Antonio Brown To Patriots: Let Me Play
Antonio Brown took to Instagram on Wednesday to address the Patriots. His message: “Tell them to call me. They still gotta pay me, so might as well let me earn it.” (video via Michael Hurley of WBZ). 
Given the circumstances surrounding Brown and the Patriots’ undefeated record without Brown, a reunion seems incredibly unlikely. At this point, it’s unclear as to whether any other NFL team would consider signing the wide receiver.
While Brown petitions the Patriots to put him back on the field, he’s fighting a series of financial battles against the Raiders and Patriots. In total, Brown is seeking roughly $40MM in unpaid salary and bonuses. His grievances are unlikely to be heard until the spring. Reportedly, AB has a good chance of recouping his $9MM signing bonus from the Pats, but the rest is pretty iffy.
In recent weeks, Brown has threatened retirement and has wavered about his desire to continue playing. For what it’s worth, agent Drew Rosenhaus insists that Brown wants to play and that teams are interested, pending the league’s investigation into the assault allegations.
Chiefs Place Xavier Williams On IR
It’s official. On Wednesday, the Chiefs placed defensive tackle Xavier Williams on injured reserve. 
Williams may or may not be a candidate to return later this year. Initial reports indicated that his high ankle sprain could rule him out for 4-6 weeks, which would allow him to return after a minimum of eight weeks on IR.
The Chiefs are also waiting for word on Chris Jones‘ groin strain, so it’s a double dose of defensive holes for the Chiefs. In the meantime, they’ve added defensive tackle Terrell McClain to help fill the gap, as well as offensive lineman Stefan Wisniewski.
Williams posted had eight tackles and one forced fumble in the first five games of the season. Last year, he saw time in every KC contest.
Jaguars’ Jalen Ramsey Returns To Practice
Jalen Ramsey will practice on Wednesday, according to the Jaguars’ daily rundown. It’s a potentially huge development for the star cornerback, who has been away from the team and pushing for a trade. 
Ramsey has not seen live action since Week 3 and has been out of practice with a blend of officially listed reasons. Among them: back issues and the birth of his daughter. Unofficially, many believe that Ramsey has been keeping his distance in an effort to have his trade demand met.
The Jaguars have reportedly stopped considering offers for the soon-to-be 25-year-old and owner Shad Khan wants to lock Ramsey up with the type of extension that he was previously pushing for. Ramsey, at last check, was sticking to his guns. And, according to one report, the Jaguars wouldn’t even trade Ramsey for five first-round picks.
It’s not immediately clear whether Ramsey’s practice participation means that he’ll play against the Saints on Sunday.
Buccaneers Release LB Deone Bucannon
The Buccaneers linebacker Deone Bucannon on Wednesday morning, as ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets. Bucannon was preparing to face the Panthers in London this week, but he’ll now have to shift his focus to finding new employment.
Bucannon, a former first round pick of the Cardinals, might not be out of work for long. He offers some dual-position potential as a safety and, despite the ups and downs of his career, is still only 27.
The Bucs were hoping that Bucannon would pay off on an inexpensive one-year, $2.5MM deal. He did not do much to replace Kwon Alexander in his short run, however, and saw just eight snaps through five games.
Last year, Bucannon finished as one of Pro Football Focus’ worst-graded linebackers in a limited sample of 389 snaps. He’s still looking to reprise the 2015 season in which he broke out with 109 tackles, three sacks, and an interception.
Injury Updates: Rams, Matthews, Giants, Engram
There’s still no official word on when Rams outside linebacker Clay Matthews will return to action, but a realistic return date for him would be after the team’s bye week, head coach Sean McVay told reporters. That would line the veteran up for a Week 10 return on Nov. 10 against the Steelers, restoring one of the Rams’ defensive stars for a second-half push.
While Matthews’ busted jaw heals up, the Rams will face the 49ers in an intrastate matchup on Sunday.
Here’s more on some notable injuries from around the NFL:
- Giants tight end Evan Engram is dealing with a sprained MCL, a source tells ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). It’ll be a challenge for Engram to play against the Patriots on Thursday, Schefter hears, which would leave the club with Rhett Ellison, Garrett Dickerson, and Kaden Smith at TE. Meanwhile, wide receiver Sterling Shepard is out and running back Saquon Barkley is considered unlikely to play.
- 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk suffered an MCL injury on Monday night against the Browns, a source tells NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter). The team should know more after an MRI on Tuesday. Juszczyk may not be a household name, but he’s a key part of SF’s offense.
Jerry Jones: Jason Garrett’s Job Is Safe
The Cowboys are 3-2 after dropping their last two contests, but Jason Garrett isn’t on the hot seat, owner Jerry Jones says (Twitter link via Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News). 
