Here is a look at some of the latest NFL News following Week 7 of the season:
Raiders Get Big Return For Wide Receiver Cooper
While it seems as if other teams like the Indianapolis Colts and the Washington Redskins had interest, It was the Dallas Cowboys who acquired Amari Cooper in a trade with the Oakland Raiders. It did not come without a cost, though. In exchange for Cooper, Dallas surrendered a 2019 first-round pick, now giving Oakland three first round picks in the next year’s draft.
The price seemed especially steep for a receiver who has not had a good year since 2016. Still only 24, Amari Cooper has 22 receptions for 280 yards and 1 touchdown this season. That is not to say he is without talent, though. In 2016, Cooper had 1,153 yards receiving.
For Dallas, Jerry Jones and company is hoping that Cooper can help to fill some of the void left with Dez Bryant’s departure. For an offense that still has Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott, they have just seemed to be missing that wide receiving piece. Currently, Cole Beasley (33 receptions, 350 yards, 2 touchdowns) leads the team in receiving. The Cowboys will hope to see Cooper’s numbers bounce back with the change of scenery, other wise they may have just paid an outrageous price for league average wide receiver.
Marshawn Lynch Heads To Injured Reserve
Another story coming out of Oakland is that the Raiders have placed Marshawn Lynch on injured reserve with what Ian Rapoport is describing as a core muscle issue. On the season, Lynch has 90 carries for 376 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also had another 84 yards on 15 receptions.
In his absence, Doug Martin and Jalen Richard will likely see upticks in usage in the Oakland offense. Given that he is in his last year of his contract and will be unable to return from the injured reserve until week 16, there is a good chance that he has already played his last game with the Raiders.
Carlos Hyde Traded To Jaguars
The Cleveland Browns agreed to trade running back Carlos Hyde to the Jaguars last week. With the absence of Leonard Fournette, bringing in the experienced Carlos Hyde gives them a lit more experience at the running back position.
Hyde will now work alongside T.J. Yeldon in the backfield, although the dynamics of the offense will be interesting moving forward given the recent benching of quarterback Blake Bortles over the weekend. Still, the Jaguars hope that Hyde, who in six games has run for 382 yards and 5 touchdowns on 114 carries, can give some explosiveness to the offense.
For the Browns, it seems like a very understandable trade. They have some young talent at the position, most notably in Nick Chubb, and were able to get a draft pick, albeit a fifth-round pick in return for the veteran running back. This season, Chubb has run for 253 yards and 3 touchdowns on 34 carries, averaging a whopping 7.44 yards per carry.
Patrick Peterson Asks For Trade
Things are just awfully bleak right now if you are an Arizona Cardinals fan. After getting trounced by the Denver Broncos 45-10 on Thursday night football, the three-time All-Pro Patrick Peterson seems to want out. Reports had come out a while ago that the Cardinals were unwilling to move Peterson, but now it is Peterson himself who is asking the Cardinals to trade him, according to Adam Schefter.
At 1-6, you can’t necessarily blame Peterson for wanting out, as nothing about the Cardinals situation seems optimistic right now. Peterson still has two more years left on his contract at a reasonable $11 and $12 million. While the owner and coach have indicated that a Peterson trade is not in the works, it will be interesting to see if the request changes that tune.
If this wasn’t bad enough for the Cardinals, there is also some turnover in the organization from a coaching perspective. After Thursday night’s loss, the Cardinals fired offensive coordinator Mike McCoy and replaced him with quarterbacks coach Byron Leftwich. After averaging 13.1 pointer per game and being last in total yards, it was pretty clear that the offense with stumbling.
However, the focus of the firing might have been just as much about the results of the offense as the development of Josh Rosen. Realizing this is probably a lost season, the focus of the Cardinals right now will be on developing Josh Rosen, the quarterback they anticipate will be their franchise quarterback for years to come.
More Twists In Le’Veon Bell Holdout
Another week come and gone and another week without Le’Veon Bell showing up to the Steelers. While some reports thought that he could return during Pittsburgh’s bye week, he is still a no-show as the team prepares to enter week 8 and take on the Cleveland Browns. Bell had been holding out for a contract extension or a trade, but now it appears that he isn’t interested in a trade anymore.
Rather, focusing on the 2019 season, there are whispers that he might be aiming to come back after the trade deadline to ensure a trade doesn’t happen and then play the rest of this season out with the Steelers. By doing so, he will be able to try to maximize his value before he hits the open market.
When and if he reports, it will be interesting to see how he is deployed by the Steelers, particularly knowing the success that James Conner has had this season for them (especially if Conner will continue to be the running back of the future). One thing is for certain, Le’Veon is certainly focused on taking care of himself and his future at this point with little regard for the team he is a part of.
