49ers Place NaVorro Bowman, Glenn Dorsey On IR
For much of the season, the 49ers had been hoping that two key members of their defense, linebacker NaVorro Bowman and defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, would return from injury and help the squad make a run to the postseason. Those hopes ended today, as the team announced that they have placed the duo on the season-ending injured reserve. To the take their spots on the roster, the team promoted cornerback Marcus Cromartie and guard Andrew Tiller from the practice squad.
Bowman was activated from the reserve/physically unable to perform list earlier this week after having suffered a knee injury during last year’s playoffs. However, there was some skepticism regarding the linebacker’s return this season. The two-time Pro Bowler had his best statistical season in 2013, finishing with 145 tackles, five sacks, six forced fumbles, and two interceptions.
Dorsey had been activated from the IR-DTR in mid-November, but he never made it on the field as he continued to recover from a biceps injury. The former fifth-overall pick started 13 games for the 49ers last season, and Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required) ranked him 26th among 151 defensive tackles. He was ultimately rewarded for his efforts, as the team handed him a two-year extension in August.
Cromartie spent his entire 2013 rookie campaign in the Chargers organization, and he joined the 49ers in November. Tiller, a former sixth-round pick by the Saints, signed with San Francisco in October.
Reaction To Chris Harris Extension
After signing a five-year, $42.5MM extension with the Broncos, Chris Harris took to Twitter to express his gratitude and excitement. “Blessed to be in Denver five more years. Thanks to all my teammates, coaches, and fans for all the love and support.” Here’s more reaction to Harris’ new deal…
- Harris will receive half of his $10MM signing bonus now, and the rest in March, tweets Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com. From a salary cap perspective, the timing of the payout is inconsequential, as the bonus will be prorated on Denver’s cap over the next five seasons. Legwold also notes that the deal means that Harris, Aqib Talib, Bradley Roby, and T.J. Ward, the key members of the Broncos’ secondary, are signed through at least 2017.
- In a separate piece, Legwold passes along some presecient comments by ex-Bronco Champ Bailey, who was a fan of Harris. “Chris is playing the best of any player at his position in the league,” Bailey said in November when announced his retirement. “I hope [the Broncos] pay him like it. I think they will. Knowing John Elway, how he goes about it, I think they will.”
- Speaking to Alex Marvez of SiriusXM NFL Radio (Twitter links), Harris said that negotiations ramped roughly a month ago, and confirmed that Elway was central to the deal getting finalized. Harris allowed that playing this season without long-term security had been strenuous, and that the extension is a “huge relief.”
- Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap lauds Elway & Co. for continuing to sign players to below-market deals, and wonders if the allure of playing with Peyton Manning convinces Denver signees to accept less than they’re worth. Fitzgerald also examines the state of the cornerback position, noting the large separation between the “name-brand” CBs (Patrick Peterson, Richard Sherman, Joe Haden) and the next tier of players.
- 49ers cornerbacks Perrish Cox and Chris Culliver are both free agents at the end of the season, but Cam Inman of the Mercury News (Twitter link) doesn’t think San Francisco will attempt to match Harris’ contract when negotiating extensions for its CB duo.
West Notes: Kaepernick, Cardinals, Chargers
The Cardinals pulled out a gutsy 12-6 win over the Rams last night and Arizona coach Bruce Arians took some time to gloat after the game, as Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com writes. “Everybody wanted to talk all that stuff about how great their defense is. I think they saw a good defense tonight, it was in red and white,” Arians said before talking about his team’s 143 rushing yards. “We blocked them. I think they had been reading their press clippings way too much.” More out of the AFC and NFC West..
- 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has regressed this season and Joel Corry of the National Football Post looks at how SF can bail out of his contract, if they so choose. Cutting bait after this season would essentially mean admitting a major mistake and giving Kaepernick a $12MM windfall, so that leaves only a trade or restructuring his contract. A trade probably wouldn’t bring a return comparable to the second-round pick used to select him, so Corry zeroes in on what a restructured deal might look like.
- In the event that Drew Stanton is done for the season, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (via Twitter) suggests that the Cardinals should look at any and all recently retired starting quarterbacks. From the view of the QBs, it’s a month long deal with one last shot at glory, so it could be a very enticing opportunity to some. Stanton hurt his knee last night after being sacked by Aaron Donald and the team is awaiting MRI results to find out the severity of the injury.
- Lindsay H. Jones of USA Today Sports sat down with Chargers GM Tom Telesco for a wide ranging Q&A that included a discussion on Manti Te’o‘s development since being drafted in 2013. The linebacker came into the NFL as a household name for non-football reasons but has yet to make his presence felt due to injuries.
Practice Squad Updates: Wednesday
Here are Wednesday’s practice squad signings and cuts, with the latest moves added to the top of the page throughout the day:
- The Raiders announced that they have filled their two open practice squad spots, signing wide receiver Kenny Shaw and tight end Evan Wilson. Shaw, a former standout at Florida State, briefly spent time with the Browns and Jaguars. Wilson was among the Dolphins final cuts in August, and he had workouts with the Patriots and Giants earlier this season.
- The Seahawks have signed linebacker Mike Zimmer, tweets Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times. Zimmer (no relation to the coach) played with the Vikings during the preseason.
Earlier updates:
- Cornerback Kennard Cox has signed with the Seahawks‘ taxi squad, tweets Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. Cox last played in the NFL with Seattle in 2011.
- The 49ers have filled the last opening on their practice squad by signing offensive tackle Chris Martin, per Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com (via Twitter).
- According to Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com (via Twitter), the two openings on the Lions’ practice squad have now been filled, as the team added wide receiver Skye Dawson and linebacker Jerrell Harris.
- The Cowboys have made a change to their practice squad, replacing defensive end Lavar Edwards with cornerback Micah Pellerin, says Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com (Twitter link). Edwards lands on the team’s practice squad IR list.
- The Panthers have re-signed running back Tauren Poole to their practice squad, tweets Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer. Poole had a very brief stint on the active roster earlier this season when Carolina was dealing with several injuries in the backfield.
- Wide receiver Alec Lemon, a former local high school standout, has joined the Ravens‘ taxi squad, filling the 10th and final spot, according to a team release.
- The Broncos have filled the lone opening on their practice squad by adding defensive end Gerald Rivers back to the unit, per ESPN.com’s Jeff Legwold (via Twitter). Rivers, who tried out for the Giants this week, was cut last week from Denver’s 53-man roster.
- The Buccaneers have removed tight end Taylor Sloat from their practice squad, according to Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com (Twitter link), who says the move may indicate improving health for the team’s tight ends. Linebacker Ka’Lial Glaud has replaced Sloat on the squad.
- With outside linebacker Jason Ankrah having been promoted to the Texans‘ active roster, former Clemson defensive end Kourtnei Brown has been added to Houston’s practice squad to replace Ankrah, tweets Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle.
Extra Points: Goodell, Raiders, JPP, Browns
On the same day the NFL announced that its owners have approved a new personal conduct policy for the league, Outside the Lines reporter Don Van Natta Jr. of ESPN.com has published a story suggesting commissioner Roger Goodell‘s testimony during Ray Rice‘s suspension appeal hearing was inconsistent with his public statements.
On September 10, Goodell wrote a memo to the league’s 32 owners in which he said that “on multiple occasions, we asked the proper law enforcement authorities to share with us all relevant information, including any video of the [Rice elevator] incident.” However, the 631-page transcript of Rice’s appeal hearing, a copy of which was obtained by Outside the Lines, suggests that the NFL never actually formally requested the elevator video from the one law enforcement agency that actually had it, the Atlantic City Police Department.
With Goodell and the NFL once again under scrutiny for questionable handling of investigative and disciplinary matters, let’s round up a few other notes from around the league:
- Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that the Raiders have “a much better chance” of moving to Los Angeles in 2015 than he had realized, adding that the possibility of the team relocating from Oakland to L.A. is “very legitimate.”
- While NFL teams rarely let their starting quarterbacks reach the open market, the early returns for the teams that locked their QBs up this year haven’t been good, writes Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead. The Bears (Jay Cutler), Bengals (Andy Dalton), Chiefs (Alex Smith), and 49ers (Colin Kaepernick) likely aren’t thrilled with the new deals for their respective signal-callers, considering all four teams project to finish with worse records in 2014 than 2013.
- Asked about his impending free agency, Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul said he’d “love to be a Giant for life,” but isn’t sure yet how things will play out (Twitter link via Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News).
- Although Browns kicker Billy Cundiff missed another key field goal on Sunday against the Colts, head coach Mike Pettine says Cundiff remains the team’s kicker, but “he knows he has to pick it up” (Twitter link via Jeff Schudel of the News-Herald).
