Jeff Fisher: Isaiah Pead’s Career Over
Isaiah Pead‘s playing career is over as a result of the car crash he was involved in last week, Rams coach Jeff Fisher told reporters (via ESPN.com). Pead suffered major injuries and was said to be in critical condition in an Ohio hospital. 
[RELATED: Isaiah Pead Involved In Car Crash]
“Our organization’s hearts and prayers go out to the Isaiah Pead family,” Fisher said. “I spoke with his mom [on Saturday]. He’s struggling, and he’s going to have a tough road. We’re hoping that he’ll come through this, but his career is over, and he was an outstanding young man while we had him.”
Pead lost control of his car on Interstate 670, and the vehicle went through a guardrail and down an embankment. Police have determined that drugs and alcohol were not a factor in the crash.
The running back played for the Rams from 2012-2015 before joining the Dolphins in March. In October, Miami dropped him along with other notable veterans in an effort to get out of their early season slide.
Our thoughts and best wishes go out to Pead and his family during this difficult time.
Vikings Sign Kai Forbath
The Vikings officially announced the signing of kicker Kai Forbath. It was widely reported yesterday that Forbath would be signed after Blair Walsh was handed his pink slip. 
Forbath was one of several kickers to audition for the Vikings earlier this month, along with veteran Randy Bullock. He left Minnesota without a contract, but the Vikings felt compelled to make a move roughly one week later after Walsh’s latest slip up. On Sunday against Washington, Walsh missed an extra point, his fourth missed XP of the season.
Forbath split the 2015 season with the Saints and Redskins and made only 10 of his 15 attempts. He has only three missed extra points out of 127 tries, but he has yet to kick one from the new 33-yard range. Over the course of four NFL seasons, Forbath has nailed 84.1% of his field goal tries. His career-long came last year when he sank a 57-yarder.
Monroe, Loadholt Not Interested In Vikings
The Vikings’ offensive line has been ravaged by injuries this season. After losing Matt Kalil and Andre Smith early on, the Vikings lost fill-in Jake Long last week, leaving them with the tackle combo of Jeremiah Sirles and T.J. Clemmings. Out-of-house options are limited now that the trade deadline is over and it doesn’t sound like the Vikings will be able to pull two recent retirees off of the couch, either. Eugene Monroe and Phil Loadholt are not interested in playing for the Vikings or any other team this year, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today Sports (Twitter links). 
“No, I don’t care if it was the Vikings or whoever, I won’t be playing ball again,” Monroe said.
Monroe made headlines this offseason for his vocal pro-marijuana stance. After making the media rounds for his cause, he was released by the Ravens, but the team insisted that he was not cut for his activism. Teams like the Giants, 49ers, and Seahawks came calling for Monroe, but the 6-foot-5, 310-pounder turned down every overture as he feared for his health.
“I’m only 29 and I still have the physical ability to play at a very high level, so I know that my decision to retire may be puzzling to some. But I am thinking of my family first right now — and my health and my future,” Monroe wrote in July. “The last 18 years have been full of traumatic injuries to both my head and my body. I’m not complaining, just stating a fact. Has the damage to my brain already been done? Do I have CTE? I hope I don’t, but over 90% of the brains of former NFL players that have been examined showed signs of the disease. I am terrified.”
This spring, the Vikings pushed Loadholt to take a pay cut, but he opted to retire instead. There were conflicting reports as to why the veteran walked away with some saying that he didn’t want to accept a salary reduction and others citing an injury while working out. In any case, Loadholt is apparently comfortable in retirement.
Lions Extend S Don Carey
The Lions have extended safety Don Carey, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. It’s a one-year, $1.35MM deal that will take him through 2017. 
Listed as a safety and sometimes as a cornerback, Carey’s main contributions come on special teams as a gunner. Thanks in part to Carey, Sam Martin currently leads the league with a 45.4 yard net average. This year, the 29-year-old has a team-high seven special teams tackles.
Overall, the Lions have made special teams a priority this year. In the offseason, they added special teams ace Johnson Bademosi and their September extension of Sam Martin made him one of the highest-paid punters in the NFL.
Seahawks Waive RB Christine Michael
Well, no one saw this coming. The Seahawks have waived running back Christine Michael, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). To fill his spot, the Seahawks signed defensive tackle Sealver Siliga.
[RELATED: Thomas Rawls Set To Return]
The release of Michael is a pretty good indication that Thomas Rawls is back and ready to rock. The expectation was that Rawls would draw a good share of the carries along with C.J. Prosise, leaving Michael as the No. 3 RB. Instead, it turns out that he is out of the picture altogether.
Michael bounced around in 2015 before returning to Seattle, where he enjoyed some success. Michael averaged 4.9 yards per carry with the Seahawks in a limited sample last year, a big improvement over his flat 3.4 per rush with the Cowboys earlier in the season. This year, Michael split the difference with a 4.0 yards per carry average, though he did add 20 catches for 96 yards across his nine games.
Because the trade deadline has passed, every player who is cut must pass through waivers. Therefore, each club will have its shot at claiming Michael in the next day or so, in reverse order of standings.
Saints To Release James Laurinaitis, If Cleared
Saints linebacker James Laurinaitis will see a doctor this week and, if deemed healthy, he will be released off injured reserve and permitted to sign elsewhere, sources tell Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). 
Laurinaitis suffered a quad injury in September and his late October return fell flat, leading New Orleans to park him on IR. Apparently, he feels that he is healthy enough to play again, but the Saints cannot reactivate him after already using their IR-DTR spot on Sheldon Rankins.
Laurinaitis joined New Orleans on a three-year deal this spring with a base value of $8.5MM. The contract included a $1.8MM signing bonus, so the Saints have forked over about ~$2MM in total on their failed investment.
Prior to his issues this year, the ex-Ohio State standout never missed a game or a start since entering the league in 2009, suiting up 112 consecutive times. Last year, he turned in his seventh 100-tackle campaign in a row. If he’s truly healthy, Laurinaitis can be an impact addition for a contender in need of defensive help.
Rams’ Robert Quinn Released From Hospital
Great news out of Los Angeles as Robert Quinn has been released from the hospital, according to NFL Network’s Steve Wyche. Today, Quinn is back at the Rams’ practice facility but there’s no word yet on when he might return to the gridiron. 
[RELATED: Rams To Start Jared Goff]
At this stage, we still don’t know much about what landed Quinn in the hospital. All that we know is that it was a non-football related illness and not related to the benign brain tumor he dealt with in high school. From the little that Jeff Fisher disclosed yesterday, however, it sounds like Quinn is not facing anything too serious. Now, we’ll have to wait to find out how it may impact him on the field. It seems unlikely that he will play this weekend against the Dolphins, but we won’t know for sure until the team shares more about the defensive end.
So far this year, Quinn has has two sacks, two forced fumbles, and two passes defensed in seven games. That’s not quite on the level with his best campaigns. In 2014, his last full season, he totaled 10.5 sacks and 46 tackles. In the year prior, he earned an All-Pro selection as he tallied an eye-popping 19 sacks and 57 tackles.
We here at PFR wish Quinn nothing but the best and look forward to seeing him back on the field, when he is ready.
Bills Fed Up With Marcell Dareus?
Thanks to injuries and his suspension, Marcell Dareus has appeared in just one game for the Bills this season. During his ban, Dareus let himself go and some in the Bills organization are frustrated with his perceived lack of effort, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). 
Some team officials would like to cut ties with the defensive tackle, but that’s easier said than done given the money owed to him going forward. The Bills would be on the hook for tons of guaranteed cash, money that was given to him a little over a year ago in a mammoth extension worth $95MM over six years with the potential to crack the $100MM mark. Typically, a drug policy violation would allow the Bills to get out of all guarantees, but a rare clause in his contract limited the punishment to only the year of the misstep. In other words, Dareus’ 2016 guarantees went out the window, but all other guarantees through 2021 remained untouched.
A defensive tackle under old head coach Doug Marrone, the Bills switched Dareus to nose tackle spot under Rex Ryan last year. Dareus’ gaudy sack totals went away, but he was still a powerful run stuffer and Buffalo felt compelled to lock him up. Given the headaches of this season, the Bills are unquestionably regretting their decision. Trouble is, there’s no easy way out with the soon-t0-be 27-year-old.
Ravens Promote CB Asa Jackson
The Ravens announced that they have promoted cornerback Asa Jackson to the 53-man roster. His spot was cleared when Baltimore placed rookie defensive tackle Willie Henry on injured reserve. The Ravens also signed guard Jarrod Pughsley and tight end Austin Traylor to the practice squad while releasing quarterback David Fales. 
Jackson will help provide depth which Shareece Wright deals with a thigh injury. He may also be utilized on special teams where Devin Hester has coughed up the ball multiple times this year as a return. Jackson missed the 75-man cut in Arizona this summer, but he hopes to stick on the Ravens’ 53-man roster after being jostled around this year.
Henry, a fourth-round pick, is the third Ravens draft pick to be placed on IR this year. He was active for only one game this year.
The good news is that for all the injuries in Baltimore, the team did not announce that tackle Alex Lewis or guard Marshal Yanda are going to IR. Lewis suffered a high ankle sprain recently and was given a six week prognosis. Yanda, meanwhile, is dealing with a shoulder injury and an uncertain timetable for return.
Steelers’ Cam Heyward Done For Season
Defensive end Cameron Heyward announced that he is done for the season. The Steelers star has been dealing with a pectoral injury that will apparently require surgery. 
“I would like to thank everyone who has been in my corner this season,” Heyward posted on Instagram. “It pains me to say that I will not get to continue playing this season. My role will change as I can not play, but it will not change the goals the team has set out. My support for this team will only grow and I look forward in watching this team grow and fight on. Hate being on the sideline, but there is a greater plan taking place. My patience will be tested but I look forward to 2017. My hand will remain in the pile no matter what!”
Heyward was already playing through a nagging hamstring injury but playing the hero through this chest injury was not an option for the 27-year-old. For the last six years, Heyward has been an absolute rock for the Steelers and he never missed a regular season game until this year. As a starter over the last three-and-a-half years, Heyward has tallied 22.5 sacks and been a constant nightmare for opposing quarterbacks. This year, his 3 sacks stand as a team high although he only played in seven of nine possible games.
With Heyward out, the Steelers will likely use Ricardo Mathews in his spot and they may also move tackle Javon Hargrave around on the line. It’s unlikely that either player can match Heyward’s production, however.