Former LB: RG3 would succeed with Chip Kelly

No, Chip Kelly will not consider bringing Robert Griffin III to Philadelphia should the former starting quarterback find himself out of a job in Washington.

But if he did, and he won't, one former Redskins player thinks he would thrive.

"In the right system, I think he could [have success]," former linebacker London Fletcher said on 106.7 FM (Washington). 

"If he got with Chip Kelly, if he got -- Miami does some things, like the Chip Kelly offense. Or even if he goes to a place where the pressure is not -- where you have to come in here and be the guy right away.

"I think he'll have a great second half of his career."

Called "Eagles South" by some, the Miami Dolphins run some of the same formations and offensive packages as Chip Kelly's gang, learned, no doubt, by their current offensive coordinator, former Eagles quarterbacks coach Bill Lazor.

But the import of Griffin into Miami might derail the very expensive plans they seem to have for current starter Ryan Tannehill, wouldn't they?

"I didn't say he was coming in to start right away," Fletcher said. "I said to continue to -- the pressure is not there. Just let him develop, he'll learn. He'll continue to develop as a quarterback, get better pocket awareness, better footwork. He's gonna have a great second career, I believe that. He's too talented. He's too talented of a guy."

Correction: Griffin was a talented guy in college. And Fletcher's insistence that all Griffin needs is more time to develop away from pressure? Those words fall on titillated ears. Apparently those three seasons he's been given the franchise on a silver platter by its naive and clueless owner, and administered by grumbling and morose coaches who knew better, haven't been enough.

Pocket awareness and footwork are not things that Griffin is going to learn in Washington, at least not after his job was taken from him by what head coach Jay Gruden said was better play overall. 

If your job is taken by Kirk Cousins after three years, you're through developing.

Marcus Smith unconcerned about possible cut

Marcus Smith was the Eagles' 26th overall pick last year, but he's barely shown himself to be worthy of that selection during his brief stint with the club.

With the 53 man roster mandate looming, it wouldn't exactly break the news if Chip Kelly slates Smith as one of the sacrifices to come to meet that number. 

After failing to tally a single tackle in his rookie season, he made some decent progress in OTAs and camp, though played in only one of the Eagles' preseason games, notching one tackle against the Colts before a right hamstring injury sidelined him.

So there hasn't much of a body of work for Kelly to go on. But with a deadline looming, the former G.M. Howie Roseman's selection doesn't think his career in Philadelphia is in danger.

"There's no nervousness at all," he said at his locker on Tuesday.

Smith said he isn't thinking in terms of the quantity of his play, but quality.

"I don't think it's the fact that I'm showing the coaches enough," he said. "I think it's a matter of showing the coaches I know exactly what I'm doing so when I come back they can just put me back in there and not mess anything up."

The most likely result for Smith is that he makes the team. The Eagles need some depth at the linebacker position overall and the second-year player may have shown enough  improvement over the summer to convince coaches to keep him around another year to make his mark. But if he doesn't make a pronounced step this season, it will be his last.

"I've got my teammates around me, it's an uplifting spirit, and I'll be ready to go sooner or later," he said.

Colt McCoy settles into the Redskins depth chart

Coly McCoy held his cards close to his chest on Monday after learning that he was superceded by Kirk Cousins in the quarterback shuffle in Washington.

"I'm just kind of keeping my reaction to myself," he said when asked how he felt about the move.

"I just want to show up every day, put a smile on my face, and be the best version of myself I can be. We've got a great team here, the guys in the locker room are awesome and at the same time I respect my coaches. I'm just going to continue to be who I am, work as hard as I can."

Working hard worked well for him last season when the shoe was on the other foot. McCoy was asked to relieve Kirk Cousins in a game against the Titans after Cousins threw one too many interceptions in relief himself of Robert Griffin III.

And when Griffin failed again in his return in November, it was McCoy who came in rather than Cousins. All told, it was Colt McCoy who quarterbacked the Redskins to two of their four victories.

Now he's on clipboard duty, once again.

"I just come to work, man, do the best I can," he said. "That's kind of how I approach every day. Lots of things going on the last couple of days. But to be honest, my focus is on the knowing that I've got to play the whole [final preseason] game against Jacksonville just kind of watching tape on them and figuring out how we can go out there and play well."

Head coach Jay Gruden has already said that McCoy will play all the team's exhibition finale, but after that, he said, the depth chart was anyone's guess. After Kirk Cousins, who is slotted at second and third is still to be determined. 

"I play with the guys who are out there, hopefully move the ball down the field and finish the preseason on a high note," McCoy said.

