Surgery For Washington QB Kyle Allen
Washington quarterback Kyle Allen is expected to undergo surgery in the coming weeks on his dislocated/fractured ankle, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (on Twitter). With Allen’s season in flux, Alex Smith is likely poised to serve as the team’s starter for the rest of the year. 
Fortunately, Allen’s injury was not as bad as it first appeared. Smith took over for Allen after he was forced out and played well, up until his late-game interceptions. Of course, Smith can be forgiven if he was a bit rusty. Two years ago, his gruesome leg injury nearly cost him his career and, at one point, the possibility of amputation was floated by doctors.
Smith, 36, made his return this year and moved up to No. 2 on the depth chart when former first-round pick Dwayne Haskins was benched in early October. Days later, Smith took the field against the Rams in relief of Allen. Though his final stat was ugly, coaches were encouraged by his ability to absorb blows from the front seven.
Sunday’s loss to the Giants dropped the Washington Football Team down to 2-6. Even in the woeful NFC East, they’re facing long odds of making the postseason. Still, Smith’s return to the starting lineup will make for compelling television. He’ll be leading the way on Sunday when the WFT travels to Detroit to face the Lions.
AFC Notes: Colts, McCown, Harbaugh
The Colts pulled off a rare blockbuster trade this offseason, shipping out their first-round pick in exchange for All-Pro defensive tackle DeForest Buckner. Now, we have more details on exactly how that deal came to be. It all happened quickly, as the deal came together in less than a week, sources told Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports. Buckner’s agent met with 49ers brass back at the combine, where they made it clear the big man was looking for at least $20MM annually on a contract extension. San Francisco apparently decided right then and there that they weren’t going to be able to pay that, and needed to look for a trade.
La Canfora reports that a handful of teams were in the mix, but Colts GM Chris Ballard was the most aggressive in his pursuit. Ballard was willing to talk contract details immediately, and of course the defensive tackle ended up getting a new pact worth more than $21MM annually. La Canfora also notes that Indiana’s low three percent income tax played a role in Buckner’s eagerness to join Indy. The Colts have had one of the best defenses in the league this season, in large part due to Buckner’s continued elite play.
Here’s more from the AFC:
- It was a very quiet trade deadline this past week, and the Browns were one of the many teams to stand pat. That doesn’t mean front office head Andrew Berry wasn’t working the phones, and he revealed recently during a call with the media that Cleveland came close on a couple of deals. “We did explore a number of different possible transactions. I’d say maybe a couple of things got perhaps within striking distance but either moved away from us or we moved away from it for various reasons,” Berry said, via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. Berry also indicated that the uncertainty around the 2021 salary cap due to COVID-19 played a large part in the lack of trades. At 5-3, the Browns were in position to be buyers at the deadline for the first time in many years, so it would’ve been exciting to see them add a piece.
- Here’s something we didn’t see coming. The deal Josh McCown recently signed with the Texans is actually for two years, meaning he won’t be a free agent at the end of the year as was initially assumed, La Canfora writes. While it’s a bit surprising considering McCown is 41 and was only on the Eagles’ practice squad until last week, it does make some sense considering the circumstances. Houston is headed into a period of great uncertainty as they look for a new head coach and GM, and McCown will be a steady veteran presence for this rocky transition. La Canfora’s piece makes it clear that the offer was made as a ‘culture’ signing, with McCown essentially serving as another coach for DeShaun Watson moving forward. McCown, who had been participating with the Eagles remotely while living at home in Texas, “agonized” over the decision to leave Philly’s organization, sources told La Canfora. Pretty much everybody seems to believe McCown is going to become a coach whenever he eventually hangs up his cleats, and La Canfora confirms that he is still “very much on the Eagles’ radar as a potential quarterbacks coach or offensive coordinator soon after he retires.”
- Speaking of things seemingly everyone believes, Adam Gase is nearly universally thought be on his way out as the Jets head coach. Whenever he’s officially fired New York’s head coaching search will become very interesting, and one name that is bound to come up again is Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh has been rumored as a Jets candidate in each of their last three coaching searches, but Rich Cimini of ESPN.com isn’t sure it would be a great fit. Although he notes New York interviewed Harbaugh in 2009 and were interested in 2014, he thinks a coach of Harbaugh’s pedigree would likely want to have personnel control over whatever team he heads to. Considering the Jets just recently hired GM Joe Douglas and aren’t planning on firing him any time soon, that arrangement wouldn’t really gel. All that being said, Cimini does point out that Douglas knows John Harbaugh from his time with the Ravens, so perhaps we shouldn’t totally shut the door on this one.
