Jerry Jones Says He Won’t Sue NFL
The idea of a Jerry Jones lawsuit against the NFL became a real possibility recently, but the Cowboys owner has backed off of that stance.
Jones told USA Today’s Jarrett Bell he will not sue the league over Roger Goodell‘s contract. Instead, the Dallas decision-maker wants “accountability,” seeking all 32 owners to approve Goodell’s contract rather than just the six-man compensation committee.
The brash owner also didn’t deny he made the comments attributed to him in the explosive report that emerged late last week. But he denied threatening the commissioner.
“As long as those comments are kept in the context of the overall conversation, then I don’t deny that I said that,” Jones said (via Bell). But I deny threatening Roger.”
ESPN.com published a quote from Jones saying he was going to come after Goodell with “everything that I have” in a comment that also included a derogatory remark about Robert Kraft.
As for what’s next with the commissioner, an owner who isn’t on the compensation committee expects Goodell’s contract to now be finalized as soon as next week, Bell reports. A separate owner said Jones’ aggressiveness against the process has actually helped push it closer to completion.
Jones was part of a 32-0 owners’ vote approving the compensation committee to work out a new Goodell deal, but the owner said Tuesday circumstances have changed since he voiced his approval for this measure.
“There have been material changes since the resolution,” Jones said, explaining why he reconsidered his position regarding the May approval of Goodell’s extension. “It should go back to the ownership.”
Mark Maske of the Washington Post reported over the weekend some owners wanted sanctions against Jones for his actions in recent months, with another league source adding Goodell’s contract would be completed soon and Jones would be “dealt with.” Maske also reported another ratification from owners on Goodell’s deal won’t be required despite Jones’ wishes.
Jones, however, said he had support from several owners as well regarding his stance. And he doesn’t believe he should be disciplined for his recent actions, per Bell. He also denied recent reports’ assertions this anti-Goodell charge was solely because of the Ezekiel Elliott suspension.
“This is not about replacing Roger,” Jones said, via Bell. “It’s a misnomer to say it’s payback for Ezekiel Elliott. It is about the accountability of the commissioner to all of the ownership.”
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/21/17
Here are today’s minor moves.
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: WR Carlton Agudosi
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: S Justin Currie
- Signed: DE Tyrone Holmes
- Placed on IR: DT Jamie Meder
Houston Texans
- Waived: QB Josh Johnson (according to agent Doug Hendrickson, on Twitter)
- Signed: WR Cobi Hamilton
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived: TE Johnny Mundt
New England Patriots
- Signed off Bills’ practice squad: OLB Eric Lee
Washington Redskins
- Placed on IR: G Shaun Lauvao
NFL Workout Updates: 11/21/17
Here’s the workout news from Tuesday.
Buffalo Bills
- DT Stefan Charles (per Mike Rodak of ESPN.com, on Twitter)
Houston Texans
Jacksonville Jaguars
- LB Ben Boulware, LB Carl Bradford, LB Brooks Ellis, LS Derek Hart, WR Lucky Whitehead (per NFL reporter Howard Balzer, on Twitter)
New England Patriots
- LB Darnell Sankey, WR R.J. Shelton (via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com, on Twitter)
New York Jets
- CB Will Likely, TE Gabe Holmes, S Kelcie McCray, WR Eric Rogers (Twitter links via Wilson and ESPN.com’s Adam Caplan)
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/21/17
Here are today’s practice squad moves.
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: DE Nordly Capi
Denver Broncos
- Signed: DE Stansly Maponga
Houston Texans
- Signed: RB Troymaine Pope
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: LB Adam Bighill
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: LB Brady Sheldon
Seattle Seahawks
- Cut: CB Alex Carter
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Cut: CB Senquez Golson
- Cut: T Justin Murray
Saints Work Out Nolan Carroll, George Johnson, Others
The Saints did some revamping at cornerback this week, signing both Sterling Moore and Dexter McDougle. But they worked out a player who commanded more money this offseason in Nolan Carroll.
Other recently cut defenders took part in a workout in New Orleans today as well. Defensive ends George Johnson and Malliciah Goodman and fellow edge defender Jayrone Elliott received auditions, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). However, none of these talents signed with the team today, per Caplan (via Twitter).
