MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK

Broncos believe Russell Wilson is fixable



The Broncos fired head coach Nathaniel Hackett on Monday and a big reason why he lasted just 15 games in Denver was the play of quarterback Russell Wilson.

Wilson has had an awful season after the Broncos acquired him in a trade with the Seahawks this offseason and he got a new contract as part of the move that made it much easier to part ways with Hackett than start over at quarterback. General Manager George Paton said at a Tuesday press conference that the Hackett move was about “the entire organization” but acknowledged that Wilson has to be better than he’s been so far this year.

Paton also said that he’s seen “flashes” from Wilson this season and that the team has no doubt that he can take a turn in the right direction in his second season with the team.

“It’s not whether Russ is fixable or not. We do believe he is. We do,” Paton said.

Paton said that the next coaching hire won’t be based solely on getting Wilson back to where he needs to be offensively, but that they will want the next coach to have a “great relationship” with a player who has fallen way short of expectations in his Denver debut.

PFT

 

I think he is fixable too but there are a lot of things they need to do in order to make it happen. First bring in the right coach and offensive system Second and this is where they will fail take away most of Wilson's power get rid of his office and push him back down with the players he is not part of the front office. Third have the stick in his ass removed by sitting him down and telling him yes Hackett was part of the problem but you are also part of the problem nobody on this team like you so change your attitude and become part of the team. Hopefully Wilson listens and then part 4 happens Wilson goes into the locker room humbled tells everyone hey last year sucked part of that was me we have a new staff and new start lets get out there work hard as a team and get this done.

If Wilson doesn't make adjustments you can assemble the greatest coaching staff of all time and it won't matter (well it might as they would bench Russel if he doesn't become part of the solution).

 

NFL circles the wagons on latest Tua Tagovailoa head injury



The people paid to spot potential head trauma during NFL games failed (again) to do their jobs. The NFL is (again) circling the wagons in any effort to persuade fans and media that all is well.

Appearing on NFL Network (i.e., a league-owned outlet that isn’t naturally inclined to pose tough questions to in-house colleagues), NFL chief medical officer Allen Sills defended the handling of Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa‘s latest concussion.


Because of course he did.

“What our spotters and our unaffiliated neuro doctors are looking for is any blow that transmits force to the head or neck area, followed by that injury behavior,” Sills said, via Jason Owens of Yahoo Sports. “And so, there are many blows to the head that occur during a game. . . . There were no visible signs present, even though there was a blow to the head and the player did not report any symptoms, despite being in contact with the medical staff throughout the game. So, there was nothing that would have triggered the protocol in the moment.”

That’s an adroit way of tiptoeing around the reality that the player/patient’s specific history should have compelled a concussion evaluation during the game, after Tua hit his head on the turf. Whether anyone noticed any symptoms during the game is one thing. Whether anyone noticed a blow to the head that should have resulted in a simple sideline examination of Tua for any symptoms whatsoever is another.

Dr. Sills, frankly, is adept at maneuvering his way through the potential land mines that lurk after a situation like this happens. He can, with confidence and authority, say whatever needs to be said to make it sound like everything was handled properly. Even if it wasn’t.

In this case, the question isn’t whether Tua should have been placed in the protocol. It’s whether he should have had a proper evaluation, based on the fact that his head struck the turf.

Obviously, something happened to Tua. A day later, he had sufficient symptoms to land in the protocol. The comments from Dr. Sills gloss over the simple reality that maybe, just maybe, someone should have taken a close look at Tua during, not after, the game.

PFT

 

A Derek Carr benching would be a clear precursor to Carr being cut



Earlier this week, Raiders coach Josh McDaniels didn’t rule out benching quarterback Derek Carr for (checks online depth chart) Jarrett Stidham.

“I think there’s a possibility that we would do the right thing, regardless of the position, in terms of the team,” McDaniels told when asked by reporters about the possibility of having Carr take a seat.


Doing the right thing in this specific case relates to the reality that Carr has $40.4 million in injury guarantees that become fully vested if he can’t pass a physical before the third day of the 2023 waiver period, when that money becomes fully guaranteed. Benching Carr would be less about trying to win games and more about ensuring that Carr doesn’t end up with the kind of injury that would prevent him from being released before the guarantee convert from injury only.

Because the guarantees kick in before the start of the league year, the Raiders can’t officially trade Carr prior to the arrival of the relevant deadline. They can, in theory, work out a trade informally in advance of the vesting of the guarantees, with the trade becoming official once the league year opens in March.

It would be much more of a leap of faith than teams usually make when striking unenforceable trades. If the new team backs out, the Raiders would be holding a $40.4 million bag.

