Seahawks LT Rees Odhiambo Hospitalized With Bruised Heart
Seahawks left tackle Rees Odhiambo is in a Seattle-area hospital after suffering what Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter) is a chest contusion (or bruised heart).
Odhiambo’s symptoms mimic that of a car accident, Ian Rapoport notes (on Twitter). However, Pete Carroll said the young lineman is expected to be released from the hospital Monday, Brady Henderson of ESPN.com reports. Odhiambo was experiencing trouble breathing after taking a hit to the chest during Sunday night’s game.
The 2016 third-round pick is the Seahawks’ second left tackle starter this season, taking over for George Fant after the converted basketball player was lost for the season in August. Odhiambo has started all four games this season after playing in eight as a reserve last year.
Seattle has tackle experience in left guard Luke Joeckel, whom the team considered placing at left tackle upon his arrival, and in trade acquisition Matt Tobin. However, it’s unclear how much, if any, time this injury will cause Odhiambo to miss.
Vikings RB Dalvin Cook Done For Season
It’s official – Dalvin Cook‘s season is over. Vikings coach Mike Zimmer confirmed to reporters on Monday that Cook will be shut down with a torn ACL. 
The Vikings feared the worst when Cook exited Sunday’s game against the Vikings. The rookie running back went down without contact mid-stride, so a fully torn ACL was the most likely culprit from the get-go.
Although Zimmer called this a fairly standard ACL injury, the fourth-year Vikings coach said there added there could be damage to Cook’s meniscus along with some cartilage damage, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets.
Cook was averaging 4.7 yards per carry heading into Week 4 and had 10 catches for 82 yards through the air. The Vikings may not be able to replace his production, but they do have internal options to draw from. Latavius Murray, who was the presumptive starter when he signed a three-year, $15MM free agent deal with the Vikings in March, now figures to be the top tailback. The athletic Jerick McKinnon is also on the roster and Bronson Hill could be bumped up from the practice squad for depth.
At Florida State, Cook was the only player to rush for more than 4,000 yards in three ACC seasons in conference history. His future is still bright, but he’ll first have to traverse a long road to recovery between now and September 2018.
Chris Carson Suffers Significant Ankle Injury
Late in the Seahawks’ runaway win on Sunday night, the team lost its newly promoted starting running back. Chris Carson was carted off the field, and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (on Twitter) the rookie suffered a broken ankle.
Pete Carroll called it a “significant” injury (via Rapoport, on Twitter), and the seventh-round pick seems destined for IR if this diagnosis is confirmed. Carson will undergo an MRI today.
Carroll elaborated soon after, saying Carson has a fracture just below his leg and likely a high ankle sprain, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times tweets. The eighth-year Seahawks HC simply said (via Condotta, on Twitter), “He’s going to be out.”
Carson seized the starting job two games into his rookie season, supplanting Thomas Rawls and Eddie Lacy, and was averaging 4.2 yards per carry. The Oklahoma State product’s absence will force Rawls — a healthy scratch Sunday night — and Lacy to pick up the slack. However, the Seahawks have some options here for what will likely become a committee-type arrangement.
C.J. Prosise missed Sunday’s game, but former waiver claim J.D. McKissic — a second-year player out of Arkansas State — scored twice. Both figure to play a part of the post-Carson equation in Seattle, should the promising runner indeed see his season cut short.
Bills WR Jordan Matthews To Miss Time
Bills wide receiver Jordan Matthews is expected to undergo thumb surgery and will miss at least one month of action, according to Sal Capaccio of WGR 550 (Twitter link).
Matthews, whom Buffalo acquired (along with a third-round pick) in an August trade in exchange for cornerback Ronald Darby, had been serving as the Bills’ de facto No. 1 wideout, although he is actually third in receptions behind running back LeSean McCoy and tight end Charles Clay. On 13 targets, the 25-year-old Matthews has managed 10 catches for 162 yards and one touchdown for the surprisingly 3-1 Bills. Playing in his contract season, Matthews is scheduled to become a free agent next spring.
Given that the Bills were already fielding one of the NFL’s worst receiving corps before the Matthews injury, the club will likely lean on the run game even more heavily than it had in Weeks 1-4. Buffalo has thrown the ball at a lower rate than any other team in the league thus far (just 45.31% of plays), and it wouldn’t be surprising to see that percentage dip even further.
Zay Jones, Andre Holmes, and Kaelin Clay will likely see more targets with Matthews sidelined, while the Bills could also promote either Malachi Dupre or Brandon Reilly from their practice squad. A free agent addition probably doesn’t make sense given that Matthews will return later this year, but Anquan Boldin is still available after retiring from the Bills just before the season began. The veteran pass-catcher has ruled out a late-season return, however.
Matthews wasn’t the only Buffalo player to go down on Sunday, as linebacker Ramon Humber suffered a broken thumb and will miss time, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Humber, who has never been a full-time starter during his nine-plus-year NFL career, had played on nearly 95% of the Bills’ defensive snaps to this point and graded as the league’s No. 33 linebacker, per Pro Football Focus. Matt Milano is likely to step into the starting lineup, while Deon Lacey and Tanner Vallejo could also see increased usage.
Bears To Start QB Mitch Trubisky
The Bears will start rookie quarterback Mitch Trubisky over veteran Mike Glennon in Week 5, according to Adam Schefter and Dan Graziano of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Signed to a three-year, $45MM deal during the offseason, Glennon has done nothing to prove that he’s a capable NFL starter through four weeks. Chicago has gone 1-3 in his four starts, and Glennon ranks 25th in touchdown percentage, 28th in interception percentage, 29th in adjusted net yards per attempt, and 29th in quarterback rating. The 27-year-old Glennon will now be relegated to backup duty while Mark Sanchez presumably will stick at No. 3 on the depth chart.
The Bears paid a hefty price to acquire Trubisky in the 2017 draft, as they shipped the two third-round picks and a fourth-rounder to the 49ers for the right to move up from No. 3 to No. 2 overall. The North Carolina product was strong during the preseason, but Chicago still went with Glennon at the season’s outset. But Glennon’s performance, the Bears’ team record, and — speculatively — head coach John Fox‘s job status have now led to Trubisky moving under center.
Trubisky won’t face an easy test in his first NFL start, as he’ll go up against the division rival Vikings (although he’ll have the benefit of a home game). While Minnesota’s defensive unit hasn’t played well statistically, head coach Mike Zimmer fields a strong pass rush and a top-notch secondary that could fluster a rookie signal-caller. Luckily for the Bears, they’ll have a 11-day layoff between games, so Trubisky should have time to get first-team reps in advance of Week 5.
Glennon, for his part, can easily be released after the 2017 season, as Chicago would only incur $4.5MM in dead money by cutting him (versus $11.5MM in cap savings). The Bears could potentially look to trade Glennon, although it’s difficult to see any club offering anything of value — or even being willing to take on his few remaining guarantees — given his production this year. Glennon has an offset on his $2.5MM guarantee in 2018, tweets Mike Garafolo of NFL.com, so the Bears could hypothetically get out from under that total.
Colts C Deyshawn Bond Suffers Torn Quad
Colts center Deyshawn Bond, who left Sunday night’s game on the second play, has suffered a torn quad, according to a source who spoke with ESPN.com’s Mike Wells (Twitter link). It’s too early to have an exact timetable on Bond’s return, but a torn quad will likely rule him out for the season. 
[RELATED: Colts Make Practice Squad Moves]
Bond ascended to the starting center job when Ryan Kelly broke his foot late in training camp. His injury is unfortunate, but the good news is that Kelly started practicing last week and the team is hoping that he’ll be back in action before long. With some luck, he may be able to go next Sunday against the 49ers.
“I mean, the last time that I actually really got down in a stance like that and hit somebody was against Detroit, so it’s been seven, eight weeks or so. But I think it’s kind of like riding a bicycle, so once you’re a couple practices in or so you start getting used to it,” Kelly recently said of his recovery (link via team website). “But I think just conditioning-wise and getting back into football shape, it’s amazing how fast you can get out of it. So that will certainly come with time. But (I’m) working every day just to stay in shape and get stronger, so looking forward to it.”
In three games this year (excluding this Week 4 contest against Seattle), Bond was on the field for 104 passing snaps and 85 run snaps, per Pro Football Focus’ data. He earned a poor 42.2 score from PFF in that limited sample, but Kelly liked what he saw from his understudy.
“He’s played really well — a real strong guy,” said Kelly. “It’s awesome we got him out of (college) free agency, and to see how hard he’s worked every single day to come in and prepare, and he’s been a real pro. Every day he’s gotten better, and it’s awesome to see.”
East Rumors: Pouncey, Elliott, Pats, Eagles
Mike Pouncey has played in each of the Dolphins‘ three games this season after missing 11 2016 contests. But he gave a sobering glimpse into his future in the NFL, with the hip injury he suffered last season looking like a seminal setback. The perennial Pro Bowl blocker said the length of his career will be determined by how his hip holds up, adding that he will need hip-replacement surgery in the next “five to 10 years.””
“[My hip] always feels tight. … I don’t have a normal hip,” Pouncey said, via Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald. “We’ll see. I can’t predict the future. I’m listening to a doctor tell me. I feel right now; I don’t need [a replacement]. But we’ll see.”
This process would end Pouncey’s career, but for now, the 28-year-old blocker continues to anchor Miami’s line. He spent the offseason recovering from the hip malady and continues to operate on a partial practice schedule, taking Thursdays off — a pattern Pouncey sees continuing for the foreseeable future. The seventh-year player is signed through the 2020 season.
Here’s the latest from several East Coast teams (and the Cowboys).
- Monday’s Ezekiel Elliott-vs.-NFL battle is expected to produce a decision within the next two weeks, Todd Archer of ESPN.com reports. While the Cowboys running back isn’t sure he will venture to New Orleans where his legal team and the NFLPA will represent him in this saga’s latest courtroom chapter, the Fifth District Court of Appeals could free him up to play the rest of the season or reinstate his six-game suspension. Neither side is interested in a settlement, however.
- The Patriots have given up the most points through four games thus far. Usually supporting Tom Brady with an upper-echelon defense, the Pats should be discussing a Jimmy Garoppolo trade to bring in some help to capitalize on the 40-year-old starter’s closing dominance window, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes. New England held onto its backup quarterback despite interest this offseason, and La Canfora notes a Malcolm Butler trade wouldn’t bring in what a Garoppolo shipment would. That said, the Pats have just $5.4MM in cap space — so any defender help they could be targeting would probably have to be on a rookie contract, as Garoppolo ($1.17MM cap figure) is. La Canfora suggests the 49ers, armed with several rookie-deal defenders and no long-term quarterback answer, as a fit for this hypothetical scenario. A deal of this sort would also need to involve a Garoppolo extension, since he’s months away from free agency.
- Jake Elliott is making a strong case to supplant the injured Caleb Sturgis as the Eagles‘ full-time kicker, Reuben Frank of CSNPhilly.com writes. Signed off the Bengals’ practice squad, Elliott hit four more field goals in the Eagles’ win over the Chargers after his 61-yard game-winner last week. Frank notes Elliott already has two 53-plus-yard field goals in two games. Sturgis has three in 30 Philly contests. A fifth-year veteran, Sturgis remains on the Eagles’ 53-man roster and is rehabbing a hip flexor strain.
- Jim Tomsula‘s impact is already being observed in Washington, John Keim of ESPN.com notes. Redskins defenders have told Keim about the former 49ers head coach’s presence leading to an improved defensive line. Washington hired Tomsula as its D-line coach this year, and he’s helped a unit that lost starters Chris Baker and Ricky Jean-Francois in the offseason. Tomsula spent eight seasons as the 49ers’ defensive line coach before his one-season stay as the franchise’s HC. He did not coach last season.
Derek Carr To Undergo MRI
Derek Carr left the Raiders’ Week 4 loss to the Broncos in the third quarter with a back injury, and Oakland’s cornerstone player will undergo an MRI Monday after having X-rays done during the game. However, Jack Del Rio offered an early assessment.
The third-year Raiders coach said Carr was experiencing back spasms, adding (via Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, on Twitter) he’s not concerned long-term about the injury. Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports back spasms are the issue here (Twitter link). Carr did not confirm Del Rio’s diagnosis and said postgame (Twitter links, via Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com) he’s in “a lot of pain” currently. But the recently extended quarterback is optimistic he can play in Week 5 against the Ravens.
This marks the second straight season Carr missed at least a key portion of a Raiders game in Denver, with the passer, of course, not playing during the team’s previous trip to Colorado because of his season-ending broken leg injury. This time around, EJ Manuel came in to relieve the ailing starter. He fared better than Connor Cook or Matt McGloin did, driving the Raiders into Broncos territory on a potential game-winning drive before throwing an interception that sealed the road defeat.
The Raiders signed Manuel to a one-year, $800K deal. He would be the next man up if Carr cannot play against the Ravens.
