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NFL Suspends Robert Nkemdiche

November 13th, 2019 at 4:54pm CST by Zachary Links

The NFL has suspended defensive lineman Robert Nkemdiche for two weeks, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Nkemdiche is a free agent, so his suspension will begin when/if he signs with an NFL club. 

The nature of the violation is not yet known, but it might have had some bearing on his short-lived stint in Miami. The Dolphins cut the former first-round pick last week after he appeared in just 17 snaps and eleven special teams plays. That was hardly the comeback effort Nkemdiche had in mind after a disappointing run in Arizona.

With the Cardinals, Nkemdiche started in just six games across three seasons. Last year, his season was cut short by a torn ACL.

Nkemdiche has 4.5 sacks and two forced fumbles to his credit and, given his draft pedigree, figures to draw attention from teams. Still, he won’t be able to see the field immediately for any club that signs him.

NFL Workout Updates: 11/11/19

November 11th, 2019 at 7:19pm CST by Marc Delucchi

Here’s the latest from around the league’s workout circuit:

Cleveland Browns

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

New York Giants

Oakland Raiders

Philadelphia Eagles

North Notes: Joseph, Callaway, Dozier, Bears QB

November 11th, 2019 at 6:10pm CST by Marc Delucchi

The Vikings nose tackle Linval Joseph underwent surgery on his meniscus, according to Ben Goessling and Andrew Krammer of the Star Tribune. Joseph, who did not play in Minnesota’s 28-24 victory against the Cowboys, has been on the team’s injury report since Week 7 with a knee injury, but had yet to miss any practice until last Thursday.

On a positive note, Joseph has not been placed on injured reserve and Goessling and Krammer cite sources within the organization that are optimistic he will return soon. With their bye coming in Week 12, Goessling and Krammer note the Vikings Week 13 matchup with the Broncos as a possible target date for Joseph’s return.

Here’s more updates from the teams in the AFC and NFC North:

  • Browns wide receiver Antonio Callaway was benched shortly before the team’s game against the Bills for tardiness on Sunday, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. Cleveland still managed to pull out the 19-16 victory without Callaway, but the offense surely could have benefited from another dynamic receiver on the field. In Cabot’s report, a source told her that Callaway parked in a different lot than usual and arrived a few minutes late.
  • The Vikings plan to move forward with Dakota Dozier at right guard if starter Josh Kline has to miss more games with a concussion, according to Ben Goessling and Andrew Krammer of the Star Tribune. Dozier replaced Kline after he left Sunday’s matchup against the Cowboys with concussion like symptoms. Kline was diagnosed with a concussion and is now in the NFL’s concussion protocol. Dozier has already started three games this season along Minnesota’s offensive front.
  • If the Bears decide to move on from quarterback Mitchell Trubisky this offseason there will be a plethora of strong veteran options, according to Dan Pompei of The Athletic. Pompei details ten signalcallers with varying degrees of past success. While free-agency seems poised to offer more viable options than usual, the play of young quarterbacks around the league has potentially pushed some other established veterans onto the trade market as well. Sitting at 4-5 and in third place in the NFC North, Chicago’s playoff hopes are dwindling by the week. Trubisky, in his third NFL season, has garnered the brunt of the criticism for the team’s underwhelming performance.

NFC West Notes: Gordon, Edmonds, 49ers LBs

November 10th, 2019 at 4:58pm CST by Marc Delucchi

The Seahawks hope they finally found the perfect environment for wide receiver Josh Gordon. One of the most talented receivers in the league, Gordon’s career has been consistently impacted by his struggles with mental illness and substance abuse. After sitting out last week’s game against the Buccaneers, Gordon is expected to make his debut for Seattle and play a “fairly significant amount” tomorrow against the 49ers, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.

Gordon told reporters that Seattle had long been a target destination for him, according to Mike Florio of NBC Sports. Reports recently revealed Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson had lobbied team executives to sign controversial wide receiver Antonio Brown and in Gordon’s statements he mentioned that he and Wilson had discussed teaming up “for awhile.”

