HEADLINES

Month: November 2024

Falcons’ Matt Ryan: Lots Of “Good Football” Left

May 18th, 2021 at 10:47am CST by Zachary Links

Father Time is undefeated, but Matt Ryan is undeterred. On Tuesday, the Falcons’ quarterback told reporters that he has no plans of slowing down or calling it quits as he enters his age-36 season.

[RELATED: Falcons “Have To Listen” To Julio Jones Offers]

“If you play well long enough you know these things come up,” Ryan said of the speculation regarding his job security (Twitter link via Tori McElhaney of The Athletic). “I still believe I am playing really well and have a lot of good football in front of me.”

Many believed that the Falcons would select Ryan’s eventual replacement at No. 4 overall. Instead, they invested in Ryan’s offense by drafting Florida tight end Kyle Pitts. For Ryan, it was a clear vote of confidence. Now, the veteran will wait to see if longtime partner Julio Jones will remain by his side.

“He’s probably impacted my career more significantly than any other player,” said the QB (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Michael Rothstein).

Pitts, Calvin Ridley, and Hayden Hurst would still stand as capable targets, but no one has a track record to match Jones. Since 2011, Jones has racked up seven Pro Bowl nods with 848 catches, 12,896 yards, and 60 career touchdowns.

While Ryan can’t imagine the Falcons without Jones, new GM Terry Fontenot says they “have to listen” to offers for him.

This Date In Transactions History: Bills Sign Tre’Davious White

May 18th, 2021 at 10:28am CST by Zachary Links

On this date in 2017, the Bills inked cornerback Tre’Davious White to his first NFL contract. Per the terms of his slot, his four-year deal was worth $10.1MM, including a $5.48MM signing bonus.

Of course, the Bills were not initially set to for the backend of the first round. They originally held the No. 10 overall selection, but moved down after the Chiefs agreed to send the No. 27 pick, a third-round pick, and their 2018 first-round selection. With that No. 27 pick, the Bills selected White. And, at No. 10, the Chiefs took a quarterback named Patrick Mahomes.

That’s a factoid that will forever be attached to White. However, that’s not exactly fair to the LSU product. White immediately stepped into a primetime role after Stephon Gilmore‘s departure. The Bills had also moved on from slot specialist Nickell Robey-Coleman that year — White showed his skills and promise right off the bat.

After notching six interceptions in his first two seasons, White doubled his total with a stellar 2019. His six picks led the league that year, earning him Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors. In 2020, the Bills happily re-upped White on a four-year, $69MM extension with $55MM guaranteed.

Consider this: White allowed just five touchdowns in his first three seasons and led all cornerbacks during that time with a 60.6 passer rating. Fans can keep talking about Mahomes if they want, but White is one heck of a consolation prize.

Bears Sign LB Austin Calitro

May 17th, 2021 at 9:45pm CST by Ben Levine

Austin Calitro is heading to Chicago. The free agent linebacker is signing with the Bears, the organization announced this evening (via the team’s Twitter).

Calitro bounced around the NFL a bit to begin his career; the 2017 undrafted free agent out of Villanova spent his rookie campaign with four different teams (Jets, 49ers, Seahawks, and Browns). Seattle gave the linebacker another chance in 2018, and Calitro established himself as a legitimate NFL linebacker. He appeared in all 16 games during that 2018 season (with five starts), compiling 45 tackles, 0.5 sacks, and three tackles for loss.

He got into 13 games with the Jaguars in 2019, finishing with 40 tackles and one sack. He caught on with Denver for the 2020 season, and while he appeared in 13 total games, he finished with only three tackles while playing exclusively on special teams.

The Bears will likely turn to Calitro on special teams, but the 27-year-old also has an opportunity to play on defense. Roquan Smith, Danny Trevathan, and backup Christian Jones seem set atop the depth chart, but Calitro will compete with the likes of Joel Iyiegbuniwe, Josh Woods, and Caleb Johnson for backup reps.

To make room on the roster, the Bears waived wideout Reggie Davis (via the team’s website). The Georgia product spent most of the 2020 campaign on Chicago’s practice squad.

Patriots Re-Sign QB Brian Hoyer

May 17th, 2021 at 8:17pm CST by Ben Levine

The Patriots are re-signing a familiar face. New England is signing veteran quarterback Brian Hoyer to a one-year deal, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). Jim McBride of the Boston Globe was first with the news (on Twitter).

Hoyer has had three stints with the Patriots throughout his 12-year career, earning a Super Bowl ring as Tom Brady‘s backup in 2018. Following a one-year stint with the Colts in 2019, Hoyer re-joined the Patriots last offseason following Brady’s defection to Tampa Bay. Hoyer ended up starting a single game for New England, completing 15 of his 24 pass attempts for 130 yards, no touchdowns, one interception, and a fumble. The veteran didn’t end up seeing the field again following that Week 4 loss to the Chiefs.

This offseason, Hoyer was briefly mentioned as a potential option for the Jets as a backup, but he’ll instead be heading back to New England. The team’s depth chart looks a bit different in 2021. The team used the 15th-overall pick on Mac Jones, and the rookie is expected to compete with 2020 starter Cam Newton for the starting gig. As Ben Volin of the Boston Globe tweets, Newton could serve as Jones’ competition while Hoyer could serve an important role as Jones’ mentor.

This signing is probably bad news for Jarrett Stidham. Following Brady’s decision to join Tampa Bay last offseason, there were some whispers that the 2019 fourth-round pick could end up inheriting the starting job. Instead, Stidham started a whopping zero games, although he did complete 50-percent of his passes for 256 yards, two scores, and three interceptions in limited snaps.

This Date In Transactions History: Eagles Sign RB LeGarrette Blount

May 17th, 2021 at 8:02pm CST by Ben Levine

Four years ago today, the Eagles made a signing that ended up having a huge impact on their Super Bowl LII victory. On May 17, 2017, Philly added veteran LeGarrette Blount to their running back corps.

Blount was actually coming off a 2016 campaign where he led the NFL with 18 rushing touchdowns. However, he finished with only 3.9 yards per attempt, and during the Patriots run to a championship, the veteran ceded carries to pass-catching backs like Dion Lewis and James White. With the veteran eyeing his age-31 season, Blount remained unsigned through the 2017 draft.

Predictably, the Patriots saw this as an opportunity to pull off some transaction tomfoolery. By this point of the 2017 offseason, free agent signings no longer impacted the compensatory pick formula. However, New England slapped Blount with the rare May 9 Tender; the tender was worth 110% of his total pay in 2016, it gave the Patriots exclusive negotiating rights starting in late July, and (most importantly) Blount’s signing would still could toward the compensatory pick formula. This move surely deterred some suitors from making a move for Blount, as signing Blount would negatively impact their chances at an extra draft pick.

This wasn’t a concern to the Eagles. On May 17th, 2017, the Eagles inked Blount to a one-year deal worth up to $2.8MM. While Philly never fully committed to Blount as their starting running back throughout the regular season, the veteran still led the squad with 766 rushing yards (his 816 yards from scrimmage also ranked second on the team behind Zach Ertz). Blount really showed his worth during the postseason; the running back found the end zone in each of the Eagles’ three wins, and he had 90 yards on only 14 carries in a Super Bowl win over the Patriots.

Even though Blount didn’t end up sticking around Philadelphia, the move was still a clear win for the Eagles. While the Patriots lost the big game against their former player, there was some silver lining; New England ultimately got their compensatory pick, a selection that was ultimately included in a trade for offensive lineman Isaiah Wynn.

Four years ago today, this move was probably seen as a standard post-draft veteran signing. Instead, it was a move that had a major influence on that year’s championship.

Chiefs Release WR Tajae Sharpe

May 17th, 2021 at 5:41pm CST by Ben Levine

After re-signing with the Chiefs earlier this offseason, Tajae Sharpe has been let go. ESPN’s Field Yates reports (via Twitter) that Kansas City has released the wide receiver.

Things have gone a bit downhill for Sharpe since his rookie season in 2016. That year, the Titans fifth-round pick finished with 41 receptions for 522 receiving yards and two touchdowns. In the four years since, the receiver has been limited to only 51 receptions for 645 yards and six touchdowns.

