Trade Rumors: Giants, Ryan, Fuller
After dealing Markus Golden to the Cardinals, it appears the 1-6 Giants have officially declared themselves sellers at this year’s trade deadline. Though GM Dave Gettleman may be reluctant to trade away veteran talent that could theoretically help Big Blue win a few games — and perhaps save Gettleman’s job in the process — players like Evan Engram, Kevin Zeitler, and Golden Tate could be available, as Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post writes (though Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says the club is unlikely to deal Engram).
2017 second-round DT Dalvin Tomlinson could also be on the move, per Dunleavy. Tomlinson is playing out the last year of his rookie contract, and while he has expressed interest in staying with the Giants long-term, there has been little progress in contract talks.
As we creep closer to the November 3 deadline, let’s round up a few more trade rumors from around the league:
- Big names like Falcons QB Matt Ryan and WR Julio Jones are not going to be moved, as Rapoport writes in the same piece linked above. The same can be said for Jets QB Sam Darnold (though Darnold could be dealt this offseason). Gang Green may be more open to trading DT Quinnen Williams, but thus far interested teams have only offered a single second-round pick. That will not be enough to convince GM Joe Douglas to trade the talented interior defender.
- The 1-5 Vikings look like sellers after they traded Yannick Ngakoue, and Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports says Minnesota is open to dealing S Harrison Smith, TE Kyle Rudolph, and LT Riley Reiff. However, those players are not generating much interest, and the players that rival execs really want — WR Adam Thielen and TE Irv Smith Jr. — seem likely to stay put.
- Another 1-5 outfit, the Texans, also anticipate making a trade or two, per La Canfora. Houston is in desperate need of draft capital, and receivers Brandin Cooks and Will Fuller are coming up in discussions. Sources expect at least one of those players to be moved, and the team is also gauging the market for edge defender Whitney Mercilus.
- One team that could have an eye on the Texans’ receivers is the Patriots, who are once again looking for a pass catcher, as La Canfora writes. One year after the team’s ill-fated trade for Mohamed Sanu, New England wants to get a weapon for QB Cam Newton, and Cooks, Fuller, and Thielen could all be options.
- Washington QB Dwayne Haskins might be on the trade market, but the club hasn’t received much interest. According to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, Haskins could be had for anything more than a sixth-round pick, but Washington hasn’t even gotten an offer that good yet. Although pass rusher Ryan Kerrigan has been the most-discussed Washington trade chip outside of Haskins, Rapoport says Ryan Anderson is more likely to be traded.
Jets’ Quinnen Williams Cleared Of Gun Charges
Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams has been cleared of two felony gun charges against him, attorney Alex Spiro announced (via ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini). Instead, Williams entered a guilty plea and agreed to pay a $250 fine to resolve the March arrest. 
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“As we said from the outset, this matter has been resolved with no criminal charges,” Spiro said. “This case was nothing more than a technical issue with the storing of a firearm, which is why the government gave Mr. Williams nothing more than a ticket.”
Williams, 23 in December, was cuffed at LaGuardia Airport when police say he was carrying a Glock 19. Williams volunteered that the gun was in his possession, but he did not have a license to carry the firearm in New York — only in his home state of Alabama. The Class E and D felonies could have carried serious consequences, so this is a relief for Williams and his camp.
Of course, Williams is not necessarily out of the woods with Roger Goodell & Co. The NFL reserves the right to fine or suspend players for matters such as these, even if they are cleared by the courts.
The Jets selected the former Alabama Crimson Tide standout third overall in 2019, and Williams made nine starts as a rookie. This year, he’s been first-string for all four of the Jets’ games, including a two-sack showing against the 49ers.
