February 2019 4for4 Player News Articles

Pete Carroll says Doug Baldwin had knee and shoulder surgeries. But rehabbing and should be fine for season.

Baldwin struggled with injuries all year and was not his usual self, posting 618 yards and five touchdowns on 50 catches. He did catch all five touchdowns in the final six games and averaged 57 yards per game in that span. Still just 30 years old, Baldwin should be able to return to form in 2019, provided he can get healthy by August.

Jason Witten has decided he isn’t done playing just yet.

Although he retired from the NFL last May, the future Hall of Famer is coming back to the Cowboys for what will be his 16th pro season. Witten played 15 years for the Cowboys from 2003-17, which included 11 Pro Bowls, the most in team history by any offensive player.

Blake Jarwin had a couple of solid games (7-56, 4-45) late in the year before exploding for a 7-119-3 line against the Giants in Week 17. He didn't do much in the playoffs (5-32 combined in two games). Geoff Swaim was actually playing ahead of Jarwin prior to a season-ending wrist injury. Swaim caught 26 passes for 242 yards and a touchdown in nine games. Witten figures to return as the starter, though it's no sure thing. He was the No. 9 tight end (PPR) in 2017.

Packers HC Matt LaFleur said running back is one of the more violent positions in the league with the punishment those players absorb. He believes a committee approach is the most effective regarding Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams.

This is not necessarily a death knell to Aaron Jones' value, though LaFleur's usage of both Derrick Henry and Dion Lewis last year limited the upside of each until LaFleur began to feed Henry late in the season. Lewis finished with 214 touches to Henry's 230, so it was a near-even split.

Jack Doyle had hip surgery. Doing fine. Shooting for training camp.

Doyle is shaping up as a nice value if the hip is good to go, but that's no sure thing given this report. In 2018, only eight tight ends had a higher per game average than Doyle, though the presence of Eric Ebron obviously caps Doyle’s upside, as long as Ebron is healthy. Still, Doyle is a good value as the 16th tight end off the board in early drafts, and would have top five upside if anything were to happen to Ebron.

Kyle Shanahan says Jerick McKinnon is on pace in recovery from ACL tear and the expectation is for the RB to take lead role this season.

Related players: Matt Breida

Shanahan hand-picked McKinnon to be his lead back last summer and then an ACL tear derailed his season. Breida played well in his place, so we're expecting the two to be a formidable duo, a la Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman during Shanahan's days in Atlanta. In the 13 games that both Freeman and Coleman played in 2016, Freeman averaged 17.8 touches while Coleman averaged 11.5 touches. Last year, 49er running backs averaged 26.1 touches per game, so if that volume holds and Shahanan uses the same split as 2016, McKinnon would see 15.9 touches to Breida's 10.2 touches. Both backs should be fantasy relevant in 2019.

Word in Tampa before the end of the 2018 season was that wide receiver DeSean Jackson wanted to leave the Buccaneers rather than play out the final year of his contract with the team.

After Bruce Arians was hired as the team’s new head coach in January, there was a report that Arians wanted to speak to Jackson in hopes of convincing him to change his mind.

“I had a great meeting with DeSean about two weeks ago,” Arians said. “I have a ton of respect for him as a player and a person. I thought the meeting went great. I can’t speak for him, but I thought he was excited about it and I really look forward to working with him.”

Related players: Chris Godwin, Adam Humphries

Contrary to popular opinion, if Jackson were to stay in Tampa it wouldn't be a death knell to Chris Godwin's value since Godwin would likely replace Adam Humphries in the slot. Of the 56 receivers in 2018 who ran at least 25% of their routes out of the slot, Godwin was 21st in yards per route run. Humphries played 70% of the snaps last year, so if he walks in free agency there should be plenty of snaps available for both Jackson and Godwin.

Panthers coach Ron Rivera, speaking live at the NFL Combine in Indy, says everything has been "positive'' in Cam Newton's rehab from shoulder surgery.

After a No. 2 finish in 2017, Newton was on pace for a No. 6 finish before his shoulder injury sidelined him for the final two games. It remains to be seen how he'll recover, but as the 12th quarterback off the board in early drafts, there's definitely some upside here.

In the 11 games he's played with quarterback Deshaun Watson, Texans WR Will Fuller has caught 11 touchdown passes.

“I know he’s doing well," Texans coach Bill O'Brien said Wednesday at the NFL scouting combine. "He’s been in Houston the whole offseason. He’s working hard. Can’t say enough about Will. Will’s frustrated that he hasn’t been able to be on the field. I think when he has been on the field, he has made a huge difference for our team. He’s a touchdown-maker. He’s working hard to get back to that point. He’s been in there every day."

O'Brien was noncommittal on whether Fuller will be able to participate in any minicamps or organized team activities.

"Relative to what he will be able to do in the spring, I really don’t know that yet," O'Brien said. "I think we are kind of a little bit ways away from that. Could he do something in May? Could he do something in the June minicamp? I don’t know yet, but I know he’s working hard to get back and be ready to keep making plays for us.”

Fuller has averaged 4.1 catches for 71 yards and 1.0 touchdowns—which are high-end fantasy WR1 numbers—in 11 games with DeShaun Watson, but he has missed 15 games over the past two seasons. If he can stay healthy, he should return great value on his current seventh round ADP, though his injury history is obviously a big concern.

Jon Gruden says he agrees with Mike Mayock’s stance that Derek Carr is a franchise quarterback. “Yes, he’s our franchise quarterback. Let me make that clear,” he says.

Carr was the No. 19 quarterback last year after finishing No. 21 the year before. The Raiders traded away Amari Cooper, so Carr is playing with a short deck in the passing game.

Sean McVay said Rams WR Cooper Kupp is making good progress and on pace to be ready to go for training camp.

In the seven games where Kupp played at least half the snaps, he averaged 5.7 catches for 81 yards and 0.86 touchdowns on 7.9 targets. That’s a 91-1294-13.7 pace. Fantasy-wise, that’s about what Adam Thielen scored as last year’s No. 7 receiver. Since entering the league, he has played at a high-end WR2 pace. It's good news that he's on track to be ready for camp.

Adam Gase evidently is the unofficial president of the Chris Herndon Fan Club, waxing poetic about his young tight end during a media session at the annual NFL Scouting Combine on Wednesday.

“I think Chris is unique,” Gase said. “I don’t think you find a lot of tight ends that are able to be on the field all three downs. Obviously, he’s a very good receiver. He’s very good in the run game. He did a really good job in pass protection last year. He’s a unicorn-type player ... You don’t see a lot of these guys that can all three phases of the game.”

The fourth-round pick showed flashes of top-end play during his rookie season. Herndon, who finished with 39 receptions for 502 yards and four touchdowns, has the skill-set to be an integral piece to Gang Green’s puzzle for the foreseeable future.

“He was a guy that we evaluated extremely hard in Miami because we were looking for a tight end,” Gase said. “We were actually looking for more than one. He fit that mold of what we were looking for. I think him coming to New York was good for me at the end of the day.”

As a rookie, Herndon finished No. 12 in points per snap in both standard and PPR formats. He only played about 63% of the snaps as a rookie, but if his playing time increases to 80% and he maintains his point per snap efficiency, then he's likely to finish in the top 10. He's currently a nice value in the 10th round of early best ball drafts.

Ravens informed veteran WR Michael Crabtree that he is being released today, per source.

Crabtree was easily the most accomplished receiver on the Ravens' roster. He'll turn 32 in September and has had back-to-back sub 700-yard seasons. He has caught 28 touchdowns in the last four seasons so he should be able to find a good home in 2019.

The Buccaneers have signed RB Andre Ellington.

The Baltimore Ravens have an agreement in principle to trade former Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco to the Denver Broncos, league sources told ESPN on Wednesday.

Albert Breer reported that the Broncos will send a fourth rounder for Flacco. Flacco's best fantasy finish was back in 2010, when he finished No. 11. He had back-to-back No. 14 finishes in 2011 and 2012, but he has finished No. 19 or worse in four of the last five seasons (from 2013 to 2017). He's a competent quarterback, so compared to Case Keenum, Flacco is probably a wash for Emmanuel Sanders and Courtland Sutton. The Broncos may use an early draft pick on a rookie quarterback as well.

