North Notes: Dalton, K. Long, Wolf, Steelers
Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton will meet with a specialist on Monday to determine his progress since fracturing his right thumb on December 13, but according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com, Dalton doesn’t know exactly what to expect from the visit. He hasn’t ruled himself out for a potential wild card game next weekend, but he isn’t expressing much optimism, either. “It depends how it feels and what the doctor says,” Dalton said today. “It’s hard to tell exactly how it feels. It’s getting better. That’s what they’re saying.”
Let’s dive into some more notes from the NFL’s two North divisions:
- Kyle Long confirmed to reporters, including Patrick Finely of the Chicago Sun-Times, that he’ll be playing tackle for the Bears next season — but he still doesn’t know if he’ll man the right or left side. The former first-round pick slid out from guard to right tackle this season, and according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), didn’t fare all that well, grading as the league’s 40th-best tackle.
- Packers executive Eliot Wolf could have his “pick of jobs,” according to Neil Stratton of Inside the League (Twitter link), as both the Lions and the Browns could express interest. However, Wolf is also seen as the heir apparent to current Packers general manager Ted Thompson, so Wolf might not be too eager to jump ship just yet.
- Getting a head start on possible offseason futures deals, the Steelers brought in kicker Ty Long, receiver Levi Norwood, and quarterback Phillip Sims for workouts, reports Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
More Minor NFL Transactions: 12/29/15
Tuesdays are generally the busiest day of the week during the NFL regular season for transactions, and on the last Tuesday of the 2015 campaign, that’s especially true. After rounding up several minor moves from around the league earlier today, we’ve got plenty more to pass along now. Here’s the latest:
AFC:
- After re-signing him three weeks ago, the Chargers confirmed today that they have released wide receiver Vincent Brown. The 26-year-old was active for just one game and caught only one pass, for 22 yards.
- The Ravens have placed wide receiver Marlon Brown on season-ending injured reserve due to a back injury, replacing him on the roster with defensive back Sheldon Price, the team announced today (via Twitter). Brown, the 20th player Baltimore has placed on IR this year, is eligible for restricted free agency, and he may not be tendered a contract this winter, tweets Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun.
- The Broncos have cut safety Shaun Prater, who was inactive on Monday, the team announced in a press release. Prater was signed as insurance after David Bruton was placed on IR, but with T.J. Ward and Darian Stewart back in action, his services weren’t required.
- The Patriots have filled their roster by signing linebacker and special-teamer Dekoda Watson, per Mike Reiss of ESPN.com (Twitter link). It’s the third contract signed with New England this year by Watson, who has been off and on the Pats’ roster.
- The Texans have officially confirmed the previously-reported transaction that sent cornerback Charles James to IR, elevating safety Corey Moore to the active roster from the practice squad to replace James, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.
- The Raiders have signed safety Dewey McDonald from off their practice squad, according to the team. McDonald has also spent time with the Colts and Patriots this season.
NFC:
- The Buccaneers are ending Major Wright‘s season, placing the safety on injured reserve prior to Week 17, tweets Rand Getlin of NFL Network. In a corresponding move, Tampa Bay is elevating tight end Tevin Westbrook from its practice squad to the 53-man roster, according to agent Brett Tessler (Twitter link).
- Washington has made a change at the back of its 53-man roster, announcing that tight end Je’Ron Hamm has been waived to make room for cornerback Jeremy Harris, who received a promotion from the practice squad.
- The Lions have once again waived cornerback Bill Bentley, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Bentley, a third-round pick by Detroit in 2012, was cut by the team in the summer before re-signing last month.
- The Saints are promoting tight end Rashaun Allen to their 53-man roster from the practice squad, tweets Aaron Wilson. As Evan Woodbery of the Times-Picayune (Twitter link) observes, a corresponding move will be required to make the signing official, which could mean moving tight end Josh Hill to IR.
- Wilson also passes along details on a couple players who have been cut from their respective teams’ injured reserve lists, reporting (via Twitter) that the Cardinals have cut defensive back Cariel Brooks with an injury settlement, while the Packers have released defensive end Jermauria Rasco from their IR.
Latest On Drug Allegations
We heard the nationally televised stance from Peyton Manning regarding the Al Jazeera report linking him to HGH usage, but James Harrison and Clay Matthews addressed their accusations following their games Sunday.
