Jordy Nelson Cleared To Return
In welcome news for the Packers, star receiver Jordy Nelson passed his physical Wednesday and was reinstated from the physically unable to perform list, according to Field Yates of ESPN (Twitter link).
Nelson, who’s now cleared to practice, missed all of last season after tearing the ACL in his right knee in August. While his return this year was expected, he experienced “an incident” with his left knee less than a month ago. Given that it wasn’t his surgically repaired knee, Nelson wasn’t particularly worried about the issue, but he also couldn’t put a timetable on how much longer it would sideline him.
“Our end goal is still the same,” Nelson said at the time. “We’ll be ready for the regular season. Like I said, there’s just a little hiccup with the other leg.”
Nelson’s comeback is certainly a huge development for the Packers, whose normally great offense went backward without him last year. As Green Bay stumbled to a 4-6 regular-season finish that prevented it from winning a fifth straight NFC North title, the absence of Nelson was obvious. The club struggled to find solid complements to Randall Cobb and MVP-caliber quarterback Aaron Rodgers wasn’t as brilliant as he had been in previous seasons.
The last time he saw action, 2014, Nelson earned a Pro Bowl nod for the first time after posting career-high totals in receptions (98), targets (151) and yards (1,519). He also scored 13 touchdowns, giving him 49 in seven seasons. Since the Pack selected Nelson, now 31, out of Kansas State in the second round of the 2008 draft, he has piled up 400 receptions and 6,109 yards – good for a robust 15.3-yard average.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Chiefs Claim Brock Vereen From Patriots
The Chiefs have claimed safety Brock Vereen off waivers from the Patriots, reports Field Yates of ESPN (Twitter link). It appeared Tuesday that Vereen, who turned 24 today, was going to retire. However, Vereen was reinstated from the retirement list shortly after landing on it. The Pats then released him.
Vereen, whom the Bears chose out of Minnesota in the fourth round of the 2014 draft, partook in all 16 of their games (four starts) as a rookie and posted 30 tackles, an interception and a forced fumble. He didn’t appear in a game last year, though, after the Bears waived him in September. Vereen, the brother of Giants running back Shane Vereen, then spent time on the practice squads of the Vikings and Patriots.
A free safety, Vereen will now try to catch on in a Chiefs secondary that’s bereft of its starter, four-time Pro Bowler and current holdout Eric Berry. Along with Vereen, the Chiefs’ depth options include Stevie Brown and Jamell Fleming, as Roster Resource indicates.
Jaguars Waive Jonas Gray, Claim T.J. Barnes
The Jaguars have waived-injured running back Jonas Gray and claimed defensive tackle T.J. Barnes off waivers from the Bills, Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union was among those to report (Twitter link).
Gray has been dealing with a quad issue since Aug. 4, tweets O’Halloran. The Jags signed the 26-year-old off the Dolphins’ practice squad last December, and he went on to appear in two of Jacksonville’s games and log 14 carries for 54 yards. Prior to that, the former Notre Dame back amassed 31 rushes for 122 yards in six games with Miami.
Gray is most known for his brief tenure in New England, which featured a 201-yard, four-touchdown rushing performance against the Colts in November 2014. That showing represented a significant portion of Gray’s production as a rookie. All told, he amassed 89 carries (37 in the Indy game) for 412 yards and five scores in eight contests. With a mere 10 carries in the Pats’ final four games, including their run to a Super Bowl title, Gray fizzled out down the stretch and ended up receiving his release.
This will be the second stint in Jacksonville for Barnes, who signed with the club as an undrafted free agent agent from Georgia Tech in 2013. His time with the Jags lasted just four months, however, as they cut him in the preseason. Barnes spent the past three seasons as a member of the Jets and Bills, with whom he combined for 16 appearances (one start) and eight tackles.
Ladarius Green Mulling Retirement?
SUNDAY, August 14: Head coach Mike Tomlin insists that it is Green’s ankle problems, and not his headaches, that have kept him on the PUP list, as Chris Adamski of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes. Tomlin would not confirm reports that Green is experiencing lingering headaches and is considering retirement. Said Tomlin, “He’s on PUP because of his ankle. We stated that. He’s rehabbing nice. He’s gotten better in that area, but he’s not ready to go. I’m not going to respond to reports from unnamed sources.” It may be that Tomlin is engaging in a little misdirection here, as the reports concerning Green’s headaches appear to be well-substantiated.
THURSDAY, August 11: Thanks to the headaches that have kept him sidelined this summer, Steelers tight end Ladarius Green is considering retirement, a source suggested to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Retiring would be a costly decision for Green, notes Florio, who writes that the 26-year-old would have to return the $4.75MM signing bonus the Steelers gave the ex-Charger upon inking him to a four-year, $20MM deal in free agency.
Even if Green doesn’t walk away from football, he isn’t a lock to make the Steelers. In fact, the source informed Florio that they might cut him. If that happens, there’s a chance the Steelers could still pursue his signing bonus. Pittsburgh would likely cite the case of free agent defensive end Jonathan Fanene, whom the Patriots handed a $3.85MM signing bonus in 2013 before eventually cutting him on account of a knee injury that they argued came from a condition he failed to disclose. New England didn’t recoup the entire bonus from Fanene, but it did recover $1.35MM.
Green suffered two apparent concussions in as many weeks last September and then complained of headaches, but he told Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh-Tribune Review in March that those were merely misdiagnosed sinus issues. Green, who also missed a game in 2014 because of a concussion, went on to indicate to Kaboly that those troubles were behind him. However, Green clearly has an unfortunate history of head injuries, and if the Steelers don’t feel he was honest about his headaches when they signed him (if he was dealing with them at the time), they’ll have a case to take back at least some of the $4.75MM bonus.
Putting finances aside, not having a healthy Green would be a blow to a Pittsburgh team that is still counting on him to serve as its No. 1 tight end. As Roster Resource shows, Pittsburgh’s primary non-Green options are 2015 fifth-round pick Jesse James and 2014 undrafted free agent Xavier Grimble. James has eight career receptions, while Grimble hasn’t yet appeared in an NFL game.
The Steelers brought in Green to replace the retired Heath Miller, who amassed 592 catches – including 60 last season- in his 11-year career. The 6-foot-6, 240-pound Green wasn’t quite that prolific in San Diego, where he lost targets to fellow tight end Antonio Gates, but he set multiple career highs last season and, if he regains health, has a chance to break out in the Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger-led passing attack.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Reactions To Tyrod Taylor’s Extension
Thanks primarily to subpar production from a slew of quarterbacks, the Bills are mired in an NFL-worst 16-year playoff drought. But they may have finally found a long-term solution under center in Tyrod Taylor, to whom they gave an extension that could run through the 2021 season and pay him up $92MM on Friday. In his first year as a starter last season, Joe Flacco‘s former backup in Baltimore emerged as a quality dual threat, combining for 24 touchdowns (20 passing, four rushing) against six interceptions. He also became the third signal-caller in league history to finish a season with a passer rating over 99 and an average of 40-plus yards rushing per game. While Taylor played under a bargain salary in 2015 and performed like someone worthy of a significant raise, he isn’t necessarily secure for the long haul in Buffalo. In fact, the way his deal is structured, Taylor will have to prove himself all over again this year.
Here are some reactions to the 27-year-old’s contract:
- In extending Taylor, the Bills raised his 2016 salary from $2MM to $9.5MM. That total represents all of the fully guaranteed money in his contract, and Andrew Brandt of The MMQB points out (on Twitter) that it’s $2.5MM less than the $12MM that career backup Chase Daniel received from the Eagles in free agency. Before signing with Philadelphia in March, the soon-to-be 30-year-old Daniel accrued 77 combined passing attempts in New Orleans and Kansas City, and he didn’t necessarily impress in that limited action. Taylor, meanwhile, picked up 380 attempts last year alone and succeeded.
