Darren McFadden Announces Retirement
Darren McFadden is calling it a career. The former Cowboys running back announced his retirement from football on Tuesday afternoon. 
“Today, I am announcing that I am retiring from the NFL. I have been extremely privileged to play in the league for a long time,” McFadden wrote. “And now that time for me is done.”
McFadden, 30, was waived by the Cowboys over the weekend. It was reportedly a mutual decision. At the time, it seemed like McFadden might seek work elsewhere, but has decided to walk away from the game instead. In theory, McFadden was free to sign with any team after passing through the post trade deadline waivers.
The running back first broke into the league as the No. 4 overall pick in the 2008 draft. While he showed flashes of serious potential, injuries hampered him in Oakland. His best Raiders season came in 2010 when he ran for 1,157 yards plus 507 yards receiving.
McFadden had a late career re-emergence with Dallas, eclipsing 1,000 yards in 2015. Unfortunately, he lost most of 2016 to injury and didn’t see much action this year. His 2017 season ends after one game played with one rushing attempt for negative two yards. Some expected McFadden to get back into the fold after Ezekiel Elliott‘s suspension, but that never came to fruition.
McFadden’s career ends with 5,421 yards rushing, at an average of 4.2 yards per attempt, and 28 rushing touchdowns. He also had 2,114 yards receiving and five TDs through the air.
We here at Pro Football Rumors wish McFadden the best in retirement.
Giants To Start Geno Smith On Sunday
The Giants announced that Geno Smith will start at quarterback on Sunday against the Raiders. The move will allow the Giants to evaluate their younger quarterback in what has become a lost season. 
“Geno will start this week,” coach Ben McAdoo said in a press release. “Over the last five games, we will take a look at Geno, and we will also give Davis [Webb] an opportunity.”
It’s a historic move for the G-Men given that Eli Manning has started 210 consecutive regular-season games. It is the second-longest streak by a quarterback in NFL history, second only to Brett Favre’s 297. According to the press release, Manning was given the option to continue his streak, but declined.
“Coach McAdoo told me I could continue to start while Geno and Davis are given an opportunity to play,” said Manning, who has started every Giants game since Nov. 21, 2004. “My feeling is that if you are going to play the other guys, play them. Starting just to keep the streak going and knowing you won’t finish the game and have a chance to win it is pointless to me, and it tarnishes the streak. Like I always have, I will be ready to play if and when I am needed. I will help Geno and Davis prepare to play as well as they possibly can.”
The Giants will be re-evaluating every area of the team in the offseason, including the quarterback position. Manning isn’t necessarily being forced out, but the Giants are expected to look towards the future as his 37th birthday comes in January. McAdoo & Co. are about to find out whether the former Jets bust is a potential option. Meanwhile, they’ll have to decide on Manning’s future before he collects on a $5MM roster bonus on the fifth day of the 2018 league year in March.
Smith played in 33 regular-season games with 30 starts for the Jets, but he has not started a game since October of last year. His stint in green was defined by poor play, injuries, and a locker room brawl that left him with a major jaw fracture.
Heading into the season, the Giants believed that Manning, Odell Beckham Jr., and free agent pickup Brandon Marshall would power them into the playoffs. Unfortunately, injuries to OBJ, Marshall, and scores of other key players have taken them out of contention. The Giants are 2-9 with no mathematical chance of reaching the postseason.
“This is not the way it should be, but unfortunately, it’s where we are,” McAdoo said. “Our number one priority every week is to go win a game, but we owe it to the organization to get an evaluation of everybody on the roster, and that includes at the quarterback position. I’ll say it again, I have the utmost respect for Eli and everything he has done for this organization throughout his career. He is the consummate professional. He doesn’t like the position we are in, and neither do any of us. Eli has had to deal with a lot this season. Through it all, he has done everything we have asked of him in getting that unit ready to play. He has been steady, just like he has always been.”
Buccaneers Cut DE Darryl Tapp
The Buccaneers are releasing defensive end Darryl Tapp, according to Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times (on Twitter). To fill his spot, the team has promoted rookie defensive end Pat O’Connor from the practice squad. 
Tapp’s stint in Tampa ends after two tackles in four games. The Bucs signed Tapp in late October when several edge rushers fell victim to the injury bug, but his play just wasn’t up to par. At this stage of his career, it’s not clear what the 33-year-old has left in the tank. He’s basically been a rotational defensive end since 2009 and his best years as a starter for the Seahawks in 2007-08 are long behind him.
