Raiders Send Nate Allen To IR, Promote SaQwan Edwards
The Raiders have placed safety Nate Allen on injured reserve with a knee injury and promoted cornerback SaQwan Edwards from their practice squad, writes Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com.
Allen, who picked off a career-best four passes in Philly in 2014, signed a four-year, $23MM deal with the Raiders last offseason. His first season in Oakland was an injury-riddled disappointment, as the 28-year-old appeared in only five games, totaling 11 tackles and an interception. Allen’s year got off to a poor start immediately when he tore his MCL in Week 1. He came back midway through the campaign but eventually reaggravated his knee and hasn’t played since Dec. 6.
The Raiders could move on from Allen this offseason, per Bair, which would make sense. Allen has no dead money left on the three years remaining on his contract. Cutting him would save the Raiders $5MM next season, $6MM in 2017 and another $5MM in ’18.
Saints Place C.J. Spiller On IR
The Saints have placed running back C.J. Spiller on injured reserve, ending his season a week early, according to Evan Woodbery of NOLA.com (Twitter link).
Now in the books for Spiller, 2015 goes down as the worst season of the six-year veteran’s career. The former top 10 pick out of Clemson signed a four-year, $18MM deal with the Saints last offseason and was expected to serve as a significant weapon as both a runner and pass catcher. Instead, in 13 games, the ex-Bill amassed only 112 yards on a meager 36 carries and caught 34 passes at just 7.0 yards per reception. His season hit a nadir last week when he was made inactive for New Orleans’ win over Jacksonville. Head coach Sean Payton classified Spiller as “healthy” after the game, but added that “he’s still fighting to get that strength back in the leg from (his arthroscopic knee surgery in training camp),” per ESPN’s Mike Triplett. Payton cited that as the main reason Spiller was barely involved in the Saints’ offense this year.
Katherine Terrell of NOLA.com wrote earlier this month (via an NFL Network report) that Spiller could be one and done with the Saints, but it would be costly for the team to get rid of him this offseason. The Saints will incur a $3.75MM cap hit next season and save just $750,000 if they cut Spiller in the coming months, according to OverTheCap.com. His contract is more team-friendly thereafter, but he’ll still be on the Saints’ books through 2018.
Documentary Links Peyton Manning, Other NFLers To PEDs
9:50pm: Manning has issued a strongly worded denial through the Broncos (Twitter link via Albert Breer of NFL.com):
“The allegation that I would do something like that is complete garbage and is totally made up. It never happened. Never. I really can’t believe somebody would put something like this on the air. Whoever said this is making stuff up.”
9:04pm: In 2011, when Peyton Manning was recovering from a career-threatening neck injury, an Indianapolis anti-aging clinic supplied him and his wife with human growth hormone – which is on the NFL’s banned substances list – according to a pharmacist who worked at the clinic, Travis Waldron and Ryan Grim of The Huffington Post write.
Guyer Institute pharmacist Charlie Sly claims he was “part of a medical team that helped [Manning] recover.” Sly made that statement to Liam Collins, a British hurdler who went undercover for an Al Jazeera documentary, “The Dark Side,” centering on the global epidemic of performance-enhancing drugs in sports.
“All the time we would be sending Ashley Manning drugs,” says Sly on video, unaware that Collins was taping him. “Like growth hormone, all the time, everywhere, Florida. And it would never be under Peyton’s name, it would always be under her name.”
Sly also declares that Manning and his wife showed up at the clinic after normal business hours for intravenous treatments.
In response, Manning’s agent, Tom Condon, rejected Sly’s allegations to Al Jazeera and referred to them as “outrageous and wrong.”
“The treatment he received at the Guyer Institute was provided on the advice of his physician and with the knowledge of team doctors and trainers,” said Condon, who neither confirmed nor denied that growth hormones were sent to Manning’s wife.
“Any medical treatment received by Ashley is a private matter of hers, her doctor, and her family,” Condon said.
As noted by Waldron and Grim, the league banned HGH in 2011 but didn’t begin testing for it until 2014. No NFL player has ever tested positive for it.
In addition to Manning, Sly and fellow pharmacist Chad Robertson name Packers linebackers Mike Neal and Julius Peppers, Steelers LB James Harrison and ex-NFL tight end Dustin Keller as players they supplied with banned substances. Neal, Peppers, Harrison and Keller are all linked to hormone supplement Delta-2, which Sly says is designed to stay ahead of drug tests.
Further, Sly contends to have provided prescription painkiller Percocet to Packers LB Clay Matthews, whom Sly says also attempted to obtain Toradol – another painkiller. Toradol is banned in many countries, but not the United States.
Harrison issued a denial to Al Jazeera, while Neal, Peppers, Matthews and Keller didn’t respond to the network’s request for comment, per Waldron and Grim.
Extra Points: Murray, Job Openings, Jags
There have been various reports this month centering on running back DeMarco Murray‘s apparent discontent with being a member of the Eagles. One said an “obviously upset” Murray and team owner Jeffrey Lurie had a long conversation about his lack of playing time after an upset win over New England. However, Murray’s own words this week run contrary to the idea that he’s unhappy with his role, per The Associated Press.
“I’m not worried about how many plays I am getting,” said Murray, who received just two touches in a 40-17 loss to Arizona last week. “Whenever I get in, whenever I get an opportunity, I have to make the most of it.”
Murray hasn’t made the most of his opportunities this year, amassing just 606 yards and four touchdowns through 13 games. After signing a deal worth over $40MM last offseason, Murray has averaged a mere 3.4 yards per carry in his first season in Philadelphia.
In other NFL news. . .
- There will be teams looking for new head coaches and/or general managers in the coming weeks, but a dearth of enticing replacement options could preclude some clubs from making changes, according to The Buffalo News’ Vic Carucci. Even if teams are displeased with their current situations, then, they might continue with the status quo in 2016 because the market won’t exactly be packed with slam-dunk candidates next month.
- Earlier this week, an independent hearing officer jointly hired by both the league and NFL Players Association upheld the one-game suspension given to Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. for a helmet-to-helmet in last Sunday’s loss to Carolina. The league and the union could eventually agree to handle off-field discipline the same way, reports Carucci. If so, it would remove power from commissioner Roger Goodell on violations of the league’s personal-conduct policy and give it to a neutral party.
- Last May at their rookie minicamp, the Jaguars lost first-round defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. for all of 2015 because of a torn ACL. With that in mind, they’re debating whether to even have a traditional rookie camp next spring, according to Ryan O’Halloran of Florida.com. “It’s something I’ve always thought didn’t make a lot of sense, and we’re going to take a real, long, hard look at how we approach it,” said GM Dave Caldwell.
NFC East Notes: Coughlin, Bradford
Here’s the latest from the NFC East, whose 2015 champion could be crowned tonight:
- As the end of the season draws nearer, Giants owner John Mara gets closer to having to make a decision on the future of two-time Super Bowl-winning head coach Tom Coughlin. Although the Coughlin-led Giants are on the verge of missing the playoffs for the fourth straight year, their best move might be to give him another shot with a better roster, opines Newsday’s Bob Glauber – who doesn’t believe there are obvious signs that the 69-year-old is past his prime. Glauber doesn’t see any loss of passion from Coughlin or effort issues from his players, a sign they haven’t tuned him out. If the Giants disagree and do elect to fire Coughlin, anyone they hire to replace him wouldn’t be free of warts. They’d either be choosing a first-time head coach – which could work, Glauber concedes, but it’s a risky proposition – or someone who has failed at another stop.
- In his own piece centering on Coughlin, the New York Daily News’ Ralph Vacchiano offers five reasons why the Giants won’t fire their head coach. Among those reasons: The Giants might not want to force 35-year-old Eli Manning to learn a third new offense in a four-year span, especially given the fact that he was played so well under current coordinator Ben McAdoo. Speaking of which, Mara’s ideal scenario – a source told Vacchiano – is for McAdoo to get further seasoning as an assistant and then have Coughlin pass him the head coaching reins after a more successful season.
