Matt Rotheram News & Rumors

Extra Points: Chiefs, Jaguars, Williams

By Sam Robinson | at August 20, 2017 9:01 pm

Andy Reid said the Chiefs might not have to choose between Charcandrick West or C.J. Spiller. The team might retain all four of its top running backs, Reid said (via Adam Teicher of ESPN.com).

“If we only keep three, then somebody’s going to get a heck of a player,” Reid said of a running back competition fronted by Spencer Ware and rookie Kareem Hunt. “… If we can keep all four, then that’s great.”

This may not be an automatic indication Kansas City plans keep both West and Spiller, and one could well be trade bait since both smaller backs might not make sense as Nos. 3-4 options. The Chiefs signed Ware and West to identical contracts during the 2016 offseason, and West has two years and barely $3MM remaining on his deal. He received the initial crack at replacing Jamaal Charles in 2015 and led the Chiefs in rushing that season with 634 yards (4.0 per carry). He operated as Ware’s backup last season but possesses top-end straight-line speed that could be useful on a team with less backfield depth.

Spiller caught on with the Chiefs in February after being cut by several teams. The former first-round pick is making the league minimum. Kansas City also has veteran fullback Anthony Sherman in line to occupy a roster spot.

The Jaguars’ quarterback situation has become a key topic this week; here’s the latest on that and other key stories as preseason Week 2 winds down.

• Doug Marrone opened up the Jaguars‘ quarterback competition after Blake Bortles continued to struggle. But Chad Henne looks like he will be the only in-house challenger, with Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union noting Brandon Allen‘s inexperience (zero regular-season snaps) won’t be ideal in Week 1 against a Texans defense that ranked No. 1 last season. O’Halloran anticipates Henne receiving the nod. The Jags are not currently looking at outside options for this job. Allen is a second-year player out of Arkansas.
• Aaron Colvin has come off the Jags’ Active/PUP list and resumed practicing in team drills for the first time since December 2011, and O’Halloran notes he’s still expected to be the team’s top nickel option. The fourth-year player is slated to line up in the slot inside of Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye. Colvin confirmed he experienced a rehab setback this offseason while recovering from an ankle injury that took more than seven months to heal sufficiently.
• Brandon Williams is playing like he will come out ahead of recent UFA addition Tramon Williams, although he’s now unlikely to usurp Justin Bethel in the Cardinals‘ competition to see who starts opposite Patrick Peterson this season. Bruce Arians said (via Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com) Williams played “really well” in the Cards’ game against the Bears on Saturday.
• The Giants will work out offensive lineman Matt Rotheram on Monday, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Rotheram has bounced around the league for the past two seasons, residing on the Packers and Lions’ practice squads in 2015 and ’16, respectively. The Lions signed him to a reserve/futures contract in January but cut him earlier this week.
• Before signing linebacker Kelvin Sheppard to a deal, the Bears worked out fellow ‘backer Michael Scherer, Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets.