Following Specific 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 Kirk Cousins as he plays out the final year of his contract in Washington and approaches possible free agency, you can visit this page. If you’re interested in keeping tabs on the latest rumors involving Josh Gordon, who will be eligible to apply for reinstatement from his suspension in less than two months, you can find Gordon’s page right here.
In addition to dedicating pages to players, we also maintain archives for certain specific topics. For example, all our posts relating to the city of Los Angeles can be found here, while our updates on the 2016 NFL draft 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.
NFC Notes: JPP, Panthers, Maxwell, Washington
Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul has been reasonably effective since returning from his hand injury, but the bulky club on his right hand has prevented him from being as sure a tackler as he once was. As Tom Rock of Newsday details, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is confident that JPP will make the necessary adjustments. Teams around the league will likely be keeping a close eye on the veteran pass rusher down the stretch to see how he adapts, since he’s eligible for free agency this winter.
Here’s more from across the NFC:
- With the Panthers three wins away from a 16-0 season, Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer takes a look back at GM Dave Gettleman‘s time with the franchise, examining both his good and bad moves since taking over the job.
- Byron Maxwell‘s deal with the Eagles may have looked like a $63MM mistake earlier in the season, but the cornerback has played well in recent weeks, and is beginning to justify the club’s investment in him, says Paul Domowitch of the Philadelphia Daily News.
- With multiple players trying new positions this season, Washington has gone mad scientist on its roster, and so far many of the team’s experiments have worked out, writes Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post.
AFC East Notes: L. Thomas, Dolphins, Bills, Pats
When the Bengals expressed interest in signing quarterback Logan Thomas off the Dolphins‘ practice squad earlier this week, Miami protected its young signal-caller by promoting him to its own 53-man roster, preventing him from going to Cincinnati. However, it wasn’t quite as simple as the Dolphins telling Thomas they’d put him on their roster.
According to Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (Twitter link), the new deal Thomas signed with Miami included a $125K signing bonus. That $125K, which is part of a two-year pact, as Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald tweets, is a coup for Thomas, since signing bonuses aren’t typically a part of contracts signed at this point in the year. It also reflects Cincinnati’s serious interest in poaching him, and the Dolphins’ unwillingness to let him get away.
Here’s more from around the AFC East:
- Despite the fact that it hasn’t particularly been an area of the strength for the team, the Dolphins‘ offensive line in 2016 will likely look pretty similar to 2015’s unit, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald, who suggests that a big offseason shake-up of the line is unlikely.
- With the third year on his contract now set to void, Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor should head into the 2016 season firmly in the driver’s seat when it comes to extension talks, writes Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News. In Carucci’s view, Taylor shouldn’t be rushing to sign a long-term deal unless the money is “staggering.”
- Offensive tackle might be the most unsettled position for the Bills as the offseason approaches, especially given the possibility of left tackle Cordy Glenn reaching free agency, says Mike Rodak of ESPN.com.
- As the Patriots consider their options at running back, with both Dion Lewis and LeGarrette Blount out for the season, CSNNE’s Marc Bertrand makes the case for why the team should sign Steven Jackson, while new practice squad back Montee Ball says he’s happy to get a fresh start in New England (link via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com).
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/17/15
Here are Thursday’s practice squad signings and cuts from around the NFL:
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: DE Josh Shirley (Twitter links via Scott Bair of CSNCalifornia.com)
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: CB Stanley Jean-Baptiste (Twitter link via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times)
- Signed: QB B.J. Daniels (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle)
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: RB DuJuan Harris (Twitter link via team)
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: CB Tyler Patmon, DE Julius Warmsley, RB Trey Williams (Twitter links via Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/17/15
As teams prepare for Week 15’s slate of games, let’s round up the latest minor transactions from around the league….
- A day after he was cut by the Patriots, wide receiver Damaris Johnson has been claimed off waivers by the Titans, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.com. Johnson, who previously played in the AFC South with the Texans, had inked a two-year contract with New England, so Tennessee picks up the 2016 year on that deal as well.
