AROUND THE NFL
Daily Briefing
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NFC NORTH
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CHICAGO
Not many speed receivers make it to a 14th season, but WR TED GINN, Jr. did. But he won’t finish it with the Bears. Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com:
Wide receiver Ted Ginn‘s time with the Bears has come to an end.
PFT has learned, via a league source, that the Bears are releasing the veteran on Wednesday.
Ginn signed a one-year deal with the Bears in May and appeared in six games with the team this season. He did not play in last Sunday’s overtime loss to the Saints and only played 32 snaps in the previous four games.
Ginn had three catches for 40 yards and returned five punts for 24 yards when he was in the lineup.
This is Ginn’s 14th NFL season and he’s also played for Dolphins, Saints, 49ers, Panthers, and Cardinals. We’ll see if he adds to that list or if this is the end of the line for him in the NFL.
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GREEN BAY
In the end, the Packers did not trade for Texans WR WILL FULLER. Dianna Russini ofESPN.com with this explanation:
@diannaESPN
I’m told the Green Bay Packers have discussed trading for Texans’ receiver Will Fuller. However, there’s been a disagreement in Green Bay at the highest levels of the organization over whether or not adding an elite receiver in the short term would be worth the spend.
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NFC EAST
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DALLAS
The QB BEN DeNUCCI Era is over while QB ANDY DALTON caught Covid while he was concussed.
Andy Dalton’s season went from bad to worse without setting foot on the field this week.
The Dallas Cowboys quarterback will miss at least one more week, but not because of a concussion.
Dalton was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list Tuesday, officially knocking him out of Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Dalton missed last week’s loss to Philadelphia due to a concussion suffered in Week 7. The veteran began the week still in concussion protocol. Now he’s dealing with COVID-19.
The news will not thrust seventh-round rookie Ben DiNucci back into the starting lineup as the Cowboys are expected to make another change.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported that the Cowboys are seriously contemplating turning to Cooper Rush, who is currently on the practice squad after rejoining the club following Dalton’s injury. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero later reported that the Cowboys’ plan is to give Rush and Garrett Gilbert reps during practice and pick one of the two to start by the end of the week.
Undrafted in 2017, Rush spent the previous three seasons in Dallas backing up Dak Prescott. He has thrown just three passes (completing one for two yards). He spent the offseason with Jason Garrett in New York before being cut before the season.
The Cowboys would need to activate Rush from the practice squad if they decide he’s the best option to start.
DiNucci struggled in his first start last week with Dalton out due to the concussion. Owner Jerry Jones was very public about the rookie not being ready.
“I think it was a lot for him,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan Tuesday. “It was, frankly, more than he could handle.”
Those sorts of comments about the rookie quarterback portend a different direction for the Cowboys offense.
It’s a grim prospect for any of the Cowboys’ QB options against one of the best defenses in the NFL. DiNucci struggled, but Rush and Gilbert also have a combined nine NFL attempts.
Behind a shuffled Cowboys offensive line, whoever lines up under center is likely to struggle against a Steelers defense that leads the league with 30 sacks in seven games and has the highest pressure-rate in the entire NFL.
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David Purdum of ESPN.com on how far the Cowboys have fallen:
The Dallas Cowboys, already a historic 0-8 against the spread this season, are now listed as double-digit home underdogs for just the second time in the franchise’s storied history in the Super Bowl era.
The Cowboys have been installed as 13.5-point home underdogs to the undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. The only time they have been less favored to win a game at home was in 1989, when they were listed as 14.5-point underdogs to the San Francisco 49ers. They lost that game 31-14.
Dallas is off to a 2-6 start this season and is the only team yet to cover the spread in any game. At 0-8 against the spread, the Cowboys are tied with the 1991 Cincinnati Bengals and 2003 Oakland Raiders for the worst ATS start in a single season in the Super Bowl era.
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NFC SOUTH
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CAROLINA
The Panthers have faltered lately, but they are getting RB CHRISTIAN McCAFFERY back this week. David Newton of ESPN.com:
The Carolina Panthers faced third-and-2 from the Atlanta 32 in the second quarter last Thursday night. Running back Mike Davis split wide left and wide receiver Curtis Samuel lined up in the backfield next to quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.
At the snap, Samuel faded to his right and caught a quick pass from Bridgewater for 3 yards and the first down.
Coach Matt Rhule pointed to this play as one way the Panthers (3-5) could utilize Davis and Christian McCaffrey in the lineup together when the Pro Bowl running back comes off injured reserve, likely for Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs (1 p.m. ET, Fox).
He didn’t rule out using Samuel at running back and McCaffrey at wide receiver as well.
“We all know Christian’s ability to line up and play receiver,” Rhule said. “So I think the door is open to be creative with all those guys.”
How often remains to be seen. In the season opener, McCaffrey played 97% of the snaps and got 26 touches. Davis got 3% of the snaps and no touches.
McCaffrey got most of the snaps in Week 2 before suffering the high ankle sprain that landed him on injured reserve for six games.
