NFL Notes: Sean Payton, 49ers, Patriots, Redskins, & Titans

Sean Payton

• Regarding the report from earlier in the day that USC could have interest in Saints HC Sean Payton, Jeff Duncan mentions that this idea “makes sense for a lot of reasons,” assuming Payton is in fact willing to move on.

49ers

• 49ers RB Carlos Hyde said he managed to come out of Sunday’s game as good as he was entering the contest. (Joe Fann)

Patriots

• Mike Reiss of ESPN mentions that WR Brandon LaFell, DT Chris Jones and LB Dane Fletcher are all eligible to begin practicing this week after opening the season on the PUP list.
• According to Reiss, all three players potentially could have been ready before Week 7, but by placing them on the PUP list, the Patriots will end up with some midseason depth.
• Reiss wonders if WR Aaron Dobson’s spot on the 53-man roster could be in jeopardy with LaFell expected back.
• Marcus Cannon, who will see more playing now that LT Nate Sodler is done for the season, has a $250,000 playing-time incentive if he is on the field for more than 80 percent of the snaps.

Redskins

Redskins HC Jay Gruden said they intend to stick with Kirk Cousins as their starting quarterback for the remainder of the season, despite his struggles.

“We stand behind Kirk,” Gruden said, via ESPN.com.

“I’ll have to look at the film,” Gruden said, “[but] it was a little windy. He had a lot of pressure on him, really. There were a lot of things going on pre-snap that he’s got to deal with, getting the formations, the protections and all that. … Overall you hate to pin this game on Kirk. I know he could have played better, but we had no running game whatsoever and Kirk’s not in that stage of his career right now, nor is anybody on our roster, to carry our team throwing the ball as much as we had to.”

Titans

• Mike Florio, citing a league source, reports that Titans rookie QB Marcus Mariota will have an MRI on his knee Monday.