2023 - Pro Football Rumors

Year: 2023

Rams WR Cooper Kupp To Miss Week 1; IR Stint Possible

September 6th, 2023 at 4:04pm CST by Sam Robinson

SEPTEMBER 6: Kupp will indeed miss Week 1, McVay confirmed on Wednesday. More notably, he added that an IR stint is not out of the question for the 2021 triple crown winner, as noted by ESPN’s Sarah Barshop. Placing Kupp on injured reserve would guarantee at least a four week absence and hinder the Rams’ offense even further to begin a season in which the unit already faces plenty of questions.

SEPTEMBER 2: As the Rams go into Sean McVay‘s seventh season, this is easily their most unusually constructed roster during the Super Bowl-winning HC’s tenure. A wave of unknown rookie-contract commodities surround the three stars the team extended in 2022. While two of the Rams’ pillars are back from 2022 injuries, Cooper Kupp is looking unlikely to start the season on time.

McVay said Kupp encountered a setback in his recovery from a late-summer hamstring injury this week, and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport indicates the former All-Pro wide receiver is visiting a doctor in Minnesota today attempting to gather more information about his injury. As it stands now, Kupp is likely to be held out of the Rams’ Week 1 game against the Seahawks, Rapoport adds. Earlier this week, McVay called Kupp “day to day,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter adds.

Kupp initially suffered the injury August 1, and it is certainly a storyline to follow for a Rams team that is largely retooling. Matthew Stafford and Aaron Donald will return from their respective 2022 injuries on time, but Kupp’s absence will probably extend into another season. Kupp saw his 2022 season end due to an ankle injury that led to a surgery. Although Kupp began training camp on time, he did not make it through a week of practices before going down with this separate issue.

Seeing a specialist eight days before Week 1 does not point to Kupp beginning his age-30 season on time. The Rams gave Kupp a three-year, $80.1MM extension during the 2022 offseason. That contract contained $70MM guaranteed. That did not represent the guarantee at signing, but in March, all of that $70MM became locked in for Kupp. The former third-round pick is going into his seventh NFL season.

In 2021, Kupp completed one of the greatest receiving seasons in NFL history, leading the league in receptions, yards and touchdowns. The slot maven capped the year off by scoring the game-winning touchdown in Super Bowl LVI, en route to MVP honors. The Rams ripped up a contract he had agreed to in 2020; that deal still had two seasons remaining. Just as Los Angeles did for Donald, who had three years left on an extension he signed in 2018, the team rewarded Kupp for his 2021 dominance.

A year after authorizing those contracts, the Rams look quite different. They lost a number of Super Bowl starters and have rookie deals surrounding their star trio’s big-ticket contracts. Kupp still represents the team’s runaway No. 1 target. Van Jefferson, Ben Skowronek, Tutu Atwell, Demarcus Robinson and fifth-round rookie Puka Nacua round out L.A.’s receiving cast.

Josh Dobbs Expected To Start For Cardinals In Week 1

September 6th, 2023 at 1:48pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Cardinals’ quarterback situation to start the season appears to be in place. Trade acquisition Josh Dobbs is expected to start in Week 1, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Arizona appeared to name Dobbs the starter in its information packets sent to the NFL ahead of the team’s season opener against the Commanders. As Howard Balzer of PHNX.com notes, the 28-year-old is listed as being set to make his debut in the desert, whereas such a scenario is listed as a hypothetical for rookie Clayton Tune. Today’s report thus comes as no surprise.

Arizona made the noteworthy move of acquiring Dobbs from the Browns not long before roster cutdowns and mere hours after Cleveland named him Deshaun Watson‘s backup. The Browns moved quickly in sending Dobbs to Arizona, and in doing so putting him position to take on first-team duties right away. The Cardinals then released Colt McCoy, who had been the presumed Week 1 starter to fill in for the injured Kyler Murray.

