Eagles’ Lane Johnson Suffers Injury
The Eagles narrowly escaped with a victory on Thursday night, but they might have lost two of their biggest offensive stars. While they await word on DeSean Jackson‘s ankle, they’ll also hope for good news on Lane Johnson‘s MRI for a suspected MCL sprain (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). 
[RELATED: DeSean Jackson To Miss Time?]
Johnson returned on Thursday night after missing last week’s game against the Ravens with an ankle injury. Now, it sounds like the right tackle will miss more time with his knee injury. Ordinarily, they’d turn to Jack Driscoll, but his status is also in doubt thanks to an ankle injury that kept him off the field against the Giants. Matt Pryor, who typically plays on the interior, may be the next man up at RT.
Johnson is in the midst of the four-year, $72MM extension he signed back in November of 2019. The eighth-year pro is coming off of his third consecutive Pro Bowl nod, a rare feat for often underappreciated right tackles.
Eagles’ DeSean Jackson To Miss Time?
The Eagles fear that wide receiver DeSean Jackson suffered a high ankle sprain in Thursday night’s win over the Giants, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). Jackson and the Birds will know more this afternoon, once his MRI results come in. Depending on the outcome, Jackson may be scheduled surgery.
[RELATED: Eagles Were Willing To Trade Zach Ertz?]
Jackson hauled in three catches for 34 yards before he injured his leg on a punt return late in the game. Madre Harper knocked him down and Corey Ballentine‘s followup hit awkwardly pinned his leg. Jackson then had to be helped off of the field and carted to the locker room.
Jackson, who was just coming off of a hamstring injury, has 13 catches for 155 yards through four games. Hopefully, his ankle injury won’t cap his season in October. Last year, Jackson underwent core muscle surgery in November, capping his 2019 season after just three games played.
DJax, 34 in November, notched 41 catches for 774 yards and four touchdowns in 2018, his last healthy season. Though that was far from his usual stat line, the legendary deep threat still averaged 18.9 yards per grab that year to lead the NFL.
Vikings’ Danielle Hunter Done For Year
In August, the Vikings classified Danielle Hunter‘s neck injury as a tweak. Today, they learned that the defensive end will require season-ending surgery (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero). 
[RELATED: Vikings Trade Ngakoue To Ravens]
The news comes on the heels of the Vikings’ big trade, which sent Yannick Ngakoue to the Ravens in exchange for a 2021 third-round pick and a 2022 conditional fifth-round pick. Now, the 1-5 Vikings are moving ahead without their two top pass rushers.
Hunter traveled to New York for a second opinion on his cervical spine disc herniation recently. During the visit, the specialist recommended that Hunter shut it down for the season. The Vikings have been unable to generate consistent pressure without the sixth-year defensive end, and things won’t get any better without Ngakoue in the mix.
Last year, Hunter graded out as the No. 7 ranked edge rusher in the league, ahead of Cameron Jordan, Myles Garrett, Demarcus Lawrence, and a host of other big names. He’s notched 14.5 sacks in each of the last two seasons, bringing his career tally to 54.5. He’ll be tied to the team for years to come, thanks to the five-year, $72MM extension he inked in 2018.
Ravens To Sign Dez Bryant To Practice Squad?
The Ravens will sign Dez Bryant to the practice squad if his upcoming workout goes well, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The Ravens have been in talks with Bryant for a long, long time, but it sounds like he’ll finally land in Baltimore. 
[RELATED: Ravens Trade For Yannick Ngakoue]
The former Cowboys All-Pro auditioned for the Raves back in August, marking his first tryout since he suffered an Achilles tear in November 2018. The Ravens’ interest in Bryant goes back much further than this past summer – soon after the Cowboys let Bryant walk in free agency two years ago, the Ravens offered him a three-year, $21MM deal. Bryant turned that proposal down and remained in free agency for several months before signing a less lucrative Saints deal and ending up on the team’s IR list. Bryant, 32 in November, has not played since the 2017 season.
