HEADLINES

Month: November 2024

Dolphins Unlikely To Consider QB Trade

September 25th, 2024 at 1:50pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Despite a worsening injury crisis under center, the Dolphins are not expected to trade for an available QB, according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano.

Tua Tagovailoa landed on injured reserve after his Week 2 concussion, only for his replacement, Skylar Thompson, to exit with a chest injury in Week 3. The Dolphins also have Tyler Huntley and Tim Boyle on the roster, but Graziano adds the team likely prefers to start Thompson. Huntley arrived in Miami just last week, and Boyle only completed seven of 13 passing attempts for 79 yards in his relief appearance on Sunday.

The Dolphins’ Week 3, undecided at this juncture, starting QB likely comes down to practice availability. If Thompson is healthy enough to practice, Mike McDaniel could stick with the more familiar signal-caller and give Huntley an additional week to learn the offense. If Thompson cannot practice, though, Huntley will be able to take even more reps to pick up McDaniel’s system, or at least a simplified version of it.

Miami’s focus on a short-term fix at quarterback stems from the belief that Tagovailoa intends to return to the field this season. He is still consulting neurologists to determine the best path forward after hits third concussion in as many years, with an earliest possible return date of Week 8. Making a splash move for another QB – whether it be a veteran like Russell Wilson or young reclamation project like Bryce Young – could complicate Tagovailoa’s recovery and return and impact the relationship between the Dolphins and their franchise quarterback.

Instead, the Dolphins are more likely to stick with stopgap options under center. Even if Thompson is healthy enough to start in Week 4, he will have to show improvements to keep the job. Another lackluster performance could give Huntley — Lamar Jackson‘s top backup for three seasons — and opening to earn a few starts of his own once he’s fully up to speed in Miami.

Either way, the starting gig will go back to Tagovailoa if he is cleared to play again this season. But if additional tests and evaluations reveal a long-term problem, the Dolphins will need to consider a more concrete answer at quarterback — potentially through trade if their short-term replacements cannot produce.

Broncos’ Alex Singleton Suffers ACL Tear

September 25th, 2024 at 1:40pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Broncos’ sudden interest in experienced linebackers comes as a result of a significant blow. Denver will not have Alex Singleton at its disposal for the season’s remainder.

Sean Payton said Wednesday that the team’s top tackler suffered an ACL tear during the Week 3 win in Tampa. Singleton is out for the year and will undergo surgery in two weeks, via the Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson. Denver has since added both Kwon Alexander and Zach Cunningham to its practice squad; both veterans may soon be moving to the active roster.

This is an unfortunate development for all parties, as Singleton anchors Denver’s ILB group post-Josey Jewell and is set to turn 31 at season’s end. The Broncos re-signed the former UDFA in 2023 and have seen him author a prolific stretch — one that helped them rebound after a rough defensive start last season. Singleton has strung together back-to-back 160-plus-tackle seasons, not missing a game during that span in Denver.

Payton said Singleton played two thirds of Sunday’s game with the tear, but knowing the injury’s severity obviously changes the team’s plans. Cunningham and Alexander join a thin linebacking corps, which lost Jewell after the six-year contributor reunited with Ejiro Evero in Charlotte. The Broncos also lost Jonas Griffith to another season-ending injury and are without hybrid linebacker Drew Sanders due to an offseason Achilles tear. Sanders may well be back before season’s end, but the team still does not have much behind import Cody Barton. Special-teamer Justin Strnad and former UDFA Kristian Welch are in place on Denver’s 53-man roster.

The Broncos have Singleton on a three-year, $18MM contract. Initially acquired to play in Evero’s defense in 2022, Singleton signed a low-end contract after the Eagles non-tendered him as an RFA. Despite Philly seeing the Montana State alum rack up 137 tackles in his second season as a regular on its defense, Singleton was not deemed a priority for a team that has not spent much at that position in recent years. The Broncos paid Singleton in 2023, doing so despite having already given Jewell a midlevel deal. After Singleton’s 177-tackle season — complete with two 20-plus-tackle games — he ended up taking Jewell’s place as the team’s highest-paid off-ball ‘backer.

