49ers Re-Sign Alfonso Smith; Willis To IR
1:54pm: The 49ers have officially re-signed Smith and placed linebacker Patrick Willis on IR, the team announced in a press release. We learned earlier today that Willis’ toe injury would sideline him for the rest of the season.
8:49am: After carrying just two running backs on their active roster for most of the season, the 49ers are re-signing a third back, Alfonso Smith, according to his representatives at HOF Player Representatives (Twitter link). Smith will join veteran Frank Gore and rookie Carlos Hyde in the team’s backfield.
Smith, 27, spent his first four seasons in the NFL with the division-rival Cardinals, working as a backup. For his career, Smith has 48 carries for 156 yards and two touchdowns. In 2013, he played on nearly 50% of Arizona’s special teams snaps, and he’ll likely be asked to contribute in that capacity in San Francisco, assuming he’s active on game days. Smith also spent some time this preseason with the 49ers, but was cut at the end of August when the club reduced its roster from 75 players to 53.
Running back depth appeared to be one of the Niners’ strengths heading into the summer, but since then, LaMichael James has been cut, Kendall Hunter suffered a torn ACL, and Marcus Lattimore retired due to knee issues. In addition to signing Smith, San Francisco is also expected to activate linebacker Aldon Smith, who has finished serving his nine-game suspension, so we should expect to see a pair of cuts from the team within the next few days.
Allen Robinson Out For Season
Rookie wide receiver Allen Robinson has sustained a stress fracture in his foot and will be sidelined for the rest of the 2014 season, the Jaguars announced today (Twitter link). Jacksonville has yet to officially place Robinson on the injured reserve list, but when the team makes that move, it will likely replace him by promoting someone from the practice squad, according to head coach Gus Bradley (Twitter link via John Oehser of Jaguars.com).
Robinson, 21, was one of two wideouts selected early in this past May’s draft by the Jags. After using the 39th overall pick on Marqise Lee, Jacksonville drafted Robinson 61st overall, and the Penn State product has outperformed his fellow rookie teammate this season. In 10 games, Robinson hauled in 48 passes for 548 yards and pair of touchdowns.
The Jaguars also announced (Twitter link) that cornerback Aaron Colvin will be activated later today from the reserve/non-football injury list. Assuming the team does indeed make a promotion from the taxi squad to replace Robinson, another player will have to be removed from the 53-man roster to clear room for Colvin.
Cardinals Sign Lindley, Put Palmer On IR
Carson Palmer‘s 2014 season officially ended today, as the Cardinals announced they’ve placed their starting quarterback on injured reserve after he suffered an ACL injury on Sunday. To replace Palmer on the roster, the team has signed quarterback Ryan Lindley off the Chargers’ practice squad (Twitter link via Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com).
Lindley, 26, was originally drafted by the Cardinals in the sixth round in 2012. He spent two seasons with the club, either on the active roster or practice squad, and saw his only regular-season NFL action in ’12 with Arizona, completing 89 of 171 passes (52.0%) for 752 yards, no touchdowns, and seven interceptions. The Cards cut Lindley in August of this year, at which point he caught on with the Chargers’ taxi squad.
For the 2014 Cardinals, Lindley figures to only be an emergency precaution. Drew Stanton, Palmer’s backup, will take the reins as the starter, and rookie Logan Thomas is also on the 53-man roster. If Stanton were to go down with an injury of his own, perhaps Lindley, the relative veteran, would get the first chance to play, since the team may not feel Thomas is ready yet.
Adrian Peterson Hearing Set For Monday
On the heels of the NFL Players Association filing a grievance on behalf of Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, Jay Glazer of FOX Sports and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (Twitter links) report that the hearing for Peterson will happen next Monday, November 17.
Because the union filed an expedited grievance, one of four it can use per year, a hearing was required to happen within seven days, so next Monday would have been the latest it could occur. Once the hearing concludes, arbitrator Shyam Das will have an additional five days to make a decision.
The NFLPA is looking to get Peterson removed from the commissioner’s exempt list, arguing that when the running back agreed to be placed on the list back in September, he agreed to remain there “until the criminal charges pending against him are adjudicated.” Despite Peterson’s legal case being resolved last week, his status remains unchanged, as the league attempt to determine what sort of penalty he’ll face.
