Dolphins Activate CB Chris Culliver
The Dolphins announced that they have officially activated cornerback Chris Culliver from the PUP list to the 53-man roster. In related moves, the Dolphins waived defensive tackle Chris Jones, waived/injured cornerback Chimdi Chekwa, and promoted defensive back LaFayette Pitts from practice squad. 
Culliver took the practice field in mid-October, setting him up for his November return to football. Culliver tore his ACL roughly one year ago and it has been a tough road back for the veteran. This offseason, the Dolphins were desperate for help in the secondary and they signed Culliver to a one-year deal with the knowledge that he would be out for the first half of the season.
Now, the Dolphins are more in need of secondary help than ever. Star strong safety Reshad Jones has been playing through a torn rotator cuff for two years, but he pushed it too far and was shut down for the season. At corner, rookie Xavien Howard is dealing with a knee injury and Chekwa is obviously out of the picture. Now at 4-4 after beating the Jets, Culliver joins the Dolphins at a very critical time that can determine the course of their season.
Browns Want To Extend Pryor Or Collins Soon
This month, the Browns went from having one player who could conceivably earn the franchise tag to having two players who are worth holding on to. Wide receiver Terrelle Pryor has been one of the team’s few bright spots in what has been an incredibly trying season. He seemed like a shoo-in for franchise tag consideration until the pre-deadline deal for linebacker Jamie Collins. Now, the Browns are intent on locking up one of the two players before the end of the year so that they can use the franchise tag on the other player, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). 
Cole’s report doesn’t come as a huge surprise. It’s only common sense that the Browns are intent on keeping both players beyond this season and they can only kick the can down the road with one of the two players. In the case of Pryor, the team has already started contract talks with his reps. The Browns have yet to discuss a new deal with Collins, but those discussions should get underway soon.
Pryor, a former quarterback at Ohio State, went from a training camp darling to a legitimate receiving weapon for the Browns this year. The Browns are still in search of their first win of the season, but they may have already found a high-speed playmaker who can provide what Josh Gordon should have brought to the table.
In Collins, the Browns have added one of the league’s very best outside linebackers. There have been rumblings about Collins’ work ethic, but he says that he is ready to bust his behind in Cleveland. He is also open to signing a long-term deal with the Browns, despite their struggles.
Jordan Cameron Wants To Keep Playing
Dolphins coach Adam Gase told reporters today that tight end Jordan Cameron wants to continue playing (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). This declaration comes after word that Cameron was thinking about walking away from football in light of his concussions. 
Gase says that Cameron thought about retirement in recent days but ultimately decided to forge ahead. Cameron will be sidelined for the remainder of this season after his fourth concussion in four years sent him to IR this weekend. Cameron hasn’t taken the field since the traumatic brain injury was suffered in late September.
Cameron had a career year in 2013 with the Browns, when he established career-highs in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns. Unfortunately, he has not come close that kind of production since then. Cameron flopped in 2014, a contract year, and wound up in Miami on a two-year, $15MM deal. After an underwhelming 2015, the Dolphins had him rework his deal this offseason.
For now, Miami will forge ahead with MarQueis Gray and Dominique Jones at tight end until Dion Sims is back in action. This offseason, the Fins may look to address the position in free agency or the draft.
Bucs Place Louis Murphy On Reserve PUP
The Buccaneers were eager to get Louis Murphy back into the lineup this year, particularly after Vincent Jackson went down with injury. Unfortunately, after suffering another setback, that won’t be happening. The Bucs announced today that Murphy has been placed on the Physically Unable to Perform/reserve list, which ends his season. 
[RELATED: Bucs Sign WR Josh Huff To Practice Squad]
Murphy returned to practice last month and was making strides in his recovery from ACL surgery. Unfortunately, he wound up with an unrelated injury and has been sidelined ever since. Today was the last day on Murphy’s three-week practice window and the Bucs were forced to make their decision.
Murphy joined Tampa Bay before the 2014 season and has managed 41 receptions since. The Bucs still have him under contract through the 2017 season at a reasonable $2.087MM cap number. The Bucs could also cut him before June 1st and save $2MM while being left with just ~$87K in dead money.
Falcons Extend GM Thomas Dimitroff
The Falcons and general manager Thomas Dimitroff have agreed to a long-term extension, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The team has since confirmed the deal via press release. The new deal will lock the executive down from 2017 through 2019.
This summer, Dimitroff said that he didn’t expect to last much longer in Atlanta if the team didn’t turn around its on-field performance.
“Of course I’m on the hot seat. Every year I’m on the hot seat. I believe that 100 percent,” he said in June.“I believe anyone who doesn’t think they are maybe just won a Super Bowl. But I think most of us know that it’s a very urgent league now.”
After going a wildly successful 56-24 with four playoff berths and at least nine wins in each of Dimitroff’s first five years with the Falcons, the club combined for an 18-30 mark and no postseason appearances from 2013-2015. This season, however, the Falcons have turned things around by getting out to a 6-3 start. On Thursday night, they defended their spot atop the NFC South with a 43-28 drumming of the Buccaneers.
