Eagles’ DeSean Jackson Could Return In Playoffs
DeSean Jackson is expecting to re-join the Eagles if they advance to the divisional round of the playoffs, a source tells ESPN.com’s Tim McManus (on Twitter). The wide receiver already says he’s feeling good and he’s been flashing his trademark speed in rehab workouts. 
Because the Eagles placed DJax on IR, he wouldn’t be eligible to return from injured reserve until the second round of the postseason. The Birds could certainly use him – Alshon Jeffery is done for the year and Nelson Agholor remains questionable for Week 17 after missing the past three weeks with a knee injury.
Jackson underwent core muscle surgery in November, capping his 2019 season after just three games played. He has just nine catches for 159 yards and two touchdowns on the year.
The Eagles sent the Buccaneers a sixth-round pick for Jackson, a 2008 second-rounder who rose to prominence in Philadelphia. After dominating in his first game back with Philly, Jackson could not shake his abdominal tear. Ultimately, doctors realized that rest wouldn’t cut it, so he had to go under the knife.
Realistically, Jackson is tied to the Eagles through at least 2020 thanks to his new three-year, $27MM deal with the team. He’s on their books through 2021, but the dead-money hit reduces to $5MM-plus after the ’20 season.
The Eagles can punch their ticket to the playoffs with a Week 17 win over the rival Giants. If they lose, they can still reach the playoffs if the Cowboys falter against the Redskins.
Seahawks To Meet With Robert Turbin
Will it be Beast Mode or Bobby Turbo? In addition to meeting with Marshawn Lynch, the Seahawks will also huddle up with running back Robert Turbin, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. 
[RELATED: Seahawks To Meet With Marshawn Lynch]
Turbin, 30, has not played in a game in over a year. He was last with the Seahawks during the 2014 season, serving as one of Lynch’s backups. From 2016-2018, he was with the Colts – his best work came in ’16, when he found the end zone seven times. It was a breakout year for him as he did not score more than one TD in any other season.
Turbin met with the Raiders in April, but did not sign with Jon Gruden‘s squad. He also auditioned for Seattle earlier this month, alongside Alfred Blue.
Seahawks To Meet With Marshawn Lynch
Beast Mode just might return to Seattle. Marshawn Lynch and the Seahawks will meet in Seattle to discuss a reunion on Monday, sources tell Mike Garafolo, Ian Rapoport, and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). 
The Seahawks desperately need running back help and are open to pulling Lynch out of retirement. Running backs Chris Carson and C.J. Prosise will likely miss the rest of the season with hip and arm injuries, respectively, leaving them perilously thin in the backfield.
Lynch is undoubtedly rusty, but there are limited options available at this stage of the year. For what it’s worth, Lynch left the door open for a return to the Raiders in May, so he might not be 100% finished with football.
Lynch, 33, saw just six games in an injury-shortened 2018 with the Raiders. In the previous year, however, he appeared in 15 games and averaged a solid 4.3 yards per carry. He finished out that year with 891 yards on the ground and seven touchdowns, plus 20 catches for 151 yards.
Lynch, of course, spent the 2010-2015 seasons with the Seahawks and helped the team capture a Super Bowl ring. Then, in the Seahawks’ following Super Bowl appearance, they opted against giving Lynch the ball near the goal line, which wound up costing them the game.
At 11-4, the Seahawks have already punched their ticket to the postseason. They still have a shot at winning the NFC West as well. Their Week 17 matchup against the Niners will determine the division and could even unlock a first-round bye, if the Packers lose tonight against the Vikings.
Texans’ Will Fuller To Miss Time
Texans wide receiver Will Fuller will miss the team’s regular season finale against the Titans with a groin injury, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). On the plus side, he has an outside chance to play in their first playoff game and will likely be available if they win and advance to the next round. 
Fuller went down in Saturday’s game against the Bucs, though the Texans went on to win 23-20. Fuller has already missed time this year thanks to a hamstring injury and he’s no stranger to the injury bug as a pro. The speedster has yet to play a full season since entering the league in 2016.
Without Fuller, the Texans are expected to lean on DeAndre Hopkins as well as Kenny Stills and DeAndre Carter, who reeled in a clutch 39-yard catch following Fuller’s exit. Keke Coutee, who has been a healthy scratch in recent weeks, is expected to be active for the final game.
Fuller’s regular season will end with 49 catches for 670 yards and three touchdowns through eleven games. He’ll now shift his focus to adding to his playoff totals. In his two playoff games in 2016, Fuller logged seven receptions for 53 yards.
The 25-year-old (26 in April) will return to the Texans next year on his $10.2MM fifth-year option.
Justin Madubuike Enters NFL Draft
Texas A&M defensive lineman Justin Madubuike is going pro. Coming off of a strong year, the 6’3″ defensive lineman has been pegged as a Round 2 talent by Matt Miller of Bleacher Report (on Twitter). 
Madubuike led the Aggies with 11.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks and seven quarterback hurries in 2019. He also recorded his first interception in a win over Arkansas.
The 304-pounder will play it safe by staying out of Friday’s Texas Bowl against Oklahoma State. From this point forward, he’ll shift his attention to getting ready for the combine, where he could emerge as one of the top interior defensive linemen in this year’s class.
Auburn’s Derrick Brown, South Carolina’s Javon Kinlaw, Florida State’s Marvin Wilson, and Oklahoma’s Neville Gallimore also among this year’s top interior bruisers.
