HEADLINES

Year: 2023

Falcons Bring Back WR Damiere Byrd

October 19th, 2023 at 4:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

NFC South reunions have defined Damiere Byrd‘s 2023. The veteran receiver returned to the Panthers earlier this year, but an injury nixed his path back to a role in Charlotte. Months later, a Falcons return will commence.

The veteran wide receiver signed a practice squad deal with the Falcons on Thursday. Byrd, 30, spent last season with Atlanta, signing as a free agent during the 2022 offseason. He is now back in Georgia as a potential backup option.

An injury settlement allowed Byrd to relocate for a second time this year. Byrd signed with the Panthers in mid-April and began training camp with his original NFL team. But a hamstring injury Frank Reich called “significant” led Byrd to IR. Landing on IR before the season prevented Byrd from being eligible for activation as a Panther, and the parties agreed on an injury settlement in late August. This moved Byrd back to free agency, and it appears his hamstring injury has healed.

Byrd initially signed with the Falcons on a one-year, $1.32MM deal. Now attached to a practice squad salary, the South Carolina alum will have a chance to play for the same team in consecutive years for the first time since 2017-18. Since his Panthers rookie contract expired, Byrd has been an NFL nomad. The 5-foot-9 pass catcher moved to Arizona, New England, Chicago and Atlanta from 2019-22.

While Byrd’s best season (47 catches, 604 yards) came back with Cam Newton — when the two ex-Panthers teamed up on a Patriots one-off — he produced his top per-catch number with the Falcons. Byrd averaged 20.6 yarders per reception last year, amassing 268 yards and two touchdowns in Arthur Smith‘s offense. The Falcons have a player familiar with their offense back in the fold, which should accelerate a potential elevation to the active roster.

The Falcons have added two veterans to their receiving corps over the past two weeks, having traded for Van Jefferson as well. The team’s Drake London-fronted wideout crew features offseason additions Mack Hollins and Scotty Miller, along with KhaDarel Hodge, who re-signed this year. To make room for Byrd on their 16-man taxi squad, the Falcons placed wide receiver Keilahn Harris on the practice squad injured list.

Chargers Open WR Jalen Guyton’s Practice Window

October 19th, 2023 at 2:46pm CST by Sam Robinson

A productive Chargers deep threat from 2020-21, Jalen Guyton suffered a torn ACL in Week 3 of last season. After more than a year in the rehab process, the former UDFA is back at practice.

The Chargers opened Guyton’s practice window Thursday, per The Athletic’s Daniel Popper, who adds the team also started defensive lineman Otito Ogbonnia‘s 21-day activation clock. Ogbonnia has been out since mid-November of last year, having suffered a ruptured patellar tendon.

Each resided on Los Angeles’ reserve/PUP list; these likely near-future activations will not count against the team’s eight allotted IR in-season activations. Both players are eligible to return for the Bolts’ Week 7 game, but each has three weeks from today to be activated.

Guyton’s return will matter more now than it recently looked to, with Mike Williams out for the season. In addition to Williams’ absence, first-round pick Quentin Johnston is struggling to acclimate to the pro game. The Chargers obviously still have high hopes the TCU alum will do so, but he only has six receptions for 44 yards through six games.

A former UDFA out of North Texas, Guyton re-signed with the Chargers this offseason. Coming off the major knee injury, the 212-pound wideout is tied to a one-year, $1.23MM contract. Guyton totaled 59 receptions for 959 yards from 2020-21, scoring six touchdowns in that span. Guyton, 26, averaged 18.3 yards per reception in 2020 and was on the receiving end of one of this NFL period’s best deep connections — a 59-yard TD pass against the Giants — a year later. He worked as a Williams-Keenan Allen supporting-caster in that span, debuting before Josh Palmer. The 2021 third-round pick is now in place as the Chargers’ No. 2 wideout; Guyton will have a chance to return to a tertiary role.

Chosen in the 2022 fifth round, Ogbonnia only played in seven games before suffering the severe knee injury. The UCLA product played 31% of the Chargers’ defensive snaps last season. A rotational role appears likely this year as well, provided Ogbonnia completes his ramp-up period without any setbacks. Both he and Guyton were eligible to return in Week 6; their re-emergences figure to take place shortly after. For Guyton, this comeback will begin a platform season. A steady gig as a Herbert complementary target could produce a free agency market come 2024.

