Minor NFL Transactions: 12/19/18
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Waived: LB Jonathan Anderson
Carolina Panthers
- Promoted from practice squad: QB Kyle Allen, TE Jason Vander Laan
Miami Dolphins
- Placed on injured reserve: RB Frank Gore (story)
New York Giants
- Activated from injured reserve: WR Cody Latimer (story)
Tennessee Titans
- Promoted from practice squad: CB Kenneth Durden
Washington Redskins
- Promoted from practice squad: DB Jeremy Reaves
- Placed on injured reserve: CB Danny Johnson
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/18/18
Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Promoted from practice squad: CB Chris Jones, CB Deatrick Nichols
- Waived: CB Dontae Johnson, CB Quinten Rollins
Atlanta Falcons
- Promoted from practice squad: RB Jeremy Langford
Buffalo Bills
- Signed off 49ers’ practice squad: WR Victor Bolden
- Placed on IR: RB Marcus Murphy
Cincinnati Bengals
- Promoted from practice squad: LB Chris Worley
- Placed on IR: LB Malik Jefferson
Detroit Lions
- Promoted from practice squad: DT John Atkins
- Placed on IR: DL Da’Shawn Hand
Green Bay Packers
- Signed off Jaguars’ practice squad: WR Allen Lazard
Miami Dolphins
- Signed off Panthers’ practice squad: DT Kendrick Norton
New York Giants
- Placed on IR: CB Antonio Hamilton
New York Jets
- Signed off Patriots’ practice squad: T Eric Smith
Oakland Raiders
- Promoted from practice squad: DB Rico Gafford, DT Gabe Wright
- Waived: LB Emmanuel Lamur
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: DB Tyvis Powell
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed off Jaguars’ practice squad: RB Bo Scarbrough
- Placed on IR: G Jordan Simmons
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Promoted from practice squad: TE Donnie Ernsberger, DL Jeremiah Ledbetter
- Placed on IR: TE Alan Cross, S Justin Evans
Washington Redskins
- Signed: DB Harlan Miller
- Placed on IR: CB Joshua Holsey
Frank Gore To Miss Rest Of Season
Fourth on the NFL’s all-time rushing list, Frank Gore will not have any additional chances to add to his historic total this season.
The Dolphins running back will be out the rest of the way with a mid-foot sprain suffered Sunday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter). Monday tests revealed the extent of this injury, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets, and Gore’s first season with his hometown team will end after 14 games.
It’s uncertain as to whether Gore will require surgery, with Rapoport adding that decision won’t come for a bit. The bigger question pertains to Gore’s future. He is 35 (36 in May) and playing on an expiring contract. But few NFL running backs have ever exhibited this kind of durability and consistency. Gore has not missed a game since the 2010 season and has only failed to hit the 14-game barrier in one of his 14 NFL seasons.
He said in November he was going year-to-year with his career. Despite his age, it would not be surprising if Gore was back for a 15th season. A return would give Gore (14,748 yards) a reasonable chance at surpassing Barry Sanders for third place on the all-time rushing list.
With Miami this year, Gore bounced back and finished his slate with 722 rushing yards. That’s the fifth-most by anyone in an age-35 season, behind John Riggins, John Henry Johnson, Emmitt Smith and Marcus Allen. While that does not eclipse his Colts totals — 900-plus ground yards in each of those three campaigns — Gore was better on a per-play basis. His 4.6 yards per carry are the most since his 2012 Pro Bowl season. Gore leads the Dolphins in rushing by a substantial margin over backfield mate Kenyan Drake.
Drake and rookie Kalen Ballage will be the primary backs going forward for the Dolphins, who remain in playoff contention. Though, with three 8-6 teams, the 7-7 Fins need a lot of help if they are to make it two postseason berths in the past three years.
Frank Gore To Undergo MRI On Monday
Dolphins running back Frank Gore left Sunday’s 41-17 loss to the Vikings early with a left ankle injury. The veteran back sprained his foot on the play but avoided a fracture, and is scheduled to undergo an MRI to see if any ligaments were damaged, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets.
This means his 122-game starting streak, the longest in the league among running backs, is more than likely to end next week. According to Cameron Wolfe of ESPN, the next-longest starting streak by a running back is just 17, held by Christian McCaffrey and Peyton Barber.
Gore, 35, finished the day with 14 yards on five carries, and was replaced by rookie Kalen Ballage, who exploded for 123 yards on 12 carries and scored on a 75-yard run. The Dolphins will likely return to the Arizona State product and Kenyan Drake to close the season, assuming Gore is to miss time.
It’s been another steady year for the veteran back, who moved into fourth place on the NFL’s all-time rushing yards list, passing Curtis Martin. Set to be a free agent at the end of the season, Gore could seriously contemplate retirement or hope to land with another team to make a run at Barry Sanders — Just 521 yards away — for the No. 3 spot.
