Jerry Jones: Cowboys “running out of time” for playoff run

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You don’t get as rich as Jerry Jones without being good at math.

So when the Cowboys owner looks at his 5-6 team, he realizes time is drawing short if they’re going to make the postseason.

But on his weekly radio show on KRLD-FM, Jones also suggested there are other goals at play as well, goals which sound vaguely Shanahan-ian in meaning.

“Getting it right? We do, yes,” Jones said when asked if the Cowboys have time to fix their season (via ESPNDallas.com). “We’re running out of time as to the playoffs. Do we have enough time? It’s numerically possible, but you got to really step out here this week and do the right things to win a ballgame on the field. You have time to do that.

“Certainly you want to be going into the final weeks of the season, . . . [and] playing at an uptick to play well in the playoffs. But there’s another reason why you want to be playing well, too. You want to be playing well so you can basically look at your core and see where you are with your core and evaluate your core as far as seasons to come.”

While not as blatant as Redskins coach Mike Shanahan’s “evaluate” comments after their loss to the Panthers, it does illustrate an eye toward the future.

In the offseason, all the talk was about “windows,” and if this team doesn’t make a push, Jones may come to the realization it’s already closed.

“I thought we’d be better than this,” said Jones, “although I do realize the kind of competition we have in the league. We got nine teams that are 5-6 or 6-5 in the NFL right now. I knew we were in a league that has a lot of competition, but I thought we would be better.”

He always does. And they haven’t been. Which makes you wonder how long a leash this core has.

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The Dolphins released wide receiver Justin Hunter on Wednesday.

The Dolphins play in Cincinnati Thursday night. The timing of Hunter’s release indicates the Dolphins need a roster spot due to injury or other circumstances and could promote someone from their practice squad.

Hunter was released by the Titans in early September and claimed by the Dolphins. He played in one game this season and did not record a reception.

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The disappointing Jets tenure of Dee Milliner has now officially come to an end.

Milliner, the former No. 9 overall pick in the draft, was waived/injured before the start of the regular season, and when he cleared waivers he went to the Jets’ injured reserve list. Now the Jets have waived him off their injured reserve.

That means if any team wants Milliner, he can be claimed on waivers. If he goes unclaimed he’ll become an unrestricted free agent and can play this season, assuming he’s healthy enough to do so. If he had stayed on the Jets’ injured reserve he wouldn’t have been able to play this year.

An excellent cornerback at Alabama, Milliner was a big disappointment in the NFL. He may still have a chance to catch on somewhere else, but he’s now officially done as a Jet.

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The Cardinals and Rams will square off this Sunday and the Rams have added a former member of the Arizona secondary to their roster ahead of the game.

Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports that the Rams claimed safety Marqui Christian off of waivers on Wednesday, a day after the Cardinals dropped him as part of a series of transactions. The Cardinals said the move was due to the need to bring in another punter while Drew Butler is recovering from ankle and Achilles injuries.

Christian was a fifth-round pick by the Cardinals in April. He starred at Division II Midwestern State and was named the top small college defensive player last year, but hasn’t played in the regular season as it appears the leap in levels to the NFL has been a big one.

He may have some insight into the Cardinals that the Rams could find useful over the next couple of days, however.

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Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa was listed as a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice due to a hamstring injury.

That means it’s a new week but the same story for Bosa, who’s still trying to get healthy enough to make his NFL debut.

The No. 3 pick in last year’s draft participated his first practice in pads last week but was ultimately held out of last weekend’s game. Bosa missed almost all of training camp and the preseason due to a contract dispute, then was injured in his first practice back.

Veteran tight end Antonio Gates remained out of practice with a hamstring injury. Offensive tackle King Dunlap missed practice due to migraines, coach Mike McCoy told reporters.

The Chargers host the Saints on Sunday.

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Two days after offensive lineman Alvin Bailey was arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, it’s unclear whether the Browns will take action against him for it.

“We will see,” coach Hue Jackson told reporters on Wednesday. “Obviously, this is a league matter. Those kind of things that happen, I’m not very excited about it at all. There will be consequences for it, but we have to follow league protocol as far as that is concerned. We will do what we feel is right.”

Alcohol offenses fall under the NFL’s exclusive jurisdiction, via the substance-abuse policy. A first offense generally results in a two-game suspension.

While teams can’t fine players accused of DUI or suspend them without pay, players can be released for arrests (like the Bucs did last week with tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins), they can make them inactive on game day, and they can choose not to play them, even if they are active.

So will Bailey play on Sunday against Washington?

“You will find that out on Sunday,” Jackson said.

The Browns may have a separate problem in this case. Bailey reportedly told police he drank on the team flight back from Miami. Nine years ago, however, the NFL banned teams from providing alcohol on team flights.

There’s currently no evidence the team provided alcohol to Bailey or any other player. However, there’s also no evidence that Bailey or any other player snuck a bottle of booze or a six-pack of beer onto the charter, either.

