2019 September - Pro Football Rumors

Pat Shurmur Non-Committal On Giants’ Week 3 Starting QB

September 16th, 2019 at 4:45pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Eli Manning era may be on the verge of concluding in New York. After saying Sunday the prospect of Daniel Jones taking over at quarterback was not a conversation he was ready to have, Giants coach Pat Shurmur said (via Ralph Vacchiano of SNY) “it’s fair” to have it now.

“He’s been our starter to this point. I’m not ready to talk about that,” Shurmur said of the Giants’ QB1 job Monday, via NFL.com’s Kimberly Jones (on Twitter).

He has not named his starter for Week 3 against the Buccaneers, inviting obvious speculation the 0-2 Giants will turn to Jones this week. The franchise’s previous plan was to start Manning while the team was still contending for the playoffs, but with the Giants opening the season with back-to-back losses by double digits, the organizational tone may be shifting.

Stripped of his top two wide receivers, Sterling Shepard and Golden Tate, Manning struggled against the Bills’ high-end defense. The Giants opened the season with a 35-17 loss to the Cowboys. New York’s defense, which did not get the Josh Allen reinforcement at edge defender Dave Gettleman strongly considered, ranks 29th in points and 28th in yards through two games.

Shurmur added he will certainly be “in the middle of” the team’s decision-making process on Manning, attempting to halt speculation this decision wouldn’t be his to make. Gettleman has said in the past Shurmur will make the call. Predecessor Ben McAdoo benched Manning for a December 2017 game and was fired, along with GM Jerry Reese. Manning has started every Giants game since, upping his career start total to 232 — seventh-most in NFL history by a quarterback.

Chargers To Place Adrian Phillips On IR

September 16th, 2019 at 3:48pm CST by Sam Robinson

Adrian Phillips will join Derwin James on the Chargers’ IR list. The Bolts will place Phillips on IR, Anthony Lynn confirmed, shelving the recently re-signed safety for at least eight weeks.

Phillips suffered a broken forearm in Sunday’s loss to the Lions. The Chargers can bring back both players from IR, but James will obviously reside atop this figurative queue. Phillips’ status will likely depend on how the Bolts’ injury situation looks at the midseason point, though Lynn did confirm the sixth-year player will be an IR-return candidate, per ESPN.com’s Eric Williams (on Twitter).

Phillips earned his first career Pro Bowl nod last year, and the Bolts were excited to see what the hybrid safety/linebacker could do in 2019. Instead, they’re down two key defenders as they head into Week 3 against the Texans. A part-time starter in five previous Bolts slates, Phillips opened this season with the first unit in both games.

Los Angeles will be down to Rayshawn Jenkins, second-round pick Nasir Adderley and Jaylen Watkins at safety for the time being.

Browns Place Drew Stanton On IR

September 16th, 2019 at 3:40pm CST by Sam Robinson

Sunday marked a rough day for high-profile starting quarterbacks, sending less seasoned backups into the fray. Browns backup quarterback Drew Stanton has made more career starts than Baker Mayfield, but the team will boast far less experience at its signal-caller spot going forward.

The Browns placed Stanton on IR Monday, using his roster spot to sign running back Elijah McGuire. Stanton is dealing with a knee injury and will now be out a minimum of eight weeks.

The only other quarterback on Cleveland’s active roster at present is Garrett Gilbert, a 2014 sixth-round pick who has played in just one regular-season game. Gilbert played in the Alliance of American Football this year and signed with the Browns in April.

Gilbert played well during the Browns’ preseason slate, but Freddie Kitchens squashed any idea he would usurp Stanton. Gilbert went to the same high school as Mayfield (Lake Travis in Austin, Texas) and played for Texas and SMU in college. He will now be the primary backup to Mayfield, though the Browns could obviously opt to pursue a better-known option while Stanton is out.

Teams can bring two players off IR each season. The Browns do not have any high-profile players on IR yet, so Stanton could be a candidate to re-emerge on the roster later this season.

