Latest On Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott
Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott won’t formally appeal his six-game suspension until Tuesday, but we’re already getting early word on what his case might look like. Elliott’s team will argue that ex-girlfriend Tiffany Thompson made a number of threats to “ruin his career,” including one threat that was racial in nature, sources tell Clarence Hill of the Star-Telegram. Elliott’s reps will also highlight inconsistencies in Thompson’s testimony throughout the process. 
It’s not clear which of these “quoted threats” are substantiated by written evidence. In one instance, Elliott’s team alleges that Thompson said: “You are a black male athlete. I’m a white girl. They are not going to be believe you.” Elliott is “100 percent certain” that Thompson said this, per Hill’s source, but that might not hold much weight with the league office or in a court of law if it cannot be proven.
Elliott’s team will also make note of Thompson’s potentially bogus allegations of a domestic assault on July 22, 2016. The NFL has acknowledged that Thompson was not entirely truthful about the events on that day, though the running back will still have to answer for photographic evidence of other potential incidents on that same week.
If Elliott’s suspension stands, he will not see the field until late October.
Ravens Sign QB Thad Lewis
The Ravens announced that they have signed free agent quarterback Thaddeus Lewis. To make room, fellow QB Dustin Vaughan has been shown the door. 
Vaughan was hoping to make the cut as a third-string quarterback behind starter Joe Flacco and primary backup Ryan Mallett. But, given Flacco’s back injury and Mallett’s struggles in practice, the Ravens are taking an especially look at their reserves. Vaughan apparently didn’t do enough to practice to assert his spot, prompting the team to look elsewhere.
Lewis, 32, signed a one-year deal with the 49ers last year, but a torn ACL ended his season before it could begin. The good news is that Lewis was medically cleared in May and he was able to hit the workout circuit starting in late July. An audition for the Rams did not yield a deal, but the Ravens apparently believe that he is 100% healthy and ready to contribute. It seems likely that the Ravens will allow Lewis to compete with Mallett for the QB2 role, though it could be challenging for him with only a few weeks to go before the start of the season.
The signing of Lewis may not sit well with those around football who were hoping the Ravens would sign Colin Kaepernick. Kaepernick is coming off of a decent season in which he spearheaded a less-than-decent offense. Lewis, meanwhile, hasn’t seen the field since 2013.
Colts Interested In Jeremy Zuttah
The Ravens are interested in reunited with Jeremy Zuttah, but they’re not the only team with interest in the free agent interior lineman. Zuttah is expected to visit the Colts this week, a source tells ESPN.com’s Adam Caplan (on Twitter). 
Zuttah was let go by the 49ers last week after the team decided it would rather go with Daniel Kilgore as the starter with former Rams center Tim Barnes as his primary backup. All in all, Zuttah’s stint in SF lasted only a few months after the team acquired him via trade from Baltimore. That may not be a great endorsement of Zuttah’s skillset at the moment, but one man’s trash can be another man’s treasure in the NFL, particularly in the late summer.
The Colts, it seems, are on the lookout for offensive line depth after Ryan Kelly suffered a minor injury earlier this month. The 2016 first-round pick will be sidelined for a few weeks with a foot ailment and although he is not expected to miss regular season time, the Colts are probably reevaluating their Plan B options in the event that issue pops up again. Right now, 2017 undrafted free agent Deyshawn Bond and 2016 UDFA Adam Redmond appear to be the team’s best reserve options at center.
Saints Shopping Delvin Breaux
The Saints are shopping cornerback Delvin Breaux, according to Nick Underhill of The Advocate (on Twitter). Underhill hears that New Orleans is frustrated with Breaux’s recent injury history. 
Last year, Breaux missed the start of the season with a broken fibula and had his season shut down in December with a shoulder injury. The Saints are apparently troubled by his fragility here in mid-August, which makes one wonder whether Breaux has re-aggravated one of his injuries in camp. If that’s the case, it’s hard to see teams champing at the bit to acquire him.
Last year, the former CFL standout had a dismal 39.1 score from Pro Football Focus and played in a full slate of games . In 2016, however, he had an 85 overall score which cast him as a top-15 type of cornerback. If Breaux is healthy, real interest from at least a handful of teams can be expected.
The Saints can afford to part with Breaux in the right deal since he is not projected to start in 2017. According to Underhill, P.J. Williams and Ken Crowley look like the clubhouse leaders here in August while Sterling Moore and first-round pick Marshon Lattimore are also expected to see playing time.
Ravens’ Alex Lewis Done For Season
Ravens offensive lineman Alex Lewis suffered a shoulder injury that will require surgery, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter) has learned. The operation will rule him out for the 2017 season. 
Lewis is no stranger to injury as a high ankle sprain cost him a good chunk of the 2016 season. This year, he was slated to return as the team’s starting left guard. For a team that has been decimated by injuries all summer, this is a crushing blow.
The Ravens have lost three key interior linemen in recent months. Center John Urschel opted to retire this summer while rookie guard Nico Siragusa was shut down with a torn ACL.
The advanced numbers at Pro Football Focus painted Lewis as a below-average guard last year, ranking him 61st out of 75 qualified players. The loss still stings, however, since the team is already pretty shallow on the O-Line. The Ravens will likely look into signing a guard to replace Lewis, but they could alternatively add a center and slide Ryan Jensen over to guard. Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun (Twitter link) suggests that moving tackle James Hurst to the interior could also be an option. The Ravens also have fifth-round rookie guard Jermaine Eluemunor on the roster, but he may be too green for the first unit.
Jaguars Release Branden Albert
The Jaguars’ Branden Albert saga is officially over. The team announced on Friday that he has been released. 