Dolphins Owner Undecided On 2019 Changes
The Dolphins are now in the midst of another middling season after falling to 7-7 with a defeat against the Vikings today, but franchise owner Stephen Ross is undecided whether to make changes to Miami’s decision-making structure at the end of the year, a source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
After losing to the Vikings, the Dolphins now have just a nine percent chance to earn a postseason berth, according to Five Thirty Eight, meaning they face far steeper odds than the other contenders for the AFC’s No. 6 seed. The Ravens have a 62% chance to make the playoffs (although that figure includes Baltimore’s still-realistic shot at taking the AFC North crown), while the Colts and Titans have roughly 42% and 33% odds of securing the sixth seed, respectively.
Assuming they don’t make the playoffs this season, the Dolphins will have missed the postseason in two consecutive campaigns following a 10-6 record and wild card berth in head coach Adam Gase‘s debut in 2016. As Florio notes, effort doesn’t seem to be a problem in South Beach (a definite plus for Gase), while the third-year coach has been effective in his quest to change the locker room culture in Miami. But without a sustained record of on-field success, a change at the top could be possible.
Gase, presumably, wouldn’t be the only Dolphins leader who could be out of job this offseason, as vice president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum and general manager Chris Grier could also be on the chopping block. However, as Florio indicates, Miami has had trouble adding top-shelf talent at both the executive and coaching level, so the club may not want to move on from its current staff only to find it can’t replace them with superior individuals.
Dolphins Notes: Parker, Wake
The Dolphins have a big offseason ahead of them. They’ll have to make a very tough decision about Ryan Tannehill, but they have some other calls to make as well. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald took a look at some of their non-Tannehill related upcoming decisions recently, and wrote that receiver DeVante Parker almost certainly won’t be back at the $9.4MM salary he’s owed next season. He also writes about veteran pass-rusher Cameron Wake, who is set to be a free agent after this season, and notes that “the Dolphins told Wake’s camp early this past offseason that they wanted to extend him but nothing materialized.”
Wake will be turning 37 next month, and has seen his production drop off a bit this year with just 4.5 sacks compared to 10.5 a year ago. Jackson thinks the Dolphins will definitely want Wake back at a cheaper figure than his current $8MM salary, but is unsure whether Wake will be willing to take a dramatic pay-cut. It might be pretty small, but Jackson does “expect a Dolphins offer, at the very least.”
Latest On Ryan Tannehill
- Ryan Tannehill‘s injury woes continue, as the Dolphins quarterback suffered an ankle injury in Miami’s stunning victory over the Patriots on Sunday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Tannehill practiced on Wednesday and should be able to face the Vikings in Week 15, head coach Adam Gase told reporters, including Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press (Twitter link), but Rapoport indicates Tannehill could be limited against Minnesota. Tannehill himself, meanwhile, said he’s “encouraged” by his progress thus far, per Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk. The Dolphins will be fighting for their playoff lives, as FiveThirtyEight.com currently gives them a one-in-five chance of earning a postseason berth.
NFL Workout Updates: 12/12/18
Today’s workout updates, all courtesy of veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer (on Twitter):
Buffalo Bills
Chicago Bears
- LBs Josh Forrest, Jameer Thurman, James Vaughters; CBs Doran Grant, Sterling Moore
Green Bay Packers
Miami Dolphins
- T Chris Durant; G Landon Turner
New Orleans Saints
- RBs Martez Carter, Jalen Simmons; FB Dimitri Flowers
San Francisco 49ers
- CB Michael Hunter; S Harlan Miller.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/12/18
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Buffalo Bills
- Promoted from practice squad: RB Keith Ford, S Dean Marlowe
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: G Nico Siragusa (from Ravens practice squad)
- Placed on IR: G Byron Bell
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: OL Jamil Demby (from Lions practice squad)
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: G/C Hroniss Grasu
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed off Texans’ practice squad: DE Daeshon Hall
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: LB Emmanuel Ellerbee
Washington Redskins
- Signed off Texans’ practice squad: G Kyle Fuller
Dolphins Place C Jake Brendel On IR
The Dolphins placed center/guard Jake Brendel on injured reserve, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (on Twitter). Brendel was activated from IR a little over a month ago, so his season will end after just four appearances. 
[RELATED: Dolphins Cut CB Dee Delaney]
Brendel, 26, joined the Dolphins’ practice squad in 2016 after going undrafted out of UCLA. He went to appear in all 16 games for Miami in 2017, although he didn’t see much action on the field. Brendel played 67 snaps on offense and 87 snaps on special teams, serving in a backup role for the entire campaign. Brendel suited up for the first time this year in Week 9 and started for Miami in Weeks 10, 12, and 13. A knee injury kept him off the field for Sunday’s win (and miraculous finish) over the Patriots, and it’s apparently serious enough to end his season.
Without Brendel, the ‘Fins may need to sign another interior lineman to support Ted Larsen, Travis Swanson, and Jesse Davis. The banged up unit, which previously lost Daniel Kilgore and Josh Sitton to injury, will close out the year against the Vikings, Jaguars, and Bills. The Dolphins do not control their own destiny, but they are still alive in the Wild Card hunt and even have a slim, but technically possible, path to the AFC East crown.