Davis played well with McCaffrey out, playing 79.5% of the snaps as the Panthers went 3-3, winning three straight and then losing the last three.
Davis’ production dropped dramatically in the three losses. After having 149 yards from scrimmage in a Week 5 win against Atlanta, he’s had only 168 combined yards during the 0-3 skid.
To put that in perspective, McCaffrey averaged 111.5 yards from scrimmage in the first game and three quarters of the second. He averaged 149.5 yards from scrimmage per game in 2019, when he became the third player in NFL history to reach 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season.
He’s been arguably the second-most impactful player to come out of the 2017 draft behind Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who has an MVP award and a Super Bowl ring in two-plus seasons as an NFL starter. The Panthers will try to figure out a way to slow him down in Kansas City.
“I’m not labeling this against Mike or anyone else, but Christian brings elite production,” Rhule said when asked what McCaffrey added to the offense versus Davis. “On days when you’re not great on third down, he’s a tremendous third-down matchup. Explosive runs. He can catch the ball out of the backfield.
“He’s one of the best in the National Football League. Like any great player, you feel better about your chances when he’s there than what he’s not.”
Rhule immediately followed this by adding, “We also are going to count on Davis, too.”
What he didn’t say again was how much. History — McCaffrey played on 93.35% of the snaps in 2019 — indicates the opportunities will be minimal at best.
“There’s surely an opportunity,” Rhule said of having McCaffrey and Davis on the field at the same time. “Whether we do that or not remains to be seen.”
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TAMPA BAY
He’s back. WR ANTONIO BROWN that is. ESPN.com:
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers officially activated Antonio Brown from the suspended list Tuesday, the team announced.
Coach Bruce Arians said Tuesday that Brown will have a role in Sunday night’s game against the New Orleans Saints.
“He’ll have his role. It could be 10 plays; it could be 35 plays,” Arians said. “I wouldn’t anticipate 60 plays, for sure, but we’ll just see how it goes.”
The Buccaneers signed Brown last week to a one-year deal for a base salary of $750,000, with incentives that could push the value to $2.5 million, sources told ESPN.
Brown concluded an eight-game suspension for multiple violations of the NFL’s personal conduct policy and was permitted to work out with the Buccaneers’ strength and conditioning staff and attend meetings. He was not allowed to practice with the team.
“We’ll see how much we can get him taught,” Arians said. “And the first practice will be a walk-through because we’ve got a short week coming off Monday night, so we basically miss a practice this week on Wednesday because of the short week, so it’ll be a walk-through practice and basically all learning.”
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NFC WEST
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SAN FRANCISCO
Lindsay Jones of The Athletic on the departures of LB KWON ALEXANDER and WR DANTE PETTIS:
San Francisco couldn’t find a trade partner for receiver Dante Pettis (a second-round pick in 2018) and ended up cutting him later Tuesday afternoon. That failed trade scenario came a day after the 49ers sent linebacker Kwon Alexander to the Saints in exchange for linebacker Kiko Alonso and a fifth-round pick.
We’re calling the 49ers losers here because of how quickly the team realized it needed to move on from both players. Alexander made just 13 starts in his year and a half with the team and failed to live up to the massive contract he signed in the 2019 offseason.
The 49ers linebackers corps should be fine without Alexander. The solid play from Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw made Alexander and his contract expendable, and Alonso’s arrival gives them depth, but this was a big swing and a big miss by John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan.
Pettis, too, was a miss. He was a non-factor for the 49ers during their Super Bowl run last year, and even with the 49ers needing receiver help this year, he didn’t have a single catch.
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An update on QB JIMMY GAROPPOLO from Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com:
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo’s latest high right ankle sprain wasn’t so much an aggravation of his previous injury as a whole new one, which is why he’s expected to miss about six weeks and could be out for the rest of the season.
49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said Tuesday that the ankle sprain Garoppolo suffered in Sunday’s loss against the Seattle Seahawks was “essentially a whole new one, just on the same foot,” and this sprain is considered more serious than the one he suffered in Week 2 against the New York Jets.
Because of that, Garoppolo is in the process of gathering multiple medical opinions before deciding whether he will need surgery, which would end his 2020 season.
“When you have those high ankle sprains, you reinjure them a lot,” Shanahan said. “But it was different the way that he did it, so it’s basically doing it all over again in a different way. … Whatever’s best for him, long term, is obviously what we’ll decide on. But if he does need the surgery, then it’ll be all year; if not, then hoping six weeks, get a chance to get back at the end.”
Asked whether he felt like Garoppolo was brought back from the first ankle sprain too soon, Shanahan indicated that wasn’t really the issue, and though Garoppolo struggled mightily in his return against the Miami Dolphins, he’d progressed in the two weeks before the loss to Seattle.