NFL Practice Squad: 11/8/20
All of the practice squad moves from the past day:
Denver Broncos
- Placed on practice squad IR: C Patrick Morris
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: DB Demarcus Christmas
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: P Trevor Daniel
- Placed on practice squad IR: K Tucker McCann
Chiefs’ Taco Charlton Fractures Leg, Headed To IR
The Chiefs outlasted the Panthers in a thrilling shootout, but they’ll be without a part of their pass-rush moving forward. Defensive end Taco Charlton suffered a fracture in his lower leg and will head to injured reserve, head coach Andy Reid announced after the game.
It’s unclear the severity, but it’s certainly possible that he’s done for the year. With the new IR rules, he’ll be out at least three games. He’d been playing a decent-sized role as a rotational pass-rusher, notching around a quarter of the defensive snaps in the six games he played prior to getting hurt. He had been reasonably productive in those six games, racking up two sacks, four quarterback hits, and a forced fumble.
Charlton’s NFL career started out as a highly-touted first-round pick of the Cowboys, but he quickly flamed out in Dallas. He was cut after only two-plus years with the Cowboys, then scooped up by the Dolphins. He had his best season as a pro last year with Miami, notching five sacks in only ten games.
Texans’ Brennan Scarlett Has Broken Forearm
The Texans picked up a division win over the Jaguars Sunday, but they didn’t escape unscathed. Outside linebacker Brennan Scarlett suffered a broken forearm, a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).
Houston was already without outside linebackers Jacob Martin and Whitney Mercilus, both on the COVID-19 list, so they’re now pretty thin at the position. It’s unclear as of right now how long Scarlett will be out, although it can be fairly safely assumed he’ll be headed for a stint on injured reserve. Scarlett signed an extension last August that ran through the end of this season, and he’ll now be an unrestricted free agent in March.
An UDFA from Cal back in 2016, he’s carved out a nice career for himself. He started to get playing time as a sophomore in 2017, and started ten games for the Texans last year. He had 51 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles last year, all career-highs.
Kyle Allen Likely Done For The Year
Alex Smith is back as Washington’s starting quarterback. Kyle Allen went down with an ankle injury that looked gruesome initially but thankfully turned out to be not quite as serious as it appeared.
Allen has a dislocated ankle with only a small fracture, a source told Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link). The injury will “likely” sideline him for the rest of the year, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets, although he does have a shot to return. Head coach Ron Rivera confirmed after the game that Smith will be the starter next week, with 2019 first-rounder Dwayne Haskins being bumped up to number two.
Smith lit it up to start the second half and get Washington back into their game against the Giants, but back to back interception on the final two drives sealed their 23-20 loss. Next week against the Lions will be Smith’s first start since his own devastating lower leg injury that he suffered midway through the 2018 season. No matter how he fares moving forward, it’s been a truly remarkable comeback and we’re all rooting for him.
It’s a tough blow for Allen assuming he’s done for the year, as he isn’t likely to get handed a starting opportunity like this again next year. The 2018 UDFA was brought in specifically by Rivera after they spent time together with the Panthers, and he was coming off a great game against the Cowboys when we went down.
Texans Deactivate CB Bradley Roby
Texans interim HC Romeo Crennel is making a statement. As Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports, cornerback Bradley Roby did not travel to Jacksonville for this week’s game against the Jaguars and was told to remain home for disciplinary reasons.
It’s unclear what those reasons are, but whatever Roby did to displease the team, he may have done it in the past 48 hours or so. On Friday, Crennel told reporters that Roby — who left the team’s Week 7 loss to the Packers with a knee injury — was expected to play.
Roby joined the Texans on a one-year, $10MM deal in 2019, and he re-signed on a three-year, $36MM contract just before free agency opened this past offseason. He is the club’s top corner and has recorded Houston’s only interception this season.
Although it’s far too early to speculate on how this might impact Roby’s future with the team, it’s worth noting that his deal features $19MM in guarantees, most of which have not yet been paid out. Depending on the language in Roby’s deal, the Texans could theoretically void the remaining guarantees.
As of now, there’s no indication that Houston will go that route. Although the club is just 1-6 this year and looks to be embarking on a rebuild, solid, reasonably-priced corners are difficult to find.
Pro Football Focus doesn’t think much of Roby’s support in run defense this year, but PFF does give him high marks for his coverage abilities. Overall, the advanced metrics paint him as the 25th-best corner in the game out of 117 qualified players.