The latter is on the PUP list, meaning he will miss at least the first four weeks of the campaign. The role of starter will thus be handed on a game-by-game basis, Rapoport notes. Dobbs has spent considerably more time in the NFL compared to Tune, having been drafted in 2017. He has only made eight appearances during that time, though, including two late-season starts in 2022 for the Titans. As was the case in Tennessee, Dobbs will now quickly acclimate himself to a new offensive system before seeing immediate playing time.

Helping him in that regard is the fact that Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing previously served as quarterbacks coach in Cleveland, giving him a working relationship with Dobbs. The latter will look to make a good first impression with his new team, one of which very little is expected (with or without Murray available) in 2023. Keeping Dobbs in the starter’s role would nevertheless allow Tune, a fifth-rounder who threw a combined 70 touchdown passes during his final two years at Houston, to develop from the sidelines.

Strong play from Dobbs would also, of course, give him an opportunity to find a long-term opportunity either in Arizona or elsewhere in the future. He has bounced around the NFL during his career, but the latest chance to find stability will begin on Sunday with the Cardinals.

DE Carl Nassib Retires

September 6th, 2023 at 1:32pm CST by Adam La Rose

After seven years in the NFL, Carl Nassib is hanging up his cleats. The 30-year-old defensive end announced on Wednesday that he has retired.

Nassib spent his first two seasons in Cleveland, having entered the league as a Browns third-rounder. After being one of the team’s final roster cuts ahead of the 2018 season, though, he was signed by the Buccaneers to begin the first of his two stints with the team. The Penn State alum had his most productive time during that stretch, collecting 12.5 sacks and 25 QB hits.

His numbers in Tampa Bay earned Nassib a three-year, $25MM deal with the Raiders in free agency. He operated in a rotational capacity during his time there, and his performance led to a cost-cutting release after two years. It was during Nassib’s time with the Raiders that he became the NFL’s first openly gay player, and the support he received from the league upon doing so was acknowledged in his retirement announcement.

Nassib headed back to Tampa Bay last year, and he played in 13 games for the Bucs while seeing rotational snaps on both defense and special teams. He is content with his time on the field over the course of his pro career, though, and is now prepared to move forward (although he acknowledged, via ESPN, that he will maintain a relationship with the NFL in some capacity).

“It really feels like just yesterday starting out as a walk-on at Penn State,” Nassib wrote in his retirement announcement. “Football has given me more than I ever could have imagined. I can truly hang up my helmet for the last time knowing I gave it everything I had.”

Nassib will leave the game with 25.5 sacks and just under $23MM in career earnings. He noted his plans to devote attention to business interests with his company, Rayze, though he will also have a relationship with the league if the aforementioned plans come to fruition.

Latest On Raiders, Chandler Jones

September 6th, 2023 at 12:01pm CST by Sam Robinson

Chandler Jones‘ Instagram account caused a bit of a controversy this week. Reacting to being locked out of the Raiders’ facility and then going to work out on his own at a public gym, the former All-Pro lashed out at Josh McDaniels and GM Dave Ziegler.

The 12th-year pass rusher attempted to contact McDaniels and Ziegler by phone on Tuesday, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore, but was unsuccessful. Jones then said — in since-deleted posts — he no longer wants to be a Raider as long as McDaniels and Ziegler are in charge. The All-Decade-teamer also mentioned he would prefer DC Patrick Graham be the team’s head coach.

This strange development continued to Wednesday, when McDaniels indicated (via ESPN.com’s Field Yates) Jones will not be with the team at practice today. The Raiders gave Jones a three-year, $51MM deal in 2022. McDaniels said this is a private matter and declined to say if the veteran defender would play in the team’s opener, via The Athletic’s Vic Tafur. Jones, 33, also did not attend Raiders team meetings Tuesday, Tafur adds.

“It’s a shame that I am a top athlete with 112 sacks in the NFL and I have to go to a local gym to work out during the season for no apparent reason,” Jones said in a different post (h/t Bonsignore), “this is wild to me Josh and you know it you need to do what’s right [sic].”

