The road to the playoffs got a little tougher for the Arizona Cardinals on Tuesday. Safety Tyrann Mathieu will have surgery on his fractured and dislocated left thumb and is expected miss at least three weeks, per ESPN's Ed Werder.
Tyrann Mathieu needs thumb surgery, Bengals bolster OL and more NFL news
Rex Ryan insists the Jets’ gameplan was not about Geno Smith, the Bengals bolster their offensive line, plus other notes around the league in our Tuesday roundup of NFL news.
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Mathieu will have a pin inserted in the thumb, and will play with a cast when he returns to the field. The Cardinals are hopeful that Mathieu will be able to return this season for the team’s final regular season game on Dec. 28 at San Francisco, and do not plan to put Mathieu on injured reserve.
Mathieu was injured while making a tackle in Arizona's loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. He has started five games for the Cardinals this season, with one interception and 30 tackles. Second-year safety Tony Jefferson will see additional snaps in Mathieu's absence, a likely downgrade for the Cardinals in pass coverage. Mathieu was rated by Pro Football Focus as the fifth-best safety in defending the pass, while Jefferson ranks 73rd out of 86 qualifying players this season.
Ryan: Gameplan not about Smith
Geno Smith returned as the starter at quarterback for the New York Jets on Monday night, but you could barely tell he was a part of the offense based the pre-game introductions and the team's play-calling. Smith attempted just 13 passes for 65 yards and one interception, as the Jets rushed for 277 yards on 49 carries in the loss to the Miami Dolphins.
Ryan insisted that the decision to take the ball out of Smith’s hands and use a run-heavy gameplan was not because of a lack of trust in the quarterback. “It had zero to do with us not having faith in our quarterback,” Ryan told reporters. “It had everything to do with us trying to win the game.”
If trying to maximize the team’s chances of winning means rarely passing the ball, that doesn’t sound like a ringing endorsement of your quarterback. Smith hasn’t done much on the field to give his coach confidence in him, either. He has posted a Total QBR of 25.6 this season, the second-worst among qualifying quarterbacks.
Reid calls Kelce gesture “immature”
Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was not pleased with the obscene gesture by tight end Travis Kelce during Sunday night's 29-16 loss to the Denver Broncos. Reid called the gesture an "immature act," and said that he will address the situation after he is able to see it on video.
Kelce made the obscene gesture in the fourth quarter, after Broncos linebacker Von Miller was penalized for roughing the passer against quarterback Alex Smith. He later tried to explain on Twitter that the gesture was aimed at Miller because of the late hit, and not at the referee Walt Coleman.
Bengals sign Winston
The Cincinnati Bengals finally made a move to bolster their offensive line following the season-ending triceps injury to right tackle Andre Smith, who was placed on injured reserve last week. The team signed veteran free agent tackle Eric Winston to a one-year contract on Tuesday afternoon.
Winston, who is also the president of the NFLPA, was cut by the Seattle Seahawks in the preseason and has not been on an NFL roster this season. Winston has been one of the most durable linemen in the league over the past few years, having started 119 of 124 games played since his debut in 2006, including all 16 games in each of the previous seven seasons with the Houston Texans, Chiefs and Cardinals.
Ayers out for season
New York Giants defensive lineman Robert Ayers will be placed on the season-ending injury reserve list with a torn pectoral muscle, as first reported by ESPN New York. Ayers was injured during the Giants' 25-24 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
Ayers was one of the Giants’ best pass rushers and ranked among the top defensive ends in the league. His five sacks were tied for the team lead, and he rated fourth overall among 4-3 defensive ends, according to Pro Football Focus.
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