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Jim Harbaugh voices disappointment over Derwin James’ one-game suspension

Jim Harbaugh is not pleased with Derwin James’ one-game suspension by the NFL.

James was suspended by the league on Monday for a hit to Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth in the third quarter of the Chargers’ 20-10 loss this past Sunday. He was flagged for unnecessary roughness.

“There was not a defenseless player; [he] changed his course, and I thought that Derwin’s helmet was stiff-armed by Mr. Freiermuth,” Harbaugh said. “I thought [the stiff-arm] caused his head to make the contact and I thought the contact was first with the forearm, then the shoulder, then the head.”

James’s appeal was upheld by hearing officer Derrick Brooks, who is jointly appointed by the NFL and NFL Players’ Association. As a result, he will miss this weekend’s game against the Chiefs.

James has five unnecessary roughness penalties in his past 18 games, which are the most in the league by a defensive player. All were to the head with his shoulder or helmet.

Harbaugh said that James has made an effort to avoid these penalties.

“He has reached out on his own to officials this past summer to gain a better grasp of how they want it done,” he said. “And the evidence is right there in the tape. I mean, look at all his 20-some tackles on the season and he’s going out his way … so that he can not injure another player or hit him with the head. So yeah, I’m disappointed.”

While James is sidelined this weekend, Elijah Molden would be in line to start opposite Alohi Gilman. They also have AJ Finley and Tony Jefferson will likely be promoted from the practice squad.

OL Jackson Barton heads to practice squad injured reserve

The Cardinals moved Barton to the practice squad IR and brought back OL Austen Pleasants to the practice squad.

Arizona Cardinals offensive lineman Jackson Barton made his first NFL start on Sunday in the team’s 20-13 home loss to the Detroit Lions. he played well. However, it ended prematurely as he suffered a toe injury in the fourth quarter and had to exit the game.

We won’t see Barton again for a while.

The Cardinals placed Barton on the practice squad injured reserve.

To replace him on the practice squad, they brought back offensive lineman Austen Pleasants, who spent the offseason and preseason with the team, getting released with the roster cutdown to 53 players. He spent a few weeks on the practice squad last year.

He is 6-foot-7 and 330 pounds and practices at tackle and guard in the offseason.

He entered the league in 2020 as a rookie free agent out of Ohio, where he played five college seasons and appeared in 41 games, earning second-team All-MAC honors in 2019.

Since entering the league, he appeared in one game in 2021 with the Carolina Panthers and one game in 2023 with the Los Angeles Chargers. He has spent time on the rosters and practice squads of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Panthers, Chargers, Chicago Bears and Cardinals.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Sub scribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

Raiders sticking with Gardner Minshew at quarterback vs Browns

Gardner Minshew is still the Raiders starting quarterback this week as the Raiders face Browns.

With two poor performances in the first three games this season, Gardner Minshew’s status as the Raiders starting quarterback seemed a bit tenuous. The day after the team’s ugly loss to the winless Panthers last Sunday, Antonio Pierce wouldn’t say for certain that Minshew would remain the starter as they headed for Week four. Adding that he needed to speak with the team first.

In the interim days, the team’s two star players Davante Adams and Maxx Crosby both took to podcasts and said they would prefer the team stick with Minshew at this point in time. Come Wednesday, Pierce made it official that the team was sticking with Minshew this week when the team welcomes the Cleveland Browns to Las Vegas.

“What I said was, I need to get with the players and evaluate the film, so there’s no issue,” said Pierce. “Gardner Minshew is the quarterback.”

Back when Minshew was named the team’s quarterback over incumbent starter Aidan O’Connell, Pierce said he would give Minshew at least the first quarter of the season before he re-evaluated it. So, this would be in keeping with that. And it also means, the question will arise again next week. And perhaps every week if Minshew continues to struggle.

Raiders saw Isaiah Pola-Mao as ‘ready to take the next step’ even before losing Marcus Epps

Even before losing Marcus Epps for the season, the Raiders saw Isaiah Pola-Mao as ‘ready to take the next step’

The injury bug has hit the Raiders defense early this season. They lost edge rusher Malcolm Koonce just before the season opener, then they lost Divine Deablo to a concussion while Maxx Crosby was slowed by an ankle injury in Week 2, and last week they saw starting safety Marcus Epps go down for the season with a torn ACL.