Raiders’ Jimmy Garoppolo To Miss Week 7

October 19th, 2023 at 2:06pm CST by Sam Robinson

For the second time this season, the Raiders will be without their starting quarterback. The back injury Jimmy Garoppolo sustained Sunday will sideline him for Week 7, with the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore confirming the 10th-year passer will miss the Bears matchup.

Considering Garoppolo needed to be hospitalized after the injury, it certainly is not surprising to see the Raiders exercise caution with one of the NFL’s most injury-prone players. Garoppolo also missed Week 4 with a concussion.

Although the Raiders received better-than-expected news on their recent free agency pickup, Garoppolo being down opens the door to a steep drop-off at quarterback for the 3-3 team. The Raiders used fourth-round rookie Aidan O’Connell in Garoppolo’s last full-game absence, which featured a Khalil Mack six-sack barrage against his former team, but veteran Brian Hoyer replaced Garoppolo against the Patriots. The Raiders have not determined which backup will start against the Bears, Bonsignore adds.

This will likely become a matchup of backups. The Bears are not expected to have Justin Fields, who suffered a dislocated thumb last week. Tyson Bagent, whom the Elias Sports Bureau notes would only be the fourth Division II quarterback to start in the past 20 years, is expected to receive the call against Las Vegas. Ex-Raider Nathan Peterman is in place as the rookie UDFA’s backup.

Commanding a decent market this offseason, Garoppolo signed a three-year, $72.75MM deal. The former New England and San Francisco passer missing starts always seemed likely, given his history. Week 7 will mark the former Super Bowl starter’s 32nd missed regular-season start due to injury since he suffered an ACL tear in September 2018.

The 31-year-old QB has generally been effective when available, but his lack of durability made the Raiders’ backup plan somewhat curious this offseason. Hoyer, who turned 38 last week, is the oldest healthy QB in the league (the NFL’s oldest active passer, Aaron Rodgers, went down four plays into the season). The former Josh McDaniels Patriots pupil also considered retirement this offseason; he signed a two-year, $4.5MM deal that includes $4.2MM guaranteed. O’Connell shined during the preseason, but he came to Vegas as the No. 135 overall pick. The Raiders met with each of this draft’s top five QB prospects but went in another direction during the selection weekend.

O’Connell took seven sacks and fumbled three times against the Chargers, though he did complete 61.5% of his throws during a 238-yard performance. Hoyer has made 40 career starts. After a productive mid-2010s stretch in Cleveland and Houston, Hoyer came into this season having lost his most recent 11 starts. The 15th-year veteran did help the Raiders past the Patriots during a 10-pass relief outing.

Panthers Grant WR Terrace Marshall Permission To Seek Trade

October 19th, 2023 at 1:15pm CST by Sam Robinson

Mentioned as a trade candidate earlier this month, Terrace Marshall would like to move on. The former second-round pick has been unable to carve out a steady role with the Panthers, and the team is ready to make a deal.

The Panthers have given Marshall’s camp permission to find a trade partner, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports. After showing improvement last season, the LSU alum has operated in a reduced role to start Frank Reich‘s tenure. With the Panthers in their bye week, all parties involved will see what is out there in a trade.

Part of a historically successful receiving corps — one including Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase — while in college, Marshall joined a Panthers team housing former Tigers assistant Joe Barry as offensive coordinator. But 2021’s No. 59 overall pick showed more promise under Ben McAdoo last season. The 6-foot-2 wideout averaged 17.5 yards per reception (28 catches, 490 yards) in 2022. Thus far this year, Marshall is at 16-114.

The trade to acquire Bryce Young required the Panthers to part with No. 1 receiver D.J. Moore. After the Panthers dumped the former Robbie Anderson (now Robbie Chosen) before last year’s deadline, Marshall represents the last major link to the team’s Matt Rhule-era receiver plan. The Panthers signed Adam Thielen and DJ Chark before using a second-round pick on Jonathan Mingo. Instead of including this year’s Round 2 pick (No. 38 overall) in the Moore trade — as the Bears initially requested — Carolina included two future seconds. This led to Mingo, who has played ahead of Marshall this season.

Thielen, Chark and Mingo have each played at least 275 offensive snaps; Marshall has only been on the field for 146. Marshall topped 650 yards for LSU’s unbeaten national championship team, and after Jefferson became a 2020 first-rounder and Chase opted out that year, the younger pass catcher totaled a career-high 731 receiving yards. Marshall closed his LSU career with 23 touchdown catches from 2019-20; he has one career NFL score.

The Bears and Rams have accepted low-end returns for former second-round receivers this season, respectively sending Chase Claypool and Van Jefferson to the Dolphins and Falcons in pick-swap deals that sent the wideouts and seventh-rounders elsewhere in exchange for sixths. Both Claypool and Jefferson have outproduced Marshall, though the latter’s rookie deal running through 2024 could put Carolina in position to do a touch better in a potential trade. Though, it should not be expected Marshall will generate too much of a market.

Sitting as the NFL’s only winless team, the 0-6 Panthers also have the door open to trading Donte Jackson and Jeremy Chinn. The latter’s quad injury likely keeps him in Charlotte to close out his contract year, and it would be interesting to see the Panthers move Jackson — considering Jaycee Horn‘s significant hamstring injury. But the Panthers are understandably open for business on certain players, with this season — despite a Steve Wilks-overseen 6-6 finish last year — a clear rebuilding campaign. It will be interesting to see if the Panthers put bigger pieces — like contract-year edge Brian Burns — on the table.

Giants To Place G Shane Lemieux On IR

October 19th, 2023 at 11:00am CST by Sam Robinson

The hits are not stopping on the Giants’ offensive line. Battered by injuries over the season’s first several weeks, the team will lose one of its cogs for the year. Shane Lemieux suffered a biceps injury in practice, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero.

Lemieux went down with a biceps tear on Wednesday and is headed to IR. The Giants signed Sean Harlow off their practice squad to replace Lemieux on the 53-man roster. This deals a contract-year lineman a tough blow and brings more trouble for a Giants O-line that has needed to make numerous adjustments to trot out a healthy five this season.

The Giants came into their Week 6 matchup without starting left tackle Andrew Thomas and starting center John Michael Schmitz. The team then needed to move Justin Pugh to left tackle, minutes after the veteran guard’s “straight off the couch” intro debuted on NBC, following second-string blind-sider Joshua Ezeudu went down. Ezeudu is now on IR due to a toe injury. Schmitz has missed the past two games due to injuries sustained on a failed “Tush Push” attempt in Week 4, while Thomas’ setback in a recovery from a hamstring injury has extended his absence. The All-Pro left tackle has not played since Week 1.

For Lemieux, this is familiar territory. Chosen in the 2020 fifth round, Lemieux moved Will Hernandez to a rotational role and entered the 2021 season as a starter as well. But Lemieux began the 2021 slate with a knee injury and ended up playing just 17 snaps that season. He ended up on IR after Week 1 that year and did not return to action until Week 11 of last season. Lemieux’s 2022 campaign ended up also being capped at one game. Activated from IR last November, Lemieux ended the month back on the injured list because of a toe injury. This season marked Lemieux’s first multi-game year since 2020, and a previous absence came about after a groin injury in Week 4.

A Dave Gettleman-era investment, Lemieux did not factor into the Giants’ three-man competition for the guard positions during training camp. The Giants pitted Ezeudu, Mark Glowinski and Ben Bredeson against each other, with the veterans winning the gigs. Glowinski’s struggles to start his second Giants season led Lemieux back into the lineup, however. Lemieux, 26, returned from his groin malady in Buffalo but played behind Pugh and Glowinski.

Thomas, Schmitz, starting right tackle Evan Neal and swingman Matt Peart did not practice Wednesday for the Giants, who may need to start Pugh at left tackle in Week 7. A five-season guard starter in Arizona, Pugh played right tackle at points during his first go-round in New York. The 2013 first-rounder settled in at guard, leading to a nice free agency payday in 2018. But this dire situation may slide the 11th-year blocker back outside.

Giants Did Not Submit Offer To Re-Sign Evan Engram In 2022

October 19th, 2023 at 10:54am CST by Sam Robinson

Tight ends did not factor prominently into the Giants’ surprising 2022 run to the divisional round. While the team’s pass-catching group doubled as one of the NFL’s worst, no Giants tight end topped 275 receiving yards last year. This led to the Darren Waller trade.

Prior to sending the Raiders a third-round pick for the former Pro Bowler, the Giants finished out a five-year relationship with Evan Engram. The 2017 first-round pick went through an up-and-down tenure in New York, eventually relocating to Jacksonville after a mediocre contract year.

Although the Giants hired a new GM-HC tandem last year, the Joe Schoen–Brian Daboll regime has not been hesitant to pay players acquired by previous front offices. Daniel Jones re-signed in March, and subsequent offseason extensions for Dexter Lawrence and Andrew Thomas commenced. The team re-signed Darius Slayton and Sterling Shepard as well. But the Giants cut off their Engram partnership after five seasons, letting him hit the market and sign a one-year, $9MM Jaguars deal. This came after the Giants did not make an offer to retain the talented but inconsistent tight end, per Michael DiRocco and Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com.

A “prove it” deal made sense for Engram, who trudged through his worst season in 2021. Engram’s 408-yard season worked out to just 27.2 per game — by far a career-low mark. Then again, the Giants’ 2021 season was not exactly teeming with skill-position success. The team fired OC Jason Garrett midseason and promoted Freddie Kitchens, and when Jones went down with a neck injury, the Mike Glennon–Jake Fromm duo struggled to the point Joe Judge — viewed late that season as a fairly safe bet to stay for a third year — ended up on the chopping block.

Engram did eclipse 650 yards in two of his first four seasons, posting one of this century’s best rookie-year tight end yardage totals in 2017 (722) and making the Pro Bowl in 2020. The ’20 showing came after the Giants picked up the Ole Miss product’s fifth-year option. His Jaguars contract year brought a return to that form.

Indicating he expected to receive more interest than he ended up drawing, Engram said only four teams contacted him in free agency. With the Jaguars needing to offer $9MM — more than 2022 franchise tag recipients Dalton Schultz and Mike Gesicki received this offseason — it was clear at least one other team expressed reasonable confidence Engram could recover. After setting a Jaguars single-season tight end yardage record (766), Engram posted 12 receptions for 124 yards in the playoffs. This production led to the Jags tagging Engram and extending him on a three-year, $41.25MM deal. Engram entered the season as the NFL’s seventh-highest-paid tight end; through six games, the seventh-year pass catcher has 36 receptions for 301 yards.

After their successful 2022 slate, the Giants traded the No. 100 overall pick — the selection they received for Kadarius Toney before the 2022 deadline — for Waller. The ex-Raiders star is two years older than Engram, at 31, and has battled injuries in recent years. Despite a nagging groin issue, Waller has suited up for each Giants game. He has 28 catches for 282 yards in what has been a disappointing season for New York’s offense, which has seen injury trouble prevent a true evaluation of Jones or his skill crew. The Giants restructured Waller’s contract upon acquiring him, adding a $7.1MM dead-money charge were the team to move on in 2024.

DB Notes: Packers, Chinn, CJGJ, Roby, Rams

October 19th, 2023 at 9:43am CST by Sam Robinson

The Packers do not likely have a starting spot waiting for Eric Stokes upon his return. As we heard in June, the 2021 first-round pick is on track to return as a backup. Green Bay has Jaire Alexander, Rasul Douglas and Keisean Nixon as its top three corners, and unlike 2022, the team is not planning on changing Douglas’ position to accommodate a cornerback surplus. Douglas moving to safety appears a non-starter, per The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman. Last season, the Packers moved Douglas to a slot role to make room for the returning Alexander. After Stokes’ midseason Lisfranc injury, Douglas moved back to his more natural boundary position.

Stokes, who underwent foot and knee surgeries this offseason, remains on the Packers’ reserve/PUP list. The team designated him for return two weeks ago, setting his activation deadline at Oct. 24. Stokes was running at full speed in July and would have been ready to come back had multiple hamstring issues not slowed him during training camp, Schneidman adds. Stokes fared better as a rookie, when the Pack were down Alexander, than he did last season. Pro Football Focus graded Stokes outside the top 100 among corners last season, and this backup role does not present an ideal rebound opportunity.

