HEADLINES

Month: September 2024

NFL Postpones Ravens-Steelers Due To COVID-19

November 25th, 2020 at 12:01pm CST by Rory Parks

Thursday’s game between the Ravens and Steelers has been postponed due to a rash of positive COVID-19 tests. Now, the two teams are set to meet on Sunday afternoon, though the league will continue to monitor the situation between now and then.

We learned yesterday that Baltimore was dealing with 10 total coronavirus cases, including five players. As Dan Graziano of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter), the Ravens have actually had seven players test positive over the past three days: RBs Mark Ingram and J.K. Dobbins — which we already knew about — QB Trace McSorley, OLB Pernell McPhee, DE Calais Campbell, C Matt Skura, and G/C Patrick Mekari, all of whom will be placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. As such, the league really had no other choice but to push back the game.

Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network points out that the league did not make the decision because the Ravens would have been extremely shorthanded. After all, the players who tested positive won’t be allowed to play on Sunday either. Instead, a number of Baltimore players are (obviously) close contacts with those who tested positive, and the NFL wants to make sure the spread is contained (Twitter link).

Unfortunately, things could get worse for the Ravens. Per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the league and the team know how the outbreak began, and there is a chance more players will test positive. By Friday, the NFL expects to know if everything is under control or if the game will need to be postponed again.

If another postponement becomes necessary, this game will likely be the first one set in on the novel Week 18. The Ravens are scheduled to play the Cowboys next Thursday, so the league will not make them play a game on Monday or Tuesday before a Thursday night contest.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Cardinals Sign Seth DeValve To Practice Squad

November 25th, 2020 at 11:10am CST by Zachary Links

The Cardinals have signed Seth DeValve to the practice squad, per a club announcement. The tight end became a free agent when the Panthers dropped him from the taxi squad last week, and he’s yet to see live action in 2020.

The 27-year-old first joined the Panthers in March after a one-year stint in Jacksonville. That deal lasted just a few months, thanks to a lingering toe injury. In June, Carolina dropped DeValve with a failed physical designation.

DeValve logged more snaps that any other Jaguars tight end in 2019, but he was rarely targeted. He finished out with 12 catches for 140 yards off of 18 opportunities. His best season to date came in 2017, when he posted career highs of 33 receptions and 395 yards.

The Cardinals currently have three tight ends on the varsity squad in Darrell Daniels, Dan Arnold, and Maxx Williams. If an injury or opportunity arises, they’ll DeValve on call.

COVID-19 Closes Browns Facility

November 25th, 2020 at 9:31am CST by Zachary Links

The Browns have closed their team facility after learning of another player testing positive for COVID-19. This news comes on the heels of Myles Garrett‘s positive test, as well as defensive end Joe Jackson‘s placement on the reserve list. With fullback Andy Janovich and guard Chris Hubbard also on the list, the Browns have four players sidelined on the list in total. 

[RELATED: Browns’ Ward To Miss Time]

The identity of the coronavirus-positive player has not been revealed. The Browns may be having difficulty in containing the spread, which could put Sunday’s game in jeopardy. For now, they’re still set to face the Jaguars in Jacksonville as scheduled. If that game takes place, they’ll be without the NFL’s leader in sacks, though the 1-9 Jaguars will be led by Mike Glennon, who has thrown a grand total of 31 passes over the last two seasons. He also hasn’t started since 2017, when he was with the Bears.

In other Browns news, cornerback Denzel Ward is expected to miss multiple weeks with a calf strain. Ward is in the midst of his best season yet as a pro with 15 pass breakups in ten games. Thanks in part to Ward and Garrett, the Browns are 7-3 and on pace to snap their longstanding playoff drought.

Jaguars To Start Mike Glennon

November 25th, 2020 at 8:53am CST by Zachary Links

The Jaguars will start Mike Glennon on Sunday against the Browns, head coach Doug Marrone announced. Glennon will take over for Jake Luton, who been serving as the starting quarterback in place of Gardner Minshew.

Many expected Glennon to get the call when Minshew was first sidelined with a strained ligament and fractures in his right thumb. Instead, they went with the sixth-round rookie out of Oregon State over the 30-year-old vet with 22 career starts under his belt.

It’s worth noting that Glennon has attempted just 31 passes over the past two-plus seasons. Luton, who impressed in practice and managed to complete 68% of his throws in his debut against the Texans, has struggled across his last two games. In his last time out against the Jaguars, Luton went 16-for-37 on his attempts with four interceptions and zero touchdowns.

With that, Glennon is set for his first start since 2017. Meanwhile, Marrone says that Minshew is on the path to recovery. With a full week of practice, Minshew may be ready to go against the Vikings on Dec. 6.

AFC North Notes: Ravens, Steelers, Bengals

November 24th, 2020 at 5:56pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Ravens–Steelers rematch is no longer a guarantee to follow the customary Lions and Cowboys contests on Thanksgiving. With the Ravens having five coronavirus positives among players and the Steelers at four, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com notes that more cases will result in the NFL moving the game off the Thanksgiving schedule (Twitter link). It is not known how many more positive tests between these franchises would cause the NFL to move the game, but given its time slot and the fact the league has resisted postponing games since Week 7 would make this a game difficult to move. However, this situation may be close to producing a postponement. In addition to five Ravens players having tested positive, Mark Maske of the Washington Post notes five Ravens staffers also have in recent days (Twitter links). Both the Ravens and Steelers encountered virus issues earlier this month but played their respective games as scheduled.

