AFC East Notes: Jets, Bowles, Dolphins
There was some talk of Todd Bowles being on the hot seat earlier this year, but it’s now time for the Jets to commit to the head coach with an extension, Manish Mehta of the Daily News argues. Bowles’ current deal expires after the 2018 season.
“His message never changed. He never wavered. He never complained. That was huge for us. That kind of steadiness for us is bearing fruit right now. It’s why we won the game [against the Chiefs on Sunday],” quarterback Josh McCown said. “Because of how he handles himself and carries himself day in and day out.”
Many believed that the Jets were doomed to be cellar-dwellers in 2017, but they are 5-7 including competitive losses against the Patriots and Panthers. Giving Bowles an extension – even a one-year add-on – could give the Jets a sense of stability going forward.
Here’s more from the AFC East:
- Julius Thomas is unlikely to be back with the Dolphins at his scheduled salary cap hit of $6.6MM, but it seems possible that he could be back with the team at a reduced salary, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald writes. Thomas hasn’t put up the monster numbers that were once expected of him, but the tight end has been quietly productive. “I see it different than it seems everyone else does,” coach Adam Gase said. “He’s done everything I’ve asked him to do. I wish there’s been situations we’ve called plays for him and haven’t been able to get the ball to him either by coverage or the ball didn’t go there for whatever reason. When we’ve asked him to do things in the running game he’s given me max effort. He’s been there every day for us in practice and at games. Yeah, would I love him to have 12 touchdowns? Sure. We haven’t been able to have that many snaps until the last five games. That’s where he’s made his money. I think he’s had the third-most touchdown catches in the NFL since 2013 or something like that. He’s done exactly what we’ve asked. [Sunday] was a good example. That’s a big play. We wanted to get up. That’s the first guy I went to.”
- Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski has been hit with a one-game ban for his after-the-whistle hit on Bills cornerback TreDavious White.
NFL Suspends Steelers’ Smith-Schuster, Bengals’ Iloka
Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and Bengals safety George Iloka have each been suspended one game for violations of safety-related playing rules on Monday night. The league announced the suspensions in a press release on Tuesday, and has already denied an appeal by Smith-Schuster. 
In his letter to Smith-Schuster notifying him of the suspension, NFL Vice President of Football Operations Jon Runyan slammed his unsportsmanlike conduct in his illegal hit on Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict. Runyan also noted of Smith-Schuster’s taunting:
“You are suspended for the dangerous and unsportsmanlike acts you committed during the fourth quarter of last night’s game. Specifically, with 7:10 remaining, on a passing play to a running back, you lined up a defender and delivered a violent and unnecessary blindside shot to his head and neck area. You then “celebrated” the play by standing over him and taunting him. The contact you made with your opponent placed the opposing player at risk of serious injury and could have been avoided. Your conduct following the hit fell far below the high standards of sportsmanship expected of an NFL player.”
Smith-Schuster is appealing his one-game suspension, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Per the collective bargaining agreement, his appeal will be heard by either Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Brooks or former NFL receiver James Thrash.
Meanwhile, Iloka will serve a one-game ban for his helmet to helmet hit on Antonio Brown with 3:55 left in the game. He’ll miss Sunday’s game against the Bears while Smith-Schuster will be forced out of Sunday’s primetime matchup against the Ravens.
Latest On Jerry Jones, Roger Goodell
League owners may have found a way to give Roger Goodell a new contract while placating Jerry Jones. The solution may be to slash other high salaries at the league office and reduce the money spent on NFL investigations and lawsuits, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com hears. 
Other owners share Jones’ sentiments about the spending at the league’s Park Ave. headquarters, so this could easily be ratified at the next owner’s meeting on Dec. 13 at Texas. Jones would be less-than-thrilled about Goodell getting his lucrative new extension, but he doesn’t have much say in the matter. Although he still wields a great deal of influence, the league says that the decision on Goodell’s contract will be made solely by the Compensation Committee, a group comprised of six other owners.
There was some talk about an informal meeting taking place in December that could effectively solidify Goodell’s contract. In comments made to 105.3 The Fan in Dallas on Tuesday, Jones sounded confident that nothing would be agreed upon until the full meeting.
