North Notes: Vikings, Conner, JuJu, Lions
The 2017 draft class will become extension-eligible in January, and Dalvin Cook‘s contract figures to be one the key talking points once the calendar flips to the 2020 offseason. The Vikings are one of the few teams to have paid a running back top-market money, via Adrian Peterson‘s $14.4MM-AAV pact from 2011. With Cook’s contract not containing a fifth-year option like Christian McCaffrey‘s does, the Vikings will likely have to address his deal sooner than the Panthers will need to negotiate with their All-Pro candidate. Ezekiel Elliott‘s $15MM-per-year deal represents the new running back benchmark. Although Cook has been injury-prone, he will surely seek a contract in the Elliott-Todd Gurley–Le’Veon Bell–David Johnson tax bracket (north of $13MM annually).
“Running backs are valuable,” Cook said, via ESPN.com’s Courtney Cronin. “For guys to get rewarded for how physical, how much they get their bodies ready each and every week to go take that pounding, guys [are] getting rewarded for that. The running back value kind of went down, but I think we’re just as valuable as any position.”
Here is the latest from the North divisions:
- Adam Thielen will not play Sunday night. The Vikings ruled out their highest-paid wide receiver for Week 10’s Cowboys contest. Thielen has dealt with this hamstring injury since Week 7, missing Minnesota’s game against the Redskins and exiting last week’s Chiefs game after seven snaps.
- One of Cook’s 2017 draft classmates, James Conner, will also need at least another week to recover from injury. The Steelers ruled out Conner for Week 10. They also added JuJu Smith-Schuster to this week’s injury report Friday. Pittsburgh’s top wideout is questionable to face the Rams with a toe injury.
- Lions safety Miles Killebrew suffered a concussion during Thursday’s practice, Kyle Meinke of MLive.com notes. The Lions moved Killebrew to linebacker last year, but the trade of Quandre Diggs and Tracy Walker‘s knee injury prompted the team to shift Killebrew back to safety recently. UFA addition Tavon Wilson, third-round rookie Will Harris and rookie UDFA C.J. Moore are the Lions’ only healthy safeties. Killebrew and Walker are out for Sunday’s Bears tilt
- The Lions’ two-year extension for Christian Jones features a short-term sacrifice for a 2020 payment. The deal reduces the linebacker’s 2019 salary from $2.45MM to the veteran minimum, which will be worth approximately $426K for the season’s remainder. In exchange, Jones will receive a $1.97MM signing bonus, Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com tweets. The through-2021 deal averages $2.92MM. Detroit tacked on a voidable 2022 year, in order to spread the bonus across three seasons instead of two.
Injury Updates: Brissett, Conner, Thielen
The Colts have been having a surprisingly strong season after Andrew Luck retired, but everyone in Indy was left holding their breath when Jacoby Brissett went down with a knee injury. After the game, head coach Frank Reich said it was a sprain that was “MCL-ish.” Fortunately, it doesn’t seem like Brissett tore anything. Quarterbacks can usually play through MCL sprains, so it doesn’t sound like Brissett will be on the shelf too long. Brian Hoyer filled in and had the Colts in position to win the game late, but Adam Vinatieri missed a 43-yard kick with a minute to go.
Here are more injury updates from around the league:
- Steelers rookie running back Benny Snell had surgery to trim his meniscus recently and will be sidelined for 2-3 weeks, a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). Snell was a fourth-round pick back in April. Speaking of Pittsburgh’s backfield, starter James Conner didn’t suit up against the Colts today, and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets that he’s in danger of missing next week’s game against the Rams. For now, Jaylen Samuels will continue to gobble up most of the snaps.
- Standout rookie UDFA Preston Williams suffered a knee injury, casting a damper on the Dolphins’ first win of the season. Despite going undrafted Williams has become a key player for Miami, starting all of their games thus far. The injury is a “sprained knee and the hope is that it’s not more serious,” tweets Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. We should know more about the severity soon. Williams had five catches for 72 yards and two touchdowns in the win over the Jets before going down.
