HEADLINES

Month: September 2024

Latest On Josh Gordon

September 16th, 2018 at 5:52pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The day after the Browns’ shocking announcement that they would be releasing former All-Pro receiver Josh Gordon, more news on the troubled wideout is continuing to pour in. After initially stating Gordon would be cut, Cleveland quickly reversed course and made it clear they were going to look to trade Gordon and get something back in return.

The Browns apparently would prefer to trade him out of conference, and Gordon himself has his eye on two NFC teams. Gordon would prefer to be traded to either the 49ers or Cowboys a source told Adam Schefter of ESPN. Both teams have issues in their receiving corps and would make sense as possible destinations.

49ers GM John Lynch confirmed to reporters that the team did call the Browns about Gordon, saying the “team is doing its due diligence” according to Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports (Twitter link). Gordon grew up in Texas and played his high school and college ball there, so it makes sense why he’d want to go to Dallas. Kyle Shanahan was briefly his offensive coordinator in Cleveland, which might explain his attraction to San Francisco.

Another issue surrounding Gordon is his health. It was reported yesterday that he injured his hamstring during a promotional shoot and not at practice, and that the injury was one of the reasons the Browns were cutting ties with him. “Gordon is traveling tonight to see a specialist tomorrow to learn the severity of his hamstring injury” a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). The severity of the injury could be a determining factor in what sort of compensation the Browns get in a trade.

Jets Looking For Pass Rush Help, Made Big Offer For Mack

September 16th, 2018 at 4:39pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Jets missed out on the Khalil Mack sweepstakes, but will continue looking for help rushing the passer. They recently brought in outside linebacker John Simon for a visit, although they didn’t end up signing him. New York has also worked out a string of other lower-profile defensive linemen and outside linebackers in recent weeks.

Their intention to bring in outside help was recently confirmed by Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, who writes that acquiring such a player remains the team’s primary objective. He adds that the Jets were even more serious about trading for Mack than was originally reported, and that they would likely have been willing to meet or beat the Bears’ winning offer, which included two first-round draft picks.

La Canfora says the Raiders essentially ended the bidding on Mack once they received assurances that Chicago was willing to part with two first-rounders, especially since trading him to the Bears allowed them to get Mack out of the AFC.

But the Jets have a ton of cap space and a commitment from ownership, so they will continue to leave no stone unturned in their pursuit of a QB hunter. Former NFL agent Joel Corry wonders if, next offseason, the Jets could be involved in the first edge rusher tag and trade since Jared Allen was tagged by the Chiefs and traded to the Vikings in 2008 (Twitter link). Whatever happens, expect the Jets to be aggressive in building their roster as they transition into the Sam Darnold-era.

Injury Notes: Fournette, Ansah, Michel, Burkhead, Barron

September 16th, 2018 at 2:14pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Inactive lists for the late slate of games are starting to roll in, and are providing answers to some key injury questions. Perhaps the biggest mystery of the week was the status of Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette. We finally have clarity, as Fournette will officially miss Jacksonville’s Week 2 game against the Patriots with his hamstring injury according to Adam Schefter of ESPN (Twitter link).

It’s a big blow for the Jaguars who like to establish the running game and make things easy for Blake Bortles. They did get some good news however as Calais Campbell, who was a very late add to the injury report, will play. Here are more injury notes from around the league:

  • The Lions’ already weak defense will be without their best player, as Ezekiel Ansah will be sidelined with a shoulder injury per Michael Rothstein of ESPN (Twitter link). Ian Rapoport had previously tweeted Ansah was expected to play, so this is a bit of a surprise.
  • The Patriots’ backfield got some good news as both Sony Michel and Rex Burkhead will suit up per Ben Volin of The Boston Globe (Twitter link). Burkhead was cleared from the concussion protocol while Michel will make his NFL debut after missing most of the offseason with a knee injury.
  • The Rams will be without starting linebacker Mark Barron for a second straight week per ProFootballTalk (Twitter link). It’s bad news for Los Angeles as their linebackers were shredded over the middle last week by tight end Jared Cook for 180 yards.

