Roger Goodell Not Likely To Be Fired Or Resign
In the wake of the much-publicized Ray Rice incident, which has at least invited suspicion that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell tried to cover up the recently-released footage showing Rice striking his wife in an elevator, rumblings regarding Goodell’s job security have intensified. However, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, “Numerous league sources who have had direct conversations with Goodell continue to say he never viewed the video of Rice striking his wife until it hit the Internet.” Furthermore, La Canfora adds that the league owners continue to support Goodell and “few scenarios exist whereby that would significantly change.”
One such scenario, of course, would be a finding that Goodell did indeed take part in some sort of cover up. The mere fact that Goodell did not make more of an effort to see the footage, whose existence was widely known, would not seem to be enough to diminish his support.
However, considering the blow that this ordeal has dealt to Goodell’s already uncertain public reputation, some NFL owners fear that Goodell will resign from his post. Since those owners are still firmly in Goodell’s corner, his resignation, while still highly improbable, is more likely than his being fired.
La Canfora writes that, while the investigation that the Rice video has triggered might have “strong consequences for some in NFL Security and other corridors of the NFL office,” Goodell is not likely to be one of those impacted. Even though his public approval rating might have reached its nadir, he will almost certainly remain the league commissioner long after the Rice investigation has concluded.
Sunday Roundup: Harbaugh, Gordon, Manuel
After Michigan’s embarrassing loss to Notre Dame on Saturday evening, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wondered if Michigan fans would begin to dream of 49ers‘ head coach Jim Harbaugh‘s return to Ann Arbor to coach his alma mater. We detailed Harbaugh’s contract situation last month, and as Florio writes, “with no new contract in place and no plan to try to work one out until after the season, Michigan could opt to chase Harbaugh.”
In a series of tweets, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports that some 49ers sources believe that Harbaugh is already losing his locker room as the club’s veterans are wondering if their coach is really “all in.” Rapoport adds that some veterans were annoyed that Harbaugh took the team to Baltimore for a few days to hold joint practices with his brother, John, head coach of the Ravens. Between those rumblings and the fact that an extension was not reached in the offseason, Rapoport wonders if this will be Jim Harbaugh’s final season in San Francisco.
Now for some more notes from around the league as the season gets underway in full force:
- Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports tweets that the 49ers will re-sign special teams standout Kassim Osgood tomorrow. Joel Corry notes (via Twitter) that the team did the same thing with Osgood last season (release him at the end of camp only to re-sign him after Week 1) and will get termination pay relief again.
- Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer writes that, under the terms of the new drug policy being discussed by the league and the player’s union, Josh Gordon could be reinstated and back on the field for the Browns as early as next week, though he might still be suspended two games in November for his pending DWI charge.
- ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter reports that there are some within the Bills organization who are skeptical of EJ Manuel‘s ability to succeed, and the team is not afraid to make a switch to Kyle Orton.
East Notes: Tannehill, Jets, Bryant
For Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill, 2014 may well be the season that determines his future in the league. As Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes, the Dolphins must decide by May 2015 if they want to exercise Tannehill’s fifth-year option for 2016. Since Tannehill was a top-10 pick, that option would pay him the average salary of the 10 highest-paid quarterbacks in the league (about $15MM).
However, if Tannehill and the Dolphins offense thrive this season under the leadership of new offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, Miami could offer their young-signal caller a long-term extension, which the Bengals gave to Andy Dalton and the 49ers gave to Colin Kaepernick after their third seasons in the league.
Statistically, Tannehill’s second season compares favorably to Matt Ryan‘s, which is certainly encouraging for Miami fans. On the other hand, out of the 18 quarterbacks drafted in the top 10 from 2000-2011, seven saw their quarterback ratings drop in their third season.
Whether Tannehill takes a third-year leap like Ryan or a third-year tumble like Mark Sanchez will of course play a significant role in his own fortunes, but it will also go a long way in determining the fate of the franchise. As Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald writes, “This is going to be one of those defining seasons that either settles the franchise for the near future or points the whole place in a completely different direction.” And so much of that hinges on Tannehill’s right arm.
Now for a couple more notes from the league’s east divisions:
- In the same piece linked above, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports that the Dolphins made an inquiry, but not an offer, to former starting safety Chris Clemons after he was released by the Texans. Reshad Jones is serving a four-game suspension to begin the season, and if the Dolphins do not like what they see from their secondary in today’s opener against New England, they could bring Clemons back into the fold next week and would not have to guarantee his salary for the remainder of the season.
- Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News writes that, given the Jets‘ ample salary cap space, created in large part by GM John Idzik‘s failure to adequately address the team’s cornerback position this offseason–along with the holes stemming from those failures–head coach Rex Ryan should not be worried about his job security at the end of the season.
- I wrote up the latest piece of news on the Bills‘ ownership saga earlier today.
- Kevin Patra of NFL.com writes that, since the Cowboys and star wide receiver Dez Bryant were unable to hammer out an extension before today’s season opener, Bryant will be a logical candidate to get the franchise tag.
Terry Pegula Frontrunner To Buy Bills
In a full-length piece, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com expands on his report from several days ago that Buffalo Sabres’ owner Terry Pegula is the clear favorite to buy the Bills. As La Canfora writes, Pegula “has expressed a willingness to confidants to do whatever he has to do to get the team,” even if the NFL is able to find another bidder for the club and create something of an “auction scenario.” Such an auction could push the price tag further above the current estimate of $1.1 to $1.4 billion, but Pegula is apparently prepared to handle that type of increase.
Because he intends to keep the team in Buffalo beyond 2020–when the Bills’ stadium lease expires–Pegula certainly enjoys a great deal of public support. Fortunately for Bills fans, the Toronto-based group formerly led by Jon Bon Jovi, which would be hoping for a relocation to Ontario at some point in the future, has faced a number of internal struggles and is no longer a viable candidate. La Canfora does note that a move to Toronto may still be in the best financial interest of the team and the league, but “there are numerous options to exhaust in New York before reaching that point.”
Formal, binding bids for the team are due in the middle of this month. Once they are in, the trust of late owner Ralph Wilson will determine a winner, and the league’s other 31 owners will vote to determine if the winner will indeed become the new owner of the Bills. La Canfora expects that vote to happen during the league’s annual fall meetings, which will take place October 7-8 in New York.
West Notes: Hill, Farwell, Hayden
Let’s look at a few notes from the league’s west divisions to wrap up this Monday evening:
- Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes that Rams head coach Jeff Fisher, in the wake of Sam Bradford‘s season-ending injury, has reiterated that St. Louis has not engaged other teams in talks regarding a potential quarterback trade.
- On a related note, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com writes that Fisher emphasized that Shaun Hill will be the Rams‘ starting quarterback going forward.
- Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun tweets that Colton Schmidt, who was waived by the 49ers earlier today, could draw interest from other clubs looking to make an upgrade at punter. Schmidt led all punters in net yards this preseason.
- Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times writes that Seahawks backup middle linebacker and special teams captain Heath Farwell will likely need surgery to repair the extensive groin damage that he suffered in Friday’s preseason game against Chicago. Farwell’s injury essentially locks up a roster spot for undrafted free agent Brock Coyle.
- Kevin Acee of U-T San Diego reports that Chargers‘ guard Jeromey Clary will begin the season on the PUP list, thereby forcing him to miss at least the first six games of the regular season.
- Bill Williamson of ESPN.com writes that the Raiders may have found a diamond in the rough in defensive back Neiko Thorpe, who was signed to a futures contract in January.
- Citing head coach Dennis Allen, Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that Raiders corner D.J. Hayden, who is recovering from foot surgery, looked a lot better today working with trainers on the sidelines. The team will not make a decision regarding whether Hayden should go on the PUP list until Saturday’s deadline.
Saints Notes: Roster Moves, Goodwin, Griffin
There are a few Saints-related items to pass along this evening:
Roster Moves
- The team has released LB Victor Butler, tweets Kristian Garic of WWL 870am., thereby saving $1.5MM in cap space. Mike Triplett of ESPN.com was trying to confirm the release as of the time of this post.
- The Saints have informed OL Manase Foketi that he will be waived, tweets Evan Woodbery of the Times-Picayune.
Other notes
- Woodbery writes that the team’s kicking competition between Shayne Graham and Derek Dimke has not been decided, and head coach Sean Payton said that the battle will go down to the wire.
- In a separate piece, Woodbery breaks down how the new practice squad rules affect different members of the Saints’ roster.
- Larry Holder of the Times-Picayune believes the Saints’ center battle is over and that Jonathan Goodwin has earned the starting job over Tim Lelito.
- In the same piece, Holder writes that it is “increasingly evident” that the Saints will open the season with three quarterbacks. Even though Ryan Griffin has outperformed Luke McCown, the team does not appear ready to part with McCown, who has worked with the first-team offense in every preseason game thus far. Payton said that Griffin will see “plenty of action” in Thursday’s preseason finale against the Ravens.
49ers Roster Moves, Martin Update
Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that 49ers rookie center Marcus Martin is expected to miss eight weeks of the regular season with a kneecap injury.
Also, Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News writes that the 49ers have trimmed their roster to 75 players after making the following series of moves:
Waived
- QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson
- S D.J. Campbell
- TE Kevin Greene
- RB Jewel Hampton
- P Colton Schmidt
- LB Kion Wilson
- WR Devon Wylie
Released
- WR David Reed
Released off Injured Reserve
Reserve/PUP List
- LB NaVorro Bowman
- TE Garrett Celek
- DT Kaleb Ramsey
Reserve/Non-Football Injury (NFI) List
- RB Marcus Lattimore
- FB Trey Millard
- CB Keith Reaser
- G Brandon Thomas
The players on the PUP and NFI lists are eligible to return to practice after the first six weeks of the regular season or otherwise be placed on a season-ending reserve list. That means, of course, that Bowman and Lattimore will officially miss the first six weeks of the season.
As Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee tweets, all seven players that were waived are eligible to be placed on the team’s practice squad.
Richie Incognito Cleared To Play
Free agent guard Richie Incognito has been cleared to resume all football activities, including playing in regular season games, tweets Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune. We learned earlier today that the Buccaneers were meeting with Incognito, though Tampa Bay head coach Lovie Smith cautioned this afternoon that it was a “simple visit” that was perhaps being over-hyped as something more. Cummings also noted (via Twitter) that at least three other teams were interested in acquiring him.
Despite Smith’s comments, it would seem that, given Incognito’s baggage, any team that brings him in for a visit has more than just a cursory interest in signing him. The Bucs are certainly thin on the offensive line, and are said to be monitoring the Alex Boone situation in San Francisco as well. However, when asked whether Tampa Bay was the favorite to land Incongito at this point, Cummings tweeted that the “Bucs have [the] edge. He’s here.” And now, as Cummings notes, they do not have to worry about whether the NFL will allow him to play.
For an in-depth evaluation of what Incognito brings to the table–the good and the bad–read our Dallas Robinson’s free-agent stock watch post.
Matt Prater Suspended For Four Games
MONDAY, 3:45pm: Prater has issued a statement through the Broncos’ Twitter account: “I’m really sorry. I’ve made mistakes. I addressed the team and apologized.” Lindsay H. Jones of USA Today notes (on Twitter) that although Prater will be allowed to lift weights at the Broncos’ facility during his suspension, he will be forced to practice kicking alone at a high school field.
SUNDAY, 8:37am: Broncos kicker Matt Prater has been suspended for the first four games of the 2014 regular season for violating the league’s substance abuse policy, reports Mike Klis of the Denver Post. Klis writes that the violation was alcohol-related, and adds that Prater has been in the league’s alcohol program since being charged with driving under the influence in 2011.
Although Prater certainly benefits from a production standpoint by playing for the league’s most prolific offensive club, there is no denying his ability. He converted 25 of 26 field goal attempts last season and led the league with 81 touchbacks. His suspension will certainly hurt, and it will certainly enter into head coach John Fox‘s strategy over the first four games of the season.
An official announcement is expected to be made on Monday. The four-game ban was part of an agreement between the league and Prater’s attorney, Harvey Steinberg, so Prater is not expected to appeal. The league had been threatening a one-year suspension.
Brian McIntyre tweets that Prater will lose $705,882 in base salary.
Minor Moves: Sunday
Here are Sunday’s minor transactions from around the NFL, with the latest moves added to the top of the page throughout the day:
- The Falcons have placed G Mike Johnson and LB Marquis Spruill on their injured reserve list, per ESPN.com’s Vaughn McClure (Twitter links).
- The Bears have cut return man Darius Reynaud, tweets Wilson. Reynaud was signed by Chicago on August 18.
- CB Vernon Kearney has been cut by the Chiefs, according to Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star (on Twitter).
Earlier Updates:
- The Chiefs have cut tight end Adam Schiltz, tweets Wilson. Schiltz was claimed off waivers from the Titans in July.
- The Panthers have cut WR Tiquan Underwood, who signed a two-year deal with the club back in March, writes Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. The team also released WR Toney Clemons, according to Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer. The fact that Underwood and Clemons could not crack Carolina’s fairly thin receiving corps does not speak well of their chances to land another job in the league this season.