2019 September - Pro Football Rumors

Colts To Place Devin Funchess On IR

September 9th, 2019 at 3:11pm CST by Sam Robinson

From a clavicle perspective, Sunday was a rough day for multiple key players. The Colts will place Devin Funchess on IR because of a broken clavicle, Frank Reich said.

Like the maladies Nick Foles and Tyreek Hill suffered, Funchess’ will likely not end his season. Reich added (via The Athletic’s Stephen Holder, on Twitter) the Colts do not view Funchess’ setback as one that will limit his 2019 season to one game. Funchess will miss at least the next seven, however. The former Panthers wideout has already undergone surgery.

This will almost certainly mean Funchess’ 2019 earnings will be capped at $10MM. The Colts gave the former Panthers auxiliary weapon $10MM guaranteed, but included an additional $3MM in incentives. Funchess will be out until at least Week 10.

The Colts were set to use Funchess as part of their revamped cast of T.Y. Hilton sidekicks. More work will now be left to Deon Cain, who missed all of 2018, and Parris Campbell, who dealt with an injury during camp.

Patriots To Cut Kendricks, Melifonwu

September 9th, 2019 at 2:31pm CST by Sam Robinson

For the time being, the Patriots will have eight wide receivers on their roster. Their move to bring aboard Antonio Brown will not be cutting a wide receiver, but instead, one of their defensive backs received word he’s out.

The Patriots will waive safety Obi Melifonwu, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter). Additionally, the Pats are releasing Lance Kendricks. The tight end was suspended for Week 1 and did not count against New England’s 53-man roster.

Melifonwu was also a former Raider, though the one-time second-round pick was with New England throughout the Brown debacle in Oakland. Jon Gruden jettisoned Melifonwu, a Reggie McKenzie draft choice, last year. Melifonwu, a UConn product, played in two games for the Patriots last season.

Kendricks was one of the many tight ends the Patriots added this offseason. The former Rams and Packers pass catcher/blocker drew a one-game suspension. While it shouldn’t be ruled out Kendricks could return, as the Patriots will be without Benjamin Watson until Week 5, the defending Super Bowl champions did not exactly miss him in their Week 1 romp over the Steelers.

Seahawks To Re-Sign CB Jamar Taylor

September 9th, 2019 at 2:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

After releasing him on cutdown Saturday, the Seahawks will bring back Jamar Taylor. The cornerback intends to re-sign with Seattle on Monday, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets.

The Seahawks initially signed the well-traveled corner in May and kept him for the offseason’s remainder but opted to go into Week 1 without him. Taylor has played for the Dolphins, Browns, Cardinals and Broncos in a six-year career.

Neiko Thorpe left the Seahawks-Bengals game; this move may be related to that. By being off the Seahawks’ Week 1 roster, Taylor will not have his full salary guaranteed. This may have been the plan all along, with Garafolo adding Taylor enjoyed a strong camp and was viewed as a post-Week 1 option anyway.

The former Dolphins draft choice struggled last season but only played 305 snaps. The soon-to-be 29-year-old defender has enjoyed better seasons, however, and will supply veteran depth for a young secondary.

Falcons To Place Chris Lindstrom On IR

September 9th, 2019 at 1:53pm CST by Sam Robinson

Chris Lindstrom‘s rookie season is not definitively over, but the Falcons guard will not be back until at least November. The team is expected to place the first-round pick on IR, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com notes (on Twitter).

The Boston College product broke a small bone in his foot on Sunday, and Pelissero adds this injury can be categorized as similar to the one Deion Jones suffered in September of 2018. Jones went to IR and returned for five games.

Atlanta has dealt with issues involving both of its first-round lineman choices. Kaleb McGary missed much of training camp because of a heart condition but has since returned.

The Falcons have some veteran insurance behind Lindstrom, adding both James Carpenter and Jamon Brown this offseason. Carpenter operated as Atlanta’s Week 1 left guard starter; Brown was inactive in Week 1. The Falcons also have third-year man Wes Schweitzer as well. A 2017 sixth-round pick, Schweitzer started 28 games for the past two Falcons editions.

Although Schweitzer replaced Lindstrom on Sunday, Dan Quinn confirmed the Falcons’ Week 2 guard configuration will be Carpenter-Brown. The latter was a regular Rams starter before being waived in 2018; Brown spent the final eight games of 2018 as a Giants starter.

Jimmy Smith To Miss Time With MCL Injury

September 9th, 2019 at 1:45pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Ravens did not come out of their third straight Week 1 blowout win unscathed. Jimmy Smith will miss some time because of a knee injury.

Smith suffered a grade 2 MCL sprain, John Harbaugh confirmed Monday (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Jeff Zreibec). Harbaugh indicated the veteran cornerback will miss multiple weeks and noted the possibility of an IR-return stay exists. However, the 12th-year Ravens coach did not view that as the probable course of action.

This will mark the fourth straight season in which Smith will have missed time. He missed five games in 2016 and four in both 2017 and ’18, with the latter absence caused by a suspension. He has started 79 games for the Ravens since they selected him in the 2011 first round. Smith, 31, loomed as a cut candidate this offseason, but the Ravens opted to keep him for another year.

Baltimore boasts some depth at cornerback, despite losing Tavon Young for the season. Brandon Carr, second-year player Anthony Averett, ex-Cardinal Justin Bethel and return man Cyrus Jones reside on the Ravens’ roster. The Ravens face the Cardinals, Chiefs and Browns over the next three weeks.

Jaguars To Place Nick Foles On IR

September 9th, 2019 at 1:18pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Jaguars will not have their well-paid free agent quarterback for at least two months. Doug Marrone confirmed Nick Foles underwent surgery Monday. He will head to IR.

While no definitive timeline exists for the first-year Jaguar, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com notes (via Twitter) this is not expected to be a season-ending injury. The Jags hope Foles will return later in 2019. Foles suffered a broken left clavicle against the Chiefs, sending sixth-round rookie Gardner Minshew into action in what became a two-score loss.

Foles has experience with this type of malady. He suffered a clavicle break in 2014, leaving an Eagles-Texans game that season on Nov. 2. He did not return that year (and did not return as an Eagle until 2017). Per IR rules, Foles cannot come back to game action until at least Week 11. The 30-year-old passer must miss eight weeks, but since the Jags have a Week 10 bye, their Nov. 17 date with the Colts in Indianapolis would be the earliest target date for their starting quarterback.

Jacksonville traded a 2020 fifth-round pick for Pittsburgh backup Josh Dobbs on Monday. Dobbs is expected to play behind Minshew, at least for the time being, per NFL.com’s James Palmer (Twitter link). Minshew completed 22 of 25 passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns.

Antonio Brown Recorded Jon Gruden With Consent

September 9th, 2019 at 12:42pm CST by Zachary Links

It seems that Antonio Brown‘s pseudo-commerical – featuring sound bites of a phone conversation with Jon Gruden – was part of his social media campaign to push the Raiders for his release. It was speculated that Brown recorded Gruden without his consent, which would open the wide receiver up to legal consequences and NFL discipline.

Apparently, that’s not the case. The producer of the video tells ESPN’s Dan LeBatard that Gruden approved the use of their conversation (Twitter link).

This would help to explain why Gruden reportedly thought the video was “awesome,” though Brown was released hours after its release. Apparently, this was not the straw that broke the camel’s back, probably because there were many other straws that infuriated the Raiders far more.

Brown, the newest member of the Patriots (somehow), has himself a one-year deal worth up to $15MM, plus a 2020 club option that could be worth $20MM. Here’s the Year One breakdown, per Rapoport (Twitter link): $9MM signing bonus ($5MM paid now, $4MM later), $1MM base pay, $500K in46-man roster bonuses, and “Not Likely To Be Earned” incentives of $1.5MM for each of the following: 105 catches, 1,298 yards, 16 TDs.

Given Brown’s ability and past production, those benchmarks are far from “not likely.” However, for cap purposes, they are designated as NLTBEs.

Colts To Work Out De’Angelo Henderson

September 9th, 2019 at 11:50am CST by Zachary Links

The Colts will work out running back De’Angelo Henderson on Monday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Henderson remains a free agent after missing the Vikings’ cut over Labor Day weekend.

Henderson was a Broncos sixth-round draft choice in 2017 and spent last year with the Jets. All in all, he has eight career appearances across two seasons and a grand total of nine carries.

There was a lot of talk about Marlon Mack not being able to mesh with Jacoby Brissett as the Colts’ starter, but he was stellar on Sunday. It goes without saying – after Mack’s career day, the Colts are looking at Henderson as a potential supplement for Mack, not a replacement.

Redskins’ Derrius Guice Suffers Knee Injury

September 9th, 2019 at 11:46am CST by Zachary Links

Redskins running back Derrius Guice can’t catch a break. A Monday morning MRI revealed that he has suffered a knee injury that will cost him some time, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

Guice lost his rookie season to an ACL tear and, at some point on Sunday, he suffered an injury to his other knee. Clearly, Guice was not himself against the Eagles as he amassed just 18 yards on ten carries. The silver lining here is that this is not the same knee as last year, and he will not require surgery. Still, it’s another setback for the LSU product.

In the meantime, the Redskins are expected to turn things over to Chris Thompson and Adrian Peterson. Peterson, oddly, was a healthy scratch for the Week 1 loss to the Eagles, but he’ll almost certainly be on the 46-man roster when the Redskins take on the Cowboys this Sunday.

Steelers Trade Josh Dobbs To Jaguars

September 9th, 2019 at 11:01am CST by Zachary Links

The Jaguars have a new quarterback. On Monday, the Jaguars traded a fifth-round pick to the Steelers in exchange for Joshua Dobbs, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.

The Jaguars lost their brand new starter, Nick Foles, to a clavicle fracture in the first quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Chiefs. After that, Gardner Minshew and performed well, even though the team was unable to keep up with the Chiefs’ relentless offense.

Minshew will continue as the Jags’ starter, but Dobbs will be on hand to hold the clipboard in support. Prior to the trade, the Jags did not have another QB on the roster.

Dobbs, a former fourth-round pick, was Ben Roethlisberger‘s top backup last year and appeared in five games as a reserve. This year, he lost his footing to Mason Rudolph, making his superfluous in Pittsburgh.

Minshew, with Dobbs as his backup, will lead the Jaguars against the Texans in Week Two.