Saints’ Marcus Davenport Done For The Year
There’s already been a lot of big injury news today, and now we have even more. Saints defensive lineman Marcus Davenport is expected to undergo season-ending surgery, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link). 
Per Pelissero, Davenport “suffered a significant foot injury” during New Orleans’ loss to the 49ers on Sunday. It’s a huge blow to a Saints defensive front that has been one of the team’s strengths this season. The Saints traded a first-round pick to move up and take Davenport 14th overall in last year’s draft. He dominated against weaker competition in college at UTSA, and was regarded as a highly talented but somewhat raw prospect.
After a relatively quiet rookie year in which he showed plenty of flashes but didn’t start a game, he has been playing a huge role in 2019. He’s started all 13 games for the Saints this season, racking up 31 tackles, six sacks, and three forced fumbles. The Saints’ defense is pretty banged up at the moment, with key linebackers A.J. Klein and Kiko Alonso also dealing with injuries.
They recently re-signed Manti Te’o in response to the health issues. Defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins was also knocked out of their loss to the 49ers with an ankle injury, although it’s unclear how serious that is. Davenport took a step forward this season, and he will be back as a key piece in 2020.
Raiders Make Flurry Of Roster Moves
Oakland is coming off three straight lopsided defeats, and in the wake of the embarrassments Jon Gruden is reshuffling his roster. The Raiders are waiving veteran defensive players D.J. Swearinger, Preston Brown, and Terrell McClain while signing running back Rod Smith, the team announced today.
They also placed rookie tight end Foster Moreau on injured reserve, which was expected. Oakland has given up at least 40 points in back to back weeks, and Gruden made it clear he isn’t happy with the defensive effort. Brown, an inside linebacker, had been with the Bengals for most of this season and was starting for them before he was scooped up by the Raiders prior to this week’s loss to the Titans. Brown started almost every game for the Bills from 2014-17, but he lasted only one game with Oakland. McClain started the season with Kansas City before latching on with the Raiders for the last few games.
Swearinger was picked up by Oakland after the Cardinals cut him earlier this season, and he started three of his four games with the Raiders including their most recent loss to Tennessee. He’ll get a shot elsewhere in 2020 if not sooner. Smith is a former Cowboys backup running back, and his signing could indicate that workhorse back Josh Jacobs won’t be ready to return this week.
The shakeup comes as the Raiders’ playoff hopes have been all but dashed. Just a few weeks ago they were looking good at 6-4, but they collapsed in epic fashion. Gruden promised there would be changes following their most recent loss, and he delivered by sending almost all of their recently added guys packing.
49ers Place Marquise Goodwin On IR
The 49ers got pretty banged up during their win over the Saints this past week, and now another player is headed to the shelf. The team has placed receiver Marquise Goodwin on injured reserve, a source told Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link). 
Goodwin had been dealing with a knee injury, and even though he hadn’t been playing much recently, it’s a significant depth blow. The speedster and deep-threat had a breakout 2017 campaign with the 49ers, racking up 962 yards and averaging an impressive 17.2 yards per catch while starting all 16 games. Injuries hampered him last year and limited him to only 11 games, and he fell down the depth chart this season.
He still made six starts in nine games in 2019, but he fell out of favor as the season went on. The Texas product had at least 41 yards in three of San Francisco’s first four games, but he failed to top 15 after that. Rookie Deebo Samuel began to emerge, and then the 49ers added Emmanuel Sanders as well. All that being said, if they were to now suffer another injury to the group they’d be getting pretty thin. This was the first year of a three-year, $20.3MM extension that Goodwin signed in March of last year.
Redskins Place Derrius Guice On IR
Derrius Guice‘s season is officially over. The Redskins placed their young running back on injured reserve with a knee injury today, a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).
Rapoport tweeted earlier today that the official diagnosis was an MCL sprain and that the team would be cautious with him, so this isn’t too surprising. Fortunately, his ACL was spared. Guice has had some brutal injury luck during his brief time in the NFL, as this is at least his third significant knee issue since becoming a pro. Washington drafted Guice in the second round last year, and he tore an ACL during his first preseason.
The initial ACL tear didn’t heal right, and resulted in multiple infections and an extended recovery. He was able to battle his way back to make it back on the field for Week 1 of this season, and promptly went down with another knee injury. He was placed on injured reserve, and then activated after sitting out the required eight games.
During the five contests he ended up appearing in this season, he mostly split time with Adrian Peterson. He had a breakout game two weeks ago in Washington’s win over the Panthers, carrying the ball ten times for 129 yards and two touchdowns. Guice obviously has a rough injury history, but he won’t turn 23 until June and he’s obviously still high on talent. The latest MCL issue isn’t considered serious, and he should have a good chance of being the Redskins’ featured back next year if he can stay healthy.
Injury Updates: Thielen, Moreau, Andrews, Guice, Chark
Here are the latest injury updates from around the league as you enjoy Sunday Night Football:
- Adam Thielen missed another game with his hamstring issue Sunday, but he should be back out there soon. “All parties are optimistic” that the Vikings will have their star receiver when they play a pivotal Week 15 game against the Chargers, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). Thielen has only played eight games this season, and in two of those he played only a handful of snaps.
- The Raiders have been pretty banged up recently, and they took another blow during their crucial loss to the Titans. Tight end Foster Moreau went down with a knee injury, and Raiders head coach Jon Gruden said after the game he could be done for the season. Moreau doesn’t play a huge role as a pass-catcher, but he has had a couple of big games and has been playing around half of the team’s offensive snaps.
- Ravens fans were left holding their breath when breakout tight end Mark Andrews left their victory over the Bills and didn’t return, but fortunately it doesn’t appear to be anything too serious. Andrews suffered a contusion between his knee and thigh a source told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, and the “indication is it’s nothing major” (Twitter link). That’s good news, but Baltimore does have a short week with a Thursday Night Football game against the Jets waiting. It wouldn’t be surprising if Andrews misses that one, but it doesn’t sound like it’ll be a longterm absence.
- Derrius Guice has had brutal injury luck so far in his young NFL career, so it was terrible to see the Redskins running back go down with another knee issue during their loss to the Packers. Fortunately it seems like he might’ve dodged a bullet, as Tom Pelissero of NFL Network tweets that the initial diagnosis is an MCL sprain. It seems like Guice could miss some time and potentially the rest of the season, but fortunately it doesn’t appear to be anything long-term. Guice missed his entire rookie season due to a torn ACL that resulted in multiple infections, and then missed the first eight games of this season with a knee injury.
- The Jaguars have been getting embarrassed weekly recently, and now things are getting even worse. On the heels of their 45-10 blowout loss to the Chargers, it looks like they could be without top receiver D.J. Chark moving forward. Chark left the game with an ankle injury, and his “left foot was in a protective boot and he left the locker room using a scooter” after the game, tweets Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com. Chark has been having a breakout year and has 881 yards with eight touchdowns, and it now seems like his sophomore campaign could be over.
We’ll have more on all the other big injuries suffered today as soon as there are additional details to pass along.
Falcons’ Desmond Trufant Done For The Year
The Falcons have been playing a bit better recently, but they’ll have to finish the year without one of their better players. Starting cornerback Desmond Trufant broke his forearm during their win over the Panthers Sunday and will miss the rest of the season, a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).
Rapsheet added that Trufant will undergo surgery this week. Atlanta drafted Trufant in the first-round back in 2013, and he immediately became a starter. He’s always been a reliable option outside, and started at least 15 games in five of his first six seasons. This isn’t his first significant injury of the year, as he missed four games earlier this season with a toe injury. He’ll finish 2019 having had one of his strongest years statistically, racking up four interceptions and seven passes defended in only eight games.
A Pro Bowler back in 2015, Trufant still has three more years left on his contract. 2019 was the second year of a massive five-year, $68.75MM extension that he signed back in 2017. The Washington product will be back to be one of the anchors of Atlanta’s secondary in 2020. The Falcon’s defense was one of the worst in the league to start the year, but they’ve been getting better recently.
