Raiders Place D.J. Hayden On IR
SATURDAY, 3:47pm: Oakland made the move to place Hayden on IR, replacing the fourth-year corner on their active roster with defensive lineman Branden Jackson, according to Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com. A rookie UDFA from Texas Tech, Jackson has not played this season.
FRIDAY, 2:47pm: D.J. Hayden‘s season is over. The Raiders announced that they will place the cornerback on injured reserve. 
Hayden suffered a hamstring injury during Sunday’s victory over the Panthers. Now, Oakland will move forward without its No. 3 cornerback. In his place, T.J. Carrie will probably see an increase in playing time.
With Sean Smith David Amerson, Dexter McDonald, and Antonio Hamilton already on the roster, the team may not need to add another cornerback. Amerson missed Week 12 with a knee injury, but he appears on track to play this weekend.
Hayden is currently ranked as the 100th best cornerback in the NFL out of 120 qualified players, per Pro Football Focus. He has poor grades for both coverage and run defense, but he has a better-than-average pass rush grade. He has been on the field for 476 snaps this year, which is significantly higher than Carrie’s total to date.
In May, the Raiders declined Hayden’s fifth-year option. Instead of earning $8.03MM in 2017, Hayden will be eligible for free agency.
AFC Notes: Green, Broncos, Raiders
Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green is progressing in his recovery from the hamstring injury he suffered Nov. 20, but he’ll miss Sunday’s game against the Eagles, according to Bob Holzman of ESPN. Although the 3-7-1 Bengals are all but out of playoff contention, the five-time Pro Bowler has no plans to shut himself down for the season. “I want to get back,” he told Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “No matter what type of season we have, I’m not the type of guy to cash it in. So, whenever it’s ready, I’ll be ready to go. But, I’m not going to rush it because I’m not going to have this be a continuing issue.”
More from the AFC:
- Safety Darian Stewart‘s four-year, $28MM extension with the Broncos includes $13MM in fully guaranteed money, per Mike Klis of 9NEWS. He has already received $3.5MM of a $7MM signing bonus, the other half of which he’ll collect March 15. Stewart’s $6MM base salary for 2017 is fully guaranteed, while his $4.5MM salary for 2018 is guaranteed for injury only and will convert to a full guarantee on the fifth day of the 2018 league year.
- Raiders coach Jack Del Rio still expects defensive lineman Mario Edwards Jr. to return this year, Scott Bair of CSNCalifornia.com tweets. Del Rio is uncertain when Edwards would come back, however. The second-year man went on injured reserve with a hip ailment prior to Week 1 and still hasn’t played this season. If the Raiders designate Edwards to return from IR, they’ll have a three-week window to activate him.
- The latest on the Jets, including a Christian Hackenberg update.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/2/16
Friday’s practice squad changes:
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: QB Joe Callahan
- Cut: WR Dez Stewart
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: QB Stephen Morris
- Cut: DT Kelcy Quarles
New England Patriots
- Signed: FB Glenn Gronkowski
- Cut: TE Kennard Backman
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: WR Marcus Johnson
- Cut: TE Anthony Denham
Redskins Waive David Bruton
The Redskins announced that they have waived safety David Bruton from the reserved/injured list. In related moves, cornerback Dashaun Phillips has been promoted to the active roster and tackle Blaine Clausell has been waived.
After spending the first seven seasons of his career with the Broncos, Bruton joined the Redskins on a three-year, $9MM deal in March. In 2015, he set career highs in several categories, including tackles (43), interceptions (two), and passes defended (seven). Unfortunately, he was not able to keep the momentum going in D.C. and was placed on IR in early October because of a concussion.
Bruton ended up collecting $3.4MM from the Redskins for four appearances, all starts, to go with 28 tackles and a sack. Assuming he clears waivers – and it’s a good bet he will – Bruton will be eligible to sign with another club.
Phillips, 25, started in two of three appearances with the Redskins earlier this year, and has seen action in nine of Washington’s games since last season. The 2014 undrafted free agent from Tarleton State previously spent time with the Cowboys and Jets organizations.
