HEADLINES

Year: 2024

Giants’ Daniel Jones Done For Year

December 20th, 2021 at 3:01pm CST by Zachary Links

The Giants are shutting Daniel Jones down for the rest of the season (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). While the quarterback’s neck injury isn’t especially serious, the team is opting for the cautious approach. 

Jones has been out since Week 12 and there’s little reason to bring him back out with three meaningless games to go. Of course, these final few games will carry some significance for the Giants, who are currently in line for the No. 5 overall pick. They also own the Bears’ first-round choice, projected for No. 6 as of this writing.

The Duke product will finish near the bottom of the league’s QBR rankings with just ten touchdowns against seven interceptions. He’s got 21 touchdown passes in 25 games over the last two years — less than the 24 TDs he totaled as a rookie in 2019.

It all adds up to a career with flashes of promise but not enough to justify his No. 6 overall draft slot. With a new GM likely on the way, Jones’ status is very much in the air. Between now and May, they’ll have to decide on the QB’s fifth-year option for 2023, which would cost the Giants somewhere around $21MM.

Without Jones, the Giants are left with Mike Glennon and Jake Fromm on the QB depth chart.

Texas A&M TE Jalen Wydermyer Enters Draft

December 20th, 2021 at 2:13pm CST by Zachary Links

Jalen Wydermyer is going pro. On Monday, the Texas A&M tight end announced that he’ll forgo his remaining eligibility to enter the 2022 NFL draft.

“Aggie Nation, 12th Man, and the entire College Station community, from my first visit to campus I felt at home,” Wydermyer wrote (Twitter link). “Thank you for making me one of your own.”

Dane Brugler of The Athletic has Wydermyer ranked as the best tight end in this year’s class, ahead of Colorado State’s Trey McBride and Ohio State’s Jeremy Ruckert. At 6’5″ and 255 pounds, he already has the build for the pro game. And, with 40 catches for 515 yards and four touchdowns to close out his collegiate career, he’s got a solid chance of going in the first round. On the flipside, some scouts are concerned about his history of drops. It’s also worth noting that this year’s TE class is especially deep, so it’s possible that teams will wait until Day 2 to start drafting them.

Wydermyer, who will also skip the Gator Bowl, leaves campus with 118 receptions for 1,468 yards and 16 touchdowns in total.

Giants Promote Jaylon Smith

December 20th, 2021 at 2:05pm CST by Zachary Links

The Giants have signed linebacker Jaylon Smith to the 53-man roster, according to agent Doug Hendrickson (on Twitter). Smith debuted as a temporary elevation on Sunday and he’s now a full-fledged member of the varsity squad.

[RELATED: Giants’ Shepard Done For Year]

Smith, 26, earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2019 with 154 tackles, good for the second-highest total in the NFL. He was still productive for the Cowboys early on this year too — the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus pegged him as a top-15 linebacker through four weeks. Still, the Cowboys opted to cut him and eat the remainder of his $7.2MM base salary. That led him to a two-game stint with the Packers and a December practice squad deal with the G-Men.

Terms of the contract are not known, but it’s likely a low-cost deal since the Cowboys are still on the hook for Smith’s original $7.2MM base salary. The former Notre Dame standout will be eligible to play this week when the Giants face the Eagles in Philadelphia.

Buccaneers’ Chris Godwin Done For Year

December 20th, 2021 at 1:40pm CST by Zachary Links

Chris Godwin‘s season is over. On Monday, the Buccaneers announced that the wide receiver has been diagnosed with a torn ACL, ruling him out for the remainder of the season as well as the postseason. 

[RELATED: Brown To Rejoin Buccaneers]

Godwin was forced out in the first half of last night’s game against the Saints with a knee injury. As recently as this morning, the Bucs were optimistic about his outlook — doctors believed that he was dealing with an MCL sprain that would only shelve him for a few weeks. Unfortunately, it’s far worse than that. Godwin is now set for surgery and an offseason of rehab as the rest of the Bucs push for another title.

As expected, Godwin has been a focal point of Tampa’s offense this year. Through 14 games, he notched 98 catches for 1,103 yards and five touchdowns (as well as one rushing TD). Even with the impending return of Antonio Brown, his presence will be sorely missed.

On the plus side, the Bucs have received better news regarding fellow star receiver Mike Evans and running back Leonard Fournette. Their hamstring injuries may cost them time, but they should be ready to go sometime before the playoffs (via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport).

The timing is doubly bad for Godwin since he’s months away from free agency. Before the injury, he was poised to shatter the WR market. He’s currently fifth in the league with 1,103 yards, trailing only Cooper Kupp, Justin Jefferson, Davante Adams, and Tyreek Hill. Up until the injury, he was in line for something similar to his breakout 2019 — 1,333 yards with nine scores.

The Bucs, now without Godwin, remain in the NFC South driver’s seat at 10-4. They’ll have a chance to clinch on Sunday when they face the Panthers.

Brian Schottenheimer To Call Jaguars’ Plays

December 20th, 2021 at 1:13pm CST by Zachary Links

Jaguars quarterbacks coach Brian Schottenheimer will call the plays for the rest of the season, interim head coach Darrell Bevell announced (Twitter link via Field Yates of ESPN.com). Bevell is, of course, an experienced offensive coordinator, but he’s handing things over to Schottenheimer so that he can focus on his HC duties over the next few weeks. 

