Giants End DRC’s Ban
Giants cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is back with the team. His suspension is over and he’ll rejoin the Giants in advance of Sunday’s game against Seattle, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The Giants have since confirmed the news via press release.
Rodgers-Cromartie clashed with coach Ben McAdoo last week – apparently, on four separate occasions – before being suspended “indefinitely” for conduct detrimental to the team. The collective bargaining agreement dictates that teams can not suspend players for more than four games for such an infraction, so DRC was never facing a ban of more than one month.
Surprisingly, the Giants pulled out their first win of the season on Sunday without DRC in the lineup. The G-Men are now 1-5 after a solid defensive performance against the Broncos, including two interceptions.
Still, having Rodgers-Cromartie in the lineup going forward will give them their best chance to win. The playoffs are almost certainly out of reach, but the Giants would like to avoid a morale-crushing season.
Jaguars Sign K Josh Lambo, Cut Jason Myers
The Jaguars have made a change at kicker. Jacksonville has signed Josh Lambo and released Jason Myers. 
Lambo, 26, spent the two seasons with the Chargers after first hooking on as an undrafted free agent. However, he lost the kicking battle to Younghoe Koo and wound up without a job in early September. During his time in San Diego, Lambo connected on 52 of 64 field goals and converted 70 of 78 extra points.
Lambo didn’t land a deal when he auditioned for the Jaguars back on September 15th, but they kept his number handy and gave him a ring one month later. He also showed his stuff for the Raiders, Eagles, Bears, and Buccaneers in recent weeks.
Myers missed two 54-year tries against the Rams on Sunday and that, apparently, was the final straw for him. He had four total missed field goal tries in 2017, but three of them were from 50 yards or more. He also missed two extra point attempts.
Injury Notes: Tate, Jameis, Sanders, Texans
After suffering an AC joint sprain on Sunday, Lions wide receiver Golden Tate is expected to miss a few weeks, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links). Luckily for Detroit, the club is heading into a bye week before taking on the Steelers in Week 8, so Tate will get a bit of extra time to recover. If he is forced to miss time, Tate will be a large absence for the Lions’ 21st-ranked DVOA offense, as he’s posted 36 receptions for 363 yards and two touchdowns so far this season. Detroit would turn to T.J. Jones, Jared Abbrederis, and — if he’s healthy following a hamstring injury — Kenny Golladay to play more snaps alongside Marvin Jones.
Here’s more from the injury front:
- Like Tate, Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston is also dealing with an AC joint sprain, and his is all the more serious given that it’s in his throwing shoulder, per Rapoport (Twitter link). Winston attempted only 10 passes before going down with injury in a game Tampa Bay ultimately lost to Arizona. The Buccaneers are set to face the Bills in Week 7, and though Winston has vowed to play through the sprain, it’s not certain that he’ll be available on Sunday. If Winston can’t go, backup Ryan Fitzpatrick will start after throwing for 290 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions yesterday.
- Broncos wideouts Emmanuel Sanders and Isaiah McKenzie will each miss at least Week 7 with sprained ankles, reports Mike Klis of 9News (Twitter link). While McKenzie, a fifth-round rookie, has barely contributed on offense, the loss of Sanders will undoubtedly hurt the Broncos, as the club has little depth behind its starting wide receivers. Bennie Fowler and Jordan Taylor are candidates to see increased usage alongside Demaryius Thomas, as is Cody Latimer if he can return from a knee injury. Denver is also discussing whether to add more bodies at the wideout position, tweets Troy Renck of Denver7.
- Cornerback Kevin Johnson is expected to return to action following the Texans‘ Week 7 bye, head coach Bill O’Brien told reporters, including Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Johnson went down with a sprained MCL in mid-September, but Houston’s depth in the secondary has managed to keep its defense afloat, and the team currently ranks 11th in pass defense DVOA. Injuries have ruined each of Johnson’s past two seasons (he managed only six games in 2016), but the former first-round pick has been extremely effective when on the field.
Bengals Extend Long Snapper Clark Harris
Cincinnati and long snapper Clark Harris have reached an agreement on a contract extension, according to an official team announcement. The new deal will extend only through 2018, with the exact dollar amount and guaranteed dollars not yet known.
While the value of Harris’ his new contract remains to be seen, the highest-paid long snapper in the NFL this year is the Giants’ Zak DeOssie, who’s current deal pays him $1.57 MM per year, while guaranteeing him $200k per season.
