Panthers Owner Jerry Richardson To Sell Team
Panthers owner Jerry Richardson has been in the news for the wrong reasons after recent allegations of work misconduct came to light over the past few days. However, in a sudden shift, the longtime owner has announced that he will be selling the franchise this offseason.
In his statement, Richardson provided little detail about why he was stepping away from football, but you can expect that it stems from the current NFL investigation reviewing Richardson’s behavior in the workplace since entering the league in 1995.
It has been reported that the investigation deals with both sexual and racial slurs over the years. Reports have also revealed that the owner apparently paid out settlements in order to keep this incidents from going public. The NFL recently announced that they would be leading their own investigation into the matter, although it’s open question to how this news affects that process.
The 81-year-old has been the only owner the Panthers have ever known and has brought the team to two Super Bowl appearances since the franchise entered the NFL over 22 years ago. There’s still much left to be settled regarding the sale of the team, even though it should become more clear who the prospective buyers might be in the months to come.
Nevertheless, Richardson leaves his position having made a large imprint on both the league and in the Carolinas. It remains to be seen where the investigation may go, but we do know that the Panthers franchise will take a dramatic change in direction after this season comes to a close.
Antonio Brown Partially Tears Calf, Expected Back For The Playoffs
The Steelers suffered a serious injury scare in their stunning defeat at the hands of the Patriots. The league’s best receiver Antonio Brown exited the game in the second quarter and got tests taken at a nearby hospital. Now the team has learned that the 29-year-old has partially torn his calf muscle and is expected to miss at least one week of game action, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). However, Schefter adds that Brown is likely to be back with the Steelers for the postseason.
This is great news for a Steelers team that relies on Brown for much of their offensive production. Brown has been performing like a legitimate MVP candidate in 2017, but seemed to have suffered a serious injury when he left today’s game vs. New England. However, while Brown may be unable to finish the regular season, their star playmaker is expected back for postseason football, which puts the Steelers in a much better position moving forward.
Although, the injury could increase the urgency for the first round bye. After dropping today’s game, the Steelers are now in serious danger of losing their top two spot, especially knowing that the Jaguars own the tiebreaker head-to-head.
Head coach Mike Tomlin will have to rely on the team’s other young wideouts, Martavis Bryant and JuJu Smith-Schuster, to help offset the loss. You can also expect Le’Veon Bell to shoulder even more of the load in the passing game than he already does. Pittsburgh has two favorable matchups to end the season as the team is set to play Houston and Cleveland in Weeks 16 and 17, respectively.
Latest On Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Rodgers returned to the field after a notable two-month absence as he recovered from a broken collarbone he suffered against the Vikings in October. However, even with arguably the best quarterback in football, the Packers dropped their seventh game of the season on Sunday afternoon. With the playoffs now seemingly out of reach, it’s reasonable to ask whether the team will continue to risk Rodgers’ health in the final two weeks of the regular season, ponders Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com.
Head coach Mike McCarthy didn’t seem all too convicted after today’s loss that he would allow Rodgers to play in Weeks 16 and 17. If the Falcons win on Monday night, the Packers would be eliminated from postseason play and would leave little reason for the coaching staff to risk another injury to their 34-year-old franchise QB.
“Well, let’s focus on today; we lost the game today,” McCarthy said. “We’ll get back and we’ll assess it. We play a game in six days. That’s what we’re focused on.”
Rodgers’ return was not a given after the initial diagnosis was that the veteran signal caller would likely not be able to get back to game action. But after some positive reports on his recovery, the Packers became more hopeful that their star could eventually return and lead them to another playoff berth.
Backup Brett Hundley performed well in stints, but was too inconsistent to leave Green Bay with much room for error in the final three weeks of the season. Although, there seemed to be a glimmer of hope that Rodgers could pull off another miracle as he’s done many times in the past.
“Well, it’s not the fairytale that we were hoping,” Rodgers said about his return. “As I lay in that surgery bed eight weeks ago thinking about this moment, obviously, I saw it going a little differently. But I’m proud of our guys for the way they played the last few weeks. Today, disappointed. I didn’t play very well. Obviously, I hold myself to a high standard. I expected to play well. It’s a good defense but I made too many mistakes. Even still, we had a chance there at the end to come back and tie it.”
Despite the lack of playoff implications, Rodgers seemed as if he would still play unless told otherwise. With that being said, the veteran appeared to still put his status in the hands of the Packers coaching staff.
