After a controversial departure from New England and a rough start in Tennessee, the CB says he’s ready to face Tom Brady and his former teammates.
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Michel is listed as questionable for the game due to a knee injury suffered against the Bears on Oct. 21.
In six games, the 2018 first-round draft pick out of Georgia has rushed for 422 yards and four touchdowns on 95 carries.
Prior to the injury, Michel shared the top spot on the New England depth chart with James White, who is used in passing situations.
Michel rushed for 112 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries in a Sept. 30 victory over Miami and 106 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries in a win over the Chiefs on Oct. 14.
With Michel sidelined, Cordarrelle Patterson led New England with 38 yards rushing on 10 carries in a win over Buffalo on Oct. 29 and had a team-high 61 yards on 11 carries in the Week 9 victory over Green Bay.
METAIRIE, La. — Just two days after Dez Bryant finally returned to the NFL, it appears that his 2018 season is now over.
The New Orleans Saints fear that Bryant tore his Achilles tendon on the final play of Friday’s practice, a source confirmed to ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter. The news was first reported by the NFL Network, which said Bryant was to undergo an MRI.
But a source told Schefter that testing on Bryant’s Achilles is considered “a formality,” as doctors already believe it is torn. The injury is expected to sideline Bryant for eight months, putting him on track to potentially be ready for training camp next year, when he again will be a free agent.
Bryant acknowledged a setback in a tweet on Friday afternoon, writing, “This is the ultimate test.”
Things was just starting to heat up for me… I won’t question the man upstairs… this is the ultimate test.. thank you everyone for the prayers
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) November 9, 2018
The Saints officially listed Bryant as limited in Friday’s practice with an ankle injury. Coach Sean Payton did not acknowledge the injury when asked about Bryant after the practice, before the news broke.
Bryant, who turned 30 on Sunday, had not been with a team since he was released by the Dallas Cowboys in April. He practiced for the first time on Thursday.
The Saints could potentially turn to another decorated veteran receiver, Brandon Marshall, who also impressed the team during a Tuesday workout, according to Schefter. The Saints also auditioned veteran receiver Kamar Aiken on Tuesday before opting to sign Bryant.
Bryant was unlikely to play this weekend at Cincinnati, regardless, so the Saints don’t immediately have to alter their game plan, with Michael Thomas and rookie Tre’Quan Smith as their top two receivers. But they will almost certainly look to add depth at the position next week after placing Cameron Meredith on injured reserve on Wednesday and Ted Ginn Jr. on IR last month.
The Saints also could activate undrafted rookie receiver Keith Kirkwood from their practice squad for added depth Sunday.
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Adam Schefter details the latest on Saints’ WR Dez Bryant tearing his Achilles tendon on the last play of practice Friday.
Meanwhile, for Bryant, it continues a tumultuous year that began with a messy divorce in Dallas. The three-time Pro Bowler was released in April when he was due to earn $12.5 million.
Bryant said Thursday that he had been working out and getting his body and mind right all season — but he also acknowledged that he was “thinking about preparing for the next year” before he got the call from Payton to come audition in New Orleans.
“Just lot of ups and downs,” Bryant said when asked to describe the past two months. “Wanting to play football, thinking about playing football.”
Bryant said he had turned down other opportunities to work out this season, without offering any specifics. He reportedly turned down at least one multiyear contract offer during the offseason.
When asked what made this situation different, Bryant had pointed first to the opportunity to play with “big GOAT” Drew Brees and “baby GOATs” Thomas and running back Alvin Kamara.
The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Bryant was among the NFL’s best in his prime. He recorded three straight seasons of at least 1,200 yards and 12 touchdowns from 2012 to 2014, and he earned Pro Bowl invites in 2013, 2014 and 2016.
But his production had been slipping in recent years as he battled foot and knee injuries; he had 69 catches for 838 yards and six touchdowns in 16 games played last year. And the Cowboys were ultimately ready to move on from what executive vice president Stephen Jones described as a “fiery” personality that could sometimes be a “distraction.”
Bryant rejected the notion Thursday that he would be a locker room chemistry concern.
“I’m always gonna be me, you know, who I am. I’m not a bad guy. I’ve always been a good guy. You can ask my teammates — my ex-teammates — how I am,” Bryant said. “I love the locker room. It’s like family. Every locker room that I’ve been in from middle school, high school, college to the pros, it’s always been like a family. You have a natural bond. It’s more than just being in the locker room, it’s outside of it too.”
