Today’s practice squad moves:
Minnesota Vikings:
New Orleans Saints
The Vikings brought back Cothran, who spent the offseason and preseason with the team and apparently impressed the coaching staff. Meanwhile, the Saints re-signed Barrett to their squad, completing a near-weekly ritual.
There’s been a lot of talk about the NFL and London recently. There were rumors earlier this month that the Jaguars were eyeing a move to London in the near future. Just days later, the NFL’s vice president of international said the league was ready for a team across the pond right now. While Jaguars owner Shad Khan recently pulled his offer to buy Wembley Stadium, throwing cold water on the rumors for now, the NFL is still very invested in expanding the game abroad.
One possibility that’s been suggested is holding the Super Bowl in London. While Roger Goodell is acknowledging that it’s “been talked about a lot”, he said the league currently isn’t planning on doing it anytime soon, according to Nick Shook of NFL.com. Goodell said the Super Bowl is supposed to be a reward for fans, and that he won’t look to put a Super Bowl in London until London has its own team. Overall, Goodell’s comments suggest the league still plans on having a franchise overseas sooner rather than later.
Here’s more from around the league:
Here are Saturday’s minor moves:
Minnesota Vikings
New York Jets
Entering a crucial Week 8 game in Kansas City in which the Chiefs are 10-point favorites, the Broncos may be on the verge of a tough decision.
A loss to the Chiefs would drop them to 3-5 and behind in a pursuit of their first playoff berth since winning Super Bowl 50. What makes Denver’s case interesting is the number of veterans from that championship season the team still has in key roles who are attractive trade chips.
Beyond Von Miller, who should be considered untouchable, the Broncos’ defense relies on versatile All-Pro cornerback Chris Harris and longtime starters Derek Wolfe and Brandon Marshall. Denver’s starting wide receivers — Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders — are in their fifth season together. Bradley Roby and Shane Ray are both in contract years. Each has played key roles for the Broncos for years, Roby in particular.
Even if the Broncos play out the season trying to creep back into the playoff picture, how many of these players will be on the 2019 team? Denver does rank a surprising fifth in DVOA and has a softer second-half schedule. But even after a 45-10 win over the Cardinals, the Broncos are just 2-9 on the road during Vance Joseph‘s tenure. This makes a late-season run appear difficult.
Thomas is probably the most interesting case. He may be the second-best wideout in Broncos history, behind Rod Smith, and remains a useful contributor. But Sanders (603 receiving yards) is on pace for his best season since his Peyton Manning-aided 2014 slate, sliding Thomas (372 yards) into the No. 2 role Sanders played for years. Thomas also has a $17.5MM 2019 cap number, much higher than Sanders’ $12.9MM figure. This, and emerging second-rounder Courtland Sutton, point to Thomas almost certainly not being part of the 2019 Broncos.
But how much could Denver get for its high-priced, soon-to-be 31-year-old wideout? Unlike a Roby, Ray or Shaquil Barrett free agency departure, the Broncos couldn’t land a compensatory pick for Thomas. Trading him before Tuesday’s 3pm CT deadline would make sense if the Broncos don’t believe they can realistically compete this season.
On the other hand, Denver’s struggled for years to find a viable wideout behind Thomas and Sanders. Sutton (17.6 yards per catch) has provided that. Trading Thomas would weaken an offense that already doesn’t have much at tight end and depends on a lower-tier starting quarterback. Denver could also shop Thomas in the offseason, though the compensation likely would be minimal.
Teams are more interested in Sanders, but the 31-year-old wideout is a better bet to be on the 2019 team in the final season of a three-year, $33MM deal. Denver appears open to dealing Thomas.
Suitors are also inquiring about Harris, but that would gut a Broncos defense that doesn’t have the cornerback depth it possessed for years. Pro Football Focus has Harris again among its top-10 corners, and he has another season remaining on an affordable, five-year, $42.5MM deal. It’s possible Harris could join Miller as a defensive cornerstone into the 2020s, with Roby’s status beyond 2018 uncertain. That would probably be more valuable to the Broncos than the mid- or late-round draft capital they’d acquire in exchange for the 29-year-old corner.
