West Notes: Davis, Broncos, Crabtree
Years back, the NFL moved the trade deadline up from Week Six to Week Eight. However, the day of the deadline typically isn’t a hotbed of activity and we didn’t see any trades take place on Tuesday. While some would argue that the deadline should be pushed back even further, Mike Florio of PFT argues that the deadline should be abolished altogether to encourage as much activity as possible.
Of course, on the day prior to the deadline, we saw an AFC West team and an NFC West team link up for a pretty significant deal. Here’s more out of the West divisions..
- The Broncos believe that Vernon Davis will give them a serious threat in the passing game, says Jason Cole of Bleacher Report in one of his latest videos. However, some around football wonder if the tight end will be able to learn the new playbook quickly enough. That’s something that Davis struggled with in San Francisco.
- Count quarterback Derek Carr among those who would like to see the Raiders lock up wide receiver Michael Crabtree. “I would love for Crab to be here for a long time,” Carr said, according to Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com. Crabtree has been targeted 65 times already in 2015, turning those looks into 40 catches for 483 yards and three touchdowns. And, while Carr isn’t the man responsible for signing Crabtree’s checks, the young quarterback’s endorsement probably carries a lot of weigh with the front office.
- 49ers safety/special teamer L.J. McCray had a meniscus tear fixed on Tuesday, Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee tweets. McCray could come back later this season but a trip to the IR is still possible.
Broncos Notes: Davis, Thomas, Clady
In today’s mailbag, a reader asked Troy Renck of The Denver Post if he thinks that the newly-acquired Vernon Davis will have a similar impact to Julius Thomas at tight end. Renck writes that Davis will not have the same impact because the offense is not the same. However, he can be a tantalizing weapon for an offense that is starting to turn the corner. Denver didn’t give up much to land Davis, and Renck feels that was a flyer worth taking for the Broncos.
Here’s more out of Denver..
- A potential deal that would have sent Joe Thomas from the Browns to the Broncos broke down over a holdup on converting his remaining salary for 2016 and 2017 into guarantees for security, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The Browns and Broncos agreed on the deal including a Broncos first-round pick in 2017, Mike Klis of 9NEWS tweets. However, in 2016, the Browns wanted to orchestrate a high-round pick swap and Denver declined.
- Klis (link) supports the Broncos’ refusal to part with that much. If Manning were to retire after the season and Denver were to tank in 2016, they might be unable to get a top QB if they finished worst than the Browns and had the picks swapped.
- On the surface, the Broncos’ play for Joe Thomas looks like an effort to replace left tackle Ty Sambrailo, who is done for the year with a shoulder injury. On a deeper level, Mike Florio of PFT writes, the talks can be interpreted as a bad sign for left tackle Ryan Clady, who has suffered two season-long injuries in three years and is earning major money. Clady is set to earn $9.5MM in 2016 and $10MM in 2017.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/3/15
Here are Tuesday’s practice squad moves from across the league:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: WR C.J. Goodwin (Twitter link via Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com)
- Cut: WR LaRon Byrd (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post)
Baltimore Ravens
- To be signed: Chuck Jacobs (via The Baltimore Sun)
Buffalo Bills
- Cut: RB Miguel Maysonet (Twitter link via team)
Denver Broncos
- Signed: S Ryan Murphy (link via Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post)
- Cut: DT Deandre Coleman
Houston Texans
- Cut: RB Daryl Richardson (via Wilson)
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: G Ben Heenan (Twitter link via team)
- Cut: G David Arkin
New Orleans Saints
- Cut: DB Sammy Seamster (Twitter link via Evan Woodbery of The Times-Picayune)
New York Giants
- Signed: TE Matt LaCosse (Twitter link via Paul Schwartz of the New York Post), S Cooper Taylor (Twitter link via Dan Graziano of ESPN.com)
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: DE Shelby Harris (Twitter link via Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle)
San Diego Chargers
- Signed: RB Dreamius Smith (Twitter link via Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune), OLB Ryan Mueller (Twitter link via Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego)
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: CB Chris Davis (press release via team)
- Removed: DL Kaleb Ramsey (suspended four games for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances)
Seattle Seahawks
- Released: TE Rashaun Allen (Twitter link via Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Cut: LB Julian Stanford (press release via team)
Broncos Offered First-Rounder For Joe Thomas?
12:19pm: According to Mike Klis of 9NEWS (via Twitter), the Broncos talked to the Browns about Thomas some time ago, but didn’t make a firm offer — the two sides “talked conceptually,” says Klis. Of course, it’s possible that just means the Broncos indicated they’d be willing to give up a first-round pick, even if they didn’t officially put that offer on the table.
