Cowboys’ Marshawn Kneeland Avoids ACL Tear, Expected To Return This Season
OCTOBER 9: As could be expected, Kneeland is landing on IR. The Cowboys officially moved the rookie defensive end to the injured list Wednesday, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets. Considering the timetable here, Kneeland being off Dallas’ 53-man roster makes sense. He and Lawrence’s timetables point to returns sometime in November.
OCTOBER 7: Managing to beat the Steelers despite missing their top four defensive ends, the Cowboys also received word the most recent of those injuries — to rookie Marshawn Kneeland — is not as severe as initial fears indicated.
Carted off early in Dallas’ Sunday-night win, Kneeland did not sustain an ACL tear. The second-round pick is expected to return later this season, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. Kneeland will miss time, however, as he suffered a partially torn lateral meniscus. A surgery is on tap, but this damage will not re-route the promising player on the level an ACL tear would have.
Kneeland is not undergoing a full meniscus repair, Rapoport adds, as that would sideline the Western Michigan alum for the season’s remainder. Rather, this is a meniscus trim. An IR move may still be in the cards, but it would be of the IR-return variety.IR probably will be the course the Cowboys take, as ESPN.com’s Todd Archer notes this procedure will lead to a four- to six-week recovery timetable.
The Cowboys have DeMarcus Lawrence on IR, though he is expected back while Sam Williams is out for the season due to the ACL tear he sustained this summer. Micah Parsons is week to week with his high ankle sprain, creating significant issues for Mike Zimmer‘s unit.
Down Parsons and Lawrence for the Pittsburgh matchup, Dallas opted for a low-key reinforcement strategy. The team added K.J. Henry off the Bengals’ practice squad. Chauncey Golston started opposite Kneeland, while Tyrus Wheat and Carl Lawson played regularly following Kneeland’s injury. Parsons has not been ruled out for Week 6, but with Dallas’ bye coming in Week 7, the team opting for caution regarding its best player would make sense.
Expected to mix in behind Parsons, Lawrence and Williams, Kneeland came to Dallas after meeting with roughly half the NFL on “30” visits. Tallying low sack totals at Western Michigan (fewer than five in each of his four seasons at the MAC program), Kneeland nevertheless impressed on the pre-draft circuit. He tallied 26 tackles for loss from 2021-23 and became a more prominent Cowboys piece following Williams’ injury.
It will be interesting to see how the Cowboys go about replacing their latest injured D-end cog, but Kneeland and Lawrence’s return windows are comparable. A Lisfranc injury will sideline Lawrence between four and eight weeks. It is possible Parsons will have both his sidekicks back at some point in November. Absent a Parsons return in Week 6, the Cowboys will need to get by — absent a higher-profile acquisition — with a skeleton crew against the Lions.
Titans Bring Back QB Trevor Siemian
As Will Levis grapples with an AC joint sprain, the Titans are turning to one of their former backups as an insurance option. Trevor Siemian is back with the team.
Siemian, the Broncos’ initial post-Peyton Manning starter, has become a journeyman in the years since his 2018 Denver exit. One of the former seventh-round pick’s career stops came in Tennessee, with the Titans rostering him as a Ryan Tannehill backup from 2019-20.
Initially adding Siemian during training camp in 2019, the Titans kept him around as a reserve behind Tannehill and Marcus Mariota. Siemian stayed in 2020, as Mariota left for Las Vegas, but ended that season with the Saints. Siemian, 32, has since bounced around in a career that has also overlapped with new Titans HC Brian Callahan. Siemian spent a few months of the 2023 offseason with the Bengals, who ended up cutting him after the preseason last year.
This is a practice squad agreement. The Titans, who traded Malik Willis months after signing Mason Rudolph, have two active-roster QBs: Levis and Rudolph. The latter would start if Levis’ shoulder injury keeps him out. Callahan has insisted Levis remains his starter, despite the second-year QB’s early-season struggles. If Levis is out, however, Siemian would stand to be a gameday elevation for Week 6.
