HEADLINES

Month: January 2025

Saints’ Michael Thomas To Miss Week 15

December 18th, 2020 at 4:48pm CST by Sam Robinson

While Drew Brees will be back for the Saints this week, he will not have his top target available. The Saints have ruled Michael Thomas out for their Week 15 game against the Chiefs.

The first half of Thomas’ season wound up marred by multiple injuries and a team-imposed suspension, but the All-Pro wide receiver returned in Week 9 and has not missed time since. More ankle trouble, however, will keep the fifth-year star on the sidelines Sunday.

Thomas did not practice this week. He entered this season as one of the NFL’s most dependable wideouts, having missed just two games in four years. Taysom Hill targeted Thomas frequently during his four starts, with two of those producing 100-plus-yard games. Last week, Thomas caught eight passes for 84 yards. He will enter the Saints’ Christmas game — should he be cleared to return by next week — without a touchdown reception.

This is a clear blow for a Saints team that is a rare home underdog against the 12-1 Chiefs. The 10-3 Saints losing Sunday would likely prevent them from securing the NFC’s bye. New Orleans, however, won four straight games without Thomas earlier this year — and two of those victories came with Emmanuel Sanders out as well — but the Chiefs are a tougher beat than any team the Saints have defeated this season.

Colts P Rigoberto Sanchez Will Play In Week 15

December 18th, 2020 at 3:53pm CST by Ben Levine

Dec. 18: The Colts will indeed have their primary punter and kickoff specialist back in action this weekend, per Joel A. Erickson of the Indianapolis Star (via Twitter). Sanchez’s could be key for an Indy squad that is neck-and-neck with the Titans in the AFC South.

Dec. 17: After undergoing surgery to remove a cancerous tumor earlier this month, Colts punter Rigoberto Sanchez returned to practice this week. In fact, there’s a chance he could end up seeing the field this weekend, as head coach Frank Reich said he’s holding out hope that the 26-year-old can play against the Texans (via ESPN).

Sanchez, a former undrafted free agent out of Hawaii, burst on the scene when he earned PFWA All-Rookie Team honors during the 2017 campaign. He didn’t miss a game for the Colts up to Week 12 of this season, when he had a season-high in punts (five) and punting yards (254). That performance came only days after the 26-year-old received his diagnose.

“I wasn’t going to do that to my team,” Sanchez said of potentially missing that Week 12 contest (via ESPN’s Mike Wells). “It’s all about the team. At the end of the day, I don’t think they would have been able to get a punter in in time, and it wasn’t going to be any worse. That was already worst-case scenario. I was going to fight through the pain, whatever it was. No need to make a bigger deal than it is. I was going to get surgery Tuesday already, so I was like, ‘Can it get any worse?’ I asked the doctor if it could get any worse and he said, ‘No.’ So then I’m like, ‘OK, I’m going to play. I’m going to do it for my brothers. They need me.’ That’s what it was.”

Ryan Allen has filled in for Sanchez over the past two weeks, with the veteran compiling a net average of 36.7 yards…10.5 yards behind Sanchez’s 2020 numbers. Before long, whether it’s this weekend or next, Sanchez should resume his punting and kickoff duties.

“I was overwhelmed throughout this crazy process of ups and downs mentally and all of it, but it helped out so much having everybody by my side — family members reaching out, friends, you name it,” Sanchez said.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/18/20

December 18th, 2020 at 3:33pm CST by Rory Parks

Here are today’s minor moves:

Buffalo Bills

Denver Broncos

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Jamal Perry

Philadelphia Eagles

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Kenny Golladay Wants To Remain With Lions

December 18th, 2020 at 3:06pm CST by Rory Parks

Fresh off his first career Pro Bowl selection, Lions WR Kenny Golladay was hoping to secure a monster contract extension this year, or at least to build upon his 2019 successes and set himself up well for unrestricted free agency in 2021. Unfortunately, injuries have limited him to just five games this season, and he has not played since November 1.

With Detroit out of playoff contention, interim HC Darrell Bevell is considering shutting Golladay down for the year. “I think that’s a conversation that’s coming,” Bevell said (via Justin Rogers of the Detroit News). “We’re really trying to get him back and he really wants to play, he wants to be in there, but that’s a conversation of where are we at in the season that it might come to that.”

