5 Key NFL Stories: 11/10/19 – 11/17/19
Colin Kaepernick has workout: Kaepernick had his highly anticipated workout over the weekend, and it didn’t go smoothly. Shortly before it was set to begin, Kaepernick announced he was pulling out and moving the workout to his own location. There were numerous points of dispute between the free agent quarterback and the league, and only eight teams ended up having scouts at his workout. That being said the actual workout seemed to go pretty well, with one exec telling Adam Schefter his arm talent was “elite.” Kaepernick’s agent said this morning that he isn’t particularly optimistic about his client getting signed.
Eagles sign Jay Ajayi: The Eagles brought back a key piece of their Super Bowl team, signing their former running back. Philly has had an inconsistent ground game the past couple of seasons, and they clearly weren’t satisfied with only having Jordan Howard and Miles Sanders. Ajayi has been productive in the past, but there have always been major concerns about his knee. He tore his left ACL last season, and it took him a while to find a new team. He was one of the biggest names left on the free agent market.
Daren Sproles out for season: The reason the Eagles likely signed Ajayi was the bad injury news they got on Sproles. The veteran change of pace back was ruled out for the rest of the season with a hip injury. After missing most of the 2018 season with a broken arm and a torn ACL, Sproles is having another season cut short. Sproles had said after last year he didn’t want to go out with an injury-ruined campaign, so maybe this will persuade him to come back for 2020. That being said, it seems likely the 36-year-old is headed toward retirement. It’ll be very interesting to see if he decided to hang them up.
Myles Garrett suspended indefinitely: You can’t talk about the past week around the NFL without mentioning the Browns/Steelers brawl. After Myles Garrett swung Mason Rudolph‘s own helmet and hit him in the head, he was suspended for at least the rest of the season and will have to meet with the commissioner to apply for reinstatement for 2020. Garrett will appeal the ban, which will be heard early this coming week. Steelers offensive lineman Maurkice Pouncey was suspended three games and Browns defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi was suspended for one, while Rudolph was fined.
Eagles, Brandon Brooks agree to extension: The Ajayi move wasn’t the only major deal the Eagles made this past week. They also gave guard Brandon Brooks a massive extension that will pay him $52.4MM over four years. Brooks is now the second-highest paid guard in the league behind only the Cowboys’ Zack Martin. Brooks got $30MM guaranteed, and the Eagles have now extended each member of their interior offensive line this year.
Extra Points: Tagovailoa, Kaepernick
The latest on the two quarterbacks who have been dominating headlines today as we await kickoff tomorrow:
- Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has already been ruled out for the rest of the season, and there has been some concern his hip-injury could be career-threatening or career-altering. Alabama took the rare step of having their team surgeon release a statement (via Ian Rapoport of NFL Network on Twitter), saying that Tagovailoa is “expected to make a full recovery.” That’s obviously great news, and hopefully it turns out to be more than just wishful thinking.
- Tagovailoa was widely expected to be taken early in the first-round of April’s NFL draft, and his injury will now have a huge ripple effect. He can choose to head to the NFL and risk a huge dip in his draft stock, or he can still return to Alabama for his senior season. Everyone has been talking about his career being in jeopardy or how far he’ll tumble in the draft, but he also has the option of coming back for the Crimson Tide and proving his health before entering the draft in 2021. To that end, “it would be a complete shock” if Tagovailoa enters the 2020 draft now, opines Matt Miller of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). With such little clarity on a timetable it’s hard to predict anything, but it’s an interesting thought nonetheless.
- Another area of dispute has emerged between the NFL and Colin Kaepernick‘s camp. The league said in statements that Nike wanted to shoot footage from the workout and use it in a commercial, but the apparel company is now denying those claims. Nike “was not on hand to film Colin Kaepernick’s workout,” a source confirmed to Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), who also writes that “Nike is currently trying to get the NFL to retract that statement.”
- After Kaepernick shifted the workout to a new location, most of the 25 teams on-hand didn’t follow him there. We previously heard that the Redskins, Eagles, 49ers, Chiefs, Jets, Titans, and Lions showed up at the new workout site to watch him throw, and there was apparently an additional mystery team there. Kaepernick’s reps said there was an eighth and as of yet unidentified team scouting, according to a tweet from Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com.
