HEADLINES

Chris Odom

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/29/22

August 29th, 2022 at 4:30pm CST by Sam Robinson

Teams have until 3pm Tuesday to slash their rosters from 80 to 53 players. Here are the Monday moves teams are making en route to doing so. The list will be updated throughout the day.

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Browns DE Chris Odom Out For Season

August 28th, 2022 at 12:42pm CST by Rory Parks

Browns defensive end Chris Odom suffered a torn ACL during the team’s preseason finale against the Bears on Saturday, per head coach Kevin Stefanski (Twitter link via Jake Trotter of ESPN.com). Odom will miss the 2022 season as a result.

This is an especially difficult blow for Odom, who earned United States Football League Defensive Player of the Year honors following the rebooted league’s inaugural season this year. A second-round pick of the Houston Gamblers in the USFL draft in February, Odom went on to post 41 total tackles, 12.5 sacks, six forced fumbles, and four blocked field goals. He auditioned for the Bengals, Cardinals, Chiefs, Saints, and Texans this summer before finally signing with the Browns.

Now 27, Odom signed with the Falcons as a UDFA in 2017. He saw action in seven regular games with the Packers that year after being waived by Atlanta, and his performance with a different alternative league in 2018 — the now-defunct Alliance of American Football — led to another contract with the Falcons in 2019. But he was waived again during final cutdowns in August 2019 and subsequently hooked on with Washington’s practice squad. He ultimately appeared in four games for Washington.

A stint with the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders preceded his successful run with the Gamblers. His admirable perseverance in continuing his playing career will be tested yet again as a result of the ACL tear.

Of course, it is unclear if the Arkansas State product would have made the roster anyway, as the Browns’ edge rush contingent consists of two drafted rookies — Alex Wright and Isaiah Thomas — trade acquisition Chase Winovich, and others behind starters Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney.

In 11 regular season NFL contests, Odom has 16 tackles and two sacks.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/6/22

August 6th, 2022 at 7:00pm CST by Adam La Rose

Today’s minor moves around the league:

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Jacksonville Jaguars

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Washington Commanders

  • Activated from reserve/retired list: LB Tre Walker

Weatherly was in line for a rotational role with the Browns this season behind entrenched starters Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney. The 28-year-old was coming off of a sack-less campaign with the Vikings last year, but has 73 games and 17 starts on his NFL resume. In his absence, the Browns will depend not only on another mostly healthy season for Clowney, but also third-round rookie Alex Wright and recent USFL signing Chris Odom in the edge rush department.

Just yesterday, Walker surprisingly ended his NFL career before it began, briefly becoming the second young Commander this offseason to hand up his cleats unexpectedly. Hours later, however, the UDFA changed his mind and asked to be reinstated. Having signed him to his rookie contract, Washington held the rights to the San Jose State alum and were free to bring him back into the fold. He will once again look to make the team’s roster – something he has a decent chance at, given the lack of proven options Washington has down the depth chart at ILB.

Bears, Browns Sign Two Former USFL Stars

August 5th, 2022 at 10:09pm CST by Ely Allen

Two star defenders from the 2022 United States Football League’s inaugural season signed NFL contracts today. DeMarquis Gates, considered one of the top linebackers in the USFL this spring, has signed with the Bears, according to Matt Lombardo of Heavy Sports. Edge rusher Chris Odom, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year for the USFL, signed today with the Browns, according to Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network.

Gates has dipped his toe in the NFL before, spending offseason or practice squad time with Cleveland, Washington, and Minnesota. In between all of those stints and now, Gates played in the Alliance of American Football in 2019, the XFL in 2020, and the Canadian Football League in 2021, before dominating in the USFL this past spring. His persistence in sticking with professional football no matter the league could pay off with his newest NFL opportunity.

The Bears cupboard is fairly thin at linebacker behind Roquan Smith after losing Alec Ogletree to free agency and trading away Khalil Mack. Chicago responded to the losses by bringing former Raiders linebacker Nicholas Morrow and former Colts linebacker Matthew Adams. Neither have extensive full-time starting experience and Morrow, who has the greater amount of starting experience, didn’t play at all in 2021 due to a foot injury. If Gates can impress in the preseason, not only could he snag a roster spot, he could earn a key role on the Bears’ defense.