Here’s more from around the NFC West:

  • Cardinals running back Chase Edmonds is planning to return in Week 11, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. Edmonds has been out with a hamstring injury and hopes his injury will respond well to another week of rest. Currently with a healthy David Johnson and Kenyan Drake, Arizona would arguably have the deepest group of running backs in football if Edmonds returns to form.
  • In their biggest game of the season, the undefeated 49ers will be starting three 22-year old linebackers in their base defense. However, the team is not particularly worried about their youth, according to Matt Barrows of The Athletic. Kwon Alexander‘s season-ending pectoral injury alongside other injuries to veterans on the depth chart forced rookies Dre Greenlaw and Azeez Al-Shaair into prominent roles alongside second-year player Fred Warner. However, according to Barrows, all three have showcased high levels of maturity throughout the year. In fact, Al-Shair argues that he faced a bigger battle making it this far as an undrafted free-agent than anything he will face against the Seahawks tomorrow.

NFL Workout Updates: 11/1/19

November 1st, 2019 at 8:41pm CST by Marc Delucchi

The latest from the workout circuit around the league:

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Jacksonville Jaguars

New York Jets

Oakland Raiders

NFC East Notes: Williams, Gettleman, Hill

November 1st, 2019 at 6:45pm CST by Marc Delucchi

The NFL and NFLPA will conduct a joint investigation into claims made by Washington’s LT Trent Williams, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Williams has been one of the best left tackles in football since entering the league in 2010. After solidifying the blindside in Washington for nearly a decade, Williams had been holding out for all of the 2019 season.

The team refused to move Williams before the trade deadline, but the tackle finally reported to the team on Tuesday. However, he has since failed his physical and publicly accused the team of failing to recognize the severity of a cancerous growth on his head this past summer. The team has since denied Williams’ claims of wrongdoing and called for a third-party evaluation. According to Rapoport, the collective bargaining agreement calls for a joint investigation amidst such accusations.

Here’s more from around the NFC East:

  • Giants general manager Dave Gettleman needs to answer for his trade deadline decisions, according to Darryl Slater of NJ.com. Since the second day of training camp in late July, Gettleman has not answered questions from any reporters. Even more concerning, a Giants spokesperson said he is not currently scheduled to address the media again this season, per Slater. Currently at 2-6, many were surprised to see the team give up draft assets for impending free agent Leonard Williams. Moreover, the team recouped no draft capital for any of their veteran players. Slater maintains it is “part of the job” for Gettleman to take questions from the media regardless of how popular his decisions are.
  • Cowboys rookie second-round pick Trysten Hill has become a problem, according to Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News. Per Watkins report, the defensive tackle has recently been sent home after arriving late to practice and fell asleep in the middle of a speech by Hall of Fame basketball player Isiah Thomas. Dallas has not been publicly critical of Hill, but Watkins notes that even after losing starting defensive tackle Tyrone Crawford for the season, Hill remains outside the rotation.

AFC Notes: Dareus, Broncos, Green, Chiefs, Darnold

October 24th, 2019 at 1:56pm CST by cwcrouse

Marcell Dareus will undergo surgery today to repair a core muscle injury, sources tell Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). The defensive lineman is expected to miss 4-6 weeks for Jaguars.

Here’s more around the AFC:

  • Broncos coach Vic Fangio said it was “possible” that CB Bryce Callahan will miss the rest of the season, Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic tweets. Callaham underwent stem cell treatment on his foot last month and the original projection was 4-to-6 weeks.
  • A.J. Green did not practice today for the Bengals and isn’t expected to play against the Rams in London, Ben Baby of ESPN.com tweets. LT Cordy Glenn will also not play in the contest.
  • DE Frank Clark (neck), DT Chris Jones (groin), LB Darron Lee (illness) and CB Kendall Fuller (thumb) all missed practice for the Chiefs today, Herbie Teope of Kansas City.com tweets. Patrick Mahomes is practicing again for the second-straight day.
  • Sam Darnold was limited in practice today, Brian Costello of the New York Post relays (Twitter link). Darnold was a non-participant for the Jets on Wednesday because of a toe ailment.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/23/2019

