Peyton Manning - Pro Football Rumors

West Rumors: Chargers, Raiders, Manning, Tomsula

December 21st, 2015 at 9:50pm CST by Sam Robinson

With the Cardinals and Seahawks having traded places in the standings from last season’s playoff bracket, the NFC West has been settled. The AFC West, suddenly, hasn’t, as the Chiefs are now one game back of the reeling Broncos and hold the tiebreaker.

Here’s what’s developing out of the Western teams’ locales as Week 15 concludes.

Between six and 14 owners have yet to decide which way they’ll vote on the relocation issue in January, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes. The majority of the six owners who comprise the Committee on Los Angeles Opportunities, however, are behind the Chargers‘ and Raiders‘ Carson-based project, and their opinion will have the most sway among the 32 voters, Acee offers. San Diego, in the NFL’s opinion, being unlikely to approve public funding to be allocated toward a new Chargers stadium provides a significant stumbling block in the city’s efforts to retain the team.
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio wonders if the Raiders, who have expressed no desire to replace the Rams in St. Louis, would consider a San Diego relocation if the city became serious about financing a new stadium. With the Chargers, in Florio’s view, not being inclined to wait on the city to decide on a stadium solution in order to find a more-lucrative landing spot in Los Angeles, the city won’t merely shut down football operations. Like Baltimore and St. Louis after the cities lost their teams in 1984 and 1988, respectively, Florio expects San Diego to keep pushing to land a team if the Chargers depart.
Gary Kubiak is open to Peyton Manning returning next week at less than 100%, Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports. “Absolutely. We are trying to work him back to where he feels like he can go play, and go be himself,” Kubiak said. “That’s been the plan all along but we are not there yet.” The first-year Broncos coach’s view of Manning’s health led him to maintain the status quo of Brock Osweiler atop the depth chart going into this week’s practices. Osweiler failed to lead the Broncos to any second-half points in their past three games.
49ers first-year coach Jim Tomsula appears to be safe, with the team in full-on rebuilding mode, after a rocky debut, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com writes. Although owner Jed York told media, “We’ll talk about everything at the end of the season,” CBS sideline reporter Jay Feely‘s conversation with 49ers COO Al Guido can be interpreted as the 49ers showing faith in Tomsula’s process. “They knew what they were getting into when they had all the defections,” Feely said, describing Guido’s view of the offseason chaos that consumed the team. “(Guido) said they underestimated a little bit the impact that it had in the locker room, specifically the lack of leadership. . . But I think they’re confident with Jim Tomsula going forward.”

La Canfora’s Latest: Dalton, Falcons, Manning

December 20th, 2015 at 4:05pm CST by Dallas Robinson

As the second slate of games near halftime, lets’s take a look at the latest from Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com…

Andy Dalton‘s recent thumb injury could end up costing the Bengals quarterback millions of dollars in escalators, according to La Canfora. Per clauses in Dalton’s six-year, $96MM extension, he can earn extra cash by playing in 80% of Cincinnati’s snaps during the regular season, while separate escalators are tied to his playing (and winning) in each successive round of the postseason. All told, writes La Canfora, Dalton could add $15MM to his current deal, but those plateaus are obviously at risk now.
Falcons ownership is growing frustrated with the club’s lack of success and is considering firing general manager Thomas Dimitroff, writes La Canfora, who adds that Seahawks director of pro personnel Trent Kirchner and Vikings assistant GM George Paton could each be strong candidates to fill the position (each has a professional history with Atlanta head coach Dan Quinn). It sounds like current AGM Scott Pioli (a Dimitroff friend) could also be on the chopping block.
Major changes could also be coming to the Titans staff, and rumors persist that Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning could land in Tennessee as something of a football czar, with former NFL exec Bill Polian (who drafted Manning) as team president. In such a scenario, Polian’s son Chris could act as general manager, while Jaguars assistant Doug Marrone or Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase would be candidates to serve as head coach.

