Jimmy Garoppolo Likely To Miss Week 3
The Tom Brady-less Patriots improved to 2-0 on Sunday with a 31-24 win over the AFC East rival Dolphins, but life may have gotten a bit tougher for a team that will be without its suspended franchise quarterback for two more games. Brady’s backup, Jimmy Garoppolo, suffered a sprained AC joint in his throwing shoulder and will likely miss the Patriots’ Week 3 matchup against the 2-0 Texans on Thursday, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (via Gregg Rosenthal).
Garoppolo left the Pats’ win in the second quarter after taking a hit from Dolphins linebacker Kiko Alonso, thereby paving the way for third-string rookie Jacoby Brissett to garner his first NFL experience. Brissett, a third-round pick from North Carolina State, impressed in completing 6 of 9 passes for 92 yards. The Pats will need similar efficiency from him against the Texans, who have held their first two opponents to 26 points. Houston sacked Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith four times on Sunday, and 1.5 came from superstar J.J. Watt.
While Brissett will likely make his first start Thursday, the Patriots hope to have Garoppolo back under center in Week 4 against an 0-2 Buffalo team that has struggled mightily out of the gate. That will be the last contest of Brady’s four-game ban over his role in the Deflategate scandal, which would set him up to return against the lowly Browns on Oct. 9.
As for Garoppolo, injury aside, the Patriots are undoubtedly thrilled with what the 24-year-old has shown in his first real taste of NFL action. Garoppolo helped lead the Pats to an upset win in Arizona last Sunday and ended up completing 42 of 60 passes for 498 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions in his first two starts. Whether with New England or someone else, the 2014 second-round pick from Eastern Illinois could end up as a full-time starter down the line.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
North Notes: Vikings, Pettigrew, Browns
The Vikings intend to begin the Sam Bradford era on Sunday night, with the team set to displace Shaun Hill in the starting lineup and plug in the trade acquisition against the Packers, Ben Goessling of ESPN.com reports. A league source informed Goessling Bradford took each of the first-team snaps in practice this week.
Minnesota traded next year’s first-round pick and another selection that could rise to future second-rounder for the former No. 1 overall pick. The 28-year-old Bradford completed a career-best 65% of his passes for the Eagles in 2015, but when separated from Chip Kelly‘s offense, the ex-Heisman Trophy winner has never exceeded the 61% mark.
Hill guided the Vikings to a victory against the Titans but did not produce an offensive touchdown in Minnesota’s 25-16 road win. Bradford’s potential inability to make pre-snap adjustments after such a short time with the team played into Hill receiving the Week 1 nod, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes.
Here’s more from the NFC North as Week 2 Sunday nears.
- Former Vikings scouting director Scott Studwell, who remains with the team in a different capacity after stepping down from that role two years ago, said the team was able to acquire middle linebacker Eric Kendricks in the second round last year due to the second-year player’s smaller stature. “Kendricks went in the second round because he’s 6-foot,” Studwell said, via Patrick Reusse of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “In a perfect world, you might want a ‘Mike’ a bit bigger with Eric, but with his instincts for the ball, we’re not complaining. He’s a playmaker.”
- The Lions currently have Brandon Pettigrew on their PUP list but could opt to move on from the veteran tight end if they like what they see from current backup Cole Wick, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press writes. Pettigrew tore his left ACL last December and reworked his contract due to his PUP standing earlier this month. He’s under contract through 2017 thanks to the four-year, $16MM deal he signed in 2014.
- A potential Browns–Jimmy Garoppolo union had big support from inside the franchise’s power structure in 2014 before Jimmy Haslam ordered the staff to select Johnny Manziel, Ben Volin of the Boston Globe reports. Volin, who notes the Browns studied the eventual second-round pick intensely, wonders if the new Browns’ brass would consider a Garoppolo trade after Tom Brady‘s suspension ends. The teams play in Week 5 in Cleveland, although the trade deadline doesn’t fall until November 1. A report earlier this week described third-round rookie Cody Kessler as being a ways away from being ready to contribute.
- The Bengals’ cornerback corps is flush with high draft picks, and the team added another in 2016 third-rounder KeiVarae Russell off waivers from the Chiefs.
