Jaguars Release K Stephen Hauschka, Promote K Jon Brown
The Jaguars are changing kickers yet again. Jacksonville is releasing veteran Stephen Hauschka and replacing him by promoting Jon Brown from the practice squad, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
Incredibly, this will now be the Jag’s fifth kicker of the season after regular placekicker Josh Lambo went down with a hip injury that landed him on injured reserve. Fortunately head coach Doug Marrone said the team is hoping Lambo will be ready for the team’s Week 7 game against the Chargers, so Brown might only end up filling in for one week.
Hauschka, the former Seahawks and Bills kicker, was signed back on September 28th. Despite a great deal of past experience and success Hauschka didn’t pan out in Jacksonville, and he had a disastrous game against the Texans yesterday.
He missed both of his field goal attempts, including shanking a 24-yarder and coming up short on a 49-yarder. Former Giants kicker Aldrick Rosas filled in for an injured Hauschka in Week 4 against the Bengals and played well, before landing back on the practice squad injured list with an injury of his own. Brandon Wright was briefly the kicker before he was waived after coming down with a groin injury.
Brown is a 2016 UDFA who originally played soccer at Kentucky before switching to football at Louisville. Brown has spent offseason time with the Bengals and 49ers, but has never kicked in a regular season NFL game. We don’t know what the heck is going on with Jacksonville’s special teams units right now, but hopefully Brown is able to avoid injury.
Giants’ Lorenzo Carter Has Torn Achilles
The hits keep on coming for the 0-5 Giants. Outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter has a torn Achilles and will miss the rest of the season, sources told Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (Twitter link).
Needless to say it’s unwelcome news, as Carter has been a full-time starter in 2020 and the Giants are pretty thin on pass-rushers outside of him. A third-round pick in 2018, Carter started 12 games for New York last year, racking up 45 tackles, 4.5 sacks (including a strip-sack of Tom Brady), and five passes defended. It’s a tough blow for the Georgia product, who will be entering the final year of his rookie deal next season.
Carter went down with a non-contact injury during their 37-34 loss to the Cowboys on Sunday, so the diagnosis isn’t too surprising. No one on the Giants has more than two sacks this season, and generating pressure has been an issue. Fellow outside linebackers Markus Golden and Kyler Fackrell will take on an even more important role moving forward.
Bengals Sign DT Xavier Williams, Place D.J. Reader On IR
The Bengals are bolstering their banged up defensive line. The team has signed defensive tackle Xavier Williams and placed fellow defensive tackle D.J. Reader on injured reserve in a corresponding roster move, Cincy announced Monday.
As we wrote last night, the team believes Reader, one of their big free agent signings this offseason, will miss the rest of the year with a quad injury. Williams is a 2015 UDFA who spent his first few seasons with the Cardinals. After finally getting some real playing time with Arizona in 2017, he signed with the Chiefs as a restricted free agent the following year. He appeared in all 16 games with Kansas City in 2018, starting four while racking up 47 tackles and 2.5 sacks.
He missed most of last year with an ankle injury but was activated down the stretch, and ended up playing a sizable role on defense in the Chiefs’ first two playoff wins. After earning his ring he signed with the Patriots back in August, but was cut two weeks ago after appearing in only one game with New England.
Fellow interior defensive lineman Mike Daniels is on injured reserve as well, leaving the Bengals without the stout run-stuffing trio they envisioned. Fortunately, All-Pro Geno Atkins made his 2020 debut this past week and should begin to ramp up his snaps.
East Notes: Cowboys, Prescott, Jets, Gase
Dak Prescott is obviously out for the season with his brutal ankle injury, and speculation immediately turned to his future with the Cowboys due to the fact that he’s set to be a free agent at the end of the year. Prescott and the front office have been in a stalemate over his contract for a while, and the injury only further complicates things. Despite the lack of commitment, team VP Stephen Jones emphatically shot down any talk of parting ways during an appearance on 105.3 The Fan on Monday, via Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link).
“Absolutely not. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. He’s our future. He’s special. If anyone can overcome anything, it would be Dak,” Jerry’s son said when asked if anything had changed in regard to Prescott being their quarterback of the future. Of course there’s not much else Jones could say the day after such a serious injury, but the strength of the assertion is still notable. The Cowboys certainly don’t seem like they have any intention of letting Prescott leave town, although of course a lot could change between now and next season. Meanwhile Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets that a source told him last night that Prescott’s surgery went “very well,” and was performed by the highly regarded foot and ankle doctor Gene Curry, who was brought in by the team’s orthopedist.
