Ezekiel Elliott Granted TRO, Ban On Hold
Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott won’t serve his six-game suspension just yet, as a New York court has granted him a temporary restraining order against the NFL, according to Kate Hairopoulos of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter links).
Elliott should be available for Dallas’ next two games, but will need to plead his case to Judge Katherine Fallia when she returns from vacation around October 30. That means Elliott will likely be able to face the Redskins and 49ers over the course of the next two weeks. But the TRO could also be delaying the inevitable, as each week Elliott doesn’t accept his six-game ban is one more week he’ll have to serve later this season.
Essentially, Elliott has been given a two-week respite from the legal process after the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals restored his suspension last week. Elliott and his team re-filed in Texas, but that case was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, tweets Tom Pelissero of NFL.com. Today’s decision from a New York court was thought to be Elliott’s last remaining recourse.
Elliott, of course, was issued his suspension following allegations of domestic violence. The fourth overall selection in the 2016 draft, Elliott has accused the NFL of fomenting a conspiracy against him, and the dispute has gotten ugly from all angles. Elliott and his camp have cast doubt on the consistency of his accuser’s claims and suggested her motives were profit-based, while the NFL has accused Elliott of victim-shaming.
But the situation at hand has little to do with the original accusations against Elliott, and instead is focused on the NFL’s disciplinary process and whether the league followed its own procedures. Interestingly, the Cowboys organization jumped into the legal fray today, issuing an affidavit stating the club would suffer irreparable harm if the New York didn’t issue Zeke injunction today, per Amy Dash of CBS Sports (Twitter link).
If and when Elliott is actually suspended, the Cowboys should be able to cover — in at least some regard — for his loss with backups Alfred Morris and Darren McFadden. Neither back is the singularly dynamic talent that is Elliott, but each offers a vast amount of NFL experience.
Giants End DRC’s Ban
Giants cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is back with the team. His suspension is over and he’ll rejoin the Giants in advance of Sunday’s game against Seattle, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The Giants have since confirmed the news via press release.
Rodgers-Cromartie clashed with coach Ben McAdoo last week – apparently, on four separate occasions – before being suspended “indefinitely” for conduct detrimental to the team. The collective bargaining agreement dictates that teams can not suspend players for more than four games for such an infraction, so DRC was never facing a ban of more than one month.
Surprisingly, the Giants pulled out their first win of the season on Sunday without DRC in the lineup. The G-Men are now 1-5 after a solid defensive performance against the Broncos, including two interceptions.
Still, having Rodgers-Cromartie in the lineup going forward will give them their best chance to win. The playoffs are almost certainly out of reach, but the Giants would like to avoid a morale-crushing season.
Colin Kaepernick Wants To Terminate CBA
Although Colin Kaepernick has filed a collusion lawsuit against NFL owners, his ultimate goal may not simply be gaining entrance into the league. Instead, Kaepernick is attempting to end the current contractual bargaining agreement that exists between the NFL and the NFLPA, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
The CBA can dissolved if an arbitrator determines that a single player was the victim of collusion, as Florio writes. However, the CBA clearly states that the “proceeding must be brought by the NFLPA,” per Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap (Twitter links). Kaepernick has reportedly filed the suit on his own and without the assistance of the union, which would seem to violate the preliminary conditions required for the dissolution of the CBA.
If Kaepernick were to precipitate the end of the current CBA, however, he’d be handing a large amount of leverage to current players, as Florio details. The CBA is not set to expire until the conclusion of the 2020 season, but terminating the agreement now would force league owners to immediately negotiate with the NFLPA, likely resulting in more favorable terms for the union.
The lawsuit is likely to end any chance Kaepernick ever had at returning to the NFL, per Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports, as the grievance “all but assures” that no club will offer Kaepernick a contract while he’s fighting the owners legally. But given that Kaepernick very well may have been ostracized from the NFL already, he has little to lose by filing suit against the league.
A source tells Florio the Titans’ rejection of Kaepernick following an injury to Marcus Mariota was the “final straw” for the embattled quarterback. Kaepernick reached out to Tennessee after Mariota went down with a hamstring strain, but the Titans expressed no interest and ultimately signed journeyman Brandon Weeden instead.
Broncos To Bring Shane Ray Back
Broncos outside linebacker Shane Ray has been officially designated as a short-term injured reserve player, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. That means he is now allowed to practice. 
The NFL’s recently modified injured reserve rules allow teams to activate up to two players from IR each season. However, a player must first spend six weeks off of the practice field and an additional two weeks out of from live action. With today’s move, Ray becomes the first NFL player to receive the IR-DTR designation in 2017.
Ray broke out in 2016, racking up 48 tackles and eight sacks in his 664 snaps. Only two Broncos linebackers – Von Miller and Todd Davis – saw more action than Ray last year. He ranked an above-average 45th in overall performance among Pro Football Focus’ 110 qualified edge defenders.
Ray was expected to start the year with a major role in the front seven, but surgery on his left wrist put a damper on those plans. It remains to be seen whether he will jump right into a starting role when he returns to the field.
Aaron Rodgers To Have Surgery
It’s not official yet, but it sure sounds like Aaron Rodgers‘ season is over. Packers coach Mike McCarthy tells reporters that the quarterback needs surgery to fix his broken collarbone (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). The operation almost definitely will rule him out for the rest of the year. 
Rodgers suffered the fracture when he was tackled hard by Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr on Sunday. Rodgers is arguably the best quarterback in the league and it’s fair to wonder if Green Bay can survive without him. Through six weeks of action, Rodgers was among the league’s top-10 in both completion percentage and quarterback rating, and tossed 13 touchdowns against versus just three picks.