After earning the Defensive Player of the Year award for the USFL this spring, Odom has been auditioning all over the NFL, taking workouts with the Bengals, Cardinals, Chiefs, Saints, and Texans, before eventually acing the workout with the Browns. Odom has a bit more NFL experience, racking up 16 tackles in 11 games played. Odom spent offseason and practice squad time with the Falcons in 2017 and 2019, getting waived after both stints and finding his way to NFL action immediately after both times. In 2017, Odom signed with the Packers and got six tackles over seven games. In 2019, Odom signed with Washington and got 10 tackles and 2.0 sacks in just four games. In between those opportunities, Odom spent time in the AAF in 2018 and the CFL in 2021 before dominating USFL offenses. Odom, like Gates, is now being given an opportunity to be a golden example of what happens when you don’t give up on your NFL dreams.

Cleveland famously has two of the league’s better pass rushers in Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney. The two combined for over half of the Browns’ sacks last year with 25.0. The depth behind Garrett and Clowney is not ideal, though, with rookie third-round pick Alex Wright and former Vikings defensive end Stephen Weatherly as the primary backups on the depth chart. Odom has a real opportunity to find his way into the pass rushing rotation after leading the USFL with 12.5 sacks this past spring.

The USFL is striving to do what many other fledging leagues have attempted: cement their status as a minor league to the NFL. If top performers like Gates and Odom can find their way onto NFL rosters and into key roles, it could say a lot about the staying power of the USFL as a potential feeder-league.

NFL Workouts: 7/29/22

July 29th, 2022 at 9:00pm CST by Ely Allen

Here’s a list of minor players who visited or worked out for an NFL team today:

Carolina Panthers

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Washington Commanders

Howard had recently also worked out for the Saints, along with Bo Scarbrough, according to Nick Underhill at New Orleans Football Network. Howard has bounced between Philadelphia and Miami with limited success since averaging 1,123 rushing yards per season and totaling 24 rushing touchdowns in his first three seasons with the Bears. Injuries and limited productivity have really hurt Howard’s success over the past three years.

USFL DPOY Chris Odom Auditions For Bengals, Cardinals, Saints

July 26th, 2022 at 3:13pm CST by Ben Levine

JULY 26: Odom’s workout itinerary surfaced Tuesday. The USFL Defensive Player of the Year auditioned for the Bengals, Cardinals and Saints, Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com tweets. Odom first trekked to Arizona and Cincinnati but headed to New Orleans today. It certainly looks like he will have options to tack an NFL season onto his spring-summer USFL work. He would be following a few others once he latches on with a team.

JULY 9: Chris Odom put himself back on the NFL map with a strong performance in the USFL. The edge rusher’s agent announced that Odom has three upcoming workouts with NFL teams (h/t to Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com). The agent didn’t reveal the three squads, but he said the “calls are starting to come in fast” for his client.

The son of longtime Colts linebacker Cliff Odom, Chris Odom went undrafted out of Arkansas State in 2017. He bounced around the NFL a bit, spending time with the Falcons (two stints), Packers, and Washington. He’s ultimately saw time in 11 NFL games, collecting 16 tackles, two sacks, and one forced fumble. He also spent time in the AAF and the CFL before landing his most recent gig is the United States Football League.

Back in February, Odom was selected in the second round of the USFL draft. He proceeded to have a standout season with the Houston Gamblers, earning league Defensive Player of the Years honors after compiling 41 tackles, 12.5 sacks, six forced fumbles, and four blocked field goals. That performance has apparently put him back on the NFL radar, but during a conversation with Yahoo’s Chris Estrada, Odom was still focused on his USFL squad. While he acknowledged that “whatever opportunity presents itself [after the USFL season], then so be it,” he reiterated how important it was to him that the USFL gave him the opportunity to showcase his skills.

“I have teammates that haven’t played football in a year, two years, three years, some even four years – whether it wasn’t the right opportunity, injury, COVID,” Odom said. “We all just were happy to be able to play football again. So we all just wanted to show everybody what we were capable of.”

We recently saw one USFL player take his talents back to the NFL when linebacker Christian Sam signed with the Cowboys.

