HEADLINES

JaMycal Hasty

AFC East Rumors: Lazard, Carter, Jackson, Montgomery

November 24th, 2023 at 8:30pm CST by Ely Allen

The Jets lost to the Dolphins today in Tim Boyle‘s first start since 2021, and while Boyle failed to provide the offensive spark the team has been searching so desperately for, his arsenal of weapons hardly set him up for success. Part of that was the absence of veteran wide receiver Allen Lazard, who, according to Mike Florio of NBC Sports, was a healthy scratch from today’s game.

Florio relays that Lazard reportedly believes that it is “a one-game thing,” but after only being target once last week, Florio isn’t quite as sure. The report claims that, despite his existing history with injured quarterback Aaron Rodgers and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, “the internal assessment of Lazard is far from flattering.”

Still, without him, Garrett Wilson saw 10 targets. Jason Brownlee and Xavier Gipson were the only other wide receivers to see targets, while the rest of Boyle’s attempts targeted tight ends and running backs. With Randall Cobb already out for the past four games, New York can hardly afford more missed time from Lazard, as well.

Here are a few other rumors from the AFC East, with another coming from Gang Green:

  • New York waived a former starter in running back Michael Carter a couple weeks ago. The young rusher had been benched after getting penalized for a chop block and had been buried on the depth chart behind Breece Hall and Dalvin Cook. The hope was that rookie fifth-round pick Israel Abanikanda would be able to step into the third-down role and provide a spark with his speed, per ESPN’s Rich Cimini, but in today’s loss, Abanikanda didn’t register a touch. Hall instead took over the passing downs role, registering nine targets as the Jets were in catch-up mode for most of the contest.
  • A new update on the drama with Patriots cornerback J.C. Jackson comes straight from Jackson himself, through Mark Daniels of Mass Live. After reports that Jackson failed to show up to the team hotel the night before their game with the Commanders and then subsequently was kept home during the team’s trip to Germany, Jackson explained the situation. Jackson tole Daniels that he had “missed multiple ‘bed checks'” on the night before the Washington game. He was told to stay home from Germany as a punishment, which he claims to have accepted, learned from, and apologized for. In fact, Jackson claims to now be even more appreciative of head coach Bill Belichick, as a result.
  • We saw New England pick up running back JaMycal Hasty off waivers a couple weeks ago, and with that addition, Mike Reiss of ESPN thinks veteran dual-threat back Ty Montgomery‘s job could be in danger. Hasty has a very similar skill set to Montgomery’s and is three years his junior. Montgomery, on the other hand, spent nearly all of last year on the team’s injured reserve and has seen his offensive contributions dwindle in 2023. Reiss could be right in thinking that Hasty has been brought in to replace Montgomery in the Patriots’ running backs room.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/13/23

November 13th, 2023 at 7:15pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Buffalo Bills

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

New England Patriots

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

JaMycal Hasty was waived by the Jaguars this past weekend following a year-plus with the organization. The running back had 320 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns during his first season in Jacksonville but was limited to only three games and zero touches this year. He’ll be hard pressed to carve out a role in New England with Rhamondre Stevenson and Ezekiel Elliott leading the depth chart.

Jaguars Waive RB JaMycal Hasty

November 11th, 2023 at 12:52pm CST by Ben Levine

After extending JaMycal Hasty this past offseason, the Jaguars are moving on from the running back. The team announced today that they’ve waived Hasty. The Jaguars are using the open roster spot on cornerback Gregory Junior, who has been activated from injured reserve.

Hasty started his NFL career in San Francisco. He joined the 49ers in 2020 after going undrafted out of Baylor, and he proceeded to spend two years with the organization. While a lot of his work came on special teams, he showed some promise on offense, averaging 4.8 yards on his 85 touches.

He was snagged off waivers by the Jaguars prior to the 2022 campaign. After initially serving as the team’s RB3, he was promoted to be Travis Etienne‘s primary backup following the James Robinson trade. Hasty ended up getting into all 17 games for the Jaguars last season, finishing with a career-high 320 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns. He also got into Jacksonville’s two playoff games, adding another 43 yards on five touches. Following that performance, the Jaguars extended Hasty in February.

However, the 27-year-old has seen a reduced role in 2023. Rookie Tank Bigsby has taken over the second spot on the depth chart, and Hasty has also been outsnapped by D’Ernest Johnson. In total, Hasty has seen time in three games, with the majority of his snaps coming on special teams.

The Jaguars selected Junior, a Ouachita Baptist product, in the sixth round of the 2022 draft. He ended up spending the majority of his rookie season on the practice squad, although he collect six tackles in his one appearance with the big-league club. The defensive back suffered a hamstring injury in Week 1 that ultimately landed him on injured reserve.

