Well, well, well. Look who we have here. We all know who headlines this list and it’s none other than Thomas Beauregard Brady himself. Brady returns to the field this week for the New England Patriots, his balls completely full, to wreak havoc on a most certainly doomed Cleveland Browns squad.
New England fans have had this date circled since a federal court smacked down Brady’s appeal back in the offseason and the idea of petitioning the Supreme Court was too much for even the Tomster himself to bear. The guy that wept openly over getting drafted in the sixth round years later and wiped his tears with a hand bearing three Super Bowl rings, wasn’t prepared to face that kind of disappointment again.
What kind of chip with a sociopath facing a pretty lackluster punishment for cheating have on his evil shoulders? Probably a big one. And every daily fantasy player will make sure Brady is on at least one of their rosters this week.
The Patriots hand the keys to Tommy Boy in fantastic shape with the AFC East pretty much already wrapped up. They did just get shut out for the first time at home in about 100 games, but nobody should care. Ask any Patriots coach or fan if they’d take 3-1 without Brady when the season started and they’d say yes, followed by every racist and homophobic epithet they know. It is their way.
https://twitter.com/danieltosh/status/783357375923130368
NaVorro Bowman’s injury makes things worse in San Francisco
Lost among all the scene-stealing headlines of Colin Kaepernick’s kneeldown protests and when/if he’ll supplant Blaine Gabbert as the San Francisco 49ers’ quarterback, inside linebacker NaVorro Bowman was on his way to another Pro Bowl season. He was, at least, until he tore his Achilles and will miss the rest of the 2016 season.
Bowman was sidelined all of 2014 recovering from a knee injury he suffered in the 2013 NFC Championship game against the Seattle Seahawks. All that work paid off and Bowman was right back to his elite self, recording 154 tackles, 116 solo, 2.5 sacks, one forced fumble and two passes defended last year. This season he was rolling just as strong, with 35 tackles, a sack, two passes defensed, a forced fumble and a pick through four games. That’s all over now.
NaVorro Bowman out for season (Achilles tendon). He led NFL in tackles last season after missing 2014 recovering from a torn ACL/MCL.
— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) October 3, 2016
The last time Bowman went down the 49ers got lucky with the emergence of players like Dan Skuta and then rookie Chirs Borland both emerged as solid replacements, but both of those guys are gone. Skuta was signed away by the Jacksonville Jaguars last season and Boreland shocked the NFL when he retired over concussion fears.
The 49ers placed Bowman on injured reserve and that opens up a roster spot. Marcus Rush will likely be promoted to the regular roster from the practice squad. Rush was a star in the preseason, recording six sacks. The spotlight will fall on Michael Wilhoite, a fifth-year man from NCAA Division II Washburn who has served as Bowman and Gerald Hodges’ primary back up. Wilhoite is a solid player who recorded 85 tackles and an interception last season.
La’el Collins out by a toe
The Dallas Cowboys have enough offensive line depth that it shouldn’t be a huge problem, but for a team surging out of September, losing their starting left guard to a toe ligament injury is still a setback. Collins went under the knife Tuesday and was placed on injured reserve.
La'el Collins headed to IR for @dallascowboys: https://t.co/YnnPSYHHDb pic.twitter.com/pXI38YoXHY
— NFL (@NFL) October 5, 2016
Stepping in for Collins is the guy he beat out for the left guard spot, Ronald Leary, who would probably start of every other NFL team. Leary returns to the starting lineup after holding down that role from 2013-14. He’ll be a free agent at the end of the season and likely cash in with another team.
With Collins on IR, it opens up a roster spot just in time for defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence to return from his own suspension and hopefully help out an anemic Cowboys pash rush.
Colts cut two, Ravens cut one
The Ravens cut running back Justin Forsett before the season began and now they’ve done it again. This time it was Forsett who asked for his release after being inactive last Sunday. The Ravens have relied on Terrence West and Buck Allen, with rookie Kenneth Dixon slated to return from injury this week. Forsett was expendable with his $3 miillion salary and knew it. Plus, the guy just wants to play. He shouldn’t have any trouble finding a job.
Antonio Cromartie, on the other hand, might be done. The Indianapolis Colts cut him along with linebacker Sio Moore Tuesday. Moore was a starter, but had trouble in pass coverage. I’m not sure why they didn’t just demote him instead of cutting him loose. Things are kind of falling apart in Indy.
