Dolphins OL Coach Chris Foerster Resigns
Dolphins offensive line coach Chris Foerster has resigned following the publication of a video that shows him snorting a white substance, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
“I am resigning from my position with the Miami Dolphins and accept full responsibility for my actions,” said Foerster in a statement. “I want to apologize to the organization and my sole focus is on getting the help that I need with the support of my family and medical professionals.”
The video can be viewed here, but please be warned that it does contain probable drug use and offensive language. Foerster is speaking to the camera and indicates that he will snort the substance on the table before heading to a meeting. A source tells Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald that the video appeared to have been recorded in the Dolphins’ offices.
Foerster, 55, has been an NFL coach since the 1993 season, coaching offensive lines and tight ends during that time. He was also the Dolphins’ offensive coordinator in 2004 under head coach Jim Bates. Foerster has worked for seven organizations during his NFL tenure, and had been in his current position since 2016.
As the Dolphins search to replace Foerster, assistant offensive line coach Chris Kuper would seemingly be a candidate to be promoted, as Salguero notes. Kuper, who played under Miami head coach Adam Gase when both were with the Broncos, has worked with the Dolphins since 2016. Dave Magazu, who worked as an OL coach with Gase in both Denver and Chicago, is being considered for the position, per Salguero.
Texans LB Whitney Mercilus Done For Season
The Texans’ Sunday night went from bad to worst, as the club not only lost superstar defensive lineman J.J. Watt, but edge rusher Whitney Mercilus. A torn pectoral will require surgery and end Mercilus’ 2017 campaign, tweets Mark Berman of FOX 28.
[RELATED: J.J. Watt Out For Year]
Houston ranked fourth in defensive DVOA and seventh in adjusted sack rate heading into Week 5, but have now seen two of their best defensive players go down in a single night. Without Watt and Mercilus available, the Texans could give more work to internal options Brennan Scarlett or Ufomba Kamalu, or potentially promote practice squad players LaTroy Lewis or Gimel President.
A free agent acquisition can’t be ruled out, as well, and there are a number of edge defenders who could make sense for the Texans. Dwight Freeney, Mario Williams, Paul Kruger, Jaye Howard, Arthur Jones, and Vance Walker are among the available players who could provide assistance on either the defensive line or at outside linebacker. Houston has auditioned linebackers such as Andrew Gachkar and Michael Mauti in recent weeks, but those veterans are more valuable on special teams than in defensive packages.
Mercilus will be difficult to replace, however, as the 27-year-old ‘backer has become an underrated asset over the past few seasons. From 2015-16, Mercilus put up 19.5 sacks for the Texans, and had managed one quarterback takedown in 2017. Pro Football Focus had graded Mercilus as just the No. 46 edge defender this season, but his marks had been significantly better in the prior two years.
Mercilus is signed through the 2019 campaign under the terms of an extension he signed in 2015. He’s due base salaries of $4.75MM and $5.75MM over the next two seasons.
J.J. Watt Suffers Tibial Plateau Fracture, Out For Season
The Texans announced J.J. Watt suffered a tibial plateau fracture, which the San Diego Union-Tribune’s David Chao noted would cause the defensive end to either undergo surgery or be shelved for a lengthy period of time. It looks like both are set to occur.
That absence looks like it will include the rest of the 2017 season. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets Watt will indeed be out for the remainder of this season. This will require surgery, Mark Berman of Fox 26 tweets, confirming Rapoport’s report about this being a season-ending setback.
While additional tests are coming for Watt, the severity of this injury to the 28-year-old defender’s left shin bone looks to provide yet another substantial hurdle to surmount. This injury also affects the knee joint, with John McClain of the Houston Chronicle noting (on Twitter) it’s a range-of-motion issue. This will be a recovery process spanning several months, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle adds (via Twitter).
The Texans placing Watt on IR would sideline him for eight weeks, but the Texans announcing this precise injury looks to be a fairly indicative sign they don’t believe Watt will be able to return this season.
Watt suffered the malady during the first quarter of Sunday night’s game against the Chiefs. The three-time defensive player of the year missed 13 games last season with a back injury and underwent three surgeries in 2016, sidetracking what had begun as a stratospheric career.
The four-time first-team All-Pro missing the rest of this season would end up shelving him for 24 games over the past two regular seasons. Previously, Houston’s 2011 first-round pick and franchise cornerstone had gone through five seasons without missing a game. Watt entered Sunday night’s game appearing to have bounced back fully from the back injury that ended his 2016 slate, ranking as Pro Football Focus’ No. 6 interior defender.
