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Tyrod Taylor

Tyrod Taylor Likely To Return This Season

November 17th, 2023 at 1:52pm CST by Sam Robinson

While Daniel Jones‘ injury placed the Giants in the unexpected position to target a high-end replacement in the 2024 draft, the team only moved into realistic range for such an aspiration due to Tyrod Taylor‘s absence. Taylor’s rib injury left Tommy DeVito as the last man standing for the Giants, who have sunk to 2-8 during the rookie UDFA’s time at the controls.

DeVito will make another start in Week 11, but the Giants are not closing the book on Taylor. The veteran backup said he does not expect this rib ailment to end his season, and ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan notes the second-year Giants QB2 appears likely to return following the team’s Week 13 bye.

The Giants placed Taylor on IR before their Week 9 game, meaning Week 14 will be the earliest he can return. The injury led to the 13th-year veteran being hospitalized, and it brought back memories of the injection snafu in Los Angeles, which ushered in Justin Herbert in September 2020. Taylor resurfaced with the Texans in 2021, opening the season as the rebuilding team’s starter while Deshaun Watson began a full season as a healthy scratch. Taylor, 34, has settled onto the backup tier. And his Giants contract expires at season’s end. But he could suddenly be an X-factor in the race for the 2024 top picks.

NFL teams do not make a habit of framing stretch runs around tanking for draft positioning, a process that impacts NBA lottery teams’ plans annually. But clubs do rest veterans at points. The Jaguars sat rookie-year dynamo James Robinson late in the 2020 season, and the Bears rested Justin Fields in Week 18 of last season. Both teams ended up securing the No. 1 overall pick the following year.

The most memorable tanking act in recent NFL history affected the Giants, as the Eagles pulled Jalen Hurts during a competitive Week 17 game against Washington. Doug Pederson inserting Nate Sudfeld effectively ended Philly’s effort to win, thus handing Washington the NFC East title. With a 6-10 Giants team in the strange position of being on the cusp of the playoffs with a Washington loss, Raanan adds team brass was understandably not happy with how the Eagles proceeded that night. Philly ended up with the No. 6 overall pick, which it traded to Miami for a 2022 first-rounder.

The difference in the Giants’ offensive capabilities with Taylor (56 career starts) at the helm vs. DeVito certainly stands to be impactful enough it will be a storyline to monitor over the season’s final five weeks. If the season ended today, the Giants would hold the No. 2 overall pick. GM Joe Schoen was recently spotted at a USC-Washington game earlier this month.

Although the guarantees in the Giants’ Jones four-year, $160MM Jones extension will leave the team no choice but to keep him in 2024, the club is not expected to pass on drafting Caleb Williams or Drake Maye if the opportunity presents itself in April. That will leave the Giants with a big-picture decision: keep playing DeVito (or one of their other bottom-end QBs) or activate Taylor off IR despite the latter not being in the team’s long-term plans.

As Jones will be back in 2024, The Athletic’s Dan Duggan adds Taylor is likely to be too pricey for the Giants next year (subscription required). Taylor signed a two-year, $11MM deal in 2022, helping the Giants rectify the mistake they made in replacing 2020 QB2 Colt McCoy with Mike Glennon. It would seem the Giants will have a call to make following their bye week, but as of now, Taylor is on track to be back on the 53-man roster in December.

Giants Add Jacob Eason To Practice Squad

November 7th, 2023 at 10:05pm CST by Ely Allen

The Giants’ season is currently circling the drain as a 2-7 start has now been compounded with the season-ending ACL injury of starting quarterback Daniel Jones. With Jones out and primary backup passer Tyrod Taylor still on injured reserve with a rib cage injury for the next three games, at least, New York is adding an arm to their stable in the form of young journeyman Jacob Eason on a practice squad deal, per Dan Salomone, managing editor of Giants.com.