Rodgers broke his left collarbone during the 2013 campaign and missed only seven games, but this time around he’ll need surgery since it’s on his throwing side.
The Packers are tied with the Vikings for the best record in the NFC North, but they currently own the tiebreaker.
Raiders To Sign NaVorro Bowman
NaVorro Bowman is already off of the market. The linebacker has agreed to a one-year, $3MM deal with the Raiders, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). 
Bowman seemed to have a free agent tour set up for this week, including a scheduled visit with the Cowboys. However, the Raiders did not let him leave without a deal. Currently in a four-game skid, the veteran Mike linebacker could help to fortify the front seven and turn their season around. Bowman, apparently, was not deterred by their recent slump.
Bowman was considered to be a world-class player not long ago and he was understandably frustrated by the Niners’ decision to rotate him with other middle linebackers this season. The team also drafted his eventual replacement in Reuben Foster, so it was clear that the two would be parting ways at some point. The Niners tried to trade Bowman and even had a potential deal lined up with the Saints, but they granted him his release when he requested that he be able to test free agency instead.
Leaving San Francisco was bittersweet for Bowman, but the lack of offset language in his contract probably made it a bit easier to swallow. Had their been offset language in his contract, the Niners would have been able to collect on whatever new salary Bowman signed for. In those cases, veteran players often wind up settling for the minimum salary (and, in a sense, playing for free) since the money just goes to the old team. However, Bowman was able to double-dip here, meaning that he has tacked $3MM on to his base pay for 2017. If he performs at a high level the rest of the way, he could collect on a lucrative free agent deal after the season.
The Raiders, currently at 2-4, have the second worst defensive DVOA in the league. They have allowed 117.2 rushing yards per contest and 233 passing yards per game.
Steelers’ Bryant Denies Trade Demand
Martavis Bryant had only two catches on Sunday, but he found himself in the news when it was reported that he demanded a trade. Soon after, Bryant took to Twitter to say that he is “happy to be a Steeler.” On Monday morning, he specifically denied making a trade request (Twitter link via Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). 
There’s no way to know for sure whether Bryant’s camp did request a trade, but either way it sounds like things have been patched up between the two sides. Bryant’s main gripe was that his role has been downsized in the Steelers’ offense. Starting on Sunday’s game against the Bengals, we may see that change.
Bryant has shown the ability to pick up yards after the catch and at 6’4″ he is also able to pull down passes in the end zone, even in traffic. Between 2014 and 2015, Bryant had 14 touchdowns. Through six games this year, however, he has only one score.
Even if Bryant does push for a deal between now and the deadline, the Steelers do not seem inclined to trade him.
Vikings’ Teddy Bridgewater Cleared To Practice
Teddy Bridgewater will soon be able to return to the field. The Vikings quarterback has been cleared to practice, Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com hears (on Twitter). He got the green light from the very same doctor who performed the surgery on his dislocated knee. 
Bridgewater suffered a gruesome knee injury last August and missed the entirety of the 2016 season. At the time of the injury, it wasn’t certain when he would return or even if he would able to. After more than a year of difficult rehab work, Bridgewater is on the verge of being able to play.
Whether Bridgewater actually gets to see the field this season will depend on a few factors. Vikings starter Sam Bradford has been sidelined for the last game-and-a-half with a knee injury, but backup Case Keenum has proven to be a capable fill-in. If Bradford returns to full health or Keenum continues to roll, Bridgewater might not get the chance to take the field in 2017. However, he could be called upon if one or both QBs cannot get the job done.
Bridgewater will begin practicing on Wednesday. If the Vikings take Bridgewater off the PUP list, they will trigger a three-week window before having to decide whether to place him on the active roster or park him on injured reserve. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears that the team expects to activate him this week or next week.
Steelers Unlikely To Trade Martavis Bryant?
Martavis Bryant wants the Steelers to trade him. But that doesn’t mean they will. Early indications are that the Steelers do not plan on moving the wide receiver, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears. 
Bryant has been frustrated with the size of his role thus far in 2017. Still, the Steelers value him highly. Bryant has proven to be a valuable complement to Antonio Brown, as evidenced by his career 16.6 yards per catch average. Trouble is, he has only 17 catches for 231 yards and one score through six games this year. The 25-year-old (26 in December) is currently on pace for less grabs, yards, and TDs than he had in 2015, and he played in only eleven games that year.
The Steelers, who are now 4-2 after topping the Chiefs on Sunday, seem determined to move forward with Bryant, even if he has soured on them somewhat. Ultimately, Bryant’s trade demand could spark offensive coordinator Todd Haley and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to send more passes in his direction.
Latest On Giants, DRC
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie‘s “indefinite” suspension may soon come to an end. Giants head coach Ben McAdoo tells NBC’s Al Michaels that he will meet with the cornerback on Monday (Twitter links via Dan Duggan of NJ.com). 
McAdoo also explained that DRC had four separate incidents before the suspension went into effect last week. The coach did not get into specifics, but based on a previous report, we have a pretty good idea of what went down. Cromartie walked out of a team activity last Friday, stormed off the field during last Sunday’s loss to the Chargers, and bailed on a defensive meeting on Wednesday before the ban finally came down. Perhaps we’ll learn about incident No. 4 at a later date.
Despite the Giants’ early season struggles, Rodgers-Cromartie was doing alright through five games. DRC still ranks as a starting-caliber corner in the eyes of Pro Football Focus with a quality 80.3 overall score. That’s down from his best work, but, regardless, the Giants need him on the field in order to rack up some Ws.
If Cromartie is reinstated this week, as expected, he’ll be able to suit up against the Seahawks on Sunday at the Meadowlands.