[RELATED: Doug Pederson Interested In Jaguars HC Job]

Bevell may be a candidate for the permanent HC post and the final few games of the season may impact his candidacy. Schottenheimer, meanwhile, has an opportunity to re-establish himself in the coaching ranks. He hasn’t gotten great results out of No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence, but few Jaguars players have shined this year. Now, Schottenheimer has a chance to display his offensive acumen and show the league that he wasn’t the problem in Jacksonville.

Schottenheimer, 48, has more than two decades of coaching experience under his belt. He got his first crack at being an offensive coordinator with the Jets in 2006 and proceeded to spend six years in New York. He later served as offensive coordinator for the Rams and at Georgia. Following his brief collegiate stint, he returned to the NFL as the Colts quarterbacks coach. In 2018, he was hired as the Seahawks offensive coordinator to replace Bevell. He spent three seasons in Seattle, and, despite Seeattle setting a single-season franchise record for points scored, he was fired in January of 2021.

Chargers Place Joey Bosa, Austin Ekeler On COVID-19 List

December 20th, 2021 at 12:33pm CST by Zachary Links

The Chargers will be forced to place edge rusher Joey Bosa, center Corey Linsley, and running back Austin Ekeler on the COVID-19 list (Twitter link via Daniel Popper of The Athletic). The Bolts will likely add more players to that list later today, which may leave them at less than full strength for Sunday’s game against the Texans. 

Bosa was reported to be unvaccinated earlier this year. So, unless he has received the vaccine in recent weeks, he’ll still be subject to the league’s 2020 protocols and held out of this week’s game. Even under the revised rules, unvaccinated players who test positive must remain in quaratine for a minimum of ten days.

Bosa was briefly placed on the COVID-19 list back in November when he was ID’d as a high-risk close contact. But, after testing negative, he was cleared to face the Steelers in Week 11.

The 26-year-old is in the midst of another sensational season with 43 tackles, 9.5 sacks, and a league-leading six forced fumbles. Needless to say, he’s well on his way to a third straight Pro Bowl selection, which would give him four for his young career. The Chargers have Bosa under contract for years to come, thanks to the five-year, $135MM mega-deal he inked in 2020.

Unfortunately, the Chargers be without Bosa for at least a little while as they work to clinch a playoff berth. At 8-6, the Bolts have a 75% chance of. making the cut, per Five Thirty Eight, plus an outside chance of catching the Chiefs for the divisional crown.

Lions Promote Craig Reynolds

December 20th, 2021 at 11:59am CST by Zachary Links

The Lions have officially signed Craig Reynolds to the 53-man roster, per a club announcement. This comes one day after Reynolds amassed 112 yards off of 26 carries in an upset win over the Cardinals.

Reynolds was elevated to fill in for D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams. On Sunday, he made the most of his opportunity. Per league rules, stashing Reynolds on the practice squad again would have required the Lions to expose him to waivers. After his showing against the Cardinals, it’s likely that another team would have snatched him up.

The Lions aren’t playing for much over these final three games, but Reynolds has tons to gain. The Kutztown product was previously earning just $165K in base salary while on the taxi squad. Now, he can solidify his place on the 2022 roster as the Lions continue their rebuilding process.

Reynolds figures to see plenty of carries next week when the Lions face the Falcons in Atlanta. Whether Lions fans want it or not, they’ll be gunning for their first winning streak of the season on Sunday.

WFT Places Brandon Scherff On COVID-19 List

December 20th, 2021 at 11:50am CST by Zachary Links

Brandon Scherff will be placed on Washington’s Reserve/COVID-19 list (Twitter link via Ben Standig of The Athletic). With the All-Pro guard added to the tally, WFT currently has 16 players on the list headed into tomorrow’s game against the Eagles. 

[RELATED: WFT Activates Allen, Sweat]

Washington expects offensive lineman Matt Ioannidis to be cleared in time (Twitter link via Edward Ford of FOX 61), but everyone else’s status is TBD. That includes quarterbacks Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen, which means that journeyman Garrett Gilbert could be in line to start.

Scherff, who turns 30 on Sunday, missed a total of 18 games from 2017-2020. So far this year, he’s suited up for just nine games and he’ll miss another this week. Playing on his second-straight franchise tag at a rate of $18.04MM, he’s scheduled for free agency in the spring.

Washington still has a 20% chance of making the playoffs, per the stats at Five Thirty Eight. But, at 6-7, a loss to the Birds would likely level those odds.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/20/21

December 20th, 2021 at 10:03am CST by Zachary Links

Today’s taxi squad moves:

Buffalo Bills

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Green Bay Packers

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Rams

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Browns’ Baker Mayfield, Case Keenum Ruled Out

December 20th, 2021 at 9:31am CST by Zachary Links

Baker Mayfield and Case Keenum weren’t able to test out of the NFL’s COVID-19 protocols in time for today’s game (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero). With that, Nick Mullens is set to start for the Browns against the Raiders today.

[RELATED: Raiders-Browns Moved To Monday]

The Browns were able to activate safety John Johnson III from the list, but the bulk of their COVID-19 positive players from last week will be held out. To fill the roster, the Browns have elevated cornerbacks Brian Allen and Herb Miller, safeties Tedric Thompson and Jovante Moffatt, defensive end Joe Jackson, guard Hjalte Froholdt, and running back John Kelly for tonight’s game.

Without their top two QBs, the Browns will need a big day out of their running backs. Unfortunately, that group won’t include Kareem Hunt, who also finds himself on the COVID-19 list. Instead, they’ll look to Nick Chubb, who has 5.5 yards per carry on the year, and D’Ernest Johnson, the reserve who turned in a couple of impressive performances earlier this year.

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