Latest On Raiders QB Derek Carr
Raiders quarterback Derek Carr suffered a transverse process fracture in his back, coach Jack Del Rio told reporters on Monday afternoon. The team will have to see how he responds to treatment before getting an exact timetable for his recovery. Typically, Del Rio explained, this injury calls for a 2-6 week recovery period. 
Carr will almost certainly miss Sunday’s game against the Ravens and he should probably he considered doubtful for the following week against the Chargers as well. While he’s out, E.J. Manuel will be the team’s top signal caller with 24-year-old Connor Cook serving as his backup.
Last season, Carr completed 63.8% of his passes for 3,937 yards, 28 touchdowns, and six interceptions. He graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 6 QB last season, putting him ahead of Drew Brees, Kirk Cousins, Matthew Stafford, Dak Prescott, and several other major names. Only Tom Brady, Matt Ryan, Aaron Rodgers, Luck, and Russell Wilson finished with higher scores than Carr.
In June, the Raiders signed Carr a lucrative extension worth roughly $25MM/year.
Latest On Saints’ Kenny Vaccaro
The Saints have asked teams for a seventh-round pick that can convert to a sixth in exchange for safety Kenny Vaccaro, a source tells ESPN.com’s Mike Sando. Another executive opined that New Orleans would probably have to eat a portion of his contract to facilitate a deal. He’s still due the prorated portion of his $5.7MM salary for 2017. 
“This would be maybe a fourth-rounder if he were not on the final year of his deal, and a sixth-rounder because he is in the final year,” one league insider said. “Vaccaro is making too much money with too little production to get traded now. The Saints would have to eat salary.”
Vaccaro pushed for an extension this offseason, but the interest was not reciprocated by the Saints. Two weeks ago, we learned that the Saints have discussed a Vaccaro trade with a “handful of teams.” We now know that the Saints are not asking for much in return.
Vaccaro has technically started in all four games for the Saints, but he has been taken off the field for significant chunks of time, including the team’s Week 2 loss to the Pats. As of this writing, he is Pro Football Focus’ lowest-ranked safety among those with enough snaps to qualify.
The Saints have roughly four weeks until the Halloween trade deadline if they want to move the veteran.
Bills Shopped DT Adolphus Washington
The Bills had Adolphus Washington on the trade block during training camp, ESPN.com’s Mike Sando hears. The asking price was a fifth-round pick, but there were apparently no takers. 
Washington, a third-round choice under the Bills’ old regime in 2016, was acquitted of a weapons charge over the summer. The new management in Buffalo had at least some interest in moving on from the defensive tackle and one has to wonder if they could revisit that idea with the trade deadline coming up. Not everyone is convinced that the Bills would pull the trigger on a deal, however.
“I just think with [defensive tackle] Kyle Williams being so old, it could be hard to trade him,” one NFL executive told Sando. “Plus, they have a good thing going right now.”
However, the 3-1 Bills have shown a willingness to revamp their roster via trade. Nothing can be ruled out when talking about the team that shipped Sammy Watkins to the Rams and Ronald Darby to the Eagles on the very same day in August.
Washington started 11 games for Buffalo last season. This year, he’s appeared in three games – all off of the bench – with four total tackles.
Buccaneers Activate RB Doug Martin
The Buccaneers have activated running back Doug Martin from suspension, the club announced today. In a related move, Tampa Bay waived tight end Alan Cross.
Martin, 28, was handed a four-game PED suspension near the tail end of the 2016 season, so he was able to serve one game of that ban last year. Because the Buccaneers’ Week 1 game was postponed due to weather concerns, Martin is just now finishing up his stay on the suspended list. The ban voided the remaining guarantees on Martin’s contract, and Tampa Bay hasn’t promised that Martin will reclaim his starting job when he returns.
But the Buccaneers’ rushing offense has faltered enough through three games that it’s difficult to imagine Martin not taking the bulk of the carries immediately. Jacquizz Rodgers, Peyton Barber, and Charles Sims have handled the ball for Tampa Bay so far, but the club ranks just 22nd in rushing DVOA and is averaging only 3.8 yards per carry.
Through five NFL seasons, Martin has posted only two campaigns that can be considered successful — 2012 and 2015, when he topped 1,400 yards rushing and scored 17 combined touchdowns. The rest of his pro years have been lackluster, as Martin wasn’t able to top even 500 yards in either 2013, 2014, or 2016. He’s signed through 2020, but the Buccaneers can get out of Martin’s contract at any time.
Cards LB Markus Golden Tears ACL
Cardinals edge rusher Markus Golden is believed to have suffered a torn ACL in his right knee, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter).
Although an initial report said Golden may miss merely a month with an MCL injury, the franchise feared this scenario. This malady stands to sideline the third-year edge defender for the rest of the season.
Golden, 26, erupted with 12.5 sacks a season ago while playing on nearly 90% of Arizona’s defensive snaps. He hadn’t been quite as productive on 231 snaps in 2017, however, as the former second-round pick had yet to register a quarterback takedown and graded as a bottom-10 edge defender, per Pro Football Focus. Golden, a Missouri product, is signed through the 2018 campaign.
Kareem Martin replaced Golden in the Cardinals’ overtime victory against the 49ers on Sunday, but Arizona will likely need to add another outside linebacker going forward. The club has three candidates — Bryson Albright, Obum Gwacham, and Earl Okine — for promotion on its practice squad, and the Cards could also look to the free agent market. Mario Williams, Trent Cole, and Akeem Ayers are among the best available edge rushers, while Arizona has experience with fellow unsigned veterans Dwight Freeney and Sio Moore.
Alternatively, the Cardinals could sign an inside ‘backer such as Philip Wheeler (who has bounced on and off the Arizona roster this season), and play first-round rookie Haason Reddick on the edge, as Jurecki tweets. Deone Bucannon‘s impending return also gives the Cards more options at linebacker.
Vikings RB Dalvin Cook Done For Season
It’s official – Dalvin Cook‘s season is over. Vikings coach Mike Zimmer confirmed to reporters on Monday that Cook will be shut down with a torn ACL. 
The Vikings feared the worst when Cook exited Sunday’s game against the Vikings. The rookie running back went down without contact mid-stride, so a fully torn ACL was the most likely culprit from the get-go.
Although Zimmer called this a fairly standard ACL injury, the fourth-year Vikings coach said there added there could be damage to Cook’s meniscus along with some cartilage damage, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets.
Cook was averaging 4.7 yards per carry heading into Week 4 and had 10 catches for 82 yards through the air. The Vikings may not be able to replace his production, but they do have internal options to draw from. Latavius Murray, who was the presumptive starter when he signed a three-year, $15MM free agent deal with the Vikings in March, now figures to be the top tailback. The athletic Jerick McKinnon is also on the roster and Bronson Hill could be bumped up from the practice squad for depth.
At Florida State, Cook was the only player to rush for more than 4,000 yards in three ACC seasons in conference history. His future is still bright, but he’ll first have to traverse a long road to recovery between now and September 2018.
Chris Carson Suffers Significant Ankle Injury
Late in the Seahawks’ runaway win on Sunday night, the team lost its newly promoted starting running back. Chris Carson was carted off the field, and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (on Twitter) the rookie suffered a broken ankle.
Pete Carroll called it a “significant” injury (via Rapoport, on Twitter), and the seventh-round pick seems destined for IR if this diagnosis is confirmed. Carson will undergo an MRI today.
Carroll elaborated soon after, saying Carson has a fracture just below his leg and likely a high ankle sprain, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times tweets. The eighth-year Seahawks HC simply said (via Condotta, on Twitter), “He’s going to be out.”
Carson seized the starting job two games into his rookie season, supplanting Thomas Rawls and Eddie Lacy, and was averaging 4.2 yards per carry. The Oklahoma State product’s absence will force Rawls — a healthy scratch Sunday night — and Lacy to pick up the slack. However, the Seahawks have some options here for what will likely become a committee-type arrangement.
C.J. Prosise missed Sunday’s game, but former waiver claim J.D. McKissic — a second-year player out of Arkansas State — scored twice. Both figure to play a part of the post-Carson equation in Seattle, should the promising runner indeed see his season cut short.
Bears To Start QB Mitch Trubisky
The Bears will start rookie quarterback Mitch Trubisky over veteran Mike Glennon in Week 5, according to Adam Schefter and Dan Graziano of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Signed to a three-year, $45MM deal during the offseason, Glennon has done nothing to prove that he’s a capable NFL starter through four weeks. Chicago has gone 1-3 in his four starts, and Glennon ranks 25th in touchdown percentage, 28th in interception percentage, 29th in adjusted net yards per attempt, and 29th in quarterback rating. The 27-year-old Glennon will now be relegated to backup duty while Mark Sanchez presumably will stick at No. 3 on the depth chart.
The Bears paid a hefty price to acquire Trubisky in the 2017 draft, as they shipped the two third-round picks and a fourth-rounder to the 49ers for the right to move up from No. 3 to No. 2 overall. The North Carolina product was strong during the preseason, but Chicago still went with Glennon at the season’s outset. But Glennon’s performance, the Bears’ team record, and — speculatively — head coach John Fox‘s job status have now led to Trubisky moving under center.
Trubisky won’t face an easy test in his first NFL start, as he’ll go up against the division rival Vikings (although he’ll have the benefit of a home game). While Minnesota’s defensive unit hasn’t played well statistically, head coach Mike Zimmer fields a strong pass rush and a top-notch secondary that could fluster a rookie signal-caller. Luckily for the Bears, they’ll have a 11-day layoff between games, so Trubisky should have time to get first-team reps in advance of Week 5.
Glennon, for his part, can easily be released after the 2017 season, as Chicago would only incur $4.5MM in dead money by cutting him (versus $11.5MM in cap savings). The Bears could potentially look to trade Glennon, although it’s difficult to see any club offering anything of value — or even being willing to take on his few remaining guarantees — given his production this year. Glennon has an offset on his $2.5MM guarantee in 2018, tweets Mike Garafolo of NFL.com, so the Bears could hypothetically get out from under that total.
Vikings Fear RB Dalvin Cook Has Torn ACL
Vikings rookie running back Dalvin Cook is believed to have suffered a nearly complete ACL tear, according to Ian Rapoport of and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (Twitter link). An MRI on Monday will confirm the severity of Cook’s knee issue.
Cook has been revelation for Minnesota since the Vikings traded up to acquire him in the second round of the 2017 draft. The Florida State product had averaged 4.7 yards per carry heading into Week 4, and had also added 10 receptions for 82 yards through the air. Cook’s only real negative had been his pass-blocking, as he ranked No. 27 among 28 qualifiers in that capacity, per Pro Football Focus. All told, Cook had been on the field for roughly 70% of the Vikings’ offensive snaps.
If Cook is lost for the season, Minnesota does have internal options readily available. Veteran Latavius Murray signed a three-year, $15MM deal with the Vikings in March, but has barely seen the field thanks to Cook’s presence. He offers experience, however, as he’s toted the ball more than 550 times in his NFL career. Jerick McKinnon is on the roster, too, and would presumably take over third-down work. Bronson Hill, an Eastern Washington product, is a candidate for a potential practice squad promotion.
The Vikings could look to the free agent market in search of another running back, although no unsigned player is likely to replace Cook’s electricity. Tim Hightower, Ryan Mathews, Shaun Draughn, C.J. Spiller, and DeAngelo Williams are among the veterans available for an immediate signing. A trade could also be possible, and candidates for a deal speculatively include Matt Forte, Jeremy Hill, and former Viking Adrian Peterson.
Cook isn’t the only critical Minnesota offensive player who’s suffered a knee injury this year, as quarterback Sam Bradford experienced swelling following Week 1 and hasn’t played since. With backup Case Keenum leading the offense, the Vikings have posted a 1-2 record and are now 2-2 on the season.
Danny Trevathan Suspended Two Games
The NFL’s review of Danny Trevathan‘s violent hit on Davante Adams resulted in the league suspending the Bears linebacker for two games.
Trevathan was penalized for the hit on Adams, one that sent the Packers wide receiver to the hospital, and he will miss time because of it. This is Trevathan’s first NFL suspension.
The sixth-year linebacker will have a chance to appeal, with the Bears’ next game not coming until next Sunday, and ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano tweets an appeal will be expected within three days. Either Derrick Brooks or James Thrash will hear Trevathan’s appeal, which the linebacker will do, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Thrash reduced Vontaze Burfict‘s suspension from five games to three, leading to the Bengals linebacker being set to debut Sunday.
NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan made the call to suspend Trevathan because of the “excessive” nature of the hit, a helmet-to-helmet blow that came after Adams’ progress was stopped as two other Bears were in on the tackle.
Should an appeal be denied, the 27-year-old inside ‘backer won’t be able to return to the Bears until Monday, Oct. 16. This suspension will leave the Bears without either of their preferred starting inside linebackers, with Jerrell Freeman already on IR. A third linebacker, Nick Kwiatkoski, also suffered an injury early this season, continuing Chicago’s health woes thus far in 2017.
Trevathan, who signed with the Bears last year after starting for John Fox in Denver as well, missed extensive time this offseason with a knee injury. He missed seven games during his first season with the Bears.