Redskins Work Out Donte Whitner
Donte Whitner worked out for rival Redskins this week, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). However, they will not be signing him at this time, a source tells ESPN.com’s John Keim (on Twitter). Whitner also auditioned for the rival Giants recently, but they’re still in deliberations. 
Whitner, 31. started 14 games for the Browns last year, defensing four passes, forcing one fumble, and posting 1.5 sacks. Whitner also graded out well via the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus, which rated him as the league’s No. 24 safety among 89 qualifiers.
Late in the offseason, we ranked Whitner as one of the very best defensive free agents to remain on the board. Even if he’s not as good as the advanced numbers would indicate, we’re surprised to see that he’s still without a job in October.
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Lions Sign TE Clay Harbor
The Lions have signed tight end Clay Harbor, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Harbor was let go by the Patriots earlier this week and he wasn’t out of work for long. 
Detroit has been on the lookout for tight end depth and they found a good one this week when New England discarded Harbor. Harbor was considered to be a candidate for release with Tom Brady and Rob Ninkovich returning, but he perhaps wasn’t the most obvious one. In any case, Harbor will hope to see more playing time than he did in New England. The veteran logged 25 snaps on offense and 39 on special teams for the Pats, but not register an official statistic.
In other Lions news, the team swapped out running backs on the practice squad this week.
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Ravens Release RB Justin Forsett
The Ravens announced that they have released running back Justin Forsett. Forsett took to Twitter moments ago to bid farewell to the organization (sic). 
“Baltimore will always have a special place in my heart. Love y’all & thank u for the amazing support over the years,” Forsett tweeted.
As a vested veteran, Forsett will not have to pass through waivers. He immediately becomes a free agent.
The 30-year-old was released by the team prior to the season, but he quickly returned to the club. There seemed to have been some prearranged agreement between the two sides and it was presumably done for cap reasons.
Following a 2014 season that saw him set career-highs in rushing yards (1,266), rushing touchdowns (eight) and receptions (44), Forsett came back down to earth in 2015. The veteran appeared in only ten games, compiling 641 yards on 155 carries. Still, Forsett managed to average 4.2-yards-per-carry, solid numbers for a veteran running back.
Forsett, 31 later this month, was the Ravens’ starting tailback to kick off the season, but the run game has been geared more towards Terrance West and Javorius Allen as of late. The injured Kenneth Dixon is getting closer to returning and he figures to get a good amount of carries as well.
The Ravens are still on the hook for Forsett’s $3MM base salary.
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Cardinals Restructure G Mike Iupati’s Deal
The Cardinals have restructured guard Mike Iupati‘s deal, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The two sides agreed to convert $2MM of his salary into a signing bonus, creating $1.5MM in 2016 cap room. 
Iupati, 29, left the 49ers to join the rival Cardinals prior to the 2015 season. The deal, worth $40MM over five years with incentives, naturally eats up a good amount of cap room. The Cards don’t have any regrets about the signing, however, as Iupati earned his fourth-straight Pro Bowl nod in 2015.
Through four games this season, David Johnson is averaging 4.7 yards per carry and he owes a great deal of credit to Iupati’s blocking on the interior line. At the quarter mark, Pro Football Focus has Iupati ranked as the 12th best guard in the NFL.
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Cowboys G La’el Collins To Have Surgery
Cowboys left guard La’el Collins will undergo toe surgery today to repair a ligament tear in his right big toe and will be placed on injured reserve, according to sources who spoke with Todd Archer of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Dallas was hoping that Collins would not require surgery, but it was determined to be the best course of action after meeting with three different specialists, as Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. 
Previous reports indicated that surgery would mean up to a 12-week absence for the second-year lineman. After the surgery is performed, we should have a better idea of Collins’ timetable. Under the league’s new IR rules for 2016, Collins could theoretically return to practice after six weeks and play in eight weeks. Teams may only bring one player back from IR each season, however.
Since Collins went down earlier this year, Ronald Leary has replaced him in the starting lineup. Leary wanted out of Dallas this offseason, but the Cowboys are glad they held on to him.
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Raiders To Place LB Ben Heeney On IR
The Raiders will likely be without linebacker Ben Heeney for the rest of the season. He hasn’t been formally placed on IR yet, but coach Jack Del Rio indicated that’s coming for him and tight end Lee Smith. It’s not clear exactly when Heeney suffered his injury, but a team spokesman tells the AP that Heeney is dealing with an ankle injury. 
“Both of those guys are likely to go (on IR),” Del Rio said Monday. “As they finish the work that is done on those guy with our doctors and all the experts looking at it, if we determine that the time is such that we won’t be able to get them back they could in fact go down. It’s not officially done but it’s headed in that direction,” the coach said (via Michael Wagaman of The Associated Press).
