HEADLINES

Monty Rice

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/5/22

October 5th, 2022 at 6:27pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

A number of players who were placed on IR after the preseason and prior to the regular season returned to practice today. These players will have a three-week practice window until they have to be activated to the active roster. Otherwise, they’ll be ineligible to return this season.

One of the most surprising returns is Cardinals cornerback Antonio Hamilton. The former undrafted free agent rode a strong preseason to a potential starting gig, but he was sidelined with second-degree burns after spilling hot oil on his legs and feet. Kliff Kingsbury previously said an early-October return may be a “little aggressive” (per ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss on Twitter), but the cornerback ended up working his way back to practice.

Eagles To Trade S Ugo Amadi To Titans

August 24th, 2022 at 3:48pm CST by Adam La Rose

For the second time in less than two weeks, safety Ugo Amadi is on the move. The Eagles are sending their recent acquisition to the Titans (Twitter link via ESPN’s Adam Schefter). 

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero tweets that Philadelphia is including a seventh-round pick in 2024 along with Amadi, in exchange for a sixth-rounder of the same year. In terms of draft stock, that represents a stark difference to the cost the Eagles paid to acquire Amadi last week: former second-rounder J.J. Arcega-Whiteside. More than anything, of course, that deal was a reflection of the wideout’s underwhelming career to date.

Amadi, 25, was thought to be a release candidate hours before being dealt to Philadelphia. He made seven starts last season, logging a defensive snap share above 50% for the second straight season. The 2019 fourth-rounder totaled 125 tackles, 13 pass deflections and one interception across three campaigns in Seattle. He was seen as a depth addition for Philadelphia, whose situation at the safety position is rather murky. Instead, he will now look to make the Titans’ 53-man roster as an insurance policy on the backend while entering a contract year.

In related roster news, the Titans also announced that linebacker Monty Rice has been placed on the reserve/PUP list. That opens up the spot for Amadi to fill, but means that the Titans’ LB corps will be thinner for at least the first four weeks of the season. The 2021-third rounder started four of his 10 appearances last year, recording 36 tackles. His rookie campaign was cut short by an Achilles injury, which obviously won’t be fully recovered in time for September.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/23/22

July 23rd, 2022 at 7:51pm CST by Adam La Rose

Today’s minor moves around the NFL:

Baltimore Ravens

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Rams

  • Signed: QB Luis Perez

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

NFL COVID-19 List Updates: 1/4/22-1/5/22

January 5th, 2022 at 11:32pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are Tuesday and Wednesday’s activations from and placements on the reserve/COVID-19 lists:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: TE Jared Cook, LB Damon Lloyd (remains on IR)

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

Titans Place Monty Rice On IR

November 30th, 2021 at 3:48pm CST by Zachary Links

The Titans have placed linebacker Monty Rice on injured reserve, according to a team press release. In an injury-marred year, Rice becomes the 18th player to land on the Tennessee’s IR.

The Titans turned to Rice as their starting inside linebacker after losing Rashaan Evans and David Long to injury. Now, they’ll have to look elsewhere for support, alongside fellow fill-in Jayon Brown. That could mean an uptick in work for backups Dylan Cole and Nick Dzubnar.

It’s a disappointing setback for the rookie ‘backer, as he was starting to gain favor with head coach Mike Vrabel.

“He started by finishing [on special teams]…running his guy and taking care of the returner, so I think he started to build some confidence there. Then he made some tackles on kickoff and really started to build some confidence there. [Now,] he’s got an opportunity to play linebacker,” Vrabel said recently (via Jim Wyatt of the team website). “He is continuing to improve and hopefully we can start to really see some more progress.”

Rice, a third-round rookie, could theoretically return later this year after sitting out for at least three games. So far, the Georgia product has 36 stops on the year, plus one pass defensed and a quarterback hit.

Titans Sign Third-Round LB Monty Rice, Wrap Up Draft Class

July 24th, 2021 at 8:44pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Titans became the latest team to finalize their 2021 draft class on Saturday. Tennessee agreed to terms with third-round linebacker Monty Rice, their last remaining unsigned draft pick, the team announced.

Rice was the 92nd pick of this past draft coming out of Georgia. He earned first-team All-SEC honors in 2020 after making second-team the year before. He became a starter in his sophomore season and was a finalist for the Butkus Award this past season.

In nine 2020 games for the Bulldogs he finished with 49 tackles, four for a loss, a sack, and two forced fumbles. The Titans have Jayon Brown, Rashaan Evans, and David Long ahead of him at inside linebacker right now, so they likely won’t be counting on him to play a ton as a rookie. They did recently decline Evans’ fifth-year option, and Brown is entering a contract year as well, so Rice could be looked at as the future.

With Rice under contract, all eight of the Titans’ picks are now wrapped up:

Round 1: No. 22 Caleb Farley, CB (Virginia Tech)
Round 2: No. 53 Dillon Radunz, OT (North Dakota State)
Round 3: No. 92 (from Packers) Monty Rice, LB (Georgia)
Round 3: No. 100 Elijah Molden, CB (Washington)
Round 4: No. 109 (from Texans via Panthers) Dez Fitzpatrick, WR (Louisville)
Round 4: No. 135 (from Packers) Rashad Weaver, DE (Pittsburgh)
Round 6: No. 205 Racey McMath, WR (LSU)
Round 6: No. 215 (from Chiefs) Brady Breeze, S (Oregon)