Broncos G Max Garcia Tears ACL
Broncos guard Max Garcia will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a torn ACL, according to Mike Klis of 9News (Twitter link).
It’s unclear exactly when Garcia tore his ACL, but it sound as though it may occurred during practice on Thursday. Per Klis, Garcia took every snap at practice yesterday, but felt discomfort in his knee afterwards. A subsequent MRI revealed the ACL injury and will now knock Garcia out for the rest of the year.
Denver’s offensive line has already been decimated by injury this year, and the loss of Garcia will only further deplete the unit. Veteran guard Ronald Leary went down with a Achilles tear in mid-October, while starting center Matt Paradis suffered a fractured fibula and ligament tears earlier this month. Per Klis, backup Billy Turner now figures to take over as the Broncos’ starting left guard, meaning Denver will now field an interior offensive line that is entirely different than its Week 1 configuration.
Garcia, 27, was a Broncos fourth-round pick in the 2015 draft. Although he started 32 consecutive games from 201-17, Garcia wasn’t a deployed as a starter this season until after Leary got hurt. Indeed, Garcia didn’t play a single offensive snap until Week 6, but has since been on the field for every play.
Garcia is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent next spring, but his market will certainly be affected by his ACL tear and subsequent recovery. He’ll join a class of free agent guards that also includes Rodger Saffold, Quinton Spain, Mark Glowinski, Ramon Foster, and Mike Iupati.
Ravens Designate RB Kenneth Dixon For Return
Ravens running back Kenneth Dixon has been designated to return from injured reserve and will practice on Friday, the club announced today.
Dixon was placed on IR in early September after suffering a knee injury in Baltimore’s season opener, but there was always an expectation that he could return. A fourth-round pick in the 2016 draft, Dixon hasn’t seen game action since his rookie campaign, as a torn meniscus kept him off the field in 2017. He was also handed a six-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, although he was able to serve that ban while on IR.
Dixon is now the second Ravens player — joining cornerback Maurice Canady — who has been designated to return from injured reserve this year. Each NFL club only gets to bring two players off IR, so other injured Ravens, such as defender Willie Henry, are now officially done for the year. Now that Dixon is back at practice, Baltimore has three weeks to decide whether to activate him to its 53-man roster, or leave him on injured reserve for the rest of the season.
If he is able to come back, Dixon — who managed 4.3 yards per carry on 88 rushes in his rookie year — would join Alex Collins, Javorius Allen, recent trade acquisition Ty Montgomery, and rookie Gus Edwards in the Ravens’ backfield.
Packers TE Jimmy Graham May Have Broken Thumb
The Packers are concerned tight end Jimmy Graham may have broken his thumb in Thursday night’s loss to the Seahawks, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Michael Silver of NFL.com first reported Green Bay feared Graham suffered a “serious” thumb issue in last night’s contest.
Graham will undergo further testing today, per Rapoport, as the Packers aren’t yet positive on the nature of his injury. While it sounds as though Graham could potentially play through the ailment (depending on the severity), that too is unclear. Additional information and a recovery timeline should be available once Graham’s thumb goes under more scrutiny.
After falling to Seattle, the Packers now have just a 14% chance of earning a postseason berth, per FiveThirtyEight.com. Those odds are probably still high enough that Graham would attempt to play through his injury if possible, but if not, Green Bay will move on to its reserve options. Backups Lance Kendricks and Marcedes Lewis boast a combined 21 seasons of NFL experience, but they haven’t contributed much this year. Kendricks has played on roughly a third of the Packers’ snaps and managed 11 receptions, while Lewis has seen 17% playtime while posting two catches.
Graham, 31, inked a three-year, $30MM contract in March that includes $11MM guaranteed. Through 10 games, he’s put up 34 receptions on 57 targets for 452 yards and two touchdowns. According to Football Outsiders’ metrics, Graham has been a below-average starter at tight end, as he ranks 22nd in both DYAR (which measures value over a replacement level player) and DVOA (which represents per-play value).
Following Specific NFL Players On PFR
As we’ve outlined before, there are a number of different ways to follow Pro Football Rumors via Facebook, Twitter, and RSS. If you don’t want to follow all the site’s updates, you can subscribe to team-specific or transaction-only Facebook, Twitter, and RSS feeds. Although we don’t have Facebook pages or Twitter feeds for specific players, it’s easy to follow all our updates on your favorite player as well.
