Chiefs Claim Terrell Suggs
The Chiefs claimed former Cardinals linebacker Terrell Suggs off waivers on Tuesday. The news was first reported by Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).
Initially, it wasn’t clear whether Suggs would be willing to suit up for the Chiefs. After his release, he told people close to him that he would only play for the Ravens, but the opportunity to play for another Super Bowl ring made him reconsider. He will join KC and, in all likelihood, make his Chiefs debut on Sunday against the Bears.
The pickup gives the Chiefs some much needed edge rushing ammo in the wake of Alex Okafor‘s pectoral injury. To date, Suggs has with 5.5 sacks and four forced fumbles in 13 games this year.
Suggs was a popular man on the waiver wire. As Rapoport tweets, the Saints, 49ers, and Seahawks all put in a claim, which makes sense given that all of those teams are dealing with injuries to their own pass rushers. Rapoport says the Ravens may have signed Suggs if he had cleared waivers, but Baltimore did not put in a claim.
Suggs didn’t get the homecoming he wanted, but he fell into a choice situation. Rather than playing out the year for the 4-9-1 Cards, he has the opportunity to aid the 10-4 Chiefs in their quest for a championship.
Suggs was drafted No. 10 overall by the Ravens all the way back in 2003. He spent the next 16 seasons with the team and became a franchise icon, winning Super Bowl XLVII with them and making the Pro Bowl seven times. He remained reasonably productive with seven sacks in 2018, but the Ravens let him walk to Arizona in the spring.
The Chiefs will be responsible for the remainder of Suggs’ one-year, $7MM deal.
Bengals’ A.J. Green Pushing To Play?
5:52pm: Green was in Green Bay today to visit with foot specialist Dr. Robert Anderson, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). As Schefter notes, that development certainly makes it sound as if Green will not suit up for either of the Bengals’ remaining two games.
09:33am: The Bengals haven’t ruled out playing A.J. Green before the season is through, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. The veteran has looked good in practice and wants to play, so it’s possible that he could make his belated 2019 debut in Week 16 or 17.
Green hasn’t played a single snap this season after suffering ankle damage during training camp. The Bengals opted against putting him on injured reserve to start the year, which would have mandated an absence of at least eight games. Without Green, the Bengals have gone 1-13.
The Bengals are reportedly not close to an extension with Green, so this could be his last opportunity to suit up in orange. In theory, the Bengals could keep him with the franchise tag, but the former first-round pick has been adamantly opposed to that.
“I don’t really care about (the contract negotiations),” Green said earlier this year. “If they’re worried about me not playing or not being healthy, then there’s 32 teams out there. I’m not really worried about that situation.”
Green became the NFL’s highest-paid receiver in 2015 after inking a four-year, $60MM extension, but his $15MM average annual value now ranks 11th at the position. The former No. 4 overall selection will be 32 years old when the 2020 campaign gets underway, and Green’s recent injury history — at least six missed games in 2016, 2018, and 2019 — will certainly factor into his asking price, but he should still be expected to command a lucrative multi-year deal if he does hit the free agent market.
The Bengals will finish out the year with games against the Dolphins and Browns.
Saints Claim Janoris Jenkins
Former Giants cornerback Janoris Jenkins has been claimed off waivers by the Saints. With that, they’ll take on one of the league’s top cornerback talents, the ~$1.2MM still owed to the veteran for 2019, and, perhaps, some backlash.
[RELATED: Cowboys Deny Reaching Out To Sean Payton]
The Giants cut Jenkins last week after he used a slur for the mentally challenged and issued an apology that fell short with many. Controversy aside, he represents an enormous upgrade in the secondary – the kind of addition that is rarely, if ever, found in the late states of the regular season.
Jenkins will not be eligible to play tonight, when the Saints take on the Colts. Instead, the claim will be deferred, technically speaking, until next week, when the Saints take on the Titans.
The Saints are looking to Jenkins for coverage help as they gear up for a Super Bowl run and an attempt to lock down a first-round bye. His former team, meanwhile, is ticketed for the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 draft.
Jenkins is also under contract for 2020, though the $11.25MM he’s slated to earn next year is completely non-guaranteed. With that in mind, this profiles as a low-risk/high-reward scenario for the Saints.
