HEADLINES

Month: November 2024

Patriots Meet With OL Caleb Benenoch

September 12th, 2019 at 3:47pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Patriots have made several transactions on their offensive line over the past two weeks, and they continue to explore help on this front. They visited with recently waived guard Caleb Benenoch on Thursday, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter).

Benenoch was a 16-game Buccaneers starter at right guard last season, and he played in Tampa Bay’s Week 1 game. But the Bucs waived him Monday, and no one submitted a claim. The Bucs drafted Benenoch in the 2016 fifth round.

New England traded for Russell Bodine, Jermaine Eluemunor and Korey Cunningham recently, though the defending Super Bowl champions cut Bodine. The Pats also agreed to terms with veteran tackle Marshall Newhouse on Wednesday.

Latest On Antonio Brown, Patriots

September 12th, 2019 at 3:29pm CST by Sam Robinson

While the possibility of Antonio Brown landing on the commissioner’s exempt list remains, the Patriots are tentatively planning on playing their high-profile acquisition Sunday against the Dolphins, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link).

Brown practiced both Wednesday and Thursday and appears on track to make his Patriots debut in Miami. The league has not provided any indication a move barring Brown from playing will come by Sunday, per RapSheet.

The 31-year-old wide receiver has been accused of rape in civil court. The NFL plans to meet with the accuser, former Brown trainer Britney Taylor, next week. Taylor alleges Brown sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions. Brown has denied the accusations.

These allegations have marked the latest in an astounding run of drama for Brown this year. Neither the NFL nor the Patriots knew about this until Tuesday, per Yahoo.com’s Charles Robinson, who adds Roger Goodell and league brass have discussed how to proceed with Brown. While Robinson reports the NFL would like to move quickly on this, no decision on Brown’s Week 2 status has emerged two days after the allegations surfaced.

Brown’s guarantees are also indeed in jeopardy. After a Wednesday report surfaced about the Patriots being able to void the $9MM guarantee, Robinson confirms a clause pertaining to Brown potentially “undermining the public image of the club” would allow the team to do this. The Raiders voided Brown’s $29MM-plus in guarantees last week, leading to Brown’s Bay Area departure.

AFC South Rumors: Foles, Texans, Colts

September 12th, 2019 at 2:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

The current plan for Nick Foles involves a return in November. The Jaguars‘ high-priced free agent addition is out until at least Week 11 due to the broken clavicle he suffered Sunday, and Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com notes (via Twitter) Foles is loosely targeting that week for his return. This would be welcome news for the Jaguars, but they will have to get through eight games without their experienced passer. Gardner Minshew fared well against the Chiefs, completing 22 of 25 passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns, but he’s a sixth-round rookie. Jacksonville also traded a fifth-round pick for Josh Dobbs. These two represent the team’s quarterback options at this point.

Here is the latest from the AFC South:

  • Another avenue the reeling Jags took in an attempt to patch up their quarterback solution post-Foles involved a Texans passer. The Jaguars contacted then-Texans practice squad QB Alex McGough, presumably offering a roster spot, this week, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets. However, the Texans thwarted their division rival’s attempt by promoting McGough to their active roster. McGough now resides behind Deshaun Watson and A.J. McCarron.
  • Bill O’Brien called Nick Martin, who signed a three-year extension worth $33MM this week, “one of the leaders” of the Texans. “[Martin] is one of the leaders of our team, smart, tough, dependable,” the coach said (via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle). “Had to in the past deal with some injuries. Played good on Monday night, want him to be a Texan. We all felt like best move for Nick and our team.”
  • In extending Martin in advance of Week 2, the Texans deviated from recent regimes’ rule of no in-season extensions, Wilson notes. The GM-less franchise turned to senior VP of football administration Chris Olsen to finalize Martin’s deal. Previously, both Rick Smith and Brian Gaine avoided in-season re-ups.
  • Former Packers first-round pick Datone Jones remains on teams’ radars. The Colts worked out the defensive lineman this week. Jones has been on the in-week workout circuit for a bit now. He played in one Cowboys game last season and caught on with the Jaguars before camp. The 2013 first-rounder did not make the team but has now worked out for the Colts and Redskins this week.

