HEADLINES

Month: August 2015

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/29/15

August 29th, 2015 at 9:34pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are today’s minor NFL transactions as cuts aiming to trim rosters from 90 to 75 players have begun to commence.

  • The Chiefs have released three players, Terez A. Paylor of The Kansas City Star reports: guard Marcus Reed, tight end Adam Schiltz and cornerback Kenneth Penny (Twitter links).
  • The Raiders waived 2014 seventh-round pick Jonathan Dowling, reports Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com. The ex-Western Kentucky safety lined up with the team’s second-stringers and was expected to play a bigger role this season after serving as mostly a special-teamer as a rookie. But Oakland’s signing of Taylor Mays seems to have made Dowling expendable.
  • The Jaguars cut Cody Booth, who served as a tackle and guard as a rookie last season, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). The 25-year-old Booth also played tight end at Temple. He did not see any game action for the Jags last year.
  • Eighty-seven players remain on the Cardinals‘ roster after they released safety Ross Weaver, Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic reports (on Twitter). Weaver, a 28-year-old former undrafted free agent, previously played on the Giants and Lions before signing with the Cardinals prior to the 2014 season.

Extra Points: Cobb, Pouncey, Okung

August 29th, 2015 at 9:27pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

A week after losing Pro Bowl receiver Jordy Nelson to a season-ending ACL injury, the Packers are hoping fellow Pro Bowl wideout Randall Cobb doesn’t join him on the shelf. Cobb suffered a right shoulder injury during the Packers’ game Saturday against Philadelphia. The severity of the ailment is currently unknown, but one injury that has been ruled out is a broken collarbone, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweeted. A serious injury to Cobb would be a devastating blow to the Packers, given that their receiving corps already lost Nelson. He and Cobb combined for a whopping 189 catches (25 of which were touchdowns) and nearly 3,000 yards last year.

More from around the NFL:

  • Dolphins center Mike Pouncey hurt his left knee during Saturday’s game against Atlanta and will have to undergo an MRI on Sunday. Pouncey, who is wearing a brace, vows not to miss any regular-season time, Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports (Twitter link). Head coach Joe Philbin also expressed optimism regarding Pouncey’s injury. “We think he’ll be OK,” he said, per Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (via Twitter).
  • Seahawks left tackle Russell Okung will probably use the five-year, $66MM extension Washington signed Trent Williams to earlier today as a benchmark for his next deal, according to CBS Sports’ Joel Corry (via Twitter). Okung, who’s in a contract year, was the sixth overall selection in the 2010 draft, going two picks after Williams. Okung has since made 59 starts and one Pro Bowl, while Williams has made 70 and three, respectively.
  • Don’t count on a reunion between the Giants and free agent safety Stevie Brown, writes Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News. The Giants are scheduled to work out Brown, but he has interest from “a number of teams,” according to his agent. Brown spent 2012-14 with the Giants before a brief stint in Houston this year.
  • The Colts scratched running back Vick Ballard from Saturday’s game in St. Louis. That doesn’t bode well for his chances of making the roster, according to Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star. Ballard has battled serious injuries over the past couple years and has played in just one game since 2012 as a result.
  • Lions running back Joique Bell, who underwent knee surgery in January, is unsure if he’ll play Week 1. “I’m not going to say I’m ready to go out there and take every play and run every down, right now, but you never know how I’ll feel in two weeks,” Bell said, according to Justin Rogers of MLive.com. The fourth-year man is coming off his most productive season (1,182 total yards, eight touchdowns).
  • Patriots fullback James Develin suffered a broken tibia in Friday’s loss to Carolina, and ESPN’s Mike Reiss tweeted that the hope is recovery from surgery will take six to eight weeks. However, David Chao – the former team doctor for the Chargers – responded that it could actually take Develin six to eight months to return (Twitter link).

Offseason In Review: Seattle Seahawks

August 29th, 2015 at 7:39pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

After falling a yard short of winning their second straight Super Bowl title, the Seahawks used the offseason to lock up three franchise cornerstones to long-term deals and add a feared playmaker to supplement their passing game.

Notable signings:

The Seahawks’ only significant move in free agency was the three-year, $18MM signing of cornerback Cary Williams, who is now on his fourth team in eight seasons. The 30-year-old was most recently a member of the Eagles, with whom he spent the past two seasons and collected five interceptions. Williams graded out slightly above average relative to his competition last year, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), which ranked him the NFL’s 35th-best corner out of the 74 who played at least 50 percent of defensive snaps. The durable Williams has appeared in 64 straight regular-season games and his presence in Seattle should help make up for the loss of Byron Maxwell – who, ironically enough, took Williams’ spot in Philly. However, there’s no guarantee Williams will join No. 1 man Richard Sherman as one of the Seahawks’ starting corners. That job could go to Tharold Simon, Stephen Cohen of SeattlePI.com wrote Thursday.
Regardless of whether Williams starts for the Seahawks, they’re happy to have the 6-foot-1, 190-pounder aboard their defense.
“It starts with his length and his height, his aggressiveness and just the style of play that we have here, playing a lot of press,” general manager John Schneider said in March, according to 710 ESPN Seattle.

Notable losses:

The Seahawks lost one major defensive contributor via free agency, the aforementioned Maxwell – whom they couldn’t afford to retain. Maxwell broke out as a member of the Seahawks’ dominant defense the previous two years and parlayed that success into a $63MM contract with the Eagles. With Sherman still in the fold and a pair of capable corners in Williams and Simon competing for time opposite him, the Seahawks are properly equipped to handle the loss of Maxwell and defend their reign as the league’s top-ranked pass defense. Of course, much of that will also depend on the statuses of star safeties Kam Chancellor (holdout) and Earl Thomas, who’s on the mend after undergoing offseason surgery on a torn labrum.

Offensively, Seattle’s most noteworthy departure in free agency was left guard James Carpenter, who signed with the Jets. A first-round pick in 2011, Carpenter spent four years in Seattle and made 39 starts – including a personal-best 13 last season. PFF (subscription required) wasn’t enamored with Carpenter’s play the previous two seasons, rating him 47th out of 78 qualifying guards last year and 65th out of 81 in 2013. Nevertheless, the Seahawks are having trouble finding an able replacement for Carpenter. They recently courted two-time Pro Bowler Evan Mathis, but he ended up signing with Denver. That means Carpenter’s successor is very likely to come from within. One candidate is Justin Britt, a 2014 second-round pick who started all 16 games at right tackle as a rookie. Britt shifted to left guard earlier this month and lined up there in the Seahawks’ preseason contest against the Chiefs a week ago. Head coach Pete Carroll said Britt “looked very comfortable at left guard,” Gregg Bell of The News Tribune tweeted. Britt is the fifth different left guard the Seahawks have lined up with their No. 1 offensive unit this summer, Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times wrote last week, which points to the lack stability that Carpenter’s exit has led to.

Trades:

  • Acquired TE Jimmy Graham and a 2015 fourth-round pick from the Saints in exchange for C Max Unger and a 2015 first-round pick.
  • Acquired a 2015 third-round pick (No. 69; WR Tyler Lockett) from Washington in exchange for a 2015 third-round pick (No. 95; RB Matt Jones), a 2015 fourth-round pick (No. 112; G Arie Kouandjio), a 2015 fifth-round pick (No. 167), and a 2015 sixth-round pick (No. 181; S Kyshoen Jarrett).

The Seahawks made a bold, game-changing trade in March when they acquired three-time Pro Bowl tight end Jimmy Graham from the Saints for center Max Unger and a first-round pick. While Unger was an integral part of their offensive line, he struggled to stay healthy, missing 13 games the previous two seasons, and certainly isn’t the impact player Graham is.

One thing the Seahawks’ offense sorely needed in recent years was an elite weapon in their passing game, and Graham fits the bill. The 6-foot-7, 260-pounder has put up staggering totals over the last four years – since 2011, the 28-year-old has averaged 89 receptions, 1,099 yards and 12 touchdowns per season. Those numbers dwarf the ones Doug Baldwin, Seattle’s previous leading pass catcher, accumulated in 2014: 66 catches, 825 yards, three scores. Regardless of Graham’s production this year, opposing defenses are going to have to focus on him. That will open things up for the rest of Seattle’s offense, and could make running back Marshawn Lynch an even bigger problem for defenses to contain.

Of course, the negative to adding Graham was losing Unger. As with Carpenter, the Seahawks are still looking for a replacement for Unger. They reportedly visited with free agent Samson Satele earlier this week and have been holding an in-house competition between Drew Nowak and Lemuel Jeanpierre, Condotta wrote Wednesday.

Satele, an eight-year veteran, has started a combined 114 games for three different teams. He made 16 starts last season for the Dolphins and ranked 22nd out of 29 centers who played in at least 50 percent of snaps, per PFF (subscription required). However, he has been a decent run blocker through most of his career and might help ease the pain of losing Unger in that respect – to an extent, anyway. If the Seahawks don’t sign Satele, it would mean a starting job for Nowak or Jeanpierre. That would be a significant step for either, as Nowak has zero NFL starts under his belt and Jeanpierre has a mere 11 during his four-year career in Seattle.

Extensions and restructures:

Five-time Pro Bowl running back Marshawn Lynch considered retirement early in the offseason, but the Seahawks summarily put that thought to bed by giving him a new contract. A future without Lynch surely isn’t one Seattle wants to ponder, as the 29-year-old has been a revelation during his five seasons with the team. Lynch has totaled 56 touchdowns (48 rushing, eight receiving) and accrued at least 280 carries and 1,200 yards in four of those seasons, also eclipsing the 100-yard mark on the ground in six playoff games. Thanks largely to Lynch, the Seahawks have finished top five in the league in rushing – including first overall last year – three straight times.

One of the other reasons Seattle has had such a tremendous rushing attack lately has been the work of dual-threat quarterback Russell Wilson, to whom the team also gave a new contract. The 26-year-old got a much richer deal than Lynch, inking a four-year, $87.6MM agreement with a $31MM signing bonus and $60MM in guarantees. Wilson’s new contract strongly resembles Ben Roethlisberger‘s pact with the Steelers – a four-year, $87.4MM deal with a $31MM signing bonus – and it’s deserved company for Wilson. Since the Seahawks took Wilson in the third round of the 2012 draft, the ex-NC State and Wisconsin standout has dazzled both through the air and on the ground, helping lead the team to its first-ever championship and nearly another one. Wilson has thrown 72 touchdowns against just 26 interceptions and put up a 98.6 passer rating in 48 regular-season starts, averaging a lofty 7.95 yards per attempt along the way. He’s been just as difficult to stop as a rusher, confounding defenses for 1,800-plus yards and 11 more scores. Last season, Wilson totaled career bests in rushing yards (849) and touchdowns (six), and led the league in yards-per-carry average (7.2). Wilson’s personal success has helped lead to resounding team success for the Seahawks, who have a ridiculous .750 winning percentage with him under center (36-12 in the regular season, 6-2 in the playoffs).

Linebacker Bobby Wagner followed in the footsteps of Lynch and Wilson and became the third Seahawks Pro Bowler to sign an extension this year. Wagner is now the highest-paid inside linebacker in the league after inking a four-year, $43MM extension ($22MM in guarantees). Despite missing five games in 2014 with turf toe, Wagner racked up a prolific 135 regular-season tackles and was named an All-Pro for the first time. PFF (subscription required) ranked the 25-year-old fifth out of 60 qualified ILBs in 2014, grading him as an above-average contributor in pass coverage, as a pass rusher, and especially against the run.

Draft picks:

  • 2-63: Frank Clark, DE (Michigan): Signed
  • 3-69: Tyler Lockett, WR (Kansas State): Signed
  • 4-130: Terry Poole, T (San Diego State): Signed
  • 4-134: Mark Glowinski, G (West Virginia): Signed
  • 5-170: Tye Smith, CB (Towson): Signed
  • 6-209: Obum Gwacham, DE (Oregon State): Signed
  • 6-214: Kristjan Sokoli, OL/DL (Buffalo): Signed
  • 7-248: Ryan Murphy, S (Oregon State): Signed

The Seahawks’ defense finished last season toward the top of the league in most major statistical categories, but the unit ended up just 21st in sacks. Second-round pick Frank Clark could help in that department, and he’s been impressive this summer. In his preseason debut earlier this month, a loss to the Broncos, Clark led the Seahawks with nine tackles and showed off his ability to play on both the right and left sides.