Singleton, who totaled two sacks last season and has registered six tackles for loss in two straight years, does not have any guaranteed money left on his deal post-2024. Originally a 2015 UDFA, he ended up debuting in the NFL late after a three-year stay with the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders. As Singleton has made up for lost NFL time, he has encountered a high hurdle. The Broncos, who rank sixth in scoring defense and third in yardage, will also face significant questions as they are set for 14 games without their 2022 find.

Broncos To Sign LB Zach Cunningham, Move RB Tyler Badie To Active Roster

September 25th, 2024 at 1:35pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although the Broncos prevailed in Tampa and have displayed far superior defensive form compared to the early weeks in Vance Joseph‘s DC tenure, they continue to add veteran linebacker pieces. After signing Kwon Alexander, Denver is bringing in Zach Cunningham.

There are no Saints ties with Cunningham, whom 9News’ Mike Klis notes is joining the Broncos’ practice squad, but he also carries extensive experience as a second-level defensive piece. Cunningham, 29, spent last season with the Eagles after a career in the AFC South (Texans, Titans).

[RELATED: LB Alex Singleton Suffers ACL Tear]

This turned out to be an emergency hire, as the team will be tasked with playing without its top tackler (Singleton) after the $6MM-per-year player suffered a season-ending injury. Cunningham and Alexander, 30, will be vying for time — potentially soon — for a Broncos team that lost Josey Jewell in free agency. As a result, depth is thin for this group. Cody Barton is the only proven ILB left on Denver’s active roster; that may change soon.

A full-time starter for the Texans, Cunningham signed a lucrative extension in 2019. He fell out of favor during the Texans’ early-2020s dark ages, despite leading the NFL in tackles in 2020 (with 164), becoming a healthy scratch during David Culley‘s season in charge. The Titans claimed Cunningham and turned to him as a starter during a season that ended with Tennessee securing the AFC’s No. 1 seed. The former second-round pick battled injuries in Tennessee, starting four games to close out the 2021 season but going on IR twice in 2022. As GM Ran Carthon took over in 2023, he made Cunningham one of his many cap-casualty moves.

Last season, the Eagles used Cunningham as a 10-game starter after signing him midway through training camp. He played in 13 contests and logged every defensive snap in the team’s wild-card game, one that punctuated a season that featured a collapse. Despite the Eagles cratering, Pro Football Focus viewed Cunningham as an above-average player and graded him well in coverage. The Eagles did not bring back Cunningham, and the eight-year vet — he of 85 tackles and four pass breakups in 2023 — did not attend a training camp. As such, it would not surprise to see the Broncos hold off on an immediate promotion.

Denver is also making an interesting move at running back. After Tyler Badie showed some promise to help a struggling rushing attack against the Buccaneers, the Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson adds the team is signing the young RB to its 53-man roster. Badie joins Javonte Williams, Jaleel McLaughlin and rookie UDFA Blake Watson on Denver’s active roster.

A Missouri alum the Ravens chose in the 2022 sixth round, Badie has been with the Broncos since late in the at ’22 season. He did not play last season, being stationed behind Williams, McLaughlin and Samaje Perine, but delivered his best NFL work last week. Badie, who followed Montee Ball in informing the masses of a pronunciation change as he transitioned to a Broncos RB role, gained 70 yards on nine carries and helped the Broncos close out the Buccaneers. With Williams struggling, Badie now looms as a direct threat to the contract-year starter’s playing time.

Cardinals’ Justin Jones Out For Season

September 25th, 2024 at 11:56am CST by Nikhil Mehta

Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon announced defensive linemen Justin Jones will miss the rest of the 2024 season with a torn triceps suffered against the Lions in Week 3.

With Jones going on IR, the Cardinals will sign Naquan Jones from the Dolphins’ practice squad after he appeared in four games for Arizona last season.

Justin Jones signed with the Cardinals this offseason on a three-year, $30.2MM contract after recording a career-high 4.5 sacks in Chicago last year. He was originally a third-round pick by the Chargers in 2018 and earned a starting role in his second year, but struggled to stay healthy with just 36 appearances from 2019 to 2021. Jones then signed a two-year deal with Chicago, where he started every game for two straight seasons.

The Cardinals’ reunion with Naquan Jones will help limit the damage from Justin Jones’ absence. He was signed to Arizona’s practice squad last November before a promotion to the active roster the following month. He started one game out of his four appearances, with a total of 78 snaps played for the Cardinals in 2024, so his familiarity with Gannon’s scheme will allow him to easily join teammates Roy Lopez, Bilal Nichols, L.J. Collier, Khyiris Tonga, and Dante Stills on the defensive interior.