Jets Notes: Hackenberg, Garoppolo, Raymond
The Jets have a lot of questions to answer at the quarterback position and, at the same time, there are lots of question marks about second-round pick Christian Hackenberg. Hackenberg hasn’t played in any games this season and remains something of a mystery to the Jets.
“I think he’s a developmental player at this point, and there is a lot of talent there. The sky is the limit. But we don’t know yet,” offensive coordinator Chan Gailey said (via Darryl Slater of NJ.com).
Gailey says that Hackenberg has grown in practice, but it is strange that he has not been mentioned as an option in a year where three other QBs have started for the Jets. The Jets could go in a number of directions this offseason, but elevating Hackenberg to starter probably isn’t a viable option.
Here’s more on the Jets:
- Jimmy Garoppolo would be the perfect quarterback for the Jets, but Patriots coach Bill Belichick would never let Gang Green have him, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News opines. Garoppolo is expected to be dangled this offseason and could fetch a high price for the Pats in a trade. However, the Patriots know better than to let their divisional rivals get a promising 25-year-old quarterback. As Mehta notes, Garoppolo’s value is enhanced by an uninspiring 2017 quarterback draft class that will likely include Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer, North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky and Clemson’s DeShaun Watson. Also helping his value is that he is due to make only $820K in 2017. In 2018, the team that has him could apply the franchise tag and hold off on giving him an expensive long-term deal.
- The Jets tried to sign wide receiver Kalif Raymond off of the Broncos’ practice squad last week, Mike Klis of 9News tweets. To keep him, Denver bumped his salary. Then, today, they promoted him to the 53-man roster.
- Yesterday, Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis responded to the retirement rumors surrounding him.
Rolando McClain Banned Indefinitely
Cowboys linebacker Rolando McClain has been suspended indefinitely, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. McClain’s stems from his latest violation of the league’s substance abuse policy. 
[RELATED: Cowboys Expect Claiborne To Return This Year]
McClain reportedly wants to return to the team, but it’s not clear if the Cowboys want to have him back. Publicly, at least, owner Jerry Jones has said that he wants the linebacker to rejoin the club. Of course, that’s easy to say when McClain is a long way from being reinstated to the league.
It should be noted that since McClain has been on the reserve/did not report list this season, it’s possible his one-year Cowboys deal could be applied to 2017. But, the Cowboys might not want to pursue that if McClain is not sober.
In 2015, McClain graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 28 linebacker. In his suspension-shortened season, McClain recorded 80 total tackles, two sacks, and three pass deflections.
NFC East Notes: Cowboys, Romo, Agholor
Where will Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo wind up this offseason? The Broncos, Jets, and Bears would be the most obvious fits for the Cowboys quarterback, NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal opines. Beyond those teams, the Cardinals could be a possibility if Carson Palmer retires. Meanwhile, the Bills and Texans represent “longshot” landing spots for the veteran. Buffalo already has a QB in Tyrod Taylor, but his contract gives them an out if they see Romo as the better option to win right now. In Houston, Brock Osweiler could use another QB to push him, but they’d probably look to a younger player.
Here’s more out of the NFC East:
- The Eagles will enter the offseason with just $9.6MM in cap space, meaning that they will have to make some moves in the spring. Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com runs down a handful of cap casualty candidates, but says that wide receiver Nelson Agholor is unlikely to get cut. That’s because cutting Agholor would leave $4.6MM in dead money on the cap versus $2.1MM in savings. The Eagles could theoretically trade him and absolve themselves of that dead money, but they’re not likely to find a strong market for him. High-priced players who could go include tackle Jason Peters, defensive lineman Connor Barwin, and linebacker Mychal Kendricks.
- Eagles coach Doug Pederson says there is a good chance Agholor is active this week, Shorr-Parks of NJ.com tweets. Agholor was a healthy scratch against Green Bay on Monday and Pederson has declined to give specifics on that decision. In other Agholor news, he remains under NFL investigation for his involvement in an alleged rape over the summer.