Here is the latest from NFL secondaries:

  • Mentioned as a trade candidate last week, Jeremy Chinn now looks likely to finish his contract year in Carolina. The fourth-year Panthers safety sustained a significant quadriceps injury that ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter expects to sideline him for up to six weeks. Despite being a versatile cog who has been a Panthers regular throughout his career, Chinn has seen his playing time dip in Ejiro Evero‘s defense this season. After logging snap rates over 90% from 2020-22, the former Defensive Rookie of the Year runner-up has played 52% of Carolina’s defensive snaps. The Panthers prioritized Chinn as a foundational piece before last year’s deadline; his stock has fallen since.
  • Bradley Roby avoided the worst-case scenario after suffering a pectoral injury in Week 6. The recent Eagles addition sustained a pectoral strain, per NFL reporter Jordan Schultz, who adds the 10th-year cornerback will avoid IR. In the two games since being signed and quickly promoted to the 53-man roster, Roby has played 46% of Philadelphia’s defensive snaps. The Eagles have already lost their top slot corner, Avonte Maddox. Roby’s setback represents another blow for the defending NFC champions, but the 31-year-old cover man should be back fairly soon.
  • C.J. Gardner-Johnson is navigating a longer return timetable, suffering a torn pec in Week 2. The Lions safety, who led the NFL in INTs during his Eagles one-off last season, is believed to be months away from coming back — if he is to return at all — according to the Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett. Pectoral tears often end players’ seasons, so it will be interesting if Gardner-Johnson becomes a true candidate to come off IR down the stretch — perhaps if Detroit makes the playoffs.
  • Rams corner Derion Kendrick faces two misdemeanor charges in connection with his recent gun arrest, Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times notes. Arrested Monday morning, Kendrick was charged with carrying a concealed weapon and possessing a loaded firearm. While teams regularly deploy players after arrests, waiting for NFL suspensions to come down later, Kendrick did not practice with the Rams upon his release from custody. The 2022 sixth-round pick has started all six Rams games this year. Discipline should be expected, but until a ban surfaces, Kendrick will likely continue to suit up for the team.
  • In a Ravens workout that led to safety Andrew Adams being signed, Eric Rowe received an audition, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. An eight-year veteran, Rowe spent the past four seasons with the Dolphins. Rowe, 31, signed a one-year, $1.32MM Panthers deal this offseason but did not make the team. Carolina released Rowe from its practice squad last month.

Saints To Activate RB Jamaal Williams

October 19th, 2023 at 8:59am CST by Ben Levine

OCTOBER 19: Williams will be ready to go when first eligible. Despite the Saints heading into a Thursday-night assignment, they will not hold out their free agent back to allow for an extended ramp-up period. They intend to activate Williams for tonight’s Jaguars matchup, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. New Orleans will soon have Williams, Kamara and Miller available for the first time this season. Williams will become the Saints’ first IR activation this season.

OCTOBER 17: The Saints should soon have their intended running backs grouping on the active roster. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2, the Saints have designated running back Jamaal Williams for return from injured reserve.

Following a standout 17-touchdown campaign with the Lions in 2022, Williams signed a three-year deal with the Saints this past offseason. The veteran was signed to reduce Alvin Kamara‘s workload, but Williams also had a chance at starter reps with Kamara suspended to begin the 2023 campaign.

Williams got plenty of work in Week 1, finishing with 52 yards from scrimmage on 20 touches (including 18 carries). However, the running back suffered a hamstring injury in Week 2 that ultimately required a stint on injured reserve. Third-round rookie Kendre Miller was also sidelined to begin the season thanks to a hamstring injury, forcing the Saints to rely on the likes of Tony Jones Jr. and Adam Prentice to lead their backfield.

Kamara returned in Week 4 and has already collected 285 yards from scrimmage in three games. When Williams is ultimately activated from IR, the duo will form one of the best running back tandems in the NFL, and the Saints will have a high-upside prospect (Miller) serving as the RB3.

Jets, Chiefs Agree On Mecole Hardman Trade

October 18th, 2023 at 10:20pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Chiefs did not have plans to re-sign Mecole Hardman this offseason, but with the former second-round pick quickly falling out of favor in New York, the defending champions will bring him back. The Jets agreed to trade Hardman to the Chiefs on Wednesday, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets.

Kansas City and New York will swap late-round picks, per Schefter. These terms will make the Hardman deal similar to the Chase Claypool and Van Jefferson swaps this month. After failing to make an impression as a Jet, Hardman will return to Andy Reid‘s system.

This trade will indeed produce the same compensation package the Claypool and Jefferson exchanges did. The Chiefs will send the Jets a 2025 sixth-rounder for Hardman and a 2025 seventh, Schefter adds. By moving Hardman’s one-year, $4MM deal, the Jets will be responsible for nearly $3MM, OverTheCap’s Jason Fitzgerald tweets. Although Hardman is attached to a $1.1MM base salary, the Jets spread out his cap hit via void years.

For the Chiefs, this will bring a familiar face back as the team attempts to form a viable wideout cast. Although JuJu Smith-Schuster has floundered in New England, Kansas City relied on the 2022 free agency pickup last season. Smith-Schuster’s 933 yards paced the ’22 Chiefs wideouts by a wide margin. So far this season, the Chiefs have been even more Travis Kelce-dependent than their previous edition was.

Although Hardman largely operated as an inconsistent sidekick to Tyreek Hill during his rookie-contract years in Kansas City, the Chiefs’ current wide receiver makeup creates an interesting opportunity. The Chiefs have been unable to rely on Skyy Moore and Marquez Valdes-Scantling this season; the two starters have not yet combined for 300 receiving yards. The defending champions hoped Kadarius Toney would grow into a WR1-level staple, but the injury-prone target has submitted more inconsistency. While second-round rookie Rashee Rice (245 receiving yards — most among K.C. wideouts) is beginning to display a rapport with Patrick Mahomes, newfound long-range weapon Justin Watson suffered a dislocated elbow in Week 6 and profiles as an IR candidate.

The Chiefs had hoped to re-sign Smith-Schuster and negotiated with the ex-second-rounder, but Reid said the defending champions’ offer was not on the level of the Patriots’ three-year, $25.5MM proposal. While Smith-Schuster was a medium priority for the Chiefs, they were not rumored to have made a strong effort to keep Hardman. As a result, the 2019 second-rounder signed a one-year deal with the Jets. But the fit quickly proved poor, which will lead to a quick return to Missouri.

The Jets had been trying to move Hardman for a bit now, with he and Carl Lawson emerging as trade chips. Hardman resided behind Garrett Wilson and ex-Aaron Rodgers Packers targets Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb. Hardman has played just 28 offensive snaps this season and has drifted to healthy-scratch status at points. With the Chiefs opting to take their chances on unproven targets at the position this year, Hardman will return with a chance to carve out a regular role.

Drafted shortly after the Chiefs banned Hill from their facility amid a 2019 investigation into domestic violence and child abuse, Hardman did not bring consistency for a team that eventually welcomed Hill back. Even with Sammy Watkins‘ run of injuries opening a WR2 window for Hardman, he proved unreliable to the point no big offers came his way in free agency. That said, the Chiefs boasted an all-time WR-TE duo in Hill and Kelce, leaving little meat on the bone for others. Through that lens, Hardman’s run was perhaps better than it was portrayed. He tallied yardage totals of 538, 560 and 693 from 2019-21, becoming an All-Pro kick returner as a rookie.

A pelvis injury slowed Hardman in his contract year, and he went back on IR before Super Bowl LVII. But Reid deployed the receiver/returner as an effective gadget player pre-injury. He totaled three touchdowns (two rushing) in a blowout win over the 49ers in Week 7 of last season. Hardman will now be eligible to play for his initial NFL team in Week 7 of this year. While this may not solve Kansas City’s receiver need to the point the team stops looking for help ahead of the Oct. 31 deadline, it represents a low-cost start.

Hardman leaving thins the Jets’ depth chart, but they had essentially determined he was not a fit. Behind Wilson and the ex-Packer duo, rookie UDFAs Xavier Gipson and Jason Brownlee join 2022 UDFA Charles Irvin. More playing time will be available now, and an injury to one of the regulars would open the door to one of these undrafted pass catchers (likely Gipson) playing a major role for the 3-3 team.