Although Manning’s name jumps out most in this report, Harrison appears prominently as well, and the Steelers linebacker predictably denied any wrongdoing, telling media (including the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Mark Kaboly) “They never supplied me with anything. “I never took steroids. Point, blank, period. End of discussion.”
The report linked Harrison to the performance-enhancing drug Delta-2, but the 2008 defensive player of the year joined the chorus of denials emerging this weekend. At 37, Harrison is the NFL’s second-oldest defensive player behind Charles Woodson.
The Steelers declined to comment.
As for Matthews, whom the report connects with requesting Toradol and using other drugs, the Packers standout claims he did not know who alleged supplier at the Indiana-based Guyer Institute Charles Sly is (Twitter link via Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel).
“I don’t know who the guy is. I don’t know what he looks like. I haven’t talked to him,” Matthews told media.
Also named in the report were Packers linebackers Julius Peppers and Mike Neal, who both denied involvement (Twitter links via Silverstein), with Peppers calling the report “irresponsible journalism.”
Sly said in the report he ventured to the homes of both Green Bay linebackers and talked to around 25 Packers players, alleging Peppers to have taken Delta-2 “maybe two days a week.” Peppers has served a suspension for PEDs, doing so as a rookie in 2002.
Matthews was not linked to the advanced performance-enhancer due to his higher-profile stature inducing reluctance, but the report does infer past HGH usage, claiming the seventh-year veteran wasn’t using the drug “anymore.”
Latest On Peyton Manning, HGH Allegations
6:56pm: The quarterback told Peter King of TheMMQB.com he will probably sue over these allegations, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk relays. Manning cited anger over this account as the reasoning behind potential litigation, but Florio argues such a course of action would further open up the guarded signal-caller’s private life to scrutiny. In Florio’s mind, the 18-year veteran’s staunch denials intensified the degree the to which American media covered this matter. Such a lawsuit would keep this story going in future news cycles, Florio writes, instead of allowing it to run its course.
11:55am: Manning just completed an interview with ESPN’s Lisa Salters, and several prominent journalists have indicated (via Twitter) that they have never seen Manning so angry. Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk provides some of the choicest quotes from that interview, in which Manning said he was “angry, furious, [and] disgusted.” Manning added, “[I’m] [s]ickened by it. I’m not sure I understand how someone can make something up about somebody, admit that he made it up, and yet somehow it’s published in a story. I don’t understand that.”
Thus far, the NFL has declined to comment on the documentary, although Barry Svrluga, Mark Maske, and Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post report that the league will investigate all players named in the documentary. Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports confirms that report (via Twitter), although La Canfora adds that the fact that Sly has already recanted his story “has not gone unnoticed at the league office” (Twitter link). Per ESPN.com news services, Sly said, “When I was [working at The Guyer Institute], I had never seen the Mannings ever. They were not even living there at that time. Someone who worked there said they had been there before. That was the extent of any knowledge I had. I feel badly. I never saw any files. This is just amazing that it reached this point.”
In the Salters interview, Manning describes the procedures he underwent at The Guyer Institute and says everything was done with the authorization and under the supervision of the Colts’ medical staff. Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post provides more details via Twitter.
10:48am: Within the documentary, pharmacy intern Charlie Sly goes into great detail about his interactions with Manning.
“He’s really cool if you just sit down with him. The first time I met him was at [Dr. Dale Guyer’s office]. He sounded real genuine. He’s like, ‘I really appreciate you guys working with me.’ He sounded real genuine,” Sly said.
Sly also claims that the prescriptions for performance enhancing drugs were actually written out in the name of Peyton’s wife, Ashley.
“Him and his wife would come in after hours and get IVs and [expletive]. One thing that Guyer does is that he dispenses drugs out of his office which physicians can do in the United States, just not that many of them do it. And, all the time, we would be sending Ashley Manning drugs. Like growth hormone, all the time, everywhere…Florida. And it would never be under Peyton’s name, it would always be under her name. We were sending it everywhere.”
Sly also made damning accusations regarding Packers defensive stars Mike Neal, Julius Peppers, and Clay Matthews. The former Guyer Institute employee claimed that Neal started out as a client before getting a great number of his teammates on board.
“Last year I went out to Green Bay for like six weeks. I set Mike’s stuff but then, like, he started bringing everybody..I’m not even joking, more than half the team started to come by,” said Sly, who went on to name Julius Peppers as one of the clients that came to him through Neal. “So, I would do everything, usually at Mike Neal’s house or at Julius’ house.”
