HEADLINES

Month: November 2024

Saints Place Krishawn Hogan On IR

December 26th, 2019 at 8:21am CST by Zachary Links

The Saints have placed Krishawn Hogan on injured reserve. Thanks to a hamstring injury, Shead will miss the Saints’ regular season finale against the Panthers and the postseason. 

Hogan joined the Saints’ taxi squad in September and earned a promotion to the active roster in October. In eight games, he saw time on 83 offensive snaps and 77 special teams snaps. Last week against the Titans, he notched the first reception of his NFL career.

Hogan’s roster spot will be filled by veteran DeShawn Shead, who agreed to terms on Christmas Eve. The former Legion of Boomer can play cornerback and safety, a major help for New Orleans’ banged-up secondary.

Without Hogan, the Saints will move forward with Michael Thomas, Ted Ginn, Deonte Harris, and Tre’Quan Smith at wide receiver.

Cowboys Still “Bullish” On Dak Prescott

December 25th, 2019 at 7:27pm CST by Zachary Links

Dak Prescott hasn’t had a great second half to the season, but Cowboys VP Stephen Jones says he’s as confident as ever in the quarterback. In an interview on 105.3 The Fan, Jones stood behind the Cowboys signal caller. 

“We’ve never blinked on (paying Dak Prescott). We’ve had a very aggressive offer out there every step of the way…I think Dak has given us every opportunity to have success this year. I’m as bullish about Dak as I’ve ever been,” Jones said.

Prescott, 26, has completed 64.8% of his passes this year with 26 touchdowns against eleven interceptions. Those numbers are weighed down by a flat second half. Through the first seven games of the year, Prescott completed more than 70% of his passes with 12 TDs and seven INTs.

In the offseason, you can expect the Cowboys to aggressively pursue a long-term deal with Prescott, though they’ll have to leave enough breathing room for the rest of the gang. That includes wide receiver Amari Cooper, who is hoping to stay in Dallas with a top-of-the-market deal.

In the near term, the Cowboys are hoping that Prescott’s ailing shoulder will be good to go for their regular season finale against the Redskins. Prescott was not on the field for the team’s Christmas Day practice, but he managed to play on Sunday against the Eagles despite being limited throughout the week.

Vikings, George Edwards To Part Ways?

December 25th, 2019 at 5:45pm CST by Zachary Links

Vikings defensive coordinator George Edwards is in the final year of his contract and might not return in 2020, Alex Marvez of SiriusXM (on Twitter) hears. Edwards has been in Minnesota since 2014 and, this year, he’s helped orchestrate one of the league’s better defensive units. 

[RELATED: NFL Playoff Scenarios For Week 17]

In previous years, Edwards has been connected to head coaching vacancies, so it’s not clear whether the Vikings are looking to make a change or if its Edwards that wants to go elsewhere. Last offseason, Edwards interviewed for the Buccaneers’ vacancy that ultimately went to Bruce Arians. In 2018, the Bears sat down with Edwards before hiring Matt Nagy.

Before joining the Vikings, Edwards also spent time as the DC for the Bills and Redskins among his many NFL stops. With one game to go in the regular season, the Vikings rank No. 6 in points allowed and No. 14 in total yards allowed.

Chiefs Place Spencer Ware On IR

December 25th, 2019 at 4:10pm CST by Zachary Links

The Chiefs have placed running back Spencer Ware on injured reserve with a shoulder injury. To fill his spot on the roster, the club activated defensive tackle Xavier Williams from IR. 

Ware returned to the Chiefs on December 3rd, but his stay was short-lived. At the time, starter Damien Williams was hampered by a rib injury, but he returned to action last week. The Chiefs now have three healthy RBs in Williams, LeSean McCoy, and sixth-round rookie Darwin Thompson.

Ware spent four years with the Chiefs between 2015 and 2018. The LSU product had his best season in 2016, when he ran for 921 yards and three scores on 214 carries. He also added another 33 receptions for 447 yards and two touchdowns that season. Ware sat out the 2017 campaign recovering from a torn PCL and knee damage, and he saw a reduced role for the Chiefs in 13 games last year.

He signed with the Colts back in April, but ankle surgery landed him on PUP, then the free agent pile in September. In this run with the Chiefs, Ware carried the ball 17 times for 51 yards in three games.

The Chiefs will enter the playoffs as the AFC West champions. They still have a outside shot at a first-round bye if they beat the Chargers, but they’ll also need the Dolphins to defeat the Patriots.

Ben Roethlisberger Vows To Return

December 25th, 2019 at 1:40pm CST by Zachary Links

Ben Roethlisberger brings Steelers fans good tidings and great news for the holidays. After wishing Merry Christmas to his followers, Roethlisberger vowed to return to the field in 2020. 

[RELATED: NFL Playoff Scenarios For Week 17]

“Contrary to recent reports out there about my football future and my ‘uncertainty’ about playing again, I am working hard and am more determined than ever to come back stronger and better than ever next year!,” Roethlisberger tweeted.

At one point, there were rumblings that the QB had some doubts about playing again. But, earlier this week, ESPN.com’s Chris Mortensen heard the Steelers are confident that Roethlisberger will make a full recovery.

Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges held down the fort for the Steelers this year, with mixed results. Rudolph’s shoulder injury landed him on IR earlier this week, so the Steelers will be hitching their playoff hopes to Duck’s wagon in their Week 17 matchup against the Ravens.

Roethlisberger 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. On the other hand, he led the NFL with 16 interceptions.

NFL Playoff Scenarios For Week 17

December 25th, 2019 at 10:16am CST by Zachary Links

The final week of the regular season is upon us.

Here’s the official rundown of NFL playoff scenarios as we get set for Week 17:

AFC

Clinched:

Ravens – AFC North division & home-field advantage throughout AFC playoffs

Texans – AFC South division

Chiefs – AFC West division

Patriots – AFC East division

Bills – playoff berth

Chiefs clinch a first-round bye with:

Chiefs win + Patriots loss

New England clinches a first-round bye with:

Patriots win or tie OR
Chiefs loss or tie

Raiders clinch a playoff berth with:

Raiders win + Steelers loss + Titans loss + Colts win + Raiders clinch strength-of-victory tiebreaker over Steelers*

*Raiders clinch strength-of-victory tiebreaker over Steelers if ONE of the following teams win or tie:

Bears, Lions, Chargers, or Patriots

Steelers clinch a playoff berth with:

Steelers win + Titans loss or tie OR
Steelers tie + Titans loss OR
Titans loss + Colts win + Raiders loss or tie OR
Titans loss + Colts win + Steelers tie Raiders in strength-of-victory tiebreaker*

*Steelers ties Raiders in strength-of-victory tiebreaker if ALL of the following teams win:

Vikings, Packers, Chiefs, and Dolphins

Titans clinch a playoff berth with:

Titans win OR
Titans tie + Steelers loss or tie OR
Steelers loss + Colts loss or tie

NFC

Clinched:

Packers – NFC North division

Saints – NFC South division

Vikings — playoff berth

49ers — playoff berth

Seahawks — playoff berth

Cowboys clinch NFC East division with:

Cowboys win + Eagles loss

Packers clinch a first-round bye with:

Packers win OR
Saints loss OR
Packers tie + San Francisco loss OR
Packers tie + Saints tie

Packers clinch home-field advantage throughout NFC playoffs with:

Packers win + San Francisco loss or tie OR
Packers tie +San Francisco loss + Saints loss or tie

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (12-3) (at Carolina (5-10); 1:00 PM ET, FOX)

Saints clinch a first-round bye with:

Saints win + Packers loss or tie OR
Saints win + 49ers loss or tie OR
Saints tie +Packers loss OR
Saints tie + 49ers loss OR
49ers loss +Packers win or tie

Saints clinch homefield advantage throughout NFC playoffs with:

Saints win + Packers loss or tie + 49ers loss or tie OR
Saints tie + Packers loss + 49ers loss

Eagles clinch NFC East division with:

Eagles win or tie OR
Cowboys loss or tie

49ers clinch NFC West division title with:

49ers win or tie

49ers clinch a first-round bye with:

49ers win OR
49ers tie + Packers loss or tie OR
49ers tie + Saints loss or tie

49ers clinch home-field advantage throughout NFC playoffs with:

49ers win OR
49ers tie + Packers loss or tie + Saints loss or tie

Seahawks clinch NFC West division with:

Seahawks win

Seahawks clinch a first-round bye with:

Seahawks win + Packers loss

Seahawks clinch home-field advantage throughout NFC playoffs with:

Seahawks win + Packers loss + Saints loss

Redskins’ Bill Callahan Wants To Stay

December 25th, 2019 at 8:52am CST by Zachary Links

Redskins interim head coach Bill Callahan wants to shed the interim label, as Kareem Copeland of the Washington Post writes. Callahan, who took over in October, believes the team has made significant strides under his watch. 

“I look at the fight of our players,” Callahan said. “I look at the resiliency, and [I] tried to bring back a work ethic into the program that I thought was lacking. I thought our players could have been better fundamentally. . . . I saw our players get better and compete for four quarters. I saw our players have stamina through four quarters of play. I thought long and hard about improving the team and what aspects I would really focus on. A lot of that was the second-half finish, and I thought we did that.”

The Redskins were 0-5 under Jay Gruden, but they’ve gone 3-7 under Callahan in the last ten games. Many believe that the Redskins will opt for a splashy hire, rather than staying the course with Callahan, but the 63-year-old isn’t giving up hope.

As Copeland notes, veterans were freelancing outside the scheme under Gruden in an effort to pad their stats. That didn’t necessarily stop under Callahan, but there have been fewer instances of players operating outside of play calls in recent weeks. Still, the Redskins still rank 31st in scoring offense and 24th in scoring defense.

Callahan will reportedly be considered for the gig, but he’s certainly not the frontrunner.

 

2020 NFL Draft Order As Of Week 17

December 25th, 2019 at 8:34am CST by Zachary Links

With one week remaining in the regular season, the 2020 NFL Draft order is starting to take shape. The 1-14 Bengals have locked up the No. 1 overall pick, but the rest of the board will be dependent on the outcome of Week 17’s games.

Here’s a look at where things stand:

1. Bengals: 1-14
2. Redskins: 3-12
3. Lions: 3-11-1
4. Giants: 4-11
5. Dolphins: 4-11
6. Jaguars: 5-10
7. Chargers: 5-10
8. Panthers: 5-10
9. Cardinals: 5-9-1
10: Jets: 6-9
11. Broncos: 6-9
12. Browns: 6-9
13. Falcons 6-9
14. Raiders 7-8
15. Cowboys 7-8
16. Colts 7-8
17. Buccaneers 7-8
18. Raiders (via Bears) 7-8
19. Dolphins (via Steelers) 8-7
20. Jaguars (via Rams) 8-7
21. Eagles 8-7
22. Titans 8-7
23. Bills 10-5
24. Vikings 10-5
25. Dolphins (via Texans) 10-5
26. Chiefs 11-4
27. Seahawks 11-4
28. Packers 12-3
29. Patriots 12-3
30. Saints 12-3
31. 49ers 12-3
32. Ravens 13-2

Cardinals Considering Staff Shakeup

December 24th, 2019 at 5:37pm CST by Zachary Links

With a 5-9-1 record heading into the season finale, the Cardinals are understandably planning some changes in the offseason. Those plans may include a shakeup of the coaching staff, as head coach Kliff Kingsbury tells the team website. 

Kingsbury will sit down with GM Steve Keim and chairman and owner Michael Bidwill to discuss the futures of his coaches. From the sound of it, those decisions will not be entirely up to the first-year coach.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever worked with a GM on that side of things,” Kingsbury said. “With Michael and Steve, (we’ll) sit down in a room and talk about each position group and be brutally honest with ourselves and each other and come to a good place. That relationship to me has been vital, with Steve, where we are very upfront with each other, with what he sees and what I see. Michael has the final say. I like where the relationship is at, and we’ll find out after the season.”

Kingsbury – an NFL neophyte – leaned heavily on Keim’s suggestions to find assistants with pro experience. After one season in the league, Kingsbury admits that he still doesn’t know a ton of coaches in NFL circles.

As of this writing, the Cardinals are slated to pick No. 9 overall in the draft. They’ll finish up the 2019 season on Sunday when they take on the Rams in Los Angeles.

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