“I don’t regret bringing him back any of the times,” Shanahan said. “Obviously, the way the Miami game went, if I could’ve seen that before the game, we could’ve avoided bringing him back, but I thought he gave us a real good chance to win and we didn’t think he was risking injury by going further with it and he didn’t. That’s why he was able to come back the next two weeks even healthier. But he redid something in the Seattle game and it was bad … it ended up being worse than we thought.”
Mike Florio thinks, and seems to think the 49ers know, that San Francisco can do better than Garoppolo going forward.
Nearly three years to the day after the 49ers traded for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, Garoppolo may have taken his last snap in San Francisco.
With the disclosure from coach Kyle Shanahan on Tuesday that Garoppolo may need season-ending surgery to repair a new and different high ankle sprain to the same ankle on which he previously suffered a high ankle sprain, the next question becomes whether Garoppolo will return to the 49ers in 2021.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Shanahan sounded like a guy who still believes in Garoppolo.
“I’ve got a good idea with Jimmy and what Jimmy is capable of doing, and that’s why he’s been here,” Shanahan said. “People get better when they play more and that’s what I feel for Jimmy on. One, Jimmy gives us the best chance to win. He’s proven that, and it’s hard that he’s not going to be here for, to me, probably about at least six weeks, because it’s harder to win without him. Regardless of that, I want Jimmy playing as much as possible because I know when he does, he’ll only get better from the experiences of it. I think that’d be the most frustrating thing about it after having the best chance to win.”
Garoppolo has had mixed performances, and perhaps more importantly he has missed too much time due to injury. In 2018, a Week Three ACL tear ended his season prematurely. This year, he has missed two full games and could now miss the final eight.
In six games this season, Garoppolo has seven touchdown passes and five interceptions.
Then there’s the reality that, after he three interceptable passes in the divisional round against Minnesota, Shanahan turned Garoppolo into Bob Griese, calling run after run after run and limited Garoppolo to eight pas attempts in the NFC Championship win over Green Bay.
Garoppolo has two years left on his five-year, $27.5 million per year contract, with salaries of $24.1 million in 2021 and $24.2 million in 2022. The 49ers considered signing Tom Brady in March, and their transparency could be regarded as a warning to Garoppolo.
At a minimum, the 49ers should consider all options for 2021, given that they can sever ties with Garoppolo at a cap charge of only $2.8 million. He could be traded to a team like the Patriots, or he could be cut.
The question then becomes whether the 49ers would replace him with a draft pick or a veteran from another team. Some have suggested that Shanahan may want to reunite with Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, whom Shanahan coached to an MVP award in 2016. Others have suggested that Shanahan may want to reunite with Kirk Cousins, the quarterback Shanahan presumably wanted to land before the team traded for Garoppolo.
Regardless, between injuries and periodic ineffectiveness, it could be time for the 49ers to move on from Garoppolo. They gain nothing by disclosing their intentions now. And his last chance to change minds within the organization will hinge on whether he can play again this season.
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AFC WEST
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DENVER
The Broncos have COVID at the highest levels of the organization. Mike Klis of New9 in Denver:
Coronavirus is so vexing, so heinous, so nondiscriminatory, it got two of the highest-ranking executives of the Denver Broncos.
Joe Ellis, the team’s chief executive officer and president, and John Elway, the Hall of Fame quarterback and Broncos’ general manager for the past 10 seasons, learned early Tuesday they have tested positive for COVID-19.
Elway was not feeling well Monday morning when he reported for COVID testing. He immediately informed team trainer Steve “Greek” Antonopulos, who sent Elway home for the day.
Ellis was not feeling well Sunday morning, called Antonopulos, and for the first in 26 years did not attend a Broncos home game — a thrilling, come-from-behind 31-30 win against the AFC West rival Los Angeles Chargers. He was not in the building last Thursday or Friday, stopped in briefly to pick up a game credential Saturday, and did not go to his office Sunday or Monday, a team source told 9NEWS.
Like all employees working from the team’s UCHealth Training Center headquarters, Ellis and Elway have been taking the COVID-19 test daily since early-August.
“Obviously, it’s unfortunate,” said Brandon McManus, the Broncos’ kicker and player rep. “Hopefully, they have no symptoms and are going to be OK. I’m glad that some positives of the staff members haven’t affected the game as far as the games are more at risk if the players are positive. So that’s a good sign.
“Our union and the league fought for the players to implement all these boundaries and protocols for us.
“It’s one thing the players will be chatting about. I’m just hoping there’s no ramifications in the schedule and playing the games for us and across the league.”
Avoiding the virus infection at team headquarters has become increasingly difficult in recent weeks. Three Broncos’ assistant coaches – Curtis Modkins, Mike Munchak and Ed Donatell – have been placed in the COVID protocol, as has starting right guard Graham Glasgow. In addition, multiple staff employees have tested positive.
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LAS VEGAS
T TRENT BROWN has left the hospital. This from ESPN:
Las Vegas Raiders right tackle Trent Brown was released from a hospital in Cleveland and is headed back to Las Vegas, a source confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday.
Brown was hospitalized after air entered his bloodstream during a pregame IV in the team’s locker room at FirstEnergy Stadium and he required immediate medical attention, a source confirmed to ESPN. It was first reported by NFL Network.
Brown’s release was first reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
“Very glad to report he is up and seems to be doing well,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said Monday in his weekly Zoom media conference. “We’re awaiting the results of some of the extensive tests that they did today and yesterday. I don’t have anything to report other than he had an issue.
“I want to really thank our medical staff, what a job they did in an emergency situation, and we’re just happy he’s up and around, and once we get the official word as to what’s wrong with Trent, we’ll let you know.”
Brown, who signed a four-year, $66 million contract with the Raiders in 2019, had just come off the team’s reserve/COVID-19 list on Friday and was slated to start for Las Vegas against the Browns.
Raiders quarterback Derek Carr described a scary scene in the pregame locker room.
“Honestly, I’m human, I got a little scared for Trent,” Carr said after the Raiders’ 16-6 win over the Browns. “I was like, ‘Man, I hope he’s OK.’ We had no clue what was happening.
“All of a sudden, we come in and they’re wheeling him out and I’m like, ‘Bro, what is going on?’ It was crazy, and so we prayed. As a team we prayed for him, we made sure he was OK, his family, because I’m sure they were scared to death.”
Gruden said the Raiders were “all shaken up pretty good” before kickoff.
“You get shook up when you see one of your own go down and you don’t know what’s wrong with him,” Gruden said. “But we were able to assure our players he was in good hands and his signs were vital and he was doing good. We said a prayer for Trent before the game, and we went out and tried to win a game for him. It’s something that’s on our mind and weighing heavily on us right now. We hope he’s OK.”
A pectoral injury ended Brown’s season prematurely last year, and a calf issue limited him in training camp and to three snaps in the season opener at Carolina. He has played in only one other game this season — at Kansas City on Oct. 11 — after testing positive for COVID-19 two weeks ago.
Gruden was asked about Brown potentially playing for the Raiders (4-3) this weekend at the Los Angeles Chargers (2-5).
“We don’t know, really, anything about Trent’s status,” Gruden said. “The most important thing is that we find out what went wrong. Our prayers are with Trent, certainly, and he’s in the best possible hands he can be in right now. But his availability and his status is not up for discussion right now, as far as we’re concerned.”
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AFC NORTH
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BALTIMORE
Covid alert! Covid alert! A positive test for CB MARLON HUMPHREY means more masked men on the sidelines. Jamison Hensley of ProFootballTalk.com:
The Baltimore Ravens have seven “high-risk” close contacts identified after All-Pro cornerback Marlon Humphrey tested positive for COVID-19.
The seven players are: LB Matthew Judon, LB Patrick Queen, S DeShon Elliott, LB L.J. Fort, LB Malik Harrison, CB Terrell Bonds, LB Tyus Bowser.
This doesn’t indicate that those close contacts have tested positive results or will miss Sunday’s game at the Indianapolis Colts. Humphrey, however, will be out Sunday because he must quarantine for 10 days following his positive test.
Also Tuesday, offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley (ankle) and guard Tyre Phillips were placed on injured reserve. Stanley, an All-Pro last year, is out for the season. Phillips, a rookie who started at right guard, is sidelined for at least three week.
Humphrey tested positive Monday, a day after playing every defensive snap in Sunday’s 28-24 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. He missed one day of practice with an illness leading up to the game before returning to practice the rest of the week after testing negative.
The NFL sent a memo Tuesday asking teams to have players wear masks on the sideline and in the locker room during games.
In regards to the positive tests with the Ravens and Packers, the memo states “additional players and staff members were designated as ‘High Risk Close Contacts’ as a result of unmasked social interactions outside of the facility. In all of these circumstances, our medical experts have concluded that if masks were worn by players in both examples, the number of individuals that would have been designated as ‘High Risk Close Contacts’ would have been significantly reduced.”
It sounds like he may have had a false negative.
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AFC SOUTH
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TENNESSEE
Lindsay Jones of The Athletic likes this deadline deal by the Titans:
The Titans made the most notable move of the week, trading for slot cornerback Desmond King from the Chargers. The deal cost just a sixth-round pick, which feels like more than fair value for a player in the final year of a contract that pays him $1.1 million this year. The Titans need help in the secondary — our Sheil Kapadia noted Monday that the Titans are giving up the sixth-most receiving yards to slot receivers this season — and King has the versatility to play some safety as well as contribute on special teams. After their Week 8 loss to Cincinnati, the Titans needed some sort of jolt, and adding an immediate contributor like King should help.
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The Titans are hoping that someone does them a multi-million dollar favor and takes free agent bust EDGE VIC BEASLEY off their hands. Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com:
The Titans are moving on from defensive end Vic Beasley. They haven’t done it yet. And for good reason.
The delay traces to one simple reality of the NFL calendar. As of today, the first day after the trading deadline, every player released by a team must pass through waivers. Thus, instead of Beasley becoming a free agent — and in turn eligible to collect the balance of his $3.5 million base salary as termination pay — his contract will be exposed to the ability of every other team to call dibs on it.