- Considering the cost, the Bills were smart to lock up Taylor, opines Albert Breer of The MMQB (Twitter links). If Taylor falters this year, the Bills can easily move on having only thrown away $9.5MM. On the other hand, should Taylor duplicate his 2015 performance or improve on it, they’ll have a legitimate No. 1 for a below-market cost.
- If he remains in Buffalo through the 2017 campaign, Taylor will collect $37MM, which Tom Pelissero of USA Today notes is the same amount new Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler will rake in through next season. The key difference is that all $37MM of Osweiler’s money was guaranteed at signing, making the Taylor deal look even better for the Bills. In fairness to Houston, Osweiler’s four-year, $72MM payday came on the open market. Still, from a statistical standpoint, Taylor clearly outdid Osweiler in 2015.
- Taylor’s accord is unlikely to impact Redskins franchise-tagged quarterback Kirk Cousins, writes JP Finlay of CSN Mid-Atlantic. The two are vastly different players, for one, and Cousins, at $19.95MM, is already set to more than double Taylor’s salary this year. Both before and after tagging him, the Redskins reportedly offered Cousins $16MM per year and $24MM in guarantees on a long-term deal. While the former figure is in line with Taylor’s new average annual salary, the guaranteed sum is nearly three times higher than Taylor’s total. Nevertheless, it wasn’t enough for Cousins, whom the Redskins failed to sign to a multiyear deal by the July 15 deadline for franchise-tagged players. Like Taylor, he’ll once again try to prove himself this season.
QB Notes: Patriots, 49ers, Jets
In an interview with the Patriots Radio Network on Thursday, team president Jonathan Kraft exalted Tom Brady and expressed frustration over the quarterback’s season-opening four-game suspension for his role in the Deflategate scandal.
Of Brady, who has won four Super Bowls with the Patriots, Kraft said (via Ryan Hannable of WEEI), “From our perspective, he’s the type of professional athlete that you want to celebrate, hold up as an example, not only to other players in the league but hold up to kids that are playing the game, and just as somebody you want to model your life off of, not only as a professional athlete but how he is as a father to his children, a husband, a son to his parents, a brother to his sisters. He is as good of a human being as you can get.”
After praising Brady, Kraft took aim at the NFL, stating that the league’s treatment of the 39-year-old “eats at” the Patriots organization. “And there’s still a tremendous amount of, there’s frustration around how the pure facts of science and lack of any type of tangible, hard evidence that certain people can look at those circumstances and then try to taint him or his legacy without that type of evidence,” he continued.
A few items on Brady’s fellow quarterbacks:
- Colin Kaepernick is vying for the 49ers’ starting job, but shoulder tightness is currently preventing the sixth-year man from competing with Blaine Gabbert, as Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group writes. It’s important to note that Kaepernick’s right shoulder – not the left shoulder that required November surgery – is the one bothering him. The 28-year-old is “not too concerned about” the issue, he said Friday, and classified it as “just tightness.” Nevertheless, Kaepernick’s inability to garner first-team reps isn’t helping his cause in a battle that Gabbert looks primed to win, according to Inman.
- Despite going in the second round of this year’s draft, Christian Hackenberg was unable to get into the Jets’ preseason opener against Jacksonville on Thursday. Head coach Todd Bowles offered an explanation afterward, telling reporters (including Kimberley A. Martin of Newsday), “We wanted to take a look at Geno (Smith) and Bryce (Petty). And to play Hackenberg with minimal reps in practice would be doing him a disservice to play him with minimal reps in a game.” Bowles went on to state that it “remains to be seen” whether the former Penn State signal-caller will appear in either of the Jets’ next two preseason games. “It’s not like we’re forced to play him right now,” added Bowles, whose club has two veteran options in starter Ryan Fitzpatrick and Smith, a fourth-year man. Petty was a fourth-rounder last year who hasn’t yet appeared in a game.
- If any Jets quarterback is in jeopardy of the team handing him a pink slip this summer, it’s likely Petty. But Tara Sullivan of USA Today opines that New York should take the rare route of keeping four passers. Indeed, with Fitzpatrick and Hackenberg not going anywhere, Smith possessing substantial experience, and the Jets having made a somewhat significant investment in Petty just over 15 months ago, they do look like strong candidates to employ a quarterback quartet.
