AROUND THE NFL
Demaryius Thomas among five NFLers traded before deadline ... Bills backup Anderson suffers concussion against Patriots ... Niners also take a hit at quarterback
You’ll forgive Demaryius
Thomas on Sunday if he heads to the wrong sideline once or twice in Denver.
The four-time Pro Bowl receiver’s 8½ seasons as a Denver Bronco ended Tuesday when the club traded him to the Houston Texans, in one of five deals that went down in the final hours before the 2018 NFL trade deadline.
The Texans just happen to play Sunday at Denver, so, on Saturday, Thomas will fly right back to his home since 2010, when the Broncos drafted him 22nd overall.
The Broncos also sent a 2019 seventh-round pick to Houston, in exchange for the Texans’ 2018 fourth- and seventh-rounders.
“We were not hell-bent on trading Demaryius,” Broncos GM John Elway said. “It’s never easy when you trade a guy that’s been a household name here for a long time, and done a lot of great things not only on the football field but also in the community.
“As I told him, he’ll always be a Bronco … Eventually the Broncos will be reunited with Demaryius.”
These were the other four trades:
In a puzzling move, the Detroit Lions dealt their No. 1 receiver Golden Tate to the Philadelphia Eagles for a 2019 third-round draft pick. The Lions, at 3-4, have about as much chance of winning the tightly packed NFC North as any of their three rivals; Chicago leads the division at 4-3. The trade comes just a week after the Lions seemingly were making a playoff push by trading for New York Giants run-stuffing defensive lineman
Damon Harrison. Tate by far had been Matthew Stafford’s favourite pass target since Calvin Johnson retired after the 2015 season. “We’re really excited to bring him to Philly,” Eagles GM Howie Roseman said of Tate. “He fits what we do offensively, fits what we do from a character perspective, and can’t wait to get him in here … He’s 30 years old and a tremendously productive player.”
Green Bay unloaded disgruntled running back Ty
Montgomery on Baltimore for a 2020 seventh-round pick, in a trade as thin as trades get. That is, it’s a mere baby step up from Montgomery being simply cut. This, after he disobeyed coaches’ orders Sunday and ran out a kickoff from the end zone late in Green Bay’s loss at the Los Angeles Rams, only to fumble it and kill all hopes of a last-minute win.
In a more impactful departure, Green Bay traded fifthyear safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to Washington, for a 2019 fourth-round pick. It’s a great pickup for the Redskins, who for the first time in 10 years are 5-2, thanks in large part to a strong defence, which just got stronger.
Last but not least, the already talent-loaded defence of the 8-0 Los Angeles Rams added their seventh former first-round draft pick in pass rusher Dante Fowler Jr., who didn’t pan out with the Jacksonville Jaguars. In return, the Jags got 2019 third- and 2020 fifth-round picks. Fowler had off-field issues galore in Jacksonville, but in Wade Phillips’ player-friendly, simplistic defence he could shine. The other six first-rounders on the Rams D: tackles Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh, cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters, end Michael Brockers and safety-turned-linebacker Mark Barron. Every offensive coordinator in the NFC just gulped.
QB QUANDARY I
Is it because of Halloween? Buffalo’s season-from-quarterbacking-hell just got a lot more hellish.
Derek Anderson, an emergency signee three weeks ago who’s 0-2 in place of injured rookie Josh Allen, suffered a concussion Monday night vs. New England.
Mercilessly maligned second-year backup Nathan
Peterman — he of the 45.7 career passer rating, and nine interceptions in 81 passes over seven brief appearances — is expected to start Sunday against the Chicago Bears, ESPN reported.
Bills head coach Sean
McDermott would not go that far at his Tuesday news conference.
“We’ll see where thing stand as we go through the week with Derek, and then we’ll take it from there,” he said.
What’s more, McDermott confirmed reports that said
Terrelle Pryor — the QB-turned-WR let go earlier this month by his third team in three years, the New York Jets — was on his way to Buffalo on Tuesday afternoon, presumably to sign a contract offered Monday.
Could Pryor play quarterback for the Bills? They do need a backup if Anderson can’t play, as McDermott already has ruled out Allen this week, as he recovers from a serious elbow injury.
But Pryor hasn’t taken more than a few token snaps at QB in an NFL game since 2013, with Oakland, where in three years as a quarterback he won only three of 10 starts, and threw more interceptions (12) than touchdowns (nine).
Actually, he’d fit right in with this team, whose quarterbacks’ TD-to-INT ratios are 0-to-3 (Anderson), 2-to-5 (Allen) and 3-to-9 (Peterman).
QB QUANDARY II
San Francisco’s QB situation is hardly any better. If any.
C.J. Beathard, pressed into duty in September after Jimmy
Garoppolo tore an ACL, has a wrist injury, head coach Kyle
Shanahan confirmed Tuesday. The 1-7 Niners play host to the 1-6 Oakland Raiders on Thursday night.
“We feel C.J. would be good if we were playing on Sunday,” Shanahan said. “But it’s going to be a test for Thursday, and we probably won’t know until then.”
If Beathard can’t play, his backup would start: Nick Mullens, an undrafted 2017 freeagent signee who, until Garoppolo got hurt, had spent his entire pro career on San Fran’s practice squad. Mullens has yet to take a regular-season snap.
QB QUANDARY III
With 15th-year veteran QB
Eli Manning’s starting status on the New York Giants now up in the air, if not immediately, you’d think rookie backup Kyle Lauletta would be doing everything in his power to impress club ownership and coaches that he can be the guy going forward. Nope.
Lauletta blew it Tuesday, big time. He was arrested while driving on his way to work, per numerous reports.
Weehawken police in New Jersey say Lauletta floored it in his Jaguar when a policeman out of his squad car signalled for Lauletta not to. According to NFL Network and ESPN, Lauletta tried to make a dangerous right-hand turn from an inside lane and almost hit the officer and another car, while cutting off other cars. Then, upon finally stopping, Lauletta refused to roll his window down or step outside his vehicle.
ESPN said the 22-year-old was charged with “eluding police, obstructing administration of law, resisting arrest, reckless driving, disregarding an officer’s directions, improper turn in a marked traffic lane and failure to remain in a marked lane.” Police released Lauletta. “This is obviously very disappointing,” Giants head coach Pat Shurmur said in a statement.
No kidding.
EXTRA POINTS
Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger fractured the index finger on his left hand Sunday against Cleveland, but can play with it … Because Pittsburgh RB Le’Veon Bell did not report nor sign his franchise tag by Tuesday’s trade deadline, he cannot play for any other team but the Steelers this year. And if he doesn’t sign the tag by Nov. 13, he cannot play in the NFL until next season … Seattle released WR Brandon Marshall … Chicago has lost starting OG Kyle Long for 6-8 weeks with a foot injury.