Browns’ RG3 To Practice Today
The Browns will get Robert Griffin III back on the practice field today. The team announced that RG3 is their player designated for return, kickstarting their three week window to place him on the active roster. 
Griffin’s season ended just as it started when he suffered a fractured coracoid bone in his left shoulder in the season opener. After the injury, it was unclear whether he would be able to suit up again in 2016. He now looks to return to the team at a time when they are winless through eleven games and desperately seeking a W.
The quarterback will be eligible to play in Sunday’s showdown with the Giants in Cleveland. If the Browns can’t win against the G-Men, they’ll have to win against the Bengals, Bills, Chargers, or Steelers in order to avoid matching the 2008 Lions.
Griffin, a fifth-year pro, set NFL rookie records for passer rating (102.4), interception percentage (1.27), and rushing yards by a quarterback (815) en route to being named the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2012. Starting 13 games in 2013, Griffin recorded a career-high 3,203 passing yards and became the fifth quarterback in NFL history to record 3,000 passing yards in each of his first two seasons. He was hoping to be reignited by a change of scenery in Cleveland, but his Week 1 injury has pushed the pause button on that pursuit.
Thanks to injuries and a bizarre final season in Washington, Griffin has appeared in just 10 games since the end of the 2013 season.
Bills WR Sammy Watkins Returns To Practice
Sammy Watkins will return to practice for the Bills today, GM Doug Whaley told WGR 550. The Bills have until Dec. 14 – 21 days from today – to activate him to their 53-man roster. 
Watkins has been on injured reserve since Sept. 30 when his foot injury became too much to play through. To date, Watkins has appeared in only two games this season. Now, he is eligible to play in Sunday’s game against the Jaguars, but it’s not immediately clear whether that is a real option. After practice today, we could get a clearer idea of Watkins’ timetable.
The Bills would certainly like to get Watkins on the field this weekend, particularly given Robert Woods‘ knee sprain. Without Woods and Watkins, Buffalo is looking at a scenario where the recently un-retired Percy Harvin is arguably the No. 1 pass catching option along with Marquise Goodwin, Justin Hunter, Walter Powell, and Brandon Tate.
Watkins has shelved with six receptions for 63 yards in his two games. In his 13-game season last year, Watkins hauled in 60 passes for 1,047 yards and nine touchdowns.
Extra Points: Mexico, Saints, Packers, Broncos
Could Donald Trump’s campaign promises affect the NFL’s games staged in Mexico? The league says that won’t be the case.
“I’m a firm believer that any international focus requires you to manage within the political climate that exists,” NFL executive vice president/International Mark Waller told Alex Marvez of The Sporting News. “You can’t control what government is or is not in place. Our job irrespective of that is doing everything we can do to expand the popularity of our sport.”
The NFL estimates that it has 28.3 million fans in Mexico with 9.9 million categorized as “hardcore” supporters. The league does big business south of the border and hopes to grow the fanbase going forward.
Here’s more from around the NFL:
- The Saints added Kevin O’Dea as an assistant coach to help with their struggling special teams, as Christopher Dabe of The Times-Picayune writes. “I think when you have some struggles in an area immediately I think the reaction is people want heads to fly,” Payton said. “I think for us, it’s about bringing in someone that can help. I think [special teams coordinator] Greg [McMahon] and [special teams assistant] Stan [Kwan] and those guys, this is a low-ego business. We want to win, and that’s the most important thing. So a guy like Kevin I think can help us. He was fired up. He got in here (Monday) afternoon.”
- Packers inside linebacker Blake Martinez is expected to miss multiple games with an MCL sprain, a source tells Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The fourth-round pick has started nine games for Green Bay this year.
- The Broncos placed a claim on running back Ronnie Hillman, tweets Mike Klis of 9News in Denver (via Twitter). The 25-year-old was waived by the Vikings yesterday and landed on the Chargers today.
Ben Levine contributed to this report.
Chargers Lose DL Brandon Mebane For Season
TODAY, 6:20pm: The Chargers have placed Mebane on the injured reserve, according to ESPN’s Eric Williams (via Twitter).
NOV. 14th, 2:03pm: Brandon Mebane tore his biceps and is out for the season, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). 
Mebane signed with the Bolts in free agency this spring. Upon joining the team, he spoke glowingly of the defense and how excited he was to be a part of it.
“I was telling guys, there’s more talent on this defense than in Seattle. If you look at the draft, you’ve got four first-round draft picks. You’ve got five second-round draft picks, all total on defense. In Seattle, we only had two first rounders and one second rounder. Everybody else was pretty much down in the draft or undrafted,” he said in May.
The longtime Seahawks defensive lineman spent his entire career in Seattle before joining San Diego this offseason. From 2007-2015, he missed only 13 games. Now, he’s pretty much going to miss the second half of the 2016 season.
Mebane earned an average rating from Pro Football Focus for his 2015 performance, placing him just inside the top-100 of the league’s interior defenders. This year, however, PFF has Mebane ranked as the 15th best interior defender in the NFL, ahead of notables such as Malik Jackson, Michael Brockers, Stephon Tuitt, Derek Wolfe, and Dominique Easley.
Rams Release CB Troy Hill
Days after being arrested for a DUI, the Rams announced that they have released cornerback Troy Hill. The team also announced that cornerback Dwayne Gratz has been waived and linebacker Josh Forrest has been placed on injured reserve. To take their spots, cornerback Michael Jordan and linebacker Nic Grigsby are being called up from the practice squad. 
Hill, 25, entered the league as a Bengals undrafted free agent in 2015 and didn’t play much during his rookie season. This year, he saw an increased role, appearing in every game for the Rams (until this weekend) and starting four contests. As Los Angeles’ fourth cornerback behind Trumaine Johnson, E.J. Gaines, and Lamarcus Joyner, Hill has played on 320 defensive snaps this year, but Pro Football Focus gave him poor marks for his play. His release should have opened a door for Gratz, but he also finds himself out of work.
Forrest, a sixth-round pick, suffered an ACL tear on Sunday. Forrest was Alec Ogletree‘s primary backup at middle linebacker, so they are now without an important reserve. As I suggested yesterday, Grigsby is getting a promotion to help fill the void.
West Notes: Kelly, Rams, Broncos, Talib, Wolfe
In the midst of a dreadful season, 49ers coach Chip Kelly says he hasn’t discussed his future with team brass.
“No,” Kelly said, according to Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle. “We haven’t had any conversations about that at all. About anybody’s job security.”
After losing 30-17 to New England, the Niners are now 1-9 and their nine-game losing streak ties a 38-year-old franchise worst. Still, Kelly is in his first year with the team and he did not inherit a great roster. It would be a bit surprising if Kelly was jettisoned so soon, but then again, coaches are often on a short leash in the NFL.
Here’s more from the West divisions:
- In the middle of the 2015 season, the Rams canned Frank Cignetti and installed Rob Boras as the team’s offensive coordinator. Will they make a similar move this year? “Not given it any consideration,” Fisher said (link via Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times). “I did that last year. I have confidence in Rob and the offense has confidence in Rob. And the offense right now knows they’re not doing what they should be doing.” The Rams currently rank 31st in total offense, 28th in passing, and 29th in rushing.
- The Broncos expect to have cornerback Aqib Talib and defensive end Derek Wolfe back for Sunday night’s game against Kansas City, as Andrew Mason of DenverBroncos.com writes. Talib has missed three games with a back injury and Wolfe was absent in Week 10 as he dealt with an elbow issue.
- The Chiefs worked out long snappers Thomas Gafford and Clint Gresham, Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star tweets.
Josh McDaniels: I’d “Love” To Be A HC
Recently, a report indicated that Josh McDaniels was planning to hang around in New England so that he could succeed Bill Belichick. Today, McDaniels refuted that notion on a conference call with reporters. 
“I’m aware of the report and I’ll try to clear that up,” McDaniels said (transcript via Patriots’ website). “I definitely said it before and I’ll say it again: I definitely would love to be a head coach again. There are only 32 of those in the world. They’re opportunities that don’t come along very often, and if you would ever be so fortunate and blessed to have another opportunity to do it, and for myself it would be for a second time, it would be an opportunity that I would look forward to. It would have to be at the right place at the right time, which is what I’ve always said. I try to make decisions [based on] what’s best for my family and myself. Again, somebody would have to offer that opportunity. You’re lucky if you get that. That’s my mindset.”
The NFL Career Development Advisory Panel released its preliminary list of 2017 coaching candidates and McDaniels was not included. Now, McDaniels is likely to be viewed as one of the top HC candidates in the league. McDaniels’ stint as a head coach in Denver did not work out, but he was just 33 when he was hired. Still young, but far more experienced at 40, McDaniels has once again established himself as one of the league’s best offensive minds.
It’s hard to see Belichick as anything other than a coach and McDaniels probably agrees. He will pursue head coaching gigs this spring and the right opportunity could take him away from New England.
Dolphins’ Dion Jordan To Return To Practice
Dion Jordan is slated to practice for the Dolphins for the first time in nearly two years, according to Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald. Jordan has spent the whole season on the NFI list with a knee injury, but he has been cleared to practice. 
Jordan, a former No. 3 overall pick in the draft, was conditionally reinstated by the league over the summer after missing all of 2015. What the Dolphins didn’t know is that he underwent surgery while in limbo.
Now, the Dolphins will start evaluating Jordan to figure out if and when he can see live action. Per league rules, Miami has three weeks to decide whether to activate Jordan or to shelve him for the rest of the year. It’s not immediately clear where Jordan is physically, so it’s hard to say when he’ll play in his first game since December 28, 2014.
If Jordan gets the green light, he could help fill the gap while Jason Jones serves a two-game suspension. Jones violated the league’s substance-abuse policy with a DUI and will sit out until Miami’s Dec. 4 game against Baltimore. Jones played in all 10 Dolphins games this season, his first with the team, and started five. He’s registered 2.5 sacks, 23 tackles and recovered a fumble.
Lions’ Pettigrew May Return From PUP
The Lions could get tight end Brandon Pettigrew back on the field before the year is through. Pettigrew returned to practice today, kickstarting the team’s three-week window to activate him. If his knee holds up, he could return to action. Word on the veteran’s knee has been positive as of late. 
Pettigrew was placed on the PUP list in late August, helping the team to get down to the 75-man max. In September, he agreed to rework his contract in order to remain in Detroit. The tight end was previously set to earn a non-guaranteed base salary of $3.65MM for 2016. The new deal granted Pettigrew ~$129K – or, 1/17th of his $2.2MM split salary. If he is brought on to the 53-man roster, he’ll earn almost $215K, which is 1/17th of $3.65MM, his original base salary.
Pettigrew, 31, caught only 17 passes for 137 yards between 2014 and 2015. These days, he is relied on more for his blocking ability than anything else.
Panthers Bring Ryan Delaire Back From IR
The Panthers are bringing defensive end Ryan Delaire back from injured reserve, the team announced Tuesday afternoon. Delaire was placed on IR with a knee injury in late September and became eligible for return this week. The team has now triggered a 21-day window to determine whether to put him on the active roster. 
Delaire initially signed with the Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent out of Towson prior to the 2015 season. The Bucs thought highly of him, giving him a $15K signing bonus – quite a bit for a UDFA. However, he didn’t earn a spot on the club’s regular season roster, leading him to Carolina early on in the 2015 season.
The 6’4″, 265 pound athlete appeared in nine games for Carolina last year, tallying eight tackles and 2.5 sacks. This year, he saw time in two games before going to IR.
Teams can only bring one player back from IR under the new rules, but the Panthers didn’t have any priority players that fit the bill. So, Delaire gets to return as a reserve bookend, provided that all goes well in practice over the next three weeks.