- The Chargers have claimed offensive lineman Jeff Linkenbach off waivers from the Dolphins, according to Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter). The team cut quarterback Brad Sorensen, whom it signed on Saturday as a result of Philip Rivers‘ illness, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). The timing of today’s waiver claims is worth noting, since San Diego will play Miami just three days from now, while Tennessee will face New England.
- The Colts made a change to their 53-man roster today, cutting outside linebacker Daniel Adongo and replacing him by promoting cornerback Tay Glover-Wright from their practice squad, per a team release. Adongo’s release comes just a week after police were called to his house, but Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star hears from a source that the case is closed and no further action is expected. It’s not clear if today’s move was motivated by that incident.
Rams To Place Quinn, McDonald On IR
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 4:22pm: St. Louis placed Quinn on its IR list, ending his season, per ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Defensive tackle Doug Worthington will ascend to the active roster in Quinn’s place, Nick Waggoner of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 4:45pm: The Rams will place two key defensive players on injured reserve this week, according to Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com, who tweets that defensive end Robert Quinn and safety T.J. McDonald will both land on season-ending IR within the next day or so. According to head coach Jeff Fisher, Quinn will require back surgery, while McDonald will require surgery on his shoulder (Twitter link).
Quinn, 25, is one of the league’s best pass rushers, having racked up double-digit sacks every year from 2012 to 2014. However, injuries have slowed him down this year, limiting him to just eight games. He recorded five sacks and three forced fumbles in those contests.
As for McDonald, he has started 37 games at safety for the Rams since joining the team in 2013, including 11 this season. McDonald and teammate Janoris Jenkins had a nasty collision during the Rams’ loss to the Cardinals on Sunday — in addition to sidelining McDonald, the hit also left Jenkins with a concussion.
The Rams will have two open roster spots to add defensive reinforcements prior to the team’s Week 14 game against the Lions.
North Notes: Gordon, Mallett, Megatron
Browns wideout Josh Gordon will be eligible to apply for reinstatement from his suspension in February, and if Gordon gets the go-ahead from the NFL to return to action, head coach Mike Pettine would welcome him back with open arms, tweets Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. “Absolutely we would,” Pettine said. “He’s a Cleveland Brown.”
Of course, given the way the Browns have played this season, it’s fair to be skeptical that Pettine will even be around to make that decision in February — it’s possible Cleveland will have hired a new head coach by then.
As we wait to see what the future holds for Pettine and Gordon, let’s check in on a few more items from around the NFL’s North divisions….
- The two-year deal Ryan Mallett signed with the Ravens is basically a $1.6MM pact, says Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter links). Of course, most of that money will be due next season, and the quarterback’s 2016 salary (about $1.5MM) is non-guaranteed. If Mallett does make the team, he can earn an extra $500K for playing just 1% of Baltimore’s regular snaps, and $1MM if he plays 10% of the snaps, maxing out the year at $2.5MM, tweets Field Yates of ESPN.com.
- “Lovely” isn’t a word that makes its way into NFL interviews too often, but that was the adjective Calvin Johnson used today to describe the possibility of finishing his career with the Lions, as Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com details.
- Willie Young‘s transition from defensive end to outside linebacker hasn’t always been smooth, but it has gone better than expected, and it looks like Young could have a future with the Bears, writes Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.
Chiefs To Extend OT Jah Reid
1:34pm: Reid’s three-year extension can be worth up to $12MM, with a $10.2MM base value, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Rapoport adds that the contract features just under $4MM in guaranteed money.
12:37pm: The Chiefs have agreed to a deal with offensive tackle Jah Reid that will extend the lineman’s contract by three years, reports Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (Twitter link). Reid’s contract had been set to expire at the end of the 2015 season.
