2023 - Pro Football Rumors

Broncos’ Javonte Williams Confirms Knee 100% Healthy

November 12th, 2023 at 4:21pm CST by Adam La Rose

Having won two straight games, reasons for optimism are emerging for the Broncos entering the second half of the season. Much of any future success on offense in particular will no doubt depend on the running game, with Javonte Williams at the heart of the rushing attack.

The 2021 second-rounder flashed considerable potential as a rookie, posting 903 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground. That raised expectations for Year 2, but Williams was limited to only four games due to an ACL tear. Recovery from the injury has been a months-long process, but by now he has returned to full strength.

“Yeah, my confidence is definitely at 100%,” Williams said, via the Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson, when asked about the status of his knee in light of a recent uptick in production “I feel like I can do anything I was doing my rookie year and I feel like everything is good.”

The 23-year-old has rushed for at least 52 yards four times this season, including each of the past three games. That includes eclipsing the 80-yard mark in wins over the Packers and Chiefs; in the latter contest, Williams added his first touchdown of the season in the passing game. With the Broncos finding success in the ground attack recently, Williams will be a key player to watch down the stretch for Denver.

The 3-5 outfit has been at the center of considerable criticism for new head coach Sean Payton given expectations for the former Super Bowl winner and the presumption his arrival would help bring about a rebound from quarterback Russell Wilson. The latter has performed better than his disastrous debut campaign in the Mile High City last year, but the rushing attack has been a source of success. The Broncos entered Week 10 in 11th in the league with an average of 117 yards per game on the ground.

Undrafted rookie Jaleel McLaughlin has established himself as a capable depth running back (7.1 yards per carry, 333 scrimmage yards) but Williams should be in line for a large workload over the rest of the season. The declaration that his knee is back to its pre-injury form is a welcomed one given his importance to any potential Broncos playoff push.

Commanders Lowered Asking Price On Chase Young Prior To 49ers Trade

November 12th, 2023 at 3:33pm CST by Adam La Rose

The 49ers were aggressive in pursuing an upgrade ahead of the trade deadline, and that effort resulted in the acquisition of Chase Young. The now-former Commanders edge rusher has increased expectations for an already talented San Francisco defensive front, but he was not added at the original asking price.

Washington lowered the ask for Young before the 49ers deal was finalized, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. The Commanders received a compensatory 2024 third-round pick for the former No. 2 selection. Schefter notes Washington initially wanted a package of a second- and fifth-round pick for Young, whose value was hindered by his injury history. While fellow edge rusher Montez Sweat yielded a Day 2 selection from the Bears, Young was moved at a comparative discount.

Throughout the lead-in to the deadline, it was clear the Commanders were willing to move at least one of their former first-rounders. Both Young and Sweat were set to see their rookie deals expire this offseason, though the latter has already worked out a lucrative pact in Chicago. Young, on the other hand, has expressed a willingness to wait until the spring to negotiate a new deal. His play in the Bay Area to close out the campaign will dictate his value with the 49ers or on the open market.

The 2020 Defensive Rookie of the Year missed considerable time in each of the following two seasons, leading to the Commanders’ decision to decline his fifth-year option. Young managed to play seven games in Washington this season, though, and he made his 49ers debut in Week 10. The 24-year-old posted five sacks during his final weeks in the nation’s capital, increasing expectations for his reunion with former Ohio State teammate Nick Bosa.

With the latter having signed a record-breaking extension on the eve of the 2023 season, it will be interesting to see how willing and able the 49ers are to retain Young on a new deal. His performance in San Francisco will certainly affect his market value considerably, but it is noteworthy that, despite interest shown from multiple other teams, the Commanders were prepared to come a long way off their initial asking price to move on from Young.

Rams QB Matthew Stafford Still Not Contemplating Retirement

November 12th, 2023 at 12:25pm CST by Rory Parks

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford is 35 years old, has a Super Bowl ring, and has earned over $320MM from his playing career. He is also in the midst of his second consecutive subpar season and is currently dealing with a UCL sprain after having suffered through elbow troubles and a spinal contusion in 2022. Add it all up, and it stands to reason that there would be some retirement speculation surrounding the No. 1 overall pick of the 2009 draft, just as there was around this time last year.

Stafford, however, is having none of it. On a recent episode of The Pat McAfee Show, the Georgia product made it clear that he is still not contemplating retirement (video link).

“I love playing this game, I love competing,” Stafford said (h/t Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk). “I love being in the locker room. I’ll never get that again, so I get as many opportunities to do that as I can. I love this team, I love the city, it’s been a blast. Obviously had a lot of success in our first year and trying to duplicate that this year, next year, whenever it is. I enjoy playing too much to hang it up.”

