraction in recent weeks, Koetter admitted to reporters including ESPN’s Jenna Laine on Tuesday.

“It’s your life, it’s your life. It’s what you do. So just flip it around. Of course it is,” Koetter said. “But we all as players and coaches, we’re paid to do a job, and you try to do it to the best of our ability. That’s all you can do.”

His job security is not the only thing serving as a distraction in Tampa Bay at the moment. Koetter acknowledged that a screaming fit happened during the team’s Week 16 loss vs. the Panthers, with quarterback Jameis Winston and linebacker Kwon Alexander confronting defensive lineman Chris Baker about his late penalty that set up Carolina for the game-winning score and his lack of remorse for committing the infraction.

Koetter played off the incident by saying, “Emotions [were] running, and that game — we had a lot of nice opportunities to win, [but] we didn’t do it. No one’s happy about that. A shouting match … I don’t think that would be the first or last time that’s ever happened.”

Though his influence in the locker room appears to be dissipating, Koetter said he has no fears of having lost the team. With the disappointing season almost in the books, the Buccaneers appear like they could be looking for a new coach in the near future.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/26/17

December 26th, 2017 at 8:55pm CST by GregGoldstein

Here are today’s practice squad transactions:

Baltimore Ravens

Signed: CB Robert Nelson Jr.

Buffalo Bills

Signed: DT Marquavius Lewis
Signed: LB Xavier Woodson-Luster

Cleveland Browns

Signed: WR C.J. Board
Placed on PS IR: WR Kasen Williams

Detroit Lions

Signed: TE Brandon Barnes

Green Bay Packers

Signed: WR Jake Kumerow

Houston Texans

Signed: TE Jevoni Robinson

New York Giants

Signed: OL/DL Kristjan Sokoli