Injury Updates: Rams, Clowney, Brady
Rams wideout Brandin Cooks is set to return from the fifth known concussion of his six-year career. While the veteran has continually been sidelined by the dangerous head injury, he told reporters that his latest concussion didn’t make him consider retirement.
“Absolutely not,” Cooks told ESPN’s Lindsey Thiry. “When it happened, that never went through my mind. Even now, it’s not going through my mind.”
Cooks suffered a pair of concussions in a 25-day span, and he traveled to Pittsburgh twice to meet with the director of the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program. Following those meetings, Cooks felt comfortable returning to the field.
“One of the biggest things that I learned, concussions is a case-by-case thing,” said Cooks. “Mine was very unique, and just thankful once again to be able to go and get answers.”
Cooks won’t be the only Rams receiver returning to the lineup. Thiry writes that Robert Woods returned to practice this week after missing last week’s contest due to “personal issues.” The 6-4 Rams will take on the Ravens on Monday night.
Let’s check out some more injury notes from around the NFL…
- Seahawks defensive end Jadeveon Clowney is a game-time decision after missing three practices this week due to a hip injury, tweets ESPN’s Brady Henderson. Coach Pete Carroll told reporters that Clowney didn’t travel with the team to Philadelphia as he gets his hip checked out. Clowney suffered the injury during Monday’s win over the 49ers. In his first season with Seattle, the 26-year-old has compiled 25 tackles, three sacks, and three forced fumbles.
- The Eagles will be dealing with injuries of their own, as Lane Johnson is set to miss the matchup against Seattle. The veteran right tackle suffered a head injury during last weekend’s loss to the Patriots, and he remains in the concussion protocol. Rookie first-rounder Andre Dillard will slide into the starting lineup.
- No surprise here, but NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets that Patriots quarterback Tom Brady will play vs. the Cowboys tomorrow. The 42-year-old was listed as questionable on the injury report thanks to an elbow injury. Brady hasn’t missed a game due to injury since the 2008 campaign.
- Some good news on the Giants injury front: the team announced that wideout Sterling Shepard, cornerback Janoris Jenkins, and offensive lineman Nate Solder have all cleared concussion protocol and will play Sunday against the Bears. Jenkins and Solder both left the Giants’ Week 10 loss to the Jets, while Shepard hasn’t seen the field since Week 5.
Eagles Notes: Johnson, Ajayi, Mills
Let’s take a quick look at a few items from the City of Brotherly Love:
- Eagles starting RT Lane Johnson is in the concussion protocol, as Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. Johnson suffered a head injury during Sunday’s loss to the Patriots, and while he tried to play through it, the injury worsened and he was ultimately forced to exit (Twitter link via McLane).
- The Eagles can ill afford to lose Johnson, arguably the best right tackle in football, as they fight for the NFC East title. But if they are without Johnson for any period of time, they could turn to rookie Andre Dillard rather than veteran Halapoulivaati Vaitai, as McLane tweets.
- Jay Ajayi finally found an NFL home for 2019 when he signed with the Eagles on Friday. Interestingly, the deal includes a right of first refusal for 2020, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. So if it wants, Philadelphia can match any offer Ajayi receives on the open market, which could be significant if the team lets Jordan Howard walk in free agency.
- Cornerback Jalen Mills is eligible for free agency this offseason, and while he is not perfect, he has been very good since returning from injury in Week 7, and McLane says Mills may be playing his way into a second contract with the Eagles (Twitter link).
- Eliot Shorr-Parks of 94WIP.com believes the Eagles need to completely overhaul their WR corps this offseason, and he offers a few names the club could target in free agency and the draft. He also says the Eagles could find a trade partner for Alshon Jeffery and/or DeSean Jackson, though obviously the returns on either player would be minimal.
Johnson, Goedert To Miss Rest Of Preseason
Eagles tackle Lane Johnson and tight end Dallas Goedert are expected to miss the rest of the preseason with injuries, Reuben Frank of NBC Sports writes. 
Johnson, the two-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle, didn’t play in the Eagles’ preseason opener vs. the Titans but is listed with a knee injury on the team’s report. Frank adds that it isn’t a serious concern and if the season opener vs. the Redskins was this week, Johnson would likely be on the field.
Goedert, the second-year tight end, did participate in Thursday’s game against the Titans and logged three catches for 50 yards on just 12 snaps. During that run, however, he also suffered a calf injury. Like Johnson, though, Goedert isn’t expected to miss any time in the regular season.
Both players figure to feature prominently in 2019, as the Eagles enter the campaign as one of the favorites in the NFC to contend for a spot in Super Bowl LIV. Johnson has appeared in 15 games in each of the last two seasons, during which he emerged as one of the league’s top all-around linemen. Though he plays behind star Zach Ertz, Goedert impressed as a rookie in 2018, logging 33 catches for 334 yards and four touchdowns.
The Eagles suffered another injury on Thursday, when backup quarterback Nate Sudfeld broke a bone in his left wrist. He underwent surgery on Friday and is expected to be out for at least six weeks.
