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NFC Injury Notes: Rodgers, Falcons, Eagles

September 14th, 2018 at 3:27pm CST by Sam Robinson

Aaron Rodgers will enter Sunday with a questionable designation on the Packers‘ injury report. The two-time MVP can improve his chances of playing, obviously, by practicing Saturday — when the Packers do more than the typical walkthrough — but not doing so won’t prevent him from playing. Mike McCarthy said he’d have no issues deploying Rodgers even if he doesn’t practice all week, per Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. The 13th-year Green Bay coach said his quarterback feels better than he did at the beginning of the week. Despite Rodgers’ performance on Sunday against the Bears and his history of playing through left knee pain, he’s not a lock to face the Vikings.

Here’s the latest from the NFC’s injury situations.

  • Another key Falcons cog won’t be available Sunday. After the losses of Keanu Neal and Deion Jones, Atlanta won’t have the services of starting running back Devonta Freeman. He’s been declared out due to the knee injury he suffered against the Eagles. Tevin Coleman will start. The Falcons have rookie Ito Smith and recently signed Brian Hill in place as backups.
  • Once again, the Giants won’t have their top pass rusher available. While the Giants are hoping to have Olivier Vernon in Week 3, per Paul Schwartz of the New York Post (on Twitter), his high ankle sprain will keep him out against the Cowboys.
  • Trai Turner‘s stay in Panthers concussion protocol will result in him missing this week’s game against the Falcons. He’s been declared out, putting Carolina down three starting offensive linemen — Turner and tackles Matt Kalil and Daryl Williams, both of whom residing on IR — going into its NFC South opener.
  • The already-banged-up Eagles didn’t come out of Week 1 unscathed. Darren Sproles will miss Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers. The 34-year-old passing-down back sustained a hamstring injury against the Falcons. He’ll join Carson Wentz and Alshon Jeffery among Philadelphia’s high-profile Week 2 absences.
  • Already without IR-stationed cornerback Vernon Hargreaves, the Bucs won’t have Brent Grimes available to cover Eagle wideouts, either. Tampa Bay used two second-round picks on corners, Carlton Davis and M.J. Stewart, and could see an extended glimpse of the rookies’ development to this point in their careers.
  • The Lions–49ers game will see the visitors without top guard T.J. Lang and the hosts missing deep threat Marquise Goodwin. Both players have been declared out. Kyle Shanahan said (via Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area, on Twitter) Dante Pettis will start in place of Goodwin.

NFC Rumors: Johnson, Rodgers, Panthers

September 13th, 2018 at 2:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

More details on David Johnson‘s Cardinals contract are emerging. In addition to the fourth-year running back seeing $24MM in full guarantees as part of his three-year, $39MM extension, Johnson will receive a $12MM signing bonus, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). His $5.7MM base salary in 2019 is fully guaranteed. The All-Pro’s 2020 base ($10.2MM) will have $5.1MM guaranteed fully at signing, per Graziano (on Twitter), but the other half of it is guaranteed for injury only. However, Johnson’s full 2020 salary becomes guaranteed if he’s on the Cardinals’ roster by March of 2019.

Each of Johnson’s next three seasons include $750K in per-game roster bonuses. As far as cap numbers go, Johnson now has a $5MM hit this season. The former third-round pick will count $9.45MM against Arizona’s 2019 cap, $13.95MM in 2020 and $11.7MM in 2021, Graziano reports (Twitter link).

Here’s the latest out of the NFC, shifting toward its most important player.

