Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss has revealed that he is battling a health issue.
Moss, who works as an analyst on ESPN’s NFL pregame show, said he decided to speak out because there have been social media comments about his eyes looking yellow. Yellow eyes can be a sign of health issues related to the liver, although Moss did not specify the nature of the health issue he’s facing.
“I just want to share something with you all,” Moss said. “You were talking about my eyes last week and I just want to let the viewers know that me and my wife, me and my family, we are battling something internally. I have some great doctors around me.”
Moss said that if he wears sunglasses on the air, that’s why.
“It’s not being disrespectful because I’m on television, I’m battling something. I need all the prayer warriors. God bless you all,” Moss said.
The 47-year-old Moss said he’ll be using his platform to encourage anyone who needs any kind of health screening not to delay in getting it done.
Running back Aaron Jones has had issues holding onto the ball in the last few games, but the Vikings did not stop looking his way as they tried to beat the Cardinals on Sunday.
Jones fumbled twice early in the game and dropped a potential touchdown pass later in the game, but the Vikings had him on the field to catch the game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter.
“For me, it was a roller coaster,” Jones said, via Andrew Krammer of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “But I’m thankful for the guys in this locker room that keep my head up, keep me up. Coach as well, he’s like, ‘We’re going to come back to you. Keep your head up.’ And it ended up happening at the end at the most important time.”
Jones has four fumbles in the last three games, so ball security is something he will need to prioritize even if the Vikings are willing to keep looking his way as he works things out this season.
Quarterback Kirk Cousins threw four interceptions in the Falcons’ 17-13 loss to the Chargers on Sunday afternoon and has now not thrown a touchdown pass in any of Atlanta’s last three games.
But even though the Falcons drafted Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8 overall, head coach Raheem Morris is not contemplating a quarterback change.
“We have no issues with that, man,” Morris said postgame, via Tori McElhaney of the team’s website. “I don’t think that’s going to be an issue around here. That guy [Cousins] has carried us. That guy has gotten us to the point where we are 6-6, first place in the division, where we still have everything in front of us despite what happens today.
“It’s up to us to bounce back and find ways to win football games, and there’s no better man than [No.] 18 to go do that for us.”
Morris added he never considered inserting Penix into Sunday’s game.
The Falcons are heading to Minnesota to play the Vikings next weekend, which will certainly put a spotlight on Cousins. Morris expects Cousins to rebound against the NFC North club.
“I got no doubt in my mind he’ll bounce back and be ready to go, especially against his former team,” Morris said, via Terrin Waack of the team’s website.
Cousins finished Sunday’s game 24-of-39 for 245 yards with four picks. He’s now completed 67.4 percent of his passes for 3,052 yards with 17 touchdowns and 13 interceptions this season. His 3.3 percent interception rate is his highest since becoming a full-time starter in 2015.
For three quarters, the Cardinals outplayed the Vikings today in Minnesota. But the end of the game belonged to the home team.
The Vikings scored a touchdown late in the third quarter, added a field goal in the fourth quarter, and then Aaron Jones caught a touchdown pass from Sam Darnold with a minute to play as Minnesota escaped with a 23-22 win.
The win improves the Vikings’ record to 10-2 and keeps them a game behind the Lions in the NFC North.
The loss drops the Cardinals to 6-6 and a game behind the Seahawks, who won again today to solidify their hold on first place in the NFC West.
Arizona got another good game from tight end Trey McBride, the Cardinals’ defense was led by Mack Wilson, and Chad Ryland went 5-for-6 on field goals. But they missed too many opportunities and couldn’t put anything together on their last-minute drive after Jones’ touchdown.
Whether the Cardinals can come back and compete for a playoff berth remains to be seen. But the Vikings are contenders, and they keep finding ways to win.
The Cardinals and Vikings were in a field goal competition, until Marvin Harrison Jr. changed that.
Harrison caught a touchdown pass in the end zone in the third quarter today, giving Arizona a 19-6 lead at Minnesota.
The Cardinals had previously moved into Vikings territory five times and settled for field goal attempts on all five of them, making four field goals compared to the Vikings’ two field goals for a 12-6 lead.
But Harrison hauling in the pass from Kyler Murray extended the Cardinals’ lead and put pressure on the Vikings, who need to get something going on offense.
Every week we bring you all the inactives from the 1 p.m. ET games in one post, constantly updated with the latest information.
Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo was listed as questionable to play in Sunday’s home game against the Falcons because of a hip injury, so the Falcons added Riley Patterson to the active roster this week. Patterson’s services will not be needed, however.
Koo, who started his career as a member of the Chargers, is active for the game and has not missed a game since the 2020 season.
Seahawks at Jets
Seahawks: QB Jaren Hall, S AJ Finley, CB Nehemiah Pritchett, DE Mike Morris, WR Dareke Young, S Jerrick Reed, LB Trevis Gipson
Jets: LB C.J. Mosley, RB Israel Abanikanda, T Max Mitchell, CB Jarrick Bernard-Converse, G Jake Hanson, DE Braiden McGregor
Colts at Patriots
Colts: C Tanor Bortolini, WR Josh Downs, WR Ashton Dulin, QB Sam Ehlinger, S Darren Hall, DE Isaiah Land, T Braden Smith
Patriots: G Lester Cotton, DE Titus Leo, LB Marte Mapu, QB Joe Milton, WR K.J. Osborn, G Tyrese Robinson, DT Jaquelin Roy
Steelers at Bengals
Steelers: QB Kyle Allen, WR Scotty Miller, RB Jonathan Ward, LB Alex Highsmith, G Max Scharping
Bengals: WR Charlie Jones, WR Trenton Irwin, LB Logan Wilson, TE Tanner McLachlan, DT Sheldon Rankins
Chargers at Falcons
Chargers: LB Denzel Perryman, CB Cam Hart, LB Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste, OL Brenden Jaimes, OL Jordan McFadden, QB Easton Stick
Falcons: CB Mike HughesRB Jase McClellan, LB JD Bertrand, K Riley Patterson, LB Rashaan Evans, OL Elijah Wilkinson, T Brandon Parker
Texans at Jaguars
Texans: S Jalen Pitre, WR Xavier Hutchinson, DE Jerry Hughes, LB Jamal Hill, G Nick Broeker, WR Steven Simms, DT Folorunso Fatukasi
Jaguars: RB D’Ernest Johnson, LB Yasir Abdullah, OL Javon Foster, DT Esezi Otomewo, DT Jordan Jefferson, QB C.J. Beathard
Cardinals at Vikings
Cardinals: TE Travis Vokolek, WR Xavier Weaver, OL Christian Jones, LB Julian Okwara, DL Khyiris Tonga
Vikings: TE Josh Oliver, S Jay Ward, CB Dwight McGlothern, DL Levi Drake Rodriguez, OL Michael Jurgens, G Ed Ingram, QB Brett Rypien
Titans at Commanders
Titans: RB Joshua Kelley, CB Gabe Jeudy-Lally, OL Leroy Watson, TE David Martin-Robinson
Commanders: QB Jeff Driskel, CB Marshon Lattimore, T Andrew Wylie, LB Dominique Hampton, DL Phidarian Mathis
On Thursday, Fox’s Tom Brady criticized former Giants quarterback Daniel Jones for asking to be released, after he was benched for business reasons.
Brady prefaced his comments by saying this: “I don’t know how that whole situation went down. . . .”
So we did the legwork for him. Here’s what we learned, per a source with knowledge of the events.
For starters, the Giants initially wanted Jones to stay home, with pay. That’s what happened in Las Vegas two years ago, after Derek Carr was benched. (Carr, we’re told, asked to go home, and the Raiders decided it was the best approach.)
The player has to be willing to stay home; he can’t be locked out. The rule dates back to Steve McNair’s grievance against the Titans in 2006. After they drafted Vince Young, the Titans didn’t want McNair to get injured while on the premises, triggering his otherwise non-guaranteed salary. McNair and the NFL Players Association fought it, they won, and they set a precedent that teams cannot keep a player from showing up for work for non-disciplinary reasons.
There’s nothing wrong with the Giants wanting Jones to stay home. It’s the natural extension of their decision to take him out of the lineup. But the request for Jones to stay home laid the foundation for Jones eventually asking to be released.
His first choice, we’re told, was to remain active — and to help the other quarterbacks prepare to win games. When he decided not to stay home, the Giants altered his workout program, in order to minimize if not eliminate the possibility of injury. He wasn’t going to be throwing at practice, and his lifting program was significantly restricted. All in the name of keeping him healthy.
Business considerations prevented Jones from doing anything to help the team. No real practice (other than scout-team, walk-through safety), no throwing, limited lifting. He wasn’t getting ready to play, because he wouldn’t have played. He wasn’t permitted to participate in practice, because they didn’t want to risk triggering his $23 million injury guarantee for 2023.
Again, there’s nothing wrong with the Giants wanting to avoid the injury guarantee. But that helps explain Jones’s eventual decision to ask to be released.
Brady, we’re told, didn’t reach out to Jones or his representation to obtain an explanation as to why Jones asked to be released.
It’s easy for Brady to say he would have handled the situation differently, because he was never put in that situation during his 20-plus year career. What would he have done if the Patriots or Buccaneers had benched him for business reasons, asked him to go home with pay, and then kept him from practicing when he said he wanted to stay?
Also, Brady left his New England teammates in free agency after the 2019 season. After the 2021 season, he retired. Roughly a month later, he came back. In the interim, an effort was undertaken to lure him to Dolphins; it has never been suggested that Brady wasn’t on board with the plan to pair him with Sean Payton in Miami, after Brady had essentially quit on the Buccaneers. Then, during 2022 training camp, Brady left the team for more than a week.
We’ll stipulate that Brady had good reasons for every single business decision he made. So would he have wanted Greg Olsen or Tony Romo or Cris Collinsworth or Troy Aikman or Kirk Herbstreit to make assumptions during massive broadcast windows about Brady’s motivations and his actions? Or would Brady have wanted them to make a phone call or two in search of, you know, facts?
For $37.5 million per year from Fox, Brady should be expected to spend a little time getting the player’s side of the story before casting aspersions before a crowd of 38.5 million.
Daniel Jones officially joined the Vikings on Friday and the quarterback said he plans to balance individual and team goals for the rest of the season.
Jones was waived by the Giants last Saturday and he agreed to sign to the Vikings’ practice squad on Wednesday, so he has a lot of work to do when it comes to getting the new offense under his belt. Jones said “it’s on me to catch up” so that he can be in position to assist the team if given the opportunity.
While he’s doing that, Jones said he’ll also be trying to improve his own skills.
“I think you’re always looking to grow and improve and to work on your craft,” Jones said, via Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com. “See where you can get better and pick up certain things. So yeah, I’m looking forward to that, but more so just to help out, to be part of a good quarterback room, part of a good offense and see where I can help.”
Neither Jones nor Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell have engaged in discussions about what the quarterback’s long-term future might be in Minnesota, but ideas about what that might look like will likely come into focus as the season winds down.
Could this be the week Darius Robinson makes his NFL debut?
The Cardinals list the first-round rookie defensive lineman as questionable to play against the Vikings.
He was questionable last week after three limited practices and did not play in the loss to the Seahawks. Robinson again was limited in all three practices this week.
He injured his calf in an Aug. 22 practice, sending him to injured reserve to start the season. The Cardinals designated Robinson to return Oct. 9, and he had a limited practice.
But Robinson’s mother died, so he didn’t practice again until last week.
The Cardinals added core special teams player Joey Blount (hip) to the practice report as questionable after limited work Friday.
Running back Emari Demercado (back) and safety Jalen Thompson (ankle) also are questionable.
Left tackle Cam Robinson was tagged as questionable on Friday, but things appear to be trending in the right direction for the Vikings.
Robinson, who only played nine snaps last weekend, was a full participant in practice after being limited by a foot injury on Wednesday and Thursday. Head coach Kevin O’Connell said he was optimistic about Robinson’s chances of playing given the trajectory of the week.
Tight end Josh Oliver (wrist, ankle) and safety Jay Ward (elbow) are the only players who have been ruled out due to injury.
Linebackers Andrew Van Ginkel (thigh), Pat Jones II (knee), and Kamu Grugier-Hill (shoulder) joined defensive lineman Jonathan Bullard (toe) and wide receiver Brandon Powell (ankle) in avoiding designations after appearing on the injury report this week.