Siemian has made 33 career starts. Three of those came for the Jets last season. The Jets had brought in Siemian on a practice squad deal shortly after Aaron Rodgers‘ Achilles tear. Gang Green took heat for not having a better backup plan than Zach Wilson, but after Wilson returned to action following the third and final benching of his Jets career, a concussion ended his season. Siemian stepped in and finished the year as the team’s starter. He completed just 56.2% of his passes, at only 4.7 yards per attempt, but went 2-1 as a starter.
The Saints also used Siemian as a four-game starter, back in 2021, while the Bears turned to him to close out the 2022 season (to seal the 2023 No. 1 overall pick they then traded). For his career, the Northwestern alum has been with seven teams. This marks his second reunion, as the Jets had also rostered Siemian earlier in his career.
Additionally, the Titans added signed tackle Leroy Watson from their practice squad. Watson, whom the Titans acquired from the Browns this offseason, played under Bill Callahan in Cleveland. Watson has not played this season, failing to make Tennessee’s 53-man roster in August, but TitanInsider.com’s Terry McCormick notes he could split reps with Nicholas Petit-Frere this week at right tackle. Petit-Frere won that post out of training camp and has started all four Titans games, but Pro Football Focus ranks him 59th among tackles this season.
NFL Places Patriots S Jabrill Peppers On Commissioner’s Exempt List
The NFL will use its commissioner’s exempt list to sideline Jabrill Peppers. After an arrest near Boston over the weekend, the veteran Patriots safety is officially on paid leave, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets.
Not only is Peppers barred from Patriots games, he is ineligible to practice while on the list. This marks the second usage of the commissioner’s exempt list this season, following Browns rookie defensive lineman Michael Hall.
Peppers was hit with charges of assault and battery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, strangulation and the possession of a class B substance. He is accused of choking a woman and shoving her head against a wall outside his Braintree, Mass., apartment, the Boston Globe’s John Ellement, Christopher Price and Camilio Fonseca report. Identifying herself as Peppers’ on-and-off girlfriend, the woman said the DB “took off her clothing and put her outside” his apartment.
Peppers pleaded not guilty to each of the charges and was released on bail, according to the Globe. The arrest occurred shortly after Peppers’ 29th birthday. The unnamed woman said she Peppers were “being intimate when her phone rang,” angering the veteran defender. The woman then accused Peppers of pushing her out of his bedroom. This led to Peppers allegedly pushing the woman down a flight of carpeted stairs in a hallway, according to the Globe.
Peppers denies he choked or pushed the woman, telling police she “appeared to be drunk” and acted erratically, blaming this for her fall down the stairs. Police did not smell alcohol on her breath, per the Globe. The woman declined to be hospitalized, but paramedics provided her an icepack. Police observed scratches on her knees and indicated redness on the right side of her forehead, according to the Globe, which adds a police search of Peppers’ apartment produced a bag Peppers allegedly confirmed was cocaine. Peppers soon informed Patriots HC Jerod Mayo of the development.
The Patriots took the atypical step, for a home team, of downgrading Peppers from questionable to out the day before their Week 5 Dolphins matchup. While Peppers is out of the picture for the time being, he is tied to a recently signed extension (three years, $24MM). The 2025 guarantees on that contract ($2.5MM of the safety’s $4.5MM base salary) are at risk. A personal conduct policy suspension can still come out of this arrest, despite Peppers being placed on the exempt list. Hall was hit with a five-game ban upon his reinstatement.
Raiders To Relaunch QB Competition
After benching Gardner Minshew in two of their past three games, the Raiders are now planning to make the veteran reclaim the job via a competition with backup Aidan O’Connell.
The QBs’ latest battle will take place in practice this week, The Athletic’s Vic Tafur notes. This marks another chapter in a long-running matchup to determine which quarterback is Las Vegas’ better stopgap option, as ties to 2025 draft prospects are undoubtedly coming soon. For now, the Raiders will need to again pick Minshew or O’Connell, the team’s options after six quarterbacks went off this year’s draft board before the team’s No. 13 overall pick.
