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Tyler Ervin

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/14/18

November 14th, 2018 at 5:00pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Detroit Lions

  • Signed: DB David Jones

Indianapolis Colts

Oakland Raiders

Washington Redskins

RB Notes: Charles, Abdullah, Collins, Texans

October 2nd, 2017 at 12:42pm CST by Sam Robinson

Two starting running backs received some unfortunate news Monday, with Dalvin Cook having suffered a confirmed ACL tear and Chris Carson suffering multiple lower-leg injuries that will shelve him for an extended time period — if not the rest of his season. These setbacks stand to weaken Vikings and Seahawks’ rushing attacks, although both teams have veteran insurance. However, prior to these rookies’ arrivals, each team struggled to gain ground yards last season. Latavius Murray and Eddie Lacy — two fifth-year backs who relocated this offseason, one that featured a slow market for running backs — figure to play more prominent roles with their new teams now.

Here’s the latest from NFL backfields, continuing to another player who spent extensive time in free agency this year.

  • A bruised knee limited Jamaal Charles to just one series in the second half of the Broncos‘ Week 4 win over the Raiders, Mike Klis of 9 News tweets. That’s a bit scary given Charles’ injury history, but the good news is that it is not serious. It also helps that the Broncos are on bye and will not play again until Oct. 15.
  • Lions running back Ameer Abdullah rolled his ankle early in the fourth quarter on Sunday, but he says he feels “good” and has been cleared by doctors (link via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press). Abdullah, who missed the majority of the 2016 season with a foot injury, finished the day against Minnesota with a career-high 94 yards on 20 carries. If not for the ankle, he might have become the first Lion to have a 100-yard rushing game since Reggie Bush. The Lions have now gone 58 games since Bush gained 117 yards in a Thanksgiving win over Green Bay in 2013.
  • Alex Collins broke off two long runs on Sunday, but the new Ravens starter is already on a short leash because of ball-security issues. Collins has now fumbled twice since debuting with the Ravens in Week 2. “He won’t get any more opportunities [if the fumbling continues] — the leash isn’t going to be long on that,” John Harbaugh said, via Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com. “When you come in here and drop the ball however many times he has dropped, I’m not going to tolerate it. I like him. He’s a good kid, and he makes plays, but he has to hold onto the football.” Collins fumbled twice as a rookie last season in limited Seahawks action and 17 times while at Arkansas.
  • Fellow second-year runner Tyler Ervin won’t have a chance to contribute on the field again this season. The Texans back suffered a torn patellar tendon, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports. Ervin was operating as a depth piece in a Lamar Miller– and D’Onta Foreman-fronted backfield. Ervin’s expected to have surgery Monday and land on IR, Wilson reports.

Zach Links contributed to this report.

AFC Notes: McCown, Cutler, Brissett, Ochi

August 6th, 2017 at 11:35am CST by Rory Parks

Regardless of what head coach Todd Bowles says, the Jets‘ QB battle is not an open competition, according to Brian Costello of the New York Post. Costello writes that Josh McCown has taken about 99% of the first-team reps in training camp, while Christian Hackenberg has worked almost exclusively with the second unit. Unless Hackenberg excels during New York’s first two preseason games, Costello expects McCown to be under center come Week 1, which is what we expected all along.

Now let’s take a look at a few more notes from the AFC:

  • Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald says Dolphins brass hopes to resolve the Jay Cutler question soon, and that resolution could come as early as today (Twitter link).
  • Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola accepted a pay cut to remain in New England for the third consecutive season, but as Mike Reiss of ESPN.com writes, the 31-year-old Amendola (32 in November) never considered retirement, nor did he consider suiting up for anyone other than the Patriots. He again projects as the team’s fourth or fifth option at wide receiver, but he has grown comfortable with his limited role and at this point in his career he appears content to get a little burn while playing in a winning environment.
  • Jacoby Brissett, the Patriots No. 3 signal-caller who got two starts last season in the wake of Tom Brady‘s suspension and Jimmy Garoppolo‘s injury, is in danger of being cut, as Ben Volin of the Boston Globe writes. Brissett did not have a strong spring, and with Brady showing no signs of slowing down and Garoppolo back as the No. 2 QB, New England could look to use Brissett’s roster spot on a linebacker, receiver, or defensive back.
  • Titans LB Victor Ochi tore his ACL in Friday night’s practice, per Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com (via Twitter). Ochi is a small school (Stony Brook) product who has spent time with the Ravens, Jets, Chiefs, and Titans in his brief career, appearing in two games with the Jets last season. He has a great deal of raw pass-rushing ability, but it seems he will have to wait until 2018 to put that ability back on display.
  • Dan Graziano of ESPN.com says Tyler Ervin, whom the Texans selected in the fourth round of the 2016 draft, could fill in for Will Fuller while Fuller recovers from a broken collarbone. Ervin is a running back by trade, but he has tremendous speed and the club was already planning to use him in multiple roles to utilize his athleticism (he returned 27 punts and 14 kickoffs last season). With Fuller out for awhile, Houston could give receiver reps to Ervin with an eye towards making him a full-time slot receiver.

Texans Sign 15 Undrafted Free Agents

May 6th, 2016 at 3:41pm CST by Luke Adams

The Texans issued a press release this afternoon, confirming three draft pick signings that had been previously reported. The team has yet to lock up its top three picks, but has secured fourth-round running back Tyler Ervin, fifth-round safety K.J. Dillon, and fifth-round defensive lineman D.J. Reader.

In addition to signing those draftees, the Texans also announced that they’ve added 15 undrafted free agents to their 90-man roster, supplementing their modest six-man draft class. Here are the 15 UDFAs currently on Houston’s roster:

Extra Points: Treadwell, Spence, Jets, Giants

April 18th, 2016 at 9:44pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com adds one more club to the list of teams bringing in Ole Miss wideout Laquon Treadwell for visits, tweeting that Treadwell will meet with the Jets on Wednesday. Eastern Kentucky pass rusher Noah Spence will be visiting Gang Green on Wednesday as well, per Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, who adds that UCLA receiver Devin Fuller met with New York today (Twitter links).

Here are a few more notes from around the NFL, with a heavy emphasis on draft visits…

  • Carson Wentz isn’t the only North Dakota State prospect making the rounds — fullback/tight end Andrew Bonnet finsihed a visit with the Giants tonight, and has also met with the Panthers, reports Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net (Twitter link).
  • San Jose State running back Tyler Ervin is visiting the Rams on Tuesday, per Tom Pelissero of USA Today (Twitter link). Ervin rushed for more than 1,600 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2015.
  • Cornerback Ryan Smith has taken visits with the Raiders, Dolphins, and Vikings, the North Carolina Central product tells Alex Marvez on SiriusXM NFL Radio (Twitter link).
  • Offensive lineman Ben Ijalana‘s one-year deal with the Jets is worth $840K, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN.com (Twitter link), who adds that Ijalana receives $150K guaranteed.
  • The Seahawks will work out running back Giavanni Ruffin tomorrow, tweets Jared Tokarz of WhosNextFootball.com. Ruffin, who hasn’t played football since way back in 2010, posted 692 rushing yards for East Carolina between 2009-10.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Pauline’s Latest: Eagles, Elliott, Mathews, Cook

April 15th, 2016 at 1:43pm CST by Luke Adams

Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net is back with another round of draft-related updates and rumors at WalterFootball.com, so let’s see what he has for us, with less than two weeks until draft day….

  • If the Eagles select running back Ezekiel Elliott and decide to make Ryan Mathews available, the Cowboys and 49ers would have interest in the veteran, per Pauline. As James Walker of ESPN.com tweets, Elliott feels like the Eagles have shown the most interest in him so far, so it’s possible he’ll end up in Philadelphia. Even in that scenario though, and even if the club was willing to trade Mathews, it’s not clear whether Howie Roseman would be enthusiastic about dealing with a divisional rival or with Chip Kelly‘s team.
  • Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook continues to be plagued by leadership questions, with Pauline hearing that he came off as “flippant and cavalier” during some team interviews. Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com reported earlier this week that he expects Cook to come off the board earlier than many observers expect, which could still be true, since all it takes is one team willing to roll the dice.
  • San Jose State running back Tyler Ervin is drawing interest around the league and could end up as a day two pick, says Pauline. The Panthers, Browns, Texans, Saints, and Patriots have hosted Ervin for pre-draft visits.
  • Vanderbilt linebacker Stephen Weatherly has worked out for the Panthers, Patriots, Colts, and Cardinals, and has visited the Panthers, Broncos, Saints, Raiders, Chiefs, and Vikings. Meanwhile, Maryland linebacker Yannick Ngakoue worked out for the Texans, Cowboys, Saints, Colts, Titans, Ravens, Dolphins, and Patriots, in addition to making several previously-reported visits. Pauline believes both players may come off the board earlier than expected.

NFC Draft Updates: Giants, Cowboys, Saints

March 25th, 2016 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier this week, when Mississippi wideout Laquon Treadwell cited five teams who had shown interest in him, one of the five he mentioned was “New York,” creating some uncertainty about which New York team he meant. As expected, it seems he was referring to the Giants and not the Jets — Jordan Raanan of NJ.com writes that the first-round prospect will pay a pre-draft visit to the Giants.

Unlike the Giants, the Jets have a clear No. 2 option on their depth chart at wide receiver, with Eric Decker complementing Brandon Marshall. The Giants, having lost Rueben Randle this week, will be looking for someone to step up and take that No. 2 role behind Odell Beckham, but it remains to be seen whether that player would be Treadwell — the Giants have been considered more likely to use their first-rounder on an offensive lineman or a defender.

Let’s round up a few more draft updates from around the NFC…

  • The entire Cowboys coaching staff was in attendance to work out Ohio State prospects today, according to the Buckeyes’ director of player personnel, Mark Pantoni (Twitter link). Ezekiel Elliott and Joey Bosa are among the high-end Ohio State players the Cowboys could consider in next month’s draft.
  • Speaking of the Cowboys, they worked out Florida safety Keanu Neal this week, per Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Twitter link). Neal would likely be a second-round target if Dallas is interested in him.
  • Alabama defensive tackle Jarran Reed will visit the Saints in April, a league source tells Kristian Garic of WWL 870AM (Twitter link). Joel A. Erickson of The Advocate also provides an update on the Saints’ draft prospects, tweeting that San Jose State running back Tyler Ervin will privately work out for the team.
  • We heard on Thursday that the 49ers recently put Shaq Lawson through a workout, but he wasn’t the only Clemson defensive end to get a look from the team. According to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee, GM Trent Baalke also worked out Kevin Dodd. Both players are expected to visit the Niners in the coming weeks.