Adam Vinatieri To Remain Colts’ Kicker

September 16th, 2019 at 3:12pm CST by Sam Robinson

Adam Vinatieri has struggled to start his 24th NFL season, missing three extra points and two field goals in the Colts’ two games. Rumors of a possible Monday retirement announcement surfaced, but that will not take place.

The 46-year-old kicking icon will remain the Colts’ kicker for Week 3, Frank Reich confirmed. “Adam’s our kicker. … He’s an instrumental leader on our team,” Reich said, per the Indianapolis Star’s Joel Erickson (on Twitter).

Reich and Vinatieri met Monday, and the future Hall of Famer will be given another chance. Jim Irsay expressed concern about Vinatieri on Sunday, but the Colts are standing by their kicker of the past 14 seasons. The Colts lost 30-24 in overtime to the Chargers in Week 1, after Vinatieri’s three misses, and narrowly edged the Titans 19-17 after Vinatieri’s two PAT misfires.

Last season, Vinatieri hit 23 of 27 field goals and 44 of 47 extra points. He will need to bounce back quickly to head toward those benchmarks (or finish the season as a Colt). Reich said Chris Ballard will decide whether or not additional kickers are brought in to work out, per Erickson (on Twitter).

NFL Expected To Interview Marquise Brown

September 16th, 2019 at 2:54pm CST by Sam Robinson

The unnamed player present when Antonio Brown committed an alleged sexual assault was Ravens rookie Marquise Brown, the cousin of the Patriots’ All-Pro receiver, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports. The younger Brown is expected to be interviewed as part of the NFL’s investigation into Britney Taylor’s allegations against Antonio Brown.

Marquise Brown does not face any accusations, but he is the player that was present during one of his cousin’s alleged assaults perpetrated against Taylor in May 2018. Marquise Brown is expected to support his cousin’s stance that no such act occurred, Florio adds. Taylor was scheduled to meet with the NFL on Monday.

“That’s not going to be a distraction,” John Harbaugh said, via Jamison Hensley of ESPN (on Twitter). “Believe me, it’s the last thing on my mind right now. My focus is on football. If it comes to that, if there is something that needs to be done that way, we have people in the building who look at those things. If they do and I need to be involved in it, I certainly will be.”

Antonio Brown denied Taylor’s allegations and was not placed on the commissioner’s exempt list in advance of Sunday’s game in Miami. With this being a civil matter, the NFL was under no obligation to go in that direction. However, the scope of this situation may change this week after the respective testimonies of Taylor and Marquise Brown. It is not yet known when the latter will speak with the league on this matter.

Cowboys’ Michael Gallup To Miss Time

September 16th, 2019 at 2:00pm CST by Zachary Links

Cowboys wide receiver Michael Gallup is having arthroscopic surgery to trim his meniscus and will miss 2-4 weeks of action, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. Fortunately, he did not suffer any other structural damage, so he’s not looking at an extended absence.

At minimum, the Cowboys will be without Gallup for games against the Dolphins and Saints. Beyond that, he could be sidelined for Week 5 against the Packers and Week 6 against the Jets.

Gallup, a third-round pick in the 2018 draft, emerged last season with 33 catches for 507 yards and two scores. That was good for an average of 15.4 yards per catch, setting him up for a big year as a deep threat in Dallas’ offense. Big production could still be on the way, but he’ll have to put a pin in things after tallying 13 grabs for 226 yards through two weeks.

Without Gallup, Randall Cobb, Devin Smith, Cedrick Wilson, and Tavon Austin could see more targets as supporting cast members to Amari Cooper.

Chargers’ Adrian Phillips Out Indefinitely

September 16th, 2019 at 12:48pm CST by Zachary Links

More bad news for the Chargers’ secondary. Safety Adrian Phillips, who has been filling in for the injured Derwin James, suffered a broken forearm during Sunday’s loss to the Lions, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. He’s out indefinitely and the team will not have a clear read on his timetable until doctors take a closer look at his situation.

