The Minnesota Vikings will start their third quarterback in four games, with recent signee Josh Freeman set to debut against the New York Giants this weekend. Freeman signed with the Vikings last week to provide depth behind Matt Cassel while Christian Ponder continues to recover from a rib injury. Freeman was unceremoniously released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers earlier this season. He'll be looking to make a statement against a beleaguered Giants squad.
NFL news roundup: Vikings to start Josh Freeman, Jim Irsay clarifies Peyton Manning comments
Josh Freeman will make his Vikings debut Sunday, and Jim Irsay takes to Twitter to defend himself like only he can. Those stories, plus more on Jerod Mayo, E.J. Manuel, Jay Ratliff and Peyton Hillis.
Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sport
In a series of semi-telligible tweets, Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay clarified comments he made about Peyton Manning that drew the ire of Denver Broncos head coach John Fox. Earlier this week, Irsay suggested that the Colts should have won more than one Super Bowl while Manning was in Indianapolis. Fox fired back, saying that Irsay's words sounded "ungrateful and unappreciative."
Irsay responded Wednesday:
My comments meant if we gave Peyton better SP Teams n Def,we would have won more than 1 Sup/Bowl,instead of asking Peyton 2do too much
— Jim Irsay (@JimIrsay) October 16, 2013
It's hard 2C how any individual could understand them any other way,but CONTRO sells so I understand the games "Let's get something started"
— Jim Irsay (@JimIrsay) October 16, 2013
There’s more, but you get the idea.
The New England Patriots lost another pivotal defensive player for the season after placing Jerod Mayo on injured reserve Wednesday due to a pectoral injury. Mayo was arguably the team's best linebacker. He led the team with 55 tackles through six games, adding 1.5 sacks. The Pats also lost nose tackle Vince Wilfork for the season, making what was once a strong middle of the defense one the unit's most susceptible areas.
The Buffalo Bills are hoping rookie quarterback E.J. Manuel can return within one month from the knee injury he suffered in Week 5 against the Cleveland Browns. Manuel was initially given a 4-6 week prognosis for return, and Wednesday's report would have the quarterback coming back at the end of that prognosis. In the meantime, the Bills will get what they can out of Thaddeus Lewis, who played very well in his Bills starting debut last week, but suffered a lower leg injury in the process.
The Dallas Cowboys have finally cut ties with defensive tackle Jay Ratliff after the defensive tackle spent the first six weeks of the 2013 season on the physically unable to perform list. Ratliff had been sitting due to a hamstring injury suffered while he was taking his conditioning test before training camp. He signed a five-year extension with the team in 2011 that included a guaranteed $18 million. Ratliff proceeded to play just six games in 2012 before being sidelined and released by the Cowboys on Wednesday.
The New York Giants are desperate for depth at running back, and have signed Peyton Hillis to give themselves some insurance. Before the signing, Brandon Jacobs and Michael Cox were the team's only two options at the position. Hillis hasn't been a productive NFL back since his 1,177-yard 2010 season with the Cleveland Browns that earned him a Madden cover. He was briefly a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this year before being cut during preseason.
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