NFL Workouts: 7/25/22

July 25th, 2022 at 9:25pm CST by Ely Allen

As players are moved to the PUP and NFI lists and rosters are starting to take shape for the start of training camps, many players are searching for opportunities to make a team.

Here’s the list of players who have received workouts or taken visits today and this past weekend:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

New England

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

 

USFL Notes: Standouts, Rosters, Locations

July 2nd, 2022 at 9:03pm CST by Ely Allen

The inaugural season of the 2022 iteration of the United States Football League is set to conclude Sunday night, as the Birmingham Stallions and Philadelphia Stars compete for the league’s first championship. NBC Sports’ Paul Burmeister provided a breakdown of the league’s first season of existence this week touching on several points with a few being relevant to the NFL. 

Burmeister made a point to mention a number of standout players for the USFL’s opening year:

  • LB Frank Ginda, Michigan Panthers. Ginda spent time on practice squads for the Cardinals, Dolphins, and Saints, taking time in between to participate in the short-lived Alliance of American Football and XFL 2.0. Ginda finished second in the USFL in tackles and came to the league to improve his abilities in pass coverage with playing experience.
  • RB Reggie Corbin, Michigan Panthers. Corbin’s head coach, Jeff Fisher, said himself that Corbin should be in the NFL. After four years at Illinois, Corbin got a workout for the Seahawks after college but tested positive for COVID-19 upon arrival and was sent home before he could work out. He helped the Panthers lead the league in rushing yards per game this year.
  • LB Donald Payne, Houston Gamblers. Payne spent four years in the NFL, mainly as a core special-teamer in Jacksonville. The one player in the league with more tackles than Ginda, and the only player in the league with over 100 tackles, Payne made it clear that he isn’t aiming just to get another NFL opportunity, he’s aiming to make another NFL 53-man roster.
  • WR KaVontae Turpin, New Jersey Generals. Despite being on a team that ran the ball more than any other team in the USFL, Turpin led the league in receiving yards. He’s agile and tough with great top-end speed. His ability to shed tackles helped him excel as a return man this season. Turpin could easily find his way to the NFL with his receiving prowess and return abilities.
  • DE Chris Odom, Houston Gamblers. Odom spent time in the NFL playing for Atlanta, Green Bay, and Washington. Known more for stopping the run with his hand in the dirt, Odom took after ex-teammates Clay Matthews and Nick Perry and led the USFL in sacks and forced fumbles. He has NFL experience and proved that he can dominate the lower levels of professional football.

Here are a few other points that Burmeister touched on in his season breakdown:

  • When asked what comes next for the league, Burmeister brought up roster sizes. The initial roster rules allowed teams to have a total roster of 45 players with 38 active on gameday. Concerns over issues with in-game and practice injuries led the league to expand rosters to 50 total players with 40 allowed to be active on gamedays. That initial increase is likely just the beginning. With many teams hesitant to go full-contact in practices, in fear that they could suffer injuries that would diminish their already minuscule roster, more players would allow for more extensive practice sessions that could lead to an overall increase in quality of play.
  • Another factor Burmeister mentioned for what could be in store for the USFL’s future was locale. The league played all their games at one team’s home stadium in Birmingham, Ala. While Birmingham provided a great home-field advantage for the Stallions, attendance at games that didn’t include the hometown team was severely lacking. Noticing the drastic improvement of gameday action for Stallions’ games, the league has made plans to share the love. While not yet ready to give each team a home stadium and organize the travel necessary for such a scenario, the league has entertained the idea of providing one of the teams in their North Division the same advantage that Birmingham enjoyed. The four teams in the North Division that could potentially play host next season are the Michigan Panthers, the New Jersey Generals, the Philadelphia Stars, and the Pittsburgh Maulers.

Minor NFL Transactions: 2/14/20

February 14th, 2020 at 6:48pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Washington Redskins

Ladler spent some time with Washington in 2018, and then was signed off the street for Week 17 this past season, playing almost the entire game. Odom was on and off the practice squad and appeared in four games this past year, racking up two sacks.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/30/19

November 30th, 2019 at 5:56pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Saturday’s minor moves:

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Miami Dolphins

New York Giants

Washington Redskins

Load More Posts