Extra Points: RGIII, Panthers, Cassel
Washington head coach Jay Gruden is confident that backup quarterback Robert Griffin III will receive medical clearance and be ready for Week 1, writes Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk.
“He’s got to see the independent neurologist one more time early this week,” said Gruden.
Gruden recently stripped the starting job from Griffin, who suffered a concussion in the preseason, and awarded it to Kirk Cousins. If healthy, it’s no lock RGIII will even be Washington’s No. 2 QB. Gruden wouldn’t commit to it when asked, according to Smith. That role could go to Colt McCoy instead, which would leave RGIII as a third-stringer.
Here’s more from around the NFL:
- Despite their shortage of viable wide receivers, the Panthers are not interested in free agent James Jones, according to Joe Person of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).
- The Texans have contemplated adding another quarterback in the wake of third-stringer Tom Savage‘s season-ending shoulder injury. But they have no interest in free agent Matt Cassel, whom Buffalo cut on Saturday (Twitter link via John McClain of the Houston Chronicle).
- Speaking of the Texans, one of their ex-players, wideout Damaris Johnson, will work out for the AFC South rival Titans, reports ESPN’s Adam Caplan (via Twitter). The three-year veteran played in all 16 games last season and totaled career bests in receptions (31), yards (350) and touchdowns (one).
- The Titans will work out linebacker Diaheem Watkins on Tuesday, according to agent Jeff Jankovich (via Twitter). Watkins, an undrafted rookie out of UAB, was a victim of Philly’s roster cuts Saturday.
- Rookie cornerback Justin Coleman, whom the Patriots signed Friday, also had interest from other teams, tweets Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald. He worked out for the Seahawks on Wednesday, which came after Minnesota cut him a week ago.
Colts Waive/Injured Dan Herron
The Colts have waived/injured running back Dan Herron, reports Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star (Twitter link).
Herron, who was competing for a role as one of Frank Gore‘s backups, injured his shoulder during Indy’s preseason finale against Cincinnati on Thursday, though the severity of the ailment isn’t currently known. The 26-year-old was a sixth-round pick of the Bengals in 2012 and spent the last two years with the Colts, appearing in 22 games. He played in all 16 of the Colts’ regular-season contests in 2014 and rushed for 351 yards and a touchdown, adding 21 catches.
With Herron gone, it’s expected Josh Robinson will be Gore’s primary backup.
Colts To Place Arthur Jones On IR
SATURDAY, 9:13am: The Colts will place Jones on season-ending injured reserve today, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
FRIDAY, 6:00pm: Colts defensive lineman Arthur Jones underwent ankle surgery to repair torn ligaments Friday and, as a result, will likely miss the entire 2015 season, tweets Jason Cole of Bleacher Report.
Jones’ short career with the Colts hasn’t gone according to plan. He was a disappointment in 2014 – his first season with the team – after signing a five-year, $33MM deal to leave Baltimore for Indianapolis, totaling 23 tackles and 1.5 sacks in just nine games (three starts). Prior to hurting his ankle last month, the fifth-year man was hoping for a bounce-back campaign. So were the Colts, who eschewed signing a big-time D-tackle or using a high-round draft pick on one this past offseason largely because of Jones’ presence, per Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star (Twitter link).
Given his less-than-stellar tenure with the Colts, one wonders if Jones is long for the organization. In 2016, he’ll count $5.6MM against the Colts’ cap, with that number jumping up to $7.35MM for 2017 and 2018. If the club isn’t confident he can stay on the field going forward, Jones could be released in ’16 with just $3.3MM in dead money left on Indianapolis’ cap.
Seahawks To Waive Robert Turbin
The Seahawks are waiving running back Robert Turbin with an injury designation, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
Turbin – who is dealing with a high ankle sprain – is expected to miss roughly five weeks, so it’s not a shoo-in he’ll be claimed by another team. Under NFL rules, a waived/injured player is free to be claimed by other teams for 24 hours. If no one bites within that period, the player reverts to his team’s IR list.
The Turbin decision comes on the heels of the Seahawks’ addition of fellow running back Fred Jackson, who is expected to be the primary reserve behind starter Marshawn Lynch. It also comes in the wake of a Friday evening report by Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com that the Seahawks have been exploring trading another backup runner, Christine Michael (Twitter link).
For now, though, it’s Turbin – not Michael – who’s on the negative side of the Jackson pickup. The 25-year-old Turbin was a fourth-round pick of Seattle in 2012. Since then, he’s amassed 928 yards on 231 carries (4.0 YPC), also adding 43 catches and two receiving touchdowns.
Extra Points: Brady, Orton, Seahawks
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady issued a Facebook statement Friday in response to Judge Richard Berman’s decision on Thursday to overturn the four-game suspension the NFL handed him for his role in DeflateGate. Here are a couple snippets from the full statement, which can be found here (courtesy of ESPN’s Josina Anderson):
“While I am pleased to be eligible to play, I am sorry our league had to endure this. I don’t think it has been good for our sport – to a large degree, we have all lost.”
“I love the NFL. It is a privilege to be a member of the NFL community and I will always try to do my best in representing my team and the league in a way that would make all members of this community proud.”
