HEADLINES

Month: September 2017

Saints’ Jon Dorenbos To Have Heart Surgery

September 8th, 2017 at 10:04am CST by Zachary Links

Saints long snapper Jon Dorenbos had an aortic aneurysm, coach Sean Payton told reporters on Friday. Dorenbos will be placed on the non-football injury list as he undergoes open heart surgery. Jon Dorenbos (vertical)

The Saints acquired Dorenbos in a trade with Philadelphia less than two weeks ago. Eagles coach Doug Pederson says the team was unaware of the condition at the time and is only just learning about it today along with everyone else.

Dorenbos spent eleven seasons with the Eagles before he was sent to New Orleans for a 2019 seventh-round choice. He earned Pro Bowl honors in both 2009 and 2014.

We here at PFR wish Dorenbos the best of luck during this difficult time.

Saints Working Out CB Leon Hall

September 8th, 2017 at 9:09am CST by Zachary Links

The Saints are working out cornerback Leon Hall, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The veteran also auditioned for the Niners on Thursday, a follow-up to his late May tryout. Leon Hall (Vertical)

[RELATED: Saints To Re-Sign John Kuhn]

On the whole, it has been an eerily quiet offseason for Hall. Outside of the Saints and 49ers, we have not heard of any other workouts for the 32-year-old.

Hall hooked on with the Giants last year after nine seasons with the Bengals. He appeared in 12 games (two starts) and compiled 2o tackles, one forced fumble, and one interception. He appears to have lost a step or two since his prime years and has started just six games in the last two seasons.

The Saints could use some additional depth at cornerback after losing Delvin Breaux for at least eight weeks. They’re slated to start P.J. Williams and first-round pick Marshon Lattimore when they face the Vikings on Monday night.

NFL Suspends K Josh Brown For Six Games

September 8th, 2017 at 8:55am CST by Zachary Links

Former Giants kicker Josh Brown has been suspended for an additional six games for domestic violence accusations, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports. The timing of the ban makes little sense, particularly since Brown is highly unlikely to ever get another chance to play in the NFL. Josh Brown (vertical)

“We reopened the investigation based on new info,” a league source texted to Schefter on Friday. “[We] concluded there was a violation of our personal conduct policy and imposed six-game suspension which he accepted without appeal.”

By adding six games to Brown’s ban, the league could be looking to establish a stronger precedent heading in the Ezekiel Elliott court case. The Cowboys star is pushing for a temporary restraining order that would allow him to continue to play this season.

“[The] timing has nothing to do with Zeke and made no sense to hold this until Zeke was complete,” the source said via text.

In 2015, Brown’s last complete season, he sank a career-high 93.8% of his field goal attempts. He also contends that he never actually struck his ex-wife. Still, no NFL team will take on the PR firestorm that would come with signing him or even auditioning him at this point.

Chiefs’ Eric Berry Suffers Achilles Injury

September 8th, 2017 at 1:13am CST by Zachary Links

The Chiefs crushed the defending champs on Thursday night, but it wasn’t all roses. Late in the game, star safety Eric Berry was carter off the field with what is feared to be an Achilles tear. The team is still waiting for tests, but head coach Andy Reid is bracing for the worst. Eric Berry (vertical)

“I don’t think it’s positive news,” Reid said.

If it’s a full on Achilles tear, then Berry’s season will end after three-and-a-half quarters of September football. From there, the Chiefs will consider promoting reserves Daniel Sorensen or Eric Murray to the starting lineup, but they may also want to look into some outside help.

Berry played a full 16 game season in 2016 and posted four interceptions, nine passes defensed, and one forced fumble. He graded out as the NFL’s No. 8 safety, per Pro Football Focus, which also handed Berry top marks for pass coverage. In February, he re-upped with KC on a six-year, $78MM deal instead of testing the open market.

Extra Points: Beckham, Stafford, Garrett

September 7th, 2017 at 9:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

Last week, the NFL trade marketplace exploded. Thirty deals occurred since August 1, more than twice the average of the previous five years. Several anonymous execs attempted to explain (via Mike Sando of ESPN.com) theories behind the uptick. Tanking made its way into the conversation, with an executive citing the Jets, Bills and Browns’ recent moves as examples.

“Every owner wants to win,” the exec said, via Sando, “but the real question is: Would you rather go 8-8 or 5-11 plus $30 million? If you are the Jets and you traded Sheldon (Richardson) and got rid of (Eric) Decker, isn’t the owner saying he’d rather go 2-14 and save $40 million than go 6-10? If you are the Bills with Watkins or the Browns with Joe Haden, is it the same thing?”

A separate exec said teams are more willing to part with draft picks due to the current CBA’s practice-time limitations making it more difficult to develop players. The elimination of the 75-man cut date, age of certain GMs and GMs authorizing better, easier to trade contracts came up in Sando’s piece.

As the second half of opening night gets underway, here’s the latest from around the league as 28 other teams prepare for their openers.