“Well, I’m a competitor,” Rodgers said. “Until they tell me otherwise, I’m expecting to play.”
Green Bay will take on the Vikings and Lions in the team’s likely final two games of the year.
Corey Liuget Suffers PCL Injury
On the same day the Chargers learned that running back Austin Ekeler would be out for the season, the team now has to deal with another injury on the defensive side of the ball. Defensive lineman Corey Liuget is now considered to be out with a “week-to-week” injury after suffering a grade 2 PCL sprain in last night’s game vs. the Chiefs, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
Rapoport explains that while Liuget’s injury is just a short-term setback, it remains up in the air whether he will return to the field with two weeks remaining in the regular season.
Liuget, 27, has been with the Chargers since the franchise drafted him back in the first round in 2011. His best season came in 2012 when the defensive tackle recorded seven sacks and 51 total tackles. Liuget hasn’t been as much of a force in terms of getting to the quarterback in recent years, but he’s still graded out as the 31st best interior defender in the NFL by Pro Football Focus through 14 weeks.
Without Liuget, Los Angeles will have to turn to backups Darius Philon and Damion Square to fill out the team’s starting defensive line, which features Joey Bosa, Melvin Ingram and Brandon Mebane. However, if the Chargers can sneak into the postseason, it’s seems fairly likely that Liuget could return to the front seven.
Austin Ekeler Out For The Year
The Chargers offense has many weapons, but perhaps the most surprising of the team’s playmakers will not be active for another game this season. Running back Austin Ekeler broke his hand in last night’s AFC West affair against the Chiefs and will be out for the year, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
The undrafted rookie out of Western State had gone from unknown to a key part of the Chargers offense in a short period of time. Ekeler carved out a nice role as the team’s passing back when starter Melvin Gordon was off the field. The 22-year-old lined up all over for head coach Anthony Lynn, affecting the game both on the ground and through the air.
Ekeler averaged 5.5 yards per carry, rushing for two touchdowns. The scat back also caught 27 balls for 279 yards, which included three scores. Through 14 weeks, Ekeler ranked as the 16th best passing back in the league, according to Pro Football Focus.
Losing their surprise rookie performer is a rather big blow for a Chargers team that has been streaking over the past month with the hopes of securing a playoff spot. Expect Gordon to become even more involved in the Chargers offensive gameplan with Ekeler no longer available. Although, running back Branden Oliver seems like a sure bet to somewhat step in for Ekeler during the final two weeks of the season. Los Angeles is certainly not lacking weapons, but this injury puts another damper on the team’s postseason chances coming off a big loss on Saturday night.
NFL Workout Updates: 12/4/17
Here’s today’s workout news from around the NFL:
Chicago Bears
- K Mike Nugent; TE’s Jace Amaro, Devon Cajuste, Gavin Escobar (via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune) (Twitter link)
Detroit Lions
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WR’s Eric Rogers, Daikiel Shorts; C Freddie Burden; OG’s Darrell Greene, Ian Silberman; OT Taylor Hart (via Justin Rogers of the Detroit News ) (Twitter link)
Green Bay Packers
- WR Al Riles; C Parker Collins (via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com)
Bengals RB Joe Mixon Suffers Concussion
Just as Bengals running back Joe Mixon was beginning to get comfortable with the NFL game, the team has officially ruled him out for rest the team’s Monday night game vs. the Steelers with a concussion.
The rookie running back took a big hit from both sides and was down on the ground for awhile until he was able to walk off under his own power to go through testing on the sideline.
Mixon, 21, had started off his NFL career fairly slowly given his lofty status coming out of the draft. Many experts speculated that the former Oklahoma Sooner was just as, if not more talented than top backs like Leonard Fournette, Christian McCaffrey and Dalvin Cook. However, Mixon had just rushed for his first 100 rushing performance last week in a win over Cleveland and was just starting to show that immense potential many thought he had coming into the 2017 NFL Draft. The primary reason why the Bengals were able to nab him in the second round was due to off-the-field concerns stemming from an assault he committed back in 2014.
Cincinnati will be on a short week after appearing on primetime tonight, so it remains to be seen whether Mixon will have enough time to recover from the injury for the team’s Week 14 game against the Bears.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/4/17
Here are today’s practice squad moves:
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: CB Taurean Nixon
Miami Dolphins
- Released: WR Kolby Listenbee
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: OT Justin Murray
NFC East Notes: Giants, Redskins, Jones
Now that the Giants front office and coaching staff is set to go through a number of changes after the firing of Jerry Reese and Ben McAdoo, there’s a ton of speculation of who could be the person put in charge to bring the franchise back to perennial success.