- There was also a point of contention between the league and Kaep’s reps over the waiver that was asked to be signed. The NFL claims it asked the quarterback to sign a standard waiver, and that his team made unreasonable changes to it. You can view the waiver the league sent out courtesy of this tweet sent out by Dianna Russini of ESPN.com, and in subsequent tweets Russini breaks down the relatively mundane details. It doesn’t seem like there’s anything that interesting in the waiver battle.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/16/19
One practice squad move to report:
Detroit Lions
- Signed: P Matt Wile
Lions punter Sam Martin is listed as questionable for their game against the Cowboys, necessitating this move. Wile spent all of last season as the Vikings’ punter.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/15/19
One practice squad move to pass along:
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: OT Cedrick Lang
- Released: OT Gerhard de Beer
Extra Points: Brady, Rudolph, Garrett, Kaep
There’s been a lot of talk about Tom Brady‘s future this season, and whether he plans on continuing to play with the Patriots beyond 2019. Set to be a free agent after this season, there have been rumors Brady could wind up with a different team. A recent Adam Schefter report indicated retirement was also an option, although that would be at odds with Brady’s stated desire to play until he’s 45. According to his longtime friend and personal trainer Alex Guerrero, he could go well beyond that. Guerrero made a recent radio appearance on WEEI, and made it sound like Brady doesn’t plan on stepping away anytime soon.
“No one thought you could play at the elite level in your late 30s, early 40s. That is something we always felt we could do. I have really wanted to be there to help him accomplish that goal. I certainly do believe that 45 is a very realistic goal,” Guerrero said. “We talk about it all the time. Every year he just adds another year. He goes in and he’s like, ‘Guys, I feel so good still. I think I am going to go till 45.’ I am like, ‘OK.’ Now he’s like, ‘Alex, I think I can go like 46 or 47.’” If Brady does really want to go all the way to 47, that means we could have another five years of the legendary Patriots signal-caller. Guerrero is one of Brady’s closest confidants, and he’s certainly in the know. During the interview, he also emphatically denied reports of tension between himself and the organization.
Here’s more from around the league:
- The fallout from the Browns/Steelers brawl isn’t going to get any crazier than it already is. Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph will not take legal action against Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). Rapoport writes that “Rudolph considers the situation to be exclusively an NFL matter.” The fact that it was even a consideration underscores just how wild last night’s events were. Rudolph’s agent had even intimated on Twitter that they were seriously considering pursuing a lawsuit or prosecution. In case you somehow missed it, Garrett has been suspended indefinitely, while Maurkice Pouncey got a three-game ban and Rudolph was fined.
- There’s been a lot of mystery surrounding Saturday’s Colin Kaepernick workout, and the last we heard at least 24 teams were slated to attend. Commissioner Roger Goodell apparently made the decision to have the workout without consulting his usual advisers, and made the call in an impromptu fashion. He obviously wants it to go off without a hitch, and is determined not to have it be a PR nightmare. To that end, a source told Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com that there is “zero doubt the league office is twisting arms” to get teams to show up (Twitter link). The whole thing has been a bit bizarre, and the league has been accused by Kaepernick’s allies of setting it up for failure.
- The league has switched course and said they won’t provide Kaepernick’s reps with a list of those attending, and Florio’s report would seem to indicate there won’t be many top decision-makers at the workout. It’s been unclear whether there would only be low-level scouts on-hand, but the Broncos at least seem to be taking it seriously. Denver is sending top pro scout Jordan Dizon to the workout, according to Mike Klis of Denver 9News.
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/15/19
Not too many minor moves to report as we head into the weekend:
Los Angeles Chargers:
- Signed: LS Matt Overton
- Placed on NFI list: DL Cortez Broughton
The Chargers’ normal longsnapper Cole Mazza has been listed on the injury report with an illness the past couple of days, which helps explain this move.
Texans Workout Joshua Garnett
The Texans have been banged up on the offensive line recently, and are apparently exploring the veteran free agent market. Houston worked out former first-round pick Joshua Garnett Friday, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). 
Wilson notes that Garnett wasn’t immediately signed to a contract, but he says the workout went well and that Garnett ranks high on the team’s list of available O-lineman (Twitter link). The 49ers drafted the guard 28th overall out of Stanford back in 2016. After starting 11 games as a rookie, he missed the entire 2017 season after undergoing knee surgery. He failed to win a starting job last season, and was hurt for most of the year. After declining his fifth-year option, the 49ers then waived him at final cuts this past training camp.
Garnett is still only 25 and has been the victim of some bad injury luck, so it’s a bit surprising he hasn’t been able to resurface yet. He also worked out for the Seahawks and Titans back in September, but nothing materialized.
Latest On Colin Kaepernick Workout
Last night, we heard that there were 11 NFL teams slated to attend Colin Kaepernick‘s workout in Atlanta on Saturday. That number has apparently already increased dramatically. “More than 24” teams are now expected to be at the showcase, sources told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
The league recently reversed course and declined to give Kaepernick or his reps a list of who would be attending. It’s unclear at the moment if there will be any high level execs or coaches in attendance, or if it will mostly be lower-level scouts. Meanwhile, Kaepernick has arrived in Atlanta and is preparing for the workout as of this morning, Schefter tweets. In the same tweet, Schefter notes that since the league wouldn’t provide names of the receivers they were going to have on-hand for the workout, Kaepernick is “taking up the former NFL WRs who volunteered to fly in on their own to help him at workout.”