If only one team makes a claim for the contract, the Titans will avoid the $1.85 million balance of his base salary.
That doesn’t change the fact that the contract was a huge mistake for the Titans. The one-year, $9.5 million deal included a $6 million signing bonus — some of which may have been forfeited based on Beasley’s unexcused failure to report for camp on time.
Still, the Titans got zero sacks and zero quarterback hits in seven games from Beasley, and now they hope that a one-day delay will result in a cash and cap savings of $1.85 million.
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AFC EAST
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MIAMI
The Dolphins are feeling good enough to trade away a receiver to the once-mighty Patriots. Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com:
The Miami Dolphins traded Isaiah Ford to the wide-receiver-needy New England Patriots for a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2022 draft, per the NFL’s transactions wire.
Ford, 6-foot-2, 194 pounds, has been the Dolphins’ starting slot receiver for much of the season and a favorite of veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. With a knack of being at the right place at the right time and coming up big in clutch moments, he has 18 catches for 184 yards this season. He had seven catches for 54 yards in the Dolphins’ season-finale win over the Patriots in 2019.
This is the first trade between the Dolphins and Patriots since Miami shipped Wes Welker to New England in March 2007 for second- and seventh-round draft picks.
The Dolphins made another deal right before the deadline buzzer, acquiring running back DeAndre Washington from the Kansas City Chiefs for a swap of conditional draft picks between the teams.
The Dolphins sent a 2021 conditional sixth-round draft pick to Kansas City in exchange for a 2021 conditional seventh-round pick, along with Washington, from the Chiefs.
Ford, a 2017 seventh-round pick, should provide experience for a depleted Patriots receiver group, and he has the versatility to play both outside and slot receiver. The Patriots have been in need of reinforcements, as Julian Edelman (knee) is on injured reserve and N’Keal Harry missed Sunday’s loss against the Buffalo Bills. They have elevated undrafted free agent Isaiah Zuber from the practice squad four different times this year.
Against the Bills, all four of the team’s available receivers had entered the NFL as undrafted free agents — Jakobi Meyers, Gunner Olszewski, Damiere Byrd and Zuber.
For the Dolphins, Ford has been a stopgap option at slot receiver, but they have a trio of young players they would like to evaluate there the rest of the season: rookie third-round pick Lynn Bowden Jr., rookie seventh-round pick Malcolm Perry and practice squad receiver Antonio Callaway, who saw his NFL suspension expire this week and is a likely candidate to be elevated to the 53-man roster soon.
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NEW YORK JETS
GM Joe Douglas says that he is part of the reason the Jets are winless. Rich Cimini ofESPN.com:
Despite an 0-8 record and a historically inept offense, New York Jets general manager Joe Douglas wants coach Adam Gase and quarterback Sam Darnold to be part of the organization’s future.
“I have no problem saying he’s our best quarterback and our quarterback for the future,” Douglas said Tuesday in a midseason video call with reporters.
Douglas’ comments will raise eyebrows because the Jets might have the No. 1 pick in the 2021 draft, and the presumptive top pick is Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence. His feelings about Darnold, whom he called “ultra-talented,” won’t preclude him from drafting a quarterback. A lot can change in five months.
The second-year GM also endorsed Gase, who long ago fell out of favor with the fan base. His record with the Jets is 7-17.
“I have to do a better job for all these coaches and players,” Douglas said. “The hope is that we can fix these problems together and be here together for a while.”
Asked if he believes Gase is part of the solution, Douglas said, “Yes.”
To be clear, this doesn’t mean Gase’s job is safe. CEO Christopher Johnson, not Douglas, will determine Gase’s fate. Despite constant speculation, that likely won’t happen until the end of the season.
Douglas, speaking to the media for the first time since early September, accepted the blame for arguably the worst season in franchise history. He mentioned on several occasions that he needs to do a better job of supplying his coach and quarterback with talent.
Surprisingly candid, Douglas admitted he miscalculated the market value of wide receiver Robby Anderson, whom the Jets lost in free agency. Anderson is having a career year with the Carolina Panthers after signing a two-year, $20 million contract, and the Jets have struggled to replace him.
“I think what went wrong with us and Robby, we thought that Robby’s value was going to be even greater than he signed for in Carolina,” Douglas said. “That’s on me, ultimately. That’s on us moving forward. … We don’t want to be in the business of losing good players.”
With a patchwork receiving corps, Darnold has struggled in his third season, raising questions about his long-term future. The Jets must decide by May whether to exercise his fifth-year option (2022), which will be an estimated $25 million guaranteed.
Douglas genuinely likes Darnold’s upside, but there also could’ve been posturing involved. If the Jets land a top pick and decide to take a quarterback, it behooves them to maximize Darnold’s trade value.