While many people think the hire will come outside the organization, Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network thinks interim GM Kevin Abrams should not be overlooked as the Giants begin their search.
Garafolo notes that Abrams is a “cap guy by trade”, but has worked on his scouting ability in recent years and has “attended multiple NFL seminars” to prepare to lead a football operations department. A number of names are likely to be floated for the job given that the team will likely have a high pick and has a track record of winning, but Abrams seems like he might get a realistic shot at turning his interim tag into a full-time position.
Here’s more from around the NFC East:
- Apart from Abrams, Mike Sando of ESPN.com speculated a few candidates from outside the organization who could be contenders for the Giants general manager and head coaching gigs. Sando names front office guys like Nick Caserio from the Patriots, former Panthers GM Dave Gettleman and former Colts President Bill Polian. He also highlights many well known up-and-comers such as Eric DeCosta (Ravens), George Paton (Vikings), Eliot Wolf (Packers) and Terry McDonough (Cardinals) among many others. Sando added that former GM’s Scott Pioli (Falcons) and John Dorsey (free agent) could be intriguing hires as well. In terms of potential head coaching candidates, Sando names guys who were on the teams original list back before they hired McAdoo prior the 2016-17 season. This would include current coordinators like Teryl Austin (Lions) and Mike Smith (Buccaneers). An under-the-radar name to watch is Texans defensive coordinator, Mike Vrabel, who is best known for his time leading the Patriots defense to Super Bowl titles.
- While the Redskins are out of the NFC playoff race after losing to the Cowboys last Thursday, that doesn’t mean that team will start resting their players, states John Keim of ESPN.com. He passes along that Head coach Jay Gruden said that he wouldn’t rest some of their injured starters just because the games don’t have postseason implications for the team. “They’re all trying to get back in the lineup,” Gruden said. “They’re going to play hard because they want to win and want to do well. That’s the reason they’re all here. We try to target guys that love football, are passionate about the game and are going to play hard no matter what. For the most part, we’ve got that here. So whether you are on one year left or five years left, doesn’t really matter.” Starters like left tackle Trent Williams, right tackle Morgan Moses and tight end Jordan Reed have all dealt with nagging injuries this season, but it appears that the Redskins won’t just solely be resting key players hoping that could lead to a better draft pick.
- Eagles cornerback Sidney Jones has not played in a game this season as he’s continued to rehab the achilles that he had torn back in March. However, the rookie has yet to participate in practice, reports Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). Jones has been eligible to start practicing since the beginning of Week 7, but has just a 21 day time period to be activated to the roster once he does begin to take part in practice. It’s important to note that Berman explains in a follow-up tweet, Jones could just use the last three weeks of the regular season to get extra reps and get a head start on his offseason training. The Eagles currently have corners Jalen Mills, Patrick Robinson, Ronald Darby and Rasul Douglas patrolling the defensive backfield.
Jimmy Garoppolo To Remain 49ers Starter
In his first start for his new team, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo led San Francisco to their second win of the season when he orchestrated a late game-winning drive to beat the Bears.
Garoppolo got the start partly because rookie third round pick C.J. Beathard had suffered an injury in the team’s loss to the Seahawks two weeks ago. However, unsurprisingly head coach Kyle Shanahan announced today that Garoppolo would be his starting QB once again for the team’s Week 14 matchup vs. the Texans, reports Ron Kroichick of the San Francisco Chronicle. The first-year coach seemed to be impressed with the types of plays Garoppolo made with only limited practice time.
“You could see he made some impressive throws,” said Shanahan. “There were definitely situations where he got a little confused and still was able to make plays — the more he plays and the more he’s around us, knowing the scheme, he’ll have less of those. It was still very impressive, with the situation he was in, to keep his poise. He was able to make some plays when things weren’t perfect.”
Garoppolo’s overall numbers from this past Sunday weren’t all too impressive. The 26-year-old did complete 26 of his 37 pass attempts, but couldn’t find his way into the end zone. He also threw a pick in the contest. Nevertheless, it was still impressive to see Garoppolo lead the struggling 49ers to a late game victory, and he should only get more comfortable with the offense as he continues to get playing time.
San Francisco will likely still have a top five pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, but with Garoppolo a strong candidate for the franchise tag in the offseason, he’ll definitely get his chances to impress the 49ers brass.