October 23rd, 2019 at 4:01pm CST by Marc Delucchi

Today’s practice squad updates:

Atlanta Falcons

Denver Broncos

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

New England Patriots

  • Signed: OL Aaron Monteiro

New Orleans Saints

XFL Notes: Robinson, Cook, Aguayo, Cobb, Gray, Broyles, Boyer, Locke, Novak, Ollie

October 8th, 2019 at 3:58pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The relaunched XFL is gearing up for its first season, and they’re starting to announce more and more of their initial player pool. There are a lot of ex-NFL guys in the mix, and we’ll get to that in just a bit, but at least one notable college player is looking to jump right in. Former West Virginia safety Kenny Robinson is entering the XFL draft pool, according to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk. Robinson was dismissed from West Virginia for academic fraud earlier this year. Florio writes that he was “considered a likely draft choice,” but hadn’t been in school long enough to be eligible for the NFL, which requires you to be three years removed from high school graduation.

That left Robinson with the options of looking for a new school to play at, or entering an alternative pro league. “Now they can see how I hold up mentally and physically,” Robinson told Andy Staples of The Athletic. “They’ll see me playing against guys who have actually been in the NFL and done it.” Robinson will be an early test case for what the XFL is hoping more players opt to do. Ever since they announced they were coming back, the XFL has attempted to position itself as a league for talented high school and college players to consider as an alternative to the NCAA. As Florio notes, Robinson will be eligible for the 2020 NFL Draft. In 12 games for the Mountaineers last year he had 77 tackles and four interceptions, earning a first-team All-Big 12 nod.

And now, onto the NFL alums:

  • In the first group of players that the league announced on Twitter, a few names jumped out. Former Michigan State and Raiders quarterback Connor Cook is on the list. Cook was drafted by Oakland in the fourth-round back in 2016, and even ended up starting a playoff game for them that year after injuries to Derek Carr and Matt McGloin. He spent 2017 as a third-stringer and was released at final cuts the following year. He was briefly with the Lions earlier this offseason, but was waived back in June.
  • Everybody’s favorite kicker Roberto Aguayo was also on the list, as were running backs David Cobb and Jonas Gray. Aguayo, of course, was infamously drafted by the Buccaneers in the second-round back in 2016. He lasted only one year as the Bucs’ kicker despite his draft status, and has become a punchline ever since. Cobb had a brief run as the Titans’ lead back in 2015, but never did anything after that. He most recently played in the AAF with the San Antonio Commanders. Gray was with the Patriots in 2014, and won Super Bowl XLIX with the team. Gray randomly had an absurd week in November of that year, rushing for 201 yards and four touchdowns. He quickly fell out of favor, and was released by New England the following year. He hasn’t even been in a training camp since 2016.
  • Earlier Tuesday, the XFL posted to Twitter their second batch of players. Among the notable names was receiver Ryan Broyles, a second-round pick of the Lions back in 2012. Broyles, a legendary Oklahoma player, showed some promise as a rookie, but injuries derailed his career after that. He last appeared in a regular season game in 2014. There were also a few interesting specialists on the list in longsnapper Nate Boyer, punter Jeff Locke, and kicker Nick Novak. Boyer spent six years in the military and served in Afghanistan and Iraq before becoming a walk-on at Texas. He spent the 2015 offseason with the Seahawks, but was ultimately released. Notably, he is the player who advised Colin Kaepernick to kneel rather than sit during the national anthem. Locke spent four seasons as the Vikings’ punter. Novak is a veteran NFL kicker who spent over a decade in the league from 2005-20017. Ronald Ollie, one of the stars of the popular Netflix show ‘Last Chance U’, is also on the list.

 

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