NFL Notes: Draft, Thursday Night Games, Replay Reviews, Cardinals & Texans

Draft

• Matt Miller of B/R reports that Stanford RB Christian McCaffery will forgo his years of college eligibility to declare for the 2017 NFL Draft.
• Miller grades him as a first-round prospect while mentioning that he is a “lock” to go in the top-50.

Thursday Night Games

• According to Jason Cole of B/R, several coaches throughout the NFL are upset about the league scheduling important divisional games on Thursday nights late in the season.
• One coach points out that Oakland and Kansas City’s Week 14 Thursday night game could determine who wins the AFC West and top seed coming out of the AFC, making it unfair for both teams to play on short notice given the game’s magnitude.

Replay Reviews

• Jason Cole spoke with three NFL coaches that are adamant in wanting on-field officials to continue handling replay reviews, while the league has debated streamlining the replay process to the replay official or league office.

Cardinals

• Cardinals HC Bruce Arians said WR John Brown will be limited in practice and games while doctors treat his sickle-cell trait.
• Arians also said that the team signed P Matt Wile to their practice squad to compete with P Drew Butler.

Texans

• Texans CB Johnathan Joseph suffered two broken ribs and a bruised lung during Sunday’s Week 13 game against the Packers. (Mark Berman)