Broncos Rule Out RB Melvin Gordon
After not participating in practice this week, running back Melvin Gordon has been downgraded to out on the injury report for this Sunday’s primetime game in Kansas City. The wear and tear of the season seems to be taking its toll on Gordon as we approach Week 13 of the NFL season.
In last week’s win over the Chargers, Gordon left the game early after injuring his hip. He returned and finished the game rushing 17 times for 83 yards. Denver wasted no time in addressing Gordon’s injury, holding him out of practice to help him recover. Over the course of the week, though, it became apparent that Gordon’s hip injury, partnered with a shoulder injury, was going to take a little more time to heal.
The Broncos will not be without help in the running game, as rookie second-round pick Javonte Williams is set to make his first career start. The North Carolina product has been essentially splitting carries with Gordon all year, carrying the ball 117 times to Gordon’s 135. He’s been about as productive with the opportunities he’s received as the seven-year veteran, as well, racking up 568 yards to Gordon’s 605 yards.
Williams’ success as a rookie gives Denver the flexibility to allow Gordon a week’s rest. They’ll try to get Gordon as healthy as possible as they prepare for a crucial last few weeks in the regular season. They sit one game back of the 1st place Chiefs and boast the same record as the Chargers and Raiders with four divisional games remaining on the schedule.
RB Trey Sermon Placed On IR
The 49ers will be without rookie running back Trey Sermon for at least the next three weeks. Sermon was knocked out of San Francisco’s win over the Vikings after suffering an ankle injury. After Sermon was carted off of the field, head coach Kyle Shanahan said he had suffered a bad ankle sprain.
Since being drafted in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft, Sermon has spent much of his rookie season as a special teams player. Early in the season, as San Francisco experienced injuries to it’s top three projected running backs – Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson, and Elijah Mitchell – Sermon was called upon to carry the load. As soon as Mitchell was available again, Sermon was relegated back to a mostly special teams role.
Sermon’s absence is just latest of a litany of injuries in their running back room as they’ve seen Mostert, Wilson, Mitchell, Sermon, and Jamycal Hasty all miss time this year. San Francisco will hope that the severity of Sermon’s condition is limited and that he will be able to return after three games. If so, Sermon will rejoin a roster slowly starting to get healthy as they make a push for playoff contention.
Lions Place OLB Trey Flowers On IR
Linebacker Trey Flowers‘ season has come to an end. The Lions’ pass rusher has been unable to stay on the field all year, missing four out of eleven games this season.
Flowers joined the Lions in 2019 after signing a substantial five-year deal worth $90MM. Flowers had racked up 21.0 sacks and 25 tackles for loss in three full seasons with the Patriots after missing all but one game of his rookie season. Flowers showed the production his contract promised in his first year with Detroit tallying 7.0 sacks and 8 tackles for loss. His injury troubles would begin the following year, though, as he only played in 7 games, a total he was only able to match and not surpass this season.
The Lions will now have to consider what the future holds for Flowers in Detroit. Flowers holds a cap hit in the 2022 season of $23.24MM, with about $12.85MM being potential dead money. It’s hard to say the Lions have been able to move on without Flowers this season. Despite Flowers’ limited production only resulting in 1.5 sacks this year, that total is still good for fourth on the team.
Still, the Lions may decide that the risk of losing Flowers to injury may not outweigh the significant cap space he’ll take up. For now, shutting him down allows Flowers a chance to get healthy as the Lions take time to determine his value.
Raiders Extend FB Sutton Smith
The Raiders have signed fullback Sutton Smith to a new two-year deal about two weeks after adding him to the practice squad. The news was announced by Smith’s sports agency on Twitter.
After being drafted in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Steelers as a pass rusher, Smith failed to make the 53-man roster to start the season. Smith joined the Jaguars practice squad in October of that season, but was released a week later. He had two more short stints on Pittsburgh’s practice squad in November before spending the rest of his rookie season on the Seahawks’ practice squad. Seattle signed Smith to a reserve/future contract at the end of the 2019 season, but waived him in the offseason.
After failing to catch on with any teams in the 2020 season, Smith abandoned the position that earned him second-team All-American honors at Northern Illinois, signing with the Saints in the 2021 offseason as a fullback. Once again, Smith fell victim to roster cuts as the Saints trimmed their active roster down to 53.
The Raiders signed Smith to their practice squad after starting fullback Alec Ingold suffered a torn ACL in a Week 10 loss to the Chiefs. Vegas activated Smith to the active roster to appear in his first NFL game against the Bengals the next week. Through two games, Smith has spent most of his time on the field as a special teamer, but does have 6 snaps on the offensive side of the ball. Vegas’s contract offer shows faith in his abilities to fill in as Ingold embarks on the long-term recovery from his knee injury with the added bonus of a sure-tackling special teamer with defensive experience.
Ravens Waive T Cedric Ogbuehi
After a little over a month in Baltimore, offensive lineman Cedric Ogbuehi‘s time as a Raven has come to an end. After being ruled out of the Ravens’ upcoming game in Pittsburgh with a thigh injury, the Ravens decided to waive the former first rounder, as reported by Jamison Hensley of ESPN.
The seven-year veteran was signed on October 27, one day after being released by the Seahawks, as a bit of insurance following the Ravens placement of their star blindside blocker, Ronnie Stanley, on the IR. After losing Stanley, Baltimore was relying on long-time Steeler Alejandro Villanueva at left tackle and utility-offensive lineman Patrick Mekari, who has started games at every position on the offensive line in his three years of professional football, at right tackle. The Ravens never needed to resort to Ogbuehi at tackle as the only game time he saw in Baltimore was on special teams.
For any teams looking for depth on the offensive line, Ogbuehi presents an intriguing option, provided he can get healthy, with a good amount of starting experience (30 starts out of 60 games played), with his most recent start coming in Week 4 of this season for Seattle.
Lastest On Saints’ QB Taysom Hill
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (tweet), Saints’ quarterback Taysom Hill will attempt to play through the injury he suffered after a hit to the middle finger on his throwing hand in Thursday night’s game against the Cowboys.
Confirming what many in the Saints’ organization thought, doctors for the Saints determined that Hill had indeed suffered a mallet finger. While this is the same injury that forced Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson to have surgery and miss 3 games in October, Hill’s injury is not as extensive. ESPN’s Stephania Bell was quoted saying that given the isolation of the one injury to the one finger, it was viable for Hill to play without surgery.
Bell continued, “My expectation is that we will see them customize a splint…that is open on the undersurface so he can feel and grip the ball. Then when he’s not playing, he’ll probably be in a sturdier splint.”
As long as he’s able to reach close to full strength with a couple extra days between games, there’s a good chance Hill continues to start when the Saints travel to East Rutherford to play the Jets in Week 14.
Free Agent Stock Watch: Chiefs S Tyrann Mathieu
He’s been here before and has seen his value fluctuate rather broadly over the course of his nine-year career. Tyrann Mathieu hopes he’ll cash in on the high end on this go round as he tries to steady a Kansas City defense that has struggled early in the season. 
The former LSU Tiger was drafted in the third round by the Cardinals in 2013. He was solid through his first couple of pro seasons, but he truly broke out in his Year 3 with five interceptions and 17 passes defensed en route to first-team All-Pro honors. Despite the ACL tear that capped his 2015, the Cardinals rewarded the rangy safety with an eye-popping five-year, $62.5MM extension just before the start of ’16.
His first foray into free agency came in 2018, when he refused to take a pay cut. Three days later, the Texans took a flier on Mathieu with a one-year, $7MM deal. The next year, he moved on to the Chiefs, who furnished him with a three-year, $42MM contract. Rejuvenated in KC, he went on to capture a Super Bowl ring and nab ten interceptions over the next two years.
Now Mathieu sits in a contract year once again. He’s seen his value fluctuate from a rookie deal to $12.5MM per annum to $7MM all the way to to his current contract, valuing him at $14MM per year.
He’s had a good a year so far — two picks, one pick-six, five passes defensed, and a sack for good measure. Still, he’ll need a bigger second half in order to land the kind of deal that he wants. Fortunately, there’s still plenty of time to pad the highlight reel and ample opportunity as the Chiefs make their playoff push.
Mathieu is unlikely to top Jamal Adams ($17.5MM per year), but there’s reason to believe that he could approach Harrison Smith‘s deal ($16MM per year). After all, Smith inked his four-year re-up in his age 32 season. Mathieu, meanwhile, won’t turn 30 until May.
While Mathieu does have a bit of an injury history, he’s got plenty of gas left in the tank and an All-Pro skillset to offset any concerns. As long as he keeps his foot on the pedal, Mathieu should still be able to command top dollar for his services this spring.
Latest on 49ers’ Deebo Samuel
In yesterday’s win over the Vikings, Niners’ wide receiver Deebo Samuel left the game with a groin injury. Kyle Shanahan has updated the media with news that Samuel suffered a strain and is expected to miss 1-2 weeks, according to a tweet from Nick Wagoner of ESPN.
Prior to leaving last night, Samuel had been enjoying a breakout year, utilizing health and experience to tally a team-leading 1,006 yards on 56 catches. He’s also currently second on the team in rushing yards with 203. Not to mention, he leads the team in both rushing and receiving TDs with five of each.
While San Francisco still has star tight end George Kittle to rely on, they’ll need second-year receiver Brandon Aiyuk to step up in Samuel’s absence. Shanahan’s update also included news on linebacker Fred Warner who will miss at least this week with a strained hamstring. This is the first game Warner will have missed since being drafted in 2018, snapping a 62-game consecutive start streak (including postseason games). They hope to see him back in action for the Bengals.
Cardinals Kliff Kingsbury On Oklahoma Rumors
With Lincoln Riley’s departure from the University of Oklahoma to become the head coach at the University of Southern California, Oklahoma has expressed interest in Cardinals’ head coach Kliff Kingsbury.
In a Monday afternoon press conference, Kingsbury emphasized his focus on the Cardinals’ upcoming game against the Bears, as Darren Urban of the team website tweets.
“[I] don’t get into those things,” Kingsbury said. “We’re in-season, we’re 9-and-2, just not a topic I want to touch right now.”
Kingsbury does have experience as a head coach at the college level, having spending six years with the Texas Tech University Red Raiders. His combined of 35-40 wasn’t stellar, but he did groom several current NFL players in Lubbock, including Patrick Mahomes, Baker Mayfield, DeAndre Washington, and Jakeem Grant.
It does seem a bit unusual that an NFL coach in the midst of an NFC-leading season would even be thinking about moving back to the college ranks. Kingsbury’s lack of a denial is curious, but, in reality, it’s probably a play for extra leverage. With one more year to go on his contract, Kingsbury use OU’s interest to drive his next deal even higher.
Release Candidate: Packers’ Za’Darius Smith
A year ago, Za’Darius Smith was closing in on his second straight season with double-digit sacks. Through his first two years with the Packers, Smith had done nothing but validate the 4-year, $66MM contract he’d earned in free agency. Unfortunately, a back injury that has forced the seven-year veteran to miss all but 18 snaps of the 2021 season will require the Packers and Smith to have some tough conversations. 
A fourth-round pick out of Kentucky, Smith was drafted by the Ravens in the 2015 NFL Draft in hopes that he would replace pass rusher Pernell McPhee who had left in free agency to sign with the Bears. Little did they know, Smith would do quite an impressive imitation of McPhee. Both players had impressive rookie seasons – McPhee had 6.0 sacks and Smith had 5.5 – and fairly pedestrian numbers their second and third years – McPhee had 3.5 sacks over those two years and Smith had 4.5. Both players saved their best performances for their contract years with McPhee tallying 7.5 sacks and Smith racking up 8.5.
Smith leveraged that 8.5 sack season into his current contract with Green Bay. As a Packer, Smith started every game of the 2019 and 2020 seasons leading the team in sacks both years. When Smith missed Green Bay’s second game of the season it marked the first full game he had missed due to injury since Week 14 of the 2017 season.
Still, this injury has proven to be a major one. Smith started the season with his health in doubt due to a lingering back injury and it was clear after only 18 snaps that he was not ready to return to the field. Smith was shut down and hasn’t seen a snap since. The implications of an injury this debilitating have an unfortunate effect on the pass rusher’s contract status.
Now issues have already arisen with Smith’s contract after he showed dismay in the Packers’ handling of restructures this offseason. The Packers chose not to restructure quarterback Aaron Rodgers‘ contract during a tumultuous offseason but utilized an automatic conversion clause in Smith’s contract to help subsidize an extension for running back Aaron Jones. The restructuring of Smith’s contract created a monster $28.1MM cap hit for next year, up from $14MM this season. If the Packers were to release Smith to avoid the cap hit, they would be left with $12.38MM in dead money vs. $15.75MM in cap room.
If Green Bay only had to deal with the cap hit, it would be an easy conversation of how to extend a new deal to Smith and avoid the massive number in 2022. But, in conjunction with a lingering back injury, the cap hit makes Smith’s potential to end up as a cap casualty more and more likely.
Now it’s not a foregone conclusion that Smith won’t work out a deal with Green Bay, but he’d have to be willing to take a bit of a pay cut from a team that has already shorted him in a contract situation. More likely would be Smith’s acceptance of a release that allows him to test his value on the free agent market. The Packers also probably wouldn’t mind the market setting the price, as it will likely be lower than Smith’s initial demands.
It’s also worth noting that a late season return has not been ruled out for the ‘backer, possibly giving him a chance to make his case for another big pay day.