Breer’s Latest: Dak, Rams, Kap, Prospects
The Dak Prescott hype train will continue into the regular season after Tony Romo‘s latest injury will put the former Mississippi State talent in command of the Cowboys. But how closely the fourth-rounder’s electric preseason will correlate with what happens beginning next week have NFL personnel split.
“He isn’t as good as his preseason performances. Teams haven’t schemed for him yet,” a league scout assigned to Mississippi State told Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com. “When they do, you’ll see his accuracy get exposed. [Dallas] will need to focus on quick, short, underneath throws, that’ll mask some of the downfield accuracy issues.”
The scout notes the Cowboys have enough talent around Prescott to keep him from being exposed but expects defenses to throw exotic blitzes at the rookie to gauge his readiness.
“He’s more accurate than I thought he would be; strong arm and a good athlete, good poise for a young guy. They’re so good up front, and should be able to run the ball behind Zeke [Elliott] and [Alfred] Morris. Those backs are good, so they can take pressure off him,” a Dolphins coach told Breer, before adding the August numbers would matter “very little” because “everyone is vanilla right now.”
Here’s more from Breer, beginning with the Rams’ behind-the-scenes approach after they were dealt a blow similar to what the Vikings endured earlier this week.
- Sam Bradford‘s preseason ACL tear in 2014 induced the Rams to inquire about trades for other quarterbacks. GM Les Snead did not confirm which passers the team pursued, but Breer reports the Rams made an effort to deal for Kirk Cousins and “seriously discussed” Jimmy Garoppolo with the Patriots. Snead discovered the price was too high on those passers before making a successful waiver claim for current starter Case Keenum.
- The offseason intrigue surrounding the pairing of Colin Kaepernick‘s athleticism with Chip Kelly‘s system dissipated considerably this summer. Unable to work out with the team for most of the offseason due to rehab efforts, Kaepernick, as a pro scouting director noticed, was running the 49ers‘ offense much slower than either Blaine Gabbert or Jeff Driskel in the 49ers’ game against the Packers. “When Kap was in the game, [the offense] slowed down—significantly,” the anonymous director said, via Breer. “I mean, it slowed down by 10 seconds [per play]. And that indicates he’s not comfortable getting them to the line, operating the offense the way they want him to do it. And it indicates the time he missed is costing him.”
- The next Notre Dame lineman to land in the first round could be left tackle Mike McGlinchey, who will take over for Ronnie Stanley. Moving from right to left tackle in advance of his redshirt-junior season, McGlinchey could follow in the footsteps of Stanley and Zack Martin. “He’s a beast!” said one area scout assigned to the Irish. “I haven’t watched film of him yet, but off the practice view alone, he’s a first- or second-round pick. He’s not as athletic as [Stanley], but he’s more physical.” McGlinchey will begin his second year as a starter for the Fighting Irish, doing so after helping Notre Dame runners average 5.63 yards per carry in 2015 — eighth-best in Division I-FBS last season.
East Notes: Jets, Wilkerson, Garoppolo, Giants
Here’s a look at the AFC and NFC East:
- After inking a new multi-year deal with the Jets, defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson says that he’ll be ready for the Jets’ season opener against the Bengals on September 11th, ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini writes. “Rehab is going well,” he said. “I’m running four times a week and just taking it day by day. I’m focusing on my leg and rehabbing each and every day. When the coaches feel it is time for me to get out there on the field and I am ready to go, I will be out there.” On Friday, Wilkerson shocked everyone when he inked a five-year deal worth $86MM, good for a $17.2MM AAV. The deal also calls for $54MM to go to the defensive lineman over the next three years.
- When Jimmy Garoppolo lines up under center for the Patriots in September, rival teams will be keeping an eye on him as a possible trade target, as Albert Breer of The MMQB writes. Not much is known about Tom Brady‘s fill-in just yet, but evaluators are optimistic about what they might see. “He’s looked sharp when he’s had the opportunity,” said one NFC personnel exec who got a long look at him. “I also really liked him during the draft, so some of that was ‘leftover’ evaluation. … Strong arm, quick arm, accurate, can move in the pocket, mobile, all the things you like to see in a young developmental QB.”
