HEADLINES

Month: December 2024

Melvin Gordon Drawing Free Agent Interest

November 24th, 2022 at 12:57pm CST by Adam La Rose

Melvin Gordon has been unemployed since Tuesday, when his Broncos tenure came to an end and he passed through waivers unclaimed. The veteran running back believes that situation will change soon, however.

In an interview with Mike Klis of 9News, Gordon addressed his Denver departure, which came about after his underwhelming season continued on Sunday. The Broncos’ overtime loss to the Raiders saw the 29-year-old post 31 rushing yards on eight carries, extending his streak of games averaging less than 4.0 yards per carry to eight. Most notably, though, was the fact that Gordon fumbled for the fifth time this season – an issue which remained present throughout recent seasons.

“No, that wasn’t even mentioned,” Gordon said, though, when asked if his ball security struggles played a role in the team’s decision to move on from him. “It was crazy when I’d seen that. Because [general manager] George [Paton], when he talked to me, he didn’t mention anything about that. He knew what type of environment it was for me. He knew how I felt toward my situation there and he told me about the fan base and how it’s been tough for me and said he didn’t want to put me through this anymore and with our situation it was probably best.”

The former first-rounder added that “several teams have expressed interest” in adding him as a free agent for the stretch run. Playoff-bound clubs are among those, including some who would be willing to add him to their practice squads for a short period before elevating him to the active roster. While such a scenario seemed highly unlikely entering the campaign after he re-upped with Denver this offseason, it would allow him to rebuild some value heading into 2023.

Gordon has averaged just 3.5 yards per carry in 2022, matching his rookie season for the lowest such mark of his career. The Broncos’ injury-riddled offense has played a role in that lack of success, but his 2,275 scrimmage yards and 20 touchdowns scored between 2020 and 2021 in Denver could appeal to contending teams looking for backfield depth.

Reflecting on his time as a Bronco, the Wisconsin alum said that “there were times I felt like I was a scapegoat,” but added that he has “no hard feelings” towards the organization or its fans. If his stated level of interest is true, he should start his next football chapter in the near future.

Cardinals Expect Kyler Murray To Return In Week 12

November 23rd, 2022 at 9:46pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Cardinals suffered a lopsided defeat on Monday, but they could have their starting quarterback available this week when they attempt to get back on track. Signs are pointing towards Kyler Murray returning in Week 12.

Head coach Kliff Kingsbury described Murray on Wednesday as “definitely trending in the right direction” to be available on Sunday. The 25-year-old himself added that he expects to suit up against the Chargers (Twitter links via team reporter Darren Urban). That would mark his first game action since Week 9.

Veteran backup Colt McCoy has filled in for Murray over the past two games, including an impressive win over the Rams and Monday’s blowout loss to the 49ers. It was reported earlier this week that the Cardinals were at least considering keeping Murray sidelined for this week, as it is Arizona’s final game before their bye. Instead, the former No. 1 pick will apparently have the opportunity to test out his hamstring before then.

Murray has had a down year amidst the Cardinals’ continued struggles on offense this season. The Oklahoma product has posted a career-low passer rating of 86.9 while throwing 12 touchdowns and six interceptions. His rushing ability (359 yards and two touchdowns) has been a factor in his play as well, as always, but Murray’s performance has fallen short of expectations to date.

That has taken on added significance given the massive extension he signed this summer, just months after Kingsbury and general manager Steve Keim inked long-term deals of their own. With the team being unable to correct the mistakes of years past, and relations with Murray having seemingly taken a downturn, Kingsbury is reportedly under increased danger of being let go no later than the conclusion of this season.

Against that backdrop of potentially added urgency, Murray will look to return to full health and provide a boost to the team’s middling offense. At 4-7, a playoff push may not be entirely out of the question if a winning streak starts soon, including as early as Sunday against the 5-5 Chargers.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/23/22

November 23rd, 2022 at 8:53pm CST by Adam La Rose

Today’s minor moves around the league:

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

New York Giants

Thanksgiving will mark McKinley’s Cowboys debut after he signed to Dallas’ practice squad last week. The veteran will seek to be more productive in his reunion with Dan Quinn than his previous stops following the end of his Falcons tenure, while providing depth to a Cowboys edge group which has produced a league-leading 42 sacks this season.

Hobbs returning to the fold in the near future will be a welcomed sight for the Raiders’ secondary. The 2021 fifth-rounder was a full-time starter through the first five weeks of the season before landing on IR with a broken hand. Vegas has struggled against the pass, allowing more than 247 yards per game through the air in 2022. The team has three weeks to activate him before he becomes ineligible to play again this season.