Antonio Pierce put a temporary halt to speculation he would bench Minshew, but after Patrick Surtain‘s 100-yard pick-six keyed a Broncos blowout that featured a second Minshew interception, the Vegas HC has not provided the sixth-year veteran any assurances the job is still his for the team’s Week 6 matchup against the Steelers. O’Connell, the team’s starter for the second half of last season, may soon have his latest chance.
Although O’Connell also tossed an interception to Surtain in the Raiders’ 34-18 loss, one of Pierce’s first decisions as interim HC was to install him as QB1. The Raiders benched Jimmy Garoppolo shortly after firing Josh McDaniels and GM Dave Ziegler last year, and the fourth-round pick started every game during Pierce’s interim period. O’Connell also was believed to have a leg up on Minshew during the passers’ offseason competition, but Pierce cited the veteran as the better option to help the team start strong. Despite a road win over the Ravens, the Raiders have been unable to establish consistent offense with Minshew at the controls.
Minshew ranks 27th in QBR, representing a steep fall from his Colts finish (13th) last season. Minshew commanded a two-year, $25MM deal this offseason — a pact that led all non-Kirk Cousins FA passers in this class — but became insurance in the event the Raiders did not draft a passer this year. Minshew has 42 career starts on his resume but may well be headed back to the bench, as it would be interesting if Pierce benched the incumbent twice only to like his most recent practice work and keep the status quo in place. O’Connell has completed just 57% of his passes, at 5.5 yards per attempt, in relief duty this season.
Jets Fire HC Robert Saleh
Coming into the season coaching for his job, Robert Saleh could not do enough to impress Jets ownership. Five games in, the team will go through with an abrupt course change.
The Jets are firing their fourth-year HC, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. This will end an underwhelming tenure for the veteran defensive coach and invite more questions about the franchise’s direction. Saleh will finish his Jets tenure with a 20-36 record. This news comes on the heels of back-to-back losses — to the Broncos and Vikings, dropping the team to 2-3 — and three straight sub-.500 seasons.
[RELATED: Saleh Sought To Reduce Nathaniel Hackett’s Role]
Woody Johnson fired Saleh this morning, blindsiding the HC, according to Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer. This is Johnson’s first in-season firing. The Jets had seen every HC finish a season since 1977; Lou Holtz quit to take an Arkansas HC offer in 1976. The Jets had not fired a coach in-season since Charley Winner in 1975.
Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich will be named interim HC, according to NFL Network’s Peter Schrager. Ulbrich has been the Jets’ DC throughout Saleh’s tenure, calling the signals on that side of the ball. Given the scrutiny surrounding OC Nathaniel Hackett, he never stood much of a chance to be named the interim option. Ulbrich has a long runway here, given that 12 games remain.
One season remained on Saleh’s contract, Schefter adds. The Jets largely handcuffed Saleh to megabust Zach Wilson, with that partnership extending beyond Year 2 thanks to Aaron Rodgers‘ Achilles tear four plays into the 2023 season. Ownership gave both Saleh and GM Joe Douglas mulligans for 2023, given the franchise’s Rodgers-dependent plan combusting so early. Saleh, 47, has not inspired much confidence this year, as Rodgers has been viewed as the nerve center for the Jets essentially since his April 2023 arrival. That will continue, and Douglas remains in his GM chair. But the latter remains on the hot seat as well.
Hired after four seasons as 49ers DC, Saleh quickly entered an uphill battle thanks to the Wilson pick. The Jets did not add a veteran backup quarterback in 2021, installing Wilson — a BYU product who broke out during a Cougars season that featured an atypical schedule thanks to COVID-19 — as the unquestioned starter from Day 1. Wilson proved quickly he was not up to the job, and Saleh ended up benching the highly touted prospect three times from 2022-23. Ownership not springing for a better backup option in 2023 — inaction largely traced to Johnson’s refusal to spend due to what the franchise already authorized for Rodgers in terms of trade compensation and cash — left Saleh with Wilson for much of last season, leading to a 7-10 record.