Justin Jones joins Jonah Williams, BJ Ojulari, and rookies Darius Robinson and Christian Jones on the list of key Cardinals to land on injured reserve early in the season, though not all are expected to be out for the year. Robinson, the second of the team’s two first-round picks, is eligible to be activated from IR next week.

Browns To Place G Wyatt Teller On IR

September 25th, 2024 at 10:17am CST by Adam La Rose

SEPTEMBER 25: The team has moved Teller to IR, per Cabot. Considering the veteran guard’s timetable, this move is unsurprising. Though, it comes as the Browns continue to see their tackles unable to play together. Wills and Conklin have not completed a game together since the 2022 season. Teller is now out until at least Week 8.

SEPTEMBER 23: Wyatt Teller suffered a knee injury on Sunday, and he is now facing a notable absence. The Pro Bowl Browns guard is dealing with a Grade 2 MCL sprain, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports.

As a result, Garafolo adds an absence of roughly four weeks is expected. Head coach Kevin Stafanski said on Monday the team is considering injured reserve, a move which would require at least four games on the sidelines. An IR stint would come as no surprise given Teller’s reported recovery timeline, although Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot notes a second opinion is being sought out before any final decisions are made.

Losing Teller for any extended period would of course represent a major blow to Browns’ O-line. The 29-year-old has formed one of the league’s top guard tandems alongside Joel Bitonio since 2019. The last time Teller missed signficant time was in 2020, when he was sidelined for five games. A similar span on the sidelines appears to be in store.

Teller earned a second-team All-Pro nod in 2020 and again the following year. He has been a Pro Bowler for each of the past three seasons, leading to expectations for another standout campaign in 2024. As the Browns move forward with question marks at the quarterback spot, though, they will be increasingly shorthanded up front. Left tackle Jedrick Wills made his season debut yesterday, but fellow lineman James Hudson suffered a shoulder injury which Cabot notes will require an MRI. Right tackle Jack Conklin has yet to play this season.

Third-round rookie Zak Zinter logged a career-high 51 offensive snaps in Week 3, and he could be in line to handle starting duties while Teller is sidelined. Cleveland dedicated two return slots to Michael Dunn and Nyheim Hines before roster cutdowns, leaving the team with six IR activations. Teller will use up one of them once healthy in the event he is indeed moved to injured reserve.

Broncos To Add LB Kwon Alexander

September 25th, 2024 at 8:54am CST by Sam Robinson

Familiarity with Sean Payton continues to land certain players gigs in Denver, as a handful of ex-Saints assistants are also on the second-year HC’s staff. Add Kwon Alexander to the Saints-to-Broncos pipeline.

The veteran linebacker worked out for the team, per 9News’ Mike Klis, and ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter notes the club is making a practice squad addition. Alexander will join the Broncos at The Greenbrier in West Virginia, where they are practicing in preparation for their Week 4 game against the Jets.

Coming back from the second Achilles tear of his NFL career, Alexander had previously auditioned for the Falcons and Vikings. The Broncos saw enough to greenlight this reunion. Alexander will join a Broncos team that already houses seven ex-Saints — Adam Trautman, Wil Lutz, Malcolm Roach, Calvin Throckmorton, Lil’Jordan Humphrey, Lucas Krull and Jordan Jackson — on its active roster.

Alexander spent 2022 with the Jets and 2023 with the Steelers but was dealt from the 49ers to the Saints in 2020 and played all of the 2021 season — Payton’s New Orleans finale — with the NFC South team. Alexander, 30, started 15 games with the Saints under Payton. He aided a division champion in 2020 and recorded 3.5 sacks, despite operating primarily as an off-ball LB, in 2021

While the Broncos’ ILBs coach (Greg Manusky) was not in New Orleans during that time, ex-ILB Michael Wilhoite — Denver’s OLBs coach — was on Payton’s staff during Alexander’s tenure. Alexander also recovered a fumble against the Broncos during a 2020 matchup best remembered for the AFC West team having no active QBs due to COVID-19.

