Browns Cut Jermaine Whitehead
The Browns are done with Jermaine Whitehead. On Sunday, Whitehead went on a Twitter tirade that resulted in his banishment from the platform. On Monday morning, the Browns released the safety, per a club announcement. 
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The Browns, who previously said the rant was “totally unacceptable and highly inappropriate” cut him loose with a terse statement that was way under 280 characters. Whitehead will now be subject to the NFL’s waiver wire, but it remains to be seen whether any club will want to take a gamble on him at this time.
Whitehead on played every snap of the Brown’s 24-19 loss to the Broncos but did not record a single stop. When he was heckled for his performance, Whitehead responded poorly, and the Browns responded by dropping him from the roster.
Whitehead, a second-year pro, leaves the Browns after 41 tackles across eight games (all starts) in 2019. For his career, Whitehead has 34 appearances to his credit, including ten starts.
Panthers May Place Cam Newton On IR
NOV. 3: Dr. Anderson did not recommend surgery for Newton, as Rapoport (video link) and David Newton of ESPN.com report. That’s obviously good news, but there is still no timetable for Newton’s return, and Rapoport says the Panthers may end up putting their star QB on IR.
NOV. 1: Panthers quarterback Cam Newton isn’t recovering from his sprained foot as quickly as he hoped (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). Newton will visit Dr. Robert Anderson in Green Bay, Wisconsin on Friday to learn more about his situation and figure out why his condition hasn’t improved. 
At this point, playing football is a long way off, Rapoport hears. So far, Newton hasn’t been able to do much more than basic rehab for his injury.
Newton’s pain and limited mobility was apparent to anyone watching him play this season. His frustrations have been apparent, as well. When Newton took to YouTube in late September to discuss his injury, he admitted that he rushed himself back too soon in order to play in the 2019 season opener.
“I’ve decided I will take time away from the game,” Newton said. “This is me being the bigger person and being real with myself and saying, ‘Look, what’s the ultimate goal you’re trying to accomplish? Win the Super Bowl. OK, if you want to win the Super Bowl, this is the step you’ve got to take.’
“It could very well be a week. Or two weeks. It could be three weeks, it could be four weeks, it could be six weeks. But I have to understand and know if it takes that time, I trust in this team that they will — we will — still be in a great situation by the time I get back.”
Meanwhile, fill-in Kyle Allen has done quite well, for the most part. Before his rocky outing against the 49ers, Allen completed 65.6% of his passes with a 7-to-0 touchdown-to-interception ratio in four starts. He’ll get start No. 6 this week against the Titans on Sunday.
Seahawks Claim Josh Gordon
The Seahawks have claimed Josh Gordon off waivers from the Patriots. With that, they’ve added one of the game’s most lethal wide receivers for the home stretch of the 2019 season.
Things have never been simple or straightforward for the simultaneously kind-hearted, troubled, and immensely talented Gordon. This year was no exception.
Gordon had his highs, including six catches for 83 yards in a September blowout of the Jets. Then, unfortunately, came the lows. Late last month, the Patriots placed Gordon on injured reserve due to left knee and ankle trouble. The Pats felt that Gordon would not be able to play again this season. Gordon, meanwhile, says he’ll be ready to play sometime next week or the week after. The disagreement led to divorce, but the Patriots refused to let him go until after Tuesday’s trade deadline, when he would be subject to waivers and, in theory, kept away from contenders.
So much for that. The Seahawks, with a 6-2 record and No. 28 priority in the NFL’s waiver queue, landed Gordon, must to the surprise and delight of head coach Pete Carroll. Quarterback Russell Wilson is elated too – he suddenly has another playmaker to help stretch the field and give fits to opposing defenses.
Gordon, 28, tallied 20 catches for 287 yards and one touchdown in six games this year. At times, he flashed (get it?) the ability that propelled him to an absurd 87/1,646/9 stat line in 2013, a campaign that resulted in Pro Bowl and First-Team All-Pro nods.
