Bucs’ DT Vita Vea Out For Season
The Buccaneers suffered a difficult loss at the hands of the Bears last night, and Tampa will now have to forge ahead without one of its defensive stalwarts. Head coach Bruce Arians announced this morning that defensive tackle Vita Vea suffered a broken leg in the defeat and is done for the year (Twitter link via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times).
The 2018 first-round selection missed three games due to injury during his rookie campaign, but he rebounded to play in (and start) all 16 of the Bucs’ contests last year. Tampa has fielded one of the strongest run defenses in the league in 2020, and Vea is a big reason for the club’s success in that regard. He also showed improved chops at getting to the quarterback, as he posted two sacks in his 4+ games this season (including one last night before the ankle injury).
Contractually, it’s an especially unfortunate blow. Vea will be eligible for an extension after the season, and if he had played a full slate at the level he had displayed through the first month, he might have been able to land a lucrative re-up. Instead, the Bucs will likely wait for him to prove himself again in 2021 before considering a new deal.
In Vea’s absence, Will Gholston and Rakeem Nunez-Roaches will likely take on larger roles. Greg Auman of The Athletic says that sixth-round rookie Khalil Davis should also see himself activated on game days (Twitter link).
Jets Player Has “Presumptive Positive” COVID-19 Test
Not long after we received some good news on the COVID-19 front with respect to the Patriots and Titans, we learned that there is some cause for concern on the Jets. According to ProFootballTalk, a New York player has a “presumptive positive” test result (Twitter link).
The player with the presumptive positive has been re-tested, and all Jets players and coaches have been sent home out of an abundance of caution. As Rich Cimini of ESPN.com tweets, the results of the retest are expected back at some point today.
Gang Green is set to play host to the Cardinals this week, and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com points out that Arizona was supposed to make its cross-country flight today (Twitter link). Obviously, those travel plans are in flux at the moment.
We will keep you posted as we learn more. But as NFL chief medical officer Allen Sills has stated, there were always going to be positive tests this year. The key will be avoiding outbreaks like the one that has plagued the Titans.
No New Positive Tests For Titans, Patriots
Yesterday’s round of COVID-19 testing yielded no new positive results for either the Patriots or Titans, according to multiple sources, including Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). As such, the Broncos-Patriots contest, which has been moved to Monday night, is on track to be played, as is the Bills-Titans matchup, currently scheduled for Tuesday night.
Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network reports that contact tracing identified multiple Patriots players as close/high-risk contacts with CB Stephon Gilmore, who tested positive for the coronavirus, and there are multiple Titans players who are close/high-risk contacts with their COVID-infected teammates (Twitter link). That is not at all surprising, of course, but it stands to reason that there may be more positive tests on both clubs in the coming days. That does not mean, however, that their games would necessarily be nixed.
Pelissero goes into more detail on that point in an interview on the NFL Network this morning (video link). He adds that while the Patriots’ and Titans’ facilities remain closed today, both clubs could be back on the practice field tomorrow if all goes well.
As the NFL already postponed Tennessee’s Week 4 game, it obviously does not want to postpone another one and deal with all of the logistical and competitiveness questions that such a decision would create. Presumably, that’s why additional positive tests would not necessarily impact the club’s Tuesday night affair with Buffalo.
There is also good news for the Chiefs in all of this. Although they tangled with Gilmore and the Pats on Monday night, Pelissero says all of KC’s tests have come back negative this week.
NFL To Move Broncos-Patriots Game To Monday
For a second straight week, a Patriots game will be moved from Sunday afternoon. The league has officially announced that their Week 5 game against the Broncos will be moved to Monday at 4pm CT/5pm ET.
Cam Newton learned he tested positive for COVID-19 on the Saturday before Week 4 game against the Chiefs, and Stephon Gilmore — who had dinner with Newton last Friday — tested positive Tuesday. As of Thursday, both players are believed to be asymptomatic. Patriots practice squad defensive tackle Bill Murray has also tested positive for the virus. No positive Patriots tests occurred Thursday.
While the Broncos have been able to practice at their facility this week, the Patriots remain barred from doing so because of their coronavirus issues. The Pats will conduct virtual sessions Friday as well, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets. This makes the status of Week 5’s Denver-New England game murky.
The Titans saw a string of players test positive for the virus, over a period of more than a week, and their outbreak has continued through Thursday. The Titans’ issues with the virus could prompt the league to err on the side of caution to help prevent a Patriots spread.
