Eagles’ Rodney McLeod Done For Year
Eagles safety Rodney McLeod is done for the season. On Monday, the Birds announced that McLeod has been diagnosed with a torn ACL.
[RELATED: Eagles To Stick With Hurts]
McLeod exited early from the Eagles’ win over the Saints, capping his season just as the Eagles playoff hopes were renewed. Unfortunately, this marks the second ACL tear of his pro career. His 2020 will end with starts in all 13 games, 66 stops, one interception, and two fumble recoveries — including the one he took to the house against the Cowboys in November.
McLeod remains under contract for 2021 thanks to the two-year, $12MM deal he signed last offseason. He won’t have to stress over security as he rehabs, since his $3.75MM base salary is guaranteed.
The good news is that McLeod already knows the ropes after bouncing back from his previous ACL tear. Upon returning last year, the safety started in all 16 regular season games and notched two interceptions, six passes defensed, two forced fumbles, one sack, and 76 total stops.
Eagles To Stick With Jalen Hurts As Starter
The Eagles are sticking with Jalen Hurts as their starting quarterback, head coach Doug Pederson announced. Hurts — starting in place of Carson Wentz — impressed on Sunday as he led the Eagles to a 24-21 win over the Saints.
[RELATED: Eagles To Keep Carson Wentz?]
Thanks in part to Hurts, the Eagles snapped a four-game skid and kept their playoff hopes alive. Now, the Birds are a mere 1.5 games back of the Washington Football Team for the NFC East lead.
Hurts completed 17-of-30 passes against the Saints. More importantly, he dazzled on the ground. His 18 carries for 106 yards put him in rarified air — he’s just the fifth Eagles quarterback to rush for 100 yards in the Super Bowl era, joining the likes of Michael Vick, Donovan McNabb, and Randall Cunningham.
Meanwhile, the Eagles will need to decide on Wentz’s fate by the second day of the 2021 league year in March. On Day 3, Wentz’s 2022 base salary of $22MM gets locked in and he’ll receive a $10MM roster bonus for 2021. Cutting Wentz would result in a massive dead cap hit of nearly $60MM, but a trade would be much more palatable for their finances.
If the Eagles aren’t able to squeeze into the playoffs, they’ll have many more decisions to make, including the fate of Pederson.
Packers’ Aaron Jones Changes Agents
The Packers and Aaron Jones have had recent extension talks, according to ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky (on Twitter). Apparently, Jones hasn’t been thrilled about the status of those discussions. The running back fired his agent as his expiration date draws near. 
The former fifth-round pick is drastically underpaid in the home stretch of his four-year, $2.6MM deal. Last year, he made his case with 1,558 total yards from scrimmage, an average of 4.6 yards per carry, and and 19 total touchdowns to lead all running backs in the NFL. This year, he’s been slowed by injuries somewhat, but he’s still managed nearly 1,110 all-purpose yards with 5.1 ypc.
Jones has been one of the NFL’s best backs over the past few years and he plans on getting a contract to reflect his performance. As shown by Joe Mixon‘s recent $12MM/year extension with the Bengals and Christian McCaffrey‘s record-shattering deal, teams are still willing to pony up the cash necessary to lock down their best offensive talent. The running back market, at long last, may even catch up to the rest of the field.
After topping the Lions 31-24, Jones and the Packers are even further ahead in the NFC North. They’ll look to keep their winning streak alive on Saturday night when they face the Panthers in Green Bay.
Raiders Fire DC Paul Guenther, Promote Rod Marinelli
The Raiders have fired defensive coordinator Paul Guenther. In his place, defensive line coach Rod Marinelli will serve as the team’s interim DC what’s left of the 2020 season. 
[RELATED: Raiders Promote Vic Beasley]
The decision came on the heels of an ugly Sunday night loss to the Colts. The 44-27 loss saw the Raiders surrender 456 total yards, including 212 yards on the ground. With no real chance of reaching the postseason, the Raiders got a jump on their spring cleaning.
The Raiders did not register a single sack against Philip Rivers, emblematic of their front seven so far this year. They entered Sunday near the bottom of the league in sacks, and that’s where they remain with a few games to go in 2020. On the whole, the Raiders performed as the 22nd ranked D in the league under Guenther’s guidance. And, over the last two-years-and-change, they’ve been dead last in points allowed with 28.4.
Of course, the Raiders’ struggles went beyond the veteran DC. The Raiders’ recent blowout loss to the Falcons, for example, could be largely blamed on the team’s six offensive turnovers. Regardless, the Raiders want to move their high-priced defense in a different direction, starting right now.
Broncos’ Duke Dawson Done For Year
Broncos cornerback Duke Dawson has been diagnosed with a torn ACL (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). The Broncos will make it all official later today by placing the former Patriots second round pick on injured reserve.
[RELATED: Former Broncos DB Darian Stewart Retires]
Dawson was in the mix to become New England’s slot cornerback in 2018, but he was sidetracked by a hamstring injury that wiped out his would-be rookie year. Just prior to the 2019 opener, the Pats traded him to the Broncos in a swap of Day 3 picks.
Dawson made his first career start on Sunday, but it was short-lived. It’s unfortunate timing for Dawson, who was in line for opportunities after A.J. Bouye‘s suspension for performance-enhancing drugs. The Broncos will now be without Dawson the rest of the way, and without Bouye for the remainder of the season (plus the first two games of 2021).
The Broncos — sans Dawson — will wrap their year against the Bills, Chargers, and Raiders.
