HEADLINES

Month: December 2024

Saints’ Wil Lutz Done For Year

October 26th, 2021 at 11:12am CST by Zachary Links

Wil Lutz will not return from the injured reserve list after all. On Tuesday, the Saints kicker announced that he has suffered a setback in his recovery that will shut him down for the rest of 2021.

“2021 has been filled with adversity, personally, but with adversity comes an exciting challenge,” Lutz wrote (Twitter link). “Unfortunately I had a setback during the rehab process that has forced me to shift my focus to being 100 percent healthy for the long term and shut it down for the season. I want nothing more than to be out there with my teammates helping us win games, and I look forward to doing that when healthy! Thank you to the best fan base in the country for the support and well wishes, we’ll be back stronger than ever.”

Lutz has served as New Orleans’ primary kicker since 2016. All in all, he’s made 86.6% of his field goal tries across his five-year career, positioning him as one of the best kickers in the game. He’s also made 253 out of 260 extra point attempts in the elongated XP era. Unfortunately, he aggravated his groin injury in early August and hasn’t improved over the last ~10 weeks.

First, the Saints turned to Aldrick Rosas, who went 1-4 on field goal tries. He was later replaced by Cody Parkey, who missed two extra field goal tries. That led them to undrafted rookie kicker Brian Johnson, who joined the team two weeks ago and just sank both of his FG tries to beat the Seahawks.

Giants’ Joe Judge On Trade Deadline

October 26th, 2021 at 8:41am CST by Zachary Links

It remains to be seen whether the 2-5 Giants will be buyers or sellers. But, according to head coach Joe Judge, they won’t mortgage the future to try and salvage the season. 

[RELATED: Giants Promote LB Benardrick McKinney]

“I always think long-term,” Judge said (via NFL.com). “Sometimes, long-term can come in a move you can make immediately at this point, but I’m always thinking long-term. I’ve said this from the beginning, I’m not about taking shortcuts into anything. I’ve made it very clear in terms of my vision of the team and where I want to build it. It’s being built for long-term success.”

December will mark Dave Gettleman‘s four-year anniversary as the Giants GM, if he makes it that far. The G-Men have won four, five, and six games in each of Gettleman’s seasons at the helm and 2021 is not shaping up to be a major improvement. A big trade could conceivably save his job — as well as Judge’s — but the head coach insists that they won’t sacrifice future draft ammo for a few extra wins this year.

“Whether you’re going through free agency, trades, draft, whatever it may be, to me, you’re always looking down the road in terms of…not where you are immediately, but where do you have to get to,” Judge said. “That’s my perspective on that.”

The trade deadline falls on Nov. 2, leaving seven days for the Giants to make a mid-season deal.

Dolphins To Place Jason McCourty, Malcolm Brown On IR

October 25th, 2021 at 10:14pm CST by Ben Levine

The Dolphins are placing two of their offseason additions on IR. Head coach Brian Flores told reporters that defensive back Jason McCourty and running back Malcolm Brown are heading to injured reserve.

Both players were injured during yesterday’s loss to the Falcons. McCourty suffered a foot injury that could require surgery, meaning he could be out longer than three weeks. Brown suffered a quad injury that forced him to exit the game.

After spending three seasons with the Patriots, McCourty joined the Dolphins this offseason. He started the first four games for Miami, but he’s seen a reduced role in recent weeks, appearing in only 69 defensive snaps between Week 5 and Week 7 (for comparison’s sake, he saw time in 70 defensive snaps in Week 4). Through seven games, the 34-year-old has collected 21 tackles and two passes defended. The Dolphins somewhat started planning for McCourty’s absence when they signed safety Sheldrick Redwine off the Panthers’ practice squad today.

Brown joined the Dolphins this offseason after spending the first six seasons of his career with the Rams. The 28-year-old got into the first seven games for Miami (including three starts), collecting 135 yards from scrimmage and one touchdown on 36 touches. The Dolphins will continue rolling with Myles Gaskin atop the depth chart, but Salvon Ahmed could see a larger role while Brown is sidelined.

Seahawks Release OL Cedric Ogbuehi

October 25th, 2021 at 7:55pm CST by Ben Levine

Cedric Ogbuehi‘s stint with the Seahawks has come to an end. Earlier today, Seattle released the veteran offensive tackle, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo (via Twitter).

The former first-round pick dealt with a biceps injury that forced him to miss the first chunk of the season. He was activated from IR when first eligible, and he started Week 4 while playing 86 percent of his team’s offensive snaps. He hasn’t seen the field since that time, and Seattle ultimately decided to move on from the 29-year-old.

Ogbuehi played just eight games with Seattle in 2020, starting four, but he did just enough to return to the Seahawks — his third NFL team. The Bengals drafted Ogbuehi in 2015, but after not meeting expectations, the Texas A&M product had to settle for a low-cost Jaguars deal in 2019 before coming to Seattle.

With 58 games (30 starts) on his resume, Ogbuehi will likely catch on with a squad that needs some extra depth on their offensive line.

Seahawks Activate RB Rashaad Penny

October 25th, 2021 at 7:15pm CST by Ben Levine

Rashaad Penny is officially back. The Seahawks activated the running back from injured reserve ahead of tonight’s game against the Saints, reports Doug Kyed of Pro Football Focus (via Twitter).

A hamstring injury limited Penny to only one game this season, but he should have an opportunity to contribute on Monday night. With Chris Carson sidelined, Penny will join a running back grouping that includes Alex Collins, DeeJay Dallas, and Travis Homer. Collins is expected to lead the depth chart, but Penny should get some action in what’s expected to be a rain-soaked game.

Penny has dealt with his fair share of injuries since he was selected in the first round of the 2018 draft. The running back has been limited to only 28 games through four seasons, and he sat out the majority of the 2020 campaign while recovering from a torn ACL. Through his first two seasons in the NFL, Penny collected 947 yards from scrimmage and six touchdowns on 167 touches.

Prior to the season, the Seahawks declined the 25-year-old fifth-year option, meaning he’ll be a free agent following the 2021 campaign.

 

Saints Shuffle Roster, Activate Three Players From IR

October 25th, 2021 at 6:40pm CST by Ben Levine

The Saints are welcoming back three players for tonight’s game against the Seahawks. Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football reports (via Twitter) that New Orleans is activating linebacker Kwon Alexander, defensive end Marcus Davenport, and wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith from IR. The three players returned to practice last week, and they’ll all be eligible to play tonight.

The Saints also promoted wideout Kevin White from the practice squad. To make room on the roster, the team released center Will Clapp and defensive tackle Albert Huggins (via Underhill on Twitter).

Alexander (elbow) and Davenport (shoulder) were both placed on IR in mid-September, while Smith (hamstring) landed on IR a bit earlier than that. The Saints moved Davenport back into their starting lineup to start this season, and he registered a sack and two QB hits in the Saints’ dominant Week 1 win over the Packers. Alexander worked his way back from a December Achilles tear to be ready in time for the Saints’ opener, but this latest injury continued a rough run of health for the former Buccaneers standout. Smith’s injury dogged him for several weeks, as he tried and failed to come back from it twice. It caused the former third-round pick to miss extensive training camp time.

White joined the Saints back in August, and he later landed on the team’s practice squad. The former first-round pick got into three games with the 49ers in 2020, but he only saw nine snaps on offense. Clapp was a seventh-round pick by the Saints in 2018, and he got into 27 games (four starts) through three-plus seasons with the team. Huggins has bounced around the NFL since going undrafted in 2019. He saw time in four games (one start) for the Saints this season, collecting seven tackles and two QB hits.

Eagles Trade QB Joe Flacco To Jets

October 25th, 2021 at 5:06pm CST by Ben Levine

Joe Flacco is heading back to New York. The Jets have acquired the veteran quarterback from the Eagles, reports NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo (via Twitter).

Philly will acquire a conditional sixth-round pick that could improve to a fifth-round pick based on Flacco’s playing time (per ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Twitter). The sixth-rounder being sent over in this deal originally belonged to the Buccaneers, Sirius XM Radio’s Adam Caplan tweets.

[RELATED: Jets’ Zach Wilson To Miss 2-4 Weeks]

Despite the fact that the Jets pivoted to a rookie quarterback with the number-two pick, the organization decided against signing a veteran QB this past offseason. Now, with Zach Wilson expected to miss multiple weeks with a sprained MCL, the team was scrambling for depth at the position. We got a look at backup Mike White during yesterday’s blowout loss to the Patriots, and the former fifth-round pick threw a touchdown vs. two interceptions in his NFL debut. The Jets are also rostering Josh Johnson on their practice squad.

Flacco spent the 2020 campaign with the Jets and served as Sam Darnold‘s primary backup. The veteran ended up getting into five games (four starts) with New York, completing 55.2 percent of his passes for 864 yards, six touchdowns, and three interceptions. While Flacco struggled during his first stint in New York, he’ll still provide the struggling and inexperienced Jets offense with a veteran presence. Of course, Flacco hasn’t been a full-time starter since the 2017 season, and he didn’t see the field during his brief stay in Philly…so Jets fans should certainly temper expectations.

The 36-year-old somehow parlayed his underwhelming 2020 performance into a one-year, $3.5MM contract with the Eagles to be Jalen Hurts‘ primary backup. Considering Flacco’s lack of playing time in Philly, today’s move makes plenty of sense for the Eagles. The team will now move forward with Gardner Minshew as Hurts’ primary backup. The former Jaguars starter was acquired by the Eagles back in August for a conditional sixth-round pick (a pick they’ve recouped with today’s trade).

Rams Trade Kenny Young To Broncos

October 25th, 2021 at 1:59pm CST by Zachary Links

The Rams have traded Kenny Young to the Broncos, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The Rams will also send a 2024 7th-round pick to Denver to net a 2024 sixth-round pick in exchange.

Young, 27 in November, has started in all seven of the Rams’ games this year for 46 tackles, two sacks, one pass defensed, and one forced fumble. Now he’ll join the Broncos, who were in serious need of linebacker help. They’ve got eight LBs on the injured list, including six on IR. This marks the second time that Young has been traded. Last time around, in 2019, the Ravens shipped him to the Rams in a similar deal.

The Rams seem to be clearing the way for Ernest Jones, a third-round rookie who has hardly played on defense. Meanwhile, the Broncos are happy to add Young’s experience, which includes 53 career games.

The Broncos might not be done trading and they still have until November 2 to make upgrades. At the moment, however, they might not be the most likely landing spot for Deshaun Watson. The Dolphins and Panthers are said to be the favorites to trade for the Texans’ embattled quarterback.

Tyrod Taylor To Start For Texans

October 25th, 2021 at 12:07pm CST by Zachary Links

Tyrod Taylor will return to practice on Wednesday, head coach David Culley announced. Culley added that Taylor “was our starting quarterback, [so] when he’s healthy, he’ll be our starting quarterback,” (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com).

[RELATED: Latest On Watson Trade Talks]

Taylor has been on IR ever since his Week 2 hamstring injury. Davis Mills has been serving as the starter ever since, but the results haven’t been great. His best performance came against the Patriots as he completed 21 of 29 passes for 312 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. The Pats went on to win 25-22 and the Texans went on to drop their next two games to the Colts and Cardinals.

Following Sunday’s loss to Arizona, the Texans are 1-6 and in serious need of a spark. Taylor could help to some extent, but it remains to be seen if he’ll be able to go against the Rams this week.

In other Texans QB news, a Deshaun Watson trade could be just around the corner. The Dolphins and Panthers are said to be the clubhouse favorites for him, ahead of the Eagles, Broncos, and other suitors.

Load More Posts