Stafford did concede, when asked if he plans to keep playing “until the wheels fall off,” that his wheels are “wobbling a little bit right now as we speak,” and that he will likely not play “until the wheels completely fall off.” Nonetheless, it seems certain that he will return in 2024.

From a purely financial perspective, there is no reason for Stafford not to suit up next season. On the third day of the 2023 league year in March, the Rams picked up the veteran passer’s 2023 option bonus and his 2024 salary, and he is therefore due a fully-guaranteed $31MM next season. Los Angeles may or may not have attempted to trade Stafford prior to incurring those costs, but after a mediocre and injury-marred 2022, it was never likely that another team would subject itself to the same financial burden by acquiring Stafford. And unless Stafford dramatically improves on his 2023 performance to date — in eight games this season, he has completed less than 60% of his passes for eight touchdowns and seven interceptions — GM Les Snead should not expect to receive any trade inquiries when the 2024 league year begins.

As such, the Rams and Stafford appear to be heading for at least one more year together (he is under club control through 2026). But since Stafford’s 2024 cap hit checks in at a whopping $49.5MM, Snead may at least approach his signal-caller about some sort of restructure, or even a pay cut.

In related news, the Rams did reach out to newly-acquired QB2 Carson Wentz earlier this season, as ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler writes in a subscribers-only piece. However, Los Angeles did not circle back to Wentz until after the since-waived Brett Rypien disappointed in the club’s Week 9 loss to the Packers on Sunday, and Fowler reports that the Rams’ contract offer represented the first “tangible opportunity” Wentz received since he was released by Washington in February. Wentz may therefore be in for another lengthy stay on the free agent market in 2024, though it is conceivable that he impresses the Rams’ staff enough to return as Stafford’s backup next season.

Assault Charge Against Titans RB Hassan Haskins Dropped

November 12th, 2023 at 11:40am CST by Rory Parks

At the end of September, Terry McCormick of MainStreetMediaTN.com reported that the charge of aggravated assault by strangulation against Titans running back Hassan Haskins had been dropped. Haskins was charged in June following an argument with his girlfriend, Makiah Green (who was, at the time of McCormick’s report, still facing her own charges of aggravated assault by strangulation, vandalism over $2,500, and assault with a deadly weapon).

Haskins will nonetheless be unable to suit up for Tennessee this year, as he was placed on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury before roster cutdowns at the end of August. One day later, he was placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt List due to the pending criminal charge, though he was removed from the list shortly after his assault charge was dropped, which made him eligible to return to the team facility.

Even though he avoided criminal penalties and will apparently avoid any league discipline as well, Haskins’ future with the Titans remains unclear. He was selected in the fourth round of the 2022 draft by the club’s prior GM, Jon Robinson, and received just 25 carries in his rookie campaign (which did give him the second-most rushing attempts among Tennessee’s running backs, as bell cow Derrick Henry once again served as the team’s offensive fulcrum). The Titans’ new GM, Ran Carthon, added promising talent Tyjae Spears in the third round of this year’s draft, and in July, it was reported that Haskins had fallen behind Spears on the depth chart.

Obviously, missing the entirety of his second pro season will not help Haskins’ cause. On the other hand, Henry is eligible for free agency at the end of the season, and if the Titans decide against giving a new contract to the two-time rushing champion, Haskins may have a chance to earn a larger workload.

At present, Tennessee’s other running backs include the likes of Julius Chestnut (currently on IR) and Jonathan Ward.

Latest On Bengals’ WR Corps

November 12th, 2023 at 11:19am CST by Ely Allen

NOVEMBER 12: Chase will be active for today’s bout with the Texans. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says that Chase “did what was necessary” in his warmups this morning to get the green light.

NOVEMBER 11: Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow will be a bit shorthanded coming into a battle with an excited Texans team. We know that much. We learned yesterday that the team’s second-leading receiver, Tee Higgins, will be held out as he deals with a hamstring injury. Today, it was confirmed that rookie receiver and return specialist Charlie Jones, who has been on injured reserve for Cincinnati’s last five games, has been downgraded from questionable to out, per Jay Morrison of Pro Football Network.

Already down two wide receivers, things could potentially become even more dire for the Bengals offense if star wideout Ja’Marr Chase is unavailable to play tomorrow. According to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, Chase, who is listed as questionable after being limited in practice while dealing with a back injury, will be a true gametime decision, working out Sunday morning in order to determine whether or not he will be able to play.

If Chase is unable to go tomorrow, that will leave Cincinnati with an active roster lineup of Tyler Boyd, Trenton Irwin, and sixth-round rookie Andrei Iosivas. That trio has combined for 51 catches, 424 receiving yards, and four touchdowns. Chase alone has 64 receptions for 697 yards and four touchdowns. His presence against the Texans could be crucial in keeping a hot Bengals team rolling.

Knowing that they will be extremely short-staffed, Cincinnati has elected to promote two practice squad wide receivers as their standard gameday elevations, choosing Stanley Morgan and undrafted rookie Shedrick Jackson. Morgan has been with the team for the last five seasons, catching five balls for 29 yards over that time. Jackson would be making his NFL debut tomorrow after averaging 13.2 yards per catch over a five-year college career at Auburn.

We should know more tomorrow about the Bengals’ full situation at wide receiver, most notably Chase’s availability. Burrow and the rest of the offense will have to be at their best knowing that the wide receiver corps will be a bit thin.

49ers LT Trent Williams, WR Deebo Samuel To Play In Week 10

November 12th, 2023 at 8:13am CST by Rory Parks

The 49ers will welcome back left tackle Trent Williams and wide receiver Deebo Samuel for the club’s Week 10 game against the Jaguars, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com subsequently wrote that Williams is facing an “uphill battle” to suit up, but Schefter doubled down on his earlier report and noted that while Williams is not fully recovered from his sprained ankle, he will be back on the field for the Jacksonville matchup.

Both Williams and Samuel were injured in the Niners’ Week 6 loss to the Browns, the first of three consecutive defeats that turned a 5-0 Super Bowl frontrunner into a 5-3 outfit facing plenty of scrutiny. While Williams was able to finish the Cleveland contest, he found himself in an orthopedic walking boot afterwards and was then sidelined for San Francisco’s next two games against the Vikings and Bengals.

Samuel, meanwhile, sustained a hairline fracture in his shoulder in the early stages of the Cleveland game and was unable to return. Like Williams, Samuel missed both the Minnesota and Cincinnati matchups. A well-timed Week 9 bye allowed the high-profile duo to sufficiently recover for today’s battle with the 6-2 Jags.

It is perhaps no coincidence that quarterback Brock Purdy has struggled without his top wideout for most of the last three games and his 10-time Pro Bowl left tackle for the last two. After throwing nine TDs and zero interceptions over the first five games of the season, a stretch in which he posted QB ratings of well over 100.0 four times, Purdy has thrown three TD passes against six interceptions during the 49ers’ losing streak. Obviously, the return of Williams and Samuel could go a long way in helping the 2022 seventh-rounder right the ship.

Williams may be in his age-35 season, but he is still playing at an elite level. The No. 4 overall pick of the 2010 draft has earned a stellar overall grade of 81.9 from Pro Football Focus for his work this season, which positions him as the fifth-best tackle among 77 qualified players. While the Oklahoma product suggested that he was considering retirement in the immediate aftermath of San Francisco’s NFC Championship Game defeat to close out the 2022 campaign, he said right before the start of the current season that he hopes to play until he is 40. He is presently under contract through 2026.

Samuel, a First Team All-Pro in 2021 who led the NFL in yards-per-reception rate that year, has 20 catches for 302 yards (15.1 YPR) and a score through five games and part of a sixth in 2023. The 27-year-old dual-threat weapon has added 18 carries for 95 yards and a rushing TD.

Saleh: Jets Brass On Same Page Regarding Zach Wilson

November 12th, 2023 at 7:21am CST by Sam Robinson

NOVEMBER 12: Before signing with the Rams earlier this week, Wentz again reached back out to the Jets to see if they were interested in his services, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports. New York obviously turned him down, which led him to LA and which further underscores Gang Green’s faith in Wilson. Nonetheless, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com suggests that, if Wilson should underperform in the Jets’ Week 10 matchup with the Raiders, he could lose his starting job.

NOVEMBER 11: Confirming the optimism shown in Wilson by Saleh’s remarks, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports the Jets have no intention of benching the former No. 2 pick “barring a disaster” (subscription required). The team believes Wilson still carries the most upside for the struggling offense amongst their other QB options, so they will move forward in the hopes of progress in the passing game while keeping the door open to a Rodgers comeback.

NOVEMBER 9: Although the prospect of an Aaron Rodgers return late this season continues to be a topic of conversation — largely because of Rodgers’ comments — Zach Wilson remains the Jets’ starter. After a bit of an October uptick, Wilson has reverted to form. But the Jets are not prepared to bench the struggling quarterback.

Robert Saleh has again stood behind the embattled former No. 2 overall pick and said he has not received pressure from Jets management or ownership to stay the course with Wilson. Then again, the third-year HC would be unlikely to admit anything to the contrary.