Eason has been on the Giants’ radar for a while now, working out with them in minicamp back in June, according to The Athletic’s Dan Duggan, and returning for a tryout today, as well, per ESPN’s Jordan Raanan. Despite having been rostered by four other teams since being drafted in the fourth-round by Indianapolis four years ago, Eason has only appeared in games for the Colts and Panthers. In one game each for either team in the past two seasons, the 25-year-old has seen extremely limited time completing just 5 of 10 pass attempts for 84 yards, no touchdowns, and two interceptions in just 12 offensive snaps.

Eason likely isn’t coming in to save the day as a starter, or at least not right away. According to Pat Leonard of New York Daily News, head coach Brian Daboll told the media that, with Taylor not certain to return at any point this season, the current plan at quarterback is undrafted rookie Tommy DeVito as the starter, along with getting practice squad veteran backup passer Matt Barkley “up to speed.” Daboll also plans to communicate more with general manager Joe Schoen about possibilities at the position.

The sum of DeVito’s NFL experience has come in the past two weeks as he served replacement duty for both Taylor and Jones in consecutive games. After only completing two of seven pass attempts for -1 yards in his debut, DeVito showed more poise this weekend, going 15 of 20 for 175 yards, while throwing one touchdown and two interceptions. Barkley hasn’t appeared in an NFL game since 2020 and hasn’t made a start since 2018. Over his career, Barkley holds a completion percentage of 58.4 and a touchdown-interception ratio of 11-22.

Neither option likely provides Giants fans with much hope for turning around their season. Nor does Eason, probably, for that matter. Regardless, in comes Eason to provide some depth and experience at the most important offensive position.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/4/23

November 4th, 2023 at 3:49pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves and gameday callups for Week 9:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

  • Elevated: QB Dresser Winn

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Commanders

With Kyler Murray not being activated from injured reserve this week, the Cardinals are heading into Week 9 with Clayton Tune as the only quarterback on their active roster. Driskel will be called up for the week as a standard gameday elevation to back up Tune.

With Matthew Stafford listed as questionable for tomorrow’s game, the Rams are adding some depth at the quarterback position. Dresser Winn had a breakout 2022 campaign at UT Martin, tossing 18 touchdowns while adding another three scores on the ground. He joined the Rams as an UDFA but was cut at the end of the preseason. He had a brief stint in the Canadian Football League before rejoining the Rams practice squad earlier this week. If Stafford can’t go, Brett Rypien will get the call under center for the Rams.

Peters will be elevated for the second straight week in Seattle. The 41-year-old, playing in his 19th NFL season, split snaps with right tackle Stone Forsythe last week against Cleveland.

NFL Injury Rumors: Giants, Banks, Stafford

November 3rd, 2023 at 9:22pm CST by Ely Allen

The Giants received some good news with the announcement that starting quarterback Daniel Jones has received clearance to play and is line to start Week 9 in Las Vegas. In the same breath, though, New York was forced into the realization that it will be without Jones’ safety net and security blanket as backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor and tight end Darren Waller will both be absent this weekend and, potentially, longer, according to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan.

Taylor sustained a rib cage injury that knocked him out of last week’s overtime loss to the Jets. Waller is also dealing with some injury trouble concerning his groin and hamstring. Despite the injuries last week, Taylor and Waller led the Giants in passing and receiving, respectively, in the loss, despite only totaling eight yards passing and four yards receiving.

Raanan relayed the report from head coach Brian Daboll, who mentioned that he doesn’t expect either player back any time soon. In fact, the head coach didn’t rule a stint on injured reserve for Taylor or Waller.