- Eagles quarterback and free agent-to-be Sam Bradford will have a chance over the next two weeks to show he can be a big-game player, Zach Berman of Philly.com writes. Bradford will play his first meaningful late-season game since 2010 tonight when the 6-8 Eagles take on NFC East-leading Washington (7-7). If the Eagles lose, they’re eliminated from playoff contention and Washington clinches the division. That’s likely to happen if Bradford turns in a similar performance to the last time he was in a must-win game at the end of a season. In Bradford’s rookie year, the former No. 1 overall pick and ex-Ram completed just 19 of 36 passes for a paltry 155 yards and an interception in a 16-6 loss to the Seahawks. That Week 17 defeat put the Seahawks in the playoffs and sent Bradford and the Rams home for a long offseason. Bradford is excited about the chance to atone for that showing. “It’s been a long time coming. This is why you play,” he said.
AFC Notes: Pagano, Manning, Jets
A look around the AFC:
- One of the reasons for the Colts’ offensive decline this season is head coach Chuck Pagano‘s mentality, a source told Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star. Pagano prefers a run-first, ball-control attack rather than a high-flying approach – a 180 in attitude for a team that led the NFL in passing yards in 2014. With Indianapolis having been without quarterback Andrew Luck for a large chunk of the year, it’s hard to fault Pagano for shying away from the passing game. However, his ground-and-pound method hasn’t worked, as Indy is tied for 30th in both rushing yards (1,211) and per-carry average (3.6). The Colts have also been dismal through the air, coming in at 31st in yards per attempt (6.4) and 29th in rating (77.6).
- Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak took in Peyton Manning‘s workout Saturday and subsequently offered some encouraging words on his injured quarterback. “It went really well,” Kubiak said, per Mike Klis of 9News. “He had a good week, worked really hard this morning. Well, he worked every morning, but worked out really hard this morning conditioning-wise and throwing-wise.” Manning, who hasn’t played since mid-November because of a partially torn plantar fascia in his left foot, will miss the Broncos’ key game Monday against Cincinnati. There’s a small chance he could be healthy enough to play in Denver’s regular-season finale on Jan. 3. Of course, even if the 39-year-old is ready to come back by then or during the playoffs, there’s no guarantee he’ll take the starting job back from Brock Osweiler.
- The Jets will have important decisions to make over the next couple offseasons regarding three members of their dominant defensive line. Both Muhammad Wilkerson and Damon Harrison are free agents at the end of the season, and Sheldon Richardson‘s contract is up after the 2016 campaign. Don’t be surprised if all three are Jets for at least one more year, ESPN’s Rich Cimini writes. Cimini expects Wilkerson to get the franchise tag, while he believes the team could lock up Harrison to a long-term deal worth roughly $4.5MM per annum. If the Jets enable Harrison to hit the open market, he’s likely to head elsewhere. Richardson has been mentioned in the past as a trade candidate, but the Jets are unlikely to move him because of his off-field legal issues. He could start next season suspended for as many as six games, which would significantly damage his trade value and deter the Jets from dealing him.
AFC Notes: Dolphins, Steelers, Jaguars
The Dolphins will watch the playoffs from their couches for the seventh straight season largely because they’ve cycled through various underwhelming choices at head coach and quarterback during that span. Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald offers a solution for each spot: Sean Payton and Drew Brees.
Both Payton and Brees are still under contract in New Orleans beyond this season (Payton for two years, Brees for one), but there are rumblings that Payton will search for another job during the offseason. Thus, he could end up in Miami – which isn’t expected to promote interim head coach Dan Campbell. Should Payton attempt to take a position elsewhere, the Saints will expect compensation for him. If the Dolphins ends up as Payton’s next team, Salguero believes they should be willing to package as much as a first-round pick in 2016, a first-rounder in ’17, and quarterback Ryan Tannehill to ensure that the Saints put Brees in the deal with Payton.
Salguero’s proposal would make sense for the Saints, who are in cap jail and nowhere near contention. They’d get Tannehill – who has shown potential, is nine years younger than Brees (37 in January), and under team control through 2020 – and a couple of valuable draft choices to aid in a rebuild. The Dolphins would be surrendering a boatload in hopes of ending their playoff drought, but Salguero thinks owner Stephen Ross would be a proponent of such a move because Ross has tried something similar in the past. As Salguero details, Ross attempted to hire then-Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh in 2011 and wanted Harbaugh to convince his QB, Andrew Luck, to enter the draft. It didn’t work then, but Salguero sees his idea as a win-win for both Ross’ Dolphins and the Saints.
In the event Salguero’s suggestion becomes a reality, it would mean Brees finally ends up in a Dolphins uniform – something that nearly happened almost a decade ago. Instead the team traded for Daunte Culpepper, whose time in Miami was a failure. On the other hand, Brees became a Super Bowl winner and a Hall of Fame lock in New Orleans.
More from the AFC:
- The 8-5 Steelers are currently on the outside of the AFC playoff picture, but they might end up as the conference’s scariest team if they get into the postseason, Bob McManaman of the AZCentral.com opines. The Steelers are getting hot at the right time, having averaged 35 points per game and nearly 500 yards per contest over their last five, and this year’s AFC powers have looked vulnerable of late. New England has come back to earth somewhat thanks to injury issues, while Cincinnati may have lost star quarterback Andy Dalton for the season and Denver doesn’t appear to have a solution under center. All of that could open the door for the Steelers to ultimately make their first Super Bowl appearance since 2010-11.
- The concussion protocol the NFL established in 2013 is garnering positive reviews from the Steelers, who say it protects them from themselves, Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes. “If you leave it up to us, there’s never nothing wrong with us,” cornerback William Gay stated, implying that he and his fellow players will always look for an excuse to stay in a game. With the concussion protocol in place, though, that can’t happen anymore. Said fullback Will Johnson, “I have trust in their concussion protocol and that they are going to make sure that I am completely safe before they let me go out and participate. I’ve always felt comfortable. I know it is a hot topic of conversation right now, but I have never had a problem.”
- Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley‘s decision in 2013 to retain receivers coach Jerry Sullivan, a holdover from the prior staff, is paying off, according to Ryan O’Halloran of Jacksonville.com. Sullivan deserves at least some credit for helping turn a pair of second-year wideouts – Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns – into big-time threats, especially given that neither was a first-round pick. Robinson was a second-rounder, and Hurns somehow went undrafted. The two have combined for 127 catches, 1,900-plus yards and 20 touchdowns this season. “On Sundays, he’s like the voice in my head,” Robinson said of Sullivan.
Job Status of 49ers’ Jim Tomsula “Muddled”
A 24-10 loss to the lowly Browns last week has “muddled” the 2016 status of 49ers rookie head coach Jim Tomsula, according to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Eric Branch, who writes that Tomsula was a good bet to return next season prior to the Cleveland game. However, a listless showing in which the 49ers were outgained 481-221 and fell to 4-9 means Tomsula could be coaching for his job over the season’s final three weeks.
Outside of the 49ers’ horrid performance in Ohio and their lousy overall record, certain postgame comments aren’t helping Tomsula’s cause, Branch notes. Two 49ers – left tackle Joe Staley and linebacker Ahmad Brooks – said the team was too excited over its victory in Chicago the prior week and didn’t take the Browns seriously enough, which is obviously a problem for a club that shouldn’t be overlooking anyone. Moreover, opposing head coach Mike Pettine said the Browns outcoached and outplayed the Niners.
All isn’t yet lost for Tomsula, according to Branch, as the 47-year-old could retain his job if his team avoids another horrible outing down the stretch. On paper, that shouldn’t be overly difficult for the 49ers. They host playoff-bound Cincinnati on Sunday, but the 49ers have been semi-respectable at Levi’s Stadium this year (3-3, minus-14 point differential), while the Bengals will be without starting quarterback Andy Dalton. After that, San Francisco closes the season with a pair of bottom feeders – Detroit (road) and St. Louis (home).
Extra Points: Broncos, Cowboys, Draft
With quarterback Peyton Manning nearing a return from injury, the Broncos are on the brink of having to make the most important decision of their season, Troy Renck of The Denver Post offers.
The 39-year-old Manning was having a bottom-of-the-barrel season before he landed on the shelf in mid-November with a torn plantar fascia in his left foot, and his loss looked like addition by subtraction as the Brock Osweiler era got off to a solid beginning. Osweiler’s first three starts all ended up as wins for Denver, but some shine wore off two weeks ago in a 17-3 victory over a horrific San Diego team and matters worsened in a 15-12 loss to Oakland last Sunday.