Some skeptics have wondered if that’s what Golladay has wanted all along. Although a report in early September suggested that the Lions and their star receiver were closing in on a long-term deal, that obviously has not happened, and it would be hard to blame Golladay for making a business decision and protecting himself from further injury instead of jeopardizing his health in a lost season.

But Bevell and Golladay both insist that is not the case. Bevell said, “[t]he good thing for me is I’m in here every day. I get to see what he’s doing. I get to see what he’s putting his body through to try to get back for us and for his teammates. He’s doing that and that’s really what I can say.” Golladay added that he sustained a hip flexor strain during Detroit’s November 1 battle with the Colts and suffered a minor setback in rehab, but he has been doing everything in his power to return to the field.

The 27-year-old said he remains committed to the Lions and wants to stay in Detroit for the long haul, despite the fact that the club will be looking for a new head coach and GM in 2021 and could move on from QB Matthew Stafford. However, he knows that might not be in the cards.

After all, contract negotiations are on hold since the team fired former GM Bob Quinn, and the Lions will need to clear significant salary cap space to either hit Golladay with the franchise tag or hand him a multi-year pact worth $18-20MM per season, which is what he stands to make on the open market (assuming he is fully healthy by then). Still, he is hopeful something can get done when a new regime is brought in.

“You know, [the Lions] believed in me,” Golladay said. … “If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out. Then I go somewhere else and ball out and play. But like I said, I’m a loyal person and of course I want to be here. I started my career here.”

Washington QB Alex Smith To Miss Week 15

December 18th, 2020 at 12:58pm CST by Rory Parks

After suffering two difficult three-point losses in Weeks 9 and 10, the Washington Football Team has rattled off four wins in a row to put itself in first place in the NFC East. However, WFT will not have its starting QB when it hosts the Seahawks in a critical showdown on Sunday.

Alex Smith left the team’s win over the 49ers last week due to a calf strain in his right leg. Since that’s the same leg that was brutally injured several years ago, the sight of Smith walking to the locker room accompanied by training staff immediately set off alarm bells. As Smith explained, the earlier injury resulted in multiple debridements due to an infection, and there are now no nerves in the muscle at the front of his leg. So while the calf strain is technically unrelated, it is complicated by the earlier procedures (Twitter link via Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post).

The team had been expressing optimism throughout the week that Smith would be able to play against Seattle, but Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweeted this afternoon that Smith was unable to do much of anything at practice today. Washington subsequently ruled Smith out for Sunday’s game, with Jay Glazer of FOX Sports adding that the 36-year-old signal-caller just couldn’t get the calf loosened up enough (Twitter link).

That means that second-year passer Dwayne Haskins will get his first start since Week 4. Haskins has fallen out of favor with the organization, which picked him with the No. 15 overall selection of the 2019 draft, but WFT’s playoff hopes may hang on his right arm.

Haskins completed 7 of 12 passes for 51 yards in relief of Smith against San Francisco.

Jets Place LB Jordan Jenkins On IR

December 18th, 2020 at 11:35am CST by Sam Robinson

Dec. 18: Jenkins will undergo surgery to repair a torn labrum and dislocated shoulder, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (via Twitter). According to RapSheet, Jenkins actually sustained the injury in Week 3 but has tried to battle through it. That could certainly explain his underwhelming performance this year, but the good news for him is that he is expected to be full healthy by the start of free agency.

Dec. 16: The Jets re-signed Jordan Jenkins in March; the veteran pass rusher’s time with the team may be over. Gang Green moved Jenkins to IR Wednesday. He will miss the rest of the season.

A Mike Maccagnan-era draft choice, Jenkins returned via one-year, $3.75MM deal under new GM Joe Douglas. But Jenkins has not produced much in what is on pace to be the worst season in Jets history.

Jenkins will end this season with just two sacks and six QB hits in 12 games. This comes after the former third-round pick totaled 15 sacks between the 2018 and ’19 seasons. He missed New York’s Week 14 game against Seattle with a shoulder injury and will likely head into free agency on the heels of this early end to his season.

