HEADLINES

Month: November 2024

Broncos To Cut OL Menelik Watson

August 20th, 2018 at 11:14am CST by Zachary Links

The Broncos will release offensive lineman Menelik Watson, Mike Klis of 9News tweets. The Broncos will be left on the hook for his $5.5MM guarantee. 

Technically, Watson will first be placed on injured reserve with a pectoral injury. Then, when he’s healthy, he’ll be released and permitted to sign with any team. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears that Watson’s pec strain should be cleared up in a couple of weeks, so it sounds like he’ll be able to catch on with another team before the season begins.

Watson came to Denver on a three-year, $18.75MM contract last year. Although he is talented, injuries have plagued him throughout his career. Last year, a foot injury shut Watson down in November, meaning that he has missed 48 career games out of 80 possible appearances for the Raiders and Broncos. The former second round pick has yet to play in more than 12 games in any given campaign.

This year, the Broncos were giving some thought to moving Watson from right tackle to guard, but they bailed on that experiment with a few weeks to go before the start of the season. Instead, the Broncos will start Ronald Leary and Connor McGovern at the guard spots with the likes of Max Garcia and Billy Turner in support. Tackle Cyrus Kouandjio and center Sam Jones may also be asked to play guard, if necessary.

Jets GM Open To Teddy Bridgewater Trade?

August 20th, 2018 at 10:44am CST by Zachary Links

The Jets are not locked in to keeping their three quarterbacks to start the season. In a radio interview, Jets GM Mike Maccagnan acknowledged that he is open to trading – or releasing – one of his QBs. 

“There’s nothing to stop us from keeping three and there’s nothing to stop us from keeping two,” Maccagnan said (Twitter link via Rich Cimini of ESPN.com).

Of course, No. 3 overall pick Sam Darnold is staying put, and it’s hard to imagine the Jets getting much for 39-year-old Josh McCown, who is set to earn $10MM this year. The odd man out – if there is one – is Teddy Bridgewater. Maccagnan also praised the “unflappable” Darnold, which is yet another sign that they might have enough confidence in the rookie to start him in Week 1 and remove one of his safety nets.

Bridgewater has looked sharp this offseason and he unquestionably has trade value. For the right offer, it sounds like the Jets are willing to pull the trigger.

East Notes: Cowboys, Gathers, Bridgewater

August 20th, 2018 at 9:58am CST by Zachary Links

The Cowboys typically keep two quarterbacks on the roster, but Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News believes that fifth-round pick Mike White will force them to keep three. In theory, the Cowboys could cut White and try to sneak him on to the practice squad, but he believes there’s a good chance that another team would pounce on the Western Kentucky product.

Meanwhile, he does not see tight end Rico Gathers making the cut, even in the wake of Jason Witten‘s retirement. While Gathers has impressed with some impressive catches over the last few preseasons, he sees Dallas keeping only Geoff Swaim, Blake Jarwin, and Dalton Schultz at tight end.

Here’s more from the East divisions:

  • There has been a lot of discussion about a potential Teddy Bridgewater trade, but a deal could be tough to pull off for the Jets, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes. Bridgewater presumably wants to play, so he could spike a potential trade by saying that he doesn’t want to be someone else’s No. 2 quarterback. For his part, Bridgewater may prefer to stay in New York until/unless another QB gets injured and he has an opportunity to start. Alternatively, the Jets could release Bridgewater, but he’d lose out on $5MM in salary and leave with just the $1MM he’s already earned.
  • The Jets have some tough tight end decisions of their own to make, as Greg Joyce of the New York Post writes. Chris Herndon, Jordan Leggett, Neal Sterling, Eric Tomlinson and Clive Walford have all shown flashes in recent weeks, which will make the September cuts difficult for head coach Todd Bowles. “It’s probably the toughest spot evaluating because all five can play,” Bowles said Sunday. “We don’t have a lapse amongst them so that’s probably going to be one of the toughest decisions we make because all five of them are very good. We like all five.”
  • The Giants had interest in cornerback Orlando Scandrick before he landed with the Chiefs.

NFC Notes: Lions, Bears, Galette, 49ers

August 19th, 2018 at 9:36pm CST by Sam Robinson

Third-year Lions linebacker Steve Longa did, in fact, suffer a torn ACL that will end his season, Kyle Meinke of MLive.com reports. Longa tore the ligament while chasing down Giants quarterback Kyle Lauletta and is expected to be placed on IR Monday. The Lions weren’t going to use Longa as a starter — Jarrad Davis, Christian Jones and Devon Kennard are entrenched as their first-string ‘backers — but the former UDFA was a key part of Detroit’s special teams corps. This may open up a spot for Miles Killebrew, a former safety who’s been working with the Lions’ linebackers in recent weeks. Killebrew also serves as a regular on special teams.

