Bears Place Martellus Bennett On IR
The Bears have placed tight end Martellus Bennett on injured reserve, ending his season with four weeks left to play, the team announced today (via Twitter). To replace Bennett on the 53-man roster, the club has signed free agent tight end Rob Housler.
It’s been an eventful for year for Bennett, who had been battling a rib issue. The Pro Bowler saw his numbers dip in 2015 after he set new career-highs across the board in 2014. While he has still caught 53 balls, Bennett was rumored to be unhappy with his role in the team’s offense under new head coach John Fox and offensive coordinator Adam Gase.
Bennett’s agent dismissed the notion that there’s any sort of rift between his client and the Bears, but considering the 28-year-old had been hoping to sign a new contract earlier this year – skipping the team’s voluntary minicamp but eventually reporting – it’ll be an interesting situation to watch this offseason. Bennett has one year left on his contract with Chicago, and is owed a non-guaranteed base salary of just over $5MM in 2016.
As for Housler, the former Cardinals tight end had some productive years in Arizona in 2012 and 2013, but saw his role reduced last year before leaving the team in free agency. He played for the Browns earlier this season, but caught just one ball in six games with the club.
49ers Place Garrett Celek On IR, Re-Sign Skov
Garrett Celek‘s season, and possibly his time with the 49ers, has come to an early end, with the team announcing today that it has placed him on injured reserve, ending his season. Taking Celek’s place on the 53-man roster is Shayne Skov, who was cut just three days ago and has now re-signed a new two-year contract with the Niners.
Celek, 27, established new career-highs across the board this season before he was sidelined by an ankle injury. The former undrafted free agent caught 19 balls for 186 yards and three touchdowns after not being a major part of the 49ers’ offense during his first three years with the team.
Having now played four seasons, Celek will be eligible for unrestricted free agency this winter, and could draw some interest from clubs besides the Niners after his solid showing in 2015.
As for Skov, he typically doesn’t see the field much for San Francisco, contributing almost exclusively on special teams. Barring injuries, he’ll likely continue in that role for the last few weeks of the 2015 season.
Colts Place Nate Irving On IR
The Colts have confirmed the previously-reported promotion of tight end Amarlo Herrera to the 53-man roster, and that move is just one a handful of transactions completed by the team today. According to a press release, the club has also signed free agent cornerback Jalil Brown, placing linebacker Nate Irving on injured reserve and cutting cornerback Josh Thomas to create the necessary space on the roster.
Irving, 27, is perhaps the most notable player included in this series of moves, though he hadn’t carved out a significant role for the Colts this season. After starting eight games and recording 46 tackles for the Broncos in 2014, Irving started just twice for Indianapolis this season, compiling 13 tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble. The former third-round pick inked a three-year contract with the Colts, but the team could create $2.25MM in cap savings by releasing him this offseason, which looks like a possibility.
Brown, meanwhile, has been off and on the Colts’ roster over the last couple seasons, having started three games for the team earlier this year. He takes the roster spot vacated by the little-used Thomas, who was inactive during his last game with Indianapolis.
Johnny Manziel To Start For Browns
TUESDAY, 1:13pm: The Browns have made it official, announcing in a press release that Manziel will start this week.
MONDAY, 10:22am: Another week, another new starting quarterback for the Browns. According to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, Cleveland will turn back to Johnny Manziel as its starting quarterback in Week 14, two weeks after benching the second-year signal-caller as discipline for his off-field behavior.
While the Browns have yet to confirm that decision, Mortensen reports that Manziel will get the call next week unless he does something to jeopardize his status. Since Manziel’s last start for the Browns, the team has gone through two other starters, with Josh McCown getting the nod in Week 12 and Austin Davis being called upon for Week 13 after McCown landed on IR with a broken collarbone.
As I noted last week when the Browns announced Davis as their starter, it makes sense for the team to get another look at Manziel before the end of the season to get a better idea of where all their quarterbacks stand heading into 2016. Still, a source tells Mortensen that the organization is uncertain whether the 2014 first-round pick “can re-establish the hope” the Browns had in him when they drafted him.