Saleh, however, repaired the Jets’ defense early during his run. After a 4-13 2021 squad finished last in both points and yards allowed, the Jets rocketed to fourth place in both categories in 2022. Last season, the Jets finished 12th in scoring and third in yardage defensively. Wilson held this operation back, but Saleh did not do much to confirm he was right to lead the team.
From making comments about Wilson being the best QB option for the Jets (despite having benched him for Tim Boyle) last season to being put on the podium to answer questions about Rodgers and Haason Reddick‘s minicamp absences (for which both were fined, with Reddick never reporting following a March trade), Saleh did not exactly convey strong leadership. Reports of veteran unrest surrounding the HC’s defenses of Wilson emerged at multiple points during Saleh’s tenure as well.
The Jets shipped Wilson to Denver this offseason, signing Tyrod Taylor. But Rodgers has largely not looked his MVP self upon return from his injury, either. This has put Hackett under fire, as the former Broncos HC has gone through a disastrous stretch since his Green Bay run ended. Despite this, Hackett remains in place as the Jets’ play-caller; New York’s offense ranks 23rd in DVOA, 25th in points and 27th in yardage.
The Rodgers trade cranked up the heat on Saleh and Douglas, as the Jets hoped to pair a well-built defense with a four-time MVP. New York’s defense exited Week 5 ranked fifth in scoring and second in yardage, hence Ulbrich’s opportunity over Rodgers’ preferred OC, but friction also appeared to be developing between Saleh and the QB.
Rodgers memorably shoved Saleh away as the HC attempted to embrace the QB on the sideline during a Jets Week 3 win over the Patriots. A loss to the Broncos a week later led Saleh to suggest Rodgers change his cadence, as the team committed five false start penalties. Rodgers bristled at that suggestion, saying the team instead needed to hold players accountable.
Rodgers’ 11th-hour endorsement of Saleh, downplaying the friction, did not do much good. The quarterback, whom a January report pegged as having an outsized influence in the Jets organization, will now work with Ulbrich while continuing to plug away in Hackett’s offense. The Jets had made a backchannel effort to install a veteran assistant to help Hackett after a rough 2023 (which followed the embattled coordinator’s woeful one-and-done as Broncos HC). Saleh had expressed reservations about Hackett last season but kept the Rodgers-backed OC as his offensive play-caller.
It is also worth noting that Woody Johnson did not hire Saleh. Christopher Johnson, who served as acting owner during his brother’s ambassadorial stint, hired him. When Saleh was hired in January 2021, Woody was finishing up a tenure as the country’s UK ambassador under then-president Donald Trump. Christopher also hired Douglas in 2019, and the GM will likely need a quick turnaround to avoid an ouster of his own.
Ulbrich, 47, coached at the Senior Bowl this year and received interest from the 49ers. The NFC West team sought to interview Ulbrich for its DC vacancy; Ulbrich played his entire NFL career with the 49ers. Saleh blocked the interview, as teams are permitted for contracted assistants regarding lateral moves. Now, Ulbrich will take a crack at filling Saleh’s post, as this Jets regime attempts to prevent full-scale change.
Ulbrich worked as Falcons linebackers coach from 2015-18, overlapping with former Saleh boss Kyle Shanahan during part of that tenure. The ex-Dan Quinn staffer moved into Atlanta’s DC role in 2020, when Raheem Morris took over as Falcons interim boss. Saleh, as ESPN.com’s Jeff Darlington points out, is the third HC over the past 10 years to be fired in the wake of a London loss; he joins ex-Dolphins and Raiders leaders Joe Philbin and Dennis Allen in that regard.
By being retained for Year 4, Saleh joined a select few modern HCs in surviving after three consecutive sub-.500 seasons. Only six HCs have managed to last into Year 4 without a .500 season in their first three years this century. Dom Capers (Texans), Mike Nolan (49ers), Jeff Fisher (Rams), Gus Bradley (Jaguars) and Jon Gruden (Raiders 2.0) are the other club members.
Despite the Jets having a chance to claim the AFC East lead Monday night against the Bills, Saleh will not have a chance to see a turnaround through. It will not be hard to see Saleh, after the Jets’ defensive performance since 2022 and based on the 49ers defense’s ascent on his watch, earning a DC opportunity in 2025. But he is out of a job in New York. Now, the Douglas watch begins.
Sean McDermott: Concern Exists With Wide Receiver Group
Gabe Davis and Stefon Diggs‘ departures brought scrutiny on the Bills’ wide receiver group this offseason. While some of the players the perennial AFC East champions have turned to have enjoyed moments, the passing game has regressed against stiffer competition over the past two weeks.
Down his most reliable target (Khalil Shakir) in Week 5, Josh Allen completed 9 of 30 passes for 131 yards. Allen’s 4.37 yards per attempt marked the third-lowest figure of his career, with the only two showings south of that place coming during the passer’s developmental 2010s seasons. The Bills might be running into a problem, though Shakir and second-round pick Keon Coleman have shown they will be regular contributors this season as long as they are healthy.
[RELATED: Texans Initiated Diggs Talks At Combine]
That said, Sean McDermott indicated (via the Buffalo News’ Jay Skurski) concern exists with the team’s wide receiver group. While the eighth-year Buffalo HC otherwise expressed confidence in the recently assembled WR cadre, the Bills may well be a player short here. They have been mentioned as a Davante Adams suitor, but they are among the teams who are believed to view the Raiders’ asking price — at least a second-round pick — as too high for an expensive, soon-to-be 32-year-old standout.
Buffalo threw a few darts at this group in free agency, signing Curtis Samuel, Mack Hollins, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Chase Claypool. While Samuel, Hollins and Valdes-Scantling remain on Buffalo’s roster, none has moved the needle. Samuel has been the biggest disappointment, given where the Bills went to reunite him with OC Joe Brady (three years, $24MM); he has nine receptions for 48 yards in five games. Of this group, only Shakir (230 yards) and Coleman (175) have posted more than 75 yards.
If Adams is not a true Bills target, the team — if it, in fact, does attempt to belatedly equip Allen with a starter-level option — should have some other available WRs to target. DeAndre Hopkins, whom the Bills discussed with the Cardinals last year, may be available. Christian Kirk has been brought up as a trade chip, and despite acquiring Diontae Johnson via trade in March, the Panthers have not engaged in extension talks. The ex-Steeler has come up as a player teams are monitoring as well, and The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia mentions Johnson as a name to watch in connection with the Bills’ need (subscription required).
While the Bills have been no stranger to hiring ex-Panthers, this would not exactly qualify for the McDermott-Brandon Beane pipeline since Johnson only arrived in Carolina this offseason. Johnson carries $4.91MM in prorated base salary, were a team to acquire him this week. That number will drop as we head toward the Nov. 5 deadline. The Bills filled a need at last year’s deadline, acquiring Rasul Douglas from the Packers. Douglas remains a Buffalo starting cornerback.
Johnson’s skillset would somewhat overlap with Shakir’s, but the sixth-year veteran obviously brings more experience. He is among the NFL’s top separators, having finished in the top four in ESPN’s Open Score metric from 2019-22, ranking first in multiple seasons during that span. Regardless of any overlap with Shakir, Johnson would give the Bills a borderline No. 1 target and upgrade their passing attack. If the team is not keen on paying up for Adams, who still looks to be eyeing a reunion with either Aaron Rodgers or Derek Carr, a player like Johnson would make sense.
As mentioned in an offseason Trade Rumors Front Office piece, the Bills seemed a man down if only due to this being the age-28 season of a quarterback who has absorbed more punishment compared to some of his top-tier contemporaries. Allen runs the risk of his prime being shorter than the likes of Patrick Mahomes or Joe Burrow due to his run-game workload, and the Bills maximizing these years would seem prudent. For now, the team is going with its Shakir- and Coleman-fronted group. After two straight losses, however, the heat may be on this contingent. Otherwise, noise about a Douglas-style pre-deadline swap will become louder.