Injury Updates: T. Brown, Garoppolo, Clowney
Let’s round up a few injury-related items from around the league.
- Raiders OT Trent Brown is back on the reserve/COVID-19 list, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says Brown is expected to miss at least a month of action (Twitter link).
- Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports confirms a report from several days ago that 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo will not require surgery on his injured ankle, but the 29-year-old signal-caller is expected to miss at least a month (Twitter link). The injury further clouds Garoppolo’s uncertain future in San Francisco.
- Titans edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney is out for today’s game against the Bears. He is dealing with a meniscus issue and may ultimately opt for surgery.
- The Browns have a bye this week, and next time they’re on the field, they hope to be rejoined by Pro Bowl running back Nick Chubb (Twitter link via Rapoport). Chubb has been dealing with an MCL injury, and though Kareem Hunt and D’Ernest Johnson have played reasonably well in his absence, getting Chubb back will be a big boost to Cleveland’s playoff push.
- Some may be wondering if WR Odell Beckham has already played his last game for the Browns, as he will miss the rest of the season with an ACL tear and has never really embraced Cleveland. Kim Jones of WFAN reports that OBJ will undergo surgery to repair the ACL on Tuesday (Twitter link).
- Ravens RB Mark Ingram left Baltimore’s game against the Eagles several weeks ago, and he still has not returned to action. Rapoport says Ingram is dealing with a high-ankle sprain (Twitter link), which explains the multi-week absence. Ingram has been ruled out for today’s game against the Colts, but younger backs Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins may be the better options anyway.
- When the Eagles return to their facility following this week’s bye, they expect to have RB Miles Sanders back, and they believe WR Alshon Jeffery will be a full participant in practice (Twitter link via Rapoport).
Packers Tried To Trade For DT Dalvin Tomlinson
The Packers may have been trying to pry wide receiver Will Fuller from the Texans in advance of the trade deadline, and they were also looking to bolster their defense. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter), Green Bay offered a mid-round pick to the Giants in exchange for defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson.
New York, though, declined the offer, even though Tomlinson is playing out the final year of his rookie contract and despite the fact that the two sides have not made much progress in contract talks. As Dan Duggan of The Athletic observes, head coach Joe Judge did not want to trade “foundational pieces,” and he clearly sees Tomlinson as a key part of the team’s future (Twitter link). Duggan says the club also rejected overtures for tight end Evan Engram, and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports that Big Blue was not going to deal Engram for anything less than a first-round pick.
The decision to keep Tomlinson makes plenty of sense. The Giants selected him in the second round of the 2017 draft, and unless they were convinced they would be unable to re-sign him, dealing a young, talented interior defender for a mid-round selection wouldn’t necessarily have aided in the club’s rebuilding process.
You can’t fault Green Bay for making a play for Tomlinson, though. The Packers are gearing up for a playoff push, but their run defense is among the worst in the NFL, and the 26-year-old Alabama product would have gone a long way towards solidifying their defensive front. Pro Football Focus currently ranks Tomlinson as the 14th-best interior defender in the league, and though he has just one sack this year, his pass rushing grade is almost as high as his run defense score.
Seahawks, HC Pete Carroll Agree To Extension
The Seahawks and head coach Pete Carroll have agreed to a multi-year contract extension, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports. No one within the organization has confirmed the news, but one source tells Schefter that the deal will tie Carroll to the club through the 2025 season.
By that time, Carroll will be 74, so this could well be the last contract that he signs. He indicated earlier this year that he wants to coach well into his 70s, and his new extension will give him the chance to do just that.
The Seahawks have starting quarterback and runaway MVP candidate Russell Wilson under club control through the 2023 campaign, so unless something unexpected happens, the most effective QB-HC duo in franchise history will be together for a few more seasons. And considering the success the two have had together, that’s reason for Seattle fans to celebrate.
Hired as the club’s head coach and executive vice president of player operations in January 2010, Carroll has compiled a 106-60-1 regular season record over the past 10+ seasons, to go along with a 10-7 postseason mark. He also guided Seattle to its first Super Bowl victory after the 2013 season.
While Carroll would sooner forget the end of the following Super Bowl, he and Wilson have established the Seahawks as perennial championship contenders. And at 6-1, Seattle is on the short-list of this year’s legitimate Lomardi hopefuls.
Carroll’s last contract paid him an $11MM annual salary, and the extension could push that figure even higher.