NFL roundup: Jay Cutler is back, Raiders stand ground with Penn, Collins suspended

It looks like Jay Cutler will be spending the 2017 NFL season outside of the broadcast booth, as he agreed with the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.

Former Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler was supposed to spend the 2017 NFL season in the broadcast booth, as it appeared he had retired from the NFL for good. However, after an injury to Miami Dolphins starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill, rumors began to swirl that head coach Adam Gase may sway him out of retirement. That came true on Sunday, as the signal-caller signed a one-year/$10 million deal with the Dolphins, who are a playoff-ready team.

Another playoff-ready team is the Oakland Raiders, though they are having trouble getting one of their best offensive lineman to come to camp. Donald Penn is the team’s star left tackle, and only allowed one sack on quarterback Derek Carr last season. Struggling to come to terms on a new contract, Penn has yet to report to Napa for training camp, and some within the organization are starting to worry.

Joe Flacco injured his back early in training camp and was expected to miss three-six weeks. However, there has been more questions than answers since he got hurt, and now there is no timetable for when he is going to return. Backup Ryan Mallett has never proven to be a real option at the position, and with Colin Kaepernick apparently off the table in Baltimore, Flacco needs to get healthy, and get healthy in a hurry.

The San Francisco 49ers signed linebacker Malcolm Smith with the hopes that he would anchor their defense this season, but that is definitely not going to happen now. Smith tore his pectoral muscle this past weekend, and will now be forced to miss the entire 2017 NFL season. The former Super Bowl MVP signed a five-year deal with the 49ers after spending the last two seasons with the Oakland Raiders, where he started 30 of 32 games.

Next: 5 reasons the Dolphins can make the playoffs with Jay Cutler

Finally, it looks like the Atlanta Falcons will be without one of their top cornerbacks for most of the NFL regular season. Jalen Collins was suspended ten games for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances for the second time. Collins was suspended for the first four games of the 2016 NFL season, and if he does get hit again for violating the policy, it may be the last straw for the talented corner out of LSU.