A fifth-round pick in 2015, Heeney started at middle linebacker for Oakland’s first two games this season. In Week 3, he was leapfrogged by rookie Cory James, pushing him to more of a special teams role.
James led Oakland with 15 tackles in the win over Baltimore while Heeney played mostly on special teams. Del Rio didn’t say when or how Heeney got hurt but a team spokesman confirmed that Heeney had suffered an ankle injury.
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Raiders’ Lee Smith Could Be Done For Season
6:00pm: Smith will have surgery, but the Raiders aren’t going to place him on IR just yet, according to head coach Jack Del Rio (Twitter link via Scott Bair of CSNCalifornia.com). While allowing that Smith’s season is “jeopardy,” Del Rio said Oakland is “hoping for good news.”
12:28pm: Raiders tight end Lee Smith could be done for the season after suffering a “fractured bone in his lower leg,” a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Smith appeared to have hurt his ankle after being hit by Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith in the second quarter of yesterday’s game. 
Smith doesn’t catch a lot of passes in the Raiders’ offense, but he is highly valued for his blocking skill. Since joining the Raiders in 2015, Smith has just 18 catches for 99 yards and one touchdown to his credit. He is currently in the midst of a three-year, $9MM deal that he signed prior to the ’15 season. Before coming to Oakland, Smith spent his first four years in Buffalo.
On the other side of the ball, the Raiders are waiting for additional word on linebacker Malcolm Smith‘s groin injury.
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49ers LB NaVorro Bowman Done For Season
Awful news for the 49ers as linebacker NaVorro Bowman is done for the season with a torn Achilles tendon, the team announced. Bowman left Sunday’s game against the Cowboys with the injury and an MRI confirmed the team’s worst fears. 
Bowman exited early on Sunday after a non-contact injury to his leg, which is usually not a good sign. Bowman also suffered a left leg injury in the 2013 NFC title game against Seattle, so he is no stranger to adversity.
Bowman has played 20 games since returning from the gruesome injury that sidelined him throughout 2014. The 49ers underwent significant changes while he was shelved, but the 28-year-old inside linebacker still returned and garnered first-team All-Pro acclaim last season. The 49ers then signed Bowman to a four-year, $44MM extension that stands to keep him in San Francisco through the 2022 season.
Bowman has four first-team All-Pro honors to his credit despite playing in just five full seasons, a remarkable and rare feat. Bowman earned first-team All-Pro honors in 2011, ’12, ’13 and ’15. After missing the entire 2014 campaign, he made 154 tackles and 2.5 sacks last season for a rebuilding San Francisco operation.
Bowman registered eight tackles and a sack, his first of the season, before his day came to a premature end on Sunday.
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Eagles LB Nigel Bradham Arrested
Eagles linebacker Nigel Bradham was arrested for bringing a loaded gun to Miami International Airport, according to a report from TMZ. Bradham, 27, says that he forgot to remove his firearm from his backpack. Officials say “it was clear that there was no criminal intent” in Bradham’s actions, but they had to arrest him given his assault case from over the summer. 
Bradham has a concealed weapons permit and it sounds like he made an absent-minded move by bringing his gun with him to the airport. On the other hand, this marks Bradham’s second run-in with the law in recent months. Today’s news has to be concerning to the Eagles and it could get him in more hot water with the league office. Bradham told reporters that he has a hearing related to his July incident this week.
Bradham signed a two-year, $7MM deal with the Eagles this offseason. In three games this season, he has ten tackles and one interception.
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Bears To Start Brian Hoyer Over Jay Cutler?
Could this be the end of the Jay Cutler era in Chicago? The Bears have have enjoyed some success with Brian Hoyer under center and coach John Fox indicated today that he will remain the starter if he continues to play well. “Anybody’s that performing well, I don’t think we’re going to be likely to change,” Fox said (Twitter link via Chris Emma of 670 The Score). 
Cutler has been sidelined with a sprained thumb, leaving Hoyer to start the Bears’ last two games. The Bears lost to the Cowboys in Week 3, but they bounced back with a 17-14 victory over the Lions yesterday. Hoyer obviously isn’t the long-term answer for Chicago under center, but it’s fair to speculate that the team might not want to continue with Cutler either. Cutler is set to count for $16MM against the Bears cap in 2017 but the team could release him and be on the hook for just $2MM in dead money.
In three games (two starts), Hoyer has completed more than 69% of his passes while throwing four touchdowns against zero interceptions.
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