2022 September - Pro Football Rumors

Month: November 2024

Giants Open To Trading Kenny Golladay?

September 26th, 2022 at 6:52pm CST by Sam Robinson

A Kenny Golladay-Giants divorce will almost certainly take place before the 2023 season, but the team’s new regime appears open to severing ties with the high-priced Dave Gettleman-era pickup earlier.

The Giants trading Golladay before the Nov. 1 deadline is not off the table, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes. This would be a financially difficult transaction for the Giants, but Rapoport adds the team taking on most of Golladay’s contract would be the only way a trade would go down. The former Lions Pro Bowler has fallen well out of favor with the Giants, leading to some notable developments leading up to Big Blue’s Week 3 tilt tonight.

After Golladay played extensively in the Giants’ Week 1 game in Tennessee, Brian Daboll drastically reduced his workload. The sixth-year receiver played just two snaps in Week 2, leading Golladay to say he is confused by the situation and “should be playing regardless.” The two-time Detroit 1,000-yard pass catcher underwhelmed in his Giants debut. He might be with a third team before this season ends, but this would be an unusual trade to complete.

Golladay signed a four-year, $72MM contract during the 2021 free agency period; that deal was by far the most lucrative pact given to a wide receiver on last year’s COVID-19-affected market. The 28-year-old pass catcher saw the downward momentum created by an injury-plagued 2020 slate follow him to New York; he finished with just 37 receptions for 521 yards and no touchdowns in 2021. The outside receiver joined other Giants in a poor passing attack, with coaching and quarterback play undoubtedly lowering wideouts’ ceilings on last season’s woeful squad. But Golladay has not turned his career around under Daboll.

Last year’s big-ticket accord featured $10MM of Golladay’s 2022 salary being guaranteed at signing. An additional $4.5MM of that salary became locked in on Day 1 of the 2022 league year. Golladay is attached to a $13MM base salary this season. Based on where his career has gone since a 2019 Pro Bowl slate, the 6-foot-4 target does not carry much trade value.

Golladay’s $21.5MM cap number tops the Giants’ payroll by a considerable margin. An in-season release would tag the team with a $25MM dead-money charge. The team making it work with Golladay, whom Rapoport adds has not been a problem in the locker room, until 2023 would lead to just $7.9MM in dead money — if designated as a post-June 1 cut.

It will be interesting to see if Golladay can create some semblance of trade value with on-field contributions for the Giants in the coming weeks. For now, he is behind career practice squad player David Sills, whom the Giants view as a player who can create more separation than Golladay at this juncture. Sills and veteran slot Richie James have played ahead of Golladay and Kadarius Toney this season. Both Toney and second-round rookie Wan’Dale Robinson are inactive for tonight’s Cowboys matchup.

Jets To Add T Mike Remmers

September 26th, 2022 at 6:31pm CST by Sam Robinson

Two-time Super Bowl starter Mike Remmers will join a team in need at his position. The journeyman tackle is signing with the Jets on a practice squad agreement, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.

Remmers is expected to be bumped up to the Jets’ 53-man roster soon. The former Chargers, Panthers, Vikings, Giants and Chiefs blocker has not played for a team this season; the Chiefs did not re-sign him after the 2021 campaign.

The Jets have both Mekhi Becton and Duane Brown on IR. They finished their Week 3 game with Conor McDermott and rookie Max Mitchell as their tackles. George Fant, who has worked as both a left- and right-side starter with the Jets, started at left tackle against the Bengals but left early due to a lingering knee injury. Trey Hendrickson finished the game with 2.5 sacks, two of those forcing Joe Flacco fumbles.

Remmers, 33, has made 90 career starts. He is probably best known for tough nights against Von Miller (Super Bowl 50) and Shaq Barrett (Super Bowl LV), but the former UDFA brings a level of experience the Jets are lacking right now. Brown is ineligible to play until at least Week 5. Remmers, who played just four games last season before a knee injury led the Chiefs to place him on IR, has worked primarily as a right tackle but did play inside during the 2018 season in Minnesota. The Jets are more solidified at guard, however; the team’s tackle plan veered off the rails once Becton suffered an avulsion fracture during training camp. Signed to a lucrative deal to replace Becton, Brown is rehabbing a shoulder injury.

The tackle uncertainty engulfing Gang Green comes as the team is readying Zach Wilson to make his season debut. Wilson, who underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in August, was slated to play behind a Fant-Becton tackle tandem. He could begin his sophomore NFL season behind Remmers and either McDermott or Mitchell. The latter has played 100% of the Jets’ right tackle snaps this season.

Kayvon Thibodeaux To Make Giants Debut

September 26th, 2022 at 5:54pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Giants managed to win their first two games without both their starting outside linebackers. They will have an improved defensive lineup against the Cowboys on Monday night.