- In the biggest QB-related news of Friday, the Bills inked starter Tyrod Taylor to an extension.
NFC Notes: Eagles, Rams, Foles, Vikings
The Eagles are making plans to find a replacement for right tackle Lane Johnson if his potential 10-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs becomes a reality, head coach Doug Pederson said after the team’s Thursday preseason opener. “It may be somebody that hasn’t played there this spring or this summer,” Pederson told Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “It could be a guy who has already been there. We’ve got time to figure this out.”
Among the Eagles’ in-house options are Dennis Kelly and Matt Tobin – as Roster Resource shows – but Pederson isn’t overly enthusiastic about either faring well as a starter, per Hayes. Regardless, Pederson doesn’t expect to add anyone from outside the organization. “We’ve got the bodies,” he stated.
Johnson would be extremely difficult to replace, of course, having started in each of his 44 career appearances. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranked the 6-foot-6, 317-pounder 22nd among 77 qualified tackles in overall performance last season, and the Eagles subsequently awarded him a hefty extension through 2021.
More from the NFC:
- When he was a member of the Rams in 2015, quarterback Nick Foles‘ need for “extra coddling” and “a lot of back-patting” became an annoyance to their staff, per Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links). Given both that and Foles’ bottom-of-the-barrel performance last season, the Rams released the 27-year-old in July, but only after paying him a $6MM roster bonus in March and then failing to find a taker via trade. Foles ended up signing with Kansas City as a free agent.
- The Vikings have 60 percent of their starting offensive line in place with left tackle Matt Kalil, left guard Alex Boone and right tackle Andre Smith, but there’s uncertainty at center and right guard, writes Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune. The mystery illness that has sidelined Mike Harris, who started all of the Vikings’ games at right guard last season, has subtracted one option in training camp, leaving Brandon Fusco and John Sullivan to take reps there. Sullivan slid from center, where he’s competing with 2015 No. 1 Joe Berger for a starting role, to right guard Thursday as a result of an injury to Fusco, notes Vensel. If Sullivan – who missed all of last season with a back injury – wins the center job, Berger could theoretically beat out Fusco at guard, Vensel writes. It’s worth mentioning that Berger was PFF’s second-ranked center in 2015, when he graded as the best run blocker at his position.
- Former Oakland middle linebacker Miles Burris recently worked out for the Seahawks, reports Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). A fourth-round pick from San Diego State in 2012, Burris has logged 38 appearances and 31 starts in the NFL. The last time Burris saw action in the league, 2014, he started all 16 of the Raiders’ games and totaled 110 tackles.
- The Falcons are working out free agent quarterback Seth Lobato, according to a source who spoke with Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). Since going undrafted out of Northern Colorado in 2014, Lobato has spent time with Indianapolis, Miami and Tampa Bay, but he hasn’t appeared in an NFL game.
- In news that came as no surprise, the Cowboys revealed earlier Friday that they have no interest in free agent quarterback Johnny Manziel.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Saints Sign Cortland Finnegan
The Saints have signed cornerback Cortland Finnegan to an undisclosed contract, reports Sean Fazende of FOX 8 (Twitter link). New Orleans was expected to add Finnegan after he visited with the team Friday, as Rand Getlin of NFL.com tweeted.
The 32-year-old Finnegan announced his retirement in March 2015, but his hiatus from football was fleeting. The veteran signed with the Panthers in November and wound up playing in five regular-season games and all three of the NFC champions’ playoff contests, including Super Bowl 50. Finnegan, who recorded 18 tackles, failed to add to his career interception total (18) for the second straight year.
Finnegan spent 2014 with the Dolphins and appeared in 12 games; his performance that year earned him a 74th-place ranking among 108 qualified corners from Pro Football Focus. Finnegan’s unsuccessful stint in Miami came after a six-year run in Tennessee, where he was a standout, and two seasons in St. Louis. In 2013 with the Rams, PFF ranked Finnegan next to last in output among 110 qualified corners.