Buccaneers Sign Josh Huff To Practice Squad
The Buccaneers have signed wide receiver Josh Huff to the practice squad, as Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. Huff was cut loose by the Eagles last week following his arrest. 
Huff made headlines for all the wrong reasons this month when he was pulled over for speeding and found with a firearm and marijuana. Huff is supposedly licensed for the gun in his home state of Texas, but New Jersey does not cross-honor permits from other states.
The wide receiver faces charges for gun possession without a permit, possessing a magazine with six hollow-point bullets, and “a disorderly persons offense” for having less than 50 grams of pot. Given the tough gun laws in N.J., Huff could even face separate charges for each of those six bullets.
The NFL is looking into Huff’s incident, but until their investigation concludes, he is free to play just like anyone else. The league may wait until Huff’s legal situation is resolved before taking any action and that would mean that he could avoid punishment until 2017.
Jets’ Marcus Williams To Miss Several Games
More bad news for the Jets. After falling to 3-6 with a loss to the division rival Dolphins, Gang Green has learned that they will be without one of their top defensive backs for a while. Marcus Williams is expected to miss several games with a high-ankle sprain, a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). 
Williams has been a bright spot for the Jets during a down season. Through nine games, he leads the team with two interceptions to go along with six passes defensed, 29 total tackles, and one forced fumble. Pro Football Focus has Williams ranked as the 50th best cornerback in the league out of 117 qualified players, but the Jets view him as a more valuable piece than that. Williams has been on the field for 405 snaps this year, the most of any Jet besides starters Darrelle Revis and Buster Skrine.
In other Jets news, Ryan Fitzpatrick has suffered a minor knee injury and that could open the door for a quarterback change.
Ryan Fitzpatrick Suffers MCL Sprain
Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick sprained his MCL on Sunday, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The injury is not considered serious, but it could impact the Jets’ quarterback decision. 
Fitzpatrick turned in an uneven performance against the Dolphins as he was 17-of-28 for 193 yards, one touchdown, and two picks. After the game, coach Todd Bowles said that he will stick with Fitzpatrick if he was healthy. However, it sounds like the Jets will now have an easy out if they want to make a change under center.
At 3-6, the Jets seem pretty unlikely to mount a bid for the playoffs. As they look towards 2017 and beyond, it might make sense for Gang Green to turn things over to Bryce Petty. The Baylor product hasn’t been given much of a chance to show what he can do and at the age of 25, it’s probably time for them to get a proper assessment.
Next up for the Jets is a Sunday home matchup against the Rams.
NFL QB Prospect Chad Kelly Suffers ACL Tear
All year, scouts have been having a hard time grading Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly. Now, it’s not clear if the nephew of Bills great Jim Kelly will be drafted at all. Kelly will miss the remainder of the season after he suffered a torn ACL and lateral meniscus on Saturday, Antonio Morales of The Clarion-Ledger writes. 
Kelly was leading the SEC in total offense with 2,758 passing yards. He also threw for 19 touchdowns against eight interceptions and added 332 yards on the ground with five rushing TDs. In a weak year for quarterbacks, Kelly was considered to be one of the best at the position, despite his off-the-field issues and on-field inconsistency. Now, he has a long way to go before he can get back on the football field.
Before coming to Ole Miss, Kelly was tossed out of Clemson’s program for conduct detrimental to the team and had to spend a year at East Mississippi Community College. Last month, Kelly had to be restrained on the field during a brawl at a high school football game. It turns out that those red flags will not be his biggest barrier to entry as he looks to go pro.
Antrel Rolle Retires From NFL
Antrel Rolle has officially announced his retirement from the NFL. In an appearance on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football (Twitter link), the veteran said that he has moved on from football. 
“I’m at total peace with that,” Rolle said of his decision to retire. “Going out, you’re 33 years old and you go on injured reserve last year. That’s going to scare a lot of teams away. I understand how the business works and I’m fine with that either way.”
In the late spring, PFR ranked Rolle as the seventh-best defensive free agent still on the board, ahead of other notable defensive backs such as Antonio Cromartie, Cortland Finnegan, and Will Allen. However, his market never really developed. Rolle expressed an interest in reuniting to the Giants and the Dolphins were reportedly keeping Rolle’s number handy in case Reshad Jones made good on his holdout threats. Ultimately, there was no deal made in New York, Miami, or anywhere else.
An 11-year NFL veteran who earned three Pro Bowl nods during his time with the Cardinals and Giants, Rolle was an average player in 2015, grading out as the No. 39 safety in the league among 89 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus. While he didn’t post any interceptions during his seven contests with Chicago, Rolle did register 30 tackles while defensing one pass.
All in all, Rolle enjoyed a long and successful career and that he can look back on fondly. During his announcement today, he indicated that he would like to serve as a TV analyst now that his playing days are over.