Ravens’ Chris Canty Done For Season
Ravens defensive end Chris Canty will miss the rest of the season after suffering a torn pectoral muscle in the team’s 35-6 loss to the Seahawks on Sunday, Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun reports.
Canty, 32, is an 11-year veteran who has spent the past three seasons with the Ravens. He added 19 tackles and a sack in parts of nine games this year. The numbers aren’t gaudy, but Canty’s leadership has made him a favorite of head coach John Harbaugh.
“He’s been a standup guy,” Harbaugh said, per Meoli. “He’s led the way with a bunch of young guys on defense, especially the young front seven guys. I have nothing but the utmost respect for Chris Canty and what he’s done this year.”
Canty has one year left on the two-year pact he signed with the Ravens last offseason, but it’s possible he has played his last down in Baltimore. If the Ravens cut Canty before June 1, they’ll save $2.15MM on their 2016 salary cap.
Buccaneers’ Vincent Jackson Sprains MCL, Out Several Games
Buccaneers receiver Vincent Jackson missed most of the team’s 24-17 loss to the Saints on Sunday after leaving in the first half with a knee injury. It turns out his season could be over, as he suffered an MCL sprain and will miss several games, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. With just three games left, it stands to reason Jackson’s season is done if the 6-7 Bucs don’t rally and make the playoffs. If they do grab one of the NFC’s two wild-card spots, the three-time Pro Bowler could return, Rapoport notes.
Jackson, an 11th-year man, entered 2015 coming off three straight seasons of 70-plus catches and four in a row of 1,000-plus yards. He wasn’t as productive this season, however. Prior to leaving the Saints game, the 32-year-old added a single catch for 5 yards, giving him 33 receptions for 543 yards in parts of 10 contests. He’s currently third on the Bucs in receptions (33), second in yardage (543), first in YPC (16.5) and tied for first in touchdowns (three).
Dolphins Claim Damontre Moore
Less than a week after the Giants released him for conduct detrimental to the team, pass rusher Damontre Moore has a new home. The 23-year-old will join the Dolphins, who claimed him off waivers, according to Jordan Raanan of NJ Advance Media (Twitter link). The Giants and Dolphins play each other tonight, but Moore won’t be an official member of Miami’s roster until Tuesday, per Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports (via Twitter).
Moore was a third-round pick in the 2013 draft. The Texas A&M product has been a part-time contributor since then, recording 32 tackles and 5.5 sacks in 2014, with 17 tackles and three sacks so far this season. Moore is under contract through the 2016 season, with salaries and cap hits under $1MM this year and next. The Dolphins’ hope is that he’ll aid a pass rush that has produced only 26 sacks this year, tied for 21st in the NFL.
Luke Adams contributed to this report.
Browns Place Joe Haden On Season-Ending IR, Add Two
Browns standout cornerback Joe Haden hasn’t appeared in a game since Nov. 1 because of concussion issues. With just three weeks left and the 3-10 Browns near the bottom of the NFL, the team decided Monday to place Haden on season-ending injured reserve, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
Haden, who made back-to-back Pro Bowls prior to this season, appeared in five games this year and made 22 tackles. He and the Browns’ secondary were supposed to be a fierce group after the defense finished 2014 eighth in aerial yards allowed and first in passer rating against. However, thanks in part to the 26-year-old Haden’s injury troubles, the Browns are currently 22nd and 28th in those categories.
After putting Haden on IR, the Browns claimed rookie offensive lineman Kaleb Johnson – whom the Ravens cut Saturday – according to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland.com (on Twitter). They also plucked receiver Rannell Hall off Tampa’s practice squad, Zac Jackson of Pro Football Talk reports.
49ers’ Alex Boone Won’t Return This Season
49ers left guard Alex Boone has a slight MCL tear in his right knee, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (on Twitter). The injury, which Boone suffered in the team’s 24-10 loss to Cleveland on Sunday, isn’t serious enough to force Boone under the knife. However, he will not play again in 2015. That’s an understandable move for Boone, who is slated to hit the open market.
This spring, Boone figures to be one of the top offensive lineman available in free agency. The 28-year-old was away from the 49ers for the entire 2014 offseason while fishing for a better contract. He wound up settling for a two-year pact, a deal that he figures to top in a matter of months.
With Boone done in a 49ers uniform for at least the rest of this season, the club will turn to second-year man Marcus Martin, according to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee.
Jets’ Devin Smith Out For Season With Torn ACL
Jets receiver Devin Smith will miss the rest of the season with a torn right ACL, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News tweets. Head coach Todd Bowles said surgery has not been scheduled, but the team will place Smith on injured reserve (Twitter link via Mehta).
Smith’s season-ending injury is the culmination of a disappointing rookie campaign for the second-round pick from Ohio State. Smith’s woes started when he broke his ribs early in training camp, an injury that kept him from making his Jets debut until Week 3. Prior to hurting his knee in the team’s 30-8 win over the Titans on Sunday, Smith went without a catch. He ends the 2015 season with just nine receptions in 10 games.
With Smith’s year over and fellow wideout Jeremy Kerley dealing with a bruised calf, Bowles said the Jets could look to add a receiver in time for Saturday’s showdown in Dallas (Twitter link via ESPN’s Rich Cimini).
Latest On Colts QB Andrew Luck
Recently, Colts owner Jim Irsay indicated that Andrew Luck could return from his lacerated kidney injury this week against the Texans. As it turns out, there’s still uncertainty over when or if Luck will return this season, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
Further complicating matters for the Colts is the status of Matt Hasselbeck. The aging QB was seen leaving the stadium on Sunday night with his left arm in a sling and his status going forward is also shaky. However, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears that all of Hasselbeck’s injuries are of the soft tissue variety and it is believed that he has not suffered any fractures.
It’s been a rough season so far for Luck, who was sidelined a shoulder injury earlier in the year and reportedly played with broken ribs leading up to his November kidney injury. The former first overall pick has only won two of his seven starts, having completed just 55.3% of his passes, with 12 interceptions and a career-low 6.4 yards per attempt.
Bears Place Antrel Rolle On IR, Activate Tayo Fabuluje
The Bears placed Antrel Rolle on injured reserve with a sprained MCL in his right knee, as Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune writes. The move will clear a spot for the return of tackle Tayo Fabuluje from a four-game suspension.
The veteran safety hurt his knee on the final play of a non-contract practice Nov. 20 and never returned from it. Fabuluje, meanwhile, has been out for roughly a month after testing positive for an appetite suppressant during training camp.
Fabuluje, a sixth-round pick in this year’s draft, was not in Chicago’s starting lineup this season, but he was a part of the field goal unit and present in goal-line and short-yardage situations.
Bengals’ Andy Dalton Does Not Need Surgery
The Bengals got a bit of good news on Monday afternoon. Quarterback Andy Dalton does not need surgery on his thumb, a club source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Whether or not he returns at this point will depend on how quickly he heals. Had he went under the knife, Dalton likely would have been finished for the 2015 regular season and the postseason.
Though the Bengals essentially have a playoff berth (and probably, the AFC North) locked up, Dalton’s injury is a massive blow to their chances of receiving a first-round postseason bye. As it stands now, Dalton is hopeful for a Week 17 return, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter), but nothing is certain given the nature of the injury. Dalton, coach Marvin Lewis, and the rest of the Bengals have suffered first-round exits in each of the last four playoffs, so a bye — and home-field advantage for much or all of the tournament — would be a big help. Dalton will assuredly miss next week’s contest against the 49ers, and even in a best case scenario, he’ll likely miss the following week’s game against Denver. If Dalton does return in Week 17, he’ll have a somewhat cushy against division foe Baltimore.
As it stands, second-year quarterback A.J. McCarron, Cincinnati’s fifth-round pick in last year’s draft, is expected to take over at QB while Dalton heals up. The 25-year-old did not play or practice last season, having been relegated to the non-football injury list all year. Until this week, McCarron had seen just three snaps in relief of Dalton. Against the Steelers on Sunday, McCarron completed 22 of 32 attempts for 280 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions.
Luckily for McCarron, the Bengals have plenty of weapons to utilize. The club ranks first in offensive DVOA, and while much of that ranking can be attributed to Dalton posting the best season of his career, Cincinnati’s offense includes A.J. Green, Marvin Jones, Tyler Eifert, Jeremy Hill, and Gio Bernard. One issue, however, is that Eifert left Sunday’s game with a concussion, so his status for next week could also be in doubt.
Antonio Gates Leaning Towards Playing In 2016
Antonio Gates will be 36 by the start of training camp next year, but he doesn’t sound like a guy who is intent on retiring anytime soon. In the midst of a 3-10 season for the Chargers, Gates is determined to end his (likely) Hall of Fame career on a high note.
“I don’t want to go out this kind of way,” Gates said, according to Kevin Acee of U-T San Diego. “I don’t want to go out as a loser. Winning is the way, ideally, you want to go out. … I want to make one more run at it, and then if it doesn’t work, be like, ‘OK.’ That’s just my feeling right now.”
Gates says he will take a month or so after the season to assess his own desire and ability, as well as how the Chargers are moving forward. At the time of this writing, it sounds as though the tight end’s desire is still strong, but at the same time, he has been vocal about the fluctuating level of motivation that he’s seen out of some of the Bolts’ youngsters. If Gates does not envision the Chargers being a factor in next year’s AFC West, he could conceivably have a change of heart and decide to call it a career.
It’s also worth noting that Gates is not under contract for 2016, so the Chargers could theoretically opt to move on from him. Still, Gates has hauled in 45 receptions for 497 yards and four touchdowns through eight games, and that production is not easy to come by. Understudy LaDarius Green has tremendous athletic ability for his size and is believed to have serious upside, but he may still be too green (no pun intended) to be a force for the Bolts next season.
From 2014-14, Gates averaged roughly 69 catches, 875 yards, and nine touchdowns per season. He will not match that in this suspension-shortened season, but he has proven that he is still one of the game’s top pass-catching tight ends, even at his advanced age.