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Jon Bostic

Commanders Place LB Jon Bostic On IR

December 30th, 2022 at 10:13am CST by Sam Robinson

It looks like Jon Bostic will finish a second straight season on IR. The Commanders moved the veteran linebacker to their injured list Friday, sidelining him for four games.

A pectoral injury will sideline Bostic, who has played in all 15 Washington games this season. It is unknown if Bostic suffered a significant pec injury, like he did last season. His previous such issue cost him 13 games in 2021.

This further depletes a Washington linebacking corps that is already without Cole Holcomb, the team’s top tackler last season. The contract-year defender has been out since Week 7 and has undergone foot surgery. Holcomb’s 446 snaps are still the second-most among Washington linebackers, behind only Jamin Davis‘ total. Bostic, who signed a one-year deal for the league minimum to return to D.C., has been on the field for 263 defensive plays this season.

The Commanders have used the 10th-year defender as a part-time starter; Bostic has started in five of the team’s past seven games and has totaled 25 tackles this season. Bostic, 31, has been with the team for the past four seasons. He made his way back to Washington late this summer, after his training camp agreement with the Saints did not lead to a spot on New Orleans’ 53-man roster.

Having seen game action for five teams since being a second-round Bears draftee in 2013, Bostic has made Washington his primary NFL stop. The ex-Florida Gator has started 40 games for Washington over the past four seasons. Washington also signed linebacker De’Jon Harris from its practice squad and signed cornerback Troy Apke to its taxi squad.

Commanders To Sign LB Jon Bostic

August 31st, 2022 at 3:52pm CST by Adam La Rose

Jon Bostic is in line to play out his 2022 season in the same location as his past three campaigns. The Commanders are set to reunite with the veteran linebacker, as first reported (on Twitter) by Stephen Wyno of the Associated Press. 

The 31-year-old had been a full-time starter in Washington since 2019. In each of his first two seasons in the nation’s capital, he eclipsed the 100-tackle mark, adding four sacks and a pair of interceptions along the way. He was limited to just four games last year, however, which contributed to his lengthy stay on the open market.

The Saints signed Bostic just over two weeks ago, giving him the opportunity to show he had fully recovered and was still capable of playing a regular first-team role. It also marked another move to reinforce the position, which has been seen as a need for New Orleans.

The former second-rounder was among the Saints’ final roster cuts, however, leaving him back on the open market. A return to Washington will still allow him to work his way back to playing shape, while adding experience to a second-level group headed by Jamin Davis and David Mayo. 

In addition, this new Washington deal will help extend Bostic’s stay to four years in the same location – a stark contrast to journeyman reputation he established during the first five years of his career. Should he return to his previous form, he could prove to be a valuable August signing.

Saints Cut Roster Down To 53

August 30th, 2022 at 6:59pm CST by Ely Allen

New Orleans got a head start on the deadline for roster cuts this weekend with several moves, but the team found its way to the 53-man limit today. Here are the moves the Saints made today to get there:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on reserve/injured:

Placed on reserve/suspended by commissioner:

The big story of the day for New Orleans was the trade this morning that sent defensive back Chauncey Gardner-Johnson to Philadelphia. The defensive back had pushed for an extension, staging a hold-in effort early in camp, but ultimately found himself on his way to Pennsylvania, paving the way for the Saints to hold onto six safeties. Safety Daniel Sorensen is on the roster for his special teams contributions, but Justin Evans will really be given a chance to contribute at safety in the absence of Gardner-Johnson.

Despite seeing fellow defensive tackle Huggins head to injured reserve, rookie sixth-round pick Jackson was unable to hold onto a roster spot, being the only member of the Saints’ rookie draft class who failed to do so. The offseason addition of Kentavius Street was likely the determining factor that left Jackson off the 53-man roster.

The team did see an undrafted free agent make the final roster as offensive lineman Lewis Kidd worked his way out of Montana State to make the Saints’ initial 53. He’ll serve as a depth piece on an offensive line with quite a few injury questions.

A position group that definitely looks improved on paper is the receiving corps who gets back Michael Thomas and added first-round pick Chris Olave and veteran Jarvis Landry in the offseason. These new targets will combine with the tight ends group, that includes swiss-army man Taysom Hill, as weapons for quarterbacks Jameis Winston and Andy Dalton.

Besides all the above, the team will look fairly similar in composition to last year’s. The running backs, special teams, defensive ends, and cornerbacks will look largely the same as the team heads into the 2022 NFL season. Where things could end up looking different is on the practice squad. After clearing waivers, many of the players above will have the opportunity to rejoin the Saints’ 16-man squad.

Saints Sign LB Jon Bostic

August 15th, 2022 at 6:38pm CST by Ely Allen

New Orleans had enough faith in their linebacking corps to allow Kwon Alexander to walk in free agency this offseason. Still, the Saints have brought in veteran linebacker Jonathan Bostic to contribute alongside Demario Davis, Pete Werner, and company, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. 

