Mike McCarthy On Hot Seat
Mike McCarthy‘s enjoyed the benefit of coaching two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks, and the Packers have qualified for nine playoff brackets in the coach’s 12 previous seasons. But with the team in danger of missing the NFC bracket for the second straight season, McCarthy appears to be firmly on the hot seat. The 13th-year Green Bay coach’s job status is “pretty clearly” uncertain regarding 2019, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes (video link). McCarthy signed a one-year extension to take him through the ’19 season, so the team isn’t committed long-term here. He’s now reporting to team president Mark Murphy under the post-Ted Thompson power structure, and with Brian Gutekunst now GM, different voices will have a say if McCarthy will be brought back.
The Packers are venturing near must-win territory if they want to secure their ninth playoff berth in 10 seasons. They face the Vikings in Minnesota next week.
Jimmy Graham Out With Broken Thumb
Fears surrounding Jimmy Graham‘s status have been confirmed. The former All-Pro tight end does indeed have a broken thumb and will be out for the foreseeable future, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (video link).
Graham left Thursday’s game against the Seahawks because of this malady, and his first Packers season will be paused as a result. The Packers are determining how long their big-ticket free agent acquisition will be out, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter).
While Graham’s touchdown numbers have taken a hit, with the longtime red zone dynamo sitting on two after posting a 10-TD season in Seattle last year, he’s been a key component of the Packers’ passing attack all season. Graham’s 452 yards nearly match his 16-game total from 2017. His 13.3 yards-per-catch figure is more in line with his pre-2017 career averages; he came to Green Bay on the heels of a 9.1 yards-per-reception season.
Green Bay does have an experienced tight end contingent behind Rodgers. Both Lance Kendricks and Marcedes Lewis reside on the Packers after their previous teams released them, and each veteran should be a bigger part of the Packers’ passing attack during Graham’s absence.
This hits a Packers passing game that already saw Geronimo Allison head to IR. Randall Cobb has also struggled with injuries this season. Aaron Rodgers has needed to rely on rookies plenty and will now have to turn to auxiliary tight end options for a Packers team that’s teetering on missing the playoffs for a second straight year.
Eagles Activate TE Richard Rodgers
Richard Rodgers will return to action after the Eagles made the decision to activate him Friday, per Jeff McLane of Philly.com (on Twitter).
While Rodgers joins Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert on Philadelphia’s active roster, he’ll replace tight end Joshua Perkins. The Eagles waived Perkins to make room on their roster for Rodgers.
The former Packers tight end returned to practice recently, and the Eagles aren’t wasting time getting him ready for game action. He’s been on IR throughout the season and has not played for his new team yet. Rodgers is signed to a one-year deal, so the next batch of Eagles games will be key for his value going forward.
The fifth-year target’s best season came in 2015, when he caught 58 passes for 510 yards and eight touchdowns — one of those a final-play game-winner from Aaron Rodgers in Detroit — but he managed just 12 receptions for 160 yards last season in 15 Green Bay games. He’ll fill in as depth behind Ertz and Goedert for an Eagles team clinging to playoff aspirations.
Packers TE Jimmy Graham May Have Broken Thumb
The Packers are concerned tight end Jimmy Graham may have broken his thumb in Thursday night’s loss to the Seahawks, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Michael Silver of NFL.com first reported Green Bay feared Graham suffered a “serious” thumb issue in last night’s contest.
Graham will undergo further testing today, per Rapoport, as the Packers aren’t yet positive on the nature of his injury. While it sounds as though Graham could potentially play through the ailment (depending on the severity), that too is unclear. Additional information and a recovery timeline should be available once Graham’s thumb goes under more scrutiny.
After falling to Seattle, the Packers now have just a 14% chance of earning a postseason berth, per FiveThirtyEight.com. Those odds are probably still high enough that Graham would attempt to play through his injury if possible, but if not, Green Bay will move on to its reserve options. Backups Lance Kendricks and Marcedes Lewis boast a combined 21 seasons of NFL experience, but they haven’t contributed much this year. Kendricks has played on roughly a third of the Packers’ snaps and managed 11 receptions, while Lewis has seen 17% playtime while posting two catches.
Graham, 31, inked a three-year, $30MM contract in March that includes $11MM guaranteed. Through 10 games, he’s put up 34 receptions on 57 targets for 452 yards and two touchdowns. According to Football Outsiders’ metrics, Graham has been a below-average starter at tight end, as he ranks 22nd in both DYAR (which measures value over a replacement level player) and DVOA (which represents per-play value).
Packers Activate Trevor Davis From IR
The Packers activated wide receiver Trevor Davis from injured reserve, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Davis may contribute in the return game upon his return while also providing depth behind Davante Adams, Marquez Valdes-Scantling (a.k.a. Scantron), Randall Cobb, Equanimeous St. Brown, and J’Mon Moore. 
A fifth-round choice in 2016, Davis hauled in 24 receptions and tallied 289 yards last season while playing on 40.5% of Green Bay’s special teams snaps. His return is well-timed for a Packers team that recently placed Geronimo Allison on IR.
Prior to the transaction, the Packers had only 52 players on the roster, so no corresponding move will have to be made before the team’s Thursday night game against the Seahawks. With a win, the Packers can keep themselves afloat in the NFC Wild Card chase while seriously damaging the Seahawks’ playoff hopes.
