AFC Notes: Gronk, Hightower, Broncos, Bengals
After checking in on a few items from out of the NFC earlier this afternoon, let’s shift our focus to the AFC and round up the latest….
- The MRI on Rob Gronkowski‘s knee revealed only a minor knee strain, according to Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald (Twitter link). The star tight end will likely be good to go in a week or two, which is great news for the Patriots.
- The Patriots also got relatively good news on linebacker Dont’a Hightower, who is week to week with his knee injury, per Dianna Marie Russini of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Russini adds that Hightower will be re-evaluated within the next few days.
- The Broncos suddenly have a contracts problem on their hands for 2016, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, who notes that the team will only be able to rely on the franchise tag to retain one of Brock Osweiler and Von Miller. Osweiler has won his first two starts as a Bronco, but it seems a little too early to assume he’s worthy of a significant investment. After five more regular season games and at least one playoff contest, Denver should have a much better idea of Osweiler’s value.
- The Bengals worked out six defensive backs today, including cornerback Bradley Fletcher, tweets Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com. According to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (Twitter link), cornerback Chykie Brown was also a part of that group. With Darqueze Dennard out for the season, and other members of the secondary banged up, Cincinnati seems to be keeping an eye out for possible depth additions.
Injury Updates: Gronk, Pouncey, Carrington
In the wake of the Patriots‘ first loss last night, initial reports indicated that Rob Gronkowski‘s knee injury may not be as serious as it initially looked, and recent reports have continued to suggest as much. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link), the New England tight end is unlikely to miss more than one game, and perhaps won’t even miss any time. Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports tweets that the club’s initial diagnosis is a “relatively minor non-ACL sprain.”
Still, the results of Gronkowski’s MRI aren’t in yet, so the Patriots won’t breathe easy until they get confirmation of their initial diagnosis. For now though, it looks like the club may have avoided a worst-case scenario for the star tight end, since his reaction to the hit on his knee had most of us expecting a season-ending injury.
Let’s round up a few more injury updates from across the NFL….
- Another AFC East injury not as serious as initially feared? Mike Pouncey‘s foot ailment, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). Rapoport tweets that the Dolphins center has a minor foot sprain, and that it’s not believed to be a Lisfranc injury. Still, the Dolphins are expected to search for help at center, per Salguero, who tweets that Samson Satele “should probably pick up the phone.”
- The Bills didn’t get good news on defensive end Alex Carrington, who tore his quad tendon and is undergoing season-ending surgery today, according to Rapoport (Twitter link). It’s the latest blow to a Buffalo defensive line that was already missing Kyle Williams – who is out for the year – and Mario Williams on Sunday.
- Rapoport also provides an update on Ben Roethlisberger, tweeting that, while the Steelers quarterback placed himself in the concussion protocol, he may not have suffered a concussion on Sunday, and could be cleared for Week 13.
- 49ers tight end Garrett Celek is out indefinitely due to a high ankle sprain, writes Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. Celek, who has caught 19 balls for the team this year, went down with the injury in the first quarter of Sunday’s game against the Cardinals.
AFC East Notes: Gronk, Hightower, Dolphins
It’s been an eventful 24 hours in the AFC East, where the Dolphins fired their offensive coordinator and the Patriots lost their undefeated season, along with key players on both sides of the ball. We’ve got updates on those injuries sustained by New England players on Sunday night, so let’s dive in and round up the latest from out of the AFC East….
- As first reported late last night by Dianna Marie Russini of ESPN (Twitter link), Rob Gronkowski‘s knee injury isn’t believed to be as serious as it initially looked. Many reporters have since echoed that notion, with one source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that “we think he is going to be OK.” The star tight end still has to undergo tests today, but Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that the Patriots don’t think there’s any structural damage to Gronkowski’s knee, and hope he won’t miss much time.
- On the defensive side, the early diagnosis for Patriots linebacker Dont’a Hightower is an MCL sprain, per Albert Breer of the NFL Network (Twitter link). If there’s no further damage to Hightower’s knee, that injury shouldn’t end the linebacker’s season, though he’d probably have to miss some time — a sprained MCL generally results in a recovery time of two to four weeks.
- An ESPN report on Sunday suggested that Quinton Coples was involved in an incident on the Jets‘ flight back from Houston last week, which was part of the reason for his release. However, Coples and Jets head coach Todd Bowles both denied that was the case, according to Brian Costello of the New York Post. “I don’t know where that came from,” Coples said. “Only thing is I didn’t fit with the defense.”
