Steelers: We Won’t Trade Martavis Bryant
Martavis Bryant is unhappy with his role in the Steelers’ offense, but the team says he’s not going anywhere. On Tuesday, coach Mike Tomlin told reporters that he is “not available” via trade, adding that the team has invested too much in Bryant to bail on him (Twitter link via Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). 
Tomlin’s assertion comes just after Bryant made some very pointed comments to ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson (Facebook link). Bryant says that he hopes to make things work in Pittsburgh, but he also says that he needs to see an uptick in targets right away.
“By the end of whenever the trade deadline is,” Bryant said when asked about his own personal deadline for a change in the offense. “I mean if things don’t get better, than I got to go.”
Bryant says that he wants to have a bigger role in offense, in part, because of his desire to support his family. Bryant will be eligible for free agency following the 2018 season.
“I feel like it’s going to come down to whether we make changes or not, whether they try to include me more or not. If they don’t try to include me more and continue to do the same thing, then I want out period,” Bryant said. “I love my team. I love my brothers. I love being here. I love the city, but I have a family and everything going on now is about taking care of my family.”
Regardless, the Steelers say they’re sticking with Bryant, even though he took the unusual step of calling out sick on Monday with an illness. The tentative plan is for Bryant to return to the Steelers for Wednesday’s meetings and practice, a source tells ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler (Twitter link).
Marshawn Lynch’s Suspension Upheld
Marshawn Lynch‘s one-game ban has been upheld, the NFL announced on Tuesday. The Raiders running back was ejected from Thursday night’s game for making contact with an official. 
The suspension was something of a no-brainer and so was the rejection of Lynch’s appeal. However, Lynch’s team gave it the old college try, citing past instances in which players were not ejected from games after making contact with officials.
In addition to the suspension, Lynch has been fined upwards of $30K and will lose out on $79K in weekly base salary plus an extra $31K in gameday active roster bonus money. All in all, Lynch’s mistake will cost him more than $140K.
When the Raiders take on the Bills this week, they’ll likely split running back duty between DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard. Lynch’s bruising power will be missed, even though he doesn’t have the prettiest stat line at the moment. Through seven games, Lynch has 266 yards off of 72 carries, giving him a 3.7 yards per carry average. He also has two rushing touchdowns and four receptions.
Lynch will return to action in Week 9 when the Raiders face the Dolphins in Miami.
Eagles’ Jason Peters Done For Season
Jason Peters‘ season is over. Tests revealed that the Eagles left tackle has suffered a torn ACL and MCL, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). 
After Peters went down in Monday night’s win over the Redskins, the Eagles hoped that the veteran had only an MCL injury. Because it’s an ACL tear, there is zero hope for a return in 2017.
Peters is still among the best at his position and losing him is a major blow for Philly. This year, Pro Football Focus has Peters ranked as the third-best tackle in the entire NFL with a strong 86.4 overall grade. The highly decorated lineman has nine career Pro Bowl nods and two First-Team All-Pro selections to his credit. This season, he appeared to be a lock for Orlando, at the very least.
It remains to be seen how the Eagles will adjust with the 14-year vet out of action. In theory, Lane Johnson could be moved over from right tackle, but they could also bump backup Halapoulivaati Vaitai into the starting job on the left side. There are also some notable names on the free agent market, including Branden Albert now that he has declined an offer from the Seahawks.
Jaguars Sign LB Jonathan Freeny
The Jaguars have signed linebacker Jonathan Freeny, according to a team announcement. To make room, the team released defensive back Lafayette Pitts. 
Freeny started five games for the Patriots over the last two seasons and signed a two-year extension with the team prior to the start of the 2016 season. Despite that, he was cut during final cutdowns this September. He hooked on with the Ravens soon after, but was released in October. In three games with Baltimore, he did not record an official statistic.
Freeny, a five-year NFL veteran, started his career as a special teams player in Miami. With the Pats, he made himself more of a known quantity with 18 appearances and eleven starts.
The Jaguars are on their bye this week. They’ll look to improve on their 4-3 record when they face the Bengals on Nov. 5.
Falcons Sign LB Sean Weatherspoon
The Falcons are reuniting with linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Weatherspoon will help fill in at linebacker now that rookie Duke Riley is set to undergo knee surgery. 
Weatherspoon, 29, was a first-round pick of the Falcons in 2010. Unfortunately, his career has been marred by injuries in recent years. In the last four years, he has made only 25 appearances – he missed the bulk of last season, rouhgly half of 2013, and the entire 2014 campaign.
In 2011, his only full season, he showed what he is capable of as he racked up 125 tackles and four sacks. If his knee and foot problems are behind him, he could perhaps be a quality contributor once again. The Falcons probably aren’t expecting that kind of stat line, but he could perhaps help the Falcons pivot out of their current three-game rut.
Assuming he dresses, Weatherspoon’s first game of 2017 will be a road contest against the scrappy Jets.
Dolphins Release CB Byron Maxwell
The Dolphins have released cornerback Byron Maxwell, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. To take his place, the team has signed quarterback David Fales. 
Maxwell has been demoted from the roster at various points this season. It appears that the cornerback is in decline, but coaches say that he is also refusing to play the defenses called from the sidelines. In cases where the Dolphins have called for press-man coverage, Maxwell has gone rogue and played far off of receivers. Although coaches were direct with Maxwell about the reasons behind his benching, he did not take accountability for it when talking to the media.
