HEADLINES

Branden Oliver

Extra Points: Brady, Cowboys, Oliver

October 10th, 2014 at 10:27pm CST by Rob DiRe

Even after the Patriots‘ 43-17 throttling of the previously undefeated Bengals, stories persist of the ongoing tensions between Tom Brady and the team. Kirk Minihane and Gary Tanguay joined Arbella Early Edition to discuss the chances that the recent rift will lead to a split.

They came to a surprising conclusion, both figuring that there is a more likely than not chance that Brady could finish his career with another franchise. They can see the team considering trading him if the right offer came along.

“If I’m Belichick I say… ‘Tom, thanks for the memories, swell, here’s the watch, goodbye,’” says Minihane. “You’d be insane not to do it. They’re going to at least explore trading Brady in this offseason. I’m convinced of that.”

Here are some other notes from around the NFL:

  • The Cowboys are 4-1, and most of the credit has gone to the offensive line, but not forgotten are the team’s two stars, Dez Bryant and DeMarco Murray. Both players will be free agents at season’s end, but the team is not worried about getting extensions signed during the season, writes Jon Machota of DallasNews.com. The team has already targeted both players as pieces moving forward, making their pursuits known.
  • Chargers‘ running back Branden Oliver had a breakout game Sunday against the Jets, racking up 182 yards and two touchdowns rushing and receiving. The electric rookie went undrafted, and considered signing with the Colts before joining the Chargers, reports Alex Marvez of Fox Sports 1 (via Twitter).
  • Finally, Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel spent some time with Packers‘ first-round pick Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. Dunne got to know a lot about the future star safety and his life off-the-field.

West Notes: McKenzie, Broncos, Woodhead

September 21st, 2014 at 12:32pm CST by Rory Parks

As the early afternoon games get underway, let’s have a look at some items from the league’s west divisions:

  • With the sale of the Bills for $1.4 billion to be voted on by team owners within the next few weeks, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes that there is a growing sense that the Raiders could fetch at least $2 billion and wonders if owner Mark Davis would sell.
  • Citing a team source, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that the Raiders appear willing to let head coach Dennis Allen “coach his way out” of the team’s early struggles, at least until late in the season.
  • Rapoport adds (via Twitter) that Raiders‘ GM Reggie McKenzie is in no danger of losing his job.
  • David Migoya of the Denver Post writes that the NFL has said it will not allow the Broncos‘ search for a new owner to go on indefinitely, so the Pat Bowlen Trust will have to determine within the next two years which of Bowlen’s seven children will step into his shoes. If that does not happen, the team will have to be sold.
  • Eric D. Williams of ESPN.com describes how the Chargers will go about replacing Ryan Mathews, who will be sidelined for an extended period of time with an MCL knee strain. Although Donald Brown and Danny Woodhead were expected to share the majority of the workload, Woodhead’s injury today (he was carted off the field, per a tweet from La Canfora) means that undrafted rookie free agent Branden Oliver could be seeing action sooner than anticipated.
  • Kent Somers of AZCentral.com describes how the Cardinals’ depth is being tested to an extreme degree in 2014 and how the team has overcome early-season adversity thus far.

Minor Moves: Cowboys, Chiefs, Chargers

May 21st, 2014 at 7:43pm CST by Zachary Links

Tonight’s minor moves..

  • The Cowboys signed cornerback Tyler Patmon and waived the injured Marvin Robinson, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. Patmon started five games last year at Oklahoma State after a three-year run at Kansas and had 30 tackles, nine pass breakups, and an interception in 2013.
  • The Chiefs signed linebacker DeRon Furr, Wilson tweets. The Fort Valley State safety was originally a top recruit competing as a true-freshman quarterback at Auburn in 2008. Meanwhile, they cut offensive tackle R.J. Dill, Wilson tweets.
  • The Chargers signed running back Branden Oliver, tweets Wilson. The Buffalo product broke several records during his tenure at UB including the all-time rushing record (4,049 yards) and the single-season rushing record (1,535 yards).
  • The Chargers were also impressed by West Texas A&M guard Craig Watts at their rookie minicamp and they’re set to sign him, tweets Michael Gehlken of the Union-Tribune.
  • The Titans placed Eric Ward on injured reserve after he was waived-injured, tweets Wilson. The quarterback last played last with the Edmonton Eskimos of the CFL.
  • Lineman Micajah Reynolds was released by the Saints earlier this week, according to Joe Rexrode of the Detroit Free Press. The Michigan State product was looking to hook on with the Saints as an offensive lineman but he’ll now go back to defensive tackle as he tries to make the Dolphins.
  • The Chargers waived-injured wide receiver Tobais Palmer and cut Ian White, tweets Wilson. Palmer, a 24-year old out of North Carolina State, was on San Diego’s practice squad last season.