Chris Crouse contributed to this report.

Jets’ Le’Veon Bell Undergoing MRI

September 12th, 2019 at 1:44pm CST by Zachary Links

Jets running back Le’Veon Bell is undergoing an MRI on his shoulder, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Between this, and other maladies suffered by key players, Gang Green is not off to a rollicking start in 2019. 

[RELATED: Jets’ Sam Darnold Won’t Play Vs. Browns]

Bell has been dealing with soreness in his shoulder and doctors fear that it may require more than just a couple days of rest. After the MRI, the team should have a clearer picture of when Bell will be able to suit up again.

Earlier today, the Jets also announced that Sam Darnold will miss Monday night’s game against the Browns after being diagnosed with mono. It’s possible that he could miss even more time than that, depending on how quickly he recovers.

On top of that, the Jets were without linebacker C.J. Mosley (groin) and Quinnen Williams (ankle) in practice on Thursday. Between all of those question marks, and season-ending injuries for wide receiver Quincy Enunwa and linebacker Avery Williamson, the Jets’ season already appears to be in peril.

Vikings Place Josh Doctson On IR

September 12th, 2019 at 12:51pm CST by Zachary Links

This could be a wrap on Josh Doctson‘s time with the Vikings. On Thursday, the Vikings placed the wide receiver on injured reserve.

[RELATED: Vikings Sign Josh Doctson]

The good news is that Doctson could heal up from his leg injury in time to return later this season. Of course, even if he does bounce back, it’s not a given that he’ll be activated during the season. Per league rules, teams can only bring two players back from IR each season. If there are more central players in the IR-DTR mix, Doctson could be left behind.

Doctson joined the Vikings last week after being cut by the Redskins at the end of August. He was inactive for last week’s win over Atlanta, so he may never get the chance to take the field for Minnesota.

Without Doctson, the Vikings’ WR group consists of Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs, Chad Beebe, and Olabisi Johnson. They will likely add a fifth WR this week.

Jets’ Sam Darnold Won’t Play Vs. Browns

September 12th, 2019 at 11:30am CST by Zachary Links

When the Jets take on the Browns on Monday night, they’ll be without starting quarterback Sam Darnold. Darnold will be held out as he recovers from mononucleosis, head coach Adam Gase announced. 

Darnold was held out of Wednesday’s practice this week with an undisclosed and previously undiagnosed illness. The illness was a bit more serious than first thought and, according to Gase, Darnold has lost a significant amount of weight as a result. It’s possible that Darnold will miss additional time, but the team should have a better read on his condition next week.

Without Darnold, the Jets will turn to Trevor Siemian as their Week 2 starter. To back him up, the club has promoted QB Luke Falk from the practice squad.

Siemian, 27, fared reasonably well as the 2016 Broncos’ starter, leading the team to a 9-7 record and throwing 18 touchdown passes against ten interceptions. In 2017, he rated as one of the NFL’s worst quarterbacks, prompting the Broncos to change course. The Jets inked him to a one-year deal this offseason to serve as Darnold’s safety net and he’ll be thrust into action as the club looks to reach .500.

Redskins’ Derrius Guice Out Indefinitely

September 12th, 2019 at 10:26am CST by Zachary Links

Redskins running back Derrius Guice will be out indefinitely thanks to his most recent knee injury, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets. The silver lining is that the injury is not on the same knee that cost Guice his entire rookie season. 

Guice had surgery on Thursday morning to repair his torn meniscus. Afterwards, Guice met with Dr. James to assess his recovery plans. In the meantime, Guice’s timetable for return remains murky. The belief, for now, is that he will miss somewhere between one month and six weeks of action.