Although Jones signed with the Raiders last year, he has been on several teams with McDaniels in place as a prominent staffer. Both were with the Patriots from 2012-15, with Jones on his rookie contract and McDaniels in his second stint as New England’s OC. Ziegler was with the Patriots for much of Jones’ Foxborough tenure as well. McDaniels famously alienated a few cornerstone Broncos during his time as their head coach, with one of those conflicts leading to 2009’s blockbuster Jay Cutler trade. A subsequent issue with Brandon Marshall led to a 2010 trade. Considerable time passed in between McDaniels’ HC opportunities, but his Colts about-face in 2018 reinforced a polarizing reputation within the league.

Still, it would be strange if Jones was not in uniform for the Raiders’ opener Sunday in Denver. The team did bring in Tyree Wilson as a likely Jones starter replacement for 2024, but the No. 7 overall pick is expected to supplement Jones and Maxx Crosby this season. The Raiders guaranteed Jones $32MM at signing. He already collected an $8.5MM roster bonus for this year and has $9.67MM in additional salary guarantees in his contract. No guarantees remain on Jones’ deal into 2024.

His game-winning touchdown on the Jakobi Meyers‘ lateral botch notwithstanding, Jones did not live up to his contract last season. He totaled 4.5 sacks in 15 games, though the former Cardinals standout tallied 15 QB hits. Both numbers were well off his 2021 Arizona showing (10.5 sacks, 26 QB hits), however. Jones looms as a 2024 release candidate, but he and the Raiders look to have some fence-mending to do before this season begins.

OL Notes: Smith, Texans, Rams, Bears

September 6th, 2023 at 11:17am CST by Sam Robinson

The Cowboys are going with a “best five” configuration up front, shifting course months after Jerry Jones discussed a plan of keeping Tyler Smith at tackle. Smith is back at guard, but he may not be a lock to start the season on time. The second-year blocker suffered a hamstring strain, David Moore of the Dallas Morning News tweets. Jones expects Smith to play in Week 1; the 2022 first-round pick did not miss a game last season. Dallas has lost its starting left guard in free agency in each of the past two offseasons, seeing Connor Williams and Connor McGovern defect to the AFC East.

One of the backup options, Josh Ball, is on IR. Ball is battling hip and groin pain, and the Morning News’ Michael Gehlken notes he is expected to miss around two months. A 2021 fourth-rounder, Ball is not expected to need surgery. The Cowboys kept eight O-linemen, with rookies Asim Richards and T.J. Bass joining Chuma Edoga as backups.

Here is the latest from NFL O-lines:

Texans right tackle Tytus Howard returned to practice earlier this week, working out with a cast on his injured left hand. While the fifth-year lineman is on the verge of returning, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson notes George Fant is expected to play in place of Howard in Week 1. Howard, who signed a Texans extension in July, underwent surgery to repair a broken hand in early August. Fant worked as a regular Jets starter — at left and right tackle — throughout the 2020 and ’21 seasons; injuries limited him to seven games last year.
Josh Jones filled in for D.J. Humphries as the Cardinals’ left tackle last season, but the recently traded blocker is back at guard. The Texans have Jones in place as their starting left guard going into the season, Wilson tweets. Jones is replacing 2022 first-rounder Kenyon Green, who is on season-ending IR. Jones spent the 2021 season as a primary Cardinals starting guard. The Texans will also be without center Juice Scruggs to start the season; the second-rounder is on short-term IR with a hamstring injury.
The Rams gave Joseph Noteboom a three-year, $40MM deal to replace Andrew Whitworth in 2022, but after another season-ending injury, Whitworth’s would-be heir apparent lost his job. The Rams are going with Alaric Jackson at left tackle, per The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue, who adds Noteboom is back at guard (subscription required). Noteboom worked at guard early in his career and was mentioned as a guard option this offseason, but he had played on the outside since becoming Los Angeles’ swing tackle in 2020. The Rams also added Kevin Dotson from the Steelers, and while Dotson has started 30 career games (including 17 last year), Rodrigue adds the team views him as a depth piece. A former UDFA, Jackson started six games last season before becoming one of the many Ram blockers forced off the field due to health issues. Blood clots ended Jackson’s 2022 slate.
Previously set to shift back to center, Cody Whitehair is at guard to start his eighth Bears season. Teven Jenkins‘ injury will shift Whitehair to left guard and Lucas Patrick to center, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune notes. Recent trade acquisition Dan Feeney is in place as Chicago’s backup center. Jenkins is on IR to start the season. Whitehair spent the past four seasons at guard but began his career with three slates at center. Patrick has played both guard and center. The 2022 free agency addition was ticketed to start at center last season, but injuries limited the ex-Packer to seven games.

