2018 November - Pro Football Rumors

Rams Designate Aqib Talib For IR Return

November 26th, 2018 at 1:35pm CST by Sam Robinson

Going into their December slate, the Rams will have a key piece of their defense back on the field.

The Rams designated Aqib Talib for an IR return on Monday. This matches up with the timeline Talib gave recently. He will be eligible to return this weekend against the Lions but has 21 days to be activated.

Either way, this should be a critical boost for a Rams defense that’s struggled in recent weeks. Talib was placed on IR because of an ankle injury, for which he underwent surgery. He’ll return to practice in advance of Los Angeles’ Week 13 preparations.

Coming off their historic 54-51 win over the Chiefs, the Rams obviously are one of the NFL’s Super Bowl favorites. But they’ve now allowed at least 27 points in their past four games, with their past three opponents eclipsing the 30-point barrier. In Talib’s three games with the team, the Rams allowed 0, 13 and 23 points. Granted, two of those performances were wins over the Raiders and Cardinals, but could be a significant development for a dominant team.

The Rams gave up a fifth-round pick for Talib, who is signed through the 2019 season. Fellow trade acquisition Marcus Peters has struggled for much of this season, so it will be interesting to see how he fares when working with Talib again.

Broncos’ Jeff Heuerman, Shaquil Barrett Suffer Injuries

November 26th, 2018 at 1:32pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Broncos have climbed back into the AFC wild card race after consecutive wins, but their most recent victory saw key contributors go down.

Both Jeff Heuerman and Shaquil Barrett suffered injuries during the Broncos’ 24-17 win over the Steelers, and in the tight end’s case, that will mean an IR trip. Heuerman has broken ribs and a bruised lung and is out for the rest of the season, Mike Klis of 9News reports (on Twitter). Vance Joseph confirmed Heuerman, whom Klis notes broke three ribs, is done for the year.

Barrett, used as an off-the-bench pass rusher, will be out for a few weeks because of a hip flexor issue, Klis adds.

While the Broncos have a deep group of edge defenders, they are now quite thin at tight end. Jake Butt is already on IR. Matt LaCosse, who scored his first touchdown Sunday, will be the next man up. Klis adds (via Twitter) the Broncos are expected to promote Temarrick Hemingway from their practice squad.

A fourth-year tight end out of Ohio State, Heuerman’s delivered his best season since arriving in Denver as a third-round pick. Injuries and inconsistency previously ailed Heuerman, but he’d become a steady option for Case Keenum since the trade of Demaryius Thomas. Heuerman caught 18 passes over the past three games and has 281 receiving yards this season. This, though, will be a tough blow for his value. A free agent-to-be, Heuerman only has 49 career catches for 564 yards and four touchdowns in four seasons.

The Broncos hope Barrett, also a contract-year player, will miss only two games, Troy Renck of Denver7 tweets. He was one of this year’s top restricted free agents, and the Broncos applied as second-round tender to their 2014 UDFA find. A plus run defender in a high-end pass-rushing group, Barrett has three sacks this season. Denver still has 2015 first-round pick Shane Ray as a key second-string edge rusher, and UDFA Jeff Holland resides on its practice squad.

Michigan DL Rashan Gary To Enter NFL Draft

November 26th, 2018 at 12:03pm CST by Zachary Links

Michigan defensive lineman Rashan Gary is going pro. On Monday, the highly-rated defensive lineman announced that he will enter the 2019 NFL Draft.

We’re still several months away from the draft, but Gary profiles as a Top 10 and possibly Top 5 pick. He’s no stranger to attention – he went to Ann Arbor as one of the top ranked high school seniors in the nation and largely lived up to expectations on campus.

Gary, who turns 21 next week, tallied 38 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks in his junior season. He’ll Michigan with 134 tackles and 10.5 sacks in total powered largely by a monster sophomore campaign. The timing of his announcement suggests that he’ll sit out Michigan’s bowl game – particularly since he missed time with shoulder and leg injuries this year – but there’s no official confirmation on that front yet.

Gary is one of several talented defensive linemen to enter this year’s draft, along with Houston’s Ed Oliver, Clemson defensive end Clelin Ferrell, and former Ohio State pass rusher Nick Bosa.

