Ravens Lose Marshal Yanda For Season
Marshal Yanda‘s season is over. The guard fractured his leg in Sunday’s win over the Browns, as Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun tweets. He’ll be placed on IR with no hope of returning in 2017. 
The Ravens have been plagued by injuries for months, particularly on the offensive line. Tony Bergstrom was plugged in at the right guard spot after Yanda exited and that’s where he could remain for the rest of the season, unless the Ravens add a better interior lineman to the mix.
Yanda missed three games in 2016 due to a nagging shoulder injury. Despite the ailment, the 33-year-old graded out as the NFL’s best guard.
“There’s not a word in English dictionary to describe what Yanda is to us,” one player said to Zrebiec (Twitter link).
The Ravens have also lost linebacker Bam Bradley for the season thanks to a torn ACL.
Panthers’ Greg Olsen Suffers Broken Foot
Panthers tight end Greg Olsen broke his foot on Sunday. There is no timetable for Olsen’s recovery, but he already admits that he’s going to miss “a lot of games.” 
The Panthers beat the Bills by a score of 9-3 on Sunday and it’ll be even harder to come by points without one of Cam Newton‘s favorite targets on the field. For now, Ed Dickson profiles as the team’s new No. 1 tight end with Chris Manhertz as the backup. At minimum, the Panthers can be expected to sign another tight end for depth. If the Panthers want to sign an experienced TE with a history of offensive production, they could call on Gary Barnidge now that the Texans have passed on him.
Olsen hasn’t missed a game since his rookie season in 2007, so this is unfamiliar territory for him. In his previous six seasons with Carolina, Olsen has averaged 71 catches, 897 yards, and five touchdowns per campaign.
The 32-year-old has two seasons to go on the three-year, $22.5MM pact he inked before the 2015 season.
Latest On Browns WR Josh Gordon
Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon will be out of rehab on September 21, former Olympic sprinter Tim Montgomery tells Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. Montgomery, who has been working with Gordon for the last six months, says that Gordon is hoping to have the indefinite suspension lifted soon after he is released. 
Gordon has had multiple problems with the league office, so it’s not clear if commissioner Roger Goodell would allow him to return to football right away. At minimum, one has to imagine that the NFL will want to see if Gordon can stay on the straight and narrow for a period of time before giving him the green light. If that’s the case, we might not see Gordon suit up in 2017.
If Gordon is allowed back in football, the Browns will have a tough decision to make. While Gordon is one of the league’s most talented receivers, he may not be a fit for Hue Jackson‘s locker room. Jackson said last year he was ready to move on from the 26-year-old, but he seemed at least open to his return when asked about him in May.
“He’s not back, so I don’t even want to really get into that right now,” Jackson said. “I wish Josh well, and we’ll cross all those bridges when we get there.”
When asked about Gordon’s status, a league spokesman told PFT that there is “no update” at this time. That means that Gordon has yet to file for reinstatement, which makes sense considering that he is still in rehab. When Gordon was denied reinstatement this offseason, the league informed him that he could reapply in the fall, so he could get the ball rolling soon.
Latest On Colin Kaepernick
Colin Kaepernick has been criticized by some for not publicly stating his desire to play in the NFL. On Sunday, Kaepernick broke his silence and made his intentions clear. 
“Yes,” Kaepernick said when asked by Shaun King of the Daily News (Twitter link) if he wants to play . “I’ve never stopped. I’m ready right now. Working out daily.”
Kaepernick is reportedly working out five days a week and is back to his 2013 weight of 230 pounds. This offseason, the 29-year-old was knocked for his slender frame and for not announcing that he wants to get back into football. He has now checked those boxes, but it’s not clear if or when he will get an opportunity to play. It’s possible that Kaepernick could get a call from a contending club in the event of an injury, but that would require him to learn someone’s playbook on the fly.
For now, it sounds like it’s NFL-or-bust for Kaepernick. But, if the NFL doesn’t come calling and he has a change of heart, he could have a place on the Montreal Alouettes.
Extra Points: Derwin James, NFLPA, Peterson
Lawyer Cyrus Mehri wants to dethrone DeMaurice Smith as the head of the NFL Players’ Association. If elected, he says revamping the league’s discipline policy will be one of the first items on his agenda to be tackled.
