Redskins To Consider Bill Callahan For Full-Time Job
The Redskins will consider interim head coach Bill Callahan for the so-called “permanent” post (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). That makes two known internal candidates – offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell is also getting real consideration for the job. Rapoport expects the Redskins to evaluate Callahan and O’Connell before opening things up to external candidates in December. 
[RELATED: Redskins Considering OC Kevin O’Connell For HC Job]
If Callahan wants the gig, he’ll have to find a way to turn things around in Washington. Heading into tonight’s game against the Vikings, the Redskins are 1-6 with their only win coming against the lowly Dolphins a couple of weeks back.
O’Connell hasn’t gotten tremendous results, either, but he is highly respected around the league and in the Redskins’ front office. The Redskins, for all their woes, have a history of developing young offensive coaches that have skyrocketed through the ranks. After Sean McVay, Matt LaFleur, and Kyle Shanahan found success elsewhere, the Redskins may be inclined to keep O’Connell in their yard.
In other Redskins news – running back Adrian Peterson and cornerback Josh Norman are active for tonight’s game against the Vikings. The Redskins may also see Trent Williams again sometime soon, though there’s no guarantee that he’ll play even if he does report.
Trent Williams To Report By Week 10?
Redskins tackle Trent Williams is tentatively planning to return to the team before Week 10, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport hears (on Twitter). Still, that doesn’t mean Williams will play. 
The Week 10 mark is significant, because Williams must show up for work by then in order to gain an accrued season. But, even if he walks through the doors in D.C., he won’t necessarily walk straight on to the field. Williams still has to heal up and, given the recent ugliness, it seems unlikely that he’ll play for the Redskins if he’s less than 100%.
The trade deadline is on Tuesday, so the clock is ticking for the Redskins and Williams and the many teams that could use a protector of his caliber. Both publicly and privately, the team has said that Williams isn’t going anywhere. Rapoport’s understanding is that Williams will indeed be staying put, unless someone comes up with a Godfather offer.
The Browns want Williams, but they were turned down, just like the Patriots and others that have inquired on him. For now, Williams the seven-time Pro Bowler is under contract through next season with base salaries of $10.85MM for this year and $12.5MM in 2020.
Redskins’ Peterson, Norman To Play
Redskins running back Adrian Peterson will have a chance to exact revenge on his old friends in Minnesota, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter). Peterson was dealing with some ankle issues, but he will be active for the team’s Thursday night matchup against the Vikings. 
Peterson was listed as questionable, but earlier today, he vowed to “bite down” and play through it. That’s not great news for the Vikings, especially since Peterson will be coming in with extra motivation. He might not be the AD of old, but he’s still an effective rusher coming off of two quality games. He ran for 118 yards against the struggling Dolphins and followed up that effort with a solid 4+ yards per carry against the Niners.
On the other side of the ball, cornerback Josh Norman will play, despite dealing with some thigh and hand pain. That’s notable for obvious reasons, but also because Norman’s name has been bandied about in trade speculation. The Redskins continue to reject calls about Trent Williams, but they’re reportedly open to moving Norman and his sizable contract.
Norman joined the Redskins on a $15MM/year deal back in 2016, but, so far, he has not matched the production of his Carolina years. Norman graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 50 corner last season. This year, his 50.0 overall score has him at No. 98 among CBs.
Patriots Trade Michael Bennett To Cowboys
Michael Bennett got his wish. On Thursday, the Patriots agreed to trade the defensive end to the Cowboys for a seventh-round pick that can turn into a sixth-round choice in 2021, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. 
Bennett clashed with Pats brass earlier this month and led to an argument between him and defensive line coach Bret Bielema. Soon after, the veteran received a one-game suspension for airing his frustrations, which stemmed from a perceived lack of playing time.
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has never been one to tolerate shenanigans and isn’t big into sentimentality. The team was high on Bennett after acquiring him from the Eagles in March – and even gave him a pay bump – but they haven’t had much use for him this year. The defensive end appeared in six games, but started just once. In three of those games, he saw less than 20 defensive snaps. In his last time out, against the Giants, he didn’t see the field until the second quarter.