49ers Rumors: McKinnon, Thomas, Jones
The latest on the 49ers, from Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports:
- Running back Jerick McKinnon is highly unlikely to return at his scheduled $6.8MM rate, but the Niners would be willing to re-sign him on a cheaper deal, Maiocco hears. Raheem Mostert, Matt Breida, and Tevin Coleman all offer catching ability, but Jet, when healthy, is the most agile of the bunch. McKinnon joined the 49ers on a four-year, $30MM contract before the 2018 season, but has yet to take a snap for SF thanks to knee injuries. In 2017, his final year with the Vikes, McKinnon enjoyed career highs in receptions (51) and receiving yards (421).
- Maiocco does not expect the Niners to pick up Solomon Thomas‘ fifth-year option. It’s hard to argue – the former No. 3 overall pick would cost $15.3MM in 2021 via the option and he has been little more than a rotational player so far as a pro. To date, Thomas has just six sacks and no forced fumbles across three seasons.
- Nose tackle D.J. Jones suffered damage to the ligaments connecting the tibia and fibula, Maiocco hears. The injury left the Niners with no choice but to place Jones on season-ending IR, since he had no realistic chance of recuperating in time for the Super Bowl, if the Niners qualify.
Texans’ J.J. Watt Could Return From IR
Good news for the Texans. Star defensive end J.J. Watt could return from injured reserve before the season is through, head coach Bill O’Brien said (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). 
“He’s certainly made progress based on his work ethic and who he’s working with in the training room. We will see,” said O’Brien on Monday morning.
Regardless of whether he makes it back for either of the team’s final two regular season tilts, Watt is “determined” to return to the field for the playoffs, as John McClain of the Houston Chronicle writes. Though defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel would surely love to have Watt in the fold, he did try to temper expectations a bit.
“We won’t know until that occurs and see where he is because every player who comes back from injury, you have to see where he is and what he can and cannot do,” Crennel said when asked about what it would mean to get Watt back on the field. “Then, I think that’ll make the difference in how much he can help or will help or if he helps.”
Watt suffered a torn pec during the Texans’ Week 8 win over the Raiders, and Watt himself acknowledged that he would miss the remainder of the year. But rehab has gone well for Watt, and he is pushing hard to return. The Texans have all but secured their place in the postseason, and a win over the Bucs on Sunday would seal up the AFC South title. Of course, if the Texans beat the Bucs, they could take the safe approach and keep Watt off of the field until the first round of the playoffs.
Getting Watt back in any capacity would obviously be a major boon for the Texans’ championship hopes. One of the game’s best defenders when healthy, the five-time First Team All-Pro posted 16 sacks in 2018 — the first time he had played a full season since 2015 — and had four sacks in 2019 before suffering the pec injury.
Dolphins Notes: Rosen, Howard, Draft
If Josh Rosen ever wants to start for the Dolphins again, he’ll have to satisfy the conditions of coach Brian Flores‘ list, as Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald writes. What’s on the list? Apparently, only Flores and the QB know the answer.
“I’ve given him that list, for sure,” Flores said Wednesday. “I’m not giving you that list.”
Salguero, speculatively, wonders if Flores is looking for more personality or leadership from Rosen. Ryan Fitzpatrick, who will play ahead of the former No. 10 overall pick pick for the rest of the season, has both in spades. Fitzpatrick, who was asked a general question about camaraderie, agrees on the importance of the intangibles.
“I just think simple things like sitting in the meal room and eating lunch with guys and getting to know guys, something as simple and as silly as that goes such a long way,” Fitzpatrick said. “In my mind, I’m not like ‘Oh, I’m going to sit with Dan Kilgore today because I want him to block better for me.’ That’s not it.
“I think a lot of it is understanding that you’re part of a team and understanding that no one position is better than any other, that we’re all important and we all have to work together, and it’s such a great team sport to get on the same page to succeed. I think knowing guys personally and getting to know them on that level goes a long way towards chemistry and transferring it onto the field. That’s something I’ve just always placed an importance on.”
Rosen, 23 in February, has two years remaining on his original rookie deal, each with modest cap hits.
Here’s more from Miami:
- Cornerback Xavien Howard had knee surgery a “couple of days” ago, Flores announced (Twitter link via Salguero). That’s at least the third knee surgery Howard has had with the Dolphins (both left and right) and potentially a bad sign for the young star going forward. Howard inked a five-year, $72.25MM extension with the Dolphins in May and landed on season-ending IR in late October.
- In the 2020 draft, Flores says the Dolphins won’t shy away from players who come from a different scheme. “If it’s a good player, the scheme is a scheme versatile defense,” Flores said (via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald). “If we have a good player, we’ll fit – we’ll make it work for set player. That goes at any position; we got a good coaching staff, a lot of creative minds here. We try to put our players in position to make plays. If Lawrence Taylor is available, we would fit the scheme for him; we would do it.” The 3-11 Dolphins are currently slated to pick No. 3 overall. Then, they’ll have two more selections via the Steelers and Texans late in the draft. Those picks are currently projected to fall at Nos. 22 and 23.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/19/19
Today’s practice squad moves:
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: LB Jermaine Grace
- Released: QB Eric Dungey
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: DB Jayson Stanley
- Placed on PS-IR: Terry Godwin
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: WR Jamal Custis
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: WR Jaydon Mickens
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/19/19
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Carolina Panthers
- Claimed: DB T.J. Green (from Saints)
- Placed on IR: OL Garrett McGhin
New York Jets
- Promoted: WR Josh Malone
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: LB Ukeme Eligwe
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Promoted: TE Codey McElroy