- Vikings receiver Adam Thielen returned after a one-game absence due to a hamstring injury, and quickly re-aggravated it. He didn’t return to Minnesota’s loss to Kansas City, and while there’s no word yet on the severity, hamstring issues can linger. They’ll likely be more cautious about rushing their star receiver back this time.
Steelers WR Antonio Brown Won’t Play Today
The Steelers need a lot to go right today if they have any hope of making the postseason. Unfortunately, they’ll have to play today’s key game without their star wideout. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that receiver Antonio Brown is inactive for today’s game against the Bengals.
Brown missed several practices this week, and he was listed as questionable with a knee injury. The 30-year-old also underwent tests on the knee, with the injury ultimately keeping him out of his first game of the season. Brown was having another standout season for Pittsburgh, hauling in 104 receptions for 1,297 yards and 15 touchdowns. Of course, the Steelers still shouldn’t have a tough time against a Bengals team that has allowed the third-most passing yards in the NFL, especially with Ben Roethlisberger and JuJu Smith-Schuster still leading the passing attack.
While Brown is out for today’s game, Schefter reports that the Steelers will have running back James Conner. The 23-year-old hasn’t played since early December as he recovered from an ankle injury. In 12 games this season, Conner’s compiled 909 rushing yards and 12 rushing scores on 201 carries. He’s also added another 52 receptions for 467 yards and one touchdown.
The Steelers need more than a win today over the Bengals if they want to make the playoffs. Rather, they’ll also need the Ravens to lose to the Browns. Pittsburgh could also make the playoffs with a tie and a Ravens’ loss.
Extra Points: Keenum, Broncos, Steelers, Conner, Clemson, 2019 NFL Draft
Case Keenum was the best story of the 2017 NFL season, and parlayed his magical run with the Vikings into a two year $36MM contract with the Broncos. While Keenum has had some nice moments this year, he’s mostly been a big disappointment. The Broncos clinched a losing season with their loss last night to the Raiders, and Keenum threw a pair of awful interceptions. With Vance Joseph a near lock to be fired at the end of the season, Denver will have an entirely new coaching staff next year with no ties to Keenum.
Only $7MM of his salary is guaranteed for next season, so the Broncos could realistically cut him this spring. Denver’s decision on whether to keep him “may have more to do with who else is available” than anything else, according to Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic. Jhabvala notes that there may not be a Kirk Cousins-esque surefire starter available in free agency, and that could ensure that Keenum stays another year. Even if he is still on the team in 2019, he’ll likely be competing with a highly drafted rookie.
- The Steelers are on the brink of being eliminated from playoff contention, and need a win over the Bengals and a Browns victory over the Ravens in Week 17 to win the AFC North and sneak into the postseason. They’ll need all hands on deck, and could be getting a big boost on offense for the must-win game. James Conner has missed the last few weeks with a high ankle sprain, but has a “realistic chance” to play this week, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). Jaylen Samuels has filled in admirably in the backfield, but getting Conner back would still be huge.
- A trio of Clemson players have failed drug tests ahead of the College Football Playoff, per Jori Epstein of USA Today. The most notable of the group is defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, who has been projected by many as a first round pick in the 2019 NFL draft. While any incident like this could hurt a player’s draft stock, it should be noted that Clemson coach Dabo Swinney is standing firmly behind his players and denying they used any performance enhancing substances, “saying the test results revealed ‘a sliver, a trace, a fraction’ of a drug he’d never heard of before.” We should know more details soon, but teams will surely be asking Lawrence about this at the combine.
- In case you missed it, former Chiefs and Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis is reportedly eyeing a return to the NFL.
North Notes: Big Ben, Ravens, Stefanski
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger suffered a rib injury in last week’s upset loss to the Raiders, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports that Big Ben actually cracked his ribs (video link). Pittsburgh was reportedly unable to make that determination during the game due to a faulty X-ray machine in Oakland, but Rapoport says the injury should not limit Roethlisberger going forward. The Steelers face a critical matchup against New England this afternoon, so they will need Roethlisberger to battle through.
