Former NFL DT Earl Mitchell Retires
Defensive tackle Earl Mitchell has announced his retirement from the NFL after nine seasons, as he announced on his Instagram.
“I thought that I would be sad when I decided to let go of something I’ve loved for so long. I feel grateful to walk away with no regrets knowing I gave it my all. After 9 great years, I’m officially retiring from the National Football League. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Since 2002 I’ve dedicated my life to this game. When I first stepped into the locker room at North Shore, I decided to put my all into learning something that I knew nothing about. If it wasn’t for this game I would have never been able to achieve my original dream of going to and graduating college. I’m extremely proud of my career and I appreciate all of those who have supported me along the way.”
A third-round pick out of Arizona in 2010, Mitchell spent the first four years of his career with the Texans before inking a four-year, $16MM deal with the Dolphins in 2014. After three seasons in Miami, another four-year deal followed, this time with the 49ers. Mitchell played in San Francisco for two years before getting released.
Mitchell briefly latched on with the Seahawks this summer, and may have still been able to draw free agent interest, as Mike Garafolo of NFL.com reports the 32-year-old still had some suitors (Twitter link). Instead, Mitchell will hang up his cleats having appeared in 130 career games (66 starts) and collected more than $23MM in career earnings.
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/6/19
Today’s minor moves:
Miami Dolphins
- Claimed off waivers (Seahawks): WR Gary Jennings
New York Jets
- Claimed off waivers (Ravens): CB Maurice Canady
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Promoted from practice squad: DE Kahzin Daniels
Dolphins Won’t Activate Cordrea Tankersley
The Dolphins will not activate cornerback Cordrea Tankersley from the physically unable to perform list by today’s deadline, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link).
Tankersley suffered a torn ACL just over a year ago and has been working his way back to full health ever since. The 2017 third-round pick came back to practice in October, opening a three-week window during which Miami had to either activate Tankersley or keep him on PUP for the remainder of the year. After assessing his progress, the Dolphins have decided on the latter option.
A Clemson product, Tankersley became a starter in Week 4 of his rookie campaign and ended up starting for the rest of the season. The results weren’t great, however: among the 93 cornerbacks who played at least 500 defensive snaps in 2017, Tankersley ranked just 79th in Pro Football Focus’ grades. In 2018, Tankersley spent most of his time on special teams before tearing his ACL.
NFL Workout Updates: 11/5/19
Today’s workout notes:
Atlanta Falcons
- OG Anthony Coyle, S Kenny Ladler, S C.J. Reavis, G Marquez Tucker
Baltimore Ravens
- RB Elijah McGuire, RB Byron Marshall, LB Michael Onuoha
Buffalo Bills
- OL Brandon Hitner
Cincinnati Bengals
- CB Adonis Alexander, DE Dewayne Hendrix, LB Chris Odom, LB Raymond Davison
Miami Dolphins
- LS Kevin McDermott, LS Garrison Sanborn, LS Matt Overton
San Francisco 49ers
- LB Joey Alfieri, LB Cory James, LB Christian Sam
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/5/19
Today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: WR Brandon Powell
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: WR De’Anthony Thomas
- Waived: CB Maurice Canady
Green Bay Packers
- Waived: LB Tim Williams
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: CB Marcus Sherels, RB De’Lance Turner (off Ravens’ practice squad)
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Promoted: LB Robert Spillane
- Placed on IR: LB Ulysees Gilbert III
Seattle Seahawks
- Activated from PUP: G Phil Haynes
- Waived: WR Gary Jennings
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Placed on IR: TE Antony Auclair
- Waived: WR Amara Darboh
Dolphins Waive Robert Nkemdiche
The Robert Nkemdiche experiment in Miami is done. The Dolphins are waiving the young defensive tackle, sources told Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (Twitter link).
Nkemdiche is hitting the waiver wire after appearing in just two games with Miami, in which he played very limited snaps. When he originally signed with the team back in August there was a lot of talk about the former first-rounder jumpstarting his career, but that clearly never materialized. He started the season on the PUP list as he recovered from an ACL tear, and was activated less than two weeks ago. “Tardiness was a bit of an issue” for him in Miami, sources told Garafolo (Twitter link).
That’s certainly not a good sign for Nkemdiche’s future employment prospects, as he has faced questions about his conditioning and motivation in the past. The Cardinals drafted the Ole Miss product 29th overall back in 2016, and it didn’t take him too long to flame out in the desert.
The consensus top overall recruit coming out of high school in 2013, Nkemdiche has never lived up to his potential. Due to his youth and pedigree he’ll likely get scooped up by somebody, but he’s running out of chances. He was also arrested back in June. Through three seasons in Arizona, he only started six games.
Mark Walton Receives Four-Game Ban
Hours after news of Preston Williams‘ ACL tear surfaced, the Dolphins will lose another key piece of their offense. Mark Walton received a four-game suspension for violations of the league’s substance-abuse policy.
Miami turned to Walton in recent weeks, and the former Cincinnati draft pick was set to play a big role following the Kenyan Drake trade. Walton was arrested three times in the span of three months earlier this year, and this suspension stems from those incidents, according to multiple reports. The Bengals drafted Walton in the fourth-round last year, but he played sparingly as a rookie. Cincinnati cut him back in April after his third and final arrest.
He quickly went back home, and the former University of Miami star signed with the Dolphins back in May. He steadily climbed the depth chart, and recently established himself as the team’s starter. The team was aware Walton was likely going to be suspended before they traded Drake so this isn’t a surprise to them, tweets Adam Beasley of The Miami Herald. The Dolphins issued a statement on Twitter from head coach Brian Flores, who said Walton has done everything they’ve asked of him and that he’ll be welcomed back to the team when his suspension is over.
As a result of the ban, Walton will forfeit $116K of his $495K rookie salary, according to a tweet from Spotrac. He had picked up at least 11 carries in each of the team’s past three games, and had 15 touches in their win over the Jets on Sunday. With Walton sidelined, it’ll be Kalen Ballage‘s time to shine. The 2018 fourth-round pick from Arizona State should slide into the starting role, and rookies Myles Gaskin and Patrick Laird will compete for snaps as well. Laird went undrafted out of Cal, while Gaskin was a seventh-round pick from Washington.
Dolphins’ Preston Williams Out For Season
Preston Williams‘ promising rookie season will end at the midway point. The rookie wide receiver left Sunday’s game early, and Brian Flores confirmed Monday he will not return in 2019. Williams suffered a torn ACL, Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com tweets.
The UDFA played well in Miami’s win, hauling in two touchdown passes during a five-reception, 72-yard day. But the Colorado State product left the game with a knee issue, one that will delay his opportunity to build on this early-season success. Williams will likely miss all Dolphins on-field work until training camp.
Emerging quickly for the rebuilding team, Williams caught 32 passes for 428 yards and three touchdowns in his first eight NFL games. He was on pace to become just the second first Dolphins rookie wideout to surpass 800 yards since Chris Chambers in 2001. Williams impressed this offseason and was given a prominent role. Unlike many other starters on this overmatched team, he stands to return in 2020.
Both Williams and rookie Mike Gesicki played well on Sunday, with the latter finishing with a team-high 95 receiving yards. Gesicki and DeVante Parker remain in key positions for the 1-7 team, with Albert Wilson also back from an early-season injury.
Injury Updates: Brissett, Conner, Thielen
The Colts have been having a surprisingly strong season after Andrew Luck retired, but everyone in Indy was left holding their breath when Jacoby Brissett went down with a knee injury. After the game, head coach Frank Reich said it was a sprain that was “MCL-ish.” Fortunately, it doesn’t seem like Brissett tore anything. Quarterbacks can usually play through MCL sprains, so it doesn’t sound like Brissett will be on the shelf too long. Brian Hoyer filled in and had the Colts in position to win the game late, but Adam Vinatieri missed a 43-yard kick with a minute to go.
Here are more injury updates from around the league:
- Steelers rookie running back Benny Snell had surgery to trim his meniscus recently and will be sidelined for 2-3 weeks, a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). Snell was a fourth-round pick back in April. Speaking of Pittsburgh’s backfield, starter James Conner didn’t suit up against the Colts today, and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets that he’s in danger of missing next week’s game against the Rams. For now, Jaylen Samuels will continue to gobble up most of the snaps.
- Standout rookie UDFA Preston Williams suffered a knee injury, casting a damper on the Dolphins’ first win of the season. Despite going undrafted Williams has become a key player for Miami, starting all of their games thus far. The injury is a “sprained knee and the hope is that it’s not more serious,” tweets Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. We should know more about the severity soon. Williams had five catches for 72 yards and two touchdowns in the win over the Jets before going down.
- Vikings receiver Adam Thielen returned after a one-game absence due to a hamstring injury, and quickly re-aggravated it. He didn’t return to Minnesota’s loss to Kansas City, and while there’s no word yet on the severity, hamstring issues can linger. They’ll likely be more cautious about rushing their star receiver back this time.
Deadline Fallout: Harris, Jets, L. Williams
Despite a great deal of hype, Tuesday’s trade deadline went out with a whimper. As Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes, that was largely because the presumed sellers — most notably the Bengals, Redskins, and Broncos — overvalued their assets. It was expected that Cincinnati’s and Washington’s stubbornness could torpedo potential deals, but Denver was similarly obstinate. For instance, the Broncos were asking for a second-round draft pick for CB Chris Harris when the market dictated that a fourth-rounder would be an appropriate return.
Now for more deadline fallout:
- Jets RB Le’Veon Bell recently said that his former club, the Steelers, were interested in re-acquiring him in advance of the trade deadline, and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com confirms that Pittsburgh did indeed speak with the Jets about Bell. However, when it became clear that the shoulder injury that James Conner sustained in the Steelers’ win over Miami last Monday wasn’t as serious as it first appeared, talks with Gang Green cooled. Bell wasn’t the only RB the Steelers were interested in, per Schefter, but he was easily the most prominent.
- At least one team tried to blow the Jets away with an offer for defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, as Schefter writes in a separate piece. The unnamed club thought New York would be unable to turn down the blockbuster package of draft picks, but Williams was deemed untouchable by the Jets’ front office, and Gang Green stuck to its guns.
- We already heard that the Giants would try to work out a contract extension with the newly-acquired Leonard Williams, but Schefter says Big Blue will open negotiations before Thanksgiving. Of course, it could be difficult for player and team to agree on Williams’ value, and Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com believes that Williams is going to test free agency (Twitter link).
- The Rams traded Aqib Talib to the Dolphins in a pure salary dump, as they gave Miami a 2020 fifth-rounder just to take on the remainder of Talib’s contract. Peter Schrager of the NFL Network says Talib believes he will be healthy enough to return to the field this season but is unsure as to whether he will suit up for Miami (Twitter link). He may elect to cool his heels before he hits the open market in March, but he holds no ill will towards LA.