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NFL

Martin concussed as Cowboys O-line takes hit

ARLINGTON, Texas — Just as the Cowboys welcomed All-Pro left tackle Tyron Smith back from a two-game absence because of a groin strain, they lost All-Pro right guard Zack Martin to a concussion in the second quarter of Thursday’s 28-6 loss to the Chargers.

Martin was staggered on a run by Rod Smith but remained in the game for the next four plays. During Los Angeles’ next drive, he underwent cognitive tests and was replaced by Joe Looney.

He was ruled out for the game after halftime.

Martin entered Thursday having played 661 of a possible 673 snaps on the season. He has not missed a game in his career.

Smith missed the losses to the Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles because of a groin strain suffered late in the Nov. 5 win against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Cowboys used Chaz Green and Byron Bell in his absence. Dak Prescott has been sacked 12 times, and the offense has scored one touchdown in the two-game stretch.

Smith was listed as questionable entering the game after going through three limited practices, which never were at more than walkthrough pace. Smith went through an involved pregame warm-up prior to the Eagles’ loss on Sunday, but the plan all along was to have him available to play against the Chargers.

In the first eight games of the season with Smith, Prescott was not sacked more than two times in a game.

NFL

Doug Pederson: Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky can be Carson Wentz 2.0

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson thinks all the ingredients are in place for Chicago Bears rookie quarterback Mitchell Trubisky to be next year’s version of Carson Wentz.

“Oh, for sure, for sure,” Pederson said on a Wednesday conference call. “We knew last year with Carson as a rookie that there were going to be growing pains and we were going to take some lumps. And also, listen, we just weren’t very good as a football team last year, too, and didn’t have the surrounding pieces around Carson. You kind of see in Mitch, you see the arm talent, you see the athleticism, the strength. You see good decisions, the accuracy. You see things that flash on tape that you go, ‘OK, that’s exactly the way Carson was a year ago.'”

Mitchell Trubisky is considered a raw prospect after starting only 13 career games at North Carolina. Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Trubisky mirroring Wentz’s growth from Year 1 to Year 2 would be the best-case scenario for the Bears. Wentz, the second overall pick of the 2016 NFL draft, is a legitimate MVP candidate with 2,430 passing yards, 25 touchdowns and five interceptions through 10 games.

As a rookie, Wentz, who played four years in college in a pro-style offense at North Dakota State, passed for 16 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 16 starts.

Trubisky is considered a raw prospect after starting only 13 career games at North Carolina. Undeterred by Trubisky’s lack of experience, the Bears made him the No. 2 pick in last April’s draft and named him their starting quarterback in Week 5.

The Bears have proceeded cautiously with Trubisky, who has thrown for 988 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions and rushed for 163 yards since taking over for Mike Glennon.

The Eagles (9-1) host the Bears (3-7) on Sunday.

“You know, I don’t know [Trubisky] personally,” Pederson said. “I’m assuming he studies the game extremely well and prepares well. And the coaches prepare him well and probably, like we did with Carson, try to keep it as simple as possible with the game plan and just let him go play and use his athleticism at times to help out.

“That’s always a positive when you have an athletic quarterback that you can use outside of the pocket, a big, physical guy like that, and you’re seeing the flashes like we saw in Carson. You continue to spend the time with him. You continue to develop. He gets a full offseason coming up, where like Carson you get time away but at the same time you can focus in on your offense and your skill set, and you’ll see big strides from Year 1 to Year 2 in this kid.”

NFL

Report: Jones won't sue over Goodell extension

Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones says he will not sue the league over commissioner Roger Goodell’s pending contract extension, but emphasized that he still wants “accountability” in the process.

Jones made his remarks in a USA Today report Tuesday, one day after the Wall Street Journal reported the NFL’s compensation committee denied his request that the league’s owners be allowed a final vote of approval on Goodell’s extension.

Though he says he won’t sue, Jones told USA Today that he still wants all owners, and not just the NFL’s six-member compensation committee headed by Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, to have input in the negotiations.

“I told the committee that I was standing down on legal action because they wanted to get input from all of the owners,” Jones told USA Today.

Jones had threatened to sue the league if the committee approves an extension, saying it should be reviewed and approved by all owners.

According to Monday’s Wall Street Journal report, the compensation committee told Jones he should drop the threat of a suit, saying his dispute with Goodell “reflects conduct unbefitting an owner and is damaging to the League.”

Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, the chairman of the six-person committee, responded to Jones’ request for a vote by citing a May resolution in which the 32 owners unanimously gave the committee authority to negotiate Goodell’s extension.

In the letter, Blank wrote that Jones was ignoring facts “to satisfy your personal agenda,” according to the Journal.

Sources familiar with the negotiations told ESPN that Goodell’s extension still is on track to be completed at or before the owners’ Dec. 13 meetings in Dallas.

Goodell’s current deal as commissioner is set to expire after the 2018 season.

NFL

Source: Saints to re-sign cornerback Moore

METAIRIE, La. — The New Orleans Saints are re-signing veteran cornerback Sterling Moore, a source confirmed.

The move suggests that the Saints want to be prepared in case their standout rookie cornerback, Marshon Lattimore, is unable to return from his ankle injury in time for Sunday’s game at the Los Angeles Rams.

The Saints’ plan to re-sign Moore was first reported by NOLA.com.

Lattimore — a leading candidate for defensive rookie of the year — was injured while breaking up a pass in the end zone on the opening series of Sunday’s 34-31 win over Washington. He tried to come back in the second half but quickly returned to the sideline.

Lattimore suggested on Twitter on Sunday evening that he’ll be fine. But both he and Saints head coach Sean Payton declined to offer any injury updates on Monday.

The Saints replaced Lattimore with third-year pro P.J. Williams in the starting lineup. And second-year pro De’Vante Harris served as the nickel back. But both of them struggled at times as the Saints allowed Kirk Cousins to throw for 322 yards and three touchdowns.

Moore, 27, was New Orleans’ best cornerback last year when he signed in Week 1 and wound up playing a major role as an injury replacement. He started 12 games, led the team with 13 passes defended and tied for the team lead with two interceptions.

The Saints deemed Moore expendable last month, however, after he appeared in only two games with three tackles. Starters Lattimore and Ken Crawley have both played at a high level.

Moore (5-foot-10, 202 pounds) has started a total of 31 games in seven years with the New England Patriots, Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Saints.

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