Sharpe didn’t re-sign with Tennessee after the 2019 season, and he subsequently caught on with the Vikings. Sharpe ended up getting into four games with Minnesota, appearing on only 28 offensive snaps and catching zero passes on three targets. He was waived in December and later landed on the Chiefs practice squad, and he re-signed with the organization back in April.

Sharpe was already going to have a tough time breaking the Kansas City roster, as the team seems set atop their depth chart with Tyreek Hill, Mecole Hardman, Demarcus Robinson, and Byron Pringle. The team also used a fifth-round pick on Cornell Powell, meaning Sharpe was pretty much competing for a spot as a sixth receiver. Now, Sharpe will be looking for his third team in the matter of 12(ish) months. The receiver is still only 26-years-old, so there’s a good chance a wideout-needy team takes a chance on him.

Dolphins LB Elandon Roberts Had Knee Surgery, Week 1 In Doubt?

May 17th, 2021 at 4:55pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Dolphins linebacker Elandon Roberts landed on injured reserve late last season with a knee injury, but the team never said exactly what it was, only that it was “significant.” We still don’t know the exact injury, but significant may have been an understatement.

Speaking to the Miami media today, Roberts said he underwent surgery on the knee, and declined to say if he’ll be ready for Week 1, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald tweets. Given those context clues, it seems quite possible Roberts tore an ACL.

Whatever the case, the Dolphins felt comfortable enough in his status to give him a $650K signing bonus on the one-year, $2MM contract they gave him back in March. He also has $750K available in incentives for 2021.

It was a tough break for Roberts to get seriously hurt right before entering free agency, and he likely would’ve cashed in more had he not got down in late December. The former Patriot who followed Brian Flores to Miami started 11 games for the Dolphins last year, finishing with 61 tackles (eight for a loss).

Saints Re-Sign CB Ken Crawley

May 17th, 2021 at 4:03pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Saints are bringing back a familiar face for 2021. New Orleans has re-signed cornerback Ken Crawley, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. It’s presumably a cheap one-year deal.

Crawley entered the league as an UDFA with the Saints back in 2016, and became a real contributor in New Orleans. He started five games as a rookie, 13 the following year, and then five again in 2018. He had 17 passes defended in 2017 but his play was often inconsistent, and Crawley was cut midway through the 2019 campaign.

He was claimed by the Dolphins and ended up starting a couple of games for them. The Colorado product signed with the Raiders last offseason, and was cut over the summer. He latched on with the Cardinals, but was then let go by them too at final cuts.

All that led him back to New Orleans, when he signed with their practice squad midway through the year. He was elevated for a handful of games, but played sparingly. The 28-year-old obviously has an extensive history with Sean Payton now, but won’t be guaranteed a roster spot.

NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/17/21

May 17th, 2021 at 3:54pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Bengals were busy on Monday, inking all seven of their Day 3 picks to their rookie deals. We’ll keep track of all of today’s draft pick signings below:

Cincinnati Bengals

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Jaguars Cut Ryquell Armstead

May 17th, 2021 at 2:25pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Ryquell Armstead will have to bounce back from his tough 2020 with a different team. The Jaguars announced they waived the running back on Monday.

A fifth-round pick out of Temple in 2019, Armstead garnered headlines last season as one of the pro athletes to be most effected by COVID-19. The young rusher spent the entire 2020 campaign on the COVID list. It was a scary situation, as Armstead reportedly dealt with serious respiratory issues and had to be hospitalized twice.

Fortunately most NFL players who tested positive were able to return to play relatively quickly, but Armstead wasn’t as lucky. Now with the Jags drafting Travis Etitenne in the first-round and the presence of breakout 2020 rookie James Robinson, the running backs room had gotten a bit crowded.

Armstead was able to make a real impact as a rookie in 2019, and got a start in Week 17. Overall he finished his only pro season to date carrying the ball 35 times for 108 yards and adding another 14 receptions for 144 yards and two touchdowns. Here’s to hoping he’s made a full recovery and is able to sign with somebody for 2021.

Load More Posts