They’ve now gone 3-2 in their last five games, and are battling hard as Dan Quinn fights to save his job. Unfortunately, they’ll be without a key piece as they try to finish strong. Rookie fifth-round pick Jordan Miller, also from Washington, could get a crack at some playing time with Trufant on the shelf, tweets Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com.
Cowboys Working Out Kickers Monday
It looks like Dallas is about to make their kicking change, and they could be down to a couple of finalists. The Cowboys will workout Kai Forbath, Nick Rose, and Tristan Vizcaino on Monday, sources told Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter links).
Brett Maher had already been on thin ice, and then he missed another crucial kick during Dallas’ loss to the Bears. A couple of days ago following the Cowboys’ latest embarrassing defeat on Thursday Night Football, head coach Jason Garrett seemed to heavily indicate that they were going to make a change. “Obviously, we have to do a close evaluation of it,” Garrett said. “We brought three kickers in earlier in the week. We decided to give Brett an opportunity this week. It didn’t work out. So we have to take a real close, hard look at that.”
Garrett was referring to the kicker workout the Cowboys held last week, which included Vizcaino and Roose. They opted not to sign anyone and give Maher one more week to prove himself, but apparently liked what they saw from those two. Vizcaino is a Washington product who has never kicked in the NFL, and he made only 12 kicks during his college career. Rose has had brief stints with the Chargers and Redskins.
Forbath, the former Redskins and Vikings kicker, resurfaced briefly with the Patriots last week. He was only used as a one-game fill-in after Nick Folk was sidelined by an appendectomy. He missed an extra point during his one game with New England. Maher surprisingly beat out longtime kicker Dan Bailey last offseason and had a solid rookie campaign with Dallas, but it looks like his time has ran out. Expect word of a signing early this week.
Extra Points: Ebron, Lions, Renfrow
The Eric Ebron story took another twist this week, as his camp responded to the recent reports of disconnect between the tight end and the Colts. Soon after Ebron was placed on injured reserve with an ankle injury, we heard that the Colts weren’t too happy with how everything played out. Indy’s head coach Frank Reich seemed to dispute Ebron’s account that the team was well-aware of his ankle issue, and said he had no idea anything was wrong. Ebron’s camp is now pushing back, with a source close to the UNC product telling Ian Rapoport of NFL Network that Reich “should not have been surprised” (Twitter link).
The source added that Ebron informed the Colts of his ankle issue prior to the season, and that he “took toradol shots for the injury before almost every game he played.” The implication from Indianapolis seemed to be that Ebron was essentially choosing to save himself for his impending free agency, and his camp obviously isn’t pleased with that narrative. As Stephen Holder of The Athletic summarizes in a tweet, this means that Reich is either “blatantly lying when he said he was blind sided,” or Ebron “was able to practice most of the season on a terribly painful ankle.” It’ll be interesting to see if this under the radar controversy impacts Ebron’s market this spring. The tenth overall pick of the 2014 draft had a huge first year in Indy, but had been a bit of a disappointment this season before going on IR. Given the sudden animosity between the two sides, it seems likely that he isn’t back with the Colts in 2020.
Here’s more from around the league on a quiet Saturday night:
- It doesn’t look like Matthew Stafford is going to play for the Lions again in 2019, so his back injury is obviously legitimate. However, the league has taken issue with how Detroit went about reporting it. Stafford was a surprise scratch late in the week leading up to the team’s game against the Bears back on November 10th, and the league has determined the team was trying to gain a competitive advantage by being coy with the info. The league office has fined the organization $75K, head coach Matt Patricia $25K, and GM Bob Quinn $10K, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link).
- When Raiders rookie receiver Hunter Renfrow went down with a rib injury and a punctured lung a couple of weeks ago, it initially looked like he’d miss the rest of the season. However, that might not be the case, per Scott Bair of NBC Sports. Renfrow hasn’t been placed on IR, and the team is holding out hope he’ll be able to return toward the end of the year. “We’re hopeful that he could return for the last game or two,” Oakland head coach Jon Gruden said, per Bair. Renfrow had really started to heat up before going down, so he would provide a big boost. The Raiders have gotten blown out in two straight games, but are still right in the thick of a very muddled AFC wildcard race at 6-6. Whether or not they’re still in the hunt for a playoff spot in the final week or two will likely determine whether or not they bring the Clemson product back.