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If Tom Coughlin eventually will be getting back into coaching in 2017 (or sooner), there’s no current effort in Buffalo to make that happen.

Both Coughlin’s current employer (the NFL) and Coughlin’s agent (Sandy Montag) have denied a report that emerged over the weekend indicating that Coughlin had met with Bills owners Terry and Kim Pegula.

“This meeting did not happen,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told PFT via email on Wednesday.

“I do confirm that a meeting did not occur,” Montag told PFT via email.

The Bills opted to say nothing, citing a “longstanding practice not to respond to media posts based on rumors.” While accounts of the Coughlin-Pegula meeting may have begun as rumor, Sal Maiorana of the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle reported that a meeting occurred.

The fact that the Bills scored an unlikely win over the Cardinals likely contributed to the fizzling of the rumor/report. But if the Bills struggle again, talk of Coughlin could resurface. Regardless of what happens in the future, the NFL and Coughlin’s agent have been unequivocal: No meeting happened.

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Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said on Monday that quarterback Russell Wilson would be on the practice field Wednesday to kick off the on-field preparation for Sunday’s game against the Jets.

Nothing changed on that front over the last two days and Carroll confirmed Wednesday that Wilson will be working with the rest of the team after going through a morning walkthrough. The quarterback added a sprained MCL to an ankle injury during last Sunday’s victory over the 49ers, but, as reported by Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com, he has been working with a physical therapist who has been living in his house this week.

Carroll said Wilson is feeling well at this point in the week.

“He’s upbeat and feeling good,” Carroll said, via Curtis Crabtree of PFT and 950 KJR. “We’ll know more after today.”

Carroll went on to say that he would be surprised if Wilson doesn’t play, something that’s supported by the fact that the team opted against working out any quarterbacks who could join Trevone Boykin as options in the event Wilson isn’t in the lineup.

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When the Dolphins face the Bengals in Cincinnati on Thursday night, four players will definitely not be playing.

Running back Arian Foster (hamstring), tight end Jordan Cameron (concussion), linebacker Koa Misi (neck), and center Mike Pouncey (hip) officially are out for the first game of Week Four.

Linebacker Jelani Jenkins (groin) is doubtful, as is guard Anthony Steen (ankle).

Ten other Dolphins are listed as questionable, including receivers Jarvis Landry (shoulder) and DeVante Parker (hamstring), safety Reshad Jones (knee), tight end Dion Sims (ankle), and tackle Branden Albert (ankle).

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If either Jimmy Garoppolo or Jacoby Brissett can’t suit up on Sunday, receiver Julian Edelman will serve as the backup quarterback, again. If both can’t go, Edelman will be the starter.

In a Wednesday conference call with Buffalo media, Edelman was asked whether he has spent time this week practicing at quarterback.

“It’s a team policy that we’re not allowed to talk about where we’ve been practicing, but I can tell you that what we have been doing has been tough because of the opponent, the Buffalo Bills and coach [Rex] Ryan, and what he does, he does so much,” Edelman said. “It’s one of those things where we have to really tap in in the classroom and bring it to the grass in practice and translate that into regular drills, team drills, and all those types of things because we know it’s going to be against a tough opponent this week.”

Asked later by Ryan himself (who identified himself as Walt Patulski of the Buffalo News) whether Edelman will play quarterback this week, the receiver said, “I’m going to do whatever the coaches ask me to do. If they ask me to go out and give a glass of water to someone on the sideline, I’m going to do that with a smile on my face if it helps our team win. You can ask coach [Bill Belichick] that one.”

Ryan had a smile on his face, because Edelman didn’t realize Ryan was the one posing the questions.

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Bengals Pro Bowl tight end Tyler Eifert’s return will likely wait at least another week.

The Bengals are listing Eifert as doubtful for Thursday night’s game vs. the Dolphins. Eifert had returned to practice last week.

Eifert had ankle surgery last spring after being injured in the Pro Bowl. Last week marked the first time he had practiced in a team setting.

The Bengals are also listing starting cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick as doubtful. Kirkpatrick has a hamstring injury and will likely be replaced in the starting lineup by Darqueze Dennard.

Safety Derron Smith, who has a chest injury, is listed as questionable.

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The Saints are thin in a number of spots, but made a move Wednesday to shore up their offensive line.

According to Herbie Teope of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, the Saints are signing veteran tackle Khalif Barnes.

Barnes was in camp with the Saints this summer, but was released as they got the roster down to 53.

The 34-year-old Barnes started one game for Oakland last year, but has 117 career starts with the Jaguars and Raiders.

Left tackle Terron Armstead has been out with a knee injury, and Andrus Peat started in his place Monday night. That was fine, until replacement left guard Senio Kelemete left with a hamstring injury and didn’t return, leaving them thin.