If, for instance, you want to keep track of all the latest news and rumors on Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell as he prepares for free agency next spring, you can visit this page. If you’re interested in keeping tabs on the latest rumors involving Joey Bosa as he nears his return from injury, you can find his page right here.
In addition to dedicating pages to players, we also maintain archives for certain specific non-NFL topics. For example, all our posts relating to the XFL can be found here, while our updates on the Alliance of American Football (AAF) are here.
Every player we’ve written about has his own rumors page, and each of those players also has his own RSS feed, making it even easier to follow the latest updates. Links to RSS feeds for specific players are all located on this page. You can also find links to RSS feeds for various miscellaneous categories there. For instance, if you only want to receive one update every Sunday recapping the week’s notable headlines, you can subscribe to our Week in Review RSS feed, right here.
Extra Points: Bell, Raiders, Cowboys, Ravens
Steelers franchise-tagged running back Le’Veon Bell didn’t report earlier this week, meaning he won’t play in 2018 and will likely leave Pittsburgh next spring (the Steelers could still use the transition tender, but that wouldn’t bind Bell to Pittsburgh). Given that Bell will hit the open market, Mike Sando of ESPN.com (ESPN+ subscription required) asked NFL executives where Bell will play in 2019, and for how much. The Jets and Buccaneers are seemingly viewed as the favorites to land Bell, while clubs like the Packers and Redskins are viewed as under-the-radar candidates to add the former All-Pro. As far as price tag, execs believe Bell could ask for $16-17MM annually, but will ultimately fall in the $15MM/year range. Sando’s entire piece is well-worth a full read.
Here’s more from around the NFL:
- Veteran edge defender Tank Carradine worked out for the Cowboys today, but Dallas doesn’t have any plans to sign the free agent, reports Todd Archer of ESPN.com. The Cowboys currently have five defensive linemen on their injury report, so they could be shorthanded when they face the Falcons on Sunday. Carradine, for his part, signed with the Raiders in the spring but was cut in early October after playing limited snaps. He’s worked out for four clubs since, but the 28-year-old — who appeared in 44 games with the 49ers from 2014-17 — has yet to find a new home.
- Cowboys center Travis Frederick hasn’t played this season after being diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome near the end of training camp, but he recently regained feeling in his hands, as David Moore of the Dallas Morning News writes. Frederick still doesn’t have any feeling in his feet, and it doesn’t sound as though he’s particularly close to returning to the field, but the news is certainly noteworthy nonetheless. “I mean the fact there is some light at the end of the tunnel is definitely a positive,” said Frederick. Without Frederick available, Joe Looney has taken over at the pivot for Dallas.
- Thing aren’t going well in Oakland, where the Raiders have posted a 1-8 record under head coach Jon Gruden, and the stress of a dismal 2018 campaign seemed to boil over following Sunday’s loss to the Chargers. “I gotta get the (expletive) outta here,” one anonymous veteran said in full view of reporters, per Matt Schneidman of the Mercury News. Per Football Outsiders, the Raiders have a 54.5% chance of securing the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft and a 95% chance of receiving a top-five selection.
- Ravens cornerback Jaylen Hill has been on the physically unable to perform list all season after tearing his ACL last December, but the second-year defensive back returned to practice today, the club announced. Hill, who joins Maurice Canady as the second Baltimore cornerback to come back to practice this week, played in six games for the Ravens in 2017 after going undrafted out of Jacksonville State. Baltimore now opens a three-week window during which it must either activate Hill or leave him on PUP for the remainder of the year.
Titans TE Delanie Walker Hopes To Return This Season
Titans tight end Delanie Walker was placed on injured reserve in September after suffering a broken ankle and ligament damage in Tennessee’s first game, but the veteran pass-catcher still hopes to return from IR later this season, as he tells Erik Bacharach of the Tennessean.
“In the back of my mind, if I can get healthy earlier where I can come back and play, I’m going to do that,” Walker said. “But like I told you guys, I really don’t know. I don’t know what the time length is going to be. I feel good right now. Could I feel better when the time comes when we’re in the playoffs? Yeah. We’ll see. But right now, I’m just worried about taking it day by day just to get healthy and be able to come back next year. But if I can play this year, I will.”
Frankly, Walker doesn’t seem like a candidate to return from injured reserve, at least based on his other comments to Bacharach. Walker was using a scooter until last weekend, and is only now moving to crutch-based walking. Walker, who said he can’t flex his foot without his walking boot on, also admitted that he’ll essentially have to learn to walk again. Anyone who witnessed the video of Walker’s injury will remember the brutal nature of his break, so it seems unlikely he’ll be able to come back this season.
