Vikings To Stick With Keenum At Atlanta
Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer told reporters Case Keenum will receive another start when the team travels to take on the Falcons, Courtney Cronin of ESPN reports. 
Despite throwing for at least 280 yards in four consecutive games and riding a six-game win streak as the starter, the veteran quarterback’s status as the No. 1 signal-caller is on a week-to-week basis. Though Teddy Bridgewater is on his way back from his long hiatus, it would make no sense to pull one of the league’s hottest quarterbacks in favor of someone who hasn’t played in almost two years.
Since starting in a 23-10 win over Green Bay in Week 6, Keenum has posted a 95.4 passer rating and thrown for 1,581 yards and 10 touchdowns. With the Vikings battling for home-field advantage in the postseason, don’t expect a change under center anytime soon unless Keenum has a misstep in the coming weeks.
Extra Points: Anthem, Raiders, Bengals, Jets
Discussion about who stands and who sits for the national anthem could come to an end next season if the owners have their way, the Washington Post’s Mark Maske hears. Maske reports that some NFL owners think there is a “strong possibility” they could enact a change to the league’s policy next season that could keep players off the field during the playing of the national anthem.
Maske quoted one person familiar with the owners’ deliberations saying, “I think that if players are still kneeling at the end of the year, then it could very well happen.” He continued with the source, who said, “I think most owners would support it, particularly if players continue to kneel this season.”
The thought this action could quell attention from the league’s anthem issues is a naive one. Players in favor of demonstrating their right to protest are sure to feel disrespected, while having no one standing for the flag is certain to draw ire from a wide range of fans. Whatever the decision, the NFL isn’t likely to escape the spotlight anytime soon.
Here’s more from around the NFL:
- Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio issued a statement on Wednesday stating “nobody should feel comfortable” following the team’s firing of defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr., NBC Sports’ Scott Blair reports. Del Rio continued, saying, “We couldn’t continue doing what we’ve been doing to this point. So I made the call. The whole idea is to change what we’re doing and make sure…what I’m looking for at the end of the day is for us to play fast on defense. We weren’t playing fast enough. We weren’t playing confident enough.” After starting the season with Super Bowl aspirations, the Raiders are holding out hope for a second-half revival to contend for a wildcard spot.
- Former Chiefs general manager John Dorsey sat down with ESPN’s Adam Schefter on his Know Them From Adam Podcast to give his first interview since being fired in June. In the interview, which the Kansas City Star’s Blair Kerkhoff recapped, Dorsey didn’t address his departure much outside of saying he’s had better days. He did claim he wanted to make a return to football, however. “I know I can do my job with the best with my peers in the National Football League,” Dorsey said. “I’m very proud of being able to help an organization re-establish their winning ways, and I think that’s important.”
- When asked if the team was committed to kicker Randy Bullock for the remainder of the season, Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said they were committed to him “for the week.,” ESPN’s Katherine Terrell reports. Bullock has connected on 8-of-10 field goals on the season but has missed an extra point in each of his last two games.
- It’s getting close to time for the Jets to see what they have in Christian Hackenberg and Bryce Petty, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News writes. Though Josh McCown has played well, Mehta claims it is time to call the kids up from “Triple-A” to see what they can do.
NFC Notes: Reed, Redskins, Lions, 49ers
Just days after Terrelle Pryor was placed on season-ending injured reserve, the Redskins’ pass catchers received another blow on Wednesday. The team’s star tight end Jordan Reed was ruled out for the team’s Thanksgiving tilt with the Giants, according to Kimberly Martin of the Washington Post (Twitter link).
The oft-injured Reed, who was labeled as questionable by head coach Jay Gruden an hour before the announcement, will miss his sixth game of the year. Reed also missed four games in 2016 and two during his breakout 2015 season.
There are few better tight ends than Reed when he is on the field. Of the 11 players at his position to record 250 receptions since 2013, he is the only one to average at least five receptions per game. The team will once again turn to Vernon Davis in the division clash on Thursday night.
Here’s more from around the NFC:
- Though the 49ers will start C.J. Beathard again on Sunday, team general manager John Lynch is convinced Jimmy Garoppolo is going to be the team’s future starting quarterback writes Cam Inman of The Mercury News. “We really, genuinely believe that this guy’s got the makings of a guy who could be our guy for years to come,” Lynch said. “That’s all got to come to fruition on the field.”
