Vikings’ Jayron Kearse Arrested
Vikings safety Jayron Kearse was arrested this morning on suspicion of DUI and possession of a firearm without a permit, as Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). He is being held without bail for the firearm charge.
Kearse, a fourth-year player out of Clemson, was selected by the Vikings in the seventh round of the 2016 draft. He has appeared in 55 regular season games in his career, starting just four of them. But he has become a consistent part of the team’s DB rotation, having appeared in over a quarter of Minnesota’s defensive snaps this year, and he has been a regular special teams contributor since his rookie campaign.
Cronin passes along the team’s statement on the matter (Twitter link): “We are aware of Jayron’s arrest and are gathering additional information at this time.”
Kearse has compiled 55 tackles, four passes defensed, and a half-sack in his career.
Patriots Notes: Trades, Brady, Gronk
The Patriots made a couple of notable trades over the past week, acquiring wide receiver Mohamed Sanu and jettisoning defensive end Michael Bennett. Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports that the team is not done dealing, and his sources say New England is continuing its efforts to strengthen its offense.
Even with Sanu in the fold, La Canfora says the Pats are still expected to pursue receiver help, and although all indications are that the Bengals won’t trade A.J. Green prior to Tuesday’s deadline, rival GMs expect Bill Belichick to take a run at him just the same. As reported previously, the club is also interested in bolstering its tight end group, and Cincinnati’s Tyler Eifert and Tampa’s O.J. Howard appeal to the Patriots. Additionally, New England remains in the market for O-line upgrades, with Washington’s Trent Williams, Cincinnati’s Cordy Glenn, and old friend and current Giant Nate Solder also potential targets.
Now for more out of Foxborough:
- Despite La Canfora’s report that the Patriots will continue to be aggressive in the trade market, Michael Lombardi of The Athletic says the Pats are not involved in any deals right now, as they are quite limited in cap room (Twitter link). The Bennett trade helped to facilitate the Sanu acquisition, but if New England is going to make another splash, it may need to cut or restructure another player.
- For the first time in 20 years, Tom Brady‘s future is uncertain, and one of the league’s most respected reporters, Adam Schefter, recently said that Brady staying with the Pats beyond 2019 is less likely than his retiring or suiting up for another club. Another of the NFL’s most prominent scribes, Ian Rapoport, doesn’t go as far as Schefter, but he does say that Brady’s tone with respect to his future has changed dramatically, and RapSheet confirms that TB12’s 2020 plans are very much up in the air (video link). On the other hand, Schefter points out that Brady’s strong relationships with Belichick and owner Robert Kraft — which were reportedly strained not that long ago — could convince the future Hall-of-Famer to stay in New England.
- If Brady does play elsewhere in 2020, La Canfora says the Chargers would hold significant appeal to him given his connections to SoCal and his increasing interest in Hollywood.
- Former Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski recently stated in no uncertain terms that he would remain retired, but as Stefan Geller of the Boston Herald writes, that could still change. Gronk is calling on the league to allow players to use CBD products to aid in their recoveries, and if that happens, he suggested he could come back. “I also want to have the option to get back into the game, and if I’m banned next year, I can’t,” Gronkowski said. Gronkowski, obviously, is using CBD products and recently partnered with CBD Medic.
- Tom Pelissero of NFL.com names Patriots special teams/WRs coach Joe Judge and ILB coach Jerod Mayo as two assistants who could garner head coaching interest during next year’s coaching carousel. While it would be a stretch to see the 33-year-old Mayo as an HC in 2020, especially since he just became an NFL coach seven month ago, it would not be surprising to see him get an interview.
Patrick Mahomes To Return In Week 9?
Patrick Mahomes is one of the most transcendent talents in the league, and apparently, he’s made up of transcendent parts. Just last week, we heard that Mahomes wasn’t likely to return to the field until Week 13, after the Chiefs’ Week 12 bye. But Mahomes returned to practice just a couple of days after that report, and now Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says the star QB could suit up against the Vikings next week.
The reason for the accelerated timeline, per Rapoport, is the structure of Mahomes’ knee. Because of that structure, and how naturally loose the ligaments in his knee are, only one of those ligaments was compromised during the injury that he suffered against the Broncos. His knee is essentially double-jointed, which allowed him to avoid a more serious fate.
Mahomes has been ruled out for Sunday night’s game against the Packers, thereby depriving the football world of a Mahomes-Aaron Rodgers marquee matchup. That will be a difficult game for KC to win without the face of its franchise, and if the Chiefs fall to Green Bay, they could be tempted to re-insert Mahomes into the lineup against Minnesota next week.
