We scour the news around the NFL to bring you what matters most for 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 of the recent happenings around the league.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, there is a growing uncertainty regarding the future of Rams quarterback, Sam Bradford. Bradford was lost for the season with a knee injury and is due to make a whopping $13 million base salary next, his last one under the rich rookie contract. For those who may not remember, Bradford was the top pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, and one of the last players to earn the monster rookie contracts before the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. This will leave Bradford with the choice to either take a stay in St. Louis via a pay cut or extension, or seek a big contract with a quarterback-needy team.
This has been a rocky offseason for the Buffalo Bills organization. The poor play of quarterback EJ Manuel during the preseason and the recent signing of veteran Kyle Orton have served to add stress to the situation. According to Profootballtalk.com, head coach Doug Marrone opposed the signing of Orton because he was worried about the mental health of Manuel. Without getting into the deep psychology of the situation, Manuel's preseason play on the field is the driving force of the acrimony. Marrone is stressed because his future with the team is tied to the play of Manuel. That would make us stressed as well. Good thing the young quarterback played well in Chicago Sunday. He looked much improved over the preseason contests. The big difference was that Manuel showed better accuracy. The front office gave Orton a two-year deal worth $11 million, including a $3 million signing bonus. This will continue to be a bone of contention between the coach and the front office personnel. Each has their respective futures tied to a different passer.
The Baltimore Ravens terminated the contract of Ray Rice, Tuesday. In a related move, the NFL suspended the running back for an indefinite time frame. He has a chance to play again, but it will likely be next season. Justin Forsett and Lorenzo Taliaferro, not Bernard Pierce, are the players to roster.
There have been many reports this offseason regarding the St. Louis Rams backfield, and the way the touches will be distributed. General manager Les Snead added fuel to the fire by saying last week that the team will utilize the hot hand at the tailback position. This should not be a surprise to regular readers of this column. We have stated a few times that Zac Stacy is not guaranteed to see consistent carries each week. Benny Cunningham and rookie Tre Mason are talented and will push Stacy for touches each and every week. In the drubbing against the Vikings, none of the backs were able to get going. Stacy may begin to be a difficult start in the coming weeks.
A talented rookie running back who has failed to impress early on is Jacksonville Jaguars Storm Johnson. He was ruled out of week one with an ankle injury and could miss multiple games. Expectations should be tempered as Johnson fights for playing time behind Toby Gerhart and Denard Robinson. Even Jordan Todman will be in the mix some weeks. With Gerhart nicked up against the Eagles, the Jaguars may look to see what they have in Johnson as soon as he is healthy.
A situation to monitor this season is the contract of Arizona Cardinals superstar receiver Larry Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald is scheduled to have a salary cap number of $23.6 million in 2015. In the team web site (AZCardinals.com) report, Fitzgerald said, "I could go out this year and get 2,600 yards, and that cap number is still going to have to be addressed … It doesn’t matter how well I play or how bad I play, it’s going to be addressed. I don’t even think about it." It would be difficult to see the star receiver in another uniform. However, for dynasty leagues, savvy owners might look to buy Michael Floyd and rookie John Brown before this report becomes common knowledge. Through this season, the Arizona coaching staff will assess the viability of going with the youth movement and allowing Fitzgerald to depart.
Last week, it shocked fans and fantasy owners when the NFL suspended Denver Broncos receiver Wes Welker four games for violating the performance-enhancing substance policy. Apparently, the Broncos have known about the possible suspension since early in the offseason. Combined with his recent concussion, Welker's dynasty value is close to nil. If needing a veteran receiver for the stretch run, Welker is a great target in dynasty leagues. The team did not miss him against the Colts.
Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Cecil Shorts was listed as “questionable” with a hamstring injury for most of the week. He was ruled out on Saturday and did not make the trip to Philadelphia. Expect this to be a multiple-week injury. Shorts has battled injuries throughout most of his career and this injury has the feel of a two to four-week injury. The way Allen Hurns played, Shorts might have a fight on his hands for the starting gig.
According to the Cincinnati Bengals team web site (Bengals.com), receiver Marvin Jones is still targeting week five as his first game back in the lineup after battling a foot injury. Foot injuries are rarely predictable, but this report gives hope. This is the time to buy Jones, while there is doubt regarding his future.
It was surprising last week when the San Francisco Chronicle reported that new receiver James Jones "might have too much wear to be suited for the No. 1 role", according to the Oakland coaches. This is a spurious report since Jones has not played often in his career and suffered few injuries. There must be more to the story for coach Dennis Allen and staff. A few days before, Allen said he saw a "different demeanor" out of fellow receiver Denarius Moore, and stated that Moore is "beginning to take that next step." This is after Moore had been in the doghouse almost since Allen arrived. There was even talk of Moore not making the team, so these reports are interesting. Moore is anxious to have a big season in his contract year. He wants to sign a sizable contract next season, and get out of Oakland. Neither was a factor against the Jets until late in the game when Jones caught a long score.
New Orleans Saints receiver Kenny Stills was quickly downgraded from “questionable” to “out” late last week. Stills is still ailing from a quadriceps injury. This is certainly an injury to monitor as Stills is a speedy receiver and leg injuries will slow his ability to get down the field. Also, just like with Shorts above, when a player is quickly ruled out, there may be more going on with the situation. The quadriceps injury could be much more severe than reported. Rookie Brandin Cooks had a great game. His play will throw cold water on Still's fantasy value.
Cleveland Browns general manager Ray Farmer gave dynasty owners a name to remember when he pointed out undrafted free agent receiver Taylor Gabriel as the rookie he has been most impressed with this season. The strong play of Gabriel led to the release of both Nate Burleson and Charles Johnson. Further, the small receiver led the team in receiving during the preseason.
Injuries to monitor this week:
Andre Ellington: Foot
Doug Martin: Knee
Ben Tate: Knee
Marcus Lattimore: Knee, Hamstring
Allen Robinson: Hamstring
Aaron Dobson: Foot
Cecil Shorts: Hamstring
Kenny Stills: Quadriceps
Rob Gronkowski: Knee
Jordan Cameron: Shoulder
Tyler Eifert: Elbow
Jordan Reed: Hamstring
Feel free to email me (Tefertiller@Footballguys.com) with feedback. Also, I am on Twitter (www.Twitter.com/JeffTefertiller), LinkedIn, and Google+, so you can ask me questions on one of these as well.
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