- Before this morning’s firing of Lazor, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald wrote that the Dolphins are in trouble “from top to bottom,” calling this year’s team the worst for the franchise since 2007.
- In addition to the other changes to the Dolphins‘ coaching staff today, the club has also promoted Phil McGeoghan to wide receivers coach, according to the team (Twitter link).
AFC Notes: Collins, Manning, Browns
Star linebacker Jamie Collins has been out of the Patriots’ lineup since the end of October because of an illness, one that president Jonathan Kraft isn’t worried will spread throughout the team, per Mike Petraglia of WEEI.
“Jamie’s getting better and getting stronger every day,” Kraft said Sunday. “I know people in non-football life that end up with really bad viruses and get knocked out of their professional lives for a while.”
Continued Kraft, “This was something that doesn’t have us worried about the physical infrastructure at the facility. There wasn’t anything related to Jamie’s issues that had anything to do with the facility.”
Kraft’s words indicate that Collins’ illness isn’t MRSA, a staph infection-causing disease that has affected NFL teams in the past. Most recently, it ended the season of Giants tight end Daniel Fells in October.
Collins returned to practice Friday, so it appears he’ll be back in game action sometime this season.
And now a look at some of the Patriots’ AFC counterparts, including their Sunday night opponent:
- Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, currently on the shelf because of a plantar fascia injury, is eager to return to the field as soon as possible. The team doesn’t share in his eagerness, though, and it’s causing friction between the two sides, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports. Regarding the possibility of a healthy Manning backing up Brock Osweiler, a source told La Canfora, “We know this much — he’s not going to go quietly. He’s going to have to be dealt with.”
- After briefly losing his job to Johnny Manziel, Josh McCown is back as the Browns’ starting quarterback – which he’s ambivalent about, according to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal. While McCown relishes playing again, he isn’t pleased that his opportunity comes at the expense of Manziel – whom the Browns benched because of off-field issues. “You understand that you have a job to do, and the coaches make the decision and tell you you’re playing and you move forward accordingly,” said McCown. “But at the same time, I’m in the room with [Manziel] every day, and we’ve built a relationship. I’m a big advocate of his and a fan and a friend as well.”
- The Browns have noteworthy free agents-to-be in safety Tashaun Gipson, tight end Gary Barnidge and receiver Travis Benjamin. If they only re-sign one, it should be the 25-year-old Gipson, writes Tom Reed of Cleveland.com. Gipson hasn’t been as sharp this season after leading the AFC in interceptions in 2013 and ’14, which could drop his price. That’s something Reed believes the Browns should look to capitalize on after they couldn’t reach a long-term deal with Gipson last offseason, when he was coming off a Pro Bowl campaign.
La Canfora’s Latest: McDermott, Lions, Kroenke
Let’s take a look at some of the latest notes and observations from CBS Sports scribe Jason La Canfora:
- Both La Canfora and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com have delved into some of the most notable names who will be connected to head coaching vacancies this offseason. Rapoport mentions Bears OC Adam Gase, Patriots OC Josh McDaniels, Jaguars offensive line coach Doug Marrone, and Seahawks offensive line coach Tom Cable as veterans of the head coaching interview circuit who will be generating plenty of buzz this offseason. Other less familiar candidates who have also piqued the interest of teams around the league include Panthers coordinators Mike Shula (offensive) and Sean McDermott (defensive), and Bills RB coach Anthony Lynn (all Twitter links). La Canfora explores the case for McDermott in more detail, noting that Carolina’s defense under McDermott’s watch has been among the league’s best for some time, but given the Panthers’ success this season, McDermott has been getting more attention around the league. La Canfora says it would not be a surprise if McDermott met with four to six teams during wildcard weekend, which is likely to be a bye week for the Panthers. Per La Canfora, a team that hires McDermott would do well to add current Chargers head coach Mike McCoy as its offensive coordinator. McCoy is rumored to be on his way out of San Diego at the end of the year, and he and McDermott share a “mutual admiration” for each other. The addition of McCoy would also help to alleviate concern regarding McDermott’s abilities on the offensive side of the ball.
- La Canfora also has a look at potential candidates for the Lions GM job, noting that the team may have difficulty courting some of its top choices given the questions concerning team ownership and the fact that new team president Ron Wood is an unknown commodity in football circles. However, the Lions’ resurgence in recent weeks, the talent on the roster, and the fact that the club has a history of “unwavering loyalty” to its front office executives could allow the team to nab a prized candidate. Those candidates include names like Seahawks pro personnel director Trent Kirchner, Packers player personnel director Eliot Wolf, Patriots director of pro scouting Bob Quinn, and Ravens assistant general manager Eric DeCosta. Of those names, Quinn may be the most likely option, considering that Wolf and DeCosta are both fairly comfortable in their roles as GM-in-waiting for their current clubs, and Kirchner will be the top candidate for a number of teams.