Walker has been incredibly productive since 2014, as he’s posted at least 60 receptions and 800 yards in every season since. Without him available, the Titans have received virtually nothing from their tight ends. Jonnu Smith has taken over as Tennessee’s starter and played on 81% of the club’s snaps, but he’s managed only 10 receptions on the year (although he has scored in each of the past two weeks).
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/15/18
Today’s practice squad updates:
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: DL Aziz Shittu
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: CB Dee Delaney
- Released: LB Richard Jarvis
New York Giants
- Signed: S Kenny Ladler
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: S J.T. Gray
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: DT Cameron Malveaux
Washington Redskins
- Signed: C Casey Dunn
- Released: RB Mack Brown
Poll: Which Non-First Place Team Could Still Win Its Division?
With 10 weeks of NFL action in the books, the playoff picture is beginning to crystallize, but there are certainly still divisions up for grabs. There are eight non-first place teams which still have at least a 10% chance to win their respective division, per FiveThirtyEight.com. That cutoff will leave out clubs like the Packers (9%) and the Colts (7%) who still theoretically could take their division, but I think it’s a good glance at where things stand.
Let’s take an overview of each club:
Tennessee Titans (49% chance to win AFC South)
According to FiveThirtyEight, the Titans actually have better odds at taking the AFC South than the Texans, who currently sit in first place in the division. It’s not a huge difference between the two clubs, as Houston has a 43% chance to win the South, but the odds are slightly in Tennessee’s favor. The Titans have looked like an entirely different team over the past three weeks: after averaging only 262 yards of offense from Weeks 1-6, Tennessee has averaged 371 yards per game over their last three contests.
Minnesota Vikings (40% chance to win NFC North)
The Vikings still have to play the division-leading Bears twice, and one of those games will come this Sunday night in a contest that could certainly help decide the NFC North winner. Minnesota could be facing an uphill battle for the rest of the year, however. While the Vikings have faced the NFL’s third-easiest schedule to this point, they’ll go against the league’s fourth-most difficult slate from here on out (per Football Outsiders).
Philadelphia Eagles (26% chance to win NFC East)
Rewind to early August when I posed the following question to PFR readers: Which 2017 first place team is likeliest to miss the postseason in 2018? The Eagles received only 3.2% of the vote, last among the eight 2017 division winners, but they now have only a one-in-four chance of taking the NFC East. It’s easy to dismiss the Redskins’ low-octane offense, but their two-game lead on Philadelphia can’t be ignored. The two teams face each twice over the rest of the season, including a regular season finale that could decide the division.
Dallas Cowboys (20% chance to win NFC East)
Like the Eagles, the Cowboys are also two games behind the Redskins, but Dallas doesn’t have the advantage of playing Washington twice more this year (having already lost to the Redskins in Week 7). The Cowboys are the second-lowest variance team in terms of DVOA through 10 weeks, but they might need some spiked weeks — especially on the offensive side of the ball — if they want to overtake the Redskins and Eagles. The wisdom of sending a first-round pick to the Raiders in exchange for Amari Cooper can be debated, but he’s certainly performed well (11 receptions, 133 yards, one touchdown) through two games in Dallas.
Carolina Panthers (15% chance to win NFC South)
The Saints look like Super Bowl favorites after taking out the previously undefeated Rams in Week 9 before demolishing the Bengals in Week 10, and they very well may be. But the Panthers are only two games behind New Orleans in the standings and still get to face the Saints twice. All that adds up to only a 15% chance of winning the NFC South, but it’s not nothing, especially if Cam Newton continues to play at something close to his 2015 MVP level.
Los Angeles Chargers (13% chance to win AFC West)
Like the Panthers, the Chargers are second in their division to a team (the Chiefs) that’s gotten a ton of publicity…but the Chargers are also one of the of the NFL’s best teams. They rank third overall in DVOA, and they’re one of only two teams — along with the Bears — that boast a top-10 DVOA unit on both sides of the ball. Melvin Gordon is on pace to post 1,840 yards from scrimmage and 19 touchdowns, and Philip Rivers is arguably posting the best season of his career, at least according to passer rating and adjusted net yards per attempt.
Cincinnati Bengals (11% chance to win AFC North)
The Bengals are reeling following a 51-14 loss to the Saints in Week 10, and they responded by making changes to their coaching staff. Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin was fired, clearing the way for head coach Marvin Lewis to take over defensive play-calling, while old friend and ex-Browns head coach Hue Jackson is now in the building, as well. Whether those changes will help fix a defense that’s on pace to allow more yards than any in NFL history is anyone’s guess, but Cincinnati will also have to make hay without star wideout A.J. Green for at least one more game.
So what do you think? Will one of these teams claim their division? Or does a team not listed here — Packers? Colts? Ravens? — have a chance to take home a crown? Vote below, and leave your thoughts in the comment section! (Link for app users).
NFC Notes: Cowboys, 49ers, Bucs, Panthers
The Cowboys don’t intend to fire head coach Jason Garrett during the season, but that doesn’t mean they won’t part ways with their head coach after the campaign is concluded, especially if Dallas doesn’t earn a postseason berth (something the team has a 26% chance to do, per FiveThirtyEight.com). Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley has already been mentioned as a potential candidate for the Cowboys if Garrett is shown the door, but owner Jerry Jones, predictably, isn’t tipping his hand on any possible contenders for the head coaching job. “That would be total drawing it out of the air,” Jones said of Riley, per Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). “Totally speculation.” Riley has also been mentioned as a target for the Browns, especially given that he coached Baker Mayfield with the Sooners.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Given how Nick Mullens has played through two starts, he’ll remain the 49ers‘ starting quarterback on an open-ended basis, head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters, including Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). Mullens, who started in place on an injured C.J. Beathard in Week 9, completed 73% of his passes and tossed three touchdowns in his first career NFL action. While he came back to Earth a bit in Week 10 (250 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions), he still nearly led San Francisco to a victory over the Giants on Monday night. In the midst of what’s become a lost season, the 49ers might be well-served to get a full look at Mullens, who went undrafted out of Southern Mississippi in 2017.
- Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David is likely to miss time with a sprained MCL, sources tell Jenna Laine of ESPN.com. While David has yet to be officially ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Giants, the nature of his injury usually dictates a two-to-four weeks absence, per Laine, meaning David could conceivably be sidelined through mid-December. Tampa Bay can ill afford another injury at the linebacker position, as the club has already placed starter Kwon Alexander and reserve Jack Cichy on injured reserve, while 2017 draft choice Kendell Beckwith is still on the non-football injury list.
- Panthers defensive tackle Dontari Poe collected a $125K bonus today by weighing in at less than 330 pounds, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Poe inked a three-year, $28MM contract with Carolina this offseason, and the deal provides the opportunity for the interior defender to collect up to $500K per season via weight bonuses. The former Chief and Falcon is playing far fewer snaps in 2018 than he has in years prior — whereas he typically played in 75%+ of his team’s snaps from 2012-16, he’s now sitting at the 50% mark with Carolina.
Returned To Practice: Foreman, Canady
With more than half of the 2018 campaign in the books, NFL clubs are beginning to activate injured players who were previously placed on various reserve lists (injured reserve, non-football injury list, physically unable to perform list, etc.). A couple of notable players who were on said lists returned to practice this week, and we’ll take a closer look at their respective situations below:
- Texans running back D’Onta Foreman returned to practice on Wednesday, head coach Bill O’Brien told reporters, including Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Foreman, 22, tore his Achilles last November and has taken a full year to recover — he began the 2018 regular season on the PUP list and has resided there ever since. A third-round pick in the 2017 draft, Foreman managed 78 attempts for 327 yards and two touchdowns in his abbreviated rookie campaign. Houston’s rushing offense currently ranks just 29th in efficiency, per Football Outsiders, and while much of those struggles can be attributed to a poor offensive line, Foreman could be part of an improvement while seeing snaps behind Lamar Miller and Alfred Blue. Now that he’s back at practice, Blue can be activate at any point during the next three weeks.
- The Ravens have designated cornerback Maurice Canady to return from injured reserve, according to Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Canady, a 2016 draft selection, has actually been placed on IR in each of his three NFL campaigns. Last season, a thigh issue — the same injury that knocked him out earlier this year — was the culprit, but Canady eventually came off IR in November. Baltimore, of course, already has top-end talent at cornerback, with Jimmy Smith, Marlon Humphrey, Brandon Carr, and Tavon Young seeing most of the snaps in the Ravens’ secondary, but Canady could see special teams action if he comes back. Like Foreman, Canady’s return to practice opens a three-week window during which Baltimore must either place him on its 53-man roster or leave him on IR for the rest of the year.