2021 - Pro Football Rumors

Year: 2024

Cowboys’ CeeDee Lamb Ruled Out With Concussion

November 21st, 2021 at 5:36pm CST by Zachary Links

Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb has been ruled out for the rest of today’s game vs. the Chiefs with a concussion (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). Lamb will undergo additional testing throughout the week, but it’s unlikely that he’ll be cleared in time for the team’s Thanksgiving game against the Raiders.

Lamb, 22, was coming off of a strong performance against the Falcons, catching six passes for 94 yards and two scores in the 43-3 rout. Ironically, while celebrating his second touchdown, he clashed his helmet against Dak Prescott‘s helmetless-head.

“I realized it as soon as I did it,” said Lamb (via WFAA). “My helmet is still on. You know, man, let me take this off and apologize. I’m glad he’s all right: no concussion protocol, no nothing. I’m sorry, fans. Don’t kill me.”

Fortunately, Prescott was OK, but Lamb’s status is TBD after the first-half scare. The wide receiver hit the ground head-first when he driven to the ground by Chiefs cornerback Charvarius Ward. After initially being listed as questionable, the Cowboys ruled him out for the remainder of the game.

The Cowboys are also without Amari Cooper following his COVID-19 positive, so they’ll head into Thursday without two of their best offensive weapons. As it stands, the Cowboys are left with Michael Gallup, Cedrick Wilson, Malik Turner and Noah Brown at WR.

Through the first nine games of the year, Lamb has notched 47 catches for 726 yards and six touchdowns.

5 Key Stories: 11/14/21 – 11/21/21

November 21st, 2021 at 4:17pm CST by Zachary Links

Been busy? Let’s get you caught up with a look back at some of the NFL’s biggest stories from the past week:

Bears’ Mack Done For Year: Khalil Mack‘s season is over. The Bears hoped to get their All-Pro pass rusher back on the field after a bit of rest, but doctors recommended foot surgery instead. It’s a frustrating setback considering the 30-year-old’s hot start to the year. Through six games, Mack tallied six sacks, putting him on course for a vintage double-digit campaign. Without Mack and longtime defensive leader Danny Trevathan (also done for the year), the Bears fell to the Ravens today for their fifth-straight loss.
Ravens, Jackson Not Close To Extension: The Ravens haven’t made much progress on a new deal with Lamar Jackson, setting the stage for a tense winter. Jackson, 25 in January, is earning just $1.78MM in base salary this season. Next year, he’ll make roughly $23MM by way of the fifth-year option. After that, the Ravens can cuff Jackson with the franchise tag, but they want to avoid a Dak Prescott scenario. Ultimately, those protracted negotiations wound up costing the Cowboys many millions more over the long haul.
Eagles’ Dallas Goedert Signs Extension: A few weeks after trading Zach Ertz to the Cardinals, the Eagles cemented Dallas Goedert’s status as their long-term TE1. Goedert inked a brand new four-year deal worth approximately $59MM, making him one of the three highest-paid TEs in the game. The deal, which also includes $35.7MM guaranteed, marks a massive bump from his current $1.24MM salary. In terms of new money, Goedert trails only George Kittle ($15MM/year) and Travis Kelce ($14.3MM) at tight end.
Eagles, Maddox Agree To Deal: The Eagles also re-upped cornerback Avonte Maddox with a three-year extension worth $22.5MM. The new deal furnishes Maddox with $13.3MM in guarantees while keeping him under club control through the 2024 season.
Torn ACL For WFT’s Young: You didn’t need a medical degree to diagnose Chase Young‘s non-contact injury. On Monday, Washington confirmed that the defensive end is done for the year with a torn ACL. Young, the No. 2 overall pick last year, finished 2020 with Defensive Rookie of the Year honors and 7.5-sacks. This year, he’ll be capped at just 1.5 sacks and 25 total tackles.

Jaguars Expected To Overhaul Coaching Staff

November 21st, 2021 at 3:49pm CST by Zachary Links

The Jaguars’ coaching staff figures to look pretty different next year. Offseason firings are “inevitable” at this point, according to sources who spoke with Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com.

Trevor Lawrence has yet to live up to his billing in Jacksonville, prompting some internal debate about whether the Jaguars should replicate his system from Clemson. Heading into today’s game, the No. 1 overall pick had completed just 58% of his throws for 1,983 yards and eight touchdowns against nine interceptions. His work on the ground — 37 carries for 169 yards and two scores — hasn’t been enough to offset the bad reads, nor has it approached his rushing work at Clemson. Lawrence, playing against lesser defenders in the NCAA, managed 766 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns between 2019 and 200.

