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Kyle Brindza

Kicker Notes: Scobee, Brindza, Sturgis

October 4th, 2015 at 8:15pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Some nuggets regarding three kickers who had terrible showings in Week 4 of the NFL season:

  • Although recently released Josh Scobee missed four kicks in four games with Pittsburgh – including two in its 23-20 loss to Baltimore on Thursday – he’s drawing interest from around the league. Three teams have reached out to him, tweets CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora, who notes that Scobee will need a few weeks to recover from a quad strain.
  • Buccaneers kicker Kyle Brindza has missed seven kicks (five field goals, two extra points) over the last two weeks, and ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that he’s likely to find himself on the unemployment line in the coming days.
  • Like Brindza, Eagles kicker Caleb Sturgis could also be looking for work soon. Sturgis, whom the Eagles signed this week to replace the injured Cody Parkey, had an ignominious debut Sunday in the team’s 23-20 loss to Washington. Sturgis missed a pair of 33-yarders (including a point after) and might not be in an Eagles uniform come next Sunday, per Marc Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

NFC South Notes: Roddy, Brees, Brindza

October 4th, 2015 at 6:26pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Falcons receiver Roddy White is the franchise’s career leader in receptions, yards and touchdowns, but his role in their offense has dwindled significantly this year. White finished without a catch in Week 2, which snapped a streak of 130 straight games with a reception. He also went catchless in Week 3 and was quiet again Sunday, grabbing two passes for just 8 yards in Atlanta’s 48-21 drubbing of the Texans. The 33-year-old isn’t upset about his nearly nonexistent production, however, as the Falcons are 4-0.

“No complaints from me. We are winning. We’ve just got to continue to do what we’ve been doing and try to get better every week,” White said, according to Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

More from the NFC South:

  • Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who missed last Sunday’s loss to Carolina with rotator cuff and shoulder capsule injuries, will play tonight against Dallas and is close to full strength, head coach Sean Payton believes. “I’d say fairly close (to 100 percent) or we wouldn’t play him,” said Payton, per Evan Woodbery of NOLA.com. “He’s had a good week. I know he’s got a lot of confidence in what we’re doing and a lot of confidence in his ability to throw it down the field. It really was that simple.”
  • Brees elaborated on his health issues (via ESPN’s Mike Triplett): “Basically what the doctor told me was the cuff muscles at times will just shut down if they’re inflamed. They’re basically telling the body, ‘I’m injured. I need time to heal, I’m not going to work until the inflammation goes away.’ It wasn’t a pain thing. I mean, it hurt, but that wasn’t the issue. It was just functionality. I did strength exercises all last week. The tough part was with the balance between resting it, getting the inflammation out of it and, at the same time, strengthening it.”
  • Buccaneers rookie kicker Kyle Brindza has had back-to-back miserable weeks, going just 2 for 7 on field goal attempts and 2 of 4 on extra points. He hit 1 of 3 field goal tries and missed a PAT in Sunday’s 37-23 loss to Carolina. For what it’s worth, though, head coach Lovie Smith stuck by him after the game. “We’re not going to start kicking people off in the press conference after the game,” Smith said, according to Joe Person of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).

NFC Notes: Brindza, Panthers, H. Smith

September 28th, 2015 at 12:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Buccaneers kicker Kyle Brindza had a rough day on Sunday, missing an extra point and three field goals as his team fell to the Texans by 10 points. However, head coach Lovie Smith stressed that the Bucs are sticking with Brindza, and don’t plan on auditioning any potential replacements this week, writes Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times.

“No. Kyle is our kicker,” Smith said. “He, like a lot of us, had a disappointing day. That hasn’t been the case. You’re going to have off days, and this was an off day.”