But for now, the Patriots will have a second straight game moved from the late-afternoon Sunday window to Monday night. This game will precede the previously scheduled Monday-night game (Chargers-Saints).
NFL To Shift Bills-Titans Game To Tuesday
Minutes after the Broncos-Patriots game was moved to Monday, news about the Titans’ Week 5 contest emerged. Their home game against the Bills is being moved from Sunday to Tuesday, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
However, this game taking place is contingent on future Titans coronavirus tests. The game will be played at 6pm CT Tuesday, so long as no more Titans positive tests occur, Schefter adds.
This change also affects the Chiefs. Their Week 6 game with the Bills — previously scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 15 — will be played Sunday, Oct. 18, Schefter reports. However, if the Bills-Titans game ends up being moved to a different week, the Chiefs-Bills contest will be shifted back to its original date.
Only one NFL game has been played on a Tuesday since the 1940s. The Vikings and Eagles played a Tuesday-night game in 2010, after the Metrodome roof collapse. Rumblings of the Patriots-Chiefs Week 4 game being moved to Tuesday emerged, but the NFL decided to move that game back one day. Given the Titans’ far more prevalent issues with COVID-19, their new game time must be considered tentative.
The Titans have seen 23 players and staff members test positive for COVID-19, and their protocol-breaking offsite workouts are now the subject of an NFL investigation. They have continued to see positive tests emerge, and that trend continued through Thursday. The team placed two more players on its reserve/COVID-19 list today.
Unlike the Broncos-Patriots rescheduling, this Titans game being moved would throw the NFL schedule off axis. The league already moved Tennessee’s Week 4 game against the Steelers to Week 7. Should the NFL be forced to take the Titans-Bills matchup off its Week 5 slate, a new date would be difficult. The league has discussed the prospect of a Week 18 makeup window but has not finalized such a change yet. Another Titans positive test in the coming days may force the league to enact that emergency change.
South Notes: Texans, Titans, Bucs, Terrell
Bill O’Brien‘s final weeks with the Texans were trying, with the team going 0-4 and the former head coach-GM’s near-universally panned DeAndre Hopkins trade benefitting the Cardinals early. But the since-fired HC also was involved in some internal turmoil, with Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reporting O’Brien engaged in heated disputes with J.J. Watt and first-year defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver at a recent practice (Twitter link). O’Brien also verbally sparred with other staffers in his final weeks, per Wilson. That can be expected given the Texans’ start, but the Watt argument may have been a tipping point. The dispute with Watt — arguably the defining player in Texans history — resulted in O’Brien losing the team, in the view of one source (via ESPN.com’s Dianna Russini). The O’Brien-Watt argument took place days before the Texans’ loss to the Steelers.
Here is the latest from the South divisions, moving first to more Titans news:
- At least three separate Titans offsite workouts took place last week over a multiday period, veteran NFL reporter Paul Kuharsky notes. A group that included Ryan Tannehill was spotted working out Sept. 30 at Montgomery Bell Academy, an area high school, while Kuharsky reports a different group — comprised of defensive backs — worked out at a park near Belmont University that day. Multiple workouts took place at the park near Belmont, per Kuharsky, who adds that Mike Vrabel said during an Oct. 1 Zoom call he told players not to conduct offsite workouts. The NFL is now investigating the Titans for this, and punishment for the coronavirus-stricken team could be severe. Tight end MyCole Pruitt, one of the Titans’ positive testers, was not at the offsite workouts, per Titaninsider.com’s Terry McCormick (on Twitter).
- Prior to the Titans being barred from their headquarters, the NFL showed images of players and staffers walking around the team’s facility without masks, Albert Breer of SI.com notes. Aside from players during workouts, team personnel are required to wear masks inside team facilities. Twenty-three Titans players and staffers have tested positive for COVID-19.
- Good news for the Falcons on the virus front. First-round cornerback A.J. Terrell returned to practice this week, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com tweets. Terrell missed Atlanta’s past two games after being placed on the team’s reserve/COVID-19 list just before the Falcons’ Week 3 game.
- For the sect of non-Chris Godwin fantasy managers who might have missed this (and the narrower swath of LeSean McCoy deep-league GMs), both Buccaneers will miss Thursday night’s game against the Bears. The Bucs declared Godwin and Shady out. This marks Godwin’s third missed game this season; he is battling a hamstring injury. Mike Evans, however, will play, per Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times (on Twitter). Evans was a game-time decision because of an ankle injury.
- Eli Apple is set to miss more time. After successfully rehabbing one hamstring injury, the Panthers cornerback has encountered another. Matt Rhule said the recent acquisition pulled his other hamstring, per Joe Person of The Athletic (on Twitter). Apple missed Carolina’s first three games because of his initial hamstring injury. He has played just six snaps (all on special teams) this season.
Cardinals Hope To Sign Prince Amukamara
The Cardinals intend to bring in more veteran help for their secondary. They plan to host Prince Amukamara on a visit in the next few days and hope to sign him, should he successfully navigate COVID-19 testing protocols, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. The sides already have an agreement in place (pending testing), per ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano (on Twitter).
Amukamara has been a free agent since the Raiders released him this summer. The Bears made the longtime starting cornerback a cap casualty earlier this year.
Arizona struggled in coverage against Carolina and for much of Patrick Peterson‘s stay has experienced issues at its other outside cornerback spot. The Cards signed Dre Kirkpatrick late in the offseason. The team, however, ranks 23rd in pass defense DVOA through four games.
This would be a homecoming for Amukamara, who grew up in Glendale, Ariz. He has played regular-season games for three teams — the Giants, Jaguars and Bears — and spent time with four, if his few months with Las Vegas count. The Giants, per ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan, expressed interest in a reunion recently — something Amukamara coveted after his Raiders release — but it appears the Cards will land him (Twitter link).
The 31-year-old defender has started 99 career games. Although he submitted modest work in 2019, Amukamara was one of the NFL’s better corners in 2018. Pro Football Focus graded the former first-round pick as an upper-echelon coverage man and an elite run defender. Quarterbacks throwing at Amukamara collectively compiled a 75.3 passer rating in 2018 — 30 points lower than the rating Amukamara allowed in 2019.
Dealing with the Titans’ outbreak and having seen the Patriots lose two of their best players to COVID-19 positive tests, NFL has strengthened coronavirus protocols. Free agents need six days’ worth of negative tests to move forward with teams, so Amukamara would not be able to join the Cardinals until next week.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/8/20
Here are Thursday’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Waived: S Geno Stone
Chicago Bears
- Promoted: LB Devante Bond
Kansas City Chiefs
- Promoted: RB DeAndre Washington
New Orleans Saints
- Waived: OL Will Clapp
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Promoted: CB Ross Cockrell, WR Josh Pearson
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/8/20
We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: J.J. Wilcox
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: RB Antonio Williams
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: WR Reggie Begelton
Houston Texans
- Signed: K Brett Maher
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: LB Najee Goode
- Released: CB Christian Angulo
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: WR Marcus Kemp
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: DT Lee Autry
New England Patriots
- Signed: TE Paul Quessenberry
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: WR Tommylee Lewis
New York Giants
- Signed: DB Sean Chandler
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: DB Dante Olson
Titans Place TE MyCole Pruitt, CB Breon Borders On Reserve/COVID-19 List
The Titans added two more players to their extensive reserve/COVID-19 list Thursday, placing tight end MyCole Pruitt and practice squad cornerback Breon Borders on the list.
On Wednesday, a report indicated the Titans had two more positive coronavirus tests. But the team only added Corey Davis to its COVID list. Another positive was reported today, and two more names now appear on Tennessee’s list.
The list, as of Thursday afternoon: Davis, fellow receiver Adam Humphries, defensive linemen Jeffery Simmons and DaQuan Jones, cornerback Kristian Fulton, tackle Isaiah Wilson, outside linebacker Kamalei Correa, fullback Khari Blasingame, long snapper Beau Brinkley, Pruitt, Borders and fellow practice squad players Tommy Hudson, Cameron Batson and Greg Mabin. Twenty-three members of the Titans organization have now tested positive.
Sunday’s Titans-Bills game in Nashville remains a go, though it seems a postponement announcement could come soon. The Titans already had a game postponed because of this outbreak, with their Steelers matchup now moved to Week 7. Even with the NFL expanding practice squads to 16 in this unique year, the string of Titans positive tests point to another rescheduling. The Titans have not been able to practice in nearly two weeks, with each positive test keeping their facility closed. Titans offsite workouts have also prompted an NFL investigation.
A former fifth-round Vikings pick, Pruitt has been an supporting-cast tight end with the team since 2018. A former Raiders UDFA, Borders has only been with Tennessee for a couple weeks. The Titans added him to their practice squad September 21.
Additionally, the Titans announce Hudson — a practice squad tight end — has drawn a six-game PED suspension.