- If Stan Kroenke‘s plan to move the Rams to Los Angeles falls though, La Canfora identifies several other options for the St. Louis owner. The league knows that if Kroenke loses out to the Chargers and Raiders in the race to LA, it would have to work actively to find other solutions for Kroenke, with London and Denver representing two such solutions. Kroenke–who remains focused on LA at the moment and has not actively considered any alternatives–has business interests in England and owns Premier League powerhouse Arsenal. Colorado, meanwhile, serves as Kroenke’s base, and his family owns the NBA’s Denver Nuggets and NHL’s Colorado Avalanche. La Canfora’s sources indicate that Kroenke could purchase the Broncos at some point down the road–La Canfora writes that team ownership will be in flux when Pat Bowlen passes on–and sell the Rams to an investor looking to keep the team in St. Louis. However, Broncos Vice President of Public Relations Patrick Smyth took to Twitter shortly after La Canfora’s report, tweeting that the plan is to keep ownership of the Broncos in the Bowlen family.
AFC East Notes: Patriots, Tannehill, Jets
The Patriots have dealt with numerous key injuries this year and that will continue to be the case to an almost ridiculous extent Sunday, as the team announced (via Twitter) that wideout Danny Amendola and Jamie Collins won’t play against the 8-2 Broncos in Denver.
While doubting this year’s 10-0 Pats (or any team led by Tom Brady and Bill Belichick) seems unwise, Bob McManaman of AZCentral opines that their injury issues have them primed for a nose dive. McManaman writes that the losses of Julian Edelman, Dion Lewis, Nate Solder, Amendola and Aaron Dobson have depleted New England’s AFC-best offense, one that had difficulty in a 20-13 win over Buffalo on Monday. The Bills harassed Brady consistently and held him to season lows in completion percentage (51.3), yards (277), yards per attempt (7.10) and quarterback rating (72.3). Further, they kept Brady’s favorite target, all-world tight end Rob Gronkowski, out of the end zone and held him to season worsts in catches (two) and yards (37). McManaman argues that the Bills provided the blueprint for stopping Gronkowski by stacking the box and putting two defenders on him while pressuring Brady. That could be easier said than done for many teams, but maybe not for a Broncos defense that leads the NFL in both passing yards per game allowed and sacks.
As we wait to see how the injury-ravaged Patriots fare in Denver, here’s more from the AFC East:
- Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill has underwhelmed at times this year, but he still has the full confidence of the team’s front office, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. There’s a disconnect between the coaching staff and front office regarding Tannehill, per Salguero, as the former views the fourth-year man as a game manager and the latter sees him as someone with franchise QB potential. Executive vice president Mike Tannenbaum and company think so highly of the 27-year-old Tannehill that, hypothetically, they’d take him as a long-term option over the similarly aged Cam Newton, Salguero reports. If interim head coach Dan Campbell doesn’t get on board with that type of thinking, it seems his time atop Miami’s staff will definitely end in another six games.
- With journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick having come back to earth after a hot start, Bob Glauber of Newsday took a look at possible No. 1 quarterback options for the Jets in 2016. If it’s not Fitzpatrick, it certainly won’t be backup Geno Smith – whom the Jets have no faith in, per Glauber. Among a slew of flawed options, Colin Kaepernick could be the most interesting outside possibility. The mobile Kaepernick – who is on the outs in San Francisco – is still young (28), not far removed from success, and could fare well under offensive coordinator Chan Gailey.
- One reason the Jets have gone from 4-1 to 5-5 is the decreased production of wideout Brandon Marshall. Glauber writes that the Jets have to find a way to make him a dominant part of their offense again. Marshall caught 37 passes for 511 yards and four touchdowns in the Jets’ first five games and has hauled in 12 fewer receptions (25) for 222 fewer yards (289) over the last five, though he has accrued nearly as many TDs (three). The reason for the drop in productivity, according to Marshall, “I’m being double-teamed a lot more.” Added Gailey, “We need him to be involved to be a successful offense. They’re taking him away right now, and we don’t have enough other people involved in the passing game to take that away from them.”
