Latest On Vikings’ Sharrif Floyd
Back in September, Sharrif Floyd had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, putting him on the shelf for a good while. Floyd is now back at the Vikings’ training facility after rehabbing the injury, but it’s not clear when he’ll be back in action, coach Mike Zimmer told reporters. 
“We didn’t think it was going to be six years’ worth of hurt,” the coach said (via Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune).
So far, it has been seven weeks since Floyd’s surgery and the clock is still ticking. The Vikings face the Redskins this Sunday, but it doesn’t sound like we should expect to see Floyd on the field. Minnesota is hoping that Floyd can get healthy sooner rather than later and shed his “injury prone” label. If he can’t, it seems possible that he could be put on IR and shut down for the year.
Floyd, 25, was a first-round pick in the 2013 draft. At the NFL level, he has appeared in 44 games with 24 starts, missing two games in 2014 and three games in 2015. With Floyd out, the Vikings have Shamar Stephen on the interior D-Line next to Linval Joseph. Behind them is veteran Tom Johnson, the only other true defensive tackle on the roster.
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Jets Place Ryan Clady On IR
Ryan Clady‘s season is over. The Jets announced that Clady is being placed on injured reserve with what is believed to be a torn rotator cuff. Also, defensive lineman Jarvis Jenkins has been waived and wide receiver Devin Smith has been activated from the PUP list. The Jets also confirmed that they have signed defensive lineman Anthony Johnson from the Patriots’ practice squad. 
[RELATED: Jets Sign Anthony Johnson Off Of Pats’ P-Squad]
The Jets landed Clady in an April trade with the Broncos. Clady was due to earn $19.5MM between 2016 and 2017 on his old contract, but he agreed to rework his deal in order to start fresh on the east coast. His new deal still covers 2017, but it’s unlikely that the Jets will retain him with a ~$10MM cap charge.
Gang Green dealt for Clady with the hope that he could stay healthy and achieve his potential. That obviously didn’t happen as Pro Football Focus ranked Clady as the No. 54 tackle in the NFL out of 74 qualified players. Clady had middle-of-the-pack run blocking scores this year coupled with dreadful evaluations on his pass blocking. The Jets’ tackle woes went far beyond Clady too as Brent Qvale has fared only slightly better and Ben Ijalana has actually done worse. Ijalana now projects to take over on the left side.
The Jets signed Jenkins to a two-year deal this past offseason worth $6MM with $3MM guaranteed. After registering a career-best four sacks in 2015 with Chicago, it’s conceivable that he could circle back to the Bears. There’s no way around it: Jenkins’ deal was a terrible miscalculation by GM Mike Maccagnan & Co. The advanced metrics indicated that Jenkins was not far above replacement level as an interior defender last year but the Jets and other clubs were likely blinded by his traditional stats.
Smith, a 2015 second-round pick, has now recovered from his torn ACL. In ten games last year, Smith posted nine receptions for 115 yards and one touchdown.
Giants S Darian Thompson Done For Season
The Giants announced that safety Darian Thompson will undergo season-ending foot surgery. Thompson, of course, will be placed on injured reserve. 
Safety was a problem spot for the Giants in 2015 and they were hopeful about turning it around this year with the help of Thompson, a third-round pick. Unfortunately, the rookie was hampered by a Lisfranc injury in training camp and could not fully recover, even after resting for the last six weeks. Thompson’s first NFL season ends with seven total tackles in two games.
The Giants will continue to rely on safeties Landon Collins, Nat Berhe, and Andrew Adams going forward, though they could add a fourth player to that group.
Jets Sign Anthony Johnson From Pats’ P-Squad
The Jets have signed defensive lineman Anthony Johnson from the Patriots’ practice squad, freelance NFL reporter Rand Getlin tweets. The move leaves a vacancy on the Pats’ 10-man p-squad and will require a corresponding move from the Jets to make room on the 53-man roster. 
In May, the Patriots signed Johnson just after shipping linebacker Jon Bostic to the Lions. This fall, Johnson has been dropped, signed to the practice squad, promoted, dropped, signed to the practice squad, given a raise on his p-squad salary, promoted, dropped again, and signed to the Pats’ practice squad again before being plucked by Gang Green today. Johnson now hopes to find some stability in the swamps of New Jersey.
This year, Johnson appeared in four games for the Pats and registered eight total tackles. His only other previous NFL experience came in 2014 when he played in seven games for the Dolphins. The AFC East tour continues for the 23-year-old as he joins the Jets ahead of their Sunday matchup versus the Rams.
Saints Sign S Shiloh Keo
Saints coach Sean Payton announced that the team has signed safety Shiloh Keo. Payton also confirmed the signing of linebacker Sam Barrington, which was reported earlier today. 
Keo was hit with a two-game suspension stemming from a DUI arrest this offseason. The Broncos released him in the midst of the suspension but they re-signed him once he was cleared to play again. Late last month, Denver cut Keo to make room for newly-acquired tight end A.J. Derby.
Keo appeared in seven games for Denver over the last two seasons. His most productive year came in 2013 while with the Texans. Appearing in all 16 games and starting 11 games at free safety, the Idaho product totaled 63 tackles, six passes defensed, and one interception.
As of this writing, the signing of Keo leaves the Saints with five safeties on the 53-man roster.