Colts QB Anthony Richardson To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery

October 18th, 2023 at 10:05pm CST by Sam Robinson

Gardner Minshew‘s time at the controls in Indianapolis looks set to run through season’s end. After consulting with multiple doctors, Anthony Richardson will be shut down for the campaign’s remainder.

Richardson will undergo season-ending surgery to repair his AC joint injury, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports. The No. 4 overall pick went on IR last week, and while a return was in play, an update to the situation indicated the Florida alum was facing a longer return timetable than initially forecast. The Colts will proceed with considerable caution here. Jim Irsay confirmed Richardson’s season is done.

“We collected several medical opinions and we felt this was the best course of action for his long-term health,” Irsay said. “We anticipate a full recovery and there is no doubt Anthony has a promising future.”

Although Richardson showed early promise, he suffered injuries in three of his four games with the Colts. A concussion in Week 2 and the Week 4 shoulder injury came after Richardson runs. While the Colts drafted Richardson in large part because of his rare athletic skillset, those talents led to this early shutdown. The team also did not want a repeat of the Andrew Luck situation, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler notes.

Luck sustained a partially torn labrum during the 2015 season but finished out the year and opted not to undergo surgery in 2016. This led to Luck playing hurt throughout the ’16 slate and practicing on a limited basis for most of that year. Once the former Indianapolis franchise QB opted for surgery in 2017, complications from the procedure led to a full-season absence. Luck returned for the 2018 campaign, earning Comeback Player of the Year acclaim, but stunned the football world by retiring just before the 2019 season. The former No. 1 overall pick cited the mental toll the extensive rehab took on him as a central reason for his NFL exit. This left the Colts adrift at QB for years; Richardson is in place to stop the carousel.

The merry-go-round will spin again for a while, with Minshew now the starter. Luck’s 2017 shutdown led to Scott Tolzien opening the year as the starter, but Jacoby Brissett replaced him quickly. Thrown into another emergency circumstance, Brissett was back in place as Indy’s starter in 2019. The Colts then churned through Philip Rivers, Carson Wentz and Matt Ryan from 2020-22, with Sam Ehlinger and Nick Foles also stepping in during a disastrous 2022 season. Richardson was the seventh Colts Week 1 starting quarterback since 2017. Only Washington (2017-23), Cleveland (2013-19) and San Diego (1987-93) match that throughout NFL history. Minshew is not part of that list, but he will almost definitely end up taking the bulk of the Colts’ snaps in 2023, putting him in position to cash in on up to $2MM in playing-time incentives.

As expected from a one-year college starter who did not show plus accuracy in college, Richardson offered an up-and-down early sample. He completed only 59.5% of his throws and averaged 6.9 yards per attempt. But the 6-foot-4, 244-pound talent flashed immediately as a dual threat, amassing 136 rushing yards in fewer than three full games. The Colts have the 21-year-old QB under contract through 2026, with a fifth-year option existing in the rookie deal to push it through 2027. Through that lens, Indy’s careful plan — one ESPN.com’s Stephen Holder notes involved Richardson’s camp — makes sense. Though, it certainly hurts the 2023 Colts edition.

Irsay had indicated the Colts would have chosen Richardson first overall, with the team running an effective smokescreen operation — one that involved steady Will Levis-to-Indiana rumors — before the draft. Richardson will now have several months to recover, leaving Minshew back in a starting role. The Colts informed Minshew when he signed a one-year, $3.5MM deal that he would be backing up whomever the team drafted in the first round, the Indianapolis Star’s Joel Erickson notes. The ex-Jaguars sixth-round pick began his career as Foles’ backup but usurped him. The Jags moved on after drafting Trevor Lawrence in 2021, but Minshew has now been in Shane Steichen‘s offense for three seasons.

The ex-Eagles backup struggled in his second Colts start, throwing three INTs in a one-sided loss in Jacksonville. But Minshew, 27, has made 26 starts over his five-year career. While he does not threaten defenses the way Richardson does, the experienced passer’s accuracy chops will be more dependable compared to the rookie’s current capabilities. This will double as an opportunity for Minshew to re-establish himself as a bridge-level starter or earn a more lucrative QB2 deal for the 2024 season and beyond.

Load More Posts