Panthers Place Mike Tolbert On IR-DTR
The Panthers have placed running back Mike Tolbert on the injured reserve list with the designation to return, the team announced today (Twitter link). As we heard yesterday, Tolbert suffered a hairline fracture and bone bruise in Sunday’s loss to the Steelers, and now won’t be eligible to return to game action for eight weeks.
Linebacker D.J. Smith will take Tolbert’s spot on the 53-man roster, according to the team. Smith, who worked out for the Patriots a few days ago, was with the Panthers in camp and started the season on the club’s practice squad. As Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer notes (via Twitter), the fact that Carolina signed Smith instead of a running back suggests there’s some concern about the status of linebacker Thomas Davis.
While the Panthers didn’t replace Tolbert with a running back for now, the team may have to make another move to shore up the backfield before this weekend. DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart are also banged up, which prompted the team to promote Darrin Reaves to the 53-man roster this past weekend. The Panthers have another back on the practice squad, in Lache Seastrunk, so he could be a candidate for promotion depending on the health of Williams and Stewart.
AFC Notes: Ravens, Jets, Pats, Chargers
A year ago, the Patriots began the 2013 season by winning their first four games, the Broncos came out of the gates by winning six consecutive contests, and the Chiefs started 9-0 before being dealt their first loss. In 2014, however, we’re through just three weeks and only one AFC team remains unbeaten.
The 3-0 Bengals have the conference’s best point differential by far at +47, and with a bye week coming up, their loss column will remain unblemished for at least one more week. Starting in Week 5 though, the Bengals will play games against the Patriots, Panthers, Colts, and Ravens, meaning there’s a good chance their winning streak will be halted well before they have the opportunity to match last year’s Chiefs’ start.
As we look forward to seeing how long the Bengals can continue their winning ways, let’s round up a few items from around the AFC….
- With Dennis Pitta having been ruled out for the season after undergoing hip sugery, the Ravens are eyeing potential replacements at tight end. Per Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun, the team is working out free agents Emmanuel Ogbuehi, Jake Murphy, Matthew Mulligan, and Kellen Davis today.
- Former Bills cornerback Brandon Smith is trying out for the Jets today, following the club’s Monday Night loss to the Bears, reports Wilson at the National Football Post. According to Wilson, Smith, who has recovered from a broken fibula suffered in training camp, is receiving some interest from multiple NFL clubs.
- The Patriots worked out running back Rajion Neal, wide receiver Kevin Cone, defensive end Steven Means, and linebacker D.J. Smith, tweets Wilson.
- Wide receiver and return man Marcus Thigpen agreed to join the Dolphins’ practice squad yesterday, but also recently worked out for the Colts, according to Wilson (via Twitter).
- With the help of his colleague Adam Caplan, ESPN.com’s Eric D. Williams explores some possible free agent options at running back for the Chargers in the wake of injuries to Ryan Mathews and Danny Woodhead.
Chargers To Promote Cordarro Law
With two open roster spots to fill after placing Danny Woodhead and Melvin Ingram on IR, the Chargers will promote a player who has spent the season on their practice squad. According to Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune, linebacker Cordarro Law will be added to the team’s 53-man roster.
Law, 25, drew NFL interest last winter after a standout 2013 season with the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders, in which the outside linebacker racked up 14 sacks. Before he signed with the Chargers, the Jaguars, Patriots, and Ravens were among the teams who auditioned Law or at least had some interest in him, according to various reports. The former Southern Miss standout went undrafted in 2012 and was picked up by the Seahawks before being cut and heading north to the CFL.
For San Diego, Law will help reinforce a linebacking corps that has been depleted by injuries in recent weeks. Ingram is on injured reserved with the designation to return, meaning he won’t be eligible to return to game action for another seven weeks. According to Gehklen, Manti Te’o is also expected to miss significant time after suffering a foot fracture during Sunday’s game against the Bills. Te’o likely won’t land on injured reserve, but figures to miss multiple contests.
