NFC North

The Detroit Lions claimed former Tennessee Titans wide receiver Josh Reynolds on waivers Wednesday.

Reynolds was waived by the Titans on Tuesday. He recorded 10 receptions for 90 yards in five games with the team.

The Lions have perhaps the NFL's worst receiving corps. No wideout has recorded more than 334 yards through the air, with tight end T.J. Hockenson and running back D'Andre Swift getting a majority of the targets from Jared Goff.

Reynolds and Goff spent four years as teammates with the Los Angeles Rams from 2017-20. The pair connected 52 times for 618 yards and two touchdowns last season, with Reynolds blasting his previous career highs in receptions and yardage. 

Detroit ranks at or near the bottom in every major offensive category, so any infusion of talent into the wide receiver room could help. Reynolds' chemistry with Goff should allow him to step in quickly and make far more of an impact than he did during his brief stint in Tennessee. 

Davante Adams has a good feeling Odell Beckham Jr. will soon be joining him in Green Bay.

Adams spoke to reporters Wednesday, saying that his hopes the Packers land Beckham are "pretty high" after speaking with the three-time Pro Bowler. He said he discussed a partnership with his fellow wideout, but Adams doesn't think Beckham has 100 percent decided on a destination.

If Beckham does land in Green Bay, Adams expects Beckham to have a larger workload than he saw late in his Cleveland tenure. 

“He had one catch for six yards in his last game. I can guarantee we can get him more than that over here," Adams said.

Beckham cleared waivers Tuesday after being released by the Browns a day earlier. ESPN's Dianna Russini reported he has narrowed his choices down to Green Bay, New Orleans and Kansas City.

If Beckham's goal is to play with a high-quality quarterback—a seeming given considering the deterioration of his relationship with Baker Mayfield—the Saints seem like a distant third choice. New Orleans started Trevor Siemian at quarterback last week after Jameis Winston tore his ACL, and their only other option under center is Taysom Hill. Neither Siemian nor Hill would be any sort of upgrade over Mayfield.

Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes, meanwhile, would be the epitome of an upgrade. Neither of the future Hall of Famers are having their best season and would see their respective offenses instantly boosted by the addition of a WR2 of Beckham's caliber. The second wide receiver role in both Green Bay and Kansas City has been very much a secondary position in recent years—Rodgers regularly zeroes in on Adams, while Mahomes feeds Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce—so Beckham has to consider whether he's willing to play second fiddle.

If not, a return to his native Louisiana might be enticing enough for him to eschew his desire for a top-flight quarterback.

Perry Fewell, the NFL's senior vice president of officiating, defended the controversial taunting penalty against Chicago Bears linebacker Cassius Marsh from Monday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

In a video released by NFL officiating on Twitter (starts at 1:00 mark), Fewell said Marsh took "several steps toward the Pittsburgh bench, posturing toward their sideline" before the official threw the flag. 

With the Steelers leading 23-20 late in the fourth quarter, Marsh sacked Ben Roethlisberger for a loss of seven yards on 3rd-and-8. 

It's unclear exactly when the official, Tony Corrente, made the decision to call a penalty on Marsh. He looked like he was reaching for the flag when the Bears linebacker appeared to be saying something in the direction of the Steelers bench. 

But it was a few seconds later, when Marsh inadvertently made contact with Corrente as he was running back to Chicago's sideline, that the flag was thrown and the Steelers got a first down after the 15-yard penalty. 

Marsh told reporters after the game it was "pretty clear" that Corrente hip-checked him. 

"If I was to do that to a ref or even touch a ref, we get kicked out of the game and possibly suspended and fined," said Marsh. "I just think that that was incredibly inappropriate."

Per Mark Maske of the Washington Post, the NFL believes the taunting call on Marsh "was justified and it has no plans to modify this season’s strict taunting enforcement."

The Steelers got a field goal on the drive to take a 26-20 lead with 2:52 remaining.

Chicago's offense was able to drive down the field on its next possession, culminating with Justin Fields' 16-yard touchdown pass to Darnell Mooney. 

Pittsburgh got the ball back trailing 27-26. It gained 52 yards on seven plays to set up Chris Boswell's go-ahead field goal with 26 seconds left to play. 

