Extra Points: McCoy, Hue Jackson, CJ2K
Chargers head coach Mike McCoy says he’s not concerned about job security, as ESPN.com’s Eric D. Williams writes.
“I’m taking this job one day at a time like I do every day,” McCoy said. “I just keep plugging away every day and put great plans in, week in and week out. And I take it one day at a time here.”
The Chargers are 21-22 under McCoy, and 1-1 in the postseason. The Bolts have struggled of late, losing 11 of their past 15 dating back to last season. McCoy has one year left on his deal beyond 2015 and it’s far from a certainty that he’ll get to coach through the end of that contract.
Here’s more from around the NFL:
- USC wanted to interview Bengals OC Hue Jackson for head coach job, but the timing of it did not and could not work out during the NFL season, sources tell Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Jackson has been mentioned as a top candidate for NFL head coaching vacancies in 2016 and Bengals owner Mike Brown says he wouldn’t be surprised to see Jackson get another head coaching gig.
- Chris Johnson‘s injury could prove to be costly, as Ed Werder of ESPN.com (on Twitter) notes. Johnson signed a veteran’s minimum deal with the Cardinals that would have expanded to $2MM in compensation if he reached 1,300 yards and the Pro Bowl. Now, it looks like Johnson’s season could be over with 814 yards gained on the ground.
- The Bengals worked out cornerback Tony Carter today, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Caplan (via Twitter). Earlier today, it was reported that the Bengals auditioned six defensive backs in total, including Bradley Fletcher.
- Colts inside linebacker Jerrell Freeman is week-to-week with a Grade 2 hamstring injury, according to Stephen Holder of the Indy Star (on Twitter). Holder adds that Freeman will likely be “out for a couple of games or so.”
Cardinals Sign Red Bryant, Place LaMarr Woodley On IR
The Cardinals are placing LaMarr Woodley on IR with a chest injury, as Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com writes. To fill the gap, the Cards will sign defensive tackle Red Bryant.
Last season was something of a lost year for Woodley, who spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Steelers. After playing strictly as an outside linebacker in Pittsburgh’s 3-4 scheme, Woodley moved to defensive end in Oakland’s 4-3 look, and didn’t adjust particularly well, ranking 44th out of 59 qualified 4-3 DEs per Pro Football Focus. The Michigan alum played in just six games before tearing his biceps and missing the remainder of the season.
Woodley is no stranger to the disabled list as he missed a total of 14 games from 2011-2013 but still amassed 18 sacks during that span. The three years prior to that were Woodley’s absolute best as he recorded 34.5 sacks and established himself as one of the most nightmare-inducing players for NFL quarterbacks. This year, Woodley appeared in 10 games (7 starts) and totaled just 10 tackles with 1 sack. Woodley’s one-year, minimum deal lapses following the 2015 season and it remains to be seen whether the 31-year-old will stay with Arizona, sign elsewhere, or perhaps even consider retirement given his string of injuries in recent years.
Bryant saw time in all 16 games in his first and only season for the Jaguars in 2014. In total, he racked up 23 tackles to go with one pass deflection and one sack. The 31-year-old graded out as a slightly below-average contributor, according to Pro Football Focus‘ metrics, coming in with a -1.6 grade. Overall, that placed him 31st out of 59 qualified 4-3 defensive ends. Before his season in Jacksonville, Bryant spent six years with the Seahawks, starting all but one regular-season contest for the team from 2011 to 2013. This year, Bryant was set to suit up for the Bills, but he was cut loose in early September.
NFC West Notes: Bailey, Tomsula, Kaepernick
Here’s a look at the NFC West:
West Notes: Lynch, Washington, Manning
Marshawn Lynch will visit a specialist in Philadelphia, with a possible sports hernia injury, Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).
Pete Carroll noted after Lynch missed the Seahawks‘ victory against the 49ers that injury hasn’t been ruled out, and such a diagnosis would shelve Lynch for a while.
The Seahawks appear to be in solid shape due to Thomas Rawls‘ presence, however, and Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio didn’t mince words when characterizing what the rookie’s 255-total-yard day means for the 29-year-old Lynch’s future in Seattle, saying the sixth-year Seahawk will not be back with the team for a seventh season due to the gulf between the backs’ contracts.