Seahawks LB Mychal Kendricks Suspended, Has Appealed

September 16th, 2018 at 12:23pm CST by Rory Parks

The NFL has suspended new Seahawks linebacker Mychal Kendricks, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. However, Kendricks has appealed the suspension — the length of which is not yet known — and will therefore be eligible to play until the league makes its ruling. The appeal is expected to be heard within the next 10 days or so.

Kendricks, of course, was suspended for violating the league’s personal conduct policy, as he has pleaded guilty to insider trading and has a sentencing hearing scheduled for January 2019. He is reportedly facing 30 to 37 months in prison.

The Browns signed Kendricks back in June, but Cleveland quickly released him after news of the insider trading charge broke in August. Seattle head coach Pete Carroll, however, said his team did all of the research it could before signing Kendricks, whom Carroll believes is entitled to a second chance.

Carroll said, “We had done a lot of homework on it. [The insider trading] happened four and a half years ago, so it’s a story that’s been worked on for a long time. There’s a lot of good information. We’ve come to learn who he is and what he’s all about and how remorseful he was and how he admitted to his mistake a long time ago.”

As Schefter observes, the NFL — which was considering placing Kendricks on the commissioner’s exempt list before Cleveland released him — will have a tough decision to make. Kendricks made immediate restitution and has no criminal record, so the league must figure out what to do with a player involved in a white-collar crime who has tried to make amends for the situation.

Kendricks will make his Seattle debut tomorrow night against the Bears. He will likely see a lot of playing time, as the Seahawks have already injured linebackers Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright.

Martavis Bryant Permitted To Play During Appeal Of Suspension

September 16th, 2018 at 11:57am CST by Rory Parks

Although we have not heard an official announcement from the NFL, it appears that Raiders WR Martavis Bryant has indeed been handed a one-year suspension for allegedly violating the league’s substance-abuse policy (we heard last week that Bryant was facing such a ban). However, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com writes that Bryant has appealed the suspension, and the NFL will allow him to play until it makes a decision on the appeal.

Just two days after we learned that Bryant was staring at another suspension, the Raiders re-signed the talented but troubled receiver, whom they cut on September 1. Oakland, which traded a third-round pick to the Steelers to acquire Bryant during this year’s draft, would like to get something of a return on its investment, and ESPN’s Dan Graziano tweets that the Raiders were comfortable with bringing Bryant back into the fold because it will take a little while for the NFL to rule on his appeal (it also helps that Bryant’s contract pays him on a week-to-week basis).

The appeal is expected to be heard within the next couple of weeks, which could buy Bryant a few games on the Raiders’ roster. Of course, if the appeal is resolved in Bryant’s favor, he could spend the entire year on the roster, which would go a long way towards getting his NFL career back on track.

Schefter reports that Bryant’s camp is confident in his chances to win the appeal, and Graziano says Bryant has retained New York attorney Peter Ginsberg to represent him in the process. For now, Bryant will slot into a receiver group that includes Amari Cooper, Jordy Nelson, Seth Roberts, and Brandon LaFell.

The Raiders take on the division-rival Broncos later this afternoon.

Latest On Aaron Rodgers

September 16th, 2018 at 11:11am CST by Rory Parks

After his remarkable comeback during the Packers’ season-opening win over the Bears last Sunday night, Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers assured a national audience that he would be playing in Week 2. The fact that he practiced with the team yesterday all but confirmed as much, even though we also learned that the star signal-caller is still dealing with swelling in his left knee.

The situation remains generally murky. Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reported earlier this morning that Rodgers does not have any ligament damage, but Jay Glazer of FOX Sports tweets that Rodgers does indeed have a ligament sprain, to go along with a deep bone bruise. Rodgers also has what one of Schefter’s sources called a “pretty unusual injury that would keep most people out awhile,” which Glazer agrees with. Another of Schefter’s sources added that Rodgers probably should not have returned to the field after suffering the knee injury last week, and that he will likely be kept on a short leash as he continues to recover.

His recovery, per Schefter, could take another couple of months. Schefter says that Rodgers sustained a “compression injury from blunt force while bent,” and he will simply have to play through the pain. As we saw last week, though, even a hobbled Rodgers is still about as good of a quarterback as there is, and Green Bay has no hope of contending for a playoff spot without him.