Extra Points: Broncos, Cowboys, Draft

December 19th, 2015 at 6:26pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

With quarterback Peyton Manning nearing a return from injury, the Broncos are on the brink of having to make the most important decision of their season, Troy Renck of The Denver Post offers.

The 39-year-old Manning was having a bottom-of-the-barrel season before he landed on the shelf in mid-November with a torn plantar fascia in his left foot, and his loss looked like addition by subtraction as the Brock Osweiler era got off to a solid beginning. Osweiler’s first three starts all ended up as wins for Denver, but some shine wore off two weeks ago in a 17-3 victory over a horrific San Diego team and matters worsened in a 15-12 loss to Oakland last Sunday.

Manning will be inactive for Sunday’s game against playoff-caliber Pittsburgh, but he’s likely to be healthy enough for activation by Week 16. That means Osweiler might be playing for the starting job at Heinz Field. As Renck points out, Denver’s Osweiler-led offense has gone 23 straight possessions without scoring a touchdown, which isn’t going to cut it with a prolific Steelers offense on the other side. With another underwhelming showing from Osweiler, head coach Gary Kubiak could turn back to Manning as the playoffs near.

Some other NFL news and notes:

Tonight is potentially the end of the Matt Cassel era in Dallas. The 33-year-old has fared poorly in place of Tony Romo this season, and he’ll be on a short leash against the Jets, ESPN’s Ed Werder tweets. The Cowboys’ current No. 2 QB, Kellen Moore, got some first-team reps in practice this week and could see his first action since going undrafted out of Boise State in 2012.
Arizona linebacker Scooby Wright capped off an injury-riddled junior year Saturday by announcing he’ll enter the 2016 draft, Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk reports. A foot injury cost Wright all but three games this season, making it a disappointing follow-up to a highly productive 2014 campaign that saw him earn All-America honors, the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year Award, the Jack Lambert Award (nation’s best linebacker), and the Chuck Bednarik Award (nation’s top defender).
A list of the top 20 failed free agent signings from last offseason reveals predictable names – Dwayne Bowe, DeMarco Murray, Brandon Browner, among others – but also mentions lower-tier additions like Tampa’s Bruce Carter and Arizona’s Sean Weatherspoon, Alex Marvez of FoxSports.com writes. Both Carter and Weatherspoon were beaten out early for starting linebacker jobs.

Sam Robinson contributed to this report.

West Notes: Rams, Manning, Scifres

December 17th, 2015 at 8:00pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The latest from the NFL’s two West divisions:

On Friday, the Board of Aldermen in St. Louis will approve a financing package for a $1.1 billion riverfront stadium for the Rams, according to David Hunn of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.. The package counts on $300MM coming from the NFL, which is a problem: Commissioner Roger Goodell wrote in a letter to Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon and his stadium task force that the league only funds up to $200MM on new stadiums. Goodell referred to the notion of the league putting $300MM toward a stadium in St. Louis as “fundamentally inconsistent with the NFL’s program of stadium financing.” In response, downtown Alderman Jack Coatar said, “We are not changing this bill. “We are passing the bill as is tomorrow. We have the votes and we’re moving forward.” Coatar added that the proposed amount is “what we’re willing to spend.”
Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning has been out since mid-November with a plantar fascia injury, but his father, Archie, told WDSU-TV in New Orleans that Manning has been dealing with it “for five or six months,” per Lionel Bienvenu of KMGH ABC-7 in Denver. Archie also stated that Peyton is unsure whether he’ll return in 2016, his age-40 campaign, and will decide after this season ends.
Unlike Manning, Chargers punter Mike Scifres expects to play again next year. “Mike doesn’t plan on retiring for many more years. … I hope when he does retire, it’ll be as a Charger,” his agent, Harold Lewis, said, per Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Scifres, who currently ranks 20th in the league in yards per punt and 30th in net yardage, has been with the Chargers since they drafted him in 2003. He’s set to count over $4MM against their cap next season, though, and cutting him would save the Bolts upward of $3.5MM.