A fifth-year starter, Marshall may be in his final games as a Bronco. Fourth-round rookie Josey Jewell could take over as a starter next season at a rate obviously much cheaper than Marshall’s $9MM 2019 cap number. Playing on a $8.5MM fifth-year option, Roby’s drawn interest, too. No substantial extension talks are known to have taken place. Ray’s high ankle sprain likely will keep him in Denver throughout his contract year.
With two games against the Chargers, and matchups against the Steelers and Bengals, still on the Broncos’ docket, should they be ready to deal non-essential cogs if they lose to the Chiefs? Or, does Denver’s DVOA position indicate a late-season turnaround is possible, making an all-hands-on-deck approach worthwhile?
Vote in PFR’s latest poll and weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section.
Ed Dickson is in line to make his Seahawks debut on Sunday. The team activated its free agent addition from the reserve/NFI list on Saturday.
The veteran tight end missed all of training camp because of injuries, though Pete Carroll said the soft-tissue maladies not being too serious allowed Dickson to ramp up work in advance of what looks like a Week 8 debut. He returned to practice this week.
The Seahawks waived second-year UDFA tight end Tyrone Swoopes to clear a roster spot.
Signing a three-year, $10.7MM contract with the Seahawks in advance of his age-31 season, Dickson will help a Seattle team that lost Jimmy Graham in free agency. Will Dissly is on IR, and Nick Vannett leads all active-roster Seattle tight ends with 110 receiving yards. Vannett’s also battled injury trouble this season.
Dickson started 12 games for the Panthers last season, filling in for much of the slate as Greg Olsen‘s injury replacement. He caught 30 passes for 437 yards last season. That total represents the second-best of Dickson’s career, making this activation a potentially critical depth aid for the 3-3 Seahawks.
Rob Gronkowski was absent on the Patriots’ trip to Chicago last weekend, but it doesn’t sound like he expects to miss their voyage to Buffalo.
The Buffalo-area native’s comments Saturday point to a return for the Patriots’ Week 8 tilt against the Bills. Gronk said (via the Providence Journal’s Mark Daniels, on Twitter) he expects to travel to Buffalo and play in the game.
Ankle and back injuries kept Gronkowski in New England while the Patriots beat the Bears, but Gronk got in limited practices Thursday and Friday. He’ll likely be given a questionable designation, and given his importance to the Patriots’ big picture, it wouldn’t be a shock if the four-time All-Pro were held out. But Gronkowski said (via Daniels, on Twitter) he feels good going into Monday night.
It will be tough for Gronkowski to trigger his incentive package if he misses much more time. For Gronk to achieve the $3.3MM in incentives, he’ll need to hit three of the following thresholds — 70 catches, 1,085 receiving yards, nine touchdowns and 80 percent playing time. He’s a bit behind the required pace thus far, carrying a 26-reception, 405-yard, one-touchdown stat line through six games. He also has $1MM tied to per-game roster bonuses.
While the Patriots put up 38 points on an upper-echelon Bears defense without Gronk, their offense is obviously much better when the future Hall of Fame tight end is on the field.
The Jets added some depth at running back this morning. Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reports (via Twitter) that the team has promoted running back De’Angelo Henderson from the practice squad.
The Jets were in need of a healthy running back after having placed Bilal Powell on the injured reserve earlier this week. Following that move, the team only had two running backs on their active roster in Isaiah Crowell and Trenton Cannon. While Elijah McGuire is designated to return from the injured reserve at some point, New York needed some reinforcement for the time being.
Henderson is certainly an intriguing option for the Jets. The running back had a standout collegiate career at Coastal Carolina University, rushing for a touchdown in 35 consecutive games (an NCCA Division I record). He ended up being selected by the Broncos in the sixth round of the 2017 draft, and he proceeded to play in five games as a rookie. He finished the campaign with 13 rushing yards on seven carries, and he added a pair of receptions for 36 yards and one touchdown. The 25-year-old also had a pair of tackles and two kick returns for 59 yards.
