HEADLINES

Jalyn Holmes

Giants Sign Jalyn Holmes, Maurice Canady

May 18th, 2022 at 3:53pm CST by Sam Robinson

Restrained in their approach to bolstering their edge rush for a few years, the Giants certainly changed that strategy this year via their Kayvon Thibodeaux pick. The team added another piece to its Thibodeaux-fronted edge mix Wednesday.

Former Vikings defensive end Jalyn Holmes signed with the Giants, who also added three more defenders. That includes cornerback Maurice Canady, a six-year veteran who spent last season with the Cowboys. Big Blue rounded out the signings by inking cornerback Khalil Dorsey and safety Henry Black.

A fourth-round pick out of Ohio State in 2018, Holmes received his most run as a Danielle Hunter replacement during the 2020 season. Despite starting nine games for that Vikings edition, Holmes did not record a sack. While he did add four quarterback hits, two tackles for loss and two pass deflections that year, his only NFL sack came during his rookie season. Holmes spent last season with the Saints.

The Giants have 2021 second-rounder Azeez Ojulari positioned to play alongside Thibodeaux and still roster 2019 third-rounder Oshane Ximines. Lorenzo Carter joined the Falcons as a free agent. New York also signed pass rusher Jihad Ward this offseason.

Canady, a Ravens sixth-rounder in 2016, has bounced around a bit and has worked mostly as a backup. He has started six games in six years but has extensive experience in new Giants defensive coordinator Don Martindale‘s system. Canady’s third and fourth Ravens seasons overlapped with Martindale’s Baltimore DC run. The soon-to-be 28-year-old defender played eight games for the Cowboys last season.

Black, 25, contributed for the Packers last season, playing 24% of their defensive snaps and intercepting a pass. He joins a safety corps that lost Logan Ryan and Jabrill Peppers this offseason. Dorsey played six games for Martindale’s Ravens defense in 2020; he was nontendered as an RFA in March.

NFL COVID-19 List Updates: 12/30/21

December 30th, 2021 at 3:32pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Thursday’s reserve/COVID-19 list updates:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

  • Activated from virus list: OL Cody Ford, CB Cam Lewis
  • Activated from practice squad virus list: TE Quintin Morris

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

  • Placed on practice squad virus list: LB Omari Cobb

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

Saints’ COVID Surge

December 24th, 2021 at 9:27pm CST by Ely Allen

Yesterday, the Saints saw 9 players hit the reserve/COVID-19 list including quarterbacks Taysom Hill and Trevor Siemian who were expected to handle the duties behind center for the rest of the year with Jameis Winston on IR with a torn ACL. In addition to those two, guard James Carpenter, linebacker Kaden Elliss, defensive back Jeff Heath, defensive end Jalyn Holmes, defensive back Malcolm Jenkins, defensive tackle Christian Ringo, and tackle Jordan Mills all found themselves on the COVID list. Besides the quarterbacks and full-time starter Jenkins, the other six players have a combined 8 starts between them.

With three quarterbacks currently unavailable for Monday Night’s matchup with the Dolphins, the Saints are expected to start the rookie fourth-round pick out of Notre Dame, Ian Book. As we reported earlier this morning, New Orleans also made the move of signing Blake Bortles as a contingency plan behind Book.

Well, despite the addition, the Saints didn’t fair any better today, losing full-time starters Ryan Ramczyk at tackle and Demario Davis at linebacker to the reserve/COVID-19 list, as well as reserves running back Dwayne Washington and safety J.T. Gray.

With the losses, the Saints will continue to operate with a depleted roster, like every other NFL team this year. The Saints’ lineup now lacks the likes of regular starters like Winston, Hill, Jenkins, Ramczyk, Davis, kicker Wil Lutz, tackle Andrus Peat, tight end Adam Trautman, and wide receiver Michael Thomas. Although they look like a shell of the team they could be at full strength, the Saints, along with the rest of the NFL, will continue to work to make the most of a bad situation as they currently sit only two spots outside of the final Wild Card spot with a 7-7 record, losing the tiebreakers to current 7-seed Minnesota and 8-seed Philadelphia.

Saints Place Taysom Hill, Trevor Siemian On Reserve/COVID-19 List

December 23rd, 2021 at 11:07am CST by Sam Robinson

The Saints are the latest team with a virus issue. It may well lead the playoff-contending squad starting a rookie at quarterback Monday night.

New Orleans placed Trevor Siemian on the reserve/COVID-19 list earlier Thursday morning, Jeff Duncan of NOLA.com notes, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com adds that Taysom Hill will also be moved to the virus list (Twitter link). Rookie Ian Book is the next man up. The Notre Dame product is likely to get the call Monday night.