If the grievance does result in Peterson being reinstated, he could – and likely will – still face additional discipline. However, he would be eligible to play until the NFL announced that penalty. Of course, just because he’s eligible to play doesn’t mean he’ll hit the field right away for the Vikings. At least one report suggested the 29-year-old isn’t currently in game shape, and while Peterson’s Minnesota teammates want to see him back in the lineup, the team’s ownership and front office will have to sign off on that as well.
Although it appears as if the grievance and hearing process will take the maximum alloted time, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wrote earlier today that it shouldn’t have to drag on that long. A conference call involving Das, the league, and the NFLPA is scheduled to happen as soon as today, and Florio suggests that a few pointed questions from Das during that conference call should be enough to make a decision.
Aldon Smith Reinstated From Suspension
The 49ers will welcome back a former All-Pro to their lineup this week, as the NFL officially announced today that linebacker Aldon Smith has been reinstated from his suspension. According to Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com (via Twitter), Smith will be on the field for the Niners’ walk-through today.
Smith, 25, is returning from a nine-game suspension for violating the league’s policies for substances of abuse and personal conduct. While there were rumblings that the ban could be reduced by a game or two due to good behavior, Smith ultimately ended up serving the full nine-game penalty. NFLPA executive VP George Atallah indicated this week that the linebacker had “fulfilled all of his obligations to be considered to return from his suspension early,” but it simply didn’t happen.
In any case, the Niners will be happy to welcome back a player who is two years removed from a season in which he racked up 19.5 sacks and three forced fumbles. For now, San Francisco doesn’t have to make a corresponding roster move to accommodate Smith — the team will have a roster exemption for him until next Monday. However, if the club intends to activate him for this Sunday’s game against the Giants, it will need to cut a player to do so.
I cited Smith and fellow linebacker NaVorro Bowman as returning players who could have an impact down the stretch for the Niners as the team attempts to earn a postseason berth. Bowman, who is recovering from a significant knee injury, is on track to begin practicing soon.
Poll: Which Team Will Win AFC North?
Coming into the season, the AFC North was expected to be one of the league’s more competitive divisions, with the Bengals viewed as the slight favorites and the Ravens and Steelers expected to challenge Cincinnati for the top spot. However, through 10 weeks, the division as a whole has significantly outperformed expectations. Not only are the three aforementioned clubs still in the hunt for the AFC North title, but the upstart Browns are actually leading the way with a 6-3 record.
Of course, while Cleveland may be clinging to the division lead now, the team could also be a week or two away from falling to last place. With the Bengals at 5-3-1 and the Steelers and Ravens both at 6-4, all four teams in the North are separated by just a half-game. As the league noted on the weekend (Twitter link via Aditi Kinkhabwala), it’s the first time since 1935 that every team in an NFL division is at least two games over .500.
With all four teams bunched up and seven weeks still to play, it’s anyone’s division, and there’s no clear-cut favorite to earn a home playoff game. Even Vegas is at a loss when it comes to picking a frontrunner — betting site Bovada.lv gives Baltimore, Cleveland, and Cincinnati equal odds to finish in first place, while Pittsburgh is a very marginal underdog.
The Bengals may have the most challenging remaining schedule, with five of seven contests on the road, including this weekend in New Orleans and Week 17 in Pittsburgh. But each North team has one difficult stretch of games still on its schedule — the Ravens play the Saints, Chargers, and Dolphins following their bye; the Browns host the Colts and have road games in Atlanta, Buffalo, and Baltimore, all difficult places to win; and the Steelers still face the Saints and Chiefs, as well as the Bengals twice.
So what do you think? Will the Bengals repeat as division champs? Will the Ravens or Steelers knock them off? Or will the Browns be this year’s surprise division winner?
Minor Moves: Monday
We’ll track today’s minor transactions in this space, including small tweaks to 53-man rosters as well as practice squad signings and cuts. Here’s the latest:
- To fill the roster spot vacated by Williams (referenced below), the Bears have promoted guard Ryan Groy from the practice squad to the 53-man roster, reports Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). In a separate tweet, Biggs notes that right tackle Jordan Mills said he was set to have his rib injury examined today, suggesting the Groy promotion could be a precautionary move in case Mills is sidelined.