Whether the Jets opt to retain Jenkins again or not, they will enter yet another offseason with glaring needs on the edge. Jenkins and Tarell Basham (two sacks) are the only Jets edge players with more than one sack. The team has an extra first-round pick from the Jamal Adams trade, but Douglas may have to address this position in free agency and the draft.

Bucs Place Donovan Smith On Reserve/COVID-19 List

December 18th, 2020 at 11:13am CST by Rory Parks

The Buccaneers have placed starting LT Donovan Smith on the reserve/COVID-19 list, per a team announcement. As a result, Smith will miss Tampa’s matchup with the Falcons on Sunday.

The 27-year-old blocker released a statement saying that he had close contact with a family member who recently tested positive for the coronavirus. Per league protocols, Smith must self-quarantine for at least five days.

Smith has never been a world-beater, but even an average blindside protector is a valuable commodity in the NFL, as evidenced by the three-year, $41.25MM contract Smith signed with the Bucs in 2019. He has been entrenched as the Bucs’ starting LT since Tampa selected him in the second round of the 2015 draft, and this Sunday’s contest will be just the second missed game of his career.

2020 has actually been a solid year for him relative to his usual performance, at least if you believe the advanced metrics. Pro Football Focus thinks favorably of both his run-blocking and pass-blocking this season and considers him the 39th-best tackle in the league out of 80 qualified players. Josh Wells will likely get the start in Smith’s absence.

There is some good news to pass along, however. Specialists Bradley Pinion, Ryan Succop, and Zach Triner, who all found themselves on the reserve/COVID-19 list earlier this week, have been activated. According to Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk, one of those three players tested positive for COVID-19 earlier in the week, and the other two were placed on the list as close contacts. However, it appears that the positive test was a false one.

In order to guard against the possibility of losing their primary punter, kicker, and long snapper, the Bucs brought in free agent P Dustin Colquitt, K Brett Maher, and LS Garrison Sanborn for visits, as Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network tweets. It doesn’t sound like there is a need to sign those players now, but Tampa may be keeping them on speed dial just in case.

Texans Notes: Easterby, Kelly, Cobb

December 18th, 2020 at 10:41am CST by Rory Parks

While Texans executive VP Jack Easterby will not become the team’s next GM, recent reports suggest that he will have a significant say in determining who the next head coach will be. And in a comprehensive piece detailing Easterby’s unconventional and sometimes controversial rise through the NFL front office ranks, Jenny Vrentas and Greg Bishop of SI.com suggest that might not necessarily be a good thing.

The article is well-worth a read for any NFL observer, but especially Texans fans. Some of the authors’ sources say that Easterby, who was brought in to improve the club’s culture, has only made it worse, and that he has secured his lofty position within the organization thanks largely to the inordinate amount of sway he has over owner Cal McNair. Indeed, one source said McNair is “blinded” by Easterby, who has also been accused of undermining other key figures — like former head coach Bill O’Brien — and who is said to have been a driving force behind the lopsided DeAndre Hopkins trade (for which O’Brien has shouldered most of the blame).

Of course, Easterby — who declined the authors’ invitation to tell his side of the story — has plenty of supporters as well, and it will be fascinating to see how his role will impact Houston’s HC/GM search and the team’s fortunes moving forward.

Now for more from the Texans:

  • If quarterback Deshaun Watson has it his way, the new Texans head coach will retain current offensive coordinator Tim Kelly, as Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes. Kelly has been with the organization since 2014 and was elevated to OC last year. Amidst an otherwise difficult 2020 campaign, Watson is enjoying a career year, and he gives his 34-year-old coordinator a great deal of credit for that. We previously heard that McNair would consider Watson’s input with respect to the HC search, so it stands to reason that he would also value his star QB’s opinion on his OC.
  • The Hopkins trade, along with assorted injuries and suspensions, have decimated Watson’s WR corps. Randall Cobb has been on IR since late November with a significant toe injury, and according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, surgery is a possibility. Cobb, 30, has an outside chance of returning this year, but with the Texans well out of the playoff picture, it probably makes more sense for him to start preparing for 2021.
  • The Texans selected cornerback John Reid in the fourth round of this year’s draft, but even after the Bradley Roby suspension and with Houston already looking ahead to next year, Reid is unlikely to see more defensive snaps, per Wilson. Defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver confirmed as much, saying that while he believes Reid has a great career ahead of him, he is not quite ready for a larger role. Reid has played just 60 defensive snaps on the season, and 32 of those came in Week 1.
  • LB Reggie Gilbert and DL Willie Henry are visiting the Texans, per Wilson. Gilbert and Henry were recently cut by the Jaguars and 49ers, respectively, and Houston will see if they can get anything out of two defenders who at one time showed they might be worthwhile pieces of an NFL roster.

Bills’ Ownership Urging Teams To Hire DC Leslie Frazier As HC

December 18th, 2020 at 9:22am CST by Rory Parks

When an offensive or defensive coordinator has success, he often finds himself as a hot head coaching candidate. And while the team that loses its successful coordinator will invariably wish him well in his next endeavor, it will nonetheless lament having to fill his shoes.

But according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, Bills owners Terry and Kim Pegula are actually “leading the charge” to get Buffalo defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier the head coaching consideration the Pegulas believe he deserves. La Canfora says the Pegulas have reached out to owners around the league to make them aware of Frazier’s key role in the Bills’ turnaround over the past several seasons and to express their belief that he would make a terrific HC.

Of course, Frazier served as the Vikings’ head coach for three-plus seasons earlier this decade. He took over on an interim basis in the middle of the 2010 campaign after Brad Childress was fired, and he had the interim tag removed at the end of that season. That was a difficult time for the Minnesota franchise, as QB Brett Favre announced his retirement the day before Frazier was named the permanent HC, and the roster as a whole was trending in the wrong direction. Still, after a horrible 3-13 season in 2011, Frazier led the Vikings to a 10-6 showing and a playoff berth in 2012.

He was fired after a disappointing 5-10-1 record in 2013, and after stints as the Bucs’ DC and the Ravens’ secondary coach, he became Sean McDermott‘s defensive coordinator when McDermott was hired as the Bills’ head coach in 2017. While McDermott rightfully gets plenty of credit for turning Buffalo into an AFC power, Frazier’s contributions should not go unnoticed. Though his defense is not as stout in terms of yards allowed per game in 2020 as it has been over the past two seasons, the Bills are poised to host their first playoff game in 25 years, which will certainly help Frazier’s cause.

Plus, the 61-year-old is highly-respected around the league and is beloved by his players. Many teams are seeking out the next great offensive mind in their HC search, but Frazier — who received the added title of assistant head coach back in March — could garner plenty of attention as well.

Drew Brees Returns To Saints Practice, To Start Week 15

December 18th, 2020 at 8:51am CST by Sam Robinson

Dec. 18: Brees will get the start in the Saints’ key matchup with the Chiefs this weekend, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The team believes Brees is fully healthy, and the Saints’ doctors have cleared him to play. The Saints activated Brees from IR on Saturday. New Orleans fell out of the NFC’s top seed thanks to its loss to the Eagles last week, and a loss in the marquee battle with Kansas City could scuttle any hopes of a first-round bye.

Dec. 16: As expected, the Saints made the official step of designating Drew Brees to return to practice Wednesday. Although Brees practiced for the first time since suffering a punctured lung and 11 rib fractures Nov. 15, he still has some hurdles to negotiate before returning to action.

The Saints want to see the future Hall of Fame passer display a full range of motion before sending him back into action. His timetable has gone from being a good bet to start against the Chiefs on Sunday to being questionable “at best” for that pivotal interconference matchup.

“He’s got a ways to go still, and he’s someone we’re not gonna just hurry back and just put him in the game,” Sean Payton said, via ESPN.com’s Mike Triplett. “I think the significance of the injuries are such that you’ve gotta make sure he can function and feel confident.”

Brees fared well Wednesday, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, who notes the soon-to-be 42-year-old passer was not in much pain while practicing for the first time officially in a month (video link). The Saints have three weeks to activate Brees. While the Saints are 8-1 without Brees over the past two seasons, their loss to the Eagles allowed the Packers to move past them in the race for the NFC’s bye.

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