Before all of that, Bryant was a three-time Pro Bowler in Dallas with three-straight seasons of at least 1,200 yards. Now, Bryant is eager to return to the field and prove that he still has gas in the tank.
Vikings Trade Yannick Ngakoue To Ravens
The Vikings are finalizing a trade to send defensive end Yannick Ngakoue to the Ravens, as ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets. In exchange, the Vikings will receive a 2021 third-round pick and a 2022 conditional fifth-round pick. 
The Vikings acquired Ngakoue from the Jaguars earlier this year for a 2021 second-round pick and 2022 conditional fifth-round pick to Jags. They weren’t able to recoup everything they gave up, but they did manage to get a decent amount of draft capital for the mercurial edge rusher.
After COVID testing, Ngakoue will be able to join the Ravens in practice during their bye week. His first game with Baltimore will come next Sunday, against the Steelers. The Ravens have been chasing Ngakoue for the last few months, and the interest has been mutual. Ngakoue, a Maryland native and a Terrapin alum, will debut with his third pro team in familiar surroundings. The deal also reunites Ngakoue with Calais Campbell, who played together and started together in the Jaguars’ 2017 AFC Championship Game.
“We are excited to add Yannick Ngakoue to our football team,” Ravens GM Eric DeCosta said in a statement. “Yannick is someone who we are very familiar with going back to the draft process years ago. He is an exciting player and a dangerous pass rusher who makes us better. Yannick grew up here. He’s the type of person we welcome in our building. Finally, we are not finished building this team, as we continue to chase our ultimate goals.”
The Ravens and Jags were deep in talks at one point, but the Ravens’ salary cap situation ultimately prevented a deal from happening. Ultimately, Ngakoue agreed to reduce his 2020 salary from ~$18MM to $12MM in order to facilitate a trade to the Vikings. The Maryland product likely would have been willing to make a similar concession to make a Ravens trade work, but even a $12MM salary would have forced Baltimore to create cap space elsewhere via restructure or extension. Today, they had more room to work with, thanks to help from Brandon Williams and other reworked deals.
Ngakoue figures to provide a major boost for the 5-1 Ravens. Meanwhile, the trade reads as something of a white flag for the Vikings, who are 1-5 and quickly falling out of playoff contention.
Eagles Release G Jamon Brown
The Eagles have released guard Jamon Brown, per a team announcement. The news doesn’t come as a huge surprise following Brown’s rocky performance against the Ravens on Sunday. 
The Eagles plucked Brown off of the Browns’ practice squad in September following a string of offensive line injuries. To recap: They lost Pro Bowl guard Brandon Brooks to another Achilles tear, lost Andre Dillard for the season, and had Pro Bowl right tackle Lane Johnson on the Week 1 inactive list due to injury. Brown joined the club just after Washington managed to sack Carson Wentz eight times.
On Sunday against the Ravens, Browns was a virtual turnstile, allowing defenders to get to Wentz with ease. He also appeared to adjust his own gloves in the middle of one play and later bumped into his own quarterback, leading to a sack.
Brown has bounced around a bit since 2018, when a suspension cost him his starting gig with the Rams. Last year, he suited up in ten games for the Falcons, including nine starts. All in all, Brown has 60 career games to his credit, 47 starts, and an enviable jersey collection.
Dolphins’ Ryan Fitzpatrick Hasn’t Asked For Trade
Ryan Fitzpatrick led the Dolphins to back-to-back wins and a .500 record, but it wasn’t enough to stave off the inevitable rise of Tua Tagovailoa. Now relegated to backup status, the veteran says he has not requested a trade (Twitter link via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald). At the same time, Fitzpatrick has yet to consider whether he’d be comfortable holding the clipboard beyond 2020.
[RELATED: Dolphins Turn To Tua Tagovailoa]
“I like playing more than I like sitting watching,” said Fitzpatrick, confessing and stating the obvious.
FitzMagic, 28 in November, was a bright spot for the Dolphins in an otherwise trying year. He racked up 3,529 passing yards with 20 touchdowns against 13 interceptions and helped cap off the year in style with wins over the Bengals and Patriots.