“Sam is an ultra-talented quarterback and I really can’t say enough about his grit and his toughness,” Douglas said. “Ultimately, I’ve got to do a better job of putting talent around Sam.”
The Jets, who face the New England Patriots on Monday night, are trying to avoid the first 0-9 start in franchise history. Douglas said the entire organization is frustrated by the results, but he expressed hope for the future. The Jets have nine selections in each of the next two drafts, including a total of eight picks in the first three rounds. Douglas said the focus is on player development.
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THIS AND THAT
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MIDSEASON AWARDS
Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com has some midseason awards:
The first eight weeks of the 2020 season have featured, in many ways, the best streak of cumulative quarterback play in NFL history. It has been easy to miss amid daily updates of coronavirus pandemic protocols and super-early coaching changes, but the league’s aggregate Total QBR of 65.6 is nearly 10% higher than the next-best mark through the same period of a season since ESPN began compiling it in 2006.
As a result, our midseason quarterback awards will be a bit rosier than in some other seasons. We’ll do our best to keep it balanced even while noting there are multiple players performing at an MVP level and a couple of rookies who have blasted onto the scene, using data culled from ESPN Stats & Information and NFL Next Gen Stats unless otherwise noted.
Best QB at midseason, candidate No. 1: Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks
Wilson has thrown an NFL-high 26 touchdown passes, more than any player in NFL history through seven games except for Tom Brady, who connected on 27 in 2007 on the way to 50 for the season.
By now, it’s safe to say that Wilson has mastered the art of a chaotic pocket. He has been pressured on 35.9% of his dropbacks, third most in the NFL, in part because he has held the ball for an average of 2.94 seconds before throwing — the fifth-highest rate in the NFL. But 12 of his touchdown passes have come while under duress, and his next such scoring throw will be the most in a season for a quarterback since ESPN started tracking them in 2009. NFL defenses try to knock quarterbacks out of their rhythm, but Wilson has developed into the league’s best off-schedule operator.
Meanwhile, his 38-yard touchdown pass to receiver David Moore in Week 2 continues to hold its position as the least likely completion of the year, based on NFL Next Gen Stats’ completion probability algorithm.
Best QB at midseason, candidate No. 2: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
Expectations are so high for Mahomes, who turned 25 earlier in the season, that few realize he is playing at a higher level than he did during his 2018 MVP season. His QBR (85.4), completion rate (66.9%) and touchdown-interception ratio (21-1) through the first eight games are all higher. In fact, no quarterback in league history has thrown more touchdown passes with one or fewer interceptions through the first eight games of a season.
About the only negative observation we can make is that six of his touchdown passes have come on high-percentage screen plays, three times more than any other quarterback, as the Chiefs routinely capitalize on their team speed. But someone has to get the ball there, right?
Best-timed quarter: Drew Lock, Denver Broncos
Lock’s hold on the Broncos’ starting job looked tenuous entering the fourth quarter Sunday against the Chargers. The Broncos were trailing 24-10, and at that point, he had managed just one touchdown pass and a 55.2% completion percentage over the course of the season. But Lock then led a stirring comeback, completing 14 of 18 passes for 155 yards and three touchdown passes in a 31-30 victory.
Some of that outburst can surely be attributed to the Chargers’ perplexing defensive approach. They blitzed only once in the entire quarter, allowing Lock to spend an average of 2.96 seconds before throwing — well above the NFL average of 2.73 for the season. Still, Lock bought himself some time and equity in a season the Broncos seemed to have set aside for determining whether he can be their long-term starter.
Emerging Rookie of the Year: Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
Joe Burrow has been heroic as the Bengals’ much-pummeled starter, and with the NFL’s third-most passing yards (2,272), he might well be on the way to winning the NFL’s Rookie of the Year award. But voters would be well advised to check out Herbert, who was elevated to the starting job in Week 2.
In particular, Herbert’s downfield playmaking has been exceptional. He lets it fly, but with a purpose. Herbert is tied with Wilson for the NFL lead in touchdown passes that travel at least 15 yards in the air (nine), and he leads the league with seven scoring throws that traveled at least 20 yards. As a result, his completions have carried the league’s third-lowest completion probability, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
The Chargers have followed their usual heartbreaking path, losing three 17-point leads already this season. But even if they don’t win another game, they can be confident that they hit on the quarterback lottery.
Most irrelevant debut: Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins
You couldn’t ask for a better support toward a rookie making his first NFL start. Bolstered by the Dolphins’ defense and special teams, Tagovailoa was mostly a bystander as the Dolphins cruised to a 28-17 victory over the Rams in Week 8. He totaled 93 passing yards on 22 attempts, the fewest by any starting quarterback in a win this season, and attempted only three passes that traveled 15 or more yards downfield. He was also the first quarterback to throw for fewer than 100 yards while wining in his first career start in 21 years (Donovan McNabb, 1999).
We found out that Tagovailoa can take an NFL hit — he was clobbered on a first-quarter sack that caused him to fumble — but little else about how his skill set will translate to the pro level. And that’s OK. The Dolphins have orchestrated this transition in a smart way. They aren’t turning to Tagovailoa to save their season or the jobs of their coaching staff and general manager. They just want him to get live reps within the larger structure of a rebuilding process that is giving them a better chance to win each week than many observers projected. Every team would like to do it this way, but the Dolphins might be in position to actually pull it off.
‘Leave me alone’ Award: Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns
Mayfield has generated some of the NFL’s most polarizing debates this season. Can he get past his first read? Is he better off without Odell Beckham Jr. on the field? Is he on the cusp of breaking through, or are the Browns foolproofing their game plans for him?
On paper, at least, the true Mayfield seems pretty clear. He has been one of the league’s better quarterbacks this season when he isn’t pressured … and one of the worst when he is.
Mayfield has been neither hit nor put under duress on 185 dropbacks this season. His 67.4 QBR on those plays is tied for No. 10 in the NFL, courtesy of a 67.4% completion rate and 13 of his 15 total touchdown passes. But when he is either put under duress or hit, or both, Mayfield has posted a 55.7 QBR, which ranks No. 25 in the NFL. On those 57 dropbacks, he has completed 41.3% of his passes for two touchdowns with three interceptions. It’s not unusual for a quarterback’s performance to drop against pressure, but the disparity for Mayfield is significant and gives opponents a clear lane for limiting his effectiveness.
Biggest disappointment, candidate No. 1: Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles
Not enough people realize that Wentz — and not the Giants’ turnover machine, Daniel Jones — leads the NFL in giveaways this season. Wentz has thrown 12 interceptions and lost four of his seven fumbles, putting his total turnovers (16) well above Jones’ (13).
Nothing else should matter about how Wentz has played, even if he occasionally places a perfectly thrown ball in a key situation — as he did on a game-winning, 18-yard touchdown throw to running back Boston Scott in Week 7 against Jones’ Giants. Frankly, the Eagles are fortunate it hasn’t hurt them worse than it has. Wentz’s average turnover has cost them minus-3.5 expected points added (EPA), the 12th lowest among 38 players who have committed at least three turnovers this season. In other words, this could all have been much worse.
Biggest disappointment, candidate No. 2: Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings
If you’re frustrated seeing a fifth-year veteran like Wentz making these kinds of mistakes, what is your reaction when Cousins — in Year 9 — has reverted to nearly the same level? Cousins has committed the NFL’s third-most turnovers (11), after Wentz and Jones.
Cousins was a turnover machine early in his career as a spot starter and even after becoming a full-time player. Between 2015 and 2018, he turned the ball over 64 times, tied for fifth most in the NFL over that period. He got it under control in 2019, limiting himself to nine while earning Pro Bowl honors. But Cousins has fallen back into his previous habits in 2020.
It’s revealing how the Vikings adjusted after their bye week. With tailback Dalvin Cook back in the lineup, and admittedly a stiff wind blowing Sunday at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, the Vikings made Cousins an afterthought in their game plan. He averaged 1.79 air yards per pass, the second fewest by a player with at least 10 attempts in a game during the past 15 seasons. As Cook compiled 226 all-purpose yards and scored four touchdowns, Cousins’ deepest pass of the game went 8 yards past the line of scrimmage.
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BROADCAST NEWS
Andrew Marchand of the New York Post hears that ESPN is coming hard after Sunday Night Football, a move which could put the other packages in flux:
A billion-dollar battle for “Sunday Night Football” is emerging between incumbent NBC and Disney/ABC/ESPN as the NFL moves toward agreements on its new TV deals that could be completed by the end of the year, The Post has learned.
It has been known for a long time that Disney/ABC/ESPN would be very aggressive for more NFL, the most valuable programming in television. As far back as early 2019, there was buzz about ABC wanting a Super Bowl.
However, according to sources, it is more than that as the pitch Disney is making to the NFL is that it currently pays the most so it deserves the best prime-time regular-season schedule.
On top of that, according to officials familiar with the negotiations, Disney/ABC/ESPN wants to acquire two separate NFL packages.
At the moment, ESPN spends $2 billion per year for an inferior Monday Night schedule and no Super Bowls, while NBC writes a check for a mere $950 million for Sunday Night, which includes flexible scheduling that allows the NFL to shift better games into prime time, as well as a spot in the Super Bowl rotation.
NBC also has two playoff games per year compared to ESPN’s one. (NBC added another playoff game this year with the expanded format.) ABC currently has no regular package, but occasionally simulcasts ESPN’s productions.
ESPN’s extra cost does allow it to have almost wall-to-wall highlights on its network daily, which is something NBC, Fox and CBS don’t have. ESPN broadcasts the draft and the Pro Bowl.
If Disney were able to swipe “Sunday Night Football” from NBC, it would likely place it on ABC. In such a scenario, NBC would still be in play for Monday or Thursday night action. Both Disney and NBC could try for Fox and CBS’ Sunday afternoon packages.