It still sounds as though the following week’s contest against the Titans is the more likely return date, but it is nonetheless clear that Mahomes and the Chiefs dodged a major bullet, and they have Mahomes’ gadget knee to thank.
Trade Rumors: Seahawks, Broncos, Beasley
In the wake of Will Dissly‘s season-ending Achilles tear, the Seahawks are in the TE trade market, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Of course, Seattle already traded Nick Vannett to the Steelers earlier this season, and the club’s TE depth chart is so thin that they used several backup DEs as blocking tight ends in practice this week and may do so against the Ravens today.
Now for more trade rumors from around the league as we approach the October 29 trade deadline
- No surprises here, but the Broncos are getting trade calls on WR Emmanuel Sanders, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com writes. Though Denver GM John Elway has refuted the notion that any of his players are on the trade block, Schefter says the Broncos will listen to offers for Sanders, though they are expected to ask for at least a third-round draft choice in return.
- Another member of the Broncos that could be on the move is cornerback Chris Harris Jr. The Eagles made a strong offer for Jalen Ramsey, and Harris would still be a welcome addition to Philadelphia’s secondary and would not require the team to part with nearly as much draft capital. Former NFL agent Joel Corry (among others) wonders if the Eagles will make a push for Harris (Twitter link).
- The Falcons have put Vic Beasley on the trade block, per Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com. Beasley’s play has tapered off dramatically since his breakout 15.5-sack performance in 2016, but he’s a former first-round pick and is only 27, so he could be a low-risk, high-reward target for a team in need of pass rushing help.
- Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com believes the Browns still have a chance of landing Redskins LT Trent Williams, but she concedes that it will take a first-round pick and more to land him.
- Schefter tweets that the Raiders will be buyers in advance of the deadline and have already begun looking for LBs and pass rushers.
Antonio Brown Generating Interest; Latest On Grievance
Wide receiver is one of the most coveted positions during the run-up to this year’s trade deadline, but with A.J. Green seemingly off the market, and given the uncertain availability of other big names like Emmanuel Sanders, WR-needy teams that are unable to swing a trade prior to October 29 may turn to another option.
Indeed, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports says a number of teams are keeping a close eye on Antonio Brown, and his name has come up in internal personnel meetings. Once the trade deadline passes, La Canfora’s sources expect interest in Brown to further intensify.
Of course, the league has not yet interviewed Brown regarding the sexual assault/rape allegations that have been made against him, and if he were to sign with a team, the league will reportedly put him on the commissioner’s exempt list until the interview takes place. On the other hand, his signing may trigger the NFL to hold that interview and make a disciplinary decision, because it doesn’t want to look like it’s deliberately dragging its feet just to delay Brown’s return to the field. The last we heard, Brown prefers to wait until he is cleared by the league to sign, but he may have to force the issue.
Obviously, a Brown signing would need to be green-lighted by team ownership, which is not going to be an easy sell. But all it takes is one owner to pull the trigger.
In other Brown news, Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com reports that AB’s grievance against the Raiders has taken a major hit (Twitter link). Brown is seeking to recoup $30MM in guaranteed money from Oakland, but in the discovery phase of the grievance, the Raiders submitted multiple text messages from Brown to owner Mark Davis asking for his release. That will certainly not help Brown’s cause.
Fallout From Jalen Ramsey Trade
The Rams helped put an end to the Jalen Ramsey saga when they traded two first-round picks and a fourth-rounder to the Jaguars for the disgruntled star earlier this week. Ramsey is expected to suit up for his new club today — his back seems to have healed up quite nicely after the trade was announced — and we have a great deal of Ramsey-related notes to pass along:
- The Eagles were considered a front-runner in the Ramsey sweepstakes, and as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports, Philadelphia did make a legitimate effort to land the soon-to-be 25-year-old All-Pro. Schefter says the Eagles offered a first- and second-round choice to the Jaguars for Ramsey, and they thought they would be able to complete a deal. But when they were outbid by the Rams, the Eagles did not increase their offer, largely because they expect to have four defensive backs returning from injury in the next two weeks.