More from around the league as Saturday’s 53-man roster deadline draws closer:
- Multiple teams – including the Jets – reached out to retired quarterback Kyle Orton this summer about a possible comeback, but he spurned their advances. Orton told Chris Trapasso of NFL.com that retirement had been on his mind for the past couple seasons, so he finally walked away from the game for good (Twitter link). Buffalo coaxed Orton out of a brief retirement last year and he proceeded to throw 18 touchdowns against 10 interceptions, giving him 101 and 69, respectively, for his career. The former fourth-round pick played for five different franchises after entering the NFL in 2005.
- With Marshawn Lynch, the newly added Fred Jackson and Robert Turbin on the Seahawks’ running back depth chart, Christine Michael could be the odd man out. The team is exploring trade options for him, reports Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link).
- The Eagles are shopping second-year cornerback Jaylen Watkins, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.
- The Texans are mulling signing another quarterback after third-stringer Tom Savage suffered a severely sprained throwing shoulder Thursday, Wilson writes. “It’s a discussion that we’re having, whether to go out and possibly get a third quarterback or maybe have a quarterback on the practice squad, something like that,” head coach Bill O’Brien said. “We haven’t made a final decision on that.”
Raiders To Release Christian Ponder
The Raiders will release quarterback Christian Ponder, according to ESPN’s Adam Caplan (Twitter link). As a result, Oakland will absorb $1.5MM in dead money this year, per Caplan (via Twitter). Ponder’s departure means Matt McGloin will serve as Derek Carr‘s primary backup.
Ponder, a first-round pick from Florida State in 2011, spent the first four years of his career as a Viking. He appeared in 38 regular-season games and made 36 starts, struggling throughout his tenure in Minnesota to live up to his draft status. The 27-year-old threw 38 touchdowns against 36 interceptions and had a sub-60 percent completion rate with the Vikings. His best season was 2012, when he threw 18 TDs and 12 picks for a playoff-bound team.
The Raiders signed Ponder to a one-year, $2.25MM deal during the offseason in the hopes that he’d replace Matt Schaub as a quality backup for Carr. However, he was outdone in the preseason by McGloin and will now look for work elsewhere.
Buccaneers’ Kenny Bell Out For Season
Buccaneers rookie wide receiver Kenny Bell will miss the 2015 season because of a hamstring injury, according to Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune (Twitter link).
Bell, a fifth-round pick from Nebraska, suffered the injury last month. At the time, Cummings wrote that Bell was impressive for the Bucs in training camp, though he was held without a catch during the preseason. Head coach Lovie Smith was unsure then if Bell had done enough to earn a roster spot.
“Have we seen enough? No, it’s not like he’s done enough right now where we can say we definitely know which direction to go,” Smith said.
Bell had a prolific college career, catching 181 passes and 21 touchdowns in four years with the Cornhuskers.
Chargers Release Austin Pettis
The Chargers have released receiver Austin Pettis, reports Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link).
Pettis, whom the Chargers signed to a futures-reserve contract in January, spent the first four seasons of his career with the Rams after they took him in the third round of the 2011 draft. He posted 107 catches and nine touchdowns in St. Louis, amassing career highs in receptions (38), yards (399) and scores (four) in 2013. He caught 12 passes in five games last year before the Rams released him in October.
Raiders Trade Sio Moore To Colts
The Raiders have traded linebacker Sio Moore to the Colts, tweets Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com. In return, the Raiders will get a sixth-round pick in 2016, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
Oakland was recently shopping Moore, who fell out of favor with head coach Jack Del Rio and his staff, per Bair. Prior to the sour turn in the relationship between him and the coaches, Moore was expected to be the Raiders’ starting weakside linebacker this season.
Moore has 26 appearances (22 starts), 140 tackles and 7.5 career sacks to his name since the Raiders used a third-round pick on him in 2013. Moore’s 2014 campaign came to an end after only 11 games because of a hip injury, though he’s healthy now and looking to build on a 90-tackle, three-sack effort. Despite his solid numbers, Pro Football Focus (subscription required) was unimpressed with Moore last year, ranking him toward the bottom (19th out of 21) among 4-3 OLBs who played at least 50 percent of snaps. He received a rather positive assessment from the site as a rookie, though, particularly against the run. Opposing ground games have been a bugbear lately for the Colts, who had the 18th-ranked run defense in 2014. They were famously gashed by the rival Patriots runners twice last season – including in a 45-7 AFC title game shellacking.
Moore will switch schemes with the Colts, who run a 3-4, so the role he’ll fill in Indianapolis is currently unclear.
Bears Release Dante Rosario, Bear Pascoe
The Bears are moving on from tight end Dante Rosario after two seasons, according to the Chicago Tribune’s Brad Briggs, who reports they’ll terminate his contract (via Twitter). They’re also parting with fellow tight end Bear Pascoe, Briggs writes.
Rosario, 30, was the second tight end on Chicago’s depth chart last season, behind Martellus Bennett. The former fifth-round pick caught 16 balls for 116 yards, but primarily served as a blocker during his 323 offensive snaps. Although his Pro Football Focus grades weren’t spectacular in 2014, Rosario has traditionally been a very solid run blocker.
The eight-year veteran has appeared in 120 games for four different teams, hauling in 116 passes and eight touchdowns.
Pascoe signed a one-year contract with the Bears this past offseason after spending 2014 in Atlanta, where he caught just two passes (one TD) in a blocking role for the Falcons. Prior to that, the 29-year-old was a Giant for five seasons. He was a sixth-round pick of the 49ers in 2009 and has totaled 40 receptions and two touchdowns in the NFL.