Greg Olsen Will Not Play Against Falcons
Panthers tight end Greg Olsen will not play this week against the Falcons while he recovers from a concussion, tweets Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic. Olsen left Carolina’s game last Sunday against Washington after linebacker Ryan Anderson delivered a helmet-to-helmet hit. Anderson was ejected from the game, but Olsen continues to suffer the consequences from the play.
Over his 13-year career, Olsen has been one of the best and most consistent receiving tight ends in the NFL. While injuries limited his production in 2017 and 2018, Olsen was in the middle of a resurgent season as one of the Panthers leading receivers. In his 12 starts, Olsen has amassed 48 receptions for 552 yards.
Young tight end Ian Thomas filled in for Olsen last Sunday and is expected to do the same this week. While Thomas has only made five catches on the season, he started for Olsen six times in 2018 and averaged nearly seven catches for 40 yards a game. Of course, that production was with Cam Newton at quarterback, so Thomas will need to develop a stronger rapport with current starter Kyle Allen.
Panthers Sticking With Kyle Allen
Changes have been aplenty recently in Carolina, but new Panthers offensive playcaller Scott Turner made clear there will not be a change at quarterback, according to Max Henson of the Panthers team website. While Kyle Allen has been the team’s replacement for injured star Cam Newton, recent struggles led some to call for rookie Will Grier.
Allen, signed as an undrafted free agent out of Houston, served as Carolina’s 
backup in his rookie season and was thrust into action after Newton was forced to rest a painful foot injury. At first, Allen looked like a potential star, leading Carolina to four straight victories while throwing 7 touchdowns and no interceptions. The team is just 1-5 since, however, and Allen has thrown more interceptions (10) than touchdowns (8).
The future of the Panthers quarterback position remains one of the biggest offseason questions in the league. Newton’s contract allows the team to trade or release him and save over $19MM in cap space. However, he remains the best quarterback in their franchise’s history and is not very far removed from being one of the best players in the NFL. He would immediately become one of the most intriguing players on the trade market or as a free agent (if the team released him).
If the Panthers believe Allen is a legitimate franchise quarterback, his extremely team-friendly contract could allow the team to recoup draft capital for Newton while using the cap savings to sure up other positions. Who’s decision that will be remains unclear. After firing head coach Ron Rivera, new ownership, led by David Tepper, will likely want the next head coach involved in making that decision. By sticking with Allen, it will give the Panthers organization-and whoever joins them-a greater chance to evaluate his prospects.
Buccaneers Sticking With Ronald Jones II
Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians told reporters that running back Ronald Jones II will remain the team’s starter even amidst his struggles, according to Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com. Jones was benched during Week 13 for missing a blitz pickup and was replaced by Peyton Barber.
A second round pick by Tampa Bay in the 2018 NFL Draft, Jones spent all of his rookie season buried on the Bucs depth chart behind Barber-who started all 16 games last season. However, in a more prominent backup role this season, Jones clearly outperformed Barber and has been the team’s starter since Week 9. Jones has yet to translate his early season success, when he averaged 4.24 yards per carry, to the starting lineup, averaging just 3.29 yards per carry since. His struggles in pass protection though, seemed to be the final straw.
Barber and Jones have received a nearly identical number of carries this season (125 for Jones and 122 for Barber), but Tampa has remained committed to playing the hot hand regardless of who was in the team’s starting lineup. Still, at least for now, Jones remains the top running back on the Buccaneers depth chart.
Cowboys Notes: Beasley, Garrett, Maher
Former Cowboys receiver Cole Beasley had a bumpy tenure with the team. Beasley was a fan favorite in Dallas from 2012-2018, but became frustrated with the team when his role did not expand to the degree he thought it should. After signing with the Bills this offseason, Beasley got to exert his revenge in Buffalo’s 26-15 victory in Dallas on Thursday.
In the postgame celebration of Buffalo’s Thanksgiving day victory, Beasley told reporters that he felt “disrespected” in Dallas and felt that they disrespected him again in his return, according to Angel Franco of The Dallas Morning News. Beasley caught six passes for 110 receiving yards and a touchdown against his former team.
Here’s some more Cowboys notes:
- Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones ripped his coaching staff after last week’s loss to the Patriots. After an even more disappointing loss to Buffalo on Thursday, all eyes were on the maverick owner to see if he would once again criticize his coaching staff. While Jones was not full of praise, he tried to calm the flames around the team by saying he will not make any coaching moves during the season, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. This does not remove the pressure on head coach Jason Garrett to make a deep playoff run, but should make it easier to focus on the upcoming schedule.
- Cowboys placekicker Brett Maher is in the midst of a massive sophomore slump. After an impressive rookie season that included 6 makes on 7 attempts from at least 50 yards, the Nebraska product has made just 67.9% of his field goal attempts in 2019. While special teams has been a huge problem for the Cowboys, they will not be making a change at kicker, according to Jon Machota of The Athletic. Maher has yet to miss an extra point on the season and remains 14 of 16 inside 40 yards, but will surely hope to improve his accuracy from deeper range during the rest of the season.
49ers WR Dante Pettis Has Knee Sprain
49ers wide receiver Dante Pettis left practice on Wednesday with what could have been a serious knee injury, luckily, the sophomore wideout’s injury appears to just be a sprain that is not a cause for long-term 
concern, according to Ian Rapoport. The injury does make his status this week uncertain, but should not limit him later in the year.
This season has gone as good as anyone could have expected for the 49ers, but that has not been the case for Pettis. The team’s second round pick in 2018 appeared poised for a breakout after a strong finish to his rookie season. However, he found himself at the bottom of the team’s depth chart at receiver and has been unable to take advantage of limited opportunities.
In 2019, Pettis has appeared in all 11 49ers games (4 starts) this season and hauled in 11 receptions for 109 yards and two touchdowns. For what it’s worth, Pettis only had 11 receptions and 189 yards at this point last season before recording 262 receiving yards in his next four games.
Pettis may be on the border of the 49ers plans going forward, but a season-ending injury could have spelled the end of his time in San Francisco. Matt Barrows of The Athletic reported that either Pettis or wide receiver Marquise Goodwin, who is dealing with minor injuries of his own, will be inactive this week in San Francisco’s big game in Baltimore against the Ravens.
Giants WR Golden Tate Out With Concussion
Giants wide receiver Golden Tate will not practice today and is out for New York’s upcoming matchup 
against the Packers while he deals with a concussion, according to Ryan Dunleavy of The New York Post. Tate sustained a concussion in last week’s 19-14 loss to the Bears on a touchdown reception and has been in the league’s protocol since.
Tate, signed this offseason by the Giants, has hauled in 36 receptions for 450 yards and 4 touchdowns over seven games this season. With Tate out and tight end Evan Ingram dealing with an injury of his own, expect New York to rely heavily on running back Saquon Barkley against the Packers.
According to the Giants depth chart, Cody Latimer is next in line to take Tate’s starting spot, but Darius Slayton started in place of Sterling Shepard while he was out with a concussion of his own. Regardless, this season’s revolving door of receivers has not made adjusting to the NFL any easier for rookie quarterback Daniel Jones, who has struggled mightily since a strong start to the season.
Eagles Lane Johnson Will Start Sunday
Eagles starting right tackle Lane Johnson was cleared from the league’s concussion protocol and will return to the lineup on Sunday, according to Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Johnson sustained a concussion 
in Philadelphia’s Week 11 matchup against the Patriots and missed last week’s 17-9 loss to the Seahawks.
Johnson’s return will be a sign of relief for the Eagles, who were without the entire starting right side of their offensive line last week. Philadelphia’s offense, especially quarterback Carson Wentz, have appeared in disarray in recent weeks, but playing some of the best defenses in football without full strength along their offensive front just added to a perfect storm of problems.
While the team is surely disappointed with a 5-6 start to the season, the rest of the division’s struggles leaves them within striking distance of a playoff spot. After the Cowboys loss on Thanksgiving dropped them to 6-6, Philly is only a half-game back for the division lead in the NFC East. Furthermore, the Eagles will host the Cowboys in Week 16 and have a much easier schedule than their division foe. Dallas’ opponents, aside from the Eagles, have a combined 14-20 record while Philadelphia’s have just a combined 8-36 record.
Packers RT Bryan Bulaga Returns To Practice
Packers right tackle Bryan Bulaga returned to practice on Thursday, according to Tom Silverstein and Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Bulaga left Green Bay’s loss to the 49ers last Sunday with a right knee injury and did not return. Bulaga took part in all of the team’s pre-practice drills with the starters, 
which generally suggests he played in 11-on-11s (reporters were not allowed to watch that portion of practice). While he was listed as just a limited participant in practice, he is already ahead of schedule.
Green Bay made a series of roster moves early in the week that suggested they were skeptical Bulaga would be able to play. After Alex Light-Bulaga’s replacement-was dominated by San Francisco, the Packers promoted offensive tackle Yosh Nijman from the practice squad and claimed veteran Jared Veldheer off waivers. However, per the report, those moves may end up superfluous.
Bulaga has been a key part of the Packers offensive line since they drafted him in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft. When healthy, he has started nearly every game for Green Bay, but injuries have allowed him to play in at least 13 games just four times in his nine-year career. Those limitations have not been due to toughness though. Bulaga showed that by playing through a right shoulder injury earlier this season. Now Packers fans will just have to wait and see if he can take the field on Sunday against the Giants.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/27/19
Here’s Wednesday’s practice squad news:
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: DE Robert McCray
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: DL Alex Barrett
Retired Jags LB Telvin Smith Arrested In Florida Home
Former Jaguars linebacker Telvin Smith shocked the football world when he abruptly took a break from the NFL prior to the 2019 season, forfeiting his $9m salary. He is back in the news today after reports emerged that his house was flooded with police.
According to Vic Micolucci of WJXT4, multiple neighbors saw police arresting the 28 year old before towing his Black Cadillac Escalade. The police did not address the media tonight, but there has been speculation that a post on the official twitter account of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Department describing the raid of a marijuana growing operation is referring to Smith’s home.
Without much confirmed and nothing officially announced, the situation remains a developing story and will be updated as updates emerge.