Contract Details: Smith, Kelce, Johnson
Let’s take a look at the details of a few recently-signed contracts from around the NFL:
- Donovan Smith, T (Buccaneers): Three years, $41.25MM. $27MM fully guaranteed. Guaranteed 2019 base salary of $7MM with a $5.5MM roster bonus. Guaranteed $14.5MM base salary in 2020. Non-guaranteed $14.25MM base salary in 2021. $5MM of 2019 salary deferred until 6/15/20. $3MM of 2020 salary deferred until 3/5/21. Deferrals have no impact on salary cap (Twitter link via Dan Graziano of ESPN.com).
- Jason Kelce, C (Eagles): Extended through 2021. $7.57MM signing bonus. 2019 base salary reduced from $6.5MM to $930K. 2020 base salary reduced from $7MM to $1.5MM with a $2MM roster bonus. $500K playing time escalator available in 2020 for playing 90% of offensive snaps. 2021 base salary of $5.5MM (Twitter links via Reuben Frank of NBC Sports Philadelphia).
- Denzelle Good, OL (Raiders): Extended through 2019. One-year, $1.7MM. $500K signing bonus. $200K per-game roster bonuses. $100K workout bonus. $1.2MM available via playtime incentives (Twitter link via Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review Journal).
- Lane Johnson, T (Eagles): Restructured contract. Created $8.2MM in cap space by converting $10.045MM of his 2019 base salary into a signing bonus. Base salary is now $805K (Twitter link via Field Yates of ESPN.com). Added voidable years in 2022-23 (Twitter link via Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer).
- Mike Person, OL (49ers): Three years, $8.25MM. $2.45MM fully guaranteed. $1MM roster bonus, $1.45MM fully guaranteed 2019 base salary. $250K in per-game roster bonuses (Twitter link via Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com).
- Romeo Okwara, DE (Lions): Two years, $6.8MM. $2.705MM signing bonus. 2019 base salary of $720K fully guaranteed. $500 workout bonus in 2019 (Twitter link via Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com).
Eagles Restructure Lane Johnson’s Deal
The Eagles have restructured Lane Johnson‘s contract for cap purposes, a source tells Adam Caplan of SiriusXM (on Twitter). Details on the new deal are not yet known.
Johnson, 29 in May, also restructured his deal with the Eagles roughly one year ago. After earning his second straight Pro Bowl appearance in 2018, the Eagles are happy to keep him in the fold.
Johnson was tied for No. 12 (with Alejandro Villanueva of the Steelers) on Pro Football Focus’ rankings for offensive tackles last season. The 78.1 overall score was technically his lowest since 2013, but it was still a fine showing in terms of the advanced metrics and more or less consistent with his previous work.
The biggest blip on Johnson’s career was a ten-game ban for performance enhancing drugs in 2016. Johnson, who was suspended as a repeat offender, said the ’16 test was the result of an NFLPA-approved supplement. He took action against both the league and the union in 2017.
Eagles RB Darren Sproles Suffers Setback, Will Miss Multiple Weeks
Sunday, 8:55am: Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that Sproles is expected to miss multiple weeks (one estimate suggested an absence of three to four weeks). The Eagles will be cautious with him so that when he returns to the field, he will be back for good. The way Sproles’ injury was handled by the team’s medical staff may be cause for concern, as we detailed yesterday.
Thursday, 11:39am: Earlier this week, Eagles head coach Doug Pederson said he expected Darren Sproles to play on Sunday versus the Cowboys. Unfortunately, those plans were derailed after the running back aggravated his hamstring injury (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter). 
Sproles has not been on the field since hurting his hamstring in practice prior to the Eagles’ Week 2 game. Sproles showed significant improvement this week and the team believed that Sproles would be able to resume punt-return duties against the Cowboys. Instead of facing Dallas and joining Wendell Smallwood and Corey Clement in the backfield rotation, Sproles’ outlook for the rest of the season is now in question.
Sproles’ 2017 was shortened by multiple injuries in September, meaning that he has played in just three games over the last two years. He already cashed in on a $1MM guarantee for this year, but Sproles is eager to resume the form that earned him three straight Pro Bowl nods between 2014-2016.
On the plus side, Eagles tackle Lane Johnson resumed practice this week after recovering from a Grade 2 MCL sprain. Pederson is hopeful that Johnson will play, but that would mark a faster-than-usual turnaround from the injury.
Lane Johnson Tears MCL
Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson suffered an MCL tear in his left knee during the team’s win over Jacksonville in London today, per Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). The Eagles are on a bye next week, but Johnson nonetheless could miss an extended period of time. Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets that Johnson, who was already dealing with an ankle injury (to the same leg), will be sidelined for about a month. McLane adds that the 2017 First Team All-Pro will have further testing when the team returns to Philadelphia.
Johnson, whom the team selected with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2013 draft, is having another excellent season. He is currently ranked as the 10th-best tackle in the league, per Pro Football Focus, and the Eagles — whose running game is already sputtering — will miss him dearly during his absence.
Johnson’s fellow bookend, left tackle Jason Peters, also left today’s game with a head injury. Though Peters did return to action, he has not been playing to his usual standards this year, and he is dealing with other health issues of his own (plus, he is 36 and is clearly on the tail end of his career).
