Patriots Trade TE A.J. Derby To Broncos
The Broncos acquired tight end A.J. Derby from the Patriots, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). New England will receive a 2017 fifth-round pick in the swap. Denver has confirmed the deal via press release. 
[RELATED: Patriots Acquire LB Kyle Van Noy From Lions]
Tight end has been a weak spot for Denver this season. Derby, who is technically still a rookie, could see playing time right away for the Broncos.
“A.J. is a young tight end who can help us immediately,” said Executive Vice President of Football Operations/General Manager John Elway. “He has tremendous upside and will fit in well on our team.”
So far this year, Derby has only been on the field for 36 snaps. That’s understandable considering that he is playing behind both Rob Gronkowski and Martellus Bennett. In the preseason, Derby caught 15 passes for 189 yards and one score.
Derby was a sixth-round pick by New England in the 2015 draft. Unfortunately, he had to be placed on IR last year and missed his entire rookie season. The 6’5″, 225 pound tight end had 22 catches, 303 receiving yards, and three touchdowns in his final year at Arkansas. Prior to that, Derby was a quarterback for the Razorbacks.
Of course, this marks the Patriots’ second trade of the day. Earlier this afternoon, the Pats sent a draft pick to the Lions in exchange for linebacker Kyle Van Noy.
Aqib Talib On Brock Osweiler
Before the Broncos and Texans squared off Monday, Denver cornerback Aqib Talib revealed that the club’s players harbor resentment over quarterback Brock Osweiler‘s offseason departure. Osweiler joined the Texans on a four-year, $72MM deal in free agency after it appeared he would take over the Broncos’ offense from the retired Peyton Manning. “We believed in him,” said Talib (via ESPN.com). “We thought he was going to be our QB. We feel like he reneged on us.” Osweiler’s exit has so far gone swimmingly for the the reigning Super Bowl champion Broncos, who have gotten quality production from signal-caller Trevor Siemian at a minimal cost. Meanwhile, the high-priced Osweiler has been among the NFL’s worst starters in 2016.
More from around the league:
- Jaguars players are questioning head coach Gus Bradley‘s effectiveness, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). Bradley remains popular in the locker room, but players are wondering whether he is tough enough to get the team out of its inconsistent ways. The Jaguars were a popular darkhorse pick before the season started, but they are now 2-4 after Sunday’s home loss to the Raiders. The Jags are also just 14-40 since hiring Bradley in 2011.
- The 49ers are reportedly shopping Joe Staley, but head coach Chip Kelly unsurprisingly wants the team to keep the standout left tackle. “That’s news to me,” Kelly said of Staley’s apparent placement on the trade block. “Nobody’s had any discussions with me about Joe being traded. We need Joe here” (Twitter link via Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group). It’ll ultimately be general manager Trent Baalke who decides whether to deal Staley, for whom the 49ers have a lofty asking price. While Baalke wants a first-round pick for Staley, multiple GMs have told CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora that he’d be lucky to receive a second-rounder (Twitter link).
- Chargers defensive end Caraun Reid tore his anterior cruciate ligament in the team’s 33-30 win over the Falcons on Sunday, per Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Amazingly, Reid is already the fifth Charger to suffer a torn ACL this season, joining receiver Keenan Allen, running back Danny Woodhead, inside linebacker Nick Dzubnar and cornerback Jason Verrett. The highlight of Reid’s season was a fumble recovery that he returned 61 yards for a touchdown in Week 3.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/18/16
Tuesday’s practice squad transactions:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: CB/KR Asa Jackson
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: DB Darius Hillary, WR Jordan Leslie
- Cut: E.J. Bibbs
Denver Broncos
- Signed: LB Quentin Gause, TE Steven Scheu (Twitter link via Cameron Wolfe of the Denver Post)
- Cut: WR Mose Frazier, LB Richard Cliett
Detroit Lions
- Signed: LB Brandon Chubb
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: WR Marcus Leak, CB Frankie Williams
New England Patriots
- Signed: G Jamil Douglas (Twitter link via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com)
- Cut: OL Ian Silberman
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: DL Royce LaFrance (Twitter link via Nick Underhill of The Advocate)
New York Giants
- Signed: LS Tyler Ott
- Cut: DB Doran Grant
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: OL Don Cherry
- Cut: G Darrell Greene
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: WR DeAndre Smelter
- Cut: WR Dres Anderson
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: DT Justin Hamilton (Twitter link via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times)
- Cut: DE Sterling Bailey
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: RB Russell Hansbrough (Twitter link via Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times)
Broncos Work Out J.R. Tavai
- Linebacker J.R. Tavai is working out for the Broncos today, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Tavai, 23, spent several months on the Titans’ practice squad last season, and even made it onto the active roster for a few weeks. However, the 2015 UDFA was waived during final cutdowns earlier this year.
Broncos Waive Darrion Weems
- The Broncos waived reserve guard Darrion Weems, reports Cameron Wolfe of The Denver Post (Twitter link). Weems, 28, had played on roughly a third of Denver’s offensive snaps, but graded as one of the worst interior lineman in the league, according to Pro Football Focus.
