2014 October - Pro Football Rumors

Jake Long Suffers Torn ACL

October 27th, 2014 at 10:20am CST by Zachary Links

An MRI has confirmed that Rams tackle Jake Long suffered a torn ACL, sources tell Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com (on Twitter). St. Louis sensed that this was the case yesterday and today, their worst fears were confirmed. Long will surely be placed on season-ending IR this week.

It’s more bad news for the Rams who also lost quarterback Sam Bradford to a torn ACL. Long, the first overall pick in 2008, spent the first five seasons of his career with the Dolphins before signing a four-year, $34MM contract with St. Louis prior to last season. The injury is doubly frustrating for Long as he also suffered an ACL tear towards the end of the 2013 season.

Greg Robinson, the second overall pick in the 2014 draft, will presumably take over starting duties at left tackle and move over from guard. Robinson was slotted in at left tackle after Long went down in the third quarter and he played the position at Auburn. Rodger Saffold also suffered an injury on Sunday, so the Rams will have multiple moves to make on the offensive line. Veteran guard Davin Joseph could be re-inserted into the starting lineup to help fill the gap.

Kelly: Eagles Not Looking To Trade

October 27th, 2014 at 9:46am CST by Zachary Links

The trade deadline is a little over 24 hours away and speculation has been swirling around the 5-2 Eagles. However, an interview on WIP, Eagles coach Chip Kelly made it known that the Eagles aren’t thinking about making a deal between now and tomorrow afternoon, tweets Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News.

“The trade deadline is overblown,” Kelly said. “I don’t anticipate doing anything. I’m very happy with the team we have right now. I love the way they can compete.”

Yesterday, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported that the Eagles are looking for help at strong safety with Nate Allen struggling so far this season. Florio was unsure of who the Eagles might target, but Ian Rapoport of NFL.com was quick to point out that the Buccaneers’ Dashon Goldson and the Titans‘ Michael Griffin could be had at the right price. Later that day, Allen didn’t do much to help his case as he let Cardinals wideout John Brown get behind him to catch the go-ahead 75-yard touchdown with less than two minutes to play. The Eagles are also reportedly calling on Buccaneers wide receiver Vincent Jackson, who would look pretty great lined up opposite of Jeremy Maclin, who is in the midst of a career year.

However, if Kelly is to be believed, the Eagles are more than content to roll with the team that they have in place for the second half of the year.

Jets Notes: Smith, Vick, Ryan, Harvin

October 27th, 2014 at 8:42am CST by Zachary Links

The Jets’ ineptitude reminds Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com of the Rich Kotite days. Cimini writes that baseball has the Mendoza line and every bad NFL season has the “Kotite” line – a point where you cross over from a try-hard, hard-luck loser to a team drowning in its own awfulness. Here’s more on Gang Green…

The Jets’ only choice is to bench sophomore Geno Smith and roll with free agent pickup Michael Vick, opines Steve Serby of the New York Post. Vick isn’t going to be the Jets savior, but he does give Gang Green their best chance to win. The veteran lost two fumbles and threw an interception under duress, but he still gave the Jets offense some life with his improvisational running.
The feeling in the Jets organization is that the only way Geno Smith starts vs the Chiefs next week is if coach Rex Ryan is pressured to do so by GM John Idzik, tweets Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. One has to imagine that Ryan feels both pressure to win but also pressure to appease Idzik, who will at least have some say in whether he returns next season.
Hank Gola of the Daily News wonders how Percy Harvin will fit in with the Jets going forward based on his unspectacular debut against the Bills. There’s question as to whether Harvin can still be a deep threat in Gola’s mind since speed alone doesn’t guarantee that you’ll get open. Harvin didn’t create a whole lot of seperation on Sunday, which was a disatrous showing for the Jets in all facets of the game.

AFC East Notes: Jets, Ryan, Brady, Pats

October 26th, 2014 at 10:37pm CST by Zachary Links

Tonight’s look at the AFC East..