Jaguars G Andrew Norwell Suffers Injury

November 26th, 2018 at 10:30am CST by Zachary Links

The Jaguars will be without guard Andrew Norwell for a bit. Norwell is believed to have a sprained ankle that is expected to sideline him for “a few weeks”, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

Norwell will undergo a full MRI on Monday to determine the full extent of his injury. No matter what, it sounds like Norwell will miss multiple games, though it won’t have a major impact on the Jaguars’ season one way or another.

After Sunday’s loss to the Bills, the Jaguars dropped to 3-8 and officially took themselves out of playoff contention. They also dropped offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, which may be the first of several changes to go down in Jacksonville.

Norwell joined the Jaguars in March on a five-year, $66.5MM deal with $30MM fully guaranteed at signing. With a salary of $13.3MM per year, Norwell stands as the highest-paid left guard in the NFL.

As underscored by the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus, Norwell hasn’t been his usual self in 2018. PFF ranked Norwell as the third-best guard in the league last year for his work with the Panthers. So far this year, the 27-year-old is 27th among guards in the NFL.

Chargers’ Melvin Gordon To Miss Time

November 26th, 2018 at 10:13am CST by Zachary Links

The Chargers won in dominant fashion on Sunday, but it didn’t come without a price. Running back Melvin Gordon suffered a grade 2 MCL sprain against the Cardinals and will miss the “next few weeks,” according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). On the plus side, Gordon is expected to return before the regular season is through.

Gordon has been positively stellar in his fourth pro season. Through ten games, Gordon has nine rushing touchdowns and has averaged 5.2 yards per carry. He also has 44 catches for 453 yards and four scores, positioning him as one of the league’s very best running backs.

Thanks in large part to his efficiency, the Chargers are 8-3 on the year and are virtually assured a spot in the playoffs, even if they cannot catch the Chiefs for the divisional lead. By the time Gordon is cleared to return, the Chargers may be in position to rest him – or at least ease his workload – before the postseason gets underway.

The Chargers will be without their top rusher when they face the Steelers on Sunday night and for their subsequent game against the Bengals on Dec. 9. It remains to be seen whether he’ll be available to play against the Chiefs on Dec. 13 and the Ravens on Dec. 22.

In the interim, the Chargers will lean a bit more on pass-catching specialist Austin Ekeler and fellow ‘backs Justin Jackson and Detrez Newsome.

Jaguars Fire OC Nathaniel Hackett

November 26th, 2018 at 9:16am CST by Zachary Links

The Jaguars fired offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The Jaguars are 28th in points scored this season and they believe the offensive play calling is at least partially to blame.

The Jaguars dropped to 3-8 on Sunday with their loss to the Bills. Leonard Fournette averaged 5.3 yards and gave the Jags two of their three scores, but it wasn’t enough to pull out the win. The loss pushed them from extremely unlikely to make the playoffs to mathematical elimination and that led to the firing of their OC.

Some would argue that Hackett has not been given the right personnel in Jacksonville, starting with quarterback Blake Bortles. Bortles completed just 12-of-23 passes for 127 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. After the game, head coach Doug Marrone said that he did not consider making a QB change, but the club did feel the need to shake up the staff.

“We would like to thank Nathaniel for his hard work and dedication to the Jaguars organization, and we wish him and his family the best moving forward,” Marrone said in a statement. “These are always tough decisions, but as the head coach, I have to do what I think is best for this football team.”

Hackett joined the Jaguars as their quarterbacks coach in 2015 and took over as offensive coordinator midway through the 2016 season. The Jaguars finished sixth in total offense and first in rushing offense last year, but have been unable to reprise that performance in 2018.

Hackett served under Marrone at Syracuse University and with the Bills, so it’s not clear whether this was a decision made by Marrone or by the higher-ups with the Jaguars. In either case, the pressure is on in Jacksonville, and Marrone is far from safe this offseason.

