HEADLINES

Month: November 2024

Broncos Place Lindsay, Holmes On IR

December 28th, 2018 at 3:21pm CST by Sam Robinson

A formality at this point, the Broncos ended their starting running back’s season. Phillip Lindsay is now on IR, and late-season wide receiver addition Andre Holmes will join him.

Denver added outside linebacker Aaron Wallace and cornerback Horace Richardson to take their roster spots. Neither player was on the Broncos’ practice squad previously. Richardson will come to Denver from the Chiefs’ practice squad, while Wallace previously resided on the Bengals’ taxi squad.

Lindsay became the first UDFA offensive player to make the Pro Bowl as a rookie and will conclude his first NFL season as the Broncos’ first rookie 1,000-yard back since Clinton Portis in 2002. Lindsay is signed through the 2020 season; because of his UDFA status, the Denver native’s contract can be renegotiated after next season.

Royce Freeman and Devontae Booker will take handoffs for the Broncos against the Chargers, and the tandem may well be the Denver OTA ball-carriers. Lindsay is expected to need as many as four months to recover from the wrist surgery he is scheduled to undergo Friday, per Mike Klis of 9News (on Twitter).

Claimed off waivers just after Emmanuel Sanders tore one of his Achilles’ tendons, Holmes caught one pass during his Broncos tenure. He is under contract through 2019, but that deal has no additional guaranteed money left on it.

Shaquil Barrett Seeking Starting Role

December 28th, 2018 at 3:06pm CST by Sam Robinson

At full strength, the Broncos feature one of the deepest edge-rushing groups in the NFL. That appears set to change going into 2019.

Both Shaquil Barrett and Shane Ray are headed for free agency. Ray has been a healthy scratch the past two games, and Barrett no longer has intentions of being a backup. The UDFA success story said (via The Athletic’s Nicki Jhabvala, on Twitter) he will be eyeing a team that will give him a starting role. With Von Miller and Bradley Chubb entrenched as Broncos starters, Barrett’s probably about to play his final game as a Bronco on Sunday.

“I want to start. I want to be a guy somewhere. I don’t want to just be a role player,” Barrett said. “I can’t do it. … Reserve role is done for me, unless that’s the only role I got after this year. But that’s not what I’m looking for going into free agency.”

Barrett has never been a high-end sack artist, but then again, the Colorado State product has not enjoyed a consistent starting opportunity. A plus run defender, Barrett may still receive a chance to start in free agency. Pass rushers Jadeveon Clowney, Dee Ford, DeMarcus Lawrence, Frank Clark and Ziggy Ansah are slated for free agency. Only Ansah figures to be a lock to reach the market. Teams annually retain top-tier pass rushers, opening the door for players on Barrett’s level to cash in.

Brandon Graham, Trey Flowers, Brian Orakpo, Bruce Irvin, Preston Smith, Markus Golden and Clay Matthews do make 2019 an interesting year to need a pass rusher. Some of these players will reach free agency. Barrett has seven sacks over the past two years and did start nine games in 2017 but played behind DeMarcus Ware and now Chubb for full seasons as well. Denver slapped a second-round RFA tender on Barrett this year.

The Broncos have Barrett, Ray, Matt Paradis, Bradley Roby and Jared Veldheer among a deep group of UFAs-to-be. The only way it appears Barrett will cycle back to Denver is if his market underwhelms.

Rams To Rest Todd Gurley In Week 17

December 28th, 2018 at 2:47pm CST by Sam Robinson

The next time Todd Gurley plays for the Rams, some type of NFC playoff logo will be featured on the field. The Rams declared Gurley out for Week 17.

Gurley has been dealing with knee inflammation and was a late scratch in Week 16. The Rams are not guaranteed a bye but can clinch the NFC’s No. 2 seed with a win over the 49ers or a Bears loss to the Vikings.

Sean McVay said (via The Athletic’s Vincent Bonsignore, on Twitter) he is not concerned about Gurley’s availability in January but wants to be smart about the return of his All-Pro running back. Gurley suffered the knee injury late in the Rams’ loss to the Eagles nearly two weeks ago. Sitting in the team’s regular-season finale was rumored all week. Now, C.J. Anderson will have another chance to audition for potential free agent bidders.

