No Criminal Charges For Ezekiel Elliott
We learned back in July that Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott would not be suspended for an altercation between him and a security guard in Las Vegas in May. However, that security guard did elect to file charges against Elliott, so the running back was not completely out of the woods.
Until now. A source tells Clarence E. Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that Elliott will not be charged in connection with the alleged assault. Hill reports that members of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department met with prosecutors at the end of July, and prosecutors determined they could not move forward with the case.
Hill adds that Elliott, who has been working out in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, as he continues to hold out for a new contract, has returned to Dallas for a “brief respite.” However, there has been no progress on a new deal between Zeke and the Cowboys, and the star RB is expected to return to Cabo shortly.
In the meantime, rookie fourth-rounder Tony Pollard continues to impress in preseason action, which may or may not give Dallas a little more leverage in their negotiations with Elliott.
Latest On Vikings’ Kicking Situation
There is still not much clarity on the Vikings’ kicking situation, as Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune observes. Minnesota, of course, traded a fifth-round pick for Kaare Vedvik on Sunday, which suggests that he is a near lock to make the team. However, kicker Dan Bailey and punter Matt Wile remain on the roster, and head coach Mike Zimmer hasn’t tipped his hand just yet.
As was reported when the Vikings acquired Vedvik, the team could deploy him as both a punter and kicker. Zimmer said, via Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com, “[y]eah, if he’s good enough, I wouldn’t have a problem with that. But I don’t know. Again, I think everything is a possibility at this point.”
All three players are expected to see action in Minnesota’s second preseason contest on Sunday. Bailey has responded well to the increased pressure from Vedvik, as he nailed all seven of his attempts in Tuesday’s practice, including a 54-yarder. That was the first time he had been perfect in drills since training camp opened.
Wile, the team’s ordinary holder, cannot serve in that capacity for the time being, as he sliced his left thumb during last week’s preseason opener. But Goessling suggests that Wile’s progress as a holder could ultimately determine whether he makes the 53-man roster.
Again, it seems unlikely that Vedvik will be cut, but Bailey’s and Wile’s fates are still very much up in the air.
Kenyan Drake Likely Done For Preseason
Dolphins top running back Kenyan Drake is likely to miss the remainder of the team’s preseason slate, and his availability for Week 1 is in question as well, as Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald writes. Drake suffered a foot injury in Tuesday’s practice.
Of course, Miami is in the early stages of a complete rebuild, so losing Drake for any regular season action won’t exactly impact the club’s postseason chances. But Drake is eligible for free agency in 2020, so he doesn’t want his platform year to be marred by injury, and the Dolphins would like to see what the talented 25-year-old can do when given a full workload.
The Alabama product has averaged a terrific 4.7 yards per carry across 286 career totes in his three professional seasons, and he’s also been a significant contributor in the passing game. Advanced metrics are high on his ability, and he could earn a nice payday in 2020, either from the Dolphins or another RB-needy team.
Luckily, Drake’s injury does not seem to be overly serious. Head coach Brian Flores said, “[t]he opener is down the road. He’s got a little injury. He’s just going to take it day to day. He’s got a great attitude about it. I think he’ll be OK.”
In Drake’s absence, Kalen Ballage and Mark Walton will see more action. Miami also has several seventh-round rookies on the roster.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/14/19
Here are today’s minor moves, which will be updated throughout the night:
Cincinnati Bengals
- Claimed: DE Dare Odeyingbo
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: TE Ben Johnson
- Waived: LB Josh Corcoran
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: LB Drew Lewis
New York Giants
- Signed: DB Terrell Sinkfield
Seattle Seahawks
- Waived off IR: CB Davante Davis
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Claimed: WR Emanuel Hall
- Waived: S Micah Abernathy
Giants Re-Sign TE Scott Simonson
How can a team re-sign someone who’s still on the roster? The Giants sort of answered that question today, as they re-signed veteran tight end Scott Simonson, though Simonson was ostensibly under contract with Big Blue already.
