2016 October - Pro Football Rumors

Dolphins DT Earl Mitchell On Pace To Return

October 12th, 2016 at 12:24pm CST by Zachary Links

Help could be on the way for the Dolphins’ woeful pass rush. Defensive tackle Earl Mitchell, who was placed on IR earlier this year, says that he is on track to return after his eight-week shelving period ends (Twitter link via Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald).

So far, the D-Line led by high-priced tackle Ndamukong Suh has underperformed. The return of Mitchell could give the Dolphins a boost, though he won’t be eligible to return until Week 9 at the earliest.

Mitchell left the Texans in free agency to sign with the Dolphins prior to the 2014 season. The defensive tackle received a four-year, $19MM deal with $8MM guaranteed. In his first year as a Dolphin, Mitchell was a highly-valued sub as he notched 33 total tackles and 2.0 sacks. Last year, he had 22 total tackles and no sacks in 12 games (all starts).

Earlier today, Miami promoted Leon Orr from the practice squad to aid their DT group.

Dolphins Promote DT Leon Orr

October 12th, 2016 at 12:17pm CST by Zachary Links

The Dolphins have promoted defensive tackle Leon Orr from their practice squad, as Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald tweets.

Orr appeared in three games for the Raiders last season. This year, he spent training camp with Oakland but was let go prior to the 75-man deadline. He was then out of work for a few weeks, but he ultimately hooked on with Miami’s taxi squad on Sept. 20. Now, he’s back on the varsity squad.

The 2015 UDFA out of Florida joins a defensive tackle group headlined by Ndamukong Suh and Jordan Phillips. He’ll play in a support role along with Chris Jones and Julius Warmsley.

The Dolphins are currently dead last in the NFL when it comes to run defense. Miami is hoping that a deeper defensive tackle rotation can help fix that.

No Surgery For Bills WR Sammy Watkins

October 12th, 2016 at 9:17am CST by Zachary Links

Bills wide receiver Sammy Watkins will be out for a while, but he won’t have to go under the knife, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. This week, foot specialist Dr. Robert Anderson informed Watkins that he won’t need surgery and he can instead get by with just rest and rehab. That leaves the door open for Watkins to return to action late in the season.

Late last month, the Bills placed Watkins on injured reserve but the new rules allow teams to bring one player back from IR each season after eight weeks on the shelf. That means that the wide receiver could potentially return as soon for Week 12.

Watkins, 23, has been dealing with his foot issue since May, when he had a screw inserted following what was termed a “minor” fracture. The ailment clearly held him back this season as he recorded just six catches for 63 yards in two games. The foot was also an issue for Watkins in 2015, but he powered through the pain on most weeks.

Steelers Sign Karlos Williams To P-Squad

October 12th, 2016 at 8:56am CST by Zachary Links

The Steelers announced that they have signed Karlos Williams to their practice squad. Williams’ four-game suspension recently wrapped up, meaning that he is free to play.

Williams is known to be an exceptionally talented back, but his work ethic and conditioning has been called into question in the past. This summer, Williams ballooned up to 261 pounds, up from his 2015 playing weight of 229. On top of that, the Bills had to deal with some off-the-field missteps from the youngster and this offseason they decided that it would be best to cut ties with him. It wasn’t long ago that Williams looked like he could be the heir apparent to LeSean McCoy.

Williams auditioned for the Steelers in late August and although he did not leave with a deal on that day, he did eventually score a contract with Pittsburgh. The tailback now takes the place of David Cobb after he was dropped from the p-squad on Tuesday. The shuffling means that the Steelers still have two running backs on the practice squad with Williams and Daryl Richardson. The running back now joins his older brother Vince Williams who has been having a strong season at inside linebacker for Pittsburgh.

In his rookie year, Williams averaged 5.6 yards per carry, picked up 613 scrimmage yards, and scored nine times on just 104 touches.

Jets Sign CB Nick Marshall

October 12th, 2016 at 8:50am CST by Zachary Links

The Jets have signed cornerback Nick Marshall off of the Jaguars practice squad. This morning, Marshall took to Twitter to share the news.

“Proud to announce that I am a New member of the New York Jets!!! #JetUp,” Marshall tweeted.

Marshall, an Auburn product, joined the Jaguars after he went undrafted in 2015. Even though he was a quarterback in college, the Jags pursued him immediately as a cornerback. Jacksonville was the first team to contact Marshall after the draft and he was sold immediately. He did not wait to field calls from other clubs before signing on with Jacksonville.

Last year, Marshall wound up appearing in 13 games for the Jaguars and even made one start. His played primarily on special teams, however. Last year, he totaled ten tackles while also returning five punts and 13 kicks.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Raiders To Sign Cooper Helfet

October 11th, 2016 at 10:20pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Raiders have agreed to sign free agent tight end Cooper Helfet, according to his agent Doug Hendrickson (Twitter link). Helfet has been on the open market since being waived by the Seahawks in August.

A former UDFA out of Duke, Helfet had played with the Seahawks since 2012, but didn’t make an impact until 2014. The 27-year-old appeared in 23 games over the past two seasons (starting four), posting 25 receptions for 315 yards and two touchdowns — both of which came in 2015.

The Raiders recently placed veteran tight end Lee Smith on season-ending injured reserve, and fellow TE Clive Walford didn’t play in Week 5 while battling a knee injury. Farther down the club’s depth chart, Oakland boasts Mychal Rivera and recent signee Ryan O’Malley.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Extra Points: Chargers, Vikings, Lions, Giants

October 11th, 2016 at 9:59pm CST by Zachary Links

The Chargers will wait until after Thursday’s game against the Broncos before considering a head coaching change, a source tells Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). Club ownership is thinking through all its options, and the most likely candidate to take over the team in the event that Mike McCoy is fired is offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt. Whisenhunt, in his second stint as San Diego’s play-caller, boasts seven-plus years of head coaching experience with the Cardinals and Titans.

Here’s more from around the NFL:

Given that the club has $33MM worth of salaries on injured reserve at the moment, Vikings general manager Rick Spielman said he needed a “magic wand” in order to fit new signee Jake Long‘s cap figure, writes Andrew Krammer of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Spielman, who said Minnesota had less than $50K in cap space before adding Long, claimed he didn’t need to restructure any other contracts to squeeze in the veteran offensive lineman. It’s unclear exactly how the Vikes made financial room for Long (one possibility, from my vantage point, could be tweaking another player’s incentives to “not likely to be earned”), and Krammer reports that Spielman was “vague” about the subject.
Lions defensive lineman Kerry Hyder has made an agent change. The 25-year-old will now be represented by Select Sports Group (Twitter link). Hyder, who was previously repped by Rich Rosa and Tony Agone, appears to be in the midst a breakout season with five sacks through five games.
The NFL is now looking into Giants tackle Ereck Flowers after he pushed a reporter after Sunday night’s game, according to a league official who spoke with Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). After a poor showing against the Packers, Flowers shoved an ESPN scribe, but has since apologized for the incident.
With Dallas Thomas cut today, only three members of the Dolphins‘ nine-man 2013 draft class left are Dion Jordan, Jelani Jenkins, and Dion Sims, as Alex Marvez of The Sporting News tweets. Clearly, none of that trio has made a significant thus far in their Miami careers.

Carson Palmer Cleared To Play Monday Night

October 11th, 2016 at 9:11pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Carson Palmer has cleared the league’s concussion protocol and will start on Sunday against the Jets, the Cardinals announced today.

Palmer, of course, missed Arizona’s Thursday night contest — a victory over the 49ers — after suffering a concussion during the team’s Week 3 game against the Rams. The Cardinals will face the Jets on Monday night, followed by five of six games against potential NFC contenders. From October 23 to December 4, Arizona’s opponents include the Seahawks, Panthers, Vikings, Falcons and Redskins.

Through four games this year, Palmer has lobbed five interceptions against six touchdowns as the Cardinals have crawled to a 2-3 record on the season. Quarterback Zac Dysert, who was promoted from the practice squad to the 53-man roster to serve as Drew Stanton‘s backup with Palmer sidelined, was cut earlier today.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Raiders’ Mario Edwards To Return Week 9?

October 11th, 2016 at 8:46pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio expects defensive lineman Mario Edwards to return from injured reserve in Week 9, the earliest date that Edwards can get back to game action, according to Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com. Edwards, who suffered a hip injury during the preseason, can start practicing again on Monday after Oakland faces the Chiefs.

[RELATED: Raiders Sign Perry Riley]

Injuries have been a common theme in the brief NFL career of Edwards, whom the Raiders chose in the second round of last year’s draft. The ex-Florida State Seminole suffered a mysterious neck injury that prematurely ended his rookie season, and he didn’t receive medical clearance to return until May.

When healthy, Edwards served as a bright spot for the Raiders last year, racking up 42 tackles, three forced fumbles and two sacks in 14 games. He worked at both end and tackle along the way and rated as one of Pro Football Focus’ best run-stoppers among edge defenders. Edwards figured to complement superstar Khalil Mack and new acquisition Bruce Irvin in an improved Raiders pass rush this year, but the club will have to wait until at least November to see the trio in action at the same time.

Oakland could certainly use the return of Edwards, as the club’s defense has ranked as one of the league’s worst through five games. The Raiders rank 29th in defensive DVOA, including a No. 29 rank against the pass and a No. 21 rank against the run.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Saints Safety Erik Harris Done For Season

October 11th, 2016 at 8:00pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Saints safety and special teams maven Erik Harris underwent ACL surgery today and will be out for the remainder of the year, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links). Devastatingly, Harris suffered the torn ACL — and meniscus — while intercepting Drew Brees in practice on Monday.

Harris, 26, was in the midst of his first NFL season, as he spent 2013-2015 in the CFL playing for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The California University (Pa.) alum signed a futures deal with New Orleans earlier this year, and ended up making the club’s initial roster. Through four games, Harris had only played two defensive snaps, but managed to see action on 82.5% of the Saints’ special teams snaps.

With Harris sidelined, Rapoport tossed out fellow safety Alden Darby, who was with the Saints during training camp, as a possible option to be signed in the coming days. Darby was waived/injured by New Orleans in August, and went on to spend a few days on the Colts’ roster.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.