Replacing the contributions of most defensive starters would be a tough task. Perhaps impossible, especially with regard to Crosby. But if there was one position they may be well equipped to replace a starter it is the safety position.

That’s because perhaps their best looking non-starter coming into this season is Isaiah Pola-Mao.

“He’s been around the ball quite a bit,” head coach Antonio Pierce said of Pola-Mao. “Really good special teams player. And he’s really been that third safety for us so there’s been roles for him either it has shown up in the game or in practices he’s been repped a lot.

“So, we feel very confident to be honest with Isaiah. Thought he was ready to take the next step this year anyway, bur we really felt good with Marcus Epps and Tre’von [Moehrig] that ‘ok, we’ve got two solid starters there now’ and obviously with the injury to Marcus, next man up mentality, but obviously it’s no flinch no blinking and really confident in what Isaiah can do going forward and looking forward.”

The former undrafted free agent out of USC is in his third season with the team as a backup safety and special teamer. He had yet to break into the starting lineup, though his playing time has increased in his second season and in this year’s training camp, he had become one of the more talked about players.

Pola-Mao was dubbed as the next man up at safety, the team’s big nickel, and personal protector on special teams coverage.

Steelers Week 4 injury report features laundry list of players to kick off Colts week practice

Here’s a look at the Pittsburgh Steelers, Indianapolis Colts injury report following Wednesday’s practice.

If the initial injury report of Week 4 is any indication, the Pittsburgh Steelers could be down several players when they travel to Indianapolis to take on the Colts.

T.J. Watt, Najee Harris, Cameron Heyward, Donte Jackson and Larry Ogunjobi (rest) aside, several players were limited or did not practice.

Here’s a look at the full injury report for the Steelers and Colts following Wednesday’s practice:

Pittsburgh Steelers

Player	Injury	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Game status
QB Russell Wilson	calf	LP
WR Roman Wilson	ankle	FP
WR Van Jefferson	eye	FP
RB Najee Harris	NIR	DNP
S DeShon Elliott	quad	LP
CB Donte Jackson	NIR	LP
RB Jaylen Warren	knee	DNP
LB Alex Highsmith	groin	DNP
G Isaac Seumalo	pec	LP
TE MyCole Pruitt	knee	DNP
LB T.J. Watt	NIR	LP
DT Cameron Heyward	NIR	LP
DL Larry Ogunjobi	NIR	LP

DNP: Did not practice

LP: Limited participation

FP: Full participation

NIR: Not injury related

Indianapolis Colts

Player	Injury	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Game status
CB Kenny Moore II	hip	DNP
CB Chris Lammons	knee/ankle	DNP
LB Grant Stuard	heel	LP
DE Kwity Paye	quad	DNP
T Braden Smith	knee	DNP
DE Tyquan Lewis	calf/wrist	LP

DNP: Did not practice

LP: Limited participation

FP: Full participation

NIR: Not injury related

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Justin Herbert injury update: Chargers QB’s MRI shows he’s ‘progressing’

Jim Harbaugh provided an update on Justin Herbert on Wednesday.

Harbaugh said that Herbert’s MRI revealed he’s “progressing” on his high ankle sprain.

Harbaugh added that Herbert is not in his walking boot and might do some things in practice on Wednesday.

Herbert aggravated his injury in the third quarter against the Steelers and was removed for the remainder of the game.

Herbert was just one of four players injured and removed in Week 3. The other three were Joey Bosa (hip), Rashawn Slater (pectoral) and Joe Alt (knee).

Harbaugh said Bosa, Slater and Alt are not expected to practice on Wednesday.

The Chargers host the Chiefs this Sunday at 1:25 p.m. PT.

Here’s the TV broadcast map for Rams vs. Bears in Week 4

Check the map to see if you’ll get the Rams-Bears game on TV this weekend

For the first time this season, the Los Angeles Rams will be playing in the early Sunday afternoon window. Their road game against the Chicago Bears will kick off at 1 p.m. ET, an early start for the West Coast Rams.

The Rams will be shown on FOX for the third week in a row, with Adam Amin and Mark Sanchez on the call for the third time, as well. It’s not exactly a marquee game and with plenty of other contests to compete with in the 1 p.m. ET window, Rams-Bears won’t be broadcast to a huge market.

Check the map from 506 Sports below to find out if you’ll get the game on TV. If you’re in the yellow area, you’ll have it on your local FOX channel.

The Rams have won three straight games against the Bears dating back to 2019, with their most recent victory coming in Week 1 of the 2021 season at home – a resounding 34-14 win at SoFi Stadium.

Both teams come into this one at 1-2 and desperately need a win to avoid falling to 1-3, especially with their division leaders being undefeated at this point in the season.

Around the NFL: Former Seahawks G Damien Lewis suffers elbow injury

It has been a brutal start to the season for the Carolina Panthers, and another tough blow has been announced. Former Seattle Seahawks and current Panthers guard, Damien Lewis, has injured his elbow and is likely to miss at least one game. Fortunately, it does not appear Lewis will be headed for the Injured Reserve list.

This news was broken by NFL Insider Jordan Schultz.

https://twitter.com/Schultz_Report/status/1839024656201699390

Lewis was originally a third round pick by the Seahawks in the 2020 NFL draft and quickly became a starter in Seattle. During his four years in the Pacific Northwest, Lewis started all 63 possible games (regular season and playoffs included) for the Seahawks. His snap count tracker never dipped below 91% in any given season he was in Seattle.

Lewis was a reliable player along the line, and he parlayed it into a four-year deal worth $53 million with the Carolina Panthers this offseason. the Seahawks were never going to give Lewis such a contract, especially after general manager John Schneider’s comments about guards being overdrafted and overpaid. But considering how poor the interior offensive line has been, perhaps it’s fair to wonder if the Seahawks should have made a comprable offer.

Whether or not they should have is moot at this point. The reality is Lewis is now in Carolina, and his injury is going to hurt the Panthers’ chance at another upset. After benching quarterback Bryce Young, Carolina torched the Las Vegas Raiders 36-22 in Sin City last weekend. Now, they face the shockingly 0-3 Cincinnati Bengals desperate for a win.

If Andy Dalton (who became the first quarterback this season to throw for 300+ yards and 3 touchdowns last week) wants to pull off another upset, particularly one against his former team, he’s going to have to do so without one of his best offensive linemen.

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Antonio Pierce admits Raiders still in process of ‘learning curve’ of zone blocking scheme

Three games in and the Raiders are still struggling with ‘learning curve’ of zone blocking scheme

You’d hope the kinks of a new blocking scheme would have been worked out by the start of an NFL season. With a full offseason to work in the new system, this is something the coaches are responsible for ensuring their players are adept at handling before putting it on the field live when the games count.

It’s painfully obvious that the Raiders offensive players are either not getting it or the coaching staff is not coaching it properly. Perhaps some of both. Their historically bad run game is living proof of that.

“We’re watching it firsthand. You guys have seen it. There’s a learning curve and we’re still going through the process,” Pierce said of the transition from power blocking to zone blocking.

Ted Nguyen broke down a few poor run plays the Raiders had in Sunday’s brutal loss to the Panthers that were indicative of the disconnect happening on the field.

https://twitter.com/FB_FilmAnalysis/status/1838970081625375147

As Ted points out, the problem isn’t just on the offensive line. Which also suggests it’s not primarily on the players. They can’t all just be not getting it. There are some proven smart players out there who are clearly trying to just ‘do their job’ on a given play. But either the job they were given is severely flawed or the manner in which they were coached was confusing.

Pierce said Monday that there is going to need to be a lot of changes on the Raiders offense to fix the run game. He seemed to hint on Wednesday that the immediate change could be in play calling. At least until the offense can start executing the new scheme.

“At the end of the day you get the scheme team, you can be a player driven team, you can be a ‘what works’ team,” Pierce continued. “And we need to become what works. What works for the Raiders.”

Former Raiders CB Tyler Hall signs with Seahawks

The last time Tyler Hall took the field as an NFL player he was wearing Silver & Black. That was Week 16 of last season. Now heading into Week four of this season, Hall has found a new home. He is signing with the Seahawks according to his agent ISA Management.

Hall spent his first two NFL seasons with the Falcons and Rams, getting a Super Bowl ring in his second NFL season.

He joined the Raiders the following offseason and spent two seasons in Las Vegas, appearing in 18 games and starting six. In that time he put up four pass breakups and 40 tackles and a sack.

He wasn’t brought back this offseason and signed with the Philadelphia Eagles only to get injured in camp and was waived.

Now healthy again, the fifth year pro has joined the Seahawks hoping to revive and continue his NFL career. Hall will turn 26 on Halloween.