HEADLINES

Ego Ferguson

Bears’ Ego Ferguson Suspended Four Games

November 12th, 2015 at 3:39pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bears announced that defensive lineman Ego Ferguson was suspended four games for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs, as Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. Ferguson is now the second Chicago lineman to be suspended in three days after tackle Tayo Fabuluje was slapped for taking an appetite suppressant.

Ferguson is presently on IR, but he will begin serving his suspension immediately. The second-year defensive lineman from LSU was ruled out for the season when he suffered a knee injury in mid-October.

The 2014 second-round pick was trying to battle through the knee injury for a month before he was ultimately shut down for the year. The former LSU standout appeared in 16 games during his rookie campaign, compiling 23 tackles and a pair of sacks. He had appeared in four games this season, including his first NFL start, but he only compiled four tackles in limited snaps.

Ego Ferguson Out For Season

October 17th, 2015 at 12:13pm CST by Ben Levine

The Bears have placed defensive lineman Ego Ferguson on the season-ending injured reserve with a knee injury, reports Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter). Earlier today, the team presumably signed a replacement in defensive tackle Bruce Gaston.

The 2014 second-round pick had been trying to battle through the knee injury for the past month, according to Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times (via Twitter). The former LSU standout appeared in 16 games during his rookie campaign, compiling 23 tackles and a pair of sacks. He had appeared in four games this season, including his first NFL start, but he only compiled four tackles in limited snaps.

Gaston was plunked off the Packers practice squad this morning to add reinforcement to a depleted defensive line. Besides Ferguson, both Will Sutton and Jeremiah Ratliff are currently struggling through injuries. An undrafted free agent in 2014, Gaston has also spent time with the Patriots, Cardinals and Dolphins.

NFC Links: Giants, Lions, Packers

June 30th, 2014 at 2:28pm CST by Ben Levine

Eli Manning was the most overpaid NFL player during the 2013 season, at least according to Nathan Jahnke of Pro Football Focus (ESPN Insider subscription required). The Giants’ 57.5 accuracy percentage was the second-worst in the league (behind the Raiders‘ Matt McGloin), and his 27 interceptions were the most by a quarterback in nearly ten years. The writer utilized the “Jahnke Valuation Model” – a formula that measures a player’s potential salary based on production – and came to the conclusion that Manning deserved about $5.4MM. That’s a far cry from his 2013 cap hit of $20.8MM.

Second on the list also came from the NFC, albeit on the defensive side of the ball. Rams linebacker James Laurinaitis earned this honor, even though he compiled 116 tackles last season. Jahnke points to the player’s 13 missed tackles and estimates he should have earned about $1.3MM – a more than $11MM difference from his $12.4MM cap hit.

Three other NFC players – Falcons wideout Roddy White, Buccaneers safety Dashon Goldson and Vikings running back Adrian Peterson – made this list. For the AFC, Jets linebacker David Harris led the way, followed by Raiders quarterback Matt Schaub, Texans cornerback Johnathan Joseph, Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor and Bills defensive end Mario Williams.

Let’s see what else is going on around the NFC…

  • Giants wideout Odell Beckham Jr. and Bears defensive tackle Ego Ferguson were previously represented by the Morgan Advisory Group’s Ryan Morgan & Zeke Sandhu. However, as Sports Business Journal’s Liz Mullen points out (via Twitter), the two players are now unaffiliated with MAG and are only represented by Sandhu.
  • History suggests that Lions head coach Jim Caldwell will only carry two quarterbacks, writes Justin Rogers of MLive.com. In his ten seasons with the Colts, Caldwell carried a trio of quarterbacks four times, including the 2011 season when he held on to an injured Peyton Manning. The competition is likely between veterans Dan Orlovsky and Kellen Moore, as well as rookie James Franklin. As Rogers notes, Franklin could stick around on the practice squad.
  • 12 linebackers were taken ahead of Packers rookie Carl Bradford, and Tyler Dunne of the Journal Sentinel writes that the player won’t forget about those taken in front of him. “I keep track of it, man,” Bradford said. “And I use that as motivation…We’ll see where I land at the end of all this.”

Bears Sign Second Round Pick Ego Ferguson

May 13th, 2014 at 7:22pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bears announced that they have agreed to terms with second round pick Ego Ferguson (via Twitter). Chicago has also struck a deal with sixth-rounder Pat O’Donnell.

Ferguson, a defensive tackle out of LSU, was viewed by many as a serious reach, according to CBSSports.com’s Jason La Canfora. Regardless of what anybody else things, the Bears believe that they did well for themselves at the No. 51 overall pick. At nearly 6’3″ and 315 pounds, Ferguson is a big, athletic three-technique tackle, but a very green prospect. He could develop into a strong pass rusher, but the general feeling is that it will take some time for him to get there.

O’Donnell, a punter out of Miami, was a first-team All-ACC pick in 2013 and named the team’s special teams MVP.

La Canfora On Draft, Browns, Jags, Easley

May 12th, 2014 at 2:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Based on what Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com was hearing during and after the draft, he believes the Browns traded down from No. 4 to No. 9 in the first round in the hopes that Texas A&M receiver Mike Evans would still be on the board. When Evans was snapped up by the Buccaneers seventh overall, Cleveland went another direction and never did address the receiver position in the draft. Here’s more from La Canfora, with a focus on draft-related what-ifs:

  • The Jaguars “resisted several opportunities” to move out of the No. 3 overall slot and trade down with teams who were hoping to land Khalil Mack or Sammy Watkins, says La Canfora. We heard this morning that Jacksonville also considered trading with the Falcons, who were targeting Jake Matthews.
  • Before they traded up to No. 22, the Browns were close to making deals with the Titans at No. 11 and the Cowboys at No. 16.
  • If the Patriots hadn’t selected Florida’s Dominique Easley with their first-round pick, the Seahawks likely would have kept their first-rounder and used it on Easley rather than moving down. Similarly, the Cardinals would have selected Ryan Shazier if he was there at No. 20, but began attempts to trade down once he came off the board, ultimately swinging a deal with the Saints.
  • Offensive tackle Ju’Wuan James likely would’ve been selected by the Panthers at No. 28 if the Dolphins hadn’t drafted him 19th overall.
  • La Canfora continues to hear from sources that at this point rumors of a Ryan Mallett trade between the Patriots and Texans are just that — rumors.
  • Defensive tackle Ego Ferguson, who was selected by the Bears in the second round, has been frequently identified by evaluators as one of the draft’s biggest reaches, says La Canfora.