Harris, 33, has been with the Bengals since 2009 after being drafted by the Packers in the seventh round in 2007. He’s one of the elder statesmen in terms of age at the position, although long snappers have a tendency to play well into their 30s if they establish themselves. The current median age of long snappers in the league is about 28 years old, so there really shouldn’t be too much concern that Harris’ reliability will diminish all too much next season.
Harris’ current deal pays him $990K this season.
Saints LB Nathan Stupar Done For Season
Saints linebacker Nathan Stupar will miss the remainder of the 2017 season after tearing his ACL on Sunday, according to Herbie Teope of the Times-Picayune (Twitter link).
[RELATED: Saints Audition RB Khiry Robinson]
Stupar injured his knee while covering a punt, and special teams were a key area of focus for him during his time with New Orleans. In fact, Stupar hadn’t played a single defensive snap this year. He’d seen action on nearly half the club’s special teams plays, however, and helped the Saints to the No. 17 ranking in ST DVOA, a massive improvement from 2016.
Stupar has plenty of NFL experience under his belt, as he’s appeared in 63 games and made nine starts during his five-plus year pro career. He’s under Saints control through 2018, but given his age (29) and his cap number ($2.125MM), it wouldn’t be surprising to see New Orleans cut ties this offseason, as doing so would save the club $1.725MM in cap space.
Not much should change on the Saints’ defense as a result of Stupar’s injury, as Craig Robertson, A.J. Klein, and Manti Te’o will continue to see the most snaps. On special teams, the newly-signed Gerald Hodges and/or Adam Bighill — who was promoted from the practice squad over the weekend — could be deployed more frequently.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/16/17
Today’s minor moves:
Carolina Panthers
- Promoted to active roster: QB Garrett Gilbert
- Waived: DB Dezmen Southward
Cincinnati Bengals
- Promoted to active roster: LB Hardy Nickerson
Kansas City Chiefs
- Waived: WR Marcus Kemp
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: LB Josh Keyes
- Waived: LB Nigel Harris
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: DT John Hughes
Oakland Raiders
- Waived: LB Tyrell Adams
NFC East Notes: Giants, Eli, Redskins, Eagles
Although the Jaguars have been speculatively mentioned as a trade destination for Giants quarterback Eli Manning given the presence of executive VP Tom Coughlin, Manning has no interest in being dealt, as Bob Glauber of Newsday writes. “I’ve not heard [the Jacksonville speculation], I’ve not felt it, not thinking about it,”Manning said. “I don’t want to play anywhere else. I love this team, love this organization, and I want to be here.” New York, of course, won its first game of the season on Sunday night, while Jacksonville fell to 3-3 with a loss to the Rams. Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles‘ role in the team’s offense has been severely reduced, but general manager David Caldwell & Co. will likely finish out the campaign with Bortles under center before targeting signal-caller upgrades in the offseason, as Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com writes.
Here’s more from the NFC East:
- On the heels of their dominant first win of the season over the Broncos on Sunday night, Ralph Vacchiano of SNY pointed out (Twitter link) that Giants coach Ben McAdoo gave play-calling responsibilities to offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan for the team’s Week 6 affair. McAdoo had been a subject of criticism given the Giants nightmarish start to the season, but it looked like the change may have things turned around, at least for the time being, as New York avoided many big mistakes with the offense going to a more run-oriented approach. The team rushed for a total of 148 yards on the game, with starter Orleans Darkwa accounting for 117 of those yards on 21 carries.
- In another Giants twist, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is scheduled to report to the team’s facility tomorrow morning for a meeting/update on his status, tweets Josina Anderson of ESPN.com. The 10-year cornerback was suspended indefinitely last week for a number of events, which included walking out on a team meeting as well as storming off the field after the Giants lost to the Chargers two weeks ago. Rodgers-Cromartie was one of the best nickelbacks in football last season with him being voted to a second team All-pro by Pro Football Focus and the Associated Press in 2016-17. However, New York’s defense didn’t seem to miss the veteran defensive back all too much as the team picked off Trevor Siemian twice and held the Broncos out of the endzone for much of the game last night.
- The Redskins will likely work out free agent kickers this week as incumbent Dustin Hopkins battles a hip injury, head coach Jay Gruden told reporters, including Master Tesfatsion of the Washington Post (Twitter link). Hopkins — who is dealing with a partially torn hip and will miss Week 7, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com — converted both of his field goal attempts on Sunday, but missed an extra point that nearly proved crucial in a tight victory over the 49ers. On the season, Hopkins has been successful on 81.8% of field goals, and both of his misses were on 50+ yard attempts.
