Playoff Injury Updates: Seahawks, Brown, Iupati, Fant, Titans, Brown, Packers, Clark

The latest injury news for the divisional round games:

  • The Seahawks’ offensive line is in dire shape. Starting left guard Mike Iupati is listed as doubtful, and it looks like he’ll miss his second straight game. Even more concerning, head coach Pete Carroll said both tackles Duane Brown and George Fant would be game-time decisions. Brown has missed the last few games, and Fant has been filling in for him at left tackle. Fant played 100 percent of the snaps in Seattle’s win over Philly last week, but is dealing with a groin injury. If he’s unable to go the plan is to start Chad Wheeler at left tackle, per Joe Fann of NBC Sports. Wheeler signed to Seattle’s practice squad back in October, and hasn’t appeared in a regular season game since October. He started a bunch of games for the Giants the previous two seasons, with disastrous results. If he’s forced into the lineup, the Packers’ pass-rushing duo of Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith will be licking their chops.
  • The Titans will be without a key piece of their defense as they look to pull off a second straight upset against the Ravens. Starting inside linebacker Jayon Brown has been ruled out for this weekend’s game. Brown started against the Patriots last week, but left the game with a shoulder injury. It’s a blow to Tennessee’s run defense as they look to slow down the league’s best rushing attack.
  • The Titans might not be the only team without a key defensive piece. Packers defensive tackle Kenny Clark, who started all 16 games this season, is being listed as questionable. Clark was on a tear down the stretch, racking up 4.5 sacks in Green Bay’s last four games. If he doesn’t go it’ll help mitigate some of Seattle’s offensive line losses.

Titans Intent On Extending Tannehill

  • A franchise tag may be in the cards for Ryan Tannehill, but the Titans are convinced his change-of-scenery breakout is legit. The Titans believe the 31-year-old passer is a “huge part of their future” and want to sign him to a long-term extension, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes (video link). The prospect of a Tannehill re-up initially surfaced in late November, and the sides have begun negotiations. It would cost Tennessee approximately $27MM to use its franchise tag on Tannehill. With Derrick Henry and right tackle Jack Conklin also up for free agency, it would behoove the Titans to have Tannehill locked down before the March 10 deadline. Of course, Tannehill’s Dolphins history makes such a commitment risky.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/26/19

We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:

Oakland Raiders

New Orleans Saints

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

NFL Playoff Scenarios For Week 17

The final week of the regular season is upon us.

Here’s the official rundown of NFL playoff scenarios as we get set for Week 17:

AFC

Clinched:

Ravens – AFC North division & home-field advantage throughout AFC playoffs

Texans – AFC South division

Chiefs – AFC West division

Patriots – AFC East division

Bills – playoff berth

Chiefs clinch a first-round bye with:

Chiefs win + Patriots loss

New England clinches a first-round bye with:

Patriots win or tie OR
Chiefs loss or tie

Raiders clinch a playoff berth with:

Raiders win + Steelers loss + Titans loss + Colts win + Raiders clinch strength-of-victory tiebreaker over Steelers*

*Raiders clinch strength-of-victory tiebreaker over Steelers if ONE of the following teams win or tie:

Bears, Lions, Chargers, or Patriots

Steelers clinch a playoff berth with:

Steelers win + Titans loss or tie OR
Steelers tie + Titans loss OR
Titans loss + Colts win + Raiders loss or tie OR
Titans loss + Colts win + Steelers tie Raiders in strength-of-victory tiebreaker*

*Steelers ties Raiders in strength-of-victory tiebreaker if ALL of the following teams win:

Vikings, Packers, Chiefs, and Dolphins

Titans clinch a playoff berth with:

Titans win OR
Titans tie + Steelers loss or tie OR
Steelers loss + Colts loss or tie

NFC

Clinched:

Packers – NFC North division

Saints – NFC South division

Vikings — playoff berth

49ers — playoff berth

Seahawks — playoff berth

Cowboys clinch NFC East division with:

Cowboys win + Eagles loss

Packers clinch a first-round bye with:

Packers win OR
Saints loss OR
Packers tie + San Francisco loss OR
Packers tie + Saints tie

Packers clinch home-field advantage throughout NFC playoffs with:

Packers win + San Francisco loss or tie OR
Packers tie +San Francisco loss + Saints loss or tie

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (12-3) (at Carolina (5-10); 1:00 PM ET, FOX)

Saints clinch a first-round bye with:

Saints win + Packers loss or tie OR
Saints win + 49ers loss or tie OR
Saints tie +Packers loss OR
Saints tie + 49ers loss OR
49ers loss +Packers win or tie

Saints clinch homefield advantage throughout NFC playoffs with:

Saints win + Packers loss or tie + 49ers loss or tie OR
Saints tie + Packers loss + 49ers loss

Eagles clinch NFC East division with:

Eagles win or tie OR
Cowboys loss or tie

49ers clinch NFC West division title with:

49ers win or tie

49ers clinch a first-round bye with:

49ers win OR
49ers tie + Packers loss or tie OR
49ers tie + Saints loss or tie

49ers clinch home-field advantage throughout NFC playoffs with:

49ers win OR
49ers tie + Packers loss or tie + Saints loss or tie

Seahawks clinch NFC West division with:

Seahawks win

Seahawks clinch a first-round bye with:

Seahawks win + Packers loss

Seahawks clinch home-field advantage throughout NFC playoffs with:

Seahawks win + Packers loss + Saints loss

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/23/19

Today’s minor transactions:

Cincinnati Bengals

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

 

Injury Updates: Ingram, Haskins, Murray

Here are the key injuries which we’ve seen some reporting on:

  • The Ravens officially clinched the top seed in the AFC with their win over the Browns on Sunday, but Baltimore fans were left holding their breath when running back Mark Ingram went down with a calf injury. Head coach John Harbaugh told reporters after the game there’s no structural damage, but a source told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com that Ingram suffered a calf strain (Twitter link). Ingram was wearing a walking boot after a game, via a tweet from Josina Anderson of ESPN. Harbaugh was trying to sound optimistic, but calf strains can linger. Fortunately for Baltimore, he’ll have Week 17 and a first-round bye to rest.
  • Dwayne Haskins has been getting a lot better recently, so it was unfortunate to see him go down with an ankle injury during the Redskins’ loss to the Giants. Interestingly, Haskins said after the game that he lobbied to return, but owner Dan Snyder personally told him not to go back in, per John Keim of ESPN.com. Normally it’d be unusual for an owner to be consulting directly with a player during a game, but this is the Redskins we’re talking about. Washington is in line for the second overall pick right now, and they could opt to be conservative and sit Haskins in Week 17.
  • Speaking of rookie quarterbacks, Kyler Murray was also knocked out on Sunday with a hamstring injury. Head coach Kliff Kingsbury told reporters after the game he wasn’t sure if Murray would be able to play in Week 17 against the Rams. Murray had a large wrap on his hamstring and if it was bad enough to knock him out immediately he could be up against it to play next week. Brett Hundley, who finished off Arizona’s upset win over the Seahawks, would start next week if he isn’t ready.
  • One last quarterback update, as Mason Rudolph was sidelined with a shoulder injury shortly after being reinserted for a benched Devlin Hodges. The Steelers’ quarterback situation is an absolute mess right now as they prepare for a must-win game against the Ravens. Hodges came back in for Rudolph, and resumed struggling. Rudolph provided an instant spark after relieving Hodges, so he’ll almost certainly start against Baltimore if he’s healthy. Rudolph was seen leaving the stadium with his arm in a sling, per Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link).
  • The Titans can clinch a playoff berth with a Week 17 win over the Texans, and fortunately they’ll be getting a boost to their offense. Running back Derrick Henry was inactive for their loss to the Saints on Sunday, but he is expected to play against Houston, a source told Schefter (Twitter link). Henry has been dealing with a hamstring issue.
  • The winner of the Week 17 game between the 49ers and Seahawks will determine who wins the NFC West and in turn hosts a playoff game, and both sides are banged up. San Francisco pass-rusher Dee Ford has missed most of the last month with a hamstring injury and he’s not expected to play against Seattle, a source told Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports. They gave up a second-round pick to land Ford this offseason, then signed him to a massive extension, and he’s been a bit of a disappointment. Fortunately for the 49ers, the Seahawks are dealing with even more significant health issues.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/21/19

Here are Saturday’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

  • Promoted from practice squad: OL Matt Kaskey
  • Waived: LB Ramik Wilson

Cleveland Browns

  • Promoted from practice squad: DE Robert McCray
  • Waived: Brandin Bryant

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed off Saints’ practice squad: T John Leglue
  • Placed on IR: T Yosh Nijman

Oakland Raiders

Tennessee Titans

Titans Place Ryan Succop On IR

The Titans are placing kicker Ryan Succop on injured reserve, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Succop will be replaced by Greg Joseph, who agreed to a three-year deal with the club earlier this week.

A knee injury sidelined Succop just before the season and kept him on IR until early November. In his sixth year with the Titans, Succop went just 1-6 on field goal tries in six games – clearly, he’s been far below 100% health.

The Titans have cycled through kickers this year – Cairo Santos and Cody Parkey struggled mightily as Succop’s early fill-ins, so they’re hoping to get much better results out of Joseph.

Before all of this, Succop played in every Titans game from 2014-18. In 2018, he went 26-for-30 on field goals and 28-for-31 on PATs. He’ll turn 34 just prior to the 2020 season, when he’s slated to count for $4.1MM against the cap.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/17/19

We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:

Denver Broncos

  • Signed: S P.J. Locke, DL Jay-Tee Tiuli

Detroit Lions

Jacksonville Jaguars

New York Giants

New York Jets

Tennessee Titans

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