Cardinals S Tyvon Branch Has Torn ACL
The Cardinals lost more than a game on Thursday night. Cardinals safety Tyvon Branch suffered a torn ACL in the defeat, a source tells Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). He’ll be placed on season-ending injured reserve.
Bruce Arians confirmed this diagnosis Friday afternoon and added Branch will undergo surgery.
Branch started in all nine of the Cardinals’ games this season, giving himself a larger-than-anticipated role following the addition of Antoine Bethea in free agency. His season ends with 66 total tackles, six passes defensed, and one forced fumble.
Branch, 31 in December, was initially slated to earn $4MM on the backend of a two-year, $8MM contract. Instead, he agreed to cut his salary in half. He’ll be a free agent after the season so it’s possible that he has played his final game for the Cardinals.
Between 2009 and 2011, Branch was considered one of the top safeties in the game. He’s no longer an elite player, but he has shown that he can still play at a high level.
Lions Waived/Injured OT Greg Robinson
The Lions have waived-injured offensive tackle Greg Robinson. After dropping the former No. 2 overall pick in the draft, the Lions are left with an open spot on the 53-man roster. 
[RELATED: Lions Waive Tim Lelito]
The Lions acquired Robinson via trade with the Rams in June after Taylor Decker suffered a torn labrum. Fortunately, Decker is on the verge of returning from the injury, so Robinson is now expendable.
Robinson, 25, appeared in six games for Detroit and started in each contest. However, he missed the last two games due to an ankle injury and his status for Sunday’s game against the Browns was up in the air prior to his release.
Before joining up with the Lions, Robinson started in 42 of 46 appearances with the Rams. The advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus rated him among the league’s worst tackles in each of his first three seasons.
Robinson was due a $3.3MM salary in 2017, the final year of his contract.
Martellus Bennett Has Torn Rotator Cuff
The Packers waived tight end Martellus Bennett because he had a torn rotator cuff, sources tell Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). He may or may not try to play through the injury. If he can’t, the Patriots could simply place him on injured reserve. 
[RELATED: Patriots Claim TE Martellus Bennett]
There are varying degrees to rotator cuff tears and, presumably, Bennett is not dealing with a complete tear. A partial tear could help to explain his mediocre production in 2017. In seven games for the Packers, Bennett had just 24 grabs for 233 yards and zero touchdowns.
Bennett has indicated that he will retire after the 2017 season, so he might be willing to play through the pain without fear of the additional damage he might do to his shoulder. If he can gut it out, he might just have a chance at winning a second consecutive Super Bowl ring with the Patriots. This time around, he won’t have to be on the field as much thanks to Rob Gronkowski being healthy and the presence of Dwayne Allen.
Seahawks’ Richard Sherman Done For Year
Richard Sherman‘s season is over. Seahawks coach Pete Carroll confirmed to reporters after Thursday night’s game that Sherman has suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon (Twitter link via Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times). The cornerback will be placed on injured reserve in the coming days. 
Sherman told reporters, including Gregg Bell of The News Tribune (Twitter link) that his Achilles has been bothering him since the Rams game back on Oct. 8. He figured it would rupture eventually, but he wanted to keep playing for his teammates. Tonight, he heard a pop and his worst fears were confirmed by doctors in the locker room.
The Seahawks’ options for out-of-house reinforcements are somewhat limited now that the trade deadline has passed. Vontae Davis will be a free agent once he formally clears waivers on Friday, but he is said to be considering season-ending groin surgery. For now, the Seahawks seem likely to fill from within using Justin Coleman, Neiko Thorpe, and Jeremy Lane alongside Shaquill Griffin. It’s also possible that DeShawn Shead will be able to return from IR at some point this year.
Sherman is in the third year of a four-year, $56MM contract extension he inked with the Seahawks back in 2014. The deal calls for a cap number of $13.6MM this year followed by $13.2MM in 2018. In theory, if the Seahawks wanted to put their resources in another direction, they could release Sherman and save $11MM against the cap while carrying just $2.2MM in dead money.
Sherman is still among the league’s best cornerbacks, but it’s a situation to keep an eye on if he does not regain all of his explosiveness after surgery. The Seahawks may seek to tamp down his 2018 cap number, perhaps via a pay cut or a more team-friendly extension.
This marks Sherman’s first incomplete season since entering the league as a fifth-round pick in the 2011 draft. In his six previous seasons, he had perfect regular season attendance while earning five Pro Bowl nods and two First-Team All-Pro selections.
Latest On Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott
The latest ruling in the Ezekiel Elliott saga will put his six-game suspension into motion starting with this Sunday’s game against the Falcons. He still has options to fight the ban, but it will take a while before he can realistically get another legal intervention. Elliott’s expedited appeal in front of the Second Circuit court is scheduled for December 1st, as Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. 
The Cowboys have four games between now and 12/1, so Elliott will almost certainly miss games against the Falcons, Eagles, Chargers, and Redskins. After that, Elliott will have to assess whether to fight the league on the remaining two games. In theory, it seems possible that Elliott could stave off the final two games of his scheduled suspension only to have the ban reinstated in the postseason (assuming the Cowboys qualify).
The Cowboys are 5-3 heading into Sunday’s game with Atlanta. They have serious ground to make up in order to catch the 8-1 Eagles for the NFC East crown and they’ll have to do it without their best offensive weapon – at least for the next month.
California Notes: Raiders, Janikowski, Rams
A quick look at the Raiders and Rams:
- Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie says he won’t hurry Sebastian Janikowski back from injured reserve. “You don’t have to rush him back; that’s for sure. Giorgio [Tavecchio] has really stepped up to the plate.” (Twitter link via Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review Journal). Janikowski w
- When asked if NaVorro Bowman could be a long-term option for the Raiders at middle linebacker, McKenzie answered in the affirmative (Twitter link via Matt Schneidman of the Bay Area News Group). Bowman, 30 in May, is playing on a one-year deal that can max out at $3MM. He’ll be eligible for free agency in March.
- Rams backup running back Malcolm Brown will be “out for a little bit of time” with an injured MCL, as Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com writes. His absence could open the door for Lance Dunbar, currently on PUP, to get back on the field. It’s not yet clear whether Brown will require surgery.
Eagles, Timmy Jernigan Agree To Extension
The Eagles and Timmy Jernigan have agreed to terms on a four-year, $48MM extension, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The new deal will pay the defensive tackle $26MM fully guaranteed and keep him under control through the 2021 season.
Jernigan came to the Eagles via an April trade with the Ravens. All it cost the Eagles was dropping down 25 spots in the third round of the 2017 draft, a deal that seems like a brilliant move in hindsight. Signing Bennie Logan was Philly’s first priority in free agency, but they probably wound up better off with their Plan B.
Playing alongside Fletcher Cox, Jernigan has amassed 17 tackles and 1.5 sacks through nine games. Jernigan also stepped up in a big way while Cox dealt with a calf injury earlier this year. The 25-year-old suffered an ankle injury of his own on Sunday, but he is expected to play in the Eagles’ post-bye contest against Dallas on Nov. 19.
The Eagles are projected to be a little tight on cap space heading into the offseason, but Jernigan was among their top priorities. Many of their top front seven players are now signed through at least 2020, including Fletcher Cox, Timmy Jernigan, Vinny Curry, and Derek Barnett.
Last year, Jernigan finished out as the league’s 42nd best interior defensive lineman, according to Pro Football Focus, putting him ahead of names like Ricky Jean-Francois, Corey Peters, and Cullen Jenkins.
Patriots Claim TE Martellus Bennett
The Patriots have claimed former Packers tight end Martellus Bennett, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The deal brings Bennett back to the team where he thrived in 2016 and won a Super Bowl ring. To make room, defensive end Geneo Grissom has been cut.