Broncos Claim OL Billy Turner
Billy Turner has a new team once again. The Broncos have claimed the veteran offensive lineman off waivers from the Ravens, as Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. 
The Dolphins waived the soon-to-be 25-year-old last Tuesday after failing to find a trade for him. The Ravens picked him up, but they subsequently waived him over the weekend so that they could promote an inside linebacker off of the practice squad.
A 2014 third-round pick, Turner made 20 appearances and 14 starts during two-plus years with the Dolphins. Through five games and two starts this season, Pro Football Focus rated Turner as the second-worst tackle in the NFL among 76 qualifiers. He earned a poor overall grade of 31.8 in 63 pass block snaps and 34 run block snaps.
Turner did not get to take the field for the Ravens but he hopes to break in his new uniform on Monday night when the Broncos face the Texans at home.
Could Joe DeCamillis Be A "Viable" Head Coach?
- The Broncos are serious about Gary Kubiak‘s recovery. How serious? ESPN’s Jeff Darlington reports (via Twitter) that the team doesn’t want anyone to talk to their head coach about football while he’s recuperating. Meanwhile, Cameron Wolfe of The Denver Post wonders if interim coach Joe DeCamillis could become a “viable” head coach.
[SOURCE LINK]
Trevor Siemian To Play On Thursday
Broncos quarterback Trevor Siemian told reporters that he expects to start on Thursday against the Chargers. Siemian has been sidelined with a shoulder injury, but he has healed quickly. 
“The last couple of days I’ve made some strides,” the quarterback said (Twitter link via Cameron Wolfe of The Denver Post).
Siemian, a seventh-round choice in the 2015 draft, got off to a strong start this year before his Week 4 injury. In four starts (with his most recent start cut short), the QB has completed two-thirds of his passes for more than 800 yards, six touchdowns, and three interceptions while helping the Broncos to a 4-0 launch. Now, the sprained AC joint in his non-throwing shoulder is feeling better and he’ll take the job back from rookie Paxton Lynch.
Heading into their Week 5 matchup, the Falcons ranked 30th in both DVOA against the pass and adjusted sack rate. Still, the Lynch-led Broncos were defeated, 23-16.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Gary Kubiak Won’t Coach Broncos Thursday
After being hospitalized on Sunday night with a complex migraine, Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak won’t lead the club on Thursday night against the Chargers, Denver announced today. Special teams coach Joe DeCamillis will serve as the Broncos’ interim head coach for that contest.
[RELATED: Trevor Siemian Expected To Start Week 6]
“We’re really kind of leaving [the timeline] up to the doctors,” general manager John Elway said. “The process for Gary is to worry about Gary this week, so he’s got some different appointments set up, and we want to make sure that Gary takes care of himself.
“He’s going to take this week and take care of some of those issues, and find out if there are some different triggers, or what-not,” Elway said. “But when it comes down to Gary’s health, everybody’s excited about what the prognosis is.”
According to the Broncos, doctors want Kubiak to recuperate through next Monday, meaning he wouldn’t have been in a position to coach even if Denver was playing a typical Sunday game. Kubiak has already gone through one health scare during his coaching career, as he suffered a “transient ischemic attack” and collapsed during halftime in a 2013 contest.
PFR extends its best wishes to Coach Kubiak as he recovers, and hopes to see him back on the field very soon.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Trevor Siemian Expected To Start Week 6?
8:45pm: Kubiak said that Siemian was close to playing today, an indication that the quarterback should be ready for Thursday.
“He did everything he could for us all week, but we had to make a decision that at the end of the week, when it’s time to go, he tried to get there,” Kubiak told Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post. “He worked extremely hard to get there. We just didn’t think he was ready.”
7:20pm: Siemian is seemingly putting the brakes on the reports from earlier today. The quarterback told Troy Renck of TheDenverChannel.com that he’s unsure if he’ll be available on Thursday night, adding that he’ll continue his treatments and see how he feels (Twitter link).
2:49pm: While the Broncos will roll with first-round rookie Paxton Lynch against the Falcons today, Trevor Siemian is expected to be ready to start at quarterback on Thursday Night Football, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
[RELATED: Broncos To Start Paxton Lynch Week 5]
Siemian, 23, has performed better than many expected in his first action as a starter, completing two-thirds of his passes for more than 800 yards, six touchdowns, and three interceptions while helping the Broncos to an undefeated start. Had he been healthy enough to play today, there’s no question Siemian would have started. In other words, there’s no quarterback controversy in Denver as Siemian recovers from a sprained AC joint in his non-throwing shoulder.
In an interview on SiriusXM NFL Radio last week, head coach Gary Kubiak said that the team will play the situation by ear. “It’s going to be a day-to-day thing,” Kubiak said. “He’s very sore (Monday) and, obviously, it’s not going to affect his ability to throw the ball. But what happens, all the mechanics of your body and the movement, the torque, that’s what he’s going to have to work through.”
Still, Siemian’s injury does give the Broncos a convenient excuse to get a look at Lynch, whom they traded up in the draft to acquire. Atlanta shouldn’t provide much in the way of a challenge, as the Falcons rank 30th in both DVOA against the pass and adjusted sack rate, per Football Outsiders.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.