Cardinals Sign LB Zach Brown
Zach Brown has a new home. On Friday, the Cardinals signed the veteran linebacker, per a club announcement. 
The deal gives the Cardinals some much needed help and adds to the Cardinals’ collection of ex-Eagles ILBs. With Brown, Joe Walker, and Jordan Hicks on the roster, they’ve got three former Iggles on board.
Brown, a second-round pick of the Titans in 2012, was cut by the Eagles in October after he wrote checks that his tuchus couldn’t cash. Before all of that, he turned in a solid 2018 season with the Redskins and earned a spot as a Pro Bowl replacement in 2016 with the Bills.
For his career, Brown has 80 starts, 17.5 sacks, and seven interceptions to his credit. He’ll look to build on that in Arizona and add to his 2019 total of 29 tackles.
Brown will take the roster spot of running back Alfred Morris, who was cut loose earlier in the day. Morris, who had a super short stay with the Cardinals, will be subject to the waiver wire as a post-deadline cut.
Latest On Cowboys’ Amari Cooper
Amari Cooper is in no rush to get a deal done. On Friday, the Cowboys wide receiver told reporters that he’d prefer to wait until after the season to hammer out an extension (Twitter link via Clarence Hill Jr. of the Star Telegram). 
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This roughly echoes what we’ve been hearing from Cooper throughout the year. The Dallas star wants a long-term deal that will put him at the top of the market, but he’s also looking to maximize his leverage. His biggest possible payday would come after a huge 2019 season and he’s willing to gamble.
Cooper was inconsistent during his stay in Oakland, but he’s been rock solid in Dallas. In nine games with the Cowboys last year, Cooper exploded for 53 catches, 725 receiving yards, and six scores. Extrapolated for a 16 game season (while rounding up a bit), that’s a 96/1296/10 stat line over the course of a full 16-game season, which would represent all new career highs for Cooper. This year, he’s got 38 catches for 621 yards and five scores through seven games, putting him on pace for career highs in yards and TDs (and flirting with his previous watermark of 83 receptions).
Publicly, the Cowboys have been saying that talks are trending in the right direction for Cooper and Dak Prescott, but in reality, they have some serious gaps to bridge.
Broncos Place Joe Flacco On IR
The Broncos are placing Joe Flacco on injured reserve, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). This will mark the end of the quarterback’s season and, possibly, his time in Denver. 
Flacco is owed $20.5MM in 2020, but the Broncos can save $10MM by cutting him loose beforehand. In eight games for the Broncos this year, Flacco completed 65.3% of his passes, but threw just six touchdowns against five interceptions. The completion percentage marked a career high for Flacco, but the TD/INT ratio is his worst ever.
Injuries have dogged the former Super Bowl champ for much of his career – he missed time in 2015 and 2018 and also dealt with back pain in 2017. With his 35th birthday on the horizon in January, there’s no telling what’s next for Flacco.
The silver lining is that Flacco’s neck injury is not believed to be a career-threatening injury. Flacco could still continue playing in 2020, it seems, provided that he is willing to play for much less than his current contract.
With Flacco out of the picture, the Broncos will start Brandon Allen on Sunday against the Browns. He’ll be backstopped by Brett Rypien, who was recently promoted from the practice squad.
Cardinals Cut Alfred Morris
The Cardinals have informed running back Alfred Morris of his release (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). It was a super short stay in Arizona for the veteran, who was only just signed to the roster. 
Morris was squeezed out by the arrival of Kenyan Drake, who came over via trade with the Dolphins. In Drake’s Thursday night debut, he rattled off 110 yards on 15 carries, good for a 7.33 ypc average. Suddenly, the Cardinals no longer feel the need to have the safety net of Morris.
Morris’ 2019 Cardinals run ends after three snaps and one carry for four yards. He’ll look to new work and playing time elsewhere, but not before hitting the NFL’s waiver wire. Morris has the service time of a veteran, but all players released after the trade deadline are subject to the wire. If Morris clears, he’ll be free to sign with any club of his choosing.
