2019 September - Pro Football Rumors

Cardinals Release Michael Crabtree

September 23rd, 2019 at 4:08pm CST by Zachary Links

The on-again, off-again saga between the Cardinals and Michael Crabtree is off. Again. On Monday, the Cardinals announced the release of the veteran wide receiver.

Crabtree’s run in red lasted just three games and two appearances (he was inactive Week 1 against the Lions). Initially, he was set to be a veteran security blanket for Kyler Murray, but he never synced with the offense. Meanwhile, Damiere Byrd and KeeSean Johnson have stepped up their respective games.

The Cardinals can probably stand pat at WR since they had seven receivers active for their loss against the Panthers. Still, they’ll lose out on some cash here as Crabtree’s $500K signing bonus and $1.75MM salary were both locked in.

Crabtree, 32, posted just 54 receptions off of 100 targets with Baltimore last year. He’s still looking to reprise his best work from previous years, including his 1,000-yard season with the Raiders in 2016.

Eagles’ Ronald Darby To Miss Time

September 23rd, 2019 at 4:02pm CST by Zachary Links

The 1-2 Eagles will try to fly without Ronald Darby for a little while. The cornerback suffered a hamstring injury on Sunday and is expected to miss at least a few games, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. Meanwhile, based on what Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter) is hearing, he wouldn’t be surprised if Darby misses “about a month or so.”

The Eagles will need all of the defensive firepower they can get, particularly if their offensive woes continue. If they’re willing to get aggressive – and Howie Roseman usually is – there’s a cornerback by the name of Jalen Ramsey who is on the trade block.

Darby, 25, registered four interceptions across 17 games for the Eagles in 2017 and 2018. Before the injury bug bit him yet again, he added another INT to the resume in Week 2 against the Falcons.

Bills’ Harrison Phillips Done For Year

September 23rd, 2019 at 3:38pm CST by Zachary Links

Bills defensive tackle Harrison Phillips is done for the year with a torn ACL, as ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano tweets. The Bills will place Phillips on IR, opening up another spot on the roster.

Phillips played 26 of 61 snaps against the Bengals on Sunday, but did not record an official statistic. In Week 2, he was credited with half a sack.

The Bills figure to see even more snaps out of Star Lotulelei and Jordan Phillips without H. Phillips around, and one of Kyle Peko or Vincent Taylor figure to be promoted from the taxi squad.

Antonio Brown Heads Back To School

September 23rd, 2019 at 1:35pm CST by Zachary Links

Antonio Brown has enrolled in online classes with the hopes of earning his degree at Central Michigan University, per an announcement from the wide receiver. Brown previously spent three years at Central Michigan, but left before earning his degree.

After Brown was alleged to have contacted his second accuser, the Patriots decided they were done with him. After that, Brown said he was done with the NFL. Effectively, this could be a spin on the old, “You can’t fire me, because I quit!” – it seems unlikely that Brown was going to find employment again in the NFL, at least in 2019.

Of course, things could always change if Brown has a change of heart and the ugly accusations against him are shown to have a lack of merit. For now, Brown intends to take four online courses: Introduction to Management, Technical Writing, Death and Dying (a religion course), and Racism and Equality (sociology).

Giants’ Saquon Barkley To Miss 4-8 Weeks

September 23rd, 2019 at 12:15pm CST by Zachary Links

Giants running back Saquon Barkley could miss anywhere from 4-8 weeks, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Right now, the longer timeline is considered more likely, given the nature of his high ankle sprain and the timing of the Giants’ bye.

The Giants will have off in Week 11, so the smarter play for the G-Men might be to give the young star a full two months to recuperate. In the interim, Wayne Gallman figures to take over as the team’s primary back. He’s not on Barkley’s level, but Gallman does have a career 4.0 yards per carry average to his credit. Gallman might also benefit from the additional running threat that new starter Daniel Jones provides.

Meanwhile, Barkley is intent on getting back on the field ASAP.

“I’m not out for the season,” Barkley said on Sunday. “I’m going to do whatever I can to get back as quickly as possible.”

Barkley, 22, averaged 5.0 yards per tote last year and also caught 91 passes for 721 yards. At minimum, he’ll miss contests against the Redskins, Vikings, Patriots, and Cardinals.

Colts’ Malik Hooker To Miss 4-6 Weeks

September 23rd, 2019 at 12:06pm CST by Zachary Links

Colts safety Malik Hooker will be out for 4-6 weeks with a torn meniscus, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. For now, the club will turn to fourth-round rookie Khari Willis.

It’s a tough blow to the Colts’ secondary, but they might be able to survive without him as they ride a two game winning streak. Regardless, his toughness will be missed – Hooker actually re-entered after suffering the injury against the Falcons and finished the game.

Next up for the Colts, sans Hooker – a Week 4 matchup against the Raiders in Indianapolis. After that, they’ll face the Chiefs, Texans, Broncos, Steelers, and Dolphins.

