Bengals reshuffle staff after 0-2 start: The Bengals have scored nine points in two games and fired their offensive coordinator as a result. OC Ken Zampese is out in Cincinnati, and the team promoted quarterbacks coach Bill Lazor to its top offensive post. The son of longtime NFL assistant Ernie Zampese, Ken Zampese just began his second season as Bengals OC. But he did not appear to win over his players, who may or may not have assembled something of a mutiny to force the franchise to make a key change. Lazor’s previous OC gig ended when the Dolphins fired him from that post in November 2015. As a result of Cincy’s rampant struggles, longtime starter Andy Dalton may not be free from a demotion. Some Bengals players are also voicing support for a Colin Kaepernick signing.
Raiders re-up Donald Penn, again: Reporting late during the preseason after a lengthy holdout, the longtime left tackle received a belated extension after starting the season. The Raiders and Penn agreed to a two-year, $21MM extension. Despite Penn being 34, he’s remained one of the game’s best left tackles and is now signed through his age-35 season. Penn playing for Oakland in 2018 would mark a five-year Raiders run, and this contract leaves open the possibility of a 2019 stay as well. Penn won’t make top-10 left tackle money like he sought, but his new $10.5MM deal represents a healthy raise from his previous two-year, $14MM extension signed in 2016.
David Johnson out for months: The Cardinals’ hopes at returning to the playoffs encountered a significant barrier early this week, when their All-Pro running back opted for wrist surgery. He of more than 2,100 yards from scrimmage last season, Johnson will be out for months and is now on IR. Arizona signed both D.J. Foster off the Patriots’ practice squad and re-signed Chris Johnson, bringing the latter back for a third season. CJ2K started for the Cards in 2015 but was not nearly as productive as his successor.
More Pro Bowlers go down: Week 2 brought brutal injuries to some of the NFL’s best, with Marshal Yanda and Greg Olsen‘s seasons set to be cut short. While Olsen’s broken foot looks to shelve him “for several weeks,” Yanda broke his ankle and is out for the season. This continues a vicious spate of maladies for the Ravens, who also placed Danny Woodhead on IR this week. Yanda, though, has been a vital Baltimore cog for many seasons. He signed an extension in 2015 and has made six consecutive Pro Bowl teams. Olsen’s booked Pro Bowl spots in each of the past three campaigns.
More PED-related trouble for Brian Cushing: The Texans linebacker will serve a 10-game suspension after testing positive for performance-enhancing substances. This will be the second such ban Cushing’s served in his nine-year career. The Pro Bowl ‘backer served a four-game ban for this offense in 2010. After appealing the 2010 suspension, Cushing will not fight this one and began serving it in Week 2.