10:12am: According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter), the Browns were asking for two first-round pick for Thomas. While reports on Cleveland’s asking price for Thomas have varied slightly, it seems clear that a lone first-rounder won’t get it done.
9:15am: After the Broncos’ starting left tackle, Ryan Clady, went down earlier this year, the team engaged in trade talks with the Browns, offering Cleveland a first-round pick for Joe Thomas, reports Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com. However, according to Grossi, the Browns also asked for second-year linebacker Shaquil Barrett, and the Broncos balked.
Those trade discussions reportedly occurred early in the season, before the Broncos’ lost another left tackle, Ty Sambrailo, to a season-ending injury of his own. As such, it’s possible Denver will increase its offer for Thomas as today’s trade deadline approaches. Still, Jeff Schudel of The News-Herald tweets that he’d be shocked if Cleveland moves its standout left tackle, adding that a club would have to overpay to land Thomas.
Jason Cole of Bleacher Report and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com have also weighed in with the latest on the Browns’ asking prices, with Cole tweeting that an NFC GM told him Cleveland wants a first- and second-round pick for Thomas. Rapoport adds (via Twitter) that Cleveland wants a third-round pick for either Alex Mack or Barkevious Mingo, so none of the club’s trade candidates will come cheaply.
If those asking prices are met, the Browns could become the NFL’s biggest seller at today’s deadline, but it’s also possible the team ends up simply standing pat — GM Ray Farmer and company have less than six hours to make decisions on Thomas, Mack, and others.
AFC Notes: Ravens, Nicks, Broncos, Luck
A day after losing Steve Smith Sr. for the season, the Ravens will work out a group of free-agent wide receivers that includes Hakeem Nicks, sources tell ESPN’s Ed Werder. The wide receiver has been making the workout rounds as he searches for a new team in 2015 and his most recent stop was with the Patriots.
Nicks, who spent his first five years with the Giants, posting multiple 1,000-yard seasons in New York, caught just 38 balls for 405 yards and four touchdowns last year in Indianapolis. He found a new home in free agency when he signed with the Titans earlier in the year, but Tennessee opted to keep just four wideouts on the roster to start the season, cutting Nicks in September. The veteran wideout has als0 worked out for the Saints, Cowboys, and Giants.
Here’s more from the AFC..
- Even after acquiring Vernon Davis, Broncos GM John Elway says he’s open to more deals, as Troy Renck of The Denver Post tweets. “We will always listen. We are always trying to get better,” Elway said.
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Peter King of TheMMQB.com believes that the NFL has to investigate a report that Andrew Luck has been playing through broken ribs. If that investigation reveals that the Colts didn’t include a rib fracture on their injury report, the league should levy a significant fine on the franchise, in King’s view.
- Ravens coach John Harbaugh said that defensive end Brent Urban is healthy and will return to practice soon, Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun tweets. Urban is currently on the IR-DTR list.
- Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt says that he has not considered making any staff coaching changes in-season, as Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com tweets.
Broncos Acquire Vernon Davis
4:12pm: The actual deal has the 49ers trading Davis and a 2016 seventh-round choice to the Broncos in exchange for a sixth-round pick in 2016 and a sixth-round choice in 2017, Schefter tweets.
4:09pm: The Broncos have acquired Vernon Davis from the 49ers, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. In the last year of his deal, the Broncos will owe Davis ~$2.3MM in salary plus $225K in per-game roster bonuses.
Suddenly, Davis has gone from playing for a 2-6 team at the bottom of the NFC West to a Broncos squad that is 7-0 after polishing off the Packers last night. Strangely enough, the Peyton Manning-led Broncos are actually undefeated in spite of their offense. Many have theorized that Manning has been missing a quality safety blanket option underneath, a role that was expected to be filled by Owen Daniels. Now, Manning has one of the game’s top offensive tight ends to work with and things could turn around quickly for Denver’s offense. In short, one of the league’s scariest teams just got even scarier. 
So far in 2015, Davis has appeared in six games, hauling in a total of 18 receptions and 194 yards. In his two outings, however, Davis has caught a total of 10 passes for 85 yards, no small feat given the difficulties that the 49ers have had on offense. The two-time Pro Bowler arguably enjoyed his best season in 2009 when he caught 78 passes for 965 yards and 13 touchdowns. He also shined in 2013 when he recorded 52 passes for 850 yards and 13 scores.
