HEADLINES

Author: Dallas Robinson

Colts WR Reece Fountain Fractures Ankle

August 15th, 2019 at 5:10pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Colts wideout Reece Fountain suffered a dislocated and fractured ankle during practice today, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Fountain will likely undergo immediate surgery and should be expected to miss the 2019 season.

A fifth-round pick in 2018, Fountain didn’t make it through final cutdowns and was waived just prior to the start of the regular season. The Northern Iowa product was promoted to the Colts’ active roster in December, but played only six total snaps (three offense, three special teams) and didn’t record any statistics.

Fountain was far from a lock to make Indianapolis’ roster this season, as the club boasts receving options such as T.Y. Hilton, Devin Funchess, Parris Campbell, Chester Rogers, and Deon Cain. The 23-year-old Fountain will likely be placed on injured reserve, but could compete for a role in 2020.

NFC East Notes: Redskins, Cowboys, Giants

August 14th, 2019 at 9:37pm CST by Dallas Robinson

It’s unclear if Colt McCoy ever had a realistic chance to serve as the Redskins‘ starting quarterback in 2019, but his continued recovery from a broken leg has deprived him of even getting the opportunity. McCoy won’t play in Washington’s second preseason game after experiencing leg soreness, head coach Jay Gruden told reporters (link via Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk). Additionally, McCoy has no timeline for a possible return, meaning he’s certainly a candidate to miss regular season time. Trade acquisition Case Keenum looks like the favorite to start for the Redskins, with 2019 first-round pick Dwayne Haskins likely to act as Keenum’s backup, at least to open the year.

Here’s more from the NFC East:

NFC East

  • The Cowboys have a quandary on their hands: how to pay Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, and Amari Cooper? Prescott, for his part, is reportedly targeting Russell Wilson‘s $35MM yearly salary, but none of Dallas’ trifecta has set a deadline for negotiations with the club’s front office. Vice president of player personnel Will McClay admits fitting all three on the Cowboys’ books could prove difficult, but says the club is in a good position. “It makes it challenging, but it’s a good challenge because we follow the recipe that we’ve used to get these young players,” McClay told Jon Machota of The Athletic. “Now we have to figure out if we can pay them because they are good enough. It’s just to keep that thing going and trying to find young talent.”
  • After getting handed a four-game suspension for taking what he claims were fertility drugs, Giants wideout Golden Tate is considering a lawsuit against the doctor who originally prescribed the drugs, as Williams writes in a separate piece. Tate, who self-reported his violation after realizing the active ingredient in the medication was on the NFL’s banned substance list, will lose salary and signing bonus, while his 2020 guarantees are also expected to void. The veteran pass-catcher appealed his ban but was formally denied earlier this week.
  • Tate will be forced to give back some of his salary and signing bonus as a result of his suspension, and the annual average of his contract will be reduced commensurately. While that reduction could theoretically affect the compensatory pick the Eagles will receive in exchange for losing Tate as a free agent, Jimmy Kempski of the Philly Voice explains while Philadelphia is unlikely to be altered.

Packers LB Oren Burks Won’t Require Surgery

August 14th, 2019 at 8:30pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Good news in Green Bay. Packers linebacker Oren Burks won’t require surgery after suffering a pectoral injury last weekend and could potentially return during the 2019 season, according to Tom Silverstein and Ryan Wood of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Burks originally thought he’d be forced to undergo an operation after injuring his pectoral during Green Bay’s first preseason game, but a second opinion revealed the issue is less serious than the initial diagnosis suggested. However, Burks did hyperextend his pectoral muscle, meaning he’s now waiting for a soft tissue injury to heal.

“I’m really hoping that Oren’s thing is going to be short term,” Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said. “We’ll get him back here quicker than I think, but right now, I’d just kind of like to get through this next game and kind of see where we’re at, see where Oren’s at.”

Gutenkunst didn’t provide a timeline for Burks’ recovery, but did indicate Green Bay won’t look into signing a free agent replacement. Instead, the Packers are giving undrafted rookie free agent Curtis Bolton a chance to replace Burks as the club’s weakside linebacker.

Burks, a third-round pick in 2018, appeared in 14 games during his rookie season but spent most of his time on special teams. He was expected to take over as a starting linebacker for the Packers this year, but as Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com recently noted, that “starting” job could essentially be a part-time role given defensive coordinator Mike Pettine‘s for “big nickel” and dime looks that employ a third or fourth defensive back at the expense of a linebacker.

Biggest Roster Weakness: AFC East

August 14th, 2019 at 7:54pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The 2019 regular season is right around the corner, but every NFL team still has at least one position on its roster that could use improvement. And there’s still plenty of time to address those areas of need! Free agents are readily available on the open market, while preseason trades provide another avenue of player procurement. 19 NFL trades were executed between August 1st and September 1st of 2018, and that number could increase this year.