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When the Dolphins hired Adam Gase to coach the team, the assignment came with the understanding that Gase would have the ability to decide based on the 2016 season whether Ryan Tannehill should continue to be the quarterback in 2017 and beyond. So, three games in to Gase’s tenure, how are things going?

Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald addressed the situation during a Wednesday visit to PFT Live on NBC Sports Radio and NBCSN. He provided a positive assessment of the Gase-Tannehill relationship, despite my (usual) efforts to stir things up.

Here’s one way to stir things up for some Dolphins fans: Suggest a reunion between Gase and Jay Cutler, who had a solid season with Gase as the offensive coordinator in 2015. Salguero responds to that chatter, along with providing an assessment of potential outside interest in Tannehill that nearly sparked a debate as intense as the one 80 million people watched on Monday night.

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Questions about Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis‘ ability to hang with opposing receivers were a big part of the conversation after the first two games of the season, but they aren’t a big topic around the team this week.

Watching the starting quarterback throw six interceptions in a single game has a way of deflecting attention in other directions, although it does look like there will be some discussion of Revis’ fitness in the coming days.

Revis was listed as a non-participant in practice for the Jets, although coach Todd Bowles said that Revis actually hurt his ankle during the session and then took the rest of the day off. Bowles said there’s “not much” concern that Revis’ injury will pose a problem for the team this week, although Thursday and Friday’s practices will provide more information on that front.

Wide receiver Eric Decker sat out practice Wednesday with a shoulder injury that’s been bothering him for the last couple of weeks. Bowles indicated Decker aggravated the injury during last Sunday’s loss to the Colts.

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Browns wide receiver/utility man Terrelle Pryor has finally found NFL success after spending most of the last several seasons looking for a home — and a position.

Though he’s listed as a starter at wide receiver and is clearly more comfortable in that role than he was a year ago, Pryor is showing off his rare athleticism while making cameo appearances as a running quarterback as well. Last weekend, Pryor became the first player to have at least 120 receiving yards, at least 20 passing yards and and at least 20 rushing yards in a game since Hall of Famer Frank Gifford did it in 1959.

Not bad for a guy who spent much of 2014 and 2015 trying to get a job.

“Everybody would [take me now]. Everybody,” he told Cleveland Scene this week. “Now, after what happened last year, when I play those teams, I’m trying to make everyone pay. I want to make them look bad, because they made bad decisions, period.

“I should have been on somebody’s team, period. I got a big chip on my shoulder. I want to embarrass them, these teams, these corners, these guys I’m battling against. It’s all I want to do, to win, compete, battle my butt off, make these teams look bad. I put it in my head. I got a lot of work to do.”

Pryor spent much of last September and October on the workout circuit. Among the teams that tried him out but didn’t sign him are the Giants, Patriots, Jets and Seahawks. He was cut by the Chiefs and Bengals — as a quarterback, his original position — in 2015 before the Browns claimed him on waivers in June 2015 and Pryor decided to dedicate himself to becoming a wide receiver. He was cut by the Browns last September but brought back towards the end of last season.

Thus far, that looks like one of the best personnel decisions the Browns have made in years.

“[Teams] were cutting me for bums at quarterback, guys with no reason to be on the team over me,” Pryor said of his position switch. “At the end of the day I know what it is. It’s a lot of politics. So I knew I was playing the politics game and it wasn’t working out in my favor, so I might as well try to do something different.”

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The NFL begins its annual export of games to Europe on Sunday, with the 1-2 Colts and 0-3 Jaguars squaring off in London. The Jaguars specifically requested the earliest possible slot, given their history of improving after playing overseas.

But playing in the first England game comes with a risk. For each of the last two years, the initial London game has become a coaching Waterloo.

In 2014, a 38-14 loss to the Dolphins resulted in the termination of Raiders coach Dennis Allen, who went 8-28 during his time with the team.

Last year, the Dolphins fired coach Joe Philbin after a 27-14 loss to the Jets in London. Philbin finished his tenure in Miami with a 24-28 record.

This year, the 1-2 Colts face the 0-3 Jaguars in the first London game. A loss by the Jaguars would drop coach Gus Bradley to 12-40 since taking over in 2013, and it would fuel speculation that he’ll be released with 12 games left in 2016.

That would be a surprise, however. Although owner Shad Khan has made it clear on multiple occasions that the time for winning has arrived, there’s no indication that Khan would make a change this early in Bradley’s fourth year on the job.

Colts coach Chuck Pagano, who would stumble to 1-3 on the year with a loss to Jacksonville (which hung 50 on Indy last season), also isn’t in trouble, given the four-year contract he signed in January. (Philbin currently is on Pagano’s staff.)

Still, whoever loses on Sunday will be in the AFC South basement with 25 percent of the season in the books, and it will be the kind of start that could result in a change, sooner than later. For either team, an immediate change is unlikely, which would stop the Week Four London-and-done streak at two.