RB Rumors: Mixon, Cook, Dolphins, Jaguars

March 1st, 2023 at 12:42pm CST by Sam Robinson

Emphatically announcing that Tee Higgins was not available for a trade, Bengals VP of player personnel Duke Tobin was less declarative regarding Joe Mixon‘s future. The seventh-year running back, one of a few 2017 backfield draftees who entered the offseason with an uncertain place on his team’s roster, has a fairly manageable 2023 cap hit ($12.8MM). Mixon, 26, is still unlikely to be with the team too much longer, considering the payments that will need to be made to the offense’s other high-profile players. His deal runs through 2024.

“I’m not gonna predict the offseason because I don’t have the answers. In the words of the great Kevin Malone, ‘I don’t know,’” Tobin said, borrowing a line from one of The Office‘s accounting staffers, when asked about Mixon. “We’ll all see as the offseason goes what we’re able to get done and how the resources are spread around, but Joe’s been a vital part of our team, a successful part, a contributing part. My job is to try to keep as many of those pieces around as I can.”

The Bengals could save more than $7MM by releasing Mixon and just more than $10MM if he is designated as a post-June 1 cut. The team also has the likes of Jessie Bates, Vonn Bell and Germaine Pratt set to hit the market. The Bengals are near the top of the league in cap space, at over $35MM, and after being aggressive in adding outside talent from 2020-22, they plan to restore their offseason focus on attempting to retain their own players. Releasing Mixon would be a way to create more space, but the Bengals would then need help at running back. Backup Samaje Perine is set for free agency, though he could be retained cheaply if the Bengals decided to cut the cord on their longtime starter.

Here is the latest from the running back scene:

  • Both Mixon and Dalvin Cook signed extensions just before the 2020 season; Cook’s Vikings pact was for five years, however. Entering Year 3 of that contract, the Vikings are not certain to move forward with their Pro Bowl ball-carrier. While calling Cook a “great player, great leader,” Minnesota GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah (via ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert) joined Tobin in stopping short of guaranteeing the former second-round pick would be back. “In the NFL you have a lot of constraints, salary cap, different things, and we’re trying to figure out how we can operate in those things,” Adofo-Mensah said. The Vikings could save $9MM by designating Cook a post-June 1 cut; the team is currently $24MM over the cap. Cutting the four-time 1,100-yard rusher would obviously come with risk. Going into his age-28 season, Cook has been one of the NFL’s best backs in recent years. Though, he has battled injuries and recently underwent shoulder surgery. Longtime backup Alexander Mattison is also on the cusp of free agency.
  • The Dolphins want to keep at least one of their free agent backs — Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson — and NFL.com’s Cameron Wolfe notes the team has discussed the prospect of re-signing both (Twitter links). The ex-49ers cogs fared well in Miami last season, and each should be affordable thanks to a flood of starter-level backs being set for free agency. Mostert, who will turn 31 next month, signed a one-year, $2.1MM Dolphins deal in 2022. Wilson, 27, re-signed with the 49ers on a one-year, $1.1MM accord — one the 49ers traded at the deadline.
  • Fellow former 49ers back JaMycal Hasty is staying in Florida, having re-signed with the Jaguars. The Jags gave their backup running back a two-year deal that can max out at $3.2MM, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 tweets. Hasty will return to spell starter Travis Etienne, who has two years remaining on his rookie contract.

Jaguars Extend RB JaMycal Hasty

February 26th, 2023 at 1:55pm CST by Adam La Rose

One day after it was reported the Jaguars had agreed to terms on a new deal with defensive lineman Roy Robertson-Harris, the team confirmed that the veteran will be staying in place for the foreseeable future. Sunday brought on another transaction in Jacksonville.

The Jaguars have extended running back JaMycal Hasty, per a team announcement. He was due to become a restricted free agent next month, but will now continue his stay in Duval County. The 26-year-old began his career in San Francisco, shouldering a small workload on offense while carving out a role for himself on special teams. His 4.8 yards per touch with the 49ers showed potential, but was not enough to guarantee himself a spot on their 53-man roster.

Hasty was waived during cutdown day this year, and claimed by the Jaguars. He was active for them in all 19 contents played during the regular season and playoffs, nearly seeing as many offensive snaps (222) this campaign as he had over two years with the 49ers. He logged a career-high 46 carries, which yielded 194 yards (4.2 per carry) and a pair of touchdowns. He added another 126 yards and one score in the passing game, and an additional 97 yards on four kick returns.

