Bucs’ A.Q. Shipley To Retire?
Buccaneers center A.Q. Shipley is done for the year after injuring his neck. It’s especially serious and it appears to be a career-ender, according to head coach Bruce Arians. The Bucs placed Shipley on IR Friday.
“I feel bad because I love A.Q,” Arians told SiriusXM. “He’s one of my favorite players of all time and was playing good for us. But I think it was a previous injury that might have just got aggravated in his neck.”
Shipley entered the league as a seventh-round pick of the Steelers in 2009, but he didn’t make his regular-season debut until 2012 when he hooked on with the Colts. After that, he spent a year with the Ravens and returned to Indy before joining the Cardinals in 2015.
Shipley’s best seasons came under Arians, with Pro Football Focus grading him as one of the game’s top centers during the Cards’ 13-3 season in 2015. Last year, PFF assigned him just the 29th overall grade among snappers, a sign that his 2018 ACL tear had slowed him down. Still, Arians was happy to bring him to the Bucs, where Ali Marpet‘s injury recently opened a starting spot for him.
After 110 career games played, Arians sees the unfortunate injury as the start of Shipley’s coaching career.
Packers To Meet With Tavon Austin
The Packers will work out Tavon Austin, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The former Rams and Cowboys wide receiver has yet to see live action this year. 
Austin, the No. 9 overall pick in the 2013 draft, joined the 49ers over the summer and was said to be playing well in training camp. Then, when a knee injury forced him to IR, he was cut loose. Austin has never come close to justifying his draft status, but his speed and versatility continues to intrigue coaches around the league. In theory, Austin could feature as a receiver, rusher, and returner for the Packers.
Of course, health has been Austin’s biggest stumbling block as a pro. Over seven injury-laden years in the NFL, Austin has notched 215 receptions while averaging just 9.3 yards per catch. For what it’s worth, he did average more than 15 yards per grab over the last two seasons with the Cowboys, but that was in a super small sample size of 21 receptions.
The Austin audition comes after Darrius Shepherd fumbled on a kickoff return against the Colts. With over 200 career kick and punt returns on his resume, a special teams role could be Austin’s quickest path to getting back on the field.
Cowboys’ Zack Martin, Cam Erving To Miss Time
More bad news for the 3-8 Cowboys. On Friday, head coach Mike McCarthy announced that offensive linemen Zack Martin (calf) and Cam Erving (knee) will miss multiple weeks. 
Both players were injured during the Cowboys’ blowout loss to the Washington Football Team on Thursday. Martin has been playing through the calf injury for weeks and aggravated it while on the field. Erving, meanwhile, was forced out on the Cowboys’ first drive of the game.
Even in the woeful NFC East, the Cowboys aren’t likely to see the playoffs this year. Even if the linemen can return before the year is through, the Cowboys might keep them off the field as a precaution. Terence Steele took over for Martin while Brandon Knight subbed in for Erving — they’ll likely be first-string for the time being.
On paper, the Cowboys were set to return one of the league’s very best offensive lines. Unfortunately, injuries to left tackle Tyron Smith, right tackle La’el Collins, and center Tyler Biadasz have decimated the unit. Biadasz may come off of IR in a few weeks but, similar to Martin and Erving, the Cowboys will have to weigh the risk vs. the limited reward.
Bills’ Cody Ford Done For Year
Bills offensive lineman Cody Ford will miss the remainder of the season, according to head coach Sean McDermott (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). Ford’s torn meniscus will require surgery and 3-4 months of rehabilitation before he can get back on the field. 
Ford, a 2019 second round pick, served as the Bills’ first-string right tackle in his rookie season. This year, he started in all seven of his games on the interior, helping the Bills to an AFC East-leading 7-3 record. Thanks in part to Ford & Co., Josh Allen is playing better than ever. Through ten starts, the former No. 7 overall pick has completed 68.4% of his throws with 21 touchdowns against seven interceptions. The Bills couldn’t ask for much more out of their front five, especially after Jon Feliciano tore his pec to start the year.
The Bills may turn to Ike Boettger or Brian Winters for help up front as they continue their playoff push. They’re also likely to add a lineman to the roster between now and Sunday afternoon when they face the Chargers in Buffalo.
Latest On Steelers, Ravens
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin canceled Friday’s practice, per a club announcement. The Steelers are currently slated to face the Ravens on Sunday afternoon, but they don’t have much confidence in the game actually taking place. 
Four Ravens players tested positive for COVID-19 on Thanksgiving, including star quarterback Lamar Jackson. Before that, the Ravens were forced to shelve nose tackle Brandon Williams, defensive end Calais Campbell, and running backs Mark Ingram and J.K. Dobbins on the reserve list. Other Ravens staffers were also kept away from the facility, leaving the NFL to bump Steelers-Ravens from Thursday night to early Sunday afternoon. All in all, the Ravens have placed ten players on the reserve/COVID-19 list, including eight starters.
At this stage, it would be a surprise to see the two teams square off on Sunday. The league may compel the Ravens to forfeit the game, which would declare the Steelers as the winner by a score of 2-0. And, per the terms of the NFL’s agreement with the NFLPA, the teams would not be required to pay its players for a forfeited contest.