Houston managed to finish as the 2016 No. 1 defense without Watt’s services beyond September, and this continues a pattern of injuries preventing the franchise’s top defenders from playing together. Jadeveon Clowney struggled mightily with maladies during Watt’s apex in 2014-15, but the former No. 1 overall pick emerged as a top-notch defender last season and was playing alongside Watt to start this one. Clowney will have to anchor the Houston front seven again.
Odell Beckham Jr. Has Fractured Ankle
Giants wideout Odell Beckham Jr. suffered a fractured ankle in today’s loss to the Chargers, the club announced today. Beckham will require surgery, which will take place later this week, and his 2017 campaign is over. Video of the injury can be viewed here, but it’s not easy to watch.
Beckham, of course, missed New York’s season opener after spraining his ankle during the preseason. But he’s been mostly healthy since entering the league in 2014 — after a four-game absence to begin his NFL career, Beckham played in 31 of a possible 32 games from 2015-16. His production speaks for itself, as he’s topped 1,300 yards receiving and managed at least 10 touchdowns in each of the past three seasons.
Even if Beckham can return later this season following surgery, the Giants may choose to hold him out for the remainder of the year. Big Blue is now 0-5 after losing a nail-biter to Los Angeles, and most projection models gave New York fewer than a 1% chance to earn a postseason berth even before today’s defeat. Given that reality, the Giants might not want to rush their best player back in a lost campaign.
Beckham’s injury will almost assuredly affect contract negotiations between he and the Giants, as the uncertainty regarding his health will have to give general manager Jerry Reese pause. OBJ had reportedly been open to an in-season extension, but a new contract is unlikely to be hammered out while Beckham is sidelined. He’s under team control through 2018 thanks to his $8.459MM fifth-year option.
Colin Kaepernick Reached Out To Titans
Free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick and his representatives contacted the Titans following an injury to signal-caller Marcus Mariota, but Tennessee expressed no interest in meeting with Kaepernick or working him out, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com.
Mariota is sidelined for today’s contest against the Dolphins, and could potentially miss more time as he deals with a hamstring issue. The Titans, however, are rolling with Matt Cassel as their starting quarterback for the time being, and signed veteran Brandon Weeden to serve as Cassel’s backup.
Kaepernick, meanwhile, has continued to work out and has been “diligent” about getting in touch with clubs who have witnessed quarterback injuries. However, no team has entered into contract negotiations or even been willing to meet with Kaepernick aside from the Seahawks, who visited with Kaepernick earlier this year.
While Kaepernick is clearly the best quarterback available on the open market, his social activism is thought to be responsible for his lack of work. But the former 49ers passer is apparently willing to audition for any team at any time, as La Canfora tweets.
Cliff Avril’s Career In Doubt
We heard several days ago that Seahawks DE Cliff Avril is dealing with a serious stinger, numbness in his arm, and is expected to miss an indefinite period of time. Unfortunately, according to Jay Glazer of FOX Sports (via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk), Avril’s career could be over.
Per Glazer, the injury is far more serious than expected, and Avril will have to determine whether it is worth jeopardizing his long-term health to try and get back on the field.
Avril, 31, has been a stalwart for the Seahawks in recent years, as he appeared in 63 of 64 games from 2013-16 and racked up 33.5 sacks during that time. Although he’d been on the field for 68% of Seattle’s plays thus far, Pro Football Focus hasn’t been enamored with his work — Avril has graded as a bottom-five edge defender and earned horrible marks as a pass-rusher, per PFF.
Avril does have a Super Bowl ring, which he earned with Seattle at the end of the 2013 season. He is in his tenth season, his fifth with Seattle, after spending the first five years of his career with Detroit. The Lions selected him out of Purdue in the third round of the 2008 draft, and he quickly established himself as a capable pass rusher, racking up five sacks in his rookie season. He has compiled a total of 74 sacks in his career, and though Seattle has the horses to help make up for his production, his absence will still be felt (PFF’s evaluation of his 2017 work notwithstanding).
Chargers WR Mike Williams To Debut In Week 6
Chargers rookie wide receiver Mike Williams is set to make his NFL debut against the division-rival Raiders next week, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Williams, whom Los Angeles selected with the seventh overall pick in this year’s draft, missed the team’s first four contests with a back injury, and he will miss today’s matchup with the Giants. However, barring any setbacks, he will finally take the field in Week 6.
The back problems, of course, not only forced Williams to miss the first few games of the regular season, but it kept him on the sidelines for the entirety of training camp as well. But he has been practicing in pads since Week 2, as Schefter writes, so he may be ready to make an impact right away.