Let’s take a look at the weakest positional group — and a potential solution — for each NFL club, starting with the AFC East:

Buffalo Bills

  • Weakness: No. 2 cornerback. 2018 undrafted free agent Levi Wallace was a success story during his rookie campaign, grading out as Pro Football Focus‘ fourth overall cornerback. That ranking comes with a small sample size caveat, however, as Wallace played only 218 coverage snaps, 112th among all NFL corners. Buffalo’s No. 2 cornerback job behind Tre’Davious White is reportedly Wallace’s to lose, according to Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic, but the Bills could be well-served to add depth.
  • Solution: Hope Wallace continues to produce, or sign Coty Sensabaugh. If the Bills want to bring in a veteran corner, Sensabaugh is probably the best available option on the market. In 10 starts for the Steelers in 2018, the 30-year-old defensive back ranked ninth among qualified corners in yards allowed per pass and 26th with a 56% success rate (meaning he was effective at stopping opposing wide receivers short of the sticks), per Football Outsiders’ charting data. Sensabaugh met with the Saints earlier this year but should come cheap.

Miami Dolphins

  • Weakness: Right side of the offensive line. Essentially any position along the Dolphins’ offensive line could stand to be improved, save for left tackle where former first-rounder Laremy Tunsil is entrenched. But right guard and right tackle are the true problem areas, with some combination of Jesse Davis, Jordan Mills, and Will Holden projected to take starting roles. Miami will have a tough time evaluating the long-term future of quarterback Josh Rosen if he’s getting destroyed on every play (see Cardinals, Arizona – 2018).
  • Solution: Sign Brandon Fusco or Jermey Parnell. Now 30 years old, Fusco missed the final nine games of the 2018 campaign with an ankle injury, but he’d been relatively healthy in the three seasons prior and appeared in 46 of a possible 48 contests. Parnell, meanwhile, is a prototypical road-grading right tackle who would give the Dolphins a veteran presence. While the Jaguars and Parnell ran behind right tackle at a league-low 4.6% clip last season, they generated 5.22 adjusted line yards when doing so, the third-highest figure in the NFL, per Football Outsiders.

New England Patriots

  • Weakness: Tight end. Losing arguably the greatest tight end of all time will hurt, won’t it? After Rob Gronkowski decided to hang up his cleats, the Patriots have used half-measures to attempt to mitigate his loss. New England signed veterans Ben Watson and Lance Kendricks to one-year deals, but Watson is suspended for the first four games of the 2019 campaign and Kendricks has only topped 40 receptions twice in his eight-year career. Fellow free agent addition Matt LaCosse doesn’t have much of a track record and is currently hindered by a high-ankle sprain, and trade acquisition Eric Saubert is primarily a blocker and special-teamer.
  • Solution: Trade a conditional fourth-round pick for Cameron Brate. New Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians will likely use a good deal of “11” personnel — one running back, one tight end, three wide receivers — during his first season in Tampa Bay, lessening the need for Brate behind starting tight end O.J. Howard. Brate, who would instantly become the top tight end on the Patriots’ roster, is due a fully guaranteed salary of $7MM in 2019. After this season, however, New England would hold options on Brate in each of the next four years. From 2016-17, Brate averaged 53 receptions, 625 yards, and seven touchdowns per season with the Bucs.

New York Jets

  • Weakness: Edge rusher. After ranking in the bottom-half of the league in both sacks and pressure rate in 2019, the Jets attempted to bolster their pass-rushing unit by signing Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr. New York originally agreed to a deal that would have paid Barr more than $14MM annually, but the former first-round pick backed out of the deal in order to remain in Minnesota. Aside from spending a third-round pick on lottery ticket Jachai Polite, the Jets haven’t done anything to address their pass rush, leaving Brandon Copeland and Jordan Jenkins as the club’s top options on the edge.
  • Solution: Trade a late-round pick for Shane Ray (Ravens) or Haason Reddick (Cardinals). Ray is in danger of not making Baltimore’s 53-man roster, so the Jets could potentially get him for next to nothing. The 23rd overall selection in the 2015 draft, Ray posted his best campaign during his sophomore season, registering eight sacks and finishing as a top-40 edge defender with 45 pressures, but hasn’t been able to stay healthy recently. Reddick is playing under his third coordinator in three years and doesn’t have any ties to Arizona’s current coaching staff.

