Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones On Jason Garrett’s Job Security
For most of the season, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has stood behind head coach Jason Garrett. That’s not necessarily the case today, however, following a 13-9 loss to the Patriots.
[RELATED: Giants Eyeing Jason Garrett As HC?]
On Tuesday morning, Jones told 105.3 The Fan that he is beyond “disappointed” with the club at this moment. Furthermore, he indicated that Garrett’s job is on the line, though he said that there would not be an in-season change.
“Disappointed is not the word. There’s no question that we were given an opportunity, there were things we could have taken advantage of,” Jones said.
Jones lit up Garrett after Sunday’s game and doesn’t seem to have cooled down much in the last 48 hours. Meanwhile, Garrett has five games left to restore the confidence of his boss.
With a 6-5 record, the Cowboys are atop the NFC East, with an edge over the second place Eagles (5-6). According to FiveThirtyEight, the Cowboys have a 65% shot of reaching the playoffs.
Garrett and the Cowboys will finish out the regular season against the Bills, Bears, Rams, Eagles, and Redskins.
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Panthers’ Dontari Poe Done For Season
3:14pm: Poe’s season will indeed end early. The veteran defensive tackle has elected to undergo surgery on his quad injury, according to ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson (on Twitter). The former first-round pick will undergo the procedure Tuesday morning.
12:53pm: The Panthers fear that Dontari Poe suffered a torn quadriceps muscle in Sunday’s loss to the Saints (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). Poe is having an MRI to confirm the injury, but the club thinks they already know the result, which will end Poe’s season. 
The Panthers’ thin playoff hopes took a major blow on Sunday with the loss to New Orleans and it figures to be rough sledding the rest of the way without Poe, who was an anchor for the defensive line. Through eleven games (ten starts), Poe notched 4.0 sacks from the interior, plus 22 tackles and seven tackles for a loss. For his work, Pro Football Focus has Poe rated as the No. 40 interior defensive lineman in the league.
The Panthers can be expected to look into DT help between now and Sunday’s game against the Redskins. While they’re at it, they may also shake up the kicker spot by replacing Joey Slye with another leg.
XFL Blocks Lions From Signing Josh Johnson
The XFL blocked the Lions from signing quarterback Josh Johnson, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Johnson, who was assigned to the Los Angeles Wildcats last week, cannot get out of his commitment without the permission of the fledgling league. 
XFL execs, including owner Vince McMahon and CEO Oliver Luck, have spoken about the idea of partnering with the NFL in some capacity to serve as a breeding ground for talent. At the same time, the XFL is understandably protective of its top talents. Johnson, who has been signed by 13 NFL teams over the course of his career, offers the kind of name recognition that can’t be easily replaced.
This isn’t Johnson’s first rodeo in professional football outside of the NFL. He was also a part of the UFL and the short-lived AAF, so he’s encountered similar situations before.
Meanwhile, the Lions will continue to search for quarterback support in the wake of Matthew Stafford‘s injury. Stafford wants to keep playing, but the Lions are reportedly thinking about shutting him down for the year.
Panthers May Look At Kickers
Joey Slye might not be long for Carolina. The Panthers will discuss bringing in kickers to try out for the team, head coach Ron Rivera says (Twitter link via Joe Person of The Athletic).
Slye left five points on the scoreboard on Sunday as the Saints won by three points. Slye missed two extra point attempts, plus a potential game-winning 28-yard try. It was an extremely costly loss – the Panthers are now 5-6, with only a 1% chance of making the playoffs, per the New York Times‘ odds calculator.
In the longer term, Slye’s spot was already in jeopardy – Graham Gano, the Panthers’ longtime kicker, is slated to return next season. Recently, he vowed to comeback better than ever on social media, so Slye is probably going to be peddling his wares elsewhere in 2020 no matter what.
Unfortunately, the Panthers’ season is effectively over, regardless of what they do at the kicker spot. On Sunday, they’ll look to return to the .500 mark when they face the Redskins in D.C.
Myles Garrett: Mason Rudolph Used Racial Slur
In his appeal hearing with the NFL, Browns defensive end Myles Garrett alleged that Mason Rudolph used a racial slur towards him in the buildup to the infamous brawl (via ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson and Adam Schefter). Rudolph, meanwhile, denies the accusation. 
“Mason vehemently denies the report of being accused of using a racial slur during the incident Thursday night in Cleveland,” Steelers spokesman Burt Lauten said in a statement. “He will not discuss this accusation any further and his focus remains on preparation for Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals.”
Rudolph declined to discuss the matter with reporters, but, later on, his attorney Timothy M. Younger echoed the Steelers’ statement.