Jets Not Planning To Fire Nathaniel Hackett
Under intense scrutiny essentially since he took over as Jets offensive coordinator, Nathaniel Hackett remains in place after Robert Saleh‘s Tuesday-morning ouster. The Jets are not planning to can the embattled OC, per The Athletic’s Dianna Russini.
Considering Hackett’s ties to Aaron Rodgers, this is unsurprising. The Jets have gone through interesting efforts to curb Hackett’s power, however, having made an effort to hire an assistant that would limit the ex-Packers OC’s reach in the building. That plan, which looked to have Saleh’s fingerprints on it based on his view of Hackett coming out of last season, did not come to fruition.
Hackett surviving may have caught some in the organization by surprise. Rather than Saleh being in jeopardy of losing his job post-London, SNY’s Connor Hughes notes some suspected Hackett to be closer to the chopping block. Jets front office figures have been scrutinizing Hackett’s work recently, Hughes adds. Rodgers, though, has endorsed Hackett on numerous occasions — including this offseason.
Hackett, 44, is no stranger to in-season firings. The Jaguars removed him from his OC post during the 2018 season. More memorably, the Broncos made him one of the few first-year HCs in NFL history to be fired before his first season ended. Hackett’s disastrous Denver stint lasted all of 15 games. The Jets, however, hired him to call plays soon after. The move certainly had an impact on the team acquiring Rodgers, who was near retirement at the time Hackett signed on to call Jets plays.
Scrutiny aside, Hackett has the backing of Rodgers, effectively an organizational power broker given his importance to this Jets regime’s chances of sticking around beyond 2024. Seemingly, the only chance that happens is if interim HC Jeff Ulbrich leads a turnaround. Hackett’s tie to Rodgers, stemming from three seasons as a non-play-calling Green Bay OC, has proven strong enough to stabilize — to a degree, at least — the second-generation NFL coach’s career.
The Jets’ Zach Wilson offense fared worse under Hackett than it did with Mike LaFleur calling the plays. The Jets’ 10 touchdowns through 12 games last season represented the fewest in that timespan to start a season since 2000. New York ranked 29th in scoring and 31st in total offense last season. Even with Rodgers back this year, Hackett’s West Coast Offense-based attack sits 25th in points and 27th in yards. They sit 23rd in offensive DVOA.
Sean Payton memorably called Hackett’s 2022 performance one of the worst coaching jobs in NFL history. The latter’s short tenure points to the organization agreeing, as Russell Wilson bottomed out to display a shocking decline that, for the first time, injected real doubt about the former Super Bowl winner’s Hall of Fame case. Wilson rebounded, to a degree, under Payton last season. The Broncos appeared disjointed in 2022, and Hackett ceded play-calling duties to QBs coach Klint Kubiak late in his abbreviated tenure. Denver featured three play-callers that year, with OC Justin Outten succeeding the dismissed Hackett in that role.
The Jets have a former OC on their staff, in Todd Downing, who serves as QBs coach and the team’s pass-game coordinator. Downing has received two chances at being an OC, having served in the role for the 2017 Raiders and then for the Titans from 2021-22. Tennessee fired Downing after the ’22 season, weeks after he was arrested on a DUI charge.
Texans Approached Bills About Stefon Diggs At Combine; Other Teams Inquired About WR
Josh Allen faced the Texans without his most reliable receiver, as Khalil Shakir was down due to an ankle injury sustained in Baltimore. This helped lead to a woeful performance, accuracy-wise, from the Bills‘ franchise quarterback.
Buffalo’s superstar quarterback went 9-for-30 for just 131 yards in the loss to Houston. The player who previously held the role of Allen’s top weapon, Stefon Diggs, contributed to the Texans’ win. Diggs’ six-catch, 82-yard day helped Houston withstand a Buffalo rally, and he still counts $31.1MM toward on his former team’s cap sheet this year. The Diggs trade brought a wide receiver-record dead money number, one that trails only Russell Wilson‘s Broncos albatross this year. The Bills moved on anyway, with a Texans offer changing their plan at wide receiver.
