No Suspension For 49ers’ Marquise Goodwin
Marquise Goodwin may have run afoul of USADA’s drug testing guidelines for Olympians, but he is in the clear as far as the NFL is concerned. The 49ers released a statement on Tuesday explaining that Goodwin will not face punishment from the league. Furthermore, Goodwin shed light on what exactly happened with the testing agency. 
“Never in my life have I failed a test,” Goodwin said in a statement. “I have never been opposed to testing and, in fact, have always been compliant with each and every protocol and policy associated with my competitive career in track and field. More than a year ago, I decided to cease competing in the sport in order to concentrate 100 percent on my NFL career. Therefore, I discontinued all practices associated with competing in track and field, including submitting my ‘whereabouts’ information. It appears that because I did not inform USADA of my plans, my name was inadvertently included in their 2017 testing pool. I greatly appreciate the support of the San Francisco 49ers and the National Football League as I work to clarify this matter.”
After signing a two-year deal with the 49ers in which he could make up to $8MM, Goodwin has little motivation to buck the NFL in favor of track and field. The Niners have big plans for him too and he currently profiles as the team’s No. 2 receiving option, behind Pierre Garcon and ahead of Jeremy Kerley.
With the Bills, Goodwin totaled 49 catches and six touchdowns over four seasons. He set career highs last year with 15 appearances, 29 catches, 68 targets, and 431 yards. He also matched a personal watermark with three touchdowns.
Kirk Cousins: I Want To Stay With Redskins
Even though he turned down an extension offer from the Redskins in favor of playing on the franchise tag for the second year in a row, Kirk Cousins says he wants to remain with the Redskins for the rest of his career. 
“I would love to be . . . a Redskin the rest of my career,” Cousins told ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio (transcription via PFT). “When you look at the best of the best, those quarterbacks played with one team. And if you point to a couple guys who didn’t, who changed teams, it really was against their will: I think if Joe Montana or Peyton Manning had their way they would have stayed where they had won Super Bowls and played so well. They wouldn’t have played so well. So my desire is to stay with one team my entire career, and that would be Washington.”
There were rumors throughout the offseason that Cousins was unhappy in Washington and unwilling to stay in the long term. If Cousins is telling the truth here and not just being positive for the sake of keeping the team distraction-free, then the Redskins may be able to keep him with a market-value offer next offseason. If he really wants out, however, then he can hold the line and force the Redskins to either let him test the open market or give him the ultra expensive third franchise tag.
In late July, roughly 77% of PFR readers predicted that Cousins would not be a member of the Redskins in 2018.
Dolphins CB Tony Lippett Out For Season
Dolphins cornerback Tony Lippett is lost for the season, coach Adam Gase told reporters on Tuesday morning. The third-year pro suffered a torn achilles during practice on Monday and doctors confirmed the team’s worst fears soon after. 
Last year, Lippett started in 13 games for Miami. This year, he was slated to play a big role once again, though he would have been behind Xavien Howard and Byron Maxwell in the pecking order.
“He jumped up, came down, no one touched him,” Gase said (via the Sun Sentinel). “Anytime you lose a guy that has started [games] for you last year, it’s not ideal. But that’s why we’ve collected the depth we have. That’s why we’re trying to get young players to go because this is what happens. We have to just keep developing these young players and that’s why every year we’re drafting a guy or when we get to college free agency, we feel like we found a couple of guys this year. We just want them to keep proving it to us. We feel like we’re pretty deep there and we just have to keep getting these guys better.”
Indeed, the Dolphins are a bit deeper at cornerback than they were in April. The Fins drafted Clemson product Cordrea Tankersley in the third round of this year’s draft and added veteran Alterraun Verner in July. The Dolphins could still consider out-of-house options (including big names like Darrelle Revis) as training camp winds down, but they might also be able to stand pat.
This has been a rough few weeks for the Dolphins, who have watched four starters suffer serious injuries. Before Lippett’s injury, quarterback Ryan Tannehill and linebacker Raekwon McMillan suffered season-ending ACL tears. Meanwhile, offensive guard Ted Larsen will be out for a while with a torn biceps muscle.
Vikings, Texans Interested In Tramaine Brock
Tramaine Brock‘s market is heating up. The Texans and Vikings are now among the teams with interest in the free agent cornerback, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter links) hears. La Canfora adds that it is “very likely” he will sign somewhere this week. 
Brock is already meeting with the Seahawks and Seattle is very serious about signing him after four months of investigative work into the domestic violence allegations against him. After charges were dropped against Brock and his alleged victim characterized the incident as a verbal dispute rather than a physical one, teams seem to be more comfortable with the idea of adding him to the roster.
The Texans have been putting an emphasis on causing turnovers and Brock, who has eleven career interceptions, can help with that pursuit.
“One of the things we talked about as soon as we got back for OTAs is creating turnovers,” cornerback Kareem Jackson said (via ESPN.com’s Sarah Barshop). “We feel like as a defense unit, that’s our job, to create turnovers. If we can improve on that as well as continue to get better in some of the other defensive categories and situational football, [we will] continue to progress as a group.”
Brock, 28, has been a full-time starter in each of the past two seasons. Last year he graded out as the league’s No. 23 corner while playing 95% of San Francisco’s defensive snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.
Eagles Release RB Ryan Mathews
The Eagles are finally cutting Ryan Mathews. The running back was released on Tuesday morning after receiving medical clearance, the team announced.
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The Eagles decided to move on from Mathews months ago, but they have been waiting for him to first get the green light on his injured neck from team doctors. Had the Eagles released Mathews before getting medical clearance, they would have had to pay him $1.15MM in injury protection. Instead, he’ll count against the cap for just $1MM in dead money while saving the club $4MM.
