Latest On Browns WR Josh Gordon
It’s not clear when or if we’ll see Josh Gordon on an NFL field again, but things are at least moving in the right direction. The Browns wide receiver went to rehab two months ago in cooperation with the NFL in hopes of being reinstated in late September, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (on Twitter) hears. 
[RELATED: Browns Shopping QB Brock Osweiler]
Gordon’s name was in the news a couple of weeks ago when commissioner Roger Goodell said that Gordon’s reinstatement “was not under active consideration.” However, that was much ado about nothing since Gordon had already been told in May that he could not apply for reinstatement until the fall.
Top Browns executive Sashi Brown says the club is open to a Gordon return, but it has been reported that the team will trade or release him if/when he is allowed to play again. If he’s reinstated and put on the block, you can expect him to draw considerable interest from teams, despite all of his baggage.
In 2013, Gordon’s last full season, he had 87 catches, a league-leading 1,646 yards, and nine touchdowns in 14 games. He was also productive in his suspension-shortened 2014 season, catching 24 passes for 303 yards.
49ers Release Ahmad Brooks
San Francisco is parting ways with its longest tenured defensive player. The 49ers formally announced that they have released outside linebacker Ahmad Brooks. The team initially tried to trade Brooks, but they were unable to find a suitable deal. 
“We would like to thank Ahmad for his nine years of service and contributions to the 49ers,” said 49ers general manager John Lynch. “In that time, he played a significant role on some formidable defensive units that helped this team achieve great success. We feel good about the depth and competition along our defensive front and believe that by making this decision now it will give Ahmad a head start on exploring his options with other teams. We wish him and his family nothing but the best.”
The 33-year-old was in the midst of a battle with Eli Harold for the starting strongside linebacker job. Apparently, he lost his footing on the gig as Harold started against the Broncos in the team’s most recent preseason game. Harold is ten years Brooks’ junior and comes at a fraction of the price. Free agent addition Dekoda Watson and rookie Pita Taumoepenu are also expected to contribute at SLB.
Brooks has either led or tied the team in sacks every season since 2013. In 2016, Brooks registered 6.0 sacks and 53 total tackles. Across his eight years with the team, he amassed 51.5 sacks and never had less than 6.0 in any given season. He also played through injury and missed only five regular season games during that span.
Brooks is still putting up numbers, but he has slowed down a little with age. Last year, he graded out as just the 87th best edge rusher in the NFL out of 110 qualified players, per Pro Football Focus. In each of the last three years, Brooks has finished near the bottom of PFF’s edge defender rankings and has not graded out as a top-20 type since 2012. He’ll draw interest on the open market, but he won’t command the kind of salary he was getting in SF.
Brooks was slated to carry a $6.1MM+ cap hit for the coming season. Instead of keeping the veteran and having him take up roughly 3.5% of the salary cap, the SF will save $5.3MM while eating $848K in dead money.
News of Brooks’ release was first reported by Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee.
Latest On Ezekiel Elliott
It sounds like Ezekiel Elliott may be fighting an uphill battle in his appeal. Hearing officer Harold Henderson has refused to require the NFL to make alleged victim Tiffany Thompson available, a source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (Twitter link). Henderson has also barred her notes and interviews from inclusion in the hearing, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. 
[RELATED: Could NFL Delay Elliott’s Suspension Until 2018?]
Based on the details of the case that have leaked over the last couple of weeks, it sounds like Elliott’s team is looking to raise questions about Thompson’s credibility and motives. Without being able to discuss her interviews, Elliott’s representatives might not be able to highlight her potentially bogus allegations of a domestic assault on July 22, 2016. NFL investigators have already acknowledged that Thompson was not entirely truthful about the events that transpired on that day.
Even if Thompson fabricated the events of 6/22, Elliott will still have to explain the bruises that Thompson was left with after other alleged arguments they had on the same week. When that time comes, he’ll be defending himself in person and not telephonically, Rapoport hears (Twitter link).
Elliott will miss practice on Monday and Tuesday in order to attend the appeal hearing.
Patriots Shopping Kony Ealy
The Patriots have gauged the trade market for Kony Ealy, sources tell Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). Ealy reportedly hasn’t lived up to expectations this offseason and Pelissero says he’s someone to keep an eye on in tonight’s preseason game as the Patriots evaluate their options. 
The Pats acquired Ealy in a trade with the Panthers that saw them move down from the No. 64 pick in the second round to the No. 72 selection in the third round. The hope was that Ealy would fill the pass rushing void left by Rob Ninkovich‘s retirement. Instead, the 25-year-old has been running with the second string unit.
It makes sense that the Patriots would consider moving on from Ealy considering his shaky performance this summer, but the Patriots are paper thin in the pass rush department after losing rookie Derek Rivers to a torn ACL. If the Patriots were to dump Ealy, they’d likely promote Lawrence Guy to the starting bookend opposite Trey Flowers, leaving fourth-round pick Deatrich Wise as the first DE off of the bench. If the Patriots trade Ealy, they better have their next course of action already mapped out.
Ealy is slated to make just $800K in 2017 and his salary is not guaranteed.
Jaguars Owner Open To Signing Kaepernick
Jaguars owner Shad Khan says he would be “absolutely” be okay with his team adding Colin Kaepernick if his football people recommended signing him (Twitter links via Mike Dempsey of 1010XL). To date, those football people have yet to show much interest in signing the controversial quarterback. 
[RELATED: Latest On Blake Bortles]
Some have argued that the Jaguars should take a look at Kaepernick given that Blake Bortles‘ struggles have left Chad Henne as the team’s likely frontrunner for the starting job. But, so far, the Jaguars have not shown interest in adding any free agent quarterback to the mix.
Kaepernick might not interest chief decision maker Tom Coughlin given his football-first mentality and distaste for potential locker room distractions. Also, Coughlin’s offenses have historically been built around pocket passers. Still, it’s notable that Khan has publicly said that he would give the green light to a Kaepernick deal and things could always change in the front office if Henne or Bortles can’t cut it as the starter.
On Thursday, we learned that the Jaguars could look to trade Bortles (if he’s willing to rework his contract) or just release him outright. If Bortles were to suffer a serious injury on the field this season, the Jags would be on the hook for his $19MM+ fifth-year option in 2018.
Latest On Blake Bortles
The Jaguars will consider jettisoning quarterback Blake Bortles if he doesn’t win the starting job over the favorite, Chad Henne, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says (video link). Jacksonville may attempt to trade Bortles, though Rapoport notes that he’d likely need to rework his contract to make that a possibility, or simply cut him. If they do get rid of Bortles, the Jaguars could turn to 2016 sixth-round pick Brandon Allen as Henne’s backup, Rapoport suggests.
Jacksonville would be averse to retaining Bortles as a reserve because of his non-guaranteed fifth-year option for 2018. That option, worth upward of $19MM, will trigger if Bortles suffers a serious injury this season and is unable to pass a physical next March. The Redskins were in a similar situation when they kept the beleaguered Robert Griffin III around during his fifth-year option season in 2015, but that was at the insistence of owner Daniel Snyder, per Rapoport, who reports that Bortles doesn’t have that type of backing from the Jaguars’ Shad Khan.
The 25-year-old Bortles, like Griffin, joined his team as an extremely high pick. The Jaguars invested the third selection in 2014 on Bortles, who showed flashes during a 35-touchdown second season, but he underwhelmed in his other two years and has been especially woeful this summer. He’s therefore likely to lose the starting job to the 32-year-old Henne, who has a lackluster resume of his own across nine seasons, and perhaps his roster spot.
Cutting Bortles would cost Jacksonville $6.57MM and save the team no money this year, but at least the Jags would escape the potentially catastrophic scenario of having to dedicate $19MM-plus in cap space to him in 2018.
49ers Sign DL Sen’Derrick Marks
The 49ers have added a notable name to the defensive line. And it’s not the player we were expecting. The 49ers have signed defensive lineman Sen’Derrick Marks to a one-year deal, the team announced. 
Marks spent the first four years of his career with the Titans before joining the Jaguars in 2013. He did well in Jacksonville, up until suffering an ACL tear in Week 17 of the 2014 season. The 30-year-old defensive tackle has started in just three games since that injury.
If healthy, Marks could prove to be a valuable asset for San Francisco. It also helps that he has three years of experience playing under current Niners defensive coordinator Robert Saleh.
Marks registered 4.0 sacks in 2013 and 8.5 sacks in 2014. Last year, he recorded just 3.5 sacks as a part-timer but he did appear in all 16 contests. if he makes the final cut, he’ll provide depth for a unit that is currently missing DeForest Buckner, Aaron Lynch, and Ronald Blair due to injuries.
Earlier this week, the Niners also auditioned former No. 3 overall pick Tyson Jackson and Ricardo Mathews. Apparently, Marks outperformed both players.
With the addition of Marks, the Niners are now back up to the 90-man roster max.
Bears To Extend LT Charles Leno Jr.
The Bears and left tackle Charles Leno Jr. are closing in on four-year, $38MM extension, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. The deal includes $21.5MM in guarantees. 
[RELATED: Bears Sign LB Kelvin Sheppard]
The new pact marks a massive step up in pay for the former seventh round pick. Prior to today’s agreement, he had just one year left on his rookie deal at a salary of $1.797MM.
Leno, 25, has started 32 games for the Bears over the past two seasons, including the last 29 contests. Last year he graded out as the No. 41 tackle among 78 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus. He may not be a superstar, but it’s getting harder and harder to find quality tackles. Leno offers stability and youth at a time when some older mediocre tackles are making north of $7MM/year.
The Bears now have the left side of their offensive line locked up for years to come thanks to recent deals for Leno and left guard Kyle Long. Starting to the right of those two will be center Cody Whitehair, Josh Sitton, and Bobby Massie. The Bears hope that they have the building blocks in place for an O-Line that can adequately protect Mike Glennon in 2017 and Mitch Trubisky in future seasons.
Browns Shopping QB Brock Osweiler
The Browns will not play Brock Osweiler in Saturday’s preseason game, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The Browns are looking to trade him, but that is nothing new, as Tom Pelissero of USA Today (on Twitter) hears. The Browns have been making calls about Osweiler throughout camp, according to sources.
[RELATED: Kizer To Start On Saturday Vs. Bucs]
Reviews of Osweiler have generally been positive this summer, but rookie DeShone Kizer has also impressed in practice. On Wednesday morning, we learned that Kizer will be starting on Saturday against the Buccaneers. It was assumed that Osweiler would be the QB2 for that third preseason game, but we now know that he won’t be suiting up at all.
The Jaguars are among the teams that could use a veteran signal caller like Osweiler given the way that Blake Bortles has struggled. The Ravens, who have been in the hunt for an upgrade over backup Ryan Mallett, could also consider a QB like him.
It doesn’t sound like the Browns are hellbent on trading Osweiler and they are indicating that he could still win the starting job between now and Week 1. Even if he doesn’t beat out Kizer, he could be a valuable reserve. If possible, however, one has to imagine that the Browns would like to move Osweiler and get some of his $16MM salary off of the books.
Osweiler came to Cleveland in a deal that was largely unprecedented for the NFL. The Browns received a 2018 second-round pick and a sixth-round pick in exchange for the QB (and his exorbitant salary) and a fourth-round choice.
Giants Waive OL Michael Bowie
The Giants have waived left tackle Michael Bowie, according to a team announcement. Bowie is facing charges for domestic violence, but the Giants indicated that they could be open to a return, depending on how things shake out. 
“We have waived Michael Bowie,” GM Jerry Reese said in a statement. “As we have already stated, we were made aware of this situation on Saturday. The league has started to gather more information. That process will continue. The outcome of that process will determine whether there is another opportunity here for Michael.”
Bowie was reportedly involved in an argument with his girlfriend earlier this month and that dispute turned physical, police say. Bowie was said to have grabbed his girlfriend by the neck and thrown her to the ground. He also allegedly broke two televisions and punched a hole in a wall in the process. The lineman is facing charges of domestic assault and battery plus two counts of malicious injury or destruction of property.
In related moves, the Giants waived guard Corin Brooks and waived/injured wide receivers Darius Powe and Andrew Turzilli. To fill their spots on the roster, they signed wide receivers Marquis Bundy and C.J. Germany and offensive linemen Richard Levy and Matt Rotheram.