The Bills moved on in early April, but Nick Caserio began this process by approaching Brandon Beane about Diggs’ availability at the Combine a month earlier, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini notes. The eighth-year Bills GM did not shut down the Texans, though he did not sound overly interested at that point, either. While the Bills did end up moving Diggs to Houston — for a 2025 second-round pick in a trade that also sent 2024 and 2025 fifth-rounders to the Texans — Russini adds other teams inquired about the receiver’s availability this offseason.
By the time the Texans finalized the trade (April 3), it was unclear who they were negotiating against — as several teams had made their WR moves in March or were planning to do so in the draft. Diggs dialogue had persisted for a bit, however. Both Russini and ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler indicate teams had asked the Bills about Diggs before last season.
As Buffalo constructed a run-heavier approach in OC Joe Brady‘s first weeks on the job in an interim capacity, the Bills began to view their offense as less Diggs-reliant, a team source told Fowler. As the Bills leaned on James Cook more than they had during the season’s first half, Diggs’ role lessened. Diggs also dropped a well-placed deep pass that could have changed the outcome of the Bills’ divisional-round matchup with the Chiefs. Although Beane called Diggs “a No. 1 receiver” at season’s end, the team moved on around players who do not yet fit that description.
The Texans were in on Keenan Allen in mid-March, joining the Jets in pursuing the longtime Chargers standout. The Bears ended up acquiring Allen for a fourth-round pick, but Fowler adds the Texans were close to adding him. That effort falling through led Houston back to Diggs, who has 31 catches for 315 yards and three total touchdowns through five games.
Shakir’s 230 yards (through four contests) lead the Bills, and though second-round rookie Keon Coleman is progressing, Allen does not have a Diggs-level presence yet. Partially as a result, the Bills are among the teams in the Davante Adams mix. Though, the Jets and Saints may be bigger players in that market, with the Bills — despite holding two 2025 second-round picks — believed to view the Raiders’ price as too high.
Diggs and Allen remained cordial during the former’s second-half usage decline last season, per Fowler, but the team’s decision to part with wide receivers coach Chad Hall after the 2022 campaign affected its relationship with Diggs. The team’s previous No. 1 target was close with Hall, whose contract had expired; Hall left to be the Jaguars’ pass-game coordinator last year. Diggs also may have offered unsuccessful input about helping to repair the Bills’ offense late in the 2022 season, as Allen battled an elbow injury.
This may not be a widely supported account, though it backs up one report from 2023. Diggs had later denied he tried to influence Bills play-calling. But this timeline also involved an animated sideline scene during the Bengals’ 27-10 divisional-round win and Sean McDermott later indicating — at the following minicamp, which featured an abrupt Diggs exit — he was “very concerned” with the wide receiver’s situation.
While the Bills moved past that June blip and Diggs played out the 2023 season, more cryptic tweets — which reminded of his 2020 Vikings exit to the point some with the NFC North franchise saw a similar pattern play out — emerged in the wake of Buffalo’s 11-6 campaign. Diggs did not request a Bills trade, nor were the Bills shopping him. But he made a comment to GQ this offseason pointing to a desire to leave.
The Bills gave Diggs’ camp permission to speak with the Texans before the trade happened. This helps explain why Houston made the strange decision to remove the final three years from the 30-year-old wideout’s contract, making him a 2025 free agent. This looks to have been a central part of the Texans’ negotiations with Diggs’ camp, pointing to the receiver angling for such terms, as it would be otherwise unusual for a team to give up three years of player control at what was a team-friendly rate; Diggs left Buffalo with four seasons left on his four-year, $96MM extension.
The Texans will have a Diggs decision to make in the near future, as he is playing out a contract year for the first time, while the Bills may need to shop for a veteran receiver before the November 5 deadline. If the Adams sweepstakes ends with the All-Pro not Buffalo-bound, it will be interesting to see if the AFC East powerhouse tries to add a piece at a lower cost.
Patriots S Jabrill Peppers Arrested On Assault Charges
5:25pm: The NFL indicated on Monday (via Ben Volin of the Boston Globe) that no timeline is in place for action to be taken in this case. While time spent on the commissioner’s exempt list could be in play down the road, it remains to be seen when (or if) a league investigation will be opened and therefore the timing of any discipline being handed down is uncertain.