“According to ESPN, in his appeal, Myles Garrett falsely asserted that Mason Rudolph uttered a racial slur toward him, prior to swinging a helmet at Mason’s uncovered head, in a desperate attempt to mitigate his suspension. This is a lie. This false allegation was never asserted by Garrett in the aftermath of the game, never suggested prior to the hearing, and conspicuously absent in the apology published by the Browns and adopted by Garrett.
“The malicious use of this wild and unfounded allegation is an assault on Mason’s integrity which is far worse than the physical assault witnessed on Thursday. This is reckless and shameful. We will have no further comment.”
Appeals officer James Thrash remained stoic as Garrett told his side of the story, sources tell ESPN. Afterwards, Thrash asked Garrett a question about how he might conduct himself differently, if a similar situation were to play out. The defensive end conveyed that he would handle himself differently and would not allow a similar scene to unfold.
Garrett’s camp fought the notion of an indefinite suspension and noted that Texans defensive end Antonio Smith was suspended in 2013 for just two games, plus one regular season game, for swinging his helmet at Richie Incognito in a game against the Dolphins. Garrett and the union also argued that indefinite bans are not permitted under the league’s collective bargaining agreement.
Broncos Place Bryce Callahan On IR
It’s now official. The Broncos placed cornerback Bryce Callahan on IR, per a press release from the team. To take his place on the roster, the club will activate wide receiver Tim Patrick from IR. 
The Broncos gave Callahan a three-year, $21MM deal with $10MM guaranteed. The former Bears slot standout, unfortunately, has yet to play a down in Denver. This comes after last season’s letdown – he ended the 2018 campaign on Chicago’s IR with a broken foot. This year, he aggravated that injury in training camp.
Callahan was one of three high-profile Broncos free agent additions, joining Kareem Jackson and Ja’Wuan James. While Jackson has delivered in his first full season as a safety, James has missed most of this season. Two out of three ain’t bad, but one out of three is….pretty bad.
The Broncos are 3-6 with nearly no chance of seeing the playoffs this year. On the plus side – they managed to beat the Browns in their last time out and they’ll be ticketed for a high first-round draft pick, provided that they don’t mess things up by winning too much the rest of the way.
Vikings Activate Josh Doctson
The Vikings have activated wide receiver Josh Doctson, per a club announcement. The former first-round pick could be in line to make his season debut on Sunday with Adam Thielen out for yet another week. 
The Vikings signed Doctson towards the end of August, shortly after cutting Laquon Treadwell, who was taken one spot behind him in the 2016 draft. Treadwell has since returned to Minnesota, meaning that the two may actually take the field together.
Doctson’s next game with Minnesota will be his first in purple – at least, his first in Vikings purple. Before joining the Vikings, Doctson started 26 games across the previous two years for the Redskins, but registered just 79 total catches for 1,034 yards and eight touchdowns. Last year, he placed 96th out of 107 qualifying wideouts in yards per route run last season, according to Pro Football Focus.
Those numbers aren’t great, but the potential is still there. His history with quarterback Kirk Cousins may also help.
Besides Doctson, Treadwell, and the injured Thielen, the Vikings also currently have wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Olabisi Johnson in the mix.
Eagles To Sign Jay Ajayi
The Eagles intend to sign free agent running back Jay Ajayi, a source tells NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). Ajayi worked out for the club this week and a deal should come together before the end of business today. 
Ajayi joins the club just after word of Darren Sproles‘ season-ending (and possibly career-ending) injury. Given his track record, Ajayi figures to provide some serious support in the backfield, if he is healthy himself.
The Eagles traded for Ajayi in 2017 and saw immediate results out of the former Dolphins ball carrier. After his 1,272-yard 2016 season with Miami, he became a key part of the Eagles’ Super Bowl run the following year. He averaged 5.8 yards per carry with the Eagles in 2017. He did not fare as well with the ’18 Eagles, who lacked consistency on the ground. But, the team will see what the 26-year-old can provide as they come down the home stretch.
Ajayi may make his Eagles return on Sunday, when the Eagles face the Patriots in Philly.
Bengals To Place Dre Kirkpatrick On IR
The Bengals have placed Dre Kirkpatrick on injured reserve, per a club announcement. In related moves, the team promoted linebacker Hardy Nickerson and wide receiver Damion Willis to the active roster. 
Kirkpatrick, 30, is in the midst of a five-year, $52.5MM deal he inked back in 2017. He’ll remain on the books for 2020, when he’s due a base salary of $9.4MM. Before he season-ending hyperextended knee injury, Kirkpatrick tallied 33 stops, one sack, and one fumble recovery across six games.
Last year, Kirkpatrick allowed just 44.4% of the targets thrown his way to be caught, good for the second-best rate in the league. That was good for second amongst all NFL cornerbacks with at least 400 coverage snaps.
The Bengals were hoping to get him back before the end of the season but, then again, they’re not playing for much at this point.