The Bears attempted a 65-yard field goal as time expired, but Cairo Santos' kick fell well short of the crossbar to seal their fourth consecutive loss. 

The officiating in this game was heavily criticized by players, fans and analysts. The Bears were flagged 12 times for 115 yards, compared to five penalties for 30 yards against the Steelers.

There appeared to be multiple times when officials could have called the Steelers for unnecessary roughness penalties against Justin Fields, but they elected to hold on to the flag.    

The Green Bay Packers' initial contract proposal to Odell Beckham Jr. is reportedly not very lucrative. 

Per Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Packers are offering the three-time Pro Bowler a deal for the veteran minimum. 

Silverstein did note that offer could increase, but "they can’t pay him a ton when they still haven’t extended Davante Adams."

Per Spotrac, the minimum salary for a player in his eighth season is $1.075 million for the entire year. The prorated value for the eight games still left in 2021 would equate to roughly $505,882. 

Beckham became a free agent Tuesday after clearing waivers following his release by the Cleveland Browns. 

Per ESPN's Dianna Russini, Beckham is focusing on the Packers, Kansas City Chiefs and New Orleans Saints as his potential landing spots. 

The Saints have the most glaring need for a wide receiver. Michael Thomas announced last week that he won't return this season because of a setback in his recovery from offseason ankle surgery. 

Deonte Harris is New Orleans' leading receiver with 323 yards in seven appearances.

The Chiefs need a spark for their struggling offense that has scored 36 points in the past three games combined. Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce are both on pace for more than 1,000 receiving yards, but the big-play explosiveness has been missing. 

Hill is on pace to average his fewest yards per reception (11.4) since his rookie season in 2016 (9.7). Kelce is averaging the fewest yards per catch (11.6) of his career, excluding his rookie year in 2013 when he didn't have a reception and only played one special teams snap. 

Green Bay is in the best position of the three teams that Beckham is reportedly interested in, though it could also use a viable No. 2 wide receiver. Adams' 786 receiving yards this season are more than the next three Packers players combined (685). 

Beckham also has incentive to find a place that can best maximize his skill set since he's likely to sign a one-year deal that will make him a free agent again this offseason.

The 29-year-old had just 17 receptions and 232 yards with zero touchdowns in six games for the Browns before getting released. He averaged 528.7 receiving yards and 2.3 touchdowns on 38 receptions over his three-season stint in Cleveland.    

The Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs and New Orleans Saints have reportedly emerged as the front-runners for free-agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.

ESPN's Dianna Russini reported Wednesday that Beckham, who cleared waivers Tuesday following his release by the Cleveland Browns, is "honing in" on those three teams and could make his decision by day's end.

The three-time Pro Bowl selection fell out of favor within the Browns offense in 2021. He recorded just 17 receptions for 232 yards and no touchdowns across six appearances. His final game with Cleveland resulted in a single catch for six yards in Week 8 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

His lack of involvement led him to request a trade, something Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reported he'd done "multiple times" since the offseason, but no deal was found ahead of last week's trade deadline.

The Browns subsequently excused Beckham from practice and ultimately released him, a move general manager Andrew Berry said was in the "best interest of all parties involved."

As the 2014 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year closes in on finding a new home, the question is what type of player he'll be moving forward.

Beckham was a dominant force across his first three NFL seasons with the New York Giants. He caught 35 touchdowns in 43 games between 2014 and 2016 while averaging 1,374 yards per season.

The LSU product had his 2017 campaign cut short by a fractured ankle, and he's caught just 13 touchdowns in 41 appearances since the start of 2018.

At 29, it's possible Beckham is past his physical peak, but he's also less than two years removed from a solid 2019 season in which he tallied 74 catches for 1,035 yards.

The Saints make the most sense among the three apparent finalists if the wideout is looking for a high-volume role. New Orleans' top target, Michael Thomas, recently announced he'll miss the entire year with an ankle injury and nobody has stepped up to fully fill that void.

Beckham would face more competition for targets in Green Bay and Kansas City, where he'd be a No. 2 option at best behind Davante Adams or Tyreek Hill, respectively. Going to the Packers or Chiefs would increase his chances of winning a Super Bowl title, though.

Some NFL teams are "outraged" over the league's punishment decisions regarding Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers' COVID-19 violations, per Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.

Rodgers, who is unvaccinated, was fined $14,650 for attending a Halloween party outside the team facility. The same went for unvaccinated teammate and wideout Allen Lazard.

Per Grant Gordon of NFL.com, the Packers were fined $300,000 for failing to penalize both players for attending the party.

"As both are unvaccinated, they are prohibited from attending gatherings outside team facilities," Gordon wrote.

"Per the NFL/NFLPA protocol guidelines, gathering outside of the club facility in a group of more than three players is subject to a $14,650 fine."

However, as Florio noted, Rodgers repeatedly attended press conferences without a mask inside the team facility. He will not be punished for those transgressions, per Florio.

"That’s bulls--t," one source told PFT.

Florio also broke down another reason why teams are reportedly mad at the NFL.

"What if he hadn’t tested positive at all in 2021? He would have violated protocol a couple of times per week, every single week, and nothing ever would have been done about it," Florio wrote.

"Other teams don’t benefit from that kind of lenience. Thus, other teams are pissed about what has happened. And they should be."

Rodgers tested positive for COVID-19 and missed his team's 13-7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs last Sunday. He had previously told reporters that he was "immunized" against COVID-19.

The earliest Rodgers can return to the team is Saturday, one day before the team's home game against the Seattle Seahawks, per Nick Shook of NFL.com.

The NFL has fined the Green Bay Packers $300,000 and quarterback Aaron Rodgers $15,000 for violating the NFL and NFLPA's joint COVID-19 protocols, per ESPN's Rob Demovsky.

"We respect the league's findings and we recognize the importance of adherence to the COVID protocols to keep our team and organization safe and healthy," Packers president Mark Murphy said in a statement. "We will continue to educate the team regarding the importance of protocols and remain committed to operating within the protocols."

Per NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, the fines for Rodgers and wide receiver Allen Lazard were for "attending a maskless Halloween party. The party wasn’t sanctioned by the team but the league determined the club should have penalized both players."

Additionally, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reported that the NFL "reviewed video supplied by the Packers" and that there were "'a few isolated' instances of Rodgers and Lazard maskless inside the facilities (outside of the press conferences) but otherwise the league felt the team and players were 'substantially compliant.'"

Rodgers, who is unvaccinated, told reporters in late July he was "immunized." However, his petition to the NFL to consider his immunization plan the same as being vaccinated was denied by the league and the NFLPA. 

He said he was unvaccinated because he was allergic to an ingredient in the mRNA vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna, adding that he knew people who had adverse reactions to Johnson & Johnson's non-mRNA vaccine. 

On The Pat McAfee Show on Friday, Rodgers denied that he misled people with his "immunization" comments.

"At the time, my plan was to say that I have been immunized," he said. "It wasn't some sort of ruse or lie. It was the truth, and I'll get into the whole immunization in a second. But had there been a follow-up to my statement that I've been immunized, I would have responded with this: I would have said, 'Look, I'm not some sort of anti-vax, flat-Earther. I am somebody who's a critical thinker.'"

But on Tuesday, he appeared on the show again and walked back those remarks.

I understand that people are suffering, and this has been a really difficult time for the last two years on so many people. I think we all know individuals who have lost their lives personally, people who have lost their businesses, their livelihoods, their way of life has been altered completely, and I empathize with those things. And I also know how sports can be a connector and bring people together in times of adversity, and I do realize that I am a role model to a lot of people.

So I just want to start off the show acknowledging that I made some comments that people might have felt were misleading. To anybody who felt misled by those comments, I take full responsibility for those comments.

Rodgers, who missed Sunday's loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, may be eligible to return to the Packers on Saturday if he's COVID-free, a day before they face the Seattle Seahawks. Unvaccinated players must quarantine for at least 10 days under the NFL's coronavirus protocols. 

Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook and his former girlfriend, U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Gracelyn Trimble, are filing lawsuits against each other stemming from an altercation at his home in November 2020.

Cook's agent, Zac Hiller, said his client is the victim of domestic abuse and extortion and that litigation is pending regarding the allegations, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk spoke with Hiller, who detailed the allegations from Cook's end. Florio wrote the following:

Roughly a year ago, someone unlawfully entered Cook's house. The female who did it, is a sergeant in the U.S. military, attacked Cook in his home while he had a guest present. The invader then allegedly tried to extort Cook for millions of dollars, claiming that she suffered injuries during the course of the attack that she allegedly initiated.