“We’re going to have a meeting here in Dallas in about 10 days on the 13th,” Jones said (transcript via PFT) . “We should have a real good airing out of some of the things that we’ve been reading about, and in the meantime I’ve been having a lot of conversations with a lot of owners.”
Broncos’ Derek Wolfe Done For Season
Derek Wolfe‘s neck injury will not require surgery, but he says that he will act on his doctor’s advice and sit out for the remainder of the year. Wolfe will be placed on injured reserve, opening up a spot on the roster for another player in the team’s final four games. 
“As much as I’d like to get back out there and keep playing, when a spinal doctor tells you that you can lose use of your right arm if you don’t rest and heal properly, you listen,’’ Wolfe told Mike Klis of 9NEWS. “I don’t want to lose the use of my right arm. I’m happy because he said I wouldn’t need surgery which would have meant all kinds of crazy things. But he said there’s no way you should play football the next two months.’’
The loss of Wolfe takes Denver’s best defensive end off of the field, but this final month doesn’t mean a whole lot for the 3-9 Broncos. By resting up, Wolfe will avoid the potential of a much more serious injury and, hopefully, allow himself to be ready for Week 1 of the 2018 season.
Wolfe, 28 in February, finishes out the year with two sacks and 31 total tackles. He has 24.5 sacks to his credit over six seasons and the Broncos are banking on that same kind of production for years to come. The four-year, $37.6MM contract signed by Wolfe in 2016 is scheduled to keep him in place through the 2019 campaign.
Bears May Shut Down Kyle Long
Kyle Long‘s season could be over. The Bears could park the offensive guard on the bench after he exited Sunday’s game with a shoulder injury. 
“I think that’s a possibility,” coach John Fox said (via Patrick Finley of the Sun-Times). “Again I don’t want to say yes, I don’t want to say no at this point.”
It’s a lost season for the 3-9 Bears, so there’s not much reason to keep Long on the field in light of his lengthy injury history. Last offseason, Long underwent ankle surgery after he “tore everything but his Achilles.” This year, he continues to deal with pain in that area plus a nasty finger injury. He has managed to play in more than 62% of the Bears’ snaps this season, but his 73.8 overall score from Pro Football Focus is a career low.
Long is under contract with the Bears through 2021 thanks to the four-year contract extension he signed with the Bears last fall. He is scheduled to carry a $8.848MM cap number in 2018.
Colts Place Pierre Desir On IR
The Colts have placed starting cornerback Pierre Desir on injured reserve. He suffered a muscle tear in his shoulder over the weekend that will require several weeks of recovery. The team has also announced that they have signed running back Matt Jones to fill the open spot on the roster.
Desir was claimed by the Colts in September after he missed the Seahawks’ initial 53-man cut. The 27-year-old quickly impressed coaches and found himself with a prominent role behind top corners Nate Hairston and Rashaan Melvin. Melvin is dealing with a hand injury of his own, so the Colts will have to dig deep at the cornerback position the rest of the way.
Desir appeared in nine games (six starts) for the Colts, finishing out with career highs in passes defensed (7) and total tackles (32).
Titans Place DaQuan Jones On IR
DaQuan Jones‘ season is over. On Monday, the Titans announced that the defensive lineman is being placed on injured reserve with a biceps injury. Taking his place on the roster will be tight end Luke Stocker, who has signed a two-year deal with the team. 
The timing of the injury is unfortunate for Jones as he looks ahead to free agency in March. The 25-year-old (26 later this month) looked strong in recent weeks as he recorded 3.5 sacks in the last two games. He currently ranks as Pro Football Focus’ No. 40 ranked interior defender out of 117 qualified players, so he should still draw some interest on the open market.
Stocker Stocker, 29, recently became available when the Buccaneers cut him loose. The former fourth-round pick appeared in three games for Tampa Bay this year, amassing just three catches for 18 yards and one score. He has never caught more than 16 passes in a season, but he does offer above-average blocking skills.