Book would be New Orleans’ fourth QB starter this season, following Jameis Winston, Siemian and Hill. The Saints selected the ex-Fighting Irish standout in the fourth round. This certainly could stall the Saints’ recent momentum. After nearly falling out of the playoff race during a stretch without Alvin Kamara, the Saints have won two straight — including a 9-0 win in Tampa that doubled as Tom Brady‘s first shutout loss in 15 years.

Sean Payton has not been at the facility this week; the 16th-year head coach remains away from the team after testing positive for COVID last week. The Saints chose Book 133rd overall. He started three seasons at Notre Dame, topping out with a 34-touchdown pass season as a junior in 2019.

Book is also the winningest starting QB in Notre Dame history. He stands to be tasked with helping the Saints stay on the No. 7 seed line in the NFC playoff race. The Saints’ win over the Buccaneers moved them to 7-7; FiveThirtyEight.com gives the team a 44% chance to make the playoffs. New Orleans being forced to give the keys to a Day 3 rookie with zero regular-season snaps will impact those odds.

The Saints also added seven more players to their reserve/COVID-19 list. Malcolm Jenkins is among them. Joining the veteran safety are safety Jeff Heath, guard James Carpenter, offensive lineman Jordan Mills, defensive end Jalyn Holmes, D-tackle Christian Ringo and linebacker Kaden Elliss.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/18/21

September 18th, 2021 at 4:35pm CST by Sam Robinson

The customary Saturday minor moves avalanche:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

  • Promoted: WR DeMichael Harris

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

North Notes: Bengals, Browns, Vikings

June 13th, 2018 at 4:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

Bengals tackle Jake Fisher returned to full participation for the first time in many months. The fourth-year blocker underwent surgery this offseason to correct an irregular heartbeat and was limited during OTAs. On Wednesday, Fisher was present for a full workout at Bengals minicamp, per Laurel Pfahler of ESPN.com. Fisher’s 2017 season ended in early November, but the Bengals remain optimistic he can bounce back and have a productive contract year. Despite the Bengals acquiring Cordy Glenn this offseason, Fisher is nonetheless a decent bet to start. He’s the leading candidate to start opposite Glenn at right tackle.

Here’s the latest from Cincinnati, as well as some other northern cities.

  • Bengals rookie quarterback Logan Woodside was arrested for speeding and driving under the influence, cincinnati.com’s Jim Owczarski and Bob Strickley report. This occurred in Kentucky on the morning of June 9. The Bengals confirmed they were aware of the incident. Cincinnati selected Woodside in the seventh round out of Toledo. With A.J. McCarron gone, the job of Bengals backup falls to a competition between Woodside, Matt Barkley and Jeff Driskel.
  • Multiple AFC West teams gave Donald Stephenson chances to be a starting right tackle, but he could not maintain the job in Kansas City or Denver. He’s now in Cleveland but was not present for the start of Browns minicamp, according to Pat McManamon of ESPN.com. Stephenson missed a sizable portion of Cleveland’s OTAs, per McManamon, as well and would be in position to incur fines for missing minicamp workouts. Hue Jackson said Wednesday this situation will be explained soon. Stephenson may not have a solidified roster spot, with the Browns having signed Chris Hubbard and drafted Austin Corbett in the second round. Shon Coleman is also in the mix for either the starting left tackle job or a swing role, which could make matters more difficult to stick with his most recent AFC franchise.
  • J.W. Johnson, son-in-law of Jimmy Haslam, will now serve as Browns executive vice president, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets. Johnson will assume those duties July 1. La Canfora reported last year Johnson was moving into a bigger role with the Browns. Johnson worked at CBS Sports for many years before spending four years at Haslam’s Pilot Flying J company earlier this decade.
  • Rookie defensive end Jalyn Holmes suffered a broken hand and is not participating in Vikings minicamp, Mike Zimmer said (via Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, on Twitter). Slated to be a backup edge defender behind Everson Griffen and Danielle Hunter, the fourth-round pick is expected to be ready for training camp.

Draft Pick Signings: 5/5/18

May 5th, 2018 at 9:02pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Saturday’s draft pick transactions.

  • The only Vikings draft choice to remain unsigned after Saturday is first-rounder Mike Hughes. Minnesota agreed to terms with second-rounder Brian O’Neill on Friday and today inked four-year contracts with fourth-round defensive end Jalyn Holmes and fifth-round tight end Tyler Conklin. Seven of the Vikes’ eight picks are under contract.
  • Meanwhile, the Raiders reached their first agreement with a 2018 draftee, coming to terms with sixth-round linebacker Azeem Victor. While Victor is this draft class’ only linebacker, Oakland added four veterans in free agency — including a Friday accord with Derrick Johnson.