- The Eagles worked out linebackers Donald Butler, Sean Spence and Jelani Jenkins today, tweets Field Yates of ESPN.com. After starter Jordan Hicks suffered a foot injury this past Thursday night, it looks like Philadelphia is on the hunt for a potential replacement. Hicks, 25, does not yet have a timetable of when he’s likely to return, and with Joe Walker being the only other middle linebacker currently on the roster, if Philadelphia was to sign a free agent, the player would stand to have a legitimate chance of getting meaningful playing time.
Colin Kaepernick Wants To Terminate CBA
Although Colin Kaepernick has filed a collusion lawsuit against NFL owners, his ultimate goal may not simply be gaining entrance into the league. Instead, Kaepernick is attempting to end the current contractual bargaining agreement that exists between the NFL and the NFLPA, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
The CBA can dissolved if an arbitrator determines that a single player was the victim of collusion, as Florio writes. However, the CBA clearly states that the “proceeding must be brought by the NFLPA,” per Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap (Twitter links). Kaepernick has reportedly filed the suit on his own and without the assistance of the union, which would seem to violate the preliminary conditions required for the dissolution of the CBA.
If Kaepernick were to precipitate the end of the current CBA, however, he’d be handing a large amount of leverage to current players, as Florio details. The CBA is not set to expire until the conclusion of the 2020 season, but terminating the agreement now would force league owners to immediately negotiate with the NFLPA, likely resulting in more favorable terms for the union.
The lawsuit is likely to end any chance Kaepernick ever had at returning to the NFL, per Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports, as the grievance “all but assures” that no club will offer Kaepernick a contract while he’s fighting the owners legally. But given that Kaepernick very well may have been ostracized from the NFL already, he has little to lose by filing suit against the league.
A source tells Florio the Titans’ rejection of Kaepernick following an injury to Marcus Mariota was the “final straw” for the embattled quarterback. Kaepernick reached out to Tennessee after Mariota went down with a hamstring strain, but the Titans expressed no interest and ultimately signed journeyman Brandon Weeden instead.
NFL Workout Updates: 10/16/17
Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account unless otherwise noted:
Arizona Cardinals
- DT Shakir Soto; S Maurice Alexander (link)
Baltimore Ravens
- LB Steven Johnson (link)
Detroit Lions
- QB Taylor Heinicke; WR Kenny Lawler; TE Jason Croom (link)
Jacksonville Jaguars
- WRs Corey Brown, Noel Thomas (link via Mark Long of the Associated Press); G Thomas Evans; OTs Javarius Leamon, Storm Norton; DBs Ronald Martin, L.J. McCray (link)
Kansas City Chiefs
- WRs Daniel Braverman, Frankie Hammond, Tim Patrick (link via Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star)
New England Patriots
- QB Garrett Grayson; WRs Tim Patrick, Deonte Thompson; DE Jhaustin Thomas; LBs Boseko Lokombo, Marcus Rush (all Twitter links via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com)
New Orleans Saints
- RB Shaun Draughn (link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle)
San Francisco 49ers
- P Brock Miller (link)
49ers DL Arik Armstead To Undergo Surgery
49ers defensive end Arik Armstead will undergo surgery after suffering a broken hand in Sunday’s game, head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters, including Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee. Armstead is a candidate for injured reserve, per Shanahan.
Armstead, a first-round pick in 2015, has been excellent on the edge in first-year coordinator Robert Saleh‘s 4-3 scheme. Through five weeks, Armstead had played the second-most defensive snaps of any 49ers defender and posted eight tackles, 1.5 sacks, 5.5 pressures, and one pass defensed. Overall, the 23-year-old has graded as the NFL’s No. 33 interior defender, per Pro Football Focus.
Elvis Dumervil and Aaron Lynch are now candidates to see increased usage along a defensive line that also includes DeForest Buckner, Solomon Thomas, and Earl Mitchell. While the 49ers could theoretically add an external option for depth while Armstead is sidelined, they should be getting two defensive ends back in the near future, as Ronald Blair and Tank Carradine are both eligible to return to the field soon.
If Armstead is placed on injured reserve, he’ll face a minimum eight-week absence, meaning he won’t be able to come back until Week 15.