- Will the Giants sign a veteran safety? Given that no safety currently on the roster has more than three years of NFL experience, it could make some sense for the Giants, NJ.com’s James Kratch writes. However, Kratch doesn’t feel that available veterans like Bacarri Rambo, Donte Whitner, or Antrel Rolle would necessarily bring much more to the table. Rolle is on record as saying that he would like to return to the Giants. Whitner, ranked as the league’s No. 24 safety among 89 qualifiers in 2015 by Pro Football Focus, would make sense for a number of teams. Safety James Ihedigbo is also on the open market and waiting for the right opportunity.
East Notes: Wentz, Garoppolo, Jets
It’s won’t come as much of a surprise, but Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz will likely be spending at least the first part of his rookie season on the inactive list, according to head coach Doug Pederson (article via Jimmy Kempski of PhillyVoice.com). Said Peterson, “Typically, the third quarterback is down. It’s hard right now to look down the road, but if we had to play this week, Carson would be down. He’d be the third quarterback. He’d be deactivated. That’s probably the direction we’re heading, I would think is going that route.”
After re-signing Sam Bradford this offseason and acquiring Chase Daniel, the Eagles can afford to be patient with Wentz, whom the team selected with the No. 2 overall pick of this year’s draft after sending a ransom of draft picks to Cleveland to grab that second overall selection. Philadelphia fully expects Wentz to be a long-term fixture under center, but it knows that the North Dakota State product will need time to transition to the pro game.
Now let’s take a look at a few more notes from the league’s east divisions:
- In the wake of Tom Brady‘s decision to not file a petition for writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court, Jim McBride of The Boston Globe lays out what to expect from Patriots backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo‘s four-week audition to open the 2016 season. McBride opines that, if Garoppolo can lead his club to a 3-1, or even 2-2 mark, he will have solidified his place as an NFL starter. And while he will of course turn the reins back over to Brady at that point, New England could seek to lock him up long term or else try and deal him after the season for a draft pick or two. Garoppolo’s contract expires at the end of the 2017 season–Brady’s does not expire until the end of the 2019 campaign–and a successful stint as a starter in 2016 could make him a highly-coveted free agent at that time. The Patriots, of course, are fully aware of this prospective timeline, which was a significant factor in their decision to grab Jacoby Brissett in this year’s draft.
- Brian Costello of The New York Post believes Jets GM Mike Maccagnan scored “big points” when he found a way to keep Muhammad Wilkerson in the fold on a long-term basis with an 11th-hour extension, but the longer the Ryan Fitzpatrick situation remains unresolved, the worse things could get for Maccagnan. If the team does not come to an agreement with Fitzpatrick, it is not difficult to envision default starter Geno Smith struggling out of the gate, at which point Maccagnan’s approval rating, which is pretty high right now, would plummet, as he, rather than Smith or head coach Todd Bowles, would be the scapegoat. Neither the GM nor Fitzpatrick has blinked during these negotiations, and as training camp inches closer, there are no new developments to report.
- Yesterday, PFR’s Dallas Robinson looked at how the Wilkerson deal with the Jets came together, and what it means for the future of the club’s defensive line.
Tom Brady To Drop Deflategate Appeal
12:22pm: Brady is done fighting the suspension, but the NFLPA might not be ready to throw in the towel:
“After careful consideration and discussion with Tom Brady, the NFLPA will not be seeking a stay of the four game suspension with the 2nd Circuit. This decision was made in the interest of certainty and planning for Tom prior to the New England Patriots season. We will continue to review all of our options and we reserve our rights to petition for cert to the Supreme Court,” the union said in a statement.
11:57am: Tom Brady announced that he will no longer pursue an appeal of his suspension via the court system (Facebook link):
“I’m very grateful for the overwhelming support I’ve received from Mr. Kraft, the Kraft family, coach Belichick, my coaches and teammates, the NFLPA, my agents, my loving family and most of all, our fans. It has been a challenging 18 months and I have made the difficult decision to no longer proceed with the legal process. I’m going to work hard to be the best player I can be for the New England Patriots and I look forward to having the opportunity to return to the field this fall.” 
Brady‘s chances at again avoiding the four-game suspension for his role in the Patriots’ Deflategate controversy dwindled again on Wednesday, with the Second United States Circuit Court of Appeals denying the quarterback’s request for a rehearing. After that happened, Brady was left with one final legal option: petitioning to have his case heard before the Supreme Court. Given that the SCOTUS handles some of the most important legal matters in the country, Brady’s chances of getting a new trial seemed slim. While Brady still could have filed for that hearing with the hopes of effectively deferring his four-game ban, he has elected to put the circus behind him.
