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Month: November 2024

Ravens TE Hayden Hurst To Miss 3-4 Weeks

August 24th, 2018 at 10:54am CST by Dallas Robinson

Ravens rookie tight end Hayden Hurst is likely to miss three-to-four weeks while dealing with a stress fracture in his foot, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (Twitter link), who adds Hurst will undergo a procedure today to insert a screw in his foot.

Given his timeline, Hurst won’t be available for Baltimore when the regular season gets underway, and could potentially miss multiple games. But because he’s not expected to miss half the year or more, Hurst isn’t a realistic candidate to be placed on injured reserve/designated to return. Instead, the Ravens will simply hold Hurst on their roster until he recovers.

Hurst was one of two tight ends Baltimore selected in the 2018 draft, as the club added Oklahoma’s Mark Andrews in the third round after picking Hurst on Day 1. With Hurst out of the picture for the time being, Andrews figures to line up as the Ravens’ move tight end, while Nick Boyle is likely to see the most action as a blocker. Fourth-year pro Maxx Williams, Vince Mayle, and Darren Waller are also candidates to stick on Baltimore’s roster.

Hurst, the 25th overall selection and one of two Ravens first-round picks (joining quarterback Lamar Jackson), posted 44 receptions, 559 yards, and two touchdowns during his junior season at South Carolina. A former minor league baseball player, Hurst will already be 25 years old when the 2018 campaign begins.

Bengals Release DT Chris Baker

August 24th, 2018 at 8:47am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Bengals have released veteran defensive tackle Chris Baker, the club announced today.

Cincinnati inked Baker to a one-year, $2.45MM deal in March in the hopes that he’d become its starting nose tackle opposite All-Pro three-technique Geno Atkins. Not only has Baker struggled during the preseason, often getting defeated in both the run and pass game, but he’s been severely outplayed by third-year pro Andrew Billings, who will now play alongside Atkins on the Bengals’ defensive line.

Baker, 30, spent the 2017 campaign with the Buccaneers after signing a three-year pact last March. Although he’d played like of the league’s better interior defenders from 2015-16, Baker struggled in 2017, grading as just the No. 96 defensive tackle among 122 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus, and was subsequently released after only a single season in Tampa Bay.

Baker will now join a list of free agent interior defenders that’s still rather deep, as options such as Johnathan Hankins, Courtney Upshaw, Jared Crick, and Tony McDaniel still reside on the open market. With just a few weeks until the 2018 regular season begins, Baker could struggle to find a job immediately (especially given that he’s been cut twice in the span of six months), and may need to wait for an injury to open up a job.

The Bengals will trot out Atkins and Billings as their starting defensive tackles, while 2017 fourth-round pick Ryan Glasgow will now become the clear third man on the depth chart. Baker’s release opens up a roster spot for rookie fifth-round selection Andrew Brown, who’d been on the roster bubble in recent weeks.

Baker collected a $300K signing bonus when he signed with Cincinnati, and he’s also picked up $150K in workout bonuses. That $450K will become dead money on the Bengals’ salary cap, but they’ll clear $1.5MM in base salary and $500K in per-game roster bonuses by cutting ties with Baker.

Baker becomes the second veteran player — and one-time projected starter — released by the Bengals this week, as Cincinnati cut safety George Iloka on Sunday.

Colts Waive/Injured QB Brad Kaaya

August 24th, 2018 at 8:33am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Colts announced that they’ve waived/injured quarterback Brad Kaaya and signed cornerback Juante Baldwin.

Kaaya, 22, was once viewed as the potential first overall pick in the 2017 draft, but ended up falling to the sixth round after an inconsistent final season at Miami. Since being selected by the Lions, Kaaya has bounced around the NFL via waiver claims and free agent deals, spending time with the Panthers, the Lions (again), and — most recently — the Colts. He’s yet to appear in an NFL game.

