Chargers President Leaning Towards L.A. Move
Nothing is set in stone for the Chargers, but their top executive is now on record saying that he is closer to leaving than staying. Before yesterday’s game, Chargers chairman Dean Spanos told CBS’ Scott Kaplan he is leaning toward moving to Los Angeles. 
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“I said I was not going to make up my mind until after the season,” Spanos said when asked about his comments (link via Kevin Acee of U-T San Diego). “He asked the question, ‘Are you closer to leaving than staying?’ I said, ‘That would probably be an accurate statement.’ I also said I’m not going to make up my mind until after the season. … Everything is in place. I’m waiting on the city of San Diego.”
Spanos also added that the team would have stayed in San Diego had Measure C – a proposal to give the Chargers a great deal of public funds – received 50% of the vote. We won’t know about the fate of the Chargers until the spring, but it sounds like they are likely to bolt about 120 miles north.
Cowboys’ Randy Gregory To Play This Week?
It seemed nearly impossible one month ago, but Randy Gregory is now slated to suit up for the Cowboys as the regular season winds down, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. As previously reported, Gregory will practice this week. Barring league interference, Rapoport hears that he will play this week against Detroit. 
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Still appealing a one-year ban, Gregory has been given the green light to participate in team activities while things get sorted out. While some fans have grown impatient with Gregory’s off-the-field troubles, owner Jerry Jones has been steadfast in his support of the defensive end.
“I, of course, know the details of his situation, and I can’t and I won’t comment on details about it,” Jones said. “But I am not giving up on Randy Gregory for the Cowboys and certainly not giving up on him as a person in life — at all. Not that it makes any difference that I do, but I do not dismiss him from our future.”
The Cowboys are now 12-2 after topping the Buccaneers on Sunday night. Dallas has clinched a playoff berth and they now have their sights set on locking down the NFC East. With one win in the final two games, they’ll shut the door on the Giants. According to Five Thirty Eight, the Cowboys have a 97% chance of winning the NFC East at this point.
Christian McCaffrey To Skip Bowl Game
This could be the start of a trend. Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey announced that he will not participate in the Sun Bowl so that he can begin his “draft prep immediately,” (Twitter link). 
Just last week, fellow top running back prospect Leonard Fournette announced that he would skip LSU’s bowl game so that he could protect his injured ankle in advance of the draft. The notion of a player skipping a bowl game in order to focus on his pro career was once considered crazy, but many have come out in support of McCaffrey and Fournette in light of what happened to Notre Dame star Jaylon Smith a year ago. There is also a growing movement for college players to receive compensation and from a fiscal standpoint, it makes little sense for a player to jeopardize their livelihood for free.
In the cases of McCaffrey and Fournette, both of their teams fell outside of the College Football Playoff. If Stanford and LSU were in the mix for the national championship, they may have reached a different conclusion. In the future, however, it’s not hard to imagine elite prospects saying no to even top-tier bowl games in order to safeguard their careers.
Seahawks’ Damontre Moore Arrested For DWI
Over his four NFL seasons, Damontre Moore is perhaps best known for fighting a teammate in the Giants locker room over a pair of Beats By Dre headphones. Now in Seattle, he’s not doing much to fix his image. Today, Moore was arrested for DWI and driving with a suspended license, Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times writes. 
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It is not yet known whether police suspected Moore of using alcohol or drugs when he was pulled over early Saturday. The Seahawks, meanwhile, have declined comment for the time being.
Moore joined the Seahawks on Nov. 1 after Michael Bennett underwent arthroscopic knee surgery. In four games for the Seahawks, Moore recorded seven tackles and half of a sack. Unfortunately, Moore has missed three of the last four games with a foot injury and his future with the team is now in jeopardy following the arrest.
Packers Promote QB Joe Callahan
The Packers have waived linebacker Carl Bradford. By cutting him, Green Bay will make room for quarterback Joe Callahan on the active roster. 
Starter Aaron Rodgers is dealing with a strained left calf muscle and Callahan will help provide depth at the position. Rodgers is expected to play tomorrow against the Bears, but he may not last long given that he has a soft-muscle injury in freezing cold temperatures. Brett Hundley will be Rodgers’ top understudy and Callahan will slot in as the No. 3 QB. Callahan has moved around the league a bit this season after also having stints with the Browns and Saints.
Bradford, 24, appeared in four games this season but did not record an official statistic.
Bears Place WR Marquess Wilson On IR
The Bears announced that they are placing wide receiver Marquess Wilson on injured reserve. The move will open up a spot for Alshon Jeffery, who is returning from his four-game performance enhancing drugs suspension. 
Wilson was activated off of the physically unable to perform list in mid-November. Since then, he has recorded nine receptions in three games. On Friday, he fractured his left foot for the third time in his career. Now slated to hit the open market in March, this could mark the end of Wilson’s tenure in Chicago. In 2015, Wilson had a career-high 464 yards off of 28 catches with a touchdown in eleven games.
Jeffery, of course, is also scheduled to hit the open market. He was already in the midst of a so-so year when he was slapped with a suspension for PEDs last month. These last three games might not mean much for the Bears, but they could have a big impact on Jeffery’s future. If he doesn’t finish the year strong, he won’t have a chance of approaching the deals given to star wide receivers like Julio Jones, Demaryius Thomas, and Dez Bryant.
Breer On GM Search, Harbaugh, Draft
When it comes to being a GM, is it more about who you know than what you know? In his latest column, Albert Breer of The MMQB spoke with one league official who suggested that the NFL’s career development advisory panel has something of a fraternity-vibe.
“It’s all full of nepotism. It’s a joke. And it starts with Charley Casserly,” the personnel man said.
Casserly rejected the idea that he, Ron Wolf, Bill Polian, Ernie Accorsi, John Madden, Tony Dungy and Carl Peterson are aiming to line up their friends with jobs, but he did acknowledge that connections help.
“It’s so different than it is with coaches,” Casserly said. “Coaches are so clearly defined. You know who calls the plays, you see them on TV, coordinators have press conferences. It’s just not like that in scouting. Are they pro? College? None of them are making big decisions. What you need is networking. It’s not politicking.”
Casserly was directly involved with the Jets’ coach and GM search process in 2015. Gang Green wound up hiring Todd Bowles and Mike Maccagnan – two former co-workers of Casserly’s.
Here’s more from Breer:
- Breer identified the following executives as people who could immediately jump into a GM job somewhere: Chiefs VP of player personnel Chris Ballard, Patriots VP of player personnel Nick Caserio, Ravens assistant GM Eric DeCosta, Seahawks co-director of player personnel Scott Fitterer, Texans director of player personnel Brian Gaine, Packers director of player personnel Brian Gutekunst, Seahawks co-director of player personnel Trent Kirchner, Cowboys assistant director of player personnel Will McClay, Cardinals VP of player personnel Terry McDonough, Vikings assistant GM George Paton, Falcons assistant GM Scott Pioli, Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin, Packers director of football operations Eliot Wolf.
- The widespread feeling in NFL circles is that Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh will be back in pro football eventually, even if it’s not happening right now. For his part, Harbaugh says that he is incredibly happy as the Wolverines’ coach.
- Is Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen the next under-the-radar quarterback prospect a la Carson Wentz? It was Craig Bohl who recruited Carson Wentz to North Dakota State and he is now Allen’s coach at Wyoming. It’s hard to say whether the 6’5″, 222-pound signal caller has the same kind of talent, but his stock is rising. “He’s a big ol’ kid with a big arm, and he’s pretty athletic too,” said one AFC exec. “We gotta learn more about him, but the tools are there.” Allen, a redshirt sophomore, has plenty of time to develop.
