Veteran free agent running back Adrian Peterson will reportedly visit Monday with the Washington Redskins, a team ravaged by injuries at the position.
Peterson has mentioned that he’s back to full health from a neck injury last year with the Arizona Cardinals. Nothing has yet to materialize for No. 12 on the NFL’s all-time rushing list with 12,276 yards in his 11-year career.
Free agent running backs Jamaal Charles and Orleans Darkwa were in Washington on Sunday. Rookie Derrius Guice is out for the year with a torn ACL while Samaje Perine and Byron Marshall each suffered ankle injuries against the New York Jets last Thursday.
Currently, the Redskins only have Rob Kelley, Chris Thompson and Kapri Bibbs as running backs on the roster, and Thompson hasn’t played yet this preseason as he’s working back from a broken leg last November.
Peterson opened last season with the New Orleans Saints and averaged three yards a carry on his way to 81 yards in four games before being traded to the Arizona Cardinals. He ran 129 times for 448 yards and two touchdowns in six games before suffering a season-ending neck injury.
Peterson worked out this offseason with Redskins tackle Trent Williams.
Charles played nine seasons in Kansas City and one in Denver in 2017. The 31-year-old Charles had 69 carries for 296 yards to go along with 23 receptions for 129 yards receiving last season with the Broncos.
A four-time Pro Bowl selection, Charles was released by Kansas City in February 2017 after becoming the Chiefs’ career rushing leader.
Darkwa compiled 1,038 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns with the Giants. In 2017, the 26-year-old carried 171 times for 751 yards, a 4.4-yard average, and five touchdowns.
–Dallas right guard Zack Martin left Saturday night’s preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals with a knee injury that was feared to be a significant blow to the Cowboys.
According to multiple reports, however, a test of Martin’s knee showed no significant injury. Martin will likely be out for the remainder of the preseason, but the hope is that he’ll be ready to go when the Cowboys face the Panthers to open the regular season on Sept. 9.
The 6-foot-4, 309-pound Martin was injured on a 7-yard run by running back Rod Smith in the first half. It appeared that his knee was hit by a helmet.
After staying down on the turf on one knee, Martin was escorted into the medical tent on the sideline and then was limping as he was taken to the locker room after about 10 minutes.
Kadeem Edwards came in to replace Martin.
–Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco didn’t appear to be too fazed by the recent comments of Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey.
Ramsey didn’t hold back in GQ when discussing several NFL quarterbacks, namely referring to Buffalo Bills rookie Josh Allen as “trash” and Atlanta Falcons star Matt Ryan as “overrated.”
As for Flacco, Ramsey was pretty direct when he said, “Flacco sucks. I played him two years in a row. He sucks,” Ramsey said.
Flacco said he had seen the comments by Ramsey.
“I don’t really have much of a comment,” Flacco said, via the Baltimore Sun. “I don’t really care. There’s plenty of people out there saying things. Just add one more to the list. No big deal.”
Flacco didn’t fare well in a pair of recent outings against the Jaguars over the last two seasons. The quarterback completed 29 of 40 passes for 214 yards with two interceptions in a 19-14 win at Jacksonville in 2016. He then went 8-for-18 for 28 yards with two interceptions, including one by Ramsey, in the Jaguars’ 44-7 rout in London last season.
–Free-agent cornerback Orlando Scandrick signed a contract with the Kansas City Chiefs, the team announced.
While the Chiefs did not divulge terms of the deal, a source told NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero that Scandrick agreed to a one-year, $1.5 million contract.
Scandrick was released Tuesday by the Washington Redskins after signing a two-year deal with the club this past offseason. Coach Jay Gruden said Scandrick’s release “had nothing to do with his play, it was more of the rookies’ emergence.”
The addition of Scandrick is a boon for the Chiefs, who lost five of their top six cornerbacks from last season. Kansas City traded quarterback Alex Smith to Washington for Kendall Fuller and signed David Amerson as a free agent.
Scandrick spent his first nine seasons with the Dallas Cowboys before requesting his release prior to the start of free agency. He played 11 games during the 2017 season, all as a starter, but back injuries limited his playing time.