So the cleanest move would be to cut Carr. And the safest way to ensure that he won’t be owed another $40.4 million would be to bench him.

If/when he’s benched, that’s the clearest signal that the next move will be for Carr to no longer be a Raider.

PFT

 

Report: Derek Carr steps away from Raiders to avoid “obvious distractions”



After he was benched, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr was not spotted by reporters during the day’s practice.

It sounds like he won’t be for the rest of the season.


According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, Carr and the Raiders agreed that he would step away from the team to “avoid the obvious distractions.” So, Carr won’t practice and will be listed as not-injury related.

Head coach Josh McDaniels announced on Wednesday that Jarrett Stidham would start the last two games of the season with Chase Garbers being the club’s backup.

While McDaniels said there’s no finality to Carr’s status with the Raiders, the obvious implication of his benching is that the quarterback won’t be with the franchise in 2023. Carr is the franchise leader in passing yards and passing touchdowns.

In 2022, Carr has completed 60.8 percent of his passes for 3,522 yards with 24 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.

PFT

 

Joe Burrow set to become NFL’s all-time career leader in completion percentage



Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow will put his name in the NFL record book on Monday night.

Burrow is about to become the NFL’s career leader in completion percentage, just as soon as he has enough career pass attempts to qualify.


To qualify for the career completion percentage record in the NFL Record & Fact Book, a player needs to have thrown 1,500 passes in his career. Currently, the NFL’s all-time leader in completion percentage is Drew Brees, with 67.69 percent.

But Burrow, whose career completion percentage is 68.48 percent, has thrown 1,488 passes in his NFL career. As soon as Burrow throws his 12th pass in Monday night’s game against the Bills, he’ll surpass Brees as the NFL’s all-time leader. Even if Burrow’s first 12 passes on Monday night are incomplete, his career completion percentage would still be 67.93 percent, so he’ll stay comfortably ahead of Brees’ record.

All of the career leaders in completion percentage are recent quarterbacks. After Burrow and Brees, the other quarterbacks who have completed at least 66 percent of their passes in their careers are Jimmy Garoppolo, Deshaun Watson, Dak Prescott, Justin Herbert, Kyler Murray, Kirk Cousins, Teddy Bridgewater, Patrick Mahomes and Chad Pennington.

But while plenty of quarterbacks today have completion percentages that would have been record-breaking in yesteryear, Burrow is one of a kind. Once he breaks the career completion percentage record on Monday night, he’s likely to own it for years to come.

PFT

 

Jalen Hurts on practice field Thursday



Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said “of course” when asked if there’s a chance of quarterback Jalen Hurts returning against the Saints this weekend and Thursday’s practice brought some reason for optimism about his availability.

Reporters at the open portion of practice share that Hurts is on the field and doing work with the team for the first time since injuring his shoulder in Week 15. The team’s injury report will bring word of his participation level and Friday’s injury report will carry any injury designation he has for Sunday’s game.


Sirianni called Hurts a “freak” at Wednesday’s press conference and said the quarterback’s “body just knows how to heal” while discussing his hope that Hurts will be able to play this week.

Gardner Minshew started in place of Hurts last weekend and will be in line for another start if Hurts’ return to practice doesn’t lead to a return to game action in Week 17.

PFT

 

Lamar Jackson out of Ravens practice on Thursday



It’s looking more like the Ravens won’t have quarterback Lamar Jackson playing in their Week 17 matchup with the Steelers.

Jackson was not practicing on Thursday during the portion of the session open to media, according to multiple reporters on the Baltimore beat.


This is Jackson’s 11th consecutive missed practice since suffering a knee injury against the Broncos on Dec. 4.

Tyler Huntley would be in line to start his fourth consecutive game this week. The Ravens have won the previous three.

Jackson has completed 62.3 percent of his passes for 2,242 yards with 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions this season. He’s also rushed for 764 yards with three TDs, averaging 6.8 yards per carry.

Defensive end Calais Campbell (knee), cornerback Marcus Peters (calf), safety Geno Stone (hamstring), running back J.K. Dobbins, receiver Demarcus Robinson, tight end Nick Boyle, and offensive lineman Trystan Colon also weren’t practicing for Baltimore.

As noted by Jamison Hensley of ESPN, Dobbins did have a rest day last week, so this could be a continuation of that plan.

Receiver DeSean Jackson and defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul were also back on the field after missing Wednesday’s practice with an illness.