Despite his lack of production, Kaaya could still conceivably garner interest on the waiver wire. Any number of teams that expressed interest in Kaaya leading up to the 2017 draft — a list that includes the Bears, Giants, Dolphins, and Texans — could theoretically put in a claim. If Kaaya isn’t claimed on waivers, he’ll revert to Indianapolis’ injured reserve list.

Andrew Luck and Jacoby Brissett are locked in as the Colts’ top two quarterbacks, while Phillip Walker is the club’s No. 3 option. However, Indianapolis is only expected to keep two signal-callers on its 53-man roster, meaning Walker’s time on the squad will likely end soon.

Dolphins Rumors: Fales, Osweiler, DBs, LBs

August 23rd, 2018 at 9:47pm CST by Sam Robinson

David Fales completed just 1 of 6 passes in the Dolphins’ second preseason game, and although Brock Osweiler is the bigger name, the team’s internal preference is believed to be for the incumbent to back up Ryan Tannehill, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald notes. As for Bryce Petty, he’s still behind both aforementioned backups, Jackson adds. Osweiler signed for the league minimum, making the Dolphins’ 2018 quarterback depth chart much cheaper than last year’s setup of Tannehill, Jay Cutler and Matt Moore — which represented more than $30MM against the 2017 team’s cap. A former sixth-round Bears pick in 2014, Fales has 48 career pass attempts — 43 of those coming last season with Miami.

Here’s the latest out of south Florida.

  • Minkah Fitzpatrick is primarily working as a slot defender for the Dolphins, Roy Cummings of FloridaFootballInsiders.com passes along. The first-round pick out of Alabama was billed as a versatile performer entering the draft, with safety or cornerback potential. It looks like, for now, the Dolphins are taking advantage of that. Previous slot bastion Bobby McCain has moved to the outside, and that looks to have been done to give Fitzpatrick a role. Prior to the move, the Dolphins didn’t have a place for Fitzpatrick, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald writes. Fitzpatrick, though, also played sparingly as a pure safety in Miami’s initial two preseason games.
  • Mike Hull may begin the season on IR, Jackson notes. The Dolphins would carry their fourth-year veteran linebacker onto the 53-man roster before placing him on IR, which would allow him to return during the season once he recovers from the sprained MCL he sustained earlier this month. Hull started three games last season. Raekwon McMillan is Miami’s middle linebacker starter.
  • Second-year UDFA Chase Allen looks to have a job as a Dolphins backup linebacker, but former Saints first-round pick Stephone Anthony may not. Jackson writes the 2015 first-rounder’s put together a poor preseason that has him on the bubble. Anthony played in eight Dolphins games upon being traded to Miami last year. He played 130 defensive snaps but did not stand out. However, with Hull out, the Dolphins need bodies to fill out their linebacking corps. UFA addition Terence Garvin isn’t a lock to survive cutdown weekend, either, Jackson adds.

Giants, Odell Beckham Jr. Optimistic Deal Will Be Done Before Season

August 23rd, 2018 at 9:02pm CST by Sam Robinson

One of the least contentious negotiations involving high-profile 2014 draftees may be headed toward a long-term resolution before the regular season starts.

Inside of three weeks until the Giants begin their season, they are making progress on a landmark deal for Odell Beckham Jr., Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com reports. Both sides, per Raanan, are optimistic they can complete the extension agreement before the regular season begins.

The expectation, understandably so, continues to be that this accord will set a new standard for wide receivers.

The Giants wanted to see if their superstar wideout bought into Pat Shurmur‘s new program, per Raanan, and he responded by not waging a minicamp or training camp holdout. They also wanted to see him show he was recovered from the broken ankle he suffered early last season, and Beckham is on track to return from his that setback and play against the Jaguars in Week 1. He may do so — after a year and a half of being extension-eligible — on a historic contract.

