Browns Place TE David Njoku On IR
The Browns have placed tight end David Njoku on injured reserve, according to a team announcement. Njoku suffered a broken wrist in Monday night’s win over the Jets and doctors have determined that he will need a good amount of time to recover. 
Because Njoku will not have surgery, the possibility remains that he will be able to return later on this season. Per league rules, the tight end will be forced to miss a minimum of eight weeks.
In his two games this season, Njoku registered four receptions for 37 yards and one touchdown. In 2018, he had 639 receiving yards and four touchdowns on the year. Many were anticipating another step forward in ’19, but the Browns will have to wait at least another two months before getting another look at him.
Without Njoku, the Browns will turn to Demetrius Harris, Ricky Seals-Jones, and Pharaoh Brown to fill in for the 23-year-old. It’s also likely that Baker Mayfield will look more in the direction of wide receiver Jarvis Landry now that there is one less mouth to be fed.
To take his place on the roster, the Browns have claimed defensive back Juston Burris off waivers from the Raiders. In 38 career games, Burris has 29 tackles, two picks, and seven passes defensed to his credit.
Patriots Release Antonio Brown
The Patriots have released Antonio Brown after just one game with the club. His release comes on the heels of a second round of allegations from his second accuser, who says that he sent her intimidating text messages. 
[RELATED – Accuser Says Brown Sent “Intimidating” Text Messages]
“The New England Patriots are releasing Antonio Brown. We appreciate the hard work of many people over the past 11 days, but we feel that it is best to move in a different direction at this time,” the team said in a statement.
New England is set to pay him $5MM of his $9MM signing bonus on Monday. The entire signing bonus is guaranteed, meaning that the Patriots and Brown are likely scheduled to rumble over whether the wide receiver will collect on it.
Cash aside, it’s unlikely that Brown will find another NFL home anytime soon. Then again, we’ve seen crazier things happen in the league.
While Brown faces civil suits from both of his accusers, he does not currently face any criminal charges. Recently, the Allegheny County District Attorney announced that he would not pursue charges against Brown for two 2017 events alleged by Brittney Taylor. It’s still possible that criminal charges arise from his alleged 2018 dalliance with Taylor, or from his interactions with the second anonymous accuser, known simply to be an “artist.”
Brown’s total stay in New England lasted just eleven days. He was the 72nd player in NFL history to catch a touchdown pass from Tom Brady and that could go down as his only on-field moment of note for the Patriots.
Jaguars Owner Shad Khan Willing To Give Jalen Ramsey Record-Breaking Deal
Tensions have been boiling between the Jaguars and Jalen Ramsey for quite some time. The cornerback wants out, but owner Shad Khan doesn’t necessarily want to let him get away, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports. 
The assumption has been that Jacksonville’s game against Tennessee last night would be Ramsey’s last in a Jaguars uniform. After all, Ramsey, who is due for a massive contract in the near future, requested a trade earlier this week, and virtually all of the league’s other 31 teams have expressed at least some degree of interest. Plus, the Jags have received multiple trade offers that include a first-round draft choice heading to Jacksonville, though it doesn’t sound as if a rival club has dangled two first-rounders, which is what the Jaguars are reportedly seeking.
But Khan apparently wants to continue building around Ramsey, one of the league’s best corners, and he’s willing to pony up record-breaking cash to do it. Presently, Miami’s Xavien Howard is at the top of the cornerback market in terms of total contract value ($75.25MM) and AAV ($15.05MM), while Washington’s Josh Norman is the pacesetter in terms of fully-guaranteed money ($36.5MM). Given his youth and track record, Ramsey should easily clear those numbers.
However, Ramsey is dissatisfied with at least one member of the club’s front office, and while we don’t know for sure, it’s reasonable to guess that he and executive VP Tom Coughlin don’t have the warmest of relationships. Perhaps a contract that far exceeds those of other top corners will be the salve that keeps Ramsey in Jacksonville for the long haul (unless another team does offer two first-round draft picks for him, which would be very difficult for Khan to turn down).
Ramsey refused to talk about his trade demand after last night’s win.
Rory Parks contributed to this post.