Rex Ryan‘s job may be on the line, but Jets defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson doesn’t blame him or anyone else on the staff for their poor performance, writes Newsday’s Kimberley A. Martin. “When your coaches are putting together the game plan and you don’t go out there and execute . . . that’s a problem. I put this on us. We lost this game. That was terrible. That wasn’t Jets football. And it [stinks],” Wilkerson said.
Ryan will probably get fired by the Jets, but Idzik should follow him out the door, writes Gary Myers of the New York Daily News.
With Tom Brady clicking, the Patriots should stand pat at the deadline, writes Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com. There has been talk of the Pats going after Bucs receiver Vincent Jackson and while they could use a deep threat, today’s blowout of the Bears shows that they don’t need to make any addition. Brady, Rob Gronkowski, and Brandon LaFell gave the Pats plenty of offensive firepower, leading New England to a 51-23 win.

Pigskin Links

October 26th, 2014 at 8:33pm CST by Zachary Links

Here at Pro Football Rumors, we deliver up-to-the-minute news on NFL transactions and high-quality original analysis. In addition to that, we feature some of the best blog articles from around the web in our weekly feature, Pigskin Links.

We’re looking for interesting reads on all things football from blogs of all sizes. While PFR is dedicated to player movement, Pigskin Links is open to pieces on all areas of the game and it runs every Tuesday night. If you would like to suggest your blog post (or someone else’s) for Pigskin Links, send Zach an email with the link and a brief synopsis at PigskinLinks@gmail.com.

Latest On Los Angeles Relocation

October 26th, 2014 at 7:21pm CST by Zachary Links

With more teams than ever prepared to move to Los Angeles as soon as the 2015 season, there have been ongoing semi-regular conference calls taking place between small groups of owners and NFL officials regarding the topic, team and league sources tell Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. Many of the NFL’s most influential owners are bullish on getting franchises to L.A. as soon as possible, including Jerry Jones and Bob Kraft.

The Rams and Raiders are both said to be eyeing a move to Los Angeles as well as the nearby Chargers and the league appears to be working hard to make that a reality for at least one of the teams. For the past six months or more, there have been a series of calls between select owners and the NFL office discussing the array of plans and potential stadium projects in the area. The NFL has also begun surveying fans in that area about their willingness to spend certain thresholds of money on personal seat licenses and seasons tickets should teams relocate to LA.

La Canfora hears it’s not out of the question that two teams could announce their intent to move to Los Angeles for the 2015 season by the February deadline if certain hurdles are cleared. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk recently reported that the Rams are the frontrunners, but they could also be splitting the nation’s No. 2 media market with another team.

AFC East Notes: Jets, Bills, Williams, Idzik

October 26th, 2014 at 6:00pm CST by Zachary Links

The Jets hit a new low today in their six-turnover loss to the Bills, writes Howie Kussay of the New York Post. The loss was the Jets seventh straight and despite some flashes of brilliance from Michael Vick, things unraveled quickly for Gang Green. More on the Jets and Bills..

Once again, Mike Williams has reiterated his desire to remain with the Bills, as ESPN.com’s Mike Rodak writes. “Of course, a lot of interest out there. But I love being here and I keep telling [my agent] that too,” Williams said. “I’m a Bill until otherwise.” Williams said he will stay in town during the upcoming bye week. “Stay with the team and whatever and listen. Hopefully I’ll be a Bill next week,” he added.
General Manager John Idzik needs to pay the price for making the Jets a mess, opines David Steele of The Sporting News. GMs rarely get fired in midseason – coaches do- but Steele says the Jets should make an exception. Idzik took over a 6-10 team, watched them overachieve to an 8-8 mark, and is now watching them flounder at 1-7.
Geno Smith and E.J. Manuel were both on the bench today as the Jets faced the Bills. There’s still time for both, but right now, that looks like a terrible case of two teams that forced quarterback picks in the wrong draft year, tweets Albert Breer of the NFL Network.

NFC Notes: Jake Long, Bucs, Bears, Lions

October 26th, 2014 at 4:53pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Rams fear that left tackle Jake Long has torn his ACL, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (Twitter link). Long, the first overall pick in 2008, spent the first five seasons of his career with the Dolphins before signing a four-year, $34MM contract with St. Louis prior to last season. If the diagnosis is correct, Long would be the second notable Rams player, along with quarterback Sam Bradford, to have his season cut short by an ACL injury. Long also missed the final game of last season after tearing his ACL. Greg Robinson, the second overall pick in the 2014 draft, will presumably take over at left tackle. He had been playing left guard, and given that Rodger Saffold also suffered an injury today, the Rams will have to do some maneuvering along their offensive line. Veteran guard Davin Joseph is a candidate to be re-inserted into the starting lineup.

