Redskins’ Derrius Guice Out Indefinitely
Redskins running back Derrius Guice will be out indefinitely thanks to his most recent knee injury, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets. The silver lining is that the injury is not on the same knee that cost Guice his entire rookie season. 
Guice had surgery on Thursday morning to repair his torn meniscus. Afterwards, Guice met with Dr. James to assess his recovery plans. In the meantime, Guice’s timetable for return remains murky. The belief, for now, is that he will miss somewhere between one month and six weeks of action.
Adrian Peterson wasn’t active for the Redskins’ season opener, but he is expected to take over Guice’s workload in the interim. The Redskins also have Chris Thompson on hand, though Thompson would probably be deployed as more of a pass-catcher out of the backfield.
Latest On Patriots’ Antonio Brown
Bill Belichick faced the media on Wednesday afternoon to discuss Antonio Brown but, as expected, he was light on details regarding the embattled wide receiver. The Patriots’ head coach said that he expected Brown to practice on Wednesday, but would not say whether Brown would be permitted to suit up on Sunday.
Brown was accused of rape in a federal lawsuit, which could result in NFL discipline, among other more serious consequences. That is to say, Brown could be barred from playing by the league office via paid leave, taking the decision out of the Patriots’ hands.
Here’s the latest on Brown:
- In an interview on ESPN, agent Drew Rosenhaus came to the defense of his client: “I wouldn’t be doing this interview if I didn’t believe Antonio. These allegations are false. He denies everyone of them. I’m very confident his legal team has facts that will prove this.”
- Rosenhaus went on to say, “I’ll repeat this. This is a money grab. I believe this: this is a money grab.” The phrase “money grab” also appeared in an official statement from Brown’s attorney on Tuesday night.
- Here’s a snippet from Belichick’s less-than-informative presser: “On Antonio’s situation, both Antonio and his representatives have made statements, so I’m not going to be expanding on any of those. They are what they are. We’ve looked into the situation. We’re taking it very seriously, all the way through the organization. I’m sure there are questions but I’m not going to be entering into any discussion about that.”
- The language of Brown’s contract may allow the Patriots to escape his guarantee, as to Albert Breer of The MMQB tweets. Reportedly, $10MM of Brown’s $15MM 2019 salary is, or was, locked in.
Jets’ Quincy Enunwa Done For Season
Jets wide receiver Quincy Enunwa will miss the remainder of the season with a neck injury, Brian Costello of the New York Post tweets. Sadly, given Enunwa’s previous neck injury, this could be a career-ender for the 27-year-old. 
This is the second time in three seasons that Enunwa’s season ended prematurely due to a neck injury. In 2017, it cost him the entire campaign.
Enunwa suffered the injury in the first quarter of the Jets’ season-opening loss to the Bills. Somehow, he managed to return to action later on, but was targeted just three times in total.
The Jets inked Enunwa to a four-year, $36MM extension back in December. There is no good news here, but the silver lining is that Enunwa will collect on at least $10MM, the fully-guaranteed amount of the pact. He also has $6MM guaranteed for injury in 2020.
The Jets traded for Patriots wide receiver Demaryius Thomas this week, a move that was a bit of a head-scratcher at the time. Now, we know that the deal was about more than Adam Gase reuniting with an old friend – Thomas will attempt to step in for Enunwa, one of the Jets’ most talented offensive players.
NFL Considering Paid Leave For Antonio Brown
The NFL will give serious consideration to placing Antonio Brown on paid leave via the commissioner’s exempt list, multiple people tell Mark Maske of the Washington Post. Brown has been accused of rape and sexual assault in a federal lawsuit filed in Florida and the NFL may take action against him as the legal process begins.
[RELATED: Antonio Brown Accused Of Rape In Lawsuit]
If placed on the exempt list, Brown would be barred from playing. It’s a decision is expected to come this week, after some investigating by the league office, before the Pats take on the Dolphins in Miami. Then again, the NFL could theoretically allow Brown to play for the Pats while the investigation is underway, then later decide to place him on paid leave.
Brown reported to the Patriots’ facility on Wednesday with the expectation that he would participate in practice and meetings. The wide receiver, though his attorney, has denied any wrongdoing and termed the lawsuit as a “money grab.”
The league has used the commissioner’s exempt list to park other notable players in recent years, including Greg Hardy and Adrian Peterson.
Patriots To Sign Marshall Newhouse
The Patriots are signing veteran tackle Marshall Newhouse, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter). Newhouse visited and worked out for the Pats on Monday and the two sides shook on it 48 hours later.
Newhouse should help provide depth at right tackle after starter Marcus Cannon was forced out of Sunday’s win with a shoulder injury. The Pats won’t have to cut anyone to bring him on, either – they had a vacancy after shipping wide receiver Demaryius Thomas to the Jets.
Newhouse was with the Saints this offseason, but didn’t make it through the Labor Day Weekend cut. Last year, he appeared in eleven games for the Panthers and three for the Bills. For his career, Newhouse has 72 starts to his credit.
Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill To Miss 4-6 Weeks
Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill is expected to miss 4-6 weeks, sources tell NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). Recovery from his sternoclavicular joint injury won’t be fun, but on the plus side, the Chiefs are not planning on putting him on injured reserve. If he was placed on IR, Hill would be barred from playing for at least eight weeks. 
It’s a bad blow for the Chiefs, but they might not miss a beat thanks to their collection of outstanding offensive weapons. Wide receiver Sammy Watkins is in the midst of a renaissance and rookie Mecole Hardman offers a similar skillset to the lightning-quick Hill.
Hill opened up his season with two catches for 16 yards and one carry for five yards against the Chiefs before being forced out with his injury. If he misses exactly six weeks, he’ll be back in time to face the Packers on October 27. In the interim, KC faces the Raiders, Ravens, Lions, Colts, Texans, and Broncos.
Raiders’ Johnathan Abram Done For Year?
Raiders safety Johnathan Abram has suffered a serious shoulder injury, according to ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson (on Twitter). The torn rotator cuff combined with a torn labrum will likely a season ender, according to Vic Tafur of The Athletic. The Raiders are expected to place Abram on injured reserve, with no possibility of return. 
The Raiders used one of their three first-round picks to select Abram this year and installed him as a starting safety alongside Karl Joseph. The rookie was lauded for his tenacity throughout the offseason and his energy will be missed by the Raiders much as his production.
Even though he suffered his injury in the first quarter, Abram stayed on the field to play in 77% of the team’s snaps against the Broncos on Monday night.
“That’s the identity we’re trying to bring back: fast, physical and aggressive,” Abram said Monday night. “You come across the middle, we’re going to get you.”
The Raiders are expected to use Curtis Riley in Joseph’s absence with some help from Erik Harris. Tafur suggests that defensive coordinator Paul Guenther could also call up old friend George Iloka, a one-time Bengals standout who remains on the free agent market. In theory, the Raiders could also move nickel corner Lamarcus Joyner back to his native safety position to fill the void.
Patriots Trade Demaryius Thomas To Jets
The Patriots have traded wide receiver Demaryius Thomas to the Jets, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). In exchange, the Jets will send a 2021 sixth-round pick to New England. 
It’s a rare intra-divisional trade for two teams that have a storied history together. But, after the Patriots used draft capital to strengthen their offensive line in August, they were eager to recoup some ammo. Meanwhile, head coach Adam Gase was eager to reunite with Thomas, who was among the league’s best receivers during their time together in Denver.
Thomas is now on to his fourth team in the past year after being traded for the second time in 2019. The first swap saw him traded from the Broncos to the Texans just prior to the 2018 trade deadline. Now, after a cup of coffee with the Pats, he’s on to the Jets.
The Jets believe that Thomas can help them move the chains, even though he’s clearly not the player that he once was. The Patriots, meanwhile, will have the services of newcomer Antonio Brown, one of the game’s greatest receivers of all-time.
Jets’ Nathan Shepherd Facing Ban
Jets defensive lineman Nathan Shepherd wasn’t on the active roster for the Jets’ season opener against the Bills. As it turns out, Shepherd was left out of the game due to a pending six-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs, as Tom Pelissero of NFL.com writes. 
When popped for PEDs, players typically say that they did not knowingly take a banned substance. That’s not the case with the 2018 third-round pick, who celebrated his 26th birthday today.
“All that was going on, I was coming off of a subpar season and a new coaching staff, new playbook, new everything,” said Shepherd, a holdover from one of ex-GM Mike Maccagnan‘s last drafts in office. “In my mindset, I didn’t feel very confident with how everything had gone thus far. In my mind, I was so prepared to come into this offseason and have a successful offseason and train very hard. I felt that because of these limitations, I wasn’t going to be able to do that. I made a rash decision, an unwise decision and a selfish decision to look to certain PEDs in order to help me with that recovery process so I would be ready to go.”
Shepherd explained that he tested positive on June 27 and again on July 25 while rehabbing from shoulder and groin injuries. His shoulder may eventually require surgery and a snag in his sports hernia surgery recovery left him with a herniated L4-L5 disc in his back.
The suspension has not been formally announced yet by the NFL, but that should be coming any moment now. Shepherd’s public confession, in all likelihood, means that he is either not filing an appeal or has already lost his appeal.
Last year, Shepherd tallied 15 tackles while appearing in all 16 games for Gang Green, including five starts.
Jets To Sign K Sam Ficken
The Jets are set to sign kicker Sam Ficken, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Ficken will replace Kaare Vedvik, who missed a field goal and an extra point in the team’s 17-16 loss to the Bills on Sunday. 
Ficken served as Greg Zuerlein‘s injury replacement, but the Rams cut him prior to Zuerlein recovering. Ficken’s brief trial period ended after he missed two of three field goal tries between Weeks 3 and 4 last season. This offseason, he had stints with the Seahawks and Packers, but wound up back on the free agency pile when he missed the cut in Green Bay.
Vedvik, a hybrid kicker/punter specialist, has had a rough offseason. After being traded from the Ravens to the Vikings for a fifth-round pick, he was hoping to fill the Jets’ void at kicker. Instead, he’s now looking for his fourth team in four weeks.