There have been no trade rumors surrounding tackles in advance of Tuesday’s trade deadline, and the Eagles will likely ask Halapoulivaati Vaitai to fill in at right tackle while Johnson is out.
Johnson signed a lucrative five-year extension in January 2016, which was restructured (to his benefit) last March. He is under club control through 2021.
Eagles Don’t View RB As Key Need?
Some big-name running backs have been connected to the defending Super Bowl champions as trade possibilities after news broke of Jay Ajayi‘s season-ending ACL tear. But the Eagles may not view the position as a must-address spot.
The Eagles don’t see running back as one of their top needs as the trade deadline nears, Albert Breer of SI.com notes. Instead, Philadelphia views its tackle situation and the need for consistent cover men to emerge as bigger deficiencies than running back post-Ajayi.
The Eagles have done their due diligence about what it would take to acquire a big name, however. Breer reports Philly made calls to both Pittsburgh and Buffalo about the respective availability of Le’Veon Bell and LeSean McCoy.
Recalling the Eagles’ 11th-hour trade for Ajayi last year, it shouldn’t be ruled out the team will use some of the recent cap space (now up to $10.4MM) it created by reworking Fletcher Cox‘s deal on this position. But Breer does not consider it likely the Eagles trade for a running back.
Corey Clement and Wendell Smallwood split time on Thursday night against the Giants, combining for 94 rushing yards and a touchdown. A UDFA out of Wisconsin, Clement’s missed time due to injury this season. But he came up in Super Bowl LII. Smallwood came into the season as the Eagles’ No. 4 back — behind Ajayi, Clement and the now-injured Darren Sproles — but is averaging 4.7 yards per carry in an extended look this season.
Philadelphia’s still waiting on Sidney Jones‘ development, per Breer, and does not have much in the way of reliability beyond Ronald Darby at cornerback. Even though Jason Peters has encountered a potentially constraining biceps injury, he and Lane Johnson represent one of the NFL’s top tackle pairs. But the team is seeing Johnson “underachieve” this season, and a torn biceps may not be the kind of malady Peters can simply play through.
Extra Points: Garoppolo, 49ers, Bryant, Irving, Cowboys, Johnson, Eagles
There were high hopes for the 49ers in 2018, hopes that were mostly dashed when Jimmy Garoppolo was lost for the season with a torn ACL. The team has insisted they have confidence in backup C.J. Beathard, but the new-look 49ers will almost certainly have to wait until next year to make a serious run at a playoff spot. The good news is that Garoppolo recently underwent surgery, and everything seems to have gone very well.
San Francisco’s GM John Lynch said he spoke to the doctor who performed Garoppolo’s surgery, and that he got a “great report” from the surgeon according to Eric Branch of The San Francisco Chronicle. Lynch added that doctors are “very optimistic about the prognosis for his future.” Separately, Branch notes that coach Kyle Shanahan said the team is hoping Garoppolo will be able to participate in OTAs in some capacity. It sounds like Garoppolo is expected to make a quick recovery and be 100% well before the start of the 2019 season, which is music to the ears of 49ers fans.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Earlier today, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones made clear the team wouldn’t be bringing back Dez Bryant despite the receiver’s eagerness to return to Dallas. Now his son Stephen Jones, the team’s player personnel boss, has elaborated on why. The younger Jones said it has a lot to do with quarterback Dak Prescott, saying “the last thing unfortunately that Dak needs right now is to continue to change a lot of things up again.” The Cowboys’ receiving corp has been much maligned, but it sounds like it will be staying as is.
- Cowboys defensive tackle David Irving is coming back from suspension this week. It’s a huge boost to Dallas’ defense, but to make room for him on the roster they’ll have to make a tough decision. It’s getting close to game day and they still haven’t made the call, so David Moore of Dallas News broke down all their potential options. Jones has said Irving will play, so something will need to be done in the next 36 hours or so.
- “A federal judge has denied Eagles OT Lane Johnson’s motion to vacate an NFL arbitration award for his 10-game suspension in 2016″ according to Liz Mullen of Sports Business Journal (Twitter link). Johnson filed the suit last year, alleging his suspension for PEDs was unwarranted, and that there was bias by the judge in the appeals process.
Eagles Restructure OT Lane Johnson’s Deal
The Eagles have significantly improved their cap situation. The Eagles have created $7.5MM in cap space for 2018 by restructuring tackle Lane Johnson‘s deal, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. His new cap hit is now $4.98MM, down from $12.48MM, with Johnson also collecting a $4.192MM signing bonus. 
Johnson will now have a base salary of $790K for 2018, down from $10.25M (Twitter link). He’ll earn the same amount of money in total, so it’s a win-win for the team and player.
The Eagles entered the offseason with one of the most dire cap situations in the entire NFL. Now, they have given themselves some much-needed flexibility. In theory, the move could allow them to retain defensive end Vinny Curry, though they might look to apply their new found money elsewhere after acquiring Michael Bennett from the Seahawks.