Carroll, who signed with the Cowboys on a three-year deal worth $10MM, also worked out for the Redskins since being released in October. The 30-year-old defender started two games for the Cowboys this season and 16 for the Eagles in 2016.
The Lions cut Johnson when they claimed fellow edge player Kasim Edebali last week, and Elliott has now worked out for more than a fourth of the NFL’s teams since the Cowboys cut him this season. The former Packers backup auditioned for the Colts, Seahawks, Patriots, Redskins, Texans, Giants, Jets and 49ers prior to trekking to New Orleans.
Jerry Jones Responds To Recent Reports
Some notable reporting came out of Dallas last week detailing the escalating rift between Jerry Jones and Roger Goodell. Being the most accessible owner in the game, Jones commented on his motivations Tuesday.
A group of other owners believe Jones’ crusade against the commissioner is entirely based upon Ezekiel Elliott‘s six-game suspension. Jones maintains it’s about holding Goodell accountable rather than revenge for the commissioner suspending his star running back.
“The commissioner has a right to change his mind,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan (via Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram). ”He’s got a right to say one thing one day and say another thing the next day. He can sleep on it. All of those things happen. But the commissioner is very powerful and probably in the most powerful position relative to his constituency that there it is in anything. Well, all owners should be holding the commissioner accountable in my view. That’s the gist of this thing.”
ESPN reporters Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham reported Jones threatened Goodell over the phone with the kind of response Robert Kraft did not bring in the Deflategate saga. Jones did not agree with the account that this one-man offensive against Goodell and the NFL has to do with him confidently saying Elliott was in the clear when he wasn’t.
“Let me just say this because the interpretation is that I got out over my skis and consequently I got embarrassed because I said nothing was going to happen. That’s just not right. Let’s just go to the meat of it and let’s just carry it on back. There was rationale. There was precedent. There were all kinds of things that would have influenced the commissioner’s decision there.
“Now that’s the thing that ought to be looked at, not Zeke’s situation, but the entire way Zeke’s and the philosophy and everything behind Zeke business.”
Jones wants each of the 32 owners to have a say in Goodell’s next contract, rather than just the six-man compensation committee — from which he’s been removed after coming aboard as an additional member. Of course, other owners are now on board with Jones being sanctioned for his recent actions — which have included the threat of a lawsuit against the NFL. So it’s uncertain at this point how much clout the powerful owner has regarding this issue he’s raised.
Latest On Josh Rosen, Sam Darnold
After the latest USC-UCLA game brought numerous scouts and NFL personnel executives, some fallout from the Trojans’ 28-23 win over the Bruins emerged. Most notably, one of the two quarterbacks looks like a good bet to leave school early while the other isn’t certain yet.
Josh Rosen declaring for the 2018 draft is viewed as a “done deal,” Tony Pauline of DraftAnalyst.net reports. Sam Darnold has not decided yet, and Pauline reports that decision is a ways off. This gels with what came out about Darnold over the summer.
Albert Breer of SI.com added the teams at the top of the draft will play a part in influencing the redshirt sophomore’s decision.
“Sam Darnold has great support around him and comes from a great family and my understanding is he’s going to take everything into account … that includes who is at the top of the draft,” Breer told 92.3 The Fan (via Scott Patsko of cleveland.com). “It includes the coaches that he sees drafting first, second and third overall. That will be part of the decision-making. What is best for me? What will put me in the best position to have a long NFL career.”
As for Saturday night’s game, at least 20 teams sent scouts. Pauline reports four franchises — the Browns, Bills, Jets and Giants — had key front office personnel at the game in addition to scouts. Mike Maccagnan and Jerry Reese were confirmed to be on hand.
Pauline’s consensus from discussing Darnold with on-hand personnel would be the passer could use one more year of seasoning. While a few of these evaluators said Darnold would be the 2018 No. 1 pick if he entered the draft due to his arm talent and athleticism, the prodigious talent drew Jay Cutler comparisons as well. Darnold wouldn’t be the first quarterback to bypass a draft as a possible No. 1 overall pick, with Peyton Manning and former Trojan Matt Leinart among those to do so in years past.