PFT

 

Titans put Ryan Tannehill on IR

 

Nick Sirianni: Jalen Hurts threw well Thursday, still sorting out QB decision



The Eagles got quarterback Jalen Hurts back on the practice field Thursday, but there’s no word yet on whether he will be starting against the Saints on Sunday.

Head coach Nick Sirianni said at his Friday press conference that Hurts looked good in his first practice since spraining his shoulder in Week 15 and that he threw the ball well during the workout. He said that the team is now waiting to see how his shoulder responds to the increased workload and “sorting through” whether Hurts or Gardner Minshew will be leading the offense this weekend.


Minshew was 24-of-40 for 355 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in last Saturday’s loss to the Cowboys.

That process will play out over the next couple of days, so it seems likely that Hurts will be listed as questionable when Friday’s injury report is released later in the day.

PFT

 

What’s next for Derek Carr?



The benching of Raiders quarterback Derek Carr becomes a clear and obvious indication that the team is done with him. During Thursday’s PFT Live, we addressed the difficulties inherent to trading Carr.

In a nutshell, the Raiders can’t trade him before $40.4 million in injury guarantees flip to full guarantees. Any informal deal to trade him on the first day of the league year in March would be completely unenforceable. The new team could back out, leaving the Raiders holding a $40.4 million bag.


Also, Carr has a no-trade clause. As we’ve said in the past, however, it’s not as important in quarterback deals; no team will trade for a quarterback who doesn’t want to join that team — especially not with a $40.4 million obligation from the moment the trade happens.

So, yes, the Raiders quite possibly will have to cut Carr. Either way, he’ll have a new team in 2023. When he does, where will it be?

Here’s a broad-as-possible list of the teams that possibly would consider him.

Commanders: They’re perpetually looking for solutions at quarterback, and former Raiders coach Jack Del Rio is on the staff there (at least for now) as defensive coordinator.

Jets: Mike White is due to be a free agent, and Zach Wilson is reportedly done. Carr could be an upgrade over the other options.

Patriots: If they’re done with Mac Jones (or if Jones is done with them), could they find a way to coach up Carr? It would be an intriguing wrinkle, given that former Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels decided after one year that Carr isn’t the answer.

Dolphins: What will they do about Tua Tagovailoa, who is entering the final year of his contract? A decision is due on his fifth-year optioning May 2023. A bigger decision could be made about whether to keep a quarterback who has become a perpetual risk for his next concussion.

Ravens: Carr, in theory, becomes an option, in the event they trade Lamar Jackson. But they’d have to retool their offense much more by pivoting to Carr than if they’d simply shift to Tyler Huntley.

Titans: All options ultimately could be on the table at quarterback in Nashville, depending on how the current season ends.

Texans: They’ll be looking for a quarterback, and most presume they’d draft one. It would be fitting to have the brother of David Carr come to Houston and thrive.

Colts: After Philip Rivers, Carson Wentz, and Matt Ryan, the Colts would prefer to exit the revolving door of veteran quarterbacks. Carr could be better than any of the others they’ve added.

Giants: David Carr won a Super Bowl with the Giants, albeit as a backup. Many assume they’ll keep Daniel Jones. Is Derek Carr a better overall player? That’s something for the front office and coaching staff to decide.

Lions: The assumption has gone from Jared Goff out to Jared Goff in for 2023. That was before Derek Carr became available.

All of the NFC South: Every team in the worst division in football has no clear, established quarterback. Every one of them could (should) evaluate Carr.

Seahawks: Geno Smith and Drew Lock are both set to be free agents. If nothing else, Carr could provide a little leverage to get Geno to have more reasonable contractual expectations.

Rams: Yes, the Rams. Matthew Stafford won a Super Bowl last year. But he’ll be 35 in February. And it’s an old 35. He’s had more than a few injuries, and we possibly only know about some of them. He also has $57 million in compensation that becomes fully guaranteed in March 2023. Given the cap hit from last year’s extension, however, the Rams may have no choice but to bite the bullet on their second consecutive regrettable quarterback contract.

Nowhere: Carr may retire, if he meant the things he has said in the past about only playing for the Raiders. Most recently, Carr said this when signing his latest contract: “I’ve only wanted to be a Raider. And I told my agent, I said ‘I’m either going to be a Raider or I’m going to be playing golf, like I don’t want to be playing anywhere else.’ That’s how much this place means to me.”

He may feel differently now that “this place” has let him know there’s no place there for him. If he changes his position on only ever playing for the Raiders, he will have options.

PFT - Mike Florio

 

David Blough will start for Cardinals after Colt McCoy experiences concussion symptoms



The Cardinals will start their fourth different quarterback of the last four weeks on Sunday.