NFL Suspends Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski
Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski has been suspended for Week 14, the NFL announced. Gronkowski hit Bills cornerback TreDavious White after he intercepted a pass and fell down on his return. The tight end was, surprisingly, not ejected from the game, but he will pay the price for it nonetheless. Gronkowski plans to appeal, Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report (on Twitter) hears. 
The Patriots will be without Gronk when they take on the Dolphins on Monday night. He will be eligible to return for Week 15 when the Pats travel to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers.
In his letter to Gronkowski, NFL Vice President of Football Operations Jon Runyan wrote the following:
“Your actions were not incidental, could have been avoided and placed the opposing player at risk of serious injury. The Competition Committee has clearly expressed its goal of ‘eliminating flagrant hits that have no place in our game.’ Those hits include the play you were involved in yesterday.”
There’s never a good time to lose a top weapon like Gronkowski, but the Patriots are in no real danger of missing the playoffs. At 10-2, they hold a virtually insurmountable lead over Buffalo for the AFC East crown. According to the playoff odds at Football Outsiders, the Patriots have a 99.97% chance of reaching the postseason.
However, the ban will hurt Gronkowski’s wallet. Not only will he miss out on $281K in lost salary, but the missed game may also impact his incentives package. The tight end’s contract includes three different tiers of incentives and he may wind up having to settle for the lowest one rather than the second-ranked tier that he was previously on target for. If that’s the case, then the ban may effectively cost him about $2.3MM.
Dwayne Allen and Jacob Hollister currently stand as the Patriots’ only tight ends on the active roster. Former Giants standout Will Tye is on the practice squad, so he could be in line for a one-week promotion.
Jeff Fisher Looking To Coach Again
Jeff Fisher is putting the wheels in motion for a return to coaching. The former Rams and Titans head coach has begun “contacting potential staff members,” sources tell Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. 
The Rams canned Fisher in the middle of the 2016 season. The relocation to Los Angeles did not give Fisher the clean slate he was hoping for and he’s now eager to salvage his legacy, La Canfora hears.
It remains to be seen whether teams will seriously entertain Fisher. In his nearly five year run with the Rams, Fisher went just 31-45-1 with zero playoff appearances. He had better success with the Titans, though they reached the Super Bowl just once in his 17 years. All in all, Fisher owns a career 173-165-1 regular season record.
The number of potential head coaching vacancies this offseason could give Fisher a puncher’s chance, however. By our count, there could be as many as ten teams looking for a new head coach this offseason, including the Giants. Some in the football world have suggested to La Canfora that the Browns could consider someone like Fisher given their inability to recruit top candidates in the past.
Latest On Giants’ Coach, GM Search
Ben McAdoo‘s stint in New York was short and ended without a championship, but he did make history in his own way. McAdoo was at the helm for just 28 regular-season games, giving him the lowest total by a Giants head coach since 1930 (as noted by Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, via Twitter). In that season, Benny Friedman spent two games as a co-player-coach.
Starting today, the Giants are officially looking to fill vacancies at head coach and GM. Here’s the latest out of New York/New Jersey:
- Giants owner John Mara says his “very strong preference” is to have a separate head coach and GM. However, he does not rule out a dual role if the right candidate emerges (Twitter link via Ralph Vacchiano of SNY).
- Mara says that both interim hires (GM Kevin Abrams and head coach Steve Spagnuolo) will be interviewed for the full-time jobs (Twitter link via Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL.com). Personally, I don’t think the odds are in Spagnuolo’s favor, even though he is well-regarded by the organization. After a disastrous 2017 season, it seems more likely that the Giants will opt for a reset when it comes to the next head coach.
- Reese was not responsible for the firing of Tom Coughlin and subsequent hiring of McAdoo, Kinkhabwala tweets. When Coughlin was fired, Reese advocated for two candidates over McAdoo.
- Former Giants GM Ernie Accorsi has agreed to serve as a consultant in the GM search, Mara announced (Twitter link via team). The owner added that it is possible that a GM hire will be made before the season is through, noting that the team already has some names in mind (Twitter link via Kinkhabwala).
- Mara says that McAdoo is the one who initially came up with the plan to bench Eli Manning (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson).