HEADLINES

Top RB Prospect Ashton Jeanty Wants To Play For Cowboys

November 19th, 2024 at 9:52pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The situation is dire in Dallas: the Cowboys are 3-7 and Dak Prescott is out for the season after hamstring surgery. However, there’s a silver lining to the team’s losing record: a potential top-10 pick in the 2025 draft, where the right pick could help kickstart a return to relevance.

The Cowboys are currently slotted for the ninth overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft after losing their last five games. That could be high enough to nab Boise State running back and Heisman hopeful Ashton Jeanty, who recently said he wanted to be drafted by the Cowboys, per The Athletic’s Jon Machota.

“My family is all in Texas. Family being there, all the connections, all the relationships, I feel like that would just be the perfect city to play in,” Jeanty said.

Past players who have expressed a desire to end up in Dallas include first-rounders Ezekiel Elliott and Micah Parsons, who were drafted by the Cowboys in 2016 and 2021, respectively.

Jeanty is expected to be a first-round pick next year, though his exact draft spot will reignite a recurring league-wide debate about running back value. Many teams have stopped using premium resources in the draft and free agency on an oft-injured position that has taken a back seat in modern passing-focused offenses. However, several teams have found success after recent investments in their backfield, either via free agency – Derrick Henry in Baltimore, Saquon Barkley in Philadelphia – or the draft – Jahmyr Gibbs in Detroit and Bijan Robinson in Atlanta.

The Cowboys have been on both ends of that spectrum in the last decade. They drafted Elliott with the fourth overall pick in 2016 and gave him an early extension in 2019 that would have kept him in Dallas until 2026. His six-year, $90MM deal included more than $50MM of guaranteed money, which remains a record for NFL running backs, per OverTheCap.

However, the Cowboys released Elliott after the 2022 season and have invested precious little in their backfield since. Current starter Rico Dowdle was an undrafted free agent signing in 2020 and Elliott returned this spring on a one-year, $2MM deal. 2023 fifth-round pick Deuce Vaughn doesn’t profile as a future lead back at 5-foot-6 and 176 pounds, and Dalvin Cook has only earned two elevations from the practice squad.

That leaves the future of Dallas’ running game in doubt, with plenty of touches to be taken that could belong to Jeanty if he falls to the Cowboys in the draft. He put together 2,892 yards and 26 touchdowns from scrimmage with an average of 6.7 yards per touch in his first two years at Boise State. This season, his FBS-leading 256 carries, 1,893 rushing yards, and 27 total touchdowns have placed him as a frontrunner in the Heisman race, which would only bolster his case to be a top-10 pick next April.

Joe Douglas Fallout: Jets, Johnson, Rodgers, Saleh, Brown, Ravens

November 19th, 2024 at 8:50pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Jets’ firing of general manager Joe Douglas was not necessarily a surprise given the team’s struggles during his tenure, but Tuesday’s announcement still felt unusual with six games remaining in the season. Douglas’ contract was set to expire after the 2025 season, per ESPN’s Rich Cimini, giving New York a natural transition point as they attempt to rebuild from a disastrous two years since trading for quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

However, Jets owner Woody Johnson grew impatient after his team dropped to 3-8 after giving up a fourth-quarter lead to the Colts in Week 11. Rather than wait until the offseason to find his next general manager, Johnson opted to fire Douglas so he could begin the search for a successor without any internal awkwardness, according to Cimini.

Johnson’s statement announcing Douglas’ departure included a note that the team “will begin the process to identify a new General Manager immediately,” though the Jets cannot interview any external candidates until the end of the regular season. Here is the latest coming out of the Jets’ GM firing:

