Carson Palmer To Miss Eight Weeks
Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer will undergo surgery after suffering a broken left arm in today’s game and will be sidelined for eight weeks, head coach Bruce Arians told reporters, including Craig Grialou of 98.7 FM (Twitter link).
Palmer will likely be placed on injured reserve in the coming days, and given the timeline of his injury, he could miss the remainder of the season. The NFL’s IR rules require a minimum absence of eight weeks, meaning Palmer could return for Week 16. But given Arizona’s current standing — the club is now 3-4, and had only a 2% chance of earning a postseason berth before today’s shutout loss to the Rams — the Cardinals may simply opt to shut Palmer down for the year.
Palmer, who will turn 38 years old in December, has flirted with retirement in the past, so it’s entirely possible that today’s injury represents the end of his 14-year NFL career. While Palmer hasn’t replicated his 2015 MVP-level performance this season, he’s been an above-average quarterback, as his 2017 quarterback rating, completion percentage, and yards per attempt average have been in line with his career norms. Palmer is signed through 2018, and is scheduled to earn a non-guaranteed $12.5MM base salary next season.
With Palmer out of the picture, the Cardinals will turn to Drew Stanton as their new starting quarterback. Stanton wasn’t effective on Sunday, as he completed only five of 14 attempts for 62 yards and one interception. However, entering a losing contest midway through is never an easy task, and Stanton will now get two weeks (Arizona is on bye in Week 8) to prepare before taking on the 49ers in November 5 road game.
Stanton will be the Cardinals’ starter, and he’ll be backed up by former first-round pick Blaine Gabbert, who’s been inactive for every game this season after inking a one-year pact in the spring. Arizona doesn’t currently have a quarterback on its practice squad, but the club could conceivably consider an addition in the coming days.
Teddy Bridgewater Eyeing Week 10 Return
The Vikings and quarterback Teddy Bridgewater are targeting a Week 10 return for the fourth-year signal-caller, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link).
Bridgewater, of course, is currently on the physically unable to perform list after suffering a devastating knee injury during 2016 training camp, but he’s impressively battled back and is set to return to the field. The NFL’s PUP rules require a player to be activated within three weeks of initiating practice (which Bridgewater did last Wednesday), so Week 10 is actually the latest Bridgewater can come back.
“I’m very confident. I wouldn’t go out on that practice field if I wasn’t,” Bridgewater said last week. “I definitely believe I’ll play this year. It’s going to take some grit. That’s just the mindset.”
The fact that the Vikings will likely wait until the last possible week before activating Bridgewater speaks to the patience the club is practicing with its recovering quarterback, as Rapoport indicates. But it also sets up a situation where Minnesota could be choosing between Bridgewater, Sam Bradford, and Case Keenum under center. Bradford is expected to play again this season, while Keenum has performed admirably in relief of Bradford in five starts.
Reports on Bridgewater’s status have been positive through a half-week of practice, as Tom Pelissero of NFL.com writes. Physically, Bridgewater appears larger and has added mass in his upper body, which is especially noticeable given that his slight stature was a predraft concern. Additionally, Bridgwater’s arm has “wowed” onlookers during his time on the field, per Pelissero.
Texans Open To Trading LT Duane Brown
The Texans are “willing to consider” trade offers for left tackle Duane Brown, who is currently engaged in a contractual holdout, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
Brown, who has missed the entirety of the 2017 season in search of a new deal, is reportedly an option for the offensive line-needy Seahawks, who have also been in negotiations with free agent tackle Branden Albert in recent weeks. Whether or not other clubs have been or will be in touch with Houston regarding Brown’s availability is unclear, but the Texans are open to recouping some of the 2018 draft pick capital they’ve already traded away (Cleveland owns Houston’s first- and second-round picks in next year’s draft).
Brown, who is due $9.65MM and $9.75MM over the next two respective campaigns, doesn’t seem any close to working out a new pact with the Texans. In late September, Florio reported there was “no end in sight” between Brown and Houston, while Florio indicated last week that nothing had changed between the two sides.
Houston has turned to Chris Clark (five starts) in the wake of Clark’s absence, but he’s offered a sub-par performance thus far, Pro Football Focus ranks Clark as just the No. 52 tackle among 71 qualifiers. While the Texans’ offensive line has played well in the run game, the unit is 31st in adjusted rack rate, according to Football Outsiders.
Bills Tried To Trade Marcell Dareus This Offseason
The Bills (unsurprisingly) tried to trade DT Marcell Dareus this offseason, but they (unsurprisingly) received little interest, as Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes. Dareus is not far removed from being one of the top interior defenders in the game, which is why the Bills signed him to a six-year, $95.1MM extension in 2015. But he has not been the same player since then, and he has been arrested, suspended multiple times, he has failed to condition properly, and he was sent home following Buffalo’s third preseason game this year following a violation of a team rule.