West Notes: Rams, Chargers, Raiders, Broncos, Chiefs

December 17th, 2015 at 5:30pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Rams won’t fire Jeff Fisher and GM Les Snead after this season, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com report (Twitter link).

Despite a 25-35-1 record in more than four seasons, Fisher and Snead won’t be discarded even as the franchise potentially relocates to Los Angeles. Fisher’s job would have been one of the key positions out there post-Black Monday, with the speculation the Rams will be moving back to the west coast.

Schefter did mention that Fisher could step away on his own accord (via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk), although the 57-year-old coach who has just six playoff appearances in 21 seasons with the Oilers/Titans and Rams probably wouldn’t receive a third head-coaching opportunity if he did so.

Fisher is a Los Angeles native who played at USC before being drafted by the Bears in 1981.

Here’s some more from the Los Angeles situation and additional notes from the Western divisions.

The Rams and Chargers remain in the lead in the LA pursuit, Schefter reports, with the Raiders still in the race but lagging behind. Schefter notes the NFL shutting down the San Diego market would be hard to believe; it’s housed an NFL team since the Chargers moved from Los Angeles in 1961. Both note the NFL apparently planned ahead for a scenario in which these fanbases say goodbye to their teams prior to the end of the season, with the Rams playing their season’s final home game tonight and the Chargers doing so Sunday.
Some coaches and executives have taken issue with John Elway‘s decision to hire Gary Kubiak, knowing what it meant for Peyton Manning‘s role with the Broncos, Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com reports. Elway initially proposed a $10MM paycut for Manning, who eventually took a $4MM reduction, but Mortensen notes that was a message to leave town, with Kubiak’s style ill-suited for the 39-year-old quarterback’s skill set. A defensive coach mentioned Denver’s once-prodigious offense is much easier to game-plan for now that Kubiak’s in charge compared to Adam Gase and his more-nuanced attack. “Kubiak is a good offensive mind, a well-respected guy, but it’s about as elementary as it gets,” this coach said. “He did a good job in Baltimore but he also had a veteran offensive line, maybe one of the three best in the NFL. I think he has to take a serious look that it’s 2015 going on 2016.” This coach also pointed out Manning supplanting Brock Osweiler might not make that much of a difference considering how many hits the Broncos’ offensive line, which houses two of Pro Football Focus’ worst tackles in Ryan Harris and Michael Schofield, are allowing Osweiler to take.
Justin Houston received a second opinion from Dr. James Andrews today that revealed a hyperextended knee, per Chiefs trainer Rick Burkholder (via Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star, on Twitter). “I don’t want anyone to be alarmed that he saw Dr. Andrews. We knew it; we’re good with it, Burkholder told Paylor (Twitter link). Houston remains without a return timetable, with reports circulating he will miss the regular season’s remainder. Andrews also told the Chiefs’ top active player the swelling in his knee has decreased.

West Notes: Manning, Houston, Boone, 49ers

December 17th, 2015 at 8:56am CST by Luke Adams

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak announced that Brock Osweiler would continue to start for his team in Week 15, with Trevor Siemian serving as the No. 2 quarterback (Twitter link via Troy Renck of the Denver Post). That means Peyton Manning will be inactive for another week, despite the fact that he has returned to practice.

If and when Manning gets healthy, he has earned another shot at the starting job, in the view of Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports. Osweiler had all the momentum after his first couple starts, but the Broncos are coming off a home loss and haven’t scored an offensive touchdown in seven quarters. If he continues to struggle this weekend against the Steelers, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Manning return to action to play Cincinnati in Week 16, assuming he’s ready to go by then.

Here’s more from out of the NFL’s West divisions:

As first reported by Rand Getlin of the NFL Network (Twitter link), Chiefs pass rusher Justin Houston paid a visit to Dr. James Andrews recently, tweets Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star. According to Getlin, there was “some fear” that Houston could miss the rest of the regular season, but there’s been no official word yet on the 26-year-old’s status.
Veteran guard Alex Boone – who is expected to be sidelined for the rest of the season – has likely played his last game for the 49ers, having not gotten close to a long-term extension with the team, writes Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. Still, while he’s looking forward to free agency, Boone says he’d “love to hear an offer” from the Niners.
Shortly after a San Francisco Chronicle columnist speculated about the York family selling the 49ers, co-owner John York acknowledged on Wednesday that he has been disappointed by the on-field results this season. However, as Daniel Brown of the San Jose Mercury News details, York also said his family is “extremely passionate” about the Niners, and is looking ahead to the future of the franchise.
Writers and columnists for the Bay Area News Group looked into their crystal balls to attempt to determine who will be back and who won’t be for the 49ers in 2016.

AFC Notes: Manning, Tannehill, McCarron, Pats

December 14th, 2015 at 7:13pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Thanks to unimpressive showings over the last two weeks, including in Sunday’s 15-12 loss to Oakland, Brock Osweiler‘s hold on the Broncos’ starting quarterback job looks tenuous. Furthering the possibility of an eventual switch back to Peyton Manning is that head coach Gary Kubiak was reluctant Monday to name a starter for this Sunday’s game in Pittsburgh. Kubiak had announced Osweiler as the starter the previous four Mondays, and as Lindsay H. Jones of USA Today writes, he could be leaving open the possibility of Manning returning to practice this week and ultimately reclaiming the job.

Manning has been out since mid-November with a plantar fascia injury, but he is making progress in his recovery, according to Troy Renck of The Denver Post.

Extra Points: Draft, Titans, Gabbert, Manning

December 11th, 2015 at 9:54pm CST by Dallas Robinson

While none of this year’s crop of collegiate quarterbacks are projected to be as successful as Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota, NFL personnel men do see four QBs — Memphis’ Paxton Lynch, Cal’s Jared Goff, Michigan State’s Connor Cook, and North Dakota State’s Carson Wentz — as being worthy of a first-round pick, according to Charlie Campbell of WalterFootball.com.

Elsewhere in draft-land, Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net reports that Penn State signal-caller Christian Hackenberg, once projected as potential first-rounder himself, is likely to enter the draft, and will probably announce as such in the near future. Two other collegiate players — Boise State edge rusher Kamalei Correa and Stanford tight end Austin Hooper — are intent on entering the draft, as well, says Pauline.

Free agent corner Cary Williams, who visited with the Titans yesterday, is still drawing the attention of the club, tweets Terry McCormick of TitansInsider.com. Tennessee management will reportedly make a decision on whether or not to sign Williams at some point early next week. Williams, who was cut by the Seahawks on Monday, has also garnered interest from the Rams.
In other Tennessee news, Titans linebacker Yannik Cudjoe-Virgil suffered torn patellar tendon in practice on Thursday and will require surgery, meaning he’ll miss the rest of the season, reports McCormick (Twitter link). Practice squad ‘backer J.R. Tavai is a candidate to be promoted to the active roster, adds McCormick.
Veteran receiver Anquan Boldin believes Blaine Gabbert can be the 49ers‘ quarterback of the future, writes Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. Gabbert has led San Francisco to a 2-2 record in his four starts, averaging 240 yards per game while throwing five touchdowns and three interceptions. For what it’s worth, he’s only signed through next season, with a 2016 cap charge of $2.25MM.
Peyton Manning has $4MM riding on whether or not he gets to start in the playoffs — as Mike Klis of 9 News writes, Manning could earn $2MM for winning the AFC Championship Game, and another $2MM for winning the Super Bowl. Manning must start those games, adds Klis, meaning he can’t earn the bonuses by coming on in relief. At this point, though, it’s hard to see how the Broncos can turn back to Manning given how Brock Osweiler has played.

