NFL Wrapping Up Ezekiel Elliott Investigation
Finally, the Ezekiel Elliott saga could be approaching its conclusion. The league’s investigation is nearing completion, sources tell Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com, and the league has shared its findings with the NFLPA and Elliott’s camp. 
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It still remains to be seen whether Elliott will be suspended and/or fined for the allegations made against him in 2016, but we should know one way or another soon. Of course, the Cowboys and their star running back have both grown impatient as the NFL’s fact-finding process has been going on for a full year.
The NFL will not announce any possible Elliott discipline today, nor this weekend, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets, so the Cowboys will report to camp on Saturday with Elliott in limbo.
Elliott was not arrested after a woman filed a police report against him last July and the Columbus City Attorney’s Office declined to file charges. Still, the league office has left no stone unturned, particularly in light of the NFL’s unfortunate history with handling domestic violence cases.
If the league does suspend the Cowboys star, he’ll have to repay a portion of his signing bonus to the team in addition to losing game checks. In related news, Dallas authorities are halting their investigation into the infamous barroom fight from earlier this month that may or may not have involved Elliott throwing a punch.
NFL Suspends Bengals CB Adam Jones
Bengals cornerback Adam Jones has been suspended for one game for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. Jones pled guilty to obstruction of official business stemming from a January 2017 incident.
Jones will appeal the ruling, according to a source who spoke with Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (on Twitter). Meanwhile, agent Peter Schaffer tells Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (Twitter link) that Jones has not yet reached a decision on whether to appeal.
Initially, Jones was charged with three misdemeanors and a felony after an ugly string of incidents. The cornerback allegedly assaulted a man by “pushing and poking” him in the eye in a late-night argument. Then, he refused to stop when ordered to by police and he refused to enter the cop car as he kicked and head-butted officers. Then, when he arrived at jail, he allegedly spit on a nurse, resulting in the felony charge. Despite all of that, Jones was sentenced only to time served, which amounted to two days in jail.
“The Bengals anticipated this result and are glad to finally put the matter behind us,” the team said in a statement. “Our focus is getting ready for the upcoming season. Adam will participate in training camp and we are counting on him to help our team when he returns from suspension.”
Jones will be out of action for the season opener against the Ravens on Sept. 10. He’ll be eligible to return for Week 2 against the Texans.
All things considered, the one-game ban isn’t a bad outcome for Jones given his history and the severity of allegations from earlier this year. In Week 1, the Bengals will rely a little more on Dre Kirkpatrick, Darqueze Dennard, and William Jackson III to keep opposing receivers in check. Losing Jones isn’t ideal, but a team could do a lot worse than trotting out three former first-round picks at corner.
The 33-year-old saw his production slip a bit in 2016, grading as only the league’s No. 37 cornerback, per Pro Football Focus. In 2015, PFF had him ranked as the NFL’s 15th best corner.
Panthers Sign Trai Turner To Extension
It didn’t take long for acting GM Marty Hurney to get to work. The Panthers have agreed to an extension with offensive guard Trai Turner. 
“Beyond excited today!!,” Turner tweeted. “Thank you to Mr. [Jerry] Richardson and the Panther family, I’ll be a Panther for four more years!!!”
The four-year deal is worth $45MM with $20.5MM guaranteed, a source tells ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). The deal gives Turner a yearly average of $11.25MM per year and will enable him to be a free agent again at the age of 28.
Turner’s new deal gives him the third-highest yearly average of any guard in the NFL. Next year’s guard market will likely see the top guys eclipse Kevin Zeitler‘s $12MM/year average, so it’s a solid deal for the Panthers from a cap perspective. Meanwhile, Turner should be in position for another mega contract just as he enters his prime.
Turner, a former third round pick, was previously set to play out the 2017 season at a $1.931MM cap number. Presumably, the new deal will kick in starting with the 2018 season, giving him a sizable pay bump while keeping him under Panthers control through the 2021 campaign.
“Any time you’re able to secure someone like Trai, a two-time Pro Bowler and a staple of our offensive line, you’re very fortunate,” Hurney said in a statement. “The offensive line is a key to the team’s success and Trai is a very integral part of that. We’re extremely excited to have Trai under contract for the next five seasons.”
The ceiling for guards has been pushed higher thanks to recent free agent contracts inked by Zeitler (five years, $60MM) and Kelechi Osemele (five years, $58.5MM). Guards like Joel Bitonio (five years, $51.2MM), David DeCastro (five years, $50MM), Kyle Long (four years, $40MM), and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif (five years, $42.4MM) also did their part by signing lucrative extensions with their respective teams.
Turner, 24, has started in every possible game over the last two years, earning back-to-back Pro Bowl nods. The advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus only gave him a so-so 72.2 overall score last season, placing him as just the 38th best guard in the NFL, but the Panthers believe he’s a much better player than that. In 2015, PFF rated Turner as one of the very best guards in the league.
Rams To Sign QB Dan Orlovsky
The Rams have agreed to sign Dan Orlovsky, the quarterback tells ESPN producer Jason Romano. He’ll now try to make the final 53-man cut as a backup to youngster Jared Goff.
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As it stands, Sean Mannion is slotted in as the primary understudy to Goff. There has been no indication that the Rams are dissatisfied with the 25-year-old signal caller, so Orlovsky could be looking at a QB3-or-bust situation.
Orlovsky has spent time with the Texans, Colts, and Buccaneers, but he is best known for his two stints with the Lions. Since being drafted in 2005, Orlovsky has made just 12 career starts. He’ll turn 34 next month.
To the surprise of some, Orlovsky has found work in 2017 while quarterbacks Colin Kaepernick and Robert Griffin III remain unemployed. Orlovsky has also signed ahead of fellow ex-Lions QB Shaun Hill.
Panthers Release Michael Oher
Michael Oher has been released by the Panthers with a failed physical designation, the team announced. The move has been anticipated for some time. 
The reason for Oher’s failed physical has not been released, but odds are that Oher was cut due to complications stemming from the brain trauma he has suffered as of late. When considering Oher’s concussion history and erratic off-the-field behavior, it’s clear that Oher has bigger fish to fry before he worries about resurrecting his football career. It’s worth noting that Oher has been in the league’s concussion protocol since September, and no player has ever been in protocol this long and managed to return to live action.
By cutting Oher, the Panthers will save $1.69MM against the cap. Meanwhile, Oher will qualify for injury compensation.
In 2015, Oher appeared in all 16 regular season games for the Panthers graded out as a top-30 offensive tackle, according to Pro Football Focus. The Panthers rewarded him with a three-year, $21.6MM extension, but that deal has not worked out for Carolina. He was sidelines after three games in 2016 and formally placed on IR around Thanksgiving.
Cardinals Re-Sign RB Chris Johnson
The Cardinals have re-signed running back Chris Johnson, according to a team announcement. It’s a one-year deal, per a source who spoke with ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). 
This offseason, head coach Bruce Arians has appeared to be content with Kerwynn Williams as the primary backup to superstar David Johnson. Apparently, that’s not quite the case. Johnson will now compete with Williams, Andre Ellington, and fifth-round pick T.J. Logan to be D. Johnson’s main understudy.
CJ2K, 32 in September, is coming off of a rough year which ended with a groin injury. It was his second straight year to be cut short by injury, but it’s important to note that he missed only one career game before first signing with Arizona in 2015.
Johnson has six 1,000-yard seasons (including a 2,000-yard campaign) and three Pro Bowl nods on his resume, but the Cardinals are just hoping that he can offer reliable production in a support role. Regardless how the Cardinals view him, Johnson will be fighting hard for significant carries.
“I need to be involved,” the speedster said in June. “At this point in my career, I don’t want to sit on the sideline. I want to get in the game.”
The Cardinals already had one open spot on the 90-man roster, so they will not need to release anyone to make room for Johnson.
Lions, Stafford Working Toward Deal
Less than a month ago, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr signed a five-year, $125MM extension to become the NFL’s highest-paid player. Carr’s stay atop the league’s earnings mountain might not last much longer, though, as there’s “internal optimism” that the Lions and quarterback Matthew Stafford will agree to a new deal within the next two weeks, reports Stacey Dales of NFL Network (via Chris Wesseling of NFL.com).
Stafford’s entering the final season of the three-year, $53MM extension he signed in July 2013, but his next contract figures to obliterate that pact in value and could surpass Carr’s. The 6-foot-2, 230-pound Stafford inked his current pact after a 20-touchdown, 17-interception showing for him and a 4-12 season for Detroit, and both he and the Lions have been far more successful since.
Stafford helped guide the Lions to a decent 34-30 record and two playoff berths over the past four seasons, and he’s now arguably fresh off the best two-year stretch of his career. Thanks in part to Jim Bob Cooter‘s promotion to offensive coordinator, Stafford tossed 56 TDs against 23 picks and completed upward of 67 percent of passes from 2015-16. He threw 24 scores and a meager 10 INTs last season, when both Football Outsiders and Pro Football Focus ranked him as the league’s eighth-best passer.
Given the 29-year-old Stafford’s strong output in recent seasons, the ever-rising salary cap and the importance of his position, a mega-deal looks like a formality. Lions president Rod Wood implied as much last month, saying he’d be “comfortable” making Stafford the league’s top-paid player and adding, “It’s a premium position, and you need to have a very, very good player at that position to be credible and be competitive, and I think we do have that, and we’re working on getting a deal done.”
Another sizable contract would be the third for Stafford, who had the benefit of entering the NFL as the No. 1 pick in 2009, shortly before the league introduced the rookie wage scale in 2011. His initial deal was worth $78MM over six years and included $41.7MM in guaranteed money. Having established himself as a quality signal-caller since then, the eight-year veteran is on a path to becoming one of the highest earners in league history.
Latest On Chargers’ Mike Williams
3:35pm: We now have conflicting info regarding Williams. Two sources with direct knowledge of the situation tell Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) that surgery is not a consideration, though it was a possibility as recently as three or four weeks ago. Williams, he hears, is improving.
3:04pm: Awful news for the Chargers. Rookie wide receiver Mike Williams might need season-ending surgery on a herniated disk in his back, league sources tell ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter. 
Williams recently received a second epidural on his back in a last-ditch effort to get him ready in time to participate in training camp, even if it only meant participating in the latter portion of it. As of right now, the team is unsure about whether he’ll be able to take the field in August. They’re hoping he’ll respond well to the epidural, but if he does not, there is a real chance that he will miss the entire 2017 season.
“This may be a lot more serious than people thought,” said one source who spoke with Schefter.
The Chargers have known about the issue since at least May, but it’s not clear when the injury first occured. Williams’ issue first became apparent to the Bolts during the rookie minicamp in the spring, but one source said it’s possible it was injured at the combine and during his pro day. Williams performed well at both events, so the Chargers might not have picked up on the problem.
The Chargers selected Williams with the No. 7 overall pick in this year’s draft. Los Angeles was hoping to slot Williams in as the team’s No. 2 wide receiver this year, providing support to top target Keenan Allen. If Williams is ruled out for the year, it will be a major setback for the Chargers’ offense.
Bears Sign Mitch Trubisky
The Bears have signed first round pick Mitch Trubisky, according to a team announcement. It’s good timing for both sides as Bears rookies report to training camp today.
Even as the two sides took additional time to come to an accord, Trubisky made it clear that he would not be training camp holdout a la Joey Bosa.
“I’m not going to miss any practices or anything like that,” Trubisky said in late June. “I’m excited to sign my contract as soon as possible, however that goes down. But I don’t see that being held out through training camp; even if it did, I’m going to be practicing and all that. I’m looking forward to getting it done as soon as possible. I’m a Chicago Bear, no matter if they let me sign or what. I guess not, but I am.”
The Bears shocked the world in April by not only selecting Trubisky with their top pick, but trading up from No. 3 overall to No. 2 for the right to do it. Switching places with the 49ers cost picks No. 67 and No. 111 in the 2017 draft, plus a 2018 a third-round pick.
The pressure is on for Trubisky, though it won’t necessarily be felt right away. For now, the plan is for free agent acquisition Mike Glennon to be the Bears’ starter while Trubisky learns from the bench.
The deal leaves us with six unsigned first round picks: defensive lineman Solomon Thomas (49ers), wide receiver Corey Davis (Titans), safety Jamal Adams (Jets), quarterback Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs), cornerback Gareon Conley (Raiders), and safety Jabrill Peppers (Browns).
Photo courtesy of Pro Football Rumors on Instagram.
Jaguars To Host Gary Barnidge On Visit
Gary Barnidge could finally be getting closer to finding work for 2017. The Jaguars are bringing the former Pro Bowl tight end in for a Tuesday workout and visit, a league source tells Mike Kaye of First Coast News (on Twitter). 
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This offseason, the Jags parted ways with tight end Julius Thomas and their only significant addition at the position has been former Raider Mychal Rivera. When considering that Rivera hasn’t topped 300 receiving yards since 2014 and that Marcedes Lewis hasn’t been setting the world on fire in recent years, Barnidge could make a lot of sense for Jacksonville. This season will be a critical year in the evaluation of quarterback Blake Bortles, and he’ll need a big reliable target if he hopes to establish himself as the answer going forward.
In 16 games last season, the tight end hauled in 55 receptions for 612 yards and two touchdowns. That wasn’t a great stat line, but he’s only two years removed from his breakout 2015 effort. In that campaign, the 6’5″ tight end had 79 receptions, 1,043 receiving yards, and nine touchdowns.