5 Key Stories: 7/30/17 – 8/6/17

Dolphins lure Jay Cutler away from FOX: A lot happened in Miami over the past few days. Ryan Tannehill went down with what now looks like a season-defining injury, and although an initial report indicated the 29-year-old starter dodged a bullet by avoiding ligament damage, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald notes Tannehill suffered another partially torn ACL. Three days after the injury, the Dolphins brought Jay Cutler out of retirement. Adam Gase made an aggressive pitch for the FOX analyst-to-be, and Miami raised its offer to entice the 34-year-old quarterback. The Dolphins considered Colin Kaepernick for this post but went with familiarity; Cutler and Gase worked together on the 2015 Bears.

Impact NFC defenders sign third deals: Kam Chancellor angled for a new Seahawks contract as early as the start of the 2015 season, when the safety staged a holdout. He finally signed a third Seattle deal this week. The Vikings have been on an extension bender for defenders, and Linval Joseph‘s re-up followed Everson Griffen and Xavier Rhodes. Chancellor’s future Seattle years will have $12MM salaries associated with them; the impact defender is now among the highest-paid performers at his position. The Vikes, meanwhile, continue to lock down cornerstone members of their stellar 2016 defense.

Gareon Conley cleared of charges: The Raiders rolled the dice by using a first-round pick on a player accused of sexual assault, but the Ohio State cornerback won’t face charges for that alleged April incident — an accusation Conley vehemently denied. As a result, Oakland snagged a value pick and will bring a highly touted young talent into the fold for a team that didn’t have much in the pipeline. Although the Raiders still have veteran starters, Conley joins an ascending Raiders team that now has more options in the secondary than in previous years.

Ravens divided on Kaepernick: Joe Flacco is without a definitive timetable to return to practice, and the Ravens are light on quarterback depth. Steve Bisciotti confirmed the team was considering Colin Kaepernick to join a contingent that also includes Ryan Mallett. The owner said Robert Griffin III was a consideration, but the former No. 2 overall pick was dropped from that group soon after. Kaepernick, though, may have Baltimore’s brass divided. Diana Russini of ESPN.com reported Ozzie Newsome and John Harbaugh are in favor of the polarizing quarterback, but Bisciotti is not as warm to the idea. The Ravens have done extensive temperature measurement on a Kaepernick addition this week, but key Baltimore veterans would be on board.

Camp injuries strike: Several teams lost key players either for the season for extended periods of time. Already operating without their first-round pick for the time being, Chargers saw their second-round pick go down. Forrest Lamp is out for the year with a torn ACL. The 49ers lost starting outside linebacker Malcolm Smith, whom they signed to a five-year deal to come over from the Raiders, to a season-ending torn pectoral. The Ravens, after losing Dennis Pitta, saw another tight end go down in Crockett Gillmore. They subsequently waived him to clear roster space for Austin Howard. The Rams planned to give Dominique Easley an increased workload but lost the defensive lineman for the season. It’s Easley’s third torn ACL. Texans No. 2 wideout Will Fuller will miss months because of a broken collarbone, and Jets No. 1 target Quincy Enunwa is out for an uncertain period of time with a neck injury.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images and Pro Football Rumors on Instagram

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