Meyer, who is in favor of gearing the offense towards the Tigers’, finds himself at odds with several of his assistants. Wide receivers coach Sanjay Lal and running backs coach Bernie Parmalee could be on the chopping block, per JLC’s sources. And, if things don’t improve for Lawrence this year, quarterbacks coach Brian Schottenheimer may also find himself on the hot seat.

“It starts with execution,” offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said last week (via the team website). “That’s really our focus this week, being on our details and being able to execute.”

Unfortunately, the Jaguars failed to execute today, losing 30-10 to the 49ers. Now at 2-8 on the year, they’ll try to improve next week when they host the Falcons in Jacksonville.

Torn ACL For Packers’ Elgton Jenkins?

November 21st, 2021 at 3:29pm CST by Zachary Links

Packers offensive lineman Elgton Jenkins is believed to have suffered an ACL tear (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). The team won’t know for sure until he undergoes additional testing, but the early indication is that this’ll be a season-ending injury.

Jenkins, 26 in December, suffered the injury in the third quarter while getting ready to stuff Harrison Smith‘s blitz attempt. There didn’t seem to be contact on the play, but Smith was left writhing in pain and clutching his left knee. After that, Smith had to be carted off and replaced by backup Yosh Nijman at left tackle. The Packers went on to lose 34-31 to the Vikings, dropping them to 8-3 on the year.

Jenkins, a Pro Bowl left guard, has been filling in at left tackle for All-Pro David Bakhtiari. If Jenkins is done for the year, they’ll be left even thinner up front. Meanwhile, there’s no word on when Bakhtiari will bounce back from his own ACL recovery.

“I’m not going to get into it, guys,” head coach Matt LaFleur said last week when asked about Bakhtiari (via The State Journal). “You can ask a million different ways. I’m just going to tell you the same thing over and over. It’s day to day. It’s part of the process. He’s coming off a major injury. He’s doing everything in his power to get back as quickly as possible, and that’s just where we are right now.”

The Packers should know more about Jenkins’ condition by tomorrow morning. But, barring any unexpected good news, they’ll have to place the 6’5″, 311-pound lineman on season-ending IR.

Ravens Hope To Extend Bradley Bozeman, Patrick Ricard

November 21st, 2021 at 2:03pm CST by Zachary Links

The Ravens are looking to extend the contracts of center Bradley Bozeman and fullback/tight end Patrick Ricard, according to league sources who spoke with Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. However, they’ve yet to make real progress on either front.

The Ravens want to keep both players, but they’re up against a tight cap situation already with less than $900K in room, according to Over The Cap. Meanwhile, they also have to prioritize Lamar Jackson‘s next contract. Reportedly, the star quarterback wants something in the range Patrick Mahomes‘ $45MM/year deal with the Chiefs. The Ravens can probably shave a few million off of that total — without matching KC’s ten-year commitment to Mahomes — but it’ll be a whopper of a contract no matter what.

The Ravens could consider the transition tag for Bozeman, but he’d be lumped in with the league’s highest paid tackles with the offensive lineman designation. That’d mean a ~$15M salary for next year, which is outsized even for this year’s No. 9 ranked center (per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics). The same goes for Ricard — whether he’s classified as a tight end or a running back, the ~$10MM transition tag would be far too pricey, despite his blocking ability. For now, he’s playing out the remainder of his two-year, $7.3MM pact.

Bozeman, who turns 27 later this week, could probably garner upwards of $10MM/year on the open market. For reference, there are are currently eight centers in the eight-figure per annum club: Frank Ragnow (Lions), Corey Linsley (Chargers), Ryan Kelly (Colts), J.C. Tretter (Browns), Ryan Jensen (Buccaneers), Brandon Linder (Jaguars), Chase Roullier (Washington), and Rodney Hudson (Cardinals).

Jets Plan To Tender QB Mike White

November 21st, 2021 at 12:40pm CST by Rory Parks

Mike White‘s feel-good 2021 season lasted about five quarters. The fourth-year quarterback led the Jets to an upset of the Bengals in relief of the injured Zach Wilson in Week 8 and then played well in the early stages of the club’s Week 9 loss to the Colts before being forced out with an injury. But his four-interception showing against the Bills last week forced HC Robert Saleh to turn the reins over to veteran Joe Flacco for today’s game against the Dolphins.

The move still qualified as something of a surprise, as New York is not competing for a playoff spot and arguably should have tried to see if White could rebound from his poor outing. The good news for White, as Rich Cimini of ESPN.com says, is that he is still in the Jets’ plans and that the team will tender him as a restricted free agent this offseason.