Injury Updates: Cook, Mack, Staley, Ford, Kendricks
All the latest injury updates as we await kickoff in the morning:
- Vikings fans were left holding their breath on Monday night, when Stefon Diggs and Dalvin Cook went down with injuries on the same play. Diggs soon returned to the game, and it looks like Cook is alright as well. The star running back aggravated a pre-existing injury during Minnesota’s loss to Seattle, but he was removed from the final injury report on Friday and is all systems go for Sunday’s game against the Lions. It’s still possible the Vikings seek to lessen his workload, in which case promising backup Alexander Mattison would pick up the slack.
- Speaking of banged up running backs, the Colts’ Marlon Mack got back to a full practice and will make his return Sunday against the Bucs. Mack has missed the past two games with a hand injury, and Indianapolis could really use him as they’ve lost four of their past five games. Mack had minor surgery on his hand a few weeks back.
- Joe Staley is returning from injury for the second time this season. The 49ers’ left tackle has missed nine games this year due to various ailments, but is returning for this weekend’s pivotal game against the Saints. San Francisco has obviously been getting by just fine without him, but his presence will be a huge boost as they go up against a really tough New Orleans defensive front. Staley isn’t the only key piece the 49ers are getting back, as pass-rusher Dee Ford will also make his return to the lineup. Ford, who signed a massive five-year, $85MM deal with his new team after getting traded from the Chiefs, has missed each of the past two games with a quad injury.
- The Seahawks’ defense looks like it’ll be a bit shorthanded, as Mychal Kendricks is being listed as doubtful for their Sunday Night Football game against the Rams. This will be the linebacker’s first missed game of the season, and he has started all 12 for Seattle. Rookie third-round pick Cody Barton could get his first career start as a result, tweets Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times.
Tua Tagovailoa On Hip Injury, 2020 NFL Draft
Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa recently suffered one of the most significant injuries in recent college football history. Previously a near-lock to go toward the top of the first-round, if not first overall, there is suddenly a ton of uncertainty surrounding the star passer since his devastating hip injury. Speaking to the media at a recent press conference, Tagovailoa provided an update on his recovery and his thought process regarding the upcoming draft. 
First, he described what was going through his mind on the field when the injury actually happened. “Yeah, I couldn’t comprehend anything,” Tagovailoa said Thursday, via Michael Casagrande of AL.com. “I had a concussion at the same time when I was on the ground. I think my body was just in such a traumatic state that I couldn’t really feel too much. I just know that, well from what I could remember, with every little movement I made on the ground, I was hurting. That’s all I can remember.”
While the signal-caller said his doctors have told him he’ll be able to play football again at 100 percent, he did concede that things will never be the same internally. “I don’t think I’d be the same again because there’s, like metal in here, you know?” he said. “I lose some rotation inward, so I won’t be able to twist as much inward and whatnot. I wouldn’t need that as much. When you’re running, you’re almost always opening up your hip. From the doctors say, they expect a full recovery and I’ll be able to go out there and play football again at 100 percent, it’s just I won’t be able to rotate it internally the same way.”
While that might sound worse than it actually is, Tagovailoa indicating he’ll have to change at all physically doesn’t inspire a ton of confidence. Interestingly Tagovailoa said he recently talked with legendary running back Bo Jackson at the Iron Bowl, and Jackson told him not to rush the process. Many people initially compared Tua’s hip injury to the one that ended Jackson’s football career, but Tagovailoa called them “two totally different situations with our hips.”
Finally with respect to the draft, Tagovailoa said he is still seriously considering returning to Alabama for his senior season. That being said, he seemed to indicate that he’ll go pro as long as the feedback from teams is good and suggests he won’t fall too far. When asked if he was projected to be a top 10-15 selection he acknowledged “that’d be tough to pass up” but also said “there’s a lot more to it in that aspect,” per Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link). We should know a lot more about Tagovailoa’s intentions shortly.