Davis has had his fair share of ups-and-downs in San Francisco, including a bit of off-the-field trouble. Most recently, Davis was said to have gotten into an altercation with teammate Joe Staley, though the tight end mostly denied that taking place.
“I don’t recall that,” Davis said of the report which alleged that the two got into fisticuffs during an argument concerning quarterback Colin Kaepernick. “I don’t know where that’s coming from. It’s funny to me. He’s been like a brother to me… We’ve had arguments in the past. My first year, I remember, I came here and we got into it. We got into right then and seconds later we were hanging out, laughing and drinking sodas together.”
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Broncos’ Ty Sambrailo Out For Season
4:01pm: Sambrailo revealed today that he sustained a torn labrum, according to Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post (Twitter link).
2:58pm: After battling with a shoulder injury for several weeks, offensive tackle Ty Sambrailo will be shut down for the season and will land on injured reserve, Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak said today (Twitter link via Troy Renck of the Denver Post). Sambrailo, who began his rookie season as the team’s left tackle, will undergo surgery on the troublesome shoulder, per Kubiak.
While Sambrailo’s absence will hurt the Broncos’ offensive line depth, the group has managed to do a decent job keeping Peyton Manning upright since the rookie first went down. Over the last several weeks, Ryan Harris has slid over to the left side to protect Manning’s blind side, with Michael Schofield stepping into the starting lineup as Denver’s right tackle.
With Sambrailo heading to IR, the Broncos will open up a roster spot and could use that opening on an offensive lineman. Asked today if his club would pursue external help at left tackle, Kubiak said the Broncos are still considering their options (Twitter links via Renck).
Browns left tackle Joe Thomas would appear to be a logical trade target for Denver, but the Broncos aren’t considered one of the teams with interest in the Pro Bowler, according to Renck (via Twitter). It’s also not clear yet if Cleveland would seriously consider moving Thomas.
West Notes: Manning, Cards RBs, Hayne
Surprisingly, the success of the 6-0 Broncos this season has come more in spite of future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning than because of him. The 39-year-old is having his worst statistical season since his rookie campaign, 1998, when he threw more interceptions (28) than touchdowns (26), averaged just 6.5 yards per attempt and put up a 71.2 passer rating. In 2015, he has also tossed more picks than scores (10 to seven), posted a subpar YPA (6.43) and a poor rating (72.5). Nevertheless, he has a defender in AZCentral.com’s , who writes that it’s too soon to jump off the Manning bandwagon as he and the Broncos get ready for a clash with 6-0 Green Bay on Sunday.
McManaman believes a change in offensive scheme (from Adam Gase‘s to Gary Kubiak‘s), a lesser O-line, and the offseason loss of touchdown-catching tight end Julius Thomas have hindered Manning in his 18th season and made him look worse than he really is. Whether McManaman is right is debatable. What isn’t debatable is that Manning has the worst rating in the league among qualified starters.
Now to the NFC West:
- After signing an inexpensive deal for one year with the Cardinals during the summer, running back Chris Johnson has revitalized his career as a key part of an elite team. The 30-year-old currently has the second-highest yards-per-carry average of his career (5.1) to go along with three touchdowns. While Johnson could stand to cash in during the offseason as a result of his renaissance this year, that isn’t on his mind. “I’m not even thinking about my contract,” he said, per Dan Bickley of AZCentral.com. “At the end of the day, I’m just happy to be playing football again. At one point, I thought that would never happen.”
- Thanks to Johnson’s excellent play, fellow Cardinals runner Andre Ellington has barely figured into their offensive game plan this season. Ellington has 90 fewer carries than Johnson (21 compared to 111), but the Cards will look to get the third-year man more involved this week against the Browns’ last-ranked run defense, writes Kevin Patra of NFL.com. “I think BA (head coach Bruce Arians) has stuff for him and he didn’t get to it, but I’m sure he’ll get to it this week,” said offensive coordinator Harold Goodwin.
- The reasons the 49ers cut Jarryd Hayne on Saturday, according to Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter): 1. They didn’t trust him to pick up blitzes as a running back. 2. He had major issues with ball security as a return man. Despite those flaws, the 49ers will try to sign Hayne to their practice squad Monday, per Branch.
AFC Notes: Raiders, Texans, Broncos, Workouts
As the possibility of losing the Raiders again continues to loom over the city, Oakland is continuing to formulate solutions on a path to a new stadium.
