Seahawks’ Earl Thomas Could Miss Games
The Seahawks have ruled out safety Earl Thomas for Sunday’s game against the Redskins, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The injury may result in a multi-game absence. 
Thomas’ hamstring forced him out of action during last week’s contest against the Texans. Losing him for an extended period will hurt the Seahawks, not just because he is a defensive leader, but because he is among the league’s very best safeties. So far this season, Thomas is the No. 8 ranked safety in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus. He’s regularly placed in PFF’s top ten, but his 87.6 score for this year actually represents a career watermark.
For now, Thomas will be replaced in the starting lineup by Bradley McDougald. Given that he started 31 games at safety over the past two seasons with the Bucs, the Seahawks can comfortably stick with what they have in-house for the time being.
After Sunday’s game against Washington, the Seahawks have a short week before facing the Cardinals on Thursday night. If Thomas can’t make a quick recovery, he might not see the field again until Seattle’s post-bye matchup against the Falcons on Nov. 20.
Chiefs, Tamba Hali Adjust Contract
Tamba Hali is set to return from the PUP list shortly. When he does, he’ll be doing so under a revised contract. The Chiefs outside linebacker will now receive a $250K signing bonus for the 2018 season while also having $1MM of his 2018 salary moved from base pay to a March 1 roster bonus (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). 
The adjusted contract might explain why Hali did not begin practicing on Wednesday, as originally planned.
“I’m not sure exactly what’s going on, to be honest with you,” Reid said earlier this week (video link via the Kansas City Star). “When I walked out here, he was not practicing. [GM] Brett Veach is dealing with all that. I don’t know exactly the situation and what’s going on right now. That’s between Brett, Tamba and his representatives.”
The changes to the deal might seem inconsequential, but they could impact Hali’s future with the team. By converting $1MM of his 2018 base pay into a March 1 roster bonus, the Chiefs will be forced to decide whether to keep him or cut him much earlier in the offseason. If the Chiefs opt to move on from Hali on 3/1, he will have an opportunity to get in on the first wave of free agency when teams are still flush with cash.
Hali, 34, appeared in all 16 games for the Chiefs in 2016 and played on roughly half the club’s defensive snaps. However, he finished with only 3.5 sacks, his lowest posting since 2008.
Bills’ Taiwan Jones Done For Season
Taiwan Jones‘ season is over. Bills coach Sean McDermott informed reporters on Friday morning that the running back and key special teamer is going on injured reserve with a broken arm. 
Jones, 29, joined up with the Bills this summer after he was released by the Raiders. He didn’t come with a lengthy offensive resume, but he did have lots of experience in the third facet of the game. Last year, he was seventh among Raiders players in special teams snaps, and he’s not far removed from leading the AFC in kick return yards (829) in 2015.
This year, Jones appeared in all eight games as a special teamer. He returned two kicks for a total of 50 yards and had one reception on offense.
Latest On Colin Kaepernick
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and Texans owner Bob McNair, amongst others, will be deposed and asked to turn over all cell phone records and emails in relation to the Colin Kaepernick collusion case against the NFL, a league source tells ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (Facebook link). Seahawks coach Pete Carroll and owner 49ers Jed York are also among those on the deposition list, Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link) hears.
Other owners, team officials, and league officials may also be deposed, but those are the individuals confirmed for now.
Here’s more on Kaepernick:
- Colin Kaepernick’s attorney believes that the quarterback will sign with an NFL team soon. “I think within the next 10 days somebody will sign him,” Mark Geragos told Adam Carolla earlier this week (transcript via BleacherReport.com). “I think somebody’s gonna sign him. I think the NFL has to come to their senses, and realize every day that goes by just proves the collusion case even more.” Geragos may have confidence, but there’s no reason to expect a Kaepernick signing anytime soon. A potential spot opened up this week when Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson suffered a season-ending ACL tear, but Houston opted to sign Matt McGloin and T.J. Yates. For now, Tom Savage is the starter in Houston and there are no known plans for the team to audition Kaepernick.
- NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart deferred to the NFLPA on the topic of having Kaepernick at the next meeting between players and owners (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). “We’d welcome his participation, but that’s an issue for the players to determine,” he said.
Packers’ Taybor Pepper Done For Season
Packers long snapper Taybor Pepper broke his foot in practice on Thursday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). He’s done for the season and will be placed on injured reserve. 
The Packers moved quickly to work out long snappers on Friday. After the auditions, they settled on Derek Hart, according to Rapoport (Twitter link). In related news, the Packers are bringing fourth-round rookie linebacker Vince Biegel off of the PUP list. Both players will have an opportunity to make their Packer debuts against the Lions on Monday night.
Pepper, 23, was a long way from football in September when he was working the cash register at his parents’ consignment store. Suddenly, an opportunity opened up with the Packers when long snapper Brett Goode went down with a hamstring injury.
“My agent called me and was kind of like, ‘There might be a situation. There might not be. Be ready,’” Pepper said (via the team’s website). “After the game, [Packers director of football operations] Eliot Wolf called me and said, ‘We need you here.’”
Ravens Bring CB Maurice Canady Off Of IR
The Ravens announced they have activated cornerback Maurice Canady off of injured reserve. To make room on the roster, wide receiver Chris Matthews has been released. 
Canady went down with a knee issue in July, making him one of many Ravens to succumb to the injury bug. A sixth round pick in the 2016 draft, Canady looked great in this year’s spring practices and was in line to be the team’s top slot cornerback. He could work his way up to a similar role now that he is healthy. Canady has yet to record an official statistic in his four NFL games.
Matthews was added to the Ravens’ roster on Sept. 4 when Canady was first placed on IR. The 28-year-old had three catches for 25 yards in six games this season. Unfortunately, a thigh injury has sidelined him for the last two games.
With Matthews out of the picture, the Ravens have just four healthy receivers on the roster in Mike Wallace, Jeremy Maclin, Breshad Perriman, and Chris Moore.
Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott To Play Sunday
Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott will suit up this weekend against the Chiefs. On Friday morning, the running back’s camp won a crucial decision from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (Twitter link via attorney Daniel Wallach). 
The motion for a brief administrative stay will allow Elliott to play in the Cowboys’ upcoming game, but a six-game suspension still looms. He’ll remain in limbo until a three-judge panel rules on his fate. After that ruling, we may finally have some finality on the Elliott saga, though it’s hard to bank on that given the back-and-forth nature of the legal process so far.
There were rumblings of a potential settlement in October, but both sides have gone on the record to say that they are not interested in meeting in the middle. The NFL does not want to set a precedent of players reducing suspensions by using the pressure of the legal system. Elliott, meanwhile, is determined to clear his name of any association with domestic violence.
Elliott, 22, has 690 yards off of 164 carries, giving him the third-highest total in the league and 4.2 yards per attempt. He’s also tied for the league lead with six rushing touchdowns.
If Elliott’s six-game suspension is put into effect after the Chiefs game, he’ll be forced to miss games against the Falcons, Eagles, Chargers, Redskins, Giants, and Raiders. He would not be eligible to return until Week 16 against the Seahawks.
Texans Sign QB T.J. Yates
T.J. Yates is back with the Texans. The quarterback agreed to sign with Houston on Friday morning, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
After losing starter Deshaun Watson for the season on Thursday, the Texans moved fast to sign Matt McGloin. Yates will dress and serve as the No. 2 QB for the game, but McGloin will not be on the roster Sunday’s game against the Colts. Tom Savage, the initial starter for the 2017 season, will be the first man up.
Yates, 30, has seven regular season starts on his resume, plus two playoff starts with Houston. This offseason, the Bills signed him as a reserve, but a concussion in the preseason led to his release in September. He worked out for the Titans and Bengals in October before circling back to the Texans here in November.
NFC Notes: Giants, Whitworth, Seahawks
Sean McVay’s praise of offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth underscores how much the Giants blew it by not signing him in free agency, James Kratch of NJ.com writes.
“Absolutely,” the Rams coach said when asked if Whitworth was the team’s top target of the offseason. “We had a couple of people targeted, but in terms of somebody who we felt like was extremely important, not just on the field, but the influence they could have on the locker room, especially just some of the younger linemen. He was a guy who that we absolutely had a major priority on and feel fortunate to have gotten him done. He’s exceeded the expectations. We knew he was a great player, and I’ve heard great things about him just from him being in Cincinnati and my relationship with Jay Gruden. Everybody that’s been around him says nothing but the best, and when you get around him you can see why all that stuff is merited and more. He’s been outstanding.”
Recently, Giants GM Jerry Reese indicated that he did not go hard after Whitworth because he wanted to have a “younger football team.” His offensive line might be younger without Whitworth, but it is also porous.
Here’s more from the NFC:
- On the brink of a second straight trip through free agency, it sounds like Eddie Lacy is going to get an opportunity to showcase his stuff. In the second half of the season, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll and offensive line coach Tom Cable say that they will try to make Lacy the team’s true No. 1 tailback. “We’ve always tried to do that (establish one running back),” Cable said (via Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times). “So maybe we have gotten lost in ourselves a little bit, too. But yes, we want to get cleaner blocking first and foremost, and get a runner established.” So far this season, Lacy has 108 yards on 42 carries, giving him a career-low 2.6 yards per carry average. Lacy is playing on a one-year deal with Seattle worth up to $4.25MM.
- The Eagles gave quarterback Nate Sudfeld a two-year deal, according to Adam Caplan of SiriusXM (on Twitter). The Eagles want to see what Sudfeld can do in training camp. If nothing else, he can serve as their third arm during OTAs.
- The Panthers gave some thought to promoting Mose Frazier from the practice squad this week, coach Ron Rivera told reporters (Twitter link via Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer). Instead, Carolina signed Brenton Bersin because of his familiarity with the team’s system. A spot opened up for a wide receiver when Carolina traded Kelvin Benjamin to Buffalo at the deadline.
NFC North Notes: Vikings, Teddy, Bears
There has been a lot of talk about whether Teddy Bridgwater will start for the Vikings upon his return, but GM Rick Speilman says the team is only focused on his health (link via Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com).
“All we’re concerned about is where he is this week,” Spielman said. “I know we’re evaluating him in practice every day. And then we’ll have to make a decision coming up next week — not if he’s going to start or not start, but if he’s going to come up to the 53. That’s the next step. And then, from there, the coaches will determine the rest of the way.”
The 6-2 Vikings have a Week 9 bye. After that, the team will assess where Bridgewater is in his recovery.
Here’s more from the NFC North:
- The Vikings didn’t make any moves at the trade deadline but GM Rick Spielman indicated that several teams reached out about some of the team’s younger players (Twitter link via Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com). Leading up to Halloween, Spielman said that the Vikings had some concerns about their depth at running back beyond Jerick McKinnon and Latavius Murray. However, they feel pretty set after claiming Mack Brown off of waivers from Washington.
- The Bears have not seriously discussed bringing wide receiver Kevin White back from injured reserve this season, coach John Fox told reporters (Twitter link via Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune). White, unfortunately, was never viewed as an IR-DTR candidate, so Fox’s announcement doesn’t come as a big surprise.
- The Packers‘ interest in Brian Hoyer was “cursory, at best,” according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). After Hoyer signed with the Pats, it was reported that Green Bay had interest in signing the QB. Either way, the Packers will forge ahead with Brett Hundley as their No. 1 quarterback while Aaron Rodgers nurses a broken collarbone.