Here’s more from the league’s eastern divisions:
- While things may seem pretty bleak for the Cowboys right now with their mounting injuries, we do have a dash of good news to pass along. Linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, who broke his collarbone in the team’s opening loss to the Rams, appears to be nearing a return, according to Clarence Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Vander Esch has apparently been ramping up his activity, and returned to padded practice late last week. The initial timeframe on his injury was 6-8 weeks, and Hill writes that head coach Mike McCarthy says he’s ahead of schedule. It sounds like Vander Esch has a chance to return for Dallas’ upcoming Monday Night Football game against the Cardinals, and their struggling defense could certainly use him.
- The Jets are now 0-5 on the year, and after watching two of his fellow winless head coaches get canned, it looks like Adam Gase is considering major changes. At his presser Monday Gase said he has “toyed” with the idea of giving up play-calling responsibilities on offense, and that “everything is on the table at this point,” via Connor Hughes of The Athletic (Twitter link). Running backs coach Jim Bob Cooter, who was the Lions’ offensive coordinator recently, and OC Dowell Loggains would be the natural candidates to hand off to. Gase has always called the plays during his head coaching career, so this would be a huge change for him.
- Jets pass-catchers have been dropping like flies this season, and another one is about to hit the shelf. Gase revealed during the same presser that Chris Hogan suffered a high ankle sprain on Sunday and will be out for a while, Brian Costello of the New York Post tweets. The former Patriots deep threat is in his first season with New York and has been playing an increased role due to all the injuries. He’s had at least three catches in each of the past two weeks and had six for 75 yards back in Week 2. Fortunately for the Jets, they should be getting fellow receiver Breshad Perriman back soon from his own ankle injury.
2021 NFL Draft Order
With most of Week 5 in the books, we bring you a way-too-early look at the current order for the 2021 NFL draft. For non-playoff teams, the draft order will be determined by the inverted 2020 standings, plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule. After that, the same goes for the six clubs eliminated from each round of the postseason, with the final two picks determined by the outcome of the Super Bowl.
Here’s where things stand in the race to the bottom:
- New York Giants (0-5)
- Atlanta Falcons (0-5)
- New York Jets (0-5)
- Washington Football Team (1-4)
- Minnesota Vikings (1-4)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (1-4)
- Miami Dolphins (via Houston Texans, 1-4)
- Los Angeles Chargers (1-3)
- Detroit Lions (1-3)
- Denver Broncos (1-3)
- Philadelphia Eagles (1-3-1)
- Cincinnati Bengals (1-3-1)
- Miami Dolphins (2-3)
- San Francisco 49ers (2-3)
- New Orleans Saints (2-2)
- New England Patriots (2-2)
- Arizona Cardinals (3-2)
- Indianapolis Colts (3-2)
- Dallas Cowboys (2-3)
- Carolina Panthers (3-2)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-2)
- Las Vegas Raiders (3-2)
- Kansas City Chiefs (4-1)
- Cleveland Browns (4-1)
- Chicago Bears (4-1)
- Baltimore Ravens (4-1)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (via Los Angeles Rams, 4-1)
- Tennessee Titans (3-0)
- Green Bay Packers (4-0)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (4-0)
- Buffalo Bills (4-0)
- New York Jets (via Seattle Seahawks, 4-0)
Cowboys’ Trysten Hill Done For Year
Cowboys defensive tackle Trysten Hill is done for the year after tearing the ACL in his right knee against the Giants (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero). He’ll undergo an MRI on Tuesday morning to confirm, but the diagnosis was immediately clear to team doctors. 
The hits just keep on coming in Dallas as Hill is the tenth starter to land on injured reserve in 2020. They were counting on the 2019 second-round pick, who seemed to be on the right track after a rocky rookie year. In 2019, Hill was sent home after arriving late to a practice and he even fell asleep in the middle of a speech by Basketball Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas.
Hill was first-string for all five of the Cowboys’ games this season, including Sunday’s 37-34 win over the rival Giants. His sophomore season will end with eleven total tackles, including one TFL. Antwaun Woods and third-round rookie Neville Gallimore are on hand to partner with Dontari Poe up front, but the Cowboys will need some reinforcements. Justin Hamilton — who previously suited up for the Chiefs and Eagles — may be called up from the taxi squad.
Browns Place Greedy Williams On IR
Browns cornerback Greedy Williams will be placed on injured reserve, per a club announcement. While he won’t require surgery, head coach Kevin Stefanski says he’ll need additional time to heal up from a nerve issue in his shoulder. 
[RELATED: Browns Place Nick Chubb On IR]
Williams was absent from the Browns’ first five games. Now that he’s on IR, he’ll miss at least another three. In a best case scenario, Williams will be eligible to return for the Browns’ Nov. 15 game against the Texans.
Williams, a 2019 second-round pick, registered 47 stops as a rookie. The LSU product missed a quarter the season due to hamstring issues and he once again finds himself sidelined. At best, Williams will finish his second pro season with just 20 regular season games played in total.
On the plus side, the Browns beat the Colts on Sunday with Terrence Mitchell, Denzel Ward, and Kevin Johnson as their top trio of cornerbacks. With that, they advanced to 3-1 on the season, though they’ll have to push for separation in the sardine-packed AFC North. Next up, a pivotal matchup against the 4-0 Steelers.
Falcons Name Raheem Morris As Interim Coach
The Falcons have finalized a deal to make Raheem Morris their interim head coach, as NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. Morris, 44, takes over for Dan Quinn, who was jettisoned on Sunday. 
Morris served as the Buccaneers’ head coach from 2009 to 2011. He’s been with the Falcons since 2015, earning a promotion from secondary coach to defensive coordinator in 2020. Now, he’ll get a chance to audition for the top job as he tries to turn things around from 0-5. It all starts on Sunday, when the Falcons face the Vikings in Minnesota.
The Falcons bounced Quinn and GM Thomas Dimitroff on Sunday, leaving team president Rich McKay to oversee the roster. Dimitroff had served as the Falcons’ GM since 2008. Quinn, hired in 2015, was moments away from winning a Super Bowl less than four years ago. It’s been all downhill since then, and that NFC championship team fell apart rapidly. They managed to go 10-6 the following year but were 7-9 in each of the past two, and of course started this season 0-5. All in all, Quinn finished his run at a nearly even 43-42 through five-plus seasons.
Of course, there’s plenty of blame to go around in Atlanta. Even with tremendous talent at the skill positions, the Falcons will need a major overhaul this spring.
Titans On Track To Play Bills
The Titans had no new positives from Sunday’s round of COVID-19 testing, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). With that, they’re on track to play the Bills on Tuesday night.
Over the weekend, one Titans staffer tested positive for the coronavirus, though that person has not been at the team facility for roughly two weeks. The league believes that the staffer has not been in contact with other players, coaches, or executives, which means that Titans currently have the green light to play. If the team gets more positive test results tomorrow morning, that could change.
The Titans returned to their facilities on Saturday after two consecutive days of negative tests — then, the aforementioned personnel positive put things on hold. The Patriots are in a similar spot, and the ripple effect has created a scheduling quagmire across the league. If the Titans are able to play on Tuesday, the Broncos and Patriots will indeed play each other next Sunday. The Broncos and Chargers will then play each other in Week 8, which was supposed to be when Denver had its bye, and the Dolphins will now play the Broncos in Week 11. However, the Jaguars have now been impacted by this mess, as they were supposed to play the Broncos in Week 8. So, no matter what happens in Nashville, there is still more work to be done.
Falcons Fire Dan Quinn, Thomas Dimitroff
The writing was on the wall, but it’s official now. The Falcons have fired both their head coach Dan Quinn as well as general manager Thomas Dimitroff, the team announced Sunday night.
It was clear to just about everyone that Quinn was going to be fired any week now, but the firing of Dimitroff was less widely speculated on. With the house cleaning, team president and CEO Rich McKay will takeover running the football operations for now, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweeted. Quinn is now the second head coach to be shown the door after Bill O’Brien was let go by the Texans earlier this week.
It’s been a remarkable fall from grace for a head coach who was moments away from winning a Super Bowl less than four years ago. It’s been all downhill since then, and that NFC championship team fell apart rapidly. They managed to go 10-6 the following year but were 7-9 in each of the past two, and of course started this season 0-5.
Quinn’s seat was scorching hot last year, but he managed to save his job temporarily as the Falcons closed the season strong. The Falcons are now in a very interesting spot as a franchise, as Matt Ryan and Julio Jones aren’t getting any younger at 35 and 31 respectively. Those guys likely have a couple of high level years left, but a new regime may be interested in looking toward the future.
Quinn developed a reputation as a defensive guru during his time with the Seahawks, but during the Falcons’ most successful times it was always the offense carrying the team. Quinn’s defenses became progressively worse, making the situation untenable.
He coordinated Seattle’s legendary defenses in 2013 and 2014, winning Super Bowl XLVIII with the team. Dimitroff was the Patriots’ director of college scouting before owner Arthur Blank hired him to be Atlanta’s GM in 2008. His first draft pick was none other than Ryan, and his firing ends one of the longest recent front office tenures.
No interim coach has been announced, but at 0-5 there’s very little hope of a postseason berth. Offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter, recently a head coach with the Bucs, would be a natural candidate. With Ryan, Jones, and Calvin Ridley there’s still plenty of talent at the skill positions, but the rest of the roster is in need of a major overhaul.
Quinn finished his run at a nearly even 43-42 through five-plus seasons as the Falcons’ head coach. We’ll be sure to keep you posted on all the fallout, and if you clink the link to the team’s announcement at the top you can read quotes from Blank and McKay on the firings.