Packers TNF Injury Report
- Speaking of injuries, the Packers will be without several of their key players when they face the Seahawks on Thursday night. Per Schefter (Twitter link), wide receiver Randall Cobb, linebacker Nick Perry, cornerback Kevin King, and safety Kentrell Brice will not make the trip to Seattle. Cobb’s absence means rookie pass-catchers Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Equanimeous St. Brown will continue to see more work alongside Davante Adams, while Perry will be replaced by Kyler Fackrell and Reggie Gilbert. King, meanwhile, didn’t play in Week 10, leaving cornerback snaps to to Jaire Alexander, Josh Jackson, and Bashaud Breeland.
NFL Workout Updates: 11/12/18
Here are today’s tryouts:
Buffalo Bills:
- CBs Ashton Lampkin, Denzel Rice
Carolina Panthers:
Cleveland Browns:
- T Chris Durant; DB John Franklin III, CB Josh Thornton
Green Bay Packers:
- WRs K.J. Brent, DeAndrew White
Houston Texans:
- WR Hunter Sharp
Indianapolis Colts:
- G David Bright; LB Kennan Gilchrist; S Terrell Williams
New York Jets:
Latest On Mike McCarthy's Future With Packers
- Pete Dougherty of PackersNews.com confirms what we have been hearing for some time: that something is off in the relationship between Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and head coach Mike McCarthy, which could lead to McCarthy’s ouster at the end of the season. McCarthy is widely perceived to be on the hot seat, though Dougherty points out that team president/CEO Mark Murphy thinks highly of McCarthy and has final say over all football matters. However, Murphy will give a great deal of credence to the opinion of new GM Brian Gutekunst when it comes to the head coach’s future with the club.
Packers Down Kevin King In Week 10
A third Rob Gronkowski injury absence appears to be in the cards. The Patriots will not deploy their All-Pro tight end to play Sunday against the Titans, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. While Gronkowski is traveling with the team to Nashville, per ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss (on Twitter), he’s expected to be held out. Gronk missed games against the Bears and Packers but played in Buffalo on the Monday night in between those tilts. He’s been dealing with back and ankle trouble. While the Patriots have been able to win without their top pass-catcher, these repeated absences are obviously a concern for the future Hall of Famer’s availability for New England’s stretch run and potentially his post-2018 NFL future. It’s likely the Pats are attempting to rest Gronk now to hopefully see him healthy for key late-season games and the playoffs, but that can’t be considered a lock given his extensive injury history. Gronkowski hitting his incentive targets may now be unrealistic as well.
- A tough injury night against the Patriots will have after-effects for the Packers. Kevin King will not play Sunday against the Dolphins because of a hamstring injury. Bashaud Breeland, whom ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky notes appeared to impress the Packers in his Green Bay debut, figures to see more time.
Designated To Return From IR: Burkhead, Shaheen, Davis, Quinn
With more than half of the 2018 campaign in the books, NFL clubs have started to exercise their right to return players from injured reserve. Each team is allowed to bring two players back from IR, but said players must have been retained on their respective club’s initial 53-man roster. Once an IR player returns to practice, his club will have three weeks to decide whether to activate him to their 53-man roster; if he’s not activated, the player will remain on injured reserve for the remainder of the season.
Here are three players who have been designated to return from IR this week:
- Patriots running back Rex Burkhead returned to practice on Thursday, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Burkhead, who is first eligible to play in Week 13 against the Vikings, is the second and final New England player who is scheduled to return from IR, joining rookie cornerback Duke Dawson. That means other injured Patriots, such as linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley, cornerback Eric Rowe, and offensive lineman Brian Schwenke are officially done for the year. New England doesn’t necessarily need more help at running back: James White and jack-of-all-trades Cordarrelle Patterson have held down the fort in recent weeks, and impressive rookie Sony Michel is expected to return from injury this week. But Burkhead could still carve out a role, and will certainly be a factor on special teams.
- Second-year tight end Adam Shaheen has been designated for return by the Bears, tweets veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer. Shaheen, a second-round pick in 2017, was an impressive athlete coming out of Division II Ashland last year, but didn’t produce much in the way of results during his first NFL campaign. In 13 games (seven starts), Shaheen managed only 12 receptions for 127 yards and three touchdowns. Now that he’s recovered from foot and ankle issues, Shaheen should slot in alongside fellow Chicago tight ends Trey Burton and Dion Sims.
- The Packers have gotten contributions from several young receivers already this season, and they could be getting another youthful pass-catcher back in the near future. Trevor Davis returned to practice earlier this week, per Balzer, and can now be activated at any point in the next three weeks. A fifth-round choice in the 2016 draft, Davis posted 24 receptions last season while playing on 40.5% of Green Bay’s special teams snaps. Now that Geronimo Allison has been placed on injured reserve, Davis could see snaps behind Davante Adams, Randall Cobb, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
- Redskins rookie wide receiver Trey Quinn returned to practice today and has been designated to return from IR, tweets Balzer. Quinn suffered an ankle injury in Week 1 after being selected in the seventh round of this year’s draft. Washington is dealing with numerous injuries at the wide receiver position and just placed pass-catcher Paul Richardson on IR, so Quinn could theoretically see snaps down the line.