Now that Brady has reluctantly accepted his four-game suspension, he won’t be eligible to return to regular-season action until Sunday, October 9th in Cleveland. The Patriots will be without their franchise quarterback for games against the Cardinals, Dolphins, Texans, and Bills, leaving understudy Jimmy Garoppolo in the starting role for the first month.
Brady will be docked four games worth of pay, which equals out to just $235K. During the ban, he will be prohibited from having contact with the team.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Extra Points: Jaguars, Titans, Lions, Garoppolo
Some assorted notes from around the league on this Tuesday evening…
- The Jaguars have hired former Falcons executive DeJuan Polk as their new assistant director of pro personnel, the team announced today (Twitter link via John Oehser of Jaguars.com). Polk has spent the majority of the last decade working as the pro personnel coordinator in Atlanta.
- ESPN’s Bill Barnwell goes in-depth to explain why it might make more sense for the Titans to trade down in the draft rather than using the No. 1 overall pick on offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil.
- Meanwhile, ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky wonders if the Titans would gamble on Jalen Ramsey with the top pick. A defensive back has never been chosen with the first overall pick, but Titans general manager Jon Robinson didn’t necessarily rule out the idea. “I would say with the first overall pick, we’re looking to add an impact player,” he said. “There’s a handful of players that fit into that. A handful could be a couple or it could be 10 according to how big your hands are. But we want to come away with somebody that is going to impact our football team.”
- The Lions expect 2015 draftee Quandre Diggs to be a regular contributor in nickel and dime defenses next season, but the team will still need to address the cornerback position in free agency or the draft, writes Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.
- Tom Brady‘s new contract extension has observers reassessing Jimmy Garoppolo‘s role with the Patriots. However, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com doesn’t think New England’s backup QB will become a potential trade chip until at least 2017, unless another team blows away the Pats with an offer.
Ben Levine contributed to this post.
East Notes: Pats, Bills, JPP
The Patriots are again among the league’s most legitimate Super Bowl contenders, and although their slow start to 2014 led some to believe that their dynasty was nearing its end, the fact that they brought home the Lombardi Trophy and have opened 2015 undefeated have silenced those talks. And, as Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes, New England’s window of opportunity won’t be closing anytime soon.
Per La Canfora, there is no significant player on the Patriots’ roster whose contract expires at the end of this season, and the team projects to be at least $8MM under the 2016 salary cap. Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski will count just $22MM against the cap, and no one will earn more than $10MM in 2016. That means that the team can supplement its already-talented roster with marquee free agents–something it has not frequently done in the past–and extend their reign of dominance for another few years. La Canfora also notes that, since New England will be without its first-round pick as a result of the DeflateGate scandal, it could look to move Jimmy Garoppolo for a high pick.
Now for some more notes from the league’s east divisions:
- Washington and the Jets are squaring off this afternoon, and as Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com writes, the Jets are looking across the field at two players who could be on their radar in 2016: Kirk Cousins and Robert Griffin III. The future for both players is up in the air, and New York, of couse, could be in the market for a quarterback. Jets head coach Todd Bowles was effusive in his praise for Cousins, but indicated that RGIII would not be a consideration for his club.
- There were reports this morning that E.J. Manuel could rekindle the Bills‘ quarterback competition with a strong showing today, but Joe Buscaglia of WKBW thinks differently (via Twitter). He notes that Buffalo coaches love Tyrod Taylor and that it would take more than a good performance for the team to even think about moving on from Taylor.
- La Canfora tweets that the Bills are “very concerned” that wideout Percy Harvin could miss significant time with his latest injury. Harvin has not played a significant role in the team’s offense this year, and this could represent yet another major setback for the once-explosive playmaker.
- Last Thursday, Sammy Watkins publicly bemoaned his lack of targets in the Bills‘ offense thus far in 2015, and Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com breaks down in detail what targets mean to a wide receiver from a contractual standpoint.
- Jay Glazer of FOX Sports tweets that Jason Pierre-Paul will report to the Giants this Tuesday so that the team can check in on his progress. Pierre-Paul is hoping to play soon, but as Jordan Raanan of NJ.com writes, there is still doubt that JPP will be cleared.
