Haskins misses Washington practice, Allen to start at Giants

Former starting quarterback Dwayne Haskins remains away from the Washington Football Team because of an illness that’s not considered COVID-19 related, and Kyle Allen is expected to start Sunday against the New York Giants.

Haskins was not at the stadium for Washington's most recent loss against the Los Angeles Rams and was sent home from the team’s practice facility Wednesday after being tested for the coronavirus. Coach Ron Rivera said a gastrointestinal ailment of sorts was bothering the second-year QB.

“We’re not keeping him out of the building, OK?” Rivera said. “What we’ve done is he’s come in, he’s seen the doctors, he’s taken his test and he’s gone home.”

Haskins was benched and demoted to third on the depth chart last week, so the plan was for the 2019 first-round pick to be inactive against L.A. The team sent him home Sunday morning after he reported having a stomach virus.

Rivera, who believes Allen and Alex Smith give Washington a better chance to win because of their experience, said he was hopeful Haskins would practice Thursday.

“This is an opportunity for him to continue to learn and grow and develop,” Rivera said. “I have not quit on the kid in terms of his development.”

Allen took first-team snaps at practice and is expected to start for Washington (1-4) at the Giants (0-5) this weekend with Smith backing up.

“That’s the plan right now,” Allen said. “I’m working through it.”

Allen left the Rams loss with a left arm injury in the second quarter, was replaced by Smith in his first game action since November 2018, and Rivera chose to stay that course even after his starter was cleared to return.

Rivera said Allen would get the nod over Smith against the Giants as long as he's healthy. Allen did not look inhibited in the throws he made early in practice.

"He actually had a good day of practice, took all the reps he was supposed to take and looked pretty good doing it," Rivera said.

Haskins' future with Washington is uncertain. Owner Dan Snyder, since-fired president Bruce Allen and since-fired coach Jay Gruden were in charge when the team drafted him, and Rivera gave Haskins the opportunity to start after seeing signs of growth in training camp.

Since a comeback victory against Philadelphia in Week 1, he hasn't seen much of what he wanted. Haskins overall this season is 89 of 146 for 939 yards passing, four touchdowns and three interceptions.

Rivera said he'd like to see continued progression from the 23-year-old, even giving him third-team snaps at practice. That is stunted by his absence, with rookie practice squad QB Steven Montez taking Haskins' place in drills behind Allen and Smith.

One possibility is Washington following Arizona's path with Josh Rosen: opting to trade him after a regime change. The trade deadline is Oct. 29.

“We’re not going into transactions and stuff like that that we could potentially do," Rivera said when asked about receiving calls to trade Haskins. "I don’t want to talk about the hypotheticals. Whatever happens happens as far as this football team goes. It’s really about trying to get us in position to win a game and develop this football team. We’ll cross the bridges as we get to them.”

Broncos running back Gordon III cited for DUI

Running back Melvin Gordon III wasn’t on hand Wednesday for quarterback Drew Lock’s first full practice since injuring his right shoulder.

The Broncos sent their leading rusher home after learning he was cited by Denver police for driving under the influence and speeding Tuesday night.

Gordon could face a suspension from the NFL. Last year, Broncos safety Kareem Jackson was suspended for the final two games after a DUI arrest in September in downtown Denver.

Coach Vic Fangio said the Broncos are considering their own discipline of Gordon in addition to whatever punishment the league hands down.

“Everything’s open right now,” Fangio said. “We hope to have a decision made by tomorrow or the next day.”

According to police records, Gordon was cited for driving under the influence and traveling between 25 and 39 mph faster than the posted speed limit when he was pulled over in downtown Denver.

“Yeah, I’m disappointed. But my own two kids have disappointed me at some points in their lives and I never stopped loving them any more,” Fangio said. “And he’s one of us. We’re going to love him. But there will be some consequences to what happened last night.”

Fangio said he didn’t think Gordon violated any of the league’s COVID-19 safety protocols in running afoul of the law Tuesday night.

Gordon’s agent Damarius Bilbo declined to comment when reached by The Associated Press.

Lock said he was disappointed Gordon put himself in this situation but was standing by him.

“Yeah, I was of course upset but we’re also here for him,” Lock said. “It’s like having a brother who gets in trouble. You’re not going to bash him for what he did. You’re going to go pick him up and maybe take him to get some ice cream or something.

“I’m hoping that he can play on Sunday, but obviously that’s not up to me.”

Gordon, who signed a two-year, $16 million free agent deal in the offseason, was coming off his best game, a 107-yard, two-TD performance in Denver’s 37-28 win over the Jets on Oct. 1.

The Broncos were supposed to play at New England last weekend but that game was delayed twice because of the Patriots’ coronavirus infections. The game was first pushed back a day, and after preparing all week, the Broncos gathered Sunday to fly to Boston but instead were told the game was being pushed back a second time, to next weekend.

Fangio then gave his team Sunday, Monday and Tuesday off. Gordon was among several Broncos veterans who complained on social media about essentially losing their bye week.

QB Brett Rypien would have made his second straight start had the Patriots game not been delayed a second time. Now, Lock is expected to start at New England as long as he doesn't have any setbacks with his shoulder, which he injured Sept. 20 at Pittsburgh.

“I’m really excited to be back. It feels good to just be doing what I love and doing what I feel like I was put down here to do,” Lock said. “It’s great to get back with the guys, calling plays in the huddle, feel the camaraderie of the team."

Also eager to get back in action is Lindsay, the Broncos’ two-time 1,000-yard rusher who’s been sidelined with a turf toe injury since the opener.

