NFL news: Around the league in 32 plays

The Cards are losing a key piece with Mathieu out. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Arizona Cardinals:  The Cardinals suffered a big blow with the loss of defensive back Tyrann Mathieu to a season ending knee injury.  The Cardinals still have a strong defense, but Mathieu has been a big play machine for them.

Atlanta Falcons:  The Falcons have waived offensive lineman Jon Asamoah with an injury settlement.  The move isn’t surprising as Asamoah has been a disappointing combination of injured and ineffective for the Falcons.

• Chiefs’ take: Chalk this up as another excellent non-signing by John Dorsey.  For as much heat as the Chiefs GM takes for letting quality linemen walk, it has to be noted that almost all of them end up suffering through a lot of injuries moving forward (Albert, Asamoah, Hudson, and Schwartz all out for the season).

Baltimore Ravens:  A report has surfaced that veteran wide receiver Steve Smith may be coming back in 2016.  While this would make sense given how this year has played out for him, Smith did promise this would be his last year and has made comments regarding this report that cast some doubt on its validity.

The Rex Ryan honeymoon may already be wearing off. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Buffalo Bills: The Bills figure to be without running back LeSean McCoy this week.  This isn’t too surprising as Buffalo is already out of the playoff hunt, so there is not reason to put him out there when he could be resting and rehabbing.  There is also some tension on the team as Mario Williams has stirred the pot with his talk about the team not being a good fit for Rex Ryan.  Williams is a free agent this offseason, and it’s not likely he’ll be returning to the Bills in 2016.

Chicago Bears:  Veteran running back Matt Forte is making it known that he wants to return to Chicago in 2016.  The free agent back has continued to be a productive member of the Bears offense.  However, it does not appear that there is much hope for a deal to be done as Forte is over 30 years old, which is basically a death sentence for running backs in free agency.

Cleveland Browns:  The Browns have lost starting offensive guard John Greco for the remainder of the season.  This means that rookie Cam Erving will be stepping in his place.

Chiefs’ take

: I called for the Chiefs to trade for Greco earlier this year.  With Erving on the roster, the Browns could afford to part with the veteran guard who would have been a clear upgrade on our roster.  He’ll be an interesting name to keep an eye on in the offseason as the Browns could decide to part ways.

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