The pharmacist said that Peppers takes Delta-2, a substance mentioned frequently throughout the documentary, but “not that often” and maybe as infrequently as “two days a week.” Sly estimated that he has probably talked to about 25 Packers players and “directed like ten of them, twelve of them.” When it came to Delta-2, Sly said that he only pointed them in the right direction to acquire it rather than actually supply those players with it.
While Sly and Collins are chatting, the pharmacist tells Collins that he had just received a text from Matthews asking him for an oral form of Torodol, a powerful anti-inflammatory. Sly also indicates that Matthews has used Ipamorelin, a peptide, and said that he doesn’t believe that he takes HGH “anymore.” He says that Matthews was not among his clients taking Delta-2, however, because he didn’t want to “push the envelope” with Matthews since he is a “high-profile guy.”
9:52am: Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that Peyton Manning has retained the services of former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer, who now does crisis management work. Rapoport spoke with Fleischer last night, and he was told that Manning has never used HGH, has never failed any league drug tests, and that the Al Jazeera documentary that created a media firestorm yesterday would not affect Manning’s status with the league. Fleischer did say that Manning’s wife, Ashley Manning, was a patient at the anti-aging clinic referenced by the documentary and had a prescription from the clinic, though Fleischer would not say what the prescription was for (Twitter links).
The Broncos, for their part, have stood behind their quarterback, and have released the following statement via the team’s official website:
“Knowing Peyton Manning and everything he stands for, the Denver Broncos support him 100 percent. These are false claims made to Al Jazeera, and we don’t believe the report.
“Peyton is rightfully outraged by the allegations, which he emphatically denied to our organization and which have been publicly renounced by the source who initially provided them.
“Throughout his NFL career, particularly during his four seasons with the Broncos, Peyton has shown nothing but respect for the game. Our organization is confident Peyton does things the right way, and we do not find this story to be credible.”
Rory Parks contributed to this post.
NFL To Investigate Manning, Others Accused Of PED Use
The NFL plans to investigate Peyton Manning, Julius Peppers, and other players accused of taking PEDs in a recent Al Jazeera report, a source tells Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). It’s the standard operating procedure for the league to follow up on any such lead and/or tip in a matter such as this, per Cole, but the NFL has no official comment on the situation at this time.
A past history of failed drug tests will play a role in the investigation, reports Cole. While that won’t affect Manning (who hasn’t failed a test in his 18-year career), Peppers and fellow Packer Mike Neal have each served four-game bans in the past, so they could see additional scrutiny as the league looks closer into the report. Peppers was suspended way back in 2002 for taking a banned dietary supplement, while Neal was banned in 2012 for using Adderall.
Meanwhile, the Colts have issued a statement on the matter (specifically relating to the charges against Manning), calling the report “utterly ridiculous” while lauding Manning’s lengthy history of excellent work ethic and integrity (link via Pro Football Talk).
Sunday Roundup: Matthews, Dimitroff, Brees
As the NFL world continues to reel from the Peyton Manning HGH allegations, let’s take a look at some links from around the league:
- Although the majority of the fallout from the Al Jazeera documentary has naturally focused on Manning, it should not be forgotten that other star players, like Packers LB Clay Matthews, were also named in the report. Per Mike Garafolo of FOXSports, via colleague Jay Glazer, Matthews has denied even knowing who former Guyer Institute intern Charlie Sly is and has naturally denied receiving any medications from him (Twitter link).
- No one disputes that there is a talent deficiency on the Falcons roster, but Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says GM Thomas Dimitroff will not necessarily take the fall for that deficiency. Per Rapoport, owner Arthur Blank will sit down with Dimitroff after the season to hear his GM’s plan for the team moving forward, and Blank will make a decision about Dimitroff’s future then (Twitter links).
- Speaking of embattled GMs, Kevin Patra of NFL.com (citing Rapoport) says Dolphins GM Dennis Hickey–who was essentially rendered superfluous when the team hired Mike Tannenbaum–will likely be fired at the end of the season.
- Les Bowen of The Philadelphia Daily News has even more troubling news for Eagles fans, reporting that veteran left tackle Jason Peters took himself, unhurt, out of last night’s loss to Washington because he did not want to risk getting injured for a team that was not going to make the playoffs.