“He’s been looking really good in practice,” Lock said.

KUSA-TV in Denver first reported Gordon’s citations. The station said Gordon is expected to be arraigned in Denver County Court on Nov. 13, the day before the Broncos fly to Las Vegas for a game against the Raiders.

Cardinals All-Pro LB Jones out for season with biceps injury

The Arizona Cardinals expected the news, but it still wasn't fun to hear: All-Pro linebacker Chandler Jones is out for the season because of a biceps injury that requires surgery.

An MRI earlier this week confirmed the extent of the injury, which happened during the first half of Arizona's 30-10 win over the New York Jets on Sunday, and coach Kliff Kingsbury said Wednesday that Jones has elected to have the season-ending surgery. The recovery time is expected to be three to four months.

The 6-foot-5, 265-pound Jones has been one of the league's premier pass rushers since coming to Arizona, with 61 sacks over the past 4 1/2 seasons. He's also been durable up until Sunday and played in all 16 games from 2016-19.

“Losing a guy like that, it's going to be tough,” Cardinals receiver DeAndre Hopkins said. “You can try your best to replace him, but he's a talent that's generational. You look at the things he's done in his career — not a lot of people have done that.”

It's a huge blow for the Cardinals' defense, which has improved after giving up the most total yards in the NFL last season. Jones had a career-high 19 sacks in 2019. He only had one sack this season while frequently drawing double-teams from opposing blockers.

Kingsbury said the team would need a collective effort to replace Jones. Candidates include Hasson Reddick, rookie Isaiah Simmons and backup Dennis Gardeck, who had his first two sacks against the Jets after Jones was hurt.

“He's a tremendous player as we all know. Great person, great leader on this team, so it's not going to be easy,” Kingsbury said. “But we've got guys who have seen playing time this year and will continue to play and get more. It'll be a rotation, guys we've seen out there we'll just see out there more.”

Simmons was the No. 8 overall pick in this year's draft after a stellar career at Clemson but has had a slow start to his rookie season. He has seven tackles through five games in inconsistent playing time. Kingsbury is still high on Simmons but said the lack of practice time during the spring and summer because of COVID-19 restrictions has slowed his development.

Reddick — who was the 13th overall pick in the 2017 draft — has 10 tackles, including two sacks this season. Gardeck has been a standout special teams player during his three seasons with the Cardinals but didn't make an impact on defense until his breakout against the Jets.

The Cardinals (3-2) travel to face the Dallas Cowboys (2-3) on Monday night.

Jags acquire LB Correa from Titans for sixth-rounder in 2021

The Jacksonville Jaguars acquired linebacker Kamalei Correa from the Tennessee Titans on Wednesday for a late-round pick.

The Jaguars sent a sixth-round selection in 2021 to the Titans for Correa and a seventh-rounder.

Tennessee coach Mike Vrabel said earlier in the day the team was preparing to release Correa, who was activated off the team's reserve/COVID-19 list before Tuesday night's game against Buffalo. He was inactive for the victory after spending two weeks on the COVID list.

“Now, things change, someone may reach out and that would be another situation that could happen,” Vrabel said. “But as of now, I think we’ll plan on going in another direction and moving on.”

Jacksonville did, looking for depth at the linebacker position. The Jaguars (1-4) played without starter Myles Jack (ankle) last week at Houston and lost backup Dakota Allen (foot) in the team's fourth straight loss.

Tennessee (4-0) re-signed Correa in March after he tied for second on the team with five sacks in 2019. But he became expendable with the addition of veteran pass rushers Vic Beasley and Jadeveon Clowney.

New Orleans Super Bowl pushed back from 2024 to 2025

The next Super Bowl in New Orleans has been pushed back from 2024 to 2025 in order to avoid a conflict with the city's traditional Mardi Gras celebrations, the NFL announced Wednesday.

The NFL said the change was approved by all 32 clubs during a virtual league meeting.

New Orleans was initially named the 2024 host city in 2018, but the NFL's decision to lengthen the regular season schedule from 16 to 17 games in 2023 created a conflict in 2024 with Mardi Gras, which annually draws millions to the city for parades and balls during a several-week Carnival season that ends on “Fat Tuesday.”

Mardi Gras is tied to the Catholic calendar and falls on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. It occurs on Feb. 13 in 2024 and March 4 in 2025. The city is most crowded during the final week of Carnival and hosting another major event such as a Super Bowl at that time would be exceedingly difficult.

The new host city for the 2024 Super Bowl remains to be named, the NFL said.

NFL cancels Pro Bowl in Las Vegas due to COVID-19 pandemic

The NFL has canceled next January's Pro Bowl scheduled for Las Vegas.

During an owners meeting held virtually on Wednesday, the league opted to call off the all-star game, hoping to replace it with a variety of virtual activities. The NFL needs flexibility in January in case it needs to move regular-season games to that month because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“The league will work closely with the NFLPA and other partners, to create a variety of engaging activities to replace the Pro Bowl game this season,” the NFL said in a statement.

The Pro Bowl, set for Jan. 31, a week before the Super Bowl, has lost much of its attractiveness in recent years. Many of the chosen players decided not to participate, and, naturally, players from the two Super Bowl teams don't go.

If there is a Pro Bowl in 2022, the 32 owners voted to return it to the new Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

A fan vote for Pro Bowl rosters still will be held, beginning Nov. 17. The rosters will be announced in December. Players, coaches and fans vote for the Pro Bowl.