Cardinals Sign Michael Crabtree
It’s a done deal. The Cardinals have, at long last, signed veteran wide receiver Michael Crabtree, per an official team announcement. Crabtree nearly signed with Arizona earlier this month, but the pact was called off at the last minute.
During their prior round of negotiations with Crabtree, the Cardinals reportedly offered Crabtree a one-year deal with a $2.5MM base value. That contract also contained performance-based incentives that could have increased its total value to $4.5MM. Crabtree, who earned $8MM during his 2018 campaign with the Ravens, was “taken aback” by the offer. Arizona later increased its proposal, tweets Vic Tafur of the Athletic.
The Cardinals were in search of wideout help two weeks ago when discussing a deal with Crabtree, and subsequent events have only further elucidated Arizona’s need for another pass-catcher. Fourth-round rookie Hakeem Butler struggled during training camp and could miss the 2019 season after fracturing his hand, while free agent addition Kevin White was released earlier today.
New Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury is expected to deploy “10” personnel — 1 running back, zero tight ends, four wide receivers — as his primary offensive package. Larry Fitzgerald and Christian Kirk are locks to start in that formation, leaving Crabtree to compete with rookies Andy Isabella and KeeSean Johnson for time as Arizona’s third or fourth receiver.
Crabtree will bring a veteran presence to a young Cardinals locker room, but Arizona will hope he can produce better offensive results than he did with the Ravens in 2018. Crabtree, 34, posted only 54 receptions on 100 targets with Baltimore, the lowest catcher percentage of his career, and scored just three touchdowns, the fewest he’s managed in a full season during his NFL tenure.
Advanced metrics didn’t paint a rosier picture of Crabtree’s 2018 campaign. Among the 43 wideouts who received at least 83 targets last season, Crabtree ranked 42nd in Pro Football Focus‘ yards per route run, ahead of only Buffalo’s Zay Jones. Meanwhile, Crabtree ranked 74th among 84 qualifers in Football Outsiders‘ DYAR and 75th in DVOA, both of which measure value over an average replacement player.
While Crabtree didn’t exactly light on the world on fire with Joe Flacco under center, his production dwindled when run-first Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson entering the starting lineup. With Flacco starting in Baltimore’s first nine games, Crabtree averaged 8.4 targets, 4.6 receptions, 52.4 yards, and 0.2 touchdowns per game. When Jackson took over for the club’s final seven contests, Crabtree dropped to a 3.4/1.9/19.3/0.1 line.
Lions Extend DT Damon Harrison
The Lions have reached agreement on a one-year contract extension with defensive tackle Damon Harrison, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The extra year will keep him under contract with Detroit through 2021 and is worth $11MM. Harrison will collect $12MM guaranteed from 2019-2020, per Schefter.
Harrison, 30, had been asking the Lions for a new contract since at least March, and Detroit seemed open to the idea from the start. “Snacks” skipped all non-mandatory Detroit practice sessions during the summer, but showed up for training camp at the end of July and was activated off the non-football injury list last week.
NFL players rarely earn (or even seek) extensions with two years remaining on their current deals, but Harrison is an immensely valuable part of the Lions defense. Detroit acquired Harrison from the Giants at the 2018 trade deadline in exchange for a fifth-round pick, and he started 10 games for the Lions down the stretch.
Harrison posted 50 and 3.5 sacks for the Lions while grading as the NFL’s third-best interior defender behind only Aaron Donald and Fletcher Cox, per Pro Football Focus. PFF ranked Harrison as the league’s single-best run-stopping defensive tackle, and as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets, Harrison has led the all NFL interior defenders in tackles in each of the past four seasons.
Harrison was scheduled to earn $6.75MM and $9MM in 2019 and 2020, respectively. At present, it’s unclear how or if the Lions will adjust those amounts, simply give Harrison a signing bonus, or use some other financial method to reward the veteran defensive tackle.
Latest On Chargers, Melvin Gordon
The holdout of Chargers running back Melvin Gordon is expected to continue into the season, sources tell Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). At this stage, contract talks have not progressed as he hoped, and Gordon plans to train in Florida for the foreseeable future. 
Gordon can’t sit out the entire season — or at least, he can’t sit out the entire season if he wants to become a free agent next spring (which he does). If Gordon doesn’t report by November 29, he won’t be eligible to play during the 2019 campaign. At that point, his contract would toll: his $5.605MM salary would simply carry over to 2020, and he’d remain under the Chargers’ control.
Gordon has simultaneously said that he’d like to remain with Los Angeles and formally requested a trade. Meanwhile, “mounting pessimism” exists that Gordon and the Chargers will strike any sort of deal before the regular season gets underway. The Chargers are reportedly offering Gordon something in the neighborhood of $10MM annually, but the former first-round pick is looking for an additional $2-3MM per season.
Gordon, 26, has averaged 907 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground during his four-year career. He’s averaged 46 catches, 395 yards, and three scores via the passing game during that same timeframe. The Wisconsin product was named to the Pro Bowl in both 2016 and 2018.
