Ezekiel Elliott Gets Six Game Suspension
The NFL has brought the hammer down on Ezekiel Elliott. The Cowboys running back is being suspended for six games, sources tell Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Elliott is expected to appeal the decision and he has three business days to do so. The NFL has since confirmed the ban and NFL.com has obtained a copy of the league’s letter to Elliott detailing the decision.
If the appeal is unsuccessful, Elliott will be out of action through Week 7 since the Cowboys have a Week 6 bye. Elliott therefore would not make his regular season debut until Week 8 against the Redskins on October 29th.
On Friday morning, Schefter cautioned that the personal conduct policy could enable the NFL to suspend Elliott for up to six games. It’s a shocking outcome considering the previous belief that Elliott would only be suspended for one or two games, if suspended at all. All throughout the process, Elliott has maintained his innocence and owner Jerry Jones has insisted that no physical violence took place. The league, apparently, does not agree with that assessment.
“I have reviewed everything, and there is absolutely nothing — not one thing — that had anything to do with domestic violence,” Jones said recently.
Meanwhile, NFL investigators determined that Elliott did use physical force against girlfriend Tiffany Thompson. Although there was “conflicting testimonial evidence” with regards to what transpired, the photographs of her injuries left no doubt about whether Elliott struck her, the league says.
If the suspension is upheld, Elliott will lose out on $8.15MM+ in salary guarantees from the 2017 through 2019 seasons. Elliott will also have to repay the Cowboys a portion of his signing bonus, on top of missing out on six game checks. For Elliott, that means giving up nearly $240K per missed game, which comes out to approximately $1.44MM.
Latest On Ezekiel Elliott
UPDATE: Elliott has indeed been suspended for six games.
We’re inching closer to a ruling on Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott. When the verdict comes in, the Cowboys might not be very happy with the outcome. Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter) notes that under the terms of NFL personal conduct policy, Elliott could be facing potential six-game suspension for allegations of physical violence. 
[RELATED: Elliott Ruling Could Come Down On Friday]
Several national NFL reporters noted the possibility of a six-game ban on Friday morning and that could indicate a much lengthier suspension than initially anticipated. This could also be an effort by the league office to brace fans for a middle-of-the-road outcome in which Elliott gets, say, a three-game suspension. We won’t know anything for sure until official word comes from 345 Park Avenue, but the Friday morning rumblings are not promising for the Cowboys.
Needless to say, a suspension of any length would put the Cowboys’ offense at a severe disadvantage. Elliott, 22, ran for a league-leading 1,631 yards off of 322 carries last year with 15 touchdowns. He supplemented that incredible stat line with 32 catches for 363 yards and one score.
Dolphins’ Raekwon McMillan Tears ACL
The Dolphins believe that linebacker Raekwon McMillan has torn the ACL in his right knee, Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald tweets. MRI results on Friday morning confirmed the injury. 
[RELATED: Latest On Potential Jarvis Landry Extension]
The Dolphins had big hopes for McMillan after he topped 100 tackles in each of his last two seasons. After Koa Misi landed on IR, Miami planned to use McMillan as its starting middle linebacker with Lawrence Timmons and Kiko Alonso at the outside spots.
Of course, the full-on ACL tear automatically rules out McMillan for the entire season. If that’s the case, the Dolphins can be expected to look into signing a free agent linebacker or two.
Notable inside linebackers on the market include Perry Riley, Rey Maualuga, and Daryl Washington. Meanwhile, Arthur Brown and O’Brien Schofield are among the 4-3 outside linebackers without teams. If the Dolphins aren’t crazy about the current crop of options, they could wait until the 53-man deadline approaches to see who else may come available.
Saints Meet With Leodis McKelvin
The Saints are in the market for cornerback help. The team is meeting with cornerback Leodis McKelvin on Friday, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. 
[RELATED: Saints Work Out Tharold Simon]
We haven’t heard McKelvin’s name mentioned much since he was released by the Eagles in February. In his lone campaign with Philly, McKelvin appeared in 13 games (12 starts), managing 16 passes defensed and two interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown. Even though he had the familiarity of defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz’s scheme, McKelvin graded out as the league’s No. 71 ranked corner out of 112 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus.
Over the course of his career, McKelvin has not done much to justify his selection as the No. 11 overall pick in the 2008 draft. On the plus side, the 31-year-old managed to start 12 games last year, marking the second time that he has reached double-digit starts in the last five years. No one expects McKelvin to blossom into a shutdown corner at this stage of his career, but he’ll can find more success by staying healthy.
As we learned on Thursday, the Saints are also taking a look at former Seahawks corner Tharold Simon.
Ezekiel Elliott Decision Could Come Friday
Stop us if you’ve heard this before: the decision on Ezekiel Elliott isn’t ready today, but it could be coming soon. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) reports that the ruling could come in as soon as Friday. 
Elliott has been playing the waiting game for roughly one year with the NFL. The league wants to make sure it has covered all of its bases with regards to abuse allegations from last year. Meanwhile, local authorities have passed on pursuing any charges. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has been vocal in his support for the running back and insists that the allegations were without merit.
Of course, in the wake of high-profile controversies involving Ray Rice and Greg Hardy, the league is especially sensitive to domestic violence. The NFL is also not happy about other incidents Elliott has been involved in. Elliott found himself in hot water in March when he exposed a woman’s breast during a St. Patrick’s Day celebration. The youngster was also involved in – or at least near – a barroom brawl in Texas earlier this summer.
With Week 1 getting closer and closer, the Cowboys are certainly hoping to get an answer before the week is out. If a July report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter is any indication, they may not be happy with the result. The sense, Schefter said, was that Elliott would be facing a short suspension. It’s also worth noting that report came in days before the aforementioned brawl.
Teams Pursuing Calvin Johnson
Calvin Johnson says he’s done with football, but that’s not stopping teams from going after the wide receiver. At least six teams have reached out to Megatron to gauge his interest in a return to the field, but so far Johnson has said no, sources tell Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report. 
[RELATED: Did Lions’ Losing Pushed Johnson Towards Retirement?]
Freeman’s report does not list specific teams, but one has to imagine that there’s some overlap between this list of six mystery teams and the clubs that Johnson has visited this offseason. Over the past few months, Johnson has served as a guest coach/lecturer with the Dolphins and Raiders. He has not stopped in to see the Lions, however.
If Johnson has a change of heart and decides to return, any team looking to sign him will have to go through the Lions since they still hold his rights. Still, we know that it’s not an impossible hurdle since the Raiders were able to work out a trade with the Seahawks for the previously retired Marshawn Lynch.
In 2015, his last season on the field, Johnson had 88 catches for 1,214 yards and nine touchdowns. His performance earned him his sixth consecutive Pro Bowl nod.
Megatron will celebrate his 32nd birthday in September.
Bucs’ Jude Adjei-Barimah Suffers Injury
Buccaneers cornerback Jude Adjei-Barimah has suffered a patellar fracture in his right knee, a league source tells Jenna Laine of ESPN.com. The injury could sideline him for roughly four months, a timetable that would keep him out of action for most of the season. 
[RELATED: Buccaneers Sign Marqueston Huff]
This isn’t Adjei-Barimah’s first rodeo when it comes to the injury. He also suffered a patellar fracture in the same knee late last season and he spent a chunk of this offseason rehabbing from it.
Adjei-Barimah was hoping to reprise his role as the team’s starting nickel cornerback in 2017. The Bucs will now have to look elsewhere for help at the increasingly important position.
The 25-year-old appeared in ten games for the Bucs last season, missing six due to a combination of injury and suspension. He finished out with 22 tackles and two sacks.
Although he’s more of a safety and a special teams player, the recent signing of Marqueston Huff may help the Bucs’ overall defensive back depth while Adjei-Barimah is out.
Latest On Bengals’ A.J. McCarron
When the Bengals started receiving trade interest in backup quarterback A.J. McCarron this offseason, coach Marvin Lewis went on record as saying the team would not be trading him. It appears they are pretty serious about that position. The Bengals were offered a second round pick for the QB earlier this offseason, Albert Breer of The MMQB hears, but they still said no. 
The Bengals feel that even if they trade McCarron for a draft pick, they’ll still have to replace him by using another draft pick. The Bengals also know first hand that McCarron can be a capable fill-in if Andy Dalton suffers an injury and misses time. McCarron, 26 in September, filled in for Dalton to close out the 2015 regular season. From weeks 13 through 16, McCarron completed 66.1% of his passes with six touchdowns and two interceptions before suffering a left wrist injury. The right-handed QB returned to action in the playoffs as the Bengals lost a close contest to the Steelers.
There’s also this: because McCarron spent most of his rookie year on the non-football injury list, he’ll be a restricted free agent after the season instead of an unrestricted free agent. The Bengals will have the ability to keep him on the cheap for the next two seasons for next to nothing while top backups in the league earn $4-5MM. This year, McCarron carries a cap number of $735K.
In April, after Lewis downplayed the trade talk, it was reported that the Bengals were seeking a first round choice for McCarron. The same could still be true today. The Bengals may not be inclined to move the Alabama product, but everyone has a price and it’s hard to say no to a top-32 pick for a No. 2 QB.
Wisconsin LB Jack Cichy Suffers ACL Tear
Wisconsin linebacker Jack Cichy will miss the entire 2017 season with a torn ACL, the program announced in a press release. Cichy is considered to be one of the most talented college linebackers in the country and, before the injury, he was viewed as a likely first round pick in the 2018 draft. 
“You hate it for Jack,” coach Paul Chryst said. “You only get so many chances to play this game and you never want to see a guy miss any of those opportunities. He’s one of the leaders of our team and I know he’ll be a big part of what we do moving forward this season.”
Cichy already did a redshirt year, so he’ll need a special medical waiver if he wants to return to campus for the 2018 season. If he doesn’t go that route or he doesn’t get approval from the NCAA, he’ll have to try his luck in the 2018 NFL Draft while surrounded by question marks and a lack of recent game film.
The 6’2″, 223-pound athlete came to the Badgers as an undersized scrapper. Although he began his college career as a walk-on, he turned out to be a star for the Badgers and served as a team captain.
Last year, he had 60 tackles and seven tackles for a loss before a torn pectoral muscle cost him the second half of the season.
Giants Cut Mykkele Thompson
The Giants waived/injured defensive back Mykkele Thompson. To take his place on the 90-man roster, the team signed rookie linebacker Jimmy Herman. 
Thompson was a fifth round pick in the 2015 draft, but he has been held back by injuries over the last three years. The defensive back suffered a torn Achilles as a rookie, ending his season before it even started. When he made his debut in Week 2 of the 2006 season, he suffered a knee injury that eventually took him out of action for the full year. This summer, a quad injury slowed him down as the G-Men looked to move him from safety to cornerback.
The Giants were hoping that Thompson could make the 53-man cut as a corner this offseason, but he wasn’t doing much to separate himself from the pack even before the injury. As of this writing, the Giants seem likely to keep Michael Hunter as a reserve corner while Donte Deayon and Valentino Blake battle it out for one final CB spot. Janoris Jenkins, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, and Eli Apple will serve as the team’s primary corners.