The NFL schedule is now past the halfway mark and into Week 10 after the Washington Redskins lost to the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday night football and with injuries piling for teams like the Oakland Raiders, Houston Texans and Chicago Bears, players like Michael Turner, Tim Tebow and Joe McKnight are still available on the market.
Turner is a name that has not come up in quite a while and that may be due to old age, while Tim Tebow has not gotten a sniff from anyone apart from some little reports about the St. Louis Rams possibly looking at him as an option after Sam Bradford was injured, but that went nowhere. Tebow is not being looked at as a legitimate option by anyone and it could be a long time before he gets another chance in the NFL and in a way that's too bad, as he had some great moments in his brief career and deserves to at least have another shot at sticking with a franchise after he was released by both the Jets and the Patriots.
Turner and McKnight are considered primary pickups for teams due to various reasons like age, skill level and scheme issues, but someone like Turner or McKnight could provide a boost for a team like the Oakland Raiders or Houston Texans, as both are dealing with injuries this season. Darren McFadden is banged up once again and with Arian Foster and Ben Tate dealing with injury issues as well, either of those players could provide some insurance for those teams.
The Falcons released Turner earlier in the year and he hasn't had much attention after ditching his nearly $7 million salary and with his stats going down in each of the past couple years, that is a main reason why he hasn't been picked up. For a time, Turner was one of the best running backs in the league and before rushing for 800 yards and just 3.6 yards per carry last season, he went for over 1,300 yards in three of the past four seasons. Turner had double digit touchdowns in every season in Atlanta, including 17 in 2008 and he could be a good option for teams struggling in goal line situations. Turner was passed over at various times this season, including by the NY Giants and Cleveland Browns, as they signed Peyton Hillis and Willis McGahee as injury replacement options, leaving players like McKnight and Turner to continue waiting.
The Texans and Oakland Raiders both could use a boost and while they have Tate and Rashad Jennings respectively, things get thin past that. McFadden and Foster have been banged up all season and their issues could continue to linger and that makes the free agent options interesting to look at.