No word yet on who those former NFL receivers are, but there could be some big names. What has never been made clear is how the workout came to be or who exactly came up with the idea. Interestingly, the decision was apparently “made at the highest level of leadership and with the exclusion of many of commissioner Roger Goodell’s usual advisers,” sources told Mike Jones of USA Today.
Jones writes that in addition to team personnel departments and players, people within the league office were surprised by the news on Tuesday as well. Jones also reports that Goodell had “many discussions” on the Kaepernick issue with Jay-Z, a partner in the league’s new social justice initiative. It sounds like the workout came at the direct behest of Goodell, who is apparently looking to quash the criticism the league has faced the past few years for their handling of Kaepernick.
Teams apparently inquired with the league office about Kaepernick’s readiness, but those inquiries were apparently made with an eye toward 2020 rather than the rest of this season. It’ll be interesting to see if anything comes of the workout, and we should know more soon.
More Fallout: Garrett, Pouncey, Rudolph
More fallout from the Browns/Steelers brawl, as Myles Garrett and Cleveland owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam have both issued statements via the team’s official site. “We are extremely disappointed in what transpired last evening at the end of our game. There is no place for that in football and that is not reflective of the core values we strive for as an organization. We sincerely apologize to Mason Rudolph and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Myles Garrett has been a good teammate and member of our organization and community for the last three years but his actions last night were completely unacceptable. We understand the consequences from the league for his actions,” the Haslams said.
Garrett’s statement read “last night, I made a terrible mistake. I lost my cool and what I did was selfish and unacceptable. I know that we are all responsible for our actions and I can only prove my true character through my actions moving forward. I want to apologize to Mason Rudolph, my teammates, our entire organization, our fans and to the NFL. I know I have to be accountable for what happened, learn from my mistake and I fully intend to do so.”
Here’s some more on the situation:
- Maurkice Pouncey, suspended three games for pummeling Garrett after he hit Rudolph with his helmet, is going to appeal his suspension, a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). The Steelers play the Browns again in two weeks and the league almost certainly wants to keep him out of that game, but maybe he’ll be able to get his suspension reduced from three to two games. Pouncey is a key member of the offensive line, and the seven-time Pro Bowler will be sorely missed as long as he’s not manning the pivot.
- Rudolph may have escaped without a suspension, but he isn’t being held totally blameless by the league office. The quarterback will indeed be fined for his role in the fight, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link). Considering many felt Rudolph should’ve been suspended for initially tugging at Garrett’s helmet and then charging him, he dodged a bullet. Given he threw four interceptions in the game last night, a fine is the least of his worries right now.
Extra Points: Vinatieri, Callaway, Barkley
Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri has struggled mightily this season, and those struggles continued on Sunday. Vinatieri missed a crucial extra point, and the team ended up losing to the Dolphins by four points. Indy ended the game on Miami’s 16-yard line, and would’ve been able to attempt a game-tying field goal if not for Vinatieri’s miss. The organization has stuck by him throughout, but there were signs after the game that their patience might be wearing thin. “We’d been committed to him, but like everybody. … we’re going to always evaluate. Everyone gets measured, everyone’s held accountable. From top to bottom, that’s always the case. Nothing meant to read into that, that’s just the reality,” head coach Frank Reich said, per Joel A. Erickson of The Athletic (Twitter link).
On extra points, Reich said “there is an expectation there. Whatever percent it is to make an extra point, 97 percent, or 96.whatever it is to make that, we need to make those,” Erickson noted in a separate tweet. Vinatieri has now missed six extra points and five field goals on the year. It’s certainly not for sure, but the Colts appear to be inching closer to a divorce with the legendary 46-year-old kicker.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Browns receiver Antonio Callaway was a healthy scratch during Cleveland’s win over the Bills, and it appears there could be something interesting here. Callaway warmed up in uniform as if he was about to play, but then wound up inactive. When asked about it after the game Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens said it “was between him and Callaway and repeated the response when asked if it was a disciplinary matter,” according to Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com. Alper notes that Baker Mayfield said Callaway was in the game plan during the week, but that “things happen.” Since it’s the Browns, it will probably turn out to be something of note.
- The Giants suffered a tough loss to the Jets on Sunday, and things might get even worse. Star running back Saquon Barkley was spotted getting X-Rays after the game, according to Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post. Head coach Pat Shurmur conceded Barkley got “banged around pretty good,” but neither the coach nor player was willing to talk about what was wrong. Barkley, of course, just recently returned after missing time with an ankle injury.
- In case you missed it, some in the Browns organization wanted to hire Kevin Stefanski instead of Freddie Kitchens.