Broncos, Courtland Sutton Agree To Extension
The Broncos have agreed to a brand new deal with wide receiver Courtland Sutton (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero). Sutton will receive a four-year re-up worth $60.8MM in total, including $34.9MM guaranteed. 
This comes on the heels of a similar extension for fellow WR Tim Patrick. Between those deals and the presence of Jerry Jeudy and K.J. Hamler, the Broncos now have their receiver group locked up for the long haul.
[RELATED: Broncos, Tim Patrick Agree To Extension]
Sutton, a 2018 second round pick under the Broncos’ old regime, is still held in high regard by new GM George Paton. Even after his 2020 ACL tear, Paton prioritized and completed a new deal for the 26-year-old midway through the year.
The Broncos could have deployed the franchise tag for 2022, but that could have cost them upwards of $17MM. Instead, they’ve hashed out a longer arrangement at just over $15MM per year.
Sutton broke out in 2019 with 72 catches and 1,112 receiving yards, capturing his first ever Pro Bowl nod in the process. Although his encore was wiped out by a serious knee injury, he’s bounced back this year to lead the team with 43 catches and 617 yards.
The 6-foot-4 target is now locked up through 2025 while Patrick is under club control through 2024. Jeudy and Hamler, meanwhile, are tied to rookie deals through the 2023 season, though Jeudy’s first-round status means he can be kept through 2024 via the fifth-year option.
It’s been an expensive couple of days for the Broncos, but they had the cap room to make it all work. Before Patrick’s extension, the Broncos were in the league’s top five for projected 2022 space. Even after these deals, the Broncos still have enough capital to pursue trades for top-end quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson.
Bears’ Khalil Mack Done For Year
Khalil Mack‘s season is over. The Bears’ All-Pro pass rusher is set for foot surgery that will sideline him for the rest of the year, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport 
(Twitter link).
[RELATED: Bears’ Trevathan Done For Year]
Mack missed the two Bears two games previous to their Week 10 bye. The Bears were optimistic that the former Defensive Player of the Year would be able to play this weekend, but the specialists have said otherwise.
Mack, 30, got off to a strong start this year with six sacks across the first six weeks of the season. Up until the foot injury, he had only missed two games during his three-plus-seasons in Chicago.
Acquired via a 2018 blockbuster trade with the Raiders, Mack has been the centerpiece of the past four Bears defenses. The former DPOY has delivered on the Bears’ investment, even though the gaudy Oakland sack totals have not followed him to Chicago. And, even though Mack’s double-digit sack streak ended after 2018, but was well on pace to post his fifth 10-plus-sack slate this year. Pro Football Focus graded Mack as its No. 1 edge defender in 2020, despite his lower sack (9) and QB-hit (13) totals.
Mack, who will be absent from the Pro Bowl list for the first time in a long time, remains under club control through the 2024 season. For right now, the Bears find themselves at 3-6, down both Mack and longtime defensive leader Danny Trevathan.
Bruce Irvin Signs With Bears
Bruce Irvin has found his next gig. The veteran linebacker has signed with the Bears, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter). Irvin confirmed the signing himself on Twitter.
Irvin made a name for himself back in Seattle, collecting 22 sacks between the 2012 and 2015 seasons. He later spent two-plus seasons with the Raiders (adding another 18 sacks), and after finishing the 2018 campaign with the Falcons, Irvin compiled another 8.5 sacks with the Panthers in 2019.
Irvin returned to Seattle prior to the 2020 season, and he started each of the team’s first two games. However, he suffered a season-ending ACL tear, and he’s remained unsigned throughout the entire 2021 campaign.
Now 34, Irvin will have a tough time replicating the pass-rushing prowess he displayed earlier in his career. However, he will add some reinforcement to a banged up Bears edge. Khalil Mack missed the Bears two games prior to their Week 10 bye, and his foot injury has lingered into this week. However, the team is optimistic that the former Defensive Player of the Year will be able to play this weekend.
Steelers Place QB Ben Roethlisberger On Reserve/COVID-19 List
On Saturday evening, the Steelers announced that they were placing quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on the reserve/COVID-19 list. As a result, Roethlisberger will miss the club’s game against the Lions this afternoon.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, the 39-year-old passer self-reported COVID symptoms to the team and subsequently tested positive for the virus (Twitter link). As Mark Maske of the Washington Post tweets, Roethlisberger is vaccinated, so he is eligible to be removed from the COVID list as soon as he returns two negative tests taken 24 hours apart. That gives him a good chance to suit up for what could be a critical bout with the Chargers next Sunday.
For today, QB2 Mason Rudolph will get the nod in Roethlisberger’s place (Twitter link via Rapoport). Rudolph, a 2018 third-rounder, has not played a significant snap since Week 16 of the 2019 season — he started a meaningless Week 17 game last year — and he boasts a 5-4 career record as a starter, a record that is accompanied by a subpar 82.7 career quarterback rating.