The Saints are slated to start Delvin Breaux and P.J. Williams at cornerback, as shown on Roster Resource, with Brian Dixon, Damian Swann, and Keenan Lewis in support. Finnegan’s presence could shake things up at the position and impact Brandon Dixon and Tony Carter, both of whom are fighting to make the team.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Shiloh Keo Gets Two-Game Suspension
The NFL has handed Broncos safety Shiloh Keo a two-game suspension for violating its substance abuse policy, reports Troy Renck of Denver 7. Keo’s punishment is the result of a February arrest for driving under the influence, which came less than a week after the Broncos’ Super Bowl 50 victory over Carolina. Keo subsequently pleased guilty to a misdemeanor DUI charge, thus paving the way for league discipline.
The 28-year-old Keo joined the Broncos last December after injuries to David Bruton, T.J. Ward and Darian Stewart weakened their safety depth. Keo, an ex-Texan, put himself on the Broncos’ radar by reaching out to defensive coordinator Wade Phillips via Twitter about his interest in joining the club. He ultimately played in seven games last season with Denver, including its three playoff victories, and added a Week 17 interception against San Diego.
Months after both the end of their season and his arrest, the Broncos re-signed Keo to a one-year, $760K deal in April. He’s now trying to stay ahead of rookies Justin Simmons (third round) and Will Parks (sixth round) on the depth chart in order to earn a roster spot, as Renck notes. Keo can remain with the Broncos until they set their 53-man roster, according to Renck. He’ll then be barred from the team’s facilities until after its second game.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Extra Points: Geno, C. Jones, Pats, TEs
It has been exactly one year since former Jets linebacker IK Enemkpali radically changed the franchise’s course by breaking quarterback Geno Smith‘s jaw with a punch. Ryan Fitzpatrick, the prospective backup, took the Jets’ job and ran with it during Smith’s multiple-month absence, posting career-best numbers for a 10-win team. While Smith was the Jets’ de facto starter during Fitzpatrick’s months-long contract dispute with the team, he reverted to a reserve role after Fitzpatrick re-signed in July. Enemkpali, meanwhile, has been with AFC East rival Buffalo since it claimed him off waivers the day after his altercation with Smith. In hindsight, Smith is seemingly glad the incident occurred.
“When I look back on this when I’m 40, 50 years old, I’ll ask myself, ‘What time in my life made me a man?’ I think this was that time in my life,” the fourth-year man told Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. “It was so easy to say, ‘Hey, this is not my fault. I’m the victim here, and this guy should be going to jail.’ Instead, I manned up. I owned it. I took responsibility for whatever actions I had in that altercation, and I chose to let that fuel me to become a better man and a better player.”
In the Jets’ preseason opener Thursday, Smith completed 8 of 14 passes for 79 yards and a touchdown against the Jaguars.
Here’s more from around the sport:
- Shortly after New England traded Chandler Jones to Arizona in March, the pass-rushing force called Patriots head coach Bill Belichick to thank him. “I didn’t get a chance to speak to him (the day of the trade) — he was on a flight or something,” Jones informed Tom Pelissero of USA Today. “But I called him the next day and said, ‘Hey, you could’ve traded me to any other team, so thank you for not trading me to a crappy team.’” Belichick laughed, according to Jones, who went on to tell Pelissero that the Pats aren’t “known for really paying guys over there.” Nevertheless, the contract-year defender found the trade “a tad shocking.”
- There are a bunch of teams making calls looking for depth tight ends, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (on Twitter) hears. He expects that market to pick up over the next few weeks.
- The Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League released former NFL running back Joe McKnight on Wednesday, according to Gerry Moddejonge of the Edmonton Journal. McKnight, whom the Jets chose in the fourth round of the 2010 draft, had some success in New York as a return man, but the former USC Trojan’s two fumbled punt returns in Edmonton helped cost him his CFL job. McKnight was in his first year playing in Canada and last saw NFL action as a member of the Chiefs in 2014, with whom he tore his Achilles.
Zach Links contributed to this post.