Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
Chicago Bears
Detroit Lions
Indianapolis Colts
New York Giants
The NFL has reduced Bears linebacker Danny Trevathan‘s two-game suspension to one game following appeal, the league announced today.
Trevathan leveled Packers wide receiver Davante Adams with a brutal hit during last week’s Thursday Night Football, and while he wasn’t ejected from the game, Trevathan was handed a 15-yard personal foul. Adams, thankfully, escaped with only a concussion after being taken to the hospital.
The league originally suspended Trevathan two games after determining that the Bear’s backer exuded “excessive” force while tackling Adams, as Trevathan hit Adams in the helmet when the wideout’s progress had already been stopped. Appeals officer — and former NFL linebacker Derrick Brooks — heard Trevathan’s case, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com.
As a result of today’s ruling, Trevathan will now be absent for Chicago’s Week 5 contest against the division-rival Vikings.
The NFL’s review of Danny Trevathan‘s violent hit on Davante Adams resulted in the league suspending the Bears linebacker for two games.
Trevathan was penalized for the hit on Adams, one that sent the Packers wide receiver to the hospital, and he will miss time because of it. This is Trevathan’s first NFL suspension.
The sixth-year linebacker will have a chance to appeal, with the Bears’ next game not coming until next Sunday, and ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano tweets an appeal will be expected within three days. Either Derrick Brooks or James Thrash will hear Trevathan’s appeal, which the linebacker will do, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Thrash reduced Vontaze Burfict‘s suspension from five games to three, leading to the Bengals linebacker being set to debut Sunday.
NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan made the call to suspend Trevathan because of the “excessive” nature of the hit, a helmet-to-helmet blow that came after Adams’ progress was stopped as two other Bears were in on the tackle.
Should an appeal be denied, the 27-year-old inside ‘backer won’t be able to return to the Bears until Monday, Oct. 16. This suspension will leave the Bears without either of their preferred starting inside linebackers, with Jerrell Freeman already on IR. A third linebacker, Nick Kwiatkoski, also suffered an injury early this season, continuing Chicago’s health woes thus far in 2017.
Trevathan, who signed with the Bears last year after starting for John Fox in Denver as well, missed extensive time this offseason with a knee injury. He missed seven games during his first season with the Bears.
Packers wideout Davante Adams was taken to the hospital on Thursday night following a brutal helmet-to-helmet hit from Bears linebacker Danny Trevathan, but “everything is progressing well” for Adams, according to head coach Mike McCarthy. “He’s already giving them a hard time at the hospital to get out of there so that’s a great sign,” McCarthy said, per Curtis Crabrtee of Pro Football Talk. Adams suffered a concussion but his MRI is “clean,” per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Trevathan, meanwhile, earned a 15-yard personal foul for the hit but wasn’t ejected from last night’s game. The play is under review by the NFL, however, and Trevathan could be subject to a suspension, tweets Rapoport.
Here’s more from the NFC North, with a focus on Thursday Night Football:
Contracts are guaranteed in the NBA, where even mediocre players are capable of landing mega-deals, leading some NFLers to publicly express displeasure with the fact that their league’s deals are non-guaranteed. While discussing that issue Wednesday, Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman offered a possible solution, albeit a controversial one.
“If we want as the NFL, as a union, to get anything done, players have to be willing to strike,” Sherman told ESPN’s Jalen Rose. “That’s the thing that guys need to 100 percent realize. You’re going to have to miss games, you’re going to have to lose some money if you’re willing to make the point, because that’s how MLB and NBA got it done. They missed games, they struck, they flexed every bit of power they had, and it was awesome. It worked out for them.”
NFL players haven’t gone on strike since 1987, though there was a brief lockout in 2011. With the collective bargaining agreement the owners and players negotiated then set to expire after the 2020 season, more labor strife is seemingly brewing. Back in February, months before Sherman’s strike recommendation, union boss DeMaurice Smith shot down the possibility of extending the CBA, and the players hadn’t given him permission as of last month to begin talks with the league on a new agreement.
More from around the league:
The Bears worst fears have been confirmed. Coach John Fox tells reporters that linebacker Danny Trevathan is done for the year with a knee injury. Specifically, it’s a ruptured patella tendon that will end Trevathan’s season early, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The Bears will place Trevathan on IR, opening up a spot on the 53-man roster.
This has been a trying season for the Bears, to say the least. After a rocky start to the year, quarterback Jay Cutler found himself on the sidelines for several weeks with a sprained thumb. Then, running back Jeremy Langford was put out of commission for multiple games thanks to an ankle injury. Then, as the losses continued to pile up, the Bears found out that wide receiver Alshon Jeffery and linebacker Jerrell Freeman were both slapped with four-game bans for PEDs. Now, Trevathan becomes the 15th member of the team to go on IR as the 2-9 Bears continue to struggle.
Trevathan, 26, was productive during his first season in Chicago. As of this writing, he is second on the team in tackles (61) and he also has a sack and four passes defended. Even more impressive, he did this while missing two of eleven possible games thanks to his September thumb surgery. The Bears still have the former Bronco under contract for another three years beyond 2016.
It’s starting to get bad in Chicago. The Bears lost linebacker Danny Trevathan to injury during today’s loss to the Titans, as the defender was carted off the field during the fourth quarter. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets that Bears coach John Fox fears the defender suffered “a serious knee injury.” Rapoport adds that the team believes Trevathan tore his ACL, and he notes that the linebacker will soon have an MRI.
The 26-year-old has been productive during his first season in Chicago. Trevathan ranks second on the team in tackles (61), and he’s also added a sack and four passes defended. The Bears signed the veteran to a four-year, $24.5MM contract this offseason. Trevathan had spent the previous four years in Denver.
Injuries are certainly nothing new to the Bears. The team has already lost quarterbacks Brian Hoyer and Connor Shaw for the season, although there’s some optimism that starter Jay Cutler could return. The Bears will also be without wideout Kevin White, tight end Zach Miller, offensive lineman Hroniss Grasu and Kyle Long, and defenders Lamarr Houston, Will Sutton, and Brandon Boykin. Wideout Alshon Jeffery and linebacker Jerrell Freeman are currently serving suspensions.
If Trevathan does miss time, the Bears will likely turn to linebackers Christian Jones or John Timu.
The latest on the NFC North’s two 1-3 clubs:
The Bears got some good news today when they learned that quarterback Jay Cutler only suffered a sprain and not a fracture in his thumb. However, the news isn’t so good when it comes to their front seven. Linebackers Danny Trevathan and Lamarr Houston both suffered serious injuries on Sunday, coach John Fox told reporters today. 
Trevathan will have surgery for a thumb injury, though it is not a season-ender (Twitter link via Mike Garafolo of NFL.com). Meanwhile, Houston’s knee injury is serious, though the team is waiting for the MRI to make an official determination on him (Twitter link via Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com). In the case of Houston, it sounds like his injury could result in him being placed on IR.
Trevathan spent his entire four-year career with the Broncos before reuniting with Fox and joining up with the Bears this offseason. He started 15 games in 2015, compiling 109 tackles and a pair of interceptions. The 26-year-old also had a standout performance in the Super Bowl, grabbing a pair of fumble recoveries in Denver’s victory over Carolina. Trevathan recovered well from a knee injury that limited him to only three games in 2014 and, thankfully, this latest setback won’t shut him down for the year.
Houston was considered to be on the 53-man roster bubble this offseason but ultimately made the cut. Last year, Houston appeared in all 16 games for the Bears, recording 42 tackles and a career-high eight sacks.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
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