Manning will be inactive for Sunday’s game against playoff-caliber Pittsburgh, but he’s likely to be healthy enough for activation by Week 16. That means Osweiler might be playing for the starting job at Heinz Field. As Renck points out, Denver’s Osweiler-led offense has gone 23 straight possessions without scoring a touchdown, which isn’t going to cut it with a prolific Steelers offense on the other side. With another underwhelming showing from Osweiler, head coach Gary Kubiak could turn back to Manning as the playoffs near.
Some other NFL news and notes:
- Tonight is potentially the end of the Matt Cassel era in Dallas. The 33-year-old has fared poorly in place of Tony Romo this season, and he’ll be on a short leash against the Jets, ESPN’s Ed Werder tweets. The Cowboys’ current No. 2 QB, Kellen Moore, got some first-team reps in practice this week and could see his first action since going undrafted out of Boise State in 2012.
- Arizona linebacker Scooby Wright capped off an injury-riddled junior year Saturday by announcing he’ll enter the 2016 draft, Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk reports. A foot injury cost Wright all but three games this season, making it a disappointing follow-up to a highly productive 2014 campaign that saw him earn All-America honors, the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year Award, the Jack Lambert Award (nation’s best linebacker), and the Chuck Bednarik Award (nation’s top defender).
- A list of the top 20 failed free agent signings from last offseason reveals predictable names – Dwayne Bowe, DeMarco Murray, Brandon Browner, among others – but also mentions lower-tier additions like Tampa’s Bruce Carter and Arizona’s Sean Weatherspoon, Alex Marvez of FoxSports.com writes. Both Carter and Weatherspoon were beaten out early for starting linebacker jobs.
Sam Robinson contributed to this report.
Extra Points: Jets, Saints, Pats, Bucs
The playoff-contending Jets (8-5) are one of the surprises of the NFL this year after finishing the 2014 campaign 4-12 and undergoing major offseason changes. As ESPN’s John Clayton writes, plenty of credit goes to first-year general manager Mike Maccagnan. The former Texans executive was at the helm of a makeover last winter and spring that saw the Jets bring in rookie head coach Todd Bowles, spend over $179MM on free agents (Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie, Buster Skrine, Marcus Gilchrist and James Carpenter being the most expensive additions), and acquire two key offensive cogs – quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and receiver Brandon Marshall – for a mere late-round pick apiece.
While Maccagnan’s methods have paid off this season, the organization is cognizant that it has plenty of long-term work to do, per Clayton. The Jets have 10 starters in their 30s, so they need to stockpile youth. In terms of finding a young, high-impact player, Maccagnan’s draft history with the Jets got off to an excellent start last spring with his inaugural selection, first-round defensive end Leonard Williams.
As far as the upcoming offseason goes, Clayton expects the Jets to give raises to Fitzpatrick and running back Chris Ivory, slap the franchise tag on D-line stalwart Muhammad Wilkerson, and free up cap space by releasing Cromartie.
Elsewhere around the league…
- As long as either Tom Benson or his wife is in charge of the Saints, Mickey Loomis is likely to remain the team’s general manager, according to Evan Woodbery of NOLA.com. Head coach Sean Payton is under contract for two more years, but his status going forward is less clear than Loomis’. Payton could look for another job in the offseason, and Woodbery doesn’t expect Loomis to stand in Payton’s way if he wants to seek work someplace else. However, Woodbery does believe the Loomis-led Saints would require significant compensation from any hypothetical team that tries to hire Payton.
- The stellar play of Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler means he’ll cash in eventually, and Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald took a look at how much the 25-year-old could make in the coming seasons. Howe thinks the Pats will give Butler a first-round tender as a restricted free agent after next season, which would cost just under $4MM. Then, as Butler pushes closer to unrestricted free agency in 2018, he could end up with a four-year deal in the $36MM range. He might not get that money in New England, though, as the club has decisions to make on a slew of important players other than Butler in the coming offseasons and won’t be able to retain all of them.
- The Buccaneers have drafted a combined one defensive player over the last two years (fourth-round linebacker Kwon Alexander last spring), but that should change in 2016, opines Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Tribune. Stroud looks for the Bucs to upgrade at cornerback and add outside pass-rushing help to a defense that ranks 28th in quarterback rating against (100.5) and has forced just one turnover over Tampa’s last four games.