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Injury Updates: Monday

December 1st, 2014 at 12:41pm CST by Luke Adams

With just four weeks left in the NFL regular season, injuries that may not have been considered season-ending a month or two ago could now result in players being placed on injured reserve lists, as teams try to maximize their roster flexibility. Here’s the latest on injuries from this weekend’s action that could potentially necessitate roster moves:

  • Giants defensive end Robert Ayers tore his pectoral muscle during yesterday’s loss to the Jaguars, and the injury will end his season, tweets Ebenezer Samuel of the New York Daily News. Ayers was only a part-time player for New York this season, coming off the bench most games and playing the third-most snaps among the team’s defensive ends, but his excellent production as a pass-rusher made him the league’s fourth-best 4-3 DE this season, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
  • The Jaguars confirmed today that right tackle Austin Pasztor tore his hamstring yesterday, and will likely be out for the rest of the year, according to Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union (Twitter link).
  • Titans wideout Justin Hunter remained in a Houston hospital today after lacerating his spleen, but the belief is that he won’t require surgery, says Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com (Twitter link) hears from a source that Hunter should be okay, though “he may not play anytime soon.”
  • Panthers head coach Ron Rivera believes DeAngelo Williams‘ right hand is broken, and the running back may see a hand specialist, tweets Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer.

Injury Updates: Sunday

November 30th, 2014 at 6:17pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Let’s take a look at some injuries that could force clubs to make a change to their rosters as they enter the final quarter of the regular season:

  • Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel suffered a triceps injury during today’s game against the Saints, meaning his season could be in jeopardy, according to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link). Keisel, 36, contemplated retirement before re-signing with Pittsburgh earlier this year, so if this injury is serious, it could potentially signal the end of his career.
  • Receiver DeSean Jackson had to leave Washington’s game against the Colts after bruising his right fibula, but X-rays didn’t show any broken bones, per Zac Boyer of the Washington Times. Jackson, who allowed that he was in pain, called himself day-to-day.
  • In the same game, Colts cornerback Vontae Davis was forced to leave after suffering a concussion, writes Mike Wells of ESPN.com. Davis will presumably enter the league’s concussion protocol, which immediately leaves his Week 14 status in doubt.
  • Titans receiver Justin Hunter suffered an alarming injury today, as he lacerated his spleen against the Texans, tweets Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean. He will remain in the hospital overnight.
  • Another receiver was sent to the hospital today, as Browns pass-catcher Miles Austin had to leave the field in a stretcher after suffering abdominal pain, per Tony Grossi of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
  • The Cardinals lost three starters during today’s game, as running back Andre Ellington (hip), defensive back Tyrann Mathieu (thumb) and guard Paul Fanaika (ankle) all left Arizona’s contest against the Falcons and were soon declared out for the day, the team announced on Twitter.

Titans Notes: Lewan, Hunter, Thompson

June 26th, 2014 at 11:03pm CST by Matt Feminis

Titans rookie first-rounder Taylor Lewan remains unsigned, but that didn’t prevent the team from training him at both left and right tackle, writes John Glennon in the Tennessean.

Here’s a few more Titans tidbits provided by offensive coordinator Jason Michael, who did an interview for the team website:

  • Talented but raw second-year receiver Justin Hunter has shown flashes of playmaking, and “the sky’s the limit” for him, but the staff needs to continue pushing him.
  • Veteran Shonn Greene (injury) and rookie Bishop Sankey (academic requirements) missed most of the team’s offseason, opening the door for Dexter McCluster to learn the system.
  • Another player who must make strides is Taylor Thompson, whose transition from college defensive end to NFL tight end has not gone smoothly. Michael did not call out Thompson, but did stop short of praising him, saying, “He’s still young to the position, with changing from defensive end, and I know we’ve talked about those things and at some point, he’s got to put that behind him and move forward and be a tight end…”
  • However, unlike Hunter, a 2013 second-rounder who scored four touchdowns and averaged nearly 20 yards per catch as a rookie, Thompson enters his third pro season with just nine catches to his credit. In a recent Daily News Journal article, Thompson admitted to enduring growing pains and a steep learning curve. Additionally, first-year position coach Mike Mularkey said his first impression of Thompson is that he’s raw and inexperienced. Thompson, whom the Titans traded up for in the fifth round of the 2012 draft, has two years remaining on his rookie contract, but the team is hoping for signs of development. He’s expected to be the team’s No. 3 tight end, but at 6-6 and nearly 270 pounds with sub-4.6 speed and natural catching ability, Thompson has breakout potential if the light comes on.

Extra Points: OTAs, Packers, Titans, Brady

June 22nd, 2014 at 9:12pm CST by Peter Sowards

Minicamps are finished. The 2014 NFL season awaits.

Players have left their respective clubs until the opening of training camp, and as ESPN.com’s John Clayton notes, coaches now will cross their fingers that they don’t receive the 3 a.m. phone call alerting them of the star player’s transgressions.

Clayton, the Worldwide Leader’s senior NFL writer, outlines seven things learned from the offseason programs, with No. 1 being the lack of readiness for rookie quarterbacks. Reading into Clayton’s words, he believes that no rookie quarterback will open the season as the team’s starting signal caller. Teddy Bridgewater is the most pro-ready, Clayton says, but Matt Cassel will get the first snap on opening day.

Taking a page out of Pete Carroll‘s playbook, Clayton writes that teams around the league are gravitating toward taller defensive backs. Case in point, the Kansas City Chiefs, who released 5-foot-9 cornerback Brandon Flowers in a cap-saving move. They’ll look to replace Flowers with 6-foot-1 Phillip Gaines, 6-foot-2 Marcus Cooper and 6-foot David Van Dyke, each of whom are first- or second-year players.

Other news and notes from around the league…

  • Among the 10 Packers stories to watch before training camp opens by Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is peace of mind at backup quarterback. It wasn’t pretty for the Pack at QB when Aaron Rodgers went down in a Week 9 loss to the Bears, but coach Mike McCarthy should feel better about this year’s situation with Matt Flynn and Scott Tolzien backing up the All Pro, Dunne writes.
  • Quarterback Jake Locker, receiver Kendall Wright and the defense’s front seven are all things Titans fans should feel good about, The Tennessean’s Jim Wyatt writes. Locker should be at 100% coming off foot surgery in November and had started the 2013 season with a bang, while Wright will team with Nate Washington and Justin Hunter to ease Locker’s return to health.
  • Tom Brady‘s private quarterback coach, Tom House, admitted in an interview with SiriusXM radio that the three-time Super Bowl champion has struggled as of late to connect on the deep passes. “As he’s getting a little older you lose a little strength, you lose a little flexibility,” House said. “And what was happening was he was noticing that his accuracy and his long ball weren’t what they were three or four years ago. So we ran him through the computer, compared him to the models we have created for movement efficiency, and there were really, really small things that were causing his issues.”