Here’s the latest out of the NFC, moving to another NFC North team’s injury situation.

  • The Bears received better news regarding a young player’s injury. Adam Shaheen required a cart to leave the field during Saturday night’s Bears-Broncos game thanks to a first-quarter setback. However, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets the second-year tight end is not believed to have suffered a serious injury. The 2017 second-rounder is dealing with a low ankle sprain, per Rapoport. Although more tests will be in store for the small-school product, Shaheen has a chance to play in Week 1.
  • Sean McVay said (via Lindsay Thiry of ESPN.com, on Twitter) Junior Galette‘s Rams visit will take place Monday. Galette is now 30 and a few years removed from his peak — back-to-back 10-plus-sack years with the Saints in 2013-14 — but he did play in all 16 Redskins games last season after missing the previous two years with injuries. The Rams’ efforts to restock their cornerback contingent and add Ndamukong Suh induced some cutbacks, and the Super Bowl contender’s edge defender situation is perhaps a vulnerable spot midway through the preseason.
  • Another NFC West team has questions on the edge, and Kyle Shanahan (via Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area, on Twitter) still has Elvis Dumervil in mind as a contingency plan in case the second-year HC deems the 49ers as being too light on defensive ends. Shanahan said earlier this offseason the 12-year veteran probably wouldn’t need much preseason work to be effective, so San Francisco still remains a possibility for the now-34-year-old edge player. Dumervil, who began his career under Mike Shanahan and alongside John Lynch in Denver, led the 49ers with 6.5 sacks last season. No other 49er registered more than three.
  • More running back injury trouble’s come the 49ers’ way. With Jerick McKinnon and No. 2 back Matt Breida out until Week 1, 2017 fourth-rounder Joe Williams fractured a rib and suffered a “very bad” bone bruise, per Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). Shanahan said Williams will miss Week 1. Shanahan urged Lynch to trade up to select Williams, but this setback figures to pose a problem for his chances of making an impact this season. The 49ers, who also lost offensive lineman Erik Magnuson to a hamstring strain that will shelve him until possibly October, are going to make IR decisions regarding this duo this week (Twitter links, via Maiocco and the San Jose Mercury News’ Cam Inman). A 2017 UDFA out of Michigan, Magnuson played in four games as a rookie and started two. If the 49ers place either on IR before roster-cutdown day, they cannot use one of their IR-return spots on them.
  • Second-year UDFA Rickey Jefferson will not play for the Saints this season. The defensive back tore one of his ACLs in New Orleans’ second preseason game, Nick Underhill of The Advocate reports. The LSU alum did not play last season and latched on with the Saints in January via reserve/futures contract.

East Rumors: Redskins, Woods, Britt, Giants

August 19th, 2018 at 8:19pm CST by Sam Robinson

Adrian Peterson and Jamaal Charles made plans to visit the Redskins this weekend, following Orleans Darkwa in doing so. This effort to add a piece to a reeling backfield won’t be to bring in a starter but to add depth to a position group that needs it. Jay Gruden said (video link) his team is “covering our bases” in arranging visits with these free agent backs. Being merely a four-year veteran with a light carry history, Darkwa certainly has the most left in the tank. He led the Giants in rushing last season. Peterson, though, has recent experience fitting in quickly with a new team. Although he didn’t do well on a per-carry basis behind a struggling Cardinals offensive line, the future Hall of Fame back posted two 130-plus-yard performances last season — the first of which coming in his initial Cards game. Charles fell out of the Broncos’ rotation late in the season, but the two-time All-Pro made it through last year healthy and performed fairly well (4.3 yards per tote) before being shut down.

Washington lost Derrius Guice and has Samaje Perine and Byron Marshall on the mend. Here’s the latest from some of the Redskins’ rivals, along with news out of the AFC East.