Here are a few more Monday odds and ends from around the NFC:

  • Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link) believes that the Panthers will eventually get cornerback Josh Norman locked up to an extension, though it will likely require an offer of $10MM+ per year, and will probably have to wait until the offseason. Norman reportedly turned down a contract offer worth about $7MM annually prior to the regular season.
  • Person (Twitter links) also passes along a pair of injury updates from Panthers head coach Ron Rivera, who says defensive end Charles Johnson has a hamstring issue and linebacker Thomas Davis has a pectoral injury. While Rivera doesn’t believe the Davis injury is serious, he says Johnson could be out for multiple weeks, and the club may look for outside help on the defensive line (Twitter links).
  • After picking up his fifth-year option for 2016, the Vikings decided to wait on signing safety Harrison Smith to a contract extension. As Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press observes (via Twitter), Smith’s price tag appears to be on the rise — through three weeks, the Vikings safety easily has the highest Pro Football Focus grade (+9.4) of anyone at the position.
  • Despite the Lions‘ offensive struggles so far this year, head coach Jim Caldwell hasn’t given consideration to taking over playcalling duties from OC Joe Lombardi, tweets Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.

Lions To Acquire Tim Wright, Cut Ryan Broyles

August 31st, 2015 at 9:06am CST by Luke Adams

9:06am: The Lions are sending kicker Kyle Brindza to Tampa Bay in the deal for Wright, tweets Field Yates of ESPN.com.

8:18am: For the second consecutive August, the Buccaneers have decided to trade tight end Tim Wright, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, who tweets that Tampa Bay is sending Wright to the Lions. A year ago, the Bucs sent Wright to New England in a swap for Logan Mankins.

Playing behind Rob Gronkowski on the Patriots’ depth chart in 2014, Wright grabbed 26 balls for 259 yards and six touchdowns, receiving far fewer targets than he did in his 2013 rookie campaign with Tampa Bay. In ’13, Wright recorded 54 receptions on 76 targets.

New England moved on from Wright in June, and when the young tight end hit waivers, 10 teams – including the Lions – placed waiver claims on him, with the Bucs getting him back. In Detroit, Wright will join a group of tight ends that includes Brandon Pettigrew, Eric Ebron, and Joseph Fauria.

Meanwhile, another Lions pass-catcher, former second-round pick Ryan Broyles, will be waived after requesting his release from the team, per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. According to Birkett, Broyles’ decision to ask to be let go was solidified after he played just 16 snaps during Detroit’s Friday win over Jacksonville, which was the latest sign that he likely wouldn’t make the team’s 53-man roster.

Since joining the Lions in 2012, Broyles has totaled just 420 yards and two touchdowns on 32 catches, with the majority of those catches and yards coming in his rookie year. He’ll have to pass through waivers unclaimed to become an unrestricted free agent.

Lions Sign 12 Undrafted FAs

May 8th, 2015 at 8:22am CST by Luke Adams

The Lions have officially signed 12 undrafted free agents, formally announcing the latest additions to their roster today. As Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com points out in his round-up, players like Joseph Fauria, LaAdrian Waddle, and Cornelius Lucas have joined the club as UDFAs in recent years and stuck around, so there may be a couple diamonds in the rough in 2015’s class.

Here’s the full list, with bonus info – via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press – noted in parentheses:

  • Al Bond, G, Memphis ($6K bonus)
  • Anthony Boone, QB, Duke ($3K bonus)
  • Kyle Brindza, K, Notre Dame ($7.5K bonus)
  • Isaiah Johnson, S, Georgia Tech ($12K bonus)
  • Vernon Johnson, WR, Texas A&M Commerce ($10K bonus)
  • Desmond Lawrence, WR, North Carolina A&T
  • Casey Pierce, TE, Kent State ($7K bonus)
  • Kevin Snyder, LB, Rutgers ($1K bonus)
  • Brian Suite, S, Utah State ($2.5K bonus)
  • Rasheed Williams, RB, Alfred State ($2.5K bonus)
  • Torrian Wilson, OL, UCF ($11K bonus)
  • Zach Zenner, RB, South Dakota State ($5K bonus)