Here are a few other injury rumors from around the NFL, starting with a Texans rookie starter:

  • Houston placed rookie center Jarrett Patterson, who had been forced into the starting lineup due to other injuries along the offensive line, on IR on Tuesday. The specifics of Patterson’s injury weren’t reported at the time, but Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 informed us this week that Patterson suffered a broken fibula. After receiving multiple medical opinions, Patterson will avoid surgery but is still expected to miss six to eight weeks.
  • On the second to last drive of last week’s loss to Cincinnati, 49ers starting left guard Aaron Banks suffered a foot injury that he wouldn’t report until finishing the game. Per a report by David Bonilla of 49ers Webzone, head coach Kyle Shanahan communicated that he expects Banks to miss a few weeks with a turf toe injury. “Yeah, with turf toe, you never know,” Shanahan said. “So, they told me it should be a few weeks, is what I got here. I know that’s a little vague, but I would say that means at least three weeks.” Luckily for San Francisco, one of those weeks should include the team’s Week 9 bye.
  • While dealing with a UCL sprain suffered in this past weekend’s loss to Dallas, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford has been classified as day-to-day. After testing out the thumb injury on Tuesday, Stafford sat out the remainder of this week’s practices, according to Kevin Patra of NFL Network. Still, head coach Sean McVay reported Stafford will be labeled as questionable heading into the Week 9 and will be a game-time decision to play. If Stafford is unavailable on Sunday, backup quarterback Brett Rypien will make the start. Rypien has gone 2-1 in three starts over his first four years in the league but has thrown twice as many interceptions (8) as touchdowns (4). Either way, Los Angeles will leave Sunday headed towards a bye week, allowing Stafford an extra week of rest to potentially return for Week 11.

QB Notes: Taylor, Cardinals, Bucs, Ridder

October 29th, 2023 at 8:12pm CST by Sam Robinson

Tyrod Taylor left Sunday’s game with a rib injury and needed to be hospitalized. The Giants announced they are keeping their backup-turned-starter in the hospital overnight for observation on his ribcage ailment. Taylor has a history of rib trouble, of course, as just more than three years have passed since the rib injection that ended his brief run as the Chargers’ starter. The pregame shot before Week 2 of the 2020 season resulted in a punctured lung. During Taylor’s one-season stint as the Texans’ starter, he missed a third of the season due to a hamstring malady. The journeyman came back as a backup, with Houston giving Davis Mills a shot to close that season.

Taylor almost certainly will be welcomed back as the Giants’ starter when he is ready, as the team pivoted to nearly run-only blueprint with practice squad elevation Tommy DeVito under center. Daniel Jones is not expected to be back until Week 10, as he continues to battle a neck injury. The latest coming out of that situation points to the well-paid starter dealing with a disk issue and weakness in his nonthrowing shoulder.

Here is the latest from the QB ranks:

  • The Cardinals have joined the Giants in playing a backup this season, and while they have pronounced Kyler Murray fully healthy after his December 2022 ACL tear, the team will once again hold out the Pro Bowler. Jonathan Gannon announced postgame Joshua Dobbs will start in Week 9. Murray remains on Arizona’s reserve/PUP list, having been designated for return on Oct. 18. The Cardinals do not have to activate him until Nov. 8, giving them one more game to keep Murray off the roster. Early reports indicated an early-season return would be in play for Murray, and Michael Bidwill doubled down on that in April. But the organization has proceeded cautiously with the former No. 1 pick, who has also needed to learn a new offense. It will be interesting to see if the sinking Cardinals redeploy Murray as their starter immediately upon activating him.
  • Baker Mayfield did not escape Thursday’s loss in Buffalo unscathed, with ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler noting the free agent pickup is dealing with a knee contusion. Mayfield is planning to play through this injury, but it has caused him discomfort. The Buccaneers QB’s MRI did not reveal any structural damage, however.
  • While Kenny Pickett was initially expected to return to Sunday’s Steelers-Jaguars matchup following his rib injury, via ESPN.com’s Brooke Pryor, the Steelers ruled out their starter and kept Mitch Trubisky in the game. Pickett left the game before the half but was warming up to come back; instead, the team shut him down. Benched early during his first Steelers season, Trubisky became needed on multiple occasions due to Pickett’s two-concussion rookie year. It is not yet known how much time (if any) the 2022 first-rounder will miss as a result of his latest injury.
  • Desmond Ridder‘s midgame exit did not stem from performance issues, Arthur Smith said (via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). Ridder was evaluated for a concussion, but while he was cleared of a head injury, Smith said he “didn’t think Des was right” following the exit. The Falcons kept Taylor Heinicke in the game as a result. Heinicke logged one of the most active QB2 seasons in NFL history two years ago, replacing Ryan Fitzpatrick in Week 1 and keeping the Washington reins the rest of the way. The Falcons gave the multiyear Washington starter a two-year, $14MM deal this offseason. Ridder has delivered an uneven season thus far, but the Falcons passed on chances to acquire a starter-caliber QB in order to keep him in place. With the team proclaiming Ridder the starter in March, it does not appear he is in danger of being pulled.