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link) indicates that Rodgers will indeed play today, but that despite A-Rod’s bravado, his game status was no sure thing earlier this week, as he was “swollen and hurting.” Glazer says Rodgers is still experiencing a great deal of pain and swelling, and he is wearing a very large brace on his injured knee today. We can probably expect a lot of shotgun formations and quick passes from Rodgers for the next few weeks at least.

Seahawks Have Not Approached Russell Wilson About A New Deal

September 16th, 2018 at 10:34am CST by Rory Parks

The Seahawks have not approached star quarterback Russell Wilson to discuss a new contract, and there are currently no plans to have such a discussion, as Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes. Wilson is under club control through 2019, and while Seattle generally does not redo deals that have multiple years remaining, the team has made a few exceptions to that organizational philosophy in the past, and one might expect that Wilson would be a player for whom the Seahawks would make such an exception. Indeed, he has as much time left on his current contract as Aaron Rodgers had when he signed his recent massive extension with the Packers.

However, we did hear earlier this year that negotiations between Wilson and Seattle — if they do end up happening at some point in the future — are not expected to be pretty, and Wilson himself said that he expects to be hit with the franchise tag in 2020. But as La Canfora points out, going year-to-year with the franchise tag for a player like Wilson is probably not the best strategy, and allowing him to enter the final year of his contract at a time when contract values continue to soar and the cap continues to increase significantly may not be the wisest move either.

It could be that Seattle simply does not plan to hang on to Wilson beyond 2019. The team is no longer the powerhouse it was earlier this decade, and Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times recently wrote that the Seahawks’ performance in 2018 could go a long way in determining the futures of both Wilson and head coach Pete Carroll in Seattle. Although Condotta acknowledged that it would be difficult to imagine the Seahawks not making every effort to keep Wilson, he noted that the franchise’s future looks as unclear as at any time since Wilson arrived in 2012.

It is also worth noting that the Seahawks were at their dominant best when Wilson was playing under his rookie deal, so if the club does choose to rebuild, it could seek to leverage Wilson as part of those efforts. Indeed, La Canfora says that some GMs believe Seattle could get up to three first-round picks in exchange for Wilson if it puts him on the trading block.

Injury Notes: Wentz, Bosa, Mariota

September 16th, 2018 at 10:04am CST by Rory Parks

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports that Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz could be cleared for contact this week, and that may put him on track to make his 2018 debut in Week 3, as was suggested last Sunday. But Rapoport says the team is in no rush to have Wentz return to game action, because it is more concerned about the next 10 to 15 years, not the next 10 to 15 minutes. As such, if the Eagles need to keep Wentz out longer to make sure he is fully recovered from his torn ACL and LCL, they are fully committed to doing so.

However, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports that Wentz is indeed on track to be back under center for the Eagles against the Colts next week, and he suggests that Philadelphia will have no issue in deploying Wentz as soon as he is cleared for contract.

Now let’s take a look at a few more reports concerning injuries to some of the league’s biggest names:

  • This is not much of a surprise given a report from earlier this week, but Schefter reports that Chargers DE Joey Bosa is expected to be sidelined until at least October. Bosa is continuing to rehab his foot with the hope that the swelling goes down and the foot stabilizes, but surgery is still very much in play if that does not happen.
  • Titans QB Marcus Mariota has not yet regained complete feeling in his fingers, per Rapoport (Twitter link). Schefter adds (via Twitter) that Mariota is still unable to grip the football normally as a result, which means that Blaine Gabbert may be starting under center for Tennessee for at least Week 2.
  • Jaguars RB Leonard Fournette is unlikely to play against the Patriots today, per Schefter, but it sounds as though Fournette is making good progress in his recovery from the hamstring injury he suffered last week. Even if the second-year back is unable to suit up today, he could be back in action next week.
  • Rapoport confirms (via Twitter) a report from Tuesday that Panthers TE Greg Olsen is hoping to return much sooner than was originally anticipated when he fractured his foot in the team’s season-opening win over the Cowboys. Rapoport says that Olsen hopes to be back on the field in four to five weeks, and he will have the foot — the same one he broke last year — reevaluated after the season.
  • We received a status update on Packers QB Aaron Rodgers earlier today.
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