The Texans are expected to release WR Demaryius Thomas today per source. Thomas tore his left Achilles in Week 16. It’s too early for a time table, but he’s returned from the injury quickly in the past.

Related players: DeAndre Hopkins, Will Fuller, Keke Coutee

This was not unexpected. The Texans will move forward with a potent trio of DeAndre Hopkins, Will Fuller and Keke Coutee.

The Cleveland Browns signed troubled running back Kareem Hunt on Monday.

The Kansas City Chiefs released Hunt in December after a video surfaced that showed him shoving and kicking a woman last February at his residence in Cleveland.

Related players: Nick Chubb, Duke Johnson

Hunt joins an already talented backfield featuring Nick Chubb and Duke Johnson. Chubb was shaping up to be a top 10 pick at his position, though Hunt's arrival throws some cold water on Chubb's upside. Johnson was already being underutilized and speculation has already begun that the team may look to move him. At this point, we're assuming that Hunt will compete with Johnson for backup duties behind Chubb. Keep in mind that the NFL has yet to announce Hunt's suspension, so that will play a factor as well.

The Patriots will name Greg Schiano as their new defensive coordinator imminently, a league source confirmed Wednesday.

Schiano replaces Brian Flores, the team’s defensive play caller for the 2018 season, who left the day after New England’s 13-3 victory over the Rams in Super Bowl LIII to take the Dolphins’ head coaching job.

The Cincinnati Bengals have hired Los Angeles Rams quarterbacks coach Zac Taylor as their head coach, the team announced Monday.

The Bengals homed in on Taylor several weeks ago, but they could not hire him until the Rams were eliminated from the playoffs. Los Angeles advanced to Super Bowl LIII and lost 13-3 to the New England Patriots on Sunday. Taylor, 35, will be the second-youngest coach in the league behind his former boss, 33-year-old Sean McVay. Taylor, the 10th head coach in Bengals history, is expected to hire Oakland Raiders quarterbacks coach Brian Callahan, 34, as his offensive coordinator, the story all said.

Rob Gronkowski wasn’t getting caught up in the moment.

The Patriots tight end reiterated after Sunday’s Super Bowl LIII win over the Rams that he’s still not ready to decide about his future.

“That decision will be made in a week or two,” Gronkowski told reporters, adding that tonight was about celebrating with his teammates.

That has been his stance throughout the last week (the dodging and the celebrating), the story said, but there’s no doubt there’s reason for concern about his long-term future after more back issues this year. He missed three games in the regular season with injuries, but his numbers were well off his normal pace. He finished with 47 catches for 682 yards and three touchdowns. He had 13 catches for 191 yards in the playoffs, but at one point Sunday night was limping significantly and got checked by the athletic training staff.

Saints defensive coordinator Dennis Allen is expected to receive a new deal in New Orleans and stay there, sources say.

Rapoport said this is a key move for HC Sean Payton and his defense, as Allen’s deal is being finalized. The Saints D did start a bit slow this season but eventually really came on.

Rams head coach Sean McVay said that he expected to see running back Todd Gurley back to his old form after a poor outing in the NFC Championship Game, but things didn’t quite turn out that way.

Gurley didn’t play much in the first half and wound up with 10 carries for 35 yards and one catch for a loss of one yard, which led to another round of questions after the game about whether his knee was bothering him. Gurley missed two games at the end of the regular season with a knee injury, but insisted he was fine after the win over the Saints and said the same in Atlanta after the 13-3 loss to the Patriots.

“I know there’s been a lot of concern about my knee but I really am fine,” Gurley said.

Related players: C.J. Anderson

The story said Gurley had an MRI after Week 15 but it didn't turn up anything. Another story from Ian Rapoport said the Rams would like to bring back Anderson next year, so Gurley owners in keeper leagues may want to keep an eye on this situation throughout the offseason.