NFL Training Camps 2016: Updates, Rumors and Analysis for August 5
Everyone loves to go camping.
There are ghost stories and the making of s'mores. Fishing and sitting outside under the stars. Grueling two-a-days in the sweltering heat.
Wait, what?
See, not everyone loves camping. For NFL players, it's a time of endless workouts, sore muscles and (for some) a visit with the man no one ever wants to see.
"The Turk."
However, training camp is an invaluable part of the process of preparing for another season of football. The beginning of a journey teams hope will end next February in Houston.
It's also a time when interest in the NFL begins ramping back up, as fans breathlessly await news on the latest happenings involving their favorite teams.
Well, go ahead and breathe (blue is a bad look for you anyway), because we've got you covered—with the latest scuttlebutt and updates from camps across the NFL.
Reggie Ragland Goes Down in Bills Camp
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The Buffalo Bills missed the playoffs again in 2015, in large part because of a defense that vastly underperformed.
The Bills made that defense a priority in the 2016 NFL draft, hopeful an influx of young talent could key a quick turnaround.
So far, things aren't going according to plan.
As Jay Skurski of the Buffalo News wrote, second-round pick Reggie Ragland, who has been penciled in as a starter at inside linebacker, was forced from the practice field after suffering a non-contact knee injury while chasing down a run play.
Head coach Rex Ryan was concerned but not apoplectic:
"I’m not sure of the extent of that injury, but we’ll obviously, we’ll be very concerned with that injury. Hopefully right now it doesn’t appear to be with the ligaments involves, so we’ll just keep our fingers crossed there.
I don’t know if he hyperextended it, I’m not sure, but it just looked odd. He wasn’t hit, none of that stuff. But sometimes those can be the worst ones, so I’m hoping. We’ve just got to keep our fingers crossed and hope he’s fine.
"
Ah, the old "cross your fingers and hope" strategy. A staple of Buffalo football.
Given the Bills already lost first-round pick Shaq Lawson to a shoulder injury that required surgery, I'm not sure counting on a fortunate bounce is wise in Western New York.
Ragland will no doubt undergo an MRI to determine the extent of the injury.
Bosa vs. the Bolts
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Ragland isn't the only rookie player who isn't having the best day.
But at least he's signed.
As of Friday, there remains one rookie first-rounder who is not—defensive end Joey Bosa of the San Diego Chargers. The No. 3 overall pick and the Chargers remain at an impasse over offset language (the team wants it; the player does not) and when and how Bosa's signing bonus would be paid.
According to Ed Werder of ESPN, the Chargers are dug in. "Chargers are sensitive to the perception Joey Bosa being only unsigned first-rounder creates," he tweeted, "but unwilling to give in on deferrals, offset.
It appears Bosa is every bit as adamant. As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk pointed out, it raises some interesting (albeit terrifying for San Diego) possibilities:
"Bosa can sign at any time through the Tuesday after Week 10. Beyond that point, he can’t play in 2016.
After the season, the Chargers would retain exclusive rights to him until the 2017 draft begins. At that point, Bosa would re-enter the draft.
Because the Chargers would continue to hold his rights, no other team could talk to Bosa before the draft, and he wouldn’t be permitted to return to the Scouting Combine.
The Chargers could, in theory, trade Bosa. But they would need to do it quickly. Under the CBA, they can trade Bosa’s rights up until the 30th day before the start of the regular season. The regular season begins on September 8, with the Panthers visiting the Broncos. The Chargers have until Tuesday, August 9 to send his rights to another team.
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Granted, the notion of Bosa missing his entire rookie year is the longest of long shots. But we're in uncharted waters here. The new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and rookie wage scale were supposed to prevent this sort of thing from happening.
And while the general consensus among public perception seems to be Bosa is at fault here, and the Chargers are simply doing business the same way the rest of the league does, some digging by SB Nation's Jamie Hoyle appears to indicate otherwise:
"Fact: Since the slotting system went into effect in 2012 (five drafts), every third overall pick has signed a contract in which either the offset was removed or their signing bonus was paid in full by the end of their rookie season, as Bosa is requesting.
Fact: 16 of the 20 top five picks from 2012-2015 either received their bonus by the end of their rookie season or had the offset language removed from their deal.
Fact: Three of the top five picks, and five of the top seven picks to have signed this year, either have no offset language or will receive their bonus before the end of the 2016 season.
Fact: Both Jared Goff and Jalen Ramsey signed deals which guaranteed them their signing bonus before the end of the 2016 season AND removed the offset language.
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Combine that with Hoyle's assertion that Bosa's camp has indicated a willingness to compromise—to let the team have their way with the offset language (which comes into play if a pick is released and re-signed) if the team capitulates on the bonus (or vice versa), and the poor, put-upon Chargers are painted in a much different light.
With the first preseason game rapidly approaching, this has the makings of a real mess.
Dion Lewis to Start Season on PUP?
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Getting accurate injury information out of New England is difficult.