- Following a report this morning that Drew Brees would need to take a hometown discount to remain with the Saints in 2016, former NFL agent Joel Corry weighs in on the matter in a series of tweets. Corry says that New Orleans will have to make a quick decision on Brees’ future, as $10.85MM of his $19.75MM base salary becomes fully guaranteed on February 10, 2016, the third day of the waiver period. Because there is no offset language in Brees’ deal, if the Saints were to wait until after February 10 to cut him, they would be saddled with nearly $21MM of dead money. As Corry points out, that reality gives Brees a great deal of leverage, which should allow him to “slow play” contract negotiations.
- Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com looks at the dilemma the Panthers will face this offseason when deciding whether to re-sign Josh Norman, put the franchise tag on him, or let him walk in free agency.
- Citing a league source, Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee tweets that the 49ers plan to keep Jarryd Hayne on the team’s active roster through the end of the season, thereby allowing San Francisco to keep Hayne under club control for 2016.
Documentary Links Peyton Manning, Other NFLers To PEDs
9:50pm: Manning has issued a strongly worded denial through the Broncos (Twitter link via Albert Breer of NFL.com):
“The allegation that I would do something like that is complete garbage and is totally made up. It never happened. Never. I really can’t believe somebody would put something like this on the air. Whoever said this is making stuff up.”
9:04pm: In 2011, when Peyton Manning was recovering from a career-threatening neck injury, an Indianapolis anti-aging clinic supplied him and his wife with human growth hormone – which is on the NFL’s banned substances list – according to a pharmacist who worked at the clinic, Travis Waldron and Ryan Grim of The Huffington Post write.
Guyer Institute pharmacist Charlie Sly claims he was “part of a medical team that helped [Manning] recover.” Sly made that statement to Liam Collins, a British hurdler who went undercover for an Al Jazeera documentary, “The Dark Side,” centering on the global epidemic of performance-enhancing drugs in sports.
“All the time we would be sending Ashley Manning drugs,” says Sly on video, unaware that Collins was taping him. “Like growth hormone, all the time, everywhere, Florida. And it would never be under Peyton’s name, it would always be under her name.”
Sly also declares that Manning and his wife showed up at the clinic after normal business hours for intravenous treatments.
In response, Manning’s agent, Tom Condon, rejected Sly’s allegations to Al Jazeera and referred to them as “outrageous and wrong.”
“The treatment he received at the Guyer Institute was provided on the advice of his physician and with the knowledge of team doctors and trainers,” said Condon, who neither confirmed nor denied that growth hormones were sent to Manning’s wife.
“Any medical treatment received by Ashley is a private matter of hers, her doctor, and her family,” Condon said.
As noted by Waldron and Grim, the league banned HGH in 2011 but didn’t begin testing for it until 2014. No NFL player has ever tested positive for it.
In addition to Manning, Sly and fellow pharmacist Chad Robertson name Packers linebackers Mike Neal and Julius Peppers, Steelers LB James Harrison and ex-NFL tight end Dustin Keller as players they supplied with banned substances. Neal, Peppers, Harrison and Keller are all linked to hormone supplement Delta-2, which Sly says is designed to stay ahead of drug tests.
Further, Sly contends to have provided prescription painkiller Percocet to Packers LB Clay Matthews, whom Sly says also attempted to obtain Toradol – another painkiller. Toradol is banned in many countries, but not the United States.
Harrison issued a denial to Al Jazeera, while Neal, Peppers, Matthews and Keller didn’t respond to the network’s request for comment, per Waldron and Grim.
NFC Rumors: Packers, Falcons, Saints
With playoff seeds potentially set to be finalized across the NFC this weekend, let’s look at some news coming out of some of the conference’s locales.
- The Packers‘ decision to sign rookie long snapper Rick Lovato instead of a veteran special teams presence surprised some coaches, Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes. “I want a veteran,” an NFC special teams coach told McGinn. “Try a rookie in camp, not on a playoff run.” Another coach called Lovato’s game tape “terrible” but saw marketed improvement at his pro day this past spring, and the rookie agreed with that assessment. Two AFC special teams coaches didn’t rank Lovato among their top four draft-eligible snappers, McGinn writes.
