2021 September - Pro Football Rumors

Dolphins Rule Out Tua Tagovailoa For Week 3

September 22nd, 2021 at 3:17pm CST by Sam Robinson

Tua Tagovailoa‘s rib injury will keep him out of the Dolphins’ Week 3 game in Las Vegas, Brian Flores said Wednesday. Flores said additional testing revealed fractured ribs, Jeff Darlington of ESPN.com tweets. This marks a bit of a step up from Tua’s “day to day” assessment.

While the third-year Dolphins HC stopped short of indicating Tagovailoa would need to be placed on IR, such a scenario would not be surprising. This represents another setback for the former top-five pick, who has yet to find his NFL footing.

Jacoby Brissett replaced Tagovailoa in the Dolphins’ 35-0 loss to the Bills and will start against the Raiders. The Dolphins signed Brissett to a one-year, $5MM deal this offseason. Should this situation morph into a Tagovailoa IR stay, Brissett would have a reunion game in Week 4, when the Dolphins face the Colts. The Dolphins will match up against the Buccaneers in Week 5.

Entering the NFL after a severe hip injury ended his junior season early, Tagovailoa also missed a game due to a thumb injury as a rookie. The former Alabama superstar threw four passes before going down in Week 2.

This setback may intensify Deshaun Watson rumors, with the Dolphins being the team most closely connected to the Pro Bowl passer. Despite owner Stephen Ross‘ potential interest in acquiring the embattled Texans quarterback, the Dolphins have balked at the Texans’ steep asking price. Houston is believed to have turned down an offer including three first-round picks, seeking a haul including other high picks and/or established players as well. The Texans have made Watson a healthy scratch for their first two games.

49ers Add RB Chris Thompson To P-Squad

September 22nd, 2021 at 2:27pm CST by Sam Robinson

With major injury issues at running back, the 49ers continue to bring in outside talent at the position. They are adding former Washington back Chris Thompson to their practice squad.

Thompson’s Washington stint lasted long enough he has a history with Kyle Shanahan. Washington drafted the pass-catching back in the 2013 fifth round, when the current 49ers HC remained Washington’s offensive coordinator. The eight-year veteran will now join the 49ers, who have seen injuries inject considerable uncertainty into their backfield.

Thompson, 30, spent last season with the Jaguars but did not factor into their offense much during James Robinson‘s standout rookie season. The 49ers are without Raheem Mostert for the rest of the season and have Jeff Wilson on the reserve/PUP list. Elijah Mitchell, Trey Sermon and JaMycal Hasty battling injuries. Mitchell and Hasty, who are respectively dealing with shoulder and ankle maladies, did not practice Wednesday. Sermon suffered a concussion in his NFL debut Sunday.

Washington used Thompson as its passing-down back for several years, with the Florida State product initially supplementing Alfred Morris before ending his D.C. career playing alongside Adrian Peterson and Derrius Guice in 2019. Thompson eclipsed 700 scrimmage yards in two seasons and earned an extension in 2017. The veteran backup auditioned for the Bears this week but will end up heading to San Francisco.

The 49ers now have eight running backs on their active roster and practice squad combined. Kerryon Johnson and Josh Hokit reside on the team’s taxi squad, while ex-Bengals practice squad cog Jacques Patrick is now on the 49ers’ 53-man roster, joining Trenton Cannon.

Jaguars Place TE James O’Shaughnessy On IR

September 22nd, 2021 at 1:57pm CST by Zachary Links

The Jaguars have placed James O’Shaughnessy on the injured reserve list. The move will free up a roster spot in Jacksonville while the tight end recovers for the next three-to-four weeks.

O’Shaughnessy was forced out early against the Broncos with an ankle sprain. Up until that point, the Jags were expecting a big day from the tight end — he had just caught six passes for 48 yards in Week 1, good for No. 2 on the team. Now, the Jaguars are down 0-2 and without one of their best offensive weapons.

The Jaguars will rely on Chris Manhertz, Jacob Hollister, and fifth-round pick Luke Farrell to fill out the tight end group, perhaps with another addition between now and this weekend. One spot has already been taken by cornerback Nevin Lawson, who agreed to a one-year deal earlier today.