Accuser: Antonio Brown Sent “Intimidating” Text Messages
Antonio Brown won’t be facing criminal charges for two of the three sexual assault he’s being accused of, but he could still be in jeopardy with the NFL and the legal system. The latest accusation from Brown’s second accuser, if proven to be true, could easily take the Patriots star off of the field. 
Brown’s accuser claims she received threatening text messages from the wide receiver on Wednesday, as Robert Klemko of The MMQB writes. In turn, her lawyer notified the NFL of the matter on Thursday night and included screenshots of the text in his letter to the league office.
Brown, she says, texted her and three other people to encourage the other parties to dig into the woman’s past. In response, the accuser’s lawyer petitioned the NFL to take action against Brown for “intimidating and threatening” her client in what she views as a “violation of the NFL Personal Conduct Policy.”
Brown’s lawyer, Darren Heitner, was one of the people in the group text. He did not respond to the messages in the group chat and declined to comment when asked about the messages by Klemko.
Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports says the NFL is meeting with the accuer’s lawyer’s today (Twitter link). As of this writing, Brown is slated to take the field for the Patriots on Sunday afternoon when they face the Jets, but that could change in a matter of hours. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk says AB has been caught with a smoking gun and suggests that the NFL and the Patriots should take swift and severe action against him.
In his meeting with the media today, Pats HC Bill Belichick said the team was “looking into” the latest incident but would not offer further comment. When he was asked again about Brown, Belichick cut the press conference short by walking off the podium.
NFL To Investigate Dolphins’ Tanking?
The Dolphins claim they aren’t tanking, but their fans are skeptical of that. Turns out, the NFL is a bit skeptical, too. The league’s competition committee is likely to look into whether the Dolphins have purposefully stripped down their team in 2019 in order to lose games and secure the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 draft. 
“The committee will probably have the questions posed to it again, if not by the media, maybe by teams,” a league source told Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic. “It’s likely the competition committee will have to address this issue.”
The committee would certainly have a good case to make, should they prob into the Dolphins’ affairs. In the last few weeks, the Dolphins have unloaded young stars Minkah Fitzpatrick and Laremy Tunsil in exchange for draft capital. Meanwhile, they’ve been outscored 102-10 through two weeks of the season.
“It’s a bad look,” said one team source.
There is some precedent for the league looking into potential tanking. Five years ago, the committee questioned the Browns’ motives, but ultimately did not take action.
This time around, it’s possible that the NFL will give real thought to installing a lottery system for the draft, similar to the NBA.
Almost Every NFL Team In On Jalen Ramsey
Jalen Ramsey is on the block, and just about every NFL team is interested, as Josina Anderson of ESPN.com tweets. Specifically, the Chiefs, Ravens, Vikings, Raiders, Eagles, and Seahawks have all made “substantive inquiries” on the Jaguars cornerback, Anderson reports.
At this point, it feels like a certainty that Ramsey will be traded. And that deal is expected to go down soon. The Jags are reportedly hoping to move Ramsey on Friday, though he’ll still suit up for Thursday night’s game against the Titans. 
In an interesting twist, the Titans also expressed interest in Ramsey, Dianna Russini of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears, though the price proved to be too high for them and some other interested teams. That, sadly, rules out a scenario like the famed 1978 76ers/Nets trade that saw Eric Money (real name) play, and score, for both teams in the same game (kidding).
In any sport, it’s dicey to put a player on the field when he’s on the verge of being traded. That’s especially true in football, but if this week’s rumblings are true, then the Jaguars will be willing to roll the dice for their national TV game against Tennessee.
After that, Ramsey will likely suit up for another club, but he won’t be eligible to play twice in the same week.
Panthers’ Cam Newton Unlikely To Play Vs. Cardinals
The Panthers are unlikely to have Cam Newton in uniform when they face the Cardinals on Sunday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. If Newton is sidelined, the Panthers will turn to Kyle Allen as their starter. 
Newton’s foot sprain recovery has come along much slower than expected and his outlook for the rest of the season is murky, at best. Through two games, it’s clear that Newton is playing at far below 100% strength – he has yet to score a touchdown via the air or ground, and he completed just 49% of his passes in a rough outing against the Bucs last week.
The Panthers are hoping for an inverse of their 2018 season, which saw a strong beginning and a bumpy finish. After a 6-2 start, they went 1-7 as Newton battled a shoulder issue. That achey shoulder ultimately landed Newton on the bench for the final two games of the campaign.
After the Cardinals, the 0-2 Panthers will face the Texans and Jaguars in Weeks 4 and 5.
Cardinals Inquire On Jalen Ramsey
The Cardinals might not be the leaders in the clubhouse for Jalen Ramsey, but they’re at least interested. The Cardinals don’t believe they’ll land the standout cornerback, but they did speak with the Jaguars about him, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears. 
They also restructured the contract of linebacker Chandler Jones this week, Schefter hears, giving them an additional $4MM in cap flexibility this season. That’s money that could, in theory, be put towards acquiring Ramsey and giving him the top-of-the-market extension that he seeks.
Here’s where things stand on the Ramsey front: The Jaguars are asking two first-round picks in a trade, but clubs have yet to meet their asking price. So far, they’ve received offers of one first-round choice from two different clubs, and teams could up the ante as time moves on. Ramsey will be in uniform for the Jaguars’ Thursday night game against the Titans, but it sounds like the Jags are hoping to trade him on Friday. The Raiders are among the teams with interest in the standout corner and most of the league’s teams want him as well.
Schefter also passes along this interesting note, via Twitter – Earlier this week, one team reached out to the league office and asked whether Ramsey could play on Sunday for a new club after he played Thursday for Jacksonville. The league informed the team that Ramsey could not, as league rules restrict players to one game per week.
Jets Doubt Trumaine Johnson’s Commitment
Trumaine Johnson is in Year Two of a five-year, $72.5MM deal. And the Jets do not believe that he loves the sport of football, sources tell Manish Mehta of the Daily News. This is, perhaps, an indication that a divorce could be just around the corner, even though it would be costly for Gang Green. 
Johnson, for his part, says he’s still committed to being the best player he can be.
“Of course I love football,” Johnson said. “I’ve been doing it all my life. I’m passionate about it. It’s my life. It’s not a job to me. I love what I do.”
For what it’s worth, Johnson showed more passion in his response than head coach Adam Gase did when explaining why he benched Johnson for the bulk of Monday night’s loss to the Browns.
“We just decided not to play him,” said Gase.
Johnson, a breakout star with the Rams, has also been held back by injuries during his Jets tenure. Johnson missed five games last year due to a lingering quad injury and some Jets officials feel that he could have played through the injury, Mehta hears. It’s also worth noting that Johnson missed another game due to a suspension for tardiness.
Johnson, 29, is signed through 2022. Releasing him now would saddle the Jets with $24MM in dead money, with no cap benefit. The Jets could consider cutting ties with Johnson after this season, prior to his $11MM base salary becoming fully guaranteed on the third day of the league year. That move would save the Jets $3MM against the cap, but would still leave them with $12MM in dead money.
Antonio Brown Won’t Face Criminal Charges For Alleged 2017 Incidents
The Allegheny County District Attorney will not pursue criminal charges against Patriots wide receiver Antonio Brown for two alleged incidents that took place in 2017 (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). Former Brown cohort Brittney Taylor has accused him of three separate incidents, in total, so he is not necessarily out of the woods in terms of legal repercussions. It is presently unclear whether Brown will face charges for the third alleged incident, which is said to have taken place in May of 2018.
The DA will not pursue charges against Brown for these two alleged sexual assaults, which Taylor says took place in June of 2017, due to the statute of limitations. That is to say, the DA is not speaking to the merits of the accusations one way or another by declining to press charges.
While football is secondary in this entire matter, we must note that this will potentially impact Brown’s availability for the Patriots moving forward. If no charges, or convictions, come any of Taylor’s three separate accusations of sexual assault, it is possible that Brown will not face league discipline. Of course, the league office still reserves the right to suspend Brown based on the results of their own investigation.
In his Patriots debut on Sunday, Brown caught four passes for 56 yards and one touchdown. This week, he’s slated to turn his attention to the Jets. Brown’s status is very much day-to-day due to the issues surrounding him, but the NFL typically makes these types of rulings on players by Wednesday morning of any given game week. Barring something unforeseen, the Patriots will have Brown on the field at the Meadowlands.