HEADLINES

Month: January 2025

Eagles Place Vinny Curry On IR

September 15th, 2020 at 12:30pm CST by Zachary Links

The Eagles have placed defensive end Vinny Curry and cornerback Craig James on injured reserve, per a club announcement. Both players will miss a minimum of three weeks. 

Curry went down with a hamstring injury in the Eagles’ season opener, leaving the Birds without one of their best pass rushers. Playing in all 16 regular season games last season, Curry notched five sacks and 27 total tackles. Four of those sacks came after Week 12, helping him to finish with one of the highest pressure rates in the league among edge rushers. When he returns, he’ll continue on his one-year, $1.3MM deal, though he might not achieve the sack totals required to realize much of his $700K incentives package.

James managed a fumble recovery in the Eagles’ Week 1 contest against the Washington Football Team before his early exit. His injury has not been disclosed, though head coach Doug Pederson says it’s “significant”.

To fill one of the two open spots on the roster, the Eagles have promoted guard Sua Opeta from the practice squad.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/15/20

September 15th, 2020 at 12:30pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Chargers

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tennessee Titans

Bengals Claim Austin Seibert Off Waivers

September 15th, 2020 at 11:10am CST by Zachary Links

The Bengals have claimed kicker Austin Seibert off waivers from the Browns, as Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. The move won’t become officially official until 4pm ET/3pm CT, but the Bengals are guaranteed to get Seibert thanks to their No. 1 priority on the waiver wire.

[RELATED: Bengals Place Trae Waynes On IR]

The Browns dropped Seibert earlier this week and it now appears that they’ll be facing him on Thursday night for their intrastate showdown. The Bengals grabbed Seibert as insurance for Randy Bullock, who may be out with a calf injury. Injury aside, Bullock also missed a 31-yard field goal down the stretch of their Week 1 loss to the Chargers.

Seibert’s last straw in Cleveland came after a blowout loss to the Ravens. The young kicker missed a field goal and an extra point attempt in the 38-6 defeat, though there was plenty of blame to go around. As a rookie last year, Seibert nailed 86.2% of his field goal tries, though he missed five of his XPs.

Torn ACL For Steelers’ Zach Banner

September 15th, 2020 at 10:07am CST by Zachary Links

Steelers right tackle Zach Banner has been diagnosed with a torn ACL in his right knee, according to a source who spoke with NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter). Once confirmed by a second opinion, Banner will be placed on injured reserve and sidelined for the remainder of the season. 

Banner, an absolutely mammoth human being at 6’9″, 360 pounds, was selected by the Colts in the fourth round of the 2017 draft. However, the USC product didn’t make it through final cutdowns in Indianapolis, and became the highest rookie draft choice to be waived that year. Banner later hooked on with the Steelers and went on to flatten the opposition as a reserve in 2019. This year, Banner re-upped on a one-year, $1.75MM deal and won the starting right tackle job. Before the injury, he seemed destined for a big pay day in 2021.

Chukwuma Okorafor – nearly as imposing at 6’6″ and 320 pounds – will likely replace Banner in the starting lineup. Beyond that, the Steelers may survey out-of-house options for depth. After downing the Giants on Monday night, they’ll take on the Broncos in Week 2.

Titans Rework Kevin Byard’s Deal

September 15th, 2020 at 9:17am CST by Zachary Links

The Titans created salary cap space by restructuring safety Kevin Byard’s contract (Twitter link via Tom Pelissero of NFL.com). Thanks to Byard’s cooperation, the club now has an extra $6.12MM to spend this season. Effectively, everything stays the same for Byard, who will still make $9.1MM in 2020. 

[RELATED: Titans Place Adoree Jackson On IR]

Byard inked a five-year, $70.5MM extension with the Titans in 2019 to become the highest-paid safety in NFL history. Of course, as these things often go, Byard has since been leapfrogged by Budda Baker and Eddie Jackson. Still, his $14.1MM average annual value tops Tyrann Mathieu ($14MM/year), Landon Collins (ditto), and every other safety in the league.

The Titans may apply that extra cash towards the cornerback position, if Adoree Jackson‘s knee injury lingers for a while. This week, they placed the former first-round pick on injured reserve, shelving him for a minimum of three weeks. The Titans had less than $3MM in cap space entering Tuesday, leaving them roughly $9MM under the limit after revising Byard’s deal.

Byard, 27, put himself on the map with a league-leading eight interceptions in 2017. He hasn’t reprised his Pro Bowl or First-Team All-Pro status since, but he remains a pillar of the Titans’ secondary.

Lions Place Justin Coleman On IR

September 15th, 2020 at 8:35am CST by Zachary Links

The Lions are placing Justin Coleman on injured reserve, as Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. Coleman strained his hamstring on Sunday against the Bears, and he’ll miss at least three weeks of action. 

Hamstring injuries have dogged the Lions in recent weeks. They were already without wide receiver Kenny Golladay and cornerback Jeff Okudah heading into Week 1. Then, in the season opener, Coleman and fellow cornerback Desmond Trufant exited early with hammy issues. Okudah can step up for Coleman if he’s able to go for Week 2 against the Packers, but they’ll be extra thin if Trufant needs the week off. Beyond that, they’ve got Darryl Roberts and Tony McRae on the depth chart.

The Lions may look to sign former Chargers and Texans defensive back Jaylen Watkins after auditioning him this week. If Watkins isn’t a fit, they’ll likely need to find secondary support elsewhere. The Packers topped the Vikings 43-34 in their opener and the offensive line gave Aaron Rodgers tremendous pocket support throughout the game to move the offense down the field. The Lions can’t bank on consistent pressure next week, so they’ll need top-tier play from their banged-up CB group.

Ohio State’s Shaun Wade Opts Out

September 14th, 2020 at 6:20pm CST by Zachary Links

Ohio State’s Shaun Wade has opted out of the upcoming season (Twitter link). The cornerback is widely projected to be a Top 10 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and he’ll get an early jump on preparing for the combine. 

[RELATED: Trevor Lawrence To Enter Draft After 2020 Season]

“This has been an extremely difficult decision to make, but I know it’s the right decision for me. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and uncertainty surrounding our season I have decided to forgo my remaining eligibility and officially declare for the 2021 NFL draft,” Wade said. “I am forever grateful to Buckeye Nation and looking forward to the next chapter.”

Of course, it remains to be seen whether the Big Ten will go ahead with its season, though it’s expected that the conference will forge ahead with an announcement in the coming days. For Wade, the risk of COVID-19 coupled with the ever-present injury risk didn’t add up.

In April, Wade will likely become the 15th Ohio State cornerback in NFL history to hear his name called in the first round. Earlier this year, Jeff Okudah became the 14th CB to go in Round 1 when the Lions tapped him at No. 3 overall. Other recent first-round Buckeyes include Denzel Ward, Marshon Lattimore, Gareon Conley, Eli Apple, Bradley Roby, and Malcolm Jenkins.

Titans Place Adoree Jackson On IR

September 14th, 2020 at 5:51pm CST by Zachary Links

The Titans have placed Adoree Jackson on injured reserve prior to tonight’s opener against the Broncos, per a club announcement. Jackson was limited in practice on Friday with a knee injury, but the club has not offered additional details on the severity of the injury. At minimum, Jackson will miss the next three weeks, per the league’s modified IR rules for this season. 

Jackson was said to be having a strong camp before the injury. Now, the Titans will have to look elsewhere for support opposite of Malcolm Butler. Veteran Johnathan Joseph seems likely to get the nod and second-round rookie Kristian Fulton may also see some additional snaps in the interim.

To round out the group, the Titans have promoted cornerback Tye Smith from the taxi squad. Running back Jeremy McNichols and wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine will also get called up for Monday night’s game against Denver, though they’ll revert back to the p-squad on Tuesday morning.

Last year, Jackson graded out as the eighth-best cornerback in the NFL, according to the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus. This offseason, the Titans made the no-brainer move to pick up his fifth-year option for 2021. After this season, the Titans are expected to discuss a long-term deal with the USC product to keep him for years to come.

Laquon Treadwell To Join Falcons’ Practice Squad

September 14th, 2020 at 5:05pm CST by Zachary Links

Laquon Treadwell‘s NFL journey continues. On Monday, the former first-round pick agreed to join the Falcons’ practice squad, as NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets.

[RELATED: Falcons Cut Deone Bucannon]

Treadwell never made a mark during his time with the Vikings. The 2016 first-round pick out of Ole Miss ultimately spent four seasons in Minnesota, hauling in 65 receptions for 701 receiving yards and two scores in 53 games (16 starts). His best season came in 2018, when he set career-highs in receptions (35) and receiving yards (302). For what it’s worth, he finished the ’19 slate with a 20.4-yard-per-catch average, but did so on just nine catches.

In March, the Falcons gave Treadwell a shot on a low-cost deal. But, with Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley, Russell Gage, and Olamide Zaccheaus already locked in as the top receivers, Treadwell was facing long odds from the jump. Now, he’ll wait for his next opportunity on the taxi squad.

After falling to the Seahawks in their season opener, the Falcons will look for redemption on Sunday against the Cowboys.

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