Latest On 49ers, DE Nick Bosa

September 6th, 2023 at 8:43am CST by Sam Robinson

Chris Jones and Zack Martin‘s holdouts qualified as more contentious than Nick Bosa‘s, but like the Chiefs interior defensive line standout, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year is close to missing regular-season time.

Bosa still has a few more days to sign an extension and end his holdout, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes the 49ers have moved past one hurdle as they attempt to finalize this deal. As expected, Bosa will soon become the NFL’s highest-paid edge defender. The 49ers have offered Bosa at least $30MM per year, as we heard late last week. T.J. Watt‘s $28MM-AAV deal has paced the edge rusher market since September 2021.

The issue of Bosa passing Aaron Donald‘s defender-record deal, which averages $31.7MM per year, still looms. More specifically, the topic of the $5MM roster bonus the Rams gave Donald as part of his guarantee package is part of the Bosa-49ers equation, Rapoport adds. This would seem a small barrier to negotiate, but the parties are running short on time to have Bosa in uniform for the San Francisco-Pittsburgh opener.

If Bosa is not uniform for the 49ers against the Steelers, they are prepared to start free agency pickup Clelin Ferrell and 2022 second-rounder Drake Jackson, The Athletic’s Matt Barrows tweets. This would mark a dramatic change for Ferrell, a bust with the Raiders after being the No. 4 overall pick in 2019. The 49ers have done well to coax quality play from discarded veteran D-linemen in recent years, and it will be interesting to see what D-line coach Kris Kocurek generates from Ferrell, a healthy scratch at points last year in Las Vegas. Ferrell signed a one-year, $2.5MM deal in March.

Bosa’s presence has helped the revolving cast of veteran defensive ends operate, however, and the 49ers have let this matter run up against the regular season. They are still expected to waive Bosa fines for skipping training camp, which the CBA permits for holdouts on rookie contracts, separating this from the Chiefs-Jones impasse. The 49ers have budgeted for a Bosa extension for years, but this journey’s completion is proving difficult.

The guarantees on Bosa’s contract will most likely dwarf Donald’s, as those were part of a three-year deal. The Steelers gave Watt a defender-most $80MM guaranteed at signing; Joey Bosa received $78MM locked in from the Chargers back in 2020. It will be interesting to see if Nick Bosa ends up on a lengthy contract like Trent Williams, who signed a six-year deal in 2021, or a medium-term pact like Deebo Samuel (three years).

Donald staged a holdout ahead of his fourth season and missed the first two games of the Rams’ 2017 season. The circumstances behind that differed, though the Rams did waive Donald’s fines and paid him for Week 1. That holdout came in Sean McVay‘s first season, when little was expected of a retooling Rams team. The 49ers are again a Super Bowl contender, a status Bosa helped restore after he missed most of a down 2020 season with an ACL tear. Not having the 25-year-old standout in a road game against the Steelers may well impact the NFC’s home-field advantage chase four months from now.