- Mason Crosby could command a deal that pays him $4MM per year and guarantees him $8MM this offseason, Tom Silverstein of the Journal-Sentinel writes. The Packers’ patience with Crosby after a 2012 season where he missed 12 field goals has paid off, with the ninth-year kicker missing just 14 over the past three seasons. “Obviously, I want to be a Packer. I love playing here. This is all I know. It’s home to me,” Crosby told media, including Silverstein. “It’s a special place. I would love nothing more than to just continue my career here.”Stephen Gostkowski is the only kicker who makes more than $4MM per year. Justin Tucker and Adam Vinatieri are a couple of the notable kickers that comprise the upcoming free agent class.
- Marques Colston, Jahri Evans and Zach Strief could be part of the next batch of Saints veterans cut for salary cap relief, Jeff Duncan of NOLA.com writes. The Saints are again in cap turmoil, residing $4MM+ over the 2016 cap presently. Set to play on an $8.2MM cap number, and $7.1MM worth of dead money, Evans has the best chance of sticking around, Duncan notes, due to a potential release of the perennially durable guard netting the team barely $1MM in cap savings. Cutting Colston, who’s been usurped by Brandin Cooks and Willie Snead, would save $3.2MM. A Strief release, however, would save the Saints just $1.3MM.
- Embattled Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff‘s penchant for allowing his coaches significant input in key personnel decisions has led to some slip-ups in recent years, Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. Mike Smith preferred the Falcons select Ra’Shede Hageman in the second round last year, and then-defensive coordinator Mike Nolan convinced the GM to build a 3-4 defensive front around Paul Soliai and first-round bust Tyson Jackson a year earlier, Schultz writes.
NFC Notes: Giants, Peppers, Munnerlyn
Some assorted notes from around the NFC…
- Paul Schwartz of the New York Post estimates that the Giants will have around $48MM in cap room this offseason. The team can clear up additional room by parting ways with several players, including Will Beatty, Jon Beason and Geoff Schwartz. Still, former sports agent Joel Corry told Schwartz that it will be tough for the organization to completely revamp their roster in a single offseason. “It’s hard to remake a team that way,’’ Corry said. “Usually it doesn’t work out for you. You’re better off building through the draft if you can, but the Giants have so many deficiencies they’re gonna have to dip their toe into free agency, I would think.’’
- Meanwhile, Schwartz reiterates that the Giants aren’t expect to part ways with general manager Jerry Reese.
- At 36-year-old, Packers linebacker Julius Peppers still feels great, and the veteran told ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky that he plans on playing next season. “I feel great now,” Peppers said Thursday. “If I was making the decision today, yeah, of course I can play another year. But we’ll see. We’ll see when the time comes.”
- Vikings cornerback Captain Munnerlyn isn’t a big fan of cold weather, and he admitted that he didn’t know his team would be moving to the open TCF Bank Stadium for 2014 and 2015. “I didn’t know that we were playing outside until after I signed,” he told Chris Tomasson of TwinCities.com. “Seriously, I didn’t know. … It was known then, but I didn’t know. I hate cold weather.”
NFC North Notes: Newman, Austin, Bears
With Charles Woodson set to retire, Vikings defensive back Terence Newman would be the NFL’s oldest defensive player if he decides to keep playing in 2016. However, Newman isn’t ready to say for sure whether he’ll continue his career next year, as Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press writes.
“We’ll talk about that once the season is over,” Newman said. “It’s kind of premature to talk about retirement right now. … I don’t really think anybody cares about being the youngest in the league or the oldest.”
While Newman doesn’t want to discuss his future yet, he agreed with the notion that he doesn’t look like a player ready to retire. The 37-year-old, who contemplated retiring a year ago, has played well in his first season with the Vikings, grabbing three interceptions and moving over from cornerback to safety to help out when needed.
Let’s round up a few more items from around the NFC North….
- Having slipped from third in DVOA to 17th, the Lions‘ defense certainly hasn’t been as effective as it was a year ago. Nonetheless, defensive coordinator Teryl Austin is still viewed as a strong potential head coaching candidate, at Fritz Pollard Alliance chairman John Wooten tells Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.
- The Bears won’t be caught off guard if offensive coordinator Adam Gase leaves Chicago for a head coaching opportunity this offseason, according to quarterback Jay Cutler (link via Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune). “We have backup plans in place,” Cutler said. “If [Gase] does get that opportunity, I’m going to be ecstatic for him. I think it’s well-deserved. I think he’s ready for the opportunity. Whatever happens either way I think we’re going to be good and he’ll be good too.”
- Before signing long snapper Rick Lovato to replace injured starter Brett Goode, the Packers also worked out free agent LS Andrew East, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.