8:24am: Months after signing a Patriots extension, Jabrill Peppers has run into off-field trouble. The veteran safety was arrested over the weekend on assault and drug charges.
Peppers is facing charges of assault and battery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, strangulation and the possession of a class B substance, Boston25’s Ryan Breslin reports. The arrest occurred early Saturday morning. Jerod Mayo confirmed during a WEEI appearance (via the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed) the eighth-year safety informed him of the arrest.
“I mean, look, he called me that morning. I knew what was going on,” Mayo said. “And the NFL, we’ve informed the NFL what was going on and we’re still gathering information.”
In addition to Peppers’ trouble with authorities, a future NFL suspension under the league’s personal conduct policy likely looms. Part of Peppers’ 2025 base salary is fully guaranteed; a ban will threaten to void that $2.5MM figure. Peppers did not play against the Dolphins in Week 5 due to injury.
Peppers turned 29 on Friday, and this arrest is believed to have occurred shortly after. Teams rarely take action in terms of suspensions, letting the NFL handle those matters. Suspensions generally occur down the road, as cases play out. The Pats downgraded Peppers from questionable to out Saturday, which is not exactly common for teams not traveling that week. The NFL can act by putting Peppers on the commissioner’s exempt list, but the league rarely goes down the paid-leave route.
The former Browns first-round pick is in his third season with the Patriots. He started 15 games last season and earned a three-year, $24MM extension this summer. Prior to suffering a shoulder injury, Peppers started all four New England games this season. He is sitting on 23 tackles and one interception thus far this season.
Cardinals G Will Hernandez Out For Season
The right side of the Cardinals’ offensive line will feature multiple backups going forward. With Jonah Williams‘ return timetable murky, the team will absorb another blow via Will Hernandez‘s Sunday injury.
Hernandez is believed to have sustained a season-ending malady, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo tweets. The former Giants second-round pick left the 49ers matchup with a knee injury, and it looks likely it will sideline him until the 2025 campaign.
This is a tough blow for Hernandez, who is in a contract year. Despite Hernandez arriving during the Steve Keim-Kliff Kingsbury regime’s final year, he became a priority for the Monti Ossenfort-Jonathan Gannon duo. Hernandez re-signed on a two-year, $9MM deal in 2023. Seeing as he had established himself as a starting-caliber guard, a nice raise was likely in the cards — be it from the Cardinals or another team in free agency — but this injury could nix that prospect.
Pro Football Focus rated Hernandez as the No. 20 overall guard through five games, as he has helped clear paths for the resilient James Conner. With the team cutting D.J. Humphries this offseason, Hernandez is the Cardinals’ longest-tenured O-line starter. Though, Kelvin Beachum — displaced as a starter once the team drafted Paris Johnson Jr. in 2023 — has been with the team longer. Beachum, a Cardinal since 2020, has been thrust back into a starting role due to Williams’ injury. Williams has a chance to return this season, but it is not certain the former first-rounder will be able to do so.
Not seeing his 17-start 2021 contract year generate much free agency interest, Hernandez caught on with the Cardinals on a one-year deal worth just $1.19MM. He started 13 games for a disappointing 2022 team, missing time with an injury, but bounced back to play in 17 contests last season. Going down early may well force the 29-year-old blocker into another “prove it” deal at a bad time. Hernandez is running short on time to capitalize on his prime years, and while a $4.5MM-per-year is nothing to sneeze at, this injury could hijack his route toward eight-figure-per-year money.
It is not known if this is an ACL tear, but the Cardinals will need a new plan. Trystan Colon replaced Hernandez in San Francisco, doing so as third-round rookie Isaiah Adams missed the game with a thumb injury. Adams’ draft status figures to make him an option to fill in soon, but Colon was the next man up initially. Adams has played just six offensive snaps this season. Colon played 315 snaps for the Cards at left guard last season. UFA addition Evan Brown mans that spot this year.