East Rumors: Williams, Jets, Giants, Bills
The Jets are in the mix for Trent Williams and are willing to negotiate a new deal with the Redskins’ disgruntled tackle, were they to pull the trigger on a trade, according to Ralph Vacchiano of SNY. Thus far in the latest round of Williams trade rumors, the Jets and Browns have expressed interest. And the Redskins may well be willing to reduce their asking price. Washington is serious about unloading Williams this time, per Vacchiano, who adds that several around the league believe the franchise will not ask for a first-round pick this time around. The Redskins asked for a first-rounder last year, and Williams predictably remained with the team after the deadline. Both the Browns and Jets hold a second-round pick and two thirds this year.
Shifting away from a Williams deal, here is the latest from the East divisions:
- Quinnen Williams has an upcoming court date, stemming from his Thursday arrest at LaGuardia Airport, but some updates on this situation have emerged. The Jets defensive lineman was not carrying ammunition for his Glock 19 pistol with him, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. Additionally, the weapon was stored in Williams’ checked baggage, not his carry-on, Darryl Slater of NJ.com reports. Williams was arrested because he did not possess a New York permit for the weapon, only an Alabama permit. Had ammunition been present with the gun, Williams would be facing a much stiffer penalty due to New York’s strict gun laws. The 22-year-old defender will be arraigned March 25 in Queens County criminal court.
- The Giants have not traded down in Round 1 since 2006; Dave Gettleman has somehow never traded down in any round in seven drafts as a GM. The team famously did not discuss moving down from its No. 2 spot in 2018, when it chose Saquon Barkley, and then surprised the football world by taking Daniel Jones at No. 6 last year. Faced with a bevy of needs, however, the Giants will end up trading down this year, Ryan Dunleavy of NJ.com predicts (via Twitter). Big Blue features needs at tackle, perhaps every linebacker spot and across the secondary.
- Eight-year NFL veteran Ryan Wendell is entering his second season on the Bills‘ staff, and the former center received a promotion. He will move from offensive assistant to assistant offensive line coach, the Bills announced. This is the former Patriots starter’s first coaching gig. The Bills also promoted three other assistants this week. They moved Shea Tierney to assistant quarterbacks coach, bumped Marc Lubick up to the assistant wideouts coach role and made Jimmy Salgado their nickel coach. All previously resided at lower-level assistant or quality control level.
Quinnen Williams Arrested For Attempting To Board Plane With Gun
Jets defensive lineman Quinnen Williams was arrested Thursday night at LaGuardia Airport and is facing the charge of criminal possession of a weapon, according to police (via Rich Cimini of ESPN.com). This incident occurred at around 9:15pm ET.
Carrying a gun with an Alabama permit, but not a New York permit, the 22-year-old defender was processed by the Port Authority Police Department. It is not clear if the gun, a Glock 19, was loaded, Cimini adds. Williams must appear in court March 25, per NJ.com’s Darryl Slater.
“We have been in contact with Quinnen Williams and are fully aware of the situation,” the Jets said in a statement. “We will have no additional comment as this is a pending legal matter.”
Williams will face a suspension under the league’s personal conduct policy. The Jets selected the former Alabama Crimson Tide standout third overall in 2019, and Williams made nine starts as a rookie. He is expected to be one of the Jets’ centerpiece players next season.
Deadline Fallout: Harris, Jets, L. Williams
Despite a great deal of hype, Tuesday’s trade deadline went out with a whimper. As Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes, that was largely because the presumed sellers — most notably the Bengals, Redskins, and Broncos — overvalued their assets. It was expected that Cincinnati’s and Washington’s stubbornness could torpedo potential deals, but Denver was similarly obstinate. For instance, the Broncos were asking for a second-round draft pick for CB Chris Harris when the market dictated that a fourth-rounder would be an appropriate return.
Now for more deadline fallout:
- Jets RB Le’Veon Bell recently said that his former club, the Steelers, were interested in re-acquiring him in advance of the trade deadline, and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com confirms that Pittsburgh did indeed speak with the Jets about Bell. However, when it became clear that the shoulder injury that James Conner sustained in the Steelers’ win over Miami last Monday wasn’t as serious as it first appeared, talks with Gang Green cooled. Bell wasn’t the only RB the Steelers were interested in, per Schefter, but he was easily the most prominent.
- At least one team tried to blow the Jets away with an offer for defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, as Schefter writes in a separate piece. The unnamed club thought New York would be unable to turn down the blockbuster package of draft picks, but Williams was deemed untouchable by the Jets’ front office, and Gang Green stuck to its guns.
- We already heard that the Giants would try to work out a contract extension with the newly-acquired Leonard Williams, but Schefter says Big Blue will open negotiations before Thanksgiving. Of course, it could be difficult for player and team to agree on Williams’ value, and Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com believes that Williams is going to test free agency (Twitter link).
- The Rams traded Aqib Talib to the Dolphins in a pure salary dump, as they gave Miami a 2020 fifth-rounder just to take on the remainder of Talib’s contract. Peter Schrager of the NFL Network says Talib believes he will be healthy enough to return to the field this season but is unsure as to whether he will suit up for Miami (Twitter link). He may elect to cool his heels before he hits the open market in March, but he holds no ill will towards LA.
Ravens Tried To Trade For Jamal Adams
Jamal Adams is staying with the Jets, but not for a lack of interest. Before the deadline, the Ravens tried to swing a trade for the Pro Bowl safety, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. 
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Ultimately, the two sides couldn’t come to terms. It was a similar story for the Cowboys, who also engaged in an aggressive pursuit of Adams before the bell rang.
Speaking of the Cowboys: They were willing to part with a first-round pick as part of a Minkah Fitzpatrick-type package, David Moore of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter) hears. The Steelers acquired Fitzpatrick for a first-round pick and also agreed to exchange third-day draft choices. That’s what the Cowboys were looking to do, but they were not willing to venture into Jalen Ramsey territory, which means coughing up two first-round picks, plus a fourth-rounder.
The 1-6 Jets worked the phone lines in recent days with hopes of parlaying their best talent into future draft capital. Even after dealing defensive lineman Leonard Williams to the Giants, they were nowhere near satisfied: quarterback Sam Darnold and defensive tackle Quinnen Williams represented their only untouchable players, Ralph Vacchiano of SNY (on Twitter) hears.
The Jets will move forward with Adams, running back Le’Veon Bell, wide receiver Robby Anderson, and the other notable names they had at the start of business on Tuesday. Ultimately, Jets GM Joe Douglas wasn’t able to completely dismantle the team he inherited, but that ultimately might be for the best.
Injury Notes: 9/20/19
Here are the latest significant injury-related notes from around the league:
- Marshall Newhouse, whom the Patriots signed last week, will serve as the club’s starting left tackle until Isaiah Wynn returns, per Doug Kyed of NESN.com (via Twitter).
- As expected, Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson will not play in Week 3, but the club is still optimistic about the availability of Alshon Jeffery and Dallas Goedert, as Eliot Shorr-Parks of 94WIP.com tweets.
- Buccaneers LB Devin White will not play this weekend, per Greg Auman of The Athletic (Twitter link).
- Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard is out of the concussion protocol and will play in Week 3 per Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com (via PFT). Rookie QB Daniel Jones will be making his first start, so Shepard’s presence will be especially helpful.
- The Seahawks are getting closer to full strength, as both WR David Moore and defensive end Ezekiel Ansah are expected to play in Week 3, per Curtis Crabtree of Pro Football Talk. We had already heard that Ansah was likely to make his Seattle debut this weekend, but Moore’s return is earlier than expected, even after we learned at the end of August that he would avoid IR.
- Top Jets defenders C.J. Mosley and Quinnen Williams are not expected to play this week, as Rich Cimini of ESPN.com tweets. The Week 3 outlook is also bleak for WR Demaryius Thomas and LB Jordan Jenkins.
- Tyler Kroft‘s Bills debut may be put on hold for awhile longer. Kroft was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice, but as Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk writes, Buffalo HC Sean McDermott told reporters that Kroft injured his ankle in Thursday’s practice and will undergo further evaluation.
