By Nick Shook
NFL.com
Read full post on NFL.com

The Bills are back in the playoffs, but the status of the Bills‘ best player remains a big question mark.

Running back LeSean McCoy was cared off the field with an ankle injury in the second half of the Bills‘ 22-16 win over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. McCoy pounded the ground in frustration while wincing as Bills trainers tended to him on the Hard Rock Stadium turf. Continue reading →

By Nick Shook
NFL.com
Read full post on NFL.com

The end to Houston’s season comes with some serious news.

Texans general manager Rick Smith is taking a leave of absence to tend to his wife, who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, Smith announced via a statement released by the team. Continue reading →

By Nick Shook
NFL.com
Read full post on NFL.com

Dave Gettleman isn’t wasting much time making changes in New York.

The Giants‘ new GM, introduced Friday, dismissed vice president of player evaluation Marc Ross on Saturday, according to the team’s official site. In his first full day on the job, Gettleman dismissed a familiar face in Ross, who had worked with the Giants since 2007 (including with Gettleman during his first stint with the Giants), was in charge of the Giants‘ college scouting department and ran the team’s draft. Continue reading →

By Nick Shook
NFL.com
Read full post on NFL.com

A year after watching two of their linemen walk in free agency, the Packers are retaining an important one for the near future.

Green Bay signed center Corey Linsley to a contract extension, the team announced Saturday. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo and NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported it’s a three-year extension worth $25.5 million. Continue reading →

By Nick Shook
NFL.com
Read full post on NFL.com

Get out the swim trunks, water wings and sunscreen — Hue Jackson is going swimming.

A year ago, another 1-15 finish seemed outlandish for a Browns team that had just posted such a record. Surely, the only way this team could go was up. Jackson was so confident in this belief, he vowed to jump into Lake Erie if the team finished anywhere near 1-15 again.

The Browns are 0-15. Someone, grab Hue a towel. Continue reading →

By Nick Shook
NFL.com
Read full post on NFL.com

James Harrison‘s exit was surprising to everyone but his teammates, who spent much of Wednesday’s media availability slinging blunt takes about the departed linebacker, with some coming off more personal than others.

Turns out, it was long overdue.

That’s the sentiment after Harrison’s explanation Wednesday in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story, in which the linebacker said he asked for his release from the Steelers on three separate occasions during the 2017 season. Continue reading →

By Nick Shook
NFL.com
Read full post on NFL.com

Rob Gronkowski is an excellent football player, and he had another stellar outing on Sunday.

We can talk about his spectacular, one-handed catch over Micah Hyde for a touchdown. We can talk about the dynamic element he brings to New England’s offense. We can even talk about how opponents refuse to learn from past mistakes and continue to press him in single coverage inside the red zone.

But perhaps the most interesting point to come out of Sunday’s romp over the Buffalo Bills is that Gronkowski takes games against them personally. Continue reading →

By Nick Shook
NFL.com
Read full post on NFL.com

Jason Garrett has served as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys for seven seasons. After his team was eliminated Sunday, he’s made the playoffs just twice in that span.

For a franchise accustomed to competing, that might not be enough. Owner Jerry Jones isn’t letting the moment of defeat cloud his judgment, though.

“Just so we’re clear about it, I do understand frustration right after you lose a game that has as much meaningfulness as this ballgame, but I get to look at a lot of different things and have been around a lot of head coaches and coordinators,” Jones said, via ESPN. “I feel good about our head coach.” Continue reading →

By Nick Shook
NFL.com
Read full post on NFL.com

There have been plenty of memorable, on-the-ground catches in the NFL.

Antonio Freeman’s Monday Night Football catch against the Vikings that prompted Al Michaels to exclaim “he did what!?” comes to mind, as does Jermaine Kearse‘s leg bobble in Super Bowl XLIX. Even Gary Barnidge’s thigh catch in 2015 could qualify.

But there are also the lowlights of the game, such as Mark Sanchez‘s infamous butt fumble.

So what happens when you combine the two? You get…the butt interception. Continue reading →

By Nick Shook
NFL.com
Read full post on NFL.com

After a long wait, the Los Angeles Rams (11-4) are finally heading back to the playoffs. The Rams clinched the NFC West title Sunday with a 27-23 victory over the Tennessee Titans (8-7). Here’s what we learned:

1. The Rams‘ long playoff drought, which stretches back to St. Louis, Marc Bulger and Mike Martz, is finally over. Los Angeles clinched the NFC West in wunderkind coach Sean McVay’s first season with a win over Tennessee in a game that required all 60 minutes. A Titans team even more desperate for a win didn’t go down easy, scratching and clawing to multiple slim leads before a touchdown pass to Cooper Kupp gave the Rams a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. For the Rams, it’s a sweet T-shirt-and-hat week, Victory Monday on Christmas and the cap to an incredible one-year turnaround. For the Titans, it’s another frustrating loss in a season that’s suddenly slipping away. Continue reading →