HEADLINES

Year: 2024

Andrew Whitworth Not Eyeing Retirement

December 9th, 2021 at 10:39am CST by Adam La Rose

As he approaches a career milestone and a piece of NFL history, Rams left tackle Andrew Whitworth has no plans of hanging up his cleats at the end of the season. He intends to keep playing as long as possible, Lindsey Thiry of ESPN.com notes.

When the 16-year veteran suits up for the Rams’ game against the Cardinals on Monday, Whitworth will become the first left tackle to start an NFL game at the age of 40. The game will come one day after his birthday and make him the only active player other than Tom Brady to be playing into his 40s.

A Bengals second-round pick in 2006, Whitworth played in Cincinnati for the first 11 years of his career. The four-time Pro Bowler and two-time All Pro has been with the Rams since 2017 and has consistently been one of the league’s pass protectors.

“To me, the only way that I would retire is there’d have to be a situation where either financially the Rams can’t afford me or there’s just some way where it doesn’t work out for the both of us for me to be back,” Whitworth said, via Thiry. “So that would really be the only scenario where I would ever really see me retiring.”

Whitworth is under contract through the 2022 season, when his cap hit rises from its current figure of $5.67MM to $14.67MM.

Cards Designate Chase Edmonds For Return

December 9th, 2021 at 10:25am CST by Sam Robinson

A week after Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins returned to action, the Cardinals could have their starting running back in uniform. Chase Edmonds will return to practice Thursday.

This development starts Edmonds’ 21-day IR-return window. The fourth-year veteran has not played since Week 9, when he suffered a high ankle sprain. His return would continue a positive trend for the Cardinals, who have largely not let high-profile injury issues slow them.

Despite James Conner enjoying one of the better bounce-back seasons of any player this year, Edmonds started the Cards’ first nine games. Acquired a year before Kliff Kingsbury‘s arrival, the former fourth-round pick is in his first season as a starter. The Cards let Kenyan Drake walk in free agency, giving the keys to Edmonds (with a healthy assist from Conner).

Edmonds, who is on track to be a free agent in 2022, has totaled 641 scrimmage yards this season. He topped out with a 120-yard rushing performance against the Rams in October. The Cardinals’ rematch with the Rams looms Monday, and Edmonds has a chance to be in uniform for that game.

Arizona also designated long snapper Aaron Brewer and safety Charles Washington to return from IR.

Dalvin Cook On Track To Return In Week 14

December 9th, 2021 at 9:48am CST by Sam Robinson

Although the Vikings had planned for Dalvin Cook to miss two games due to a labrum tear and shoulder dislocation, the Pro Bowl running back has a decent chance of being in uniform Thursday night.

Cook has progressed to the point where he is trending toward playing, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com notes, adding that the fifth-year back took first-team reps and has regained his range of motion (Twitter links). Cook has already passed necessary tests to make a return, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler tweets, and will play barring a pregame setback.

This would obviously be big news for a Vikings team clinging to wild-card hopes. Minnesota’s loss in Detroit bumped the team down to 5-7, and the Vikings will already be without Adam Thielen tonight. The team ruled out the veteran wide receiver, who is battling a high ankle sprain.

A quick Cook return also serves as interesting due to the Vikes’ schedule. Were Minnesota to give Cook another week, he would have 11 more days to recover. The Vikings’ Week 15 game is on Monday, Dec. 20.

A Pro Bowler in each of the past two years, Cook is in the first season of a five-year, $63MM extension. He has missed three games this season, leading to high-end backup Alexander Mattison making starts. While Mattison could see more work than normal in his RB2 role, Cook is on track to beat his most recent injury timetable.

Eagles Extend OL Le’Raven Clark

December 8th, 2021 at 9:51pm CST by Ben Levine

The Eagles extended backup lineman Le’Raven Clark today. Per the team, the offensive lineman inked a new deal that will keep him in Philadelphia through at least the 2022 season.

After spending the first four seasons of his career with the Colts, the former third-round pick joined the Eagles this offseason. He didn’t make the team at the end of the preseason, but he re-joined the organization via the practice squad days later. After appearing in 47 games (15 starts) through his first four years in the NFL, Clark has only seen time in two games this season, with all six of his snaps coming on special teams.

The Eagles weren’t done making moves today. According to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer on Twitter, Philly waived cornerback Mac McCain. The undrafted rookie out of North Carolina A&T has traveled plenty during his first season in the NFL. He spent the preseason with the Broncos, he later caught on with the Eagles, he was claimed again by Denver, and then he was claimed a second time by Philly. The 23-year-old has seen time in one game this season, collecting 13 special teams snaps for the Eagles in Week 3.

Raiders Extend P AJ Cole

December 8th, 2021 at 9:40pm CST by Ben Levine

The Raiders are busy extending their key special teamers. After reportedly extending kicker Daniel Carlson earlier tonight, the Raiders have now inked punter AJ Cole to a four-year extension, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo (via Twitter).

