NFL notebook: Owens says Bryant needs to sign soon

Former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant predicted he will "soon" be returning to the NFL. Hall of Famer Terrell Owens said for Bryant's sake, that time can't come soon enough. Responding to a question on Twitter on when he plans to sign with a team, Bryant on Friday offered a one-word tweet: "Soon." Bryant, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, has been without a team since the Dallas Cowboys released him in mid-April in a salary dispute. Bryant, who reportedly rejected a contract offer from the Baltimore Ravens and has continually been linked to the Cleveland Browns, said just prior to the season that he was focusing on improving himself before signing with a team. Owens, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August and still makes noises about returning to the NFL, told TMZ that Bryant's focus should be on getting back on the field -- immediately. "He has to get on the team and prove to everyone what he feels like he is capable of doing," Owens told the website. "Because everybody, if you listen to all the commentators, they feel he's lost a step, he's not the guy he once was, (that) he feels like he is. "At this point the game, get on a roster, no matter what the money is -- if its's a one-year deal, two-year deal, whatever the case may be -- and show everybody what you're made of, what you're capable of doing." Bryant had a team-leading 69 receptions for 838 yards and six touchdowns with Dallas in 2017. The 29-year-old has gone a career-long 23 regular-season games without a 100-yard performance. --The Carolina Panthers may not have to wait long for recently signed safety Eric Reid to make an impact. Panthers tight end Greg Olsen, currently sidelined by a foot injury, told Pro Football Talk Live on Friday that Reid could be ready to take the field in Week 5. "I think it happened at a good time bringing him in during the bye week," Olsen said. "Kind of get a head start on prepping to hopefully be able to contribute really quickly, as maybe as early as next week. So, we'll see how practice goes when we start back up on Monday but I'm sure he's happy to be back in the league and kind of have that behind him and we're happy to have him." The Panthers signed Reid to a one-year contract Thursday. Carolina needed help in the secondary after veteran Da'Norris Searcy was placed on injured reserve last week with his second concussion in a month. Reid, a starter in each of his first five seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, filed a collusion grievance against the NFL in May. The 26-year-old Reid claimed at the beginning of the offseason that he wasn't receiving interest from teams because of his decision to kneel during the national anthem. He was the first player to kneel alongside former Kaepernick as a means to protest racial inequality and police brutality. -- The Los Angeles Rams expect cornerback Aqib Talib to return in the final month of the regular season. Talib underwent ankle surgery Thursday and the prognosis was "encouraging," Rams coach Sean McVay told reporters Friday. Although Los Angeles placed Talib on injured reserve, he will be eligible to return to the active roster after eight weeks, putting him in line to rejoin the lineup in December. "We're hopeful that ... he'll be ready to go," said McVay of Talib coming back for the stretch run. "But, it wasn't anything that -- because if you did go in there and there was a couple different things that they had to do, you're talking about, 'Yeah, it's probably season-ending,' and that was not the news that we got. "Looking forward to getting him back. I don't know exactly what that date would be, but I know that the anticipation is to get him back with a few games left in the season. We'll see where we're at from there." --A day after allowing 556 total yards to the Los Angeles Rams in a 38-31 loss, the Minnesota Vikings were still left questioning what happened to their once-stout defense. The defensive breakdowns that allowed Jared Goff to throw for 456 yards and five touchdowns and had three receivers each go over 100 yards receiving, even had coach Mike Zimmer believing he's part of the problem. "Quite honestly, it wasn't nickels and linebackers," Zimmer said of the issues against Los Angeles, where the Rams managed to get receivers matched up on linebackers time after time. "It was guys getting out of position. It was some misdirection plays, similar to what we've gotten before. Some of it was corners, some of it was safeties, some of it was linebackers, some of it was nickels, some of it was me." Zimmer has been the architect of Minnesota's defense, a unit that led the NFL in fewest points and yards allowed last season. But the Vikings have allowed three straight opponents to score at least 27 points. Green Bay and Los Angeles each had at least 446 yards against Minnesota. The 556 yards allowed by the Vikings were the fourth most in team history and the most ever given up by a Zimmer-led defense since he became a defensive coordinator with Dallas in 2000. --Green Bay Packers defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson was placed on injured reserve Saturday after suffering a season-ending ankle injury during Sunday's 31-17 loss to the Washington Redskins. Wilkerson, 28, signed a one-year, $5 million contract in attempt to revitalize his career after his tenure with the New York Jets ended poorly. The Jets cut him just two years into a five-year, $86 million contract after he had problems with tardiness, effort and coaches while appearing in 13 games last season. In his first three games with the Packers, Wilkerson totaled five tackles with no sacks. --Minnesota Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen will be out until Week 6 according to coach Mike Zimmer. Zimmer told reporters Friday that Griffen would not be able to return to practice ahead of Minnesota's Week 5 game with Philadelphia on Oct. 7. On Thursday, Griffen posted a lengthy message on Instagram. He used his social media to address the events leading to his mental health issues and thanked his family, friends and teammates. Last week, ESPN reported that the Vikings sent Griffen a letter saying he could not return until getting his mental health evaluated. Griffen has been dealing with a mental-health-related issue for the last few weeks and currently is being evaluated at a hospital, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported. Vikings' executive director of player development Les Pico told police in Minnetrista, Minn., that the team had sent Griffen and his agent the letter Thursday, informing him he could not return until receiving an evaluation. --While the Los Angeles Rams were piling up 556 yards of offense in Thursday's 38-31 win over the Minnesota Vikings, receiver Robert Woods was getting his house burglarized. According to the Los Angeles Police Department, they responded to a call in the 23100 block of Mariano Street in Woodland Hills at 7:20 p.m. local time on Thursday. Woods had property stolen and the suspects were not immediately caught but TMZ reported Saturday that a suspect was apprehended on Friday with property belonging to Woods. The suspected burglars were spotted departing Woods' home in the San Fernando Valley and were wearing hoodies according to reports. During the win over Minnesota, Woods caught five passes for 101 yards and a touchdown. --The Denver Broncos placed tight end Jake Butt on injured reserve Saturday, two days after he tore the ACL in his left knee. The 6-foot-6, 250-pound Butt suffered a torn ACL in his left knee during a walk-through practice Thursday that will prematurely end his season with 13 games remaining. To replace Butt on the 53-man roster, Brian Parker was promoted from the practice squad. Butt is no stranger to injury, having torn the ACL in his right knee twice while at Michigan -- first in the spring of 2014 and second in his final game for Michigan in the 2016 Orange Bowl.