In light of all of that, it is little wonder that Buffalo was unable to find any takers. Making matters worse is the fact that, in addition to his on-field mediocrity and off-field struggles, his contract is exceedingly player-friendly. He is due $7.35MM in guaranteed 2018 salary, and his former promise will not be enough to induce a team to take on his deal. As La Canfora points out, the Bills could absorb the cap penalties they would incur by trading Dareus, but they do not anticipate any team will express interest in acquiring him prior to next week’s trade deadline (though he does remain on the market).
Instead, La Canfora reports that the Bills are likely to cut Dareus in 2018 with a post-June 1 designation, which will allow them to spread out the massive cap hit over two seasons. Even by doing that, however, the club would take on nearly $14MM in dead money while clearing just ~$2.5MM.
Dareus has not played horribly this season, but he is not doing much to change the league’s perception of him. His effort remains spotty, and he has graded out as the 36th-best D-lineman out of 121 qualified players, per Pro Football Focus.
East Rumors: McCloughan, Giants, Rowe
Former Redskins GM Scot McCloughan filed a grievance against Washington for the balance of his contract, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes, and in-house litigation is moving forward. The Redskins refused to pay McCloughan after firing him, alleging that they had cause for doing so (which is believed to be McCloughan’s struggles with alcoholism). McCloughan’s contract requires him to file a grievance with the league rather than file suit in an independent court, which is standard among contracts for front-office employees and coaches, who are not represented by a union.
Now let’s take a look at more notes from the league’s east divisions:
- James Kratch of NJ.com believes Giants O-lineman Justin Pugh will be looking for $11MM annually when he hits free agency after the season, with around $30MM guaranteed. Kratch adds that Big Blue will be interested in re-signing Orleans Darkwa, who is also a free agent at the end of the year, though the club will not break the bank for him.
- Giants head coach Ben McAdoo might have ceded play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan, but as Howie Kussoy of the New York Post rights, McAdoo retains “veto power” if he does not approve of a play that Sullivan calls.
- Eagles CB Ronald Darby practiced this past week for the first time since the ugly ankle injury that he sustained in Week 1, and while his absence as not hurt Philadelphia yet, the team needs him back on the field. As Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes, there is no exact timetable for Darby’s return to game action, but it should only be a matter of time at this point (though he is not expected to play tomorrow night against Washington).
- Patriots CB Eric Rowe is set to miss tonight’s game against Atlanta with a groin injury, meaning he will have played less than 21.6 percent of the team’s defensive snaps. As Mike Reiss of ESPN.com points out, If Rowe plays in more than 50 percent of New England’s defensive snaps this season, the team will send a 2018 third-round draft choice to the Eagles to complete the trade that sent Rowe to the Pats. However, if he plays in fewer than 50 percent of the snaps, New England will send a fourth-rounder to Philadelphia, so it is looking increasingly likely that it will be a fourth-round pick heading the Eagles’ way in 2018.
Leonard Fournette To Miss Week 7
Jaguars star RB Leonard Fournette will miss the team’s Week 7 matchup against the Colts this afternoon due to an ankle injury, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Chris Ivory will get the nod in Fournette’s absence.
Fournette, whom the Jaguars selected with the fourth overall pick of this year’s draft, has not disappointed in his rookie campaign. As the focal point of the team’s offense (and opposing teams’ game plans), the LSU product is averaging a shade under 100 yards per game on the ground, to go along with a 4.6 YPC average. He has rumbled for six touchdowns on the ground and has added a receiving touchdown as well (he is averaging 22.7 yards per game through the air).
The Jaguars have looked like perhaps the best team in football some weeks and the worst in others, but they are still tied for first place in the wide open AFC South, and Fournette is arguably the biggest reason for their status as legitimate division title contenders.
Christ Mortensen of ESPN.com tweets that Fournette was pushing to play today, but team doctors did not feel comfortable with that after examining Fournette this morning. Jacksonville does have a bye next week, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link) suggests Fournette will be ready to go in Week 9.
Latest On Roger Goodell Extension, League Meetings
It seems inevitable that Roger Goodell is going to receive an extension at some point in the near future. The extension was supposed to be finalized back in August, but since then, it was reported that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones — the de facto seventh member of the league’s compensation committee — was holding up the works as a sort of payback for the Ezekiel Elliott saga, and we also learned that part of the hangup was the amount of severance Goodell would receive in the event that he is fired.
Now, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports that completion of the extension has been slowed by debate over NFL player protests during the national anthem. Schefter says the deal is still expected to be completed and has been papered, but the league’s attention to the contract and other league business has been diverted by the anthem issue, according to Schefter’s sources. Schefter adds that no topic received as much attention during last week’s meetings as the anthem.
Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com, though, hears just the opposite. Breer says last Tuesday’s meeting between a group of 13 players and 11 owners, plus Goodell and NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith included very little talk on the anthem, and the meeting among all league owners later in the day was similarly devoid of anthem-related conversation. Instead, the meetings focused on issues like a multifaceted effort to support the social causes important to players, and 49ers CEO Jed York told Breer, “in the long run, I think you’ll see a really, really strong platform and initiative where we have several weeks of the season that are dedicated to socioeconomic and racial causes.”
Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says owners and players will meet again next week to discuss social issues, but the anthem will not be part of the conversation. It seems that the players know the anthem protests have helped to shed light on topics they truly want to discuss, and now both the owners and the players are focused on those topics rather than the protests themselves. Indeed, as Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes, Jones is the only owner who is still criticizing the protests.
So if what Breer and Rapoport say is true, then perhaps Schefter’s report is simply stylized incorrectly. The anthem discussions are not holding up Goodell’s extension, it is discussions about other issues that the anthem protests have raised. In any event, it looks as though Goodell’s new deal will get done soon, and the league will have stability in the commissioner role as it heads into the allegedly inevitable lockout following the 2020 season. Perhaps more importantly, the league and its players are apparently on the same page (mostly) with respect to generating attention for social issues that are important to the players.
Latest On Andrew Luck
Another week, another report on Andrew Luck from Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports. Luck, of course, suffered a setback in his recovery this week, so instead of practicing, the Colts’ franchise quarterback will cease all football activities for the time being.
That leads to the obvious question of whether the 2-4 Colts should just shut Luck down and call it a day. But they are just one game back in the AFC South standings, and La Canfora says Indianapolis is committed to seeing Luck play at some point this season if his health allows (and, presumably, if the team still has a chance at a playoff berth, though La Canfora suggests the Colts want to play Luck even if they are out of contention).
La Canfora adds that the setback is not considered particularly serious. It is not uncommon for a quarterback recovering from shoulder surgery to plateau as Luck did, it just means that his potential return will be pushed back. When he does return to the practice field, he will need to go through several weeks of throwing on a limited basis before being able to throw on consecutive days and being integrated back into the offense.
All of that means that Luck will most likely not suit up until November 26 at the earliest, with a December return more likely. Until then, Jacoby Brissett will continue to start under center.
Latest On Aaron Rodgers
It appears we have conflicting reports on Aaron Rodgers‘ chances to return in 2017. We heard several days ago that the Packers were still hopeful for a Rodgers return, which would be Week 15 at the earliest, and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com hears that Rodgers could resume throwing in as little as six weeks. If he does, he could return near the end of the regular season, assuming Green Bay is still pushing for a playoff spot or playoff seeding at that point.
Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, however, says the Packers do not anticipate and are not planning for a Rodgers return at the end of the season. Green Bay can bring back up to two players on injured reserve, and Rapoport reports that the team is more likely to designate offensive linemen Jason Spriggs and Don Barclay than Rodgers.
Of course, as Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network tweets, the Packers are holding out hope that Rodgers can return, but it will be weeks before they have a better idea and there is a good chance he will be sidelined for the remainder of the year.
Assuming Rodgers does not come back, Brett Hundley will get the chance to run the show for the duration of 2017. Head coach Mike McCarthy recently indicated that the Packers have no intention of adding a veteran quarterback to the mix, but the club did sign undrafted rookie Jerod Evans to its practice squad earlier this week.
Trent Williams Needs Knee Surgery
Trent Williams did not miss a game despite suffering a knee injury against the Chiefs in Week 4, but the longtime Redskins left tackle appears to have done damage that will induce a surgery.
Washington’s cornerstone lineman will need to undergo knee surgery, one that will cause an extensive rehab process, but he hopes to undergo this procedure in the offseason and play through the pain in the meantime, Liz Clarke of the Washington Post reports.
“The ligament that holds my kneecap in the socket needs to be reconstructed at some point,” Williams said. “It’s like a five-, six-month surgery, I think, in recovery time. I’m just trying to hold off on that as long as possible. Hopefully get through the season and revisit it in the offseason.”
Williams has not practiced since injuring his right knee in Kansas City, but he played at far less than 100 percent in the Redskins’ win over the 49ers. He told Clarke playing through this injury has been worse than battling through previous ankle, shoulder and knee maladies. The five-time Pro Bowler hasn’t missed more than two games in a season due to injury in his career.
“It didn’t help. That’s the reality. It didn’t help,” Williams said of playing through pain against the 49ers. “But that was expected. You’re not gonna go play three hours on a bum knee and expect to be better the next day.”
This pain-tolerance issue could come to a head at some point and induce a Williams absence, but for now, he is listed as questionable to suit up Monday night against the Eagles. Swing tackle Ty Nsekhe remains out after undergoing core muscle surgery. T.J. Clemmings would be the next man up if Williams couldn’t go.