Phillips was rolling to start the season – he had six tackles against Detroit and posted eight in the Bolts’ 13-10 overtime win over the Colts in the opener. But, unfortunately, he cracked his arm while taking Kerryon Johnson down on Sunday. It’s possible that he can still return this season, but he’ll be out for several weeks, at minimum.

Phillips earned his first career Pro Bowl nod last year and the Bolts were excited to see what the hybrid safety/linebacker could do in 2019. Instead, they’re down two key defenders as they head into Week 3 against the Texans.

Meanwhile, they’re keeping their fingers crossed on starting cornerback Michael Davis, who missed Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury. If Jaylen Watkins is needed to take the place of Davis, then Desmond King may be called upon to cover for Phillips.

Eagles’ Timmy Jernigan To Miss Time

September 16th, 2019 at 11:21am CST by Zachary Links

Eagles defensive tackle Tim Jernigan will miss 4-6 weeks due to a broken foot, PFT’s Mike Florio (on Twitter) hears. Fortunately, Jernigan does not need surgery – an operation would have put his entire season in jeopardy.

It’s yet another blow to the Eagles’ defensive line. Just last week, the Birds lost Malik Jackson for the entire year.

Without Jernigan, the Eagles will need even more out of new pickup Akeem Spence. It’s also possible that they could reach out to old friend Chris Long, though Long would only serve to offer help on the bookends and not on the interior.

The Eagles declined Jernigan’s option in March but brought him back at what turned out to be a substantial discount. After signing a four-year, $48MM extension late in 2017, Jernigan had to settle for a one-year, $1.25MM deal.

The veteran will look to bounce back quickly from injury and capitalize on his opportunity in free agency next March.

Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger Done For Year

September 16th, 2019 at 10:55am CST by Zachary Links

The Steelers’ worst fears have been confirmed. On Monday morning, head coach Mike Tomlin announced that Ben Roethlisberger‘s season is over.

The quarterback was hoping to avoid surgery after suffering an elbow injury over the weekend, but doctors came back with bad news after looking at his scans. With that, Mason Rudolph now becomes the Steelers’ starting QB.

The Steelers traded Josh Dobbs to the Jaguars last week, leaving Rudolph as their only other signal caller on the roster. The club is now expected to promote Devlin Hodges from the practice squad to serve as Rudolph’s backup, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter).

Before this, Roethlisberger hadn’t missed a game due to injury since Week 7 of the 2016 season. Obviously, this wasn’t a good time for his luck to run out – the Steelers are 0-2 after being blown out by the Patriots in the season opener and Sunday’s tough loss to the Seahawks.

Roethlisberger might not have the support of former teammate Antonio Brown, but he was sharp in 2018 with career-highs in completions (452), pass attempts (675), passing yards (5,129), and touchdowns (34). He also started in all 16 games, something he hadn’t done since the 2014 campaign. Though, in the interest of equal time, we should mention that he also led the NFL with 16 interceptions.

Advanced metrics lauded Roethlisberger’s work as well, as he finished fourth in Total QBR and eighth in adjusted net yards per attempt. Meanwhile, Roethlisberger ranked fifth in Football Outsiders‘ DYAR, which measures value over a replacement level player, and eighth in DVOA, meaning he was effective on a per-play basis.

Thanks to the three-year extension he inked in the offseason, Roethlisberger is under contract through the 2021 season.

Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger To Miss Time?

September 16th, 2019 at 10:12am CST by Zachary Links

A decision is expected today on whether Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will need elbow surgery, league sources tell ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Big Ben, naturally, wants to avoid the operation, but that will ultimately be determined by medical professionals.

Roethlisberger has not missed a game due to injury since Week 7 of the 2016 season. He’s always been tough, durable, and able to play through the pain, but this injury probably sideline him for at least some time.

Surgery or no surgery, the Steelers figure to turn to Mason Rudolph as their starter beginning in Week 3. After Big Ben exited, Rudolph went 12-of-19 for 112 yards, two scores, and an INT.

This, of course, is the last thing the Steelers wanted. They’re 0-2 to start the year and, making matters worse, they’re waiting for word on the knee injury suffered by running back James Conner.