“We’re trying to gain some information about where he’s most effective,” Carroll said afterward, according to Brady Henderson of ESPN 710 Seattle. “He had a good edge rush and (chased) the football, too. He forced a fumble tonight. He looked really good, so we’ll just figure it out and see where he’s best suited. It will take us all the way through the preseason to do that.”

While Clark has acquitted himself well on the field, the same wasn’t true off the field during his college football career. A domestic violence arrest last November got him kicked off the team at Michigan, but the Seahawks were apparently satisfied enough with Clark’s character to draft him.

“Our organization has an in-depth understanding of Frank Clark’s situation and background—we have done a ton of research on this young man,” Schneider said after the draft, per Condotta. “There’s hasn’t been one player in this draft that we have spent more time researching and scrutinizing more than Frank. That is why we have provided Frank with this opportunity, and we look forward to him succeeding in our culture here in Seattle.”

Joining Clark as a potential high-impact player from the Seahawks’ 2015 draft class is third-round receiver and return man Tyler Lockett, a former Kansas State star. Lockett has been rather effective in two preseason games with the Seahawks: He totaled 146 yards on four kick returns, including a 103-yard touchdown, and 18 on a punt return against the Broncos. He followed that with a solid performance as a receiver in the Seahawks’ loss to the Chiefs last week, leading the team with 42 yards on three catches. Lockett has the potential to end up as the type of electrifying, multi-threat presence Percy Harvin was supposed to be for the Seahawks. That would make him one of the steals of this year’s draft.

Other:

In 2013, the Seahawks lost defensive coordinator Gus Bradley to the Jaguars, who hired him as their head coach. History repeated itself this past offseason, as Bradley’s successor in Seattle, Dan Quinn, left to be the Falcons’ head man. Quinn’s absence probably won’t be felt to any large extent in Seattle, which has the talent to continue as one of the league’s premier defenses. It might help that a familiar face, Kris Richard, is taking over for Quinn. Richard has been a member of Seattle’s defensive staff since 2012, previously coaching their secondary.

This season could be the last in Seattle for linebacker Bruce Irvin, who has been a Seahawk since they used a first-rounder on him in 2012. Despite his on-field prowess (16.5 sacks, six forced turnovers), he’s likely to be a victim of the Seahawks’ success. With a salary cap in place and multiple breakout players on the Seahawks having already signed big-money extensions, not every star can be retained long term. Thus, the team decided in April not to pick up Irvin’s fifth-year option for 2016, which means he could become a free agent next winter.

Top 10 cap hits for 2015:

  1. Richard Sherman, CB: $12,200,000
  2. Marshawn Lynch, RB: $8,500,000
  3. Cliff Avril, DE: $8,000,000
  4. Michael Bennett, DE: $8,000,000
  5. Jimmy Graham, TE: $8,000,000
  6. Earl Thomas, S: $7,400,000
  7. Russell Okung, LT: $7,280,000
  8. Percy Harvin, WR: $7,200,000 (dead money)
  9. Brandon Mebane, DT: $5,700,000
  10. Kam Chancellor, S: $5,650,000

The Seahawks aren’t perfect (their offensive line is a testament to that), but they’re about as close as any team in the league. They’re a good bet to win the NFC West for a third straight year, clinch a fourth consecutive playoff berth, and vie for their third Super Bowl trip in a row.

Contract information from Over the Cap and Spotrac was used in the creation of this post.

Steelers’ Hartley Could Miss Opener

August 29th, 2015 at 7:34pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Earlier this month, the Steelers lost kicker Shaun Suisham to a season-ending knee injury and subsequently signed Garrett Hartley as his replacement. Hartley might not be the solution, however, as he left Saturday’s loss to Buffalo with a hamstring injury. That could cost him at least the opener, according to head coach Mike Tomlin.

“It didn’t look good. We have to MRI him but it didn’t look positive in terms of the opener,” Tomlin said, per Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh-Tribune Review (Twitter link).

With Hartley ailing, the Steelers could once again turn to the free agent market to find a kicker. At the time of Suisham’s injury, the Steelers worked out Alex Henery, formerly of the Eagles and Lions, and journeyman free agent Jay Feely before settling on Hartley to take Suisham’s spot. It stands to reason that Henery or Feely could again be candidates to end up in Pittsburgh.

