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Latest On NFL’s Playoff Contingency Plan

November 5th, 2020 at 5:33pm CST by Sam Robinson

With the COVID-19 pandemic causing many franchises to make roster adjustments this week, the NFL’s competition committee has crafted a potential contingency plan in case 2020 becomes the league’s first season in generations not to feature teams playing the same number of games.

The committee is expected to pitch a 16-team playoff bracket — up from the 14-team field set to debut this season under the 2020 CBA — to owners as a fail-safe format in the event the pandemic forces regular-season cancellations, Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com reports. The altered bracket would feature no byes and unfold like the quarterfinals of a college basketball conference tournament — though, with home-field advantage obviously still in place — with 1-vs.-8, 2-vs.-7, 3-6 and 4-5 matchups opening the playoffs.

No team has seen a game canceled yet this season, but the coronavirus has forced several schedule changes. With the virus now hitting the country at record levels, the NFL is preparing for scenarios in which teams are prevented from playing 16 regular-season games.

Interestingly, the league’s 16-team emergency bracket would eliminate the requirement for division winners to receive an automatic home game. Seeding would be determined by win percentage, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reports. This plan taking effect would remind of 1982, when a players’ strike slashed the season to nine games and prompted the NFL to implement a 16-team bracket. This year, it would seemingly deny the NFC East’s champion from a home playoff game. All division winners would still be guaranteed a playoff spot, however.

No NFL season has featured a missed game since 1935. But since the Titans and Patriots outbreaks resulted in teams’ bye weeks being moved, the league would need a solution in the event teams that have already had their byes run into coronavirus trouble. All teams must approve the plan before it becomes the league’s official contingency option. While this would seem to be a way for the NFL to avoid staging a Week 18 makeup window, Pelissero notes that is still an option.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/5/20

November 5th, 2020 at 4:59pm CST by Zach Links

We’ll keep track of the latest practice squad moves here:

Carolina Panthers

Detroit Lions

New England Patriots

New York Jets

  • Signed: C James Murray

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Football Team

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Minor NFL Transactions: 11/5/20

November 5th, 2020 at 4:53pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Thursday’s minor moves:

Baltimore Ravens

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: LB Matt Judon

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Las Vegas Raiders

Minnesota Vikings

  • Signed off Raiders’ practice squad: CB Dylan Mabin

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: S Marcus Epps; Epps tested positive for the coronavirus but is believed to be asymptomatic, per Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (Twitter link)

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

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Aaron Jones On Track To Play In Week 9

November 5th, 2020 at 4:05pm CST by Sam Robinson

Good news for a Packers team that has seen COVID-19 decimate its running back room: Aaron Jones is on track to play Thursday night.

The standout running back has missed the past two games with a calf injury, but ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter reports he is expected to be active against the 49ers (Twitter link).

A.J. Dillon‘s positive coronavirus test led to the Packers’ top Jones replacement — Jamaal Williams — being deemed a high-risk close contact. On the team’s reserve/COVID-19 list, Williams and Dillon will miss tonight’s game. The Packers having Jones active would be critical, though the notoriously cautious team will see how its starter looks in pregame warmups, per Schefter.

Green Bay promoted running back Dexter Williams from its practice squad Thursday and has return specialist Tyler Ervin set to play. Were Jones to experience pregame issues with his calf, the Packers would be extremely shorthanded in their backfield. A 2019 sixth-round pick, Williams has five career carries. Despite being a 2016 draftee, Ervin has 10 career totes.

Jones has been one of the NFL’s best backs over the past two seasons. After his 19-touchdown 2019 season, the former fifth-round pick is averaging 5.2 yards per carry this year. Jones has scored seven TDs in five games. He suffered the calf injury in practice prior to Green Bay’s Week 7 game in Houston. Returning to full strength will be key for Jones, who hopes to join several of his 2017 running back draft classmates in securing a big payday. His rookie contract expires at season’s end.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Trent Brown Back On Raiders’ Reserve/COVID-19 List

November 5th, 2020 at 3:51pm CST by Sam Robinson

Trent Brown has run into several issues that have impacted his availability this season. After another transaction Thursday, the Raiders right tackle will miss another game.