2021 first-rounder Travis Etienne established himself as the lead back he was expected to become this campaign, allowing the Jaguars to trade James Robinson to the Jets midseason. That cleared the way for Hasty as a complimentary member of the team’s backfield, one which achieved middling success in 2022. Jacksonville ranked 14th in the league this season with an average of 125 yards per game on the ground.

Hasty will now head into 2023 looking to confirm his place in the backfield pecking order. Etienne is firmly entrenched as the No. 1, but competition could emerge from 2022 fifth-rounder Snoop Conner after the latter was used sparingly in eight games. Either way, he will avoid free agency with this deal and potentially set himself up for another career year next season.

Wednesday NFL Transactions: AFC South

August 31st, 2022 at 4:08pm CST by Sam Robinson

Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline Tuesday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters. In addition to waiver claims, teams can begin constructing their 16-man practice squads today. These Colts, Jaguars, Texans and Titans moves are noted below.

Here are Wednesday’s AFC South transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day.

Houston Texans

Claimed:

Released:

Placed on IR:

Signed to practice squad:

Indianapolis Colts

Signed:

Claimed:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

Signed to practice squad:

Jacksonville Jaguars

Claimed:

Released:

Signed to practice squad:

  • QB E.J. Perry

Tennessee Titans

Signed:

Placed on IR:

Signed to practice squad:

Jaguars Claim K Riley Patterson, RB JaMycal Hasty

August 31st, 2022 at 12:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Jaguars were one of the busiest teams to start the post-training camp waiver period, making four claims Wednesday. One of the moves will lead to another kicker switch.

Jacksonville, which has been rather active at this position this offseason, claimed Riley Patterson off waivers from the Lions. The team also added former 49ers running back JaMycal Hasty via waivers. The Jags’ other Wednesday claims: safety Tyree Gillespie, wide receiver Kendric Pryor (Bengals) and linebacker Ty Summers (Packers).

Patterson’s arrival will lead two kickers off Jacksonville’s roster. The team waived James McCourt and waived Jake Verity with an injury designation. This positions Patterson to be the Jags’ kicker, but given the events at this particular job this offseason, that cannot be considered a lock just yet.

The Jags waived 2021 kicker Matthew Wright and went with Ryan Santoso and UDFA Andrew Mevis for a stretch. Some Mevis practice struggles led him off the team, prompting the Jags to sign Elliott Fry to join Santoso. McCourt came later, with each of the transactions transpiring during camp. Fry, Santoso and McCourt are off the roster.

Patterson, 22, is the only kicker on the Jags’ 53-man team right now. Memphis’ kicker from 2017-20, Patterson kicked in seven Lions games as a rookie. The former UDFA made 13 of 14 field goal tries and was 16-for-16 on PATs.

Hasty played sparingly for the 49ers during his two years in San Francisco, being summoned from the practice squad due to the team’s injury troubles at the position in each year. The 49ers used him primarily as a pass-catching back last season, after they added Elijah Mitchell as their starter. This marks the second summer relocation for Gillespie, whom the Raiders traded to the Titans during camp. Summers spent three years with the Packers, working mostly as a backup. He played 17% of Green Bay’s defensive snaps in 2020, however. Pryor impressed at Bengals training camp but could not make their roster. The rookie UDFA spent five seasons at Wisconsin.

The Jags made room for these additions by cutting veteran offensive lineman Will Richardson, who signed a $2MM deal with the team this offseason. A 2018 fourth-round Jaguars pick, Richardson started five games for the team during his rookie contract. Jacksonville also waived outside linebacker Jamir Jones and safety Josh Thompson.

49ers Set 53-Man Roster, Plan To Place S Jimmie Ward On IR

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

The 49ers’ 53-man roster is set, with a couple of exceptions. Multiple players included among Tuesday’s cuts will be back with the team. Some will also stick around via the practice squad. Here is how San Francisco reached the 53-man limit:

Released:

Waived:

Kroft and Willis will be on the 53-man roster soon, according to Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area, who notes (via Twitter) the two have agreed to re-sign with the 49ers. Each is a vested veteran, allowing them to skip the waiver process. A Bengals draftee, Kroft spent two seasons in Buffalo and was with the Jets in 2021. A rotational D-lineman, Willis has been with the 49ers since 2020.

These two will take the roster spots of Jimmie Ward and linebacker Curtis Robinson, who will each be placed on IR. By waiting until Wednesday to move each to IR, the 49ers will ensure Ward and Robinson can play in 2022. Ward suffered what appears to be a significant hamstring injury and will miss at least the first four games this season.