Slightly harder than getting the launch codes to America's nuclear arsenal. Apparently we'll give those to just about anyone.
Given how tight-lipped Bill Belichick is about injury speculation about banged-up Pats is a way of life in Beantown, some eyebrows went up Friday with the suggestion New England tailback Dion Lewis may begin the 2016 season on the physically unable to perform list (PUP).
Lewis, who tore his ACL last year, was a participant in June minicamp. But to date, he's been a no-show on the practice field at training camp, and Ben Volin of the Boston Globe told Sports Tonight (via CSNNE.com) he thinks Lewis' time on the PUP list may stretch into the regular season.
"He is on PUP," Volin said, "and he's only eight to nine months out from ACL surgery (he tore it in November). Maybe he does start out the season on PUP, which would cost him the first six games of the season."
Granted, it's just one writer's opinion. Soon after this report came out, Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald tweeted he thought it "unlikely" Lewis would open the year on PUP.
But Volin follows all things Patriots as closely as anyone. It's possible the Patriots will play things safe in an effort to have Lewis at 100 percent for the stretch run.
And if that's the case, watching a Tom Brady- and Lewis-less Patriots team in September is going to be fascinating.
Stop hyperventilating, Patriots fans. They will be fine. When are they ever not?
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DeVante Parker out with Hamstring Pull
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After an impressive end to his rookie season, Miami Dolphins wide receiver DeVante Parker is a trendy pick in many circles as a second-year player ready to take a big step forward in 2016.
Parker isn't doing much stepping at all at the moment, however.
Parker's rookie season got off to a sluggish start thanks to foot surgery, and he missed time in OTAs with a mystery ailment. Now, as Anthony Chiang of the Palm Beach Post reported, Parker has missed the past several days of practice with a hamstring pull.
Wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson insisted there's nothing to worry about—that the team is simply playing it safe in the early going, per Chiang:
"Right now, we’re just trying to make sure that he’s 100 percent healthy and giving him just another day. I would love him out here, but my main thing is to get him to where when we start up the season that he’s healthy and ready to go and all the issues are behind him.
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Jefferson may well be right. It's still very early, and as you can see from a quick look at the wire, there are any number of players across the NFL right now nursing minor hammy pulls. It's a rite of passage of sorts as players get back into the habit of running at full speed again after a summer of chasing their kids around the pool.
With Parker, though, it's a bit more ominous, if only because these lower-body maladies are becoming disturbingly common. And if this pull is the same one that limited him in OTAs, we could be talking about the sort of nagging injury players can have trouble shaking.
Seeing Parker back on the field (and 100 percent) would go a long way toward allaying those concerns.
Sterling Shepard Turning Heads
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That's enough negativity for a while. Now for some good news.
There's no doubt Odell Beckham is one of the NFL's top wide receivers. But with Victor Cruz sidelined the past two seasons by knee and calf injuries, the Giants haven't had a viable No. 2—a secondary target for whom opponents must account.
Yes, I know...Rueben Randle. I said viable, didn't I?
That might be about to change. As Jordan Ranaan of ESPN.com wrote, not only is Cruz back on the practice field, but the youngster the Giants ostensibly drafted to replace him is wowing in his first training camp.
Per Rannan, Sterling Shepard has been one of the true stars of camp's first week:
"The second-round pick keeps making play after play -- and with the first team. It’s clear he’s going to be a big part of this offense with his ability to make tough, contested catches. Shepard caught a 20-yard pass in 2-on-2s despite a mini-assault from cornerback Leon McFadden. The officials at practice threw a flag.
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Andrew Mills of NJ Advance Media echoed those sentiments: "The rookie wide receiver has gone beyond hype. He has been one of the best players on the field every day since camp started. Shepard is going to be a star, and a home run pick for general manager Jerry Reese."
It's the time of year when nearly all reviews are glowing, and there's a big difference between blowing up a practice field and getting past defenders when the games count. However, praising Shepard has been a running theme all summer in New York, and Reese has shown more than a little aptitude when it comes to drafting wideouts.
Won't ever draft a linebacker, but he can pick wideouts.
Randle Fitting in with Eagles
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OK, so that Randle shot was uncalled for. After all, the 25-year-old did set a career high with eight touchdown catches in 2015.
And while the Giants may not have been interested in bringing Randle back in 2016, he appears to be settling in well in his new home.
As Matt Lombardo of NJ Advance Media reported, Randle has made a number of highlight-reel catches on the practice field, including a Beckham-esque one-handed grab.
Eagles wide receiver Jordan Matthews said that where Randle has truly shined is in sharing the experience his four NFL seasons have afforded him with the Eagles' young wide receiver corps:
"Rueben is great for the wide receiver room. He's a steady guy. You know what you're going to get. He's very humble, but he comes out here and does his job. He can run routes, man. Some people think that the biggest guys can only go deep ... run the posts or the goes, but Rueben can run the tree. He can run a curl, a dig or a drag as quick as anybody. He gives us a lot of versatility out there as a wide receiver. I think he's going to help us out a lot.
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Nelson Agholor, whom Randle will be battling for No. 2 duties behind Matthews, agreed:
"I like Rueben a lot. I like his confidence. I love his demeanor in terms of next-play mentality. That play mentality. He makes the plays that are called for him. He plays within himself and it's something that I definitely appreciate from being around him. For me, I'm not trying to save the world. I'm just trying to make my plays.
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It's still early, but it sounds like Randle may have established a bit of an edge in that competition.
"He's had a good start to camp," head coach Doug Pederson said.
Rawls, Graham Nearing Return
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Let's keep the good news express going.
The 2015 season was a polar opposite for Seattle Seahawks tight end Jimmy Graham and running back Thomas Rawls. Graham, by most estimations, was a colossal bust after coming to the Seahawks in a trade with the New Orleans Saints. Rawls was a surprise star, the undrafted rookie who excelled in relief of the injured Marshawn Lynch.
The pair did have one thing in common: Both saw their 2015 campaign end thanks to a significant injury—a broken ankle for Rawls and an even more serious torn patellar tendon for Graham.
Now the duo has something else in common—they're nearing a return to the practice field.
As Gregg Bell of the Tacoma News-Tribune reported, that was the latest from Seattle head coach Pete Carroll.
“We’re evaluating,” Carroll said. “Both those guys are pushing really hard; we’re really about going almost day to day with those guys now. We’re getting really close."
Frankly, given the severity of Graham's injury, it would be nothing short of miraculous if Graham is back to anything close to resembling 100 percent in 2016. To be back this soon would be nearly unheard of, and he's all but certainly going to be eased back in.
It's Rawls' return that means more for the Seahawks. The rookie revelation ranked 10th at his position last year, per Pro Football Focus, and ranked fourth in yards after contact per attempt. He averaged a robust 5.6 yards per carry and seemed a shoo-in for 1,000 yards until he got hurt.
The Seahawks did draft a trio of young tailbacks this year, but make no mistake: This is a team best served by Rawls coming back at 100 percent to bang away in that backfield.
Tyler Eifert Likely to Miss Regular-Season Game(s)
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The injury news from the Emerald City may have been positive, but the same can't be said in the Queen City.
It isn't definite yet, but it appears Pro Bowl tight end Tyler Eifert of the Cincinnati Bengals is going to miss games that count. That's the belief of Geoff Hobson of the team's website, who wrote that Eifert will be sidelined by his injured ankle until "early in the regular season."
The news gets even better for the team. Hobson reports that backup Tyler Kroft, who would have been looking at an increased role with Eifert out, is now himself iffy for the season opener against the New York Jets after hurting his knee earlier this week.
The Bengals have been one of the AFC's most successful teams in the regular season over the past five years. And it's a team that still has offensive weaponry in wide receiver A.J. Green and tailback Giovani Bernard.
But at some point, the personnel losses are going to have an impact. Marvin Jones is in Detroit. Mohamed Sanu is in Atlanta. Now Eifert is in limbo.
The AFC North is annually a brutal division. The Pittsburgh Steelers made the playoffs last year. The Baltimore Ravens were snakebitten in 2015 but should be better this season.
Then there's the Browns. Thank God for the Cleveland Browns.
This isn't meant to sound like panicking. Or a Chicken Little act.
But the Bengals' first three games this season are against a 10-win Jets team, the Steelers and the defending world champions.
If they have to play those games without Eifert and come out of it 1-2 or 0-3, this is a team that could be in scramble mode before we even hit October.
Larry Fitzgerald and Carson Palmer Cash In
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As with yesterday's trip around NFL camps, we'll close with some good news.
For the players concerned, it's very good news.
And for their agents, it's great news.
A few days after making Tyrann Mathieu the highest-paid safety in the National Football League, the Arizona Cardinals locked up a couple of aging stars.
As NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport (via Chris Wesseling of NFL.com) reported, the Cardinals signed quarterback Carson Palmer and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald to one-year extensions that will keep the quarterback and his top target under contract through 2018 and 2017, respectively.
According to Rapoport, Palmer, 36, will receive another $24.35 million, including $6 million and change as a signing bonus. The 32-year-old Fitzgerald, who was headed into a contract year after a career-high 109 catches in 2016, will receive $11 million next year.
Hopefully that $11 million will take some of the sting out of training camp for Fitz. As Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com wrote, it turns out the veteran pass-catcher doesn't care for it:
"Training camp stinks when you’re bad. Training camp stinks when you’re good. It’s training camp. I’m 30 minutes from home sleeping in a hotel. But it’s a job and you focus on what you can control, and that’s your effort every day and getting out here and getting better and going through the monotonous process of training camp.
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I'm guessing the bag of money will help.
For the Cardinals, it's one less question hanging over the team as they gear up for what they hope will be a Super Bowl run.
Steve Keim is rapidly gaining a reputation as one of the NFL's best general managers—with good reason.
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