[RELATED: Jaguars Sign Jeron Johnson, Cut James Sample]
The Jaguars acquired Albert via trade from the Dolphins earlier this year. The tackle stayed away from the team for much of the offseason as he tried to talk the Jags into revising his contract. When the Jaguars refused to play ball, Albert took his and went home. Days later, Albert flip-flopped and asked to rejoin the team, but the Jaguars responded by placing him on the reserve/retired list, keeping him off the roster.
If Albert is still serious about playing football, he can now sign with any team of his choosing. He might not be able to deliver the kind of Pro Bowl caliber football that he used to, but he would still hold interest for teams with needs on the offensive line.
In 2016, Albert missed one-quarter of the season due to injury and registered a career-worst 42.2 overall score on Pro Football Focus. He’s been well above average in other seasons, however, including his 2013 and 2015 campaigns which resulted in Pro Bowl nods.
Albert was scheduled to earn a non-guaranteed base salary of $8.875MM this season. If he wants to continue playing, he might have to do it at a lower price point. At the same time, he should be able to get some amount of guaranteed cash for the 2017 season.
Ezekiel Elliott To Appeal Suspension
Ezekiel Elliott is not going down without a fight. The Cowboys running back says he will appeal his six-game suspension. 
[RELATED: NFL Hands Elliott Six-Game Ban]
Elliott’s representatives released the following statement on Friday afternoon:
We just learned of the NFL’s decision to suspend Mr. Elliott for six games for allegedly engaging in ‘physical force’ against the accuser. Mr. Elliott and his team of representatives are extremely disappointed with the NFL’s decision.
Our offices have been engaged in this matter since last July and have worked hand in hand with the Columbus Prosecutor’s office as well as the NFL with their respective investigations. Accordingly, we are fully aware of the full body of evidence that exists in connection with this matter.
The NFL’s findings are replete with factual inaccuracies and erroneous conclusions and it ‘cherry picks’ so called evidence to support its conclusion while ignoring other critical evidence.
For example, both the Columbus Prosecutor’s office as well as the NFL investigators expressly concluded and conveyed to our office (and others) that the accuser was lying about an alleged July 22, 2016 incident whereby she accused Mr. Elliott of pulling her out of her car and assaulting her. An allegation that was ultimately undermined by her own friend’s affidavit which stated that no such assault occurred. The affidavit also outlined the accuser’s plan to orchestrate a story to police to in order to corroborate her false allegation of assault. In addition, the NFL’s own medical experts concluded that many of her injuries predated the week in question and likely occurred during a period of time when Mr. Elliott was not in contact with the accuser. During the upcoming weeks and through the appeal a slew of additional credible and controverting evidence will come to light.
Elliott’s battle may not stop at the league office. The running back is willing to take his appeal through the legal system, if necessary, Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter) hears.
If Elliott does not have the suspension overturned or reduced, he will be out of action until the team’s Week 8 tilt against the Redskins on October 29th.
Broncos DE Billy Winn Done For Year
Broncos DE Billy Winn has suffered a torn ACL last night, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The Broncos braced themselves for the bad news when Winn was carted off of the field in Thursday night’s preseason game against the Bears. 
Winn was set to serve as Denver’s primary backup nose tackle behind Domata Peko. After he joined up with the Broncos last year, he proved to be a reliable, though unspectacular, reserve option. The 28-year-old appeared in all 16 regular season games (two starts) and played on roughly 30% of the Broncos’ defensive snaps. In that span, Winn had 19 tackles and one fumble recovery while grading as the league’s No. 97 interior defender among 127 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus.
Losing Winn is not ideal, but the Broncos can turn to free agent addition Zach Kerr and Kyle Peko (cousin of Domata) for support in the middle.
Redskins’ Trent Murphy Done For Year
The Redskins received some bad news on Friday morning. Outside linebacker Trent Murphy suffered a season-ending torn ACL, according to Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). He also has a torn MCL, per ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter), meaning that his rehab process will become more complicated. 
Washington was already preparing for life without Murphy through the first month of the season thanks to his four-game ban for performance-enhancing drugs. Now they’ll have to get by without the 26-year-old for the entire season.
Losing Murphy is a tough blow for the Redskins, but on the plus side, Junior Galette has looked productive and largely healthy throughout training camp. Galette has not seen live action since 2014, but he had 10.0 sacks and 45 tackles in that campaign. Galette can slide into Murphy’s previous supersub role while Ryan Kerrigan and rookie Ryan Anderson project to start at the top OLB spots.
Murphy is coming off of the most productive season of his career as he notched 46 tackles and a career-high 9.0 sacks.
Rams To Keep Tavon Austin
In theory, the Rams’ blockbuster trade for Sammy Watkins could have enabled them to flip wide receiver Tavon Austin to another team in a separate trade. Apparently, that’s not in the cards. The Rams are not shopping Austin, multiple sources tell Mike Florio of PFT, and they do not intend to. The belief in L.A. is that they will be better off with as many offensive weapons as possible. 
Austin has yet to live up to his status as a former No. 8 overall pick in the draft, but he could thrive as opposing defenses focus their game plans on Watkins. At least, that’s what the Rams are hoping for as he plays out the four-year, $42MM extension inked just before the start of the 2016 season.
In 2016, Austin had 58 catches for 509 yards, averaging out to just 8.8 yards per grab. He has only one season – his rookie campaign – in which he averaged double digits per catch.
The Rams have Watkins, Robert Woods, and Austin as their top three receivers heading into the season. With that trio plus athletic rookie tight end Gerald Everett, Jared Goff will have lots of weapons to work with.