Texans To Meet With Gary Barnidge
The Texans are set to meet with tight end Gary Barnidge, according to Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). Barnidge could give Houston some reinforcements at the position as C.J. Fiedorowicz, Stephen Anderson, and Ryan Griffin all deal with the after effects of their concussions. 
For now, the Texans’ sole “addition” at tight end will come from the promotion of tight end Evan Baylis off of the practice squad. They likely opted against meeting with Barnidge and other free agent TEs sooner since this is a short week and they had only four days to prepare for tonight’s game against the Bengals.
Barnidge was released by the Browns in April, freeing the team from the remaining two years on his contract. The veteran first broke out in 2015 with 79 receptions, 1,043 yards and nine touchdowns. He couldn’t match those numbers last season, but he still finished with 55 catches for 612 yards and two TDs. Barnidge also proved to be durable, appearing in 61 of 64 possible games for the Browns over the last four seasons. It wasn’t necessarily easy to produce in Cleveland, but Barnidge found a way.
“In the last two years with eight different quarterbacks, I was able to still put up really good numbers,” Barnidge said in July. “I was still one of the top tight ends in the NFL over a two-year period … I don’t think there’s any other guy that can say they’ve done that.”
Extra Points: Kap, Savage, Browner, Johnson
Free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick is working out five days a week and is back to his 2013 weight, 230 pounds, as he awaits a potential NFL opportunity, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports. Thanks partially (perhaps entirely) to his social activism, Kaepernick hasn’t garnered a single offer since he and the 49ers parted ways in March. While the 29-year-old would like to resume his career, he’s not saying it publicly because he worries that doing so would lead to further claims that he’s a distraction, Florio suggests.
More from around the game:
- After insisting throughout the offseason that Tom Savage would be their starting quarterback in 2017, the Texans bailed on him just one half into a 29-7 Week 1 loss to Jacksonville in which their offensive line imploded. The Texans have since turned the reins over to first-round rookie Deshaun Watson, a decision Savage’s agent, Neil Schwartz, spoke with Florio about on Wednesday. As you’d expect, Schwartz isn’t pleased with the move. “I watched all 31 plays, because that was the extent of what Tom saw in the first half,” Schwartz said. “And I can’t figure out why he’s benching Tom. I went through every single play and I even went one step further. I asked two different NFL personnel people (or) coaches on two separate teams to evaluate and break down the film to see if I was missing something. He went 7 for 13 … 12 of the 13 balls touched the receiver’s hands. The only ball that didn’t was the strip-sack fumble that they called incomplete (upon replay). Seven were completions, five were drops” (all of Schwartz’s comments are available here via the Houston Chronicle’s Greg Rajan). Schwartz does have the backing of Pro Football Focus, which ranked Savage’s season-opening performance 15th among 31 signal-callers. Watson came in last.
- Having not played in the NFL since his dreadful 2015 showing in New Orleans, free agent cornerback Brandon Browner is obviously facing an uphill battle to return to the league. The odds of the ex-Seahawks star making a comeback look even worse now, as Browner was arrested in Los Angeles on Monday on felony charges of making criminal threats to a woman, TMZ reports. The two-time Super Bowl champion hasn’t drawn any known interest since the Seahawks released him in August 2016 (even after playing in the the Spring League this year), and that probably isn’t going to change.
- The Cardinals are hoping to get running back David Johnson “back by Thanksgiving or Christmas,” coach Bruce Arians told SiriusXM. The initial word on Johnson’s wrist injury has been that he could be out for two to three months. Arians’ timetable seems to jibe with that.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
AFC Notes: Cushing, McCown, Pats
The latest from around the AFC:
- Texans linebacker Brian Cushing earned the second PED suspension of his career Wednesday, and while he appealed the previous ban in 2010, he’s not going to fight the punishment this time. “It is with the deepest remorse, he humbly apologizes to his fans, teammates and coaches,” Cushing’s attorney, Harvey Steinberg, said. “After consulting with his attorney and his agent he felt rather than dragging the appellate process out, this would be the best way to proceed.” Cushing will sit out the Texans’ next 10 games, which means the earliest he’ll see the field again is Dec. 3 in Tennessee.
- The roster bonuses in quarterback Josh McCown‘s contract with the Jets could make it difficult for him to keep the starting job as the season progresses, ESPN’s Adam Schefter notes. Already on a fully guaranteed $6MM salary, McCown will earn $125K for each game he starts in 2017. Given that the Jets are more likely to contend for the first overall pick in the 2018 draft than a playoff spot this season, McCown might not be long for the No. 1 role. Not only would the Jets save money by benching McCown, but they’d get a chance to evaluate one or both of their young signal-callers, Christian Hackenberg and Bryce Petty.