The Texans and Chiefs were named as potential landing spots for the 31-year-old, but the Saints came away with the one-time Pro Bowler. Jackrabbit will now look to add on to his 84 tackles and four interceptions (already a career high) in 2019.
In addition to the Jenkins claim, the Saints promoted CB T.J. Green and DT Taylor Stallworth from the practice squad, placed CB Johnson Bademosi on IR, and waived DT T.Y. McGill.
NFL Bans Seahawks’ Josh Gordon
The NFL has suspended Josh Gordon indefinitely for violating the league’s policies on performance-enhancing substances and substances of abuse. Gordon will not suit up for the Seahawks’ final regular season games, nor their postseason game(s), and it’s possible that he’ll never take the gridiron again. 
It’s a sadly familiar refrain for Gordon, who has been suspended repeatedly throughout his NFL career. The Seahawks saw flashes of the old Flash this season and Gordon, at last check, was excited about the possibility of returning for 2020.
“Seattle is amazing,” the wide receiver said. “Football aside, I’d definitely love to live in a place like this.”
The feeling, just a few short days ago, was mutual.
“Josh has had huge games in the past,’’ head coach Pete Carroll said. “He just hasn’t gotten the ball enough yet to show that for us. But he’s done really well. Josh has been a really good guy around here in practicing and working hard and studying.”
All of that is on hold, as the wide receiver is set to do battle with the league office and his own off-the-field issues once again.
Since joining the Seahawks in early November, Gordon caught just seven passes for 139 yards and zero touchdowns. It’s a far cry from his best work, including a 2014 season in which he had 87 receptions for 1,646 yards and nine touchdowns in 14 games with the Browns. It’s also a step down from his production with the Patriots (20/287/1 in six games), but Gordon showed promise, too. On Sunday against the Panthers, he torched the secondary for a spectacular 58-yard grab in the second quarter. He also lobbed a trick pass directly into the arms of safety Tre Boston, but the Seahawks still managed to come away with a 30-24 win.
At this moment, there’s only one number that truly matters: Five. That’s the number of times Gordon has been suspended for substance abuse. He’s successfully begged for the NFL’s forgiveness in the past, but this ban just might be the final straw.
Cowboys Deny Reaching Out To Sean Payton
The Cowboys have long been connected to Saints head coach Sean Payton and those rumblings have picked up once again this season, along with speculation about Jason Garrett‘s job security. A recent report indicated that the Cowboys expressed interest in Payton through backchannels last offseason, but VP Stephen Jones flatly denied that in an interview on Monday. 
“That’s just untrue,” Jones said. “Obviously we don’t comment on rumors like that. Obviously our focus right now is beating the Eagles. Certainly, everyone knows what we think of Jason. I do think we’ve been criticized to a fault for what we do think of him. He just did a great job getting this team back on track yesterday and we’re focused on beating the Eagles.”
The Cowboys kept their playoff hopes alive with an emphatic 44-21 win over the Rams, bringing them back to the .500 mark. With a win over the Eagles on Sunday, the Cowboys can clinch the NFC East and punch their ticket to the postseason. A loss, meanwhile, would put them on the ropes and place the Eagles in the driver’s seat – an Eagles win on Sunday coupled with a Week 17 victory over the lowly Giants would allow the bird to fly away with the divisional crown.
Sunday’s game will be critical to the Cowboys’ 2019 season and could dictate the future of Garrett. While the Cowboys sweat things out, Payton’s Saints will march their way into the playoffs behind yet another NFC South title – and, possibly, a first round bye.
Cardinals’ Patrick Peterson Vows To Return
It’s been a bumpy road for the Cardinals and Patrick Peterson, but the star cornerback says he’ll stay the course. After Sunday’s contest against the Browns, P2 said it won’t be his final game in Arizona.
[RELATED: Cardinals Cut Terrell Suggs]
“This won’t be my last home game here,” Peterson said. “I’ll be back.”
Peterson, 29, has just one year to go on the five-year, $70MM extension he inked back in 2014. If Peterson was unhappy and the Cardinals wanted to go in a different direction, the club could theoretically drop him to save $12.55MM against just $634K in dead money.