Adrian Peterson wasn’t active for the Redskins’ season opener, but he is expected to take over Guice’s workload in the interim. The Redskins also have Chris Thompson on hand, though Thompson would probably be deployed as more of a pass-catcher out of the backfield.

Chargers Place Trevor Williams On IR

September 11th, 2019 at 9:26pm CST by PFR Staff

The Chargers swapped out cornerbacks Wednesday, signing Dontae Johnson and placing Trevor Williams on IR. Williams represents the latest injury loss for the again-malady-plagued Bolts.

Williams was looking to bounce back from an injury-riddled 2018 campaign, where he missed seven games due to a knee injury. The Chargers tendered Williams as an RFA back in March, but a quadriceps injury limited him and will force him to IR. A UDFA out of Penn State, Williams started 15 Chargers games in 2017.

The fourth-year defender must miss a minimum of eight games before potentially returning, though one of the Bolts’ two IR-return spots is essentially spoken for. Derwin James is expected to return at some point in the regular season’s second half.

A 2014 49ers fourth-round pick, Johnson spent four years in San Francisco. He played in 63 games (22 starts) for the 49ers and caught on with three teams — the Seahawks, Bills and Cardinals — last year but did not see game action. Johnson returned to the 49ers for camp this year, but despite a three-interception preseason, he did not make their 53-man roster.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/11/19

September 11th, 2019 at 8:26pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Wednesday’s minor moves:

Chicago Bears

  • Released from IR via injury settlement: TE Dax Raymond

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

  • Released from IR via injury settlement: OL Kyle Kalis

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

  • Promoted from practice squad: S Rolan Milligan
  • Released from IR via injury settlement: LB Ahmad Thomas

New York Giants

  • Released from IR via injury settlement: WR Alex Wesley

Philadelphia Eagles

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

West Notes: Hawks, Brown, Raiders, Bolts

September 11th, 2019 at 7:37pm CST by PFR Staff

Pete Carroll said the Seahawks indeed looked into Antonio Brown once the Raiders released him on Saturday, according to Brady Henderson of ESPN. Carroll said he and GM John Schneider always communicate on potential moves but added, “Not everything is always as it seems and you’ve got check into stuff and figure out what’s going on.” Carroll also gave the impression that a stronger Seahawks pursuit of the four-time All-Pro may not have mattered, indicating Brown was intent on signing with the Patriots. “He was headed to New England. He was going,” Carroll said. The Seahawks and Browns were the two other teams mentioned as interested in Brown.

Now for more from the league’s west divisions:

  • More than a year after pleading guilty to insider trading, Seahawks linebacker Mychal Kendricks has still not been sentenced and will not be any time soon, according to Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith. Kendricks’ sentencing, which has already been delayed for nine months, was delayed again and is now scheduled for November 21. Kendricks started for the Seahawks this past Sunday against the Bengals, tallying seven tackles (one for loss).
  • Jon Gruden scoffed when asked about Brown’s lawsuit, as Josh Schrock of NBC Sports Authentic relays (Twitter link). “I’m not aware of anything,” Gruden said. “If you want to ask about him you can call his employer.” The civil suit surfaced three days after Brown agreed to terms with the Patriots.
  • Adding to the Chargers’ injury woes, Anthony Lynn said today that he is concerned about the knee of wide receiver Mike Williams, ESPN’s Adam Schefter relays (Twitter link). Earlier today, it was reported that tight end Hunter Henry had suffered a tibia fracture to his left knee and would be sidelined for 4-6 weeks. The Bolts are already without starting left tackle Russell Okung and All-Pro safety Derwin James. Williams dealt with injury trouble as a rookie but played in 16 games last season.
  • Seahawks first-round pick L.J. Collier returned to practice today for the first time since spraining his ankle early in camp. Carroll said the TCU defensive end product has a chance to make his debut Sunday against the Steelers, Henderson adds. The Seahawks stand to have their entire defensive line healthy soon, with Ziggy Ansah also on the verge of making his Seattle debut. Ansah was limited Wednesday.
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