5 Key Stories: 11/18/18 – 11/25/18

November 25th, 2018 at 9:17pm CST by Sam Robinson

Latest arrest ends Reuben Foster‘s 49ers tenure: The 49ers cut the cord on Foster after his third arrest of 2018. Foster was arrested for first-degree domestic violence battery Saturday night in south Florida. The alleged victim is Foster’s ex-girlfriend, who admitted to making false allegations that led to the linebacker’s arrest earlier this year. Foster avoided a conviction (but not an NFL suspension) on the previous charges — for marijuana possession and domestic violence — but GM John Lynch and ownership agreed on the decision to waive Foster. He will be on the waiver wire but would obviously be a controversial claim. The 2017 first-round pick has shown flashes of dominance and may well receive another chance. But for now, he saw his repeated off-field issues lead the 49ers to move on from him.

Texans owner Bob McNair dies: The Texans’ owner since their inception, McNair died on Friday at the age of 81. He was battling multiple types of cancer. He purchased an expansion team in 1999, three years before the Texans debuted, and oversaw three AFC South championships. McNair previously pursued ownership opportunities with the Dolphins and Rams but ended up bringing football back to Houston, doing so six years after the Oilers’ departure.

Jadeveon Clowney unlikely to hit market: The Texans are planning to apply their 2019 franchise tag to Clowney, who is in the final season of his five-year rookie contract. This will be an interesting process, since Clowney’s primary role is to rush quarterbacks. He’s listed as a defensive end/linebacker on Houston’s roster. Clowney’s camp will surely argue he should earn the defensive end tag (roughly $17MM), but he could also be tagged as a linebacker (roughly $15MM). The 2014 No. 1 overall pick would be in line for a $20MM-plus-AAV deal were he to hit the market.

Alex Smith recovery timeline illuminated: Suffering a Joe Theismann-esque injury in 2018 will give the current Redskins quarterback a chance at continuing his career, which Washington’s Super Bowl-winning signal-caller did not receive in 1985. Smith’s recovery process from his broken leg is expected to take between six and eight months. This would put training camp as a potential goal for the former No. 1 overall pick. The 34-year-old passer signed a four-year extension that runs through the 2022 season. Washington will go with Colt McCoy for the time being and signed Mark Sanchez to be the longtime backup’s new backup.

Browns’ coaching search heating up: Gregg Williams led the Browns to another victory on Sunday, but the team is expected to conduct a thorough search to replace Hue Jackson. Despite his rough stint in Denver and recent decision to spurn the Colts, Josh McDaniels has been connected to the Cleveland opening. The Cleveland-area native isn’t the only big name that may be involved. The Bruce Arians-Browns rumors continue to swirl, and the team is also expected to contact another Cleveland-area native: Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell. Meanwhile, Jackson’s futility in northeast Ohio may not dissuade the Bengals from naming him as Marvin Lewis‘ successor. That was once the rumored plan and may be again.

AFC Rumors: Dalton, Gordon, Berry

November 25th, 2018 at 7:52pm CST by Sam Robinson

It’s been a rough November for the Bengals, who have tumbled off the No. 6 seed line on “If the season ended today” graphics. Now, the 5-6 team may be facing the prospect of playing its first game without Andy Dalton in three years. The longtime Cincinnati starter left Sunday’s loss to the Browns early because of a thumb injury, but Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets initial tests did not reveal a break. Dalton will undergo further examination, but it appears the eighth-year starter avoided serious injury. His status for Week 13 is uncertain, however. The Bengals did not invest much resources in at backup quarterback this year, going with Jeff Driskel after the departure of A.J. McCarron. A former UDFA, Driskel entered today’s game having thrown seven career passes — all this season. He would be in line to face the Broncos next week if Dalton can’t go.

