Colorado CB Isaiah Oliver To Enter NFL Draft
Many draft eligible prospects are beginning to make decisions on their NFL future, and one of the better cornerbacks in college football has decided to forego his final year of eligibility. Colorado cornerback Isaiah Oliver officially announced on his personal Twitter account that he will enter the 2018 NFL Draft.
Oliver wrote a nice thank you note to the university and coaching staff as a part of the tweet.
“After meeting with my coaches and family I have decided to forego my final year of eligibility and enter the 2018 NFL Draft. The University of Colorado has offered me an incredible experience and will always be a part of who I am. I am extremely grateful for Coach MacIntyre, Coach Brown, the entire coaching staff, along with the support staff of the football program molding me as a person, player and student-athlete.”
The junior is rated as the third best cornerback in the draft by Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller, who reacted to the news by mentioning that he “wouldn’t be surprised to see him go top 20 in April,” (Twitter link). That’s certainly high praise for Oliver, who is listed at 6’1”, 190 lbs. on his player bio. Tall cornerbacks are becoming fixtures on the outside in the NFL and whatever team drafts Oliver this Spring looks to be adding a talented defender to help cover one side of the field.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/1/2017
Here are today’s minor moves:
Denver Broncos
- Promoted from practice squad: CB Marcus Rios
NFC West Notes: Seahawks, Woods, Peters
The Seahawks have dealt with multiple injuries on the defensive side this season. Marquee performers like Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor and Cliff Avril have all been ruled out for the year and in the case of Avril and Chancellor, their overall football careers could really be in jeopardy.
Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times writes in a column, with the help of former NFL agent Joel Corry, how he expects the team will handle a few of these injury situations from a cap point of view in 2018. The most complicated of the group seems to be Chancellor, who’s contract runs through the 2020 season. By simply retiring, the strong safety would alleviate a lot of Seattle’s cap problems, but he’s unlikely to do that given all the money that’s left for him to make. Condotta notes that if the safety was inactive to start the season, he would still make a guaranteed $6.8MM if he remains on the roster by February 10, 2018. With this in mind, it seems likely that the front office would opt to wait things out to see how the soon-to-be 30-year-old responds next year given the salary cap situation. However, unlike Chancellor, Avril is likely not to be back with the Seahawks on his current deal given that the team can save $7.5MM if he were released or retires. Seattle could look to bring him back on a lesser, more incentive-rich contract if he were to be released.
The piece adds some more in-depth cap information as well, and is really a good deep dive into how the Seahawks will handle some of their trickier contract situations given that they are right up against the cap at the moment.
- On more positive Seahawks injury news, head coach Pete Carroll spoke positively about the chances starting defensive backs Earl Thomas and Shaquill Griffin would be able to play Sunday, reports Brady Henderson of ESPN.com. “He’s fine,” Carroll said of Thomas. “He had something we just tended to yesterday, a sore foot, and that was it. Not a big deal.” The star safety was listed as questionable on Thursday, but looks to be on track to suit up this weekend. Griffin missed last week’s game against the 49ers with a concussion, but he will be back too, according to Henderson.
- Breakout Rams wide receiver Robert Woods was sidelined for the team’s win over the Saints last week and will most assuredly be out for Week 13 as well. However, head coach Sean McVay told reporters this afternoon that he’s “shooting for” Woods to return by December 10, although the young coach did clarify that the more likely return date would be a week later than that, tweets Aiden Gonzalez of ESPN.com. Woods has been a real impact free agent for LA, especially in recent weeks, as he’s recorded 20 catches and four touchdowns in the last three games he played. Without the 25-year-old receiver, the Rams will more heavily rely on Sammy Watkins, Cooper Kupp and Josh Reynolds.
- The Cardinals officially agreed to a contract extension with defensive tackle Corey Peters earlier in the day. Now we are learning more about the specific finances of the new deal looks like. The 29-year-old defensive lineman will earn $12MM over three years with $7.25MM being paid in total guarantees, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Rapoport adds that Peters’ deal also includes a $2.75MM signing bonus and incentives that could add another $1MM to the total value of the contract.
Amari Cooper Officially Ruled Out For Week 13
It was expected considering that the Raiders’ wide receiver had not practiced all week, but the team officially ruled Amari Cooper out for Week 13 with a concussion and ankle injury, reports Scott Bair of NBC Sports.
The 23-year-old wideout suffered his concussion on a collision with Broncos safety Darian Stewart last Sunday, but we learned a few days ago that Cooper was also dealing with an injury to his ankle, which clearly lowered the probability he would play this weekend.
With Cooper out and Michael Crabtree suspended for the team’s upcoming matchup vs. the Giants, the Raiders will have to rely on the group of Jared Cook, Seth Roberts, Cordarrelle Patterson and Johnny Holton to make plays through the air.
Cooper was having quite the up-and-down season before the injury, posting great games like his 11 catch, 210 yards performance vs. the Chiefs in October, but also consistently catching fewer than five passes during contests as well.
The Raiders still remain squarely in the hunt for the AFC Wild Card, and now also find themselves just a game back of Kansas City in the AFC West with five weeks left to play.
Latest On Aaron Rodgers
The Packers have expectedly taken a major step back since their star quarterback Aaron Rodgers injured his collarbone in the team’s game against the Vikings over a month ago. Now at 5-6, Green Bay will likely see their signal caller back for practice for the first time since the injury, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com in a video posted on Twitter.
Rapoport states that the practice would serve as a “trial return” for Rodgers, who hasn’t seen live action in over a month. The reporter also cautions that the bone heals a little differently for everybody, so it’s tough to put a timetable on his potential return.