Daniel Jones Avoids Serious Neck Injury; Giants QB To Miss Week 6

October 13th, 2023 at 10:36am CST by Sam Robinson

OCTOBER 13: Daboll confirmed the previous suspicions; Jones will not play in Week 6. The fifth-year quarterback has not practiced this week, having not received medical clearance. While this is not believed to be a serious injury, Jones’ 2021 absences and 2022 neck surgery make this a must-monitor situation. Taylor, the Bills’ starter for three seasons, will face his former team Sunday night.

OCTOBER 12: A neck injury ended Daniel Jones‘ 2021 season, leading to one of the worst stretches in Giants history. That Jones-less period ended with Joe Judge and Dave Gettleman losing their jobs. While Jones bounced back last season and now has a big-ticket contract, he is again battling a neck injury.

Jones left the Giants’ Week 5 loss to the Dolphins, and while he has expressed optimism, he added (via ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan) he is not yet cleared to practice. The Giants are likely to start Tyrod Taylor against the Bills on Sunday night, per the New York Daily News’ Pat Leonard.

Although Jones is moving toward missing Week 6, he does not believe this is shaping up as a long-term concern. X-rays and a follow-up examination produced a positive outlook, the New York Post’s Paul Schwartz tweets. The former top-10 pick missed the Giants’ final six games in 2021 and underwent surgery. Brian Daboll said Jones has experienced lingering soreness, and considering the Giants’ present state and what they have invested in Jones, it would make little sense to rush him back.

“I think it’s a different injury, a different circumstance,” Jones said, via Leonard. “So I’m not really comparing it to that a couple years ago. But this was the advice from the doctors and trainers, so I’m gonna follow that.”

The Giants have discussed adding another veteran QB, Schwartz notes. Only former UDFA Tommy DeVito is in place — on the practice squad — behind Taylor. The Giants have used Taylor, Colt McCoy and Mike Glennon as their backups over the past four seasons. The move from McCoy to Glennon in 2021 helped key that brutal season-closing span that ended with Judge’s ouster. Taylor is one of the NFL’s most experienced backups, making his name as a three-year Bills starter. The Giants have the 13th-year veteran on a two-year, $11MM deal.

Despite not picking up Jones’ fifth-year option in 2022, the Giants circled back to him via a four-year, $160MM accord just before the March deadline to apply franchise tags. They were the first team to decline a QB’s fifth-year option and then re-sign him. The 11th-hour signing prevented the team from needing to tag Jones, allowing a Saquon Barkley tag. The Giants, however, have not followed up their divisional-round surge with competency. They are 1-4, rank 31st in scoring offense and have allowed Jones to be sacked 16 times over the past two games. Given the state of Big Blue’s offensive line, Jones being sent back out there at less than 100% would be a strange ask.

The Giants are unlikely to have Andrew Thomas back, per Schwartz. The All-Pro left tackle has missed four games with a hamstring injury, suffering a setback midway through his recovery process. They played last week without starting center John Michael Schmitz and fill-in guard Shane Lemieux.

Giants QB Daniel Jones To Play In Week 5

October 7th, 2022 at 9:57am CST by Ben Levine

OCTOBER 7: Jones will play against the Packers in London. The Giants took the fourth-year quarterback off their injury report. The Giants ruled out Taylor, however. Webb will back up Jones.

OCTOBER 6: The Giants will be without four starters this weekend. Wide receivers Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney, outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari, and cornerback Cor’Dale Flott did not make the flight to London for Sunday’s game against the Packers.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter), Golladay suffered a sprained MCL during Sunday’s win over the Bears. It sounds like this would be a temporary absence for the veteran wideout, although the Giants won’t have any extra time following their trip across the Atlantic. Despite earning his first start of the season on Sunday, Golladay still isn’t a major factor in the Giants’ offense. Through four appearances, he’s hauled in two catches on six targets.

Toney has been dealing with a hamstring injury that’s forced him to miss the past two games. There was some optimism that he could return this weekend after he was a limited participant on Wednesday, but he didn’t practice today.

“He’s done everything we’ve asked,” offensive coordinator Mike Kafka said today (via ESPN’s Jordan Raanan). “He’s practiced hard when he’s practicing. It’s unfortunate, but he’s one of those guys that does everything we asked and is working his tail off in the training room and in the meeting rooms. He does a great job with that.”

There is some good news on the injury front. Per Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com, Daniel Jones is “trending in the right direction” for this weekend. The QB has been a limited participant this week while nursing an ankle injury, but he made the flight to London and is expected to give it a go. With backup Tyrod Taylor likely sidelined with a concussion, the Giants will probably promote Davis Webb from their practice squad for some extra depth.

Latest On Giants QBs Daniel Jones, Tyrod Taylor

October 3rd, 2022 at 9:11am CST by Adam La Rose

The Giants exited yesterday’s game against the Bears with a victory, but they used both of their dressed quarterbacks (and then some) in the contest. The prognosis on their starting signal-caller appears to be the source of some disagreement. 

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweets that Daniel Jones is day-to-day with the ankle injury he suffered yesterday. He adds that there is optimism Jones will be available for New York’s Week 5 game against the Packers in London. Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post reports exactly the opposite, however (Twitter link). More tests will be needed during the week to make a final determination.

The 25-year-old has gotten off to a similar start in 2022 to the rest of his career in terms of completion percentage and QB rating. He has managed only a 3:2 touchdown-to-interception ratio, though, and has already taken 14 sacks. His passing totals have dropped with respect to both yards per attempt and per game, though he is averaging over 48 yards per contest on the ground.

Jones entered the 2022 campaign with plenty of question marks surrounding his future. After the Giants made the expected move of declining his fifth-year option, the Duke alum is scheduled to hit free agency at the end of the year. His first season under new head coach Brian Daboll has begun with an unexpected amount of team success, as the Giants are 3-1, though Jones himself has yet to make the substantive progress likely necessary to land a deal to stay in the Big Apple in March.

If Jones is unable to play on Sunday, the team’s QB situation could get complicated. Veteran backup Tyrod Taylor suffered a concussion not long after relieving Jones, leaving his Week 5 availability very much in doubt. New concussion protocols are expected to be in place by then, leading to the sense that teams around the league will be particularly cautious.

At a minimum, Davis Webb is likely to be elevated from the practice squad before the game. The 27-year-old made a single appearance with Daboll and the Bills last year, and could have remained in Buffalo as a QBs coach. Instead, he will receive plenty of attention this week, depending on the status of Jones’ ankle.

Injury Notes: Taylor, Burks, Kamara, Gallup

October 2nd, 2022 at 10:05pm CST by Ely Allen

Giants backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor exited today’s game with a concussion, according to Paul Schwartz of the New York Post. Taylor was put into action when starting quarterback Daniel Jones was sidelined with an ankle injury in the fourth quarter of today’s win over the Bears.

Taylor had a rough showing, throwing an interception on his first possession under center, and, in the very next possession, sustaining a helmet-to-helmet hit from Bears cornerback Kyler Gordon that would remove him from the game. With both quarterbacks hobbled, the Giants were temporarily forced to utilize their emergency quarterback, starting running back Saquon Barkley.

Following Taylor’s exit, the Giants ran a couple of plays with Barkley leading a wildcat-style offense, with Jones serving as a decoy out wide. Jones would eventually return behind center, solely to hand the ball off to Barkley for the remainder of the game.

Jones claimed after the game that he was OK, so there’s a chance that he will be able to return for New York’s Week 5 matchup with the Packers in London. If Taylor, who will now go through the league’s soon-changing concussion protocol, is unable to play, the Giants have quarterback Davis Webb on the practice squad.

Here are a few more injury notes from Week 4 of the NFL season, starting with the loss of an AFC South rookie:

  • Titans rookie wide receiver Treylon Burks left today’s contest with the Colts almost immediately after sustaining a foot injury in the fourth quarter. “Almost” because, perhaps being unaware of the injury protocol in the NFL, Burks got stuck on the field for one more play while injured before he went to the ground and was able to leave the game. Burks eventually found his way to the sideline and was carted off to the locker room, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. The first-round pick out of Arkansas was reportedly seen in a walking boot and on crutches after the game, according to Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com, but the severity of his injury has yet to be reported. So far this season, Burks and trade-acquisition Robert Woods have led the team in receiving, but neither has extremely eye-popping numbers through three weeks of play. Any absence by Burks would mean more snaps for Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and Kyle Philips on offense.
  • Saints running back Alvin Kamara was officially ruled out early in the morning for most Americans before the team’s London matchup versus the Vikings. Kamara, who’s been dealing with rib issues, is reportedly “looking to get healthy for (the) long haul,” according to Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.football. In his absence, the Saints split carries between Mark Ingram and practice squad elevation Latavius Murray.
  • After tearing his ACL late in the 2021 season and having surgery in February, Cowboys wide receiver Michael Gallup made his season debut today against the Commanders. Gallup played sparingly but proved useful while available. On three targets, Gallup caught two balls for 24 yards and a touchdown.

QB Tyrod Taylor Sues Chargers’ Team Doctor

September 18th, 2022 at 4:45pm CST by Adam La Rose

Tyrod Taylor‘s time as a starter with the Chargers came to a bizarre end, and it has resulted in legal action. The veteran quarterback is suing the team’s doctor, David S. Gazzaniga, for “at least” $5MM, as detailed by ESPN’s Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter. 

Taylor was sidelined just prior to the Chargers’ Week 2 game in 2020 when a pain-killing injection was administered, puncturing his lung. The accidental action by Dr. Gazzaniga left Taylor unavailable and opened the door to then-rookie Justin Herbert taking over as the team’s starting signal-caller. The latter has held onto that spot (and much more) in the time since, leaving Taylor to hit the open market the following offseason.

As the lawsuit notes, though, Taylor did so as a backup, rather than the starter then-coach Anthony Lynn stated he would have remained for at least a short time. “The economic difference between a starting quarterback’s salary and a back-up quarterback salary,” the suit states, “is at least $5MM and is more than likely much greater. The exact amount of such past and future loss is unknown to [Taylor] at this time.” As a result, the amount he seeks could be subject to change.

The trial resulting from Taylor’s suit – which also names Dr. Gazzaniga’s Newport Orthopedic Institute as a defendant – was originally scheduled to take place in November, but it has been moved to April to accommodate the NFL calendar. It will be after the 2022 campaign, then, that the matter of Taylor’s alleged “severe physical pain resulting in hospitalization, physical therapy, emotional distress and other past pain and suffering” will be presided over.

In 2021, Taylor signed with the Texans on a one-year deal which paid him $5.5MM. He made six total starts, dealing with a hamstring injury and ceding the No. 1 role to Davis Mills. This summer, he inked a two-year contract to serve as a high-end backup to Daniel Jones with the Giants. The pact carries a similar AAV of $6.5MM.

Dr. Gazzaniga, meanwhile, still holds his position with the Chargers. He will be the subject of plenty of attention once again in the coming days as Herbert deals with the rib cartilage injury he suffered on Thursday. The NFLPA will “closely monitor” Herbert’s treatment, per the ESPN report. Regardless of how that situation plays out, Dr. Gazzaniga will have this suit looming throughout the season.

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