Bostic has spent the last three years as a starter in Washington. His stay in DC was his first extended tenure with a team since the two years he spent in Chicago as a second-round pick. He never quite found his footing in Chicago earning several starts but also a few healthy scratches. The Bears traded him to the Patriots, in exchange for a sixth-round pick, who played him so reservedly that he only accumulated two total tackles in New England. The Patriots traded him for a seventh-round pick to Detroit. Bostic sat all year on injured reserve with the Lions.

Finally in control of his own contract, Bostic signed an incredibly cheap one-year, $690,000 deal with the Colts. He finally started to live up to his draft status, starting 14 games in Indianapolis and nearly reaching 100 total tackles. He followed that season up with a two-year deal to join the Steelers. He failed to reach the same heights he had in Indiana and was released after Pittsburgh drafted Devin Bush to take over at inside linebacker.

When linebacker Reuben Foster was placed on injured reserve in Washington, Bostic took advantage, signing a one-year deal to join the team. An impressive 2019 season led to a two-year extension for the resurgent linebacker. He continued his work as a full-time starter, putting together the best two seasons of his career. Over the 2019 & 2020 seasons, Bostic started 31 games, topping 100 tackles in each season for a total of 223, collected 4.0 sacks, 9.0 tackles for loss, and 12 quarterback hits. He also showed his abilities in coverage recording two interceptions and five passes defensed.

The 31-year-old suffered a torn pectoral muscle in Week 4 of last season, likely leading to his availability this late into free agency, as he missed the remainder of the year in recovery. The Saints will hope that he can come in fully-recovered and ready to go.

For most of his career, Bostic has served as an inside/middle linebacker. With Davis securely in the starting role on the inside, Bostic will either serve in a backup, rotation capacity or shift to an strong side role to compete with Kaden Elliss for playing time. Regardless, Bostic provides excellent veteran depth for a Saints defense that needed some help at linebacker.

Saints To Audition LBs Kiko Alonso, Anthony Hitchens, Jon Bostic

August 4th, 2022 at 2:29pm CST by Sam Robinson

Former Saints linebacker Kiko Alonso is attempting to catch on with the team again. The 2013 second-round pick has not played in a game since spending the 2019 season with the Saints, but Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets the Saints are holding an audition.

This workout also includes former Washington starter Jon Bostic and veteran Anthony Hitchens. The Saints were interested in Anthony Barr as well, but the longtime Vikings starter signed with the Cowboys.

Alonso, Hitchens and Bostic each have at least seven years’ experience. Hitchens and Bostic both worked as starters last season, but an early-season pectoral injury cut Bostic’s run short. The Chiefs released Hitchens earlier this offseason, cutting bait four years into a five-year contract. Alonso was last with a team in 2020, but his 49ers stay — which ended in November of that year — did not come with any regular-season action.

[RELATED: Saints Sign LB Eric Wilson]

The Saints moved on from Alonso in 2020, trading him to the 49ers in the Kwon Alexander in-season swap. Set to turn 32 next week, Alonso has not been on a team since the 49ers cut him weeks after that deal. While Alonso began the 2020 season on the Saints’ PUP list, stemming from his January 2020 ACL tear, he played 13 games for the Saints in 2019 and started four. Prior to his New Orleans arrival, the Oregon alum strung together back-to-back-to-back seasons of at least 115 tackles with the Dolphins.

Hitchens, 30, kept his Chiefs starting job despite the presences of Nick Bolton and Willie Gay. The former Cowboys draftee nearly played out the five-year, $45MM contract he signed with the Chiefs in 2018. Hitchens started in two Super Bowls, though his Kansas City usage rate dropped after the 2018 season. The run-stopping ‘backer went from an 85% defensive snap rate in 2018 to sub-70% in each of his final three Chiefs slates.

After reviving his career in Washington, Bostic saw the pec injury blunt his momentum. After one-year stints as a starter with the Colts (2017) and Steelers (’18), Bostic spent the past three seasons with Washington. In his most recent full season, the ex-second-round pick totaled 118 tackles and three sacks. Bostic, now 31, landed a two-year, $5MM extension from Washington in 2020.

Demario Davis still leads New Orleans’ linebacking corps; he signed a one-year, $12MM extension earlier this summer. The Saints used second- and third-round picks at this position over the past two years, drafting Pete Werner and Zack Baun on Day 2. The Saints let Alexander walk this offseason; the veteran signed with the Jets last week. Any member of audition group to sign would vie for time alongside the two Day 2 picks and Wilson, who signed with the team in May.

WFT’s Jon Bostic Suffers Pec Injury

October 4th, 2021 at 9:56am CST by Zachary Links

WFT linebacker Jon Bostic suffered a pec injury on Sunday (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). He’ll undergo an MRI today to determine the severity, but Washington is bracing for bad news.

Bostic was ruled out in the fourth quarter, following early exits for tight end Logan Thomas (hamstring), wide receiver Cam Sims (hamstring), and guard Brandon Scherff (knee). They went on to beat the Falcons 34-30 in Atlanta, but it was a costly victory.

Bostic never lived up to his second-round draft status in Chicago and barely played in New England. But, when he resurfaced with the Colts in 2017 and the Steelers in 2018, he found his footing as a starter. His best work has come in D.C. Bostic has did not miss a game between 2019 and 2020, starting in all but one of his games. Last year, he finished out with 118 tackles — a new career best — plus three sacks, six tackles for loss, three passes defensed, and one interception.