Truth be told, the finish of the preseason may not be the last time we see him. The Redskins are in complete disarray at the quarterback position, and if their proclaimed starter can't kick his turnover habit over the course of the year, Jay Gruden will have little trouble looking right over RG3's head and call on No. 16. 

Sammie Coates won't take over for Martavis Bryant

Following the four-game suspension the NFL handed down to Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant, it was widely believed that third-round pick Sammie Coates would "pick up the slack."

So you would think.

But on Tuesday, Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger intimated and head coach Mike Tomlin confirmed, per the Post Gazette, that special teams player Darrius Heyward-Bey would serve that role and not Coates.

Sammie Coates, formerly of Auburn, is on the roster because the Steelers knew about Bryant's failed drug tests and the likely suspension that would result. The problem is, that replacement has not looked very good in the exhibition season.

He has the size, speed, and strength that are required of the position, but Tomlin believes that something extra is still missing, something he calls "football condition."

He was not alone among the youth on the roster to do without it recently.

Tomlin publicly criticized his younger players as a whole for what he viewed as their failure to get properly involved in the gameplan in the team's third preseason game, a 43-19 defeat at the Bills, referring to them as the "walking dead."

No names were named, but Tomlin could have easily directed those remarks at Coates, who failed to secure a reception that day.

The troubles don't end there, though. Heyward-Bey only had three receptions in 16 games last season, his first with Pittsburgh, for 33 total yards. Which likely leaves the Steelers relying more on two-tight end sets this fall than in putting too many drives in the hands of someone who hasn't been used much to this time.

Eagles get down to 75 players

Villanova running back Kevin Monangai was one of the players whose career ended with the Eagles on Tuesday, as the club gets their roster down to the mandatory 75 players.

Signed in August, Monangai had little chance to make the team with the abundance of talent that existed in the backfield before his arrival. 

In the free agency period, Philadelphia signed DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews to carry ahead of Darren Sproles. Kenjon Barner and Raheem Mostert are also on the positional depth chart, both of whom played well in their exhibition season.

Monangai rushed for 126 yards and touchdown over 21 rushes in three appearances in his first professional opportunity after leading Villanova last season with 12 touchdowns on over 1,000 yards. 

The Eagles also put away two of their promising rookies to make room for a pair of spots on their roster, waiving rookie linebacker Emmanuel Acho for injury designation after he hurt this thumb and adding rookie cornerback JaCorey Shepherd to the injured reserve list.

Philadelphia officially cut 12 players on Tuesday:

Offense
RB Kevin Monangai
WR G.J. Kinne
WR Mike Johnson
WR Josh Reese
TE Justin Tukes
C Mike Coccia
OG Jared Wheeler
OT Kevin Graf

Defense
DE Alfy Hill
DE Jeremy Towns
OLB Dasman McCullum
CB Marc Anthony
S Brandon Bishop

Julius Thomas out a month after surgery

If there was anything the Jaguars couldn't do without with the regular season approaching, it was a major target for second year quarterback Blake Bortles.

But tight end Julius Thomas is apparently headed for an operation to repair his  injured finger, keeping him away for at least a month, according to NFL Media.

The surgery comes on the tail end of the second opinion Jaguars general manager David Caldwell said was to come after Thomas broke his finger in the team's preseason opener.

His absence could jeopardize what the team expected and hoped would be a much improved offensive scheme.

Thomas was a major free agent acquisition for the Jaguars, who signed him to a five-year deal worth $46 million, luring him away from the Broncos in March.

Clay Harbor and Mercedes Lewis are the next men up on the depth chart at tight end, and wide receivers Allen Robinson, Allen Hurns, and Marqise Lee remain as viable options in what last season was the NFL's second-worst overall passing offense.

Redskins RB Jones sits second straight day

Backup Redskins rookie running back Matt Jones did not practice on Tuesday for a second straight day, but not because of any injury concerns, according to his head coach.

"Matt just had some rest [and was] going through some treatment," Jay Gruden said. "Obviously, when he gets the ball, he runs very, very hard. He just needed a little bit of extra time, a little extra treatment. But there's no injury there."

Jones missed time in this summer's training camp with a right knee injury, but tallied a touchdown and 139 yards on 20 rushes in three preseason appearances for Washington.

He earned every yard of it, the hard way.

"At the running back position, you do take kind of a beating," the physical rusher said.

Jay Gruden said his plan is to have Jones take a few days off during the season to recover from that beating. Jones is known as a powerful runner and will be inserted as a 3rd-down and late-game back to take some pressure of starter Alfred Morris.