  • Projected to be one of the Cowboys‘ starting safeties, Xavier Woods will be out between three and four weeks because of a hamstring injury, Calvin Watkins of The Athletic tweets. Dallas has been linked to Earl Thomas throughout 2018 and is now examining recently released George Iloka. The Cowboys selected Woods in the sixth round last year and deployed him in four games as a starter.
  • Kenny Britt is still dealing with the hamstring injury he suffered during Patriots minicamp. The veteran wideout has not participated in 11-on-11 drills since that setback, Doug Kyed of NESN.com notes. The Pats removed Britt from the PUP list two weeks ago, and the soon-to-be 30-year-old receiver said he’s feeling OK presently. He declined to predict whether or not he’ll be ready for Week 1. The Patriots signed Britt late last season and picked up his 2018 option in March, but considering how poorly he played with the Browns and his injury status, it wouldn’t be a shock if he’s not on the roster by September. The Pats have endured a turbulent offseason at this position, cutting both Jordan Matthews and Malcolm Mitchell, signing Eric Decker and seeing Julian Edelman incur a four-game PED suspension.
  • The Giants made a change in their sub-package alignment Sunday, swapping in Ray-Ray Armstrong for B.J. Goodson at one of the two linebacker positions, per Ryan Dunleavy of NJ.com. Armstrong and Alec Ogletree worked as Big Blue’s nickel ‘backers at practice. Armstrong played safety in college and has bounced around in the NFL, seeing action with the Rams, Raiders and 49ers before joining the Giants last year. Pro Football Focus graded both Goodson and Armstrong as poor coverage players last season.

AFC North Notes: Gordon, Browns, Bengals

August 19th, 2018 at 7:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

Browns wide receivers have been perhaps the most discussed position group in the NFL this month, with Josh Gordon, Dez Bryant and Corey Coleman commandeering news cycles. The most talented of these players is on his way to being ready for the regular season. While Gordon has not resumed practicing with the Browns since returning to Berea, Ohio, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com believes his treatment program was geared around getting ready for the regular season. While it’s possible Gordon will miss the entire preseason slate, Cabot sees the seventh-year pass-catcher not only being ready to play in Week 1 but starting alongside Jarvis Landry against the Steelers on Sept. 9. Hue Jackson also is of the belief his embattled playmaker will be out there in Week 1. Although, it’s not out of the question the NFL could have some say in Gordon’s return.

Here’s the latest out of Cleveland, along with other North-division cities.

  • The Browns’ Bryant interest was genuine, per Cabot, and not a protection against another prolonged Gordon absence. As was the case when he turned down the Ravens’ three-year offer this spring, Bryant wants a one-year deal that will help him return to free agency in a better spot than he was when the Cowboys cut him. Cabot adds both sides were impressed during Bryant’s visit, but Bryant’s price tag was probably too high for the Browns. Though, Cleveland obviously could afford to sign Bryant to whatever one-year deal he wants due to its league-leading amount of cap space. The Browns are going to continue to examine the receiver market, via trade or free agency, per Cabot.
  • Coleman was not happy with how Hard Knocks handled the sequences that led him being shipped to the Bills. The HBO show only showed the third-year receiver’s frustration in Jackson’s office, and sort-of-serious trade request, and a series of drops or other on-field work Browns coaches deemed unsatisfactory. No discussions about what went into the team’s trade decision were shown, which irked the new Buffalo resident. “With all of that, I’m going to take the high road,” Coleman said after Friday night’s Bills-Browns game (via the Buffalo News). “You all can see for yourself how all that stuff worked out. I just laugh at it because it’s kind of funny. They should have shown the whole thing if they were going to show it.”
  • Only six of the past 25 players the Bengals have selected in drafts’ final three rounds have failed to make the 53-man roster as rookies, but Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes some Bengals 2018 picks are on the bubble. The Bengals have combined to make 11 fifth-, sixth-, or seventh-round picks over the past two years, making some of these talents’ paths to the roster more difficult than they would be under normal circumstances. The team’s trio of 2018 fifth-rounders — cornerbacks Darius Phillips and Davontae Harris, and defensive lineman Andrew Brown — are potential roster cuts, per Dehner. The Bengals cut two rookie fifth-rounders last year, with one of those (Jake Elliott) resurfacing as the Eagles’ new kicker after opening the season on Cincy’s practice squad.
  • Additionally, rookie seventh-round wide receiver Auden Tate has a legitimate shot to make the Bengals’ roster, Jim Owczarski of the Inquirer writes. A slow 40-yard dash time (4.68 seconds) diminished Tate’s draft stock, making him one of the April event’s final picks, but the 6-foot-5 Florida State alum has emerged as a possible depth piece after a strong training camp. UDFA linebackers Chris Worley and Junior Joseph are also pushing to make Cincinnati’s roster, per Dehner.

Packers Remove Nick Perry From PUP List

August 19th, 2018 at 5:53pm CST by Sam Robinson

Nick Perry returned to Packers practice on Sunday. The team took the starting outside linebacker off the PUP list.

He’d missed Green Bay’s offseason program — a pivotal one for Packer defenders due to Mike Pettine implementing a new defensive scheme — with an ankle injury. Perry underwent offseason surgery to correct his damaged ankle, according to the Associated Press.

It’s uncertain if the seventh-year veteran will play in the Packers’ final two preseason games, but he expects to be ready by the time Green Bay takes the field for its Week 1 assignment. He doesn’t seem too concerned about getting up to speed in Pettine’s defense, either.

“We’re at a point where I don’t have a choice,” Perry said, via the AP. “I think I’ll be fine, ultimately. My body is in good shape to handle a (work) load like that. So it’s just a matter of me getting into practice and fully getting a whole practice under my belt and continue to stack those days.”

Ankle, foot, shoulder and hand maladies bothered Perry last season. He suffered a broken hand during the 2017 campaign and missed four games of the most disappointing Packers season in over a decade.

The Packers are counting on Perry to return to his 2016 form, when he registered a career-high 11 sacks. He still collected seven last season, despite the various injuries. Green Bay did not make any high-profile edge additions this offseason, and the Perry-Clay Matthews duo will return as the team’s primary pass-rushing presences.

Cowboys Considering George Iloka

August 19th, 2018 at 5:36pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Bengals’ surprising decision to part ways with longtime safety starter George Iloka may end up helping an NFC team that’s thin at this position.

Iloka’s on the Cowboys’ radar, with Calvin Watkins of The Athletic tweeting internal discussions are taking place about Dallas bringing in the 28-year-old defender. The Cowboys are discussing the position as a whole and aren’t too far along on a possible Iloka pursuit, but the now-ex-Bengal’s name has surfaced, per Watkins.

Dallas may not have starter Xavier Woods for its Week 1 game, Todd Archer of ESPN.com tweets. Woods strained a hamstring against the Bengals on Saturday, and the team received a firsthand look at Iloka’s most recent work. The Cowboys also lost fellow safety Jameill Showers to a torn ACL, further limiting the Cowboys at a position at which most believe they were already understaffed.

The Cowboys view Iloka as a strong safety, Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets. They’ve been connected to one of this generation’s best free safeties for months, but nothing’s transpired on the Earl Thomas-to-Dallas front recently. Former UDFA Jeff Heath is stationed at the strong safety spot for now. No known discussions have taken place about moving Byron Jones back to safety.

Iloka started throughout the three most recent Bengals playoff seasons, re-signed with the team in 2016 and started the past two seasons. The former fifth-round pick is entering his seventh NFL season and figures to land somewhere soon, this offseason’s odd safety free agency developments notwithstanding.

5 Key NFL Stories: 8/12/18 – 8/19/18

August 19th, 2018 at 4:52pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Josh Gordon returns to Cleveland, where Dez Bryant is unlikely to land. Gordon is back with the Browns after taking time to deal with off-field issues, and Cleveland is hoping he’ll be available for Week 1 of the regular season (although he’s not currently allowed to practice). Bryant, meanwhile, finally met with Browns management last week, but he’s apparently “not on the front burner” in Cleveland. The Browns aren’t ruling out a Bryant contract, but it doesn’t sound like a deal is close at this time.

Adrian Peterson gets a workout. Peterson is attracting his first interest of the offseason, as he’s scheduled to audition for the Redskins on Monday. Washington is in dire straits at running back, having already lost rookie Derrius Guice for the year, while backups Samaje Perine and Byron Marshall are also dealing with nagging injuries. Peterson was one of the NFL’s least effective backs with the Saints and Cardinals in 2017, but he’s an option for Washington on early downs. The Redskins also looked at free agent backs Jamaal Charles and Orleans Darkwa.

Rookie quarterbacks in line to start. Free agent acquisition A.J. McCarron suffered a broken collarbone during the Bills’ second preseason game, an injury which should ensure first-rounder Josh Allen starts for Buffalo. Elsewhere in the AFC East, Sam Darnold is now looking like the inevitable starter for the Jets after excelling through two exhibition contests. Veteran Teddy Bridgewater, who has also produced well thus far, is considered a trade candidate.

Bengals cut George Iloka. Cincinnati had begun mixing in second-round defensive back Jessie Bates with the starting defense through its first two preseason games, signalling that it may be comfortable moving on from Iloka. The Bengals did just that on Sunday, cutting the six-year veteran and saving $5.6MM against the salary cap. Iloka offers plenty of starting experience and should easily land a new job, although the flaccid free agent safety market has to be concerning.

The 2018 draft class is fully signed. At long last, Bears rookie Roquan Smith is under contract, meaning every 2018 draft choice now has a deal in place. Smith, the eighth overall pick, was looking for contract language that would protect his financial guarantees in the event of a helmet rule-related suspension. Chicago and Smith ultimately forged a compromise, one that will only void Smith’s guarantees if he’s suspended for three consecutive games.

PFR Originals: 8/12/18 – 8/19/18

August 19th, 2018 at 4:22pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The original content and analysis produced by the PFR staff during the past week:

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