Tag: NFL rumors (Page 11 of 12)

Kyle Orton set to play Sunday vs. Packers

In an amazing turnaround, Chicago Bears’ QB Kyle Orton is set to play vs. the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, barring a setback with his injured ankle.

The Bears might wait until 90 minutes before kickoff Sunday to make it official, but quarterback Kyle Orton showed what he needed to while running the first-team offense in practice Thursday to get the start at Green Bay.

Orton jogged off the field on his taped-up right ankle, proof that even if he was limited in the workout, he felt just fine.

”He’s a lot better today than he was [Wednesday],” coach Lovie Smith said. ”If he continues to make the same type of progress, hopefully we’ll have him available.”

This is amazing considering how bad the injury looked on replays. Orton’s leg bent backwards in a way that usually signifies that a player will be lost for the season. Hopefully the Bears aren’t rushing him back onto the field, although they obviously need him to play with their postseason hopes hanging in the balance over the final seven weeks of the season.

Raiders waive DeAngelo Hall – is Javon Walker next?

DeAngelo HallThe Oakland Raiders officially parted ways with cornerback DeAngelo Hall on Wednesday.

Hall admittedly struggled to adapt to the Raiders’ style of man-coverage defense, enough so that Raiders owner Al Davis decided he’d seen enough. Hall is due $16.5 million next season in injury-guaranteed bonuses. Davis would rather take that money and load up a long-term contract offer for cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, according to a league source familiar with the situation.

The Raiders could have let Hall play out the season, but if he gets hurt, they could be on the hook for the injury-proof portion of his deal.

Will wide receiver Javon Walker be the next high-priced player to be waived?

Hall isn’t the only Raider under consideration for release. Wide receiver Javon Walker received an $11 million signing bonus and a $1 million base salary this year, but he has only 13 catches in his first seven games with the Raiders. The other players on Davis’ list are unknown.

This is shocking to say the least. Kind of ironic how Hall was considered by many to be one of the only true “cover corners” left in the league and he couldn’t hack it in man coverage.

Regardless, Al Davis has officially lost his mind. You don’t revive a sinking franchise by paying free agents gobs of money only to release them half way through the season in efforts to hit the reset button and start over. This is Madden 09.

The Raiders are going to be in cap hell for a long time and things only get worse when they have to add another top 5 pick to the roster.

Report: Rams to fire Scott Linehan if team loses on Sunday

Peter King of SI.com is reporting that the Rams will fire head coach Scott Linehan if the team loses to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.

Scott LinehanPETER KING REPORTING LINEHAN COULD BE CANNED: On the Notre Dame halftime show on NBC this afternoon SI’s Peter King reported that if the Rams lose to the Bills on Sunday that Scott Linehan is expected to be given his “walking papers” as King put it.

The benching of Marc Bulger looks to be the last straw in light of the ripple effects it has caused through the locker room. Steven Jackson and apparently other offensive players believe the blame for the offense’s troubles have been placed solely on Bulger and it doesn’t sit well with a lot of the men who voted Bulger to be one of the offensive co-captains.

Seems kind of ridiculous doesn’t it? If you want to fire the guy, fire him. What if the Rams beat the Bills? Then next week Linehan has to play Russian roulette with his job again? Seems kind of pointless to me.

Linehan has lost control of his players and it doesn’t look like he’ll get them back. The team needs to cut ties and move on before the season unravels worse than it already has.

NFL News & Notes: Giants suspend WR Plaxico Burress

Plaxico Burress– The New York Giants have suspended WR Plaxico Burress one game because of insubordination. Burress didn’t show up for a team meeting on Monday and then wouldn’t answer his phone Tuesday. The Giants are on a bye this week and Burress will not play next Sunday in Seattle. (FoxSports.com)

Update: Burress has filed a grievance against the Giants for docking him two weeks of pay.

– The Rams released starting CB Fakhir Brown. Less than a week ago Brown had replaced Tye Hill in the starting lineup, so the news of his release is surprising. Although at this point, nothing should surprise any of us about the Rams. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

– The Bears cut former second round draft pick, Mark Bradley. The former Oklahoma product was productive early in his career but after tearing his ACL, Bradley just never recovered. (ChicagoBears.com)

– It’s official: Browns’ head coach Romeo Crennel will stick with QB Derek Anderson this week when the team travels to Cincinnati. Anderson lit up the Bengals last year, but he’ll be on a short leash this week. Brady Quinn is warming up as I type. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

NFL News and Notes: Rams bench QB Marc Bulger

Marc Bulger– After stumbling to a 0-3 start and looking atrocious while doing so, the St. Louis Rams have decided to make a change. Veteran Trent Green will reportedly start at quarterback this weekend against the undefeated Buffalo Bills as the Rams have decided to bench Marc Bulger. (NFL.com)

– Willie Parker will miss Monday night’s game against the Baltimore Ravens after spraining his knee in last week’s loss to the Eagles. Rookie Rashard Mendenhall is expected to make his first NFL start. (NFL.com)

– Packers’ CB Al Harris could be lost for the entire season with a ruptured spleen, which was the same injury that knocked out former Bucs’ QB Chris Simms for the entire 2006 season. Tramon Williams, a second-year undrafted free agent, is currently Harris’s backup at left corner. (National Football Post)

– RB Brian Westbrook reportedly suffered a high ankle sprain during the Eagles’ win over the Steelers Sunday, a game in which “Westy” had to leave the game in the first half. His status for this Sunday’s game is still up in the air, but Westbrook expects to play. (Rotoworld.com)

– Struggling quarterback Derek Anderson is expected to start in Week 4 for the Cleveland Browns, but the team is prepping second-year backup Brady Quinn to play. Anderson could have a quick hook if he struggles Sunday against Cincinnati. (ESPN’s Chris Mortensen)

– Despite his poor performance in Tennessee last Sunday, Matt Schuab will reportedly keep the starting quarterback job in Houston. Unfortunately for Schaub, things don’t get any easier against Jacksonville this Sunday. (Houston Chronicle)

– After destroying the Patriots with it last Sunday, the Miami Dolphins will keep the ‘Wildcat’ package in their offensive. RB Ronnie Brown shredded New England for over 100 yards and four touchdowns while lining up predominately in that formation last Sunday. (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)


Obviously, the Bulger news is big, but I doubt there were too many owners starting him last week. His numbers are down and I think most of us were expecting him to eventually turn it around and finish somewhere in the top 15. Scott Linehan is apparently desperate and feels like he’s on the verge of getting fired. Trent Green is old, but STL has some weapons so he could be a decent spot starter if he can get in the groove…As for Westy, Correll Buckhalter looks like the primary backup despite all the preseason talk about Lorenzo Booker…Rashard Mendenhall will be a hot pickup this week, but don’t break the bank in Blind Bidding leagues. He faces a tough Ravens defense and Parker could be back as early as next week. But if you can add him cheaply, do so, as you never know with knee sprains…Brady Quinn is a guy to target in larger leagues. The “Bench Derek Anderson” talk seems to be getting louder and louder and Quinn has a chance to be good with all the weapons in the Browns’ offense.

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