Gurley’s season will wrap up with 1,831 yards from scrimmage and a career-high 21 touchdowns. He’s been the centerpiece of McVay’s second Rams offense and obviously is key to the team qualifying for its first Super Bowl since the 2001 season. The 24-year-old back signed a market-setting extension to stay with the Rams long-term at the beginning of the season, and a second All-Pro honor will likely come his way soon.

Lamarcus Joyner will also be shelved in Week 17. The safety suffered an ankle injury against the Cardinals.

Latest On Dolphins, Adam Gase

December 28th, 2018 at 1:28pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

This time of year in the NFL season is when the coaching carousel really starts to heat up, and this cycle seems set to be especially busy. There will be a ton of head coaching jobs open, with two coaches already fired and a slew of others set to be canned once Week 17 is over. While people like Todd Bowles, Vance Joseph, Dirk Koetter, and Steve Wilks have been written off as goners, one name that hasn’t been talked about too much is Dolphins coach Adam Gase.

While he’s flown more under the radar, that doesn’t mean his job is safe. We’ve already heard that John Harbaugh isn’t a lock to be in Baltimore long term, and there’s a “lingering belief that owner Stephen Ross would be interested in hiring Ravens coach John Harbaugh”, according to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com.While that still seems like a long shot, Florio also points out how Gase’s future is tied to what the Dolphins do with their front office.

Front office head Mike Tannenbaum is reportedly set to be let go at the end of the year, but it’s Gase who has contractual control and final say over the 53-man roster. A source told Florio that the Dolphins are interested in speaking to Vikings assistant G.M. George Paton and Bills assistant G.M. Joe Schoen, but Florio notes that “if Miami isn’t able to offer a new employee control over the football operation, the Vikings and Bills (and any other team with a current front-office employee under contract) would be able to block the process.”

As such, Florio writes that “the Dolphins need to wrest power from Gase, either voluntarily or involuntarily, if the goal is to hire a high-level executive from another NFL franchise.” It’s unclear if Gase would agree to such a reduction of his authority, or if he would then seek to leave the team.

Gase is a very highly regarded offensive mind, and would be in immediate demand as an offensive coordinator and possibly head coach if he’s available after this year. This is Gase’s third year coaching the Dolphins, and he’s dealt with major injuries in each of his three seasons as coach. His first year in Miami he made the playoffs with journeyman Matt Moore as his quarterback down the stretch, and was stuck with Jay Cutler as a last minute pickup last year after Ryan Tannehill tore his ACL. The Dolphins also appear set to move on from Tannehill, so no matter what happens with Gase it should be an offseason of major change in Miami.

Jets Sign WR Quincy Enunwa To Extension

December 28th, 2018 at 12:07pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Jets are locking up one of Sam Darnold‘s weapons longterm, signing Quincy Enunwa to a multi-year contract extension, the team announced Friday. A source told Brian Costello of the New York Post that Enunwa, who was set to become a free agent at the end of the year, is getting a four-year $36MM deal (Twitter link). Rich Cimini of ESPN noted in a tweet that the deal includes “about $20MM in guarantees.”

Enunwa missed the enitre 2017 season with a neck injury and appeared in only 11 games this year, so the team clearly thinks very highly of him to sign him to this deal despite his injury history. $20MM guaranteed is a lot of money to commit to any player, yet alone one who hasn’t been able to stay healthy. Enunwa broke out in 2016, his last full season, when he caught 58 passes for 857 yards and four touchdowns. Along with Robby Anderson, he’s formed a solid receiver duo for the team to build on around Darnold, although reports have consistently indicated that the team values Enunwa more than Anderson.

“Quincy is a key part of our foundation, and we are thrilled that this contract will keep him here for years to come,” Jets GM Mike Maccagnan said in a statement given to the team’s official website. Although he’s been plagued by injuries the past couple of seasons, Enunwa has been a consistent target for Darnold when he’s been out there. He was ruled out for Week 17 with an ankle injury earlier today, meaning he’ll finish the 2018 season with 38 catches for 449 yards and one touchdown.

A 2014 sixth round pick from Nebraska, Enunwa had at least eight targets and 50 yards in each of the Jets’ first four games this season, but a serious high ankle sprain quickly derailed his year. It was reported last month that the two sides were discussing a deal, and things finally got ironed out just before the end of the year. While coach Todd Bowles is looking like a lock to be fired, it seems as if Maccagnan, who announced the new deal, will get at least one more year at the helm to try and right the ship.