“On Friday, I had a philosophical disagreement with my position coach that has led to my suspension,” Bennett said in a statement. “I apologize to my teammates for any distraction this may have caused.”
Apparently, the distraction was enough to earn him a one-way ticket out of Foxboro. Meanwhile, the Cowboys now have a stronger DE rotation that features Bennett, Demarcus Lawrence, Robert Quinn, Kerry Hyder, and Dorance Armstrong. Losing Tyrone Crawford for the year wasn’t ideal, but the Cowboys have gained back a lot of ground by adding Bennett to the mix.
In 2018, Bennett tallied nine sacks for Philly, marking his highest total since 2015. So far this year, the three-time Pro Bowler has 2.5 sacks on the stat sheet, giving him 65.5 in total across ~9.5 seasons.
The Cowboys are on their bye this week, so Bennett will have plenty of time to get acclimated and learn the new playbook. Then, on Monday Nov. 4, he’ll get to don his new threads for the first time when the Cowboys face the Giants. Fun fact: He faced the Giants twice last year and notched a sack in each game.
Latest On Antonio Brown
There hasn’t been much movement on the NFL’s investigation of Antonio Brown. The league has yet to interview the former Patriots wide receiver, according to a source who spoke with PFT’s Mike Florio. 
There are teams interested in signing Brown, but none of them are willing to add him to the roster while the investigation is still in progress. Meanwhile, the NFL hasn’t said whether Brown would be immediately placed on paid leave if he’s signed. Any team that were to sign Brown right now would risk having to pay him, without playing him, which is obviously unpalatable. If the NFL were to give clarity on that front, things might be different for the wide receiver, despite the enormous controversy surrounding him.
At least, that’s what agent Drew Rosenhaus is hoping for.
“It’s unfortunate things didn’t work out with the Patriots,” agent Drew Rosenhaus said in September. “But Antonio is healthy and is looking forward to his next opportunity in the NFL. He wants to play the game he loves and he hopes to play for another team soon.”
Brown, 31, has caught 841 passes for 11,253 yards over the course of his ten-year career. The bulk of those catches and yards came between 2011 and 2018: he saw limited time as a sixth-round rookie with the Steelers and appeared in only one game for the Pats this year.
Patriots Adjust Shaq Mason’s Deal
The Patriots have converted $1.75MM of guard Shaq Mason’s base salary into a signing bonus, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The move will create an extra $1.4MM in cap room for New England, giving them the space required to add wide receiver Mohamed Sanu to the payroll. 
Before the 2018 season, Mason inked a new five-year deal with $45MM in new money. That pact included a $12MM signing bonus, $5MM in incentives, and roughly $30MM in the first three years. Now, he’s made a simple adjustment on his contract to help bring Sanu into the fold.
Sanu didn’t come cheap for the Pats, but he’ll give Tom Brady another major weapon to help replace Josh Gordon. The Pats placed Gordon on IR on Wednesday with the belief that he will not be able to suit up again this year. Gordon, meanwhile, believes that he will be able to play again, so it’s a situation to monitor.
In other Pats news: the Patriots changed their minds about releasing tight end Eric Tomlinson. Tomlinson has not been released, the Pats say, so he may have a chance to build off of the season-high 38 snaps he logged against the Jets on Monday.
AFC South Notes: Hooker, Funchess, Lee
Colts safety Malik Hooker will be back in the lineup for the first time since Week 3, according to Mike Chappell of Fox 59. Hooker was close to returning last week against the Texans, but instead was held out to allow for a completely recovery. Now, per the report, Hooker is “a full go.”
Hooker had damaged his meniscus in Week 3 against the Falcons and was expected to miss 4-6 weeks, right in line with a return this week. Coming off an impressive victory over Houston, the Colts are in the driver’s seat in the AFC South at 4-2 and will be happy to get a starter back in their secondary.
Here is some more news from around the AFC South:
- Colts head coach Frank Reich told reporters that wide receiver Devin Funchess should return to practice next week, according to Mike Wells of ESPN.com. Funchess was placed on injured reserve after suffering a clavicle injury in the team’s season opener. The Colts signed Funchess to a one-year, $10MM contract this offseason, but have yet to reap much on-field production for their signing. Prior to the injury, Funchess had three receptions for 32 yards.