West Notes: 49ers, Manning, Broncos

December 2nd, 2015 at 8:26pm CST by Zachary Links

The deadline for the 49ers to activate Daniel Kilgore is fast approaching. For his part, the center says that he’s good to go, as Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee writes.

“I’d like to have something to build off of for the offseason, see where I am,” Kilgore said Wednesday. “It’s been over a year now. And I’ve been doing all this training. So I’d like to do something. I don’t want to do all this training for nothing.”

Kilgore’s fill-in, second-year player Marcus Martin, has struggled so far through 11 games with Pro Football Focus rating him as the NFL’s worst center in 2015.

Here’s more out of the West divisions:

When asked about his future beyond 2015, Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning told reporters that he hasn’t arrived at a decision or even pondered it, as Troy Renck of The Denver Post tweets. “This is when ‘they’ and ‘sources’ seem to show their heads. I haven’t thought about anything but getting healthy,” Manning said.
Broncos linebacker Shaquil Barrett for has hired agents Drew Rosenhaus and Jason Katz of Rosenhaus Sports for representation, per Rand Getlin of NFL.com (on Twitter). Barrett, 23, is earning a paltry $435K this season and will make $525K in 2016 under the contract he signed as a UDFA in 2014. In 2015, the Colorado State product has appeared in 11 games with 4 starts, racking up 33 tackles, 3.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.
The Seahawks auditioned tight end Anthony McCoy on Wednesday, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter). McCoy could be an option to help fill the role of star tight end Jimmy Graham.

AFC Notes: Collins, Manning, Browns

November 29th, 2015 at 9:23pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Star linebacker Jamie Collins has been out of the Patriots’ lineup since the end of October because of an illness, one that president Jonathan Kraft isn’t worried will spread throughout the team, per Mike Petraglia of WEEI.

“Jamie’s getting better and getting stronger every day,” Kraft said Sunday. “I know people in non-football life that end up with really bad viruses and get knocked out of their professional lives for a while.”

Continued Kraft, “This was something that doesn’t have us worried about the physical infrastructure at the facility. There wasn’t anything related to Jamie’s issues that had anything to do with the facility.”

Kraft’s words indicate that Collins’ illness isn’t MRSA, a staph infection-causing disease that has affected NFL teams in the past. Most recently, it ended the season of Giants tight end Daniel Fells in October.

Collins returned to practice Friday, so it appears he’ll be back in game action sometime this season.

And now a look at some of the Patriots’ AFC counterparts, including their Sunday night opponent:

Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, currently on the shelf because of a plantar fascia injury, is eager to return to the field as soon as possible. The team doesn’t share in his eagerness, though, and it’s causing friction between the two sides, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports. Regarding the possibility of a healthy Manning backing up Brock Osweiler, a source told La Canfora, “We know this much — he’s not going to go quietly. He’s going to have to be dealt with.”
After briefly losing his job to Johnny Manziel, Josh McCown is back as the Browns’ starting quarterback – which he’s ambivalent about, according to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal. While McCown relishes playing again, he isn’t pleased that his opportunity comes at the expense of Manziel – whom the Browns benched because of off-field issues. “You understand that you have a job to do, and the coaches make the decision and tell you you’re playing and you move forward accordingly,” said McCown. “But at the same time, I’m in the room with [Manziel] every day, and we’ve built a relationship. I’m a big advocate of his and a fan and a friend as well.”
The Browns have noteworthy free agents-to-be in safety Tashaun Gipson, tight end Gary Barnidge and receiver Travis Benjamin. If they only re-sign one, it should be the 25-year-old Gipson, writes Tom Reed of Cleveland.com. Gipson hasn’t been as sharp this season after leading the AFC in interceptions in 2013 and ’14, which could drop his price. That’s something Reed believes the Browns should look to capitalize on after they couldn’t reach a long-term deal with Gipson last offseason, when he was coming off a Pro Bowl campaign.