Andrew Luck’s Week 1 Availability “Really In Question”

August 14th, 2019 at 6:54pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Colts head coach Frank Reich prefers to make a decision on his Week 1 starting quarterback following his club’s third preseason game, and it may not be Andrew Luck who’s under center. Unless Luck makes a “miraculous recovery,” backup Jacoby Brissett us likely to start for Indianapolis in its season opener, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (Twitter link).

Additionally, Garafolo reports the Colts “finally” feel as though they have a handle on the exact nature of Luck’s injury. Rather than just a calf or just an ankle issue, it seems as though Luck is dealing with an ailment that’s been caused by “accumulation over time.” What exactly that means for his recovery is unclear, but Indianapolis is now confident it can help its star quarterback heal.

Luck originally underwent an MRI on his calf in March that revealed a strain, but began to experience ankle trouble in May. Another test Monday revealed Luck could be dealing with some sort of high-ankle issue, though it’s not evident if he’s been diagnosed with a dreaded high-ankle sprain. At the moment, it doesn’t appear Luck is experiencing any Achilles trouble.

Luck won’t play during the preseason, and his absence will give Brissett even more time to prepare for the regular season. Brissett, of course, was the Colts’ full-time starter in 2017 when Luck st out the year with a shoulder injury. In 15 starts, Brissett completed 58.8% of his passes for 3,098 yards, 13 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. Among the 29 quarterbacks with at least 300 attempts that season, Brissett finished 22nd in adjusted net yards per attempt.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/8/19

August 8th, 2019 at 4:10pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s minor moves:

Chicago Bears

  • Signed: WR Joe Walker
  • Waived/injured: DB Josh Simmons

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Green Bay Packers

Kansas City Chiefs

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Signed: CB Trevon Mathis
  • Waived/injured: RB Ralph Webb

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Signed: OL Salesi Uhatafe
  • Placed on injured reserve: S D’Cota Dixon

NFL Suspends Cowboys DE Robert Quinn

August 8th, 2019 at 2:59pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The NFL has suspended Cowboys defensive end Robert Quinn two games for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com.

In statement on Twitter, Quinn’s agent explains the Dallas defender believes his seizure prevention medication was contaminated with a substance called probenecid, which the NFL classifies as a masking agent under its drug policy. Quinn failed his test on April 2nd, and embarked on an investigation to find out how the substance was in his system.

His team claims Quinn’s pharmacy filled a prescription for probenecid prior to filling Quinn’s prescription, which may have resulted in the contamination. Additionally, Quinn argues that his levels of probenecid would have been much higher had he actually been using the substance as a masking agent.

Quinn has already lost his appeal of the ban, so he’ll be out for the first two games of the regular season. The NFL has historically taken a hard approach on drug suspensions, and successful appeals are rare. Recently, Giants wideout Golden Tate appealed his upcoming suspension by arguing that was he taking fertility drugs, but the leagues’s policy is considered “unforgiving” and “rigid.”

Quinn, for his part, recently underwent surgery to repair two fractures in his hand, but was expected to be back in time for the season opener, according to David Moore of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). Now, he’ll get two additional weeks for his hand to heal, but Dallas will have to rely on other defensive ends — such as Taco Charlton and Tyrone Crawford — to rush the passer opposite DeMarcus Lawrence.

The Cowboys acquired Quinn from the Dolphins in March in exchange for a 2020 sixth-round pick. Quinn agreed to lower his salary under the terms of the deal, reducing his compensation from $11.1MM to $8MM. While he finished with only 6.5 sacks in 2018, Quinn tied for 20th among defensive ends with 24 quarterback hits. Pro Football Focus, meanwhile, assigned Quinn the 19th-highest pass-rush grade among 103 qualifying DEs.

49ers CB Jason Verrett To Miss Preseason

August 8th, 2019 at 2:33pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Rookie defensive end Nick Bosa isn’t the only 49er who will miss the 2019 preseason slate. San Francisco cornerback Jason Verrett will also miss this year’s exhibition season with an ankle injury, head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters, including Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Shanahan indicated Verrett is dealing with an injury that’s similar to Bosa’s ankle issue. Earlier today, 49ers general manager John Lynch said that while Bosa doesn’t have a high ankle sprain, his injury does have “elements” of a high ankle sprain. Like Bosa, Verrett will sit out the preseason and then be re-evaluated before the regular season gets underway.

Verrett’s injury, of course, is especially concerning given the 28-year-old’s lengthy history of health questions. He’s only played in five total games over the past three seasons, with various injuries — including a torn ACL and a ruptured Achilles — ending his campaigns. Injuries have been such a detriment to Verrett’s career that he actually considered retiring before landing a one-year, $3MM deal with the 49ers this offseason.