Rams Rule Out Matthew Stafford For Week 12

November 23rd, 2022 at 7:29pm CST by Adam La Rose

After being placed in the concussion protocol once again, it comes as little surprise that the Rams will be without their starting quarterback for the second time in three weeks. The team has ruled out Matthew Stafford for their Week 12 matchup against the Chiefs, though the reason being cited could be cause for additional concern.

Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic tweets that, in addition to being in concussion protocol, Stafford has undergone neck and spine testing. The Rams believe that he is currently dealing with a neck strain, ESPN’s Adam Schefter adds (Twitter link). That would add further to Stafford’s injury problems which have been ever-present this campaign.

The 34-year-old faced concerns over his throwing elbow in the lead-in to the season, his second with the Rams. The ailment has been understood as something to simply be dealt with throughout the campaign, rather than one requiring surgery and an extended absence. Then, in Week 10, Stafford was sidelined by a concussion.

Coming off a massive extension signed this offseason, the former Lion has struggled considerably this year relative to his Super-Bowl winning campaign of 2021. The same is true as a whole for the Rams’ offense, which ranks 29th in the league in both yards and points per game. Injuries suffered along the offensive line, and by wideout Cooper Kupp, leave the unit with a much more bleak outlook for the remainder of the season than their performance last season and summer expectations would have suggested.

In the immediate future, attention will turn not to John Wolford – who filled in for Stafford in Week 10 – but rather rookie Bryce Perkins. With the former also banged up, the latter is expected to receive first-team reps in practice this week (Twitter link via NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport). Perkins, a UDFA out of Virginia, saw the field for five snaps during the Rams’ loss to the Cardinals 10 days ago, but he will now be in line for his first career start.

The undermanned Rams will face a tough challenge in attempting to snap their four-game losing streak when they visit Kansas City on Sunday. The intermediate- and long-term health of their starting quarterback will remain a more important situation to monitor regardless of the outcome of the game, however.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/23/22

November 23rd, 2022 at 5:32pm CST by Adam La Rose

Today’s taxi squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Cincinnati Bengals

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Rams

  • Signed: QB Case Cookus

Pittsburgh Steelers

Chiefs Place Clyde Edwards-Helaire On IR, Activate T Lucas Niang From PUP List

November 23rd, 2022 at 4:03pm CST by Sam Robinson

Clyde Edwards-Helaire‘s third NFL season has skidded off track. In addition to losing his starting job recently, the former first-round pick suffered a high ankle sprain Sunday night.

The Chiefs will move forward without Edwards-Helaire in the near future, having placed him on IR. This will shut down CEH for at least four weeks. Kansas City had already changed the LSU alum’s role, though this certainly does impact the AFC West kingpins’ depth.

Coming into this season, Edwards-Helaire — thanks partially to Damien Williams‘ 2020 opt-out — had started every NFL game in which he played. But injuries led to the college dual threat missing 10 regular-season games and two playoff tilts. Edwards-Helaire then took a backseat to Jerick McKinnon upon returning from his second 2021 injury — a shoulder issue — in the postseason. CEH had already sustained an MCL sprain earlier in 2021; he missed time due to ankle and hip maladies in 2020.

McKinnon re-signed midway through this offseason, but the Chiefs have begun using seventh-round rookie Isiah Pacheco over both vets. Pacheco has totaled 31 carries over the Chiefs’ past two games. Edwards-Helaire was on the field for four offensive snaps during the Chiefs’ Week 10 win over the Jaguars, and his injury against the Chargers stands to set him back further.

The 5-foot-8 back has gained 302 rushing yards on 71 carries this season. While extended absences are not new for the former No. 32 overall pick, Pacheco’s presence has changed the Chiefs’ backfield equation. This injury also opens the door for Ronald Jones resurfacing. The offseason addition has not dressed for a game yet as a Chief but remains on their 53-man roster. Andy Reid said (via ESPN.com’s Adam Teicher) the former Buccaneers starter has a chance to play, though he cited multiple issues that may deter Jones from seeing a backfield role.

With CEH out and McKinnon having two full-season injury absences on his resume, the Chiefs suddenly may need Jones, whom they signed to a one-year, $1.5MM deal.

Additionally, the Chiefs activated Lucas Niang from the reserve/PUP list. The team’s right tackle to open last season, Niang suffered a ruptured patellar tendon in Week 17 of last season. The former third-round pick has not been available much during his KC career. He opted out of the 2020 season and has now missed 15 regular-season games since. The Chiefs have used veteran Andrew Wylie primarily at right tackle this year. Niang, who made nine starts as a rookie, could potentially make a late-season push for playing time on the Chiefs’ otherwise-solidified front.

Jaguars Claim RB Darrell Henderson

November 23rd, 2022 at 3:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

Darrell Henderson did not advance too far down the waiver priority list. The former third-round pick will head to Jacksonville after a successful Jaguars claim, Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com report (via Twitter).

The Rams waived Henderson on Tuesday, clearing the way for a contract-year relocation. The Jags will add Henderson to a backfield fronted by breakout starter Travis Etienne. Just more than $400K remains on Henderson’s rookie deal. As of Wednesday afternoon, the Jags held $3.5MM in cap space.

This stands to give Etienne a new backup. The Jags traded James Robinson, a two-year starter who had recovered from Achilles surgery to re-emerge in a prominent role, to the Jets earlier this season. Etienne’s quick development after his lost rookie season led to that move. Now, the team will take a look at Henderson, whom the Rams used frequently during his time in Los Angeles.

Although Henderson has not yet cleared 300 rushing yards this season, he was more productive — behind better Rams offensive lines — over the past two years. Henderson eclipsed 600 ground yards in 2020 and ’21, working as a starter for much of that span. Starting 21 games from 2020-21, Henderson combined for 1,312 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. He averaged at least 4.5 yards per carry in each season.

Henderson, 25, joined the Rams after posting one of the better college running back seasons in recent memory. With Memphis in 2018, the eventual third-round pick rushed for 1,909 yards (8.9 per carry) and totaled 25 touchdowns. A COVID-19 contraction and MCL injury led to Henderson losing his job to Sony Michel down the stretch last season, when Cam Akers made a quicker-than-expected return from offseason Achilles surgery. But Henderson, after returning from IR, still caught three passes for 43 yards in the Rams’ Super Bowl LVI triumph.

Despite the Rams dangling Akers in trades after a midseason dispute, the former second-round pick remains on their roster. He joins fifth-round rookie Kyren Williams as the team’s post-Henderson options. The Jaguars have ex-49er Jamycal Hasty and rookie Snoop Conner behind Etienne.

The Jags’ O-line is in better shape than the Rams’ battered front, but Etienne still figures to see most of the work going forward. Henderson could appears headed toward one of the most crowded running back free agent markets since full-fledged free agency’s 1993 debut. While Saquon Barkley may not hit the market, the many other backs from a list including Kareem Hunt, Josh Jacobs, Miles Sanders, Jamaal Williams, Devin Singletary, David Montgomery, Damien Harris and D’Onta Foreman will be available.

Eagles Add Marcus Brady To Staff

November 23rd, 2022 at 2:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

Nick Sirianni said recently he would be open to hiring Frank Reich as a consultant on his Eagles staff, and the second-year Philadelphia HC loudly proclaimed his support for his former boss after beating the Colts in Week 11. The Eagles are adding one of the recently fired Colts staffers, but it is not Reich.

The Eagles hired former Colts offensive coordinator Marcus Brady as a consultant, Stephen Holder and Tim McManus of ESPN.com report. The Colts fired Brady shortly before canning Reich this season. Brady replaced Sirianni as Indianapolis’ OC last year.

Previously working as Indy’s quarterbacks coach during Sirianni’s three-year tenure as OC, Brady is now helping out Philly’s defense. Being experienced in the Eagles’ schemes, Brady is helping out Eagles DC Jonathan Gannon for the time being. Brady, 43, is a former Canadian Football League quarterback who worked on CFL staffs until Reich hired him in 2018.

Brady was in discussions about an Eagles role last week, but the parties preferred to wait until after the Colts matchup to make the hire, per ESPN. The Colts fired Brady less than 1 1/2 seasons into his OC run. Soon after, they axed Reich and replaced him — to the shock of just about everyone — with Jeff Saturday. Assistant quarterbacks coach Parks Frazier is now working as the Colts’ de facto OC, being promoted to play-caller after QBs coach Scott Milanovich turned down the gig.

The Colts employed Brady as a non-play-calling OC, but his Eagles arrival is interesting due to the prospect of the NFC East leaders needing to replace their current play-caller next year. Head coach-needy teams figure to be interested in second-year Eagles OC Shane Steichen. Should Steichen end up leaving, Brady, given his familiarity with Sirianni, figures to land on the radar as a successor option.

Following the Eagles’ 19-17 win over the Colts, Sirianni shouted “That s— was for Frank Reich” from Philly’s sideline. Although Reich is aiming to become a head coach again, it would certainly not surprise if he also joins the Eagles’ staff as a consultant this season.

“I’m emotional because I love Frank Reich. I really do,” Sirianni said. “He’s one of the best damn football coaches I’ve ever been around. I was hoping that he and I would be able to coach against each other this game. He is one of my biggest mentors.”