Antonio Brown‘s $17MM per year represents receivers’ annual standard, and Mike Evans‘ $55MM guaranteed sits atop that financial category’s hierarchy. Most of the other notable wideouts from the 2014 draft class — Evans, Sammy Watkins, Jarvis Landry, Allen Robinson, Brandin Cooks — have since signed their second contracts, and Beckham almost certainly won’t sign for less than his peers have. At 25, the three-time Pro Bowler is four years younger than Brown, and he’s outproduced the other members of his class on a per-year basis.

The Giants and their top weapon began negotiations in late July, and although Beckham didn’t play in Big Blue’s first two preseason games, he took part in joint practices with the Lions last week.

Bay Area Notes: Melifonwu, Mack, Harold

August 23rd, 2018 at 8:21pm CST by Sam Robinson

Obi Melifonwu did not do much to draw praise from Jon Gruden this offseason, and the new Raiders coach cut bait on Reggie McKenzie‘s 2017 second-round pick. The Combine phenom out of UConn struggled to recover from his 2017 hip injury this offseason, and he recently suffered a setback that Vic Tafur of The Athletic notes (subscription required) was related to his hip problem. Melifonwu recently went to see a specialist, and Tafur adds he hasn’t been at the Raiders’ facility in more than a week. If no team claims Melifonwu, officially waived with an injury designation, the Raiders will take a $1.73MM dead-money hit, Tafur tweets. If not, the 6-foot-4 defensive back revert to Oakland’s IR. That is, unless an injury settlement is reached. He adds that neither last year’s Raiders staff nor this year’s were convinced Melifonwu was fully committed to football, believing that was going to result in Gruden cutting ties with him. Melifonwu, though, received first-team reps earlier this month before that setback. Another team could take a chance on him because of the athleticism he showed during his pre-draft workouts.

Here’s the latest out of northern California.

  • Khalil Mack remains at odds with the Raiders, and SI.com’s Albert Breer does not expect this situation to be resolved by Week 1. Although the Raiders provided hard no’s to teams inquiring about the former defensive player of the year’s trade availability, Breer notes there’s still no progress between the team and Mack. Guarantee structure strikes Breer as an issue, with cash flow serving as a potential problem for the Raiders. Derek Carr‘s landmark extension was heavily backloaded toward the Las Vegas years. Perhaps Mark Davis is trying to do the same with Mack.
  • Eli Harold lined up with the 49ers‘ starters throughout the offseason, but the now-Lions linebacker didn’t stay on the field during nickel sets and wasn’t a quality special-teamer, per Matt Barrows of The Athletic. Kyle Shanahan and his staff realized Harold wasn’t going to make the team, Barrows notes. Traded for a conditional 2020 seventh-rounder, Harold started for most of the past two seasons. However, his departure leaves just 12 49ers left from the Trent Baalke years. Fellow 2015 draftee Mark Nzeocha took Harold’s place with the starters at San Francisco practice Thursday, Barrows notes. A former Cowboys seventh-round pick, Nzeocha played in 10 games for the 49ers last season but has yet to start an NFL contest.
  • One of the Baalke-era 49ers, though, returned to the team this week. The 49ers re-signed defensive lineman Chris Jones after Cedric Thornton decided to retire. Jones will see reps at both defensive tackle spots while spending time at San Francisco’s “big end” position as well, DC Robert Saleh said (via Barrows, on Twitter). Jones last played in 2016 for the 49ers, but he started all six contests in which he participated.

Cowboys Optimistic Travis Frederick’s Setback Not Season-Ending

August 23rd, 2018 at 6:51pm CST by Sam Robinson

Travis Frederick‘s become one of this generation’s best centers, but he’s encountered a rare obstacle in the form of an auto-immune disease. The All-Pro Cowboys blocker revealed the diagnosis on Wednesday and is out indefinitely.

The Cowboys are pleased Frederick finally received a diagnosis for what’s been bothering him this month, Guillain-Barre disease, and Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports the team is optimistic this is not a season- or career-ending setback.

“We were really so happy when it was diagnosed that this was the problem,” Jerry Jones said, via Hill. “He and we were concerned about that when we couldn’t get a diagnosis. The biggest thing we have been worried is his health, his long-term health, his individual well being as opposed to how it impacted us as a team or impacts him as a player but his well being is the most important thing.