- The back injury that reportedly kept Ramsey out of the Jaguars‘ lineup for the past several games was widely thought to be an injury of convenience, and Jags owner Shad Khan steadfastly refused to give in to Ramsey’s trade demands (for a while). But as Schefter writes in a separate piece, three doctors cleared Ramsey to return from his injury, and Khan believed the “heart-to-heart” he had with Ramsey had helped to turn the tide. Khan thought Ramsey would play in last week’s game against the Saints, but when he didn’t, that was the final straw. Khan then gave his front office the green light to strike a trade.
- Ramsey, in an interview with ESPN’s Ryan Clark on Sunday morning, said his negative feelings towards the Jaguars this year started when head coach Doug Marrone did not trust him enough to challenge a completed pass during the team’s loss to the Texans that Ramsey insisted was incomplete. Ramsey said a meeting with unnamed Jacksonville execs after that game also prompted him to call his agent and request a trade (Twitter links via veteran NFL reporter Ed Werder).
- In yet another Ramsey piece, Schefter details the series of events that led to the trade to LA. It started with the Rams offering Marcus Peters to the Browns for guard Joel Bitonio. Cleveland countered with an Austin Corbett-for-draft pick offer that the Rams accepted. Los Angeles then offered Peters to the Ravens — another player in the Ramsey sweepstakes — and Baltimore was not only interested, but it wanted the deal to happen right away so it could have Peters for its key matchup with the Seahawks on Sunday. The 2020 fifth-rounder the Rams got back from the Ravens allowed them to add a 2021 fourth-rounder in their package to the Jaguars for Ramsey, which is what allowed the deal to get done.
- Rams‘ COO Kevin Demoff is one of those execs who is more willing to part with draft capital to acquire proven talent, a philosophical shift that has made for more exciting trade seasons in the NFL in recent years. Demoff said, via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, “[w]e don’t value late first-rounders as much as we do proven players. It is a further crapshoot when you get to that point in the round.”
- Demoff refuted the notion that the Rams, losers of three straight, made the Ramsey trade out of desperation, pointing out that the team would have kept Peters if it was truly desperate. Instead, the Rams, who knew they were not going to re-sign Peters in the offseason, elected to get something for him while sending him to a club that will be able to get the most out of his talents. Of course, as noted above, it was the Peters trade that helped to facilitate the Ramsey deal.
- Rapoport says that the Rams are expected to work out a long-term deal with Ramsey in the offseason. The trade was obviously not contingent on having such a contract in place, though the topic was discussed. Schefter says Ramsey has promised he will not hold out if the two sides do not come to terms on an extension in 2020, though all bets are off if the Rams attempt to use the franchise tag on him in 2021. Interestingly, Schefter says the Rams could turn around and trade Ramsey this offseason if they feel they won’t ultimately be able to sign him to a long-term pact.
Texans Still Expected To Hire Nick Caserio In 2020
One of the biggest storylines of the spring was the Texans’ pursuit of Patriots exec Nick Caserio. Houston wanted Caserio to be its next GM, but the team backed off when the Patriots threatened to file tampering charges against the Texans (although Houston may have prevailed if it attempted to fight the charges). The two teams could have agreed to a trade for Caserio, but ultimately the Texans chose to go through the 2019 season without a GM.
Caserio’s contract with New England expires after the 2020 draft, so while the Texans wouldn’t have him calling the shots in a draft until 2021, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports says Houston still wants Caserio, and Caserio remains intrigued by Houston’s GM post. Although some Patriots beat writers attempted to downplay Caserio’s frustration with how this year’s events unfolded, Caserio himself didn’t do much to conceal his disappointment.
As such, La Canfora says the odds of an extension between Caserio and the Patriots are beyond slim. Caserio has built a strong reputation around the league after serving as Bill Belichick‘s right-hand man in the personnel department for a long time, and he now wants to take command of his own franchise.
He has rebuffed overtures from other clubs for several years, but he has ties to Texans HC Bill O’Brien and executive VP Jack Easterby, and he apparently believes Houston is set up for long-term success. La Canfora says teams other than the Texans will take a run at Caserio again this offseason, but sources close to Caserio believe he is definitely heading to Houston.
Injury Updates: Green, Mahomes, Newton
It doesn’t look like A.J. Green is going anywhere. Despite Bengals head coach Zac Taylor insisting that the team would not trade its injured star prior to the October 29 deadline, there was still plenty of speculation that Cincinnati would make a deal if it got the right offer. But Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports that Green, who returned to practice on a limited basis earlier this month, will not be ready to play until after the deadline.