The team is unlikely to have starting running back James Conner when they take on the Patriots, but Rapoport tweets that Conner should be back for next Sunday’s game in New Orleans.
Now for more from the league’s north divisions:
- The Ravens have frequently seen their defensive coaches and coordinators obtain promotions from rival clubs, and they could see more of the same in 2019. Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes that Baltimore defensive coordinator Don Martindale, in his first year leading the team’s defense after six years as its linebackers coach, is garnering attention around the league as a legitimate head coaching candidate. La Canfora suggests that Martindale could even replace John Harbaugh in Baltimore if the Ravens elect to part ways with Harbaugh.
- We heard last week that plenty of teams with expected head coaching vacancies are interested in what the Ravens plan to do with Harbaugh, and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes that the buzz around Harbaugh is continuing to build. Baltimore could retain the man who may be the hottest head coaching candidate in 2019, but it could also leverage the interest in Harbaugh’s services and try to trade him.
- La Canfora writes that Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski, who was just promoted to the role earlier this week, was already being considered for head coaching jobs before he took over as Minnesota’s OC. Obviously, how the club’s offense performs down the stretch and perhaps into the playoffs will go a long way towards determining Stefanski’s 2019 prospects, but La Canfora reports that teams are conducting preliminary research on him, and a strong playoff push could solidify his chances of running his own team next season.
- Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict suffered a concussion earlier this month, and he will miss his second consecutive game when the Bengals take on the Raiders today. As Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes, Burfict is experiencing several worrying trends. 2018 marks the third consecutive year that Burfict has served a suspension to start the season and suffered a December concussion to close it out. He has now sustained a concussion in five of the last six seasons, and between the missed time for injury and for suspension, Dehner suggests that the Bengals could be ready to move on. The league is moving away from players with Burfict’s skill set, Burfict is not playing particularly well when he is on the field these days, and the club could save $6.8MM against the cap by cutting him this offseason.
James Conner Unlikely To Face Patriots
The Steelers have a recent history of being shorthanded at key offensive spots when they face the Patriots, and it appears Sunday will continue that trend.
James Conner‘s ankle injury is likely to keep him out of Sunday’s game against New England, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter). While Conner is expected to return for Week 16 against the Saints, the Steelers will have to go with Jaylen Samuels and Stevan Ridley for a second straight game.
Injured during the Steelers’ Week 13 loss to the Chargers, Conner had not made the same kind of impact in November that he did during the first half of the season. Le’Veon Bell‘s replacement was held under 100 yards from scrimmage from Weeks 10-13, this coming after he’d exceeded that barrier in Pittsburgh’s previous four games (all wins). Nevertheless, Pittsburgh is now down to what would have been its third-string running back if Bell had played this season.
The Steelers last season lost Antonio Brown during the first half of their close loss to the Patriots — one that determined the AFC’s No. 1 seed. In the 2016 AFC championship game, Bell left in the first quarter and did not return in a blowout defeat. Ben Roethlisberger did not play in a regular-season loss to the Patriots in Pittsburgh that year, and the Steelers lost to the Pats in Week 1 of the 2015 season during a Bell suspension. The Steelers have not beaten the Patriots since 2011.
Neither the Steelers nor the Patriots are playing on the level they did last season, however, lowering the stakes for this year’s matchup. But while New England remains in command of the AFC East, Pittsburgh may be one loss away from ceding AFC North control to Baltimore. A Ravens win (over the Buccaneers) and a Steelers loss would catapult Baltimore into first place in the division and thrust Pittsburgh into a muddied wild-card mix.
A possible Pro Bowler, Conner has accumulated 1,376 yards from scrimmage and scored 13 touchdowns in his first season as the Steelers’ starter. Samuels and Ridley combined for 32 rushing yards on 16 carries in the loss to the Raiders.
James Conner To Return In Week 15?
2018 revelation James Conner had his magical season sidetracked when he suffered an injury — which some sources believe is a high ankle sprain — during the Steelers’ loss to the Chargers last Sunday. However, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com writes that Conner “has a chance” to be back in action for Pittsburgh’s potentially critical matchup with the Patriots next week.
The Steelers are only 1/2 game up on the Ravens in the AFC North, but Baltimore will face a stiff test against the Chiefs in Kansas City this afternoon while Pittsburgh gets a favorable matchup in Oakland. But even if the Steelers can put some distance between themselves and Baltimore today, they still need to deal with New England and New Orleans, so they would love to get Conner back for the stretch run.
Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports also hears that Conner could be back next week, though Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network is a little less optimistic (video link). Rapoport says that Conner will be reevaluated tomorrow and that the Steelers are expected to be cautious with him. As such, Conner could miss the team’s Week 15 bout against the Pats. Speculatively, if the Steelers win today and the Ravens lose, Pittsburgh may be more inclined to hold Conner out for another week.
Jaylen Samuels, whom the Steelers selected in the fifth round of the 2018 draft, is expected to get the bulk of the touches in Conner’s absence. Luckily for Pittsburgh, Samuels, like Conner, is a talented receiver out of the backfield, so the Steelers should not have to alter their offensive approach to accommodate him.
Steelers’ James Conner To Miss Time
Steelers running back James Conner has been ruled out for this week’s game against the Raiders, coach Mike Tomlin announced. Initially, Conner was believed to have suffered a minor contusion, but it turns out that he has a slightly more serious sprain that will keep him out of action for at least one game. 
Conner, 23, has exceeded all expectations this year in place of star Le’Veon Bell. In 12 games (eleven starts), Conner has amassed 909 yards off of 201 carries (4.5 yards-per-carry average) and 12 rushing touchdowns. He’s also caught 52 passes for 467 yards and one receiving score, showing that he’s a more than adequate replacement for one of the sport’s most dynamic weapons.
Naturally, the Steelers will still go into Sunday’s game against Oakland as heavy favorites, even though they’re on the road. With a win, the Steelers can further solidify their odds of making the playoffs while taking another step closer towards the AFC North title.
With Conner on the sidelines, Stevan Ridley and Jaylen Samuels are expected to lead the way at running back. Meanwhile, the club will hope to get Conner back on the field for a huge Week 15 matchup against the Patriots.
Le’Veon Bell Fallout: Steelers, Conner, Jets
In becoming the first franchise-tagged player since the Chiefs’ Dan Williams in 1998 to commit to skipping an entire season, Le’Veon Bell ensured himself to be a key name in NFL business history henceforth. Steelers GM Kevin Colbert confirmed Bell did not sign his franchise tender on Tuesday and will not play in 2018. He’s likely bound for the 2019 market. Here’s the latest from the Bell front:
- Pittsburgh’s plan will still be a transition tag, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets. This will be for Bell’s would-have-been 2018 franchise tag amount ($14.5MM), though it’s not like the Steelers will be prepared to match a big offer. They have James Conner in the fold for at least two more seasons on a third-round deal and have obviously been through quite the ordeal with his predecessor. The Steelers also won’t match an offer because of a preference to avoid other teams structuring their contracts, The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly notes (subscription required). A trade could commence, but with no draft compensation attached to the transition tag, Pittsburgh wouldn’t have much leverage here.
- While Conner delivering the same level of production Bell did in 2017 may not look great for Bell’s status as a difference-making running back, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk not only expects the soon-to-be 27-year-old running back to match Todd Gurley‘s market-shattering contract (four years, $57.5MM, $45MM guaranteed) but expects Bell to land a better deal in 2019 (Twitter link). With the cap rising by approximately $10MM annually, this could happen. It’s a major risk, though, especially given Bell’s injury and suspension history (18 missed games, counting the playoffs, due to injury). Gurley had 914 career regular-season touches prior to signing his extension; David Johnson ($13MM AAV) had just 405. Although Bell will preserve his body for a hopeful megadeal, he has 1,541 career touches — the most of any active back through an age-25 season. While it’s likely Bell will command a lucrative pact, it’s not a lock he ventures into Gurley territory.
- As for who will pay Bell, the Colts and Jets stand to possess more than $100MM in cap space in 2019. The Bills and Raiders will also have plenty of money to spend, though both teams have needs at several positions. Kaboly pinpoints the Jets, who don’t have much in the way of long-term solutions beyond Sam Darnold, on offense. While the Jets also have needs at just about every position on offense, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News writes they should sign Bell — even if it forces an overpay — citing Darnold’s rookie contract as a window for bigger free agent moves. This may be the team that would make Bell’s plan worthwhile. They gave out lavish deals to Darrelle Revis and Trumaine Johnson, and now Mike Maccagnan may be entering a win-or-else offseason. The Colts have not spent wildly in free agency in Chris Ballard‘s first two seasons, however.
- Conner remains in concussion protocol, and Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes neither Jaylen Samuels nor Stevan Ridley have shown to be on his level. Citing past Steelers running backs’ absences in playoff games — including Bell, who either missed or failed to finish four postseason contests over a three-season span — Bouchette notes Conner’s health now becomes even more important if the team is to finally break through after several January letdowns this decade.
Steelers Expected To Use Transition Tag On Le’Veon Bell
Even though nothing is ever certain when it comes to Le’Veon Bell, it does not appear that Bell will report to the Steelers by the November 13 deadline, which means that he will be ineligible to play at all in 2018 (although he would still be eligible for the third-year franchise tag amount of $25MM+). Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network acknowledges that, when Bell’s camp learned that his franchise tag price would be unaffected even if he stayed away from the team for the entire year, that seemed to tip the scales in favor of a year-long holdout (video link).
Of course, the Steelers are not going to put the franchise tag on Bell, which means, as Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes, that the team is likely to hit him with the transition tag. That designation would allow Pittsburgh to match any offer sheet that Bell signs with a different club, but the Steelers would not receive any draft compensation in return if they elected to not match (and they almost assuredly will not match).
So even though it is mostly a moot point, the league is preparing for how the transition tag process will unfold. As La Canfora writes, the transition tag value could fall anywhere between $9.5MM and $14.5MM, and once the tag is put on, a hearing would be scheduled for an arbitrator to decide on precisely what the amount of the tag should be.
La Canfora suggests that a team could front-load an offer to Bell or guarantee him money beyond the first two years of a contract in order to entice him to sign, but he also suggests that the demand for Bell’s services could be quite tepid. Bell’s holdout and his injury/suspension history will surely give his potential suitors some pause, as will the fact that he will be another year older in 2019. While he is certainly preserving his body by not playing in 2018, Aditi Kinkhabwala of the NFL Network tweets that there are a number of “football folks” who believe that age is age and whether Bell plays this year or not will have no impact on his performance moving forward. It would certainly be interesting if the Steelers end up applying the transition tag and Bell does not get the type of interest he is clearly anticipating on the open market, because then he may have no other choice but to sign the tag and return to Pittsburgh in 2019.
More important to the Steelers at the moment is the health of James Conner, who has excelled in Bell’s absence. Conner remains in the concussion protocol, but Rapoport says the Steelers are optimistic that the second-year back will not miss any time. They would, however, love to have Bell back, as Albert Breer of TheMMQB writes. They believe he truly can be deadly on fresh legs and would enhance an already excellent offense. As Bell has still not said anything definitive to the team one way or another, Pittsburgh is hoping to see him walk through the door prior to the deadline.
Assuming Bell does not appear, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com writes that, in addition to the $14.5MM he would have received this year if he had signed his franchise tag, he will also miss out on another $200K in pension, annuity, 401K, and health reimbursement benefits, plus however that money would compound over time.