However, if the Steelers could pick a game for Roethlisberger to miss this year, today’s matchup would probably be the one they would pick. The 0-8 Detroit outfit is ranked in the bottom quarter of the league in terms of yards allowed per game, and next-to-last in terms of points allowed per game. Plus, Rudolph does get regular opportunities to run the first-team offense in practice, so Pittsburgh should not need to limit its playbook in any way.
The Steelers have won four in a row to bring themselves squarely into the AFC playoff picture. During that streak, Roethlisberger — whose early-season struggles prompted speculation about his job security — is averaging over 200 passing yards per game, has thrown six TDs, zero interceptions, and has posted a 104.6 QB rating (h/t Aditi Kinkhabwala of the NFL Network on Twitter).
Robert Woods Tore ACL, Done For Season
The Rams officially signed Odell Beckham Jr. yesterday, but another one of their wideouts suffered a season-ending injury. Robert Woods tore his ACL at practice on Friday, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter).
[RELATED: Rams, OBJ Agree To Deal]
Woods went down with a knee injury during Friday’s practice, but per Schefter (on Twitter), the wideout popped back up and finished the day. Woods even conducted interviews, and no one in the organization suspected anything was wrong until tests later revealed an “isolated ACL tear” (Twitter link).
The 29-year-old Woods was having another standout season in 2021. Through the first nine games, Woods hauled in 45 receptions for 556 yards and four touchdowns. He also had another eight carries for 46 yards and one touchdown. The wideout has been remarkably durable during his tenure with the Rams; while he missed four games during his first season with the organization, he only missed one regular season game between 2018 and 2020. Now, the veteran captain will be sidelined for at least the rest of the season, and there’s a good chance his recovery could carry over into the 2022 campaign.
The Rams, of course, added to their offense earlier this week when they won the OBJ sweepstakes, signing the veteran wideout to a one-year deal. According to Schefter (on Twitter), OBJ will indeed make his Rams debut on Monday against the 49ers. It was expected that the Matthew Stafford-led passing attack would by led by Cooper Kupp, Woods, and Beckham Jr., with Van Jefferson serving as a rotation piece. The 2020 second-round pick will presumably retain his third spot on the depth chart. Through nine games this season, Jefferson has hauled in 27 receptions for 433 yards and three touchdowns.
Jon Gruden Sues NFL, Roger Goodell
Jon Gruden has filed a lawsuit against Roger Goodell and NFL, David Ferrara of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. This comes weeks after leaked emails led to Gruden leaving his post as Raiders head coach.
“Through a malicious and orchestrated campaign, the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell sought to destroy the career and reputation of Jon Gruden, the former head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders,” the lawsuit states.
Signed to a 10-year, $100MM contract in 2018, Gruden resigned last month after multiple publications reported he used racist and misogynistic language in emails to former Washington team president Bruce Allen. This included (and was not limited to) crude remarks about Goodell, gay NFL players, female referees, and Washington cheerleaders.
“When their initial salvo did not result in Gruden’s firing or resignation, defendants ratcheted up the pressure by intimating that further documents would become public if Gruden was not fired,” the lawsuit stated. “They followed through with this threat by leaking another batch of documents to the New York Times for an October 11, 2021 article. On October 7, 2021, Jon Gruden was the head coach of the Raiders on a 10-year, $100-million contract. By October 11, 2021, he had been forced to resign.”
Gruden, 58, returned to coaching in 2018 after 10 years as an ESPN analyst. The NFL has not released any emails from the Washington Football Team investigation, and the league said no other violations were found on the level of Gruden’s comments. Gruden filed the suit in Nevada state court, Ferrara adds. The NFL called Gruden’s allegations “meritless,” Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.
Rams, Odell Beckham Jr. Agree To Deal
Well, one of the mystery teams revealed itself Thursday afternoon. The Rams have emerged at the 11th hour for Odell Beckham Jr. They are expected to sign him, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets, adding that the sides are finalizing an agreement. The Rams have since announced the signing.
The star-chasing franchise was not among the initial squads linked to the free agent wide receiver, but The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue indicated earlier this afternoon momentum was developing here (Twitter link). Beckham was down to the Rams and Packers, according to NFL.com’s Kim Jones and Ian Rapoport (on Twitter).
Los Angeles won out, with USA Today’s Mike Jones indicating the Rams and Beckham have a deal in place (Twitter link). The Rams have also shared an image on their team site in anticipation of Beckham’s impending arrival (via Rodrigue, on Twitter). Beckham will follow LeBron James in going from Cleveland to Los Angeles, doing so after James dropped a #FreeOBJ hashtag to help ignite a strange separation from the Browns.
Beckham’s deal will run through season’s end, Rapoport tweets, giving him the opportunity to try and rebuild his stock ahead of a likely 2022 free agency run. OBJ committing to the Rams adds a three-time Pro Bowler to an already-strong receiving corps — one that has played a big role in the team starting 7-2. Beckham sought a contender and a high-end quarterback. The Rams supply both, with Matthew Stafford having provided a big upgrade for the franchise.
The Chiefs, Patriots, Saints, Seahawks and Packers represented the top quintet linked to Beckham this week. The Rams, who already roster the potent Cooper Kupp–Robert Woods pairing in addition to emerging second-year talent Van Jefferson, have pursued big-ticket performers for years. The franchise just sent two Day 2 picks for Von Miller. Beckham becomes a famous complementary piece in Los Angeles’ offense, which ranks in the top five in both scoring and yardage through nine games. Beckham’s fit will be interesting, seeing as the Rams just cut DeSean Jackson due to their depth at the position.
After Beckham’s three inconsistent Browns seasons, Sean McVay will have a chance to catalyze a rebound as his team vies for the NFC’s No. 1 seed. Beckham, 29, moved his way out of Cleveland last week, doing so after catching one pass in the Browns’ Week 8 loss to the Steelers. A reworked contract helped OBJ clear waivers, with no team wanting to pick up his $7.25MM in base salary. The Browns saved $3MM by Beckham hitting free agency and will see him leave the AFC rather than land in Kansas City or New England.
The former first-round Giants pick has five 1,000-yard seasons on his resume, but his Pro Bowl streak stopped after the 2016 season. Injuries slowed Beckham at the end of his New York tenure, and his value dipped further with the Browns. Time is running short for the former superstar to show he can still be an impact player. Beckham has more than two receptions in just two of the six games he has played this season, though the eighth-year veteran began the year coming off ACL surgery and has run into shoulder trouble. The Rams, who acquired Miller after an ankle injury, are betting on Beckham still providing difference-making capabilities.
The Packers presented a clearer need for a No. 2 wide receiver. Davante Adams has been the team’s unquestioned WR1 for years. This season, the All-Pro wideout has a 500-plus-yard lead on Green Bay’s second-leading pass catcher. The Seahawks, Saints and Chiefs also took turns as the supposed favorites in this rare midseason sweepstakes, but the Rams — as they did for Miller, Stafford and Jalen Ramsey in recent years — won out.
Panthers Sign QB Cam Newton
Cam Newton will return to the Panthers. A Thursday meeting produced a quick contract agreement, one that will lead the former MVP back to Carolina.
The sides agreed on a one-year deal, USA Today’s Josina Anderson tweets, and Newton will do quite well for himself. The Panthers are giving him $4.5MM fully guaranteed, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets, and the veteran passer has a chance to collect up to $10MM. Offset language was present covering $1.5MM in Newton’s most recent Patriots deal, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. This led Newton to hold out for more this season, and he landed such a contract from his initial NFL employer.
The Panthers have cycled through multiple starting quarterbacks since cutting Newton in March 2020. They are now down Sam Darnold, who had regressed after a strong start. With Darnold on IR, P.J. Walker is in line to start against the Cardinals in Week 10. By Week 11, the Panthers’ first-string plans are likely to change.
Newton, 32, went through two sets of meetings before committing to rejoin the Panthers. He had previously met with Matt Rhule, who had signed off on his release last offseason, to clear the air, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). A meeting with owner David Tepper, first-year GM Scott Fitterer and VP of football operations Stephen Drummond then commenced. It all led to a reunion, which ends Newton’s latest lengthy free agency stay.
Set to begin his 11th season, Newton is coming off a 15-start slate with the Patriots. That campaign did not go especially well, with Newton throwing just eight touchdown passes. Although the Pats re-signed Newton this offseason, they drafted Mac Jones and decided not to keep both QBs going into the season. This agreement also means the Patriots will add $1.5MM in cap space in 2022 (h/t Patscap, on Twitter). Since the late-August release, Newton spoke with the Seahawks about a deal amid Russell Wilson‘s injury hiatus. No agreement came to pass. Newton is now vaccinated and can rejoin the Panthers immediately.
Rhule will be the third coach Newton has played for as a pro, and the former No. 1 overall pick will be tasked with quickly digesting Joe Brady‘s offense. Newton made three Pro Bowls in his first five seasons, leading the Panthers to three playoff berths during that span. He led Carolina to a 15-1 season in 2015 and spearheaded the Panthers’ run to their second Super Bowl. A rough Newton outing against the Broncos preceded an injury-plagued second half, one that featured the dual-threat talent ranking 29th in QBR cumulatively from 2016-19. A foot injury cost Newton 14 games in 2019. The Panthers then signed Teddy Bridgewater in March 2020, signaling the end of Newton’s first stint.
Bridgewater is now in Denver, following an April trade, and Darnold is out for at least a month. Walker, who was off to a strong start in the XFL before the pandemic ended its second season early, has made one career NFL start — against the Lions last season — and completed 3 of 15 passes in relief of Darnold in Week 7. Newton has 139 starts under his belt. While Walker stands to make a second start this week, Newton will be positioned to move past 140 for his career soon. The Panthers face Washington, run by ex-Newton HC Ron Rivera, in Week 11.
Panthers To Meet With Cam Newton
Cam Newton will have a chance to return to the Panthers. The again-QB-needy franchise will meet with the best passer in its history Thursday.
After having been largely off the radar for two months, Newton secured a Thursday meeting with Matt Rhule and David Tepper, according to the Charlotte Observer’s Jonathan Alexander. The Panthers just placed Sam Darnold on IR, moving P.J. Walker into the starting slot. This meeting appears to be more than an exploratory conversation. The Panthers hope to re-sign Newton, with Joe Person of The Athletic noting an agreement is near (Twitter links).
This would be quite the full-circle development for a Panthers regime that jettisoned Newton as one of its first orders of business in March 2020. Rhule made the move to release Newton, instead signing Teddy Bridgewater to a more lucrative deal. The Panthers cut bait on that contract a year later, sending Bridgewater to the Broncos and trading for Darnold. Carolina’s current quarterback leads the NFL in interceptions, with 11.
Newton struggled in his Patriots season and ended up being released, with the Pats going with first-rounder Mac Jones. Newton, 32, has battled extensive injury trouble since his dominant 2015 MVP season. Shoulder and foot injuries nagged Newton during his final years in Carolina. The former No. 1 overall pick missed 14 games in 2019, prompting the current Panthers regime to cut bait rather than sign on for a 10th season with Newton at the controls.
Jones was able to get a crucial leg up on Newton in August, when a COVID-19 testing issue sidelined New England’s 2020 starter for five days. The Pats moved on from the three-time Pro Bowler ahead of roster cutdown day, and the 10-year veteran has spent two months back in free agency. The Seahawks spoke with Newton shortly after Russell Wilson‘s injury but stayed the course with Geno Smith. Now vaccinated, Newton could rejoin the Panthers quickly and become an emergency solution for a reeling team.
Browns, G Joel Bitonio Agree On Extension
The Browns have now agreed to extensions with two guards in two days. Shortly after their Wyatt Teller deal, the Browns have come to terms with Joel Bitonio, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
It’s a three-year extension for the 30-year-old left guard, the team announced, keeping tying him to the Browns through 2025. It checks in at three years and $48MM, Rapoport adds (on Twitter). This makes Bitonio the Browns’ highest-paid offensive lineman again and matches Joe Thuney‘s guard-record $16MM AAV.
A second Bitonio extension emerged as a strong possibility earlier today, and the Browns went from having Teller in a contract year and Bitonio on a through-2022 deal to both signed long-term. These moves lock down arguably the NFL’s premier guard tandem, keeping key principals of Cleveland’s dominant run game in the fold. Both Bitonio and Teller are signed through 2025.
[RELATED: Browns Lock Up Teller Long-Term]
Since signing a five-year, $50MM pact in 2017, Bitonio saw the guard market transform. Ten guards entered Wednesday out-earning him, including Teller, who agreed to a four-year deal worth $56.8MM. Bitonio made three Pro Bowls while playing on that $10MM-per-year contract, and over the past two seasons, the Browns have deployed a top-tier offensive line. Pro Football Focus has Teller and Bitonio slotted as its Nos. 2 and 3 overall guards this season.
Cleveland’s historically talented Nick Chubb–Kareem Hunt backfield duo has the Browns second in rushing yards this season, and Chubb has strung together back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. In the game both Pro Bowlers missed, ex-Alliance of American Football back D’Ernest Johnson totaled nearly 200 scrimmage yards in a win over the Broncos.
The last link to Cleveland’s Joe Thomas-fronted offensive lines, Bitonio is the longest-tenured player on the team. The Browns selected him during the Ray Farmer GM regime, acquiring him in the second round of the 2014 draft. Bitonio has been a starter since Week 1 of his rookie season and has made 104 starts during his career.
Displaying a tremendous commitment to their front, Cleveland now has four O-linemen — Bitonio, Teller, center J.C. Tretter and right tackle Jack Conklin — signed to veteran deals that run through at least 2022. Tretter and Conklin’s contracts go through next season. Jedrick Wills‘ rookie deal goes through 2023, with a fifth-year option included that could take it through 2024.