Saints To Sign LB Sam Barrington
The Saints are signing linebacker Sam Barrington, according to Alex Marvez of The Sporting News (on Twitter). Barrington has been looking for work since being cut by Kansas City last week. 
Barrington will help to provide depth after the Saints placed linebacker James Laurinaitis on injured reserve. The Laurinaitis shutdown allowed New Orleans to activate rookie Sheldon Rankins, but they were left thin when it comes to true linebackers. Before Barrington, the Saints had Craig Robertson, Michael Mauti, Dannell Ellerbe, Nathan Stupar, and Stephone Anthony in the LB group. Now, they once again have one reserve for each starter.
Barrington spent the first three seasons of his career with the Packers but he was waived earlier this year, leading him to the Chiefs. In Kansas City, Barrington made only two appearances on the year. He’s hoping to again see the kind of burn he got in 2014 with Green Bay when he suited up for 14 games and made seven starts in 2014.
Giants Promote OL Adam Gettis
The Giants are promoting offensive lineman Adam Gettis to the active roster, as Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com writes. In a related move, wide receiver Da’ron Brown has been signed to the practice squad, taking Gettis’ place. 
[RELATED: Giants OL Justin Pugh To Miss Time]
The G-Men were forced to do some roster shuffling after learning that guard Justin Pugh will miss multiple games with a knee sprain. The Giants will now try to do their best on the O-Line for the next 2-4 weeks without the player ranked as the league’s top interior lineman by Pro Football Focus. Gettis figures to slot behind John Jerry and Bobby Hart as the team’s only true guard off of the bench.
Brown, meanwhile, joins the practice squad after wide receiver Geremy Davis was plucked by the Chargers. Brown was one of 13 players to audition for the Giants this week and got himself a deal, along with fellow wide receiver Kevin Norwood. Brown, a Northern Illinois product, has made the practice squad rounds but has yet to appear in an NFL game. As a college senior in 2014, Brown caught 68 passes for 1,065 yards and six touchdowns, setting himself up to be taken in the seventh round of the ’15 draft by Kansas City.
Extra Points: Coughlin, Jets, Cards, Steelers
Former Giants coach Tom Coughlin said he would be lying if he claimed he didn’t miss the sidelines, as Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com tweets. When asked about what the future might hold, the two-time Super Bowl winner said, “Who knows.” Coughlin, 70, will be inducted into Giants Ring of Honor on Monday night.
More from around the NFL:
- Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick believes he’ll be able to start Sunday against the Rams despite his sprained MCL, a source tells Ed Werder of ESPN.com (on Twitter). If he can’t, Todd Bowles will go with second-year man Bryce Petty for his first career start.
- Cardinals defensive back Tyrann Mathieu is recovering rapidly from an Oct. 30 shoulder injury and could return much quicker than the original three- to six-week timeline, head coach Bruce Arians said Tuesday (via the Associated Press). While Arians isn’t sure if Mathieu will play against the 49ers on Sunday, he did reveal that the 2015 first-team All-Pro is “real close.” Given that Arizona had a bye last week, it’s possible Mathieu’s shoulder issue won’t end up costing him any games.
- Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey underwent surgery on his dislocated right thumb Tuesday, though it’s possible he’ll play Sunday against the Cowboys, per head coach Mike Tomlin (via Mark E. Ortega of NFL.com). Pouncey injured the thumb, which is on his snapping hand, in the Steelers’ 21-14 loss to the Ravens last Sunday and left the game in the second half.
- Recapping Tuesday: Bills center Eric Wood is done for the season; Bene Benwikere is once again without a team; the Jets had a high asking price for defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson prior to the trade deadline; and Greg Hardy is in more trouble.
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/8/16
The Redskins have signed defensive lineman Jordan Hill, who was one of several players to audition for the Jets on Monday. The ex-Seahawk is going to the NFC East instead, though, and will reunite with former Seattle executive/current Redskins general manager Scot McCoughlan. The Seahawks selected Hill in the third round of the 2013 draft, and he went on to appear in 27 of their regular-season games and record seven sacks (5.5 in 2014) before they released him from injured reserve last month.
More minor moves from Tuesday:
- The Texans have promoted offensive lineman Josh Walker to their active roster, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. Walker went undrafted out of Middle Tennessee State in 2014 and spent the first two years of his career with the Colts and Packers. He suited up for 13 of Green Bay’s games last year, though the team cut him in September. Walker then signed with Houston’s practice squad last month.
- The Colts waived rookie wide receiver Tevaun Smith, an undrafted free agent from Iowa. Smith was on the Colts’ active roster for two games.
- The Chargers have waived cornerback Steve Williams, thus ending his second stint with the team. Williams, a 2013 fifth-round pick from Cal, appeared in 27 games with the Bolts over his first two seasons. He spent the early portion of this year with the Rams, who waived him Sept. 23, and then rejoined the Chargers last month. To take Williams’ roster spot, the Bolts will sign wideout Geremy Davis of the Giants’ practice squad, reports Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link).
- The Bears have cut offensive lineman Cornelius Edison, tweets Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Edison, who had been with Chicago since last year, could end up re-signing with its practice squad, according to Biggs.
- The Packers have waived defensive end Tyler Kuder from injured reserve, per Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The undrafted rookie from Idaho State went on IR on Sept. 3.