Here’s the latest from the AFC:

Melvin Gordon might not be as fortunate. The Chargers‘ explosive starter may see his All-Pro bid put on hold because of a knee injury he sustained Sunday. Gordon left the Bolts’ win over the Cardinals because of an MCL malady, Eric Williams of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). Gordon will undergo additional evaluation on Monday, but Williams notes there’s a real possibility the top-tier running back won’t be able to go next week against the Steelers. An MCL tear would put the rest of Gordon’s regular season in jeopardy. Gordon was battling a hamstring injury this week but suited up and scored twice before leaving the game.
The Chiefs have waited for months for Eric Berry to show progress, and it looks to finally be happening. After a report previously indicated the three-time All-Pro safety was close to returning to practice for the first time in three-plus months, Rapoport tweets the Chiefs indeed expect Berry to practice this week. Berry’s dealing with Haglund’s deformity, a heel ailment, and hasn’t practiced since training camp. Since signing his $13MM-per-year extension, Berry’s played in just one game. But the Chiefs did not place him on IR this season and clearly believe a return could well happen soon.
Baltimore is 2-0 in Lamar Jackson‘s starts and may not be ready to return to Joe Flacco when he’s healthy again.

Extra Points: Stafford, Lions, Fournette, Jaguars, Trubisky

November 25th, 2018 at 7:03pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Matthew Stafford fell flat on Thanksgiving, throwing a pair of interceptions that cost the Lions the game. The loss dropped the Lions to 4-7 on the year, and more or less eliminated them from the NFC playoff picture. It naturally sparked a new wave of questions about Stafford’s future with the team, and has led many to speculate that he might not be the longterm solution in Detroit. Due to the “culture change” the Lions are implementing, it’s possible Detroit’s transformation “eventually will result in a new quarterback”, according to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com.

While Florio does note that Stafford’s massive contract will make it hard to move on from him before 2020 at the earliest, he does float a trade as a possibility. While Stafford hasn’t been great this year, he’d be an upgrade for many teams. The most likely course of action still remains that the Lions stick with Stafford and possibly make a change at offensive coordinator with Jim Bob Cooter if the offense continues to struggle.

Here’s more from around the league:

Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette was ejected from the team’s loss to the Bills today as part of a brawl that broke out between the two sides, and there was initially some concern he might be suspended. However, Fournette is not expected to be suspended, a source told Florio. The Jaguars’ season is quickly circling the drain at 3-8, and they can’t afford to be without Fournette for any period of time right now.
Mitchell Trubisky missed the Bears’ win over the Lions on Thanksgiving, and while the initial thought was that he could’ve played had it been a Sunday game, it’s no guarantee he’s back for Week 13. “It is not certain he will [return] and missing one more game is possible”, a source told Adam Schefter of ESPN (Twitter link). Chase Daniel was just as good as Trubisky has been in his one start, so it’s not too much of a downgrade for Chicago’s offense. Schefter does add that if Trubisky is forced to sit out against the Giants, he’ll return the next week at the latest.
In case you missed it, the Texans are discussing a contract extension with Tyrann Mathieu.

John Harbaugh Won’t Commit To Joe Flacco As Starter

November 25th, 2018 at 5:46pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Just when the Ravens’ season was on the line and they were on the verge of being eliminated from the playoff race, they responded with two straight wins. With Joe Flacco sidelined with a hip injury, rookie Lamar Jackson slid in as the starter and beat the Bengals and Raiders in his first two career starts. Now Ravens coach John Harbaugh isn’t ready to commit to Flacco getting his job back when he’s healthy, according to Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com.

“Whether the decision has been made or not, it’s not important for anybody to know but us. If I decide to do it one way or another, I don’t want our opponent to know. So, I’m probably not going to announce it for obvious reasons, just to make it tough for our opponent” Harbaugh was quote as saying.

If Harbaugh was going to give Flacco the job back, he probably would’ve continued to say as much, and the fact that he was so non-committal would seem to indicate he’d prefer to stick with Jackson. It would be pretty hard for Harbaugh to take it away from Jackson now, so we should probably tentatively expect to continue to see Jackson make starts.

Harbaugh isn’t in any position to play for the future, so whatever decision he makes will be the one he feels like gives the team the best chance to win. Harbaugh is on an extremely hot seat, and it was reported earlier today that Ravens players were expecting him to be fired if the team didn’t make the playoffs. Jackson has flashed electrifying talent, but has also struggled as a passer at time. They’ve won both his starts, but they’ve come against two of the worst defenses in the league. It’s possible the team will go back to Flacco as they prepare to play a much tougher slate of defenses, but it’s also looking highly possible that we’ve seen the end of the Joe Flacco-era in Baltimore.