HEADLINES

Greg Zuerlein

AFC Injury Updates: Jets, Cooper, Jaguars

January 4th, 2025 at 5:04pm CST by Ely Allen

On Monday, the Jets placed starting safety Chuck Clark on injured reserve without disclosing the reason for the transaction. Similarly, the next day, kicker Greg Zuerlein was placed on IR, as well, though his transaction flew a bit further under the radar as a minor move.

Today, ESPN’s Rich Cimini reported reasons for both transactions today. Clark was reportedly placed on IR with a torn pectoral muscle. Clark had recently worked his way back from injury, being activated off IR in mid-November after missing a month with an ankle injury. Since leaving Baltimore in 2022, Clark has been absolutely plagued by injuries. He missed the entire 2023 season with a torn ACL and only appeared in 12 games this year.

Zuerlein was placed on IR after reportedly experiencing some back tightness in pregame warmups last Sunday. Greg Joseph was available for the game in replacement duty, but he didn’t attempt a kick in the loss to Buffalo.

Here are a couple other injury updates heading into the final week of the regular season:

  • The Bills have been locked into the No. 2 seed in the AFC no matter what happens in Week 18 of the regular season, so they will likely have a number of starters remaining on the sideline for most of the game. One starter, wide receiver Amari Cooper, will not even be available to play, being downgraded to out today due to a personal family matter, per Adam Schefter of ESPN. Cooper will not even travel with the team this week.
  • Similarly, Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen will not be traveling to Indianapolis with his teammates this weekend. He also has been ruled out due to personal reasons, according to Schefter. Hines-Allen will miss his first game in three years.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/31/24

December 31st, 2024 at 6:59pm CST by Ely Allen

The last minor NFL transactions of the 2024 calendar year:

Arizona Cardinals

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/28/24

December 28th, 2024 at 8:03pm CST by Adam La Rose

Saturday’s minor moves, including gameday elevations for Week 17:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Dallas Cowboys

Green Bay Packers

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

It was already known Lamb would be out for the remainder of the year, but the same will now be true of Oruwariye. The latter made seven appearances in 2024, his debut Cowboys season. That included four starts and a defensive snap share of 62%, making him a notable contributor on a Dallas defense which has dealt with a number of injuries. Oruwariye, 28, is a pending free agent.

McCoy and Patrick suffered injuries during the Saints’ Week 16 loss, and today’s move confirms they will both miss the remainder of the season. New Orleans’ offensive line has been dealt a number of blows in 2024, and that will continue through the final two games of the season. McCoy appeared in just seven games this year, but plenty of term remains on his pact. Patrick, by contrast, is set to hit the open market this spring.

Whitehead returned to practice earlier this week, so it comes as no surprise he will be available to the Buccaneers tomorrow. He will be expected to reprise his role as a defensive starter as Tampa Bay looks to seal the NFC South over the final two games of the campaign. Bringing back Whitehead and Johnson will leave the team with two IR activations.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/26/24

December 26th, 2024 at 8:32pm CST by Adam La Rose

Thursday’s minor moves around the NFL:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Reverted to season-ending IR (practice window expired): CB Elijah Jones

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Harris’ second season with the Browns saw him play a key role with 13 starts and a 59% snap share on defense. The 33-year-old remained consistent against the run (37 tackles) while chipping in as a pass rusher (1.5 sacks), but his campaign is now over as he deals with an elbow injury. One year remains on Harris’ contract, although none of his scheduled $1.26MM base salary is guaranteed.

Alexander joined the Lions late last month as part of the team’s bid to add healthy options at the linebacker spot. He made a pair of appearances with Detroit prior to today’s move, one which may not mark the end of his time with the team. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports the Lions hope to be able to sign Alexander, 30, to their practice squad provided he clears waivers. Teams will be able to put in a claim until tomorrow afternoon, by which point he will become a free agent if no interested parties emerge.

Zuerlein has been on injured reserve since the end of October, spurring the Jets to turn to other kicking options. If the veteran is activated in the near future, he will be able to make a late-season return in 2024, his third campaign with the Jets. Failing that, New York will still have Anders Carlson and recent practice squad addition Greg Joseph in place at the position.