With a cap number of $11.5MM, Lynch would be the third-highest-paid Seahawk in his age-30 season. Should the Seahawks take Florio’s advice and turn their backfield over to 2015 UDFA Rawls, who’s slated to make $530K next year, Lynch’s recent extension which runs through the 2017 season contains $5MM worth of dead money going into next season.
Here’s some more news coming out of the Western divisions tonight.
- Former Cardinals Pro Bowl linebacker Daryl Washington continues to violate the terms of the NFL’s substance-abuse policy, Jay Glazer reported on Fox (as relayed by Darin Gantt of Pro Football Talk). The 29-year-old Washington hasn’t played since Week 17 of the 2013 season due to his year-long suspension that hasn’t been revisited. Washington was scheduled to apply for reinstatement in March, and there are concerns his career is over.
- Rams starter Case Keenum sustained a concussion during the team’s loss to the Ravens today, but he continued to play, losing a fumble that led to Baltimore’s game-winning field goal, Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. A Timmy Jernigan sack that didn’t count due to an offside penalty negating it did the damage, according to Jeff Fisher. Media learned of Keenum’s concussion only when informed by the St. Louis media relations staff that the quarterback wouldn’t be available for postgame interviews.
- San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer met with Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt to discuss progress on a path to a new Chargers stadium, David Garrick of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Hunt’s a member of a six-owner committee focused on Los Angeles relocation, and Faulconer’s met with five members of that newly formed coalition thus far. The two didn’t discuss the two LA stadium projects, Garrick reports, with the meeting instead focusing on San Diego’s path to green-lighting construction on its own. Faulconer’s plan features $350MM in contributions from city and county taxpayers, and after California Gov. Jerry Brown’s recent ruling to expedite an environmental review would put this proposal up for a city vote as early as June, but the Chargers have yet to resume negotiations with the city.
- Gary Kubiak hasn’t decided if Peyton Manning or Brock Osweiler will start for the Broncos against the Patriots next week, Florio reports. The PFT scribe notes Kubiak said he’d have a difficult time benching Osweiler after his solid performance against the Bears, and if the fourth-year career backup follows it up with an upset over the Patriots, Kubiak’s previous declaration of starting Manning again when healthy will simply resolve itself when the first-year Denver coach deems the 39-year-old of insufficient health to recapture the job.
AFC Notes: Palmer, McCluster, Hunter, Jackson
Carson Palmer threatening to retire if the Bengals didn’t trade him would have been one of the top stories on Pro Football Rumors in 2010, but it hasn’t been more relevant to look back on than it is now that the 8-1 Bengals are hosting the 7-2 Cardinals, with both teams in prime position to earn first-round byes in their respective conferences. As a lead up to the event, Jim Owczarski, Paul Dehner Jr. and C. Trent Rosecrans of Cincinnati.com have put together an oral history of the saga that led to Palmer leaving the team, and the Bengals to draft Andy Dalton and A.J. Green.
Here are some other notes from around the AFC:
- According to GM Ruston Webster, Titans running back and return man Dexter McCluster sprained his MCL in last night’s loss to the Jaguars (Twitter link via Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com). Head coach Mike Mularkey confirmed to reporters that McCluster will be sidelined for the next two or three weeks (Twitter link via Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com).
- Running back Kendall Hunter, who has worked out for the Jaguars and Seahawks within the last week or so, had another audition this week, earning a look from the Patriots, writes Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. New England has tried out a handful of free agent backs, including Pierre Thomas, Robert Turbin, and Daryl Richardson, since Dion Lewis suffered a season-ending ACL injury, but the club appears content to stand pat for now.
- The Ravens removed Asa Jackson from injured reserve with an injury settlement yesterday, and he has since gone unclaimed off waivers, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).
NFC Notes: D. Hall, Cowboys, Lions
Washington defensive back DeAngelo Hall, a longtime cornerback who has earned three Pro Bowl nods at the position, wants to play safety not just to extend his career, but to make a real impact, writes Liz Clarke of the Washington Post.
“I’m not gonna try to go play safety just to try to extend my career,” Hall said. “I’m gonna go play safety just to be a damn good safety. I’m not in the business of just trying to just tack on years. I can go home and hang with my kids and my family before I do that.”
Here’s more from around the NFC:
- In addition to the trio of ex-Seahawks running backs the Cowboys have acquired this year, Dallas also tried to sign Thomas Rawls as a priority free agent, Ed Werder of ESPN.com tweets. The Cowboys are currently carrying former Seattle backs Robert Turbin and Rod Smith on their roster, having recently cut Christine Michael.
- Explaining why the Seahawks released wide receiver Chris Matthews this week, offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said that the club “just didn’t feel like we got what we were looking for” from Matthews (Twitter link via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times). The Seattle OC praised Matthews talent, but cautioned there was more to on-field success than that. “You have to be able to fit in and you have to be able to make plays when your opportunities come,” Bevell said. “You have to be able to understand the offense and do the right thing, and all those things together, it just wasn’t enough.”
- With a game against Carson Palmer‘s old team coming up this weekend, Cardinals GM Steve Keim said he can’t believe his club got the quarterback “for basically nothing,” tweets Ed Werder of ESPN.com. Of course, Arizona’s game this week is against the Bengals, who got a much more significant return for Palmer when they sent to him to Oakland than the Raiders did when they sent him to the Cards.
- The Lions‘ search for secondary depth resulted in workouts for defensive backs Danny Gorrer, R.J. Stanford, and Brock Vereen, along with a visit from cornerback Josh Gordy, per Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (Twitter links). The team ultimately signed veteran corner Bill Bentley, who also had an audition this week.
North Notes: Bengals, Lions, Mathis
Four years after the Bengals traded Carson Palmer, the veteran quarterback is thriving as the Cardinals’ starter. That might be a surprise to some, but not Bengals owner Mike Brown.
“I have an odd feeling for Carson Palmer,” Brown told Alex Marvez of FOX Sports. “I like Carson Palmer personally. I did when he was here. I regret it broke apart the way it did. I don’t want him to beat us any more than he wants us to beat him. I’m sure that will be in the back of his mind. But other than that, I wish him well. I think he is a great passer. He really is. He’s a special passer, very accurate. I look at him play and I see the player that we had when he was here. When he’s on and playing the way he can play, he is a big-time winning quarterback.”
Here’s more out of the North divisions:
- Marvez also asked Brown about offensive coordinator Hue Jackson‘s candidacy as a head coach for next season. It sounds like Bengals owner is expecting the former Raiders head coach to field some interest. “Hue is a very qualified coach. We think the world of Hue…We’ve had (Jay) Gruden and (Mike) Zimmer leave, and I’m sure after this year Hue will be a candidate. It is a compliment to Marvin and maybe some others here as well. I like to see it when they achieve. It’s flattering when that happens. It works against our best interest because we have to regroup and reestablish ourselves but it’s also heartwarming to see your people achieve their ambitions,” Brown said.
- After suffering what is at least the second concussion of his NFL career, Lions cornerback Rashean Mathis admitted to reporters today that he’ll take the injury into consideration when deciding whether to continue playing in 2016. “When something like this happens, as a professional, I’d be naïve not to think about those types of things,” Mathis said, per Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com. “Like I said, there’s life after football and you have to think about those things. When that time comes a decision will be made.”
- Packers wide receiver Jared Abbrederis, who got his first extended look on offense last Sunday and caught four balls on seven targets, will be out for “several weeks” with a rib injury, tweets Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. It’s the latest injury for a group of Green Bay receivers that has been plagued by them all year.
- The Bears will have until next Tuesday to make a decision on whether or not to activate rookie receiver Kevin White from the PUP list, as Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune explains. If the team determines White isn’t ready to be added to the 53-man roster, he’d have to be placed on season-ending IR.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
NFC Notes: Stafford, Palmer, Lockette
After surveying seven NFL coaches and personnel men, Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com say the results were unanimous, with those sources suggesting the Lions would be “foolish” to part with Matthew Stafford in 2016. Although Stafford could net a nice haul of draft picks for Detroit, the fact that there’d be no obvious replacement in free agency or the draft makes it unlikely that the Lions make a move.
