2018 September - Pro Football Rumors

49ers Hosting Group Of Veteran QB’s

September 24th, 2018 at 6:18pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

In the wake of Jimmy Garoppolo‘s ACL tear that will sideline him for the rest of the 2018 season, the 49ers are making moves to bolster their quarterback room, as the team will host a group of veteran signal callers according to head coach Kyle Shanahan (Twitter link via Nick Wagoner of ESPN).

The quarterbacks coming in for workouts tomorrow include Tom Savage, T.J. Yates, and Kellen Clemens. Wagoner adds that Shanahan said Matt Moore is “another possibility” and that Nick Mullens would likely be activated from the practice squad. Shanahan has already said that the team won’t bring in any competition for C.J. Beathard, so any quarterback signed would be added solely as a backup to Beathard.

Savage started seven games for the Texans last year, but found himself released by the Saints at final cuts after New Orleans traded for Teddy Bridgewater. Yates also most recently spent time with the Texans, starting three games for them last year. He’s bounced around the league as a spot starter, and even won a playoff game for the Texans a few years back. Clemens just recently saw his long tenure as backup to Philip Rivers come to an end when the Chargers decided not to re-sign him after the 2017 season. Clemens hasn’t seen meaningful action in a long time, as Rivers never missed a start during Clemens’ run with the Chargers.

Overall, it’s not exactly an inspiring group. Beathard should have no trouble keeping the starting job the rest of the way assuming he can stay healthy, and it’s possible the team opts to just stick with Mullens as their backup. Mullens was an undrafted free agent in 2017 who has stuck around on San Francisco’s practice squad.

Aqib Talib Out At Least A Month

September 24th, 2018 at 5:59pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

More bad news for the Rams’ defense as star cornerback Aqib Talib has a high ankle sprain and will miss at least a month of action according to Adam Schefter of ESPN (Twitter link).

It comes on the heels of the news that fellow cornerback Marcus Peters would miss some time due to a calf strain. Both players suffered their lower leg injuries in yesterday’s win over the Chargers. It means the Rams’ secondary will likely be extremely short-handed when they take on the Vikings on Thursday Night Football just three days from now.

The Rams’ defense was already a little banged up, with starting inside linebacker Mark Barron missing the first three games due to an Achilles injury. It’s a significant blow to Los Angeles’ new-look defense, as both Talib and Peters were prized acquisitions this offseason, tasked with replacing departed free agent Trumaine Johnson in the secondary. Talib and Peters had mostly shutdown opposing wideouts the first few games, with very few passes targeted their way. Through three games, Talib notched nine tackles, a pair of passes defended, and a forced fumble.

Talib, 32, is in the 11th year of his career and playing on his fourth team. The five-time Pro Bowler was drafted by Tampa Bay in the first round back in 2008. After a successful run in Denver where he won a Super Bowl, Talib was traded to the Rams for a fifth round pick this offseason. Former Packers starter Sam Shields figures to see the biggest increase in playing time while Talib is on the shelf.

Colts Cut RB Christine Michael

September 24th, 2018 at 4:48pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Colts are releasing veteran running back Christine Michael, a source told Field Yates of ESPN (Twitter link). The 27-year-old lasted just three weeks in Indianapolis, the latest stop in his long-winding career.

Michael was always someone thought by evaluators to be high on talent, but could never put it all together. He re-signed on a one-year deal with the Colts this March after spending all of 2017 on injured reserve. Through three weeks, he appeared in just two games, carrying the ball twice for nine yards. Rookie Jordan Wilkins has emerged as a solid runner this year, and the team apparently feels comfortable moving forward with just Wilkins, Marlon Mack, and fellow rookie Nyheim Hines on the depth chart.

Michael was drafted by the Seahawks in the second round back in 2013, but never made a huge impact in Seattle. At the beginning of the 2015 season, he was traded to the Cowboys for just a conditional seventh round pick. Just a couple months later, he was waived by Dallas. After a short stint on the Redskins’ practice squad, he found himself back with the Seahawks. He spent parts of the next two seasons as Seattle’s starting running back, and played well, but was surprisingly waived in November of 2016.