Formerly a standout Buccaneers ‘backer who earned a lucrative 49ers free agency deal in 2019 despite coming off an ACL tear, Alexander saw his first Saints season end due to an Achilles tear and sustained the same injury — albeit to his other Achilles — in November of last year. The Saints still re-signed the talented defender in August 2021. Alexander has played effectively in spurts. He started 12 games for a top-five Jets defense in 2022. Last season, Pro Football Focus graded the nine-year vet as a plus coverage ILB. Though, the Broncos will surely want to see how he looks in practices given the extensive injury history here.

Denver signed Cody Barton to start alongside Alex Singleton this offseason, letting Josey Jewell defect to the Panthers. Jonas Griffith had competed with Barton for that gig but did not make the team, suffering another major injury. Justin Strnad and Kristian Welch are in place as Denver’s second-string ILBs. Alexander will surely have a chance to move up to the 53-man roster soon.

Dolphins Unsure Of Week 4 Starting QB

September 24th, 2024 at 10:02pm CST by Adam La Rose

Skylar Thompson started the Dolphins’ Week 3 loss, the first contest following Tua Tagovailoa‘s concussion. Thompson had to exit the game due to a rib injury, however, and his status is now in the air.

“I think we have an important 48 hours to see where [Thompson’s] at,” head coach Mike McDaniel said when speaking to the media on Tuesday (via NFL.com). “We’ll just have to take it a day at a time. There’s a lot on the table.”

Indeed, Thompson’s health situation will be closely monitored in the immediate future. The former seventh-rounder beat out Mike White for the backup gig the offseason; that set him up to take over from Tagovailoa, who is on injured reserve and does not have a return timeline at this point. Thompson completed 13 of 19 passes on Sunday, but he was sacked five times and did not lead any touchdown drives during the 24-3 loss against the Seahawks. He will likely remain atop the depth chart if healthy, but it remains to be seen if that will be the case for Week 4.

If Thompson is unable to play, Tim Boyle (who was a gameday elevation from the practice squad for Week 3 and took over from Thompson on Sunday) would be an option to get the start. The other route available to Miami would be giving Tyler Huntley the nod. Huntley was signed off the Ravens’ practice squad in the wake of the Tagovailoa injury, a move he hoped would come to pass. The 26-year-old has not had a long period to acclimate to the Dolphins’ offense, but McDaniel added (via Jason Owens of Yahoo Sports) starting Huntley is a possibility at this point.

The 1-2 Dolphins will play the 0-3 Titans in Week 4, a game both teams will need to win to rebound from poor starts to the campaign. In Tennessee’s case, the quarterback position is not a question mark with Will Levis recently receiving a vote of confidence. For Miami, though, the situation under center is yet to be determined.

Saquon Barkley: Giants Were Not In Play During 2024 Free Agency

September 24th, 2024 at 10:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

With some notable exceptions (Kirk Cousins, Antonio Brown among them), few players have come up more frequently at PFR during a two-year period than Saquon Barkley. The current Eagles running back’s past two offseasons have continued to generate content, especially as Barkley shows vintage form on his new team.

Hard Knocks revived the Giants-Barkley divorce storyline, but the seventh-year back said the 2023 offseason mattered more in the grand scheme. The Giants memorably franchise-tagged Barkley and joined the Raiders and Cowboys in not paying their tagged performer at the July deadline. That set in motion a chain of events that led Barkley to Philadelphia.

HBO’s maiden offseason voyage offered memorable content, including a Barkley phone call with Giants GM Joe Schoen the former did not know was being recorded. Barkley brushed off that component and said during an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show the Giants were never a true consideration for him this year (video link).

Schoen asked Barkley to allow the Giants an attempt to match an offer he received, but the team’s powwow before this year’s franchise tag application deadline showed little descent when it came to Schoen and assistant GM Brandon Brown‘s preferred strategy of not tagging the veteran RB a second time. The Giants did not circle back and attempt to re-sign Barkley after not tagging him, and the talented back hit the open market (to John Mara‘s chagrin, given where Barkley chose to sign) with a few offers. Barkley’s path out of New York, despite the RB repeatedly indicating he hoped to finish his career there, was set in motion in 2023.

While Barkley jokingly expressed regret Schoen did not alert him of the recorded call, thus negating the RB a chance to play up drama for TV purposes, he revisited to a gripe from last year regarding what he perceived to be Giants-driven reports of the sides’ negotiations. The team had offered Barkley around $13MM per year in the winter of 2023, before re-signing Daniel Jones at the 11th hour and then tagging the more talented player, but dropped the AAV on its final offer before upping the guarantee to around $22MM. Though that was an impressive guarantee on a depressed RB market, the Giants’ proposal ended up short-selling Barkley based on what he received as a free agent. Barkley ended up collecting the $10.1MM franchise tag sum and then securing $26MM guaranteed at signing from the Eagles.

The Texans offered Barkley more than $11MM per year, while the Bears, Chargers and Ravens were in the mix as well. Chicago pivoted to D’Andre Swift, doing so before Barkley committed to Philadelphia, while Los Angeles went with ex-Greg Roman options in Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins. Houston traded for Joe Mixon, giving the longtime Cincinnati starter $13MM guaranteed at signing, while Baltimore turned steady Derrick Henry rumors into a signing. The Giants were not among the four teams to submit Barkley an offer in March.

The Giants ended up with Devin Singletary at three years and $16MM ($9.5MM guaranteed at signing). Thus far, Barkley has made a big difference for an Eagles offense that has dealt with injuries.

Although a Barkley drop in Week 2 opened the door to a Falcons comeback win, he scored five combined touchdowns in Weeks 1 and 3 to propel the Eagles to wins in Brazil and New Orleans. The 27-year-old back leads the NFL with 351 rushing yards. While Barkley carries significant injury risk, he is off to a strong start after joining Philly hours into the legal tampering period.

Chargers S Derwin James Suspended One Game

September 24th, 2024 at 9:55pm CST by Ben Levine

SEPTEMBER 24: James appealed the suspension on Tuesday, but hearing officer Derrick Brooks upheld the ban. James will officially be out of the lineup for Week 4, the Chargers’ final game before their bye week.

SEPTEMBER 23: Derwin James will be sidelined for Week 4 after being hit with a suspension today. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Chargers safety has been suspended one game without pay for “repeated violations of playing rules intended to protect the health and safety of players.”

This sentiment includes this past weekend’s game against the Steelers. During the third quarter, James’ hit on Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth caught the attention of the league, with NFL vice president of Football Operations Jon Runyan citing the defender’s “continued disregard for NFL playing rules.”

“During the third quarter of Sunday’s Chargers-Steelers game, you were involved in a play that the League considers a serious violation of the playing rules,” Runyan wrote in his letter to James (via NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport). “The video of the play shows that you lowered your head and made forcible contact to Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth. You had an unobstructed path to your opponent and the illegal contact could have been avoided.

“Your continued disregard for NFL playing rules will not be tolerated. Substantiated penalties are warranted when players violate the rules intended to protect player safety on a repeated basis, particularly when the violations carry with them a significant risk of injury to an opposing player.”

James intends to appeal the suspension, according to Daniel Popper of The Athletic. The veteran safety has been fined a number of times throughout his career for unnecessary roughness, including a $43K fine last season for a hit on then-Lions WR Josh Reynolds. Following that most-recent fine, James said he thinks he draws more scrutiny than other NFL players.

“I think I am a little bit,” James said (via Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com). “I’m not here to referee what they need to call. I’m here to play football and help my team win games.”

The former first-round pick has spent his entire career with the Chargers, earning three All-Pro nods and a pair of Walter Payton Man of the Year award nominees. Since missing the 2020 campaign with a knee injury, James has collected five forced fumbles, nine QB hits, and 240 tackles over the past three years.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/24/24

September 24th, 2024 at 8:47pm CST by Adam La Rose

Here are Tuesday’s taxi squad moves:

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

  • Signed: DB Morice Norris

Green Bay Packers

  • Released: TE Johnny Lumpkin

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Released: TE Luke Benson, CB Nehemiah Shelton

New England Patriots

  • Signed: WR John Jiles

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Signed: LB Marcus Haynes
  • Released: TE Matt Sokol

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

This year’s ‘Mr. Irrelevant,’ Key did not make the Jets’ initial 53-man roster. The 24-year-old was retained via the practice squad, but he did not see any regular season action. Now a free agent, Key will look to latch on with another organization.

Ross signed with the Eagles in May as part of his bid to return to the NFL. The former Combine 40-yard dash record holder was released during roster cutdowns, however, after he was unable to carve out a depth role on offense. Ross will rejoin the team in a bid to provide Philadelphia with a complementary receiving option as the team deals with a number of injuries at the WR spot.

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