Bryant signed a prorated contract that will pay him $600,000. He could have made up to $500,000 in incentives for reaching specific reception totals: $50,000 for catching 25 passes in the Saints’ remaining seven games after Sunday; an additional $100,000 for 30 catches; $150,000 for 35 catches; and an additional $200,000 for 40 receptions.
PITTSBURGH – Carolina Panthers free safety Eric Reid was ejected in the third quarter Thursday night for a hit to the head of a sliding Ben Roethlisberger that left Roethlisberger’s Steelers teammates defending their quarterback.
Reid lowered his head with Roethlisberger already well into his slide and delivered shoulder-to-helmet contact to the six-time Pro Bowl selection at the end of his 17-yard scramble.
Reid was flagged for the third-quarter play and then ejected as officials ruled there was unnecessary roughness due to forcible contact to the head and neck area of a sliding quarterback.
The veteran defensive back said he wasn’t intending to hurt Roethlisberger and apologized to him afterward, but was still at a loss for why he was ejected.
“I didn’t even know you could be ejected in the NFL,” Reid said. “It was a bang-bang play. I was trying to do my job. I understand the NFL is trying to protect the quarterback, but when they run the ball, they’re a running back.
“There’s a guy running the ball, so I’m doing my job. . . . If anything, there should be more [focus] on getting down earlier, so it wouldn’t have to be close. I’m running full speed. I’m just trying to do my job.”
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Safety Eric Reid explains why he went for the hit on Ben Roethlisberger, with no ill intention.
Roethlisberger, for his part, told reporters Reid told him “Sorry, didn’t mean it. No intent there” and added with a smile that he didn’t remember whether Reid had hit his helmet on the hit.
Carolina coach Ron Rivera didn’t believe Reid’s hit warranted an ejection.
“I really don’t,” he said. “I don’t think he hit him hard enough to eject him.”
Roethlisberger’s teammates took exception to the play as soon as it happened, with offensive lineman Maurkice Pouncey leading a group of Steelers in confronting Reid while he was still on the field.
Pouncey said Roethlisberger has offered to pay any fines Pittsburgh players get for their part in the shoving match that followed.
“Ben’s the franchise quarterback,” Pouncey said. “He means a lot to this organization, obviously to this football team. I could see if he was pulling his shoulder down trying to hit a guy, but he was giving himself up. That shouldn’t happen, but Eric Reid did apologize, so I give him credit for that.”
Newton looked rattled, and the 52 points allowed to Steelers tied a Panthers team record. Now Newton & Co. play three of the next four on the road.
The Pittsburgh Steelers expect running back Le’Veon Bell to report to the team next week, president Art Rooney II said on Sirius XM radio Thursday.
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For his part, Reid believes there is no consistency with the call, and he noted how Carolina quarterback Cam Newton got hit in the crown of the helmet and no penalty was called.
Newton agreed the calls have been inconsistent, noting he was hit in the helmet last week as well and there was no call.
“It is what it is,” Newton said. “Last week was a perfect example of the same scenario. I’m not here to judge what flag is called, but there is an inconsistency. I do understand that. I’ve been seeing that for a long time.”
The Panthers in late September became the first team to take a chance to Reid, who filed a collusion grievance against the NFL when no team would sign him after last season with San Francisco. Reid claimed the league colluded to keep him off a roster after he spent the previous season kneeling during the national anthem to protest social injustice.
He has continued to kneel during the anthem at Carolina and has not dropped the grievance.
New Panthers owner David Tepper, who had not addressed the decision to sign Reid until prior to Thursday’s game, was asked if he had to give approval first.
“What did I say when I first came here?” Tepper said. “I said the first thing I want to do is? . . . Win. What was the second thing I said I wanted to do? That was also win. What was the third thing I wanted to do? Enough said.”
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
ASHBURN, Virginia — Washington Redskins running back Adrian Peterson, in the midst of a career rejuvenation, had a natural reaction to his offense’s injury news Monday. The Redskins lost three starters, two of whom helped open holes for some of his 600-plus yards in the first half of the season. It could change the direction of not only the Redskins’ season, but determine his success as well.
“Me and my friend Maker’s Mark, we had a long night,” Peterson said.
But Peterson knows whiskey isn’t the answer to what ails the Redskins. More success from him, however, would be the antidote to their problems. And they say his numbers don’t have to change a whole lot just because of injuries to those blocking for him.