Manziel, who turned 23 on Sunday, was initially removed from the starting job after photos surfaced of him partying at a nightclub in Austin during the team’s bye week. Reports indicated that the Texas A&M product lied to the Browns about the photos, though the club never confirmed that.
Assuming Manziel hangs onto the job the rest of the way, he’ll have some tough challenges ahead in the next four weeks. The Browns finish the season by playing the 49ers, Seahawks, Chiefs, and Steelers. Besides San Francisco, each of those teams ranks in the top half of the league in defensive DVOA, and all four clubs are coming off Week 13 wins.
Davis, whose offense could muster three points in Sunday’s blowout loss to the Bengals, will return to the No. 2 role behind Manziel.
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AFC North Notes: Browns, Still, Flacco
With his job security potentially dwindling, Browns head coach Mike Pettine suggested on Monday that there’s some tension within the organization, dropping some hints without specifically saying which departments are at odds. After pointing out that a team needs its building to be unified in order to have success, Pettine was asked whether the Browns’ building is unified, as Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com details.
“It’s hard to be at this point,” Pettine said. “It’s human nature. When things don’t go well, everybody has a tendency to kind of bunker in and get into that mode. I think we all want what’s best for the Cleveland Browns. we all have ideas on how to get it done, and we need to be collaborative and we need to make sure that we’re picking the best ideas and pushing those agendas moving forward.
“I can’t sit here and say, ‘Absolutely, we’re all on board, 100 percent,'” Pettine continued. “That’s not reality because when things don’t go well, everybody has their opinions and their reasons why, but it’s going to come down to a brutal self-assessment and to be able to have the strength to make tough decisions and trust them and move forward.”
As we wait to see whether Pettine will be a part of the Browns as the team tries to move forward, let’s check in on some other items from out of the AFC North….
- Former Bengals defensive tackle Devon Still may be back under contract with an NFL team in a few weeks. According to Coley Harvey of ESPN.com, Still said on Monday that he has received reserve/futures contract offers from two teams. Those deals can’t be officially signed until after a team’s season comes to an end.
- Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is undergoing surgery on his left knee today, head coach John Harbaugh confirmed (link via Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com). It has been nearly two and a half weeks since Flacco tore his ACL against the Rams, but he had to wait for the swelling to go down before going under the knife. Dr. James Andrews will perform the procedure.
- With one tight end suspended and two others dealing with nagging injuries, the Ravens had former New Hampshire tight end Harold Spears in for a visit, per Hensley (Twitter link).
AFC West Notes: Charles, Raiders, Broncos
When the 2016 season begins, Jamaal Charles will be coming off his second major knee injury, and will be on the verge of turning 30 years old, practically ancient for a running back. However, the standout running back remains under contract with the Chiefs for two more years, and he intends to come back strong for Kansas City next season, as he tells Dave Skretta of The Associated Press.
“That’s the goal,” Charles said. “I had 11 [games] left in the season when I [tore my ACL], so it’s a lot of time to come back from it. The way I’m moving, I’ll be back before the season starts. I want to be back. I want to play. I want to be out there again.”
Here’s more from around the AFC West:
- In the wake of a Monday report which suggested that Oakland city leaders had spoken to the NFL about a possible new stadium near the O.co Coliseum site, NFL executive VP Eric Grubman tells Matthew Artz of the Contra Costa Times that the league isn’t offering any more help to keep the Raiders in Oakland than it would to help to keep the Rams in St. Louis or the Chargers in San Diego. However, Grubman did confirm that the NFL is open to discussing the Coliseum City development with Oakland.
- Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio said on Monday that rookie linebacker Neiron Ball, who has missed six straight games due to a knee injury, will likely land on the injured reserve list, which would open up a spot on the team’s 53-man roster. Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com has the details.
- The Broncos had already been battling some injury issues at safety, and now will be without David Bruton for the next week or two, as Mike Klis of 9NEWS writes. Having signed Josh Bush last week to compensate for being without T.J. Ward, the club may not to add another safety this week, but that decision likely won’t have to be made until closer to Sunday.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/7/15
Here are today’s minor moves from around the league.
- The Ravens released defensive end Zach Thompson from their injured reserve list, Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). The 6-foot-5 Wake Forest alum has spent his two seasons with the Broncos and Ravens, but has yet to see any game action.
- Washington safety Trenton Robinson cleared waivers and is bound for the team’s injured reserve, Mike Jones of the Washington Post tweets. Robinson was waived/injured Saturday.
- The Browns claimed former Bills center Gabe Ikard on waivers, according to his agent Ken Sarnoff (via Zac Jackson of Pro Football Talk). A 25-year-old snapper who played in three games with the Bills this season, Ikard went undrafted before catching on with the Titans last season. The Browns lost starting guard Joel Bitonio to an ankle injury Sunday, creating the need for interior-line depth.
NFC Rumors: Murray, Vikings, Lewis, White
With the Eagles potentially set to be tied for the NFC East lead if the Cowboys win tonight, let’s take a look at some news coming out of Philadelphia, as well as several other NFC cities.
- As the Eagles gave DeMarco Murray only eight carries against the Patriots, Chip Kelly denied a demotion took place, Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. The eight carries matched a season low for the defending rushing champion, who is averaging 3.5 yards per carry after gaining 4.7 per tote last season. Kelly attributed Murray’s reduced usage (14 snaps) to the game’s strange flow that featured three Eagles non-offensive touchdowns. The obvious counter to that was Darren Sproles and Kenjon Barner both out-touching Murray and each averaging north of four yards per rush. Berman writes Ryan Mathews‘ return could further siphon Murray’s workloads, which have been much smaller than 2014. Murray has just 163 carries.
- None of the four safeties on the Vikings‘ active roster practiced Monday, and Antone Exum could miss multiple games with a fractured rib and a sprained AC joint, Matt Vensel of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports. Exum’s started the past two games in Andrew Sendejo‘s stead.
- After Adrian Peterson characterized the Vikings as being “outplayed and outcoached” in Sunday’s blowout loss to the Seahawks, Mike Zimmer took a hard-headed stance when addressing media. “I don’t really worry about other people’s opinions. I only worry about what I think,” the Vikings’ second-year coach told media (including Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press). Zimmer did say Peterson should have received more than eight carries, however.
- John Fox said rookie wideout Kevin White‘s shin has sufficiently healed, and the team will now look to get him in football shape, Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times reports (on Twitter). The Bears‘ first-rounder has yet to be cleared to play, however.
- Shelved on the PUP list due to a torn ACL he sustained last November while at Georgia Tech, 49ers rookie wide receiver DeAndre Smelter will not play this season, Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee reports. Smelter reverts to the non-football injury/reserve list. The fourth-round pick will not practice with the team during the season’s remainder.
- On injured reserve after an injury-restricted campaign, Keenan Lewis underwent hip surgery today, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The Saints‘ top corner is under contract through the 2017 season.
Jaguars Sign Joplo Bartu; Bernard Pierce To IR
A former Falcons starting linebacker, Joplo Bartu signed with the Jaguars after working out for the team earlier today, Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).
Bartu will fill Bernard Pierce‘s roster spot, with the fourth-year running back heading to season-ending injured reserve with a calf injury.
Signed due to uncertainty surrounding Paul Posluszny‘s hand injury (per the Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson, on Twitter), Bartu could see defensive snaps soon. Dan Skuta‘s missed three straight games, and the Jags started rookie UDFA Thurston Armbrister against the Titans.
The Falcons cut the 25-year-old Bartu, who started 28 games in Atlanta despite arriving as an undrafted free agent, in November to make room for kicker Shayne Graham.
A third-year outside linebacker out of Division I-FCS Texas State, Bartu’s made 178 career tackles and 4.5 sacks in 28 career games.
Pierce only received six carries, gaining 11 yards, this season.
Ray Rice‘s former backup with the Ravens played in seven games this season, serving almost exclusively as a special teams cog. He rushed for a career-high 532 yards, averaging 4.9 per carry, as a rookie for the 2012 Super Bowl champions but hasn’t averaged more than four yards per tote since.