Meanwhile, fellow 49ers cornerback K’Waun Williams will also be absent for the preseason after undergoing a knee scope, tweets Matt Barrows of The Athletic. Williams played 615 total snaps for San Francisco in 2018 while serving as the club’s primary slot corner.

AFC North Notes: Steelers, Bengals, Browns

August 8th, 2019 at 1:49pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Steelers will use the preseason to determine their backup quarterback behind Ben Roethlisberger, but 2018 third-round pick Mason Rudolph appears to have a leg up over fellow signal-caller Josh Dobbs, as Ed Bouchette of The Athletic writes. Dobbs, a fourth-round selection in the 2017 draft, served as Pittsburgh’s No. 2 last season, but managed just 12 passing attempts in relief of Roethlisberger. Rudolph, meanwhile, only played during the 2018 preseason, completing 24-of-44 passes for 315 yards. “I had the general concepts down and our plays but there are things that you take a little deeper dive,’’ Rudolph said. “Run schemes, protections, signals. Just the no-huddle calls. Ben does such great job of ad-libbing.” As Bouchette notes, No. 3 quarterbacks rarely get significant practice reps during the regular season, so if the Steelers view Rudolph as Roethlisberger’s successor, he could use the practice snaps due a backup quarterback in order to develop this year.

Here’s more from the AFC North:

  • Another Steelers battle is taking place at wide receiver, where veteran Donte Moncrief appears to be the frontrunner for No. 2 duties behind JuJu Smith-Schuster, according to Dan Graziano of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Moncrief, who signed a two-year, $9MM deal with Pittsburgh in March, is competing against 2018 second-round pick James Washington and 2019 third-rounder Diontae Johnson for time. In his first and only season with the Jaguars in 2018, Moncrief posted 48 catches for 668 yards and three touchdowns, but ranked as a bottom-15 wideout in Football Outsiders‘ efficiency metrics. The Steelers lost the second-most air yards and sixth-most targets of any NFL team during the offseason, so there should be plenty of work to go around.
  • Bengals sixth-round rookie running back Rodney Anderson has been cleared to practice, tweets Ben Baby of ESPN.com. Once viewed as a potential early-round selection, Anderson suffered a torn ACL during his final season at Oklahoma and subsequently fell to Day 3 of the draft. In 2017, however, Anderson put up 1,161 yards on the ground and scored 18 total touchdowns. Cincinnati is set at the top of its running back depth chart with Joe Mixon and Giovani Bernard, but Anderson and fellow sixth-round rookie Trayveon Williams should make the roster as reserves.
  • After the Browns traded Kevin Zeitler to the Giants, Austin Corbett was thought to be a shoo-in to take over as Cleveland’s starting right guard. But the 2018 second-rounder may not enter the regular season as one of the Browns’ top five linemen, per Graziano (Instagram link). Corbett hasn’t had the offseason the Browns “wanted or expected him to have,” so much so that veteran Eric Kush could end up starting at right guard. Kush, 29, started seven games for the Bears in 2018 and has appeared in 33 career contests.

Chiefs To Sign CB Morris Clairborne

August 8th, 2019 at 12:04pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Chiefs have agreed to sign free agent cornerback Morris Claiborne, according to Terez A. Paylor of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

Claiborne will receive a one-year deal worth $1.5MM, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). The pact contains playtime incentives, tweets Tom Pelissero of NFL.com, and Paylor indicates (via Twitter) those incentives could be worth up $1.5MM. In total, Claiborne’s deal will have a maximum value around $3MM.

Kansas City is bringing in Claiborne with the knowledge that he’ll be unavailable for the first quarter of the regular season. Claiborne was hit with a four-game suspension earlier this month after violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.

Claiborne, 29, has a concerning injury history, as he played in only 47 of a possible 80 games during the first five years of his career. But he managed to stay healthy during his past two years on the Jets roster, appearing in 30 games and playing nearly 2,000 defensive snaps since 2017. Last season, Claiborne posted two interceptions and ranked as a top-25 corner in Football Outsiders’ success rate.

The Chiefs lost more than 1,900 cornerback snaps during the offseason via the departure of free agents Steven Nelson and Orlando Scandrick. When he returns from suspension, Clairborne should become an immediate starter alongside Kendall Fuller and Bashaud Breeland.

Despite his recent track record, Claiborne drew limited over the offseason, perhaps because teams were aware of his impending suspension. Claiborne met with the Cardinals in April, and worked out for the Vikings near the end of July.

Claiborne averaged $6MM annually on his two consecutive one-year pacts with the Jets, so he’ll be taking a step pay cut to join the Chiefs. PFR ranked Claiborne as the fourth-best available defensive free agent in mid-May, and three players listed above him — Ndamukong Suh, Tre Boston, and Shane Ray — have all since found new homes.

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