- Adrian Peterson is still awaiting arbitrator Harold Henderson’s decision on his suspension appeal, and the Vikings running back continues to hold out hope that he’ll be able to return the field this season, NFLPA executive George Atallah tells Brian Murphy of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
- Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion will be represented by Athletes First agents Andrew Kessler and Dave Dunn for the 2015 NFL draft, tweets Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal.
West Notes: McGahee, Hayne, 49ers, Raiders
The latest out of the West divisions…
- Ex-Broncos running back Willis McGahee apparently hasn’t found an NFL team willing to take him on, because he’s trying his luck at a different sport altogether…rubgy. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN (Twitter link), McGahee will try out at the National Rugby Football League combine January 12 in Los Angeles. The 33-year-old played in the NFL just last season with the Browns, but was largely ineffective.
- Improbably, we have more rugby-related news, as Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post reports that Australian rugby star Jarryd Hayne visited the Seahawks today; Wilson reported that the 26-year-old met with the division rival 49ers yesterday. We last heard in October that Hayne, who would likely play running back, could fit with Seattle.
- 49ers rookies Brandon Thomas and Keith Reaser will both remain on the reserve/NFI list after their practice periods ended today, tweets Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. Thomas, a guard, was chosen in the third round of this year’s draft, while Reaser, a cornerback, was a fifth-round pick.
- As both a current Raider and a Michigan alum, Charles Woodson has a unique perspective on Jim Harbaugh’s potential choice between Oakland and Ann Arbor. So what does Woodson think Harbaugh should do? “If the choice was out there, it would definitely be Michigan,” Woodson told NFL Network (link via CSNBayArea.com). “As a guy that played there, I think the fans would love it, I think it would be great for recruiting and all of that. Just to have a guy that’s proven, he’s won everywhere he’s been as a coach and I don’t think it would be any different if he went to Michigan. I would say ‘yeah.’ Go Blue.”
West Notes: L.A., Kaepernick, Workouts
While the Broncos could clinch the AFC West with a victory in San Diego this weekend, the race over in the NFC West is getting more interesting by the week. The 10-3 Cardinals head to St. Louis this Thursday as underdogs against the 6-7 Rams, and an Arizona loss, combined with a Seahawks win over the reeling 49ers, would set up a huge Week 16 battle between the two division leaders in Arizona.
As we look forward to seeing how this week’s games play out, let’s round up a few items out of the NFL’s two West divisions….
- No major developments involving Los Angeles are expected at this week’s NFL owner meetings, and a source tells Albert Breer of the NFL Network (Twitter link) that the league isn’t anticipating movement on the L.A. front until the new year.
- In an Insider-only piece, Mike Sando of ESPN.com takes a closer look at Colin Kaepernick‘s future in San Francisco. Sando notes that moving away from Kaepernick quickly likely isn’t an option for the 49ers, but suggests making changes to the club’s coaching staff and offensive system could help get the young QB back on the right track.
- The Broncos tried out former Dolphins quarterback Seth Lobato today, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). The club is likely considering him for a potential reserve/futures contract at season’s end.
- The Rams, who recently extended punter Johnny Hekker, also recently worked out punter Michael Palardy, tweets Wilson. Of course, with Hekker – one of the league’s best specialists – locked up for several seasons, the Rams were likely looking at Palardy because he’s a left-footed kicker, rather than because they have interest in signing him.
49ers Activate NaVorro Bowman
1:37pm: San Francisco has confirmed the activation of Bowman, announcing that tight end Vance McDonald is being placed on injured reserve to make room for the linebacker.
1:33pm: The 49ers have activated linebacker NaVorro Bowman to their 53-man roster in advance of today’s deadline, according to Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com (Twitter link). Bowman had spent the season on the reserve/physically unable to perform list, and had to be either activated or placed on season-ending injured reserve today.
Bowman, 26, has spent the better part of a year recovering from a significant knee injury he suffered during last season’s playoffs. Having accumulated 145 tackles, five sacks, six forced fumbles, and a pair of interceptions in 2013, Bowman played a major role in one of the league’s best defensive units, and the 49ers missed him and suspended linebacker Aldon Smith during the first half of this season.