  • Douglas’ days were clearly numbered when he was cut out of Johnson’s decision to fire head coach Robert Saleh in October. The fact that Douglas lasted more than a month longer than Saleh surprised some in New York, per Cimini. Since the team was openly pursuing Davante Adams while trying to resolve Haason Reddick‘s holdout, the Jets may have wanted to keep Douglas around for appearance’s sake until those moves were finalized.
  • However, Douglas “lost most of his authority” after Saleh’s firing, per FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz, with other Jets executives handling negotiations with the Raiders and Reddick, both of which had stalled under Douglas. Since stepping back from his duties, Douglas “had become disenchanted in recent weeks,” per Cimini, “hoping a miracle turnaround might change things.”
  • Bengals senior personnel executive Trey Brown could be a candidate to become the Jets’ next general manager, according to Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post. Brown interviewed for the Raiders’ GM gig during the offseason and turned down a request from the Patriots to interview for the same position. However, Johnson has largely listened to “nonfootball yes men” as the Jets’ owner, with outside criticism driving too much of the team’s direction, per Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. Johnson ponied up a six-year, $20MM contract to secure Douglas to lead the front office in 2019, but money will only go so far to lure a would-be general manager who wants to execute his own vision for the franchise’s future.
  • Johnson even suggested benching Rodgers after a 10-9 loss to the Broncos in Week 4, per Zach Rosenblatt and Diana Russini of The Athletic. Douglas and the coaching staff had to convince Johnson to stay the course with Rodgers to avoid embarrassing the mercurial quarterback and upsetting the locker room.
  • Douglas’ next career move could be returning to Baltimore, per Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. He began his front office career as a Ravens scout in 2000 and remained in the team’s personnel department until the Bears hired him as director of college scouting in 2015. Douglas still enjoys a solid reputation in Baltimore, and he drafted several excellent young players in New York, including Garrett Wilson, Sauce Gardner, Jermaine Johnson, Breece Hall, and Michael Clemons all in 2022.
  • With their owner cleaning house and questions circling around Rodgers’ future in New York, the Jets’ locker room has “checked out,” according to SNY’s Connor Hughes. “Players aren’t angry or annoyed at their 3-8 record. They’re, as one person described, “just ready for it to be over.”

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/19/24

November 19th, 2024 at 7:29pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Here are the latest practice squad transactions from around the NFL:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Cincinnati Bengals

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Washington Commanders

Chiefs’ Marquise Brown Could Return This Season

November 19th, 2024 at 6:58pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Chiefs “haven’t totally ruled out” a late-season return by wide receiver Marquise Brown, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

Brown was originally expected to miss the rest of the 2024 season after undergoing shoulder surgery and landing on injured reserve in September. However, the Chiefs’ coaching staff have been monitoring Brown’s rehab process, according to Fowler, and the next month will determine if the 2019 first-rounder can play this season.

Brown’s return would be a major boost to a Kansas City offense that ranks outside of the top 10 in several categories, including points per game, yards per game, and yards per play. The Chiefs just lost their first game of the season to the Bills, with Patrick Mahomes unable to surpass 200 passing yards and just one of his pass catchers recording more than 30 receiving yards.

The Chiefs have just two players averaging at least 50 receiving yards per game: Travis Kelce and DeAndre Hopkins. Kelce has not been as dominant as past years, but Hopkins has settled into Kansas City nicely with 17 receptions for 200 yards in his first four games. Xavier Worthy has impressed as a gadget playmaker but lacks the consistency to be a WR2 on a team with Super Bowl aspirations. Brown is a speedster, too, but he has a more developed skillset that can complement the route-running and veteran savvy of Kelce and Hopkins while allowing Worthy to remain in his role as a home run threat.

Brown signed a one-year, $7MM contract with the Chiefs during the offseason after catching just 51 of his 101 targets for a career-low 574 yards in 2023 with the Cardinals. He was expected to be the latest speedy receiver to find success in Kansas City with Mahomes and Andy Reid, but played just one snap in the preseason before injuring his shoulder.

Brown has dealt with a myriad of injuries dating back to a Lisfranc injury in his last year of college, which combined with his undersized frame to cause pre-draft concerns about his durability in the NFL. However, he played in at least 12 games in each of his first five seasons with an average of 14.4 appearances per year.

Injured Reserve Return Tracker

November 19th, 2024 at 6:24pm CST by Sam Robinson

This offseason brought a change in how teams could construct their 53-man rosters while retaining flexibility with injured players. Clubs were permitted to attach return designations to two players (in total) placed on IR or an NFI list before setting their initial rosters.

In prior years, anyone placed on IR before a team set its initial 53-man roster could not be activated in-season. All August 27 IR- or NFI-return designations, however, already count against teams’ regular-season limit of eight. This introduces more strategy for teams, who will be tasked with determining which players injured in-season will factor into activation puzzles as the year progresses.

All players designated for return on August 27 are eligible to be activated beginning in Week 5, though any player placed on IR after a team set its initial 53 has not been designated for return and therefore does not yet count toward a club’s eight-activation limit. Players who receive return designations after Week 5 also appear on this list.

Here is how teams’ activation puzzles look going into Week 12:

Arizona Cardinals

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 5

Atlanta Falcons

Designated for return from IR (August 27): 

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 4

Baltimore Ravens

Eligible for activation:

Activated: 

Activations remaining: 5

Buffalo Bills

Designated for return from IR (August 27):

Eligible for activation:

Activations remaining: 6

Carolina Panthers

Designated for return:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 3

Chicago Bears

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 4

Cincinnati Bengals

Activated: 

Activations remaining: 5

Cleveland Browns

Reverted to season-ending IR:

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 2

Dallas Cowboys

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 7

Denver Broncos

Reverted to season-ending IR:

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activated: 

Activations remaining: 3

Detroit Lions

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 6

Green Bay Packers

Eligible for activation:

Activated: 

Activations remaining: 6

Houston Texans

Designated for return from IR (August 27):

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 2

Indianapolis Colts

Designated for return from IR (August 27):

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 5

Jacksonville Jaguars

Activated: 

Activations remaining: 3

Kansas City Chiefs

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 7

Las Vegas Raiders

Eligible for activation from IR:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 6

Los Angeles Chargers

Designated for return from IR:

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 5

Los Angeles Rams

Designated for return from IR (August 27):

  • OL K.T. Leveston (practice window opened Nov. 20)

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 1

Miami Dolphins

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation from IR:

Eligible for activation from reserve/NFI list:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 5

Minnesota Vikings

Designated for return from IR (August 27):

Designated for return:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 6

New England Patriots

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 5

New Orleans Saints

Activated:

Activations remaining: 3

New York Giants

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 6

New York Jets

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 5

Philadelphia Eagles

Designated for return from IR (August 27):

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 5

Pittsburgh Steelers

Designated for return from IR (August 27):

  • OL Dylan Cook (released Oct. 31)

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activated: 

Activations remaining: 4

San Francisco 49ers

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activated: 

Activations remaining: 4

Seattle Seahawks

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 6

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Eligible for activation:

Designated for return:

Activated: 

Activations remaining: 5

Tennessee Titans

Eligible for activation:

Activated: 

Activations remaining: 7

Washington Commanders

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 6

Minor NFL Transactions 11/19/24

November 19th, 2024 at 6:23pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Here are the latest moves from around the NFL:

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Jacksonville Jaguars

New England Patriots

Cardinals LB Markus Bailey Issued Six-Game PED Suspension

November 19th, 2024 at 4:49pm CST by Adam La Rose

Markus Bailey will be unavailable to the Cardinals for much of the remainder of the regular season. The fifth-year linebacker was issued a six-game suspension on Tuesday for violating the NFL’s PED policy, the league announced.

Bailey is on Arizona’s practice squad, and he has made one appearance so far in 2024. The 27-year-old spent his first four campaigns with the Bengals, totaling 60 appearances and four starts. He landed a one-year Cardinals deal in May after showing his ability as a backup defender and key special teams presence.

The Purdue product was among Arizona’s final roster cuts, but he was immediately retained on a taxi squad deal. Bailey was only elevated to the active roster for the team’s Week 7 contest, during which he did not see the field on defense but was involved on special teams. Now, he will not be eligible to suit up until the Cardinals’ regular season finale.

Arizona is currently riding a four-game winning streak, and the team leads the NFC West as a result. The Cardinals’ success has come in spite of the fact their defense sits in the bottom half of the league in both passing and rushing yards allowed per game. Overall, a 12th-place ranking in terms of defensive scoring is an encouraging sign for the team’s chances to win a wide-open division and qualify for the postseason in head coach Jonathan Gannon and general manager Monti Offenfort‘s second year at the helm.

Bailey did not seem to be in Arizona’s linebacker plans when available, so his absence will not be felt to a large degree while he serves the ban. If he remains with the organization over the coming weeks, though, he will be an option to see playing time in Week 18 and/or the playoffs should the Cardinals continue their run of recent success.

Lions Place S Ifeatu Melifonwu On IR

November 19th, 2024 at 4:01pm CST by Adam La Rose

Ifeatu Melifonwu was activated from injured reserve on Monday, a move which made him eligible to suit up as early as Week 12. It will still be several weeks before he makes his season debut, however.

The fourth-year safety was moved back to IR on Tuesday, per a team announcement. As a result, he will be out for at least the next four games. Melifonwu has yet to suit up in 2024 while rehabbing an ankle injury, and his efforts to return to full health will continue for the foreseeable future. A finger issue encountered in practice will lead to this second stint on the sidelines.

Briefly activating the 25-year-old prevented him from seeing his original 21-day return window expire, something which would have ended his season. Instead, Melifonwu will reset the process of returning to practice later in the campaign once he is in position, health-wise, to do so. Head coach Dan Campbell said (via Nolan Bianchi of the Detroit News) there is still a possibility the former third-rounder could suit up in 2024.

For the time being, though, the Lions will carry on with their current safety tandem of Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch. That pairing has drawn praise, and if it remains intact Melifonwu will be slated for a backup/special teams role whenever he returns to the lineup. The Syracuse product is a pending free agent, so his missed time in 2024 will hinder his market value, and his performances if he does mange to see the field this year could be key in boosting his stock.

Detroit ranks 27th against the pass with an average of 233 yards surrendered per game through the air. Getting a key member of the secondary back in the form of Melifonwu (who made nine combined regular and postseason starts last year) would thus be a welcomed development for the NFC-leading Lions. The team has six IR activations remaining, and using a second one on Melifonwu will be needed for him to see playing time.

Ravens Sign CB Desmond King

November 19th, 2024 at 1:50pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Ravens were in the market for a cornerback addition leading up to the trade deadline, with the team being outbid for Marshon Lattimore. That led to a deal being worked out which brought Tre’Davious White to Baltimore.

The team is still making moves in the secondary after the deadline. Desmond King is set to sign with the Ravens, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson reports. This will be a practice squad agreement. Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic adds King recently worked out with Baltimore. The team has since announced the move.

The 29-year-old has spent time with four teams during his career, with most of his recent games coming as a Texan. King had 28 starts and 40 appearances with Houston to his name ahead of the 2024 season, but he was among the veterans let go during roster cutdowns. He was ultimately retained on the practice squad before being elevated for one contest. King was cut once more last week, however, leaving him on the open market.

Baltimore’s secondary had a strong showing in Sunday’s low-scoring loss to the Steelers, but on the whole the unit has struggled in 2024. The Ravens rank last in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game (285), and the safety position has seen a rotation of players in the starting lineup. At corner, the top of the depth chart is set with Marlon Humphrey, Brandon Stephens, first-round rookie Nate Wiggins and White.

King could play a depth role as part of that group, but his experience also includes considerable time spent as a returner. The former fifth-rounder earned a first-team All-Pro nod for his special teams work in 2019, the first of two straight seasons in which he recorded a punt return touchdown. King has remained involved in the return game through to his single appearance this year, and Baltimore is currently without primary returner Deonte Harty.

By virtue of signing on the taxi squad, King can be designated a gameday elevation up to three times. After that, he will need to be added to the active roster to avoid being placed on waivers.

Bears To Host S Terrell Edmunds

November 19th, 2024 at 1:06pm CST by Adam La Rose

Terrell Edmunds recently saw his second Steelers tenure come to an end, but he may not need to wait long to find a new team. The veteran safety has a Tuesday free agent visit lined up with the Bears, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Edmunds started the year with the Jaguars, but he made only one appearance with the team. Pittsburgh added him off Jacksonville’s practice squad in September, a move which allowed him to return to where his NFL career began. The former first-rounder spent four years as a Steeler, serving as a full-time starter during that period. Edmunds then split his time with the Eagles and Titans in 2023.

Should today’s workout go well, the 27-year-old could join a third team for the campaign. In the case of the Bears in particular, of course, a deal would allow Edmunds to play alongside his brother. Tremaine Edmunds joined Chicago as a free agent in 2023, and the two-time Pro Bowler has been a key defender during his time in the Windy City. His 113 tackles last season were the second most of his career, and he set a new personal mark with four interceptions.

Aside from a family reunion, a deal with the Bears for Terrell Edmunds would of course address the team’s need for depth in the secondary. Chicago placed Jaquan Brisker on injured reserve last week, and there is a strong possibility he will not return in 2024. Edmunds would not be expected to handle starting duties if he were to sign, but he could provide veteran depth in Brisker’s absence.

Chicago moved on from longtime safety Eddie Jackson this offseason, a move which came as little surprise at the time. The Bears have leaned on Kevin Byard as a starter in his first campaign with the team, and Brisker’s injury has left the door open to more playing time for the likes of Elijah Hicks, Tarvarius Moore and Jonathan Owens. Depending on how today’s workout goes, Edmunds could join that group.

Load More Posts