Packers QB coach Alex Van Pelt said after practice today that, “He’s (Rodgers) doing well. He’s probably ahead of the curve a little bit. But there’s nothing to talk about until there’s something to talk about,” (Courtesy of Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via Twitter).
The news should still be a major positive for the Packers and their fans considering that he’s even got a chance to return this season. The team will have to string together a few wins in order for Rodgers to feel the need to get back out there, but these are positive steps for a guy that is celebrating his 34th birthday tomorrow. Rodgers is eligible to return to game action starting in Week 15.
Prior to the injury, Rodgers showed no signs of slowing down, throwing 13 touchdown passes to 3 interceptions in six games. The veteran quarterback also posted a 103.2 passer rating during that time. The Packers have won just a single game since the team started 4-1, which shows just how crucial Rodgers has been to the Packers recent playoff runs.
Free Agent OT Michael Bowie Suspended
It’s been a bad past few months for free agent offensive lineman Michael Bowie. After being released by the Giants in August following a domestic assault charge, the 26-year-old has now been suspended by the NFL for six games for the incident should he catch on with another team, reports to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Bowie was the Seahawks seventh round pick back in 2013, and actually played in nine games in his rookie season. However, the lineman hasn’t appeared in a game since that time. Bowie signed with New York on futures contract before the start of training camp, but was immediately released after those domestic violence charges were brought upon him.
The lineman’s career had already been in-flux prior to the incident given that he was projected as the team’s third string tackle. Now it appears even more unlikely that Bowie will get another opportunity to make a career turnaround following this latest news.
NFC Notes: Rodgers, Stafford, Bucs
Despite the Packers falling behind in the NFC playoff picture, quarterback Aaron Rodgers was seen throwing the ball around prior to the start of the team’s Sunday night game in Pittsburgh. Now with Rodgers clearly progressing well, the soon-to-be 34-year-old may be ready to return to practice at the end of next week, reports Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. Demovsky passed along that head coach Mike McCarthy dodged a question about if he expected his starting QB to return this season. The earliest date Rodgers could be activated off the injured reserve would be in Week 15.
- Fellow NFC North signal, Lions QB Matthew Stafford suffered an injury of his own on Thanksgiving, but appears to be “feeling better”, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. The injury appeared to be more serious, but is being classified as a sprained ankle by team doctors. “I’m feeling better,” Stafford said after practice on Monday. “Obviously stuck around in town this weekend, got a bunch of treatment on it. We’ll see. Coach (Jim Caldwell) will put out that report on Wednesday or whatever it is for practice and all that kind of stuff, but it’s getting better and hopefully it’ll continue to get better.” Obviously, the franchise quarterback will not be 100% healthy entering Week 13, but he’s fought through injuries before and it looks like he’ll be healthy enough to take on the Ravens this Sunday.
- Despite an earlier report that Mississippi State may be targeting Buccaneers offensive coordinator Todd Monken for their heading coaching vacancy, Tampa Bay head coach Dirk Koetter hasn’t heard anything about school’s interest, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). “To my knowledge, Todd Monken has not been contacted by Mississippi State. That comes from his mouth to my ear.” While the interest may be more in the gathering stage at this point, expect to hear some NFL assistants get some looks from schools as jobs open up. Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin is reportedly garnering interest in Arizona State’s open head coach position.
- On the field, Stroud also reports that QB Jameis Winston could begin throwing again at practice this week, and could get enough work to start vs. the Packers this weekend. This would be a positive development for the third-year signal caller as he’s missed the team’s last three games with a shoulder injury. While the news is positive, Winston is also dealing with an NFL investigation off the field regarding a sexual assault allegation that stems from when Winston rode in an Uber last year.
NFL Workout Updates: 11/27/17
Here are today’s NFL workouts, with all credit going to Adam Caplan of Sirius XM unless otherwise noted.
Detroit Lions
New England Patriots
- DT Marcus Hardison (Mike Reiss of ESPN.com) (Twitter link)
New York Giants
-
WR’s Corey Brown, Jeremy Ross; DT Khyri Thornton; CB Darryl Morris; P Jeff Locke (Twitter link)
Philadelphia Eagles
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QB Matt Simms; TE’s Gabe Holmes, Jevoni Robinson (Twitter link)
Practice Squad Updates: 11/27/17
Here are today’s practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: LB Kevin Snyder
- Cut: LB Connor Harris
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: CB Lorenzo Doss
- Waived: OL Will Pericak
Chicago Bears
- Signed: DB Alex Carter
- Waived: WR Mario Alford
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: DL Josh Tupou
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: DB Jacob Hagen
Detroit Lions
- Signed: WR Jace Billingsley, DB Stefan McClure
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: DT Jeremy Liggins
- Waived: G Ian Silberman
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: DE Francis Kallon
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: LB Brooks Ellis, WR Jaelen Strong
- Waived: DL Marcus Hardison
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: TE Johnny Mundt, DB Marcus Sayles
- Waived: OL Jeremiah Poutasi
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: RB De’Veon Smith
New England Patriots
- Waived: DT Mike Purcell
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: FB Kyle Coleman, LB Kache Palacio
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: WR Jake Lampman, T Givens Price, CB David Rivers
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/27/17
Here are today’s minor NFL moves:
Detroit Lions
- Promoted from practice squad: S Roland Milligan
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Bradley Marquez
Kansas City Chiefs
- Waived: TE Ross Travis
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: DB Kevin Peterson
San Francisco 49ers
- Placed on injured reserve: OT Erik Magnuson
- Placed on injured reserve: RB Raheem Mostert