HEADLINES

Josh Gable

East Rumors: Rhule, Meyer, Jets

December 15th, 2019 at 12:42pm CST by Rory Parks

Despite reports connecting the Cowboys to Lincoln Riley and Urban Meyer, team owner Jerry Jones on Saturday downplayed the notion that he would pursue a college coach this offseason. However, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports says Jones remains interested in Riley, and he is also paying close attention to Baylor head coach Matt Rhule.

Rhule was a hot name on the NFL head coaching circuit last year and reportedly could have had the Jets’ job if he agreed to certain appointments to his coaching staff. He signed an eight-year extension with Baylor in September, but pro teams are still interested in him. Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network shot down recent speculation that the Cowboys would pursue Sean Payton, but he says Dallas made it known through back channels last offseason it was interested in the Saints’ HC, which helped Payton land his extension with New Orleans in September (video link).

Now for more from the league’s east divisions:

  • The Cowboys may not be the only team interested in Meyer. As JP Finlay of NBC Sports Washington tweets, Meyer is at FedEx field for the Redskins‘ contest against the Eagles today, and Washington would love to land Meyer as its next HC. Meyer, of course, served as Dwayne Haskins‘ head coach at Ohio State, but it seems like the Redskins don’t really meet Meyer’s criteria for coming out of retirement.
  • Rich Cimini of ESPN.com expects the Jets to overhaul 50% of their roster this offseason, and he unsurprisingly names Brian Winters and Quincy Enunwa as two of the big-name players who could be cut. He also says that, if New York retains Le’Veon Bell, it should bring in another RB with the speed to run outside the tackles.
  • Though the Patriots just cut kicker Josh Gable two days after adding him to the practice squad, head coach Bill Belichick suggested that Gable could be back in 2020 as possible competition for Stephen Gostkowski, as Mike Reiss of ESPN.com writes.
  • In the same piece linked above, Reiss says Patriots D-line coach Bret Bielema, a former collegiate head coach with Wisconsin and Arkansas, is generating interest from college teams. Bielema is said to be open to such an opportunity if the right one presents itself.
  • The NFL’s decision on the Patriots‘ punishment for Spygate 2.0 is expected shortly.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/11/19

December 11th, 2019 at 3:27pm CST by Rory Parks

Here are today’s practice squad comings and goings:

Carolina Panthers

New England Patriots

Oakland Raiders

San Francisco 49ers

  • Signed: CB Jermaine Kelly

Seattle Seahawks

  • Signed: RB Xavier Turner

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Patriots To Work Out Younghoe Koo, Josh Gable

October 3rd, 2019 at 8:50am CST by Zachary Links

The Patriots will work out more kickers on Thursday, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. They’ll audition free agent Younghoe Koo, plus Josh Gable, who became a viral video sensation for his ludicrous accuracy. 

Gable plied his craft with the IFL’s Nebraska Danger and spent the 2017 rookie minicamp with the Pats. The Patriots liked what they saw from him, but did not have a pressing need for a kicker with the great Stephen Gostkowski handling kicking duties. That all changed this week, when the Patriots learned that Gostkowski was done for the season due to a hip injury.

Koo, meanwhile, has been on the workout circuit and the NFL’s fringes since his rocky start with the Chargers. As the Bolts’ kicker for the first quarter of the 2017 season, he bricked three key field goals that wound up costing them wins in the first two weeks of the season.

On Wednesday, the Pats took a gander at Kai Forbath, Elliott Fry, Mike Nugent, Blair Walsh, and Matthew Wright. It seems likely that they’ll reach a consensus and sign a new kicker before the end of business on Thursday. In a couple of days, they’ll travel to take on the Redskins.

Bears To Sign K Redford Jones

January 25th, 2019 at 3:48pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Bears’ kicker workout Friday ended with a rookie coming aboard. One of the lesser-known specialists trying out, Redford Jones, will be added to the roster, according to Jones’ agency (Twitter link).

Jones joined Nick Folk, Blair Walsh, Josh Gable, Ernesto Lacayo and Austin MacGinnis in the kicker derby, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Chicago will go with Jones, a 24-year-old Tulsa product who was out of football this season, as the player who will compete with the embattled Cody Parkey.

This was the first known NFL workout for Jones, whose Tulsa eligibility ran out after the 2017 season. He was the Golden Hurricane’s kicker for three seasons. After missing eight kicks in 2015, Jones went 21-for-26 in 2016 and 12-for-16 as a senior.

While it is far from certain a Parkey-Jones duel will be how the Bears decide who their 2019 kicker is, this is how the competition stacks up for now.