- The Jaguars expect a wide receiver of their own, Marqise Lee, to be back next week according to head coach Doug Marrone, via John Oesher of Jaguars.com. Lee missed all of 2018 with a torn-ACL, but had a strong track-record of success from 2017-2018, where he accumulated 119 receptions for 1,553 receiving yards. In his return this season, Lee was beginning to work his way into the rotation when he came down with an ankle injury that has had him out since Week 6.
Patriots WR Josh Gordon’s Future Uncertain, Placed On IR
For a moment it appeared that Josh Gordon‘s season is over. On Wednesday, the Patriots placed the wide receiver on injured reserve with a knee injury (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Field Yates). However, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweeted out that Gordon believes he is close to returning to play. Garafolo opines that “he’s likely done with the #Patriots but could be available for teams as a free agent soon.”
According to Albert Breer of MMQB.com, that a source says Gordon should be medically cleared to play soon. Mentioning that his injury is minor and he recently ran at 22 miles per hour on a treadmill in a recent workout.
Gordon was forced out of the Patriots’ Thursday night win over the Giants a few weeks back and was unable to take the field against the Jets. The Pats did just fine without him against Gang Green, but the injury pushed them to trade for Falcons receiver Mohamed Sanu on Tuesday. At the time, the trade was a bit of a head-scratcher. Now, it makes more sense. The Patriots are down a second-round pick after the deal, but they have a quality replacement for Gordon in Sanu.
This development is the next chapter in Gordon’s rollercoaster career. Back in 2013, Gordon was asserting himself as one of the best receivers in football. Even within a mediocre Browns offense, Gordon made 87 receptions for nine touchdowns and a league best 1,646 receiving yards. What fans at the time failed to realize was Gordon’s ongoing battle with substance abuse.
Gordon’s difficulties with substances, especially marijuana, combined with the NFL’s severe substance abuse policy led him to receive numerous suspensions, including a year long ban for the 2015 season. He attempted to return to the Browns in 2016, but failed another drug test and eventually stepped away, missing another season.
He finally returned to the field in 2017 where he appeared in five games for Cleveland and hauled in 18 receptions for 335 yards. In 2018, after starting the season with the Browns, the Patriots decided to take a flier on the receiver and he was in the midst of a productive season before he once again had to step away from football for his own mental health.
The future is once again uncertain for Gordon. Assuming the Patriots do grant Gordon’s release, now that Sanu and Emmanuel Sanders have been traded, other teams in the market for receiving upgrades would surely line up to give Gordon another opportunity.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/23/19
Here are today’s minor transactions:
Cincinnati Bengals
- Released: WR Damion Willis
Denver Broncos
- Claimed: DL Jonathan Harris (from Bears)
Detroit Lions
- Promoted: RB Paul Perkins
Houston Texas
- Promoted: WR Steven Mitchell Jr.
New England Patriots
- Signed: DB Justin Bethel
- Released: DB Jordan Richard, TE Eric Tomlinson
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: LB Stephone Anthony, CB Johnson Bademosi
Philadelphia Eagles
- Placed on IR: DT Hassan Ridgeway
Seattle Seahawks
- Waived: G Jordan Roos
Steelers’ Anthony Chickillo Placed On Exempt List
Steelers linebacker Anthony Chickillo has been placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt List, according to a press release. To replace him, the Steelers have signed linebacker Jayrone Elliott. 
Recently, Chickillo was charged with simple assault, criminal mischief, and harassment after an incident with his girlfriend. He’ll be barred from playing while on the exempt list, but a minimum six-game ban could be in his future, if the NFL’s investigation finds him at fault.
Chickillo was originally drafted by the Steelers in the sixth-round of the 2015 draft. After playing out his rookie deal, he signed a two-year, $8MM deal to remain with the team this past March. Last season, Chickillo played around 28% of the team’s defensive snaps while also serving as a core special teamer.
Elliott has been on and off of the Steelers’ roster for the last couple of months, with his most recent stint ending on Oct. 11. He’s back now with an eye on adding to his career total of 42 appearances.