The Raiders placed Brown on their reserve/COVID-19 list, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Brown landing back on the coronavirus list would force him to isolate for five days. Brown is still experiencing complications from his bout with the virus, Albert Breer of SI.com reports (Twitter link). He will miss the Raiders’ Week 9 game against the Chargers.

Brown landed on the list two weeks ago, after testing positive for COVID-19, and missed the Raiders’ Week 7 game against the Buccaneers. While Brown came off the list last week and was on track to resume his season in Cleveland, a scary pregame IV mishap forced the 380-pound lineman to be hospitalized Sunday. He was discharged from that hospital Sunday night.

After being the rare right tackle to make the Pro Bowl last season, Brown has only played 73 snaps in 2020. He suffered a pectoral injury in Week 1, returned in Week 5 to help the Raiders upset the Chiefs but has not played since. Considering Brown’s weight makes him a higher risk for developing coronavirus complications, the sixth-year blocker continuing to experience issues is certainly a situation to monitor for the Raiders and the NFL.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Chiefs Place Chris Jones On Reserve/COVID-19 List

November 5th, 2020 at 3:39pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Chiefs had a staffer recently test positive for COVID-19 and may be observing some fallout. They placed Chris Jones on the reserve/COVID-19 list Thursday.

Jones will be forced to isolate for five days and, unless his close contact with the person who tested positive came before Wednesday, will miss the Chiefs’ Week 9 game against the Panthers.

Chiefs VP of Sports Medicine and Performance Rick Burkholder tested positive for the coronavirus, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. With Burkholder serving as a Chiefs trainer, it is possible the team will place more players on its COVID-19 list ahead of Week 9.

Jones has not tested positive, per Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter), but instead profiles as a close contact. This close contact may well have been separate from Burkholder’s positive test, with Albert Breer of SI.com tweeting Jones’ encounter with a COVID-positive person occurred outside the Chiefs’ facility.

The Chiefs gave Jones a four-year, $80MM extension this summer. The NFL’s record holder for consecutive games with a sack, Jones has anchored Kansas City’s defensive line for years. The fifth-year defensive tackle has 4.5 sacks this season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Falcons Interested In Nathaniel Hackett; Eric Bieniemy Also On Radar

November 5th, 2020 at 2:58pm CST by Sam Robinson

After 1 1/2 seasons as Green Bay’s offensive coordinator, Nathaniel Hackett has emerged as a head coaching candidate. The Falcons are interested in the longtime assistant, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports.

Team president Rich McKay is likely to pursue an interview with Hackett when he becomes available for one, per JLC, who adds the 40-year-old OC’s name has come up in “several” internal discussions to succeed Dan Quinn.

McKay is running Atlanta’s search and has a history with Hackett, who is a second-generation NFL coach. The son of former NFL OC Paul Hackett, Nathaniel broke into the NFL as a Buccaneers quality control coach during his father’s stay as the team’s QBs coach during the mid-2000s. McKay was with Tampa Bay at that point.

The Packers hired Hackett last year to work as Matt LaFleur‘s right-hand man on offense. While Aaron Rodgers certainly makes a coordinator’s job easier, the Packers rank second in offensive DVOA this season despite having gone stretches without Davante Adams and Aaron Jones. Green Bay ranked eighth last season, though the team was seventh in Mike McCarthy‘s abbreviated final season. LaFleur calls Green Bay’s plays. Hackett served as OC for the Bills and Jaguars under Doug Marrone; the Jags fired him in 2018. Only one of Hackett’s five pre-Packers offenses ranked in the top 15 in DVOA.

The Falcons are likely to be interested in Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy, La Canfora notes. They will have company in chasing Kansas City’s non-play-calling OC, who has been in place throughout Patrick Mahomes‘ tenure as the Chiefs’ starting quarterback. The Texans are also interested in Bieniemy, who has taken HC interviews in each of the past two offseasons and is expected to land a coaching job in 2021.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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49ers To Activate Jordan Reed Off IR

November 5th, 2020 at 2:16pm CST by Sam Robinson

Entering their Week 9 game brutally thin at the pass-catcher spots, the 49ers will have some help Thursday night. They are set to activate Jordan Reed from IR, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

Reed has been on San Francisco’s IR since late September, when an MCL issue sidelined him after a productive game against the Jets. The longtime Washington tight end has struggled to stay healthy for most of his career, but the 49ers need bodies to catch passes against the Packers.

San Francisco is down George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and Kendrick Bourne because of injuries and COVID-19 issues. Richie James is also questionable with an ankle injury. Reed and Ross Dwelley figure to pick up the slack for Kittle, while the 49ers will need to promote some wide receivers from their practice squad ahead of tonight’s game.

After missing the entire 2019 season because of a concussion and subsequently considering retirement, Reed signed with the 49ers on a one-year deal this offseason. The 30-year-old tight end managed to play 13 games in 2018 — when he caught 54 passes for 558 yards and two TDs — and did produce a seven-catch, 50-yard, two-TD game in Week 2 against the Jets.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Giants Interested In Patriots’ Nick Caserio

November 5th, 2020 at 2:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Giants are barreling toward their fourth consecutive 10-loss season, a streak that would represent a new low for the franchise. Rumblings of the team considering a GM change have surfaced.

Were the Giants to fire third-year GM Dave Gettleman, they would have interest in Patriots executive Nick Caserio, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports. Caserio has been on the Giants’ radar for some time, and many around the league expect the team to have a GM vacancy soon.

Recently given a Patriots extension, Caserio will nevertheless be an in-demand GM candidate — which has been the case for a while. His new contract does not contain language that prevents him from interviewing for GM posts, which became an issue for the Texans last year. Caserio, however, has resurfaced as a Texans GM candidate. While the Texans have ex-Pats exec Jack Easterby running the show currently, the Giants also have key employees Caserio knows well.

Joe Judge and defensive coordinator Patrick Graham spent extensive time in New England, and some believe the Giants’ northeastern location would appeal to Caserio, JLC adds. Caserio has been in his current role — Patriots director of player personnel — since 2008.

Additionally, some within the Giants organization believe Gettleman should have been fired after last season. The team’s rebuild has not taken off under the ex-Panthers GM. The Giants, however, have given extensive time to their GMs, per La Canfora. In the modern era, the franchise’s shortest GM tenure came when Hall of Famer Andy Robustelli lasted only four years (1974-78). He presided over the organization’s previous modern-era low point, with George Young, Ernie Accorsi and Jerry Reese enjoying far more successful tenures. Giants ownership, however, may be preparing to change course sooner than expected after the team’s second 1-7 start in three years.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Latest On Texans’ COVID-19 Situation

November 5th, 2020 at 1:39pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Texans are working remotely Thursday and found out they will be without at least three linebackers this week. Jacob Martin tested positive for COVID-19, per Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

Additionally, Whitney Mercilus has been deemed a high-risk close contact and will go on the Texans’ reserve/COVID-19 list. The Texans placed Mercilus and linebacker Dylan Cole on their COVID list, where guard Max Scharping remains.

Romeo Crennel said Martin and Scharping have experienced mild symptoms, per the Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson (on Twitter). Obtained in 2019’s Jadeveon Clowney trade, Martin has two sacks for the Texans this season. Given a recent extension, Mercilus is tied for the team lead with three midway through his ninth season in Houston. The Texans are down to two outside linebackers, with Kyle Emanuel in concussion protocol, and three inside ‘backers ahead of their Week 9 game.

The Texans join the Bears, Broncos, Cardinals, Packers, Ravens and 49ers as teams who have dealt with new COVID-19 developments this week. The U.S. documented more than 100,000 cases Wednesday, marking the first time the number entered six-figure territory since the pandemic began. As of 1:30pm CT, the NFL is proceeding with Green Bay’s Thursday game in San Francisco, despite both the Packers and 49ers having position groups decimated by the league’s coronavirus protocols. The Texans’ game in Jacksonville remains scheduled for noon CT Sunday.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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