Ravens’ Dez Bryant Tests Negative For COVID
Word of a positive COVID-19 test forced the Ravens to pull Dez Bryant just prior to kickoff earlier this week. Now, the wide receiver says that he has tested negative for the coronavirus in two subsequent tests (via Twitter).
“I tested negative back to back for covid and I’m not excited about it,” said Bryant.
After the first positive test, Bryant said that he would call it quits for the rest of the season rather waiting to go through the league’s protocols. Now, his plans aren’t exactly clear. For what it’s worth, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh says that he plans to have Bryant back once he comes off of the COVID-19/reserve list (Twitter link).
Negative tests notwithstanding, the Ravens have placed Bryant on their reserve/COVID list. Bryant is ineligible to practice until being removed from the virus list. It has, to say the least, been an interesting week for the veteran wide receiver.
The former Cowboys Pro Bowler lobbied NFL teams for a long time before he got his opportunity to return with the Ravens. Since signing with Baltimore, he hasn’t been used much. His only registered stats came in Week 11 against the Titans, when he caught four passes for 28 yards.
After beating Bryant’s former team without him, the Ravens will turn their attention to the Browns on Monday night.
COVID-19 Closes Bears’ Facility
4:11pm: Return man DeAndre Carter tested positive for the coronavirus, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (on Twitter). He is now on their reserve/COVID-19 list. It appears this was responsible for the team shutting down its facility. The Bears claimed Carter off waivers from the Texans last month. He has played in two games with the team, including Sunday’s loss to the Lions.
9:55am: The Bears have closed their team facility for the day, per a club announcement. They’ll be WFH all day Thursday as they gear up for Sunday’s game against the Texans.
“This morning we were notified that we had a positive COVID-19 test,” the team said in a statement. “As a result, the club has elected to pause all in-person football activities today and close Halas Hall. Instead, all meetings will be conducted virtually. The individual who tested positive has been contacted and has already begun self-isolation. We are working with the NFL medical experts to identify close contacts and follow the league’s guidance. The health and safety of our team, players and staff are the highest priority.”
The Bears did not identify the positive player or staffer, though practice squad wide receiver Thomas Ives was recently placed on the reserve list. He was reported to have tested positive for the virus, and two other p-squadders — defensive lineman LaCale London and linebacker Manti Te’o — have also hit the list.
Every NFL team has had to suspend practice at one point or another in 2020. For the Bears, it’s the second time that they’ve had to scrap a Thursday session. For now, their game against the Texans is slated to go on as scheduled.
Marshawn Lynch Drawing NFL Interest
NFL teams have expressed interest in signing Marshawn Lynch, according to Marshawn Lynch. In an interview with Conan O’Brien on TBS (Twitter link), Lynch said that he has heard from clubs and indicated that he’d consider a contender. 
“If the situation is right then it could happen,” Lynch said. “I’ve been asked the question by a couple teams here recently. Like, ‘Are you ready?’ I’m ready if y’all are Super Bowl ready. That’s what it would take me to come out and play again. it would have to be a guaranteed Super Bowl game for me.”
Lynch, 34, returned to the Seahawks late last season to join them for their playoff push. Stepping in for a battered bunch of Seattle RBs, Lynch registered four touchdowns on 30 carries in three games, including two postseason contests. He wasn’t terribly efficient outside of the red zone, however — the veteran averaged just 2.23 yards-per-carry. Of course, expectations had to be tempered for Beast Mode, considering his age and the long layoff period.
It’s not clear which teams Lynch has spoken with or how serious they are about signing him. But, in the COVID-19 era, there’s always an opportunity.
Cowboys Are “Not Nervous” To Re-Up Dak Prescott
The Cowboys haven’t seen much of Dak Prescott in 2020, but that won’t stop them from committing to him in 2021 and beyond. This week, Cowboys VP Stephen Jones said that Prescott’s fractured/dislocated ankle isn’t what’s holding up their contract talks. 
“Our issues in our negotiations with Dak have been that we’re wanting to be more committed, in terms of the (number of years),” said Jones (Twitter link via Jon Machota of The Athletic). “We’re not nervous to sign Dak. His makeup is all the right things. He’s a great leader. He’s a great player.”
Before the gruesome injury, Prescott had been set to accept the team’s offer of $35MM annually, but negotiations broke down over a disputed franchise tag provision. At one point, Prescott was expecting to land north of $40MM this offseason. Now, things are a bit more complicated. If the Cowboys are not ready to put that same offer on the table and iron out the contractual kinks, they could franchise tag him for a second straight year. However, that’d cost ’em $38MM, and Jones claims that the Cowboys want more years with Prescott than just one.
Things were looking rough for the Cowboys even prior to Prescott’s injury – they were 1-3, and the quarterback was more or less the only bright spot of the opening months. In the face of the Cowboys’ Swiss cheese D, Prescott posted at least 450 yards between Weeks 2-4.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/9/20
Today’s minor moves:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: K Lirim Hajrullahu
Denver Broncos
- Placed on IR: CB Essang Bassey
Green Bay Packers
- Activated from reserve/NFI list: G Simon Stepaniak
Miami Dolphins
- Promoted: S Nate Holley
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Jamal Perry
New Orleans Saints
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: T Terron Armstead
Philadelphia Eagles
- Promoted: DT Raequan Williams
- Placed on IR: LB Davion Taylor
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: DE Cassius Marsh
San Francisco 49ers
- Promoted: OL Tony Bergstrom
Washington Football Team
- Promoted: TE Marcus Baugh
- Placed on IR: TE Temarrick Hemingway