S Marcus Williams Returns To Practice

November 23rd, 2022 at 1:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

Out since suffering a dislocated wrist in Week 5, Marcus Williams is back at Ravens practice. The team designated the free agent pickup for return Wednesday.

Baltimore has three weeks to activate Williams, who has been ticketed for a December return for a bit now. John Harbaugh said he expects the sixth-year safety to return at some point next month. Wednesday’s transaction keeps pointing Williams in that direction.

The Ravens gave Williams a five-year, $70MM contract to come over from New Orleans, where he spent 2021 as a franchise-tagged player. Baltimore loaded up at safety this offseason, adding Williams and first-round pick Kyle Hamilton. Despite Hamilton’s first-round pedigree, Geno Stone has worked as Williams’ primary replacement. Hamilton has yet to make his first start, though the Notre Dame product’s snap percentages have ticked up slightly in the games without Williams.

The prospect of the Ravens having Williams back opens the door to a veteran-laden defense forming for the stretch run. The Ravens have brought Jason Pierre-Paul and Roquan Smith into the fold this season and have accomplished vets at every position. Calais Campbell, Justin Houston, Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters also reside on a defense built to be one of the best units now.

Mike Macdonald‘s crew has not fully lived up to expectations just yet, but the group has improved since its run of early-season collapses. The Ravens have moved up to 10th in scoring defense, after shutting down struggling Saints and Panthers offenses, and have won four straight to keep their AFC North lead.

Following an injury-plagued 2021, the Ravens have most of their defensive troops healthy at this point. The team has seen Tyus Bowser debut after missing a chunk of games due to a January Achilles tear. Williams and second-round pick David Ojabo represent late-season reinforcements. The latter has yet to debut since going down with an Achilles tear during a pre-draft workout. The Ravens already activated Ojabo; they have four injury activations remaining. J.K. Dobbins also looms on the radar for a late-season activation.

Commanders Designate QB Carson Wentz For Return

November 23rd, 2022 at 12:31pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Commanders have their highest-paid quarterback back at practice Wednesday. They designated Carson Wentz to return from IR, giving the veteran passer three weeks to be activated.

Wentz suffered a fractured finger during Washington’s Week 6 win in Chicago and underwent surgery. He has missed five games — one more than the minimum for 2022 IR stays — and seen the team change its quarterback plan during that absence. Taylor Heinicke has since regained his spot as the team’s starting quarterback.

Ron Rivera (via Commanders.com’s Zach Selby) has since confirmed Sunday reports that indicated Heinicke would keep his job even when Wentz returns. While Heinicke’s grip on the gig is still somewhat tenuous, the team’s primary 2021 starter retaking the reins doubles as Wentz’s second benching in three seasons. Wentz is unlikely to return this week, per Rivera, who said rookie Sam Howell will remain Heinicke’s backup, Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post tweets.

After inquiring on just about every potentially available quarterback this offseason — one that included a three-first-rounder offer to the Seahawks for Russell Wilson — the Commanders sent the Colts a 2022 third-round pick and a conditional 2023 choice for Wentz. That pick will looks set to become a third-rounder instead of a second, with Wentz unlikely to hit the 70% snap benchmark necessary for the pick to land in Round 2. This comes after Wentz met the participation-based conditions for the Eagles to nab a first-rounder this year. The Commanders and Colts also swapped 2022 second-round picks in this year’s Wentz trade, giving the Colts the No. 42 overall choice and the Commanders the 47th pick.

Wentz, 29, has been unable to re-establish himself as a solid starter in Washington. The team went 2-4 in Wentz’s starts. While wins and losses are obviously far from the best measure for quarterback success, the Commanders’ surge under Heinicke essentially left Rivera with little choice to stay the course. The team is now 6-5 and gunning for a wild-card spot. Wentz has, however, doubled Heinicke in touchdown passes (1o to five). The two are also separated by just 0.4 points in quarterback rating, keeping the door open for Wentz to re-emerge at some point later this season.

The trade prices notwithstanding, the 2020s have represented a steep fall from grace for Wentz. After seeing an ACL tear almost certainly deny him an MVP honor in 2017, Wentz never regained that form. He has shown flashes — helping a receiver-depleted 2019 Eagles team to the playoffs, a 27-7 TD-INT ratio during a polarizing Colts stay that ended quite poorly — but is moving toward failure in his latest bounce-back opportunity. The former No. 2 overall pick is on the Commanders’ books (via the Eagles extension he inked back in 2019) through 2024 but can be jettisoned free of charge next year.

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