- Factoring in this season, linebacker Kyle Van Noy‘s two-year extension with the Patriots amounts to a three-year, $12.87MM contract, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com writes. The deal comes with $5.5MM in guarantees, including a $3.5MM signing bonus and a fully guaranteed $2MM salary for 2018. It also features a reporting bonus ($100K) and two workout bonuses (one for $7,095, another for $25K) in 2017 and a $100K roster bonus in both 2018 and ’19.
- The Raiders are nearing an extension with one of their top players.
NFL Workout Updates: 9/13/17
Today’s workout updates, with nearly all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account:
Buffalo Bills
- QB Joel Stave; WRs Chris Brown, Marlon Brown; G Oni Omoile; T Brad Seaton; CB Makinton Dorleant (Twitter links)
Chicago Bears
- DE Praise Martin-Oguike; LBs Akeem Ayers, Chris Casher, Vontarrius Dora, Jonathan Freeny; LS Andrew East (Twitter links)
Green Bay Packers
- WR Jesse Kroll; LBs Donnie Baggs, Brooks Ellis, Christian Kuntz (Twitter links)
Indianapolis Colts
- WRs K.J. Brent, Devin Lucien, KeVonn Mabon; OTs Andreas Knappe, Javarius Leamon, Jah Reid, Brad Seaton; DEs Logan Ingle, Branden Jackson (all Twitter links)
Jacksonville Jaguars
- DT Darius Kilgo (link)
Kansas City Chiefs
- CBs Alex Carter, Josh Thornton (link)
New England Patriots
- QB Mitch Leidner; WRs Daniel Braverman, Tevaun Smith, Jahad Thomas, Bryan Walters; LS Taybor Pepper; P Austin Rehkow (link here)
New Orleans Saints
- WRs Corey Brown, Josh Huff, Seantavius Jones, Anthony Nash, Myles White; Gs Dallas Thomas, Andrew Tiller, Earl Watford, Cody Wichmann; LBs Akeem Ayers, Sio Moore; OT Eric Winston; CB Jumal Rolle; S Jordan Moore (all Twitter links here)
New York Jets
- RB Lorenzo Taliaferro; WRs Jaydon Mickens, Anthony Nash, Michael Rector; TE Scott Orndoff (link)
Philadelphia Eagles
- LBs Carl Bradford, Tre’von Johnson, Joseph Jones, Antwione Williams; Ks Marshall Koehn, Josh Lambo, Mike Nugent (Twitter links)
Tennessee Titans
- G Kaleb Johnson (link)
Washington Redskins
- RBs Jonathan Grimes, Daryl Richardson; G Greg Pyke; (link)
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/13/17
Today’s practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: T Givens Price, LB Scooby Wright
- Released: CB Ryan Lewis, RB James Summers
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: CB Greg Mabin
Chicago Bears
- Signed: RB Josh Rounds
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: WR Brian Brown
- Released: S Jameill Showers
Detroit Lions
- Signed: OT Storm Norton
- Cut: DE Pat O’Connor
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: G Darrell Greene
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: T Tyreek Burwell
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: WR Larry Pinkard
- Released: CB Stanley Jean-Baptiste
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: CB Jeff Richards
- Released: DE Isaac Rochell
Los Angeles Rams
- Released: C Jake Eldrenkamp
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: Antwione Williams
New England Patriots
- Signed: CB Ryan Lewis
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: LB L.J. Fort
- Released: LB Matt Galambos
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: TE Gabe Holmes, CB Akeem King
49ers Work Out Seven Defenders
The 49ers hosted a few established defensive linemen on Wednesday, working out free agents Ahtyba Rubin, Jaye Howard, Kendall Langford and Tony McDaniel, according to Field Yates of ESPN (Twitter link). They also tried out defensive tackle Stefan Charles and a pair of defensive backs – Devonte Johnson and Josh Thornton – per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
Rubin, perhaps the most notable of the bunch, spent the previous two years in the 49ers’ divisio – the NFC West – with Seattle. The Seahawks, who play the 49ers this week, released Rubin at the outset of the month, and his only known interest prior to his meeting with San Francisco came from the Bills. The 31-year-old DT started in all 32 appearances with the Seahawks, registering 75 tackles and three sacks, and previously started in 75 of 99 games as a Brown from 2008-14. Kyle Shanahan, the Niners’ rookie head coach, was Cleveland’s offensive coordinator during Rubin’s last season there.
Howard, 28, worked out for the Lions this week before his visit to San Francisco. The former Chief has been on the hunt for a job since the Bears released him Sept. 2. Howard didn’t play a down in Chicago, which signed him in May after the Chiefs released him, and is coming off an injury-played 2016. After Howard posted back-to-back 16-game seasons and combined for 24 starts from 2014-15, a hip ailment limited him to eight and five in those categories last year.