Jets To Add K Riley Patterson, K Spencer Shrader To Practice Squad

October 30th, 2024 at 11:11am CST by Sam Robinson

11:11am: The Jets have placed Zuerlein on injured reserve, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, sidelining him for at least four games as New York will rely on Patterson and Shrader to kick in the coming weeks.

9:15am: With Greg Zuerlein struggling and now on the Jets’ injury report, the team will add multiple kickers from its Tuesday workout. Both Riley Patterson and Spencer Shrader are coming aboard.

Part of a six-kicker audition, Patterson and Shrader are joining New York’s practice squad, per NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero. One of the two will be elevated to the Jets’ gameday roster for Thursday night, though it is not yet known who will fill in for Zuerlein, who remains on the team’s 53-man roster. The Jets also worked out Cade York, Zane Gonzalez and recent Packers kicker Brayden Narveson but will go with the Patterson-Shrader combo.

Patterson, who worked out for the Jets twice this month, is accustomed to changing teams in-season. He moved from Lions cut to Jaguars waiver claim in August 2022 before being traded back to Detroit during the 2023 offseason. The Lions then cut him late last season, paving a path to Cleveland as a Dustin Hopkins fill-in. The Jags then added Patterson back via a reserve/futures contract before moving on again this summer. The Commanders claimed Patterson in July but cut him during a shaky preseason stretch.

While Patterson has kicked in 39 regular-season games, Shrader has only appeared in one. The former Notre Dame and South Florida specialist replaced an injured Matt Gay earlier this season for the Colts. Shrader hit 15 of 22 field goals for the Fighting Irish last season. His best accuracy slate came two years prior, when he hit on 11 of 13 with South Florida.

Patterson was 16-for-18 with the Lions and Browns last season, and while he lost his job to Michael Badgley after an ongoing practice competition and then saw the Jags and Commanders move on, his experience might win out for a Jets team effectively entering a do-or-die game against the Texans.

A decorated college kicker who thrived with the Rams for nearly a decade, Zuerlein has run into trouble this season. The 36-year-old kicker has made just 9 of 15 field goal tries. Only one of those misses came from beyond 50 yards, as the strong-legged specialist misfired from inside 40 twice. For all the other issues plaguing the Jets, Zuerlein’s struggles have proven costly this season.

Zuerlein moving to IR to clear a roster spot would make sense for the 2-6 team, which would take on nearly $4MM in dead money by cutting him. The Jets used three void years to reduce Zuerlein’s cap hit upon re-signing him to a two-year, $8.4MM deal in March.

Jets To Re-Sign K Greg Zuerlein

March 11th, 2024 at 9:46am CST by Sam Robinson

The Jets had wanted to bring back Greg Zuerlein; they now have an agreement in place to greenlight a third season with the strong-legged kicker.

Zuerlein is re-signing with the Jets, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero. This time, the former Rams All-Pro will stay in New York on a two-year deal. The 13th-year kicker’s latest contract is worth $8.4MM, Pelissero adds.

This is upper-middle-class kicker territory, as several specialists are now tied to deals north of $5MM per year. Zuerlein turned 36 late last season, however, and has gone year to year since the Cowboys cut him in 2022. This brings some security for the Division II alum, who is now one of the NFL’s longest-tenured kickers.

After being a Cowboys cut in 2022, Zuerlein has settled in with the Jets. The former Rams specialist turned in his best season since an All-Pro 2017 campaign, making 35 of 38 field goal tries. That marked Zuerlein’s best season since that 2017 All-Pro campaign. While Jets and Cowboys work has not brought the high-stakes environments Zuerlein encountered in 2018 with the Rams, when he booked the team’s Super Bowl berth after a game-winning 57-yard field goal in New Orleans, he has remained a dependable specialist.

Zuerlein has brought the Jets some kicker stability as well. After passing on re-signing Jason Myers following his 2018 Pro Bowl season, the Jets had cycled through kickers. Even Myers was only in the Big Apple for one season. The Jets used multiple kickers during the 2019, ’20 and ’21 seasons. Zuerlein has kicked in all but one game since signing with New York in 2022. As the team attempts to regroup around Aaron Rodgers, it will keep its kicker. Another Thomas Morstead agreement may soon follow.

Jets Prefer Alijah Vera-Tucker At G; Team Wants To Re-Sign Greg Zuerlein, Thomas Morstead

March 6th, 2024 at 12:15pm CST by Sam Robinson

This year’s free agency and draft outcomes may dictate where the Jets place Alijah Vera-Tucker, who has shuttled between guard and right tackle over the past two seasons. But the team does have a preference for the former first-round pick.

As injuries have piled up over the past two seasons, the Jets have opted to kick Vera-Tucker to right tackle. Not long after each move, a season-ending injury occurred. Joe Douglas praised Vera-Tucker’s versatility and noted it is a resource the team can use as it assembles its 2024 roster, but the team still wants the 2021 draftee to master one job.

Despite the Jets expressing interest in keeping Vera-Tucker at right tackle on a full-time basis, ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini points to an internal preference of the USC product returning to guard and staying there. The Jets have three starting spots to fill up front. If Vera-Tucker is moved back to guard, that mission will include two new tackles. Mekhi Becton is not expected to be re-signed.

Vera-Tucker has played fewer than 400 career snaps at RT, being moved because of injuries at tackle in the past two seasons. He suffered a torn triceps in 2022 and a torn Achilles last year; both injuries occurred in Denver. The Jets, who recently released Laken Tomlinson, will need AVT to remain upright as they break in a new O-line configuration following years of waiting on Becton to stay healthy.

Elsewhere on the Jets’ roster, they want to bring back both their 2023 specialists. The team would like to re-sign Greg Zuerlein and Thomas Morstead, Cimini adds. Zuerlein has been the Jets’ kicker for the past two seasons; he played out another one-year deal (worth $2.6MM) in 2023. Morstead came over on a one-year deal as well, rejoining the Jets after a season with the Dolphins.

After being a Cowboys cut in 2022, Zuerlein has settled in with the Jets. The former Rams specialist turned in his best season since an All-Pro 2017 campaign, making 35 of 38 field goal tries. The strong-legged kicker out of the Division II ranks is now a 12-year veteran who is now 36, but the Jets are interested in an all-late-30s ST corps. Morstead will turn 38 later this week.

The Jets are also interested in retaining Jordan Whitehead, but Cimini offers that the two-year safety starter does not qualify as a high priority. A six-year veteran, Whitehead is only going into his age-27 season. The former Buccaneers Super Bowl starter intercepted four passes and broke up nine more last season; he has six picks as a Jet. With Kyle Dugger and Antoine Winfield Jr. off the market, players like Whitehead stand to be a bit more appealing. The former Bucs fourth-rounder played out a two-year, $14.5MM deal.

Zuerlein and Morstead will certainly be much cheaper to retain, but if the Jets let Whitehead walk, they will need to fill a starting role. Tony Adams, who usurped Adrian Amos for the other starting role last year, remains under contract. Ashtyn Davis and Chuck Clark, a 2023 trade acquisition who missed the season due to injury, are also due for free agency.

Jets Place T Duane Brown On IR

December 27th, 2023 at 8:56pm CST by Ely Allen

The Jets made a few roster moves today, per team reporter Ethan Greenberg, the key move being the placement of offensive tackle Duane Brown on injured reserve. Shortly back from an earlier stint on IR, Brown’s season has officially come to an end.

New York initially placed Brown on IR due to a hip injury that threatened to keep him out for multiple weeks. Brown had begun the year as a starter after playing a starting role in his first year with the team last season. Despite initial optimism that Brown would be able to return soon, it would take nine weeks before he was officially activated from IR.

While Brown was back on the active roster starting a month ago, his first two game appearances since then saw him coming off the bench. He finally made his third start of the season two weeks ago but only played five offensive snaps in that contest. Since then, Brown has been an inactive member of the roster. Not much will change with his placement on IR except that the Jets will be able to fill his roster spot with another player.

That honor will go to tight end Zack Kuntz. Kuntz is a seventh-round rookie out of Old Dominion who has spent the entire season on the team’s practice squad. With the recent injury troubles of Jeremy Ruckert, Kuntz will add some tight end depth behind Tyler Conklin and Kenny Yeboah.

The team also announced the return of kicker Austin Seibert, who will join the practice squad after a one-week stint with the team back in September. As regular kicker Greg Zuerlein sits on the injury report as questionable with an injury to his right quadriceps muscle, Seibert’s signing could indicate that Zuerlein will not be available for tomorrow’s Thursday night matchup with the Browns.