- Staying with San Francisco, Lynch also believes defensive end Arik Armstead has a bright future with the team despite missing 18 of 32 career games with an injury, according to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee. “We think he’s a fit with what we are and who we are going forward,” Lynch said. Though he is a fit, Armstead will need to find a way to stay on the field to stay in the 49ers’ plans.
- Matt Prater has been the Lions’ most valuable free agent signing in the last five seasons, writes ESPN’s Michael Rothstein. Though he has stiff competition from Golden Tate and Glover Quin, the veteran kicker is without a doubt in the mix for the honor.
49ers To Stick With Beathard Vs. Seahawks
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters that rookie quarterback C.J. Beathard will receive his fifth consecutive start when the team hosts Seattle on Sunday, according to Ian Rapoport (Twitter link). That means the recently acquired Jimmy Garoppolo will have to wait at least another week to receive his first snaps in San Francisco. 
Though Shanahan said Garoppolo, who the team traded for before the deadline from the Patriots, is making progress, he doesn’t expect the quarterback to be fully up to speed in the team’s offense this season. “Is Jimmy going to be the best he can? To me, that’s impossible. He just hasn’t been here long enough. … I don’t think we’re going to see Jimmy’s best football, to be fair to him, until next year. Because that’s what guys need.”
Fans in the Bay Area might be ready to see what Garoppolo can do, but it is also tough to bench the third-round signal-caller just one game after he delivered the team’s first victory. In Week 10 vs. the Giants, Beathard completed 76 percent of his passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns and added another score on the ground.
San Francisco didn’t trade for the Eastern Illinois product for no reason, however, and the team is sure to give him a chance to show what he can do in Shanahan’s offense should Beathard make a misstep.
AFC Notes: Bills, Phins, Cutler, Broncos, Jets
Though there weren’t many positives to glean from a 54-24 drubbing by the Chargers, the Bills did receive one bit of good news on Monday. Newly acquired wideout Kelvin Benjamin did not tear his ACL in the loss, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (Twitter link).
Though the injury could force the physical receiver to miss a few games, he should be able to help the Bills, currently tied with Baltimore for the last playoff spot, contend for a wildcard berth down the stretch.
After letting Robert Woods walk and trading away Sammy Watkins in the offseason, Buffalo pulled off a deadline deal with Carolina for Benjamin, who was expected to serve as Tyrod Taylor‘s top target. That has yet to come to fruition with Benjamin catching four passes in two games and Taylor being benched for the first half vs. Los Angeles.
Here’s more from around the AFC:
- Dolphins QB Jay Cutler is officially in the NFL’s concussion protocol, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). The Dolphins are 4-6 and mired in a four-game losing streak, so their showdown with New England could be a make-or-break game for their slim playoff hopes. Matt Moore will assume the starting role should Cutler not be fit for the game.
- After being placed on injured reserve earlier this month, Raiders first-round pick Gareon Conley underwent surgery to repair his injured shin on Monday, NBC Sports’ Scott Blair reports. The cornerback suffered the injury in training camp and aggravated it in Week 3 vs. Washington.
- The Jets are still holding out hope for the postseason. With that in mind, the team will roll with Josh McCown as the team’s starting quarterback unless injured, reports Newsday’s Calvin Watkins. McCown is on the same page as Bowles and appreciates the vote of confidence.
- Following the firing of Mike McCoy as offensive coordinator, the Broncos promoted Bill Musgrave to the post and named Klint Kubiak quarterbacks coach, according to Schefter. The offensive coordinator in Oakland the last two seasons, Musgrave helped the Raiders produce one of the league’s most potent offenses in 2016. Kubiak, the son of former Broncos head coach and team senior personnel advisor Gary Kubiak, served as wide receivers coach at Kansas in 2015 before joining the Broncos as an assistant in 2016.
- Remaining with the shakeup in Denver, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio writes that John Elway should also receive some blame for the team’s downward spiral in 2017. Florio writes: “Despite efforts to blame the players and, as of Monday morning, to blame offensive coordinator Mike McCoy, and possibly to blame coach Vance Joseph, responsibility for the six-game losing goes to every layer and level of the organization, and the buck ultimately stops on Elway’s desk.”
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/20/17
Here are today’s minor moves:
Miami Dolphins
- Cut: RB De’Veon Smith
Houston Texas
- Promoted to active roster: WR Cobi Hamilton
New Orleans Saints
- Waived: LB Adam Bighill
Josh Gordon Set To Return To Practice
There isn’t much to celebrate in Cleveland with the Browns remaining as the league’s only winless team. Don’t tell head coach Hue Jackson that. He is in the holiday spirit with Josh Gordon‘s impending return to the practice field on Wednesday. 
“It’s like Christmas,” Jackson told reporters, including Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal. “I get to open a new toy. I know what’s in that box, but I just want to see how good it is. It’s exciting that he’ll be back out there.”
Plagued by suspensions throughout his career, Gordon was reinstated to the league on Nov. 1 and is eligible to return to the field for Cleveland’s Week 13 matchup at the Chargers. Gordon produced one of the best seasons by a receiver in NFL history in 2013 when he led the league with 1,646 yards in just 14 games. He has played just five games since that breakout campaign.
If he is anywhere near his 2013 form, Browns fans will have at least one thing to be thankful for this holiday season.
Robert Woods To Miss Time
The Rams will be without top wide receiver Robert Woods for “a couple weeks,” head coach Sean McVay told reporters including ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez (Twitter link). McVay touched on the importance of the injury, calling it “a significant loss for us.” 
Though McVay also stated the injury could threaten the receiver’s season and require surgery, he remained positive, saying the Rams hope to have him back in two weeks.
Woods injured his left shoulder in the Rams’ Week 11 matchup with Minnesota after being tackled by safety Harrison Smith.
To call the injury a significant loss is putting it lightly. Woods has been easily the team’s No. 1 wideout in recent weeks, posting 20 catches, 322 yards and four touchdowns in the team’s last three games. The emergence of the fifth-year pass catcher has also hid the ineffectiveness of Sammy Watkins, who has posted more than two catches just once since Week 3.
Woods has been quite the find for the Rams, who signed the former Bills receiver to a five-year contract prior to the 2017 campaign. The California native has looked right at home in the Rams’ new-look passing attack and has already recorded a career-high 703 yards through 10 games.
With the loss, the Rams will look for Watkins, who the team traded for in the offseason, to fill the void.
Washington Places Terrelle Pryor on IR
Washington wide receiver Terrelle Pryor underwent arthroscopic surgery on his injured ankle on Monday and was placed on injured reserve, head coach Jay Gruden told reporters including the Associated Press. 
The move comes after Pryor was declared inactive for Washington Week 11 matchup with New Orleans. The receiver saw foot specialist Dr. Robert Anderson in Charlotte on Monday and the decision was made to operate on the ankle that has been bother Pryor since Week 2, according to ESPN. “[Dr. Anderson] said the stuff he saw in there, he couldn’t believe I was still playing,” Pryor told reporters.
Washington was hoping for a big season out of Pryor, who the team signed to a one-year deal after topping 1,000 yards on 77 receptions in a breakout season with Cleveland. Those hopes didn’t come to fruition, as the former quarterback finished the season with just 20 receptions for 240 yards and one touchdown.
The injury was sustained following a nasty — but legal — hit by Rams safety Cody Davis. The defender hit Pryor around his knees and led to the receiver calling out the safety following the game.
49ers Claim Sheldon Day From Jaguars
The 49ers claimed defensive lineman Sheldon Day off waivers from the Jaguars, the team announced on Monday.
Day was waived on Saturday when the Jaguars activated rookie Dede Westbrook. A fourth-round selection in 2016 coming out of Notre Dame, Day has appeared in 22 games, logging 11 tackles, two sacks and one pass defensed. With the move, the second-year defender will be reunited with San Francisco defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who spent three seasons in Jacksonville as a linebackers coach before heading west.
A Second Team All-American at Notre Dame, Day posted 15.5 tackles for loss as a senior in 2015, the most by a Fighting Irish player since Derek Landri in 2006.