Bennett was stellar with the Patriots in 2016, hauling in 55 receptions for 701 yards and seven touchdowns. However, he was a total dud after signing a lucrative free agent deal with the Packers. In seven games, he had just 24 receptions, 233 yards, and zero touchdowns in seven games. Some in Green Bay believe that Bennett starting phoning it in after Aaron Rodgers went down with a broken collarbone.
By claiming Bennett, the Patriots assume the remainder of the veteran’s three-year, $21MM deal. However, much of his Year 1 salary was already paid out to him via signing bonus. Bennett is due just $423K for the rest of the season.
Initially, it was believed that Bennett would likely pass through waivers unclaimed. While he may have been checked out with the Packers, the Patriots are apparently confident that he will pick up right where he left off.
Last month, Bennett announced that he is considering retirement after the 2017 season. It remains to be seen whether his relocation to New England will change his mind about hanging up the cleats. If he can be productive once again, this could prove to be one of the greatest “rentals” in league history.
Bennett will now join a TE group headlined by Rob Gronkowski and Dwayne Allen. After Grissom was cut, it appears that Jacob Hollister will remain on the 53-man roster for now as the fourth TE.
Ezekiel Elliott’s Suspension Is Back On
The latest legal volley in the Ezekiel Elliott case has gone in the NFL’s favor. The Second Circuit has ruled in favor of the Cowboys’ running back. His six-game suspension goes into effect immediately, meaning that he will not be eligible to return until Dec. 24 against the Seahawks unless there is another ruling to shift things back in his favor. 
The “good news” for Elliott is that his appeal will be heard on an expedited basis. It’s possible that he will be able to get another ruling from the courts before the six-game suspension ends.
Today’s hearing lasted only 30 minutes and ended without a ruling right away. Minutes later, however, the judging panel came back with a verdict to deny Elliott’s request for an injunction.
While Elliott is out, the Cowboys are expected to lean on Alfred Morris, Rod Smith, and Darren McFadden to keep the running game moving. Those three cannot offer the same explosiveness as Elliott, but it’s as good of a Plan B as anyone could have in the NFL.
Elliott, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2016 draft, has 783 yards and seven touchdowns off of 191 carries this season (4.1 yards per carry). He also has 19 catches for 210 yards and two scores.
Assuming the ban holds up, Elliott will miss games against the Falcons, Eagles, Chargers, Redskins, Giants, and Raiders.
Ezekiel Elliott Rumors: Thursday
On Thursday afternoon, a hearing convened on the Ezekiel Elliott injunction that wasn’t originally supposed to happen. Reportedly, Elliott’s camp saw the hearing, which was not an automatic to happen, as a positive.
Here’s the latest on that hearing and where things stand for the Cowboys’ star running back:
- The hearing ended after 30 minutes without a decision and there is no timetable for a ruling (Twitter link via Dan Graziano of ESPN.com). If no ruling comes down by the end of the business day on Friday, Elliott will presumably in action on Sunday against the Falcons.
- If the next ruling does go in the NFL’s favor, his six-game ban will start immediately. “The moment the stay is lifted, the suspension is enforced,” league spokesman Joe Lockhart said (via the Dallas News’ David Moore). “Whatever time that happens, it’s enforced. If the result is some extension to hear further arguments, the suspension is stayed. This is very much in the court’s hands right now. They will dictate when the suspension will start.”
- The judges asked the NFLPA what difference it would have made to have Elliott’s accuser testify at the arbitration hearing, as requested by Elliott’s camp (Twitter link via Kate Hairopoulos of the Dallas Morning News).
- They also wondered how NFL investigators could suspend Elliott on a “credible evidence” standard when they admitted to finding credibility issues with the accuser (Twitter links). The league replied that the credibility issues were about only two of the five alleged incidents and Elliott was not punished for those.