Chargers Could Bench Philip Rivers
The 4-7 Chargers likely have to win out in order to have a shot at the playoffs, and for the first time since quarterback Philip Rivers entered the league in 2004, Rivers may not give the Bolts the best chance to win. As such, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com hears that Rivers could be pulled from Sunday’s game against the Broncos if he continues to struggle.
Rapoport says that head coach Anthony Lynn will not have a quick hook, but if Rivers performs as badly on Sunday as he has over the past two weeks — he has thrown a whopping seven interceptions and has fumbled twice during LA’s two-game skid — Lynn could yank Rivers in favor of veteran backup Tyrod Taylor.
It’s a move that Lynn obviously does not want to make, but he may not have a choice. Rivers, who will turn 38 next week, has struggled with interceptions a bit throughout his career, but he is currently not doing enough to offset those turnovers. Rivers and Lynn have spoken several times since the team’s crushing loss to the Chiefs in Week 11, and Rivers knows he must play better.
On the other hand, Lynn does not want the eight-time Pro Bowler looking over his shoulder and playing without the same carefree style that has made him so successful in the past. With respect to pulling Rivers, Lynn said, “I don’t plan on having to make that decision…Most great athletes, they respond well. I believe Philip is going to respond well.”
Taylor, a three-year starter for the Bills from 2015-17, has shown the ability to take care of the football, and he can also make plays with his legs, which Rivers cannot do. Taylor signed a two-year, $11MM pact with the Chargers in March, so if Los Angeles should decide to move on from Rivers this offseason — which is looking increasing likely – Taylor may have a shot to serve as the team’s starter in 2020.
Broncos To Start Drew Lock
After officially activating him off injured reserve on Saturday, the Broncos will start rookie QB Drew Lock against the Chargers on Sunday, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. It will be the first regular season action of Lock’s professional career.
Although the Broncos drafted Lock in the second round of the 2019 draft with the notion that he could be the team’s long-term answer under center, he may have to perform at a very high level throughout the rest of the season to stave off any competition for the starting QB job in 2020. The Missouri product had an uneven preseason and was knocked out of the Broncos’ fourth exhibition game with a thumb injury, which landed him on IR. He did not return to practice until the second week of November.
As such, it would not be surprising for the Broncos to go shopping for a signal-caller yet again this offseason if Lock doesn’t excel, though Lock would almost certainly be involved in a QB competition if that happens. After all, he was considered a borderline first-round talent, and he had a prolific four-year collegiate career at Mizzou.
Lock will have a stiff test against the Chargers, whose defense ranks in the top-10 in yards allowed and points allowed, and who will be returning safety Derwin James.
Panthers Waive S Rashaan Gaulden
The Panthers have waived safety Rashaan Gaulden, the team announced. Gaulden was a third-round pick in the 2018 draft, but he never cracked the starting lineup and saw most of his action as a special-teamer.
And when a special teams player makes an error on special teams, that player may not be long for the roster. In Sunday’s difficult loss to the Saints, Gaulden collided with punt returner D.J. Moore, which led to an early turnover, and he also picked up an unnecessary roughness penalty later in the game.
Plus, as Joe Person of The Athletic points out, Gaulden was never happy with his role on the team and left an August practice for reasons that went unexplained (Twitter link). And as Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic tweets, Gaulden has been a healthy scratch this year.
Given his draft pedigree and potential versatility, Gaulden should get an opportunity elsewhere, even if he goes unclaimed on waivers. He ends his Panthers career with 18 total tackles and a pass defensed.
Lions Notes: Patricia, Pasqualoni, Quinn
The Lions suffered a bad loss to the now 2-9 Redskins on Sunday, which has led to a great deal of speculation as to the future of the organization’s leaders. Here’s the latest from the Motor City:
- Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports suggested that “there could be some changes afoot” if the Lions do not have a strong performance against the division-rival Bears on Thanksgiving (Twitter link via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press). La Canfora made those remarks during the CBS Postgame Show and did not elaborate, but it seems that a shakeup to head coach Matt Patricia‘s staff could be in the cards, even if Patricia himself is safe at least until the end of the 2019 season.
- Speaking of Patricia, the second-year HC was oddly evasive when asked who was calling the defensive plays against the Redskins, as Birkett writes in a full-length piece. It appeared that Patricia was calling the plays, and though he gave defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni a vote of confidence as a play-caller last month, the head coach himself appears to have taken the reins and is simply trying to refrain from confirming that publicly. In any event, the defense — which has Patricia’s fingerprints all over it — ranks near the bottom of the league in most major categories, and that’s not a good omen for Patricia’s future.
- The club may not fire the former Patriots DC during the season, as his players still seem to play hard for him and the roster has been hit hard by injury, but as Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com writes, Lions ownership has to consider all options this offseason. The team could fire Patricia, GM Bob Quinn, or both, as neither man has done much to inspire confidence that they are the right people to lead the Lions on a long-term basis.
- Speculatively, given Pasqualoni’s apparently diminished role, the changes that La Canfora references above could mean that Pasqualoni is shown the door if the Lions fail to perform well against Chicago.
- Though the Lions’ playoff hopes are long gone, QB Matthew Stafford still wants to return to the field this year.
Steelers To Name Devlin Hodges Starter?
The 6-5 Steelers found themselves in a tight battle with the 0-11 Bengals on Sunday, and a quarterback switch helped them fend off their winless rivals. Pittsburgh HC Mike Tomlin benched Mason Rudolph in favor of Devlin Hodges in the third quarter, and Hodges finished 5-of-11 for 118 yards and a touchdown in the comeback win.
Rudolph, meanwhile, was just 8 of 16 for 65 yards and a red zone interception before being removed. In addition to his role in the victory over Cincinnati, Hodges also won his only start of the season — on the road against the Chargers in Week 6, when Rudolph was sidelined with a concussion — and he nearly led the team to another victory against the Ravens the week before, taking over when Rudolph was knocked out by a helmet-to-helmet hit.
Hodges, a UDFA rookie from Samford, is hardly considered the heir apparent to Ben Roethlisberger, while there was some hope that Rudolph might be. But Rudolph has not done much to suggest that he is the long-term answer, and Hodges might be the better option right now for a Steelers club with a strong defense that still has a chance at the postseason.
To that end, Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network (video link) believes the Steelers are heading for a QB change. Tomlin was non-committal when asked about a potential shakeup after Sunday’s game, and Rapoport says the veteran HC could keep rolling with Rudolph, but the fact that Tomlin was comfortable enough to make an in-game change suggests that he was at least considering the move ahead of time. Rudolph’s struggles, combined with Hodges’ relative — albeit modest — success could force Tomlin’s hand.
Latest On Broncos’ Ownership Situation
Brittany Bowlen, 29, has long been considered the favorite to succeed her father, the late Pat Bowlen, as the Broncos’ principal owner, and it seems she is well on her way towards that position. As Mike Klis of 9News.com reports, Brittany Bowlen will begin working with the team next Monday as Vice President of Strategic Initiatives.
The team did not send out a press release, but it did send an emailed response to several members of the media who had requested an update on the Broncos’ ownership situation. Brittany Bowlen’s role will including the following responsibilities:
- Overseeing various aspects of the south development project at the stadium;
- Implementing a strategy and improved process for overall fan experience;
- Collaborating with numerous departments on business analytics;
- Developing a sustainable approach to workplace culture, diversity and inclusion; and
- Monitoring industry trends and presenting recommendations for best practices.
Of course, the Broncos have been run by a trust created by Pat Bowlen in 2009, and one of the trustees, team CEO Joe Ellis, has been a de facto spokesman for the club. Ellis has repeatedly said that there is no “depth chart” as to which of Pat Bowlen’s seven children would replace him as principal owner, so this move is the first time the team has publicly acknowledged that the succession plan definitely includes Brittany Bowlen.
“Brittany is working toward earning the right to succeed her father, and this is the next step in that process,” Ellis said. “Given her work experience and depth of knowledge, we’re looking forward to Brittany returning to work for the Broncos and adding value across our organization.”
Brittany Bowlen has been working at global consulting firm McKinsey & Co. for the past 14 months, and she will initially focus on the business side of team operations, but her role is expected to eventually expand to include football operations.
Two of Pat Bowlen’s older daughters from an earlier marriage, Amie Klemmer and Beth Bowlen Wallace, have filed a petition challenging their father’s mental capacity to approve the trust, and a hearing on that matter will be heard in the spring.
Colts To Place TE Eric Ebron On IR
The Colts suffered a damaging blow to their hopes of winning the AFC South by losing to the Texans on Thursday night, and they have also suffered a key injury. Per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter), Indianapolis will be placing tight end Eric Ebron on injured reserve, as Ebron needs surgery on both of his ankles.
Ebron, whom the Lions selected with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2014 draft, had something of an up-and-down tenure in Detroit, but the Colts took a gamble on his upside by giving him a two-year, $13MM deal shortly after the Lions released him in March 2018. He did not disappoint, as he developed great chemistry with Colts’ signal-caller Andrew Luck throughout the 2018 campaign and finished the season with 66 catches for 750 yards and a whopping 13 TDs. His efforts earned him the first Pro Bowl nod of his career.
But Ebron struggled to develop the same rapport with Jacoby Brissett this season, and he has battled injuries and consistency issues throughout the year. He will finish the 2019 season with 31 catches for 375 yards and three scores.
It’s bad timing for Ebron, who will be a free agent again this offseason, but assuming he makes a full recovery, he should still be able to land another multi-year pact. The Colts will lean more heavily on fellow TE Jack Doyle as they continue their playoff push, and they will also sign Ross Travis, as Joel A. Erickson of the Indianapolis Star tweets. Travis played four games for the Colts in the 2017 season, but an ACL tear wiped out his entire 2018 campaign. Indy re-signed him to a one-year pact in February, but he did not survive final cuts.
AFC East Notes: Brady, Jenkins, Lotulelei
Patriots QB Tom Brady will play against the Cowboys this afternoon, but as Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network (video link) notes, the team will need to closely monitor Brady’s elbow moving forward. Brady was unable to finish practice on Friday due to elbow pain, and while he was able to take all necessary reps on Saturday, he will continue to get work on the elbow as the season goes on.
Now for more from the AFC East:
- It’s not unusual for teams to distance themselves from certain prospects in the pre-draft process in order to hide their interest in those prospects, and that’s exactly what the Patriots did with punter Jake Bailey, as Mike Reiss of ESPN.com writes. New England neither interviewed nor held a workout with Bailey, but it traded up in the fifth round of this year’s draft to select him. That move paid off, as the rookie specialist has two AFC Special Teams Player of the Week nods and is currently a favorite for the Pro Bowl.
- Rich Cimini of ESPN.com expects the Jets to make a concerted effort to re-sign linebacker Jordan Jenkins this offseason. Jenkins, who will be eligible for unrestricted free agency for the first time, has steadily improved during his first four years in the league, and despite missing two games this season with a calf injury, he has posted five sacks, just two shy of his career-high of seven (which he set last year). Jenkins will likely command a contract paying him over $10MM per year.
- The Jets will have a lot of positions to address this offseason, but tight end isn’t one of them. As Cimini tweets, the club appears set at TE with Ryan Griffin — who agreed to a three-year extension on Saturday — Chris Herndon, and improving rookie Trevon Wesco.
- Bills fans have been less than impressed with the performances of front-seven defenders Star Lotulelei and Trent Murphy, but Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic says (via Twitter) that Lotulelei will definitely be back with the team next year (the Bills could save $10.1MM against the 2020 cap by cutting Lotulelei after the season, but they would also take on a $7.8MM dead cap charge). Murphy’s status is a bit tougher to predict, but if the Bills move on from Shaq Lawson, Murphy is likely to be back for the final year of his contract.
La Canfora’s Latest: Rivers, Garrett, Smith
CBS Sports scribe Jason La Canfora published his usual Sunday slate of items from around the league, including reports on the future of Panthers HC Ron Rivera in Carolina and the Titans‘ potential desire to re-sign QB Ryan Tannehill. Let’s take a look at a few more notes from JLC:
- Chargers QB Philip Rivers is eligible for free agency at season’s end, and in light of his struggles in 2019, there has already been plenty of speculation about his future with the Bolts. La Canfora says the team is currently not planning on having any extension talks with Rivers’ camp, and for his part, Rivers has shown no desire in promoting the team’s move to Los Angeles (he still lives in San Diego and spends up to four hours a day commuting to and from the Chargers’ facility). La Canfora suggests that the Chargers, who may not be picking high enough in the 2020 draft to land a top collegiate passer, could move on from Rivers but may pursue a veteran signal-caller like Cam Newton.
- La Canfora details all of the steps the league took to investigate Browns‘ DE Myles Garrett‘s claim that Steelers QB Mason Rudolph used a racial slur in the lead-up to the now infamous brawl between the two clubs, and the NFL did not find a shred of corroborating evidence. The good news for Cleveland is that the league currently has no intention of extending Garrett’s suspension into the 2020 season. Garrett will be required to schedule a meeting with the league and the union to have a “check-in” of sorts, but assuming that goes well, he should be reinstated without incident.
- Former Texans GM Rick Smith left the team after the 2017 season when his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer, but he is open to returning to the league in 2020 should the right opportunity emerge. He is apparently ready and able to assume all duties that go along with running a franchise, and since there may be fewer elite GM candidates in 2020 than in years past, Smith could be appealing to a number of clubs. Although Houston is currently without a GM, La Canfora says a reunion between the two sides is not in the cards.
Latest On Ron Rivera’s Future With Panthers
Panthers owner David Tepper recently spoke with the media about the state of his team, though he specifically told reporters that he would not answer questions about head coach Ron Rivera. However, the fact that Tepper held the impromptu session at all led some members of the organization wondering about Rivera’s future, as Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes.
Tepper was considering major changes last year, but he ultimately stuck with the status quo for 2019. The hedge fund billionaire purchased the club in 2018 and focused more on the business side of operations during his first year in charge, but he was clear about his desire to eventually become more involved in the football side. As such, 2019 was always going to be a defining year, and, in the wake of Carolina’s recent slump — including last week’s blowout loss to the 3-7 Falcons — Tepper is once again mulling a significant shakeup.
Rivera is under contract through 2020, though Tepper may be inclined to part ways in favor of a head coach with an offensive background and an analytics-based approach. Indeed, sources close to Tepper say that, barring a major turnaround, the owner is likely to make a change at season’s end.
Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network (video link) confirms that the manner in which Rivera’s 5-5 Panthers close out the season will go a long way towards determining his future in Carolina. Regardless of whether or not Tepper fires Rivera, the team will have to figure out what to do with QB Cam Newton, though Tepper said that no decision would be made in that regard until Newton is fully healthy.