We’ve heard rumors that the Buccaneers could look to move Vincent Jackson and/or Doug Martin, and following today’s overtime loss to the Vikings, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com opines (Twitter links) that Tampa Bay should look to deal the two, in addition to safety Dashon Goldson, at all costs. The Bucs generally don’t offer signing bonuses, so no money would accelerate onto their cap if Goldson was dealt. The acquiring team would be responsible for 9/17 of Goldon’s 2014 base salary, plus all of his 2015 guarantee — in total, about $7.18MM. Given that he rates 74th out of 82 qualified safeties per Pro Football Focus’ metrics (subscription required), I’d wager that no team would be interested in taking on his salary, and even less inclined to give up a draft pick.
On the subject of Buccaneers trade rumors, Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap examines what a Jackson deal would look like, noting that because an acquiring team would need at least $5.1MM in cap space in order to take on his contract, the pool of suitors is limited. Fitzgerald lists the Browns, Eagles, and Patriots among the clubs that have both the requisite cap space and the motivation to trade for a receiver upgrade.
Bears defensive lineman Lamarr Houston will undergo an MRI tomorrow, but the club fears the worst, according to Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). Mike Garafolo adds (via Twitter) Chicago believes Houston, a key free agent addition over the offeseason, suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Another NFC North lineman, the Lions’ Nick Fairley, suffered a knee injury today, and head coach Jim Caldwell isn’t optimistic about Fairley’s status. “I’m not quite certain where he is right now,” Caldwell told reporters, including Kyle Meinke of MLive.com. “But obviously, when you’re carried off the field, it’s not the greatest news. We’ll see what the doctors say about him.”

Injury Updates: Sunday

October 26th, 2014 at 3:46pm CST by Rory Parks

We will keep you informed of any major injuries that arise throughout the course of today’s games.

In addition to suffering an embarrassing loss at the hands of the Patriots, the Bears may have lost one key contributor on each side of the all. Guard Matt Slauson left the game with a pectoral injury (Twitter link via Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune), and as we saw with Brian Orakpo, a torn pectoral will likely force a player to miss the remainder of the season. Campbell’s Tribune colleague, Brad Biggs, tweets that defensive lineman Lamarr Houston had to be carted off the field after suffering an injury while celebrating a sack of Tom Brady.
Rams receiver Brian Quick suffered an arm injury in today’s game against the Chiefs, and had to be carted off the field, per Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Dispatch (Twitter link).

Earlier updates:

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets that Ravens CB Jimmy Smith has been carted off the field with a left leg injury.
Lions DT Nick Fairley suffered a right knee injury and has already been declared out for the rest of today’s game in London, tweets Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.
Texans rookie Jadeveon Clowney is expected to suit up for the first time since Week 1, tweets NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. Clowney is expected to contribute primarily in obvious passing situations.
Rapoport adds (via Twitter) that Bengals WR A.J. Green, who was listed as doubtful for today’s divisional tilt against Baltimore, will not play. He hopes to return next week, but how he feels on Wednesday will be a major part of that decision.
NFL.com’s Kevin Patra confirms that Lions star wideout Calvin Johnson will not play in today’s game against the Falcons in London.

Washington Signs Akeem Davis

October 26th, 2014 at 3:09pm CST by Dallas Robinson

In advance of tonight’s game against the Cowboys, Washington has made a change to its secondary by swapping one safety for another. The club promoted Akeem Davis from its practice squad while releasing Jamarca Sanford, the team announced (Twitter link via Mike Jones of the Washington Post).

Davis, 24, went undrafted last year after playing his college ball at Memphis. He did not play in the NFL in 2013, instead working as a graduate assistant as his alma mater. He eventually joined the Redskins in April, and has been active for four games this season. Davis was waived on October 7, but joined Washington’s practice squad just two days later. He will add depth to a safety group that features veterans Brandon Meriweather and Ryan Clark, neither of whom has been effective.

Sanford, 29, spent the first five seasons of his career with the Vikings after being chosen in the seventh round of the 2009 draft. The Mississippi product started 44 games during his tim in Minnesota, and averaged 34 tackles per season during that span. After signing with Washington in late September, Sanford has played in three games, solely on special teams. He should be able to latch on somewhere else as a back-of-the-roster type player.