Simonson appeared on the league’s transaction wire Wednesday afternoon, leading a number of beat writers to report that he had been cut. But according to Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com, Simonson’s previous contract didn’t “register” for the current league year, so he appeared on the wire not because the Giants cut him, but because they re-signed him (Twitter link). Raanan speculates (via Twitter) that there was simply an error in filing the previous contract.
Simonson was a quality blocking TE for the Giants last season, so his “release” was something of a surprise. He remains in the fold, though, and Ryan Dunleavy of NJ.com believes New York will carry four TEs, including Simonson (Twitter link). It seems that UDFA C.J. Conrad is the favorite to be the fourth tight end on the roster.
Simonson, who has also suited up for the Raiders and Panthers in his career, has never been much of a receiving threat. He posted nine catches for 86 yards and a touchdown for New York in 2018, all of which represented professional high-water marks. But it seems as if his blocking ability will earn him a second season in the Big Apple.
At Least Four Teams Inquire On Ravens K Kaare Vedvik
Not many backup kickers have generated the type of interest that Ravens’ understudy Kaare Vedvik has, but not many backup kickers are as talented as Vedvik. We learned on Saturday that the Bears and Jets are interested in Vedvik, and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports that at least four teams have approached Baltimore about a trade (Twitter link).
Schefter says that at least two of the four teams are in the NFC North, and it’s almost certain that Chicago is one of the inquiring clubs. The Lions appear set at the position with Matt Prater, but it’s not at all surprising to learn that the Packers and/or Vikings are interested in a potential upgrade.
Vedvik, a Norwegian-born kicker who played his college ball at Marshall, signed with the Ravens as a UDFA last year and was extremely impressive last preseason. He was generating plenty of trade buzz before a bizarre assault landed him in the hospital and on the non-football injury list. However, he has picked up right where he left off, nailing all four of his field goal attempts in the Ravens’ first preseason game on Thursday, including a 55-yard boot.
He is also a gifted punter, and as such, any acquiring team could fill two roster spots with one player. Unless Justin Tucker or Sam Koch suffers an injury over the coming weeks, Baltimore will surely trade Vedvik, and the team will have no shortage of potential trade partners.
Browns Sign Rico Gathers
The Browns have signed TE Rico Gathers, as Mark Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reports (via Twitter). In a related move, the club has waived FB/TE Orson Charles.
The Cowboys waived Gathers last week, and Cleveland is taking a low-risk gamble on Gathers’ athletic upside. Dallas selected the former Baylor basketball player in the sixth round of the 2016 draft, but Gathers spent his entire rookie campaign on the practice squad and the entirety of his second professional season on IR.
He finally saw regular season action last year, and though he appeared in 15 games (four starts), he caught only three passes for 45 yards. With Jason Witten back on the team and fellow tight ends Blake Jarwin and Dalton Schultz ahead of Gathers on the depth chart, the Cowboys decided to cut ties.
But the Browns have very little depth behind starter David Njoku. Though Gathers will be suspended for the first week of the season due to a violation of the league’s substance abuse policy, he should have a chance to earn meaningful playing time in Cleveland.
Charles, 28, appeared in 13 games and made two starts for the Browns in 2018. He saw action on 173 offensive plays, the most snaps he had played since his rookie campaign with the Bengals in 2012
49ers Notes: Pettis, Taylor, Coleman
49ers wideout Dante Pettis was a second-round pick last year and showed some flashes of promise in his rookie campaign, picking up 27 catches for 467 yards (good for an excellent 17.3 yards-per-reception) and five touchdowns. But he has consistently failed to come up with contested catches in training camp, and he was the only first-stringer from the 49ers’ initial depth chart to play in the club’s preseason opener Saturday.