49ers’ Kwon Alexander Done For Year
That’s a wrap on Kwon Alexander‘s season. The 49ers linebacker will miss the remainder of the season with a torn pectoral muscle, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. 
Earlier today, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters that he was nervous about the MRI. After doctors reviewed the scans, they confirmed his (and Alexander’s) worst fears.
The Niners signed Alexander to a four-year, $54MM deal in March with $27MM guaranteed. Former Bucs star and current 49ers GM John Lynch was high on Alexander – perhaps a touch higher than other clubs this offseason – but things haven’t gone according to plan in the 25-year-old’s first season with SF. After missing 14 games between 2017 and 2018, he’ll miss the second half of the ’19 campaign, plus the playoffs.
Through eight games, Alexander rates as Pro Football Focus’ No. 33 ranked linebacker in the NFL (though, PFF’s metrics have never been high on his work). At the time of his season-ending ACL tear in 2018, PFF had him as the 53rd-ranked LB in the league.
On the plus side – Shanahan believes that tight end George Kittle’s knee injury is a short-term issue. Also, the 49ers are 8-0 – that also helps to ease the pain of losing one of their defensive starters.
The 49ers topped the Cardinals on Thursday night to keep their undefeated streak going. On Monday Nov. 11, they’ll return to action to face another division rival when they take on the Seahawks.
Colts’ T.Y. Hilton To Miss 3-4 Weeks?
Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton will likely miss 3-4 weeks of action, head coach Frank Reich announced. With that, Hilton has been ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Steelers. 
It’s a bad blow for the Colts, who are 5-2 and aiming to build off of a three-game winning streak. Hilton has been playing through pain for most of the season. He’s already missed two games this year due to a quadriceps injury and other trouble. Now, he has a new issue to deal with – a calf injury, suffered in practice on Wednesday. The team has yet to nail down Hilton’s timetable, but Reich noted that Hilton’s injury “generally” calls for 3-4 weeks of rest and rehab.
Hilton, 30 in November, has 32 catches for 360 yards and five touchdowns in his six games this year. That’s a far cry from his best work, including a 2018 season in which he had 76 grabs for 1,270 yards and six scores. Worth noting: Hilton missed two regular season games last year and the Colts lost both contests.
The timing of the injury is especially unfortunate since the trade deadline was on Tuesday. The Colts’ options to replace Hilton, at this juncture, are somewhat limited. It seems likely that they’ll put in a waiver claim for Josh Gordon, but their 5-2 record means they’re unlikely to snag him.
Hilton, a former third-round pick, is under contract through 2020 thanks to the five-year, $65MM extension he signed with the club in 2015. He’s due $14.5MM in base salary next year, but the Colts would not be left with any dead money if they choose to release him.
Lions Work Out RB Jay Ajayi
The Lions will work out running back Jay Ajayi on Friday, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Ajayi, one of the most intriguing free agents in the NFL, could provide an immediate boost for a team in need of backfield help. 
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Before his injury-shortened 2018, Ajayi posted two strong back-to-back campaigns. In 2016, he earned his first career Pro Bowl nod as he averaged 4.9 yards per carry for the Dolphins. In 2017, a midseason trade sent him to the Eagles, where he averaged 5.8 yards per tote off of 70 tries and captured his first ever Super Bowl ring. The advanced metrics echo the traditional stats, too: Ajayi is one of the best RBs in the league, when he’s on the field.
The Lions have been after running back support since Kerryon Johnson hit the injured reserve list in October. That search pointed them towards Devonta Freeman and other running backs prior to Tuesday’s trade deadline, but they weren’t able to get a deal done.
The Lions are 3-3-1 heading into Sunday’s game against the Raiders. After that, they’ll round out November with games against the Bears, Cowboys, Redskins, and Bears (again).