Reid, 27, was selected by the Ravens in the third round of the 2011 draft, but never found a permanent role in Baltimore. Over the course of four seasons with the club, he appeared in 39 games, starting seven, before being cut earlier this year. The Chiefs signed Reid prior to the regular season, and he has been unexpectedly effective in Kansas City, starting eight games for the team — the Chiefs are 7-1 in those games.
“Jah has been a good pickup for us, just from the stand point of we got banged up up front there, and so he was thrown in, kind of, in the action his first week here against the Texans,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said this week, per Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun. “A couple games after that, he played, and then he had a little hiatus there, where he didn’t play; and we’ve had to bring him back here. So, he has been very valuable to us from that respect.”
Pro Football Focus hasn’t been particularly fond of Reid’s play, ranking him 71st out of 75 qualified offensive tackles this season, giving him an especially low grade as a pass blocker. However, the Chiefs liked what they’ve seen enough to ensure the UCF product doesn’t reach the free agent market this winter.
We’ll have to wait for the full salary details on the new three-year extension, which should keep Reid under team control through 2018, to see exactly how enthusiastic Kansas City is about his performance — it’s not clear if the team views him as a long-term starter, or as more of a swing tackle. Even a modest deal will represent a raise for Reid though, since he played this season on a minimum salary contract that didn’t include a signing bonus.
Trade Rumors App For iOS/Android
As the NFL’s 2016 offseason approaches, you can follow all the latest news and rumors with the Trade Rumors app for iOS and Android devices! Here are some of the features of the app:
- Customize your home screen. The app has feeds for Pro Football Rumors, MLB Trade Rumors, and Hoops Rumors by default, but if you’re more of a one- or two-sport person, you can easily remove and reorder feeds. You can also add a feed for any of the 92 MLB, NFL, or NBA teams, as well as the thousands of players in the archives of our three sites. Please note that the default ordering puts MLB Trade Rumors on your home screen, but you can easily go into Settings to reorder and add or remove feeds.
- In addition to customizing your feeds, you can also set up notifications at the sport, team, or even player level, and receive a notification as soon as a new article is posted on that topic.
- We’ve also allowed for filtering of all stories versus top stories, for what is shown on the home screen as well as for notifications. This allows you to limit yourself to just the most important news for a feed, if you prefer.
- Article sharing options are plentiful: choose Facebook, Twitter, email, and text message.
- Once you’ve clicked an article in a feed, you can swipe to read the next article in that feed.
Best of all? The Trade Rumors app is free! Download it today for iOS or Android.
East Notes: Henderson, Fitzpatrick, Bradford
Having recently started listing Seantrel Henderson on the injury report with an “illness,” the Bills and head coach Rex Ryan declined to get into specifics on Henderson’s condition. However, Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News hears from an NFL source that Henderon has been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel condition. Per Carucci’s source, the Bills’ right tackle “has experienced severe stomach pain and has lost nearly 20 pounds.”
A seventh-round pick in 2014, Henderson started all 16 games in his rookie season in Buffalo, and had started 10 games for the team this year before he was sidelined. Carucci indicates that the former Miami Hurricane is expected to miss the rest of this season, though it’s not clear how the diagnosis will affect him going forward.
Here’s more from around the NFL’s East divisions:
- Ryan Fitzpatrick is on track to play in more than 70% of the Jets‘ offensive plays this season, which is good news for the Texans, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. If Fitzpatrick remains above that threshold, Houston will receive a sixth-round pick from New York, rather than a seventh-rounder.
- While Chip Kelly and the Eagles have expressed interest in having Sam Bradford on the roster in 2016 and beyond, the quarterback himself has been noncommittal, preferring to postpone that conversation until after the season, as Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News writes. Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer observes that Bradford’s recovery from his ACL injury has been similar to the path taken by Carson Palmer, so perhaps a Palmer-esque extension would work for Bradford and the Eagles.
- Former Giants defensive end Damontre Moore is ready for a fresh start with the Dolphins, and spoke to reporters about his departure from New York. James Kratch of NJ.com has the details and the quotes.