Here is the latest from the AFC North:

  • The Ravens are working to determine if these are connected or isolated incidents part of a spread in the Baltimore community, per Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). The team remains on track to leave for Pittsburgh on Wednesday night.
  • More COVID-19 issues have hit the Bengals‘ coaching staff. Defensive line coach Nick Eason tested positive for the coronavirus, forcing the team to go through contact tracing, Pelissero notes (on Twitter). This followed multiple games of Cincinnati coaches being sidelined. Cornerbacks coach Steve Jackson, wide receivers coach Bob Bicknell and safeties coach Robert Livingston missed the Bengals’ Week 11 game due to COVID protocols; linebackers coach Al Golden and senior defensive assistant Mark Duffner did not coach during the team’s Week 10 game. Considering the volume here, this is a situation to monitor ahead of Week 12.
  • As of now, the Bengals’ Joe Burrow-less quarterback plan consists of Ryan Finley as the starter and recent practice squad cog Brandon Allen backing him up. But the team is scrambling for depth. The Bengals worked out ex-Browns QB Kevin Hogan and Alex McGough on Tuesday. Hogan was last with the Broncos from 2018-19. He failed to make Denver’s 53-man roster in ’19, when the team used Allen as its backup. The Bengals should be expected to sign a quarterback to their practice squad.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/24/20

November 24th, 2020 at 5:17pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Houston Texans

  • Signed: C Cohl Cabral
  • Released: DE Kendal Futrell

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Signed LB/LS Christian Kuntz

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/24/20

November 24th, 2020 at 5:02pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Rams

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: TE Vance McDonald
  • Promoted: TE Kevin Rader

Tennessee Titans

The Jets’ addition of Adams makes a lot of sense after rookie running back La’Mical Perine suffered a high ankle sprain that is expected to sideline him for at least a couple games. A 2018 UDFA out of Notre Dame, Adams played a significant role with the Eagles as a rookie, when he started five of 14 games and carries the ball 120 times for 511 yards and three touchdowns. Despite the reasonably productive first season, he was waived at final cuts last year.

Bears Place Eddie Jackson On Reserve/COVID-19 List

November 24th, 2020 at 4:50pm CST by Sam Robinson

Reliant on their top-tier defense due largely to continued issues at quarterback, the Bears will be without one of that unit’s Pro Bowlers for the time being. Eddie Jackson landed on Chicago’s reserve/COVID-19 list Tuesday.

The fourth-year safety will be sidelined from practices until he submits two negative coronavirus tests. Several players have re-emerged to play in games after landing on the COVID list during the week, so Jackson — provided he is a close contact and has not tested positive for the virus — has a chance of being available against the Packers on Sunday night.

Jackson is the only player currently on the Bears’ virus list, though offensive lineman Lachavious Simmons spent time on it last week. Safety Deon Bush was on Chicago’s COVID list two weeks ago. Jackson has not missed a game yet this season and has not been sidelined for a contest since the 2018 season.

Once 5-1, the Bears have lost four straight games and are uncertain about who will start at quarterback Sunday. Chicago’s defense will enter the contest ranked third in DVOA; its offense sits 29th.

Jets Place K Sam Ficken, RB La’Mical Perine On IR

November 24th, 2020 at 3:48pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Jets are sending a couple of important players to injured reserve, they announced Tuesday. Kicker Sam Ficken and running back La’Mical Perine will both be hitting the shelf for at least the next three games.

Ficken opened the year as the team’s kicker but got hurt during Week 6 and missed the next handful of games. He just returned this past week but seems to have rushed himself back, as he missed two of his four extra point attempts against the Chargers and apparently re-aggravated his groin injury. Sergio Castillo, who filled in recently, will now take over the kicking duties once again. Ficken is a Penn State product who spent parts of 2017-18 with the Rams before landing the Jets’ job last season.

Perine is a promising rookie who many Jets fans were hoping would blossom into the running back of the future after the Le’Veon Bell saga. He suffered a high ankle sprain against Los Angeles that will knock him out, but hopefully the fourth-rounder from Florida will be able to return for the last couple games to make his case.

For now ageless wonder Frank Gore will take on an even more prominent role, and the team already signed former Eagles running back Josh Adams off the practice squad to replace Perine. They also announced they were signing tight end Ross Travis off the practice squad to take Ficken’s place.

Cowboys LB Luke Gifford Suspended Two Games

November 24th, 2020 at 3:40pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

A minor suspension to pass along, as the league announced Tuesday that Cowboys reserve linebacker Luke Gifford had been hit with a two-game ban.

The suspension comes for violating the league’s PED policy. It won’t have a massive impact on Dallas, since Gifford doesn’t play much at all on defense. He’s mostly appeared on special teams for the six games he’s been active so far this season. He’ll be eligible to return for their Week 13 game against the Bengals.

An UDFA from Nebraska, Gifford signed with the Cowboys as a rookie in 2019 and cracked the opening roster. He was on the 53 pretty much the whole season but was often a healthy scratch, appearing in only six games then as well.

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