Cowboys To Place TE Geoff Swaim On IR
The Cowboys are still in pole position to win the NFC East, but their offense was dealt a blow today as the team will place tight end Geoff Swaim on injured reserve, according to veteran Cowboys reporter Clarence Hill Jr. (Twitter link).
Hill adds that the team will promote running back Darius Jackson from the practice squad to take his spot on the roster. Swaim underwent wrist surgery last month, but the team hoped at the time he’d be able to return for a playoff push. Although they’ve kept him on the roster all this time, they finally decided they couldn’t wait any longer.
After Jason Witten retired, Swaim was expected to step up and become the lead tight end in the offense. A fourth-year player out of Texas, Swaim was having by far the best year of his career before going down. Through nine games, he reeled in 26 receptions for 242 yards and one touchdown.
Jackson was drafted by the Cowboys in the sixth round back in 2016, and is already in his third stint with the team. He’s been waived multiple times, and spent time with the Browns and Packers. He’ll provide immediate depth behind Ezekiel Elliot, but likely won’t be too much of a factor.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/21/18
Today’s practice squad moves:
New England Patriots
- Signed: OT Tony Adams
New York Jets
- Signed: DB Charlie Miller
John Harbaugh Will Return In 2019
After a lot of speculation about his job security, John Harbaugh will be returning to coach the Ravens in 2019, the team announced in a tweet.
The brief statement read “John Harbaugh will continue as our coach for the 2019 season, and [we] are working on an extension to his existing contract, which expires after the 2019 season.” It had previously been reported that Harbaugh had been on the hot seat and was facing “mounting pressure” in Baltimore. One recent report said that Ravens players were expecting Harbaugh to be fired if the team didn’t make the playoffs, but that clearly wasn’t the case. The Ravens are still far from assured a playoff spot with two games to go, but ownership clearly appreciated how Harbaugh was able to stabilize the team and get things turned around after it looked for a while like their season was collapsing.
The Ravens have won four of their last five games since making the switch to Lamar Jackson under center, and can still very easily win the AFC North. The decision to bring back Harbaugh could have an interesting domino effect on the rest of the league, as Mike Garafolo of NFL Network noted in a tweet that “other teams would’ve been ready to pounce” had Harbaugh been let go. That echoes the sentiment we’ve heard all season, which is that Harbaugh would’ve been the hottest head coaching candidate out there, and would’ve been pretty much guaranteed to have found a new job. This move means there will be at least one more job opening for other candidates than there would’ve been if he hadn’t been retained.
The announcement comes the day before the team’s pivotal Saturday night game against the Chargers in Los Angeles. Jackson has led the team to a 4-1 record, but has faced five relatively weak defenses, and will get by far his toughest test yet in a nationally televised game. Fortunately for Harbaugh, his job will now be safe no matter what happens.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/21/18
Today’s minor moves will be posted here:
Miami Dolphins:
- Promoted from practice squad: S Maurice Smith
- Waived: OL Hroniss Grasu
New England Patriots
- Promoted from practice squad: DL Ufomba Kamalu
POLL: Most Important Game Of Week 15?
Only three weeks are left in the 2018 NFL regular season, and Week 15 offers a number of intriguing matchups that could impact the playoff race. With so much on the line, which game is the most important?
For some context, we’ll use Brian Burke of ESPN’s Playoff Probability Leverage, which Burke tweets out weekly. In short, playoff probability leverage indicates the change in chance of making the playoffs based on the results of the selected game. For example, teams like the Rams, Patriots, and Saints are so assured of earning a postseason appearance that this week’s contests have limited meaning for them (less than 1% playoff leverage). Teams like the Lions, Giants, 49ers, Cardinals, Bills, and Raiders etc. will also face low playoff leverages because they have virtually no chance of making the postseason.
But for some clubs, Week 15 means everything. And by combining the playoff probability leverages of the two teams involved in a selected game, we can determine which contests will most determine the postseason entrants:
- Miami Dolphins (19%) @ Minnesota Vikings (42%)
- New England Patriots (1%) @ Pittsburgh Steelers (42%)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1%) @ Baltimore Ravens (40%)
- Tennessee Titans (29%) @ New York Giants (1%)
- Dallas Cowboys (2%) @ Indianapolis Colts (24%)
Of course, there are other factors at play here as well. It’s not just playoff bids that are on the line here, many coaches are coaching for their jobs as well. Ron Rivera, John Harbaugh, and Dirk Koetter are all in grave danger of being fired if their respective teams miss the playoffs, so each of their games this week have some added meaning.. There’s also a bunch of games with seeding relevance, as the number one seed in the AFC and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs is still wide open with four teams in contention.
This week is massive for the AFC North, as both the Steelers and Ravens will see their playoff chances dramatically decrease if they can’t win. The Patriots are still battling for seeding in the AFC, and could clinch the AFC East with a win and Dolphins loss.