“ …In no way, shape, did I think my play [warranted] that,” Maxwell said earlier this month. “It’s a coach’s decision. Sometimes you have to deal with it. I’m a team player. Suck it up. Obviously, you think you’re the best man to do the job. You can’t control it. Everyone is trying to support your family trying to do the job.”
By releasing him now, the Fins are still on the hook for a significant portion of his $8.5MM cap number in 2017. However, they have freed themselves of his contract well before his $10MM cap number would have hit in 2018. They’ve also taken a potentially toxic player out of the locker room.
The Dolphins acquired Maxwell from the Eagles in the summer of 2016, just two days after they cut Brent Grimes. They were hoping that the cornerback could bounce back from a down year in 2015, but he was never able to get things going in Miami. On the plus side, linebacker Kiko Alonso remains a fixture on defense, so the Dolphins didn’t totally lose out when they moved down from the No. 8 pick to No. 13 that year.
Lions Activate Khyri Thornton
Khyri Thornton is back in action. The Lions are welcoming the defensive tackle back to the roster following his multi-game suspension. To make room, quarterback Brad Kaaya has been cut. Kaaya is a likely candidate for the practice squad if he clears waivers.
Over the summer, Thornton was handed a six game suspension by the NFL for violating the league’s policy and program for substance abuse. Assuming he’s active, he’ll make his 2017 debut on Sunday against Pittsburgh.
Thornton, 28 next month, entered the league as a third-round pick of the Packers in 2014. However, it wasn’t until the next year when he finally saw live NFL action with the Lions. Last year, Thornton made 13 appearances for Detroit, including six starts. Thornton registered his first career sack and racked up 19 tackles, leading the Lions to re-sign him to a two-year, $3.3MM deal.
After appearing in 29.9 percent of the Lions’ defensive snaps last year, Thornton was being counted upon as depth for Detroit on the D-Line. His ban was a source of frustration in Detroit, but on the plus side Thornton will have fresh legs as he offers support for the front four.
In the wake of Haloti Ngata‘s biceps injury, the Lions are starting A’Shawn Robinson and Akeem Spence at defensive tackle.
AFC Notes: Browns, Thomas, Colts
Here’s a look at the AFC:
- Browns offensive tackle Joe Thomas, who has been ruled out for the year, says he’ll wait until the offseason to determine whether he wants to continue playing. However, he did say that he is happy playing in Cleveland for coach Hue Jackson (Twitter link via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com). “Love Hue, loved playing for him. Playing for him was awesome and I’d definitely love to continue playing for him,” Thomas said.
- There has been speculation about the job security of Colts coach Chuck Pagano, but Stephen Holder of the Indy Star hasn’t seen any signs of an immediate change. He notes that the team’s Monday media schedule includes Pagano’s standard news conference at its usual time. If Pagano was being shown the door today, the Colts probably would have held off of releasing the schedule. Meanwhile, team sources indicated to Holder that the team is taking a patient, long-term approach to 2017. Of course, that won’t satisfy Colts fans who are frustrated after the team’s 27-0 loss to Jacksonville on Sunday.
- Dolphins wide receiver DeVante Parker will run and test out his injured ankle on Tuesday, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (Twitter link) hears. If it responds well, he is hopeful to play on Thursday against Baltimore. So far this year, Parker has 19 receptions for 236 yards and a touchdown.
NFC Notes: Vikings, Bridgewater, Redskins
The Vikings are wary of exposing Teddy Bridgewater to the slippery turf in London next week, sources tell Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. The QB says he’s ready to go, but Minnesota is taking the cautious approach and waiting until the post-bye game in Week 10 to put Bridgewater on the roster. Of course, the Vikings may still have a tough choice to make when it comes to whether they will actually put him on the field. Case Keenum has looked sharp since stepping in for Sam Bradford, so the team could opt to continue with him as the starter.
- Now that Duane Brown is back with the Texans, the best available left tackle is now Will Beatty, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com opines (Twitter link). He notes that Beatty “recently” worked out for the Saints, but it’s not clear if that is in reference to his mid-September workout or if he had a more recent audition for New Orleans. Rapoport notes that the Saints had some offensive line injuries on Sunday, so he could be a fit for them now.
- Redskins cornerback Bashaud Breeland, who has been dealing with a knee injury, is pushing to play against Philly on Monday night (Twitter link via Mike Garafolo of NFL.com). Washington is hoping that Breeland will be somewhat close to 100% as Josh Norman is sidelined with a rib injury.
- Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee (on Twitter) wouldn’t be surprised if Leon Hall is back with the 49ers in the wake of K’Waun Williams‘ quad injury. The veteran was released by SF last week after earning two game checks, though he appeared in zero games.
Chiefs Cut C.J. Spiller
The Chiefs have released running back C.J. Spiller again, sources tell Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star (Twitter links). Andy Reid says that Charcandrick West will probably be ready to go against Denver next week, so that would help to explain why Spiller is being put back on the curb. 
Pro Football Rumors readers are familiar with Spiller’s saga by now. Spiller caught on with Kansas City in February after spending time with multiple times in 2016. The former first-round pick missed the Chiefs’ initial cut in early September, but he has since been yo-yo’d on and off of the roster in almost unprecedented fashion. The veteran has now been released by the Chiefs four times in the last seven weeks. But, if history is any indication, he could be back with the team around Halloween.
Spiller totaled 1,244 rushing yards back in 2012, but he ran for just 1,363 total yards in the next four seasons. This year, he has a grant total of two carries for zero net yards.