“If I’m elected, in the first hundred days, I’m going to sit down with the commissioner and top brass and reform this discipline system, so we’ll have checks and balances for when the 2018 season starts up,” Mehri said at a town hall style meeting this week (via Charean Williams of PFT). “My guiding light is this: What’s best for the game? . . . I’ve taken the word ‘concessions’ out of the dialogue, and all we’re going to be talking about is what’s best for the game. What’s best for the game is to reform that system. What’s also best for the game is to dramatically improve the resources particularly at the club level to deal with and minimize and prevent from happening some of these off-the-field issues. Issues of DUIs. Issues of drug abuse. Issues of domestic violence that have kept players from playing, and they’re also human tragedies. So if we really redouble or triple the effort on that, to me, that’s something labor and management should be on the same page on, which is prevention of problems. That’s the difference between me and the incumbent, because the incumbent’s relationship is so poisonous and so contentious [with the NFL] that they can’t be problem-solving, but problem-solving is focusing on prevention of these issues.”
Here’s more from around the NFL:
- Scouts see a future NFL superstar in Florida State safety Derwin James, NFL.com’s Chase Goodbread writes. James is only a sophomore, but talent evaluators are drooling over his freakish athleticism. One scout told Goodbread that James has the body type to play “about seven positions.” “I think if you take all the attributes of all the best ones, combine it into one, you’re getting close to Derwin,” FSU strength and conditioning coach Vic Viloria said. “He’s got strength like [Nigel] Bradham. He’s got the desire to chase the deep ball like [Lamarcus] Joyner, competitiveness like Jameis [Winston]. His ability to hit and be strong for a skill player is like Jalen [Ramsey]. … His acceleration is freakish; it’s that of a Devonta Freeman. … You can keep going down the list.”
- NFL players are anxious for the day that their contracts will be fully guaranteed, as Dave Campbell of The Associated Press writes. “When you think about what we do for our organizations, the injuries and the pounding that we take, you would think that there would be more appreciation for your players,” Saints running back Adrian Peterson said. “It’s just so unfortunate when you think about the physicality and the toll that football takes on your body.” Naturally, this will be another major focal point for the NFLPA in its next round of CBA talks with the league. It’s hard to imagine players getting fully guaranteed deals, but it’s possible that they could have some improved injury protection.
Colin Kaepernick’s CFL Rights Go From One Team To Another
It’s not clear how or when this happened, but Colin Kaepernick‘s CFL rights have been transferred from one team to another. At one point, his rights were held by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Now, the Montreal Alouettes have dibs on him if he ever plays in the CFL, according to CBSSports.com’s Jason La Canfora (on Twitter). 
La Canfora adds the rather obvious caveat of “not that he’s going,” but were the 29-year-old quarterback be interested in a CFL path, it appears Montreal would be his destination.
This news comes after La Canfora reported Johnny Manziel has a legitimate path to the Tiger-Cats. So it appears a Manziel-to-Hamilton route has formed, while a Kaepernick-to-Montreal path seems much less likely.
ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert reported in March the Tiger-Cats acquired Kaepernick’s rights, with both he and Robert Griffin III residing on the team’s exclusive negotiation list.
Kaepernick has been a free agent since he opted out of his 49ers contract; the team would have released him had he not done so. A visit with the Seahawks did not produce a contract, and not much has emerged on a Kaepernick NFL job since. Although, that subject’s produce plenty of ire, and protests, due to the number of less accomplished quarterbacks currently on teams’ rosters.
Sam Robinson contributed to this post.
Johnny Manziel To Sign With CFL Team?
There were conflicting reports on how well Johnny Manziel did in his August audition for the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Apparently, the quarterback performed well enough to garner real interest from the team. The expectation among other CFL clubs is that the league office will allow Hamilton to sign the former Texas A&M star, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link) hears. JLC adds that he would be surprised if a signing does not happen. 
Hamilton holds Manziel’s CFL rights, which would theoretically pave the way for a deal. However, there have been whispers of the league effectively blackballing troubled players in the past. Depending on who you ask, Greg Hardy may have been blocked from signing with a team north of the border. League officials apparently will not stand in the way of Manziel making a return to the gridiron.
