We scour the news around the NFL to bring you what matters most to you and your dynasty team: the most current news on players, both superstars and the relative unknowns, and analysis to decipher the respective situations. These are many of the major stories and not meant to be an exhaustive look at all the recent happenings around the league. This is the last installment of the season. Thank you for joining us for the 2019 regular season. We will be back with another edition soon.
Not that the news was unexpected, but Adam Schefter was first to report on Matthew Stafford, “Lions placing QB Matthew Stafford on IR.” After carrying him on the active roster, the time was bound to come that Detroit wanted the roster spot to assess a young player at another position. It will be David Blough the rest of the year under center for the Lions. The undrafted rookie has played passably but profiles as a long-term NFL backup at this point.
After a week of “reports” stating how the Buccaneers were slated to franchise tag Jameis Winston, the quarterback responded with a litany of picks and a stinker of an outing in the ugly loss to the Texans. Yes, Tampa Bay is still likely to keep Winston for 2020, but we need to remember his gigantic weekly range of outcomes. In his defense, Winston was trying to do too much with his two best receivers, Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, out for the season. Gaining an upgrade at the running back position will also help normalize the outcomes.
In an interview with a local radio station Friday Arizona Cardinals General Manager Steve Keim reiterated his desire to re-sign impending free agent, Kenyan Drake. Keim said, "I would certainly love to have Kenyan Drake back … I think he fits in this offense and he really has given us a spark in many ways." Keim said this after Drake’s monster outing. A strong finish to the season will help Drake’s leverage. The fantastic outing (166 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns) in Seattle Sunday solidified the strong negotiating position. There is little chance Arizona permits the impending free agent to exit this offseason. As we have stated the past few weeks, expect David Johnson to be playing elsewhere next season. Chase Edmonds is the player to target this offseason.
This past weekend, veteran tailback Darren Sproles announced that 2019 would be his last season. Sproles is 36 years of age and was a fourth-round pick of the Chargers in the 2005 NFL Draft. Having played his final game, sidelined on injured reserve, Sproles played in 183 games during his career. More remarkable for the undersized back, he accumulated 3,553 rushing yards and 4,840 receiving yards. Adding to his impact on the field were 2,961 punt return yards and an additional 8,352 from kickoff returns. Sproles landed on injured reserve in November with a torn right hip flexor muscle. After a prolific, long career, Sproles will be remembered for bringing value in a variety of ways on three teams (Chargers, Saints, and Eagles).
On Monday, Adam Schefter tweeted, “Bengals’ WR AJ Green visited today with noted foot specialist, Dr. Robert Anderson, per source. If Green is in Green Bay today with a foot doctor, hard to imagine he’ll return this season. He’s scheduled to be a free agent this off-season.” Schefter followed it up with a tweet Tuesday, “Bengals’ WR A.J. Green told the team's website that he probably will not play the final two games of the season. His season basically is over before it began.” Footballguys own Chase Stuart offered an interesting stat, “Since drafting A.J. Green in 2011, he's missed the equivalent of two seasons. The Bengals with A.J. Green: 66-44-1; The Bengals without A.J. Green: 6-24-1.” In a recent Bengals.com article, Green discussed his injury, “It’s finally turned the corner. It’s been feeling better and better each week … There were no setbacks. The plan was to go up there (to meet Dr. Anderson). He liked the way it looked. He said it’s only a matter of time. It’s not (ready) to play a game, but he was like, it’s a good thing I didn’t rush this thing.” He added, “(Dr. Anderson) said the biggest thing for me is to get my range of motion back,” Green said. “Most of it is back. It will take time as I keep running routes and keep doing stuff with Nick.” Green went on to discuss the future, “I have no problem with the franchise (tag). I don’t like it, but I’m not a guy that’s going to sit out the whole year … But at the end of the day, that shows me they’re not committed to me. That’s fine. They have a business they have to run. As the player I have my own business, so if you do that I have to protect myself … If you’re not committed to me long-term, I understand. There are no hard feelings. You have a business to run. All great businesses face difficult decisions. I understand that. For me, I have to make a big decision as well.” The veteran displays outstanding composure in this interview. He is almost back to full health and knows that it is a business. Cincinnati – as shown by Chase’s stat – needs Green’s presence in the lineup, especially if a rookie quarterback will be under center.
Last Monday afternoon, Adam Caplan was the first to break the Josh Gordon news, “#NFL announced: Josh Gordon of the Seattle Seahawks has been suspended indefinitely without pay for violating the NFL policies on performance-enhancing substances and substances of abuse.” Adam Schefter added context to the suspension, “NFL now has suspended WR Josh Gordon five different times for substance abuse. This very possibly is the last one.” He added, “Josh Gordon was suspended indefinitely for violating substance abuse policy Dec. 20, 2018. Josh Gordon suspended indefinitely for violating substance abuse policy Dec. 16, 2019.” We are cheering for Gordon in the game of life, with or without football included.
Steven Sims, Jr. has elevated his play the past two weeks. The undrafted rookie out of Kansas is undersized (5’, 10”, 190 pounds) but has emerged over fellow rookie Kelvin Harmon. Sims has seen 21 targets the past two weeks and has excelled opposite Terry McLaurin. McLaurin only needs 81 yards to top 1,000 yards in his rookie year. Washington has a good nucleus of receivers and quarterback Dwayne Haskins has elevated his game of late. In the loss to the Giants Sunday, Haskins was 12-of-15 passing for 133 yards and 2 scores before leaving the contest early in the second half with an ankle injury.
Will Fuller exited the Saturday game against the Buccaneers in the second quarter with a groin injury. Fuller has missed three games this season with a hamstring injury. For a player with so much upside, the injuries must take a toll on Fuller’s dynasty value. The Texans picked up his fifth-year option, but it will be difficult for Houston to extend a lucrative long-term deal to the speedy receiver. He has missed 22 of a possible 64 career games due to injury. For the games he has played, Fuller has hauled in 156 passes for 2,231 yards and 16 touchdowns over 42 contests.
Tuesday afternoon, Adam Schefter was the first to report on Evan Engram, “Giants placed TE Evan Engram on IR.” Art Stapleton tweeted about the injury, “Evan Engram will have surgery with Dr. Anderson in Green Bay on Friday morning to help his foot to heal properly. Was not a full Lisfranc injury, but procedure is to improve long-term stability. #NYGiants.” He should be ready for training camp. Engram had played only eight games and sidelined since November 4. He started the season with 11 catches in the Week-1 loss to Dallas. This was one-quarter of his season total, 44 receptions. His replacement, rookie sixth-round pick, Kaden Smith, was the star in the victory over Washington Sunday with two touchdown receptions. Smith started the game as Rhett Ellison was inactive with a concussion. With Daniel Jones, Saquon Barkley, Darius Slayton, Sterling Shepard, and Engram, the Giants have a strong, young nucleus on offense. The offensive line needs a major upgrade, but the pieces are there for an improved 2020.
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