The consensus has been that Pettis is a surefire starter for San Francisco this year, but head coach Kyle Shanahan said Pettis is not guaranteed a starting job, as Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. Shanahan acknowledged that Pettis has a great deal of room for improvement, and he said he put Pettis in the game because he wanted the second-year pro to compete and to start elevating his game.
Rookie wideouts Jalen Hurd and Deebo Samuel played well in their NFL debuts, while Pettis had one target and no catches.
Now for more from the 49ers:
- We heard yesterday that receiver Trent Taylor underwent surgery on a broken foot and would miss some regular season action. As Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter), Shanahan says that Taylor sustained a Jones fracture but that the team caught the injury before he suffered a complete break, so he may miss only four to six weeks. There is some hope that Taylor will be able to suit up for Week 1, but that still seems unlikely.
- We have conflicting reports on the severity of the injury that OT Shon Coleman suffered Saturday night. Colemean suffered a lower right leg injury, and Matt Barrows of The Athletic says that while Coleman will get an MRI Monday, the injury is expected to be a season-ender (Twitter link). Branch hears the same (via Twitter), but Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that Coleman’s recovery will take several months. RapSheet classifies the injury as a dislocated ankle.
- Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Areas says the 49ers will need to look for another swing tackle in the wake of Coleman’s injury, and he suggests that the team could re-sign Garry Gilliam to fill that role (Twitter link). Gilliam served as San Francisco’s swing tackle in each of the past two seasons, and though he remains a free agent, he has received interest from other clubs.
Steelers WR Coach Darryl Drake Passes Away
Steelers WR coach Darryl Drake passed away this morning, the team announced. He was 62.
Drake, who played wide receiver at the collegiate level for Western Kentucky from 1975-78, never played a regular season snap in the NFL. However, he returned to his alma mater in 1983 as a graduate assistant, which kicked off a 36-year coaching career.
He got his first shot at an NFL coaching job in 2004, when he served as the wide receivers coach for the Bears. He held that position through the 2012 season before moving on the Cardinals. He worked as Arizona’s WR coach from 2013-17 and was hired in the same capacity by the Steelers last year, beating out team icon Hines Ward for the job.
Pittsburgh did not disclose a cause of death, though the team did cancel practice Sunday. Team president Art Rooney II issued the following statement:
“We are at a loss for words following Darryl Drake’s passing this morning. Darryl had such an impact on the players he coached and everyone he worked with throughout his entire career. He was a passionate coach and had a tremendous spirit toward life, his family, his faith and the game of football. Our prayers and thoughts are with his wife, Sheila, his three daughters, his grandchildren and entire family during this difficult time.”
Head coach Mike Tomlin released his own statement:
“Darryl was a close friend and had a tremendous impact on my coaching career. He was an amazing husband, father and grandfather, and it is difficult to put into words the grief our entire team is going through right now. Darryl loved the game of football and every player he ever coached. We will use our faith to guide us and help his family throughout the difficult time.”
We at PFR offer our condolences to Drake’s family and friends.
Broncos RB Theo Riddick Out 6-8 Weeks
New Broncos RB Theo Riddick suffered a slight shoulder fracture during the team’s preseason game against the Seahawks on Thursday, as Mike Klis of 9News.com reports. Riddick will be sidelined for six to eight weeks.
Luckily, the injury will not require surgery, and Riddick should return no later than Week 5. There was some chatter recently that Devontae Booker could become a trade candidate in the wake of the Riddick signing, but given Riddick’s injury, Denver will almost certainly hang on to Booker, an experienced third-down back.
The injuries are starting to pile up a bit for the Broncos. We learned Friday that fullback Andy Janovich will also miss the next six to eight weeks, and special teams standout Joe Jones will be sidelined for a while as well.
Riddick, who is best-known for his receiving ability out of the backfield, was expected to serve as a strong complement to starter Phillip Lindsay. He may still play an important role for the Broncos this year, but the team will have to rely more heavily on Booker and Royce Freeman for the first several weeks of the season.