AFC Notes: Broncos, Jets, Chargers, Chiefs
John Bowlen, the younger brother of Broncos majority owner Pat Bowlen, is aiming to sell his minority stake (30-35%) in the club, sources tell Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post. John Bowlen’s decision to sell wouldn’t necessarily affect the day-to-day operations of the Broncos, as Pat Bowlen — who stepped down as principal owner in 2014 due to Alzheimer’s disease — would still hold the majority of the team and be entitled to designate one of his children as his successor. But John Bowlen reportedly believes the Bronocs are “not being run the way Pat would have run it in many, many capacities” and wants a new owner in charge, per Jhabvala.
Here’s more from the AFC as Week 4 draws to a close:
- Although the Jets re-signed offensive Ben Ijalana to a two-year deal this spring, they’ve barely used him through four weeks of the 2017, leading Rich Cimini of ESPN.com to wonder if Gang Green could place Ijalana on the trade block. An acquiring club would only be responsible for the rest of Ijalana’s $1MM base salary this season plus $4.75MM (all non-guaranteed) in 2018. New York, meanwhile, would take on $2.5MM in dead money over the next two seasons by dealing Ijalana. Now in his age-28 campaign, Ijalana started 13 games in 2016 and is capable of playing either left or right tackle, but he’s played only five offensive snaps this season.
- Under the terms of his four-year deal with the Chargers, edge rusher Melvin Ingram can collect a $1MM bonus if registers 12.5 sacks or earns a Pro Bowl nod, tweets veteran NFL reporter Adam Caplan. Through four games, Ingram has already posted 5.5 sacks (though he didn’t manage any against the Eagles today), so he should have a good shot at collecting that bonus. Ingram is Pro Football Focus‘ No. 9-rated edge defender thus far in 2017.
- Rookie running back Kareem Hunt was advised to return to college following the 2015 season before entering the draft and being selected by the Chiefs in the third round in 2017, as Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com writes. Hunt, of course, leads the NFL in rushing yards through three games and would arguably be the favorite for MVP if the season ended today. As La Canfora details, Hunt re-tooled his body prior to his senior season at Toledo and posted more than 1,800 yards from scrimmage in his final collegiate campaign.
- The Ravens had planned to promote fullback Ricky Ortiz from their practice squad and integrate him as a large part of their offensive gameplan in Week 4, but an Ortiz injury prevented that transaction from going through, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Baltimore doesn’t currently have a fullback on its roster, but it did use Kyle Juszczyk enough in 2016 that he became the NFL’s highest-paid FB with the 49ers. Ortiz is a 2017 undrafted free agent out of Oregon State.
Titans QB Marcus Mariota To Undergo MRI
After leaving today’s loss to the Texans, Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota will undergo an MRI on Monday to determine the severity of his hamstring injury, according to Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com. Sources in the Tennessee lock room expressed “optimism” that Mariota will return to action quickly, as Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com tweets.
Mariota returned to Sunday’s contest following the initial hit that led to injury, and warmed up before the second half as if he planned to re-enter the game. But following discussions with the Titans’ staff, Mariota went to the locker room and didn’t re-appear on Tennessee’s sideline until the fourth quarter, per Wyatt. With the Titans already down 30-14 at halftime, head coach Mike Mularkey decided not to risk further injury to Mariota.
“He wanted to see if he could play,” Mularkey said, referring to Mariota. “He came out, warmed up and I said to him: ‘I’d like to be smart about it. There’s a lot of football still to go. We have 12 games to go, so let’s be smart about it. I’ll know more about the extent of it (later).”
Following today’s 54-17 defeat, the Titans now stand at 2-2, tied with the Jaguars and Texans for first place in the AFC South (pending a result in the Colts’ Sunday night contest). Mariota, for his part, has played well thus far in 2017, as he’d completed 60% of his passes for 696 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception heading into Week 4. He ranks eighth among NFL quarterbacks in adjusted net yards per attempt, and has also added 77 yards and one score on the ground.
Matt Cassel replaced Mariota in today’s loss, and completed nearly as many passes to the Texans as he did to Titans wide receivers. On 10 attempts, Cassel managed only four completions for 21 yards while tossing two interceptions. He’d start for Tennessee against Miami next week if Mariota can’t go, while practice squad quarterback Tyler Ferguson would presumably be promoted to the active roster.