Like Rubin and Howard, Langford and McDaniel earned summer releases from their previous employers. The Colts cut Langford with a failed physical designation in August, indicating that the 31-year-old hadn’t recovered from the knee injury that ended his 2016 campaign in October. He was, however, the picture of durability from 2008-15 with the Dolphins, Rams and Colts, appearing in eight straight 16-game seasons. Langford’s also just two years removed from a career-high seven-sack showing.
McDaniel, whom the Saints released at the beginning of the month, is an 11-year veteran who spent three of the previous four years in Seattle. The 295-pounder is familar with first-year 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who worked on the Seahawks’ staff during one of McDaniel’s seasons with them (2013). McDaniel started a personal-best 15 games that season and notched 53 tackles (a career mark) and two sacks.
It’s unclear if the 49ers will sign any of these players, but doing so would perhaps improve a defensive line that didn’t generate much pressure during their 23-3 loss to the Panthers in Week 1. The 49ers hit Panthers quarterback Cam Newton just twice and failed to register a sack in Saleh’s debut atop their defense. They did, however, hold Carolina to a measly 3.1 yards per rush on 38 attempts.
Brian Cushing Gets 10-Game Suspension
The NFL announced Wednesday that it has suspended Texans linebacker Brian Cushing 10 games without pay for violating its policy on performance-enhancing drugs (Twitter link via Mark Berman of FOX 26). Cushing will be eligible to return to the Texans’ active roster Nov. 28. In the meantime, he’ll lose $4MM in salary and the Texans could attempt to recoup some of his signing bonus, per Field Yates of ESPN (on Twitter).
This is the second PED-related suspension for Cushing, a ninth-year man who served a four-game ban in 2010. Another such suspension would force Cushing to sit for at least two years, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes (on Twitter). The 30-year-old is now in line for his shortest season since 2012, when injuries limited him to five games. Aside from that season and 2013, when he only suited up seven times, Cushing entered this year having played in no fewer than 12 games in any individual campaign. He has also started in all 100 career appearances.
While the former USC star has been a staple in Houston since it drafted him 15th overall in 2009, this suspension could give the team another reason to cut ties with him after the season. The Texans used a second-round pick this past offseason on a potential replacement, Zach Cunningham, as Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com tweets. Further, releasing Cushing would save the Texans $8.5MM and leave them with only $1.2MM in dead money in 2018.
While Houston will have an interesting decision to make on Cushing in the offseason, it has nearly a full slate to play before then. Already off to an 0-1 start after taking a beating from AFC South rival Jacksonville last week, the Texans will now have to go the next couple months without a key defensive starter (albeit one who has had a rather inconsistent career, according to Pro Football Focus). Along with Cunningham, possible in-house fill-ins include Brian Peters and Dylan Cole – two players who lack NFL track records as defenders.
Panthers Claim CB Ladarius Gunter
Former Packers cornerback Ladarius Gunter was claimed off waivers by the Panthers, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. In a corresponding move, the Panthers are releasing kicker Harrison Butker. 
Gunter had the most defensive snaps of any Packers cornerback in 2016. He was productive early on, but he slowed down towards the end of the season and slipped down the depth chart over the summer. He was on the field for only two snaps in Green Bay’s season opener.
The release of Butker means that Graham Gano will be sticking with the team. Earlier this month, the Panthers were receiving calls of trade interest in Gano, leading to speculation that they could move him for a draft pick and stick with Butker. That won’t be the case as the Georgia Tech product is now subject to waivers.
Raiders, Donald Penn Nearing Extension
The Raiders and left tackle Donald Penn are closing in on a two-year extension, sources tell Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The deal should be completed by this week, he adds. 
Penn held out from the Raiders for nearly a month before reporting towards the end of August. Penn was pushing for an increase over his $5.8MM base salary for 2017 and it appears that he’ll either get a bump for this year or a nice chunk of change starting in 2018.
Raiders brass told Penn that they would discuss an extension if he suited up for team activities. It seems the organization has kept its word.
“We don’t talk contracts unless a guy is here,” said GM Reggie McKenzie over the summer.
Penn is 34, but he stands as one of the game’s best offensive tackles. He has been seeking top ten money and the new contract should at least put him close to that. His previous deal’s average annual value had him outside of the top 20 tackles in the NFL.
Over the last ten years, Penn has not missed a single regular season contest. Last year, he graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 12 tackle in the NFL.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/13/17
Today’s minor moves:
Cleveland Browns
- Released from IR: RB Brandon Wilds
Green Bay Packers
- Promoted to active roster: OL Adam Pankey
Houston Texans
- Promoted to active roster: TE Evan Baylis
- Waived: WR Andy Jones
Minnesota Vikings
- Released from IR: TE Bucky Hodges
San Francisco 49ers
- Waived: T John Theus
Tennessee Titans
- Released from IR: RB Joe Bacci, DL Jimmy Staten