“As it relates to football, I don’t have any definitive thing to talk about there.”

Frederick has begun taking medicine for this condition already, but he has no timetable for a return. A previous diagnosis revealed Frederick didn’t have Guillain-Barre, the sixth-year lineman merely needing rest. But once symptoms — centered around neck stingers — persisted and the accurate diagnosis emerged, per Hill.

Joe Looney has stepped in for Frederick at center. Looney’s in his third season with the Cowboys and has previously served as an interior-line backup. The Cowboys rely on their three-pronged force of 27-year-old linemen — Frederick, Zack Martin and Tyron Smith — but for the time being, Looney, also 27, will have to play with the starters. Looney made three starts last season and played in all 16 Dallas games. Hill adds Martin is an emergency option at center.

Derrick Morgan, Rishard Matthews Recovering From Knee Surgeries

August 23rd, 2018 at 5:44pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although they’re on different timetables due to the junctures of their respective knee surgeries, both Derrick Morgan and Rishard Matthews underwent meniscus operations this month, Paul Kuharsky of PaulKuharsky.com reports.

While the Titans’ recently extended wide receiver may be ready to come off the PUP list by next week, Kuharsky notes Morgan will probably miss some regular-season time. He pegs the outside linebacker’s chances at being ready by Tennessee’s opener as less likely than him missing time.

Morgan suffered a knee injury in Tennessee’s second preseason game last week, per Kuharsky, who reports this is likely going to be a four- to five-week recovery process for the ninth-year defender. In the event Morgan misses time in September, Harold Landry figures to have a bigger role in his first NFL month. Morgan’s registered 44 sacks in eight seasons, collecting 7.5 in 2017.

Matthews underwent his surgery during the first week of August, but he’s back to running routes, Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com notes. Matthews has been shelved throughout the 2018 offseason, but Kuharsky notes the veteran was dealing with a different injury during the spring. The Titans did not disclose Matthews’ ailments throughout the offseason.

Matthews has posted more than 1,700 receiving yards in his two Titans seasons, scoring 13 touchdowns in that time. Second-year receivers Corey Davis and Taywan Taylor have worked as the Titans’ starters during Matthews’ lengthy absence. Both Matthews and Morgan played in 14 regular-season games last season.

Ravens Torn On Keeping Robert Griffin III

August 23rd, 2018 at 5:12pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Ravens’ roster hasn’t featured a three-quarterback setup since the 2009 season, but circumstances this year may induce a change to their usual approach.

John Harbaugh said Thursday, via Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com, that Robert Griffin III‘s roster spot will go down to the wire. Despite being out of football last season, Griffin has outplayed Lamar Jackson during the preseason to this point but hasn’t gotten nearly as many game reps as the rookie.

“He has played at a starting-caliber level in the games that he’s played, and he’s an experienced guy,” Harbaugh said, via Hensley. “I’d rather have him than not have him, for sure, but there are other factors that go into that and we’ll have to figure all that out. [GM] Ozzie [Newsome] ultimately will have to make that decision.”

RG3’s $1MM salary becomes guaranteed if he’s on the Ravens’ Week 1 roster. It’s possible Baltimore would release the 28-year-old quarterback only to bring him back after Week 1, but given the depth issues many teams have at sports’ marquee job, another team could swoop in with a better offer. Griffin could also serve as a trade chip, but Jackson’s struggled during most of the preseason. The 2016 Heisman Trophy winner’s completed just 42 percent of his passes. The 2011 Heisman recipient, Griffin’s only attempted 26 passes but has outplayed the younger prospect.

Joe Flacco‘s missed just 10 games in his 10-season career, and each came in 2015 after he tore an ACL. The Ravens are pleased by the strides Jackson’s made, per Jeff Zreibec of The Athletic (subscription required), who adds that Griffin’s roster spot will come down to how Jackson performs during the preseason’s remainder.

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