Earlier updates:
- Following Aaron Rodgers‘ shredding of the Bears‘ secondary last night, Chicago has waived defensive back Teddy Williams, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). The team has yet to announce a corresponding move.
- The Chiefs have replaced one offensive lineman with another on their practice squad, announcing in a press release that they’ve released Curtis Feigt and signed Jarrod Pughsley.
- Offensive lineman Darren Keyton is joining the Lions‘ practice squad in the wake of an injury to Larry Warford, tweets Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Birkett speculations that Rodney Austin could be promoted to the team’s 53-man roster in order to accommodate the move.
- Washington has signed tight end Chase Dixon, an undrafted free agent out of Central Arkansas, to their practice squad, tweets Mike Jones of the Washington Post. Dixon, who initially signed with the Seahawks in May, was cut during the summer and worked out for Washington last week.
- The Ravens have added offensive tackle Terren Jones to their practice squad, cutting defensive tackle Jamie Meder in order to clear room on the unit, the team announced today in a press release. Following Meder’s release, only one of the 10 players on Baltimore’s taxi squad is a defender.
NFLPA Files Adrian Peterson Grievance
7:14pm: The NFL has issued a statement on the Peterson matter, per Schefter:
“We have received the NFLPA’s grievance on behalf of Adrian Peterson. We have honored our commitment to Mr. Peterson and the NFLPA not to process or impose any discipline until the criminal charges pending in Texas were resolved. When Mr. Peterson decided not to contest criminal charges, we promptly advised both him and the NFLPA that we were prepared to consider what, if any, discipline should now be imposed under the Personal Conduct Policy. We asked Mr. Peterson and his representatives, including the NFLPA, for relevant information. We have not received any of the requested information, but remain prepared to schedule a hearing and make a determination as quickly as possible based on as much information as available.”
5:41pm: The collective bargaining agreement states that an expedited grievance must be heard within seven days, and a decision must handed down five days after that, reports Ben Goessling of ESPN.com (via Twitter). As such, it’s possible we could see the process concluded before Sunday’s game against the Bears, but it’s probably more likely that Peterson will have to wait until Week 12 , when the Vikings play the Packers, to see a resolution.
4:56pm: The NFL Players Association announced today that it has filed an expedited, non-injury grievance to remove Vikings running back Adrian Peterson from the commissioner’s exempt list, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. The grievance states that, based on explicit language in a signed agreement from September, the NFL had agreed to keep Peterson on the exempt list until his legal case was resolved.
“We asked the NFL to honor the terms of that agreement last week and as of now, they have failed to respond or comply,” reads the union’s statement. “It is our obligation to protect all players’ rights, and we will pursue any and all breaches of any contract between a player and his team or the NFL”
We heard over the weekend that the NFLPA had demanded Peterson’s reinstatement, and intended to file a grievance if the NFL didn’t make an announcement by Tuesday. According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the NFLPA had actually given the league a deadline of Monday at 5:00pm eastern time, so it makes sense that the union has gone ahead and filed that grievance already. Per Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports (Twitter link), the union is allowed to file four expedited grievances per year. When such a grievance is filed, the two sides are expected to act in “good faith” to resolve the issue before the affected player’s next game.
Peterson hasn’t played since Week 1 after being indicted on child abuse charges stemming from an incident in Texas. After initially planning on activating Peterson for Week 3, the Vikings reversed course; Peterson, the club, and the league eventually agreed that the running back would be placed on the commissioner’s list, where he would be paid but not allowed to play, until his case was resolved. Peterson accepted a no-contest plea last week, but the NFL has yet to announce a course of action regarding his future.
As Florio notes, even if Peterson wins this grievance, it doesn’t mean he will avoid suspension. Rather, he’ll be able to re-join the Vikings until his league-imposed discipline is decided upon. Additionally, it’s unclear what the fan, media, and sponsorship reaction will be to a potential Peterson return, given the nature of the incident that resulted in his deactivation.
Cardinals Sign Carson Palmer To Extension
MONDAY, 6:17pm: Albert Breer of NFL.com passes along the details on Palmer’s extension (Twitter link). The veteran QB is due a $1MM base salary and a $9.5MM roster bonus in February 2015, both of which are believed to be guaranteed. In February of the following year, Palmer is due a $6.35MM base and a $6.35MM roster bonus, and in February 2017, he’s set to earn a $8.15MM base and a $8.15MM roster bonus. None of the ’16 or ’17 cash is believed to be guaranteed.
