2019 September - Pro Football Rumors

A.J. Green To Miss More Games

September 30th, 2019 at 8:21am CST by Zachary Links

The Bengals will have to wait a little bit longer to get A.J. Green back on the field. The Bengals’ star wide receiver will miss at least another two weeks as he recovers from his ankle injury, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com hears.

The Bengals opted against placing Green on injured reserve this year, believing that he would be able to return sooner than the mandatory eight weeks. It sounds like Green can still beat the half-season timetable, though he might cut it close. The Bengals are already four weeks into the season and Green will not be able to take the field until Week 7, at the earliest.

There’s also this to consider – the Bengals have a Week 9 bye, so there might be wisdom in holding Green out for a bit longer. At minimum, Green will be absent for tonight’s game against the Steelers, next week against the Cardinals, and the following contest against the Ravens. After that, Green will be re-evaluated to find out whether he can play against the Jaguars on October 20.

Green may also want to take his personal football future and finances into consideration. The two sides were unable to reach agreement on a contract extension this offseason, meaning that he is still ticketed for free agency in March.

Green, one of the game’s most talented wide receivers, finished out 2018 with career low totals of 46 grabs for 694 yards. Without Green, the Bengals are 0-3 thus far in 2019.

Redskins Tight-Lipped On QB Situation

September 29th, 2019 at 9:39pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Dwayne Haskins finally made his highly anticipated NFL debut earlier Sunday, coming on in relief of Case Keenum in the Redskins’ loss to the Giants. Even though head coach Jay Gruden made the decision to bench Keenum, somehow the quarterback situation has gotten even less clear heading into Week 5.

Speaking after the game, Gruden said that Keenum’s foot injury factored into his decision to pull him, according to Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com. Gruden also declined to name a starter for next week’s game against the Patriots. While that’s not too unusual, there are huge implications here. Reports of dysfunction in the building have been rapidly leaking out, as Gruden’s relationship with owner Dan Snyder and team president Bruce Allen has apparently deteriorated.

We also just heard that Gruden and the coaching staff thought Haskins would be better off redshirting his entire rookie year, so it sure sounds like his hand was forced by management. It was reported before the game that Haskins would relieve Keenum if he struggled, so it wasn’t a huge surprise. Haskins struggled mightily in his debut and threw three interceptions, and Gruden didn’t sound too enthusiastic about having to play him.

As such, it seems like there’s a real chance the team could go back to Keenum, especially with Gruden saying the foot injury played a part. However, Gruden might not get the chance to make the call. Just yesterday it was reported that Gruden could be fired by the team if they lost to the Giants, which they obviously did in ugly fashion.

There’s also a possibility that Colt McCoy could take over under center after Haskins’ disastrous performance. McCoy was listed as the team’s starter earlier in the offseason, but his recovery from a 2018 leg injury kept him sidelined until just recently. McCoy returned to practice this past week, and could get a crack at the starting job given the state of his competition. If Gruden is going to be fired, then it would likely happen tomorrow.

Raiders’ Jordan Devey Done For The Year

September 29th, 2019 at 8:52pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The interior of the Raiders’ offensive line just suffered another blow. Right guard Jordan Devey tore his pec and will miss the rest of the season, head coach Jon Gruden announced after the team’s victory over the Colts, per Josh Schrock of NBC Sports Bay Area.

Devey has started each of the team’s first four games, filling in for injured starter Gabe Jackson. Oakland has been thin on the interior for a while, as left guard Richie Incognito was suspended for the first two games of the season and Jackson got hurt in training camp. Gruden told reporters that the team expects Jackson, one of the league’s highest-paid guards, to return in Week 7 following the team’s bye week.

That means they’ll need a new replacement for at least one more week. Denzelle Good filled in for Devey after he went down against the Colts, and will likely start in London next week against Chicago. Devey originally entered the league as an undrafted free agent back in 2013. He had stints with the Ravens, Patriots, 49ers, and Chiefs before signing a one-year deal with Oakland back in March. For his career, he’s made 42 appearances and 20 starts.

Injury Updates: Trubisky, Smith, Hockenson, Allen, Ingram, Mack, Stills

September 29th, 2019 at 8:26pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Perhaps the most significant injury of Week 4 afternoon games was Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky going down. Trubisky went down hard on his left shoulder, and was quickly ruled out before returning to the sideline with his arm in a sling. Bears coach Matt Nagy didn’t offer many details after the game, but he said he didn’t expect the injury to be season-ending, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link). While it certainly could be worse, that does seem to suggest that the Bears expect Trubisky to miss at least a little time. Chase Daniel will fill in under center.

Here are more injury updates from around the league:

Bears linebacker Roquan Smith was surprisingly inactive for the team’s win over the Vikings, and Nagy said after the game Smith’s absence was for personal reasons, Pelissero tweets. Nagy wouldn’t elaborate and wouldn’t say whether Smith’s personal issue would extend beyond this week. This will be something to monitor, as Smith is a key part of Chicago’s defense.
Lions rookie tight end T.J. Hockenson took a hard hit in Detroit’s loss to the Chiefs, and was ruled out with a concussion. The Lions drafted Hockenson eighth overall back in April, and he’s shown a lot of promise in the first few games. He had three catches and a touchdown before going down against Kansas City, and is a big part of Detroit’s passing game. Hopefully he’ll be able to get cleared in time for Week 5.
Speaking of concussions, Bills quarterback Josh Allen suffered one on a brutal hit in Buffalo’s loss to the Patriots. He was ruled out for the remainder of the game and if he can’t get cleared by next week, Matt Barkley will be under center. Allen was struggling before getting hurt and had thrown three interceptions, but Barkley wasn’t much better in relief.
The Chargers’ injuries continued to pile up, as star pass-rusher Melvin Ingram left their game against the Dolphins and was quickly ruled out with a hamstring injury. Los Angeles was already one of the most banged up teams in the league, so this was the last thing they needed. Head coach Anthony Lynn said after the game that Ingram pulled a hamstring and they didn’t know how long he’d be out, according to a tweet from Eric D. Williams of ESPN.com.
Colts running back Marlon Mack tweaked his ankle, but it doesn’t seem serious. Mack only had two carries in the second half, but he said after the game it was just “coach’s decision” to hold him out and that he expects to be fine for Indy’s Week 5 game against the Chiefs, according to Charlie Clifford of WISH 8 (Twitter link).
Texans receiver Kenny Stills left his team’s loss to the Panthers with a hamstring injury, but it’s unclear how severe it is. After the game, head coach Bill O’Brien said the team would have to wait until Monday to determine the severity, per a tweet from Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. Stills would be a big loss, but Houston would still have a very solid receiving corp in Will Fuller, DeAndre Hopkins, and Keke Coutee without him.

Giants Fear Ryan Connelly Tore ACL

September 29th, 2019 at 6:56pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Ryan Connelly‘s promising time as a starter appears to have ended in devastating fashion. The Giants fear the rookie linebacker tore his ACL in their win over the Redskins, a source told Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.

It isn’t official yet but since field tests for ACL tears are extremely accurate, he almost certainly is out for the season. It’s a really tough blow for New York, as they’re already quite thin at linebacker. Alec Ogletree and Tae Davis both are dealing with injuries at the moment, which thrust Connelly into the starting role. Connelly was playing really well before going down, notching a sack and an interception.

He also had an interception in their win over the Buccaneers last week, and was looking like a potential key piece of the defense moving forward. The Giants drafted Connelly in the fifth round, 143rd overall, back in April. New York has been rejuvenated by the insertion of rookie quarterback Daniel Jones, and they now sit at 2-2. They’re right back in the thick of things, but the defense is now very banged up.

Chargers TE Sean Culkin Tears Achilles

September 29th, 2019 at 6:02pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Chargers’ depth took yet another blow during their win over the Dolphins on Sunday. After the game, head coach Anthony Lynn announced that tight end Sean Culkin had torn his Achilles.

Obviously, he’ll miss the rest of the season. Due to injuries Culkin had been thrust into a pretty big role, playing 58 percent of the team’s offensive snaps last week against Houston. He had one catch for 12 yards against the Dolphins before going down. Culkin originally entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Missouri back in 2017. With Culkin out for the year, the Chargers’ tight ends room is now extremely thin.

Starter Hunter Henry is still at least a couple of weeks away with his knee injury, and normal backup Virgil Green missed the Miami game with a groin injury. Los Angeles recently signed veteran Lance Kendricks, and he’s now the only healthy tight end on the roster. Naturally, people will start buzzing about Antonio Gates, but the Chargers have resisted any talk of a reunion up to this point.

Steelers Notes: McDonald, Moncrief, Grimble

September 29th, 2019 at 11:42am CST by Rory Parks

Let’s take a quick look at the latest out of Pittsburgh:

The Steelers’ trade for tight end Nick Vannett earlier this week led to some concern over the long-term health of fellow TE Vance McDonald, who is dealing with a shoulder injury. However, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the team is not worried about McDonald’s shoulder and simply wanted to bolster the talent at the tight end position (Twitter link). McDonald is officially listed as doubtful for Pittsburgh’s Monday night matchup against the Bengals.
After dropping five passes in the Steelers’ first two games of the season, veteran wideout Donte Moncrief was benched for last week’s loss to San Francisco. Mark Kaboly of The Athletic tweets that Moncrief, who signed a two-year, $9MM pact with Pittsburgh in March, has been officially demoted to the third-string WR unit.
Tight end Xavier Grimble was placed on IR earlier this week, and Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com says Grimble sustained a torn calf muscle (Twitter link). Grimble played through the pain in San Francisco, but the team has decided to shut him down.
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger underwent elbow surgery earlier this week and is expected to make a full recovery well before the 2020 regular season gets underway.
The Steelers further bolstered their TE corps by signing Alize Mack to the taxi squad.

