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Darian Thompson

Cowboys Waive CB Darian Thompson

November 17th, 2018 at 11:58am CST by Ben Levine

Darian Thompson‘s tenure with the Cowboys has come to an end… for the time being. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets that Dallas has waived the defensive back to make room for recently-promoted defensive tackle Christian Ringo. However, Rapoport notes that he expects Thompson to return to the organization if he clears waivers.

Thompson, a former third-rounder out of Boise State, had a breakout campaign with the Giants in 2017. He finished the season with 75 tackles, six passes defended, and one interception, although Pro Football Focus only rated him as the 66th-ranked safety in the NFL. The 25-year-old missed his entire rookie campaign with a Lisfranc injury, and he was slowed down by a hamstring injury through much of the 2018 preseason.

The Giants’ new regime decided to move on from Thompson in early September, and he was subsequently added to the Cardinals practice squad. He was signed to the Cowboys active roster in early October, but he couldn’t carve out a role in Dallas. He appeared in four games without compiling a single defensive stat.

With Jameill Showers on the injured reserve, the Cowboys now have three healthy safeties on their roster in Xavier Woods, Jeff Heath, and Kavon Frazier.

Cowboys To Sign Darian Thompson

October 9th, 2018 at 1:34pm CST by Zachary Links

The Cowboys are signing safety Darian Thompson off of the Cardinals’ practice squad, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. Thompson was a third-round pick of the Giants in 2016, but he has yet to find his footing in the NFL. 

Thompson’s would-be rookie season was mostly lost to a Lisfranc injury suffered in training camp. He started in all 16 of his games in 2017, but a hamstring injury held him back in the summer. The Giants’ new regime didn’t feel that he was worth keeping and cut him with an injury designation on Sept. 1.

The move was a head-scratcher for some, but Thompson graded out as just the 66th-ranked safety in the NFL last year, per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics. Thompson could not find a 53-man deal when he first hit the open market, but the Cowboys have a role in mind for him after plucking him from Arizona’s p-squad.

Thompson is a Boise State product and he’ll find plenty of fellow alums in Dallas. Cowboys stars Leighton Vander Esch, Tyrone Crawford, and Demarcus Lawrence all wore orange and blue before donning navy, silver, and white.

Practice Squad Updates: 10/2/18

October 2nd, 2018 at 4:07pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Tennessee Titans

Washington Redskins

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/1/18

October 1st, 2018 at 6:50pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Here are the latest practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Houston Texans

  • Signed: WR Cyril Grayson
  • Placed on practice squad injured-reserve: WR Jester Weah

Minnesota Vikings

  • Signed: DL Jonathan Wynn
  • Cut: LB Garret Dooley

New York Jets

 

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/7/18

September 7th, 2018 at 6:13pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Here are Friday’s minor moves:

Jacksonville Jaguars 

  • Waived from injured reserve: WR Tevaun Smith

Minnesota Vikings

  • Waived from injured reserve: OL Josh Andrews, RB Mack Brown, DB Craig James

New England Patriots

  • Waived from injured reserve: TE Will Tye

New York Giants

  • Waived from injured reserve: S Darian Thompson

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Waived: S Tre Sullivan

Seattle Seahawks

  • Waived: CB Simeon Thomas
  • Waived from injured reserve: CB Byron Maxwell, LB Erik Walden, QB Austin Davis

Giants Lock In 53-Man Roster

September 1st, 2018 at 3:17pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Giants will head into the 2018 season without one of their longest-tenured players and one of their 2017 starting safeties, with both Mark Herzlich and Darian Thompson failing to make the team.

A 2017 fifth-round pick, edge defender Avery Moss missed out as well. As did Roger Lewis, a wideout who became needed when the Giants became decimated at receiver last season.

The Giants also released recently signed cornerback Leonard Johnson, who was trying to make a fifth NFL franchise’s 53-man roster. The former Buccaneer, Patriot, Panther and Bill started seven games with Buffalo last season.

Here’s the full list of Giants cuts:

Released:

Waived:

Waived with an injury designation

Placed on IR:

Placed on Reserve/NFI list:

  • DL R.J. McIntosh

Suspended:

Giants To Waive S Darian Thompson

September 1st, 2018 at 12:51pm CST by Sam Robinson

A starter in all 16 of the Giants’ 2017 games, Darian Thompson won’t be part of the 2018 edition. The Giants will waive the 2016 third-round pick, Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv reports (on Twitter).

The Giants will waive Thompson with an injury designation, per Vacchiano, who notes the hamstring injury Thompson’s dealt with all summer affected this move. Thompson will revert to Big Blue’s IR if he clears waivers.

Thompson graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 66 full-time safety last season. he made 75 tackles and intercepted a pass last season.

Two years remain on his rookie contract. The Giants added Michael Thomas and Curtis Riley as UFAs this year.

 

Giants To Move DRC To Safety

March 3rd, 2018 at 7:31pm CST by Zachary Links

Last fall, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie‘s chances of staying with the Giants seemed slim. He is in the plans for the team’s new regime, but it’ll be at a different position. The Giants are moving Rodgers-Cromartie from cornerback to safety, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. This summer, he’ll compete with Darian Thompson for the starting job at free safety. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (vertical)

Cornerbacks don’t always take well to moving to safety, particularly those of DRC’s caliber. He says he’s on board with the plan, however, according to Kimberly Jones of NFL.com (on Twitter).

The Giants had an opportunity to get out from DRC’s contract this offseason. The 31-year-old (32 in April) is slated to carry an $8.5MM cap hit, but releasing him would save $6.5MM against the cap against just $2MM in dead money.

For now, it sounds like the Giants will stick with him at his current rate, but we have a long way to go between now and the start of the 2018 season. It would not be surprising to see the Giants to ask the veteran to accept a pay cut, nor would it be a shock to see them abandon the cornerback-to-safety plan altogether, either by keeping him at corner or releasing him outright. The Giants have $23MM in cap space, a mere pittance compared to other teams in the NFL, and multiple needs to address such as remaking the offensive line and finding a new lead running back.

Last year, Rodgers-Cromartie earned a 77.2 overall score from Pro Football Focus, his lowest showing since 2012. He graded out as the 58th ranked cornerback in the NFL, portraying him as someone who is on the fringe of starter quality. His on-field performance was the least of his issues, however. Rodgers-Cromartie clashed with former coach Ben McAdoo last week – apparently, on four separate occasions – before being suspended “indefinitely” for conduct detrimental to the team. He was brought back after just one game, but his outbursts were an indicator of a much deeper problem in the Giants’ locker room.

In 2016, he earned a career-best 89.9 mark from PFF and was as second team All-Pro by both PFF and the Associated Press. That’s the kind of performance the Giants are looking for as DRC shifts his focus to a new position.

Giants S Darian Thompson Done For Season

November 9th, 2016 at 11:30am CST by Zachary Links

The Giants announced that safety Darian Thompson will undergo season-ending foot surgery. Thompson, of course, will be placed on injured reserve. Darian Thompson (vertical)

Safety was a problem spot for the Giants in 2015 and they were hopeful about turning it around this year with the help of Thompson, a third-round pick. Unfortunately, the rookie was hampered by a Lisfranc injury in training camp and could not fully recover, even after resting for the last six weeks. Thompson’s first NFL season ends with seven total tackles in two games.

The Giants will continue to rely on safeties Landon Collins, Nat Berhe, and Andrew Adams going forward, though they could add a fourth player to that group.

Injury Notes: Cook, Dolphins, Browns, Eagles

September 26th, 2016 at 10:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

Jared Cook appears to have avoided a season-ending injury, but the rare Packers free agent looks to be out for at least a game and possibly more following Green Bay’s Week 4 bye, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com reports. It’s being determined whether Cook will be out through Week 5, or if the former Titans and Rams target will be forced to miss multiple full games.

Cook left Lambeau Field Sunday on crutches and remains in a walking boot. The Packers are off in Week 4 and host the Giants in Week 5, but they will likely do so without their starting tight end’s services. Richard Rodgers will be the next man up for Green Bay.

Here are some more injury-related notes from around the league.

  • Continuing the string of trouble at the tight end position this season, Jordan Cameron suffered a concussion against the Browns and won’t play on Thursday against the Bengals, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald reports. This makes four concussions in the past four years for Cameron, who is in his second season with the Dolphins.
  • Gase also labeled Arian Foster as unlikely to return this week, per Beasley. He remains out with a groin injury. Foster sustained a groin tear during his final Texans training camp last summer and underwent surgery for it at the time. Foster missed three games last season due to that malady before going down with the Achilles tear that ended his time in Houston.
  • Browns linebacker Nate Orchard has a high-ankle sprain, which he sustained on the final play of Cleveland’s overtime loss in Miami, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports (on Twitter). Orchard is expected to be out “a while.” Additionally, Tramon Williams suffered an AC joint sprain during the loss, Hue Jackson said Monday. It’s unclear how long the veteran corner will be out.
  • As long as Ryan Mathews is healthy, he will remain the Eagles‘ top running back, per Doug Pederson (via Zach Berman of Philly.com). The problem, as it’s been for much of the running back’s career, stems from the fact the second-year Eagle again might not be healthy. Mathews left Sunday’s game against the Steelers after playing just eight snaps due to a left ankle injury. Mathews struggled with left ankle trouble in training camp as well.
  • The Eagles expect Zach Ertz and Leodis McKelvin to return after the team’s Week 4 bye, Berman reports. Philadelphia’s starting tight end has missed the past two games with a displaced rib, and McKelvin has missed the same amount of time due to a hamstring ailment.
  • Safety Darian Thompson‘s foot injury is not serious and not “the end of the world,” a source tells Paul Schwartz of the New York Post (on Twitter). Thompson will probably be out another week or two before suiting up for the Giants.
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