Williams, a Clemson product, caught 98 passes for 1,361 yards and 13 touchdowns for the national champion Tigers last year. It was believed at one point that his back could require season-ending surgery, but since that time, surgery was taken off the table and Los Angeles removed Williams from the PUP list so that he would not be forced to miss the first eight weeks of the regular season.
All reports for the past several months have been positive, which is welcome news for a Chargers club that has stumbled to an 0-4 record. While the playoffs are likely out of reach for the Bolts at this point, a significant contribution from Williams in 2017 would be a nice silver lining.
Andrew Luck Still At Least A Month Away
Colts quarterback Andrew Luck returned to practice in a limited capacity this week, but Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports that the star signal-caller is still at least a month away from returning to game action. There was hope that Luck could return for the Colts’ Week 6 (October 16) tilt against the Titans, or, failing that, for the team’s Week 7 matchup against the Jaguars on October 22. However, it appears as though neither of those scenarios will come to fruition.
Per La Canfora, Luck made it through his initial throwing program with no setbacks, but he is likely to spend the remainder of October continuing to rehab and slowly working his way back into game shape. He has not yet practiced on consecutive days, and he will soon progress to doing so in a limited manner. Once that happens, he can begin practicing more fully.
The Colts have stumbled to a 1-3 record without Luck under center, with their only win coming against the hapless Browns. The hope was that the season could still be salvaged if he could return to the field within the next couple of weeks, but if he cannot make it back until November 5 at the earliest, Indianapolis’ season could effectively be over. The team has winnable matchups against the 49ers, Titans, Jaguars, and Bengals prior to that date, but it is difficult to envision the Colts winning more than two of those games without Luck, which would put them at 3-5 on November 5.
In the meantime, Jacoby Brissett will continue to get the nod at quarterback. He has been something of a stabilizing influence for the Colts’ offense, but until Luck returns, Indianapolis will continue to be behind the 8-ball.
Bucs Could Potentially Stick With Nick Folk
As expected, the Buccaneers are looking into making a change at kicker. However, it’s not a sure thing that they will move on from Nick Folk, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). 
Initially, the Bucs were hoping to have a handful of kickers audition early next week, but the team is not enamored with the options presently available, Rapoport hears. That’s why, at the moment, only Mike Nugent and Andrew Franks are slated to for the tryout. If more names aren’t added to the list and neither Nugent nor Franks performs well, the Bucs could wind up sticking with Folk.
It has been a rough two games for Folk. On Sunday, he struggled against the Giants before nailing the game-winning field goal at the end. Then, on Thursday, he bricked all three FG tries, costing the Bucs a win over the defending champs.
Folk has missed five field goals already this season, but he missed only four during his entire 2016 campaign with the Jets (27 for 31). The Buccaneers, understandably, want to get this right given what they went through last season with Roberto Aguayo . As Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times (on Twitter) points out, the team has converted on just 28 of 42 field goal attempts (66%) since the beginning of the 2016 season. That marks the lowest percentage of any team in the league over that span.
Latest On Roger Goodell’s Extension
Back in August, it was reported that the NFL was on the verge of agreeing to a lengthy extension with commissioner Roger Goodell. Six weeks later, Goodell’s deal – which would supposedly take him through the 2024 season – has not been completed. It turns out that part of the hangup in negotiations is the amount of severance Goodell would receive in the event that he is fired, Daniel Kaplan of Sports Business Journal hears (Twitter links). Still, it’s expected that the deal will get done. 
Goodell’s current contract runs through 2019, which makes for awkward timing since the league’s current collective bargaining agreement expires in early 2021. NFLPA chief DeMaurice Smith has said that a strike or lockout is a “virtual certainty” after the 2020 season, so the league will want to have stability in the role of commissioner heading into that pivotal time. If Goodell serves through 2029, that will mark 19 years in power.
The “compensation committee” has taken the lead on negotiations with Goodell, a group that is made up of owners Arthur Blank (Falcons), Clark Hunt(Chiefs), Robert Kraft (Patriots), John Mara (Giants), Bob McNair (Texans), and Art Rooney II (Steelers). Interestingly, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has injected himself as the unofficial seventh member of the committee. Jones, of course, is at odds with Goodell over Ezekiel Elliott‘s pending six-game suspension, a battle which is now being hashed out in the courts.
Goodell’s has earned upwards of $200MM in salary since he was elected commissioner in 2006. The NFL did not disclose Goodell’s pay for 2016 after dropping its tax-exempt status, but we do know that he earned $44.2MM in 2012 and $32MM or more from 2013-2015. Recently, Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com reported that Goodell earned $44MM in 2015.