All of the practice squad moves from the past day:
Denver Broncos
- Placed on practice squad IR: C Patrick Morris
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: DB Demarcus Christmas
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: P Trevor Daniel
- Placed on practice squad IR: K Tucker McCann
The Chiefs outlasted the Panthers in a thrilling shootout, but they’ll be without a part of their pass-rush moving forward. Defensive end Taco Charlton suffered a fracture in his lower leg and will head to injured reserve, head coach Andy Reid announced after the game.
It’s unclear the severity, but it’s certainly possible that he’s done for the year. With the new IR rules, he’ll be out at least three games. He’d been playing a decent-sized role as a rotational pass-rusher, notching around a quarter of the defensive snaps in the six games he played prior to getting hurt. He had been reasonably productive in those six games, racking up two sacks, four quarterback hits, and a forced fumble.
Charlton’s NFL career started out as a highly-touted first-round pick of the Cowboys, but he quickly flamed out in Dallas. He was cut after only two-plus years with the Cowboys, then scooped up by the Dolphins. He had his best season as a pro last year with Miami, notching five sacks in only ten games.
The Texans picked up a division win over the Jaguars Sunday, but they didn’t escape unscathed. Outside linebacker Brennan Scarlett suffered a broken forearm, a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).
Houston was already without outside linebackers Jacob Martin and Whitney Mercilus, both on the COVID-19 list, so they’re now pretty thin at the position. It’s unclear as of right now how long Scarlett will be out, although it can be fairly safely assumed he’ll be headed for a stint on injured reserve. Scarlett signed an extension last August that ran through the end of this season, and he’ll now be an unrestricted free agent in March.
An UDFA from Cal back in 2016, he’s carved out a nice career for himself. He started to get playing time as a sophomore in 2017, and started ten games for the Texans last year. He had 51 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles last year, all career-highs.
Alex Smith is back as Washington’s starting quarterback. Kyle Allen went down with an ankle injury that looked gruesome initially but thankfully turned out to be not quite as serious as it appeared.
Allen has a dislocated ankle with only a small fracture, a source told Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link). The injury will “likely” sideline him for the rest of the year, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets, although he does have a shot to return. Head coach Ron Rivera confirmed after the game that Smith will be the starter next week, with 2019 first-rounder Dwayne Haskins being bumped up to number two.
Smith lit it up to start the second half and get Washington back into their game against the Giants, but back to back interception on the final two drives sealed their 23-20 loss. Next week against the Lions will be Smith’s first start since his own devastating lower leg injury that he suffered midway through the 2018 season. No matter how he fares moving forward, it’s been a truly remarkable comeback and we’re all rooting for him.
It’s a tough blow for Allen assuming he’s done for the year, as he isn’t likely to get handed a starting opportunity like this again next year. The 2018 UDFA was brought in specifically by Rivera after they spent time together with the Panthers, and he was coming off a great game against the Cowboys when we went down.
Texans interim HC Romeo Crennel is making a statement. As Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports, cornerback Bradley Roby did not travel to Jacksonville for this week’s game against the Jaguars and was told to remain home for disciplinary reasons.
It’s unclear what those reasons are, but whatever Roby did to displease the team, he may have done it in the past 48 hours or so. On Friday, Crennel told reporters that Roby — who left the team’s Week 7 loss to the Packers with a knee injury — was expected to play.
Roby joined the Texans on a one-year, $10MM deal in 2019, and he re-signed on a three-year, $36MM contract just before free agency opened this past offseason. He is the club’s top corner and has recorded Houston’s only interception this season.
Although it’s far too early to speculate on how this might impact Roby’s future with the team, it’s worth noting that his deal features $19MM in guarantees, most of which have not yet been paid out. Depending on the language in Roby’s deal, the Texans could theoretically void the remaining guarantees.
As of now, there’s no indication that Houston will go that route. Although the club is just 1-6 this year and looks to be embarking on a rebuild, solid, reasonably-priced corners are difficult to find.
Pro Football Focus doesn’t think much of Roby’s support in run defense this year, but PFF does give him high marks for his coverage abilities. Overall, the advanced metrics paint him as the 25th-best corner in the game out of 117 qualified players.
Let’s round up a few injury-related items from around the league.
- Raiders OT Trent Brown is back on the reserve/COVID-19 list, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says Brown is expected to miss at least a month of action (Twitter link).
- Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports confirms a report from several days ago that 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo will not require surgery on his injured ankle, but the 29-year-old signal-caller is expected to miss at least a month (Twitter link). The injury further clouds Garoppolo’s uncertain future in San Francisco.
- Titans edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney is out for today’s game against the Bears. He is dealing with a meniscus issue and may ultimately opt for surgery.
- The Browns have a bye this week, and next time they’re on the field, they hope to be rejoined by Pro Bowl running back Nick Chubb (Twitter link via Rapoport). Chubb has been dealing with an MCL injury, and though Kareem Hunt and D’Ernest Johnson have played reasonably well in his absence, getting Chubb back will be a big boost to Cleveland’s playoff push.
- Some may be wondering if WR Odell Beckham has already played his last game for the Browns, as he will miss the rest of the season with an ACL tear and has never really embraced Cleveland. Kim Jones of WFAN reports that OBJ will undergo surgery to repair the ACL on Tuesday (Twitter link).
- Ravens RB Mark Ingram left Baltimore’s game against the Eagles several weeks ago, and he still has not returned to action. Rapoport says Ingram is dealing with a high-ankle sprain (Twitter link), which explains the multi-week absence. Ingram has been ruled out for today’s game against the Colts, but younger backs Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins may be the better options anyway.
- When the Eagles return to their facility following this week’s bye, they expect to have RB Miles Sanders back, and they believe WR Alshon Jeffery will be a full participant in practice (Twitter link via Rapoport).
The Packers may have been trying to pry wide receiver Will Fuller from the Texans in advance of the trade deadline, and they were also looking to bolster their defense. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter), Green Bay offered a mid-round pick to the Giants in exchange for defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson.
New York, though, declined the offer, even though Tomlinson is playing out the final year of his rookie contract and despite the fact that the two sides have not made much progress in contract talks. As Dan Duggan of The Athletic observes, head coach Joe Judge did not want to trade “foundational pieces,” and he clearly sees Tomlinson as a key part of the team’s future (Twitter link). Duggan says the club also rejected overtures for tight end Evan Engram, and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports that Big Blue was not going to deal Engram for anything less than a first-round pick.
The decision to keep Tomlinson makes plenty of sense. The Giants selected him in the second round of the 2017 draft, and unless they were convinced they would be unable to re-sign him, dealing a young, talented interior defender for a mid-round selection wouldn’t necessarily have aided in the club’s rebuilding process.
You can’t fault Green Bay for making a play for Tomlinson, though. The Packers are gearing up for a playoff push, but their run defense is among the worst in the NFL, and the 26-year-old Alabama product would have gone a long way towards solidifying their defensive front. Pro Football Focus currently ranks Tomlinson as the 14th-best interior defender in the league, and though he has just one sack this year, his pass rushing grade is almost as high as his run defense score.
The Seahawks and head coach Pete Carroll have agreed to a multi-year contract extension, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports. No one within the organization has confirmed the news, but one source tells Schefter that the deal will tie Carroll to the club through the 2025 season.
By that time, Carroll will be 74, so this could well be the last contract that he signs. He indicated earlier this year that he wants to coach well into his 70s, and his new extension will give him the chance to do just that.
The Seahawks have starting quarterback and runaway MVP candidate Russell Wilson under club control through the 2023 campaign, so unless something unexpected happens, the most effective QB-HC duo in franchise history will be together for a few more seasons. And considering the success the two have had together, that’s reason for Seattle fans to celebrate.
Hired as the club’s head coach and executive vice president of player operations in January 2010, Carroll has compiled a 106-60-1 regular season record over the past 10+ seasons, to go along with a 10-7 postseason mark. He also guided Seattle to its first Super Bowl victory after the 2013 season.
While Carroll would sooner forget the end of the following Super Bowl, he and Wilson have established the Seahawks as perennial championship contenders. And at 6-1, Seattle is on the short-list of this year’s legitimate Lomardi hopefuls.
Carroll’s last contract paid him an $11MM annual salary, and the extension could push that figure even higher.
The Browns have placed starting quarterback Baker Mayfield on the reserve/COVID-19 list, according to a team announcement. Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network was first to report the news (via Twitter), and the team’s statement can be found here.
Luckily, Mayfield did not test positive for the coronavirus. Instead, he is considered a close contact with a staff member who tested positive, and Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal says that staff member is not a coach. Based on when the contact occurred, Mayfield could be back at practice on Wednesday if he continues to test negative.
Since the Browns have a bye this week, it appears that Mayfield won’t miss any game action. If something should change in that regard, Case Keenum is available to take the reins.
Mayfield has had an up-and-down season in 2020 after a disappointing sophomore effort last year. He was terrific in a Week 7 win over the Bengals, but he flopped in Cleveland’s Week 8 loss to the Raiders. At 5-3, the Browns still have a good chance at a playoff berth, especially considering their favorable schedule, but questions about Mayfield persist.
On the season, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2018 draft has completed 61.4% of his passes and has thrown 15 TDs against seven picks, good for a 90.9 QB rating. But he has feasted on teams with poor defenses and has struggled against playoff contenders.
He will have a chance to right the ship against the Texans next week.
Texans star defensive end J.J. Watt was mentioned in trade rumors in advance of the November 3 deadline. Though he ended up staying put, he may be playing his last games with the only team he has ever known. According to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, Watt is a virtual lock to be dealt this offseason.
Watt, 31, recently indicated that he does not want to be part of a rebuild, and the 1-6 Texans, who will be looking for a new GM and new head coach at season’s end, appear to be heading in that direction. Plus, Houston is without a first- or second-round selection in 2021, and while Watt is unlikely to fetch a draft pick that high, the club is desperate for whatever draft capital it can get.
The Texans had a number of players that other teams were interested in trading for, but acting GM Jack Easterby was in an awkward position due to his interim title, and he did not want to make a deal unless he was overwhelmed by an offer.
“[Watt will] be traded by March, bank on it,” said one GM. “That’s a hard trade to make in the middle of the season and there are going to be questions about the medicals. [Easterby] can’t make that trade in November. And the owner probably wasn’t quite ready to make it, but it’s coming.”
Indeed, owner Cal McNair was reportedly reluctant to eat salary to facilitate a trade, but given Watt’s age and medical history, McNair will likely need to change his tune this offseason. Watt is due to make $17.5MM in 2021, the last year of his current contract.
Watt, the 11th-overall pick of the 2011 draft, is a Houston legend for his on-field dominance and his off-field charitable work. But he missed significant time due to injury in 2016, 2017, and 2019, and his best days are probably behind him. Still, even an aging Watt can be a force, and there will be a number of contenders interested in his services.
La Canfora names the Steelers and Packers as two potential landing spots.