Redskins’ Su’a Cravens Won’t Play This Year
Su’a Cravens will not suit up for the Redskins this season. The versatile defender has been formally placed on the reserve/left squad list. 
“Today the Redskins have officially placed Su’a Cravens on the Reserve/Left Squad list,” the team said in a statement. “In accordance with the NFL Constitution and Bylaws, Su’a will not be permitted to return to the club for the remainder of the 2017 NFL season, including the postseason. We sincerely hope that Su’a uses this time away from the club to reflect upon whether or not he’d like to resume his career in the National Football League in 2018.”
Cravens shocked the Redskins in early September when he informed the team that he would be retiring. Hours later, he reversed that decision. The team placed him on the NFI list to give him some time to consider his football future, but he is apparently still in deliberations.
Cravens, a second-round draft pick in 2016, appeared in 11 games and made three starts as a rookie while lining up at both defensive back and linebacker. This year, he was slated to shift to safety full-time.
The Redskins are now without two key players in the secondary in Cravens and DeAngelo Hall (knee injury). D.J. Swearinger and Deshazor Everett are the team’s starters at free safety and strong safety, respectively.
Colts’ Andrew Luck Won’t Play Sunday
Andrew Luck is still on the mend. The Colts quarterback won’t be ready in time for Sunday’s game against the Browns, meaning that Jacoby Brissett will draw the start yet again. 
There is still no timetable for Luck’s return, but coach Chuck Pagano told reporters that he has no doubt that Luck will play again this season.
Brissett, acquired in early September in a trade with the Patriots, was given the Week 2 start despite having a very limited period of time in which to learn the playbook. He fared better than Scott Tolzien did in the season opener, but Indy still lost 16-13 to the Cardinals in OT. Brissett completed 20 of his 37 passes for 216 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.
After Sunday’s game against Cleveland, the Colts head to Seattle to take on the Colts in Week 4.
Texans Cut WR Jaelen Strong
The Texans have released wide receiver Jaelen Strong, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Strong served a one-game suspension to start the year and had only just recently returned to action. To take his place, the team re-signed wide receiver Andy Jones.
Strong was one of three active Texans receivers on Thursday night, but he did not draw a single target in the win over the Bengals. As of this writing, the Texans have only three fully healthy receivers in DeAndre Hopkins, Braxton Miller, and Jones. With Bruce Ellington (concussion) and Will Fuller (broken collarbone) still dealing with their ailments, the Texans may sign another wideout soon.
Strong was a third round pick of Houston in the 2015 draft but has yet to really produce at the professional level. He caught 14 passes in each of his first two seasons and did not register a touchdown in his eight games last year.
The Texans also considered releasing Strong before the season, according to Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
Falcons Lose Vic Beasley To Injury
Falcons linebacker Vic Beasley is expected to miss about a month with a hamstring injury, a source tells Zach Klein of WSB (on Twitter). Beasley suffered the injury during Sunday night’s 34-23 win over the Packers. 
The 25-year-old led the league with 15.5 sacks in 2016, earning a Pro Bowl nod and a First Team All-Pro selection. He also played a major role in Atlanta’s nationally televised win over Green Bay, including his bone-crushing hit on Aaron Rodgers in the third quarter which led to a defensive TD.
Defensive end Courtney Upshaw was sidelined for Week 2 with an ankle injury, so the Falcons’ front seven could be particularly thin when they face the Lions on Sunday. In the meantime, the Falcons will have to lean a little more heavily on Derrick Shelby, Adrian Clayborn, and first-round pick Takkarist McKinley. Since Beasley and Upshaw are facing only short-term absences, they may not have the roster room to add an impact edge rusher.
Latest On Ezekiel Elliott
The NFL has lost the latest battle in the legal system against Ezekiel Elliott, but the courtroom war is not yet over. The NFL’s emergency motion for a stay of the preliminary injunction has been denied by judge Amos L. Mazzant (Twitter link via sports attorney Daniel Wallach). The league is now taking its case to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in hopes that a stay will be granted and the suspension will be put into effect immediately. 
If the NFL wins at the Fifth Circuit level, Elliott’s suspension will go into effect immediately, taking him out of action for games against the Cardinals, Rams, Packers, 49ers, Redskins, and Chiefs. He would not be able to return until Nov. 12 when the Cowboys travel to Atlanta to face the Falcons.
Elliott has never been arrested or charged with a crime, but his name has appeared in at least four investigations concerning assault, battery, domestic violence, and disorderly conduct in the last three years and change.
Elliott was stifled by the Broncos’ D on Sunday, rushing for just eight yards off of nine carries. He also took a great deal of criticism for not chasing down Broncos corner Chris Harris after he intercepted a pass in the third quarter.
Latest On Panthers TE Greg Olsen
The broken foot suffered by Panthers tight Greg Olsen will not be a season-ender, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. Instead, he could be out for as little as six games. 
A stint on the injured reserve list is also possible, Rapoport hears. That would allow the Panthers to open up a roster spot while Olsen is sidelined, but it would also mean that he will have to miss a minimum of eight weeks.
As of this writing, Ed Dickson stands as the team’s top healthy tight end with Chris Manhertz as his only backup. Dickson did produce as a pass-catcher with the Ravens, but he is now several seasons removed from the 2011 campaign in which he had 54 grabs for 528 yards and five scores. Since then, he has not topped 25 receptions in any season and he has never managed more than 134 receiving yards as a member of the Panthers. It might behoove the Panthers to add another experience tight end with soft hands and that could be made possible by moving Olsen to IR.
Browns’ Corey Coleman Has Broken Hand
A broken hand in September 2016 sidetracked Corey Coleman‘s rookie season, and some eerie similarities may have the Browns receiving corps in trouble again.
Tests confirmed that Coleman has suffered another broken hand, according to Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Coleman left Sunday’s game early in the fourth quarter after a painful collision with Ravens corner Marlon Humphrey.
A 2016 first-round pick, Coleman again serves as a key component for the rebuilding Browns. Kenny Britt has struggled to acclimate thus far for his new team, and the Browns do not possess much receiving depth beyond those two talents. Coleman caught just one pass for nine yards against the Ravens.
Last season’s broken hand, which occurred during practice, shelved Coleman for six weeks, derailing a potentially promising season after the Baylor product started strong. He returned to play and finished with a 10-game season, hauling in 33 receptions for 413 yards and three touchdowns.
The Browns did trade for Sammie Coates and claimed Seahawks preseason standout Kasen Williams on waivers. Second-year player Rashard Higgins led Cleveland in receiving on Sunday. The Browns will likely move to add another receiver to the fold, but they’ll be hard-pressed to find one with as much upside as Coleman at this stage of the year.
Dolphins’ Lawrence Timmons Wants To Resume Playing
Lawrence Timmons threw everyone for a loop on Sunday when he left the Dolphins for unknown reasons prior to their game against the Chargers. The good news is that he may be back in action for next week’s contest against the Jets. Timmons is “doing much better today and wants to resume playing immediately” with hope that he will practice this week, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter) hears. 
We still don’t know what prompted Timmons to bail on the team, but he’ll meet with doctors on Monday to suss that out, Schefter hears (Twitter link). In a scheduled appearance on a local Miami station Sunday night, agent Drew Rosenhaus declined to shed light on the issue and did not say whether Timmons would be available next Sunday (Twitter link via Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald).
Timmons joined the Dolphins on a two-year, $12MM deal this offseason. Last year with the Steelers, he piled up 114 tackles, 2.5 sacks, two picks and a forced fumble. For what it’s worth, the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus weren’t impressed with his work. He placed 70th in overall performance among 87 qualified linebackers.
Sunday’s absence marked Timmons’ first missed game since 2009.
Broncos Worried Garett Bolles Broke Ankle
Garett Bolles left the Broncos’ blowout win over the Cowboys because of a leg injury and used crutches to walk out of the stadium. The team is worried about a possible severe injury.
The Broncos fear their starting left tackle broke his left ankle, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). They’re hoping it’s a high-ankle sprain. The first-round pick will undergo an MRI on Monday morning, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report tweets. Bolles exited the stadium in a walking boot, Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post relays (Twitter link).
The X-rays weren’t conclusive, Cole notes, and Mike Klis of 9News tweets Bolles does not have an Achilles injury. Bolles has helped the Broncos out to a 2-0 start behind an offense that’s looked much better than it did for much of last season. The Utah product is already 25, despite being a rookie, so a lengthy absence would deprive him of much of a prime season.
Donald Stephenson entered the game for Bolles, but the Broncos used different combinations up front due to multiple injuries. Allen Barbre, who has seen time at tackle in recent years, lined up there as well. Denver traded Ty Sambrailo to the Falcons before the season and cut Michael Schofield, leaving its tackle corps thinner.
The Broncos allowed Russell Okung to depart in free agency after a middling year and used their first-round pick on Bolles, the first tackle they’ve taken in Round 1 in nine years.
Ravens Lose Marshal Yanda For Season
Marshal Yanda‘s season is over. The guard fractured his leg in Sunday’s win over the Browns, as Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun tweets. He’ll be placed on IR with no hope of returning in 2017. 
The Ravens have been plagued by injuries for months, particularly on the offensive line. Tony Bergstrom was plugged in at the right guard spot after Yanda exited and that’s where he could remain for the rest of the season, unless the Ravens add a better interior lineman to the mix.
Yanda missed three games in 2016 due to a nagging shoulder injury. Despite the ailment, the 33-year-old graded out as the NFL’s best guard.
“There’s not a word in English dictionary to describe what Yanda is to us,” one player said to Zrebiec (Twitter link).
The Ravens have also lost linebacker Bam Bradley for the season thanks to a torn ACL.