GMs and scouts who spoke to Pauline viewed Rosen as possessing possibly a bit more ability than Darnold, but his personality appears to be turning off some NFL folks. At least two GMs issued “stay away” warnings regarding Rosen. Another GM whom Pauline notes runs a team that will likely own a top-12 pick and is in need of a quarterback said he would not select Rosen with it due to character concerns.
Overall, Pauline reports the consensus on the 2018 quarterback class is Rosen and Darnold are clearly atop the field.
Haslams Meet With Browns Players About Team Direction
After the Browns dropped to 0-10 and 1-25 in the new regime’s run, a unique meeting took place between two parties that don’t commonly associate in the manner they recently did.
Owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam met with roughly 12 Browns players after the team’s loss to the Jaguars, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports, adding one of the components of this summit was for ownership to ask the players what needs to change going forward.
Players asked questions of the owners in a free-flowing setup, Cabot reports. Emmanuel Ogbah, a member of the leadership council that was summoned for this meeting, said he hadn’t previously seen the Haslams meet with a select group of players before.
Hue Jackson was present at the meeting. Browns executive VP of football ops Sashi Brown was not, Cabot reports. Jackson said (via Cabot) following his team’s latest loss he did not want to get into whether or not he thinks the Browns’ current long-game plan is working.
“Yeah, because we never really just sit down and talk to the owner,” Ogbah said, via Cabot, of being a bit surprised at the owners-players meeting. “But yeah it was really helpful for us. They understand what we’re going through. If there are changes needed, we talk to them about it. So it’s good to have an owner close to us.”
The Browns’ owners have been involved with the front office recently. Dee Haslam taking the personnel department to task after the A.J. McCarron trade didn’t go through, and Jimmy Haslam took part in a conference call that was believed to have raised tensions in the Browns’ front office earlier this season. The Browns have sought football-based personnel help and have also been connected to Peyton Manning as a possible top front office candidate. So, it’s notable Brown wasn’t at this meeting given that representatives of the other main groups within the franchise were.
Cabot notes the long-reported rift between the coaching staff and the front office will have to be addressed to some degree in the offseason, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported Sunday that Jackson will want more decision-making power if he returns for the 2018 season. Jackson said players don’t press him about where this long-term plan is going, but presumably this was discussed in the meeting with ownership.
“I’m very appreciative that Dee and Jimmy would talk to the players about what they feel, what they see and what they want,” Jackson said, via Cabot. “I will say this to all involved, that there is a plan in place and they want to win and they expect this organization to win and for it to be better. And they’re going to get it that way. I truly believe that with all my being.”
Jackson is off to the second-worst start by a head coach in NFL history, with only John McKay‘s 1976-77 Buccaneers opening a run worse than these Browns.
Saints To Sign CB Dexter McDougle
Dexter McDougle‘s experienced a complicated 2017, being traded, extended and then cut. But the cornerback found another landing spot on Tuesday.
The Saints signed McDougle, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. This will mark McDougle’s third team since the preseason.
The Jets traded McDougle to the Eagles in late August, and the Eagles agreed to terms on a one-year extension with the former third-round pick a week later. But McDougle’s run in Philadelphia only lasted two months after that extension, with the team dropping him in November.
McDougle joins Sterling Moore in corners who have signed with the Saints this week. Moore, though, has previous experience in the organization. The 26-year-old defender played in eight games for the Eagles this season, operating mostly as a special teams cog. That’s been his forte throughout his career; McDougle’s logged only six defensive snaps since coming into the league in 2014.
Patriots Cut Cassius Marsh
The Patriots have released defensive end Cassius Marsh. The move did not come with much warning, though Marsh played just two snaps against the Raiders on Sunday. To take his place, the Patriots have signed fellow DE Eric Lee off of the Bills’ practice squad. 
The Patriots acquired defensive end Marsh from the Seahawks in September. In the deal, New England shipped a fifth-round pick and the seventh-round pick it already acquired from Seattle in exchange for sending cornerback Justin Coleman back to the Seahawks. Marsh was expected to provide depth at defensive end as well as special teams help, but his role dwindled over time. In nine games with the Pats, he recorded 16 total tackles and one sack.
He is signed through the year at an affordable rate of $690K, so he would be a low-cost addition for another club on waivers.