HEADLINES

Month: November 2024

No Surgery For Giants’ Saquon Barkley

September 26th, 2019 at 9:29am CST by Zachary Links

Excellent news for the Giants. Saquon Barkley will not require surgery on his injured ankle, according to specialist Dr. Robert Anderson (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport).

Barkley’s high-ankle sprain is expected to shelve him for 4-8 weeks. Initially, a “tightrope” surgery was considered as an option. It’s the same surgery that Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had late last year and sometimes can aid in recovery for ankle injuries. Still, surgery is never fun and the fact that Anderson is not recommending it for Barkley suggests that his sprain is not of the more serious variety.

At minimum, Barkley will miss games against the Redskins, Vikings, Patriots, and Cardinals. It has been suggested that the Giants could keep him out for a longer stretch, giving him the club’s Week 11 bye week to recuperate. After that, Barkley could return for the team’s final six games.

The Giants are 1-2 thanks to Daniel Jones‘ late-game Week 3 heroics and the Bucs lack of defensive awareness. Next up – a Sunday matchup against Washington with Wayne Gallman as the primary tailback to try and improve to .500.

Agent: Teams “Very Interested” In Antonio Brown

September 26th, 2019 at 8:18am CST by Zachary Links

Antonio Brown says he’s done with the NFL. However, the NFL isn’t necessarily done with him. At least, that’s what agent Drew Rosenhaus told Warren Sapp on his “99 Problems” podcast. 

[RELATED: Patriots Withhold Brown’s Money]

“Because of the pending investigation by the NFL, I can’t say much more than what I have. It’s of course unfortunate that Antonio was released by the Patriots. We wanted very much to make that work, but we’re moving on,” Rosenhaus said. “I believe that Antonio wants to continue his career in the NFL and I’ve mentioned that. I have had discussions with a few teams that are very interested in him and want to know about his future and what’s going on with the NFL. Hopefully, when that is all resolved, Antonio will be able to continue his Hall of Fame career. That’s really where our focus is.”

Accusations of sexual assault – plus recent communications with one of his accusers – have Brown’s future in jeopardy. He’s currently facing civil lawsuits from two different women and the Patriots are attempting to withhold a $5MM portion of Brown’s guaranteed signing bonus.

Meanwhile, Brown is headed back to school – sort of. The wide receiver has enrolled for online classes at Central Michigan University, though Rosenhaus stresses that fans and teams should not “read too much into that.”

“Taking online college courses to get your degree or your post-graduate degree is something that I would recommend to every client,” the agent said.

Three teams reportedly expressed interest in Brown following his release from the Patriots.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/25/19

September 25th, 2019 at 9:26pm CST by Rory Parks

Here are today’s practice squad updates:

Buffalo Bills

  • Signed: WR Jordan Veasy

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

New England Patriots

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/25/19

September 25th, 2019 at 8:22pm CST by Rory Parks

Here are today’s minor moves:

Cincinnati Bengals

Miami Dolphins

Pittsburgh Steelers

Washington Redskins

NFC East Notes: Haskins, Cooper, Jeffery

September 25th, 2019 at 7:50pm CST by Rory Parks

Could the dawn of the Dwayne Haskins era be upon us? Redskins starting QB Case Keenum is dealing with a foot injury and did not practice today, which could force Jay Gruden to turn to one of his backup signal-callers when his team takes on the Giants this weekend. John Keim of ESPN.com notes that Colt McCoy, who hasn’t taken part in a full practice since August 11, participated in the team’s walk-through today, but Gruden wants to see him plant and push off before he thrusts him back into action. 

Haskins, the 15th-overall pick in the 2019 draft, is Washington’s QB of the future, and Gruden did not rule out the possibility of turning to the Ohio State product this weekend. However, Gruden does expect Keenum to be ready to go, which means Redskins fans may have to wait a little longer for their first regular season glimpse of Haskins.

Now for more injury-related items from the NFC East:

  • A brief scare for the Cowboys, as WR Amari Cooper left practice early today with a right ankle injury. However, Todd Archer of ESPN.com says the team does not believe it’s a serious issue and expects Cooper to see his normal workload against the Saints on Sunday night.
  • Eagles WR Alshon Jeffery was a full participant in practice today, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. That obviously suggests that he’ll play in tomorrow night’s key matchup with the Packers. Philadelphia could certainly use him, as the team is at risk of falling to 1-3.
  • The Giants are still short-handed at wideout, as receiver Russell Shepard has been diagnosed with a foot sprain, per Rapoport (via Twitter). Shepard’s availability for Week 4 is in doubt.

Seahawks Waive WR Gary Jennings

September 25th, 2019 at 7:31pm CST by Rory Parks

The Seahawks have waived wide receiver Gary Jennings, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). The move is notable because Jennings was a fourth-round pick in this year’s draft.