‘Huge Surprise’ If Dak Prescott Signs Extension Soon?

September 29th, 2019 at 10:21am CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Just a few weeks ago, it looked like Dak Prescott was going to sign an extension with the Cowboys very soon. Dallas’ owner Jerry Jones went so far as to call a deal “imminent.” Only a week later we heard that talks had stalled a little bit, and now we have further confirmation of that.

It would be a “huge surprise” if something got done in the near future, a source told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (video link), who reports he’s getting “strong indications” that nothing is close. Fowler has been told that Prescott is “willing to wait this out,” and is in no rush to sign an extension. Adam Schefter of ESPN.com confirms that no extension is expected in the near future. Prescott has been playing the best ball of his career and has all the leverage right now, so that’s not too surprising.

Since Prescott wasn’t a first-round pick like fellow 2016 draft class passers Carson Wentz and Jared Goff, he had no fifth-year option in his contract and is set to become an unrestricted free agent in March. The Cowboys could of course always franchise tag him if they can’t work something out, but that would be less than ideal.

The Jones family has been adamant all along that a deal will get done, but Prescott and his representatives are clearly playing hardball in negotiations. The Cowboys finally managed to lock up Ezekiel Elliott right before the start of the season, but are at an impasse with Prescott and top receiver Amari Cooper. Cooper is reportedly content to play out his contract and become a free agent, and it looks like both will be without new deals for a while. The lack of progress clearly isn’t hurting Dallas’ on-field product, as they’ve raced out to a 3-0 record.

Antonio Brown To File Up To Nine Grievances/Appeals

September 29th, 2019 at 10:01am CST by Rory Parks

The Antonio Brown news machine keeps chugging along. Per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, Brown is poised to file up to nine grievances/appeals, which would be a league-record number of filings generated from one season for one player (though as Mark Maske of the Washington Post tweets, no grievance has been filed yet).

Schefter helpfully summarizes the potential filings as follows:

• Fine appeals with the Raiders: $215K

• Salary guarantees with the Raiders : $29MM

• Signing bonus with the Raiders: $1MM

• Unpaid Week 1 salary from the Raiders: $860K

• Salary guarantees with the Patriots: $1MM

• Signing bonus with the Patriots: $9MM

• Unpaid Week 3 salary from the Patriots: $64K

• 2020 option year with the Patriots: $20MM

• Potential appeal of NFL suspension

The consensus seems to be that Brown is likely to win his grievance against the Patriots for the $9MM signing bonus. However, as Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports confirms, that matter will probably not be resolved until 2020.

The NFL’s investigation into accusations of sexual assault/misconduct levied against Brown by two different women is ongoing. Despite reports that teams remain interested in Brown — reports championed by Brown’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus — Brown himself has indicated that he is done with the NFL, and he recently enrolled in online classes at Central Michigan University.

Cardinals Undecided On D.J. Humphries Extension

September 29th, 2019 at 9:42am CST by Rory Parks

Cardinals left tackle D.J. Humphries is playing out the fifth-year option of his rookie contract and will be eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2020. But even though Humphries has opened each of the past three seasons as Arizona’s starting LT, Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic writes that the Cards are undecided as to whether they will attempt to retain the Florida product long-term.

Humphries did not play a single snap in 2015, his rookie season, and then-head coach Bruce Arians criticized Humphries for his work ethic and commitment. Somers notes that no one doubts Humphries’ dedication at this point, and Humphries has played well in stretches, but he has not been able to consistently sustain a high level of play.

He has also been unable to stay healthy, having not played a full season of football since his freshman year of college. And, given the level of compensation that even league-average LTs are making these days — Somers estimates that Humphries would earn at least $12MM per year on the open market — the Cardinals’ reluctance to engage in extension talks is understandable.

When asked about Humphries’ performance this season, new head coach Kliff Kingsbury was non-committal. Kingsbury said that Humphries is “continuing to improve, and that’s what we’ve asked of him. We just have to keep him coming. He’s still getting comfortable in our system, and we’re getting comfortable with him, but I like what I’ve seen so far.”

One way or another, the Cardinals will have to invest either big money or premium draft capital into the left tackle position in 2020. For his part, Humphries is trying not to think too much about it.

“Thinking about it is not going to do anything for you,” Humphries said. “You can think all day about a paycheck — it’s still not Friday. Friday is going to come when it comes. It’s inevitable, if you’re working all week like you’re supposed to, Friday is inevitable.”