Sunday Roundup: Garoppolo, Tebow, G. Smith
Let’s have a look at some links from around the league on this Sunday afternoon:
- One of the silver linings of Tom Brady‘s suspension, according to Karen Guregian of The Boston Herald, is that the Patriots will get the chance to see if second-year quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is truly Brady’s heir apparent.
- Bob Ford of The Philadelphia Inquirer believes that not only will Tim Tebow make the Eagles‘ 53-man roster, he will suit up and he will play.
- Only Cincinnati has drafted more wide receivers than the Packers since 2005, which marked Ted Thompson‘s first year as Green Bay’s GM. Thompson has selected 16 wideouts during that time.
- Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com says Jets offensive coordinator Chan Gailey did not undermine head coach Todd Bowles by proclaiming that Geno Smith would be the team’s starting quarterback, as Gailey was just reiterating what Bowles had said (in a less definitive manner) on prior occasions.
- Cimini does note that the Jets are bucking a historic trend by having Smith open the season as their starting signal-caller. Football Outsiders complied a list of 10 quarterbacks over the past 25 years who performed as poorly as Smith has in their first two seasons, and although most of them were named the starter going into their third year in the league, most were also first-round draft choices. Smith, of course, was a second-rounder. Out of the 10 players that Football Outsiders listed, only two, Jake Plummer and Trent Dilfer, experienced any sort of success in the league.
- Connor Hamlett, a tight end whom the Jaguars signed as an undrafted free agent earlier this month, indicated back in January that he was not going to pursue a professional football career. But Hamlett, per Ryan O’Halloran of The Florida Times-Union, says, “I just took some time off because I was banged up. I love the game of football, and I wanted to play. The whole [story] kind of got blown out of proportion.” Jacksonville had a “draft-worthy” grade on Hamlett, who has a good chance to make the club. O’Halloran says the Jags could keep as many as five tight ends on the roster.
- Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com says the Jaguars could release Toby Gerhart, but the ESPN scribe goes on to explain why he believes Gerhart will ultimately stay on the roster.
- Roy Cummings of The Tampa Tribune says the Buccaneers, who traded a fifth-round pick to Detroit last month in exchange for George Johnson–after signing Johnson to a three-year, $9MM offer sheet–fell in love with the defensive end while watching film of Lions games in preparation for last year’s matchup with Detroit. Had the Bucs not played the Lions in 2014, Johnson might not have found himself in Tampa Bay in 2015.
Pats Owner Robert Kraft On DeflateGate
Patriots owner Robert Kraft has long been a strong ally of commissioner Roger Goodell. However, it sounds like recent events might have changed that.
“You’ll have to ask him,” Kraft told Peter King of The MMQB when asked about the status of their relationship.
In a lengthy interview, Kraft went on the record with King to discuss the scandal surrounding the Pats and the sanctions levied against them. The entire piece is worth a read, but here’s a look at a few of the highlights..
On his frustration level:
I just get really worked up. To receive the harshest penalty in league history is just not fair. The anger and frustration with this process, to me, it wasn’t fair. If we’re giving all the power to the NFL and the office of the commissioner, this is something that can happen to all 32 teams. We need to have fair and balanced investigating and reporting. But in this report, every inference went against us … inferences from ambiguous, circumstantial evidence all went against us. That’s the thing that really bothers me. If they want to penalize us because there’s an aroma around this? That’s what this feels like. If you don’t have the so-called smoking gun, it really is frustrating. And they don’t have it. This thing never should have risen to this level.
On whether he might violate NFL bylaws by taking the league to court over the penalties:
I’m not going to comment on that at this point in time. I’m going to leave it. I won’t say.
On the meaning of the gauge readings:
Footballs have never been measured at halftime of any other game in NFL history. They have no idea how much footballs go down in cold weather or expand in warm weather. There is just no evidence that tampering ever happened.
On the capability of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who (barring a successful appeal) will start the first four games of the season for New England:
My gut feeling is the same as yours. He is a very hard worker, a very fine young man, but until the bullets are flying and you’re out there, no one knows. Think about how many of these first-round picks, even, don’t make it. [Garoppolo was a second-round pick last year.] He works hard and he studies hard, though.