HEADLINES

Month: November 2024

Raiders OL Alex Leatherwood Getting Reps At RT

May 29th, 2022 at 10:33am CST by Rory Parks

The Raiders’ selection of RT Alex Leatherwood with the No. 17 overall pick of the 2021 draft was one of the most-scrutinized choices of last year’s first round. The early returns on Vegas’ investment appeared to prove the naysayers correct, as the Raiders were forced to shift Leatherwood from right tackle to right guard during his rookie season due in large part to his struggles on the edge.

Still, the club’s former regime was reportedly prepared to move the Alabama product back to his original position, and the new Josh McDaniels-led staff is at least willing to entertain the notion. As Tashan Reed of The Athletic writes, the Raiders have been moving Leatherwood around during OTAs, and that includes giving him time at right tackle.

“Each one of the guys up front, we’ve got some guys [at] center and guard, we’ve got some guys playing on the right side and the left side, we’ve got some guys playing tackle and guard,” McDaniels said. “[Playing tackle] was a little bit of a focus of that today for [Leatherwood], but ultimately, we’re going to try to figure out who the best five are that can give us the best chance of success every play. He’s certainly working his butt off right now to try to give us the right stuff wherever we put him. … [Leatherwood] has done a good job. He false-started once today, but that’s going to happen.”

The only major addition that the Raiders made to their O-line this offseason is Dylan Parham, whom the club selected in the third round of last month’s draft. And in keeping with McDaniels’ desire to get his blockers some burn at multiple positions, Parham has been received reps at center even though he is listed as a guard, as Reed reports.

Andre James spent the entirety of the 2021 campaign as the Raiders’ starting pivot following last year’s Rodney Hudson trade, and the former UDFA held his own. It would seem that he and LT Kolton Miller are the only two O-linemen to have a firm grip on their starting jobs, so Parham is likely getting some cross-training at center merely to broaden his skills and to see if he might be an option in the event of a James injury.

With left guard, right guard, and right tackle jobs all there for the taking, the result of the competition this summer between the likes of Parham, Leatherwood, Denzelle Good, Jermaine Eluemunor, John Simpson, Alex Bars, and Brandon Parker could prove to be instrumental to the Raiders’ success in 2022, even if most of the names on that list don’t elicit much enthusiasm from fans of the Silver-and-Black.

Falcons Convert Avery Williams To Running Back

May 29th, 2022 at 9:26am CST by Rory Parks

The Falcons selected Avery Williams, a Boise State cornerback, in the fifth round of the 2021 draft. In his rookie campaign, Williams appeared in 121 defensive snaps but factored more prominently into Atlanta’s ST unit, as he was on the field for 73% of the club’s third team snaps. That included considerable time as a return specialist, as he handled 20 punts and 23 kickoffs.

Neither his limited run as a defensive back (11 completions allowed on 14 targets) nor his efforts as a return man (7.7 yards per return on punts, 21.3 yards per return on kickoffs) generated much excitement. And while he may still compete for return duties, the club is moving Williams from cornerback to running back, as Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com tweets.

The switch is somewhat telling of the team’s belief (or lack thereof) in Williams’ upside as a defender. The Falcons have A.J. Terrell and free agent acquisition Casey Hayward locked in as a strong pair of boundary corners, but there is not much depth behind them, especially since Atlanta did not select a CB in last month’s draft. Although the team re-signed Isaiah Oliver to serve as its top nickel back, Oliver was limited to just four games in 2021 due to a knee injury, and 2021 second-rounder Richie Grant — who saw some time in the slot last year due to Oliver’s injury — is expected to work primarily as a safety in 2022.

Despite that, it appears that 2021 fourth-round selection Darren Hall will have the chance to continue honing his craft as a corner, while Williams will be tasked with carving out a role in a crowded offensive backfield. The Falcons just signed Jeremy McNichols several days ago, and they brought in Damien Williams shortly after free agency opened in March. The club also picked up Tyler Allgeier in the fifth round of this year’s draft and is of course still rostering 2021 revelation Cordarrelle Patterson. Qadree Ollison and Caleb Huntley round out the current RB depth chart.

Patterson is hardly a prototypical back, and he will likely continue to be utilized in a hybrid receiver/running back role. Damien Williams, meanwhile, has only received more than 100 carries in a season once in his seven-year career (not including his 2020 COVID opt-out), and there is a reason McNichols was still available in late May. So there is a chance that Avery Williams can make some headway in a rushing attack that ranked near the bottom of the league in every major statistical category in 2021, but with the sheer number of bodies in Atlanta’s running back room at the moment, it’s difficult to argue that this positional change bodes well for his professional future.

Jody Allen Unlikely To Sell Seahawks In Near Future

May 29th, 2022 at 8:16am CST by Rory Parks

Russell Wilson‘s new team, the Broncos, are on the market and are expected to sell for roughly $5 billion. Wilson’s former team, the Seahawks, are not expected to be sold anytime soon, as Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times reports.

Seahawks owner Jody Allen, 63, inherited the team from her brother, Paul Allen, who passed away in October 2018, and rumors of a sale have cropped up periodically since Jody took the reins. For instance, Condotta cites a story that NFL.com published a month after Paul’s death in which it was reported that the club would ultimately be sold, and that Paul had filed a succession plan with the league directing that the proceeds from such a sale be distributed to the Paul G. Allen Foundation.

A recent report from Portland-based writer and talk show host John Canzano has brought the conversation back to the foreground. Per Canzano, the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers — which Jody also inherited from Paul — are in line to be sold within the next six to 18 months, and the Seahawks could be on the auction block shortly thereafter.

Adding fuel to the fire is the fact that Jody has been selling other family assets in recent months, including a parcel of property in Los Angeles and a nearby compound, which fetched a combined $110MM. That, according to Canzano, is in keeping with the directive of Paul’s trust, which provides that all assets, including his sports franchises, must be sold.

Even if Jody does eventually sell the Seahawks, nothing is imminent on that front, according to Condotta’s own source. The team is not currently for sale, and that is not expected to change in the near future.

Like her brother, Jody had kept a low profile during her first several years as owner, but she began to reverse course as her franchise neared a crossroads late in the 2021 season. As the ‘Hawks were entering the home stretch of an uncharacteristically poor campaign, Jody became “very involved” in the team’s operation, which signaled that major changes could be on the horizon.

At the time, the Seattle futures of head coach Pete Carroll, GM John Schneider, and Wilson were decidedly uncertain, as Jody reportedly did not believe that the Seahawks’ poor 2021 performance was a mere blip in the radar. Ultimately, of course, Wilson was traded to Denver while Carroll and Schneider were retained, and Carroll said during last month’s draft that Jody told him and Schneider that they are “back in your wheelhouse,” meaning that they again have the necessary draft capital and salary cap space to build a legitimate championship contender.

Indeed, although Jody has still not given an interview, her statement in the team’s press release following the Wilson trade — in which she indicated that Wilson himself wanted out of Seattle — was a strong one. And she was plenty visible at the draft, when she was seen in the Seahawks’ war room during the first round and in photos posted on the team’s website.

All of that paints a picture of an owner who is engaged and in no hurry to sell. Plus, as Condotta posits, there is absolutely no reason for her to be in a rush. Per a piece published by Forbes Magazine last fall, the value of NFL teams has increased by 14% over the past five years, and the fact that the Broncos are poised to sell for around $5 billion — more than double what the Panthers sold for in 2018 — suggests that Jody should be content to wait to put the Seahawks on the market.

Extension Candidate: Nick Bosa

May 28th, 2022 at 10:18pm CST by Ely Allen

San Francisco is currently home to two of the NFL’s biggest young stars on either side of the ball in wide receiver Deebo Samuel and defensive end Nick Bosa. Samuel has starred in many headlines as he’s pushed for a trade and a new deal. Bosa’s situation, on the other hand, has been a bit quieter, although to be fair, his situation is delayed from Samuel’s by a year due to the fifth-year option provided to him as a first-round pick. 

Neither player has been in attendance for OTA’s this year. Samuel’s holdout is directly correlated to his request for an extended contract. Bosa’s absence is likely not related to his contract situation with Matt Barrows of The Athletic claiming that’d “he’d likely (be absent whether) he had a long-term contract or not,” as Bosa and his older brother, Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa, like to work out together back home in Florida. Still, the younger Bosa is due to become one of the highest paid players at his position in the next year or so.

Bosa was the No. 2 overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft out of Ohio State, beating, by one slot, his brother who was selected third-overall three years prior. Bosa ran away with the Defensive Rookie of the Year award, recording 9.0 sacks, 16.0 tackles for loss, and 25 quarterback hits. He would’ve attended the Pro Bowl as a rookie were it not for his team earning a berth in the league’s season finale. Bosa recorded at least one sack in each postseason game, including a strip sack of Patrick Mahomes in the team’s Super Bowl LIV loss to the Chiefs.

Bosa’s second year ended painfully early when he suffered a torn ACL in a Week 2 game against the Jets. His recovery kept him off the field for the remainder of the season.

Bosa came back with a vengeance last year, earning Pro Bowl honors once again. In his return from injury, Bosa totaled 15.5 sacks, 21.0 tackles for loss, and 32 quarterback hits. His sack total was the fourth-highest in the NFL, his quarterback hits total good for third in the league, and he tied with Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt for most tackles for loss of any NFL player last year.

Behind quarterbacks, wide receivers and pass rushers have competed lately to be the second highest-paid position in the NFL. Premier pass rushers have seen increasingly impressive deals over the last few years, and Bosa’s market is sure to be competitive with the best in the game.

In 2020, Myles Garrett signed a five-year deal with an average annual value (AAV) of $25MM. That same year saw Bosa’s older brother Joey sign a five-year deal with an AAV of $27MM. 2021 saw Watt reach a new AAV-mark for pass rushers when he signed a four-year deal worth $28MM per year, the highest annual amount for any non-quarterback player until eclipsed this offseason by Tyreek Hill‘s $30MM per year. This offseason has also seen veteran Von Miller take a little less for a longer contract, agreeing to a six-year deal with an AAV of $20MM, and Maxx Crosby sign a four-year deal worth $23.5MM per year.

There will be a few factors that contribute to Bosa’s second NFL contract. Bosa’s football history contains nearly two full seasons lost due to injury. Whether or not it’s a fair assessment of his current health, injury history tends to have an impact on negotiations. Working in his favor, though, is the fact that, following his ACL tear in 2020, Bosa had the best season of his young career, displaying a dominance that showed no signs of a lingering injury. In fact, the statistics he recorded last year were among those of the highest-paid players at his position, even though he’s younger and did just return from a major injury. The last factor will depend on the team’s capacity to pay the young star.

All things considered, barring any disasters before a deal is reached, it’s expected that Bosa’s deal will look extremely similar to the competition. He’ll likely sign a four- or five-year contract with an AAV in the range of $27-$30MM. If Bosa once again improves on his previous season, the 49ers could make a statement and make Bosa the first non-quarterback in the NFL to make over $30MM per year. They may use his injury history to give him a lower guaranteed amount or they may make a show of confidence and guarantee the majority of the deal.

The 49ers habitually wait until absolutely necessary to enter into contract negotiations with their players, agreeing to deals with tight end George Kittle and linebacker Fred Warner just before the start of training camp. General manager John Lynch has said that it is absolutely in their plans for Bosa to stay long-term in San Francisco, according to Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports. It’s a fairly drama-free situation.

“At the appropriate time, we will endeavor to make that a reality that he is here for a long time,” Lynch was quoted saying. He finished with a reassuring statement for Niners fans claiming, “It’s all good there.”

NFL Injury Notes: McCaffrey, Texans, Young, Brady, 49ers

May 28th, 2022 at 8:28pm CST by Ely Allen

Since signing a deal that gave him the highest average salary of any running back in the NFL, Christian McCaffrey has missed 23 of 33 games. From a high ankle sprain to a shoulder injury to a hamstring injury and back around to his ankle again, McCaffrey has seen more than his fair share of the injured reserve. According to Joseph Person of The Athletic, McCaffrey reached out for some help this offseason.

Among a few others, one of the players McCaffrey sought help from was Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk, one of two players who share with McCaffrey the distinction of recording at least 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in a single season, the other being Roger Craig. Faulk was especially healthy later in his career despite having a tendency for a higher amount of total touches as a receiving back, his late health being a trait that McCaffrey would love to emulate.

Person reports that Panthers head coach Matt Rhule indicated McCaffrey would again be held out of the preseason and that the team is also looking into how they use their star during practice. McCaffrey, himself, has been tweaking his own offseason routine, in hopes of reversing his string of bad luck.

Here are a few other injury updates from around the NFL, starting with two out of the Lone Star State:

  • From an interview with Texans head coach Lovie Smith, Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network reports that pass rusher Jonathan Greenard and safety Eric Murray will be ready to return to the field by the time training camp rolls around. Greenard, who led the team in sacks last season with 8.0, underwent foot surgery over the offseason. Murray had shoulder surgery after starting 11 games for Houston last year.
  • The Commanders are expecting former Defensive Rookie of the Year Chase Young to rejoin the team in the next couple of weeks, according to Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post. The young defensive end is coming off an ACL tear he suffered in a Week 10 game against the Buccaneers. Young was having a bit of a sophomore slump last year, only recording 1.5 sacks in nine games of action, but Washington will nonetheless be happy to reunite him with Jonathan Allen, Montez Sweat, and Daron Payne in what may be the NFL’s best all-around pass rushing defensive line.
  • Although not a recent injury, Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady talked about the condition of his left knee in a call with Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times this week. Last offseason saw Brady limited a bit due to surgery he underwent to repair the MCL tear he suffered during his last season in New England. With the injury far in the rearview mirror, Brady has reportedly been doing much more to prepare for the upcoming season this summer, “including some sprint work to help with his mobility.”
  • Cam Inman of the East Bay Times reported an assertion from 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan that San Francisco will likely play it safe and hold out tight end George Kittle and linebacker Fred Warner until training camp. About two of his stars, the sixth-year head coach claimed the team was “being smart” by using a little extra time to allow the two to get over their “lower half” issues.

NFL Staff Notes: Texans, Ravens, Falcons, Panthers

May 28th, 2022 at 6:57pm CST by Ely Allen

The Texans hired D.J. Debick away from the Patriots this weekend, according to Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network. Debick served in New England as a Midwest area scout, but, in Houston, he’ll have a bit more responsibility in the role of assistant director of pro scouting.

Debick is likely a replacement for former co-assistant of director of player personnel Matt Bazirgan, who departed earlier this month to join the Bills as a senior personnel executive.

Here are a few other staff moves from around the NFL, starting with a promotion up in Charm City:

  • The Ravens recently announced the promotion of David Blackburn, according to Wilson. Blackburn joined the Ravens in 2007 as an area scout, getting promoted to national scout in 2020. Blackburn’s most recent promotion places him in the position of director of college scouting, a huge move from where he started 15 years ago with Baltimore.
  • ESPN’s Seth Walder reports that John Taormina is no longer with the Falcons. Taormina joined Atlanta back in 2015 as a football analyst, working his way through a few promotions to his most recent position of director of football data & analytics. Taormina had served in the position for 11 months before parting ways with the team earlier this week.
  • The Panthers made an interesting staff move this week, according to Joseph Person of The Athletic, moving former-communications assistant Jordan Trgovac into a role in the team’s scouting department. Her role will assist with both college and pro scouting. Jordan is the daughter of former Panthers defensive coordinator Mike Trgovac, who has been a senior defensive assistant with the Raiders for the last three years.

Panthers CB Horn Is “Full Go”

May 28th, 2022 at 5:59pm CST by Ely Allen

After missing almost all of his rookie season with an injury, cornerback Jaycee Horn is feeling great and is reportedly “full go.” According to Steve Reed, a sports writer for The Associated Press, Horn told himself to be patient while dealing with the frustration of not being able to help his new team. 

In the 2021 NFL Draft, the Panthers used their No. 8 overall pick to select Horn out of South Carolina. The expectation was that they would slot Horn as an immediate starter at nickel alongside free agent addition cornerback A.J. Bouye and starter Donte Jackson. Horn showed promise early, recording his first career interception in the second game of the season against division-rival Jameis Winston and the Saints.

In a Week 3 game against the Texans, Horn fractured bones in his foot, landing him on injured reserve. Unfortunately, he never made it back to the field in 2021, his rookie season ending after only three starts. In an attempt to make up for his absence, the Panthers would trade for two other former-top-10 draft picks in C.J. Henderson and Stephon Gilmore.

With Horn fully healthy and ready to contribute, the Panthers’ cornerbacks room is looking much younger. Bouye and Gilmore left as free agents, although Bouye is still unsigned and could always return, leaving Jackson, Henderson, and Horn to lead the room. Behind them will likely be veteran journeyman Rashaan Melvin, Keith Taylor, who was forced into action due to the litany of injuries at the position last year, and Chris Westry who started two games for a very injured Ravens secondary last year. Seventh-round draft pick Kalon Barnes, Myles Hartsfield, Stantley Thomas-Oliver III, and Madre Harper will also be competing for roster spots this preseason.

The young, new-look cornerback group of Jackson, Henderson, and Horn holds a lot of potential. With safeties Jeremy Chinn and Xavier Woods patrolling centerfield behind them, the three former-SEC standouts will have plenty of opportunities to bring the same success to Carolina that they displayed in college.

49ers Rumors: Al-Shaair, Garoppolo, DBs

May 28th, 2022 at 4:50pm CST by Sam Robinson

This will be a key year for Azeez Al-Shaair. The fourth-year linebacker is less than a year away from a possible free agency bid, and he may have an opportunity to join Fred Warner as a three-down ‘backer. With Dre Greenlaw missing much of last season due to injury, Al-Shaair stepped in as a full-timer. This season figures to determine which contract-year linebacker — Greenlaw or Al-Shaair — the 49ers aim to keep. The one that ends up playing less figures to be the cheaper option, with Matt Barrows of The Athletic noting that might be the player San Francisco attempts to retain (subscription required). Such a strategy would mesh better with Warner, who is tied to a top-market off-ball linebacker deal. A 2019 UDFA out of Florida Atlantic, Al-Shaair registered 102 tackles (nine for loss), two sacks, two fumble recoveries and an interception in 13 games last season — his first as a full-timer. Al-Shaair, however, is recovering from offseason knee and shoulder surgeries, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. The team is targeting a training camp return for Al-Shaair.

Here is the latest out of San Francisco:

  • New 49ers quarterbacks coach Brian Griese has dealt exclusively with the quarterbacks who have attended the team’s offseason program. He has not communicated with Jimmy Garoppolo since taking over, via Maiocco (on Twitter). While Garoppolo will surely still have a good grip on Kyle Shanahan‘s offense, this does mark another sign the franchise remains intent on finding a trade. Dealing Garoppolo is not a guarantee, but it has long been the team’s goal.
  • Elijah Mitchell made a surprise ascent early last season, leapfrogging third-round pick Trey Sermon and finishing with 963 rushing yards in just 11 games. The 49ers added another third-round back this year, in LSU’s Tyrion Davis-Price, and have a new running backs coach in Anthony Lynn. The team still views Mitchell as its top backfield option, according to ESPN.com’s Nick Wagoner, who adds the incumbent plans to be roughly 15 pounds heavier than he was last season. The 2021 sixth-round pick, who missed a chunk of the season due to multiple injuries, played at around 200 pounds as a rookie.
  • K’Waun Williams operated as the 49ers’ slot cornerback for five years, signing multiple contracts to stay in that role. But the veteran defected to the Broncos in free agency this year. Veteran Darqueze Dennard could benefit. Despite being a January practice squad addition, Dennard resides as the top slot option for San Francisco as of OTAs, Barrows adds (subscription required). Fifth-round pick Samuel Womack may be Dennard’s top challenger, per Barrows. Although Dennard played in just two regular-season games last year (one as a Giant, one as a 49er), he spent several years as the Bengals’ primary slot defender. This will be the former first-rounder’s age-31 season.
  • Jaquiski Tartt is not expected back with the 49ers this year. As of OTAs, Talanoa Hufanga and Tarvarius Moore reside as the top options to replace him, Barrows notes. Hufanga received the first crack at the strong safety job this week, according to Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle. Moore’s contract tolled from 2021, a season he missed due to a torn Achilles suffered during the 49ers’ 2021 offseason program. The 49ers drafted Hufanga in last year’s fifth round; he started three games as a rookie. The team also signed ex-Colt safety George Odum this offseason.

Cardinals GM Expects Summer Kyler Murray Extension

May 28th, 2022 at 3:50pm CST by Sam Robinson

With his camp lobbying for a pre-draft extension, Kyler Murray has been expected to use the leverage he has to avoid playing a fourth season on his rookie contract. The Pro Bowl quarterback is skipping Cardinals OTAs, for the time being.

Steve Keim may be on the same page with Murray, at least regarding an extension ahead of this season. During an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, the 10th-year Cards GM pinpointed this summer as a window for a Murray deal.

“I just think it’s a timing thing,” Keim said, via AZCardinals.com’s Darren Urban. “Anyone who has done it before has done it anywhere from July to September. No different for us. We know he is under contract for another year and also the fifth-year option [in 2023]. He is our future, we feel that strongly.

“I feel like we’ll be able to get something done this summer.”

While this could be interpreted as more stalling on Keim’s part, with Carson Wentz‘s 2019 extension occurring in early June, Michael Bidwill made a similar timing-related comment back in February. The rest of the recent re-ups for rookie-contract QBs — from Jared Goff to Patrick Mahomes to Deshaun Watson to Josh Allen — have come from July-September. Murray has put more pressure on the Cardinals than any of these passers placed on their respective teams, however.

The dual-threat talent is expected to show for minicamp, and players who stage training camp holdouts under the current CBA no longer can see their fines waived. Of course, players have gotten around this by staging “hold-ins,” as T.J. Watt did last year. That process ran up until days from the Steelers’ opener. Were Murray to avoid participating in training camp until he is extended, that would certainly be a bigger issue than Watt doing so.

A Murray deal this offseason also represents risk for the Cardinals. The Wentz and Goff pacts backfired, and Murray’s play has tailed off in each of the past two seasons. Both of those years featured strong enough first-half production to produce Pro Bowl invites, thus upping Murray’s fifth-year option salary to $29.7MM in 2023, but each ended poorly. The Rams’ wild-card rout of the Cardinals only spotlights the gamble the team would take by extending Murray now. That said, the cost could go up by 2023, and Murray is the kind of homegrown QB talent the franchise has lacked for most of its existence.

Shortly before the draft, Murray indicated he is not seeking a trade. But the Browns’ stunning Watson contract will not help teams like the Cardinals, who may well be the first forced to do a quarterback extension in the aftermath of this. The Ravens’ strange holding pattern with extension-hesitant Lamar Jackson persists, while the Broncos and Russell Wilson might both be willing to wait until the recently relocated QB’s 2023 contract year.

This raises the stakes for the Cardinals, whose largest QB contract remains Carson Palmer‘s three-year, $49.5MM pact from 2014. Murray’s camp may be asking for more than that in average annual salary, making this a fascinating negotiation for a Cardinals franchise that has not seen a quarterback start for more than six seasons since Neil Lomax in the 1980s.

Extra Points: Interviews, Camp, P-Squad

May 28th, 2022 at 2:54pm CST by Sam Robinson

The new waiting period for teams to conduct interviews with active assistant coaches comes with a wrinkle. Assistants on teams that do not have a wild-card game on tap can interview for HC jobs three days after the regular season ends, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes. This applies to coaches on teams that did not make the playoffs or staffers on a team that received a bye. These apparently would be remote interviews, with Florio adding no team staffer can interview in-person for a head-coaching job until after the wild-card round. While the slight head-start may benefit the batch of staffers not on one of the 12 wild-card weekend teams, the advantage may be negligible. As for the coaches on teams playing in the opening round, they cannot interview until the following Tuesday (for teams that played on Saturday and Sunday) or Wednesday (for the Monday teams). This week’s interview changes apply to the next two offseasons.

Here is the latest from around the league:

  • Among the resolutions passed this week, the NFL and NFLPA agreed to a training camp ramp-up period. From Days 2-5 in camp, no live contact is permitted, via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). Teams can gather twice a day during this span, but the one of the sessions must be a walkthrough. A 3 1/2-hour time limit is allotted for both practices; that expands to four hours after the ramp-up period. The same two-a-day structure (one mandatory walkthrough) applies for the remainder of camp, however. True two-a-day camp workouts did not make it past 2010. Sixteen padded practices are permitted during the entirety of training camp; only one of those is permitted during the bye week that separates the preseason from the regular season.
  • As expected, the NFL is keeping the 16-man practice squad. But the league made some minor changes. Practice squad elevations, as opposed to true promotions, can occur three times in 2022, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport notes (Twitter link). Teams were previously permitted two such elevations, which did not require the players to pass through waivers in order to be returned to the practice squad. Players who are active for three games this season will also earn an accrued season toward free agency, Kyed tweets. Teams can keep six vested veterans on P-squads this season.
  • The league also ended reinstated some limitations regarding injured reserve. Teams can only make eight IR activations in 2022. While that is more such transactions than teams were permitted in the 2010s, teams did not face IR limitations from 2020-21.
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