Cowboys Sign Jaylon Smith To Extension
The Cowboys have reached a long-term extension with linebacker Jaylon Smith, sources tell Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). Smith has been vocal about his desire for a new deal, and he’s got one in place with days to go before the regular season.
Clarence E. Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that it’s a five-year, $64MM pact (Twitter link), but that doesn’t really tell the whole story. Smith was under contract for about $1.3MM this year and would have been eligible for a restricted free agent tender in 2020, and the extension did not subsume those amounts. So, as Todd Archer of ESPN.com tweets, Smith is now playing under a seven-year, $69.7MM deal, and Smith will be under club control through 2025. David Moore of the Dallas Morning News tweets that the extension does include $35.5MM in guaranteed money, but it looks like a fairly team-friendly pact overall.
Still, it’s a good day for Smith, who recently said that he never wants to play for another team. “I want to be a Cowboy. I want to be a Cowboy for the rest of my life,” Smith said last week. “Understanding what they’ve done for me, taking a chance, taking a risk. Now they’re getting the return on their investment. It’s a beautiful thing to be a Dallas Cowboy.”
Indeed, the Cowboys took a gamble on Smith by selecting him in the second round of the 2016 draft. When he was healthy at Notre Dame, Smith was viewed as a top 10 pick. However, severe knee injuries caused his stock to plummet. At the time, it was speculated that Smith could drop like a stone due to medical concerns, but the Cowboys rolled the dice and pounced on him with the No. 34 overall choice.
Smith missed all of 2016 and played mostly as a part-timer in 2017. Then, last year, he came back with a vengeance. Smith graded as the league’s No. 6 off-ball linebacker last season, per Pro Football Focus, making a career-high 121 tackles and registering four sacks. Between Smith and 2018 first-rounder Leighton Vander Esch (No. 4 on PFF’s 2018 linebacker performance list), the Cowboys have one of the NFL’s best three-down linebacking duos.
Of course, there’s still plenty of work for the Cowboys in the coming days with Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, and Amari Cooper all eligible for extensions.
Chargers’ Derwin James To Miss Time
Chargers safety Derwin James is scheduled to undergo foot surgery on Thursday, a source tells ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). During the procedure, doctors will remove the screw that was inserted in James’ foot during his freshman year at Florida State and was bent last week. The recovery timetable will keep James out for at least the first half of the season, as he’ll need 3-4 months to bounce back. 
It’s a tough break for the Chargers as they’ll be without one of their most important defensive players for a good while. James started all 16 games for the Chargers last season after the team drafted him in the first round out of Florida State. He was a strong candidate for the NFL’s Defensive Rookie Of The Year award last season, notching 105 tackles while adding 3.5 sacks. Big things are still expected of him, but the Bolts will have to wait until November or December to see James make his impact.
James does a little bit of everything for the Chargers, including covering burly tight ends one-on-one and even chipping in at linebacker. In the interim, the Chargers may turn to Jaylen Watkins, Adrian Phillips, Adarius Pickett, or rookie safety Nasir Adderley to try and fill-in for the All-Pro safety.
Antonio Brown Reports To Raiders
The Antonio Brown soap opera could be winding down. On Monday, the Raiders’ star wide receiver reported to practice, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. 
[RELATED: Drew Rosenhaus Downplays Antonio Brown’s Absence]
Brown showed up at the Raiders’ facility Monday morning and was in attendance for the daily team meeting. The club’s walk-through practice was canceled, but Brown is back in the building and, ostensibly, ready to get to work.
The mercurial Brown has put the Raiders through the ringer in recent weeks. A cryotherapy mishap left the wide receiver with a foot injury, which was believed to have been the cause of his training camp absence. Then, we learned that Brown was actually staying away because the NFL barred him from wearing his favorite helmet. Brown is still awaiting the outcome of tests to his prized Schutt AiR Advantage headgear, but it now seems like he’s on the right track to suit up in September.
NFL Reinstates Josh Gordon
The Patriots just got a huge boost as they look to defend their Super Bowl title. The NFL is reinstating receiver Josh Gordon, a source told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Gordon filed for reinstatement a couple of weeks ago, and it didn’t take too long for Roger Goodell to let him back in. Gordon was indefinitely suspended back in December for multiple violations of the league’s substance abuse policy, but New England made it very clear they weren’t giving up on the talented young wideout. The Patriots tendered him a contract, and video surfaced in June of Gordon working out with Tom Brady.
Gordon isn’t allowed to report to the team until this Sunday and he won’t be able to play in next week’s preseason game, but he won’t have to serve any suspension to start the regular season, a source told Ben Volin of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). The Browns finally threw in the towel on Gordon at the beginning of last season, and the Patriots quickly swooped him up for a fifth-round pick.
He appeared in 11 games for the Patriots last year, catching 40 passes for 720 yards and and three touchdowns. Late in the year he suddenly revealed he was stepping away from the team, and not long after it was announced that he was being slapped with the indefinite ban.
Goodell and the league released an official announcement on the reinstatement, via Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link). “We are all rooting for Josh to succeed, both personally and professionally,” Goodell said in a statement. “Everyone shares in that hope and will continue to support him to every extent possible. But as Josh acknowledged, ultimately his success is up to him.”