He spent the rest of 2016 with the Packers, before signing with the Colts. It’s been a long journey for Michael, and he’ll likely resurface somewhere on a team that needs running back help. For his career he’s rushed for 1,080 yards on 254 carries (4.3 YPC) with seven touchdowns.

Raiders To Audition Kickers

September 24th, 2018 at 4:35pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Raiders will be auditioning a group of kickers this week to replace the injured Mike Nugent, according to Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal (Twitter link).

Raiders coach Jon Gruden made the announcement at his Monday presser and said that the team will “be trying out numerous people.” Gehlken reports “flights for free agents being arranged now” after Nugent hurt his hip against the Dolphins yesterday, throwing his status for this weekend’s game against the Browns into doubt.

Nugent has been excellent this year, converting all six of his field goal attempts including kicks from 46, 48, and 52 yards through the first three games of the season. Nugent has become a true journeyman during his time in the league. The 36-year-old has spent time with eight different organizations, with stops with the Jets, Buccaneers, Cardinals, Bengals, Giants, Cowboys, and Bears before he landed in Oakland on a one-year deal this summer.

Nugent was an elite kicking prospect coming out of Ohio State, and the Jets invested the 47th overall pick in him back in 2005. It’s unclear at this time who the Raiders plan on working out, but Cairo Santos, Nick Folk, Kai Forbath, Daniel Carlson, and Roberto Aguayo are some of the biggest names left available and could potentially get calls.

Cardinals To Start Josh Rosen

September 24th, 2018 at 3:05pm CST by Zachary Links

It’s Josh Rosen time. On Monday, Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks announced that Rosen will replace Sam Bradford as the team’s starting quarterback.

This was the expected move after Rosen replaced Bradford late in the team’s 16-14 loss to the Bears. Bradford exited after throwing two interceptions and losing a fumble. Rosen, meanwhile, had a few good plays, but threw a costly interception with roughly one minute remaining in the game.

Rosen was less-than-perfect in his short NFL debut, but the Cardinals clearly needed to make a change after getting off to an abysmal start. The entire offense has sputtered through three games and the team has failed to fully utilize the talents of running back David Johnson. If Rosen can keep defenses honest, Johnson may finally have room to run.

Rosen, a UCLA product, threw for 59 touchdowns against 16 interceptions across three college seasons. In the spring, the Cardinals made him the No. 10 overall pick in the draft.

Four of this year’s five first-round QBs are now installed as starters with Ravens rookie Lamar Jackson as the odd man out.

Falcons Not Interested In Earl Thomas, Eric Reid

September 24th, 2018 at 2:48pm CST by Zachary Links

Falcons coach Dan Quinn says the team is not interested in acquiring a high profile safety such as Earl Thomas or Eric Reid, according to Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Although the team has lost starter Ricardo Allen for the season, Quinn says he’s confident in the ability of Damontae Kazee to hold down free safety with Jordan Richards and Kemal Ishmael at strong safety.

Quinn added that Reid’s participation in national anthem protests were not a factor in the team’s decision. Rather, he says that he likes the team’s internal options.

As for Thomas, one has to imagine that the Falcons are simply unwilling to pay the necessary price to acquire him from the Seahawks in a trade. Thomas has been vocal about his desire for a new deal and trade speculation is percolating once again after the three-time All-Pro skipped two practices inside of one week.

While the Chiefs and Cowboys could be among the clubs to pursue Thomas, it sounds like the Falcons can be scratched off of the list.

Jets Express Interest In Le’Veon Bell

September 24th, 2018 at 2:25pm CST by Zachary Links

The Jets have reached out to the Steelers about trading for Le’Veon Bell, according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. The Jets have become the first known team, but certainly not last, to inquire on the superstar running back.

The Jets have yet to make a concrete offer for Bell, but they believe the Steelers are serious about moving him, Mehta hears. Bell is set to miss the third game of the season when the Steelers face the Bucs on Monday night, and with no end to his holdout in sight, the Steelers recently opened up the phone lines for trade discussion.

This offseason, the Steelers hit Bell with the franchise tag for the second straight year. He’s under contract for 2018 with his one-year, $14.54MM placeholder (or, rather, the prorated portion of that), but any team acquiring Bell will have to wait until the season is over before negotiating an extension with him. For that reason, Bell’s trade value is capped for Pittsburgh. Any team acquiring Bell will have to lock him up to a mammoth contract to keep him in the long run while having no assurances of that deal coming together.

The Steelers would likely receive a third-round compensatory pick in 2020 by keeping Bell and allowing him to leave as a free agent next offseason, but that’s not a guarantee due to the complex comp pick formula. Instead, the Steelers would prefer to net a 2019 third-round choice – or perhaps even settle for a ’19 fourth-round pick.

The Jets have not had a running back of Bell’s talent level in his prime since the days of Curtis Martin, so they’d surely love to add Bell for the right price.

Seahawks Work Out DT David Parry

September 24th, 2018 at 2:12pm CST by Zachary Links

The Seahawks worked out veteran defensive tackle David Parry on Monday, a source tells NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). Parry became available when the Vikings cut him to make room for Tom Johnson, who was made available after being released by the Seahawks.

If the Seahawks sign Parry, it will effectively complete a one-for-one swap of defensive tackles between Seattle and Minnesota. It’s a “trade” that the Seahawks did not want to make. The Seahawks cut Johnson before their Week 2 contest in order to sign a reserve safety for depth, but hoped to re-sign Johnson after the game was over. The Vikings foiled their plans, however, and quickly scooped him up.

Parry appeared in each of the Vikings’ first two games and recorded a sack in their tie against the Packers in Week 2.

49ers’ Jimmy Garoppolo Done For Season

September 24th, 2018 at 2:07pm CST by Zachary Links

The 49ers’ worst fear has been confirmed. On Monday, an MRI revealed that quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has suffered a season-ending ACL tear, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The Niners will place Garoppolo on injured reserve, opening up a spot on the roster that will surely be filled by another quarterback.

The 49ers, for now, will turn the starting job over to backup C.J. Beathard. After the second-year QB went 1-4 in five starts last year, it’s far from an ideal situation for San Francisco. If the 49ers seek outside help, they may want to give the Browns a call to see what it would take to acquire Tyrod Taylor, who has lost his starting job to rookie Baker Mayfield.

The free agent market, which may or may not include retired signal caller Jay Cutler, doesn’t have much to offer the 49ers. Colin Kaepernick may represent the most talented available QB at this time, but he’s unlikely to return to SF for obvious reasons. On Sunday, we heard that the Niners are unlikely to bring in competition for Beathard, but that thinking could easily change.

The 49ers picked up Garoppolo from the Patriots in exchange for a second-round pick last November, and subsequently inked him to a five-year, $137.5MM extension. Tom Brady‘s former protege won all five of his starts in the Bay Area last year, but was off to a so-so start in 2018. In three starts, Garoppolo went 1-2 with three interceptions against five touchdowns.

Packers’ Mo Wilkerson Done For Season

September 24th, 2018 at 1:38pm CST by Zachary Links

Packers defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson done for the season after undergoing surgery, ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky tweets. Exact details of the injury and procedure are not known, but it’s enough to shelve him for the year.

The Packers signed Wilkerson to a one-year, $5MM deal in March with the opportunity to earn $3MM in incentives. The terms of the incentives package were not revealed, but it’s unlikely that he has earned much in the way of bonuses after just three games on the field.

Wilkerson was once one of the premier defensive players in the NFL, but he hasn’t been the same since inking a massive extension with the Jets in 2016. Wilkerson reportedly had problems with effort, tardiness, and coaches and his level of play slipped as well. Last year, the 28-year-old (29 in October) appeared in 13 games but graded as just the 50th-best interior defender in the league, per Pro Football Focus. This year, Wilkerson tallied five tackles and zero sacks in three starts at defensive end for Green Bay.

Without Wilkerson, the Packers may promote defensive end Dean Lowry to the starting lineup. They’ll also have to make at one addition to the DE group.