Victor Cruz Lobbies Giants To Sign Him
The Giants are in desperate need of help at wide receiver. Still, they say that former star Victor Cruz is not an option and that is a mystery to the player. 
“I’ve been literally thinking to myself of reasons why they wouldn’t and I can’t think of any,’’ Cruz said on his podcast (transcription via Paul Schwartz of the New York Post).
Earlier this week, coach Ben McAdoo threw cold water on the idea that Cruz could return to the Giants’ lineup in the wake of injuries to Odell Beckham Jr., Brandon Marshall, Sterling Shepard, and Dwayne Harris. That hasn’t stopped Cruz from dreaming.
“Can I paint a picture for you?’’ Cruz said. “Can you imagine, if I get a phone call from the New York Giants and I go back out there wearing the number 80 in blue and I get in that end zone one more time? Do you understand? I can already hear the deafening screams from the crowd. Already, I can hear it.’’
After the Giants’ nightmare of a game, Cruz says his agent called the team to ask about a potential reunion. The agent was told that the Giants would assess their injuries and then get back to him. If the 0-5 Giants can’t get in the win column this weekend, they may want to reconsider their stance on Cruz.
Luke Kuechly In Concussion Protocol
Luke Kuechly did not come out for the second half of Thursday night’s Eagles-Panthers game due to being evaluated for a concussion.
Those evaluations led to the All-Pro linebacker going into Carolina’s concussion protocol, the Panthers announced. Kuechly left the game during the second quarter.
This is the third concussion Kuechly has suffered in the past three seasons. He missed the final six games of last season due to a concussion, one also suffered during a Thursday-night home game. The Panthers’ cornerstone defender missed three games because of a concussion suffered during the franchise’s 2015 Super Bowl season.
Kuechly has met twice with Dr. Micky Collins, a concussion specialist, over the past two years, per Tom Pelissero of USA Today (on Twitter) in an effort to take his health “very seriously,” and it’s possible a third summit could commence as this problem’s now encountered another troubling chapter. A three-time first-team All-Pro, the 26-year-old Kuechly’s in his sixth season with the Panthers.
The Panthers lost Kuechly backup A.J. Klein to the Saints in free agency. A fifth-round 2015 pick out of Texas State, David Mayo is in the game at middle linebacker for Carolina.
Rams Sign Alec Ogletree To Extension
Rumored to be in the works for months, the Alec Ogletree Rams extension came to fruition on Thursday night. The Rams announced they’ve signed the linebacker to a four-year extension.
The through-2021 deal is worth $42MM, contains $31.4MM in total guarantees and $18MM in full guarantees, and comes with an $8MM signing bonus, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Adam Schefter of ESPN.com adds (via Twitter) this deal includes $33MM over its first three years.
Les Snead announced the re-up on the team’s website. The Rams will now have three well-paid linebackers. Ogletree follows Robert Quinn and Mark Barron, continuing a defensive fortification on a unit that also includes high-end contracts (or franchise tags) authorized recently for Michael Brockers and Trumaine Johnson.
“Alec has evolved into a true leader of our football team and we are excited to sign him to this extension,” Snead said. “We look forward to Alec helping our team emerge as a consistent winner for years to come.”
In terms of per-year wages, Ogletree’s $10.5MM-AAV pact makes him the fourth inside ‘backer to earn eight figures annually — behind Kuechly, Bobby Wagner and alongside NaVorro Bowman.
Ogletree began his fifth season with the Rams last month. He’s now the second of the franchise’s 2013 first-round picks to have signed a four-year extension, joining Tavon Austin in that regard. The Rams picked up Ogletree’s fifth-year option in 2016 and had the inside linebacker under team control through this season at $8.369MM.
A fifth-year starter, Ogletree leads the Rams with 54 tackles. His deal will give the Rams two of the highest-paid non-rush linebackers in the league. Barron’s already signed for five years and $45MM.
Nothing’s emerged on additional progress having been made on the Aaron Donald front, but the Rams continued their trend of early-season extensions for defenders. Quinn and Brockers each signed re-ups in September, and now Ogletree has an October pact that will tie him to Los Angeles through the 2021 season.
This will eat into the funds available for Donald but also for potential Johnson or Lamarcus Joyner deals, however, but the Rams were slated to possess $62MM in cap space prior to the Ogletree contract. So, flexibility remains if the franchise wants to extend these players, which has been reported about Donald and Joyner.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/12/17
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/12/17
Here are today’s minor moves.
- The Giants promoted cornerback Donte Deayon off their practice squad to replace the suspended Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie on their 53-man roster. Cromartie was suspended indefinitely earlier on Thursday. This marks the latest in a string of practice squad promotions for Big Blue this week. The Giants summoned three wide receivers from their taxi squad due to the string of injuries they suffered at that position. As for Deayon, he signed a Giants reserve/futures deal in January and latched on with their practice squad in September.
- Linebacker Adam Bighill will rise from the Saints‘ practice squad to their active roster, Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com tweets. The Saints kept Bighill on a futures deal and used him in one game earlier this season.