Green is progressing nicely in his return, per Schefter, but the Bengals want to ensure a complete recovery before bringing him back, which makes it sound as though they have every intention of re-signing him this offseason (and, as Ben Baby of ESPN.com tweets, it’s an interesting contrast to the dispute between Cincinnati and Cordy Glenn). So if your team is looking for a WR upgrade, you can probably go ahead and scratch Green off your wish list.
Now for two more high-profile injury updates:
- Ian Rapoport of NFLcom (video link) has positive news on Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes. Per RapSheet, surgery (even in the offseason) has not been discussed, which contradicts a report from several days ago. Rapoport says Mahomes will miss at least the next three games, which means he will be sidelined for matchups against the Packers, Vikings, and Titans. Then, Kansas City travels to Mexico City for a game against the Chargers, and as Matt Miller of Bleacher Report observes, the field surface at Estadio Azteca could be questionable (Twitter link). The Chiefs have a bye after their sojourn across the border, so, in keeping with the earlier reports, it seems like a Week 13 return against the Raiders is the safest bet. Schefter says Mahomes could be back even sooner than the three-week minimum that Rapoport detailed, though that would seem like a very risk move on the Chiefs’ part. Luckily, Herbie Teope of the Kansas City Star tweets that Mahomes’ visit for a second opinion went well, though Teope does not offer a timeline for the star QB’s return.
- The Panthers are perfectly content for Cam Newton to take as much time as necessary to recover from his foot injury given that the club is 4-0 under backup Kyle Allen. Carolina is on a bye this week, and Newton is expected to return to the practice field in the coming days, but Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports says the team has not yet begun to discuss the QB situation, even privately. That means that, as long as Allen keeps performing, he may keep playing, which is consistent with reports from last week. In any event, the Panthers will not address the issue until Newton is back to 100%.
49ers To Pursue Trade For WR
The 49ers, who have raced out to a 5-0 start, are one of the league’s more surprising stories through the first six weeks of the regular season. But, with the Seahawks (5-1) also looking like a championship contender, and with the defending NFC champion Rams (3-3) still looming as a real threat, San Francisco has a long way to go to clinch its first division title since 2012.
To that end, the club is aggressively pursuing a trade for a wide receiver in advance of the October 29 deadline, as Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports. It does not sound as though the 49ers are going to make a deal for an offensive tackle, but the front office and head coach Kyle Shanahan believe an upgrade at WR is needed.
Indeed, there are not many proven receiving threats on the roster behind tight end George Kittle, and no wide receiver has 200 yards or more than one TD as of yet. Young talents like Dante Pettis and Deebo Samuel have plenty of promise, of course, and the Niners may get Trent Taylor back later this season, but a veteran wideout would certainly be a welcome addition.
La Canfora says the 49ers are one of the many teams interested in Bengals star A.J. Green, but Green’s health concerns and Cincinnati’s reluctance to talk shop could be obstacles to a deal. The Falcons are reeling and could look to move Mohamed Sanu, and the Bears may be willing to deal Taylor Gabriel, who has not been a focal point of Chicago’s offense (his Week 3 performance notwithstanding). The Broncos’ Emmanuel Sanders is also a popular name on the trade market this year, and La Canfora’s sources say the Dolphins’ DeVante Parker could be a fallback option for San Francisco.
Sanu and Gabriel both played for Shanahan in Atlanta, so he is plenty familiar with what they have to offer. But in any event, it appears that the Niners, who have been one of the more aggressive teams in pursuing trades over the past couple of years, will do everything in their power to upgrade their wide receiver depth chart.
Bears To Place Kyle Long On IR
The Bears are expected to put right guard Kyle Long on IR, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (Twitter link). That’s obviously disappointing news for Chicago, whose O-line has struggled mightily this year.
Of course, Long is one of the offensive lineman who has underwhelmed, so losing him might not be as big of a blow as it would have been in years past. It seems that time has taken a toll on the 30-year-old Oregon product, who hasn’t started more than nine games since 2016. He has been dealing with a hip injury this year, and it could be that the hip pain has caused his play to suffer.
Even so, he remains an intelligent veteran presence, so he will still be missed. The Bears, 3-2, have a bye this week and will be without Long for at least eight weeks. If the club is still in playoff contention at year’s end, Long could theoretically return for a postseason push. In the meantime, Rashaad Coward may get the nod in Long’s absence.
Long and the Bears agreed to a contract restructure in February that removed the 2021 season from Long’s deal, meaning he will be eligible for unrestricted free agency after the 2020 campaign. But Long was a potential cap casualty before the restructure, so he may have already played his last snap in a Bears uniform.