Bengals Place Tyler Boyd, Two Others On IR, Promote 3 Players From Practice Squad

December 28th, 2018 at 11:48am CST by Andrew Ortenberg

As Week 17 approaches, the Bengals made a flurry of moves. The team is placing receiver Tyler Boyd, cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick, and linebacker Jordan Evans on injured reserve, according to Paul Dehner Jr. of The Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link).

To fill their spots on the roster, the team is promoting running back Quinton Flowers, offensive tackle Kent Perkins, and receiver Hunter Sharp from the practice squad. It’s the end of a breakout 2018 season for Boyd, who emerged as one of the top receivers in the league this year. He’ll finish the season with 76 catches for 1,028 yards and seven touchdowns. He shined in the absence of A.J. Green, and said recently he’s open to signing an extension with Cincinnati.

Kirkpatrick is one of the Bengals’ biggest name defensive players but struggled at times this year, earning barely average grades from Pro Football Focus. Evans has played around 50 percent of snaps on defense for the Bengals this year, and the Bengals will be very shorthanded for their finale against the Steelers without all of them. The practice squad players all have some level of intrigue, as Flowers was a college quarterback at South Florida who made a transition to running back for the pros.

Sharp is a 2016 UDFA who has spent time with five teams already. He was on the active roster at times for the Broncos and Giants last year, and caught five passes for 54 yards and a touchdown. Perkins is a 2017 UDFA who has been on Cincinnati’s practice squad for most of the past two seasons. As Katherine Terrell of ESPN points out (Twitter link), the moves will allow the Bengals to have these players under contract going into the offseason, to prevent them from being poached.

Giants Shut Down Odell Beckham Jr.

December 28th, 2018 at 10:43am CST by Andrew Ortenberg

There was hope that Odell Beckham Jr. would be able to return for the Giants’ final game of the season, but the team is opting to shut him down instead, a source told Jordan Raanan of ESPN (Twitter link).

While the Giants don’t have anything to play for in terms of playoff contention, they’ve been playing with a lot of pride recently and have put forth some great efforts, so it’s not surprising that they were holding out hope Beckham would be able to play. It’ll be the fourth straight missed game for Beckham to end the season, with his last appearance coming in the team’s overtime win against the Bears.

After starting the year 1-7, the Giants have gone 4-3 over their last ten games, and very nearly shocked the Colts as massive underdogs last week. Beckham was active for three of the four wins, but surprisingly didn’t have his best games during that stretch. He averaged only 61 yards in the three recent wins, but did catch four touchdowns.

Beckham suffered a quad injury last month, but was initially able to play through it. One day he suddenly popped back up on the injury report, and was suddenly ruled out for that weekend’s game. His injury was clouded in secrecy and the team wouldn’t elaborate on what happened, until Beckham himself finally cleared the air and revealed he had re-aggravated the injury in practice on his docuseries.

He said it was a quad hematoma, which is a a collection of blood outside a blood vessel. When he talked about the injury, he seemed to hint that the coaching staff was pushing him a little too hard, but nothing ever came of those comments. He’ll finish the year with 77 catches for 1,052 yards and six touchdowns in 12 games. Having just signed a megadeal with the team after trade rumors swirled around him this offseason, Beckham will be back in New York in 2019, but it remains to be seen who will be throwing passes to him.

Steelers Place K Chris Boswell On IR

December 28th, 2018 at 9:24am CST by Ben Levine

The Steelers are making a significant change ahead of their biggest game of the season. ESPN’s Field Yates reports (via Twitter) that the team is placing kicker Chris Boswell on injured reserve. The team has signed kicker Matt McCrane to take his place.

After making the Pro Bowl last season, Boswell has struggled mightily in 2018. Through 15 games, Boswell has converted only 13 of his 20 field goal attempts, with his 65-percent mark ranking dead last among eligible kickers. The 27-year-old even struggled on extra points; after having made at least 94-percent of his attempts through the first three seasons of his career, that number dropped to 89.6-percent (43-for-48) in 2018.

Boswell seemed to have a rebound game during last weekend’s loss to the Saints, as he made his two field goal attempts and two extra point tries. Many attributed the kicker’s struggles to the yips, and his placement on the IR doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s been dealing with a nagging injury throughout the campaign. It’s more likely that the coaching staff still didn’t feel good about Boswell’s prospects heading into Week 17 and the postseason, and his placement on the IR allowed the organization to keep him on the roster.

McCrane, an undrafted rookie out of Kansas State, has bounced around the NFL this season, spending time with the Cardinals and Raiders. He appeared in four total games with the two organizations, connecting on five of his nine field goal attempts and all five of his extra point tries.

Bills DT Kyle Williams Set To Retire

December 28th, 2018 at 8:46am CST by Ben Levine

Kyle Williams is calling it a career. The Bills announced (via Twitter) that their long-time defensive tackle will be retiring. Williams’ final career game will be this Sunday against the Dolphins.

“This isn’t easy,” said in a letter on the team’s website. “It was never going to be. There’s no perfect time to retire from a game, a franchise, and a city that mean so much to me and my family. But it’s time to hang up my cleats.”

Following a standout career at LSU, the Bills used a fifth-round selection on Williams during the 2006 draft. The defensive tackle quickly earned a starting gig with Buffalo, and he’s been a stalwart of the Bills defense for more than a decade.

While the 35-year-old will have an opportunity to add on to his totals on Sunday, Williams is already the Bills’ franchise leader in a number of statistics, including tackles for loss (102) and QB hits (141). He also ranks in Buffalo’s top-10 in solo tackles (384, 9th), assisted tackles (223, 2nd), and sacks (48.5, 5th). While it won’t hit the record books, it’s also worth noting that the 303-pound lineman scored a touchdown on his only career carry. During his 13-year career, Williams had earned five Pro Bowl nods and a spot as both a first- and second-team All-Pro.

Last offseason, Williams signed a one-year, $5.5MM deal with the Bills that included $4.5MM in guaranteed money. The 35-year-old has continued to be productive, compiling 31 tackles, five sacks, and one forced fumble. Pro Football Focus has also been fond of his performance, ranking him 53rd among 118 interior defenders. Perhaps even more importantly, Williams has had a chance to mentor third-round rookie Harrison Phillips, who could have an opportunity to take over as the starter next season.

Lincoln Riley Says He Isn’t Leaving Oklahoma

December 27th, 2018 at 9:54pm CST by Ben Levine

It doesn’t sound like Lincoln Riley will be “going pro” anytime soon. The Oklahoma head coach told Howie Kussoy of the New York Post that he has no plans of joining the NFL.

“I can’t tell you how I’m gonna feel in 10 years, but no, not right now,” Riley said. “If I wasn’t at one of the elite programs in the country, maybe, but no, I’m very happy where I’m at right now.

“If it was 20, 30 years ago, where there were some major differences, maybe. … The way the college game has evolved, financially it’s a lot better situation now when you compare it to NFL teams. We’re at a place where we’re happy, and we don’t take that for granted. I love coaching at Oklahoma, love coaching college football.”

Riley’s name has continually been connected with potential head coaching vacancies, and the Oklahoma coach recently led a Yahoo! Sports list of collegiate coaches who could make the jump to the NFL. However, Riley has been adamant that he’s staying put, and he’s even told recruits that he’ll be sticking with Oklahoma.

“I was very upfront, said what I’ve said the 15 times I’ve been asked about it since,” Riley said. “I told them the truth. I told them I love where I’m at right now, and I don’t have that itch right now, and I fully plan on being at Oklahoma.”

Even if Riley wasn’t being entirely truthful, it’s not surprising that he’s rejecting the notion of joining the NFL. The Sooners are set to play in the College Football Playoff semifinals against Alabama on Saturday. Eliminating distractions is surely one of his top priorities, and definitively stating that he’s sticking with Oklahoma could only be perceived as a good thing.

Of course, even with his public statements, NFL teams will still be eyeing Riley this offseason. The 35-year-old has led Oklahoma to two straight CFP appearances, and he’s been touted for helping to develop quarterbacks Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray. Riley has a 24-3 record and a pair of Big 12 championships during his two seasons as head coach, and he served as the team’s offensive coordinator in 2015 and 2016.

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