[RELATED: Raiders Extend K Daniel Carlson]

Cole joined the Raiders as an undrafted free agent out of NC State in 2019, and he hasn’t missed a single game for the organization since that time. Cole has appeared in 12 games this season, compiling 2,505 yards on 49 punts (good for a league-leading 51.1 yards per punt).

The terms of Cole’s deal haven’t been reported, but Garafolo notes that Cole will be among the four highest-paid punters in the NFL. Seahawks punter Michael Dickson became the highest-paid player at his position when he signed a pact worth $3.5MM per year.

The Raiders front office is making significant investments in their special teams aces. Earlier tonight, the organization signed Carolson to a four-year pact worth $18.4MM, including a $4MM signing bonus and $10.2MM in guaranteed

Raiders Extend K Daniel Carlson

December 8th, 2021 at 7:57pm CST by Ben Levine

Daniel Carlson will be sticking around Las Vegas for the foreseeable future. The Raiders have signed their kicker to a four-year extension, according to agent Mike McCartney (via Twitter). The four-year pact is worth $18.4MM, including a $4MM signing bonus and $10.2MM in guaranteed money, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (via Twitter).

Carlson was a fifth-round pick by the Vikings back in 2018, but he didn’t even make it a month into his first NFL season before receiving his walking papers. He caught on with the Raiders later that season, and he’s been the organization’s kicker ever since. The kicker struggled a bit during his first full season with the Raiders, converting only 73.1 percent of his field goal attempts. However, that number jumped to 94.3 percent in 2020.

Following the kicker’s breakout season, the Raiders slapped Carlson with a second-round tender back in March. The 26-year-old has appeared in all 12 games for the Raiders this season, connecting on 27 of his 30 field goal attempts (90.0%) and 23 of his 25 extra point tries (92.0%). He’s already earned a pair of AFC Special Teams Player of the Week awards this season.

Carlson’s extension makes him the third highest-paid kicker in the NFL. The Dolphins reset the kicker market back in February when they gave Jason Sanders a $22MM extension, the largest kicker contract in the NFL. Ravens kicker Justin Tucker still paces the position with $12.5MM in guaranteed money and a $5MM average annual salary.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/8/21

December 8th, 2021 at 7:46pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Baltimore Ravens

Cincinnati Bengals

  • Designated for return: G D’Ante Smith, CB Trae Waynes

Denver Broncos

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Washington Football Team

Titans Add RB Jordan Wilkins To Practice Squad

December 8th, 2021 at 5:50pm CST by Ben Levine

As the Titans continue to roll forward without Derrick Henry, the team has added another running back option. The team announced that they’ve signed running back Jordan Wilkins to the taxi squad.

Wilkins was a fifth-round pick by the Colts in 2018, and he saw time in 45 games (four starts) through his first three seasons in the NFL. The running back had at least 350 yards from scrimmage in each of his first three NFL seasons, including a 2020 campaign where he collected 413 yards and one touchdown on a career-high 96 touches. Wilkins saw time in each of Indy’s first four games this season, with the majority of his snaps coming on special teams. He was waived by the team back in October, and he’s since had a brief stint on the Jaguars practice squad.

The Titans have cycled through a number of options at running back since Henry suffered an injury in Week 8. D’Onta Foreman, Adrian Peterson, and Dontrell Hilliard have all started games for Tennessee, while fellow RB Jeremy McNichols has 43 touches of his own.

The Titans made a handful of additional practice squad moves today, including the signing of defensive back Rodney Clemons. The former SMU standout went undrafted during the 2020 draft, and he spent much of his rookie season on the Chiefs practice squad. To make room on the practice squad, the Titans released running back Rodney Smith and placed linebacker Jamal Carter on the practice squad injured list.

Arkansas WR Treylon Burks Declares For NFL Draft

December 8th, 2021 at 3:56pm CST by Adam La Rose

Another potential first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft has set his sights on his professional career. Arkansas wide receiver Treylon Burks tweeted that he will opt of the Razorbacks’ upcoming bowl game and forego his senior year.

Burks had a hugely productive career during his three years in Arkansas. The high-end prospect’s junior year was his best. The 6-foot-3, 225-pound wideout tallied 67 catches for 1,123 yards and 11 touchdowns, along with 112 yards and another score on the ground, this season.

The SEC figures to send a few first-round-caliber receivers into the 2022 draft pool. Burks’ yardage total ranked fourth in the conference, behind the likes of Alabama stars Jameson Williams and John Metchie. Burks, however, is listed as ESPN’s sixth-highest-ranked receiver — behind Williams but ahead of Metchie — and checks in at No. 24 overall in Mel Kiper’s latest 2022 draft rankings.

The No. 22-ranked team in the country according to the final AP rankings, Arkansas will play Penn State on New Year’s Day in the Outback Bowl. Burks joins Oregon pass rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux as Round 1-level talents who intend to skip their team’s bowl game to concentrate on pre-draft training. They will certainly not be the last among the 2022 crop.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/8/21

December 8th, 2021 at 3:25pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Wednesday’s practice squad moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Dallas Cowboys

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Rams

  • Released: WR JJ Koski

Las Vegas Raiders

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

  • Signed: WR Travis Toivonen

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Load More Posts