So, what do you think? Are the numbers right — is Dolphins/Vikings the most critical game of the weekend because it’ll go a long way toward determining wild card spots? Or does a contest farther down the playoff probability leverage spectrum, such as Buccaneers/Ravens mean more because of the coaching implications? Vote below (link for app users), and add your thoughts in the comments section!
Extra Points: Ravens, Griffin, Texans, Saints
It’s been a long road for Robert Griffin III. After he was released by the Redskins, Griffin wound up in Cleveland as the Browns’ starting quarterback in 2016. He was immediately injured and ended up playing only a few games, and was released after the year. After that he spent the entire 2017 season out of football, and it looked like his career might be coming to an end. But then Griffin inked a deal with the Ravens out of nowhere this past spring, and made the team. While he’s been the third stringer behind Joe Flacco and Lamar Jackson and inactive most of the season, Griffin is just happy to be back in the league, and he described his journey in a recent sit down with Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic.
“It’s been special because I was not guaranteed a roster spot at the beginning of the year. I had a non-guaranteed contract, a minimal signing bonus and I had to earn it every step of the way”, Griffin said. Griffin was projected to be cut by most analysts because John Harbaugh has very rarely kept three quarterbacks on the active roster, but he had an impressive preseason and earned a spot. Zrebiec writes the Ravens first became interested in the former Heisman Trophy winner in the summer of 2017, but Griffin thought the timing wasn’t right. Griffin also reflected on his experience losing his job in Washington to Kirk Cousins while he was out with an injury, and how it relates to what Flacco is going through right now. The whole conversation is definitely worth a read.
Here’s more from around the league:
- The Texans have been very impressive this year, but they still have a bunch of holes on the roster as they look to build around Deshaun Watson. The team could use help on the offensive line and in the secondary, and John McClain of the Houston Chronicle “strongly believe[s]” that the team will “get an offensive tackle and a cornerback in the first two rounds” of next year’s draft. McClain is as plugged in as any beat writer in the game, so he certainly has a feel for what the organization is thinking. The Texans have an extra second round pick thanks to the Duane Brown trade, so they’ll have plenty of ammo to acquire top talent.
- The Texans have been without an offensive coordinator for a while, but that could change soon. Head coach Bill O’brien has been acting as his own offensive coordinator since he fired George Godsey, and McClain thinks their tight ends coach Tim Kelly will be their next offensive coordinator, saying that he’s “highly thought of” within the building.
- The Saints will be without starting left tackle Terron Armstead for at least another week, according to Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com (Twitter link). Armstead has now missed the last month of the season with a pectoral injury. Drew Brees‘ pass protection has fallen off without Armstead, and Brees has struggled a bit with the additional pressure in recent weeks.
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Redskins Waive Kapri Bibbs, Make Several Other Moves
The Redskins are still alive in the NFC playoff race, but their hopes are dwindling fast as they’ve dealt with an onslaught of injuries. Now on the eve of their must win game against the Jaguars, Washington is shuffling the bottom of their roster.
The team waived running back Kapri Bibbs and defensive end Marcus Smith, and promoted tight end Matt Flanagan and defensive back Joshua Holsey from the practice squad to take their spots on the roster, the team announced via Twitter. They also placed long snapper Nick Sundberg on injured reserve, and signed long snapper Andrew East to replace him.
Bibbs has actually received some pretty significant playing time at times over the past two seasons, so his release is a bit of a surprise. This year he had carried 20 times for 101 yards and three touchdowns, and caught 13 passes for 102 yards and another touchdown. Smith, a first round pick of the Eagles back in 2014, just was signed a couple of weeks ago.
Flanagan is an undrafted rookie from Pitt who is primarily a blocking tight end, and Holsey was a seventh round pick of the Redskins in 2017. Flanagan was likely promoted because starting tight end Jordan Reed is going to miss some time with a toe injury. If the Redskins lose to Jacksonville and fall out of playoff contention, it’s quite possible both youngsters receive some run down the stretch.
Broncos Bench Two Players Ahead Of Pivotal Game
The Broncos are playing a game they must win to keep their playoff hopes alive in a couple of hours, and are making a major change ahead of the game. 
Outside linebacker Shane Ray and safety Su’a Cravens will be benched and be healthy scratches for the game against the Browns, a source told Mike Klis of Denver 9 News. Klis writes that the moves are “strictly a coach’s decision”, meaning embattled head coach Vance Joseph made the call. Ray was a first round pick of the Broncos back in 2015, and has mostly been a disappointment after a promising first two years. He’s battled various injuries and has just one sack this year, and the team declined his fifth-year team option earlier this year. He’ll be a free agent after the season, so it’s quite possible he’s played his last down in a Broncos uniform.
Cravens is in his first year with the Broncos after spending his first two years in the league with Washington. Cravens was a second round pick of the Redskins in 2016, but quickly had a falling out with the organization. The Broncos traded a couple of draft picks to acquire Cravens this past March, and he’s been a major disappointment. He missed most of the year with a knee injury, and Klis notes that he’s “struggled in coverage” since returning.