Bills Notes: QBs, Injuries

August 29th, 2015 at 7:07pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Bills head coach Rex Ryan is closing in on a decision regarding the team’s three-way competition for the starting quarterback job. Ryan will make his choice for the No. 1 spot Sunday, but he won’t announce it yet, according to Joe Buscaglia of WKBW (Twitter link).

Tyrod Taylor, E.J. Manuel and Matt Cassel have been vying for the role throughout the spring and summer, and all three have fared well during the preseason. That was especially true Saturday, when the trio shredded Pittsburgh in a 43-19 victory. The three combined to complete 25 of 28 passes for 321 yards and two touchdowns. Taylor added a 20-yard TD run to his 12-of-13, 122-yard performance through the air. Saturday’s effort will likely be the last of the preseason for Taylor, Manuel and Cassel, as Ryan expects fourth-stringer Matt Simms to play all of Buffalo’s exhibition finale against Detroit, Rodak tweeted.

Here’s more on the Bills:

  • Third-year receiver Marquise Goodwin may have broken a few ribs Saturday, according to Ryan (via Twitter).
  • Ryan seems optimistic about No. 1 cornerback Stephon Gilmore, who departed Saturday with a shoulder injury. “Gilmore is gonna be fine, I hope. We need him,” Ryan said, per Buscgalia (Twitter link).
  • Safety Aaron Williams left the game with a leg injury before eventually returning. He was limping in the locker room afterward and “clearly not 100 percent,” Rodak reports (Twitter link).
  • Ryan said rookie linebacker Tony Steward hurt his MCL and will be out a few weeks, per Rodak (Twitter link).

AFC Notes: Green, Albert, Mathis

August 29th, 2015 at 6:41pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

With Julio Jones being the latest star receiver to sign a contract extension this summer, joining Dez Bryant, Demaryius Thomas and T.Y. Hilton, all eyes turn to the Bengals’ A.J. Green. The 27-year-old has been one of the best playmakers in the league since the Bengals took him in the first round of the 2011 draft and is a season away from potentially becoming a free agent.

The deals awarded to Jones, Bryant, Thomas and Hilton (all five-year accords worth $70-plus million with guarantees ranging from $39MM to $47MM) have set the market for Green, according to CBS Sports’ Joel Corry – who tweets that guaranteed money will be a sticking point for the two sides. Corry added in another tweet that the Bengals don’t guarantee base salary in veteran deals, so they might have to compromise by giving Green the biggest signing bonus in franchise history.

Jones’ extension will kick in next season, which means he’ll play 2015 under the same one-year, $10.18MM option as Green. Considering that, Jones’ contract is more relevant to Green than the ones given to Bryant, Thomas and Hilton, per Corry (Twitter link). Green’s numbers compare favorably to those of Jones, who has added 249 catches and 26 touchdowns in 49 regular-season games. Green has been more durable, appearing in 60 regular-season games, and more productive (329 receptions and 35 scores). He also has outpaced Jones in 1,000-yard seasons (four to two) and Pro Bowl nods (again, four to two). Add all of that up and the likelihood is that the Bengals will have to give Green a richer deal than Jones’ in order to keep him.

Here’s more from the AFC:

  • Dolphins left tackle Branden Albert tore his ACL last season and has been working toward a return since. While it’s unlikely Albert will be ready for Week 1, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald doesn’t rule it out (Twitter link). On the other hand, ESPN’s Adam Caplan tweets that Albert probably won’t return until Week 3.
  • Broncos guard Evan Mathis – whom the team signed earlier this week – is on track for the opener, Troy Renck of The Denver Post reports (Twitter link).
  • Denver’s Week 1 opponent, the Ravens, will definitely be without Matt Elam, Brent Urban and Lorenzo Taliaferro, per Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
  • In the unlikely event Seattle trades linebacker Bruce Irvin before the season, Ryan O’Halloran doesn’t expect the Jaguars to acquire the three-year veteran. Jags general manager David Caldwell isn’t one to trade picks in the first three rounds, tweeted O’Halloran – who added that Irvin’s contract status (one year before free agency) makes the chances of an acquisition even more remote for Jacksonville.

Falcons, Julio Jones Agree To Extension

August 29th, 2015 at 5:22pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Falcons and wide receiver Julio Jones have agreed to a five-year contract extension, Peter King of The MMQB tweets. The deal is worth $71.25MM and includes $47MM in guarantees, according to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen (Twitter link).

