Cowboys Players Frustrated, Team To Make Several Moves
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link), while Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has publicly supported head coach Jason Garrett and his staff, the players themselves are not so supportive. Last year’s NFC East champions are just 5-6 and are mired in a three-game losing streak during which they have looked lethargic and mediocre, and the players are frustrated that the coaching staff has not made proper adjustments to help resolve their issues.
For instance, Rapoport says players are angry that the coaching staff did not provide Chaz Green with enough blocking support when he filled in for injured left tackle Tyron Smith, and they are generally frustrated with the vanilla schemes on both sides of the football.
Some changes, though, are being made. We learned earlier today that the team elected to waive running back Darren McFadden, and Rapoport say Dallas also plans to bench cornerback Anthony Brown.
The team also plans to bolster its defensive line by signing veteran Datone Jones, as Todd Archer of ESPN.com writes. Jones, who was recently cut by the 49ers, is expected to ink a two-year deal with the Cowboys tomorrow. Jones is a former first-round selection who has already been a part of three organizations this year (the Vikings, Lions, and 49ers), though he only saw game action with San Francisco. He recorded six tackles in three games and offers help as a rotational piece.
Archer also reports that the Cowboys will release kicker Mike Nugent and will promote running back Trey Williams from the practice squad to take McFadden’s place on the roster.
The above transactions, however, are minor moves that are not likely to ease the tension that Rapoport says permeates the locker room. Indeed, as Clarence Hill, Jr. of the Star-Telegram tweets, the team is not making any play-calling or coaching changes.
Browns To Activate Josh Gordon
Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon is eligible to return to live action next week against the Chargers, and according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link), the team does plan to activate him and he will play next Sunday.
Gordon, who has been plagued by suspensions throughout his career, was conditionally reinstated on November 1, and he has reportedly looked like his old self in his subsequent workouts at the team facility. He apparently kept himself in good shape during his recovery from drug and alcohol problems, and all reports concerning Gordon since his reinstatement have been glowing.
Gordon, of course, produced one of the best seasons by a receiver in NFL history in 2013 when he led the league with 1,646 yards in just 14 games, but he has played just five games since that breakout campaign. His next game will be his first since 2014.
Gordon’s business manager, Michael Johnson, said Gordon is in the best mental state of his life and the Browns have “bought in.” For his part, Gordon is curious to see how effective he can be sober, as he says he has never been sober in his professional career.
If Gordon — who is still just 26 — can stay on the field even as an average player, it would represent one of the more incredible comeback stories in recent memory. Suddenly, there may be a reason to watch the Browns in the final few weeks of the season.
Eagles Working On Brandon Graham Extension
The Eagles are working on a new deal for defensive end Brandon Graham, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports. Graham has racked up six sacks this season — his career-high is 6.5 — and he currently ranks as the fifth-best edge defender in the league (out of 112 qualified players) per Pro Football Focus.
Graham is still under club control through 2018 as a result of the four-year, $26.5MM deal he inked in 2015, a deal that looks like a bargain now. Despite some rumblings that he would hold out of training camp this summer, he never did so and firmly indicated that he never planned to hold out. Nonetheless, the Eagles did add incentives to his current deal in August and now it seems they are prepared to reward him even more.
Philadelphia, of course, is 9-1 and is on the short list of Super Bowl favorites. The team also has a history of being aggressive in locking up key members of its roster, even late in the season (the Eagles signed Timmy Jernigan to a lucrative multi-year deal several weeks ago).
As La Canfora notes, Graham is something of a late-bloomer, but he has thrived under defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and his impact goes far beyond his raw sack totals. He is a key cog in the club’s defensive success, and GM Howie Roseman is ready to pay him accordingly. La Canfora does say that the two sides have a fairly large gap to bridge, but the team’s interest in getting something done soon is genuine.
Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com (Twitter link) says that if Graham and the Eagles can agree to terms, his extension would likely lower his cap hit for 2018 (currently $7.5MM) to free up some space. After all, as Shorr-Parks observes in a separate piece, the cap hits for Jernigan’s new contract are out, and they are significant.
Raiders Expected To Fire Todd Downing After 2017
The Raiders fired defensive coordinator Ken Norton earlier this week, and Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes that offensive coordinator Todd Downing is coaching for his job. Per La Canfora, the Raiders are unlikely to bring Downing back for 2018, and while head coach Jack Del Rio — who received a lucrative extension prior to the season — is probably not going anywhere, it appears as if his staff will look quite different next year.
Downing was a hot offensive coordinator candidate last offseason and drew interest from multiple clubs. The Raiders ultimately decided to promote him after allowing former OC Bill Musgrave‘s contract to lapse, but their offense has taken a significant downturn with Downing at the helm.
Downing, 37, has had success as a quarterbacks coach in the past, serving in that capacity with the Lions from 2011-13, the Bills in 2014, and the Raiders from 2015-16. Under his tutelage, Derek Carr became one of the better quarterbacks in the league, but Carr has regressed this season and the offense is missing the big plays that it enjoyed under Musgrave. The offense ranks just 18th in offensive points scored, 21st in yards per game, 22nd in plays of 10 yards or more, 27th in rushing yards, and 21st in overall passing.La Canfora adds that Downing has not endeared himself to other coaches and front office members, which could help trigger his ouster.
If the team does look for a new OC in 2018, La Canfora names Mike McCoy as a potential candidate. Per La Canfora, McCoy has been approached by several teams who want him to work as a consultant for the duration of 2017, but he is unlikely to entertain any such advances. Instead, he will simply wait for the winter hiring period, when he will be one of the more coveted coordinators on the market.
Even if Del Rio does not hire McCoy, he is likely to seek someone with more experience in light of Downing’s disappointing first season.
Mark Ingram Could Become Free Agent At Season’s End
Running back Mark Ingram, who is enjoying an excellent campaign with the surprising Saints, is under contract with New Orleans through the 2018 season as part of a four-year, $16MM deal he signed with the club in 2015 after the expiration of his rookie contract. He will be owed a $4MM base salary next season, but, as Mike Triplett of ESPN.com observes, the final year of his contract will void if Ingram is named a first-team All-Pro by the Associated Press.
While that provision is not news, it is the first time that it has really come into play. Ingram has been stuck in a series of time-shares since he was selected by the Saints in the first round of the 2011 draft, and while he has ceded reps to breakout rookie back Alvin Kamara in 2017, he has still managed to keep himself among the top of the league’s running back rankings. The 27-year-old has the most rushing yards in the NFL since Week 5 (636), the most yards from scrimmage in the league since Week 6 (724) and the most rushing touchdowns since Week 2 (eight). His eight rushing scores are are tied for first in the league, and he is fourth in the league with 806 rushing yards and fourth among running backs with 1,019 yards from scrimmage. So, while a first-team All-Pro nod might be a bit of a stretch right now, it may not be if he continues at his current pace.
If Ingram were to become a free agent at the end of the season, he would join Carlos Hyde as one of the top two free agent running backs (assuming the Steelers do not let Le’Veon Bell hit the open market). While running backs have had a tough go of it in free agency in recent years, Ingram would assuredly earn more than the $4MM he is currently set to make in 2018. Barring injury, he will go over 1,000 rushing yards for the second straight year, and he is a quality receiver out of the backfield.
Assuming the Saints re-sign Drew Brees in the offseason, they may not have enough cap space to bring Ingram back if he becomes a free agent, and they would likely give Kamara a larger role under that scenario. Again, this is all just a hypothetical discussion right now, but it will be an interesting situation to monitor down the stretch.
Cowboys To Waive Darren McFadden
The Cowboys are going to waive RB Darren McFadden, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Rapoport and Todd Archer of ESPN.com note that the decision is a mutual one.
McFadden, now 30, has appeared in only one game for Dallas this season, rushing one time for negative two yards. Even in the wake of Ezekiel Elliott‘s suspension, he has not been able to get on the field, as Alfred Morris has jumped to the top of the depth chart and Rod Smith has served as Morris’ backup.
McFadden rushed for over 1,000 yards in 2015, his first year in Dallas, but he lost much of the 2016 season due to injury and was brought back for 2017 on a minimum salary benefit deal worth $980K. The Arkansas product, whom the Raiders drafted with the fourth-overall selection of the 2008 draft, has been plagued by injury for much of his career, and he therefore never really lived up to his enormous potential. He did post 1,157 rushing yards for Oakland in 2010 — to go along with 507 receiving yards — but outside of 2015, that was the only time he topped 1,000 rushing yards in his 10 years in the league.
As Rapoport notes, however, McFadden could be a useful piece for a contending club, as he should certainly be fresh down the stretch. If McFadden goes unclaimed on waivers, he will be free to sign with any team.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/25/17
Wyoming Coach Expects Allen To Enter NFL
It’s been long expected that star Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen was going to enter the 2018 NFL Draft. Following the team’s game on Nov. 18, head coach Craig Bohl all but confirmed the speculation. 
While meeting with reporters following the 13-7 loss to Fresno State, Bohl was asked if Allen would return to the team in 2018. “I would say no,” Bohl told reporters, including the Casper Star-Tribune’s Brandon Foster. “He and I have had some talks, and I think he’s going to plan on moving forward (to the NFL).”
The coach’s comments weren’t the only indicator about Allen’s future. The junior quarterback was also the first player honored during the team’s senior-day ceremonies. Bohl played that off by saying, “Well, Josh is set to graduate and (is) a senior,” alluding to the fact Allen is an academic senior.
So far in his junior campaign, Allen hasn’t put up the eye-popping stats many expect from a first-round quarterbacks, amassing 1,658 yards, 13 touchdowns and six interceptions while completing just 56.2 percent of his passes. Scouts, however, rave about the signal-caller’s tools. At 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds with a cannon for an arm, Allen is seen by many as the most physically talented passer in an impressive class of quarterbacks that includes USC’s Sam Darnold, Louisville’s Lamar Jackson and UCLA’s Josh Rosen.
Teams who could be a possible destination for the Wyoming product include the Giants, Browns and Jets.
Jones Wants Input From Owners On Goodell
Though Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has relented on his threat to sue the NFL, the Cowboys owner is not giving up his battle against commissioner Roger Goodell just yet, Pro Football Talk’s Charean Williams writes. 
Though the six-member Compensation Committee voted unanimously to extend Goodell, Jones expects all owners to have input on the decision when they convene at an owners-only meeting in Irving, Texas on Dec. 13. “I just want to say that we really have had, are having a lot of owner participation. So that’s a part of it,” Jones said. “It doesn’t mean at all that we’re not really pursing what we want to get done, and that is have the owners in a very positive way give input and make everyone, including ourselves, accountable.”
Pro Football Talk also reported earlier in the week that Jones will seek a secret ballot in regards to Goodell’s contract. Even if Jones receives the secret ballot, which requires a majority of 17 owners to trigger, he is facing an uphill battle. After the ballot is triggered, 75 percent of the 32 votes are needed to rescind the decision.
Regardless the outcome, Jones doesn’t seem likely to give up the fight anytime soon.
Keenum Set To Cash In During Offseason
Vikings quarterback Case Keenum is due for a substantial raise in the 2018 offseason that could earn him in the neighborhood of $15 MM per year, writes Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. 
The figure comes from salary cap analyst Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com and is based on the contract Mike Glennon signed in the 2017 offseason with the Bears. Should Keenum command the Vikings on a deep playoff run, Fitzgerald says that figure could rise to as much as $18 MM.
“If you have an arm and can throw a little bit, there’s such a scarcity of talent at the position and I think there’s a lot of worries about guys coming in from college unless you’re looked at as a super prospect and are going to be picked in the top five of the draft,’’ Fitzgerald told Tomasson.
The first name on our list of the 10 best one-year deals of 2017 from earlier this month, Keenum has significantly outperformed his $2 MM contract while commanding the Vikings to the top of the NFC North. Signed as an afterthought behind starter Sam Bradford and with the return of Teddy Bridgewater looming, the journeyman signal-caller has powered Minnesota to a 7-2 mark as the team’s starter and delivered another win in relief of Bradford in Week 5 vs. Chicago.
Fitzgerald notes that a lot will depend on the end of the season. With head coach Mike Zimmer unwilling to commit to Keenum the rest of the campaign, that figure could fall should the University of Houston product slip up down the stretch.