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Titans To Be Without Taylor Lewan, Bud Dupree In Week 3

September 23rd, 2022 at 2:03pm CST by Sam Robinson

As the Titans prepare for a matchup between 0-2 teams coming off playoff appearances, their Raiders tilt will not include Taylor Lewan or Bud Dupree. Tennessee ruled out both starters for Week 3.

Lewan’s absence is not especially surprising, but it certainly will sting a Titans offense that already moved on from two 2021 O-line starters — including veteran guard Rodger Saffold — this offseason. Lewan went down with a knee injury on the first play of Monday night’s loss to the Bills. Mike Vrabel said this week Dupree’s injury was not expected to keep him out in the long term, but the veteran pass rusher will miss at least one game.

The Lewan injury concerns a bit more due to it being the same knee on which he underwent surgery in 2020. Lewan missed 11 games in 2020 because of an ACL tear on his right knee. He returned for Week 1 of the 2021 season and played 13 games, but the 31-year-old blocker’s status may be up in the air for the near future.

While Vrabel offered a timetable for Dupree, he did not answer a question regarding Lewan’s timeline Friday. Lewan remains on Tennessee’s 53-man roster. The three-time Pro Bowl left tackle’s $16MM-per-year deal runs through 2023. Dennis Daley, whom the Titans acquired from the Panthers just before their roster cutdown to 53, is set to start at left tackle. Daley replaced Lewan on Monday and spent much of his 2019 rookie season as the Panthers’ blindside starter.

On its own, Dupree’s hip injury would not concern quite as much. But the Titans are without Harold Landry (ACL) for the season. Dupree, who joined Lewan in suffering an ACL tear in 2020, also battled back to start in Week 1 last year. But the ex-Steelers first-rounder missed six games in 2021 as well. The $16.5MM-per-year pass rusher will miss more time now.

Tennessee will also be without auxiliary pass rusher Ola Adeniyi, who started in Week 1 and came off the bench against the Bills. Despite their mounting injury issues at edge rusher, the Titans opted not to promote Takkarist McKinley from their practice squad this week. That led to the Rams poaching him.

AFC South Notes: Colts, Dupree, Texans

August 19th, 2022 at 12:09pm CST by Sam Robinson

Shaquille Leonard undergoing back surgery midway through the offseason seemed to put his early-season availability in question. Although the Colts‘ mid-June expectation was for Leonard to be back near the start of training camp, he remains on the team’s active/PUP list. Leonard should be expected to come off that list soon, as not doing so would mean four missed games, but Frank Reich does not expect his top linebacker to be 100% when he returns.

“I think when he gets cleared, he’s not going to be 100% and he’s going to have to work his way back into it,” Reich said, via ESPN.com’s Stephen Holder (on Twitter). “… He’s going to have to figure out how to play feeling the way he feels — not feeling 100%, feeling like maybe this isn’t all the way back but I still gotta figure out how to play winning football.”

The nerve issue for which Leonard underwent surgery affected him in 2021, leading to calf and ankle problems. Leonard still earned his third first-team All-Pro honor — during a season in which he intercepted four passes and led the NFL with eight forced fumbles — but the prospect of another season being impacted by the injury is somewhat concerning for the fifth-year star.

Here is the latest from the AFC South:

  • Bud Dupree pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge in connection with a January incident at a Walgreens, TMZ reports. The Titans outside linebacker turned himself in on a assault-fear of bodily injury charge in February. Police said Dupree grabbed a 20-year-old Walgreens employee, attempted to take his phone and fled the scene. The employee allegedly heckled Dupree and threatened to spit on the women accompanying the veteran pass rusher, according to TMZ. Dupree, who is set for his second Titans season, faces a potential suspension under the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
  • Dennis Kelly joined Leonard in undergoing a summer surgery. The veteran Colts tackle recently had a procedure done on one of his knees, Mike Chappell of CBS4 tweets. Kelly is competing for a swing job in Indianapolis, which is making another transition at left tackle. Matt Pryor and third-round rookie Bernhard Raimann are vying to be the team’s blindside starter. Kelly, who signed a one-year deal worth $1.27MM, has made 51 career starts. The 11th-year vet’s $75K guarantee obviously does not guarantee him a roster spot, and this surgery keeping him out of action for a stretch will not help his cause.
  • The Texans added Jarrod James to their coaching staff as an offensive assistant, Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com tweets. James interned with the Chiefs, Vikings and Ravens in the late 2010s and had been working as Michigan State’s assistant offensive line coach this year.

Largest 2022 Cap Hits: Defense

July 5th, 2022 at 11:26am CST by Sam Robinson

After looking at this year’s top salary cap numbers on the offensive side of the ball, here is a rundown of the players counting the most toward their teams’ payrolls in 2022.

As could be expected, the salary figures here start below the quarterbacks. A few pass rushers, however, are tied to notable cap hits. Those numbers that check in within the top 20 leaguewide regardless of position. With the exception of true nose tackles and pure slot cornerbacks, every defensive position is represented here.

Here are the top cap figures on the defensive side for the ’22 season:

  1. T.J. Watt, OLB (Steelers): $31.12MM
  2. Chris Jones, DT (Chiefs): $29.42MM
  3. Joey Bosa, OLB (Chargers): $28.25MM
  4. Leonard Williams, DL (Giants): $27.3MM
  5. Aaron Donald, DT (Rams): $27MM
  6. Jalen Ramsey, CB (Rams): $23.2MM
  7. Deion Jones, LB (Falcons): $20.1MM
  8. Bud Dupree, OLB (Titans): $19.2MM
  9. Justin Simmons, S (Broncos): $18.85MM
  10. Javon Hargrave, DT (Eagles): $17.8MM
  11. C.J. Mosley, LB (Jets): $17.5MM
  12. Cameron Heyward, DL (Steelers): $17.42MM
  13. Robert Quinn, DE (Bears): $17.14MM
  14. Matt Judon, OLB (Patriots): $16.5MM
  15. DeForest Buckner, DT (Colts): $16MM
  16. Shaquill Griffin, CB (Jaguars): $16.44MM
  17. Tre’Davious White, CB (Bills): $16.4MM
  18. J.J. Watt, DL (Cardinals): $15.9MM
  19. Marcus Peters, CB (Ravens): $15.5MM
  20. Carl Lawson, DE (Jets): $15.33MM
  21. Eddie Jackson, S (Bears): $15.1MM
  22. Lavonte David, LB (Buccaneers): $14.79MM
  23. Budda Baker, S (Cardinals): $14.78MM
  24. Romeo Okwara, DE (Lions): $14.5MM
  25. Trey Hendrickson, DE (Bengals): $14.49MM
  • Illustrating how much the cap has climbed over the past several seasons, T.J. Watt is tied to a number nearly twice that of J.J. Watt, who has been tied to $16.7MM-per-year (a defender-record number in 2014) and $14MM-AAV deals as a pro. Trailing his older brother in Defensive Player of the Year honors, T.J. is signed to an edge defender-record $28MM-per-year accord.
  • Jones’ four-year Chiefs deal vaults from an $8.5MM cap number in 2021 to the league’s second-highest defensive figure this year. The standout defensive tackle’s cap hit accompanies Patrick Mahomes‘ $35.79MM number, which is well north of his 2021 figure, on Kansas City’s new-look payroll.
  • After two franchise tags, Williams scored a monster extension in 2021. The well-paid Giants D-lineman’s cap number this year is way up from his 2021 number ($9.4MM).
  • The Rams redid Donald’s contract last month, adding no new years to the through-2024 pact. The all-world defender’s cap hit actually decreases in 2023, dropping to $26MM
  • It is not certain Deion Jones will be back with the Falcons, who have jettisoned other Super Bowl LI cornerstones from the roster since the current regime took over in 2021. But they would save just $1MM were they to release the seventh-year linebacker.
  • To date, this represents the high-water mark for Mosley cap hits on his Jets deal, which at the time (2019) began a sea change for off-ball linebacker contracts. Mosley’s cap hit, on a pact that runs through 2024 because of the linebacker opting out of the 2020 season, increased by $10MM from 2021-22.
  • Hargrave is one of five Eagles pass rushers signed to veteran contracts. The ex-Steeler’s 2021 deal accompanies Brandon Graham, Josh Sweat, Haason Reddick, and Fletcher Cox‘s new agreement on Philadelphia’s defensive front. As cap hits do not reflect average salaries, Hargrave is the only member of this quartet tied to an eight-figure cap number in 2022.
  • Quinn has also been connected to a departure, with the 31-year-old pass rusher skipping minicamp after it became known he would like to be traded away from the rebuilding team. His cap hit tops the Bears’ payroll. The Bears would save $12.9MM by trading Quinn, should another team sign up for taking on his full 2022 base salary.

AFC Notes: Raiders, Chiefs, Dupree, Weddle

February 19th, 2022 at 10:52pm CST by Ely Allen

First-round draft pick Alex Leatherwood had an up-and-down rookie season in Las Vegas. After struggling a bit at right tackle, Leatherwood was moved to guard to fill in after injuries to starters Richie Incognito and Denzelle Good. According to Vic Tafur of The Athletic, the Raiders’ former staff intended to move Leatherwood back to his drafted position next season.

The decision is now out of their hands and in the hands of new offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo. With Kolton Miller set at left tackle and Andre James filling in admirably this season with the loss of center Rodney Hudson in a trade to the Cardinals last year, the Raiders have three offensive line spots with which to play around. Bricillo’s placement of Leatherwood will likely depend on how they choose to address those open positions.

