The New England Patriots have waived Chris Harper, who muffed a critical punt in the fourth quarter of their loss at the Denver Broncos.

Harper is an undrafted rookie out of Cal and will likely return to the practice squad if he clears waivers.

The Patriots are thin at receiver due to injuries to Julian Edelman (foot) and Danny Amendola (knee), as the 5-foot-11, 185-pound Harper served as the No. 3 option against the Broncos.

Rob Gronkowski escaped serious injury during Sunday's loss by the New England Patriots.

Gronkowski suffered a "minor knee strain" and the timeframe is "a week or two most likely."

Gronkowski's 2013 season ended with a torn ACL and MCL in his right knee.

Peyton Manning won't be playing "anytime soon", according to ESPN's Chris Mortensen.

Gary Kubiak has said Manning will only return to the Broncos when he's 100 percent.

Manning is still in a walking cast and is expected to wear it until at least Friday of this week.

Manning will still need to further rehab a partially-torn plantar fascia tendon. 

Brock Osweiler is starting for the Broncos with Manning injured.

Adrian Peterson is able to look at his 2014 away from football on the commissioner's exempt list as a blessing in hindsight.

“A blessing in disguise,” said Peterson. “I was able to rest my body. And sometimes you’ve got to be humbled. There were things I was doing that God didn’t want me to do. I think it’s a good thing I was able to sit back and get my life in order.”

Peterson has also been motivated by turning 30 in March.

“People on the outside all say, ‘You’re 30, you’re 30, you’re 30,” Peterson said. “It’s too old for a running back. I heard it over and over and over. That’s not the only thing that motivates me, but it helps when everyone tells you that you can’t do something, and you know you can do it.”

Ben Roethlisberger placed himself in the concussion protocol toward the end of the Pittsburgh Steelers' loss at the Seattle Seahawks.

It has not yet been determined if Roethlisberger actually suffered a concussion.

Landry Jones finished the game at quarterback for the Steelers.

The Miami Dolphins have fired Bill Lazor as offensive coordinator.

Zac Taylor will serve as the Dolphins' play caller and remain as quarterbacks coach.

Joe Philbin was fired as head coach in October.

The New England Patriots are optimistic Rob Gronkowski may have escaped serious injury to his right knee.

Gronkowski was carted off the field and he was walking from the X-ray room with a slight limp.

"We think he is going to be OK," the source said.

Gronkowski's presence in the locker room immediately after the game was viewed by some players as an encouraging sign.

Gronkowski suffered the injury with 2:49 remaining in the fourth quarter, when Denver defensive back Darian Stewart hit him low on an incomplete pass.

USC has hired Clay Helton as their permanent head coach.

Helton was named interim head coach when Steve Sarkisian was fired.

Chip Kelly and Jeff Fisher have been linked to the USC vacancy.

Jimmy Graham is out for the rest of the season after tearing the patellar tendon in his right knee.

"We're gonna miss the heck out of him for the rest of the season," Pete Carroll said.

The injury will require surgery, Carroll said.

The training staff put an air cast on Graham's right leg before he was carted off the field.

Graham had four catches for 75 yards on the day. 

The New York Jets decided to release Quinton Coples following an incident on the team's return flight from Houston last Sunday.

The exact specifics of the incident are unknown, but they didn't sit well with the Jets' hierarchy.

Coples played a season-low five snaps on defense in the loss to the Houston Texans.