"He had some issues in college," Gruden said in reference to Jones' knee injury concerns at Florida. "We're going to take care of him. He's a very integral part of [our] running game and our success. We want to make sure we have him for 16 weeks and don't burn him out."

But they also don't want to burn him out by using him too little.

"He also needs to get his reps because he's a rookie," Gruden said. "We have to find that happy medium there, get him ready physically, mentally ready to play, but also take care of him."

Earl Thomas may start season, Carroll says

Seahawks safety Earl Thomas may be on his way to returning to the field for the regular season opener after coming back from a lingering shoulder injury he suffered in last season's playoffs.

Head coach Pete Carroll said on Tuesday that Thomas will not be featured in the team's exhibition finale, against the Oakland Raiders, but he would be as ready "as we can get him" when Seattle begins their season on Sept. 13 in St. Louis.

Thomas had surgery for a torn labrum following the Seahawks' appearance in January's Super Bowl, putting him on the sideline for what doctors then presumed would be six to eight months.

With the continued absence of fellow safety Kam Chancellor, as he sits out team activities in search of a new contract, the return of Thomas in any form gives the NFL's best secondary last season a much-needed boost.

Thomas is a four-time Pro Bowl selection, also appearing in the Super Bowl four times, in addition to being named an All-Pro three times in his five professional seasons.

Manziel says elbow injury not serious

First, Browns head coach Mike Pettine said quarterback Johnny Manziel's elbow injury wouldn't keep him out of the team's rotation. The next day, he said Manziel would be shut down for the preseason.

Manziel hasn't thrown a football in more than a week, though on Tuesday he said publicly that the injury in question is only tendinitis and shouldn't keep him from action should he be called on.

"I'm not worried about it at all," he said, via Tom Reed of the Plain Dealer (Cleveland).

But it will keep him from the remainder of the Browns' exhibition campaign after Pettine said he would have taken most of the snaps with the first-team offense in their remaining games, last Saturday's game in Tampa, and their finale in Chicago on Sept. 3.

Manziel said this issue with his elbow has been around since his days at Texas A&M in 2011, but that it had always improved as training camp ended, as passers are called on to make far fewer pass attempts during the regular season. He added that his has sought a number of medical opinions for his elbow, including that of Dr. James Andrews, but that he has not been advised to have surgery.

That elbow may come into play if the Browns' master plan for Josh McCown doesn't come to pass. Should Cleveland find themselves under .500 in the first quarter of the season, Pettine will be immersed in calls to start Manziel, giving him the chance to re-establish his career after a poor showing over seven quarters in 2014. 

Texans run game inconsistent, says coach

There were more than enough concerning voices surrounding the Texans ground game after running back Arian Foster had his groin surgery this offseason. 

Chief among them is their head coach.

Houston's backs are carrying for all of 2.8 yards per carry every time out and Bill O'Brien said on Tuesday that for his team to sustain drives in games this season, that is the first thing that will have to change.

"I think our running game, at times, has been decent, but it's too inconsistent," O'Brien told the Houston Chroncile. "Hopefully, you'll see some improvement Thursday in the Dallas game. I think there have been times where we see glimpses of what it can be, but we've got to be a lot more consistent."

Which will likely involve leaning more heavily on Alfred Blue, who will assume Foster's spot while the starter is out. Blue had a good showing in his first exhibition contest, but since then has only averaged 4.8 yards per attempt. That speaks to the worry O'Brien has for his team's chances on the ground during the first few weeks Foster is expected to be out.

And the possibility of sustaining any power near the line of scrimmage in support of quarterback Brian Hoyer, who O'Brien named the starter over Ryan Mallett. Hoyer is an average passer and game manager at the best of times, and a reliable rusher to hand to on a 3rd-and-3, is a quarterback's best friend.

Patriots lose James Develin for season

One of Patriots head coach Bill Belichick's favorite players won't be in the fold when the team takes the field this coming regular season.

James Develin, a versatile tight end/fullback, will miss the entire year after being placed on the injured reserve list on Tuesday, according to the Boston Herald.

Develin broke his tibia in the Patriots' exhibition game against the Panthers on Friday night, and stayed in Charlotte to have surgery before returning to Foxboro for a follow-up evaluation with team doctors.

He was first said to miss 6-8 weeks and the Patriots could have waited the injury out and keep him on the 53 man roster, or elected to place him on the injured reserve/designated for return list, but that choice was not long considered as the team knew they would likely need the extra roster spot in the future.