Azeez Ojulari and No. 5 overall pick Kayvon Thibodeaux are active for the Giants. This comes after Thibodeaux managed three limited practices leading up to the NFC East matchup. An MCL sprain sustained during the preseason led to Thibodeaux not beginning his Giants regular-season run on time. Leonard Williams, who suffered an MCL sprain in Week 2, is inactive.

A year ago, Thibodeaux was viewed as a possible No. 1 overall pick. The Oregon pass rusher’s stock dipped slightly during the pre-draft period, leading to rumors he could endure a bit of a draft-night fall. The Giants prevented that from happening, selecting him with the first of their two first-round choices. The Thibodeaux-Ojulari pairing will be, investment-wise, easily the team’s top edge-rushing duo since Jason Pierre-Paul and Olivier Vernon.

After trading JPP in 2018 and Vernon in 2019, the Giants took an unusually minimalistic approach at this premium position. The team passed on using premium draft capital on the spot in 2019 or 2020, despite an apparent glaring need, and saw its edge production suffer during Markus Golden‘s abbreviated 2020 slate (before an in-season trade sent him back to Arizona). Ojulari, however, made an impact as a rookie second-rounder last season, registering eight sacks. Ojulari, who missed time with a calf injury, will now team with one of the highest-profile defensive investments in Giants history.

Thibodeaux, who will not turn 22 until December, posted 19 sacks in three Ducks seasons. Attitude- and work ethic-based concerns led to the slight draft drop, below edges Travon Walker and Aidan Hutchinson. The 6-foot-5 outside linebacker will have a chance to prove himself as a pro beginning in a nationally televised spot. The Giants had used former third-round pick Oshane Ximines and ex-Don Martindale Ravens charge Jihad Ward as their edge starters over the first two weeks.

Latest On Cowboys TE Dalton Schultz, WR Michael Gallup

September 26th, 2022 at 5:32pm CST by Ben Levine

SEPTEMBER 26: Although a run of Gallup-related optimism emerged this week, the Cowboys will still opt for caution regarding the fifth-year wideout. Gallup will not play against the Giants in Week 3, Jane Slater of NFL.com tweets. The Cowboys are hopeful Gallup, who got in three limited practices leading up to this Giants matchup, can make his debut against the Commanders next week. Gallup did not suffer a setback, Slater adds (via Twitter). Schultz is expected to miss the game as well, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets.

SEPTEMBER 21: There’s some good news on the Cowboys’ injury front. According to Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter), tight end Dalton Schultz avoided a serious knee injury and shouldn’t miss much time. Gehlken also tweets that wide receiver Michael Gallup could make his season debut on Monday night against the Giants.

Schultz suffered a knee injury during Sunday’s win over the Bengals, but an MRI later revealed that his injury could have been much worse. The tight end is specifically dealing with a PCL injury, according to ESPN’s Todd Archer (on Twitter), and he’s currently considered day-to-day. Jerry Jones cautioned yesterday that Schultz could end up sitting out Week 3, but if that’s the case, it sounds like it should only be a one-week absence.

The tight end had a strong season in 2021, finishing with 808 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. Through two games this season, the 26-year-old has hauled in nine receptions for 80 yards.

Meanwhile, Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones said it’s “certainly possible” that Gallup takes the field on Monday night (per Gehlken on Twitter), while Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News tweets that Gallup will indeed play but will be on a snap count. The receiver tore his ACL in Week 17 of the 2021 season, and he later inked a five-year, $62.5MM extension with Dallas this offseason.

“The plan for Michael Gallup is to get him a full week of work,” coach Mike McCarthy said (via Watkins). “He hasn’t had that yet. Hopefully when we get to the end of it, we’ll be able to make a decision. I think I talked about this last week, I really don’t see Michael going through a second padded practice, I thought his work last week was excellent. He frankly, did a little more than we anticipated in the beginning of the week. We’re going to try and give him a full slate this week and see how it goes.”

Chiefs Release K Matt Ammendola From Practice Squad

September 26th, 2022 at 4:33pm CST by Sam Robinson

Should Harrison Butker be unavailable for the Chiefs’ Week 4 game against the Buccaneers, Matt Ammendola will almost certainly not be the player filling in. The Chiefs released the young kicker from their practice squad Monday, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

The Jets’ primary kicker in 2021, Ammendola caught on with the Chiefs to replace Butker in Week 2. While he made all five of his kicks against the Chargers (two field goals, three extra points), the Oklahoma State product struggled against the Colts. The second-year kicker missed the only extra point he tried and was 1-for-2 on field goals, with the miss coming from 34 yards out.

Kansas City elevated Ammendola from the practice squad to its active roster ahead of its Week 3 game in Indianapolis. Due to the increased P-squad flexibility the league introduced in 2020, teams can elevate two players to gameday rosters without exposing them to waivers. Ammendola reverted to the Chiefs’ P-squad Monday, but the team is not saving a spot for him at this point.

Although other blunders — including a decision to roll out an unsuccessful fake-field goal play — led to the Chiefs’ upset loss in Indianapolis, Ammendola’s were likely to lead to his exit. The 25-year-old specialist was just 13-for-19 on field goals as a Jet, leading the team to sign Greg Zuerlein. The Pro Bowler beat out Ammendola in training camp this year, but Butker’s injury — after the Chiefs used safety Justin Reid as their emergency kicker in Week 1 — led to another opportunity.

No other kickers reside on the Chiefs’ taxi squad. Workouts will likely be on tap to replace Ammendola in that role. Butker, who has been in place as Kansas City’s kicker since early in the 2017 season, entered this season having missed just one career game.

Chargers’ Joey Bosa Likely To Miss Time

September 26th, 2022 at 4:18pm CST by Sam Robinson

Continuing what has been a rough Monday for the Chargers, Brandon Staley confirmed Joey Bosa is battling a significant groin injury.

The second-year Bolts HC has not determined if the perennial Pro Bowl edge rusher will need to go on IR, but it looks likely he will miss time after leaving Sunday’s blowout loss early. The Bosa news follows the report of Rashawn Slater‘s biceps tear, an issue that is expected to sideline the Pro Bowl left tackle for the season.

Bosa played just 13 defensive snaps against the Jaguars. While injury trouble has not hounded Bosa every year, he has run into several maladies that have required absences over the course of his career. The four-time Pro Bowler missed four games as a rookie in 2016 (hamstring), was shut down for nine during the 2018 season (foot) and missed four more contests in 2020 (two concussions). This run of even-year injury trouble comes at a bad time for a Chargers team that reloaded on defense around Justin Herbert‘s rookie contract this offseason.

Los Angeles traded for Khalil Mack as part of that effort, letting Uchenna Nwosu defect to Seattle in free agency. The Bolts signed longtime Patriots hybrid linebacker Kyle Van Noy in free agency but used Chris Rumph as Bosa’s primary replacement Sunday. A 2021 fourth-round pick out of Duke, Rumph notched one sack in 16 games behind Bosa and Nwosu last season.

Staley confirmed the team believes Slater suffered a biceps injury and added wide receiver Jalen Guyton sustained a torn ACL. The backup wide receiver also will miss the rest of the season. The Chargers, who played without Keenan Allen for a second straight week, have Josh Palmer and DeAndre Carter in place as options alongside Mike Williams. But the injuries are piling up for the oft-injury-prone team. In addition to Herbert’s rib cartilage fracture, the Bolts were without Pro Bowlers Corey Linsley and J.C. Jackson against the Jaguars.

49ers LT Trent Williams Suffers High Ankle Sprain

September 26th, 2022 at 3:51pm CST by Adam La Rose

3:51pm: Williams does indeed have a high ankle sprain, head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed (Twitter link via ESPN’s Nick Wagoner). The swelling will need to go down before a firm timetable can be established, but the 49ers will likely be without their blindside blocker for roughly 4-6 weeks.

9:06am: Trent Williams exited last night’s game against the Broncos in the third quarter and was unable to return. The team believes they are aware of the specifics of his injury, one which could see him miss time.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan indicated, via NFL.com’s Grant Gordon, that Williams likely suffered a high ankle sprain. The injury occurred on the play during which quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo stepped out of the endzone for what turned out to be a game-altering safety. Williams elected not to use a cart to be taken off the field.

The 34-year-old has been relatively healthy during his tenure with the 49ers, which began immediately after he missed the entire 2019 campaign. He has played in 32 regular season contests in the Bay Area, along with all three of the team’s playoff games last year. 2020 saw him continue his elite play, and led to him signing a six-year, $138MM deal the following offseason to stay with the 49ers and become the league’s highest-paid offensive lineman of all time. His performance last season did nothing to suggest the team would come to regret that investment.

In the first two-plus games of this season, the nine-time Pro Bowler has been viewed relatively well by PFF, though his grades fall well short of those he received during the previous two years in particular. Any extended absence would deal a significant blow to San Francisco’s offensive front, one which lost starters Laken Tomlinson and Alex Mack during the offseason. The move of 2021 second-rounder Aaron Banks to LG opened up a spot for rookie Spencer Burford to start at the opposite guard spot, while Jake Brendel ascended to the first-team center role to complete the team’s interior o-line transformation.

Filling in for Williams to finish the contest was Jaylon Moore. A fifth-round pick last year, the Western Michigan alum started three of his seven appearances as a rookie, but last night marked his first usage on offense in 2022. He could be in line for a starter’s workload for some time, pending the duration of Williams’ absence.

Lions RB D’Andre Swift Likely To Miss Time

September 26th, 2022 at 3:37pm CST by Adam La Rose

D’Andre Swift has battled an ankle injury throughout the young season, but a new ailment could keep him sidelined. The Lions’ top running back suffered a shoulder sprain during yesterday’s game, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link).

Head coach Dan Campbell indicated that the team may proceed with caution with Swift, resting him for the team’s next two games (Twitter link via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press). Detroit’s bye is in Week 6, so that timetable would seemingly give him ample time to recover. It would, however, represent another instance of availability problems for the 23-year-old.

Swift missed three games as a rookie, then four last season. Of note is the fact that the latter absence was caused by a shoulder injury, though this latest one is considered unrelated. When he has been on the field, the former second-rounder has showcased his dual-threat ability and established himself as Detroit’s top running back. With over 1,000 scrimmage yards in 2021, expectations were high for another productive campaign this year.

Things started well for the Georgia product. Swift has averaged an absurd 8.6 yards per carry in the limited opportunities he has had so far (231 yards on 27 carries), adding eight catches for 77 yards and a touchdown. The lingering ankle issues have led to a reduced workload, with veteran Jamaal Williams seeing significant snaps in his place.

Assuming Swift is shut down until Week 7, Williams will be in line for even more carries than they 43 he has already logged this year – which have resulted in a league-leading four rushing touchdowns. Behind him, the Lions have free agent signing Justin Jackson and journeyman Craig Reynolds available as depth. With a healthy pass-catching corps (save for first-round rookie Jameson Williams), Detroit may need to rely more on their air attack for the next few weeks.

Latest On Patriots QB Mac Jones

September 26th, 2022 at 2:31pm CST by Adam La Rose

After Mac Jones suffered a serious injury on the final play of yesterday’s game, the Patriots expressed concern that their franchise signal-caller had suffered a high ankle sprain. After further testing today, it is apparent that he will likely miss at least some time.

NFL Network’s Mike Giardi reported yesterday (via Twitter) that New England feared Jones had suffered tendon and/or ligament damage – something which would not have shown on his x-rays, which came back negative. Earlier today, his colleague Tom Pelissero tweeted that the 24-year-old is indeed dealing with a “pretty severe” ankle sprain.

At this point, it is unclear whether or not surgery will be required. Still, Pelissero adds, it is unlikely the former first-rounder will be available for New England’s upcoming game against the Packers. If Jones does end up undergoing a procedure, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport notes that it would be ‘tight-rope surgery,’ something which was developed at Jones’ alma mater, Alabama (video link). The operation, if needed, would be aimed at accelerating the recovery process.

Assuming Jones is sidelined, New England will turn to veteran Brian Hoyer, who is in the third year of his most recent Foxboro stint. His last start came in 2020, while his most recent win dates back to 2016 when he was with the Bears. The 36-year-old has plenty of experience in the Patriots’ offense, though, and would likely be more reliable than rookie Bailey Zappe.

Yesterday’s loss dropped the Patriots to 1-2, and Jones’ second season has seen him throw five interceptions against just two touchdowns so far. Still, any absence would represent a significant loss for the team’s offense, which is experiencing growing pains in the post-Josh McDaniels era.

Cowboys’ Jason Peters To Play In Week 3

September 26th, 2022 at 1:25pm CST by Adam La Rose

In the wake of Tyron Smith‘s injury, the Cowboys added Jason Peters as a stop-gap. The veteran will make his Dallas debut tonight, as first reported by NFL insider Jordan Schultz (Twitter link).

Peters will be not be manning the left tackle spot, however. The 40-year-old will move inside to left guard, something which the team has been experimenting with in the build-up to his debut. That news should ease his workload, something which will be further limited by keeping him on a pitch count (Twitter link via Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News). It also signals confidence in first-round rookie Tyler Smith, who has played every snap on the blindside so far.

Gehlken also tweets that Peters is being signed to the Cowboys’ active roster from the practice squad. Dallas is elevating quarterback Will Grier and tight end Sean McKeon. If he sees the field, Peters will eat into Connor McGovern‘s playing time (if the latter is able to suit up after being sidelined last week), while resuming his efforts to transition inside – something which briefly took place in 2020 with the Eagles.

In other Cowboys news, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports that wide receiver Michael Gallup will not play tonight (Twitter link). He has yet to play in 2022, as he continues to recover from knee surgery. Dallas could also be without tight end Dalton Schultz, who is dealing with a knee injury of his own; he will be a game-time decision. The absence of both would further hurt a Cowboys offense already missing Dak Prescott for at least one more week.

With Tyron Smith expected to be back before the end of the regular season, the Cowboys will have a decision to make regarding Tyler Smith, along with Peters and McGovern, down the road. For now, at least, the team will have options at both the tackle and guard spots, as Peters looks to begin the second chapter of his All-Pro career with his once-NFC East rival in a key divisional contest.

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