HEADLINES

Month: November 2024

NFL, NFLPA Resume Talks

August 6th, 2019 at 12:28pm CST by Zachary Links

The NFL and NFL Players Association will meet on Tuesday to discuss the collective bargaining agreement, according to Mike Florio of PFT. It’s a promising sign – earlier this summer, the two sides were slated to talk for consecutive days, but pulled the plug before day one was finished.

Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean that real progress is being made in talks. Eight years ago, the two sides wound up in a lockout, so the possibility of a labor stoppage still looms large. As it stands, the current CBA is set to expire until after next season.

Recently, we heard that the two sides are far apart on a revenue split. In light of that, a new deal is not expected to be in place by the owners’ unofficial pre-Week 1 target date. Meanwhile, the owners have backed off the goal of having the next collective bargaining agreement in place by then.

Ezekiel Elliott Won’t Play Without Deal?

August 6th, 2019 at 12:10pm CST by Zachary Links

The situation in Dallas between Ezekiel Elliott and the Cowboys could drag on for a while. Elliott is unlikely to suit up in 2019 unless he gets a new contract, Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter links) hears. 

Despite Jerry Jones‘ confidence in everything working out with Elliott (plus star players Amari Cooper and Dak Prescott), things are clearly not trending in the right direction. On Tuesday, it was reported that the Cowboys were growing frustrated with the lack of progress in that trio of talks, and Elliott seems ready to dig in on his holdout.

The Cowboys have reportedly proposed a contract that would be closer to Le’Veon Bell‘s than Todd Gurley‘s, making Elliott the second-highest paid running back in the league. Zeke, it seems, wants to be No. 1. Topping Gurley across all major fronts would mean beating out a four year, $57.5MM contract extension with $45MM in total guarantees and nearly $22MM guaranteed at signing.

Last season, Elliott posted 1,434 yards and six touchdowns on the ground while adding 77 receptions, 567 yards, and three scores in the passing game. Of course, Elliott also ran behind one of the NFL’s better offensive lines, and only ranked 18th in Football Outsiders’ success rate.

Cowboys Frustrated With Prescott, Cooper, Elliott Talks

August 6th, 2019 at 11:38am CST by Zachary Links

The Cowboys are growing frustrated with the lack of progress in negotiations with Ezekiel Elliott, Dak Prescott, and Amari Cooper, Todd Archer of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears. The team believes solid offers have been made that would put each player in the top five at their respective positions, yet the needle has not moved much. 

In the case of Elliott, the Cowboys are pitching him a contract that would be closer to Le’Veon Bell‘s than Todd Gurley, Calvin Watkins of The Athletic (on Twitter) reports. That deal would make Elliott second-highest paid running back in NFL. It seems that Zeke is either gunning for No. 1, or for a more favorable payout/guarantee structure than Gurley earned. Gurley got $45MM guaranteed in his deal, whereas Bell is looking at $39.5MM in potential earnings over the first three seasons.

On Sunday, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones expressed confidence in the process for all three players. The team, at least behind the scenes, is now singing a different tune.

“You just know like so many things it’ll happen. It’ll happen,” Jones said of the extensions. “There literally is no concern on my part at all about any timeframe. That’ll happen. The results are too good for them and too good for the Cowboys. Think about it a minute. The results are too good for them and too good for the Cowboys. That always happens when it’s good for both (sides).”

Prescott does not sound receptive to a Cowboys-friendly deal and Cooper seems more than willing to play out the final year of his pact in search of the biggest payday possible.

Cardinals, Michael Crabtree Call Off Deal

August 6th, 2019 at 10:22am CST by Zachary Links

Michael Crabtree won’t be joining the Cardinals after all. Just hours after word of an agreement leaked, negotiations between the two parties went bust, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. With that, the wide receiver remains on the free agent market. 