Our own Luke Adams speculated in July that Jones could become the league’s second-highest-paid wideout. That has come to NFL: NFC Divisional Round-Seattle Seahawks at Atlanta Falcons fruition, as Jones’ $14.25MM annual salary is second to the Lions’ Calvin Johnson, per Tom Pelissero of USA Today (via Twitter).

Jones is the latest in a string of standout receivers to sign an extension prior to the upcoming season, joining the Cowboys’ Dez Bryant (five years, $70MM, $45MM guaranteed), the Broncos’ Demaryius Thomas (five years, $70MM, $43.5MM guaranteed), and the Colts’ T.Y. Hilton (five years, $65MM, $39MM guaranteed). This news comes despite a report earlier this week (Twitter link) that contract talks between the Falcons and Jones had “stalled significantly.” Nevertheless, the two sides set a deadline for today, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted, and were able to hammer out a deal to keep Jones from possibly testing free agency next offseason.

“We could not be more thrilled to make Julio a Falcon for life,” team owner Arthur Blank said, per ESPN’s Vaughn McClure (Twitter link).

King reported (via Twitter) that, as recently as a few weeks ago, “there was unanimity that all in” the Falcons organization wanted Jones to spend his entire prime in Atlanta, and for good reason. The Falcons took Jones in the first round of the 2011 draft and the ex-Alabama star has since established himself as one of the best wideouts in the league, catching 278 passes and 26 touchdowns in 49 games. The 26-year-old is coming off his best season, one in which he totaled personal bests in receptions (104) and yards (1,593). He also hauled in six touchdowns, his second-highest amount in a season, averaged 15.3 yards per catch, and made his second Pro Bowl.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Jaguars Cut 10 Players

August 29th, 2015 at 4:53pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Jaguars are wasting no time in paring their roster to 75 players ahead of Tuesday’s first cutdown day, cutting 10.

Among them were wideout Tandon Doss and quarterback Jeff Tuel.

Once regarded as the favorite to return punts for the Jags this season, Doss lost out on the job to rookie Rashad Greene. Tuel, who played under current Jags assistant Doug Marrone in Buffalo, started a game for the Bills in 2013 but hasn’t played in a game since. Tuel’s waiving leaves Stephen Morris as the team’s No. 3 quarterback, should the team keep three and a practice squad candidate if not.

Safety Desmond Cooper, tight end Connor Hamlett, punter/kicker Kasey Redfern, defensive end Camaron Beard, defensive tackle Eric Crume, offensive lineman Jack Rummels, along with linebackers Khairi Fortt and Mister Alexander, joined the higher-profile performers on the chopping block.

Teams have until 3 p.m. CT on Tuesday to mince their rosters to 75.

 

 

AFC Notes: Raiders, Pryor, Jets, Texans, Jags

August 29th, 2015 at 4:03pm CST by Ben Levine

The Raiders brought in running backs Trent Richardson and Roy Helu Jr. to backup Latavius Murray, but Josh Dubow of the Associated Press says it’s been undrafted free agent Michael Dyer who’s been making the biggest case to be the No. 2 back. The Auburn/Louisville product gained 45 yards on 12 carries in last week’s preseason game.

“I feel like I got my confidence up because I was able to get into a rhythm and up to game speed,” Dyer said. “Going from the first game to second game you try to build confidence and get the offense down. By the third game you should be able to have control of the game and play hard and fast.”

Meanwhile, despite the fact that he’s a former first-round pick, Richardson is no guarantee to make the team.

“He’s got to earn it,” coach Jack Del Rio said. “He’s got to be good enough as a backup. We’ve got to see some of the explosiveness that he had when he was a young man playing for the Crimson Tide there. He’s got to have a role on special teams and he’s got to be able to help us win on Sundays. That’s the challenge for him right now.”

Let’s check out some more notes from the AFC…

  • Terrelle Pryor‘s quest to switch from quarterback to wideout hasn’t necessarily gone as planned, as the former Ohio State standout has remained sidelined with a sore hamstring. However, Browns coach Mike Pettine told Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com that the injury doesn’t doom Pryor’s chance to make the team. “We know he’s a project. We understand that,” Pettine said. “We’re not expecting him to go out there and light it up and catch 10 balls for 150 yards and two touchdowns. Just continue to get better.”
  • Todd Bowles may have some tough decisions to make as he looks to trim his roster, but the Jets coach is confident in what he has. “I have a pretty good idea of what we have with the exception of about three or four guys,” Bowles told Brian Costello of the New York Post. “I have a good idea about everybody else. I understand what we can be, and I know what kind of work we have ahead of us, but I have a good idea of what we have.”
  • Bill O’Brien needs to cut the Texans roster from 90 players to 53 players in the next ten days, and the head coach is lamenting the inevitably tough decisions. “It’s a very difficult thing,” he told Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. “As a head coach, it’s one of the hardest parts of your job because you’ve got guys here that have really, really worked extremely hard…You want a competitive roster. You want to have tough decisions, but it’s still not an easy thing to do with guys you really care about, you really enjoy being around.”
  • Offensive lineman Derek Newton‘s five-year, $26M contract signed with the Texans this past offseason may prove to be a bargain, writes Wilson. “Well, we got him back here for a reason,” said offensive coordinator George Godsey. “He’s been playing some tackle for us. We’ve put him in there at guard with some of the things that we’ve had situationally. We put him over at left tackle and haven’t heard one gripe from him.”
  • The Jaguars may not have either Andre Branch or Sen’Derrick Marks for their preseason opener, report Mike DiRocco of ESPN.com and Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union, respectively. Branch suffered a sprained MCL and will be out a “significant” amount of time, per Gus Bradley. The pass-rusher is entering his contract year and already saw a groin injury nullify much of his third campaign. The Jags’ sack leader with 8.5 last year, Marks is still recovering from the torn ACL he sustained in Week 17 of last season. Bradley described his top defensive tackle’s quest to suit up for Week 1 as an uphill battle.

Sam Robinson contributed to this report

NFC Notes: Griffin, Brown, Panthers

August 29th, 2015 at 3:49pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although it’s at least distracted the NFL lexicon from the drama surrounding its quarterback situation in signing Trent Williams to a record extension, Washington‘s issues with the player Williams primarily protects remain.

According to the NFL Network’s Jeff Darlington (on Twitter), Robert Griffin III does not believe he sustained a concussion last week.

This comes after NFL independent neurologist, Robert N. Kurtzke, reversed an initial ruling deeming Griffin unfit to play and leading to Jay Gruden ruling him out of tonight’s preseason game. Thursday, Washington announced Griffin was cleared to resume work. Now, the fourth-year quarterback’s timeline has been delayed by “one to two” weeks until further re-evaluation occurs.

Darlington also notes (Twitter link) that sources dispute Washington’s depiction of when Kurtzke examined Griffin before tweeting the former Heisman Trophy winner’s camp does not believe the team is using the concussion as an excuse to bench him.

Despite the team picking up Griffin’s fifth-year option, this marriage is on the verge of careening into chaos before the signal-caller begins Year 4.

Here is some other news from the NFC.

  • Washington doesn’t have many options regarding Griffin after picking up his 2016 option, writes Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap. The NFL economics expert offers that if Griffin was serious about leaving Washington he’d negotiate an Aldon Smith-type contract loaded with incentives instead of a flat $16.15MM due next year. But even in this seemingly toxic environment, would leaving $16MM+ on the table with the odds he’ll ever earn that in a season again dwindling be a prudent move? Should Griffin be open to negotiating here, Fitzgerald sees the Bills or Jets discussing a trade for the embattled quarterback, who will make $3.7MM this season.
  • Contrary to what we heard earlier regarding Stevie Brown‘s potential reunion with the Giants, Jordan Raanan of NJ.com tweets the recently released safety won’t work out for any team, as he has multiple offers in hand. Conflicting reports aside, the Giants figure to be a likely landing spot for the sixth-year defensive back.
  • Entering last season as the Packers’ No. 3 receiver, Jarrett Boykin may be on the verge of being cut in Carolina, writes Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer. Panthers coaches seem to prefer Brenton Bersin, an undrafted free agent in 2012 who made 13 receptions for 151 yards last season in Carolina, over Boykin. The Panthers signed Boykin to a one-year deal in May.
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