Jonathan Woodard

AFC East Notes: Jets, Darnold, Dolphins

If it wasn’t apparent Thursday night, when Sam Darnold received his first preseason start, Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv notes many in the Jets organization want the rookie to start in Week 1. Taking this route would likely mean Gang Green finding a trade partner for Teddy Bridgewater, and given the way he’s looked thus far, there are surely some teams who will be interested.

However, Vacchiano adds that Bridgewater “intrigues” Todd Bowles. Josh McCown isn’t likely to receive much preseason work, but Vacchiano notes that’s not indicative of his performance. Bowles observed McCown work throughout last season, so he knows what he has in the 39-year-old incumbent.

Here’s more from the AFC East:

  • A few Dolphins players on the bubble have made a case for strong consideration in the past couple of weeks, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. Suddenly, players previously thought to be facing long odds like defensive end Jonathan Woodard and wide receiver Francis Owusu have a real chance at making the cut. If Owusu makes the cut, that could spell bad news for former third-round pick Leonte Carroo.
  • More from Jackson, who writes that the Dolphins are unlikely trade for Bridgewater, despite their previous interest in him. The Jets QB is on a one-year deal worth $5MM and could make a lot more through incentives, so the Dolphins are unlikely to pay out that contract and give up a draft pick unless a big need develops. That need has yet to develop as Ryan Tannehill is healthy and David Fales continues to look solid in reserve.
  • On Friday morning, the Patriots learned that first-round pick Isaiah Wynn is done for the season.

Sam Robinson contributed to this post.

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/2/18

Here are the latest reserve/futures contract signings from around the NFL. These deals will go into effect on the first day of the 2018 league year, with players joining their respective clubs’ offseason 90-man rosters:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

  • WR Jake Kumerow
  • WR Colby Pearson
  • TE Robert Tonyan
  • LS Zach Triner
  • WR DeAngelo Yancey

Read more

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/6/2017

Today’s practice squad updates:

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

  • Signed: CB David Rivers, DE Jonathan Woodard

New York Giants

  • Signed: LB Derrick Mathews

Oakland Raiders

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Redskins

  • Signed: OL Cameron Jefferson

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/24/17

Today’s practice squad updates:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

  • Signed: WR Kenny Bell
  • Released: TE Gabe Holmes

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

  • Signed: DT Jarrod Clements

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

  • Signed: OL Brandon Thomas
  • Released: OL Norman Price

Kansas City Chiefs

New York Jets

Oakland Raiders

  • Signed: CB Tevin Mitchel

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/11/17

Today’s practice squad updates:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

  • Signed: K Mike Meyer, DL Jonathan Woodard
  • Placed on injured list: TE Joshua Perkins

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Kansas City Chiefs

San Francisco 49ers

Falcons Place DE Jack Crawford On IR

The Falcons have placed defensive Jack Crawford on injured reserve with a biceps injury, the club announced today.Jack Crawford (Vertical)

Crawford, whom Atlanta signed away from the Cowboys this offseason, is now the third Falcons defensive lineman to go down with injury in recent weeks. Star edge rusher Vic Beasley is still working his way back from a hamstring issue, while Courtney Upshaw may be close to returning from an ankle ailment. Crawford, for his part, had played on 101 defensive snaps this season but graded as just the No. 87 interior defender among 100 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus.

With Crawford sidelined, the Falcons auditioned defensive ends Devin Taylor, Jonathan Woodard, Sterling Bailey, Nicholas Williams, Pat O’Connor, plus linebacker Lavar Edwards, on Monday, according to Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com. Atlanta is on the hunt for defensive line reinforcements, and its workout session comes as no surprise given that head coach Dan Quinn indicated that he and general manager Thomas Dimitroff would soon discuss adding help to their front four.

Taylor, 27, offers vast experience, as the former fourth-round pick appeared in 61 games (18 starts) for the Lions over the past four seasons. While he’s posted 15 sacks during his NFL career, PFF wasn’t complementary of Taylor’s performance in 2016, ranking him as the second-worst defensive end in the league. Taylor signed with the Giants in May but didn’t make it through final cutdowns, and has since worked out for the Vikings.

The Falcons’ defensive front, which currently includes Grady Jarrett, Dontari Poe, Brooks Reed, Adrian Clayborn, Derrick Shelby, and first-round rookie Takkarist McKinley, hasn’t played all that well in 2017, as the unit ranks 21st in adjusted sack rate and 25th in adjusted line yards, per Football Outsiders.

NFL Workout Updates: 9/27/17

Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

  • LSs Andrew East and Anthony Kukwa (link)

Washington Redskins

NFL Workout Updates: 9/18/17

Today’s workout update notes:

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Seattle Seahawks

NFL Workout Updates: 9/8/17

Today’s NFL workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter unless otherwise noted:

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

New England Patriots

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Jaguars Move Roster To 53

The Jaguars have reduced their roster to the league-mandated 53 by making the following transactions:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Placed on IR: