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Saleh: Jets Brass On Same Page Regarding Zach Wilson

November 12th, 2023 at 7:21am CST by Sam Robinson

NOVEMBER 12: Before signing with the Rams earlier this week, Wentz again reached back out to the Jets to see if they were interested in his services, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports. New York obviously turned him down, which led him to LA and which further underscores Gang Green’s faith in Wilson. Nonetheless, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com suggests that, if Wilson should underperform in the Jets’ Week 10 matchup with the Raiders, he could lose his starting job.

NOVEMBER 11: Confirming the optimism shown in Wilson by Saleh’s remarks, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports the Jets have no intention of benching the former No. 2 pick “barring a disaster” (subscription required). The team believes Wilson still carries the most upside for the struggling offense amongst their other QB options, so they will move forward in the hopes of progress in the passing game while keeping the door open to a Rodgers comeback.

NOVEMBER 9: Although the prospect of an Aaron Rodgers return late this season continues to be a topic of conversation — largely because of Rodgers’ comments — Zach Wilson remains the Jets’ starter. After a bit of an October uptick, Wilson has reverted to form. But the Jets are not prepared to bench the struggling quarterback.

Robert Saleh has again stood behind the embattled former No. 2 overall pick and said he has not received pressure from Jets management or ownership to stay the course with Wilson. Then again, the third-year HC would be unlikely to admit anything to the contrary.

“No, we’re on the same page with that,” Saleh said, via ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini, regarding the organizational approach at quarterback. “So any conspiracy theory that might be out there, we’re on the same page. The knee-jerk reaction to this is to always hit the panic button. … There are a lot of things [Wilson] can do better. He’s doing the best that he can. But, again, he still needs to get better.”

Wilson completed 47% of his passes in an ugly Week 8 win over the Giants, and the Chargers handily dispatched the Jets on Monday night. While the team is 4-4, the Saleh-run defense is once again keeping the team afloat. This is quite familiar territory for the Jets, who twice benched Wilson last season. They operated aggressively this offseason, meeting with Derek Carr and putting a full-court press on an effort to acquire Rodgers. The team succeeded, but the future Hall of Famer’s Week 1 Achilles tear continues to define the season — as should be expected.

The Jets passed on Carson Wentz, who has since signed with the Rams, and were not believed to be interested in Kirk Cousins. Not that an interest in the Vikings passer, who has also since suffered an Achilles tear, would have mattered; Cousins was not expected to waive his no-trade clause. The team also passed on a trade for Josh Dobbs, who has now replaced Cousins in Minnesota. No rumblings of a Jacoby Brissett push emerged, either. Ownership was believed to have shaped the Jets’ effort to bring in a high-profile emergency option, due to the money the organization had already sunk into Rodgers, helping lead the team to its present place.

The Jets’ only outside addition this year has been Trevor Siemian, their brief Sam Darnold backup who has resided as the team’s third-stringer this season. Tim Boyle sits as Wilson’s backup; the ex-Packers, Lions and Bears reserve has not played this season. Saleh benched Wilson when the Jets stood 6-4 last season. He closed last season with a 38.5 QBR figure; that number presently sits at 32.3, ahead of only Bryce Young. The Jets have scored only eight touchdowns this season. Only the 2-14 2020 squad, Cimini adds, and the 1976 team Lou Holtz eventually bailed on were worse through eight games.

Saleh’s lack of options behind Wilson, after the team let Mike White walk in free agency and did not re-sign Joe Flacco, has led to this extended leash for the BYU alum. But more of the same could finally exhaust the head coach’s patience.

Injured Reserve Return Tracker

November 11th, 2023 at 9:45pm CST by Sam Robinson

After a 2022 rule change, teams can activate up to eight players from injured reserve. That has reintroduced some strategy into how franchises proceed with their activations, and teams will again need to be cognizant of their activation counts in 2023.

The NFL had reintroduced IR-return options in the 2010s, after a period in which an IR move meant a player’s season was over. But the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the league to loosen restrictions on IR from 2020-21. Teams were permitted to use unlimited activations to start the decade, but roster math is again a consideration.

Players who land on IR after cutdown day must miss at least four games. Once a team designates a player for return, the activation clock starts. Clubs have 21 days from a player’s return-to-practice date to activate that player. If no activation commences in that window, the player reverts to season-ending IR.

Here is how the NFL’s remaining two IR situations look for Super Bowl LVIII:

Kansas City Chiefs

Activated:

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activations remaining: 3

San Francisco 49ers

Designated for return:

Reverted to season-ending IR:

Eligible for activation:

Activations remaining: 4

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/11/23

November 11th, 2023 at 9:06pm CST by Ely Allen

The NFL’s minor moves, including gameday callups for Sunday of Week 10:

Atlanta Falcons

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Las Vegas Raiders

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

NFL Injury Updates: Higgins, Turner, Palmer, Saints, Jones

November 10th, 2023 at 9:58pm CST by Ely Allen

The Bengals will be without their second leading receiver for their Week 10 matchup against the Texans. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Tee Higgins will miss Sunday’s game after injuring his hamstring in practice on Wednesday. He will reportedly continue to be evaluated on a week-to-week basis.

Partially due to the early struggles of quarterback Joe Burrow, Higgins is off to the worst start of his career this season. After averaging 1,009.33 receiving yards in each of his first three seasons, Higgins is currently on track to finish the season with only 703 yards. Hamstring injuries have a tendency to linger, as well, threatening to take even more away from Higgins this year.

Leading wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase has been limited this week with a back injury and is currently listed as questionable. Should he play, though, he will be joined by Tyler Boyd, Trenton Irwin, and sixth-round rookie Andrei Iosivas. With Higgins out, tight end Irv Smith may, too, continue to see an increased role in the Bengals’ passing gameplan.

Here are a few other injury updates from around the NFL:

  • The Jets will be without yet another offensive lineman this week as backup lineman Billy Turner will miss Sunday’s game in Las Vegas, per Brian Costello of the New York Post. Turner suffered a “concerning” broken bone in his hand during his first start of the season last week that head coach Robert Saleh disclosed had required surgery. Turner was starting in place of injured right guard Connor McGovern, who was placed on injured reserve before last week’s game with a dislocated knee cap. With all the current injuries on the offensive line, New York only has three linemen on the active roster – Chris Glaser, Dennis Kelly, and Carter Warren – that it can turn to as a replacement starter this weekend. They also have Jake Hanson, Xavier Newman, and Rodger Saffold, who should be available off the practice squad. Saffold and Hanson are recent signings who may have been brought in to assist with the team’s plague of injuries on the offensive front.
  • Chargers wide receiver Josh Palmer was placed on IR earlier this week without much word on the specifics of what was being called a knee injury. Daniel Popper of The Athletic provided an update on Wednesday that Palmer is dealing with a knee sprain. Popper’s report comes from head coach Brandon Staley, who relayed that Palmer will obviously be out for the next four weeks, the minimum required on IR, but he has “no expectations” after that. They will simply have to reassess once Palmer is eligible to return.
  • Two Saints rookies suffered injuries this past Sunday. Defensive end Isaiah Foskey suffered “a low-grade quad strain,” according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Foskey’s absence, as a rotational lineman, will open the door for more potential snaps for either Tanoh Kpassagnon or Kyle Phillips, who was signed to the active roster weeks ago but has yet to make his season debut. Foskey is expected to miss a week or two, but the injury isn’t considered serious. Running back Kendre Miller was the other Saints rookie to suffer an injury, spraining his ankle against Chicago last week, per Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football. He hasn’t participated in practice all week and will also be out this Sunday. It’s unclear whether or not his injury will linger to hold him out for much longer. Miller’s usage has decreased significantly since the return of Jamaal Williams, but with Eno Benjamin on IR, the team may feel the need to elevate practice squad running back Jordan Mims to back up Williams and Alvin Kamara.
  • The Browns will be down three offensive tackles for this weekend’s trip to Baltimore. According to Jeff Schudel of The News-Herald and Morning Journal, rookie fourth-round tackle Dawand Jones has been ruled out for Sunday’s game. Starting tackles Jack Conklin and Jedrick Wills both currently reside on IR, Conklin since Week 1 and Wills just this past week. Jones had been starting across from Wills in place of Conklin. With Wills and Jones out next week, Cleveland will have to start two fresh faces at offensive tackle. Schudel reports that James Hudson III is expected to start at right tackle. Starting left guard Joel Bitonio is expected to slide out to serve as a left tackle. Backup center Nick Harris will get an opportunity to start in Bitonio’s place at left guard. A beleaguered offensive line will face a significant challenge with three new starters in new positions against a Ravens defense that leads the league in sacks.

Updated 2024 NFL Draft Order

November 10th, 2023 at 8:44am CST by Adam La Rose

Yesterday’s Panthers-Bears game carried signficant draft implications, as many noted in the build-up to the primetime matchup. With Carolina having dealt its 2024 first-round pick to Chicago as part of the deal involving last year’s No. 1 selection, the Bears were able to boost their chances of picking first in April with a win.

Owning the top selection in a draft touted for having multiple high-end options at the quarterback spot would of course add further to the speculation surrounding Justin Fields. The Bears gave the 24-year-old a vote of confidence last spring by trading out of the No. 1 slot, but he has yet to develop as hoped this season. Chicago could opt for a fresh start under center (particularly if they declined Fields’ fifth-year option) this spring while also having the opportunity to add help elsewhere on the roster with their own first-rounder, which seems destined to fall within the top 10 or perhaps even top five selections.

Of course, teams like the Giants, Cardinals and Patriots have experienced signficant troubles of their own this year. A continuation of their first half performances could leave them in pole position for the Caleb Williams–Drake Maye sweepstakes. All three teams face potential uncertainty with respect to their current passers’ futures, despite each having term remaining on their respective contracts.

For non-playoff teams, the draft order will be determined by the inverted 2024 standings — plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule — with playoff squads being slotted by their postseason outcome and regular-season record. With plenty still to be sorted out over the coming months, here is an early look at the current draft order:

  1. Chicago Bears (via Panthers)
  2. Arizona Cardinals: 1-8
  3. New York Giants: 2-7
  4. New England Patriots: 2-7
  5. Chicago Bears: 3-7
  6. Los Angeles Rams: 3-6
  7. Green Bay Packers: 3-5
  8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 3-5
  9. Denver Broncos: 3-5
  10. Tennessee Titans: 3-5
  11. Atlanta Falcons: 4-5
  12. Washington Commanders: 4-5
  13. Indianapolis Colts: 4-5
  14. Las Vegas Raiders: 4-5
  15. Arizona Cardinals (via Texans)
  16. New York Jets: 4-4
  17. Los Angeles Chargers: 4-4
  18. Buffalo Bills: 5-4
  19. New Orleans Saints: 5-4
  20. Minnesota Vikings: 5-4
  21. Dallas Cowboys: 5-3
  22. Pittsburgh Steelers: 5-3
  23. Houston Texans (via Browns)
  24. Cincinnati Bengals: 5-3
  25. Seattle Seahawks: 5-3
  26. San Francisco 49ers: 5-3
  27. Miami Dolphins: 6-3
  28. Jacksonville Jaguars: 6-2
  29. Detroit Lions: 6-2
  30. Baltimore Ravens: 7-2
  31. Kansas City Chiefs: 7-2
  32. Philadelphia Eagles: 8-1

OL Rumors: Steelers, 49ers, Jets, Fins, Pugh

November 9th, 2023 at 8:45pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Steelers may have executed a permanent switch at right tackle, and Chukwuma Okorafor believes it came because of comments he made near the end of the team’s Week 8 loss to the Jaguars. Pittsburgh benched Okorafor for its Thursday-night game against Tennessee, moving first-round pick Broderick Jones into the lineup. Okorafor said (via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Brian Batko) the Steelers benched him because he was “acting out” toward the end of the Pittsburgh-Jacksonville game. Mike Tomlin said (via The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly) Jones was deserving of an opportunity and helped the Steelers “provide a spark.”

Signed to a three-year, $29.25MM deal in 2022, Okorafor has been the Steelers’ starting right tackle since 2020. The team drafted Jones with the intent on making him its future left tackle, but a configuration in which left tackle Dan Moore moved to the right side to accommodate the rookie was floated as the more likely scenario this offseason. Since the Week 9 change, Jones and Okorafor said (via Kaboly and the Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac) they expect the Moore-Jones starting duo to remain due to Jones receiving the first-team reps this week. The Steelers’ depth chart lists Jones as the RT starter, though the Georgia product said he would prefer to play left tackle, where he lined up for the SEC powerhouse. Okorafor believes what he said has resulted in “significant” ramifications but maintains his benching was not performance-based, creating an interesting storyline to follow in Pittsburgh.

Here are some O-line subplots from elsewhere around the NFL:

  • Missing the past two games with an ankle injury, Trent Williams returned to a limited practice Thursday. Kyle Shanahan said the 49ers‘ All-Pro left tackle has dealt with more than a low ankle sprain, via 49ersWebZone.com’s David Bonilla. The 49ers lost both the games Williams missed, after dropping from the unbeaten ranks — in Cleveland — following Williams’ injury-driven exit in Week 6. A limited practice represents a good sign for Williams’ Week 10 availability and San Francisco’s offensive capabilities.
  • The Jets may soon be without yet another offensive lineman. Robert Saleh described Billy Turner as encountering a “concerning” injury, and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport notes the veteran blocker suffered a broken bone in his hand. This will leave Turner’s status uncertain for the Jets’ Week 10 tilt. Turner has not practiced this week, pointing to an absence. The Jets have turned to Turner at guard in the wake of Connor McGovern and Wes Schweitzer‘s IR trips. The team is likely to have Duane Brown back, however; the 38-year-old tackle — who remains on IR — has practiced fully this week. Saleh recently pointed to Brown’s return kicking Mekhi Becton back to right tackle.
  • Although left tackle Terron Armstead came off IR in time to face the Chiefs, the Dolphins played their Germany game without both starting guards. Isaiah Wynn is on IR with a potential season-ending injury, and Robert Hunt missed the game because of a hamstring ailment. Wynn fill-in Robert Jones also left the game, due to a hyperextended knee. While Mike McDaniel said Jones does not need surgery, the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson notes Lester Cotton and 2022 left guard starter Liam Eichenberg are set to vie for the starting role before the Dolphins return to action in Week 11. A third-year UDFA who made his first career start in Week 9, Jones is likely to miss some time, per McDaniel.
  • Justin Pugh signed a one-year, $1.43MM deal to rejoin the Giants last month. Pugh’s second Giants contract includes an incentive package worth $2.1MM, he revealed on his NetWorth Podcast (via the New York Daily News’ Pat Leonard). Pugh can earn part of that $2.1MM by hitting the 50%, 70% and 90% playing-time thresholds from the point he debuted (Week 6). Despite the October arrival, Pugh has started — at both guard and tackle — in each of the four games in which he has played this season.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/7/23

November 7th, 2023 at 7:59pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are the NFL’s practice squad moves from today:

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

  • Signed: LB Ace Eley

Cleveland Browns

Houston Texans

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

  • Signed: WR T.J. Luther

New York Giants

New York Jets

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

The Jets have decided to shoulder the risk of bringing on Winfrey, who was waived by the Browns in July after facing his second allegation of violence against a woman. He was not charged with anything in the case that led to his release from Cleveland, but combined with past off-field incidents, the allegations were enough to propel him towards free agency.

Nathaniel Hackett To Remain Jets’ Offensive Play-Caller

November 7th, 2023 at 10:20am CST by Adam La Rose

Another poor outing on offense for the Jets was on display last night, but changes on the sidelines for the unit will not be forthcoming. Head coach Robert Saleh said after the game (via SNY’s Connor Hughes) offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett will retain play-calling duties.

Hackett was hired this offseason after his disastrous head coaching stint in Denver. The 43-year-old was fired before finishing his first campaign in charge of the Broncos, but his New York agreement paved the way for another opportunity to lead an offense (and, of course, began the speculation connecting Aaron Rodgers to the Jets). The former Packers duo were indeed reunited, though Rodgers’ Achilles tear has altered the Jets’ season on offense in particular.

After repeatedly receiving votes of confidence from Saleh and Co., Zach Wilson has handled starting duties in Rodgers’ absence. That decision has not sat well with everyone in the locker room, and the former No. 2 pick’s lack of development (coupled with underwhelming play from a banged-up offensive line) has hamstrung a team which entered the year with signficant expectations. Hackett has received criticism as well, but he will remain in his current role for at least the time being.

After being held to just six points by a Chargers defense which has not fared particularly well in 2023, the Jets sit 30th in the league in scoring and 28th in total offense with an average of 16.5 points and 303 yards per game. Those struggles have outweighed top-10 performances in a number of defensive categories and threatened to hold New York out of the postseason barring a notable uptick in offensive production. A return from Rodgers – something the Jets are still holding out hope for – could change the team’s outlook, but the 39-year-old has made it clear suiting up in 2023 (if at all possible) would not take place unless a postseason berth was in reach.

Hackett had considerable success with the latter during their shared time in Green Bay, although play-calling duties were not part of the equation during that time. Hackett was deemed responsible in no small part for Russell Wilson‘s career-worst season in Denver last year, and it would come as a surprise if he were to receive another HC look in the near future. A rebound down the stretch in New York as OC would be a welcomed development, though.

Former Titans offensive coordinator Todd Downing is on the Jets’ staff as passing game coordinator. He would represent an experienced option if Saleh were to decide a change in play-caller would be helpful to New York’s late-season prospects. As things stand, though, no such shake-up is in the cards.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/6/23

November 6th, 2023 at 7:58pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Las Vegas Raiders

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

  • Signed: OL Jacob Hanson
  • Released: OL Jason Poe

San Francisco 49ers

  • Signed: OL Henry Byrd 

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/6/23

November 6th, 2023 at 7:36pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

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