Travis Kelce Dealing With Knee Injury; Kadarius Toney On Track For Week 1

September 6th, 2023 at 7:59am CST by Sam Robinson

SEPTEMBER 6: While Kelce is dealing with significant swelling, Rapoport indicates he suffered a bone bruise. Considering the range of outcomes possible in the wake of this knee injury, the Chiefs appear to have dodged a bullet here.

SEPTEMBER 5, 3:48pm: Kelce remains uncertain to play in Week 1, per Rapoport and NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero, but this is not believed to be a serious knee injury. The Chiefs plan to wait for the swelling in the injured knee to subside before making a decision. Kelce’s ACL is intact, ESPN’s Adam Schefter adds. While it would not surprise to see the Chiefs exercise caution here given Kelce’s importance to the offense, it does not look like a long-term absence would be in the cards. Indeed, SI.com’s Albert Breer adds it is unlikely Kelce plays Thursday.

1:13pm: After missing nearly his entire rookie season due to a knee injury, Travis Kelce has become one of the NFL’s most durable players. But his status for Week 1 is suddenly in question.

Kelce suffered a hyperextended knee, per Andy Reid, and is not a lock to play in the Chiefs’ season opener. The injury occurred at practice Tuesday, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. The perennial All-Pro tight end has not missed a game due to injury since his 2013 rookie season.

On a better note for the defending Super Bowl champions, Kadarius Toney is practicing. Reid expects the injury-prone receiver to play against the Lions, ESPN’s Ed Werder tweets. Toney, who has battled a number of maladies since entering the league in 2021, missed several weeks after suffering a torn meniscus minutes into training camp. The Chiefs listed Toney and Kelce as limited practice participants.

Moving into Hall of Fame lock territory since pairing with Patrick Mahomes, Kelce did not truly begin his career until his age-25 season due to undergoing microfracture surgery during his rookie year. Unlike Jadeveon Clowney, who underwent the same procedure a year later, Kelce has not battled knee trouble in the seasons since. He has only missed three regular-season games — two due to Reid sitting starters in season finales, one due to COVID-19 — since returning in time for the 2014 opener.

Going into his age-34 season, Kelce has become one of the NFL’s all-time greats at tight end. He is riding a seven-year streak of 1,000-yard seasons; no other tight end has tallied more than four 1,000-yard years in total. The Chiefs relied on Kelce last season, trading Tyreek Hill and using a cast of lesser wide receivers, and got by in large part due to the receiving tight end’s consistency. Kelce set a new career high with 110 receptions, and his 1,338 yards approached his tight end-record 1,416 from 2020. It would obviously be quite the adjustment for the Chiefs to play without Kelce, considering their receiver makeup.

Toney represents a key part of that receiving group, but the Chiefs may look to limit the shifty wideout. Lower-body injuries have followed Toney from New York to Kansas City. Ankle, quad, oblique and knee trouble has plagued Toney, with an onslaught of hamstring issues – which at one point saw the talented youngster sidelined because of injuries to both legs – impeding his 2022 efforts. While Toney still recovered in time to make key contributions in Super Bowl LVII, his track record has reached the point he might not be able to handle a full receiver workload.

The Chiefs kept seven wide receivers on their active roster, adding to the uncertainty at the position following the free agency exits of JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman. Marquez Valdes-Scantling is the only proven option left at receiver for the Chiefs, though GM Brett Veach said 2022 second-rounder Skyy Moore is set for an every-down role after showing improvement this offseason. Kansas City also rosters second-round rookie Rashee Rice, free agent slot pickup Richie James, veteran backup Justin Watson and second-year UDFA Justyn Ross.

Additionally, the daily Chris Jones update does not bring good news for the Chiefs. Still no progress in negotiations, per Reid. Both Kelce and Jones played all 20 Chiefs contests last season. While Jones has been trending toward missing this game for a bit now, the eighth-year defensive tackle is close to missing a $1.1MM game check.