With the Broncos rolling with a pair of rookies in Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman, Denver released Henderson back in early September. He subsequently signed with the Jets practice squad, where he’s spent the entire season.
Jeremy Maclin won’t be playing this season. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reports (via Twitter) that the veteran wideout is set to undergo a “procedure on a hamstring/glute injury that’s kept him from working out for teams.” The 30-year-old won’t be able to return in time for the 2018 season, but he’s expected to be ready for the 2019 campaign.
The former Pro Bowler had tweaked his hamstring during training sessions, but reports from mid-September indicated that he was close to being healthy. Maclin reportedly had offers in hand prior to training camp, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that teams were continuing to monitor the wideout. They only definitive interest in the wideout was the Eagles, who had Maclin on their radar during the offseason.
Following two seasons in Kansas City, Maclin joined the Ravens prior to the 2017 season. In 12 games with Baltimore, the wideout hauled in 40 receptions for 440 yards and three touchdowns. With the veteran set to have a $7.5MM cap hit for the 2018 season, the Ravens released Maclin back in March.
By the time the upcoming offseason comes around, Maclin will be three seasons removed from his last 1,000-yard season. A team looking for a veteran presence could take a stab at the wideout, but it’s unlikely that he’ll be able to garner more than a one-year deal for the minimum.
On the same night they lost receiver Will Fuller to a season-ending injury, it sounds like the Texans also lost a top cornerback for several weeks. Mark Berman of Fox26 in Houston reports (via Twitter) that Johnathan Joseph suffered a high ankle sprain and a MCL sprain during Thursday’s win over the Dolphins. The injury will sideline him for two to three weeks.
The Texans’ cornerback corps have been decimated by injuries. Kayvon Webster, Kevin Johnson, and Jermaine Kelly are currently sitting on the injured reserve, while Aaron Colvin is expected to be out for the next few weeks as he recovers from an ankle injury. With Shareece Wright sitting out Thursday’s game, the Texans rolled with three healthy cornerbacks: Joseph, AJ Moore, and Johnson Bademosi.
While Joseph’s absence is exasperated by the team’s injury woes, the 34-year-old would be especially missed in the Texans’ secondary. The veteran was having a resurgent season in Houston, compiling 34 tackles, one pick-six, and eight passes defended in eight games (eight starts). Pro Football Focus has Joseph ranked 12th among 112 eligible cornerbacks.
Fortunately for the Texans, they may not need to add another cornerback. The team can always turn to safety Kareem Jackson for snaps at the position. Plus, since there are nine days between their Week 8 and Week 9 contests (plus a bye in Week 10), Joseph could end up missing only a single game.
LeSean McCoy‘s status for Monday night’s game against the Patriots is still up in the air. ESPN’s Mike Rodak tweets that the Bills running back is still in the concussion protocol. Head coach Sean McDermott said the team is taking it “one day at a time” with McCoy as they prepare for the team’s first Monday night game in almost a decade.
McCoy left the opening drive of Buffalo’s Week 7 loss to the Colts, but he was already back at Thursday’s practice on a limited basis. The veteran would have to be cleared by the medical staff if he wants to suit up against New England, but his participation in practice is encouraging. At the very least, there seems to be more optimism surrounding McCoy’s status than there was at the beginning of the week.
The 30-year-old is currently averaging a career-low 3.9 yards-per-attempt, and he’s yet to score a touchdown this season. However, McCoy had compiled at least 1,000 rushing yards in both 2016 and 2017, and his Pro Bowl pedigree has to led him being involved in a number of trade rumors. While teams like the Eagles are still monitoring the situation, we recently heard that the Bill were unlikely to trade the running back.
While McCoy’s status is up in the air, it sounds like Chris Ivory is ready to go on Monday night. Rodak tweets that the veteran running back is on track to play despite his injured hamstring. The 30-year-old compiled 81 rushing yards on 16 carries in place of McCoy last weekend, and he added another three receptions for 25 yards. Marcus Murphy would also see reps if McCoy doesn’t suit up.