Eagles’ Lane Johnson Done For Year
Lane Johnson is done for the year. The Eagles tackle has been playing through a painful ankle injury all year long, but his condition has only gotten worse with time. 
“The inside of my ankle has collapsed,” Johnson said (Twitter link via Les Bowen of The Philadelphia Inquirer).
Johnson underwent “tightrope surgery” in August and managed to play seven games, starting in Week 2. He’s now looking at four or five months of recovery before he can resume football activities.
Johnson is in the midst of the four-year, $72MM extension he signed back in November of 2019. The eighth-year pro is coming off of his third consecutive Pro Bowl nod, a rare feat for often underappreciated right tackles. Without Johnson, the Eagles’ banged up offensive line will likely turn to Matt Pryor as the new starting right tackle.
The Eagles — who find themselves in the NFC East hunt with a record of 3-6-1 — will face the Seahawks on Monday night without Johnson in the lineup. The Seahawks’ D has been iffy all year, but they managed to keep a lid on the Cardinals last week en route to a 28-21 win.
Washington Hopes To Re-Sign Alex Smith
The Washington Football Team hopes to re-sign Alex Smith, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Head coach Ron Rivera has been impressed with Smith’s play as of late and believes that he can serve as a strong mentor to Washington’s to-be-determined quarterback of the future.
Smith hasn’t indicated whether he wants to play in 2021, but it stands to reason that he will. The veteran chose to return after 17 surgeries and he’s looked fairly sharp in his last two games. After Smith nearly led the WFT to victory over the Lions, he had little trouble in dispatching the Bengals. Between the two games, Smith has completed 55 of 80 throws for 556 yards with one touchdown against one interception.
Smith still has two full years to go on the four-year, $94MM extension he signed with Washington in 2018. Next year, he’s set to make $18.75MM in base pay, a reasonable sum for a quality bridge/mentor QB. Releasing Smith wouldn’t improve their cap situation much anyway — that’d leave a dead money hit of $8.6MM against $14.7MM in savings.
Smith & Co. will face the Cowboys this afternoon in search of win No. 4.
Lions Rule Out D’Andre Swift
D’Andre Swift will not play on Thursday afternoon against the Texans, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). Adrian Peterson, who started in Swift’s stead last week, figures to reprise that role while sharing the workload with Kerryon Johnson. 
The Lions have held Swift out of practice ever since he suffered a concussion last week. There was some hope that Swift would be able to go for the Lions’ Thanksgiving game, but team doctors did not give him the green light.
Heading into the draft, many praised Swift as the best running back in this year’s class. The Lions weren’t thought to be targeting an RB early, but couldn’t pass up the opportunity to grab the two-time 1,000-yard rusher at No. 35 overall. The Georgia product has seen his workload increase throughout the year, resulting in 331 yards off of 70 carries. Peterson, meanwhile, leads the team with 389 rushing yards.
The Lions will also be without wide receivers Kenny Golladay and Danny Amendola today. To fill the gap, they will turn to new addition Mohamed Sanu.
Cardinals’ Larry Fitzgerald Tests Positive For COVID-19
Larry Fitzgerald has tested positive for COVID-19, sources tell Mike Garafolo and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (Twitter link). At minimum, the Cardinals wide receiver will miss Sunday’s game against the Patriots. 
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Just yesterday, the NFL was forced to bump Ravens-Steelers from Thursday night in primetime to Sunday afternoon. Despite its protocols and access to tests, the league has been unable to keep a lid on viral spread. Fortunately, most players have experienced mild symptoms, or no symptoms, following their positive tests. However, two players have been forced to end their seasons early due to complications. Jaguars running back Ryquell Armstead had to be hospitalized twice with major symptoms before he was ultimately ruled out for the season in October. And, earlier this week, Bills tight end Tommy Sweeney was diagnosed with myocarditis, a heart condition which has been linked to the coronavirus.
Fitzgerald, 37, continues to be productive at his advanced age. Just last week, Fitz reeled in eight catches for 62 yards against the Seahawks, matching his stat line from their first meeting in October. All in all, he’s caught 43 passes for 336 yards alongside DeAndre Hopkins, who has become Kyler Murray‘s top target.
Cardinals’ Jalen Thompson To Miss Time
Cardinals safety Jalen Thompson will be sidelined for “a week or two” with an ankle injury, according to defensive coordinator Vance Joseph (Twitter link via Kyle Odegard of the team website). This is the same ankle that Thompson injured in the season opener, so the Cardinals will be keeping a watchful eye on his condition before clearing him to play.
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Thompson’s leg twisted on a play near the end of the second quarter against the Seahawks on Thursday night. After being helped off the field, the safety had to be carted to the back. Deionte Thompson — who saw significant snaps during Jalen’s first absence — took over from there. That’ll likely be the game plan on Sunday against the Patriots, though veteran Chris Banjo may also pitch in at free safety.
The Cardinals snagged Thompson in the fifth-round of the 2019 supplemental draft and immediately put him to work. After starting in nine of his 15 games last year, the Cardinals planned to install him as a full-time starter in 2020. But, thanks to the injuries, he’s seen a grand total of 169 snaps across four games.
The Cardinals, sans top free safety, will look to advance to 7-4 on Sunday against the Pats. After that, they may or may not have Thompson on the field against the Rams on Dec. 6.