Team news: New York Jets | Page 73

Even after trainers re-taped Eddie Lacy's right ankle, the Green Bay Packers running back was taken to the locker room for further evaluation late in the first quarter of Sunday night's game against the Seattle Seahawks.

The Packers said his return was questionable.

Lacy was taken to the locker room on a cart. Initially, it appeared Lacy was going to return to the game after Dr. Pat McKenzie examined him on the sideline.

Lacy did not return to the game after picking up one yard on a toss play to convert a third-and-1 on the game's opening drive. Two plays later, Aaron Rodgers hit James Jones for a 29-yard touchdown for the game's first score.

Other reports said Lacy was unable to put pressure on the ankle even after getting it taped again. James Starks replaced Lacy. With rookie Alonzo Harris inactive, the Packers brought only two halfbacks into the game. If Lacy misses time, Starks could prove to be a valuable pickup.

James Jones is probably right: It shouldn't take long for him to revive his connection with Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

And if he could catch 73 passes last year with the Oakland Raiders and their collection of quarterbacks then there's no reason to think that one season away from Green Bay will do much to change what had been a strong bond with Rodgers.

Given how much has happened since Jones left the Packers in free agency in March 2014, it may seem like a long time ago that Rodgers and Jones last hooked up. But as Jones put it when he landed in Green Bay on Sunday to re-sign with the Packers, he's only one year removed from the offense he played in during his first seven NFL seasons.

The Packers never asked Jones to be their No. 1 receiver even in his prime, and they won't do it now at age 31. Randall Cobb and Davante Adams likely will remain as the Packers' top-two receivers.

Jones can't make up for the loss of Jordy Nelson, but there wasn't an available receiver who could. As long as Jones is the dependable player he has been throughout his career, he's the perfect fit. He has played in every game in five of the last six seasons and has missed only eight games (two in 2013 and six in 2008) in his entire eight-year career. Raiders quarterbacks targeted him 110 times last season, and he dropped only two of them, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

That connection with Rodgers is perhaps the most important aspect of this deal. Of Jones' 383 career regular-season receptions, 216 of them came from Rodgers. All but 10 of his 43 career regular-season touchdowns came from Rodgers, as well.

"It's a crazy business," Jones said Sunday. "But I'm just happy to have the opportunity to continue to keep playing."

Jones could move into the No. 3 role -- a responsibility that without him would have fallen to either Ty Montgomery or Jeff Janis. Montgomery is a rookie, and Janis caught just two passes as a rookie last season. In their three-receiver sets, which the Packers used on nearly 72 percent of their snaps last season, they can now comfortably move Cobb into the slot, where he's best, and have Jones and Adams on the outside, the story said. In his first seven seasons with the Packers, Jones caught 278 of his 310 on the outside. This move seems to hurt the fantasy value of Montgomery and Janis the most, but Adams should be safe as a top-two WR who will play on the outside, for now. We don't see much fantasy value in James Jones at the moment.

James Jones left the Packers as a free agent before the 2014 season, but he may be back in Green Bay in time to start the 2015 season.

Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com reports that Jones’s agent Frank Bauer says his client is on his way to visit with the Packers. Given Jones’s experience playing in coach Mike McCarthy’s offense with quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the visit could turn into a signing pretty quickly.

While the Packers have expressed confidence in the ability of Randall Cobb, Davante Adams and the rest of the receiving corps to handle things with Jordy Nelson out for the season, the addition of Jones would give them a bit of insurance who wouldn’t need much time to get up to speed on the team’s offensive scheme.

It's not a big surprise as this had been rumored even when Jones was still property of the Giants. Should he sign with Green Bay, it could change the depth chart at WR for the Packers.

The Bills have released quarterback Matt Cassel, officially ending a quarterback competition that saw Tyrod Taylor named the team’s starter earlier in the week.

Cassel started the first preseason game and was the early favorite over Taylor and E.J. Manuel based on experience.

The Bills, at least for now, are keeping Taylor and Manuel as the only quarterbacks on the active roster. The Bills already paid Cassel a $500,000 roster bonus, but they avoid having to pay Cassel a $4.15 million base salary for 2015.

The Bills have made their decision, and it’s one no one would have expected this offseason.

According to Jay Glazer of FOX Sports, the Bills are going with Tyrod Taylor as their starting quarterback for the regular season opener.

Taylor has never started an NFL game and only appeared in 14 in four seasons as a backup in Baltimore, with just 35 pass attempts, but the HC Rex Ryan has seen enough of him to give him a chance - or maybe he just hasn't seen enough from Matt Cassel or E.J. Manuel. The story points out that Taylor gives the Bills a chance to make plays on the ground as well as in the air, but this is a run-first offense that likely won't make Taylor an attractive fantasy play.

Aaron Rodgers on the Packers' receiving corps:

"The third receiver's going to get some opportunities. We have a talented two-headed run game, a great offensive line. We're going to have good balance this year. There's going to be some one-on-ones outside, and we look for matchups, so that third guy could get the matchup and is going to need to produce."

Rodgers just isn't quite sure who that third receiver is just yet. It could be rookie Ty Montgomery, a third-round pick from Stanford, or second-year pro Jeff Janis, who played sparingly last season.

Janis most closely resembles Nelson in terms of physical ability and stature, but he's currently running behind the rookie Montgomery in practice. Whoever wins the job will be fantasy relevant, but they may not be dependable. Davante Adams wasn't startable last year and James Jones was inconsistent in his days as the team's third receiver.

Add Randall Cobb to the list of people who expect big things from Davante Adams this year.

And he says he felt that way even before the Green Bay Packers lost Pro Bowl receiver Jordy Nelson to a season-ending knee injury this week.

Without Nelson, the 25-year-old Cobb becomes the senior member of the receiving corps in just his fifth NFL season, and the 22-year-old Adams moves into the No. 2 role in just his second season.

"He's poised for a breakout year," Cobb said Tuesday. "He's poised for a big year. I look forward to helping him accomplish that."

Perhaps the good news is Cobb said he sensed that since the end of last season, when Adams finished off his rookie season with eight catches for 124 yards and a touchdown in the playoffs - seven of those catches, 117 of those yards and the touchdown came in the win over the Cowboys in the divisional round. Sounds like Cobb expected big things from Adams before Nelson's injury. We do too and have him ranked 18th on our WR list.

If the Packers hadn’t re-signed wide receiver Randall Cobb this offseason, there would probably be a lot more concern in Green Bay right now about the impact that the Jordy Nelson’s torn ACL will have on the Packers.

Cobb had 91 catches last season, though, and that kind of connection with Aaron Rodgers makes it easier to see how the Packers offense can keep on rolling this season. Cobb said that there’s “no need” for him to put more pressure on himself with Nelson out because Rodgers will get the ball to the right people at the right times and because he doesn’t think he’ll be playing a different role on the field.

“If we’re in a three-receiver set, most likely I’ll be inside,” Cobb said, via ESPN.com. “If we’re in a two-receiver set, I’ll obviously be outside. It just depends on what we do. We’ll move around. We planned on moving around this year, so I don’t think our plan changes. It’s just finding that guy that’s going to be able to plug in and be able to fit into what we’re trying to accomplish.”

Cobb was playing inside with Nelson and Davante Adams outside in three-receiver sets this summer. Rookie Ty Montgomery stepped in for Nelson during Tuesday’s practice and the team could also look at Jeff Janis as they look for another receiver to count on behind Cobb in 2015, the story said.