Cimini recently said that was the expectation, though after the disappointing Bills game and with Wilson slated to return soon — Cimini adds that Wilson has a good chance to suit up for next week’s bout with the Texans — the Jets’ potential last look at White in game action in 2021 might have put his future with the team in jeopardy. It does not sound like that is the case, however, and Cimini writes that the Jets expect White to draw interest from other clubs, which could prompt Gang Green to hand him the second-round tender worth $3.9MM (the original-round tender checks in at $2.4MM).

In related news, the Jets’ top decision-makers are not alarmed by the team’s seven losses in nine games, a number of which have been blowouts. Aside from his election to start Flacco over White, Saleh has adhered to the plan of getting as much playing time for young contributors as possible, and as Cimini observes, the Jets are on pace to give 9,000 snaps to their first- and second-year players. Of the 19 teams to hit that threshold from 2017-19, 13 realized an increase in their win total the following season (with an average of 3.8 more victories).

Of course, GM Joe Douglas will need to nail the 2022 draft — in which he is slated to have nine picks — but the organization expects to return to competitiveness no later than 2023.

Ravens QB Lamar Jackson Out For Week 11

November 21st, 2021 at 10:44am CST by Rory Parks

The Ravens’ brutal 2021 season continues. Baltimore’s injured reserve list includes a number of top-flight starters, and the club has dealt with plenty of other injuries besides those significant enough to warrant an IR designation. Now, the Ravens will be without starting QB Lamar Jackson for their matchup against the Bears this afternoon.

Jackson is dealing with a non-COVID illness, which Peter Schrager of the NFL Network reports is a “congestion of the lungs” (Twitter link). Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network says the exact virus has not been identified (it’s not the flu), but while the team’s medical staff tried to keep Jackson hydrated enough to play, he is simply not healthy enough to do so (Twitter links).

Adam Schefter of ESPN.com adds (via Twitter) that this virus went through the organization last week, and other players like WR Rashod Bateman and C Bradley Bozeman were also affected. Only Jackson, however, is missing today’s game as a result of the illness.

But the Ravens are dealing with other injuries that will further undermine their chances to win today’s game. Top receiver Marquise Brown is out with a thigh injury, NT Brandon Williams is out with his lingering shoulder ailment, and Baltimore is down to three healthy corners, as CBs Anthony Averett and Jimmy Smith are also inactive.

Backup QB Tyler Huntley will get his first career start in Jackson’s absence. Huntley, a 2020 UDFA, has a strong arm and offers a fair amount of running ability, so his game mimics that of Jackson. But the Ravens will obviously miss their 2019 MVP in a big way.

Despite all of their injuries (and illnesses), the team has managed a 6-3 record, largely as a result of Jackson’s heroics. A surprising Week 10 loss to the Dolphins, though, may prove damaging down the line, especially with a difficult end-of-season schedule that features five divisional games plus contests against the Packers and Rams. Now, Huntley will be called upon to keep his team atop the AFC North before that challenging stretch gets underway.

Latest On Cowboys’ D-Line Injuries

November 21st, 2021 at 10:25am CST by Rory Parks

The Cowboys should be getting a major boost to their front seven within the month. Defensive ends DeMarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory, both currently on IR, could be back in action in the next three to four weeks, per club VP Stephen Jones (Twitter link via Jon Machota of The Athletic). DT Neville Gallimore is on the same timeline.

Dallas responded to its surprising loss at the hands of the Broncos in Week 9 by administering a thorough dismantling of the Falcons last week, and the 7-2 outfit has the makings of a legitimate championship contender. Getting back two of their top pass rushers would, of course, go a long way towards a deep playoff run.

Lawrence played in the Cowboys’ season opener but then suffered a broken foot in practice, which has kept him on the sidelines ever since. The 29-year-old has not been producing the type of gaudy sack totals that he amassed over the 2017-18 seasons — which helped earn him a five-year, $105MM contract in March 2019 — but he is still a key piece of Dallas’ defensive front.

Gregory, after missing a great deal of time due to suspensions over his first few seasons in the league, had posted five sacks and 12 QB hits through seven games this year before suffering a calf injury in practice earlier this month. He is out of contract at season’s end, and if he continues to play well when he returns, he could be in line for a nice payday. The current expectation is that the club will explore a long-term pact with him this offseason.

Gallimore, a 2020 third-rounder, started nine games in his rookie campaign and was expected to serve as a starter again this year. A dislocated elbow has kept him on the shelf all season, but if nothing else, he could be a useful rotational piece on the interior of the D-line. Third-round rookie Osa Odighizuwa and veteran Carlos Watkins have not been especially effective as the Cowboys’ starting DT tandem in 2021.