David Blough will be the Cardinals’ starting quarterback against the Falcons, Arizona head coach Kliff Kingsbury said today.


Kingsbury said on Wednesday that Colt McCoy had cleared the concussion protocol and was slated to start this week, but today Kingsbury said McCoy has experienced more concussion symptoms and will be out.

Trace McSorley, who started last week’s game, will back up Blough.

The Cardinals signed Blough off the Vikings’ practice squad two weeks ago after Kyler Murray tore his ACL in Week 14. McCoy started in place of Murray in Week 15 but suffered a concussion, which led to McSorley starting Week 16. And now Blough will start Week 17.

PFT

 

Earlier on Friday, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni told reporters that Philadelphia still had some things to sort through for who would start at quarterback on Sunday against the Saints.

But with the release of the injury report, the Eagles are taking some mystery out of who will be behind center in Week 17.

Jalen Hurts is officially listed at doubtful for the contest, which means Gardner Minshew is in line to start his second consecutive game.

PFT

 

David Blough becomes the 64th NFL starting quarterback this year



The NFL has admitted that it aggressively enforces the rule against roughing the passer to ensure maximum quarterback health, since it’s quarterbacks who make games compelling — and in turn generate big TV audiences.

Even with those efforts, the Cardinals’ decision to go with well-traveled David “Mister Plow” Blough over Trace McSorley on Sunday against the Falcons means that the NFL will have had 64 different starting quarterbacks through 17 weeks. As noted by Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com, that ties the non-strike-season record set in 2007.


Eleven teams have had only one starting quarterback all year long: the Bills, Bengals, Jaguars, Chiefs, Chargers, Giants, Vikings, Packers, Lions, Buccaneers, and Seahawks.

It’s not all about injuries. The Browns shifted from Jacoby Brissett to Deshaun Watson after Watson’s suspension ended. The Colts made a business decision regarding Matt Ryan (twice), and the Raiders recently made a business decision regarding Derek Carr. Steelers quarterback Mitch Trubisky was eventually benched, as was Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota.

Still, most of the Week One starters who missed one or more games did so due to injury. And then, for several teams backups were injured, too. The Cardinals are now on their fourth starter. Nine teams have started three different quarterbacks: the 49ers, Titans, Jets, Colts, Dolphins, Patriots, Rams, Panthers, and Texans.

No, it’s not ideal for the NFL. The next question becomes whether teams will have their top quarterbacks for the postseason. The 49ers won’t. The Eagles possibly (but not likely) won’t. The Titans, if they make it, won’t. The Ravens possibly won’t. The Dolphins possibly won’t, if they qualify.

PFT

 

For the second time this year, the NFL and NFL Players Associated conducted, and completed, a joint review of whether the concussion protocol properly was applied to Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

The league and union issued a joint statement on Saturday.


“The NFL and NFLPA concluded their joint review of the application of concussion protocol involving Miami Dolphins’ quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers,” the statement explains. “The joint review determined the protocol was not triggered. The protocol is initiated when a player receives an impact to the head and exhibits or reports signs or symptoms suggestive of a concussion. The review established that symptoms of a concussion were neither exhibited nor reported until the following day at which time the team medical personnel appropriately evaluated and placed Mr. Tagovailoa in the concussion protocol.”

 

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts will miss today’s game against the Saints, and now the question is whether he’ll next play in Week 18, or in the divisional round of the playoffs.

Hurts is out today but will be ready next week, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.

 

Past comments notwithstanding, Derek Carr won’t be retiring



Many have rolled their eyes whenever quarterback Derek Carr has said he intends to play for the Raiders for the entirety of his career, and that if the Raiders ever move on from Carr, Carr will move on from football.

The eye rolling was justified.


Now that the Raiders plan to move on from Carr, Carr does not intend to quit playing.

That nugget of not-really-news (but given his past comments it is) lurks within an item from Ian Rapoport of NFL Media that focuses on the fact that the Raiders will attempt to arrange a trade for Carr before $40.4 million in injury guarantees vest on the third day of the waiver period, which starts the day after the Super Bowl.

As explained before, trades can’t officially happen until the first day of the league year in March. As also explained before, either team can pull the plug on any unofficial trade before both teams communicate the trade to the league office once the league year begins. With no consequence. No penalty. And no cause for legitimate complaint.

Thus, if the Raiders line up a trade for Carr before the $40.4 million vests, owner Mark Davis will have to go to bed every night for roughly five weeks worrying that he’ll wake up to news that the other team has done to Josh McDaniels the exact same thing McDaniels did to the Colts five years ago.