Manziel, 25 in December, has not been on the field since Dec. 27, 2015 when he was with the Browns. In eight career NFL starts, the former first-round choice completed 57% of his passes for 1,675 yards, seven touchdowns, and seven interceptions. His Browns went 2-6 in those games.
Bengals To Fire OC Ken Zampese
The Bengals will fire offensive coordinator Ken Zampese, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The Bengals have not scored a touchdown in the first two games of the season and they are hoping a sideline shakeup will give them a jump start. For now, quarterbacks coach Bill Lazor will assume offensive coordinator responsibilities, the team announced.
Head coach Marvin Lewis didn’t exactly offer up support for Zampese after Thursday night’s loss to the Texans.
“We have to get better but I’m never going to come in here and tell you anything we’re going to do with one another,” Lewis said when asked about potential staff changes (via Cincinnati.com). “What we do is private to us.”
Zampese was promoted to offensive coordinator last year after Hue Jackson left for the Browns’ head coaching job. Last year, the Bengals finished 13th in total offense under his guidance, but 24th in scoring. His offense left the red zone without a touchdown on nearly half of its red zone tries in 2016 and this year has been even worse. The Bengals are 0-for-6 for TDs in the red zone thus far and that’s a big reason for their 0-2 start.
On paper, the Bengals were poised to have one of the better offenses in the NFL with a competent QB in Andy Dalton, a megastar receiver in A.J. Green, a quality tight end in Tyler Eifert, and an intriguing mix of backfield weapons including Jeremy Hill, Giovani Bernard, and rookie Joe Mixon. The Bengals hope that another OC will be able to get the most out of what they have.
If the former Dolphins OC can’t get the offense going, then Zampese might not be the only coach bounced in Cincinnati this season. After 15 years at the helm, this just might be Marvin Lewis‘ last stand.
Eagles Place Donnel Pumphrey On IR
Eagles running back Donnel Pumphrey suffered a torn hamstring, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com first reported (Twitter link). The Eagles will place Pumphrey on IR, but he could be a candidate to return since it’s a 4-6 week injury.
Pumphrey, a San Diego State product, was selected in the fourth-round of this year’s draft. The 5’9″ athlete was remarkably efficient in his four years on campus, averaging 6.0 yards per carry and scoring an eye-popping 67 touchdowns.
Although he is behind LeGarrette Blount, Darren Sproles, Wendell Smallwood, and UDFA Corey Clement on the depth chart, the Eagles were hoping to see what Pumphrey could do this season. They’ll have to wait until at least October now and there’s a chance we won’t see him again this year if two players of greater import wind up as IR-DTR candidates.
Pro Football Rumors Seeking Part-Time Writers
We’re looking to add part-time contributors to the Pro Football Rumors writing team. The position pays on an hourly basis. Applicants must meet ALL of the following criteria:
- Exceptional knowledge of all 32 NFL teams, with no discernible bias.
- Knowledge of the salary cap and transaction-related concepts.
- At least some college education.
- Extensive writing experience, with professional experience and a background in journalism both strongly preferred.
- Keen understanding of journalistic principles, ethics and procedures. Completion of basic college-level journalism classes is strongly preferred.
- Attention to detail — absolutely no spelling errors, especially for player and journalist names.
- Ability to follow the site’s style and tone.
- Ability to analyze articles and craft intelligent, well-written posts summing up the news in a few paragraphs. We need someone who can balance quick writing with thoughtful analysis. You must be able to add value to breaking news with your own insight, numbers or links to other relevant articles.
- Ability to use an RSS feed reader. Ability to use Twitter. Both of these are crucial.
- Strong weeknight availability is crucial. You must frequently be available to work between 5-11 pm central time Monday-Friday. Weekend availability is also a plus.
- Flexibility. You must be available to work on short notice.
If you’re interested, email pfrapplications@gmail.com by September 24 (11:00pm central time) and take a couple of paragraphs to explain why you qualify and stand out. Many will apply, so unfortunately we cannot respond to every applicant.