Aaron Donald skipped Week 1 while holding out in 2017, but he was attached to a rookie contract and the Rams ended up waiving his fines and paying him for the game week missed. The current CBA prevents the Chiefs from waiving the fines Jones incurred for missing training camp; that number has surpassed $2MM. Jones continues to target a deal closer to Donald’s $31.7MM AAV than the D-tackle’s second salary tier. Rumblings about a $28MM-per-year middle ground have surfaced, but Jones remains unsigned.

Jerry Jones Addresses Dak Prescott Contract; No Extension Talks Yet

September 5th, 2023 at 9:56pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Cowboys restructuring Dak Prescott‘s contract this offseason gives their longtime quarterback some ammo. The reworking created a whopping $59.5MM Prescott cap number in 2024, the final year of his current deal. Already limited by the events of 2021 with Dak, the Cowboys have some work to do going forward.

Taking parts of three offseasons to agree to an extension, Prescott ended up playing his hand well. His price rose from 2019-21, and talks ended up coming down to the March 2021 deadline for teams to apply franchise tags. With Prescott having already been tagged in 2020, the 2021 number would have brought a cap sheet-clogging $37MM hit. As that deadline approached, the Cowboys hammered out a four-year, $160MM extension with the former Offensive Rookie of the Year. The fallout from that extension affects the team today.

Because the Cowboys applied a procedural tag on Prescott in 2021, it would be untenable for them to tag him a third time in 2025. While two years remain on Prescott’s deal, the 2024 cap number and the tag being out of play will equip him with considerable leverage. For now, however, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Clarence Hill notes the Cowboys and Dak have not linked up on extension talks. An extension would allow the team to reduce Prescott’s monster 2024 cap number.

The topic of a second Prescott extension surfaced this offseason, but the Cowboys had more pressing matters to address. They have taken care of those, giving Zack Martin a raise and adding more than $35MM guaranteed to end his holdout. They also extended Trevon Diggs, Terence Steele and Malik Hooker to prevent them from going into contract years. CeeDee Lamb looms as an extension priority as well, but he is signed through 2024. Micah Parsons certainly will be, too. The all-world pass rusher becomes extension-eligible in January but can be kept on his rookie deal through 2025 due to the fifth-year option the Cowboys will exercise by May.

Dallas also made a surprising trade for Trey Lance, with Hill adding Jerry Jones pulled the trigger without consulting Prescott or Mike McCarthy. Jones said the Lance trade did not come to pass because of a potential leverage ploy against Prescott, via The Athletic’s Jon Machota (subscription required), and added he wants the current starter in Dallas for a long time. Prescott, 30, declined to comment on prospective contract talks, via the Dallas Morning News’ Calvin Watkins, adding he was not surprised by the Lance acquisition. The former No. 3 overall pick is not expected to play this season, with Hill adding Lance could compete with the recently re-signed Cooper Rush for that job in 2024. Rush is now on a two-year deal.

While Lance counts only $940K on Dallas’ cap sheet this year, that number spikes to $5.31MM in 2024. Prescott’s 2024 number will need to be addressed, as no player has entered a season with a cap hit higher than $45MM. The Browns are in the same boat, though theirs is a bit trickier due to Deshaun Watson‘s 2024-26 cap numbers (all at $63.97MM) part of a fully guaranteed contract. Two void years are on Prescott’s deal. It would cost the Cowboys $36.5MM were they to not extend Prescott before the start of the 2025 league year.

Restructured Contracts: Garoppolo, Bills, Wilson, Reed

September 5th, 2023 at 9:37pm CST by Ben Levine

Jimmy Garoppolo continues to help the Raiders carve out cap space. After reworking his deal earlier this offseason, the quarterback has once again restructured his deal, per ESPN’s Field Yates (via Twitter).

The move will create $17MM in cap space for the organization, making them cap compliant. As Vince Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal notes, the team previously converted an $11.25MM signing bonus into base salary, increasing Garoppolo‘s salary from $11.25MM to $22.5MM in the process. Bonsignore assumes the front office did some work today to reduce that newfound 2023 number.

Shortly after Garoppolo signed a three-year, $72.75MM deal, he underwent surgery to repair the fractured foot he sustained in early December. The Raiders’ first restructuring helped protect the organization in case the QB’s foot injury lingers into the regular season.

More financial notes from around the NFL…

The Bills opened a chunk of cap space today. The team opened $4.5MM in cap space by restructuring the contracts of guard Ryan Bates and cornerback Taron Johnson, per Yates. Bates turned into a full-time starter for the Bills in 2022, while Johnson has started 41 games for Buffalo over the past three seasons.
Cedrick Wilson Jr. reworked his contract with the Dolphins prior to cutdown day, per Jonathan Jones of NFL on CBS. The veteran wideout lowered his base salary to $2MM while receiving a $3MM signing bonus, equaling his $5MM in guarantees from last season. With incentives, Wilson can earn up to $7.25MM on his reworked contract.
The Vikings recently reworked the contract of guard Chris Reed, according to ESPN’s Ben Goessling. The offensive lineman’s base salary is now fully guaranteed at $1.165MM, an increase from the $1.4MM ($600K guaranteed) pact he was previously attached to. This was the second time this offseason that Reed agreed to a reworked contract.
Browns left tackle Jedrick Wills restructured his deal recently, converting $2.28MM of his base salary into a signing bonus, per Yates. The new deal also has three new void years, opening around $1.8MM in cap space.
The Cowboys restructured Neville Gallimore‘s contract, according to ESPN’s Todd Archer. The defensive tackle’s salary was reduced from $2.7MM to $1.5MM, and he can now earn $750K via incentives.

Latest On Colts’ Backfield; Team Worked Out James Robinson

September 5th, 2023 at 8:35pm CST by Ben Levine

With Jonathan Taylor sitting on the reserve/PUP list for at least the first four games of the 2023 campaign, the Colts backfield is plenty uncertain heading into Week 1. With Zack Moss also nursing an arm injury, it sounds like even the Colts don’t know who will lead the team in carries to start the season.

“I think it’s running back-by-committee,” said head coach Shane Steichen (via Joel A. Erickson of the Indianapolis Star). “Whoever’s got the hot hand, let ‘em ride a little bit.”

Deon Jackson and Evan Hull are set to be the team’s two healthy RBs on Sunday against the Jaguars. Jackson has experience on his side, garnering 111 touches over the past two seasons (including 98 last season). However, the Duke product has averaged only 3.3 yards on his 81 career rushing attempts, and he’s proven to be much more productive in the passing game (including a 30-catch campaign in 2022).

Hull also projects to be more of a receiving back, but the 2023 fifth-round pick was a productive runner in college. Along with his 94 receptions (including 55 this past season), the Northwestern product collecting 2,417 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns on 488 carries.

As Steichen notes, Moss would be the clear RB1 if he was healthy. The former Bills draft pick had 334 yards on 69 carries in four games down the stretch while filling in for Taylor. He’s been sidelined throughout training camp and the preseason while recovering from a broken arm, and he finally returned to practice earlier this week. However, Moss isn’t expected to see a significant role as he makes up for lost time.

Considering the uncertainty on the depth chart, the front office is apparently considering options from outside the organization. Free agent running back James Robinson worked out for the Colts yesterday, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

Robinson has had a busy offseason. He inked a two-year deal with the Patriots back in March but was released a few months later. He later caught on with the Giants and spent the preseason with the club before getting cut. The 25-year-old split the 2022 season between the Jaguars and Jets, collecting 476 yards from scrimmage and five touchdowns.

Teams are clearly still counting on the production Robinson showed during his rookie campaign. The former UDFA finished the 2020 season with 1,414 yards and 10 touchdowns. He suffered a torn Achilles at the end of the 2021 season that ended up costing him a chunk of the following campaign.

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