  • Odell Beckham Jr. faces an uphill battle to play Sunday night, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (video link) the Giants superstar wideout suiting up against the Cowboys will leave him at far less than 100 percent. Rapoport added “a lot of things have to align perfectly” for the fourth-year player to play in Week 1. Beckham suffered a high ankle sprain in Cleveland just more than two weeks ago. Beckham caught a career-high 100 passes last season and played in all 16 New York games for the first time.
  • Matthew Stafford‘s NFL-record contract does not contain offset language, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press notes. While Stafford’s five-year Lions extension profiles as a three- or four-year pact due to the structure of the guarantees, the quarterback who is not exactly regarded as a top-tier passer stands to play on this deal into his mid-30s. The Lions would not see another team — in the event Stafford is cut — offset any of the guaranteed money owed to Stafford in the event the sides part ways over the course of this deal. Stafford’s deal will come with cap hits of $16.5MM this season, $26.5MM (2018), $29.5MM (’19), $31.5MM (’20), $30MM (’21) and $23MM (’22).
  • Over the past year, Browns No. 1 pick Myles Garrett has dealt with two ankle injuries and a foot problem. Hue Jackson, though, will not label his top defensive end as injury-prone just yet. “No concern (of Garrett’s injury issues) because I know exactly how it happened,” said Jackson, via Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. “If you get somebody thrown into your leg, it could happen to any one of our guys. If you guys would have seen it, it could happen to anybody on our football team. It is just unfortunate it happened to a guy who we wish was out there all of the time. That goes with it.” Cabot added Garrett is expected to be out multiple weeks as a result of the high ankle sprain — Garrett’s second in a year — sustained at practice Wednesday.

Broncos Outbid Three Teams To Sign Jonathan Williams

September 7th, 2017 at 8:10pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Broncos will pay Jonathan Williams a massive practice squad salary, but they had to outbid at least three teams for the right to add the running back to that unit.

Williams joined the Broncos on a $510K salary — $30K weekly, well north of the practice squad minimum — but Mike Klis of 9News reports (on Twitter) the Chiefs, Jets and Vikings also pursued Williams for their respective practice squads.

The Bills cut Williams after the preseason and will supplement LeSean McCoy with a new cadre of backs after also allowing Mike Gillislee to depart as an RFA. No team claimed Williams, a 2016 fifth-round pick, on waivers.

The Chiefs made for an understandable fit after the loss of Spencer Ware, an event that caused the team to explore trades, Tom Pelissero of USA Today tweets. Instead Kansas City entered its season opener with just two running backs — Kareem Hunt and Charcandrick West — after cutting C.J. Spiller. Kansas City added rookie back Devine Redding to its taxi squad.

Minnesota employs Jerick McKinnon as its third-stringer and re-signed Bronson Hill to its practice squad. Behind Matt Forte and Bilal Powell, the Jets have sixth-round rookie Elijah McGuire. Running back/return man Marcus Murphy now resides on Gang Green’s practice squad.

Williams will sit as the Broncos’ fifth running back — behind C.J. Anderson, Jamaal Charles, Devontae Booker and rookie De’Angelo Henderson — but do so on a team that’s seen each of its top three backs suffer major injuries within the past year. Booker is currently recovering from a wrist injury.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/7/17

September 7th, 2017 at 7:31pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are today’s minor moves.

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Houston Texans

New England Patriots

Pro Football Rumors’ 2017 NFL Predictions

September 7th, 2017 at 7:05pm CST by Zachary Links

The 2017 NFL season gets underway tonight, and the writers at Pro Football Rumors have weighed in with projections for the upcoming year. We’ve predicted which teams will earn playoff berths, which clubs will win their respective conferences, the Super Bowl champion, and the winners of the league’s major awards.

Will the Patriots repeat as defending champions? They’re a popular pick, but not everyone on the staff played it safe. There’s also a wide range of predictions when it comes to the Offensive and Defensive Rookie Of The Year awards.

Click on the table below for predictions from Zach Links, Connor Byrne, Ben Levine, Dallas Robinson, and Sam Robinson. And please head to the comments section to chime in with your own prognostications for the 2017 NFL season!

2017PFRPredictions

 

Patriots To Work Out WR Marquess Wilson

September 7th, 2017 at 6:36pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Patriots are much thinner at wide receiver than they were going into the preseason, having placed both Julian Edelman and Malcolm Mitchell on IR, and they will look at another wideout shortly after their Week 1 tilt against the Chiefs concludes.


Marquess Wilson will make a trip to New England and work out for the defending Super Bowl champions on Friday, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets.

The Jets released Wilson last week in slashing their roster to 53. The former Bears auxiliary aerial cog was expected to play a key role for the rebuilding Jets, but Gang Green acquired two other veterans (Jermaine Kearse and Jeremy Kerley) instead of retaining Wilson.

Without Edelman for the season and Mitchell for at least eight weeks, the Pats are now down to four wideouts — Brandin Cooks, Chris Hogan, Danny Amendola and Phillip Dorsett. While Matthew Slater is still on the team, he’s primarily a special-teamer.

A Washington State product whom the Bears took in the seventh round four years ago, the 6-foot-3 Wilson has struggled with injuries. His most productive year came in 2015 — in 11 games — when he averaged 16.6 yards per catch and recorded 464 yards for the Bears.

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