Packers expect Randall Cobb to start Week 1

The Packers could hardly have taken any more bad news on the wide receiver front after losing Jordy Nelson for the season and watching Randall Cobb clutch his shoulder after a play during their most recent preseason game.

But it looks like Cobb will be able to make the team's regular season opener at Soldier Field after all, a source tells FOX Sports.

All "indicators" point to the newly promoted No. 1 receiving option taking the field against the Chicago Bears after suffering what team doctors called an A/C joint sprain in a game against Philadelphia last weekend at Lambeau Field.

"He's going to be fine," the source said. "He feels good about it."

The Packers are yet to define a timeline for his returning to team activities, and neither have they illustrated the severity of the injury, but this news seems to put him back into the fold sooner rather than later.

Cobb posted career-bests in receiving yards (1,287), receptions (91), and touchdowns (12) as Nelson's backup last season, and he'll be expected to repeat if not improve those numbers as Aaron Rodgers' first target in 2015.

Cobb and the Packers agreed to a four-year, $40 million deal in the offseason to keep him in Green Bay.

Pot Roast: Redskins-Kardashians wisecrack "crap"

Redskins nose tackle Terrance Knighton heard what Trevor Matich and Troy Aikman said about his club over the last few days, and he didn't like it.

It all began when Matich made a comparison between the club and the Kardashian family to Adam Schefter of ESPN.

Troy Aikman, calling the Texans-Saints game on FOX on Sunday, added his two cents.

"It's pretty bizarre, huh?" the former Cowboys quarterback said. "Someone compared the Redskins to the Kardashians, saying they're the Kardashians of the NFL. I don't think that's fair. I don't think the Kardashians are nearly as dysfunctional."

Knighton, playing his first season with the club as the anchor of what they hope is a much-improved defensive line scheme, shared his feelings about that with the Washington Post.

"It's really crap to me when you hear people say this is like the Kardashians show and all that," he told Dan Steinberg. "That's not in here.

"I mean, I see all the stuff on Twitter -- sources this, sources that -- but that's the outside stuff. We have a culture in this locker room and a unified front where we're not going to let the distractions hurt this team. It's not going to turn into a soap opera.

"This is not the Kardashians show. We're a football team, we're professionals, and we're going to go out there and win some games."

Head coach Jay Gruden announced that Kirk Cousins would be the team's starting quarterback for this coming season after a poor showing from the once-promising Robert Griffin III. Aikman chided the team during a break in Sunday's game when FOX showed a graphic of the Redskins' three quarterback options.

"We're not getting caught up in who's playing quarterback or who's saying what," Knighton said. "That's not my concern. My concern is kicking the center's ass in front of me."

Fred Jackson visiting Seahawks

Fred Jackson might be on the road to a reunion with Marshawn Lynch.

A day after being released by the Bills, Jackson took a flight to Seattle to meet with Seahawks brass, and both sides expect a deal to be done in the near future, according to NFL Media.

Jackson carried for 5,646 yards, the third-most in franchise history, over five seasons with Buffalo before being cut ahead of their final exhibition game.

He and Lynch were a spectacle in the Bills backfield in 2007, when Lynch was a first-round pick and Jackson got his first major pro showing after going undrafted four seasons prior and spending time in NFL Europe.

After acquiring Lynch in 2010, the Seahawks have been looking for his backup. Robert Turbin is the current No. 2 on the depth chart and Christine Michael serves behind him. 

But Jackson would be the front-runner in any backup competition behind Lynch. An able pass catcher and an excellent run or pass blocker, he can provide Beast Mode with some rest on 3rd-down and late-game situations this season.

Ravens put Dennis Pitta on PUP list

When the Baltimore Ravens made the decision on who would be their roster when it came down to 75 men, tight end Dennis Pitta learned he wouldn't be one of them.

Pitta was placed on the physically unable to perform list on Tuesday after failing to come back from a dislocated and broken hip. It's the second time Pitta suffered that injury and the Ravens have little reason to keep him around and pay him the $4 million his contract guarantees him.

Safety Matt Elam, linebacker Steven Means, offensive lineman Darryl Baldwin, cornerback Chris Greenwoos, and tight end Allen Reisner were also placed on injured reserve.

Baltimore finished their roster cuts by releasing wide receiver Aldrick Robinson, wide receiver Trent Steelman, guard Leon Brown, receiver DeAndre Carter, lineman Marcel Jones, punter Justin Manton, snapper Patrick Sales, cornerback Tramain Jacobs, and lineman De'Ondre Wesley.

A fourth-round pick on 2010, Pitta has 138 receptions for 1,369 yards and 11 touchdowns for the Ravens over five seasons.