“No, we’re on the same page with that,” Saleh said, via ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini, regarding the organizational approach at quarterback. “So any conspiracy theory that might be out there, we’re on the same page. The knee-jerk reaction to this is to always hit the panic button. … There are a lot of things [Wilson] can do better. He’s doing the best that he can. But, again, he still needs to get better.”

Wilson completed 47% of his passes in an ugly Week 8 win over the Giants, and the Chargers handily dispatched the Jets on Monday night. While the team is 4-4, the Saleh-run defense is once again keeping the team afloat. This is quite familiar territory for the Jets, who twice benched Wilson last season. They operated aggressively this offseason, meeting with Derek Carr and putting a full-court press on an effort to acquire Rodgers. The team succeeded, but the future Hall of Famer’s Week 1 Achilles tear continues to define the season — as should be expected.

The Jets passed on Carson Wentz, who has since signed with the Rams, and were not believed to be interested in Kirk Cousins. Not that an interest in the Vikings passer, who has also since suffered an Achilles tear, would have mattered; Cousins was not expected to waive his no-trade clause. The team also passed on a trade for Josh Dobbs, who has now replaced Cousins in Minnesota. No rumblings of a Jacoby Brissett push emerged, either. Ownership was believed to have shaped the Jets’ effort to bring in a high-profile emergency option, due to the money the organization had already sunk into Rodgers, helping lead the team to its present place.

The Jets’ only outside addition this year has been Trevor Siemian, their brief Sam Darnold backup who has resided as the team’s third-stringer this season. Tim Boyle sits as Wilson’s backup; the ex-Packers, Lions and Bears reserve has not played this season. Saleh benched Wilson when the Jets stood 6-4 last season. He closed last season with a 38.5 QBR figure; that number presently sits at 32.3, ahead of only Bryce Young. The Jets have scored only eight touchdowns this season. Only the 2-14 2020 squad, Cimini adds, and the 1976 team Lou Holtz eventually bailed on were worse through eight games.

Saleh’s lack of options behind Wilson, after the team let Mike White walk in free agency and did not re-sign Joe Flacco, has led to this extended leash for the BYU alum. But more of the same could finally exhaust the head coach’s patience.

Saints WR Michael Thomas Arrested

November 11th, 2023 at 10:23pm CST by Ben Levine

Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas was arrested last night and charged with simple battery and criminal mischief, per the Kenner, Louisiana police department (via Travers Mackel of WDSU in New Orleans). Thomas was booked and subsequently released. Nick Underhill of NOF Network first reported on the incident last night.

ESPN’s Katherine Terrell provided more insight on what led to Thomas’ arrest. Neighbors reportedly called the police on the NFL veteran after he became increasingly angry with contractors who were parking on his street. The alleged victim claims that Thomas threw a brick at their car, and they also accused Thomas of throwing their phone after they started recording. The police report indicates that Thomas also shoved the victim.

According to Underhill, no car windows were damaged and the phone was not broken. Thomas reportedly asked the contractors to move their cars throughout the week, leading to yesterday’s incident.

“We aware of the incident and are gathering information,” the Saints said in a statement (via Underhill). The wide receiver is expected to play tomorrow against the Vikings, per Underhill.

As Greg Auman of FOX Sports notes, the misdemeanor charges means Thomas will likely face fines and/or probation. The wideout could realistically face punishment from the NFL under their personal conduct policy.

After getting into only 10 games between the 2020 and 2022 seasons, Thomas will be playing in his 10th game of the 2023 campaign tomorrow. Despite being back to full health, the receiver hasn’t come close to matching his All-Pro production from 2018 and 2019. In nine games (six starts), the veteran has hauled in 38 catches for 439 yards and one touchdown.

This is the second time in less than three weeks that a Saints receiver has been arrested. In late October, Chris Olave was arrested in Kenner for reckless operation of a motor vehicle.

Injured Reserve Return Tracker

November 11th, 2023 at 9:45pm CST by Sam Robinson

After a 2022 rule change, teams can activate up to eight players from injured reserve. That has reintroduced some strategy into how franchises proceed with their activations, and teams will again need to be cognizant of their activation counts in 2023.

The NFL had reintroduced IR-return options in the 2010s, after a period in which an IR move meant a player’s season was over. But the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the league to loosen restrictions on IR from 2020-21. Teams were permitted to use unlimited activations to start the decade, but roster math is again a consideration.

Players who land on IR after cutdown day must miss at least four games. Once a team designates a player for return, the activation clock starts. Clubs have 21 days from a player’s return-to-practice date to activate that player. If no activation commences in that window, the player reverts to season-ending IR.

Here is how the NFL’s remaining two IR situations look for Super Bowl LVIII: