Antonio Smith - Pro Football Rumors

Extra Points: RG3, Packers, Cardinals, Texans, Hawk

October 5th, 2016 at 3:55pm CST by Zachary Links

RG3‘s shoulder will be re-evaluated this week to gauge where he is in his recovery, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal tweets. The evaluation may determine whether surgery is needed for the Browns quarterback.

In the Browns’ season opener against the Eagles, Griffin completed 12 of 26 passes for 190 yards and added 37 rushing yards, but suffered a fractured coracoid bone in his left shoulder. He could technically return around the middle of the season, but early word is that he likely won’t see the field until 2017.

Here’s more from around the NFL:

The Packers plan to stand pat with Richard Rodgers and Justin Perillo at tight end for the time being, as ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky writes. Starter Jared Cook will be sidelined from 4-to-6 weeks, but the Packers feel they can get by if Cook’s layoff is on the early end of that range. “That’s the plan as I stand here today,” coach Mike McCarthy said.
Punter Drew Butler — whom the Cardinals waived on Tuesday — can re-sign with Arizona in six weeks, reports Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com (Twitter link). That means Butler and the Cards must have agreed to three-week injury settlement, because a player cut with a settlement must wait an additional three weeks on top of the time of the original settlement before re-signing with the club.
Texans running back Jonathan Grimes (fractured fibula) will likely be out at least a few more weeks, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets.
A.J. Hawk‘s one-year deal with the Falcons is for the veteran’s minimum, but does contain a $15K signing bonus, according to Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com. Hawk will play middle and outside linebacker for Atlanta, per McClure.
The Texans’ one-year deal with defensive end Antonio Smith is for the veteran’s minimum, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. Prorated for 13 games, Smith will count for just under $500K on Houston’s salary cap
Former Green Bay defensive end Josh Boyd will work out for the Seahawks on Monday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Boyd suffered an ankle injury in 2015 that limited him to just two games. In 2014, Boyd tallied 22 tackles and one pass deflection in 15 games (four starts).

Texans To Sign Antonio Smith

September 27th, 2016 at 8:46pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Texans plan to sign defensive end Antonio Smith on Wednesday after placing J.J. Watt on injured reserve, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). It will be a one-year deal, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (Twitter link). Smith played for Houston 2009-13.

Smith, 35 next month, is an 12-year NFL veteran with more 170 appearances and 130 starts under his belt. In 2015, he played in all 16 games for the Super Bowl champion Broncos, posting 2.5 sacks in the process. During the course of his career, Smith has spent time with the Cardinals, Texans, Raiders, and most recently, Denver. He’ll factor into a Houston defensive end crew that contains Jadeveon Clowney, Joel Heath, Devon Still, Christian Covington, and Brandon Dunn.

Watt, meanwhile, will visit a specialist to learn if his back injury will require surgery or if it can heal on its own, tweets Mark Berman of FOX 26. Either way, Watt will be forced to miss a minimum of eight weeks before he can return from IR.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

AFC Notes: Titans, A. Smith, Pacman, Weeden

January 11th, 2016 at 3:43pm CST by Luke Adams

The Titans‘ meeting today with Chiefs executive Chris Ballard is expected to be the last interview the team conducts in its search for a new general manager, per Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). Whether that means a hiring will follow shortly thereafter remains to be seen. With NFL team owners gathering in Houston for the next couple days, it’s possible Tennessee will wait until later in the week to make and announce a decision on its new GM.

Once that new GM is in place, the Titans will begin their head coaching search in earnest. According to Cole, the club wants to fight the perception that it’s a dysfunctional franchise, which means going through the general manager hiring process before rushing into a head coaching search, to assure the new GM is on board with the new coach, and vice versa.

Here’s more from around the AFC:

The investigation into criminal abuse allegations against Broncos defensive lineman Antonio Smith has concluded, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post, who tweets that the Fort Bend District Attorney’s office won’t charge Smith. The NFL figures to conduct its own investigation into the allegations and could discipline Smith, but the veteran defender won’t face any legal ramifications.
After playing a key part in the Bengals‘ Wild Card meltdown on Saturday night, Adam Jones said today that he’d like to return to the team, though there have been no recent talks (Twitter link via Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com). The veteran cornerback and return man known as Pacman had another solid season in Cincinnati, right up until the final minute of the team’s final game.
Quarterback Brandon Weeden will weigh his options in free agency, but says he’d love to return to the Texans, writes Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. And why not? Weeden led the team to two wins – one in relief and one as a starter – after compiling a 5-19 record in his previous NFL starts.
Within his look ahead to some of the Ravens‘ offseason decisions, Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun says the team will almost certainly have to restructure Joe Flacco‘s contract this winter, even if GM Ozzie Newsome said he’s fine keeping it at $28MM+.

AFC Rumors: Broncos, Ravens, Bills

August 1st, 2015 at 3:40pm CST by Sam Robinson

Facing a suddenly thin defensive end situation, with Derek Wolfe‘s recent PEDs suspension and Malik Jackson‘s calf strain, the Broncos are in need of some good news on their line.

They’ll have to settle for Antonio Smith being able to practice and hoping his being investigated in a child sex-abuse complaint doesn’t deter his time in Denver. The Broncos previously excused him from OTAs in late May once word of this allegation emerged.

“I have faith in the end it’s going to be all right,” Smith told Arnie Stapleton of the Associated Press. “I love football. I love my teammates more than I love the game. To be away from them was definitely a hard situation.”

GM John Elway permitted the 33-year-old end who he signed as a depth piece earlier this offseason to practice since he hasn’t been arrested or charged.

Here’s some more news out of Denver and as well as the Broncos’ AFC brethren’s training camps.

A second consecutive preseason and third straight season for Broncos wideout Kyle Williams looks to have been marred by a severe injury, according to Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. Williams, who suffered his previous injuries with the 49ers and Chiefs, confirmed on his Instagram page a knee injury sustained Saturday will end his 2015 season. The Broncos signed Williams to a futures contract in Dec. 2014 despite his missing the last six games of the 2013 season and all of the 2014 campaign with ACL and shoulder maladies. Most known for the fumble that propelled the Giants into the Super Bowl past the 49ers in overtime of the 2011 NFC championship game, the 27-year-old Williams has to be considered questionable at best to resume his career.
2014 Bills second-rounder Cyrus Kouandjio‘s second chance appears to still be in full bloom, with Tyler Dunne of the Buffalo News reporting the Bills’ right tackle job is his to lose despite a slow rookie year. Per Dunne, when Rex Ryan‘s staff arrived, they cleaned the slate of the former Alabama starter. This could mean a demotion for 16-game starter Seantrel Henderson, a 2014 seventh-rounder. “That absolutely could be his job,” Ryan said of Kouandjio. “That’s competition. Seantrel, I hope will feel differently. He’s going to think ‘I’m going to battle to win that job.’ But right now, he’s running with the 1’s so look at it any way you want.”
Scott Cohen will join the Ravens as a consultant after the Buccaneers fired him earlier this year, reports Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. Cohen previously worked as Mike Tannenbaum‘s assistant GM for five years with the Jets.

Antonio Smith To Rejoin Broncos

July 28th, 2015 at 7:46pm CST by Zachary Links

Antonio Smith is still under investigation on a complaint of sexual child abuse, but with no charges filed, the Broncos have decided to allow him to rejoin their team, according to Mike Klis of 9NEWS. The veteran defensive end was dismissed from the team’s offseason workout program after the Broncos learned he was under investigation for child abuse that was “sexual in nature.”

Smith, 33, was signed by Denver to a one-year, $2MM deal this past offseason. Only Smith’s $500K signing bonus is fully guaranteed from that amount, though a violation of the league’s personal conduct policy could put that in jeopardy. Denver excused Smith from voluntary offseason workouts to tend to his personal matters but the club has remained in contact with him over the past two months and they’ll now allow him to partake in training camp.

The 10-year veteran spent last season with AFC West rival Oakland, racking up three sacks (giving him 44.5 for his career), before signing with Denver as a free agent.

AFC Notes: Brady, Pettine, Broncos, Chargers

July 27th, 2015 at 9:11pm CST by Zachary Links

After Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti denied that he was among those pushing commissioner Roger Goodell to keep Tom Brady‘s full four-game suspension, Colts owner Jim Irsay issued a similar denial today.

“That’s not true at all,” Irsay told Zak Keefer of The Star when asked about a recent assertion made by ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio. “I haven’t talked to Roger Goodell about DeflateGate since late January. Not true. That’s not the way things work involving someone else’s business and someone else’s team. It’s not something I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been around ownership (in the NFL) for half a century.”

Irsay claims his last interaction with Goodell regarding the Deflategate controversy came months before the results of Ted Wells’ investigation were released in May. Here’s more out of the AFC..

Despite a recent report to the contrary, Browns coach Mike Pettine swears he’s on good terms with GM Ray Farmer, as Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal writes. “I think it was that late summer slow news day,” Pettine said. “The unfortunate thing is this: When you don’t win, when you have the history, or not so recent history of the Browns, to me, there’s not much credibility there. You can take an individual event and extrapolate that out to it has a negative connotation to it. That was the disappointing part of that.”
If the status of Antonio Smith‘s case doesn’t change, he could report to Broncos training camp on Thursday, Troy E. Renck of The Denver Post writes. Denver excused Smith from voluntary offseason workouts to tend to his personal matters but the club has remained in contact with him over the past two months and is expected to determine his status soon. If the Broncos decide they need more time to make a decision on Smith he cannot be fined for his absence from camp. Smith is being investigated following a complaint of sexual child abuse.
NFL executive Eric Grubman will visit San Diego again on Tuesday to get a briefing from the Chargers and local government officals on the progress of the stadium initiative, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report tweets.

AFC Notes: Broncos, Colts, Raiders

July 24th, 2015 at 8:46pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Here’s the latest from around the AFC as Friday wraps up:

Broncos defensive lineman Antonio Smith missed voluntary offseason workouts because of an ongoing investigation into criminal abuse allegations against him in Texas. However, he could be with the Broncos when veterans report to their training camp Thursday, Nicki Jhabvala and Troy Renck of the Denver Post report. The 10-year veteran spent last season with AFC West rival Oakland, racking up three sacks (giving him 44.5 for his career), before signing with Denver as a free agent.
Kansas City’s Justin Houston signed the richest deal ever for a linebacker earlier this month (six years, $101.5MM with $52.5MM guaranteed), which sets the bar for the Broncos’ Von Miller‘s next contract, writes Jhabvala. “I guarantee you Von thinks he deserves Justin Houston money,” Joel Corry of CBS Sports, an ex-agent, told Jhabvala. By career sack total alone, Miller has a case: He has 49 in four seasons, while Houston has 48.5 in the same amount of years.
It’s always risky to expect big things from a player returning from a torn Achilles’, which Colts pass rusher Robert Mathis is doing this season, but head coach Chuck Pagano has high hopes for the 34-year-old linebacker. “He will make a huge impact this season,” Pagano said, according to ESPN’s Ed Werder (via Twitter). Mathis missed all of last season after leading the league in sacks with 19.5 in 2013.
In other Colts news, Kevin Bowen of the team’s official website wrote of the concerns centering on the club’s offensive line as the season nears. Indy needs a major bounce-back season from veteran right tackle Gosder Cherilus, who struggled with injuries and poor play last year, and for newly signed Todd Herremans to be the answer at right guard.
Running back Latavius Murray was one of the Raiders’ few standouts last season, rushing for 424 yards on 82 attempts (a sterling 5.2 per-carry average) during his first year of action. Oakland is counting on him to be its No. 1 back this season, writes Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com. That would mean a significant increase in workload for the 2013 sixth-round pick.

OTA Rumors: Peterson, Forte, A. Smith, Dez

May 27th, 2015 at 12:28pm CST by Luke Adams

With organized team activities getting underway this week, we’re keeping our eye on plenty of contract and roster situations around the NFL. Here are the latest updates on a few of those situations:

Addressing Adrian Peterson‘s absence from OTAs, Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer issued another strong statement today, telling reporters – including Ben Goessling of ESPN.com (Twitter link) – that the running back has two choices: “He can play for us or not play.” A report yesterday suggested that Peterson is actually considering that second option (retirement), though I noted at the time that it sounded like the 30-year-old’s camp trying to regain some leverage.
After saying last week that he thought he had an idea of when Peterson would report to the Vikings, Zimmer admitted today that he has no idea when that’ll happen, tweets Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune.
Matt Forte, who reportedly wants a new contract, is present at the Bears‘ OTAs, but said today that “nobody likes playing on a one-year deal” (Twitter link via Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com). As Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune tweets, Forte added, “They said we’re not talking about that type of [contract] stuff right now, so all I can do is play football.”
Antonio Smith won’t participate in the Broncos‘ OTAs, as he continues to be investigated following a complaint of sexual child abuse, writes Mike Klis of 9NEWS. Although Smith has yet to be arrested or charged with a crime, the Broncos decided it would be “best for all involved” if the defensive lineman focuses on resolving his legal situation before reporting to the team.
As expected, Dez Bryant isn’t in attendance for the Cowboys‘ OTAs. However, Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets that the club has been in communication with the wideout. Earlier today, I asked whether Bryant will sign a long-term extension with Dallas before the July 15 deadline, and so far more than half of you have indicated that won’t happen.

West Notes: Broncos, Bennett, Rivers

May 26th, 2015 at 1:18pm CST by Luke Adams

The Broncos will have to make a call this week on whether or not they want to keep Antonio Smith on their roster as their organized team activities get underway, writes Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. Smith is being investigated following a complaint of possible child abuse of a sexual nature, and while that’s a serious allegation, the defensive lineman has yet to be arrested or charged with a crime, so Denver’s decision isn’t as clear-cut as the one the Bears faced with Ray McDonald.

As we wait to see whether or not the Broncos decide to cut ties with Smith, let’s round up a few more notes out of the NFL’s two West divisions….

Russell Wilson, Jimmy Graham, and Cliff Avril won’t report immediately to the Seahawks‘ OTAs as they deal with various personal and family matters, according to Danny Neil of 710 ESPN Radio in Seattle (Twitter links). The more notable absence for Seattle is defensive end Michael Bennett, writes NFL.com’s Kevin Patra, citing ESPN Radio. The standout pass rusher suggested earlier this offseason that he wouldn’t mind reworking his contract, which he just signed a year ago.
Philip Rivers is in action for the Chargers as they begin their OTAs, but there hasn’t been much contract-related discussion between the two sides this month, tweets Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf recently reiterated that she opposes the idea of spending any public funds on a new football stadium in the city, as Rachel Swan of SFGate.com details. For a new stadium to work for the Raiders in Oakland, a gap of about $400MM in financing would have to be closed somehow.

AFC West Notes: Broncos, Smith, Raiders

May 21st, 2015 at 5:16pm CST by Zachary Links

Chargers kicker Nick Novak, for the most part, likes the new point after attempt rules, Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego writes.

“I think it makes my job that much more exciting,” Novak said. “There could be games where I may not get any work, just lighting up the scoreboard and scoring touchdowns, which is a good thing. Now, I have the privilege of kicking 33-yard field goals, maybe four of five a game — I call them field goals because they’re from 33 yards. And I may kick four or five (actual) field goals. My workload is going to go up. It’s exciting to showcase what I can do. I think it increases the value of a kicker, too. Accuracy is going to be a (more valued commodity).”

However, now that the two-point scoring incentive is there, Novak is concerned that rushers may make a more concerted effort to block, which could lead to greater injury risk for players. Here’s more out of the AFC West..

Broncos defensive lineman Antonio Smith is being investigated in Texas for possible child abuse of a sexual nature, Mike Klis of 9News writes. The alleged incident took place in November, two months before Denver signed him to a one-year, $2MM pact. Only Smith’s $500K signing bonus is fully guaranteed from that amount, though a violation of the league’s personal conduct policy could put that in jeopardy.
The Raiders are set up perfectly for a 2016 spending splurge, Jason Fitzgerald of The Sporting News writes. If QB Derek Carr and LB Khalil Mack lead the Raiders to a respectable season in 2015, McKenzie will likely see the time being right to spend on high-quality players. At that point, the Raiders will have up to 16 unrestricted free agents and it’s unlikely any of them would be inked to an extension over the summer.
There’s a lot of talk about where the Raiders will wind up playing but that’s not a concern to head coach Jack Del Rio, as Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com writes. “We’re not naïve to know that there are things going on but, really, our focus is just on trying to be as good a football team as we can be,” Del Rio said. “Inside these walls, it’s all about football, about competing, about learning the system and challenging each other and building a brotherhood, beginning to get that chemistry and that bond and all of that.”