Chris Ivory - Pro Football Rumors

Extra Points: Manning, Wilkerson, Ivory, Texans

September 26th, 2015 at 9:25pm CST by Dallas Robinson

In his new book Brady vs. Manning, Gary Myers of the New York Daily News recounts the sequence of events that led to Peyton Manning eventually leaving the Colts following the 2011 season, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Per former Indianapolis GM Bill Polian, the Colts had little to no contact with Manning due to the ongoing lockout, and therefore believed he’d be ready to play following neck surgery. In turn, they didn’t use a draft pick on a quarterback such as Colin Kaepernick or Andy Dalton — either of whom likely would have allowed the Colts to finish better than their 2-14 record.

Also from Myers, Polian says he was willing to carry both Manning and Andrew Luck on the roster, similar to what the Packers did with Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers. However, Colts owner Jim Irsay was adamant that the club couldn’t pay both QBs, so Manning was eventually released.

Here’s more from around the league…

The Jets and defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson are at a stalemate in contract talks, but that standstill could actually help New York land a franchise quarterback, writes Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. The Jets could slap the non-exclusive franchise tag on Wilkerson next season (at a value of around $16MM), and then trade him, potentially for a pick in the top 10, opines Mehta. Other clubs have made similar moves in the past: the Chiefs with Jared Allen in 2008, the Packers with Corey Williams the same year, and the Patriots with Matt Cassel in 2009.
A bit more pressing Jets news: running back Chris Ivory believes he’ll be able to play tomorrow against the Eagles, tweets Mehta. However, he will have to prove to both the coaching staff and the club’s medical personnel that he’s able to go.
The NFL will take a look at the rule that awards possession of the ball to the defense following an offensive fumble through the end zone (as happened with Matt Jones and Washington during Thursday night’s game), per Florio at PFT. NFL VP of officiating Dean Blandino tweeted that giving the ball back to the offense at the spot of the fumble “has merit.”
The Texans have yet to make a transaction after placing Jeff Adams on injured reserve earlier today, meaning they still only have 52 players on their roster, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Presumably, they’ll make a move before tomorrow’s game against the Buccaneers.

AFC Links: Bills, Jets, Colts, Jaguars

May 26th, 2014 at 7:35pm CST by Ben Levine

Earlier, we took a look at what ESPN’s NFC writers had to say on this Memorial Day. Now, let’s focus on ESPN’s AFC writers…

While he could envision the Bills adding a veteran defensive end to play alongside Mario Williams, ESPN.com’s Mike Rodak is very intrigued by former first-rounders Jerry Hughes and Manny Lawson.
The Jets will likely only keep four of their six runnings backs, writes ESPNNewYork.com’s Rich Cimini. Even then, the writer believes that the backfield, which includes Chris Johnson, Chris Ivory, Bilal Powell, Daryl Richardson, Alex Green and Mike Goodson, will still have “a lot of mouths to feed.”
Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne is making good progress in his recovery from a torn ACL, says ESPN.com’s Mike Wells. Still, the wideout will likely miss the team’s mandatory minicamp in June.
The Jaguars have four receivers that are locks to make the roster, according to Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com: Cecil Shorts, Ace Sanders, Marqise Lee and Allen Robinson. That leaves Mike Brown, Kerry Taylor, Tandon Doss, Lamaar Thomas, Chad Bumphis, Damian Copeland and Allen Hurns to compete over the final two spots.