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Detroit Lions News & Rumors

Lions To Place Tyrunn Walker On IR

October 6th, 2015 at 12:14pm CST by Luke Adams

Lions defensive lineman Tyrunn Walker suffered a broken fibula in last night’s game against the Seahawks, and will undergo surgery that will end his season, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). According to Rapoport, the Lions will place Walker on the injured reserve list, but he’s expected to eventually make a full recovery.

Walker, 25, took on a part-time role in New Orleans last season and played well, recording 19 tackles and 2.5 sacks. However, New Orleans elected not to make him a restricted free agent tender offer in the offseason, perhaps due to to cap constraints, and the Lions landed him as an unrestricted free agent.

In the early going this season, Walker had played more defensive snaps than any other player on the Lions’ defensive line, so losing him will big a blow to a club that had already been trying to deal with the offseason departures of Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley. Making matters worse, Haloti Ngata suffered a calf injury against Seattle and is getting an MRI today, per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.

Caraun Reid, Gabe Wright, and Jermelle Cudjo are currently the only healthy defensive tackles on Detroit’s roster, so the team figures to eye depth at the position this week.

Workout Notes: 9/30/15

September 30th, 2015 at 4:20pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s workouts from around the NFL..

Workout Notes: Jets, Brown, Chargers, Lions

September 29th, 2015 at 6:29pm CST by Zachary Links

The Jets auditioned running back Bryce Brown on Tuesday, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter). Brown has showed flashes of promise in the past, but he was unable to stick with the Bills in 2015. The Bills traded a 2015 fourth-round pick to the Eagles to acquire Brown before the start of last season and that’s a deal that GM Doug Whaley probably wouldn’t make again. In 2014, Brown ran for a grand total of 126 yards off of 36 carries.

Here’s a rundown of other notable workouts from around the NFL..

NFL Waiver Order Now Based On 2015 Records

September 29th, 2015 at 8:46am CST by Luke Adams

For most of 2015, the Buccaneers, owners of a 2-14 record in 2014 and the first pick in the draft this spring, have had the No. 1 waiver priority, based on last year’s record. Throughout the offseason, the Bucs had the first shot at any player who passed through waivers, but that’s no longer the case. As Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets, today is the first day of the season that the NFL’s waiver order is determined by 2015 record.

While four teams have 0-3 records, the Lions currently have top waiver priority, since ties are broken based on a club’s strength of schedule — teams that have faced the weakest schedules get priority. Through three weeks, the Lions’ opponents have a combined 6-3 record, while the teams played by the 0-3 Ravens, Bears, and Saints all have at least seven total wins.

Conversely, the Patriots currently have the 32nd waiver priority in the NFL, based on their 3-0 record and their strength of schedule. The three teams New England has beat have a 5-4 overall combined record. By comparison, the three opponents the Broncos have faced, for instance, are just 1-8, so Denver is at the front of the 3-0 teams in terms of priority.

While the new waiver order could pay off for certain teams in the short term, it may be even more crucial later in the season. After the trade deadline passes in October, every player is subject to waivers — up until that point, only players with less than four years of experience can be claimed on waivers. That means that there may be some veteran talent claimed off waivers later in the year, and the league’s weakest teams will have first dibs.

Community Tailgate: Winless Teams

September 28th, 2015 at 2:57pm CST by Luke Adams

With the NFL season underway, we have a whole new series of topics to discuss, and PFR’s Community Tailgate is designed to address those topics. What’€™s the Community Tailgate all about? Well, it’€™s pretty simple. Every weekday, we’ll highlight one of the top stories going on in the NFL. Then, in the comment section below, we want you to weigh in and let us know what you think.

Of course, while the debate may get spirited, we ask that it all stays respectful. If you need a reminder of our rules, please check out our commenting policy. Basically, we ask that you refrain from inappropriate language, personal insults, and attacks. Speaking of commenting: we’ve made it much easier to leave a comment here at Pro Football Rumors. You are no longer required to be a registered user –€“ simply put in your name, email address, and comment and submit.

Through three weeks of the 2015 NFL season, 28 of the league’s 32 teams have managed to record at least one victory, with the Seahawks, Eagles, and Colts among the clubs that got into the win column in Week 3. However, that still leaves four teams that have lost all three of their games so far — the Ravens, Bears, Lions, and Saints.

While most of those teams didn’t show up in many preseason Super Bowl predictions, they all had playoff aspirations, and it will be a significant uphill battle for any of them to earn a postseason berth now. The Bears and Saints are in particularly rough shape, with their starting quarterbacks banged up and out of action this past weekend.

Here are the upcoming schedules for all four teams over the next five weeks, as they look to turn their respective seasons around:

  • Baltimore Ravens: at Steelers, vs. Browns, at 49ers, at Cardinals, vs. Chargers
  • Chicago Bears: vs. Raiders, at Chiefs, at Lions, Bye, vs. Vikings
  • Detroit Lions: at Seahawks, vs. Cardinals, vs. Bears, vs. Vikings, at Chiefs
  • New Orleans Saints: vs. Cowboys, at Eagles, vs. Falcons, at Colts, vs. Giants

None of those schedules are a cakewalk, but there are some winnable games in the mix. The Saints, for instance, should be favored against the Tony Romo-less Cowboys if Drew Brees returns to action this weekend. The Ravens have the underachieving Browns and Niners on their schedule. And the Bears and Lions play each other in Week 6, so at least one of them should come out of that game with a victory.

What are your thoughts on the NFL’s four remaining winless team? Will any of them turn things around and make a run at a postseason spot? Which team will take the longest to pick up a win? Will be seeing two or three of these clubs at the top of the 2016 draft order? Weigh in below in the comments section!

NFC Notes: Brindza, Panthers, H. Smith

September 28th, 2015 at 12:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Buccaneers kicker Kyle Brindza had a rough day on Sunday, missing an extra point and three field goals as his team fell to the Texans by 10 points. However, head coach Lovie Smith stressed that the Bucs are sticking with Brindza, and don’t plan on auditioning any potential replacements this week, writes Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times.

“No. Kyle is our kicker,” Smith said. “He, like a lot of us, had a disappointing day. That hasn’t been the case. You’re going to have off days, and this was an off day.”

Here are a few more Monday odds and ends from around the NFC:

  • Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link) believes that the Panthers will eventually get cornerback Josh Norman locked up to an extension, though it will likely require an offer of $10MM+ per year, and will probably have to wait until the offseason. Norman reportedly turned down a contract offer worth about $7MM annually prior to the regular season.
  • Person (Twitter links) also passes along a pair of injury updates from Panthers head coach Ron Rivera, who says defensive end Charles Johnson has a hamstring issue and linebacker Thomas Davis has a pectoral injury. While Rivera doesn’t believe the Davis injury is serious, he says Johnson could be out for multiple weeks, and the club may look for outside help on the defensive line (Twitter links).
  • After picking up his fifth-year option for 2016, the Vikings decided to wait on signing safety Harrison Smith to a contract extension. As Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press observes (via Twitter), Smith’s price tag appears to be on the rise — through three weeks, the Vikings safety easily has the highest Pro Football Focus grade (+9.4) of anyone at the position.
  • Despite the Lions‘ offensive struggles so far this year, head coach Jim Caldwell hasn’t given consideration to taking over playcalling duties from OC Joe Lombardi, tweets Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/23/15

September 23rd, 2015 at 4:46pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are the latest practice squad signings and cuts from across the NFL:

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Dallas Cowboys

  • Signed: DE Efe Obada (Twitter link via Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com)

Detroit Lions

  • Signed: WR/KR Kaelin Clay (link via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press)
  • Cut: WR Kendrick Ings

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

  • Signed: TE Sean McGrath (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle), CB Eric Patterson (via Mike Chappell of FOX59 on Twitter)
  • Cut: OL David Arkin

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

  • Signed: TE Connor Hamlett (Twitter link via Evan Woodbery of the Times-Picayune)

Tennessee Titans

Workout Notes: 9/23/15

September 23rd, 2015 at 2:16pm CST by Luke Adams

Teams around the NFL are bringing in players for workouts, surveying the free agent landscape for possible practice squad additions or 53-man roster players, either for the near future or down the road. Here are a few of the latest auditions from across the league, via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (all links go to Twitter):

AFC:

NFC:

Injury Updates: 9/20/15

September 20th, 2015 at 4:38pm CST by Rob DiRe

The big news is the Tony Romo injury, which could have a devastating effect on the Cowboys’ season. We already looked at a major injury to Bills safety Aaron Williams – who appeared to be doing okay after being taken to a hospital, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports (via Twitter) – and a potential starting quarterback injury for Jay Cutler of the Bears. Here’s a roundup of other noteworthy injuries from Sunday’s action. Any additional injury updates from the afternoon games will be added to the top of the page throughout the day.

Earlier:

  • Ereck Flowers left the Giants-Falcons game with an ankle injury, and was not able to return, writes Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News (via Twitter). Flowers has dealt with ankle injuries for a few weeks, and Jordan Raanan of NJ.com notes that head coach Tom Coughlin hopes those issues aren’t continuous (via Twitter).
  • Eagles linebacker Kiko Alonso has been ruled out of the remainder of today’s game vs. the Cowboys due to a left knee injury, tweets Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. As McLane observes, that’s the same knee that suffered a torn ACL in 2014.
  • Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford was getting X-rays taken after the loss to the Vikings, reports Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter). Detroit Lions senior writer Tim Twentyman writes that Stafford confirmed the X-rays were taken of his chest and ribs (via Twitter).
  • Buccaneers defensive tackle Gerald McCoy left the 26-19 win over the Saints with a right arm injury, reports Jenna Laine of Sports Talk 1040 The Team in Tampa (via Twitter). Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times adds that McCoy was not moving his right arm in the locker room (via Twitter).
  • Titans right guard Chance Warmack will have an MRI on his knee on Monday after injuring it today, but the initial diagnosis is a sprained MCL, according to Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com (Twitter links).

Latest On DeAndre Levy

September 18th, 2015 at 6:53pm CST by Sam Robinson

A rumor that made its way into Jim Caldwell‘s Friday press conference has no bearing on why DeAndre Levy will miss his second straight game Sunday, according to the linebacker’s agent.

Caldwell declined to address a report that Levy, who’s been out for over three weeks due to a muscle strain in his hip, contracted a parasite while vacationing in Chile this summer, per Kyle Meinke of MLive.com. DetroitSportsRag.com originally reported the parasite rumor that Levy’s agent, Joe Panos, told NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter) the report was “100 percent false.”

The Lions don’t expect Levy to be out much longer, using their IR-DTR slot on rookie cornerback Alex Carter instead of their newly extended outside backer.

Caldwell, however, also offered no clarity as to when Levy will return. Josh Bynes will again start in his place. The Lions’ schedule strength increases in the next two weeks, with the Broncos and Seahawks on the docket.

Meinke notes the Lions would face stiff sanctions for doctoring an injury report, meaning the second-highest-paid 4-3 outside linebacker is almost certainly dealing with a hip malady.

Levy, who hadn’t missed a game since 2012, signed a four-year deal worth $33.74MM last month.

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