Latest On Jaguars HC Gus Bradley
The Jaguars are not expected to fire head coach Gus Bradley even if the Jaguars lose to the Colts in London today, multiple team sources tell Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. However, if Jacksonville continues to struggle throughout the season, the club’s ownership could revisit the situation.
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Jaguars owner Shad Kahn has been “unfailing loyal” to both Bradley and general manager Dave Caldwell, according to La Canfora, and though several head coaches have been relieved of their duties following a sojourn to London in recent years, that doesn’t figure to be the case with Bradley. But if Jacksonville doesn’t show improvement as the campaign progresses, “drastic” moves could be on the horizon.
If Bradley were to be let go at some point, assistant head coach Doug Marrone would likely take over the top job, reports La Canfora. Marrone is the only member of the Jaguars’ coaching staff with head coaching experience, having led the Bills from 2013-2014. Jacksonville’s coordinators — Greg Olson (offense) and Todd Wash (defense) — have been limited to play-calling at the NFL level.
Bradley, 50, was hired as the Jaguars’ head coach prior to the 2013 season, and hasn’t delivered results in his three-plus years with the club. The former Seahawks defensive coordinator has posted a 12-39 record during his tenure, and is danger of starting 0-4 on the season if his club loses to the Colts today. In January, Bradley signed an extension through 2017, but the contract presumably wouldn’t dissuade Jacksonville ownership from making a change.
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Patriots Unsure Which QB Will Start Vs. Bills
The Patriots are still uncertain as to which quarterback — Jimmy Garoppolo or Jacoby Brissett — will start Sunday’s game against the Bills tomorrow, tweets Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. New England will likely wait to see how each signal-caller fares in pre-game warmups before making a final decision.
[RELATED: Patriots Tried To Trade For Terrelle Pryor In 2015]
Garoppolo suffered a sprained AC joint in his throwing shoulder in the Patriots’ 31-24 win over Miami in Week 2. After Garoppolo was taken out by Kiko Alonso‘s hit, Brissett was put into game for the first time in his NFL career. The third-round rookie got the job done, completing 6-of-9 passes as he guided New England the rest of the way, and then led the Patriots to a 27-0 victory over the Texans in Week 3. Brissett, however, suffered a thumb injury in the rout and is questionable for tomorrow’s AFC East matchup.
Before succumbing to his injury, the 24-year-old Garoppolo had been excellent, completing 42-of-60 passes for 498 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions in wins over the Cardinals and Dolphins. At least one report suggested that the Patriots were pressuring Garoppolo to quickly return to the field — despite the fact that he reportedly couldn’t lift his arm — and he’d presumably get the start against Buffalo if healthy. Tom Brady, of course, will return in Week 5 to start against the Browns.
New England has not made any plans to sign a free agent quarterback, suggesting that the club is confident that at least one of Garoppolo or Brissett will be able to go Sunday. T.J. Yates, formerly of the Texans and Falcons, has been called the Patriots’ “free agent of choice” if they had decided to bring in an outside option.
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Patriots Tried To Trade For Terrelle Pryor In ’15
The Patriots attempted to trade for wide receiver Terrelle Pryor last summer, according to Doug Kyed of NESN (Twitter links). However, the Browns turned down New England’s offer, and a deal never came to fruition, per Kyed.
[RELATED: Terrelle Pryor Wants Extension From Browns]
Pryor was eventually released by the Browns that fall, and ended up taking a visit the Patriots, but didn’t sign. “I really thought I was going to be a Patriot,” Pryor told Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. “I know Bill Belichick really liked me. I had a great workout for them and everything went really well. I really thought he was going to sign me.”
After re-signing with the Cleveland at tail of end of the 2015 campaign, Pryor has grown into a force through the first three games of this season, acting been a bright spot for the winless Browns. He’s amassed 14 catches for 244 yards while occasionally factoring in as a rusher and passer. The 27-year-old is coming off a career-best showing, one in which he caught eight balls for 144 yards, ran four times for 21 yards and a touchdown, and completed 3-of-5 passes for 35 yards in a 30-24 loss to Miami.
Former Patriots executive Michael Lombardi — who also worked for the Browns at one point — discussed the failure of New England to sign Pryor on the Bill Simmons Podcast. “We blew it,” Lombardi said. “The league often gives you a chance to be great and if you don’t talk advantage of it, it’s your own fault and that was one of those times we didn’t take advantage of it in New England, clearly. It was all right there in front of us and we didn’t make the right decision at that point, but that’s life. You move on.”
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NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/1/16
Today’s practice squad moves:
Cincinnati Bengals
Signed: LB Trevor Roach (Twitter link via Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer)- Cut: Darius Hillary
New England Patriots
- Signed: FB Glenn Gronkowski (story)
- Cut: WR Da’Ron Brown
Panthers Promote DE Larry Webster
The Panthers have promoted defensive end Larry Webster in advance of Sunday’s game against the Falcons, according to Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link). Carolina opened up a roster spot by waiving wide receiver Brenton Bersin earlier today.
[RELATED: Panthers Sign Michael Griffin, Kyle Love]
Webster will act as a safety net for a Panthers defensive line that is already banged up just three games into the season. Veteran defensive end Charles Johnson is dealing with a quad injury and is questionable for Sunday’s contest after not practicing on Friday. Rookie defensive tackle Vernon Butler, meanwhile, has already been ruled out with an ankle ailment. Carolina, in turn, re-signed DT Kyle Love as insurance earlier this week.
Webster, 26, was a fourth-round pick of the Lions in 2014. He spent the first two seasons of his career with Detroit — on both the active and practice roster — but never saw a regular season snap. The Panthers snatched him up via a futures deal this winter.
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Patriots Sign Glenn Gronkowski To Taxi Squad
The Patriots have added another member of the Gronkowski family to their organization, as they’ve agreed to sign fullback Glenn Gronkowski to their practice squad, reports Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Glenn, of course, is the younger brother of New England tight end Rob Gronkowski.
[RELATED: Patriots Sign Greg Scruggs, Cut John Hughes]
The younger Gronkowski signed with the AFC East rival Bills this year as an undrafted free agent from Kansas State and cracked their Week 1 roster, but the team cut him after its opening loss to the Ravens. Gronkowski auditioned for the Patriots in mid-September, and the club has now decided to add him to their taxi squad.
In order to create a practice squad roster spot for Gronkowski, the Patriots have cut wide receiver Da’Ron Brown, according to Doug Kyed of NESN (Twitter link). New England had just signed Brown earlier this week.
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Giants To Work Out Safety Shamiel Gary
Greatly in need of safety depth, the Giants plan to work out free agent Shamiel Gary on Sunday, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (Twitter link). Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported earlier today that New York will also take a look at veteran Donte Whitner this weekend.
[RELATED: Giants Re-Sign Michael Hunter]
Gary, 26, was an undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma State in 2014. He’s spent time with several clubs, with the Patriots and Bears among them, but his only regular season action came in 2015, when he appeared in six games for the Dolphins. Miami waived Gary at final cutdowns earlier this month, at which point he signed on with the Vikings’ practice squad. Minnesota then waived him two weeks ago.
Incumbent Giants safeties Nat Berhe (concussion) and Darian Thompson (concussion) are both unlikely to play on Monday night, and Leon Hall — who could shift to safety in a pinch — will be needed at corner given the injuries to Eli Apple and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. As Rapoport notes, New York is so banged up at safety that it’s been forced to use offensive players in the secondary during practice.
Gary also has two other workout sessions planned for next week, per Garafolo.
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Minor NFL Transactions: 9/30/16
Today’s minor moves:
- The Dolphins announced that they’ve waived guard Jamil Douglas. Miami had promoted Douglas from its practice squad before last night’s game against the Bengals, but he’s already off the roster again. Douglas, 24, appeared in all 16 games (six starts) last year, his rookie campaign. If he clears waivers, it’s entirely possible that Douglas is moved to the Dolphins’ taxi squad.
- The Panthers waived wide receiver Kevin Norwood off injured reserve, according to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (Twitter links). Norwood, a 2014 fourth-round pick of the Seahawks, was last year dealt to Carolina for a conditional 2017 seventh-round pick. Seattle will still receive the draft choice in return even though Norwood is no longer on the roster, per Condotta.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/30/16
We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad transactions here:
Detroit Lions
- Signed: CB D’Joun Smith
- Cut: TE Brian Leonhardt
Lions Work Out Jonas Gray, Daniel Thomas
The Lions are thin at running back after placing Ameer Abdullah on injured reserve last week, so they’re taking a look at free agents that are available on the open market. Detroit worked out Jonas Gray, Daniel Thomas, and Mike James, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link). 
[RELATED: Lions Place Ameer Abdullah On IR]
Gray, 26, 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. Gray has also spent time with the Dolphins and, most recently, the Jaguars.
In four seasons with Miami, Thomas ran for 1,480 yards off of 409 attempts, good for just 3.6 yards per carry. In 2014, he saw time in 12 games, rushing for 168 yards off of 44 carries, and proceeded to sign with the Bears, but didn’t make the final roster. The 28-year-old Thomas was out of the league entirely in 2015 as he made the rounds on the workout circuit, but had a brief second stint with the Dolphins before being cut earlier this month.
Jame, like Gray, has one notable game under his belt, a 2013 contest against the Seahawks where he ran for 158 yards on 28 carries as a member of the Buccaneers. Those yards, however, represent nearly half of his career total, and James hasn’t been a key contributor since. After spending the 2015 campaign on Tampa’s practice squad, he was waived with an injury settlement earlier this month.
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