However, the veteran appears to be content and he’s been performing well on an individual level. On Sunday, he came away with an interception in the end zone in the first quarter and would have gotten a second INT late in the game had he not landed out of bounds after catching a pass from Baker Mayfield. He also contained Odell Beckham Jr. when it mattered most, helping the Cards come away with a 38-24 win.
“That’s my first time ever going up against Odell,” said Peterson. “It was a pleasure. One fellow Tiger against another. It was a fun matchup. It was a fun game. I knew I was going to have a couple of opportunities with Baker being the gunslinger he is. I wanted to make the best of the opportunities when they came towards me.”
Of course, with one year to go on his deal and his 30th birthday on the horizon in July, Peterson is eyeing another lucrative extension.
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Minor NFL Transactions: 12/13/19
Today’s minor moves:
Denver Broncos
- Placed on IR: WR Juwann Winfree
Miami Dolphins
- Claimed: CB Tae Hayes (from Jaguars)
- Placed on IR: DT Gerald Willis
Cardinals Cut Terrell Suggs
The Cardinals released Terrell Suggs, head coach Kliff Kingsbury announced. The 37-year-old Suggs will now be available for the league’s other 31 teams, via the waiver wire. 
The seven-time Pro-Bowler could be an interesting pickup for contenders between now and Monday. Before his release, Suggs started in all 13 games for the Cardinals this season and notched 5.5 sacks plus four forced fumbles.
“Regarding Suggs, we’ve been having conversations as the season went on, as his role has been reduced, and we’ve kind of made the shift to playing some younger players,” Kingsbury said. “… In fairness to him to try to find a better fit right now, we released Terrell today.”
Despite Kingsbury’s comment about Suggs’ diminishing role, he played 76% of the Cardinals’ defensive snaps last week against the Steelers. He’s been over the 70% threshold in nine of Arizona’s 13 contests. The Cards will transition to said younger edge defenders opposite Chandler Jones on Sunday.
Any team claiming Suggs on Monday would owe him $353K, the prorated portion of his salary for the final two weeks of the season. Any team to claim Suggs would have exclusive negotiating rights until March. Suggs was listed as questionable to play this week because of a back injury.
Suggs left the Ravens after 16 seasons to join the Cardinals on a one-year, $10MM deal in the offseason. The Arizona native exited Baltimore as the franchise’s all-time sacks leader with 132.5 QB takedowns – 62.5 more than runner-up Peter Boulware. Suggs also surpassed Ray Lewis to become the Ravens’ games-played leader, suiting up for his 229th career regular-season contest in Week 17 of the 2018 campaign.
Baltimore sits 32nd on the wire, so while a return trip to Maryland would be quite the development, it doesn’t appear likely to occur. The Seahawks, despite their Jadeveon Clowney and Ziggy Ansah additions, rank 29th in sacks. The Clowney- and J.J. Watt-less Texans, as presently constructed, will surely consider such a claim. Houston resides in front of Seattle in waiver priority. Jon Gruden‘s affinity for veterans may not make such a move out of the question for the 6-7 Raiders, especially if they are to beat the Jaguars on Sunday.
Redskins Place Ryan Kerrigan On IR
The Redskins have placed linebacker Ryan Kerrigan on injured reserve, interim head coach Bill Callahan says. With that, the veteran has played his final game of the season, and possibly his final game in Washington. 
[RELATED: Redskins Place Derrius Guice On IR]
Kerrigan remains under contract for 2020 with a base salary of $11.5MM, but it’s completely non-guaranteed. The Redskins could, in theory, walk from the 31-year-old (32 in August) with no fiscal penalty and put those resources elsewhere.
The 2011 first-round pick missed the first game of his career in Week 13, thanks to a concussion. With his his 139-game streak over, he returned to action against the Packers, only to suffer an injury after sacking Aaron Rodgers.
Kerrigan finishes out 2019 with 25 tackles, 5.5 sacks and one forced fumble. Meanwhile, he’s got 90 career sacks and 436 total tackles in the NFL.
At 3-10, the Redskins are currently slated to pick No. 3 overall. They’re also projected to have $40MM+ in cap space.