NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Rob Gronkowski won't play for Patriots vs. Titans...

For the third time in four games, Rob Gronkowski won't be on the field for the New England Patriots.

The tight end will miss Sunday's game against the Tennesee Titans because of lingering back and ankle injuries, a source informed of the situation told NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport. Gronkowski missed last week's win over the Green Bay Packers.

Gronkowski was limited in practice all week and listed as questionable on Friday's injury report. With the Patriots on a bye for Week 11, sitting Gronk against the Titans will give him three weeks off between games -- provided he plays Week 12 against the New York Jets.

With the Patriots sitting at 7-2, there's no urgency to rush Gronkowski back into the lineup even if New England could use his offensive production. He's caught 29 passes for 448 yards this season, and he adds another dynamic to New England's passing offense.

Gronkowski hasn't scored a touchdown since Week 1 against the Houston Texans, and his current six-game TD drought is the longest of his career. But the Patriots beat the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers without his services, so his absence shouldn't hurt them too much against the Titans on Sunday. (NFL.com)

 

NFL fines Michael Thomas $30,000 for cell phone celebration...

Apparently $30,000 is the standard fine for celebrating with a cell phone, and there is no inflation.

The NFL fined Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas $30,000 for pulling a phone out from within the goal post padding and celebrating with it after scoring a touchdown on Sunday.

Thomas’s celebration was a tribute to former Saints wide receiver Joe Horn, who did the same thing to celebrate a touchdown 15 years ago. Horn also got fined $30,000.

With his base salary of $915,361, Thomas makes $53,845 a game. The fine is more than 50 percent of his weekly pay, which means he’ll be eligible to get a reduction on appeal. The NFL typically reduces a player’s fine if it’s more than 25 percent of his weekly pay for a first offense, and more than 50 percent of his weekly pay for a second offense. Thomas had already been fined for a celebration once this season.

Officially, the NFL said Thomas’s fine was “for using the phone as a prop and having a mobile device in the bench area.” Players and coaches are not allowed to have any communication devices other than NFL-approved tablets during games. (PFT)

 

Just got in to see some interesting scores.

Bears throttling the Lions, but Detroit just scored, 26-7 in that one.

Browns were leading the Falcons.

I didn't know which game to watch, so im watching the 'RedZone'.

 

Tennessee up on New England, 24-10.

 

Don't forget 31-3 Bills. Jets just got a FG to end the half.

 

Yep, McCoy got his first TD of the season also.

Cincinnati looks whipped vs the Saints.

 

Browns up 28-10 against the Falcons....A loss puts the Falcons in a very bad spot

 

Cardinals just made it a one score game in KC

 

Brees making it look so simple in Cincy.

 

Dante Fowler unsportsmanlike after a failed 4th and long outside FG range.

 

Julio Jones passes Calvin Johnson as fastest to 10,000...

Julio Jones brings a rarely seen combination of size, speed and athleticism to NFL fields with each week.

He passed another one of his fellow rare breeds in the record books Sunday. With his 30-yard reception in the second quarter against the Cleveland Browns, Jones became the fastest to reach 10,000 receiving yards in a career, doing so in 104 games. Jones surpassed former Detroit Lions receiver Calvin Johnson, who held the previous mark at 115 games.

Selected sixth overall by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2011 NFL Draft, Jones has lived up to every expectation set for him when he arrived from the University of Alabama. The big-bodied Jones has terrorized opposing defenses with his aforementioned athleticism and premier hands, making highlight-reel grabs and serving as the focal point of every opposing defense's game plan when the Falcons come up on the schedule.

Jones has benefited from being part of an offense that has long been quarterbacked by Matt Ryan in what has become a symbiotic relationship that has produced plenty of yards, points and highlights since 2011. Jones was the leading weapon in a record-setting 2016 Falcons offense, racking up 1,409 yards and six touchdown grabs in 14 games. His four catches for 87 yards paced the Falcons' offense in Super Bowl LI, most memorably with an incredible toe-tapping grab made along the sideline in a game Atlanta eventually lost.

Atlanta traded five picks to the Cleveland Browns to move up to No. 6 to select Jones. As evidenced by his latest accomplishment, Jones has proven that decision to be worth every penny. (NFL.com)

 

Drew Brees passes Favre for 2nd-most passing TDs...

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees' march on the NFL's record books continues.

With three first-half touchdown passes against the Cincinnati Bengals, Brees now has 509 career touchdown passes to move ahead of Hall of Famer Brett Favre (508) in second place.

Up next, Peyton Manning's all-time touchdown record of 539.

The 2018 regular season has been one for the record books for Brees. Earlier in the season, he became the all-time career passing leader and the all-time completions leader.

Brees wasn't the only Saints player to make history in the first half against the Bengals.

Wide receiver Michael Thomas recorded six catches, giving him 271 receptions in the first 40 games of his career. Thomas moved ahead of New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who previously held the mark with 266 in the same span.

The Saints defeated the Bengals, 51-14. (NFL.com)