  • Aaron Rodgers missed Packers practice again on Thursday, but this wasn’t unexpected. However, Mike McCarthy said it’s no layup that his two-time MVP quarterback will play Sunday against the Vikings, per Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Rodgers and McCarthy said Wednesday he does not need to practice in order to start Sunday.
  • It keeps getting worse for the Panthers. After serious injuries hit Greg Olsen and Daryl Williams in Week 1, Pro Bowl guard Trai Turner is in concussion protocol, David Newton of ESPN.com notes. Both of Carolina’s starting tackles — Williams and Matt Kalil — are already on IR. Both can return after eight weeks, but at this point, it can’t be assumed both will be back. Carolina could lose a more important player to its cause. Only two players can be recalled from IR. Amini Silatolu filled in for Turner last season, but he may have to play right tackle Sunday. However, the Panthers added Chris Clark to potentially do that. In addition to Silatolu, Newton writes Tyler Larsen and rookie UDFA Brendan Mahon will have a chance to start in place of Turner — in the event he can’t go Sunday.
  • Demario Davis rated as a top-10 Pro Football Focus linebacker last year, doing so for his work as an inside linebacker. It was expected the high-priced free agent would man the middle for the Saints, but they’ve moved him to the weak side, NOLA.com’s Josh Katzenstein notes. Second-year man Alex Anzalone is now stationed as New Orleans’ middle ‘backer, but the team rotated he, Manti Te’o and A.J. Klein as Davis sidekicks in Week 1. Sean Payton said the team’s still determining how it will structure its linebacker usage. Davis played all 66 snaps in the Saints’ loss to the Buccaneers, while Anzalone led the others with 34. Klein functioned in Davis’ role in 2017, playing all of the Saints’ Week 1 snaps in his first game with the team.

Latest On Aaron Rodgers’ Status

September 12th, 2018 at 2:39pm CST by Sam Robinson

Aaron Rodgers remains day to day after suffering a left knee injury against the Bears. However, signs could well be pointing to the superstar quarterback playing through this in Week 2.

The Packers quarterback said calling this injury a knee sprain would be accurate, doing so without revealing specific damage, per Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. That probably explains why Packers doctors allowed him to return to the game after he suffered what looked to be a potentially severe injury.

Rodgers did not practice Wednesday and has been “sore” the past three days. While he said he’s improving daily, the 34-year-old passer has dealt with left knee issues for years. Rodgers added (via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero, on Twitter) that he’s experienced several problems with his left knee since he was a teenager. He underwent surgery on that knee in college and after the 2015 season.

A Packers-Vikings game altered the NFC landscape last season, after Anthony Barr‘s hit on Rodgers resulted in another broken collarbone. It seems somewhat safe to expect Rodgers to play this week in a pivotal NFC North game, but that’s not yet certain.

Extra Points: Mack, Rams, Rodgers, Luck

September 10th, 2018 at 9:17pm CST by Ben Levine

We previously heard that the Rams had made a bid on Khalil Mack, but the Raiders rejected the offer because the picks were going to be too low. Tonight, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported (via Twitter) that Los Angeles ultimately offered Oakland a first- and third-round pick.

However, the Rams didn’t see much of a future with Mack, especially after handing Aaron Donald a lucrative $135MM extension. Schefter notes that the team would have turned around and traded the impending free agent (presumably after he inked his franchise tag) this offseason. The team was trying to go “all in” on the upcoming campaign, with the hope that they could pair Mack with Donald, Ndamukong Suh and Michael Brockers.

Instead, Mack was dealt to the Bears, who then signed the pass rusher to a six-year, $141 million deal. The 27-year-old had a big game in his debut with Chicago, collecting three tackles, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and a pick-six.

Let’s take a look at some more notes from around the NFL…

  • Raiders coach Jon Gruden sat down to discuss the Mack trade with ESPN’s Lisa Salters, noting that the star player “obviously” didn’t want to be in Oakland. “Obviously, Khalil Mack didn’t want to play here,” Gruden said (via Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com). “That’s what’s being missed here. He was under contract, Lisa. He was under contract. He never showed up for an OTA, never showed up for a training camp and it was obvious he wasn’t going to show up for the season. Don’t forget that. We have to get ready to play and I want players that want to be here, that want to help us put this thing back in high gear.”
  • Aaron Rodgers sat out three series during last night’s contest before leading the Packers to a comeback victory over the Bears. While the quarterback may have tossed three second-half touchdowns, he’s not a sure-thing for next weekend’s game against the Vikings. Head coach Mike McCarthy didn’t give any indications as to whether the team would start Rodgers or backup DeShone Kizer on Sunday. “We do have some information and no decision has been made,” McCarthy said (via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com). “We’re still collecting all the information.” NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets that Rodgers is pushing to play, and the team will continue to monitor the swelling in his knee as the week goes on.
  • We learned earlier today that Texans cornerback Kevin Johnson was going to miss several weeks as he recovered from a concussion. Fortunately, it sounds like reinforcement is around the corner, as coach Bill O’Brien told ESPN’s Sarah Barshop that cornerback Kayvon Webster is trending in the right direction as he recovers from an Achilles injury (Twitter links). However, the defensive back won’t be ready for next week, and the team will consider moving safety Kareem Jackson to cornerback as they deal with the injuries.
  • In an interview with Rapoport, Colts quarterback Andrew Luck discussed a “previously secret injury” to his right shoulder that he suffered while snowboarding. The injury occurred after Luck had suffered a labrum tear in 2015, and the quarterback ended up hurting his AC joint in his throwing shoulder during the snowboarding accident. For what it’s worth, Luck is convinced that the indiscretion didn’t do anything to slow his eventual rehab from labrum surgery. “I’ve seen more doctors than I can count on two hands over the past two or three years,” Luck said, “and the consensus — unanimous — is that the AC is not an issue, nor did it have an effect. The labrum is an issue.”

Aaron Rodgers Expects To Play In Week 2

September 10th, 2018 at 9:21am CST by Dallas Robinson

Aaron Rodgers indicated after Sunday night’s comeback victory that he expects to be available for the Packers’ Week 2 contest against the Vikings, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Rodgers, of course, left last night’s game in the first half with a knee injury, but reappeared in the third quarter and led Green Bay to an improbable win.

Rodgers re-entered Sunday’s game with sporting an air cast typically associated with knee sprains, per Rapoport. He’ll undergo more testing over the next few days, and is expected to experience a bit of soreness as he recovers. However, the Packers boast one of the league’s most conservative medical staffs, says Rapoport, so the club likely wouldn’t have allowed Rodgers back on the field if any risk still existed.

Green Bay trailed 17-0 at halftime in its season opener, and fell behind 20-0 before a Mason Crosby third quarter field goal once again cut the lead to 17 points. Rodgers, amazingly, tossed three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, including a 75-yarder to Randall Cobb that sealed the win.

Rodgers, 34, agreed to a four-year extension late last month which made him the NFL’s highest-paid player at $33.5MM per year.

NFC North Notes: Packers, Vikings, Bears

September 2nd, 2018 at 9:00pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

A much anticipated domino finally fell earlier this week when Aaron Rodgers and the Packers agreed to terms on his mega-extension. The deal made Rodgers the highest paid player in league history, and has reset the market for the next crop of signal callers looking to sign deals.

Former NFL agent Joel Corry of CBS Sports took a look at the extension, and what it might mean for several other top quarterbacks. In a way only an expert could, he completely broke down all the cap implications the deal will have for the Packers over the coming years.

Corry notes that Rodgers’ annual salary of $33.5MM is an 11.67% increase over what Matt Ryan got on his record-setting deal, noting that it’s the “biggest increase over the previous benchmark under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement.” The whole piece is worth a read, as few understand contracts as well as Corry.

Here’s more from the NFC North:

  • Brett Jones, acquired in a trade with the Giants just last week, is the “leading candidate” to start at center for the Vikings in Week 1 according to Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter link). Coaches “have raved about how quickly” Jones picked up the offense, writes Tomasson.
  • The Bears will likely “survey [the] cornerback market” according to Brad Briggs of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). Briggs also expects Chicago to add a defensive lineman in the coming days.
  • Bears tight end Adam Shaheen will be placed on injured reserve, but “could potentially return later in season” according to the team’s GM Ryan Pace (Twitter link via the Bears’ official account). Shaheen, last year’s second round pick, is suffering from both ankle and foot injuries.

Packers, Aaron Rodgers Agree To Extension

August 29th, 2018 at 12:04pm CST by Zachary Links

The Packers and Aaron Rodgers have agreed to a record-breaking extension, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Rodgers’ new pact is a four-year add-on is worth $134MM, according to former teammate James Jones (on Twitter). The deal includes $103MM in the first three years, $80MM delivered by March of next year, and the opportunity to earn even more via incentives. 

Rodgers has yet to ink the contract, but it is in the process of being finalized, according to Schefter. The deal should be formally completed before the start of the Packers’ season, which will be on Sept. 9 against the rival Bears.

Rodgers’ $33.5MM average annual value tops the $30MM AAV of Matt Ryan‘s extension with the Falcons and the $28.8MM AAV of Kirk Cousins‘ free agent deal with the Vikings, making him the league’s highest-paid player of all-time. After that, Jimmy Garoppolo ($27.5MM), Matthew Stafford ($27MM), and Derek Carr ($25MM) rank as the league’s highest-paid QBs.

Rodgers’ signing bonus of $57.5MM is the largest in NFL history, as Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. And, with $4MM in escalators, he can reach a maximum value of $138MM over the course of the extension.

The six-time Pro Bowl selection and one-time Super Bowl champion is among the very best quarterbacks in the NFL today. In 2013, he signed a five-year, $110MM deal to become the NFL’s highest-paid player, but the market quickly advanced and Rodgers’ deal became one of the most team-friendly pacts in the NFL.

Before this latest deal, Rodgers was the ninth-highest paid player in the NFL with salaries of $20.9MM this season and $21.1MM in 2019. With the new contract, the Packers have restored him as the league’s financial kingpin.

Last year, Rodgers got off to a hot start before suffering a broken collarbone in Week 6. Although Rodgers missed significant time, he’s 100% healthy this year and poised to get back to his old form.

Since taking over as the starter for the Packers in 2008, Rodgers has thrown for 312 touchdowns (the second most in the NFL) and led the Packers to the playoffs in 8-of-10 seasons.

Brian Gutekunst On Aaron Rodgers, Deals, Front Office Setup

August 28th, 2018 at 9:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

As Brian Gutekunst prepares for his first season as Packers GM, he takes the reins of a team coming off its worst performance of the decade and one that is mired in contract negotiations with its cornerstone player.

The Aaron Rodgers extension buzz has picked up, but it’s not certain the Packers will have this deal done by the regular season. And Gutekunst doesn’t seem to believe that’s been a key deadline for a player with two years remaining on his contract.

“I don’t think there’s any timetable on it. it’s just a matter of getting to the point that both sides think it’s the best thing moving forward,” Gutekunst said in an interview with PackersNews.com’s Pete Dougherty. “The perception of when the deal was getting done is probably why people are anxious outside of this building. Inside the building it’s always one of those things that’s taken its normal course. From my perception it’s not something that’s dragged on longer than I thought it would.”

As for if the Packers — who may prefer a longer-term pact than Rodgers does — would push this well beyond this season and into a 2020 franchise tag, Gutekunst doesn’t envision it. The Packers’ party line throughout the offseason is the expectation Rodgers’ deal is finalized this year, and Gutekunst believes his quarterback is deserving of a contract that makes him the highest-paid NFL player in history.

That would mean anything north of $30MM per year.

“I think Aaron is one of the more unique players that I’ve ever been around or seen. It’s a tough question, but I think he’s as deserving as anybody,” Gutekunst said of Rodgers’ potential place atop the NFL salary spectrum, as he was when he signed his current five-year, $110MM deal in 2013. “I don’t think it will ever come to (a tag situation). I think this is something that’s moving along at the right pace and should come to a conclusion at some point. I don’t think we’re looking at those things right now.”

Despite the Raiders currently employing Khalil Mack, the Packers are oddly the Las Vegas frontrunners to be the team signing his checks by season’s end. The Packers were notoriously stingy in pursuits of players outside the organization under Ted Thompson, but Gutekunst will be in the market for top-level talent in trades or free agency.

However, the Packers — factoring in an imminent Rodgers re-up — would be in a historic place in the event of a Mack trade. One team has never employed two $20MM-per-year players, and any team trading for Mack would almost certainly have to a $20MM-AAV-plus extension upon doing so.

“When you’re talking about unique players, there’s only so many of them out there,” Gutekunst said. “At the same time, the financial challenges may be difficult, but without players you can’t win. It’s like any significant player, they’re not inexpensive, but you have to have them to win.”

However, the first-year GM doesn’t have as much power as his predecessor. Gutekunst, Mike McCarthy and executive VP Russ Ball all report to Packers president Mark Murphy. Gutekunst, who maintained Thompson will still be in the picture from time to time, assessed this setup and the potential hurdles that will come with roster-building as a result.

“If we have differences (McCarthy) explains to me what he’s thinking. I explain to him what I’m thinking, and we usually kind of get to a common ground,” Gutekunst said. “But again, this is my first go-through with this, the 53, so we’ll see how it goes. I’ve had a relationship with Mike since he’s been here, even before that. I don’t anticipate any issues where it’s going to come to that.

“… I have no regrets about taking the job at all. It was clearly spelled out to me from the beginning by Mark. Again, it wasn’t something I’d worked under before. Mark has been very up front, if there’s any player I want to sign, I have all roster decisions that way. That’s never come up. I’ve never been prevented from signing a player if that’s what I wanted to do.”

Latest On Aaron Rodgers Extension Talks

August 22nd, 2018 at 6:35pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Packers are reportedly “creeping along towards a deal” with quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and Rodgers himself recently sounded confident an extension will get hammered out.

“I don’t think they would want to nickel and dime me, and I’m not trying to screw them,” Rodgers told Wilde and Tausch on ESPN Wisconsin (link via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk). “This is a partnership. That’s the only way this is going to work, and the best way things work in this situation is we’re in this together. If they make that financial commitment, that’s what they’re saying. And also there’s an expectation I’m going to play well, and that’s my side of the bargain.”

Rodgers, 34, is currently signed through the 2019 season, with cap charges north of $20MM in each of the next two campaigns. On an annual average basis, though, Rodgers’ $22MM/year now ranks just 10th among quarterbacks, behind the likes of Joe Flacco, Alex Smith, and Derek Carr, among others.

Previous reports had indicated Rodgers may prefer a contract with a complicated structure, one that perhaps contains multiple opt-outs or a salary tied to a percentage of the NFL’s salary cap. However, Rodgers told the ESPN host he doesn’t “know how feasible that is,” so a new deal may simply have a traditional construction, which the Packers reportedly prefer.

Packers Progressing On Aaron Rodgers Deal

August 16th, 2018 at 7:19pm CST by Zachary Links

More progress regarding the biggest contract in NFL history is taking place as the regular season nears. The Packers are “creeping along towards a deal,” with Aaron Rodgers, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). “Both sides” are motivated to finish this deal, Schefter adds. 

This follows a report earlier this month that indicated the sides were moving closer to a historic agreement, and Schefter confirms it will indeed be the most lucrative contract an NFL player has ever signed.

The type of extension Rodgers would sign has been one of the sticking points in this months-long process, with reports the 34-year-old quarterback wanted a deal that provided him more flexibility. At the same time, the Packers, understandably, were in favor of a more traditional type of re-up – similar to the five-year deal Matt Ryan signed earlier this year.

It’s unclear if the parties are progressing along the lines of a usual mega-extension – Rodgers is tied to a five-year deal presently – or one that affords the future Hall of Famer player options down the road in order to keep up with the escalating quarterback market. But with three weeks to go until the regular season opens, signs are pointing to a Rodgers deal having a strong chance of being completed by the time he suits up for his 14th season.

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