The Lions drafted O’Connor in the seventh round of the 2017 draft. The Eastern Michigan product was not able to make Detroit’s Week 1 cut, but he has impressed since joining the Bucs’ taxi squad seven weeks ago. He may get a chance to see live NFL action this Sunday against the Packers, though he’ll slot behind Robert Ayers (if healthy), William Gholston, Will Clarke, and Ryan Russell.
As a senior at Eastern Michigan, O’Connor had 8.5 sacks and five forced fumbles.
Latest On Seahawks, Kam Chancellor
Kam Chancellor‘s neck injury has ended his 2017 season. Coach Pete Carroll has indicated that the injury could also be a career-ender for the safety, and that could have serious long-term ramifications for the Seahawks both on and off the field. As noted by Joel Corry of CBSSports.com (Twitter links), the Seahawks could be on the hook for $12MM if he cannot suit up again. That’s because Chancellor’s $6.8MM 2018 base salary and a $5.2MM portion of his 2019 base salary are guaranteed for injury.
[RELATED: Kam Chancellor Done For Season]
The Seahawks won’t have much time to evaluate things before Chancellor’s 2018 skill and salary cap guarantees lock in. As dictated by the contract, the $6.8MM will be iron clad five days after 2018 waivers begin. This year, that falls on February 10. In theory, the Seahawks could cut Chancellor loose before that date, but the safety would have serious ammo to file a grievance case against the team.
Chancellor, 30 in April, had 49 tackles and two passes defended before suffering the neck injury in Week 10. The metrics at Pro Football Focus rank him as the sixth-best safety in the NFL this year, so it’s clear that he’s still playing football at a very high level. Hopefully, he’ll be able to continue doing what he does best.
Giants Sign Darryl Morris, Brandon Dixon
The Giants have added a pair of players to the secondary. The team announced that defensive back Brandon Dixon has been promoted from the practice squad to the 53-man roster. In addition to Dixon, the Giants have also signed free agent Darryl Morris. 
Dixon, 27, has traveled the league since being drafted by the Jets in the sixth round of the 2014 draft. The Northwest Missouri State product has also spent time with the Bucs, Seahawks, Colts, Patriots, Saints, and Steelers. His only real NFL action came with Tampa Bay as a rookie, however, when he appeared in 14 games and had one interception, two passes defensed, and nine total tackles. In what has become a lost season for the Giants, he could have an opportunity to add to his resume.
Morris, also 27, has had multiple NFL stops, but he comes with more in-game experience. The 5’10” cornerback has 48 games to his credit thanks to time spent with the Niners, Texans, and Colts, including 12 games and two starts last year for Indy. He had a career-high 34 tackles, six passes defensed, and one interception for the Colts in 2016.
The 2-9 Giants lost a defensive back this week when Donte Deayon was placed on season-ending IR. They might also be without star Janoris Jenkins for a bit thanks to his injured ankle. With the additions of Morris and Dixon, they have replenished their reserves in advance of Sunday’s game against the Raiders.
To take Dixon’s place on the taxi squad, defensive back Jeremiah McKinnon has been added to the ten-man unit.
Details On Darrelle Revis’ Deal With Chiefs
Darrelle Revis‘ new deal with the Chiefs could prove to be very lucrative for this season and next. After Revis is done double-dipping in 2017, he could collect up to $13.5MM in 2018, Field Yates of ESPN.com hears.
[RELATED: Chiefs Sign Darrelle Revis]
That’s a ton of money for a player who some say is over the hill and under-motivated, but the Chiefs felt they had to take the risk to beef up their secondary. It also helps that KC can bail on the deal without major penalty before the start of next season.
Revis’ $1.015MM base salary for next year becomes guaranteed if he is on the roster on the fifth day of the 2018 league year, plus $185K more available through a workout bonus. If he stays on the roster, he’ll earn a weekly roster bonus of $550K for each game. All in all, he’d see $8.8MM in bonuses if he remains with the team throughout the season – even if he’s on injured reserve or the physically unable to perform list.
The Chiefs’ success this year could also impact Revis’ 2018 paycheck. The cornerback will get $1.75MM in roster bonuses for next year if he plays more than half of the snaps in a victorious AFC Championship Game for the Chiefs. If he plays more than half of the snaps in a Super Bowl LII win, he’ll boost that number to $3.5MM. That bonus would be paid out to Revis on the first day of the 2018 league year. Interestingly, he can still qualify for the SB bonus even if he does not achieve the conference game bonus.