Here’s more from around the NFC:
- With Carson Palmer having another strong season in Arizona, the Cardinals now firmly believe that the veteran can be the team’s quarterback “for years to come,” according to Schefter and Mortensen. Assuming Palmer doesn’t run into any serious health problems, the Cards believe Palmer can play out his current contract – which voids after the 2017 season – and may want to retain him beyond that.
- Defensive back DeShawn Shead wasn’t the only player to receive a $25K signing bonus from the Seahawks this week — according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Seattle did the same thing for wide receiver Ricardo Lockette. While $25K isn’t a huge amount for an NFL player, teams don’t often simply give a player a mid-season bonus without making any other changes to his contract, so it’s a commendable move by the Seahawks — particularly if it happened after Lockette underwent season-ending neck surgery.
- With a game against the Bears on tap this weekend, Rams head coach Jeff Fisher admitted to reporters that he viewed Jay Cutler as the top quarterback prospect in the 2006 NFL draft, as Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com writes. Of course, Fisher – who was coaching the Titans at the time, and didn’t yet have final say on draft decisions – ended up with Vince Young, the third overall pick in that draft.
- The Giants will work out former Eastern Washington tackle Jake Rodgers next Tuesday, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Rodgers was selected by the Falcons in the seventh round of this year’s draft, but was cut prior to the regular season.
West Notes: Megatron, Cardinals, Seahawks
If Calvin Johnson and the Lions were to part ways, Megatron’s best landing spot would be with the Raiders, Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports opines. Johnson, 31 in September, may not have more than three or four top-shelf seasons left in him and that’s a luxury that a rebuilding team like Detroit might not be able to afford.
If the Lions were to cut Johnson, they’d immediately open $11MM in cap room for 2016, and $21MM in 2017, when his dead money would be completely off the books. Meanwhile, a team landing him via trade would only be on the hook for Johnson’s base salaries, which total $32.45MM over the next two seasons.
So, why Megatron to Oakland? Robinson points out that Michael Crabtree is set to hit the open market and Johnson, who offers up far more talent and bigger matchup problems for opposing defenses, would be an excellent replacement. The Raiders could also have $75-$80MM in cap room next year, so they could afford Johnson’s substantial deal.
Here’s more from around the NFL’s West divisions:
- Several key Cardinals players are on the verge of free agency and general manager Steve Keim has been trying to extend some of them. Still, the GM continues to indicate that nothing is on the verge of getting done at this time, Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com writes.
- The Seahawks recently added a $25K signing bonus to defensive back DeShawn Shead‘s contract, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. There are no other alterations to the deal, so it doesn’t appear that Shead gave up anything to get that additional cash.
- The 49ers worked out cornerback Chykie Brown as well as defensive backs Buddy Jackson, and Brandon McGee, tweets Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle.
- The Cardinals worked out cornerback Jordan Mabin, Wilson tweets.
- The Chiefs worked out offensive tackle Caylin Hauptmann, defensive end B.J. McBryde, and wide receiver Larry Pinkard, Wilson tweets.
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/12/15
Here are Thursday’s minor transactions from across the NFL:
- The Raiders have waived safety Tevin McDonald, the team announced today in a press release. Although no corresponding move was provided, it appears McDonald’s release will pave the way for safety Nate Allen to be activated off IR-DTR within the next day or two.
- The Jets added a third safety to their 53-man roster for tonight’s game by signing Ronald Martin from their practice squad, tweets Manish Mehta of the Daily News. To clear a spot for Martin, who will add a little depth to a banged-up secondary, New York has waived defensive lineman T.J. Barnes.
- The Colts promoted linebacker Daniel Adongo from the practice squad to the active roster and cut running back Josh Robinson, the team announced today in a press release. With Frank Gore and Ahmad Bradshaw carrying the load in Indianapolis’ backfield, and Zurlon Tipton also around to provide depth, Robinson became expendable for the time being.
- The Patriots made a small change to their active roster today, promoting linebacker Eric Martin from the practice squad and cutting safety Dewey McDonald to make room, tweets Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald.
- After being waived-injured by the Cardinals yesterday, cornerback Cariel Brooks cleared waivers and landed on Arizona’s injured reserve list, per Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
Zach Links contributed to this post.