Jets Notes: Darnold, Mosley, Bell
Sam Darnold will miss this Sunday’s contest against the Browns after being diagnosed with mononucleosis and the quarterback could miss extended time, as Rich Cimini of ESPN.com relays. The risk of contagion is high with the infection and the Jets have quarantined Darnold so that he would not spread it to any of his teammates.
Trevor Siemian, who signed with the Jets this offseason, will start in Darnold’s place. Siemian is 13-11 as a starter, all of which from his time with the Broncos.
It’s unclear how many games Darnold will miss, though with New York’s bye coming in week 4, it would be surprised if we saw him on the field before then.
Here’s more from New York:
- Brian Costello of the New York Post hears from a former NFL team physician that Darnold could miss four-to-six weeks with the ailment. “With this diagnosis of mono, an injured-reserve stint is not off the table,” Dr. David Chao said. “I’m not saying he’s going on injured reserve but this starts at four to six weeks. Any four-to-six-week injury puts IR in the conversation.”
- LB C.J. Mosley and DL Quinnen Williams did not practice this week and are officially out for Monday’s game against Cleveland, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News tweets. Mosley is dealing with a groin injury while Williams has a bad ankle.
- Le’Veon Bell is dealing with an injured shoulder and is officially questionable for Monday’s game, per the team’s Twitter feed. New addition Demaryius Thomas is also among the players who may not play in the game.
AFC East Notes: Jets, Q. Williams, Pats
This is interesting – the Jets have listed No. 3 overall pick Quinnen Williams as a second-stringer on their first depth chart of the season. Of course, pre-season depth charts don’t mean a ton in and of themselves, but it is notable that Williams is slated to back up Steve McLendon at defensive tackle in Week 1. Things can also change between now and Sunday when the Jets face the Bills.
As we get set for the season to begin, here’s more from the AFC East:
- The Patriots traded for offensive linemen Korey Cunningham (Cardinals) and Jermaine Eluemunor (Ravens) in part because of early-season retirements from Jared Veldheer and Brian Schwenke. “We lost two guys that probably would have made our roster — Veldheer and Schwenke — they both retired early,” Bill Belichick said in a radio spot (via ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss). The Pats’ OL trading didn’t stop there, either, they also swung a move for Bills center Russell Bodine on Friday.
- Belichick is unsure how the center position will work out with David Andrews on IR (Twitter link via NESN’s Doug Kyed). Kyed expects Ted Karras to man the spot in Week 1, but Russell Bodine could also push for it.
- Jachai Polite was fined more than $100K during his time with the Jets, Mike Florio of PFT hears. Over the weekend, the Jets shocked everyone in the league by cutting Polite, a 2019 third-round pick. Apparently, his behavior and conduct led to the shocking release. Polite will now try to make a mark in Seattle as a member of their practice squad.
Jets Sign Quinnen Williams
There are officially no stragglers left. Shortly after the 49ers inked draft picks Nick Bosa and Deebo Samuel, the Jets announced the signing of No. 3 overall pick Quinnen Williams.
Williams, a defensive tackle out of Alabama, did not report to training camp with his fellow Jets rookies because of issues related to his signing bonus payout structure. Ultimately, it was a difference of $100K that prevented the Jets from signing Williams sooner.
The Jets and Williams reached a compromise on that matter, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link) hears. The defensive lineman will have a 25% signing bonus deferment to Year Two, but he’ll get the other 75% at signing. With that out of the way, Williams should be on the field with the Jets on Friday.
Here’s the full rundown of the Jets’ draft:
- 1-3: Quinnen Williams, DT (Alabama): Signed
- 3-68: Jachai Polite, LB (Florida): Signed
- 3-92: Chuma Edoga, T (USC): Signed
- 4-121: Trevon Wesco, TE (West Virginia): Signed
- 5-157: Blake Cashman, LB (Minnesota): Signed
- 6-196: Blessuan Austin. CB (Rutgers): Signed