The winless Jags — sans O’Shaughnessy — will battle the 2-0 Cardinals this Sunday.

Bears To Start Justin Fields

September 22nd, 2021 at 12:18pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bears will start Justin Fields on Sunday, head coach Matt Nagy announced (Twitter link via Field Yates of ESPN.com). The rookie will start in place of the injured Andy Dalton with Nick Foles serving as the No. 2 quarterback.

This will be a temporary arrangement, according to Nagy. “When Andy is healthy,” the head coach said. “He’s our starter.”

Dalton was knocked out of Sunday’s win over the Bengals and an MRI confirmed a bone bruise in his knee. That shouldn’t shelve the veteran for too long, though he hasn’t been stellar so far this year. His performance in the Week 1 loss to the Rams was rough and, even though he looked a bit better on Sunday, Fields’ upside cannot be ignored.

Before exiting, Dalton completed nine of his 11 passes for 56 yards and one touchdown. Meanwhile, Fields completed both of his pass attempts and rushed for a touchdown in Week 1. In fairness, the first-round pick wasn’t as strong this past weekend — he completed only six of his 13 pass attempts for 60 yards with one TD and one fumble.

Despite Nagy’s assertion, a strong showing from Fields could change quickly. If he takes the helm, he’ll be just the fifth Round 1 QB to be the primary starter of his club since 2011, following Patrick Mahomes, Jake Locker, Johnny Manziel, and Paxton Lynch.

Bucs Place Antonio Brown On COVID-19 List

September 22nd, 2021 at 11:57am CST by Zachary Links

The Buccaneers have placed Antonio Brown on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Given the timing, it’s unlikely that Brown will be available for this week’s game against the Rams.

Brown tested positive for COVID-19, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). The standout receiver is vaccinated and could return by submitting two negative tests 24 hours apart. Still, it is unlikely Brown will be able to return to the team for its Los Angeles trip.

Brown becomes the third Bucs player to hit the reserve/COVID-19 list, following inside linebacker Kevin Minter and practice squad receiver Travis Jonsen. Punt returner Jaydon Mickens (hip) could also be sidelined, leaving the Bucs with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Scotty Miller, and Tyler Johnson at WR. Fourth-round pick Jaelen Darden could be activated to make it five and serve as the team’s return man on Sunday.

Brown started the year off with a boom, notching five catches for 121 yards and a touchdown against the Cowboys. He was less of a factor last week (one catch for 17 yards), but the Bucs still cruised to a 48-25 win over the Falcons. From this point, Brown’s timetable will hinge on his test results and vaccination status. If he’s ruled out for Sunday as expected, he could still return in time for Week 4 against the Patriots.

The 33-year-old is looking to expand on his monster debut season in Tampa. In just eight regular-season games last year, the multiple-time All-Pro registered 45 catches for 483 yards and four touchdowns.

Jaguars To Sign Nevin Lawson

September 22nd, 2021 at 11:20am CST by Zachary Links

The Jaguars are signing Nevin Lawson (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). It’s a one-year deal for the veteran cornerback, just days after his release from the Raiders.

The Raiders figured they could re-sign Lawson to the practice squad, but the Jaguars quickly spoiled their plans. Now, Lawson is set to dress for this week’s game against the Cardinals. The Jags are banged up in the secondary, with Tre Herndon (knee) and C.J. Henderson (hip flexor and groin) nursing injuries.

This’ll mark Lawson’s first live action of 2021 after serving a two-game suspension to open the year. The Raiders could have activated him for Sunday’s game against the Dolphins, but they chose to drop him instead. There’s reason to believe that Lawson can be a solid contributor to someone’s secondary — he started in nine of his 14 games last year and tallied 61 tackles, four passes defensed, two forced fumbles, and a sack.

If signed, the 30-year-old could dress for this week’s game against the Cardials. As of this writing, the Jaguars’ have Tre Herndon, Shaquill Griffin, and Chris Claybrooks, second-rounder Tyson Campbell, and former first-rounder C.J. Henderson on the roster.

Lions Place Ifeatu Melifonwu On IR

September 22nd, 2021 at 10:11am CST by Zachary Links

The Lions have placed cornerback Ifeatu Melifonwu on the injured reserve list (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). To take his place, they’ve promoted fellow corner Daryl Worley from the practice squad to the active roster.

Melifonwu will need at least a few weeks to recover from the thigh injury he suffered on Monday night. Lions head coach Dan Campbell isn’t exactly sure when he’ll return, but he did tell reporters that the rookie will be out for a “significant amount of time.” It’s a bad blow for Detroit — the third-rounder out of Syracuse was enjoying a strong start to his pro career. He notched a fumble recovery in his Week 1 debut and earned a start in Week 2 against the Packers.

Of course, the Lions were already without Jeff Okudah, who has been ruled out for the season. Amani Oruwariye will remain the starter at one of the cornerback spots, likely with help from former undrafted safety Bobby Price.

Worley should factor into the banged-up secondary as well, especially since he has 54 career starts to his credit. Still only 26, Worley’s resume includes five interceptions and 37 passes defensed.

Broncos Sign Micah Kiser

September 22nd, 2021 at 10:04am CST by Zachary Links

The Broncos have signed linebacker Micah Kiser off of the Rams’ practice squad (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). Kiser will help fill in for starter Josey Jewell, who is done for the year with a torn pectoral muscle.

Kiser has agreed to a one-year, fully-guaranteed $600K deal with Denver, according to Rapoport. He’ll get a chance to see his first significant work of the season — to date, he’s got just 17 special teams snaps from Week 2 when the Rams faced the Colts. Last year, Kiser notched 77 total tackles, three passes defensed, and a forced fumble in nine starts for the Rams.

Kiser & Co. will look to go 3-0 on Sunday when they take on the Jets. Unfortunately, they’ll also be without fourth-year linebacker Bradley Chubb, who is recovering from ankle surgery. There’s no exact word on Chubb’s timetable just yet, but he’s expected to be out for six-to-eight weeks.

Seahawks Worked Out DT Brandon Dunn

September 21st, 2021 at 10:22pm CST by Ben Levine

The Seahawks worked out a former Texans starter today. The team had defensive tackle Brandon Dunn in for a tryout, reports Aaron Wilson (via Twitter).

Dunn had spent the majority of his career in Houston, starting 37 games for the organization. The defensive lineman actually started a career-high 13 games in 2020, finishing with 26 tackles, three sacks, and one fumble recovery. He inked a three-year, $12MM extension with the team in February of 2020, but he ended up getting cut by the team before the end of the 2021 preseason.

Bryan Mone has been sidelined with an elbow injury, so the team could be looking for some extra reinforcement at defensive tackle. The team had to elevate Robert Nkemdiche from the practice squad for Sunday’s game against the Titans, and the fill-in ended up collecting seven tackles while playing on 41 percent of his team’s defensive snaps.

Dunn wasn’t the only player working out for the Seahawks today. Wilson tweets that defensive tackle Andrew Brown and wide receivers Lawrence Cager and Anthony Johnson also auditioned for Seattle.

Lions CB Ifeatu Melifonwu To Miss “Significant Amount Of Time”

September 21st, 2021 at 8:46pm CST by Ben Levine

A key Lions rookie will be sidelined for the foreseeable future. Cornerback Ifeatu Melifonwu suffered a significant thigh injury during Monday’s loss to the Packers, reports Tim Twentyman of the team’s website (via Twitter).

Lions head coach Dan Campbell told reporters that Melifonwu will be out of the lineup for a “significant amount of time,” and the rookie is expected to need at least a few weeks to recover. The injury occurred in the second half of last night’s contest, with Melifonwu suffering the injury on a 50-yard grab by Davante Adams.

Following a standout career at Syracuse, Melifonwu was selected in the third round of this past year’s draft. The 6-foot-3 defensive back had a fumble recovery during his NFL debut in Week 1, and he ended up earning his first career start in Week 2. The 22-year-old saw time on 30 defensive snaps last night, collecting a pair of tackles and defending one pass.

The Lions were already scrambling for cornerback depth; Melifonwu only got the start because Jeff Okudah suffered a season-ending injury. Amani Oruwariye remains the starter at one of the cornerback spots, with former undrafted safety Bobby Price appearing to be the next man in line.