The veteran is under contract for 2020 with an $8MM salary. Currently positioned as a pricey backup, Fitzpatrick isn’t quite sure of what the future holds beyond this year. For now, he’ll focus on helping the former Alabama standout transition to the pro game.
Tagovailoa’s debut as the Dolphins’ starter will come after their bye week on Nov. 1 against the Rams.
Bills Release Quinton Spain
The Bills have released guard Quinton Spain, per a club announcement. Effectively a full-time starter for four straight seasons, Spain now finds himself on the open market in the middle of the season.
Spain, 29, was slated to be a free agent in March before he re-upped with Buffalo on a three-year, $15MM deal. Although he wasn’t a world-beater like fellow free agents like Brandon Scherff and Joe Thuney, the Bills wanted to lock him up for the long haul.
Buffalo made its offensive line a priority in 2019, adding free agents Mitch Morse, Ty Nsekhe, and Spencer Long and second-round draft pick Cody Ford, in addition to Spain. A former undrafted free agent, Spain spent the first four years and 48 starts of his career with the Titans. In ’19, Spain started all 16 games for the first time in his NFL tenure, grading as the league’s No. 59 guard among 80 qualifiers per Pro Football Focus. Spain and the other reinforcements helped the Bills’ running game, as Buffalo improved from 30th in Football Outsiders‘ 2018 run-blocking metrics to 16th last season.
This year, Spain lost his starting gig to Cody Ford. Then, he suffered a foot injury, costing him the last two games. The Bills will forge ahead with Ford at LG and Brian Winters at RG with support from Ike Boettger and Ryan Bates.
Buccaneers Restructure Ali Marpet’s Deal
The Buccaneers and offensive lineman Ali Marpet have agreed to restructured deal, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Now, after converting a portion of his salary into a signing bonus, the Bucs will have an extra $4.125MM to work with this year.
Marpet inked a five-year add-on with Tampa Bay in 2018. The deal — worth $55MM in total with $27.125MM in guarantees — secured one of the league’s most reliable protectors through 2023.
Marpet has been a full-time starter along the Buccaneers’ offensive line ever since being selected in the second round of the 2015 draft. A right guard during his first two years in the league, he started seeing time at center, left guard, and tackle starting in 2017. He’s repeatedly made Pro Football Focus’ Top 10 positional rankings and he’s on track to do it again in 2020. Through six games, PFF has him ranked third in the NFL.
Still only 27, Marpet’s skillset and versatility makes him one of the league’s most valuable blockers. Eventually, the Bucs will have to address his contract to put him in line with the ever-ballooning market. For now, Marpet is under contract through ’23 with $10-11MM cap figures in each season.
Eagles Rework Fletcher Cox’s Deal
The Eagles have converted $7.165MM of defensive tackle Fletcher Cox’s salary into a bonus, as ESPN.com’s Field Yates tweets. The move will carve out an extra $5.732MM in 2020 cap space, though it will impact their books for 2021. 
The Eagles were already facing a numbers crunch for 2021, due to their existing committments and the expected tightening of the cap. With that in mind, this likely won’t be the last adjustment made to Cox’s contract. Before the recent maneuver, Cox was set to earn cap figures of roughly $22.5MM in each of the next three seasons. He’s also believed to have a void year for the 2023 season.
Cox inked a six-year, $102.5MM extension with the Birds in 2016 to keep him tied to the club through 2022. As a first-round pick in 2012, Cox had only one year to go on his rookie deal. It was an expensive deal, but the Eagles were happy to pay the price — Cox had just registered the best season of his career and set a personal watermark with 9.5 sacks. He also racked up 71 tackles, three forced fumbles, a pair of fumble recoveries, and secured top-10 placement at his position, per Pro Football Focus.
Cox, 30 in December, has made the Pro Bowl in each of the last five seasons. In 2018, his 10.5 sacks from the interior earned him a First-Team All-Pro nod. So far this year, he has 1.5 sacks to his credit through six games.