Mayor Libby Schaaf has initiated a process of bringing to light yet another stadium proposal with the goal of having it ready to present in the next couple of weeks, per Phil Matier and Andy Ross of the San Francisco Chronicle, who write this operation’s plan is to present this proposal to a special league committee — rather than the owners — by December.
Despite bringing in a consulting firm, Schaaf faces an uphill battle in procuring a land deal that will please the parties involved. The Raiders’ believing they should not have to pay for that part of the process is not sitting well with the city or Alameda County, Matier and Ross note.
The Bay Area scribes, however, hear that Oakland has the trump card in this standoff: the fact that Raiders owner Mark Davis does not have the votes to move and is lagging behind the Rams and Chargers, the latter once agreeing on a significant partnership for a Carson, Calif.-based stadium, in the Los Angeles sweepstakes.
The league desires a wealthier owner that will make an L.A. return profitable, per the Chronicle’s investigative-reporting tandem, and Davis doesn’t match up. He’s in the process of taking on a partner to help aid this potential relocation financially.
Let’s look at some additional AFC items.
- Ryan Mallett remains eligible to collect $1.47MM from the Texans in termination pay, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle writes. The Texans are carrying this figure on their 2015 payroll after extracting themselves from the two-year, $7.01MM contract they signed Mallett to in March. The reeling signal-caller can file for his remaining 10 game checks, each totaling $147K+, but the Texans are not on the hook for any money in 2016.
- Bill O’Brien and GM Rick Smith‘s indecisiveness on their quarterback situation should put their jobs at risk, writes the Chronicle’s Jerome Solomon.
- In advance of a matchup with the 6-0 Packers, the Broncos‘ coaching staff was noticeably stricter this week, players told Cameron Wolfe of the Denver Post
- The Colts kicked the tires on former free agent acquisition and starting guard Donald Thomas today, Field Yates of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). Thomas played two games for Indianapolis in 2013 before suffering a season-ending injury. The former Patriots lineman sustained another in 2014, and the Colts cut his comeback short when they released him before the season.
- The Jets worked out former Chiefs center and sixth-round pick Eric Kush on Friday, Wilson reports (on Twitter). Current Kansas City center Mitch Morse beat out Kush for the position this summer.
- The Browns brought in defensive tackles Joe Vellano, Terry Williams and Toby Johnson for workouts this week, according to Wilson (on Twitter).
- J.R. Tavai worked out for the Titans this week, Wilson tweets. The rookie outside linebacker who the Titans cut just before the season also tried out for the Packers earlier this week.
Extra Points: Trades, FAs, Texans, Browns
The NFL doesn’t see that level of trade activity that does MLB or the NBA, but there are still a fair number of deals each year. Still, most of the trades (at least, those made in-season) are fairly minor in nature. However, in something of a thought exercise, Greg Garber of ESPN.com takes a look at five potential deals, involving star players such as J.J. Watt, Calvin Johnson, and Joe Thomas. Needless to say, it’s highly unlikely that any of these trades will come to pass, but it’s interesting to entertain, nonetheless. On a related note, I recently examined several AFC candidates to be traded before the November 3 deadline, and I’ll go over the NFC later this weekend.
Here’s a look around the NFL as we close out Friday night:
- In an Insider-only piece for ESPN.com, Field Yates takes an early look at the top 10 free-agents-to-be for 2016, with Broncos pass rusher Von Miller topping his list. Considering Denver locked up Demaryius Thomas to a new contract earlier this year, Miller looks like a very strong bet to get the franchise tag this winter. However, if he signs a long-term deal with the Broncos or another team, Miller could become the NFL’s highest-paid defensive player, says Rand Getlin of the NFL Network (video link).
- The Texans brokered a one-week injury settlement of nearly $19K for tight end Mike McFarland, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle writes. McFarland was removed from injured reserve following a bizarre incident where he was the victim of an extortion plot. Interestingly, Wilson writes that McFarland’s exit is related to that situation. McFarland joined the Texans as a UDFA this season out of South Florida. However, he began his career at USF as a four-star recruit.
- The Browns worked out former Patriots defensive lineman Joe Vellano today, according to Wilson (Twitter link). Vellano, who turned 27 today, appeared in all 16 games for New England back in 2013, but saw action in just five contests last year. Cleveland has a few defensive lineman who are dinged up, but the club is likely just updating its emergency list.
- The Titans will discuss re-adding receiver Rico Richardson to the active roster, reports Terry McCormick of TitansInsider.com (Twitter link). Richardson was released and moved to the practice squad on Monday.
Luke Adams and Zach Links contributed to this post.