Because she allegedly entered Cook's house illegally, he had the right to defend himself, as authorized by Minnesota's version of the Castle Doctrine. Litigation, per Hiller, has not yet been commenced, but it's in the process of being initiated. No criminal complaints have been filed in connection with the incident.

Per Schefter, Hiller said Trimble allegedly used a stolen garage door opener to enter the home before attacking Cook and a guest.

"Military sergeant maced Cook directly in his eyes immediately upon illegally entering," Hiller told Schefter.

Trimble spoke with Rochelle Olson and Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune and provided her account of what happened, saying Cook gave her a concussion, left a scar on her face and took her "through hell."

In a lawsuit filed with Dakota County District Court, Trimble says Cook physically abused her and held her hostage at his home in Inver Grove Heights south of St. Paul, Minnesota.

Per Olson and Goessling, Trimble wants unspecified monetary damages and "accountability." Trimble and her lawyer, Daniel Cragg, spoke with Cook and his attorney, David Valentini, about a potential settlement before the lawsuit was filed. The two sides did not come to an agreement, and Cook received the lawsuit Tuesday.

Valentini released a statement regarding the allegations:

Trimble's account of the events is as follows and starts with her entering Cook's home through the garage and grabbing mace she stored there, per Olson and Goessling:

Trimble claims in the filing that Cook got angry when she asked for his help in gathering her things. Cook 'grabbed her arm, and slung her whole body over the couch, slamming her face into the coffee table and causing her lower forehead and the bridge of her nose to bust open.'

She attempted to spray the mace at Cook, but he overpowered her and the mace went into her eyes, the lawsuit said. She went to shower when she was allegedly assaulted again.

Then Trimble went into the bedroom, grabbed Cook's gun and called her friend, according to the lawsuit. Cook overheard her and threatened her, and beat her with a broomstick, the suit claims.

The lawsuit includes an alleged text Cook sent to Trimble, stating: "I know what I did can't be rewind. ... If you wanna go to the police I'll respect that I'll take my punishment for what I did!"

Olson tweeted images of the reported text conversation between Cook and Trimble (warning: tweet contains images of Trimble's injuries from the alleged abuse).

The Vikings released a statement earlier Tuesday as well:

Cook was previously charged with misdemeanor battery after he was accused of hitting a 21-year-old woman in 2015 outside a bar in Tallahassee, Florida, while he played for Florida State. He was found not guilty in the jury trial.

The 26-year-old has played all five of his NFL seasons for the Vikings, who selected him with the No. 41 overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft.

Cook leads all Viking players with 106.5 scrimmage yards per game this season. He has 639 total yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Odell Beckham Jr. reportedly wants to catch passes from Aaron Rodgers.

According to insider Jordan Schultz, the wide receiver "has prioritized the Packers as his No. 1 destination should he clear waivers."

Beckham could be available to Green Bay after the Cleveland Browns reached a settlement for his restructured contract.

ESPN's Adam Schefter previously reported the three-time Pro Bowler prefers to join a contender. Schefter also added "there could be potential issues" for a non-contending team that added him on waivers before he had the opportunity to join a team in the postseason picture. 

The 7-2 Packers would fit the bill as contenders.

Beckham's time with the Browns didn't exactly come to the best possible end.

His father placed a video on Instagram highlighting times quarterback Baker Mayfield missed him on open routes. The team also dismissed him from practice multiple times before the two sides eventually went their separate ways.

The LSU product also wasn't particularly productive in six games this year when he tallied 17 catches for 232 yards and zero touchdowns in six games. He had just 319 receiving yards in seven games last season.

The numbers were a far cry from when he was dominant as a member of the New York Giants in the early portion of his career. He finished each of his first three seasons with more than 1,300 receiving yards and looked well on his way to becoming a generational talent and potential future Hall of Famer.

Beckham is still just 29 years old and could start to put up impressive numbers again with the Packers.

Not only would Rodgers be the one throwing him the ball, the presence of Davante Adams and Aaron Jones in that offense would mean he likely wouldn't face many double teams and would draw favorable assignments.

He has the talent to take advantage of such situations and could help the Packers as they look to take the next step and reach the Super Bowl after losing in the last two NFC Championship Games.