Once the Law promotion becomes official, the Chargers will still have one opening on their 53-man roster to fill. Presumably, that spot is earmarked for a running back.
Jaguars To Re-Sign Sherrod Martin
The Jaguars have struck a deal to bring back safety Sherrod Martin, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. Although Wilson classifies the signing as having been completed, Jacksonville will need to cut a player to make room on the 53-man roster for Martin, so the team has yet to officially announce the move.
Martin, who will turn 30 next month, was a second-round pick by the Panthers in 2009, spending the first four seasons of his NFL seasons in Carolina. During that stretch, the Troy alum appeared in 59 games, starting 36, and accumulated 184 tackles to go along with seven interceptions and four forced fumbles. Having signed a futures contract with the Jaguars at the end of the 2013 season, Martin spent the offseason and preseason with the club before being cut when rosters were trimmed from 75 players to 53.
The Jaguars had been in need of some added depth at the safety position after cutting Craig Loston over the weekend and seeing Chris Prosinski suffer an elbow/triceps injury during Sunday’s game against the Colts. Loston is now back on the team’s practice squad, while Prosinski is expected to be sidelined for two to four weeks.
Minor Moves: Monday
We’ll keep tabs of today’s minor transactions from around the NFL right here, with the latest moves added to the top of the page throughout the day:
- The Dolphins have signed Marcus Thigpen to their practice squad, writes Omar Kelly of the Sun Sentinel. Thigpen spent one week on the Patriots’ practice squad beore being cut last week. Thigpen, a former CFL standout, contributed 1,910 kickoff return yards, 580 punt return yards, and scored three touchdowns for the Dolphins in the past two seasons.
- The Redskins will sign center Tevita Stevens to their practice squad tomorrow, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (on Twitter).
- Steelers linebacker Jarvis Jones, who injured his wrist last night, has been placed on Pittsburgh’s injured reserve list with the designation to return, according to Brian McIntyre (via Twitter). The designation means that Jones will be sidelined for at least the next eight weeks of game action.
- In advance of tonight’s game against the Jets, the Bears have waived wide receiver Josh Bellamy and promoted linebacker Terrell Manning from their practice squad to the 53-man roster, tweets Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.
- Linebacker Keith Smith has been cut by the Cowboys, the team officially announced today (via Twitter). For now, the club has an opening on its 53-man roster.
- The Ravens are filling the 10th and final opening on their practice squad by re-adding defensive tackle A.J. Pataiali’i, reports Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
- After being cut from the team’s active roster before this weekend’s contest against the Colts, safety Craig Loston has rejoined the Jaguars‘ practice squad, tweets John Oehser of Jaguars.com.
- Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson is set to join the Vikings‘ practice squad, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter). When the move becomes official, Minnesota will need to cut or promote someone off the practice squad to clear a spot for Bethel-Thompson.
- The Buccaneers have removed Rashaan Melvin from their injured reserve list with a settlement, says Wilson (via Twitter).
Injury Updates: Monday
Teams around the league today are assessing the damage from Week 3’s games, and in some cases the news is sobering. At Pro Football Rumors, we don’t cover every injury, but we’ll keep tabs on the major ones that could result in a player heading to injured reserve or in his team adding a replacement via free agency or trade. Here are the latest Monday updates on those major injuries from this week:
- According to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Panthers running back Mike Tolbert has sustained a hairline fracture in his leg, while Jonathan Stewart has a sprained knee. Tolbert, who also has a bone bruise, won’t require surgery but may miss more than a month, a source tells Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link). With DeAngelo Williams also banged up, expect the Panthers to add some help for the backfield this week.
Earlier updates:
- Like Jason Kelce, whose injury is noted below, Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph will undergo surgery for a sports hernia, reports Albert Breer of the NFL Network (Twitter links). Rudolph is expected to miss about six weeks, which might make him a candidate for the injured reserve list with the designation to return.