–Free-agent linebacker Junior Galette visited the Los Angeles Rams, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported.
Galette collected 20 tackles, three sacks and a forced fumble in 16 games last season with the Washington Redskins. He remained healthy in 2017 after seeing his two previous campaigns end before they started due to Achilles injuries.
The 30-year-old was released by the Redskins in March and visited the Cleveland Browns and Oakland Raiders the following month. Galette announced in May on Instagram that he had offers from the teams, but he was contemplating retirement rather than continuing his playing career.
“The real reason I haven’t signed is because I’ve contemplated retiring,” Galette wrote. “I have 3 Deals Currently on the table and will Plan Accordingly. All my fans i promise this will be my Best I’m not saying nothing else.”
Galette totaled 22 sacks in the 2013-14 seasons with the New Orleans Saints and could provide depth for a Rams team that finished fourth in sacks in 2017. He spent the first five seasons of his career from 2010-14 with the Saints, totaling 88 tackles and 31 1/2 sacks in 64 games.
–Free-agent cornerback Kayvon Webster is expected to visit the Houston Texans, Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills this week, multiple media outlets reported.
Webster was released by the Los Angeles Rams in April, a few months into his rehabilitation from a torn Achilles sustained on Dec. 10 against the Philadelphia Eagles. He also underwent surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff and labrum.
The 27-year-old Webster started a career-high 11 games for the Rams last season. His injury, in addition to the arrivals of Aqib Talib from Denver and Marcus Peters from Kansas City, made the 5-foot-11, 192-pound Webster expendable with the Rams. The Rams also added Sam Shields from Green Bay to the cornerback corps.
Webster collected 38 tackles and an interception in 2017 after signing a two-year contract with the Rams. He amassed 183 tackles and an interception in his four previous seasons with the Broncos after being selected by the team with a third-round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft.
–Denver Broncos quarterback Paxton Lynch heard it from the fans during Saturday’s preseason home game against the Chicago Bears.
The reaction from the crowd late in the third quarter capped a difficult week for Lynch, who fell behind former seventh-round pick Chad Kelly for third on the team’s quarterback depth chart. Offseason acquisition Case Keenum is atop the pecking order for the Broncos.
“When I first got the news, I was pretty upset about it because I know how hard I work, I know how bad I want to play and I know how much this means to me,” Lynch told reporters after Saturday’s game against the Bears. “Sometimes you go through tough tests just to take you to a whole other level. I’m taking it that way and working my butt off. I’m just working hard and trying to get that opportunity and just play well.
“You come out here and sometimes it doesn’t go your way and you get frustrated, but you can’t because you have to keep moving forward.”
While Lynch did not address the reaction after completing 5 of 11 passes for 39 yards and two sacks in the team’s 24-23 setback, Broncos coach Vance Joseph shed light on the topic after what he heard from the crowd.
“I feel bad for Paxton, but our fans want to win,” Joseph said. “That’s what it’s about. It’s about passion, I should say. But I feel bad for Paxton. He has to ignore it and go play. It’s professional football. No one is going to hold your hand, so he has to go out there and perform.”
Lynch, who was the 26th overall pick of the 2016 NFL Draft, didn’t fare well in the first preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings, either — completing 6 of 11 passes for 24 yards with an interception
–Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas is nursing a sore wrist to go along with a potential bruised ego.
After both coach Vance Joseph and general manager John Elway said that Thomas needs to be better following the 2017 season, Thomas sat out Saturday’s preseason game against the Chicago Bears with a wrist injury.
“He’s got a sore wrist,” Joseph said following the game. “It happened in practice I think on Thursday and he couldn’t go tonight.”
Joseph had much stronger words for Thomas earlier in the week, saying that the Broncos’ longest-tenured player needs to be better in 2017.
“D.T. he’s got to be that Pro Bowl wide receiver for us,” Joseph said. “He knows it, we’ve talked about it, and we expect big things.”
Thomas agreed with the assessment in regard to the Broncos’ 5-11 season in 2017.
“I do agree,” the 30-year-old Thomas said. “I need to be better. I want to be better. I know I can be better. You can’t be afraid to say none of that as a player, you got to look at it and he honest. I can be better.”
Thomas finished with 83 catches for 949 yards and five touchdowns while playing with three quarterbacks last season. His reception and yardage totals were his fewest since 2011.
–Tennessee Titans wide receiver Taywan Taylor received praise from NBA superstar LeBron James after his performance in Saturday’s preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Taylor had four receptions for 95 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday’s 30-14 loss, including a 47-yard score on a bubble screen from Marcus Mariota that showcased the wideout’s pronounced speed.
It was that speed that garnered the attention of James, a four-time NBA Most Valuable Player recipient.
“SPEED KILLS! Sheesh,” @kingjames replied to the NFL’s official Instagram account.
The social-media praise was exhilarating for an unheralded Taylor, who had 16 receptions for 231 yards and one touchdown last season after being selected by the Titans in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
“When I heard that, my heart kind of dropped,” Taylor said of James’ reaction, via the Titans’ official website. “LeBron, that’s my favorite player there. That’s unbelievable, and that’s motivation to see he’s watching. It’s crazy. … I want to tell myself, he must be a Titans fan.”
Taylor, who also hauled in a 3-yard touchdown catch from Blaine Gabbert in the third quarter, didn’t stop there with his public appreciation for James.
“I love King James,” the 23-year-old Taylor said. “He is one of the reasons I played sports growing up, watching how he goes about work. His whole career is second to none. So that’s always been the guy I look up to. He was my role model growing up. I can’t believe that really happened.”
–The Green Bay Packers addressed their backfield for the second straight day by signing running back Bronson Hill to a contract on Sunday.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed for Hill, who was signed one day after the team added fellow running back LeShun Daniels to a contract.
Both signings came to pass after Green Bay’s leading rusher Jamaal Williams sprained his ankle in Thursday’s 51-34 preseason victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Fellow rusher Aaron Jones is nursing a troublesome hamstring issue during the preseason and will begin the regular season by serving a two-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on substance abuse.
Hill recorded one carry in two games last season with the Arizona Cardinals before being released by the club on May 10. The 25-year-old had two rushes for 11 yards in three appearances with the Jacksonville Jaguars during the 2016 campaign.
Listed at 5-foot-11 and 221 pounds, Hill has also spent time with the Buffalo Bills as well as the respective practice squads of the Chicago Bears, Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings. He was announced as one of the first 100 signees of the Alliance of American Football, but those deals have an out for players to pursue NFL opportunities.
Daniels played in four games for the Redskins before placed on injured reserve on Dec. 23 with an ailing hand. He was released by Washington on March 30.
–Buffalo Bills quarterback A.J. McCarron is seeking a second opinion on his injured right shoulder, coach Sean McDermott announced.
The Buffalo News previously reported that McCarron received a hairline fracture in his collarbone during Friday’s preseason game against the Cleveland Browns.
McDermott said Sunday that McCarron did suffer an injury but that tests are “not totally conclusive” before acknowledging that the 27-year-old will go for another medical opinion.
The Bills’ quarterback competition will be trimmed to just rookie Josh Allen and Nathan Peterman should McCarron be sidelined for any length of time. The team returns to preseason game action next Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.
McCarron completed 3 of 6 passes for 12 yards before leaving Friday’s game against the Browns.
In four possessions with McCarron at quarterback, the Bills’ first-team offense gained just seven yards and failed to get a first down. He was sacked in the first quarter but stayed in the game until early in the second quarter.
–The Cincinnati Bengals waived starting safety George Iloka on Sunday in a move that clears $5.3 million in salary-cap space this year for a team that reportedly said it overspent in free agency.
Iloka is in his seventh year out of Boise State. He signed a five-year, $30 million contract in 2016.
Since the end of last year, especially after the arrival of new defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, Iloka reportedly has not been part of the Bengals’ plans.