Would Davis be comfortable tying $40.4 million to not being screwed by another team? Would he want to deal with five weeks of worrying about getting stuck with Carr when Davis and the Raiders have decided to move on?

Then there’s the reality, as Peter King mentioned on Friday’s PFT Live, that a new team likely won’t want to absorb the current Carr contract without a restructuring or an extension. Beyond the $40.4 million in full guarantees, the deal pays out a total of $116.2 million over three years. That’s an average salary of $38.7 million, with Carr committed only through 2025.

Carr also has plenty of power here. He has the contractual right to veto any trade. He also may have no inclination to help the Raiders get value for him. Whatever a team surrenders by way of players and/or draft picks reduces the money the team would otherwise pay to Carr if he were on the open market.

On the open market, Carr can make himself available to any team. To every team. All the teams mentioned here. With a six-week head start on free agency.

So, again, Carr’s message to the Raiders should be simple, and it should be clear. “You have two options. One, cut me. Two, f–k you, pay me.”

Sure, the Raiders can try to trade Carr. But the guy who blocks people at will on Twitter should have zero qualms about blocking the ability of the Raiders to do it. It’s a basic business decision, and it’s the best business decision he can make, given the circumstances that the Raiders have created, not him.

PFT

 

Trey Lance undergoes another surgery on ankle



49ers quarterback Trey Lance has had a second straight “successful surgery” on his ankle. Which sort of means the first one wasn’t.

The team has announced that Lance, who broke his ankle in Week Two, has had a second surgery to “remove hardware” from the ankle.


Here’s the quote from the item posted by the team: “Due to the location of the fracture, the required hardware placement was close to a tendon in Lance’s ankle. During the rehab process, their close proximity proved to cause irritation in his ankle. After consulting with multiple experts, the decision was made to have the hardware removed to prevent future issues in the ankle.”

They can glass-hall-full it all they want, but it’s not a great development.

The team says Lance is expected to return for Organized Team Activities. Which means it will be several more months until he’s good to go.

The 49ers likely will have Lance and Brock Purdy as their top quarterbacks entering 2023. Some may already want the rookie to be the guy next year.

PFT

 

Jets Sources Say Team Will Retain QB Zach Wilson in 2023, per Report

Conflicting reports have now been released about Jets quarterback Zach Wilson’s future with the team.

Last weekend, Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer reported that the Jets will likely “move on” from Wilson in the offseason, but now NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport is reporting that the team plans to retain the quarterback next season.

Sources told Rapoport that Jets general manager Joe Douglas “does not plan to shop Wilson” in the offseason. Additionally, one source told Rapoport that the team believes “he’s going to get better.”

This report comes after Wilson was benched for his fourth game this season. The first benching was sparked after the team’s 10–3 loss to the Patriots when Wilson said he didn’t think the offense let the defense down, which sparked “irritation” in the locker room, coach Robert Saleh said.

Wilson started again in Weeks 15 and 16 when Mike White wasn’t medically cleared to start due to a fractured rib. In the Week 16 game against the Jaguars, Wilson was booed throughout the game and eventually was benched in the second half. Wilson is inactive for Sunday’s game against the Seahawks as White returns to the starting lineup.

Wilson, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft out of BYU, has completed 55.2% of his passes for 4,022 yards with 15 touchdown passes and 18 interceptions in 22 total games as a pro.

SI

 

A strange scene broke out during the first half of the Giants vs. Colts game when New York linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux celebrated a sack of Nick Foles, while the Indianapolis quarterback lay on the ground with an apparent injury.

With less than a minute left in the second quarter, Thibodeaux rocketed off the line and sacked Foles from the signal-caller’s blindside. Almost immediately after taking a humongous hit, Foles looked shaken up, but the Giants rookie didn’t seem to notice so he stayed on the ground and celebrated by making fake snow angels.

Just next to him, Foles remained writhing in pain as the Colts’ training staff rushed out to treat him.





The unsightly scene wasn’t exactly the best look for Thibodeaux, but it seemed like the star rookie was completely unaware that Foles was injured on the play–at least initially. On the sideline in the moments after the play, while Foles was still on the ground, the CBS broadcast captured Thibodeaux doing the “go to sleep” celebration.

Whether he was aware of what was happening with Foles or not, the optics of the two celebrations weren’t great, and the fact that Giants players didn’t stop their teammate was rather strange.



Foles was ruled out of the game with a rib injury at halftime. Sam Ehlinger replaced him behind center with the Colts trailing 24–3.

SI