- Saints center Jonathan Goodwin has been diagnosed with a high ankle sprain, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). While an MRI today will determine the severity of the injury, the team anticipates that Goodwin will miss time.
- As first reported by Howard Eskin of 94WIP Radio in Philadelphia (Twitter link), Eagles center Jason Kelce has a sports hernia injury and is expected to require surgery, writes Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. It’s the latest blow for an increasingly depleted Eagles line, which is already missing Evan Mathis and Allen Barbre and may require an outside addition, as both Eskin and McLane point out. McLane reports that Kelce could end up missing about two months.
- Lions head coach Jim Caldwell confirmed today that linebacker Stephen Tulloch will be placed on injured reserve after sustaining a torn ACL (Twitter link). As if the season-ending injury wasn’t bad enough, it happened while Tulloch was celebrating a sack of Aaron Rodgers by performing his version of the “Discount Double Check” act.
- Bills wideout and special-teams ace Marcus Easley has suffered a sprained MCL, and will likely be sidelined for four to six weeks, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.com. Buffalo has yet to use its IR-DTR spot, but Easley may not be a candidate for that designation, since he could return within a month.
- We rounded up some news on Steelers injuries earlier this morning.
Florida Notes: Tannehill, Dolphins, Jaguars
Matt Moore is one of the highest-paid backup quarterbacks in the league, and the Dolphins may be reaching a point where they’re not just paying him to sit on the bench. According to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald, after another poor performance from Ryan Tannehill on Sunday, the club is mulling the possibility of changing quarterbacks. As Salguero notes, head coach Joe Philbin was evasive when asked about Tannehill’s job security today, and while a change isn’t necessarily imminent, the team is at least considering it.
If Tannehill were to lose his job, it wouldn’t bode well for his next contract. After this season, the Dolphins will have to make a decision on the signal-caller’s fifth-year option for 2016, and could even sign him to an extension if they so choose. While that option would almost certainly be exercised if Tannehill has a big 2014, it’s not looking good at the moment for him.
Here’s more on Tannehill, along with a couple more items on the NFL’s Florida teams….
- Predictably, Tannehill was one of the three players Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap named in his weekly look at players whose potential future earnings have taken a hit based on their recent performances.
- While the Dolphins haven’t looked great on the offensive side of the ball over the last two weeks, the defense hasn’t been any better, and according to Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald, Miami players are getting frustrated. One source tells Beasley that many of the defenders are “beyond furious, irate” with defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle‘s game plans and play calls.
- Assuming Blake Bortles stays healthy and remains the No. 1 quarterback in Jacksonville, the Jaguars will receive a $1.25MM credit on their cap, according to Joel Corry of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). Those savings would be a result of Chad Henne not reaching the playing-time incentives on his deal with the club.
Danny Woodhead Out For Season
MONDAY, 3:42pm: Chargers head coach Mike McCoy confirmed today that Woodhead will be out for the season, and is being placed on injured reserve (Twitter link via Eric Williams of ESPN.com). Since the team had already been carrying just 52 players, there are now two openings on the 53-man roster.
SUNDAY, 5:28pm: Chargers running back Danny Woodhead suffered a high ankle sprain and a fracture fibula during today’s game against the Bills, reports Alex Marvez of FOX Sports (via Twitter). According to Marvez, Woodhead will likely undergo season-ending surgery to repair the damage.
While San Diego entered the season with a wealth of talent at the running back position, including Woodhead, Ryan Mathews, and Donald Brown, the team’s backfield has taken a hit in recent weeks. In addition to seeing Woodhead go down this week, the Chargers also had Mathews suffer an MCL sprain, which is expected to sideline him for multiple games.
We’ll have to wait for an official announcement from the club on Woodhead’s status, which figures to come on Monday, but it looks like the injured reserve list is a strong possibility for the former Patriot. The Chargers just used their IR spot with the designation to return yesterday on linebacker Melvin Ingram, so that won’t be an option for Woodhead.
If the Chargers decide to replace Woodhead on their 53-man roster with another running back, Marion Grice is a candidate. Grice is currently the only back on the team’s practice squad.
DeAngelo Hall Placed On IR With Torn Achilles
3:16pm: The Redskins have announced a series of roster moves: Hall and fellow defensive back Duke Ihenacho, who has a broken heel, have been placed on injured reserve; Minnifield has been promoted to the active roster; and linebacker Darryl Sharpton has been cut from the IR list with a settlement (Twitter link).
1:47pm: Minnifield will indeed be promoted to the 53-man roster from the practice squad to take Hall’s roster spot, Jones confirms (via Twitter).
12:37pm: The Redskins’ fears were confirmed today, according to Dianna Russini of NBC4 in Washington, who reports (via Twitter) that DeAngelo Hall suffered a torn Achilles in yesterday’s game, and will undergo surgery within the next few days. The veteran cornerback will miss the remainder of the 2014 season, Russini adds (via Twitter).
Hall, 30, avoided free agency back in February by signing a new four-year, $17MM deal with the Redskins. Only about a third of that money was guaranteed, so Washington won’t necessarily be obligated to keep Hall on the roster for the 2015 season, but I’d expect the cornerback to return to the team as long as his surgery and recovery goes well.
While Hall has yet to officially be placed on injured reserve, the team will open a roster spot when that move is finalized. According to Mike Jones of the Washington Post, the Redskins are leaning toward promoting cornerback Chase Minnifield from their practice squad to the active roster. However, Minnifield has yet to hear anything on that front (Twitter links).
For now, with Hall out, it appears Bashaud Breeland will be in line for a more significant role in Washington’s secondary.
Ravens Issue Rebuttal To ESPN Report
The Ravens have issued a lengthy press release, in which various team officials, including owner Steve Bisciotti, respond to ESPN’s investigative report into the team’s handling of the Ray Rice situation. The release includes 15 excerpts from the ESPN story, accompanied by responses from the Ravens explaining their side of the story. You can read the full statement at their website, but here are a few of the notable points:
- Based on Rice’s initial explanation of the incident to the Ravens, the team was under the impression that the running back slapped his then-fiancée with an open hand, rather than punching her. It wasn’t until the club saw the TMZ video that officials realized how violent the incident was.
- Ravens director of security says the description of the elevator video he received from Atlantic City police suggested that “Janay appeared to initiate the altercation, but they both spit at and struck each other, resulting in Janay falling and hitting her head against the wall railing.”
- Head coach John Harbaugh said he didn’t recommend releasing Rice back in February, as ESPN’s report suggests. “I was very disturbed by that [first] tape, and I told people that the facts should determine the consequences,” Harbaugh said. “When I saw the second videotape, I immediately felt that we needed to release Ray.”
- Bisciotti, team president Dick Cass, and GM Ozzie Newsome all indicate they didn’t ask commissioner Roger Goodell to levy no more than a two-game suspension on Rice.
- Cass admitted that the team didn’t continue to investigate the incident throughout the summer: “We decided that we would await the outcome of the criminal case and the NFL disciplinary hearing and to leave the fact-finding to others. We should not have done that.”
- Bisciotti, addressing the idea that he was offering Rice a job with the team later in his career if he kept quiet about the Ravens’ handling of the incident: “I cannot believe that Ray ever thought I was suggesting he keep quiet, when he got the texts or later on. They were not an insult. To the contrary, I think he knew these were messages from the heart, as were his responses to me.”
On the heels of issuing this statement, Bisciotti also addressed reporters on the issue. In the view of the Baltimore owner, the sources for ESPN’s Outside the Lines report were predominantly connected to Rice — either his friends or people who work for or with him (Twitter link). Biscioitti added that he’s “very confident” that no one currently with the Ravens will lose their jobs over this incident (Twitter link).