Philly’s Westbrook Cleared To Return
After suffering a frightening concussion in Week 7 against the Redskins, Eagles running back Brian Westbrook unsurprisingly sat out on Sunday against the Giants, but he’ll be on the field when the Eagles face the Cowboys on Sunday in their battle for first place in the NFC East.
Westbrook practiced today for the first time since he went out in the first quarter against Washington, and it’s all systems go for the two-time Pro Bowler.
The Eagles didn’t miss Westbrook in their 40-17 rout of the Giants, but they’ll certainly welcome him back for Sunday’s big game. This is the second time he’s had to miss some time this season after spraining his ankle in Week 2 against New Orleans, which forced him to miss the next week‘s game against Kansas City.
Westbrook has run for 732 yards (4.1 yards per carry) and six touchdowns and caught 63 passes for 517 yards and three touchdowns in 14 career games against Dallas, so even though he likely won’t tote full load on Sunday, he’s still a solid start.
Slaton Out, Moats In For Texans?
Texans coach Gary Kubiak hasn’t said yet who’s going to start at running back when Houston takes on the undefeated Colts in Indy,
Slaton was benched after losing his league-leading fifth fumble of the season early on at Buffalo, and Moats took over and went on to run for career highs of 126 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Texans to a 31-10 win over the Bills.
I don’t see Kubiak yanking Slaton’s starting duties this quickly, but if Slaton does indeed start, it’ll certainly come with a caveat that he best hold on to the ball if he doesn’t want his touches severely cut into, because as, he doesn’t do the Texans a lot of good when he keeps dropping the ball.
Whoever earns the starting assignment, the other one will receive a decent amount of touches against the Colts. Indy is 17th in the league in rushing yards allowed, so the Texans should be able to move the ball on the ground.
Slaton is a must-start either way, not only given what he’s capable of with just a few touches, but also because of what he did against the Colts last season. Slaton had 16 carries for 93 yards and two touchdowns in their first meeting, and in the second, he had 14 carries for 156 yards and a 71-yard touchdown run.
Colts LB Hagler Done For Season
Speaking of the Colts, they’ll be without one of their defensive starters for Sunday and for the rest of the season, as linebacker Tyjuan Hagler will miss the rest of the season due to a ruptured biceps suffered on Sunday against San Francisco.
Second-year linebacker Philip Wheeler had six tackles and a sack in Sunday’s win over the 49ers, and he’ll take over Hagler’s starting spot.
Crowder Returns To Practice
Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder could be set to be in action for Miami when they visit New England on Sunday after returning to practice today
Crowder missed practice last week and the Dolphins’ 30-25 road win over the Jets due to a shoulder injury. He was just a limited participant in practice, so it remains to be seen if he’ll be ready to go for Sunday, but it’ll be a big boost for Miami to have a key defensive player when they face Tom Brady and the Patriots’ potent offense.
Chiefs Land WR Chambers
I didn’t think Chris Chambers would be without a team for long, and he wasn’t, as the veteran receiver was awarded to Kansas City on waivers.
Chambers will provide quality depth for a Chiefs receiving corps that isn’t putting up big numbers, Dwayne Bowe included.