“We want to thank Ryan for his contributions to the Philadelphia Eagles over the past two seasons,” the team said in a statement. “We spoke today and had a productive conversation about his future and the direction of our team going forward. First and foremost, we are glad that Ryan is healthy and has been cleared to return to football activities, but given the current state of our running back position, we feel like it is best for both sides to go in a different direction. We wish him all the best as he continues his career.”
Mathews‘ season ended in December when he suffered the painful neck injury. Even with that injury plus the MCL sprain he was dealing with, he still managed to turn in a decent season. In 13 games, he had 661 yards off of 155 carries for an average of 4.3 yards per attempt. He also had eight rushing touchdowns plus 13 catches for 115 yards.
With Mathews out of the picture, the Eagles plan to use Blount, Darren Sproles, and Wendell Smallwood as their top backs. Fourth-round pick Donnel Pumphrey and Byron Marshall are also pushing to make the 53-man cut.
Dolphins Sign Trey Griffey
The Dolphins are signing wide receiver Trey Griffey. Griffey is a talented football player in his own right, but he is perhaps best known for being the son of former baseball great Ken Griffey Jr.
Griffey, a 6’3″, 209 pound athlete, had 23 catches for 382 yards and two touchdowns in his final season at Arizona. He found his way to the Colts after going undrafted this spring, but an injury led to him being dropped from the roster five weeks later.
He’ll now try his luck in Miami, where he may have slightly better odds of making the team than he did in Indianapolis. The Dolphins have numbers at wide receiver, but Rashawn Scott finds himself on the PUP list with a foot injury, meaning that a final WR spot could be up for grabs. Jarvis Landry, Kenny Stills, and DeVante Parker are locks to make the roster while Leonte Carroo and Jakeem Grant seem likely at the WR4/WR5 spots. After that, it may be a group of players including seventh-round rookie Isaiah Ford and Griffey vying for the final reserve role.
Jaguars Claim CB Charles James II
The Jaguars have claimed fourth-year cornerback Charles James II off waivers from the Bills. To make room on the roster, they waived rookie wide receiver Kenneth Walker. 
While with the Texans, James enjoyed some celebrity as the standout star of 2015’s “Hard Knocks.” His likability alone couldn’t keep him in Houston, however. The Texans cut him at the end of 2016, leading him to the rival Colts. When James was let go by Indy in order to help make room for undrafted free agents in May, he was claimed off waivers by the Bills. His stay in Buffalo now ends after four months, but he has landed on his feet – and in better weather.
James, a 5’9″ corner, took the field in 12 games for the Giants’ as a rookie in 2013. Then, in 2015 and 2016, he saw action in 21 games with the Texans.
Latest On Colin Kaepernick
The pressure is about to ramp up for an NFL team to sign Colin Kaepernick. Recently, director Spike Lee announced that there will be a rally held for the quarterback outside of the NFL’s headquarters in New York on August 23rd. Meanwhile, the NAACP and other organizations have expressed interest in talking with the NFLPA about Kaepernick. Josina Anderson of ESPN.com tweets. 
The Ravens made waves earlier this month when they started exploring the possibility of signing Kaepernick. One report indicated that coach John Harbaugh and GM Ozzie Newsome are pushing to add him while owner Steve Bisciotti is vetoing the move. Although Newsome issued a statement denying the claim, some have speculated that the Ravens and other teams are staying away from Kaepernick because of his divisive comments.
The Dolphins seemed like a logical landing spot for the QB when Ryan Tannehill suffered his season-ending injury, particularly in light of owner Stephen Ross’ past support for Kaepernick. Although Miami did consider Kaepernick, they pulled Jay Cutler out of retirement instead, leaving the ex-49er in limbo.
At this juncture, it’s not clear if the Ravens are still mulling a Kaepernick signing and the Colts apparently have not called on him despite Andrew Luck‘s uncertain health. Kaepernick has also chosen to remain silent on his job search throughout the offseason, so it’s hard to tell how close he might be to a deal or which teams are giving serious thought to signing him.
49ers Sign OL Andrew Gardner
The 49ers signed offensive lineman Andrew Gardner and defensive tackle Leger Douzable, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). 
Gardner, 31, finished out the 2016 season with the Niners. He has been a bit of a journeyman over the years, but he might have an opportunity to stick for a little while in San Francisco. The veteran’s most notable experience came with the Eagles when he started eleven games from 2014-15.
The Gardner addition should give the Niners additional depth while starting guard Joshua Garnett misses time at the start of the season. Originally given a one-month timetable for recovery, doctors have now told Garnett that he will need six weeks to get back on the field.
Douzable, also 31, was a favorite of coach Rex Ryan and wound up playing for him in both New York and Buffalo. He appeared in every game for the Bills last season (including five starts) and had 43 total tackles and 1.5 sacks.
Chargers’ Mike Williams Eyeing Oct. Debut
The Chargers are eyeing an October debut for first-round pick wide receiver Mike Williams, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com hears. That’s a good sign for Williams considering that the team was uncertain about whether he would be able to play at all in 2017. 
The Chargers selected Williams with the No. 7 overall pick in this year’s draft. Los Angeles is hoping to slot Williams in as the team’s No. 2 wide receiver this year, providing support to top target Keenan Allen. For however long he is out, the Bolts will have to rely more heavily on Travis Benjamin, Tyrell Williams, and Dontrelle Inman.
Los Angeles will be closely monitoring Williams over the next few weeks to get a better handle on his timeline. If Williams needs to rest until Week 7 (October 22 vs. the Broncos), then starting the season the PUP list could be the way to go. However, if they think he can take the field sooner, they may refrain from doing that.
Williams, a 6’4″, 218-pound receiver, turned in a 98-catch, 1,361-yard, 11-touchdown season in 2016. The Chargers are hoping to see what he can do at the next level sooner rather than later.