The Bears got two of their key offensive players back on the field for Friday’s practice and there’s a chance they’ll both be available for Sunday’s game against the 49ers.
Receiver D.J. Moore and running back D’Andre Swift were limited on Friday after they did not participate on Wednesday or Thursday. Both players are listed as questionable.
Moore and Swift are each dealing with a quad injury.
Receiver Keenan Allen (ankle) was full for the second day in a row. He’s off the report and set to play.
But running back Roschon Johnson (concussion), offensive lineman Ryan Bates (concussion), and defensive back Elijah Hicks (ankle) are all out after not practicing this week.
Defensive back Kevin Byard (shoulder), offensive lineman Coleman Shelton (knee), and offensive lineman Darnell Wright (knee) are also off the report and are set to play.
After last Thursday night’s loss to the Packers in Green Bay, Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks said the defense was “soft,” possibly due to the cold.
Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver disagrees.
“I think that’s Jordyn — it’s one of those things when you’re talking after the game, you’re reacting purely off emotion,” Weaver told reporters on Thursday. “I’m sure that once he watched the tape, I wouldn’t be surprised if he changed his tune, because that game, the missed tackles you could say they kind of equate to softness in the moment, but when you see why they occurred, you would see that softness had nothing to do with it. I give credit to the Green Bay Packers for just making plays and making us miss.”
Weaver refused to attribute the tackling issues to the cold weather.
“Our poor tackling in this showing was certainly one I didn’t see coming,” Weaver said. “Was it the cold? Who knows. Was it playing on a Thursday? Who knows. It could be a variety of things. You got to give credit to them, right, just in terms of breaking tackles. Josh Jacobs is not an easy guy to bring down. Do we need to be better in our technique and fundamentals and like wrapping up, driving our feet, not diving off the diving board? Absolutely, but I certainly wouldn’t attribute that to the cold.”
Regardless, narratives are stubborn things. And cliché becomes cliché because it’s consistently true. The Dolphins struggle in the cold. Until they change that narrative, it will only get stronger.
The Chiefs are making a late addition to this week’s injury report.
Head coach Andy Reid told reporters on Friday that wide receiver Mecole Hardman’s knee locked up on him ahead of practice. Hardman did not take part in practice as a result and Reid said he’s still being evaluated.
The results of that evaluation will determine whether Hardman is able to play against the Chargers on Sunday.
Hardman has appeared in every game this season. He has 12 catches for 90 yards and five carries for 62 yards and a touchdown. He has also seen time as a punt and kickoff returner.
Seattle’s kicking operation could look a little different on Sunday, as the Seahawks have added a punter to their practice squad.
Seattle announced on Friday that Ty Zentner has signed with the unit.
The team’s regular punter, Michael Dickson, is dealing with a back injury and has been limited in practice on Wednesday and Thursday. He was not able to finish last week’s victory over the Jets with back spasms.
Zentner has played 10 games for the Texans, Titans, and Rams over the last two years. He downed three punts inside the 20 during Los Angeles’ 26-20 overtime victory over Seattle earlier this season.
As a corresponding move, the Seahawks placed veteran offensive lineman Jason Peters on practice squad IR.
Football and politics don’t mix. Except when they do.
The Commanders are trying to lay the foundation for a deal to build a new facility at the site of the old RFK Stadium. As explained by Jeff Barker of the Baltimore Sun (via Sports Business Journal), Maryland’s senate delegation said Wednesday is poised to oppose the return of the team from its current home to D.C.
The senators, Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, “want assurances that Prince George’s County will be ‘fairly treated’ if the NFL team does leave.” They have proposed a deal that would send one of Washington’s two Air National Guard fighter squadrons to Maryland.
This is the kind of jostling that helps the team. As D.C., Maryland, and Virginia jockey for position to host the team, the Commanders are more likely to end up with a better deal.