Hasty has resided as a fill-in back for the 49ers over the past two seasons; they have needed him in each. The team currently rosters Elijah Mitchell, Jeff Wilson, Trey Sermon and rookie Tyrion Davis-Price at running back. Snead and Turner signed with the 49ers this offseason; each has practice squad eligibility. Teams can carry up to six vested veterans on their 16-man taxi squads. Mr. Irrelevant Brock Purdy beat out Sudfeld for the 49ers’ No. 3 QB job. Offset language exists in Sudfeld’s deal, Maiocco tweets, allowing the 49ers to potentially be off the hook for the $2MM they guaranteed him.

Kyle Shanahan confirmed Tuesday that Jimmy Garoppolo — back after taking a pay cut — will be Trey Lance‘s top backup. While this would have been quite the gamble, Shanahan said Purdy would have been Lance’s backup had Garoppolo not accepted the pay cut (Twitter link via Maiocco).

Latest On 49ers’ Running Backs Room

June 25th, 2022 at 7:56pm CST by Ely Allen

The 49ers’ running backs room is loaded with talent but loaded, too, with questions marks and a history of injuries. In a breakdown of every San Francisco player from OTAs to minicamp, The Athletic’s Matt Barrows laid out the situation. 

The 49ers counted on a sixth-round rookie as their lead back last year. Elijah Mitchell took over early in the season as the Week 1 starter, Raheem Mostert, ended his year after only two carries. Mitchell went on the start ten games for San Francisco totaling 963 yards in eleven appearances to break the 49ers’ single-season rushing record for a rookie. The one notable drawback on Mitchell’s rookie campaign was that he was inactive for six games, a theme that will be repeated throughout this piece. Continuing on that note, Mitchell had knee surgery in the offseason that forced him to miss all of the team’s spring practices. He’s expected back for training camp and is likely to start the season as the 49ers’ lead back once again.

The top backup running back is a bit up to debate as Barrows believes Jeff Wilson is next in line, while ESPN’s Nick Wagoner asserts that rookie third-round draft pick Tyrion Davis-Price will jump the rest of the room on the depth chart.

Wilson served as the starter when Mitchell missed time last year and took over RB1-duties this spring with Mitchell sidelined. Surgery on a torn meniscus in his right knee forced Wilson to miss the first eight games of the year last season, and it took him a little while to regain his footing. Now over a year removed from surgery, Wilson should be back to full strength and provide a strong secondary-option beside Mitchell.

Davis-Price declared for the 2022 NFL Draft early after a strong junior year at LSU where he rushed for 1,003 yards and 10 touchdowns. He was brought in to shore up a running back room that’s been oft-riddled with injuries, but Davis-Price suffered a minor injury in the first week of OTAs and sat out the remaining work outs. Hopefully, this is the extent of the effect San Francisco’s running back curse has on the 21-year-old.

Trey Sermon was drafted three rounds before Mitchell last year but saw his teammate overtake him on the depth chart as the speed of the game at the NFL-level proved a bit too much for Sermon during his rookie season. Sermon had two starts early in the year, when Mostert and Mitchell were injured and Wilson had yet to return from surgery. Coaches desired that he be more decisive when toting the ball and he found himself sidelined for the last six weeks of the season, once Wilson and Mitchell were back and (relatively) healthy. Sermon served as RB2 this spring with Mitchell out, but, if Wagoner is correct and Davis-Price is slotted in as the second-string running back, Sermon could find himself fourth on the depth chart to start the season, and it’s hard to imagine San Francisco carries more than four running backs into the regular season.

If that last statement is true, and hypothesizing that the 49ers will decide to carry four running backs into September, Sermon will have his work cut out for him as he competes with JaMycal Hasty. The former undrafted free agent isn’t quite the rusher that Sermon is, but Hasty has been the team’s best pass-catching option out of the backfield all spring. If the coaches trust Wilson to return to 100%, they may be able to rely on him on those passing downs, but Hasty’s quickness could grant him favor in those situations. Plus, Hasty’s ability and history returning kickoffs adds a special teams value that Sermon doesn’t provide.

There it is, all laid out. Based on talent, the depth chart likely reads: Mitchell, Wilson, Davis-Price, Sermon, Hasty. Maybe, due to the injury luck they’ve had in seasons past, San Francisco decides they want to utilize 5 of their 53 roster spots on running backs (not including full back Kyle Juszczyk). If not, a top-three of Mitchell, Wilson, and Davis-Price seems likely with a possible fourth-spot being granted to either Sermon or Hasty, depending on need and value.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/10/22

March 10th, 2022 at 9:15pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor NFL transactions:

Buffalo Bills

Detroit Lions

Jacksonville Jaguars

  • Signed: OL Brandon Murphy

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

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