Jets Sign K Austin Seibert To PS, Rule Out K Greg Zuerlein

September 16th, 2023 at 3:35pm CST by Ben Levine

3:35pm: An updated report informs that the move will reportedly be adding Seibert to the practice squad, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. He and linebacker Samuel Eguavoen will be called up from the taxi squad as gameday elevations for tomorrow’s game.

Wilson also reports that practice squad quarterback Tim Boyle will be signed to the active roster to serve as Zach Wilson‘s backup. The vacancy created on the practice squad by Boyle’s promotion will be the one filled by Seibert’s addition. In order to make room on the active roster for Boyle, wide receiver Irvin Charles has been waived.

1:53pm: With reports coming in from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, we can confirm that the Jets have officially downgraded Zuerlein to out for tomorrow’s matchup with the Cowboys. As most teams choose not to carry more than one kicker on their roster, this will require New York to make an addition to the team for tomorrow.

After a successful workout yesterday, Seibert has won the backup kicking job for the Jets, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. As mentioned below, Seibert is the most experienced of the three who tried out after spending his rookie season in 2019 making 86 percent of his kicks as the full time kicker for the Browns. He’s bounced around a bit since then and will now get a new opportunity in New York.

Even if Zuerlein is only out short-term, the job is a good opportunity for Seibert to showcase his in-game kicking abilities to other teams in the NFL who may be in need of a kicker down the line.

9:17am: With Greg Zuerlein questionable for tomorrow’s game against the Cowboys, the Jets were busy figuring out a contingency plan yesterday. According to ESPN’s Field Yates, the Jets worked out three kickers: Matthew Wright, Austin Seibert, and Caleb Shudak.

Seibert has the most experience of the bunch, with the former sixth-round pick getting into 30 games since 2019. Since appearing in 16 games a rookie, the kicker has bounced around the NFL, spending time with the Browns, Bengals, and Lions. He most recently got into three games for Detroit in 2022, connecting on three of his five field goal attempts and all 12 of his extra point tries.

Wright has seen time in 23 games, including a 2021 campaign where he appeared in 14 games for the Jaguars. He split the 2022 season between the Steelers and Chiefs, converting 12 of his 14 FG tries and all seven of his XPs. Shudak was busy during his lone NFL appearance, contributing 10 points during an appearance with the Titans in 2022.

Zuerlein suffered a groin injury during practice on Thursday, and Robert Saleh has declared the starting kicker 50/50 for tomorrow (per ESPN’s Rich Cimini). The head coach also acknowledged that the injury isn’t serious, so it sounds like the Jets may just need a one-week replacement at the position.

“Joe [Douglas] and the staff, they’re on it, to get all these kickers in for a workout to see which one would be best available come Sunday,” Saleh said (via Andrew Crane of the New York Post). “But gotta roll with the punches.”

Jets To Re-Sign K Greg Zuerlein

March 13th, 2023 at 5:06pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Jets will keep their kicker around for a second season. Greg Zuerlein is staying in the Big Apple on a new deal, according to Dianna Russini of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

This will be the Division II product’s 12th NFL season. Zuerlein, 35, made 81% of his field goal tries in 2022. The Jets brought in Zuerlein last year, and the ex-Rams and Cowboys specialist is now positioned to kick for what could well be a much higher-profile Jet squad in 2023.

The Cowboys cut Zuerlein at this time last year, ending a two-season partnership. Zuerlein caught on with the Jets on a one-year deal worth $2MM. That agreement looks to have stopped the revolving door that existed at this Jets position since the team let Jason Myers walk in 2019. Gang Green used eight kickers from 2019-21, including three apiece in both the 2020 and ’21 seasons.

While providing a reprieve from the kicker shuffling, the strong-legged specialist played all 17 Jets games and hit the third 60-plus-yard field goal of his career. That came when he nailed a 60-yarder — a Jets-record distance — against the Vikings in December. Zuerlein hit from 60-plus twice with the Rams, but the makes came back in their St. Louis days. The former sixth-round pick has not made more than 83% of his field goal tries since 2018, however.

Load More Posts