Austin and the front office have pointed out Iloka had only one interception last year.
–Los Angeles Chargers safety Jaylen Watkins tore his ACL in Saturday’s preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks and was placed on the injured reserve list Sunday.
In a corresponding move, the Chargers signed free agent safety Micah Hanneman, who went undrafted and played with the Cleveland Browns earlier in training camp. Hanneman had four tackles in two preseason games with the Browns after recording 123 tackles and four interceptions in 44 games during his BYU career.
Watkins signed with the Chargers as a free agent this offseason after spending his first four NFL seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles. Watkins played in 28 games his final two years in Philadelphia as a reserve in the secondary and frequent member of the special teams units.
The Chargers already have depth at the safety position with first-round pick Derwin James, the 17th overall pick, joining Jahleel Addae, Rayshawn Jenkins and Adrian Phillips.
Watkins started Saturday’s 24-14 victory over the Seahawks after a strong performance throughout training camp. He wasn’t guaranteed to enter the season as the starter especially with James playing well.
–The Detroit Lions announced Sunday that they have signed free agent safety Marcus Cromartie and waived injured safety Stefan McClure.
Contract terms were not disclosed for Cromartie, who spent a portion of last season with the Seattle Seahawks before appearing in one game with the Houston Texans last season.
Prior to last season, Cromartie spent three seasons (2014-16) with the San Francisco 49ers, where he appeared in 21 games during that span.
He originally entered the league with the San Diego Chargers in 2013 as an undrafted free agent out of Wisconsin.
His career totals include 18 tackles (16 solo), one fumble recovery and three pass defenses in 22 games (one start).
Cromartie joins a safety mix that is deep. Glover Quin, Tavon Wilson, Quandre Diggs and rookie Tracy Walker are all guaranteed jobs with the Lions. Charles Washington is a good bet to make the team also because of his contributions on special teams.
Detroit is so deep in the secondary, former safety Miles Killebrew was forced to move to linebacker to try to make the team.
–Cleveland Browns cornerback E.J. Gaines was carted off the practice field with what appeared to be a serious right knee injury, according to multiple reports.
Cleveland has yet to issue an official injury report on Gaines.
Gaines was a sixth-round pick of the Rams in 2014 and missed the entire 2015 season with a Lisfranc injury. While with the Rams, he played under current Browns defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.
Gaines was traded to Buffalo as part of the Sammy Watkins deal last year and made 11 starts for the Bills. He had 59 tackles, an interception and three forced fumbles in those games.
Signed by the Browns as a free agent after last season, he was competing for the starting outside cornerback position opposite rookie Denzel Ward. He signed a one-year, $4 million contract.
Ward, Terrance Mitchell and T.J. Carrie are at the top of the Browns depth chart at cornerback.
Cleveland met with veteran free agent Bashaud Breeland recently and he remains available after meeting with several other teams.
–The Tampa Bay Buccaneers addressed their critical shortage of interior defensive linemen Sunday by claiming Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Adam Reth off waivers.
To make room for Reth, the Bucs waived injured defensive tackle Drew Iddings, who joined the team last week.
With both first-round pick Vita Vea and Bears free agent Mitch Unrein unable to play due to injuries, the Bucs had to use defensive end William Gholston at defensive tackle for much of Saturday’s game at Tennessee.
“Will had to play a lot inside last night,” Tampa Bay coach Dirk Koetter said. “He played the most snaps on the defensive line. With Vita and Mitch both being out, that’s really hurt our depth at defensive tackle so we’ve asked Will to go inside and he played both three technique and nose last night and played a lot of plays.”
The 6-foot-3, 270-pound Reth had one tackle in the Eagles’ preseason opener against the Steelers. Reth had 79 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, and three sacks as a senior at Northern Iowa in 2017. He became a starter on defensive line as a sophomore in 2015 for the Panthers, before he was forced to sit out during the 2016 season due to a suspension for taking an over-the-counter substance that was banned by the NCAA.
He was waived after the Eagles’ first two preseason games in favor of adding to the team’s depth at wideout.