Although Smith returned to the field last month, it remains to be seen whether Bowman will actually see action during the regular season’s final three weeks. Ed Werder of ESPN.com (via Twitter) reported earlier today that the injured Niner wasn’t expected to play again this year, so it comes as a bit of a surprise that he’s even being activated, particularly since the club will need to cut a player to complete the transaction.
Players on the PUP list, like Bowman, get a three-week window between when they start practicing and when their teams must make a final decision on their status. While Bowman’s window began three weeks ago today, he has yet to step on the practice field with his teammates, according to Maiocco.
49ers Notes: Tryouts, Kaepernick, Bowman
49ers coach Jim Harbaugh was not a man of many words following his team’s loss to the lowly Raiders on Sunday. After the game, reporters wanted to question the coach’s future with the organization, but Harbaugh made his intentions clear.
“My priorities are: No. 1, winning football games,” Harbaugh said (via Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com). “No. 2, the welfare of our players, coaches and our staff. And lastly, is what my personal/professional future is.”
So, does the coach want to remain with the 49ers next season?
“My priorities,” he said, “are winning games.”
As we try to decipher Harbaugh’s comments, let’s take a look at some more notes out of Santa Clara…
- The 49ers worked out a pair of players on Monday. Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post writes that the team hosted rugby star Jarryd Hayne, noting that the 26-year-old would likely contribute as a running back. The team also worked out former Cardinals linebacker Desmond Bishop, according to Howard Balzer (via Twitter). The veteran was released by Arizona last week.
- Based on his play this season, quarterback Colin Kaepernick will not receive a $2MM bonus based on a de-escalator clause in his contract, tweets Ann Killion of the San Francisco Chronicle.
- The 49ers will have to make a decision by Tuesday on linebacker NaVorro Bowman. As Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle explains, the team has to choose whether to activate the Pro Bowler from the physically unable to perform list. If the team opts to keep him on the list, Bowman will not play a snap this season.
- Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News explores the uncertain future of the team’s veteran players. The writer says that veteran running back Frank Gore is assuming his days with the organization are coming to an end, and Kawakami agrees with that sentiment. Meanwhile, the writer is skeptical that free agents Michael Crabtree and Mike Iupati will return, and he also questions the future of Vernon Davis, Ahmad Brooks and Justin Smith.
Minor Moves: Monday
Here are Monday’s minor transactions, including practice squad signings and cuts, from around the NFL:
- As Cowboys defensive back Tyler Patmon continues to improve from a sprained knee, the team has parted ways with another cornerback. Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com writes that the Cowboys have waived Micah Pellerin. The 26-year-old has appeared in three games this season with Dallas.
- The Chargers placed offensive lineman Ryan Miller on their reserve/non-football injury list last week, but the team changed course today. Miller was moved to the injured reserve list and subsequently waived with an injury settlement, tweets Howard Balzer.
- Less than a week after he joined the Dolphins practice squad, linebacker Jake Knott has been promoted to the team’s active roster, the 24-year-old announced on Twitter. Knott previously spent time with the Eagles, where he made 12 appearances last season.
- Even though running back Marcus Lattimore announced his retirement last month, the 49ers continued to keep him on their non-football-injury list. That ended today, as Aaron Wilson tweets that the team has cut the former fourth-rounder.
- The Broncos have signed returner Isaiah Burse to their practice squad, tweets Mike Klis of the Denver Post. To make room, Denver waived guard Mark Asper. Burse, who has returned 29 of the team’s 30 punt returns this season, was waived on Saturday to make room for kicker Brandon McManus.
Earlier updates:
- After being cut last week by the Panthers, veteran linebacker Jason Williams has a new home, catching on with another NFC South team. The Buccaneers announced that they’ve signed Williams, placing fellow linebacker Brandon Magee on injured reserve in order to accommodate the new signing.
- The Packers have signed defensive tackle Bruce Gaston from off the Cardinals‘ practice squad, the team announced today in a press release. To make room for Gaston, the club placed rookie defensive tackle Luther Robinson, who sustained a calf injury, on the injured reserve list.
- The Chargers have parted ways with a pair of players, releasing center Jeff Baca from their 53-man roster and cutting cornerback Kendall James from their practice squad, tweets Eric Williams of ESPN.com.
- Having lost wide receiver Deonte Thompson off their practice squad to the Bills earlier today, the Ravens filled the opening by re-signing tight end Allen Reisner to the unit, per Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
- Wideout Rashad Ross has signed to Washington‘s taxi squad, the club announced today (Twitter link).