Hooker graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 14 overall safety last season, a marketed improvement from his seven-game rookie slate. So far this year, he has one interception and ten tackles through three games.

Panthers’ Cam Newton Won’t Play Vs. Texans

September 23rd, 2019 at 11:15am CST by Zachary Links

Cam Newton‘s absence will continue. On Monday head coach Ron Rivera announced that Newton will not be on the field when the Panthers face the Texans on Sunday.

“We want him at 100% when he’s ready, so there’s no exact timetable for his return,” Rivera said.

Newton was unable to join the Panthers for Week Three against the Cardinals, but backup Kyle Allen was still able to guide them to victory over the Cardinals. The no-Newton decision was made late in the week, so its perhaps telling that Newton has been ruled out days in advance of the club’s Week Four matchup.

The Cardinals aren’t world beaters, but Allen certainly held his own by completing 19-of-26 passes for 261 yards and four scores. In a perfect world, the Panthers would love to have a healthy Newton starting under center, but this is not a perfect world, and Newton has not appeared to be fully healthy in quite some time.

Jaguars’ Jalen Ramsey Still Wants Trade

September 23rd, 2019 at 8:29am CST by Zachary Links

If you’re playing hookie from work today, you’re not alone. Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey says he will not practice today, or perhaps anytime this week, due to having the flu, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The Pro Bowler, he hears, still wants a trade, though the Jaguars still want to keep him.

Things seemed to be trending in a positive direction late last week – Jags owner Shad Khan reportedly is willing to make Ramsey the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL and the team has made an effort to smooth things over with the soon-to-be 25-year-old. However, things haven’t changed on the other side of the table. Ramsey still wants to be elsewhere, even after helping his team to a Thursday night win over the Titans.

The Chiefs, some say, will make a strong push for Ramsey. They won’t be alone – nearly every team in the league wants to acquire the superstar defender.

Extra Points: Newton, Barkley, Edelman

September 22nd, 2019 at 9:34pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Panthers’ season got off to a disastrous start, as the team limped out to an 0-2 record and Cam Newton re-injured himself. It looked like they were quickly circling the drain, and then Kyle Allen happened. Allen was nearly perfect starting in place of Newton, averaging ten yards per attempt and tossing four touchdowns while leading Carolina to a road win over Arizona. Allen’s performance was so strong, that it sparked some talk of a potential quarterback controversy.

Speaking after the game Panthers head coach Ron Rivera said the starting job is still Newton’s when he’s healthy but that right now they’re “rolling” with Allen, per Joseph Person of The Athletic (Twitter link). Newton won’t be getting benched, but Rivera’s comments don’t exactly inspire confidence that he’ll be back soon. Newton aggravated a foot injury he suffered during the preseason, and his throwing shoulder which he underwent surgery on this offseason hasn’t looked 100 percent either. It’ll be very interesting too see what happens next, but with Allen’s emergence it appears Carolina’s quarterback situation isn’t as dire as it originally seemed.

Here’s more from around the league:

We’ve heard that Giants running back Saquon Barkley has suffered a high ankle sprain and is going to miss some time, and now we have Barkley’s thoughts on his injury. “I’m not out for the season,” Barkley said, via Matt Lombardo of NJ.com. “I’m going to do whatever I can to get back as quickly as possible.” Barkley told Jordan Ranaan of ESPN.com that he had a high ankle sprain his freshman year at Penn State, and that he only missed two games with that injury (Twitter link). Right now two missed games would probably be a best-case scenario.
Patriots receiver Julian Edelman was knocked out of New England’s win over the Jets with a rib injury, but fortunately it doesn’t seem too serious. X-Rays on his ribs were negative, sources told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). Rapoport writes that it’s an “early positive sign,” which would seem to suggest he isn’t completely out of the woods yet. In the wake of Antonio Brown‘s release, the Patriots’ receiving corp would suddenly go from loaded to a bit thin if Edelman has to miss any time.
In case you missed it, Redskins tight end Jordan Reed‘s career is in doubt.

Three Teams Were Interested In Antonio Brown

September 22nd, 2019 at 8:11pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

In Antonio Brown‘s latest outburst earlier this morning, he declared that he was done playing in the NFL. He also fired off several other bizarre tweets, lashing out at Robert Kraft and Ben Roethlisberger.

Brown’s agent Drew Rosenhaus had said just yesterday that a few teams were interested in his client, and now we have a little more clarity on that. Three teams were probing around the controversial receiver, a source told Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. Obviously, Brown’s Twitter tirade complicates things, and it’s probably unlikely that all three of those teams are still interested. Notably, Brown has deleted most of his tweets from earlier this morning, although you can still read them at our original post here.

Despite his public proclamations, Florio writes that “it’s believed that Brown eventually will want to return to the NFL,” which is hardly surprising. Brown’s latest antics surely aren’t going to help him find a job, and it’s looking more and more likely that we won’t see Brown on the field again in 2019. If any team does eventually decide to sign him, it’ll certainly be a low-risk prove-it deal that doesn’t guarantee Brown much, if anything at all.