- Western Michigan coach P.J. Fleck recently predicted that Central Michigan quarterback Cooper Rush will be an “incredibly high draft pick” this year. Apparently, talent evaluators do not agree. “He may get drafted late because of the [lack of] quality at the position,” said one area scout assigned to CMU. “He’s an accurate thrower with deceptive athletic ability to extend plays with his feet. Not a dynamic or explosive athlete, but good enough to avoid the rush and create at times. Average arm at best, but he’s got solid touch on intermediate and deep balls. He just lacks elite velocity.”
Luke Kuechly Passes Concussion Protocol
Luke Kuechly has cleared the league’s concussion protocol, the Panthers announced today. However, he remains questionable for Monday night’s game. 
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“We are excited to have Luke healthy and cleared from the protocol,” head coach Ron Rivera said. “I know he is extremely motivated to get back on the field and help us win games. Whether he plays this week or not, I don’t know. We have to balance our enthusiasm with what’s best for Luke and the team long term.”
Late last month, the Panthers were adamant that they would not shut Kuechly down for the season. Now, it sounds like the team is giving that some further thought, particularly given their slim playoff hopes.
Five Thirty Eight projects the Panthers to have less than a 1% chance of making the postseason. At 5-8, Carolina must run the table to have any chance of getting in and, even then, they need a lot of things to go their way. The best (and perhaps only) path we can find is a scenario in which the Panthers win out, the Falcons and Buccaneers lose out, and the Saints lose to the Cardinals this week before topping the Bucs and Falcons in the final two weeks. That infinitesimal shot of extending the season is probably not worth risking further injury to the team’s defensive star.
Chiefs LB Derrick Johnson Done For Season
TODAY, 11:50am: As expected, the Chiefs have placed Johnson on the injured reserve (via Terez A. Paylor on Twitter).
DECEMBER 9th, 9:27am: Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson has suffered a ruptured Achilles, coach Andy Reid told reporters on Thursday night. The injury, of course, will end Johnson’s season and the team will place him on IR. 
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This isn’t Johnson’s first experience with a torn Achilles. He suffered the same injury back in 2014 and missed the majority of the season as a result. The good news is that he rebounded well, starting all 16 games in 2015 and totaling 116 tackles, four sacks, two interceptions and two forced fumbles. For his efforts, he was ranked as the No. 8 linebacker in the NFL by Pro Football Focus.
Johnson has been halted in the middle of another strong campaign – he is rated No. 21 amongst NFL linebackers by PFF with a top five grade for his coverage abilities. Now, the Chiefs will probably turn to 2015 fifth-round pick D.J. Alexander as a stand-in. Johnson will be sorely missed, but the good news is that the Chiefs’ D was able to hang on after losing him as they sealed a 21-13 win over the Raiders.
Johnson is tied with punter Dustin Colquitt as KC’s longest-tenured player. He signed a three-year, $21MM deal to stay with the Chiefs this offseason, so he should be under contract through the 2018 season.
Vikings RB Adrian Peterson To Play This Week
Adrian Peterson was hoping to return for Week 16, but it sounds like he is ahead of schedule. Peterson says that he will play Week 15 against the Colts (via Dash Radio). 
The 7-6 Vikings have a 19% chance of making the playoffs, according to Five Thirty Eight. With three games to go against the Colts, Packers, and Bears, the Vikings will probably have to run the table in order to make the postseason.
Peterson wasn’t setting the world on fire before his injury in September, but the Vikings are hoping that they will see the Peterson of old when he takes the field this week. Backups Jerick McKinnon and Matt Asiata have filled in for No. 28, but they haven’t been able to get anything going on a consistent basis. With any luck, Peterson will keep opposing defenses honest and also open things up for the passing game.
For his career, the three-time NFL rushing champ and 2012 MVP has 11,725 yards and 97 rushing touchdowns on 2,412 carries (4.9 yards per carry).