When the Redskins play at Tampa Bay on Sunday, they will be missing three of their original starting offensive linemen — left tackle Trent Williams (dislocated thumb), left guard Shawn Lauvao (torn ACL) and right guard Brandon Scherff (torn left pectoral muscle). And a fourth, right tackle Morgan Moses, did not practice because of a knee injury.
There’s a chance the starting five offensive linemen will include two players who weren’t on the roster until Monday.
Redskins running back Adrian Peterson will be without three of the team’s original starting offensive linemen against the Bucs on Sunday. Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports
“You’ve just got to stay positive and keep pressing,” said Peterson, the NFL’s ninth all-time leading rusher. “It’s not the end of the world, and it’s not the end of the season for us. We all have to perform better. That’s the mindset that I have. … There’s something different when you lose three starters to where your mindset shifts to, ‘I just gotta do more than what I was doing before.'”
That’ll be hard to accomplish. Peterson has rushed for 604 yards, fifth best in the NFL, surpassing what many expected from him after he signed with Washington in mid-August. The Redskins are 5-3 and in first place in the NFC East because of Peterson and their defense. They control the ball on offense and have limited offenses — save for New Orleans and Atlanta.
Peterson also needs more help to continue climbing career lists: He’s 380 yards from passing Eric Dickerson for eighth in rushing and needs two more rushing touchdowns to pass ex-Redskin John Riggins for sixth on the all-time list.
For the Redskins to keep winning, Peterson must remain a vital part — no matter who’s blocking.
“He just goes through his reads like he normally would,” Redskins coach Jay Gruden said. “It doesn’t matter who’s blocking for him — at guard, center, tackle, tight end, fullback — if we had one — or receiver. He’s just going to go through his progressions and make his cuts and do what he does. It doesn’t matter.”
The Redskins use a lot of different run schemes; Peterson said opponents sometimes express amazement to him after games over the diversity of Washington’s rushing attack. The Redskins use inside and outside zone as well as power gap schemes. They’ll pull the guards; they use jet-sweep action to slow backside pursuit.
They’re hoping that’s one reason Peterson can still succeed.
“A lot of times that helps you because you have the ability to run gap scheme or zone scheme, whatever it may be,” said center Chase Roullier, the only original starter healthy enough to practice Wednesday. “And you can run it based on what the new guys coming in are better at. You can adjust the game plan with that, depending on how that goes. I don’t think there’s going to be any issue plugging those guys in and continuing to win games.”
But Peterson also has discussed how much he has had to learn in this offense, from the style of the run plays to taking handoffs out of pistol or shotgun formation. He has carried a career-high 44 times out of gun formation, averaging 4.16 yards per carry — his best stat out of that look since 2013. Gruden said Peterson’s comfort level on these runs is more about him taking the right path and less about those who are blocking.
“He’s getting more comfortable,” Gruden said. “We still have downhill runs and will get him going on those, too. The big thing with him is being patient with his reads. Obviously we’d rather have Brandon and Trent in there. But [Peterson] is still going to read it out. If reading inside zone, I’m pressing the line and reading one gap at a time … Hopefully he doesn’t have to read a three-technique [defensive lineman] in the backfield.”
The Redskins only had a long walk-through Wednesday, wanting to get through more plays than usual to help the new players acclimate faster. So Peterson couldn’t get any timing down with them, something he said he’ll try to do Thursday and Friday.
“Once we get going to another tempo that I can say little things to them I might see or notice that I’d like them to do differently or might work better,” he said. “Right now it’s just getting to know those guys and talking to them so they feel more comfortable. But most importantly just knowing that they’re going out and playing hard and fast is what we really need right now.”
One change could be less pulling action from the linemen. That’s an area where Scherff excelled, and without him it might become a reduced part of the plan. But just running the same plays doesn’t mean Peterson will have the same success. There have been times he has made his blockers look good; there were other times his blockers put him in a position to do well — and once he gets past the first wave, his jump cuts lead to more yards.
When Peterson arrived in August, he bemoaned the situation he found himself in with Arizona last season — running behind a makeshift line. However, the feeling has always been that Washington’s backups were better than the Cardinals’ starters. That theory will be tested.
“It’s always hard to tell [in practice] because it’s not live action,” Peterson said. “You always say the play looked great in practice when you draw it up and when you run through it in practice. But when you’ve got guys coming 100 miles an hour, things change. We have confidence in the guys we had here before we brought in these guys. The new guys have to step up.”