For the rest of this year, the veteran will earn roughly $353K per week, the total of his Chiefs pay plus the prorated portion of his $6MM guarantee from the Jets. There’s a lot of money (potentially) being paid out to Revis, but it will be all worthwhile for KC if he can help right the ship for this season. And, if he looks a lot like his 2016 version, the Chiefs can rid themselves of the obligation pretty easily.
Revis had 43 tackles, one interception, and five passes defended in 15 games for Gang Green last year. He graded out as the league’s No. 64 corner in 2016, per Pro Football Focus, a far cry from where he was in his first Jets stint.
NFC Notes: Rodgers, Stafford, Bucs
Despite the Packers falling behind in the NFC playoff picture, quarterback Aaron Rodgers was seen throwing the ball around prior to the start of the team’s Sunday night game in Pittsburgh. Now with Rodgers clearly progressing well, the soon-to-be 34-year-old may be ready to return to practice at the end of next week, reports Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. Demovsky passed along that head coach Mike McCarthy dodged a question about if he expected his starting QB to return this season. The earliest date Rodgers could be activated off the injured reserve would be in Week 15.
- Fellow NFC North signal, Lions QB Matthew Stafford suffered an injury of his own on Thanksgiving, but appears to be “feeling better”, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. The injury appeared to be more serious, but is being classified as a sprained ankle by team doctors. “I’m feeling better,” Stafford said after practice on Monday. “Obviously stuck around in town this weekend, got a bunch of treatment on it. We’ll see. Coach (Jim Caldwell) will put out that report on Wednesday or whatever it is for practice and all that kind of stuff, but it’s getting better and hopefully it’ll continue to get better.” Obviously, the franchise quarterback will not be 100% healthy entering Week 13, but he’s fought through injuries before and it looks like he’ll be healthy enough to take on the Ravens this Sunday.
- Despite an earlier report that Mississippi State may be targeting Buccaneers offensive coordinator Todd Monken for their heading coaching vacancy, Tampa Bay head coach Dirk Koetter hasn’t heard anything about school’s interest, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). “To my knowledge, Todd Monken has not been contacted by Mississippi State. That comes from his mouth to my ear.” While the interest may be more in the gathering stage at this point, expect to hear some NFL assistants get some looks from schools as jobs open up. Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin is reportedly garnering interest in Arizona State’s open head coach position.
- On the field, Stroud also reports that QB Jameis Winston could begin throwing again at practice this week, and could get enough work to start vs. the Packers this weekend. This would be a positive development for the third-year signal caller as he’s missed the team’s last three games with a shoulder injury. While the news is positive, Winston is also dealing with an NFL investigation off the field regarding a sexual assault allegation that stems from when Winston rode in an Uber last year.
NFL Workout Updates: 11/27/17
Here are today’s NFL workouts, with all credit going to Adam Caplan of Sirius XM unless otherwise noted.
Detroit Lions
New England Patriots
- DT Marcus Hardison (Mike Reiss of ESPN.com) (Twitter link)
New York Giants
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WR’s Corey Brown, Jeremy Ross; DT Khyri Thornton; CB Darryl Morris; P Jeff Locke (Twitter link)
Philadelphia Eagles
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QB Matt Simms; TE’s Gabe Holmes, Jevoni Robinson (Twitter link)
Practice Squad Updates: 11/27/17
Here are today’s practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: LB Kevin Snyder
- Cut: LB Connor Harris
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: CB Lorenzo Doss
- Waived: OL Will Pericak
Chicago Bears
- Signed: DB Alex Carter
- Waived: WR Mario Alford
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: DL Josh Tupou
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: DB Jacob Hagen
Detroit Lions
- Signed: WR Jace Billingsley, DB Stefan McClure
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: DT Jeremy Liggins
- Waived: G Ian Silberman
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: DE Francis Kallon
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: LB Brooks Ellis, WR Jaelen Strong
- Waived: DL Marcus Hardison
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: TE Johnny Mundt, DB Marcus Sayles
- Waived: OL Jeremiah Poutasi
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: RB De’Veon Smith
New England Patriots
- Waived: DT Mike Purcell
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: FB Kyle Coleman, LB Kache Palacio
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: WR Jake Lampman, T Givens Price, CB David Rivers
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/27/17
Here are today’s minor NFL moves:
Detroit Lions
- Promoted from practice squad: S Roland Milligan
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Bradley Marquez
Kansas City Chiefs
- Waived: TE Ross Travis
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: DB Kevin Peterson
San Francisco 49ers
- Placed on injured reserve: OT Erik Magnuson
- Placed on injured reserve: RB Raheem Mostert