It’s one of the benefits of being in an area with multiple jurisdictions. There’s no need to even hint at relocation to a different region entirely when the current region has two or more separate governmental entities competing for the ability to build the new stadium.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers is planning to play out the string for the Jets, but they are set to be without a handful of other leading names from their roster against the Dolphins on Sunday.
Jets interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich told reporters on Friday that running back Breece Hall and cornerback Sauce Gardner will both be listed as doubtful to be in the lineup in Miami. Hall is dealing with a knee injury and Gardner has a hamstring injury.
Neither player has participated in practice this week. Linebacker C.J. Mosley went from full practice participation on Wednesday to out of practice on Thursday and Ulbrich said he won’t be playing on Sunday.
Mosley probably won’t be playing in any of the team’s other remaining games either. Ulbrich said the veteran will go on injured reserve due to the neck injury that has kept him out since the middle of October.
At first blush, the notion that Bill Belichick would interview for a college coaching job makes no sense. After thinking it through some more, it does.
Here’s what I think Belichick is doing. He’s telling NFL owners to shit or get off the pot.
Any owner can talk to Belichick right now, about any existing vacancy or an eventual one. And if he’s going to end up with no NFL job after the 2025 coaching carousel comes to a stop, he’d rather know now — before the college jobs are filled.
It’s a simple concept. As far as Belichick is concerned, it’s nut-cuttin’ time. If you want me, let me know. Otherwise, I’ll take a college job.
Many believe he’ll land in the NFL. But he went 0-for-7 last year, with only one interview. It’s fair for him to want to know which way the wind is blowing, before a viable college opportunity blows away.
Selecting Belichick now would violate the spirit of the Rooney Rule. Everyone involved would have to keep it quiet until the team complies with the letter of the league’s interview requirements. Then, Belichick gets the job.
If he gets the job. If he gets any job. He’s flirting with college teams because, in my view, he wants to know right now whether a team is willing to make him its head coach (and maybe de facto G.M.) in roughly a month.
If he takes a college job, it will mean that no suitable NFL team was interested and willing to give him what he’s looking for.
The Titans will not have one of their depth pieces along the offensive line for the rest of the season.
Via multiple reporters, Tennessee head coach Brian Callahan said on Friday that Logan Bruss is out for the season after tearing his ACL.
Bruss suffered the injury during a one-on-one drill during Thursday’s practice.
A Rams third-round pick in 2022, Bruss was claimed off waivers by the Titans in November. He appeared in three games for Tennessee, playing exclusively on special teams.
The Panthers are set to be without wide receiver Jalen Coker against the Eagles on Sunday.
Coker has missed the last two games with a quad injury and he is listed as doubtful to play this weekend. Coker has 17 catches for 263 yards on the season and nine of the catches for 155 yards and Coker’s only touchdown came after quarterback Bryce Young’s return to the lineup.
Linebacker Jadeveon Clowney (knee) remained out practice on Friday and he is listed as questionable.
Right guard Robert Hunt (back), linebacker Josey Jewell (hamstring), tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders (neck), linebacer D.J. Wonnum (knee), cornerback Caleb Farley (shoulder), and safety Nick Scott (hamstring, personal) are also listed as questionable.
The Raiders added two offensive starters to their injury report on Thursday and head coach Antonio Pierce gave positive updates about both of them at his Friday press conference.
Quarterback Aidan O’Connell missed Thursday’s practice due to an illness and wide receiver Jakobi Meyers sat out with an ankle injury. Pierce said, via multiple reporters, that both players are going to be “full go” in Friday’s practice and that both of them are expected to play against the Buccaneers.
O’Connell returned from a right thumb injury last week and threw a pair of touchdown passes in a 19-17 Black Friday loss to the Chiefs. Meyers had six catches for 97 yards in that game and has 59 catches for 676 yards and two touchdowns on the season.
The Raiders’ full injury report and injury designations for Sunday will be released later on Friday.