Now at .500, the WFT will travel to New Orleans to take on the Saints in Week 5.

Redskins Re-Sign LB Jon Bostic

March 16th, 2020 at 3:22pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

As the free agency frenzy continues, the Redskins are re-upping one of their own. Washington is re-signing linebacker Jon Bostic on a two-year deal, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Yates reports the deal with have a base value of $5MM, and that Bostic will get $1.75MM guaranteed. The full details of the contract are base salaries of $960K and $1.69MM, a $500k first-day 2020 roster bonus, and $200K in per-game roster bonuses for 2020, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets. There will then be $400K in 2021 per-game active roster bonuses, and $800K annually in playing-time incentives. Considering Bostic signed a one-year deal worth only $895K last offseason, this is a pretty nice pay bump for the Florida product. Bostic originally entered the league as a second-round pick of the Bears back in 2013.

He never lived up to his draft status in Chicago and although he started 17 games across his first two years, he was made a healthy scratch for the first few games of 2015. He was soon shipped off to the Patriots for a sixth-round pick, and barely played in New England. He missed the entire 2016 season with a foot injury, but then resurfaced with the Colts in 2017 and became a starter. He started 14 games with the Steelers in 2018, with middling results.

He landed with the Redskins last year and ended up starting all 16 games, playing reasonably well.The inside linebacker finished with 105 tackles, a sack, and an interception. He’s reached true journeyman status in recent years, but it sounds like he might’ve finally found a more permanent home in Washington.

Redskins Place Reuben Foster On IR, Sign LB Jon Bostic

May 22nd, 2019 at 4:21pm CST by Zachary Links

Reuben Foster‘s season is officially over. On Wednesday, the Redskins placed the linebacker on IR and filled his spot on the roster by adding Jon Bostic. 

Foster went down during the very first drill of OTAs and the seriousness of the injury was immediately apparent after medical staff placed an air cast on his knee. It’s a bad blow for the Redskins, who were left with only late-round picks at the position after the release of Zach Brown.

To help fill the void, the Redskins signed Bostic, who ranked as one of the best off-ball ‘backers left on the market. Bostic doesn’t offer the same upside as Foster, but he did start in 14 games for the Steelers in 2018 before falling out of favor down the stretch. Last year, Bostic tallied 73 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and three passes defended while earning average marks from Pro Football Focus.

Ravens Work Out Jon Bostic

May 17th, 2019 at 3:26pm CST by Zachary Links

The Ravens have signed Pernell McPhee and Shane Ray, but they could still add to their front seven. On Friday, the Ravens auditioned a group of free agents, including linebacker Jonathan Bostic (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec). 

Bostic appeared in all 16 games for the Steelers in 2018 and started 14, but he fell out of favor with the coaching staff down the stretch. The journeyman said back in February he was hoping to stay in Pittsburgh in 2019, but the Steelers opted to instead draft Michigan’s Devin Bush and send the veteran packing.

Last year Bostic tallied 73 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and three passes defended while earning average marks from Pro Football Focus. If signed by the Ravens, he’ll look to improve on those numbers while getting opportunities to exact revenge on his former team.

Still only 28, Bostic still has time to prove that he was a worthwhile second-round pick back in 2013.

Steelers Release LB Jon Bostic

April 27th, 2019 at 6:55pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Right after the draft ended, the Steelers made a signifiant move. Pittsburgh is releasing linebacker Jon Bostic, the team announced in a tweet.

Bostic signed a two-year, $4MM deal with the team last March, but was unable to make it all the way through the pact. The Steelers traded up to draft inside linebacker Devin Bush from Michigan, which meant they no longer had any need for Bostic. After Ryan Shazier suffered his horrific injury during the 2017 season, inside linebacker became a huge need for the Steelers. They signed Bostic last offseason hoping he would be able to help vill the void, but things didn’t work out.

Bostic appeared in all 16 games last season and started 14, but he fell out of favor with the coaching staff down the stretch. The journeyman had said back in February he was hoping to stay in Pittsburgh in 2019 even with his reduced role. The Steelers wanted to address the position more permanently, and made the move up to get Bush.

Last year Bostic had 73 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and three passes defended while earning average marks from Pro Football Focus. Wherever he ends up signing next, it’ll be his fifth team. Bostic was originally drafted in the second round by the Bears back in 2013, but has bounced around ever since. He’s spent time with Chicago, New England, Detroit, and Indianapolis, and always seems to end up starting games while underwhelming.

Still only 27, he should resurface somewhere else before too long. Ever since Shazier went down, Pittsburgh’s run defense has been very vulnerable. They moved up to the tenth overall pick in order to get Bush, and the hope is he’ll stabilize things for the foreseeable future.

As for the financial implications, Mark Kaboly of The Athletic tweets that the Steelers will save $1.8MM in cash by cutting Bostic. There will be $700K of dead money, so they’ll only save $1.1MM against the cap. Kaboly points out that the Steelers now have a whopping $26.5MM of cap space committed to players not currently on the roster.

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