- Is Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins playing himself into the $24MM/year range? One former agent says yes.
- The Giants auditioned a quartet of safeties earlier this week.
Broncos Promote WR Kalif Raymond
The Broncos have promoted wide receiver Kalif Raymond from the practice squad to the 53-man roster, Mike Klis of 9News tweets. Raymond will now serve as Denver’s new returner, Klis adds, which could be a sign that Jordan Norwood is being squeezed out. 
The Broncos had seven wide receivers on the roster before adding Raymond, so it stands to reason that at least one of the team’s receivers will be bumped from the 53-man roster. Lately, the Broncos have been using Cody Latimer and Norwood as their kick returners with Norwood as the primary punt return man. Now, those duties belong to Raymond, an undrafted Holy Cross product. In the preseason with Denver, he averaged 23.9 yards per kick return with his best return coming on a 41-yarder in the preseason finale.
In other Broncos news, quarterback Trevor Siemian will be sidelined on Sunday, coach Gary Kubiak told reporters. Paxton Lynch will get the start against Jacksonville in his place. In his previous outing, a 23-16 loss to the Falcons on Oct. 9, Lynch completed 23 of 35 passes for 223 yards, a touchdown and an interception. In total, Lynch has hit on 37 of 59 attempts for 393 yards, two scores and a pick this season.
Bills Paying Logan Thomas Significant Bonus
This week, Logan Thomas made a position change when he signed with the Lions’ practice squad as a tight end. Soon after, the Bills stole the former Virginia Tech quarterback by signing him to the active roster. It initially seemed like Buffalo was making a low-risk move, but it turns out they have some skin in the game. The Bills gave Thomas a $75K signing bonus and guaranteed $120K of his $680K base salary, a source tells ESPN.com’s Field Yates (Twitter link). 
Thomas’ willingness even consider the tight end position is a recent development. Several teams mentioned a position switch to him prior to the 2014 NFL draft, Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com writes, but Thomas made it clear he had no interest in playing anything but QB. After a few unsuccessful stops as a QB and watching Terrelle Pryor succeed as a receiver, Thomas reconsidered things. With a big body and solid athleticism for a player of his size, the potential is there for Thomas to be a difference maker at TE. Still, one personnel man tells Mortensen that he’s not sold just yet.
“He’ll have to totally buy in like Pryor, but tight end is an even bigger challenge for a former quarterback than switching [to] receiver, or running back, or safety,” the official said. “When you look at him physically, he is big, strong and has the ability to move, but can he run those routes, get separation, master the assignments that are demanded at tight end, as well as put his hand on the ground and be willing to block somebody? It’s not simple.”
There is some history of quarterbacks converting to tight end and finding success, such as Redskins star Jordan Reed. However, Reed made the position switch while in college. Thomas is going to try to make that change at the professional level and he’ll need the right coaching and guidance to make it work.
Johnny Manziel Reaches Deal With Prosecutors
Prosecutors have finalized an agreement with Johnny Manziel to dismiss a domestic violence charge against him, as The Associated Press writes. The former Heisman Trophy winner will have to meet certain conditions for a year before the charge is formally dropped. 
This agreement may remove one hurdle in Manziel’s path to an NFL return, but there are obviously a number of issues standing in his way. For one, the league reportedly has a six-game suspension waiting for Manziel in response to this charge, even though he will not serve jail time for it. Manziel must also show that he is making a real commitment to sobriety. Over the last two years, Manziel has made headlines for all the wrong reasons and he has yet to follow through on any of his pledges to get better. If Manziel can’t stay on the straight and narrow, no NFL team will roll the dice on him.
In the last year, two different agents have dropped Manziel. His last agent, Drew Rosenhaus, claimed that there was NFL interest in Manziel as recently as March, though I’m skeptical. Even if that is true, Manziel’s situation has deteriorated even further in the last nine months and any interest from clubs has surely waned.
Manziel has told people close to him that he is eyeing a 2017 NFL comeback.