HEADLINES

Xavier Weaver

WR Notes: Texans, Patriots, Eagles, Cardinals

July 8th, 2024 at 9:01pm CST by Ben Levine

It’s easy to be excited about the Texans wide receiver corps in 2024. After Tank Dell and Nico Collins established a connection with C.J. Stroud in 2023, the organization added another major name in Stefon Diggs. With the Texans hoping to take a major step forward in 2024, the team can now boast that they’re armed with one of the best WR trios in the NFL.

One of the other players on the depth chart, Steven Sims, has gotten a first-hand look at his talented teammates, and he believes Houston’s wideouts are ready for some big plays during the upcoming campaign.

“We’ve got a great group,” Sims told Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston. “I can’t wait to get back to camp. It’s going to be so much fun. I feel like there’s going to be a lot of big plays, a lot of fun, but it’s a business and it’s work. It’s time to get back to work and I’m excited to go back to work with the group we’ve got I feel like from top to bottom everybody can get it done.”

Sims re-signed with the Texans this offseason after getting into three games with the team in 2023. He’ll be competing with the likes of John Metchie III and Ben Skowronek for reps behind the team’s top-three WRs.

More wideout notes from around the NFL…

  • Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports Boston explores some of the Patriots wideout scenarios for the 2024 campaign, including the best-case scenario (which sees rookie Ja’Lynn Polk and second-year wideout DeMario Douglas break out) and the worst-case scenario (the team’s over-reliance on veterans JuJu Smith-Schuster and Kendrick Bourne). Curran believes the most-likely scenario is a bit of both, with the organization allowing the young players to show their stuff, especially as Bourne works his way back from a torn ACL. Curran says the team’s main wildcard at the position is free agent acquisition K.J. Osborn, who has already developed chemistry with presumed starting QB Jacoby Brissett.
  • Joseph Ngata spent the majority of his rookie campaign on Philly’s practice squad, and Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports Philadelphia believes the former UDFA is set to make the Eagles 53-man roster in 2024. As Zangaro notes, Ngata got some first-team reps during the spring,and he’s clearly ahead of some of the team’s other young wideouts. Parris Campbell is the likeliest of Philly’s non-star WRs to emerge, but Ngata should have an upper hand on fifth-round rookie Ainias Smith and sixth-round rookie Johnny Wilson.
  • Jess Root of Cards Wire notes that Cardinals undrafted rookie WR Xavier Weaver is likely to stick with the organization by virtue of his contract. The Colorado product got $225K in guaranteed money from Arizona, the equivalent to 18 weeks of practice squad salary. If the rookie is eventually waived, it’s unlikely a cash-strapped suitor would willingly add him to their 53-man roster. With four WR spots locked up in Arizona (Marvin Harrison Jr., Michael Wilson, Greg Dortch, and Zay Jones), Weaver will be hard pressed to earn a regular roster gig, but the Cardinals’ financial commitment shows they plan to keep the WR around their practice squad for the 2024 campaign.

Cardinals Sign Three UDFAs

April 30th, 2024 at 1:16pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Cardinals are keeping their UDFA count low this year, announcing just three UDFA additions after making 12 draft choices last week. Here is Arizona’s trio of post-draft hopefuls:

Weaver was part of Deion Sanders‘ massive transfer haul last year. As the rookie Division I-FBS HC overhauled the Pac-12 program, Weaver joined the likes of Travis Hunter and Jimmy Horn Jr. as imports who became Shedeur Sanders‘ top targets. While Hunter will be a big name to monitor ahead of the 2025 draft, Weaver led the Buffaloes in receiving by a wide margin last season. The South Florida transfer produced a career-high 68 receptions for 908 yards, adding four touchdowns.

Also serving as a punt returner at points, the 6-foot-1 target posted back-to-back 700-plus-yard showings in his final two seasons at South Florida. Weaver joins a Cardinals team — even after Marvin Harrison Jr.‘s arrival — that still has questions at wide receiver. The Cardinals are guaranteeing $225K of Weaver’s $255K base salary, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets.

Shimko may be the top name to monitor here for longevity purposes. He won the Patrick Mannelly Award given to the nation’s top long snapper last season. Like many players in this UDFA class, Shimko played five college seasons due to the COVID-19 waiver. The Cardinals released long snapper Matt Hembrough on Monday but re-signed longtime snapper Aaron Brewer in March. Brewer, 33, has been with the Cards since 2016. Shimko’s award-winning season puts him on the radar for a gig elsewhere, should Brewer keep his job.