FRIDAY, 4:50pm: According to Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com (Twitter link), Palmer’s deal includes aobut $20.5MM in guaranteed money through 2015, with no guarantees for 2016 and 2017. I imagine some guaranteed bonus money will be prorated through those last two years of the contract, but it sounds as if the base salary is only guaranteed for ’15.
4:25pm: The Cardinals have officially announced Palmer’s new three-year extension (Twitter link via VP of media relations Mark Dalton). The new deal is guaranteed through the 2015 season, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com.
3:48pm: Palmer has agreed to a three-year deal that’s worth $50MM in total, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). We’ll have to wait for the full details to find out whether that’s the base value of the contract or whether it can be worth up to $50MM. The guaranteed portion of the deal has also yet to be reported.
3:30pm: The Cardinals are on the verge of finalizing a contract extension with quarterback Carson Palmer, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that the deal figures to be for three years, and could be done within the next few hours. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk first suggested earlier this afternoon that signs were pointing to the two sides working something out in the very near future.
The two-year contract Palmer signed with Arizona when he was acquired from the Raiders in 2013 included a 2015 year. However, that year will automatically void, meaning the veteran signal-caller would have been in line for unrestricted free agency this offseason had the Cards not worked out a new agreement with him.
Palmer will turn 35 next month, and missed some time with a nerve injury earlier this season, but has amassed a 99.3 quarterback rating in five games, throwing 11 touchdown passes to just two interceptions — Pro Football Focus (subscription required) rates him as a solid but unspectacular passer, akin to Alex Smith and Andy Dalton. The naked eye test supports the PFF assessment, but as of right now, Arizona does not need Palmer to be an All-Pro. The Cardinals simply need continued stability and consistency, which, combined with their excellent defense, have created a surprising championship contender.
Of course, Palmer is only a year removed from a season in which he racked up 22 interceptions, but he still represents the team’s more stable option, at least for the next couple seasons. Drew Stanton won two of his three starts for the Cards earlier this season in Palmer’s absence, but he didn’t show in those games that he’d be capable of assuming the full-time starting role in 2015. The club is also carrying rookie Logan Thomas, but the fourth-rounder remains a work in progress who has completed just one of his eight career NFL pass attempts to date.
Last month, PFR’s Zach Links passed along word, via Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic, that Palmer and the Cardinals were discussing a potential multiyear contract, and PFR’s Rory Parks examined the former Bengal and Raider as an extension candidate this past weekend. In both cases, we suggested that Palmer is unlikely to score a significant raise on his current $9MM base salary, though with the salary cap receiving a nice bump this year and next, I expect at least a modest hike in Palmer’s pay. If the new deal is for three years, as Rapoport suggests, a base value approaching $40MM seems within reason.
Rory Parks contributed to this post.
North Notes: Bears, Ihedigbo, Hoyer
Following last night’s embarrassing 55-14 loss in Green Bay, it’s time for the Bears to re-evaluate every aspect of the team, from the roster to the head coach to the front office, according to David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune. Jon Greenberg of ESPNChicago.com expresses similar sentiments, writing that an overhaul of the club shouldn’t be out of the question.
However, it doesn’t sound as if major changes are in store in the short term. Speaking to reporters today, including Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun Times (Twitter link), head coach Marc Trestman indicated that no coaching changes will be made in the wake of consecutive blowout losses.
Here’s more from out of the NFL’s two North divisions:
- Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap singles out Bears quarterback Jay Cutler as his “new contract disappointment of the week,” writing that Cutler needs to do better, since the team is stuck with him for at least the next two years.
- The Lions’ investment in safety James Ihedigbo in free agency this past offseason has paid off significantly, as Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com details.
- Brian Hoyer’s agent, Joe Linta, tells Peter King of TheMMQB.com that he hasn’t talked to the Browns about a new contract for his client since May. However, King says he’d be “amazed” if Cleveland lets Hoyer get away in free agency this winter.
- Meanwhile, Pat McManamon of ESPN.com attempts to find a multiyear contract structure for Hoyer that could work for both the quarterback and the Browns going forward.