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/28/15
As teams finalize their rosters for Week 12 games, we’ll round up Saturday’s latest minor transactions from around the NFL right here:
- In addition to making the promotion of tight end Asante Cleveland (reported yesterday) official, the Patriots have also moved linebacker Darius Fleming from their practice squad to the 53-man roster, cutting safety Dewey McDonald to make room, tweets Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. McDonald’s stint on the active roster didn’t last long — he was just signed two days ago.
Earlier updates:
- The Chiefs have promoted wide receiver Frankie Hammond to the 53-man roster, waiving cornerback Saalim Hakim in a corresponding move, tweets Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star. Hammond returned 15 punts for the Chiefs in 2014, so he may get a shot at that job this weekend with De’Anthony Thomas sidelined.
- The Dolphins have made a change on defense, cutting linebacker Mike Hull and replacing him on the 53-man roster with safety Shamiel Gary, who received a promotion from the practice squad (Twitter link). If he’s active on Sunday, Gary would get the opportunity to appear in his first regular season NFL game.
- As expected, the Titans have elevated outside linebacker Yannik Cudjoe-Virgil to their active roster, waiving wide receiver Rico Richardson to create an opening, tweets Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com. Head coach Mike Mularkey had indicated on Friday that Cudjoe-Virgil was in line for a promotion from the practice squad.
- The Bears have swapped one long snapper for another, signing Patrick Scales and waiving Thomas Gafford, per Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). Having been with the team all season, Gafford is eligible to collect the rest of his 2015 salary in termination pay.
Workout Notes: Patriots, Saints, Packers
Here are the latest workouts from around the NFL:
- The Patriots had free agent wide receivers Julian Talley (UMass), Alan Bonner (Jacksonville State), and Austin Willis (Emporia State) in for workouts, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets.
- The Saints auditioned cornerback Tony Carter, as Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets.
- Before signing Shayne Graham, the Falcons also worked out kicker Billy Cundiff, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com tweets.
- Washington will work out safety Brian Suite, according to a source who spoke with Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle (on Twitter).
- The Packers will audition wide receiver Emughedi Umodu, Wilson tweets.
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/27/15
Here are Friday’s minor transactions, including signings and cuts, from around the NFL:
- The Steelers have released veteran running back Isaiah Pead and elevated running back Fitzgerald Toussaint from their practice squad, tweets Missi Matthews of Steelers.com. Pead, who started the season with the Rams, was cut and then signed with Pittsburgh earlier this month when Le’Veon Bell was placed on IR. However, the 25-year-old didn’t see any action for the Steelers.
- The Patriots opened up a spot on their 53-man roster today by waiving linebacker Eric Martin, says Mike Reiss of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Doug Kyed of NESN.com reports (via Twitter) that the Pats are adding tight end Asante Cleveland to their active roster from the practice squad, though that move might not become official until Saturday.
- Having officially placed cornerback Chris Culliver to the injured reserve list today due to his torn ACL/MCL, Washington has promoted another cornerback, Dashaun Phillips, to its 53-man roster, the team announced in a press release.
- Prior to Thursday’s game against the Cowboys, the Panthers signed long snapper Danny Aiken as an insurance policy in case starter J.J. Jansen was unable to go. Jansen played against Dallas, and Carolina cut Aiken today, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
Patriots Send Aaron Dobson To IR
Prior to probably their offense’s most difficult assignment this season, the Patriots will enter Sunday’s tilt in Denver without another wide receiver.
The Pats placed Aaron Dobson on injured reserve with an ankle injury and brought up safety Dewey McDonald from their practice squad, Field Yates of ESPN.com reports (as relayed by ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss, on Twitter).
Dobson sustained a high ankle sprain on a 17-yard catch during the second quarter of New England’s 20-13 win against Buffalo on Monday night, joining Danny Amendola among Patriots receivers who couldn’t finish their Week 11 game.
Although Dobson, a second-round pick in 2013, hasn’t lived up to expectations, this injury continues a series of setbacks for the Pats’ wide-receiving corps. Julian Edelman‘s out for likely the remainder of the regular season, and Amendola (knee) won’t be at 100 percent if he plays against the Broncos.
Dobson started three games this season and finished with 13 receptions for 141 yards. The Marshall product hasn’t scored a touchdown since finding the end zone four times during his rookie campaign.
The Patriots’ practice squad is devoid of any wideouts. Keshawn Martin was inactive for Monday’s game and remains limited by a hamstring injury, leaving Brandon LaFell and Chris Harper as the team’s healthy receivers.
McDonald worked out for multiple teams, including the Dolphins and Chiefs, before the Patriots signed him to their practice squad less than two weeks ago. The second-year UDFA’s played in 14 games thus far in his career, including two this season with the Colts and Patriots, respectively.