Browns Eyed Trubisky, Mahomes, 2018 QBs Over Watson?
For the second straight year, the current Browns front office is set to observe the team face a rookie quarterback upon whom it passed in that year’s draft. After Carson Wentz and Dak Prescott faced the Browns last season, Deshaun Watson will match up against the team he was often linked to in the pre-draft process.
But the Browns evidently had a multi-layered thought process behind moving past Watson, with Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reporting the team had Mitch Trubisky, Patrick Mahomes and Watson as their top three quarterbacks and likely in that order.
The Browns also bypassed Watson with their No. 12 pick in order to pick up a future 2018 first-rounder — their second high-2018 draft choice acquired from the Texans this spring — because of what’s being viewed as a superior class of quarterbacks likely set to be draft-eligible, Cabot reports. With two first-round picks and three second-rounders next year, the Browns would like to be “well-positioned” to draft a quarterback in the event DeShone Kizer is not their long-term solution. Considering Kizer was just benched for what Cabot notes will likely be for at least three games through the team’s Week 9 bye, that clock is ticking.
Cleveland may well have taken Mahomes, who had a private workout with the Browns before visiting the team in April, had the Chiefs not traded up to No. 10 and selected him, Cabot notes. Kansas City’s brass obviously shared the Mahomes-over-Watson line of thinking. The longtime Browns reporter adds some in the front office did want to draft Trubisky No. 1 overall, leading to “heated debates” before Hue Jackson and Gregg Williams‘ preferred player, Myles Garrett, went to Cleveland at No. 1 overall.
Jackson declined to say this week if he advocated for Watson, who has accounted for 10 touchdowns the past two weeks. The second-year coach also declined to speculate whether coaching Watson in January would have endeared him more to the team.
The Browns not viewing Wentz or Watson as the kind of game-changer they coveted is being scrutinized now that Kizer has been benched for 2016 practice squad signee Kevin Hogan, who has outperformed the second-round pick when summoned this season.
Viewing this demotion as a “temporary timeout,” Jackson anticipates returning to Kizer this season. The Browns are planning to obtain more evidence he’s the future to determine if the Notre Dame product is worthy of bypassing a signal-caller with all five of their 2018 first- or second-round picks.
Fallout From Ezekiel Elliott Ruling
As expected after receiving a ruling in its favor Thursday, the NFL announced Ezekiel Elliott‘s suspension will commence immediately. Barring a further court ruling to swing the balance of power back into the Cowboys running back’s hands, his suspension won’t end until Friday, Nov. 24 — a day after the Cowboys’ Thanksgiving Day game against the Chargers. The Cowboys are in a bye week, but Elliott could not go to a team practice if Dallas was to have one this week, per Dan Graziano of ESPN.com. A possible refiling of this case in New York Federal Court or back in Texas could lead to Elliott being reinstated again. But he’s in real danger of missing next weekend’s game against the 49ers because now the running back’s camp and NFLPA are the ones on the wrong end of a waiting game — just as the NFL was leading up to this ruling. That could be dicey for the Cowboys’ hopes at deploying their top weapon in Week 7.
Here’s the latest from the ongoing Elliott saga.
- Elliott’s attorney, Frank Salzano, said (via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, on Twitter) the Elliott team is “exploring all of our legal options.” A decision on this matter will come in “a couple of days.” The NFLPA’s current stance is with the appellate court’s Thursday ruling hinging on procedural matters, determining Elliott’s side acted improperly by filing an appeal of a Harold Henderson verdict that had yet to arrive, the lack of due process afforded to the 22-year-old player by the NFL wasn’t addressed (Twitter link).
- The three judges ruling on this case for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 against Elliott, and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes this result likely flips if there were two judges appointed by a Democratic president rather than two appointed by a Republican leader. Democrat-appointed judges tend to side with labor, whereas Republican-installed judges generally side with employers. This puts Jerry Jones in an interesting position, having issued a mandate about national anthem protests that falls in line with a Republican president’s stance and now seeing his running back’s suspension reinstated because of a management-over-labor ruling — one Jones vigorously disputed when it was handed down.
- Rapoport notes (on Twitter) an en banc hearing in front of the Fifth Circuit — meaning the case would be heard by all of the court’s judges rather than a three-judge panel — would be an option for Elliott since it would keep the preliminary injunction alive and allow the Cowboys second-year runner a chance to keep playing through this ruling instead of waiting for his case to be heard by another court. It took 10 days for the Fifth District’s three-judge panel to issue a ruling for the NFL, which waited multiple weeks for that case to be heard. Going through another court would be trouble, since it would likely mean part of this suspension would be served in the meantime. However, Rapoport notes (video link) this and the refiling in New York or Texas options are long shots.
- Changes on Dallas’ offensive line have limited Elliott compared to his dominant start to his rookie campaign, Alex Marvez of The Sporting News writes. His per-carry average through five games is down to 3.7 yards compared to 5.0, and La’el Collins and Chaz Green have proven to be steps down from Doug Free and Ronald Leary, respectively.
Markus Wheaton Suffers Torn Groin
Injuries have damaged the Bears’ passing game this season, and another key wide receiver looks set to miss extensive time.
Markus Wheaton suffered a groin tear and is expected to miss up to six weeks because of the malady, Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. However, Wheaton was limited at Thursday’s practice. The fifth-year wideout practicing at all with this injury points to the possibility of a shorter recovery time.
But this is the latest batch of trouble for one of the most depleted receiving corps in the game. The Bears already lost Cameron Meredith to a torn ACL suffered in August, and Kevin White is also on IR because of his latest severe injury. Wheaton has also struggled with ailments over the past year. He missed 13 games during his final Steelers season because of a shoulder injury, and since joining the Bears suffered a finger injury and underwent an appendectomy. The broken pinkie finger sidelined Wheaton for two games this season.
If Wheaton is on the shelf for the time being, the Bears will be down to Kendall Wright, Deonte Thompson and Josh Bellamy as their top wideouts. This scenario played out earlier this season before Wheaton recovered to return. However, since returning, the former Steelers third-rounder hasn’t been effective. He only has one reception for four yards this season.
Wheaton signed a two-year, $11MM deal with $5MM guaranteed in March.
NFL Considering Moving Chargers-Raiders Game Out Of Oakland
The NFL is looking into the possibility of relocating Sunday’s Chargers-Raiders game scheduled to be played at Oakland Coliseum. Contingencies are being discussed because of air quality stemming from the wildfires that have occurred in northern California recently, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
Schefter adds the air quality is currently deemed to have reached an unacceptable level, per an NFL executive, and a decision on this matter is expected soon. As of 8:44pm CT, the game remained scheduled to occur in Oakland, according to the Raiders.
The 49ers’ Levi’s Stadium is an option, with the NFL checking into its availability, according to Tim Kawakami of The Athletic San Francisco (on Twitter). Levi’s Stadium is available, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). The 49ers play a road game against the Redskins this weekend.
Levi’s Stadium is just more than 30 miles south of Oakland Coliseum. The wildfires occurred in areas north of San Francisco, but the 49ers play in Santa Clara, Calif.
Interestingly, San Diego would be open to hosting the game, according to Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune. However, San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer’s office has yet to receive a request of this sort, according to his chief of staff. This scenario would obviously be quite interesting due to the Chargers having bolted San Diego for Los Angeles earlier this year.
Should this game be moved out of the Coliseum, the Raiders would be down to just six regular-season games there. They already have a neutral-site game against the Patriots scheduled for Mexico City this season.
Court Restores Ezekiel Elliott’s Six-Game Ban
The Fifth Circuit of Appeals has ruled in favor of the NFL in its case against Ezekiel Elliott. As a result, Elliott’s six-game ban has been restored. 
However, Elliott’s camp could re-file in New York Federal Court and keep him on the field, according to lawyer Gabe Feldman (on Twitter). It’s not known whether Elliott will continue the fight, but we do know that it’s not necessarily over. Elliott can also re-file in Texas, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
The court, based out of New Orleans, ordered the district court in Texas to dismiss Elliott’s case with a 2-1 vote in favor of the NFL.
If no further legal action is taken by Elliott’s team, he may be barred from playing in the team’s Oct. 22 contest against the Niners. The NFL plans to enforce this immediately, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets. The Cowboys have a Week 6 bye. After their 49ers tilt, the Cowboys face the Redskins, Chiefs, Falcons, Eagles and Chargers. Three of these games (against the 49ers, Redskins and Falcons) are on the road.
In August, Elliott received the six-game suspension for domestic abuse allegedly occurring during a week in 2016. But Texas judge Amos Mazzant granted the running back an injunction that allowed him to play in Dallas’ first five games while this case made its way through the courts. Thursday’s ruling overrules Mazzant’s, and now Elliott and the NFLPA will have to make a decision about fighting this further.
Elliott filed his appeal in Texas prior to NFL arbiter Harold Henderson upholding the six-game ban levied upon him. That preemptive strike played into this latest ruling against the running back, ESPN’s Josina Anderson tweets. The decision being based on Elliott’s timing would stand to give the second-year player a chance in New York Federal Court, Breer notes (on Twitter).
While the parties likely will, with Elliott and the NFLPA previously unwilling to agree on a settlement with the league, this now could be a matter of finances. Elliott serving his six-game ban without pay would obviously deal a blow to both his reputation and the Cowboys’ playoff hopes. And a subsequent fight in the offseason would be about recouping salary and having this charge vacated from his record. Elliott was not charged or arrested for this alleged violence against Tiffany Thompson.
Even with Elliott’s services, the Cowboys are 2-3. It took them until Week 17 of last season to suffer a third defeat, and that only came in a meaningless Week 17 contest. Removing the first-team All-Pro back from the equation could spell doom for an offense that has taken a step back from its 2016 version.
Alfred Morris has served as Elliott’s primary backup this season, with Darren McFadden being a healthy scratch throughout this year. But McFadden, who re-signed with the Cowboys this offseason, figures to be a bigger part of the operation if Elliott indeed serves this suspension this season.