Jennings, a West Virginia product, missed time during the offseason program with a hamstring injury and had a quiet training camp. Plus, as Brady Henderson of ESPN.com notes, Jennings had difficulty picking up Seattle’s playbook. He posted just one catch for 12 yards during the preseason and has been a healthy scratch for all three of the team’s regular season contests.

Jennings was one of three receivers the Seahawks drafted this year. Second-round choice D.K. Metcalf has shown off his big-play ability during his first taste of professional action, and seventh-rounder John Ursua remains on the roster.

During his junior year with the Mountaineers, Jennings topped the 1,000-yard mark, and he nearly did it again in his senior season. It’s possible that a receiver-needy team will put in a claim, but if not, the Seahawks could theoretically re-sign him to the taxi squad.

In a related move, Seattle has promoted safety Adrian Colbert from the p-squad and signed LB Malik Carney to the practice squad to replace Colbert.

Jalen Ramsey To Leave Jaguars For Birth Of Daughter

September 25th, 2019 at 6:33pm CST by Rory Parks

There has been plenty of speculation that Jalen Ramsey‘s reported illness and injuries that have kept him away from the Jaguars are really just a ruse to bolster his trade demand, but it would be quite a feat if he could fake the reason for his upcoming absence. Per a statement from head coach Doug Marrone, Ramsey is flying to Nashville tonight to be present for the birth of his daughter.

The statement reads as follows:

“Months ago in the offseason, Jalen notified me that he was expecting the birth of his second child in late September. We spoke about his recently and again today after practice and decided that it was best for Jalen to fly to Nashville tonight after meetings to be with his family during the birth of their daughter. He will return to the team when he’s ready, and we will provide an update at that time.”

Ramsey and Marrone had a blowup last week that may have precipitated the former’s trade demand, which he has not rescinded. The vague timeline that Marrone provided in his statement suggests that Ramsey may miss more than one game, though it remains to be seen if he will continue playing for the Jags at all. Perhaps Jacksonville will swing a deal to send the star CB to another club in exchange for premium draft capital.

Indeed, the Jaguars reportedly have several offers on the table that include a first-round draft choice, but the club may elect to hold onto Ramsey in the hopes that it can smooth things over and keep him in the fold for the long haul.

Melvin Gordon To Report To Chargers

September 25th, 2019 at 5:56pm CST by Rory Parks

After reports earlier today suggested that Melvin Gordon may be ending his holdout and returning to the Chargers soon, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports that Gordon will indeed report to the team tomorrow (Twitter link). Gordon will not play in the team’s matchup against Miami on Sunday, but he will presumably return to action the following week.

Gordon needed to return before Week 10 in order to qualify for free agency next season, so he is reporting with plenty of time to spare. However, having missed three weeks of action, he will lose out on roughly $1MM of his $5.6MM 2019 salary, not to mention potential fines (which the team may opt to rescind).

Statistically, Los Angeles’ rushing game has not suffered too much in Gordon’s absence, as Austin Ekeler and Justin Jackson have 56 carries for 302 yards (good for 5.4 yards per carry) and two TDs. Ekeler is responsible for both of those scores, and he has also been a contributor in the passing game, adding two receiving touchdowns as well.

However, the Chargers have dropped their last two games, and while they are racking up a lot of yardage, they don’t have the points to show for it. Adding another talented and versatile back could certainly help.

The last we heard, Los Angeles was not planning to give Gordon a new contract during the 2019 season, and the Chargers are clearly not willing to give Gordon the type of contract he is seeking. Indeed, per ESPN’s Josina Anderson, Gordon expects 2019 to be his last season with the Chargers (Twitter link).

Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com adds that Gordon was open to being traded to the Texans, who were a logical suitor given their running back needs (Twitter link). But despite the fact that the Chargers gave Gordon permission to seek a trade, Fowler says Los Angeles never made a trade a viable option, with the implication being that the Bolts put a prohibitively high price tag on their former first-round pick.

Jay Gruden Expects Jordan Reed To Return

September 25th, 2019 at 5:36pm CST by Rory Parks

We learned over the weekend that Redskins tight end Jordan Reed may be forced into early retirement. But, for what it’s worth, Washington head coach Jay Gruden expects Reed to suit up again at some point.

When asked if Reed’s playing career is in jeopardy, Gruden said, via Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk, “I’m not worried about that, no. He has seen specialists, and we are just trying to get to the bottom of it and figuring out the best way to make him more comfortable, get him back in the lineup. We are trying to see if there is anything else we can do to try and help him a long in that way to get into practice and start to feel better. If he has to see a specialist every day, I really don’t care. The big thing is to get him healthy and make sure he has a great state of mind so when he does come back he feels really good and confident that this thing will not linger.”

However, Reed remains in the concussion protocol after suffering a concussion in the Redskins’ third preseason game in August. Although the exact number of concussions he has suffered in his career is difficult to pinpoint, JP Finlay of NBC Sports Washington (via Williams) says that Reed now has seven documented concussions dating back to his collegiate days.

If the 29-year-old does return to the field in 2019, it will not be for another few weeks.

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