Gordon has always been supremely talented, but has been plagued by substance abuse issues since entering the league through the Supplemental Draft back in 2012. Assuming he can stay on the field, it’s a huge win for the Pats. There’s been a lot of talk this offseason about New England not having a great group of skill position players in the wake of Rob Gronkowski‘s retirement, and Gordon’s return will do a lot to assuage those concerns.
The Patriots receiving corp will now include Gordon, Julian Edelman, first-round pick N’Keal Harry, and Cameron Meredith and Demaryius Thomas if they can get healthy. Still only 28, Gordon should be only entering the prime of his career. Here’s to hoping he’s in a good place mentally and can make the most of this latest opportunity.
No Extension For Chargers’ Philip Rivers?
Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers will likely play out the final year of his contract, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com hears. Both sides are “in agreement” that Rivers will probably wind up playing out his deal and addressing his status after the 2019 season, when his deal expires. 
Rivers, who will turn 38 this year, has started in every game for the Bolts since 2006. Currently, he’s scheduled to earn $16MM in the final year of his four-year, $83.25MM extension. That was a significant deal at the time of signing, but the market has advanced significantly for QBs.
Meanwhile, the Bolts are without a true Plan B. The Chargers have looked into taking a QB high in the draft for years, but they have not selected a signal caller in the top three rounds since 2006.
There’s no reason for the Chargers to sweat it, at least, not yet. The Patriots and star Tom Brady are in a similar boat, with the superstar set for free agency after the ’19 season thanks to two void years in his newly-revised deal.
Ravens CB Tavon Young Could Miss Season
Ravens slot corner Tavon Young could miss the entire 2019 season after suffering a “serious” neck injury in practice, head coach John Harbuagh told reporters, including Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic (Twitter link).
“Tavon has a more serious issue than we thought. He has a neck issue. It’s a disc issue. That’s a serious injury. He could be out for the remainder of the season. We’ll know soon. But it doesn’t look good for Tavon,” Harbaugh said, per Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
“There is an outside chance that you’d opt to try to see if it’ll heal. But I don’t think we’re recommending that right now. If he gets the procedure done, he’ll be fine and good to go. That’s probably the best thing to do.”
Any neck injury is inherently ominous, and the Ravens obviously view Young’s long-term health as a priority. But it doesn’t sound like the issue is a potential career-ender. Indeed, Harbaugh said that even if Young undergoes the surgery, he should be ready to play in 2020 (Twitter link via Hensley). If Young misses the 2020 campaign, he will have been sidelined in two of his four professional years — a torn ACL during summer workouts ended his 2017 season before it began.
When he has been healthy, however, Young has played like one of the best nickel cornerbacks in the NFL. The 2016 fourth-round pick has seen action on more than 1,400 snaps with the Ravens, managing two interceptions during that time. Among 22 qualifying slot corners, Young in 2018 ranked fifth in Pro Football Focus’ coverage snaps per reception. Meanwhile, the Ravens ranked eighth in DVOA against opposing slot receivers, per Football Outsiders.
Pleased with Young’s production, the Ravens signed him to a three-year, $25.8MM extension that will keep him under contract through 2022. At signing, Young’s pact made him the NFL’s highest-slot corner, although his $8.6MM annual average has since been topped by Justin Coleman, who landed a $9MM yearly salary on a free agent deal with the Lions.
Losing Young will hurt, but Baltimore boasts arguably the league’s best secondary and has the depth to withstand’s Young’s absence. Brandon Carr, who played 242 snaps in the slot in 2018, is probably the most likely candidate to take over inside in a configuration that would allow Marlon Humphrey and Jimmy Smith to play outside corner. Ravens coaches have also been impressed with Cyrus Jones‘ play in the slot, tweets Hensley.
Andrew Luck’s Week 1 Availability “Really In Question”
Colts head coach Frank Reich prefers to make a decision on his Week 1 starting quarterback following his club’s third preseason game, and it may not be Andrew Luck who’s under center. Unless Luck makes a “miraculous recovery,” backup Jacoby Brissett us likely to start for Indianapolis in its season opener, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (Twitter link).
Additionally, Garafolo reports the Colts “finally” feel as though they have a handle on the exact nature of Luck’s injury. Rather than just a calf or just an ankle issue, it seems as though Luck is dealing with an ailment that’s been caused by “accumulation over time.” What exactly that means for his recovery is unclear, but Indianapolis is now confident it can help its star quarterback heal.
Luck originally underwent an MRI on his calf in March that revealed a strain, but began to experience ankle trouble in May. Another test Monday revealed Luck could be dealing with some sort of high-ankle issue, though it’s not evident if he’s been diagnosed with a dreaded high-ankle sprain. At the moment, it doesn’t appear Luck is experiencing any Achilles trouble.
Luck won’t play during the preseason, and his absence will give Brissett even more time to prepare for the regular season. Brissett, of course, was the Colts’ full-time starter in 2017 when Luck st out the year with a shoulder injury. In 15 starts, Brissett completed 58.8% of his passes for 3,098 yards, 13 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. Among the 29 quarterbacks with at least 300 attempts that season, Brissett finished 22nd in adjusted net yards per attempt.