Crabtree was a logical fit for the Cardinals, who are looking for athletic wide receivers to work with new quarterback Kyler Murray. There was also a Texas Tech tie-in – both Kliff Kingsbury and Crabtree are alums of the Red Raiders and played under head coach Mike Leach. Despite the potential conversations with campus nostalgia and their shared understanding of Leach’s offensive principles, the deal fell apart.

Crabtree, 31, played all 16 games for the Ravens last season and finished out with 54 catches for 607 yards and two scores. It was his weakest stat line ever, but he was healthy and showed that he can still ball.

Right now, it doesn’t sound like the Cardinals will be circling back to Crabtree. The team has no plans to sign him, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears.

Raiders’ Nevin Lawson Suspended 4 Games

August 5th, 2019 at 8:51pm CST by Ben Levine

Raiders veteran Nevin Lawson has been slapped with a four-game suspension, the cornerback announced on Twitter.

“Despite being very cautious about what I put into my body, I discovered that a test determined that I ingested something that is on the NFL’s banned substance list,” Lawson said in the statement. “Specifically, the substance is Ostarine, which I have never knowingly taken.

“Unfortunately, it does not matter, as I am responsible for knowing every single ingredient that goes into my body, and I apparently failed in this regard. This disappointing and temporary setback says nothing about my constant drive and daily commitment to be a better player and human being, a priority of mine which will continue for the rest of my life.”

The 2014 fourth-round pick out of Utah State spent the first five seasons of his career with the Lions, including a 2018 campaign where he finished with 53 tackles, one sack, and five passes defended. The 28-year-old averaged 15 starts per season between 2016 and 2018, but he hasn’t snagged a single interception in more than 3,000 career snaps.

Detroit determined that they couldn’t stomach his salary, and he was cut by the team back in March. He quickly caught on with the Raiders, where he’s expected to play a reserve role behind Daryl Worley and Gareon Conley. Lawson has the ability to play both outside cornerback and in the slot, so there should be a role for him when he returns from his suspension.

Injury Notes: Wagner, Sheard, Cardinals

August 5th, 2019 at 8:18pm CST by Ben Levine

There’s some relatively good news on the injury front out of Denver. Mike Klis of 9News in Denver tweets that Broncos special teams ace Joe Jones won’t need surgery for a partially torn tricep. Still, the injury will keep the 25-year-old off the field for several weeks. Jones suffered the injury during his team’s preseason victory over the Falcons.

While Jones is known for his special teams prowess, the team could have used him for preseason linebacker depth. As The Athletic’s Nicki Jhabvala points out on Twitter, Todd Davis is currently sidelined with a calf injury, and teammate Josey Jewell got examined today after he “tweaked his side.”

As a result of all the injuries, the team’s current depth at inside linebacker is down to four players: Alexander Johnson, Keishawn Bierria, Josh Watson and Joe Dineen.

Let’s take a look at some more injury notes from around the NFL…

  • Seahawks coach Pete Carroll seemed to imply that Bobby Wagner had undergone some kind of procedure, as ESPN’s Brady Henderson writes. Carroll told reporters that the linebacker is “going to get a little break here just to get right,” although he didn’t specify where on the body the treatment took place. Wagner apparently had the procedure completed now so he could make it back to the field by the end of the preseason. The 29-year-old inked a three-year, $54MM deal early in training camp.
  • Colts defensive end Jabaal Sheard recently underwent a knee procedure that will keep him out indefinitely, writes Mike Chappell of CBS 4 in Indy. The 30-year-old was seen at the first day of practice in late July, but swelling in his knee has sidelined him since. Sheard started all 32 games for the Colts over the past two seasons, including a 2018 campaign where he had 50 tackles and 5.5 sacks. Al-Quadin Muhammad will take on a bigger role with Sheard on the shelf.
  • Cardinals right tackle Marcus Gilbert left today’s practice with an injury, tweets ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss. This further depleted the team’s offensive line corps, as left guard Justin Pugh and left tackle D.J. Humphries are both out of practice. Korey Cunningham and Rees Odhiambo have slid up the depth chart for the time being.

Cowboys Sign S Tyvis Powell

August 5th, 2019 at 7:18pm CST by Ben Levine

Tyvis Powell has found another gig. Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com writes that the safety will be signing with the Cowboys. The team opened up a roster spot earlier today after waiving tight end Rico Gathers.

It’s been a busy few weeks for Powell, a 2016 undrafted free agent out of Ohio State. The 25-year-old signed with the Texans in late July, but he was cut by the organization this past weekend. The 25-year-old has appeared in 18 career games, including seven this past season with the 49ers. He finished 2018 with six tackles and one forced fumble.

The defensive back has bounced between five different teams (including separate stints with the 49ers) over his three years in the league. Fortunately, he has some familiarity with some in the Cowboys organization; he was a teammate of Ezekiel Elliott back in college, and he played under defensive passing game coordinator Kris Richard in Seattle.

Powell wasn’t the only player to audition for the Cowboys today. According to Calvin Watkins of the Dallas News (via Twitter), the team also worked out offensive tackle Brian Wallace and cornerback Channing Stribling.

Cowboys Waive TE Rico Gathers

August 5th, 2019 at 6:18pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Cowboys are ending their Rico Gathers experiment. The team made the decision to waive the former Baylor basketball player-turned-tight end on Monday.

Gathers received a one-game suspension earlier this offseason. Although Gathers saw action in just 15 games in one season (2018), the 25-year-old spent four offseasons with the Cowboys. Dallas drafted Gathers in the 2016 sixth round and attempted to develop him. Gathers finished last season with three receptions for 45 yards.

An ankle injury limited Gathers during his fourth Cowboys camp, and the Dallas tight end situation obviously changed in recent months. Jason Witten is now back on the team; Gathers did not see any game action during Witten’s previous run with the team.

Younger tight ends Blake Jarwin and Dalton Schultz are expected to make the Cowboys’ 53-man roster, leaving Gathers without a surefire role. Prior to the Cowboys investing a sixth-round pick in the college hoops standout, Gathers had not played organized football since middle school.

Cardinals To Sign Michael Crabtree

August 5th, 2019 at 5:45pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Cardinals will add another veteran to their receiving corps. Michael Crabtree intends to sign with the team, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports (on Twitter). This comes after Crabtree worked out for the Cardinals on Monday.

Other than Larry Fitzgerald, the Cardinals have one of the youngest receiving groups in the NFL. They employ second-year man Christian Kirk and three draft choices as key components of Kliff Kingsbury‘s first aerial group. The team guided by the former Texas Tech coach will add a former Texas Tech star. Although Kingsbury and Crabtree’s Lubbock, Texas, tenures did not overlap, the 11th-year receiver is obviously a notable addition. Crabtree did play under Mike Leach at Texas Tech, doing so after Leach had coached Kingsbury a few years prior.

Oddly, next to nothing transpired on the Crabtree front this offseason. The Ravens released Crabtree in late February; this is the first piece of news involving the 31-year-old pass catcher since. And with the Cards having re-signed Fitzgerald and invested three draft choices in wideouts this year, to go along with 2018 second-rounder Kirk, this makes for an interesting landing spot.

Crabtree spent only one season in Baltimore, hauling in 54 passes for 607 yards and three touchdowns. However, the veteran was on pace for a better 2018 showing had Joe Flacco remained as the team’s quarterback. Both Crabtree and John Brown‘s numbers took a hit when Lamar Jackson (and a new run-heavy offense) took over. Crabtree posted five 50-plus-yard games in the Ravens’ Flacco setup and zero under Jackson.

The former 49ers draft choice surpassed 900 yards for the 2015 and ’16 Raiders. Crabtree’s best year came in 2012, when he posted 1,105 yards and nine touchdowns in San Francisco. While Crabtree may be a bit past his prime, he still represents an interesting piece for Kingsbury’s first NFL offense.

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