“He’s done a great job with this team. As you saw yesterday, he had this team playing hard when on a lot of teams that game could’ve gotten real ugly when it was (31-3),” Jones pointed out this week, in addition to saying that Garrett is “absolutely not” in jeopardy of losing his job.
Garrett’s job security has frequently been the subject of speculation since he took over as the Cowboys’ head coach during the 2010 season. To date, he has an 80-59 record in Dallas, but has yet to get the Cowboys past the divisional round. Last year, the Cowboys were sent packing by the Rams, who went on to play the Patriots in a remarkably boring Super Bowl.
At 3-2, the Cowboys are knotted up with the Eagles for the NFC East’s leading record. On Oct. 2o (two NFL weeks from now), they’ll have an opportunity to gain some ground.
Jets’ Sam Darnold Cleared To Play
Excellent news for the Jets, Sam Darnold, and Darnold’s spleen – the quarterback has been cleared to play for Sunday against the Cowboys, per an official club announcement. 
With that, Darnold will make his long-awaited return. The QB has been out of action since Week 1 with mononucleosis, rending him too weak to lift a pencil (at least, that’s what they say about mono) and too prone to serious spleen injury. He’ll return to the Jets just in the nick of time – the Jets are 0-4 under new head coach Adam Gase and are already dangerously close to putting themselves out of playoff contention.
These Jets aren’t built for a Super Bowl run, but Gang Green is at least hoping to take a step in the right direction this year. Even without Quincy Enunwa, the Jets may have enough offensive firepower in Darnold, running back Le’Veon Bell, and other key pieces to make some noise and brush up to the .500 mark. They’ve also got a stockpile of defensive talent, though they’ll need some better luck on the injury front in order to capitalize.
After Dallas, the Jets will have a second showdown with the Patriots, followed by games against the Jaguars and Dolphins.
Rob Gronkowski Joins FOX
Rob Gronkowski is returning to football, but not in the way that you might have hoped. Gronk will join FOX’s broadcast team for Sunday NFL broadcasts, Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (Twitter link) hear. 
Gronk retired this offseason, leaving a void in the Patriots’ offense. Granted, the Pats are still 5-0 without him, and even discarded Ben Watson before he could return from his suspension, but any offense would be bolstered by the presence of the future Hall of Famer.
Since retiring, Gronkowski has been open about his own openness to return to the game, eventually.
“My body feels good. I can even take it further physically, and I could play right now,” Gronkowski said in August.
Then again:
“Mentally, the desire to play just isn’t there. I would have to literally just feel that desire – just feel that mentally, that desire to play, to be back out there,” Gronk said. “Like someone is calling my name, I would have to feel that inside. I would have to feel that on a consistent basis. That’s the way I would entertain coming back to football.”
For the time being, the broadcast booth is as close as Gronk will get to the gridiron.
Colts To Work Out LB Marcus Smith
The Colts will take a look at former Eagles first-round pick Marcus Smith on Tuesday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Smith spent time with the Redskins last year but only appeared in two games.
[RELATED: Colts DE Kemoko Turay Done For Year]
Smith would help to fill the gap following the season-ending injury suffered by defensive end Kemoko Turay. However, he wouldn’t be a true replacement for Turay’s production. Turay, a second-round pick in the 2018 draft, notched four sacks as a part-timer last year. Smith, meanwhile, has never amassed more than 2.5 sacks since entering the league as a first-round choice in 2014.
The Colts lost Turay on Sunday, but they won the game against the Chiefs to go 3-2 on the season. After their bye week, they’ll travel to Houston to face the Texans.
Chiefs’ Xavier Williams Headed To IR?
Heads up for teams facing the Chiefs over the next 4-6 weeks: X might not be available to give it to ya. Nose tackle Xavier Williams has been diagnosed with a fairly severe high ankle sprain that will likely rule him out for 4-6 weeks, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. Even if 4-6 weeks is the timetable, Pelissero hears that he could be a candidate for injured reserve.
The league’s IR mandates at least an eight-week absence, which would keep Williams out of action until the late stages of the regular season in December. That’d be a bad blow for the Chiefs, particularly as fellow defensive lineman Chris Jones awaits word on his groin strain. Both Jones and Williams suffered their injuries in Sunday’s loss to the Colts.
Through five weeks, Williams has eight total tackles. He played on roughly 1/3rd of the Chiefs’ defensive snaps through two weeks and saw a serious uptick in Week 3 against the Ravens (44%) and Week 4 against the Lions (49%).
Williams, if nothing else, will be out for Week 6 against the Texans.