Both of the players had been seeing significant snaps on defense, so it’s a major shakeup. It feels like a last gasp for Joseph, as he seems almost certain to lose his job if the team misses the playoffs. There have been whispers in the past about Joseph losing the locker room, so it will be very interesting to see how these moves go over.
Extra Points: Cooper, Raiders, Ansah, Lions, Firings
The trade of Amari Cooper from the Raiders to the Cowboys has been one of the most discussed stories this NFL season. The conventional wisdom had been that new coach Jon Gruden wanted him gone as he sought to stockpile more draft picks to completely rebuild the Raiders the way he wanted, but new information suggests that might not be the case. Cooper himself told Calvin Watkins of The Athletic (Twitter link) that it was Raiders owner Mark Davis who wanted him gone and not Gruden.
Cooper shares an agent with Khalil Mack, and rumors have swirled online for a while now that there may have been bad blood between Davis and Mack’s agent after the two sides were unable to work out a new deal for the defensive end. That being said, the notion that Davis is the one who wanted Cooper off the Raiders isn’t true, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, who tweets that Cooper is misinformed. It’s unclear who’s right, but it’s likely this isn’t the last we hear of this story.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Lions defensive end Ezekiel Ansah was placed on injured reserve recently, and has likely played his last game as a Lion, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Birkett writes that he “can’t see” Ansah returning to Detroit, even on a “one-year prove-it deal.” Ansah is a very talented pass-rusher, but has been unable to stay healthy the past couple of years while the Lions have paid him a ton of money. His free agency and what type of deal he’s able to land will be one of the most interesting to monitor this spring.
- There will surely be a bunch of coaching moves on Black Monday once the regular season is over, but there have already been a bunch of moves made this season, and Field Yates of ESPN.com recapped all of the in-season firings (Twitter link). Packers head coach Mike McCarthy & associate head coach Winston Moss, Browns head coach Hue Jackson & offensive coordinator Todd Haley, Bengals defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, Jaguars offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, Vikings offensive coordinator John DeFillipo, Buccaneers defensive coordinator Mike Smith, Cardinals offensive coordinator Mike McCoy, and Lions special teams coordinator Joe Marciano have all been let go this year. We’ll know more very soon, but at least a few more head coaching jobs will be open soon, with Vance Joseph, Dirk Koetter, and Todd Bowles being the most likely candidates to be replaced.
- In case you missed it, the Seahawks are interested in re-signing linebacker Mychal Kendricks once he serves his sentence for insider trading.
AFC East Notes: Dolphins, Parker, Patriots, Gordon, Jets
The Dolphins have a big offseason ahead of them. They’ll have to make a very tough decision about Ryan Tannehill, but they have some other calls to make as well. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald took a look at some of their non-Tannehill related upcoming decisions recently, and wrote that receiver DeVante Parker almost certainly won’t be back at the $9.4MM salary he’s owed next season. He also writes about veteran pass-rusher Cameron Wake, who is set to be a free agent after this season, and notes that “the Dolphins told Wake’s camp early this past offseason that they wanted to extend him but nothing materialized.”
Wake will be turning 37 next month, and has seen his production drop off a bit this year with just 4.5 sacks compared to 10.5 a year ago. Jackson thinks the Dolphins will definitely want Wake back at a cheaper figure than his current $8MM salary, but is unsure whether Wake will be willing to take a dramatic pay-cut. It might be pretty small, but Jackson does “expect a Dolphins offer, at the very least.”
Here’s more from the AFC East:
- The Patriots hosted a few players for workouts today. The team brought in LB Sam Eguavoen, T Ryker Matthews, and WR Tim Wilson, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN (Twitter link). Reiss notes these workouts were likely done with an eye toward 2019 and not this season, as Eguavoen and Matthews currently play in the CFL and aren’t eligible to be signed until after the season. Wilson was in training camp with the Eagles this summer.
- “The Jets will go hard after Le’Veon Bell in free agency”, predicts Darryl Slater of NJ.com. Bell has been linked to New York a lot recently, and the fit would make sense with the Jets lacking a true number one running back and the fact that the big media market would fit Bell’s brand and personality. Isaiah Crowell was just placed on injured reserve and could very well be cut after this season. Slater also runs down some other potential Jets offseason moves, and thinks the team will be moving on from left guard James Carpenter and running back Bilal Powell. It sounds like it should be an offseason of change for the Jets, who seem almost certain to fire head coach Todd Bowles after the season.
- The Patriots should place a first round tender on Josh Gordon this offseason, argues Doug Kyed of NESN.com. Gordon is a restricted free agent after the year, and Kyed thinks that due to Gordon’s lengthy off-field history, no team will be willing to give up the first round pick they’d have to hand over to the Patriots if they wanted to sign him to an offer sheet. The Patriots could always gamble and tender him at a lower level to try to save money, but if they do that some other team could swoop in and sign Gordon to a massive offer sheet.