Those could be safest with the NFL able to extract top dollar from Fox and CBS, while not messing with success of the setup of producing multiple games. Both networks currently pay more than a billion, but not near what ESPN pays.
Disney and NBC still can’t entirely be ruled out just yet for Sunday afternoons, but it seems less likely at the moment.
ESPN’s current “Monday Night Football” deal concludes after next season, while NBC, CBS and Fox’s NFL TV contracts will be completed following the 2022-23 Super Bowl.
The NFL likes NBC’s Sunday presentation featuring Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth. NBC has a succession plan that would put Mike Tirico in place of Michaels and, further down the road, the already-signed Drew Brees possibly checking in for Collinsworth.
ESPN has struggled to create a marquee booth with this year’s team being made up of Steve Levy, Louis Riddick and Brian Griese.
This is why ESPN had prepared a $14 million-per-year offer for Tony Romo, but was outbid by CBS, who went to $17.5 million per. An official with knowledge of the NFL’s thinking, though, said ultimately the broadcast crews will not be a large factor in the league’s TV decision.
Meanwhile, the two digital players that seem most likely to jump into the negotiations are Amazon and Apple. Amazon is already the digital home for Thursday nights, while Apple could try to help its Apple+ product. Both have extraordinarily deep pockets, though neither is expected to receive a marquee standalone package and may just be in line for digital rights.
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AIKMAN RATINGS thru Week 8
The Buccaneers remain in 1st place in the Aikman Combined Ratings after Week 8, although their so-so effort against the Giants halved their advantage over the Cardinals who stayed at 167.0 while on bye.
The 49ers fell from 3rd to 7th with their loss to the Seahawks with the Chiefs, Rams, Steelers and Seahawks all moving up one spot.
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We note that when the Aikman Ratings were formulated in 2005, they were designed such that a rating of 75.0 would represent the then historical average on both Offense and Defense.
Well, times have changed with a steadily rising rate of Offense over the years, with a huge explosion in 2020. And so we see, the Buccaneers ranking 1st in the current NFL in Aikman Defense with a level of performance that would have been perfectly average 15 years ago.
On offense, 29 of the 32 teams now sit above the 75.0 mark with the Broncos and Giants within shouting distance. The Jets, at 62.9, are nearly 10 points below the 31st-ranked Giants at 72.5.
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We would note that the Washington Football Team doesn’t get a lot of attention, even within the NFC East. But with the division’s best defense, they sit at #21 in the Aikman Combined, the best standing of any NFC East team.
All four NFC West teams are in the top seven. All four NFC East teams are in the bottom 12.
Aikman NFL Yards
Off Def Comb Off Def Comb
1 6-2 Buccaneers 95.1 75.0 170.1 7 7 14
2 5-2 Cardinals 97.7 69.3 167.0 8 15 23
3 7-1 Chiefs 97.9 68.2 166.1 1 18 19
4 5-3 Rams 88.3 74.3 162.6 4 6 10
5 7-0 Steelers 90.1 71.6 161.7 27 3 30
6 6-1 Seahawks 101.4 59.2 160.6 10 31 41
7 4-4 49ers 91.4 67.5 158.9 5 10 15
8 5-2 Colts 86.1 72.6 158.7 21 1 22
9 5-2 Ravens 87.8 68.0 155.8 22 4 26
10 5-2 Titans 101.2 53.6 154.8 13 19 32
11 5-2 Packers 99.8 54.5 154.3 15 8 23
12 4-3 Dolphins 84.1 68.6 152.7 30 13 43
13 5-3 Browns 90.9 61.3 152.2 14 26 40
14 2-5 Chargers 89.1 62.6 151.7 9 12 21
15 5-2 Saints 94.9 55.7 150.6 16 5 21
16 2-5 Vikings 91.7 58.6 150.3 20 24 44
17 6-2 Bills 89.2 59.1 148.3 6 23 29
18 5-3 Bears 76.1 71.2 147.3 23 20 43
19 2-6 Falcons 89.3 57.4 146.7 2 32 34
20 3-5 Panthers 87.4 59.2 146.6 12 22 34
21 2-5 Washington 77.2 69.2 146.4 32 2 34
22 4-3 Raiders 91.8 52.9 144.7 17 14 31
23 3-4-1 Eagles 80.8 63.5 144.3 18 17 35
24 2-5 Patriots 77.8 65.1 142.9 24 9 33
25 3-4 Lions 87.5 55.3 142.8 25 15 40
26 3-4 Broncos 74.2 68.1 142.3 29 11 40
27 2-5-1 Bengals 85.1 54.3 139.4 11 30 41
28 1-6 Texans 87.1 51.9 139.0 19 25 44
29 1-6 Jaguars 84.5 53.5 138.0 26 26 52
30 1-7 Giants 72.5 64.1 136.6 28 21 49
31 2-6 Cowboys 80.0 52.9 132.9 3 28 31
32 0-8 Jets 62.9 63.8 126.7 31 29 60
NFL Average 87.2 62.6 149.8
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