Here are a few more notes from around the AFC, starting with another note from the West:

Titans’ Bud Dupree Charged With Misdemeanor

January 4th, 2022 at 2:27pm CST by Zachary Links

Titans edge rusher Bud Dupree has been charged with misdemeanor assault, per an announcement from the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department. According to the report, Dupree was arrested following an altercation with a 20-year-old Walgreens employee.

[RELATED: Latest On Titans’ Henry]

Dupree, per the MNPD, got into a verbal spat with the Walgreens worker, left, and reentered the store with others. At that point, things got physical, resulting in an “assault-fear of bodily injury” charge for the outside linebacker.

Dupree, 28, is scheduled report for booking in three weeks. Meanwhile, the Titans are busy preparing for the Texans on Sunday with an opportunity to secure a first-round bye.

Dupree just came off of IR this past weekend after missing the last three games with an abdominal injury. So far, he has seven stops and one sack through seven games. Of course, he’s been a much more disruptive force in the past, including 2019 and 2020 when he tallied 19.5 sacks in total.

There’s no word yet from the league, but Dupree could be subject to discipline, pending investigations from the police and the NFL.

NFL COVID-19 List Updates: 1/1/22

January 1st, 2022 at 4:46pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are the New Year’s Day activations from and placements on the reserve/COVID-19 lists:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: G Oli Udoh

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Bryce Hall

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

NFL COVID-19 List Updates: 12/29/21

December 29th, 2021 at 3:19pm CST by Sam Robinson

Several key players returned to practice Wednesday. Here are the latest COVID-19 updates from around the league:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Activated from practice squad/COVID-19 list: WR Rico Bussey

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

Titans Activate LB Bud Dupree From IR

December 18th, 2021 at 12:59pm CST by Ben Levine

The Titans defense will be getting some reinforcement. The team activated linebacker Bud Dupree from injured reserve today. The team also placed fullback Tory Carter on injured reserve.

Dupree has missed the last three games with an abdominal injury. Although it was a less serious malady that the ACL tear that capped his 2020 season, it was frustrating nonetheless. Dupree, who tallied 19.5 sacks between 2019 and 2020, has collected just seven stops and one sack through seven games for the Titans this year. Still, he should provide a significant boost to a defense that’s currently fighting for playoff positioning, especially when he gets an opportunity to play against his former team, the Steelers, tomorrow.

Carter is an undrafted rookie out of LSU, but he’s managed to see time in eight games (two starts) this season. The majority of his snaps have come on special teams, although he did see time in a season-high 20 offensive snaps during the Titans’ Week 12 loss to the Patriots.

As Tennessee gets ready for their showdown with the Steelers tomorrow, the team made some additional moves to their roster. The team promoted wideout Cody Hollister, offensive lineman Daniel Munyer, and defensive lineman Kevin Strong from their practice squad.

Titans Designate Bud Dupree For Return

December 15th, 2021 at 11:47am CST by Zachary Links

The Titans have designated outside linebacker Bud Dupree to return from the injured reserve list, per a club announcement. This will trigger a 21-day window for Dupree to return to the active roster. 

Dupree has missed the last three games with an abdominal injury. Although it was a less serious malady that the ACL tear that capped his 2020 season, it was frustrating nonetheless. Combined with Caleb Farley‘s season-ending ACL tear and injuries to Derrick Henry and Julio Jones, the Titans have been playing at half-strength.

Still, they’ve effectively sewn up the AFC South with a 9-4 record and they’re still in the mix for the conference crown. Dupree, who tallied 19.5 sacks between 2019 and 2020, should go a long way towards helping that effort. To date, he’s got just seven stops and one sack through seven games for the Titans. They’re expected better results from here on out as he plays on his five-year, $82.5MM deal.

It remains to be seen whether Dupree will be cleared this week. But, if he’s able to go, he’ll return against his former team on Sunday.

Titans Place LB Bud Dupree On IR

November 20th, 2021 at 6:52pm CST by Sam Robinson

Injuries are stacking up in Tennessee. Bud Dupree will head to IR for a second straight November. This year, the veteran pass rusher is battling an abdominal injury. He must miss three games because of this transaction.

This is not expected to be a long-term injury, with Ian Rapoport noting (via Twitter) Dupree should be back after the three-game minimum.

While this is obviously a better outlook for Dupree than last November, when he suffered a torn ACL, this extends a run of injury misfortune for the team atop the AFC. The Titans now have Dupree, Derrick Henry, Julio Jones and first-round pick Caleb Farley on IR.

Dupree has already missed three games this season, with those absences coming earlier in the year. The former Steelers first-round pick has just one sack and seven tackles in his seven-game Titans tenure thus far.

Despite the knee injury and offseason rehab, the Titans gave Dupree a five-year, $82.5MM contract in March. Tennessee has missed on a few edge rushers in recent years, with Cameron Wake, Jadeveon Clowney and Vic Beasley not contributing much to the cause. However, homegrown standouts Harold Landry and Jeffery Simmons have done well to prop up an improved Titans defense this season.

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