Ravens, Lamar Jackson Not Close To Extension

November 21st, 2021 at 9:40am CST by Rory Parks

The Ravens and QB Lamar Jackson have consistently expressed full confidence that a new contract will get done, but as Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes, no deal is imminent at this point. Though we have not heard many details about the negotiations, La Canfora offers a little insight in that regard.

He says that Jackson has been seeking a payout in line with Patrick Mahomes‘ $45MM/year contract with the Chiefs, but Mahomes’ deal covers 10 years, and it does not sound as if Baltimore wants to commit to that kind of a term (presumably because of the fear that Jackson’s running capabilities, which are a critical component of his value, could diminish with time). That said, the club does concede that Jackson is a $40MM+/year quarterback, and La Canfora posits that Josh Allen‘s $43MM/year deal with the Bills — a six-year pact worth $258MM, including $150MM in overall guarantees and $100MM guaranteed at signing — is probably Jackson’s floor at this point.

After all, Jackson is playing at a high level while Mahomes is in the midst of a down year and Allen has regressed a bit from his stellar 2020 campaign, so some league execs believe the Ravens will have no choice but to top Mahomes’ $45MM AAV in order to finalize a deal with the 2019 MVP. Although Jackson has thrown more interceptions this season (eight) than he and the team would like, part of that is because he has been asked to expand the club’s downfield passing game, and his throwing as a whole has noticeably improved. Marquise Brown has looked more like a true No. 1 receiver this year, rookie wideout Rashod Bateman has looked terrific in his first professional action, and Mark Andrews is still performing as one of the league’s top TEs.

Plus, Jackson continues to spearhead the Baltimore rushing attack, which is especially important this year, as the Ravens lost the top three RBs on their depth chart to injury before the season even began. Baltimore wants to avoid the type of protracted negotiations that the Cowboys had with Dak Prescott, which ultimately cost the club millions of dollars, but with Jackson accounting for even more total yards per game than he did in his MVP season, one wonders if Jackson could become the NFL’s first $50MM/year player.

There still does not seem to be any doubt that the two sides will come together on an extension; it just looks like that will not happen until 2022 at the earliest.

Tim Boyle To Start At QB For Lions; Latest On Coaching Staff

November 21st, 2021 at 8:27am CST by Rory Parks

Lions QB Jared Goff is dealing with an oblique injury, so as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports, Tim Boyle will be Detroit’s starting signal-caller in the club’s matchup against the Browns this afternoon. It will be the first start of the 27-year-old’s career.

Boyle served as Aaron Rodgers‘ backup in Green Bay over the past several seasons, and though he had attempted just four career passes, the Lions inked him to a one-year, $2.5MM deal in March after he was non-tendered by the Packers (who were making room for Jordan Love). Unfortunately, Boyle’s strong training camp was marred by a thumb injury, and he was forced to start the 2021 campaign on IR as a result. He was designated to return earlier this month.

In the meantime, David Blough has been operating as Goff’s clipboard holder, and he will stay in his QB2 role today. Schefter says that if Boyle should struggle — he only recently returned to practice, so he is not as sharp as he could be — then Blough could be sent into the game. Because the Lions also play their traditional Thanksgiving contest in just a few days, either Boyle or Blough will likely be in line to start on Turkey Day as well.

It has been another difficult year for the Lions, who managed a tie with the Mason Rudolph-led Steelers last week to improve to 0-8-1. Detroit hoped that Goff, acquired in this offseason’s blockbuster Matthew Stafford trade, would be able to recapture the Pro Bowl form he displayed in the 2017-18 seasons, but he has largely struggled. Though O-line issues and a dearth of receiver talent are at least partially to blame, Goff’s 84.0 QB rating would represent his lowest mark since his seven-game rookie output. As such, Schefter confirms that the Lions’ quarterback situation for the rest of this season and beyond is unsettled.

The team has no realistic way of getting out of Goff’s contract until after the 2022 season, so he will almost certainly be back next year. But it does not sound like he is guaranteed to get his starting job back even when he is fully recovered, and the Lions will likely be in a position to draft one of 2022’s top collegiate passers in the spring. Starting today, Boyle will try to make his case to be involved in the conversation.

Of course, Boyle will have head coach Dan Campbell calling his offensive plays. Campbell took over play-calling duties from OC Anthony Lynn for the Pittsburgh game, and that arrangement will presumably hold through the end of the year. Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports that Campbell — who still has the full respect of his locker room — is not planning to make any in-season coaching changes, but there will probably be some sort of shakeup to the staff in the offseason.

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